Project #15 SmartBoard Instruction Part 2

C4T #4

For my final C4T I was assigned Jackson Bryan. He is a University of Arkansas graduate, exploring gifted and techno-learning students. The first post I comment on was In Depth Blogging, or Learning in Public. The post was a idea that came from Mr. Bryan, in which he had previous conducted a little Learning in Public himself back in September. He wanted to set a definitive goal for himself and model the documentation for his student. In my comment I stated that I liked how learning is not just being subdued to being just in the classroom. In classes dealing music (vocal, instrumental, etc.) there should be room/time for the students to practice in different environments that help map their journey of learning.

The second post I commented on was called Powell River Vocal Summit, in which a video was made to showcase the traveling of vocal jazz and choir singers and some of their performance as well. The video was edited very good, probably because a MacBook was the source used for editing. In my comment I first expressed my love for the video. I then explained how edm310 has taught me that technology exists in our careers and daily lives whether we choose it to be or not. I posted the link to Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir to give some insight of future ideas. I enjoyed this semesters C4Ts, each of them were quite different from one another, but they all focused on educating students through this technological world.

Final Report on PLN

Throughout my journey in edm310 I have established a legitimate PLN. It definitely has room for expansion, in which I plan to continue to build on the network I now have. Blogger seems to be the most sufficient and beneficial network of all the others I included in my previous PLN report. It not only links one to a vast amount of people, but it also provides a categorized list of different blogs that one may be looking to follow. Although I haven't been using Twitter as I should be, it still remains a great PLN source to have; it too links us to variety people all over the world. I am striving to become an innovative teacher, with the primary focus being an educator and making sure that my students are not just learners, but consumers of their surroundings inside/outside the classroom.

Blog Post #13

I never expected an activity such as this one to be a part of Edm310. I always thought about going a day or two without technology or TV, but I never actually went through with it. I originally chose April 11, 2012 as the day I would make my first attempt, but I had to attend a required class for Edm310. I then chose the following Sunday, April 15, 2012 to attempt this project and was successful at doing so. Yes, I was able to do this experiment on the first try.

For the fast I included family and friends in this process by letting them know that I wouldn’t be available on this day, although some forgot and still contacted me. I created a Facebook post as a public service announcement of me not being available, so that if there was anything important to tell me they should do so either before or wait until after the project was over. I reminded my mom everyday up until the day I began my project so she would know why I haven’t called her. When approaching things that I thought would stray me off my plan I would dismiss myself. For example, while hanging out with friends I made sure they didn’t include me in anything powered by electricity; instead of sitting in the areas of the dining hall where the TVs were we sat in the booths that did not include Television.

After the experiment was over I realized how much I really needed the use of these things. I made sure to check the weather ahead of time, because I would usually do it before I left my room. About 8 hours of my day were spent sleeping, and the rest hanging out with friends. If I wasn’t sure of the time I would ask my friends, so that helped me remain on schedule. I had a test the week of the 15th in which I made sure I printed out my slides the Friday before conducting the fast. This was the last thing I did until the day change to the next.

It was difficult for me to watch my friends using there devices and not being able to engage fully in what they were doing at times. Watching television or being able to use my computer was not very hard to live without, but my mobile device was a different story. I had to leave it behind when I left my room because it was quite tempting to just power it on, but my friends made sure I went a full day without it! Once I made it a day without my mobile device I powered it on and messages quickly rolled in. I took a snapshot on my mobile device of two photos, one containing my messages and another of the amount of emails that I now had to check.

This assignment helped me to realize how much I need the use of technology and as well as other devices. Each device that I own is now a necessity to the human life. Although some may not hold a great deal of purpose it is still needed to a certain extent. I only just got a laptop computer and I was fine without it before, but it has been beneficial to me while being a college student. When my future students rush into my class I would hope they are not e-media fasters! It is fine to experiment to see if one can be without such devices, but to not have any source of using such devices or some others that were listed would be like going back to kindergarten all over again. As students’ progress in school the progress in technology as well. Therefore, I will never recommend not using battery powered devices mainly because life is just no fun!

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts-Special Post #12A

As we progress in age I believe curiosity still lives in us, it just has to be awaken by something stimulating. By this I mean it will take a little bit more than to animations and colors to keep the attention of young adults. Nowadays we have iPods, PC's, Macs, and a host of other electronics that gain the attention young adults as well as other ages. I do/don't feel that schools in U.S. systematically destroy the development of curiosity and/or creativity in students. A certain subject is expected to be taught by the teacher and that subject will be the primary focus of the course. Creativity remains in classrooms, but it is not as extreme as it may need to be. As a child passes through grade levels their curiosity drops each year. Why? Standardized test require a great deal of knowledge to pass huge reason why curiosity/creativity levels have fallen as students progress in school. In order to keep curiosity and creativity alive we must incorporate it in the course more.

A curriculum that can be developed to increase students curiosity and creativity levels is basically independence. When assigning things to students, let them make the work assigned become their own. Pave the way for them a bit by using wikis or any known source that they may use to help. Edm310 is a great example of an increasing of curiosity and creativity, by giving the class the freedom to do their own personal work, while using a set of guidelines makes each of us more prepared for what lies ahead.

Teachers actions can most definitely increase students curiosity and creativity levels by being a student also. We truly learn something new almost everyday, therefore a teacher who feels they know it all will get nowhere in a career of teaching. As a teacher we should want to keep learning to build our abilities to teach. When we become curious and express this to our class it makes them curious as well to a certain extinct. Most things are believable when there is an example for it. Let's be the example for our students!

I love being able to create things on my own. While in high school projects were my favorite, because as soon as the teacher gave a due date I was anxiously ready to begin. I am very artsy so ideas came very quickly to me. It really doesn't take much to push my creative side and I have been curious for as long as I know. If anything could give a boost on being more curious or creative it would an example of a previous person's work and the teachers enthusiasm for the assigned work. Today so many things boost my creativity level and I feel that there isn't anyone who can say that they aren't creative. We all just have a certain levels of creativity that we reach. Some enjoy being curious/creative and some do not.

Elli(Elspeth Bishop) is a writer for In Good Measure who was born and raised in Colorado. She enjoys outdoors activities such as hiking, skiing, and playing tennis. She can be contacted by joining her Google+ circle of friends. I don't believe I would contact her unless instructed to or if someone asks me about being curious/creative.

Blog Post#12

When we think of school from the time it began we think the three main courses: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (Mathematics). As time progress the listed subjects have remained along with a few others. Of all the subjects, I believe many have looked at Mathematics to be the most difficult of the subjects and many resources have been created to help ease the learning of it. This assignment is to show you that there are numerous means of help that can be found around you as well as through technology.

In this assignment you will be given 5 problems to complete according to its subject. You are to find the answer for each given problem. If you need help completing any of the problems refer to Math Websites Hotlist where you will see many sites pertaining to these following subjects listed. Once you have found the answers explain in complete sentences of how you came to that conclusion, and give the site name in which you used to complete the problem, if you used one. On the right of the problem is listed the Mathematics Course and type of problem.

1. Algebra Simple Equations: 2y + 4y= 18, Find y=?

2. Geometry Pythagorean Theorem: Use the Pythagorean Theorem to find the missing side.

3. Algebra 2 Factorization: 〖8x〗^2-10x+3, Factor the equation to its furthest point.

4. Calculus Chain Rule: h(x)=√(x^3+1), Apply the Chain Rule to the following.

5. Calculus Trigonometry: π/2, Convert the radian measure to degrees.

Even if you do not choose any of the sites, I recommend that you do look through a few of them if not all; it could be beneficial to your future Mathematics abilities.

Blog Post Assignment 1:

1. 2y + 4y= 18, Answer: y=3. First add the like terms together 2y +4y= 6y. We now have 6y=18. Next, divide 6 by both sides which will give you y=3. Hippocampus.org

2. Answer: C= 5 By using the Pythagorean Theorem we know that A^2 + B^2= C^2. First we plug in the given values equal to the corresponding letters 4^2 + 9^2. We now have the following: 25=C^2. By taking the square root of both sides we find that C=5 Hippocampus.org

3. 〖8x〗^2-10x+3, Answer: (4x – 1)(2x – 3) We know that the values that give us eight are 1,8, 2 and 4. Of these we have choose the correct two to find the answer. I chose 2 and 4 because I need to try and get the value -10x as my Bx in the problem. I then choose 1 and 3 as the other two values to finish my problem, thus giving me my answer (4x - 1)(2x - 3).

4. h(x)=√(x^3+1), Answer: h'(x)=1/2(〖x^3+1)〗^((-1)/2) × 〖3x〗^2 The Chain Rule says to multiply the the outer derivative evaluated at the inner function by the inner derivative. With that being said I separate the values as follows: g(x)= x^3+1 with its derivative being 3x^2; f(u)= √u with its derivative being 1/2u^(-1/2). Now that these values I can use them to find my answer according to the Chain Rule definition we find that h'(x)=
1/2(〖x^3+1)〗^((-1)/2) × 〖3x〗^2

5. π/2, Answer: 90° First set the equation π/2 equal to (180°)/π. By doing so you should retrieve (180°)/2 which equals 90° Khan Academy

Progress Report-Final Project

Over the course of the past two weeks or so my group, GIT-Cynthia Arrington, Jeni Stovall, Donte Todd and I have been conversing with one another over Facebook concerning our upcoming projects. We chose Facebook because it was easier for us all to keep in contact with one another, because one member will only be present for the filming of Project 15. The remaining members and myself have chosen to come up with the subject for that particular project. Since we all will be able to contribute to Project 16 we have decided to wait for our last member to return which will be April 28th. We are now brainstorming on some ideas for Project 16 as we begin working on Project 15.

C4K April

For this month of C4Ks I was assigned Hunter and Faauiga. Hunter was the student in the World Blog Challenge. I commented on three of his post although he didn’t blog as regularly as I thought he would’ve. Faauiga is a young girl who is a student of Room 6 @Pt England School of New Zealand and most of her posts were videos where she explained her topics.

The first post I commented on by Hunter was a summary about a book series called Redwall. In my comment to Hunter, I explained how I also loved books about heroes, and movies too. I stated that my liking of books wasn’t just for school purposes, but for entertainment as well. I told him that my favorite movie involving a warrior was Troy and ended the comment by asking if he had a favorite book or movie.

The second comment I left was on a post that Hunter titled “Where I live”. In the post he gave a description of what the weather changes were like in Vermont according to the seasons. In my comment for this post I compared our surroundings by saying that it also gets very hot in the summertime in Alabama, just as he describes Vermont in the summertime. I differed with him by saying that we do have cold winters, but probably not as cold as Vermont. I ended this comment by asking what kind of animals would be seen in Vermont.

The third comment I left on Hunter’s blog was on a post titled “Making Connections”. This post was about a book that involved hunting and Hunter included that he has also hunted before. He later explained the book a little more by stating that it was about the reasons why Native Americans hunted. His conclusion of the book was that Native Americans hunted for specific reasons such as food and not for fun which is a reason why some people do it today. I agreed with Hunter and I am glad that he could understand the livelihood of the Native Americans of this time that he read about.

My last C4K was Faauiga and her video post was titled “Faauiga Went to her Cousin’s Birthday Party!” In the video she explained how much she loved her weekend. The event was her cousin’s party and the anticipation was for the cake and pie that was made by her aunt. In my comment to Faauiga I stated that I could tell she enjoyed the party a lot and how I love parties as well. I also included that the cake is always the best part of an event. I really enjoyed getting to know all the students I was assigned for C4K although I didn't receive many responses, each of them have taught me that there’s no need to be afraid to LEARN!

Blog Post #11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class
I enjoyed this video a lot! It reminded me of our previous podcast assignment, where my group and I chose to use only audio for the video. This shows that learning through technology isn’t just expanding in use, but it is progressing quickly in children at young ages as well. I believe Ms. Cassidy’s approach to the use of technology in the classroom was to show that technology will not just change learning for our generation, but the ones to come also. The students said they were able to blog, use wikis, Skype, and use their Nintendo DS game systems effectively to help them with classwork. The students begin to understand the uses of technology and are able to apply the skills at home or anywhere the devices are available.

All of Ms. Cassidy’s techniques seem effective and if I had to choose one it would be the wikis. Wikis, as the kids described were used to find answers to questions they did not know the answer to. The wikis allowed the students to receive multiple comments from people all over on what they felt traditions and rituals were. In my Math class I could use a wiki to explain different math terms or even help with conversions of weight, length, or volume. Wikis can be used for just about anything and I am glad I discovered this because on a previous post of mine. In the post I stated that I would NOT use technology in my classroom, but just as Dr. Strange said it will probably be very difficult to be a teacher and not be technologically literate. I now see that technology could be beneficiary to every subject. One issue that may come across from using the wikis might be the access to them once school is out. The percentages of having computers at home have gone up, but not every household is as motivated to purchase these useful items as others are. Therefore, the wikis will only be used as an alternative, in the case of students needing extra help learning the material.

This approach by Ms. Cassidy benefits me a great deal by choosing to teach Math. We never actually stop learning; with that being said I could use wikis for my students and myself as well! I didn’t know exactly what a wiki was, but once I searched it I realized how beneficial it could be to my future classroom or anyone’s. If I were teaching English, I could use a wiki to help students understand the basis of punctuation and it could be helpful with correct spelling. With Mathematics there are never ending formulas that can be hard to understand at first look and wikis dealing with math can offer a review lesson to show what came before the new formula. I enjoyed Ms. Cassidy’s video of her first graders, and I hope that one day my class will be as excited about the new ways of learning as hers was.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?
Teaching is something I have always enjoyed doing as far as I can think back. Being able to help someone master a skill gives one a feeling of achievement; not only for whoever is learning, but for oneself as well. The words teaching and educating at times are viewed to have the same meaning, but are quite different. My major is Secondary Education-Mathematics which requires me to teach the necessary skills that are needed for the next level of Math beyond what I am teaching. There are some teachers who do just this and continually move forward each year with the same plan of attack. I have had my opportunity of being taught by such teachers who teach, but DO NOT educate.

When a student is educated the material stays and never leaves. I feel that education is the lesson behind the skills being learned by the student, and I also think Edm310 is a helpful way to educate an educator on the proper ways of educating. Wikipedia defines the word as the formal process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs and values from one generation to another. This screams out to me that educating isn’t just teaching, but it’s instilling ones data/information on things that correlate to the subject being taught, as well as helping the students master the skills. Teaching isn't the hard part, it takes a lot to be able to educate and it starts with the TEACHER.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!
“It is what it is.” This statement is thought and used by many before they even know the background information of a situation. We sometimes jump to conclusions because we are too afraid to face the outcome of things that frighten us. To me this post stands as a metaphor for situations that are not evaluated fully before jumping to conclusions. I first thought that Gertrude was acting like a narrow minded person by saying that lower-income children would use the pencils to play hangman, or for some other uneducated purpose. Just as Lisa stated in her comment the children may not be doing anything productive with the pencils but at least it is not something negative.

The basis of keeping a child entertained and making them feel learning is worth while is to show the quality and ability of whatever it is they are using/learning. I loved that Mr. Johnson evaluated the situation by meeting with the students and parents to explain the different uses pencils. Once the lessons have been taught it is now up to the student to apply the skills. I was a little confused at first by this post, but after looking over the related post by Larry Ferlazzo I then realized that people will take anything and run with it. Mr. Ferlazzo's post made better since, in a sense of computers affecting students test scores, because it is easier to find substantial information on that. This makes Mr. Jonhnson's post all the more better because although it seems rather simple when finding a solution it is not. We should always find background information and use it when giving our own opinions on such situations.

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)
I really enjoyed reading about Mr. McClung’s first few years of teaching. Before I read this post I noticed the picture he included in the post that read, "An important decision I made this year is to remain positive. It is very important to have a positive outlook on things although we may not like the situations that involve us. Mr. McClung began his evaluation with how to read the crowd, in which he explained how he learned to let the audience drive his instructions. I feel that we can never be fully prepared to teach students just as he also explained a while later in a portion he called be flexible.

Flexibility is major when it comes to being an educator, students are going to be the top priorities and sometimes we may have to work with some a little more than others. In a portion called be reasonable he expressed how teachers sometimes have high expectations for students, making it hard for the student to achieve whatever the goal may be. When children fail to grasp the concept of things, Mr. McClung believes we the teachers should dust the children off and encourage them to try again. There are too many so-called educators who don't care enough to make sure students understand what it is that they are learning. I especially enjoyed the section don't be afraid of Technology. I feel that I can be afraid of technology, but I am learning just as he said that technology is my friend and Edm310 is also helping me let my guard down when it comes to accepting that technology WILL BE apart of our education system until the end of time.

What I Learned This Year (2010-11)
I would describe this year description as short and sweet, which shows that Mr. McClung was getting the hang of things. The first thing listed was know your boss. We all have been victims of people pleasing even if we are the ones being pleased. It's okay to want to be accepted, but never forget your why we are in this area of work. Once again the students are the importance so all the energy of pleasing should be the same effort put into educating.

One thing he talked about that I definitely am not afraid to be is an outsider. Mr. McClung's tells us how he prefers to be more engage with his students than the faculty and I will probably act in this way as an educator myself. He is happy about the teacher he has become and as long as the students are learning, and he is proud of himself and his work ethic then no one else really matters. He ended this post with don't get comfortable, which is good for any occupation. As a teacher things are liable to change multiple of times throughout a year. Mr. McCklung says it well that routines are good in the sense that they allow a person to be more effective, but can also be bad because they can foster apathy. I enjoyed this post and I have enjoyed this blog as well. I am glad Mr. McClung decided to do this it is not only helpful to him in which he can recall or refer to but it is also helpful for me.

Project #14 SmartBoard Instructional Part 1

C4K March

I was assigned the child Idrees for C4K this month. His blog post contained a daily event in which he played outside, and snuck off to the shop without his mother noticing. He mentioned his brother who wasn’t allowed to play outside and also visiting a friend. Idrees description of that day as a sunny one, but as time passed he noticed a change in the weather when he heard the sound of thunder. In my comment to Idrees, I commended him for the clear description of his story. I connected myself to his story by telling him how the weather change he saw coming, was very similar to the weather we have here in Mobile. I also included that as a child I too would sneak off from home to visit neighborhood friends.

C4T #3

For this C4T I was assigned the teachers who share the blog At the Teacher’s Desk and I commented on two post by William Chamberlain. The first comment I left on the blog was for the post titled, "How about Unconferences for Students?” This post seemed very interesting because it involved students meeting on a Saturday to present ideas about technology. I also wanted to know more about what exactly an “unconference” is. It is basically a meeting/conference in which one shares his/hers ideas for a given subject. I loved that the students would get to expressed themselves for the things that they loved. This idea that Mr. Chamberlain came up with has not been put in action just yet because of timing, but I’m going to definitely be checking in on the process.

Another post I commented on was called, “Can you present at a Tech Conference without the Tech Being Your Main Focus.” In the post Mr. Chamberlain described a presentation given by himself in which he didn’t use tech tools as a focal point. He feels that student learning is the main focus and used them to generalize the point of his presentation. I agreed with him including that using students in the presentation shows the abilities of the tools while showing the benefits as well.