I did an an interview with Chelsie and Josh. Chelsie and I talk to Josh who is a junior at the University of South Alabama. He has worked with technology almost his whole life, so we asked him a few questions on how we could use technology in the classroom. He told us about programs we could use that are affordable to use and easy to use. One was Google docs. He also mentioned Blogger and other programs.
My PLE was nothing like this girl's. Her PLE was a lot more developed and organized. I really think that she did a wonderful job. I believe that she used her ability to research to get her where she is now. She shows that she is a person who knows how to use technology and uses it for good. When she wanted the answer, she looked it up and found it. She was Dr. Strange's Motto (I DON'T KNOW. LETS FIND OUT!)wrapped up. I am proud to see that there are students who go and search for the answer. I want to say "GOOD JOB". I also say she is the same as me, trying to find information and share it with others. I think the PLE will be a lot of help to me, and I do need to establish it better.
The two questions were "What is your sentence?" and "Was I better today than yesterday?" These two questions just make you think on how you are performing, and what you need to do better. The "What is your sentence?" question tries to see if you could sum yourself up in one sentence. I do not know what my sentence would be, and that is going to take me a while to think about. I believe that it will be something to ponder for quite a while before giving only one answer. The other question, "Was I better today than yesterday?" makes you strive to better yourself everyday. You never want to turn out worse; you always want to improve yourself. I really need to sit and think of these questions throughout my life, and especially while I am teaching.
I did a tour of France, specifically Paris and Versailles for my project. I went to major landmarks starting here in Mobile at the University of South Alabama, then went to Mobile, then spread out to the United States of America. I then flew to France and to Paris. The first stop was the Eiffel Tower, then Notre Dame Cathedral, then the Louvre Museum,and the Arc de Triomphe. Next I went to the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur Cathedral. I then went over to Versailles to the Palace and the Gardens. I then wrapped it back up by going to the United States of America, then Mobile, and back to the University of South Alabama.
On our Project 14, we did a funny video on EDM 310 programs. We discussed Twitter, Skype, Blogger, Youtube, and Picasa. This was our view of the programs.
This week, the assignment is to pick any topic that stems from EDM310. I thought, "What is the first thing that comes into my mind?" about this class. The first thing that I thought of was "Technology".
This class has shown me that we need to add technology to our class curriculum. I agree that technology will be a great resource in the classroom. I like the ideas of blogging and using skype. The only thing that I am slightly worried about is how fast technology is advancing. I am not sure that the stuff I am learning right now will be outdated when I graduate. I know the big thing is to keep learning. I agree we need to constantly be learning. That is just a job that a teacher takes when choosing education as a major. I just want to know how other teachers feel about all of the changing, and does the thought of technology changing so fast worry you at all? I do know that my students will be my teacher sometimes. They will have to show me things that I don't know, but I am prepared for that. I want to be one of the teachers who is able to incorporate technology into the classroom, and hopefully I will be in a school that will do the same.
This week on Comment4kids I went to Room 16's blog. I was assigned to Huelo-Ata's post.He had an animation on how the Maori and European people arrived in New Zealand. He also showed how they argued on who would leave the land. The 2 groups wound up signing a treaty, because it was going to help them live in the land together, Huelo-Ata stated.
My comment was "I thought your video was very good. I think you did good on the animation, but like the other Brittany said it was hard to read. I am very impressed that you made this animation. Good Job!"
My survey was about physical fitness. I had 20 questions and 65 responses.
My first question was "Do you exercise?". The responses came back with 57 people saying Yes, and 8 saying No. My next question was "How many days a week do you exercise?". The responses on this question was 6 said NONE, 31 said 1 TO 2, 22 said 3 said 3 TO 4, and 6 said 5 OR MORE. The third question asked was "How long do you exercise per day?". The response was 6 that said NONE, 14 that said 0 to 30 minutes, 21 said 31 to 45 minutes, 17 said 46 to 60 minutes, 7 said 1 to 2 hours, and 0 said 2 hours or more. The next question was "What is your favorite type of exercise?". The responses were that 10 said weight-lifting, 10 said step, zumba, kickboxing, 10 said yoga/pilates, 3 said cycling, 20 said running/jogging, and 12 said other. The next question was "When weight-lifting, which do you prefer?". The responses were 35 for free weights and 30 for weight machines. The following question was "Do you bring a partner when weight-lifting?". 27 said Yes and 38 said No. The next question was "What do you drink when exercising?", the responses were 0 said carbonated drinks, 61 said water, 4 said sport drinks, and 0 said fruit juice. "What time of the day do you prefer to exercise?", 11 said morning, 21 said afternoon, and 27 said evening. "Where do you exercise the most?", 10 said school, 28 said gym, and 27 said outside. "Why do you exercise?", 14 said health, 7 said athletics, and 14 said other things, such as "I enjoy it" and "Stress Relief". "Which do you prefer to run on?", 7 said track, 27 said treadmill, and 31 said outside. "Do you use the pool to exercise?", 26 said Yes and 39 said No. "When exercising, when do you eat?", 30 said before, 0 said during, and 35 said after. "What do you eat?", 27 said fruit, 13 said granola bars, 4 said health bars, 1 said nothing, and 20 said other like oatmeal,some type of carbohydrates. "Do you warm up before exercise?", 51 said Yes and 14 said No. The next question was "What do you wear when exercising?"; there was a wide variety of answers. "Have you been injured while exercising?"; 20 said Yes and 45 said No. "What did you injure?"; 42 said N/A, which is probably the No answers above, 1 said arms/hands, 4 said back, 12 said legs/feet, and 6 said "other" (such as knee). "What do you do while exercising?"; 11 said nothing, 1 said read a book, 0 said read a magazine, 6 said watch tv, 40 said listen to music, and 6 said other, (like talk to my friends and focus on meditation). "Have you noticed any changes in your health by exercising?"; 53 said Yes, 4 said No, and 6 said N/A.
The Zax The first video, The Zax, was very cute. I can see how you can compare a teacher who doesn't want to continue to learn to a ZAX. A teacher must continue to learn about education and technology. Otherwise, the teacher will be stuck, and the world will build around them. I really enjoyed watching the video, because it made me fly back to my childhood. I agree that we do not need to be stubborn. We need to open our ears to listening to and accepting other people's ideas. That is how we learn.
Video PS 22 The video of PS 22 was amazing. I do believe students can be great examples to other students around the world and even to teachers. These videos and blogs show you how students can learn through showing their work to the world. I think that students should post their work, not to just get their work out there , but also to get feedback on their work so that they can grow as well. I think that students are always dreaming, imagining, and inventing. They are what is going to lead us in the future, so we need to help them grow as well. I was really inspired by some of these videos and blogs. I think students can learn from other student's work.
These are 5 examples of students inspiring others with their work.
This example was brought to me in my "Freshman Seminar" class. This video really touched me and really made me think of what an impact educators can make on students. Ten Year old Speaker
Mrs. Cassidy's Blog This is Mrs. Cassidy's blog; this blog is used to show kids how to read and write. This is a great way to use technology as a learning tool.
The Endless Ocean Blog Endless Ocean is also another blog that has shown what students can do. This blog has an example of videos that students have made.
Dear Kaia Kaia's Blog This girl is going to inspire kids to do the same project she did. She will be getting kids outdoors more by following her lead.
Blogs In Education This video shows why blogs are important.
I chose to do my "How to" presentation about Google Form. I wanted to show other teachers how to make a survey by using Google Form. They may use these surveys to get information about their classes confidentially, so students will be more comfortable to share their information and ideas. I enjoyed making my own survey and receiving the data. I thought I should share this experience with others.
My teacher for Comment4Teachers is Matthew Needleman
My first Comment4Teachers March 23, 2010
In this post, Mr. Needleman wrote about how to improve comprehension scores. These are his tips:
Test Taking Strategies 1. Review the Assignment. This task should not be done in one sitting. Also, the student should be able to see what their mistakes were.
2. Teach students to read questions first. It is hard to keep all the text in one's head while trying to answer the questions about it. It is often easier to read the questions first, and then read to find an answer.
3. Teach students to eliminate "silly" or obviously wrong answers. Multiple choice tests will include two answer choices that are totally wrong; sometimes even ridiculous. The sooner students learn to read the answers, the better they'll do.
4. Teach a QAR (Question-Answer Relationship) Strategy. Some answers are “right there” whereas other answers require the reader to “think and search” or use only their own head.
Real World Comprehension
1.Explicitly Teach Reading Strategies. Many teachers use the language of the reading strategies (predicting, making connections, summarizing, etc.) but how many students can explain what each of the strategies are, or why you would use a particular strategy? Recommit to teaching the strategies, not just as incidental to reading but as the objective of lessons.
2. Promote Student Discussion Through handing-off (student-led discussions) or some other means, allow students to discuss literature on their own terms with the teacher acting as the facilitator.
3. Allow Practice with “Real” Books Your basal reader is not enough. Students will be bored with reading and not develop their strategy use unless they have opportunities to read additional high interest literature in addition to anthology stories. Whole class readings, small group literature circles, or independent reading workshop, can give students that practice.
My comment to his post was "I agree that scores on reading comprehension scores are down. I am not a teacher yet, but I will be soon, and I want to use some of your ideas to help my students. I believe that having interaction with students will help. I also think that letting them read something that they want to read helps them to comprehend it better. I have always disliked being told what to read, and I didn’t always enjoy all the books as much as I would have if I got to choose my own book. I thank you for your input and will hopefully be able to help my students when I get to the point of teaching."
My Second Commet4Teachers April 13,2010
What to Do When Children Cry?
He started to make him think about a serious topic about students crying at school and what to do about it.
An Anecdote Samantha, a first grader, was moved into my classroom after the first month of school because I have a reputation for being calm and patient, and she had already interrupted someone else’s class who wasn’t as calm or patient. Samantha was far behind in all subjects because her attendance was poor, and when she did come to school she often cried for the first hour of class, causing a disruption to all of the students.
What Not to Do Do not tell a student to stop crying. Do not tell a student not to be scared, sad, mad, happy, etc. Feelings are not right or wrong. However, a child is feeling, that’s how they’re feeling and telling them not to feel that way can really mess a kid up. Also don’t tell them anything like big boys don’t cry, big girls don’t cry, second graders don’t cry. This can cause gender confusion and create the impression that adults don’t show emotions which isn’t true. Do not attempt to change emotions, change behavior.
Recognize the Payoff This is the same for any behavior modification. What benefit is a student getting from exhibiting a particular behavior? In Samantha’s case, when she cried, her father would take her home to sit on the couch and watch TV with him. Samantha wanted attention and crying provided that for her. There can be different reasons why a student cries…feeling sadness, helplessness, anger, being overwhelmed, etc. but notice what the payoff is for the student. If they cry because math is hard, do they get to avoid math? When they cry on the yard, do they get to see the nurse who gives them lollipops? Do they just like ice packs (I see this a lot)?
Sympathize with the Cryer You want to say something like, “I understand you’re feeling ___________ I’m sorry you feel _____________.” Often sitting with the student for a minute or making sure they have a buddy to sit with will stop the crying after you’ve acknowledged their feelings. In Samantha’s case, she could go on for hours, but rather than dealing with the crying, I dealt with the feelings. ”I understand you want to be home with your dad. I’m sorry. But it’s important that you be here in school to learn and that you come in class quietly so that other students can learn as well. Your dad will be here again at the end of the day. Come and sit with Maria, she’ll be your special friend today.” Remove the Payoff Everyone needs occasional babying and that’s fine. However, if a student really likes the babying they get when they cry, they might cry a lot more often. Samantha wanted to go home. We had to stop her dad from pulling her out of school just because she cried. I had to avoid sending her to the office just because her crying made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Samantha learned that she couldn’t get out of school by crying. Next, Samantha was still getting attention from her classmates and me from her crying even when she stayed in my class. I asked the rest of the students to start ignoring her crying. ”When she comes in (and she always came in late) we’ll say good morning, Samantha, and then ignore her crying. When she’s ready to be a part of the class, then we’ll talk to her.” When Samantha came in we said good morning. I would acknowledge how she felt but I would not let her join the classroom until she was done crying. She stood in the back of the room or just outside the door where I could see her. She couldn’t cry forever. In time, she became a productive member of the classroom and her attendance improved. On days that she avoided crying, I gave her positive encouragement.
His question was "How do you deal with crying in the classroom?"
My comment for him was "Hi, Mr. Needleman,I really enjoyed your post. I have babysat quite a few times. One family that I help often usually give the girl what she wants when she cries. Then when I go over to babysit her, she starts to cry when I don't give her something, and I just ignore her. I saw in one of your tips that you said, "don't tell them that big girls don't cry". Well, I am bad about doing that, and I am glad that you showed me that it could be mistaken by children as adults aren't supposed to have emotions. I really enjoyed reading some of your tips, and not only will I try to use these tips in the classroom, but they will also help me when I babysit. Thanks.
This week on Comment4kids, I am commenting on a student from FAMOUS ROOM 10(Fourth graders. The students name is Calvin. He was suppose to create an animation of him in school, home, and place of interest. His animation was about his house and how big it was, and then school. Then he showed me his place of interest, which looked like a boxing ring. It had RAW on the outside of it. If you want to see Calvin's video click here.
My comment was "I think you did a wonderful job. I love the animation, but I had a hard time hearing you. I am very proud of you to have the ability to do that at your age."
