Sunday, February 24, 2013

Project #10

Popcorn Maker

  

       I plan on teaching 2nd and 3rd grade students which includes all the necessary subjects like math, science, reading, and social studies. Since there is a lot of material to cover, I plan on using this program on the web called the Popcorn Maker. It creates videos by combining maps, video clips, pictures and more into one. So instead of clicking out of one window to show something else in another window, you can show everything in one video! It may be a little time consuming but it will be all worth it. It would also keep students intrigued because they wouldn't know what's coming next!

     I would use this program by creating my own videos on topics and emphasize on certain aspects by inserting maps, quotes, directions, ect. For example, if there was a video the students were watching about a historical event, I could "pop in" a few questions or facts that the students should focus on while watching the video. Another example could be if the students were watching how to do a science experiment, I could include the do's, dont's, and important steps while the video was showing the experiment in action.

     I believe this program could help benefit the learning process of students because it incorporates multiple resources into one discussion. This maximizes the knowledge of a topic, which will benefit students in the long-run. Also, by including different resources into one video, your eliminating the distraction factor of students trying to follow which tab your going to look at next.

    I chose this tool simply because it can take many different aspects and resources for a topic and link them altogether. Like I said earlier, it expands the amount of knowledge into a single video. It is even simple enough for students to use! If they were to create their own video, it could help them with their researching skills and creative ways.

The link to the Popcorn Maker program is below. Feel free to use it all you want!

Popcorn Maker

Blog post # 6

The Networked Teacher
                                     

     In the video The Networked Teacher, By Wendy Drexler, it explains why students need teachers. One aspect would be to guide students accurately when researching for a topic. There are a lot of websites that use incorrect, bias information. If students bring these false ideas to their teacher, the teacher can correct them so they have the right knowledge. This would then improve the true information about a topic over the internet when the student posts his or her blog.

     When given a topic to research, students often read blogs or articles from well-known professors. If the student were to comment or ask questions to these professors, their teacher could teach them how or in what way to say things. This teaches the students communication skills. In the future, they can respectfully ask and comment on posts in a positive way.

     Another way teachers can benefit students when giving a research assignments is by helping them to organize their work. Organization is key for a successful article or blog. This helps the flow of the information and it can help by giving more details. Along with organization, teachers hope to better their students and hope help navigate themselves through the future. This video thought me how important a teacher can be even with the advancement made over the years with technology. I will definitely be assigning research blogs and papers in my classroom one day!

PLE vs PLN

     Watching "A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment", by Wendy Dexler, I learned how important freedom is to students. The girl in the video explained that students will be more successful with their assignments when they can do them how and when they want. This aspect teaches them responsibility and engages creativity. When comparing the girl's PLE to my PLN, my PLN looks weak. I should probably get more organized like she is. This video made me think about a lot when viewing a students perspective.

Friday, February 15, 2013

C4K #1, 2, 3, 4

Summary #1 

   This student was required to post 5 sentences about anything. She chose to describe the beach. She talked about the birds flying, clouds moving, the sandy beach and the wavy ocean. The problems I saw were that she started each sentence with "I can see" and she wasn't very descriptive. The comment above me was based on critiquing this problem so I chose to give her advice on how to make her sentences more creative.


 "Hey Eleanor! I could really visualize the beach with all of the different images you talked about! To improve your sentences even more, try adding some details into the images you describe. For example, what type of flag is moving? What kind of birds? Where is the sandy beach? I enjoyed reading your blog!"


Summary #2

   "Roses are red, Violets are blue. This poem is for just for you! I love my mommy and daddy and they keep me feeling happy! My friend Nyia is always happy! I love to move a lot! I hope you enjoyed this poem!"

   In my comment to Miss Hailey, the author of this poem, I simply told her I am a student at USA and said I loved how her poem was short yet sweet. The only suggestion I made was that on her next poem, maybe use different, more descriptive words other than "happy." 


Summary #3


     The boy I was assigned is from New Zealand. His name is Matiu and his only post was saying who he was and that this was his very own blog. I just wished him good luck with his class and in blogging!



Summary # 4


The girl I was assigned this week was in Ms. Vannoy's class. I'm not sure where or how old the students are but I want to guess around 3rd grade. The girl's name was Brandi, and she talked about how much she loved her teacher. She said "I      love      vannnoy.      2.   she     is     the      best.        3.       she           is       the        sweetest.     4.   I          love       her     so      much." I simply stated that I was glad to see how much she loved her teacher and asked what things do she like that her teacher does. I also wished her good luck in blogging and said I enjoyed reading her blog.

    

Blog Post #5

If You Built A School

     Krissy Vensodale's post If I Built A School" was very inspirational. She described creative yet effective techniques for a successful school. The school walls would be full of neon paint and comfortable seats in the classrooms. She would have a school bus which would take them on community service events, career fairs, and universities. She would completely abolish state tests and curriculum with project based learning, and passion. Students would get take-home work to do on their iPads, Tablets, ect. It wouldn't be about regulations but about developing trust, respect, an"d knowledge of using technology. And to top everything off, a very thoughtful parking sign for every teacher to show how much they are appreciated. Sounds like a school I would want to go to!

     If I were to build my own school? Where do I start?! I would definitely paint all of the walls with chalk paint. Teachers would all have smart boards and take workshops on how to use them. Students would get either laptops or iPads to learn how to use technology for several different things. There would be field trips at least once a month to museums, colleges, aquariums, community service events, and many more! Students would be assigned their own blog page to express themselves and be creative with their writing skills. The cafeteria would be like an enormous living room/kitchen where students could lounge after receiving their healthy meals. There are so many more ideas, but I am going to stop here.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

     Wow!! 185 people all harmonizing together and not even close to being in the same room. It amazes me how even though they were over the internet, no ones video was delayed. I wonder how Whitacre came up this this idea, and how he got the specific singers as he did.

     In the NPR interview with Eric,he says he got the idea from a friend and posted a blog to call out any aspiring singers. He put the video up and people individually recorded themselves, then sent it to Whitacre. Scott Haynes volunteered to edit all of the videos together; making sure they all started at them same time. Technology is amazing the way it can bring such unity.


Teaching In The 21st Century

     In the video Teaching In The 21st Century, by John Strange, -originally by Kevin Roberts- teaching in the 21st century must revolve around being technically literate in my opinion. Roberts believes that  teachers are the filter of knowledge. This, in fact, is correct. Since anyone can gather information from the internet, teachers need to engage with students and tech them how to use it exceptionally well. Engaging this knowledge by assigning projects with internet based research required but yet can still let them kids be creative. These projects will then give students the skills they need for the future, such as researching how to fix a car. As an educator in the future, I feel like technology will definitely out-do the knowledge and wisdom of teachers, but it will never out-do the methods and techniques to teach students how to do hands-on activities or to how research a topic.


Why I Flipped My Classroom



     Katie Gimbar's, Mrs. Minafo's, and Dr. Lodge McCammon's videos were all very interesting and effective ways to excel in a classroom  It is a fact, that not every student may be at the same learning level, and this helps conquer those problems. Standing within all of the students instead of in front of the students, gives the students more comfort and attention. Students will be more obligated to ask questions and engage when they can be closer to their teacher. Why it is this way? I'm not sure, but interacting and engaging is the key to understanding and solving a problem.

     I think it is very smart  to have assigned and sent out videos to students that they can watch and go over outside the classroom. This allows students to go at their own pace and to give them the opportunity to ask questions in class. They can pause, rewind, and watch the video as many times as needed to effectively understand the information. Teachers then become facilitators. This method seems to be very effective and I may even flip my classroom in the future!




Sunday, February 10, 2013

C4T #1 & 2

iLearn Technology

     This blog is all about how to advance and incorporate technology into classrooms. Last week, I read an article describing this new video mash up website. It creates videos by combining maps, video clips, pictures and more into one. So instead of clicking out of one window to show something else in another window, you can show everything in one video! It may be a little time consuming but it will be all worth it. It would also keep students intrigued because they wouldn't know what's coming next!

     My comment was : "I think the Popcorn Maker is a very smart invention! I remember when I was younger and I would get so tired of just listening to my teacher talk, but now teachers can really make a lecture interesting! It can also increase your knowledge about something by explaining it in different ways! Assigning it to be used by students can also improve the knowledge of things because they have to research all different types of resources and combine them. I’m very glad that I read this article and I may even start using the Popcorn Maker when I become a teacher!"

    I didn't really have anything negative to say about this post! It really opened my eyes on how to "multi-teach" students. This program is also easy enough to use that students could create their own videos.
   

     This week's blog post was about the "Inklewriter" which is a interactive story designer. Here, you can create your own story in separate sections and link them all together with a key word or phrase. It keeps the reader on his or her toes because they don't know what is coming next. This could be very useful in the classroom to encourage students to be creative.

     In my comment, I simply complimented on the idea of this program. I said "it is easy enough for students to use and can help them to write better, and come up with unique story lines." I enjoyed learning about the InkleWriter and I may use it for class projects in the future!

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Presentation Project #5

Blog Post #4

Langwitches Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting

     The first post I read from the Langwitches site was the "Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting" blog. The first statement that caught my eye when reading the post was that is takes 70+ times of someone hearing a word to remember it! It is important to attach a certain feeling to a word so that there is a meaning for they way it will be used in the future.The post emphasizes on editing podcasts. The author states "it gives the learners the opportunity to see their voices, read the sounds, manipulate the sequence of sentences" to better remember what they are saying. I agree that listening-comprehension is very crucial when learning a different language or words for the first time.


     The post gives an example of editing podcasts. There were second graders recording stories as podcasts then editing them each student recording a sentence. They then would listen to each sentence and remember what it said. Next, they would logically place it into the story where it needed to be. It was a very successful project and the kids also loved hearing themselves. They were comprehending, collaborating, manipulating  sounds all in one!This post taught me a lot about how a person's brain works.


Langwitches - Flat Stanley Podcast



     The first grade class project was adorable!!! The "Flat Stanley Podcast" was a very smart project! It taught the kids pronunciation, writing skills, locations around the world, what to do in these locations, sounds that transportation vehicles make, and many more other educational ideas. My favorite part was when the girl went to Alabama and learned how to say "roll tide". The students were excited to make the podcast which makes the idea that much better! 


     Who would have ever thought that a first grader could be so detailed, well-spoken, and excited about doing a school project! While reading their own writing, the kids had to learn how to correctly say the locations and keep a steady, clear speaking voice. I really like the idea that they mailed this little Stanley guy, so that the students could be creative and choose anywhere they wanted to research. Researching these places is also a good start to the future project these kids will have.  



The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom



     This video, by Joe Dale, is very factual and there are many benefits from podcasting. One of the ways podcasting is beneficial is by being able to listen and watch them anywhere, any time. For example, in the video, a girl becomes sick and her Mom makes her stay home from school. The girl can listen to the podcasts her teacher puts on iTunes and stay up to date in her classes even though she is not at school. The parents can also see and communicate what is going on in the classrooms.


     Another benefit of using podcasts is by incorporating it into the classroom. For example, giving students a project to create by using a podcast. In the video, it shows three students recording a podcast on different regions in the United States for rock climbing. The students have to research places, describe them, and speak clearly so the listeners can understand them. Podcasting has definitely opened my eyes on how to educate students in a fun, effective way!


     

Friday, February 8, 2013

Special Blog Post #1

WolframAlpha Search

     After I put Compare Populations of India, China and the United States into the search bar of WolframAlpha I found that the population of  China is 1.35 billion, India  is 1.21 billion, and the U.S is 309  million. The population density is jaw dropping! India has 1,058 people per square mile, and China having 376 people per square mile, while the U.S has only about 83 people per square mile. This fact by itself shows that India has 12 times as many people than the U.S does! China also has more than 4 times as many people as the U.S. Along with these facts, the people of Chinese that either speak English or are learning it is 318 million people. This is more than the U.S population alone which is 309 million. 


     One of the comparative searches I did on WolframAlpha was between a Pitbull and a Wiener dog. I searched these two types of dogs because I have been trying to decide which kind to get. The female and male height of the average pitbull is 14-24 inches, whereas, the wiener dog on average is 5-11 inches tall. The weight sizes are very different. The pitbull can weight up to 65 pounds and the wiener dog only about 32 pounds. This could be a major factor to my decision because I would want to be able to pick up my dog. It also told me that types of dogs shed moderately.


     The next comparison I researched was an apple compared to an orange because those are the most common fruits I eat. I found that an apple has 91 calories while an orange has 71. An orange may have less calories but it has more fat in it than an apple comparing 303 mg (orange) to 273 mg (apple). From the data, it shows that an orange has more fiber, protein, calcium, and vitamins than an apple. I think you can figure out the healthier fruit to eat!


     This search engine website is very resourceful. Anytime you or your students have a hard time comparing something, just pull up this website. Whether it's choosing between dog breeds, fruits, or even colleges, this website will show you the facts. I will be using this website in the future and will pass it on to my students.



Social Media Count


     Wow! The internet is so important to peoples' social lives. Who would've ever thought that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube would be the most popular websites in the world! But this fact is also quite scary. For every 5 minutes a person spends reading tweets or news feeds, they could be doing searches on the web to become more intelligent. Yes, the internet is very resourceful, but you have to actually make an effort to find facts and data. These days a lot of people just use the internet to communicate with each other. On the other hand, in the media count, there are several searches on Google daily, hopefully some are actually meaningful and informational searches.


     In the future, when I become a teacher, I hope to use the internet to educate my students. Whether its encouraging them to research on their own or showing them data I found from the internet. It is very important that my students learn how to  use the internet and not just for Facebook and Twitter.