Blog Assignment #5 Part 2

I haven't had all the time I wanted to spend on PLN, but from what I learned I will defiantly be using it for my classroom. The tool I liked most was twitter and blogging, when I was able to read other peoples ideas to see how they work differently in their classroom. I cant wait to have my own blog for my teaching ways.

C4T Summary #4

The last two comment for teachers we got to choose our teacher. The first week I chose Mrs. Cathy Jo Nelson. Mrs. Nelson is a media specialist. Her post was a video about how library's are so important to schools now. She explained how much libraries have changed. They don't just have books and computers to use, but now they have iPads and smart boards as well. My comment to Mrs. Nelson was that I really enjoyed her video. I also said that I wished libraries were updated as much as they are now, compared to when I was in school.

For my final C4T I commented on Mr. Eric Langhorst, a history teacher. Mr. Langhorst posted a beautiful pictures of a sod house in Nebraska with the sunset in the background. I commented on his post and said how much I enjoyed his blog. I explained how I was a big nature and scenery person.

Blog Post 14

I enjoyed reading the USA Today article "Teaching our children can be a profession: column", by Mr. Joel Klein. I strongly agree with what he said about there being many thing I would change more than one thing about education.

The first thing I agree with is using technology to improve teaching and learning. There are so many new technological things I have learned in EDM310. There should be no reason why more technology isn't being used in the classroom now a days. You don't have to have a smart board or iPads to be considered caught up. If you have a working computer in your classroom then you have several websites than can be introduced and shared with your students to make learning more interesting.

Also,I agree with Mr. Klein when he says "we've let virtually anyone with a college degree become a teacher". Not everyone was meant to be a teacher. I hear stories now about how some coaches, that teach as well, don't even teach. They let their kids just sit around and play on their cell phones all day. How is that preparing then for college, or better yet the real world.

Finally, I agree with professionalize teaching, and make it a well-respected profession. Now a days students get away with anything. The main problem with that is that their parents let them. Students don't take their teachers serious, but with out school where would you be. People listen to a doctor to learn how and what to take to get over their sickness. So, why wouldn't students listen to a teacher to help them pass the test, or even the class. I believe it is because students know that the teacher has to bas them. So why take it serious, why try?

C4K summary for November

The first student I was assigned to comment on was Alyssab. Alyssab is from St. Louis. She is currently in Mrs. Akerson fifth grade class. Alyssab blog post was a comparison between an iPhone and animals. She showed the difference between the structures, functions, and symmetry of both. I commented and told her how much I really enjoyed her blog. I also said that that was very observant and a creative observation.

Below is Alyssab's classification tree:

For my number nine comment for kids, I was assigned to Savannah S. Savannah is a fifth grader in Mrs. Mena's class. She is from Chula Vista, CA. Savannahs blog title was "Homework folder problem/solution". She explained that if you forget your homework folder you should log onto Edmodo and ask if someone can post the homework. I commented back and told her that that was a great idea. Also, that I wish we had that in my elementary days, because it seems very helpful.


My final comment for kids was Ayleen G. Ayleen is a fifth grader from Chula Vista, CA. She attends Camarena Elementary School, and is in Mrs. Mena's class. Ayleen's post was about Veterans Day. She explained how she was thankful for this day. I commented back to her and said that I was thankful for it as well. I explained how my grandfather was a veteran, and that it was a very good post.

Blog Post #13

How Can You Use Technology in Physical Education?

While searching the internet for ways you can use technology, I found this YouTube video, Technology in Physical Education. It is a quick two minute video about how a gym coach uses technology in his lesson plans. He uses iPads for students to video themselves and then play them back to see what they are doing wrong. Also, he lets the kids run around with iPods and the iPod will keep track of their distance, calories burned, and their time. I plan on using these activities while I am teaching.
Another useful activity I have heard about was using iPads for videos. Students can search YouTube for workout videos, cultural dances, and even different types of games. You can make a project out of it, and have the students teach a lesson or game to the rest of the class.

Project 12B

This is Group 7's SMART Board presentation collaborative project. Enjoy!

Project #10 Teacher Interview

C4T #3 Summary

My first teacher to comment on was John Spencer. His post was titled "Seven Children's Shows That Would Be Terrifying As Reality Shows." In his post he recognized seven different children's shows that would make a big difference if they were turned into reality shows. He pointed out how they could be scary, depressing, or weird if they were to be turned into a reality television show. I commented and said how I have never thought about a child's television show being like that.


My final comment for this months comments was again with Mr. John Spencer. In this blog, he explains how he was a good drawer growing up, but as he got older he was nervous and not confident with himself and his drawings. He told about how he use to doodle just for fun, but he would never call himself an artist. Finally, he stared posting his drawings to his blog, Twitter, and even Instagram. Below is one of Mr. Spencer's "doodle" drawings.

Blog Post #12

This short six minute YouTube video, Braille in the classroom, it helps you understand how braille works, how it is helpful, and some of the different types of braille. One of the devices they use is called braille display. This device will connect to the computer and will transfer the text from a computer screen into braille for the student. In the YouTube video iPad usage for the blind he shows us how to use the iPad from a blind person point of view. As he demonstrates, you can hear how he has the voice control instructing him in he background. The voice control helps him find his apps, tools, or whatever item he is looking for. Having an iPad in the classroom would be very beneficial to the student. Especially since everything is changing into technology.
-Macy Roe:)


My family has a history of hearing impairment. My maternal grandfather wore hearing aids from his 40s on to his death at 89. My mother is very hard of hearing, as are most of her siblings. I have lost a significant amount of hearing in my right ear due to military service and I imagine my genetics don't help with that. I have often thought of what it would be like if I was afflicted with my family's impairment at a school age. This post was a great chance to see what would be available to me if I was a hearing impaired student today. The Hearing Loss Association of America has a section of its website dedicated to Hearing Assistive Technology. In the link they talk about an FM system. I have vivid memories of my grandfather using one of these to listen to the TV. After multiple complaints from my grandmother about him blasting Braves games at full volume they invested in one of these FM systems. He placed the receiver close to the speakers of the TV and he had it hooked into his hearing aids. As an educator, I can see this working well in the classroom. The teacher could simply wear the receiver around his or her neck, or keep it on the desk if it was powerful enough, and the student could take it from class to class. It seems kind of primitive in today's technological world, but if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess.
Linked here is a video from Oklahoma about Assistive Technologies that educators can use to help deaf/hearing impaired students. Around the 5:30 mark of the video, the iPad is discussed. It seems as though iPads are becoming quite the norm in classrooms these days. I found this short section of the video to be very interesting, as I'm expecting to have iPads available to me in my future classrooms. Here is a short video of deaf students using iPads for the first time. You can see how excited the children are, but also look and see how engaged they are in their learning. My wife, God bless her, is an avid Pinterest user and heard me talking about this blog post. She very quickly found this board. I don't really know how Pinterest works, but there is some really great information on that link. That's what's so great about our modern world today; there's so much information out there. I think that if we just put forth the effort, real effort, to find it, then we will always be in a position to help our students.
-Kyle Parrish



Assistive technology can help students with learning disabilities leverage their education. It can be a wonderful tool for students that have Dysgraphia which affects a student's writing ability. This disability primarily affects handwriting and coherence. Students with this writing disorder will not perform efficiently when being taught how to form letters. Furthermore, they will probably forget how to correctly form words later because of improper movements of muscles required to write. However, there have been technologies created to help them counter this problem.
Dragon Dictation is a speech recognition application that produces words you speak by recording your voice. It allows you to update social media statuses such as Facebook and twitter by speaking. Dragon allows you to speak and send emails or text messages. Additionally, people can create notes and reminders to help them navigate throughout the day. This technology could be useful for students in the classroom who have Dysgraphia because it would allow them to complete their writing assignments by speaking out their words. As a teacher I could allow a student to use their device to assist them in the writing process. This is another way technology is affecting education in a positive way because it is assisting students who have learning disabilities.
-Justin Thomas



Math is a tough alone, and the hardest subject in school for some. I could only imagine how difficult it could be for a blind individual. In the video Teaching Math to the Blind Professor Art Karshmer introduces a tool that allows blind students to still use Braille, something they're familiar with, and electronic feedback. Instead of the math problem written in one horizontal line the student can align the math problem the way it should be. They are also able to receive verbal feedback of the math problem.
I think this tool is very useful for blind students. It is important for them to understand math because as Professor Art Karshmer said in order to get a job in engineering, technology, computer sciences etc. math is an important part of the equation, and the easier it is to practice and understand it the better, and with this tool its definitely possible.
-Janae Ivory

Blog Post #11

Back to the Future

This video was very interesting, you could tell that Mr. Brian was really into teaching his class. He went over several fun prepared lessons that he has done with his class. One of my favorite activities he showed us was the balloon going into space. I learned that you can have one main focus and cover many subjects. He used the subject language by having the kids pretend they were the balloon, and then write about your trip up to space as the balloon. He covered the subject science by demonstrating how far the balloon will go into space with the camera.

Blended Learning Cycle

In this video Paul Anderson talks about how he uses the blended learning cycle in his own classroom. By using the blended learning cycle he brings online, classroom, and mobile teaching together. I also learned what the five E's were. Engage, explore, explain, expand, and evaluate. They are also known as the learning cycle, according to Mr. Anderson.

Super Digital Citizen

I enjoyed watching this video very much. The teacher, Sam Pane, made class fun and interesting for his fourth grade class. He found a way to get the students attention, and also at the same taught his lesson plan. Teaching students about the internet and teaching them to be aware of viruses on there is very important.

Project Based Learning

In this short five minute video, Al Wandler a history teacher, explains how he and two other teachers come together to make a collaborative PBL project. I think that is a great idea. I could see myself doing something like this in my classroom.

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL program

In this ten minute video, they go into depth explaining what a PBL project is. They explain how the teachers come together and meet to come up with different ideas for PBL projects. Also, I learned one or two more things about why teachers should use project based learning in their classroom. I really liked how they pointed out that it gets students out of their seat, and they can get more involved.

Project #14: PBL Plan 2

For our second PBL assignment we did ours on Pearl Harbor.

Project Overview

Calender

Rubric

Checklist