Blog Assignment #5

What are PLN's?

 

 PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. A PLN is a way educators and others collaborate, network, and share new ideas with each other, which in turn can help your teaching and improve learning in your classroom. PLN on edutopia.

You will be the creator of your PLN, by following others on twitter, blogs, and various other social media sites. Your PLN will consist of the group of people you follow and share ideas with.  Although I had never heard of a PLN, I realized we use them everyday for all sorts of things.  For example, often people are looking for new ideas for their homes, or social events so they will turn to pinterest to find ideas and creative ways to do things.

I found Michael Fawcett's video, "Michael Fawcett discusses his PLN", to be very helpful in understanding what a PLN is.  He explains how you can enhance your PLN on twitter by following more people and asking questions. When you ask questions you can get suggestions from other teachers and people from all over the world. Suggestions about new tools to use and new ideas to take into the classroom.

To begin building your PLN all you need to do is sign up for a social media tool like twitter and begin to follow others from your area and around the world. Once you begin following them you can find interesting facts and ideas that you can take with you as a teacher.  It is just as important that you make comments about your ideas and suggestions, so that you may help others as well. When you begin to explore more people and more tools, your PLN will begin to grow. As I grow my PLN I will start by following some of my local friends and instructors from South Alabama, in particular Dr. Paige Vitulli.   She is such a unique person with great ideas. Then I will most likely follow Michael Fawcett.

Project #7 My Sentence Videos and Teacher Videos

My Sentence Is...
My Passion Is...

To My Students...

To The Parents

Project #15 Search Engines

Bing

Bing is a very useful search engine, one that offers a broad variety of topics. Similar to google, bing has a single search bar where you can find information about the particular topic you are looking for. When you put your cursor into the search bar, current popular topics will pop up. Bing has several other tabs at the top of the page where one can find images, videos, maps, and more. They also have a tab that uses office online for people to create documents and access them from anywhere. Bing has beautiful backgrounds that change daily, the pictures have little squares you can click on to read information about the picture.

WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha is a search engine that I had never heard of and when I asked several of my friends they had not either.  I am very glad that I have been introduced to it.  It is definitely a search engine I could see using in my future classroom. It has a search bar mid-page that you type your topic of interest into and when you click the equal sign it pulls up actual facts. For instance, I typed in "University of South Alabama" and it gave me the schools location, website, student population, and more. It is very detailed and very simple to use. On the main page, there are several topic selections a person can choose to explore, topics ranging from school subjects to finance and many, many more. This is a very interesting engine, and I recommend using it.

Kidrex

Kidrex is a search engine powered by google that looks out for the safety of children while they are online. It is a very cute page, the search bar is drawn in crayon with a Tyrannosaurus Rex nearby. There is an option for kids to use, as well as one for parents. When a child searches for information on this engine, the results will be those suitable for children's eyes. When I typed the word school, I was given many applications that aid in child studies. I feel like it is a safe site for my own children and future students to use. If my children are online I want to take the best safety precautions I can to protect their youth. All websites are not always completely safe, so I would always suggest adult supervision.

Ask

 Formerly known as "Ask Jeeves" this search engine is designed for users to ask questions and find correct answers. The tabs at the top of the page are different from those on google and bing, they are topics that relate to nature and activities in everyday life. Some of these topics are birds, sea creatures, star gazing, yoga and more. Underneath the search bar there is a question of the day, although it may not be relevant to what you are looking for it is interesting and makes you think. When you perform a search it basically gives you the same information that google or bing gives, such as websites and related topics to help answer your questions.

Yahoo & AOL

Yahoo and AOL are similar search engines that are very popular and were probably used more about 20 years ago.  They are different from the other search engines, as they preview all kinds of current events and popular news right on their front page. They offer an email service that allows users to log in from any computer, anywhere. Both sites have tabs that are related to popular topics, such as sports, entertainment, shopping, and parenting. These search sites can get a little cluttered, but you can stay up to date on current pop culture.

Duck Duck Go

Duck Duck go is a search engine that prides itself on user safety and privacy. The search engine searches on a broad variety of topics. It doesn't track your search history or share personal information. It is very easy to use, just type in your topic and click the magnifying glass. Users can personalize the page to choose the font, style, or theme they prefer. It is an easy to use search engine that seems to go great lengths to protect user safety. I am extremely concerned with my online privacy, so it is definitely one I will consider using more in the future.

   Web Crawler

Web Crawler is a search engine that combines results from google and yahoo. It is a very simple layout that offers you only web, images, and video news. There isn't too much to the webpage.  I'm not sure how safe it is to use, only that the results are similar to those of google and yahoo. The page also offers users a few featured searches incase you don't know exactly what you are looking for.

Blog Assignment #4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

What questions do we ask, and how do we ask them?

As teachers, it is very important that we ask questions in our classroom.  Asking questions correctly will help students be engaged and learn interactively.  Teachers use questions to aid in comprehension and to check understanding about a particular subject.  The only problem with asking questions is that a teacher may ask them incorrectly.  A teacher may ask, "Does everyone understand?"  The problem with that question is that not all students do understand, some may not know and some may have a  fear of feeling inadequate, so the student(s) that don't understand will allow the teacher to move on.  A typical classroom has three types of students, the smart students who know all of the answers, the ones who do not know, and the ones who do not care.  Often teachers ask closed ended questions, questions that require only a "yes" or "no" answer.  The students who know the answer will quickly provide the answer the question, and the class will continue moving on.  This type of questioning offers no support to the struggling student, or to the student who simply doesn't care.  A method that has been proven more effective is asking open ended questions.  Asking an open ended question requires students to think at a higher level, leads to deeper thinking and can provide a variety of responses.  Instead of asking "What was the cause of civil war?", a teacher could ask "What factors led to the start of the civil war?"
     
  Some ways teachers may effectively ask questions is by:

• Preparing and composing questions ahead of the lesson.  When composing questions teachers should keep in mind what you would like your students to take with them. 
• Follow up closed ended questions by asking for details.  These details may come from the student who answered or another classmate.
• Do not ask more than one question at a time.  Asking three questions at once will be confusing to students who are looking for answers. 
• Do not interrupt students, or tell them the answer is wrong.  Telling a student they are wrong will discourage them from answering future questions.
•  Lastly, encourage students to be active in the questioning process and allow them to have open discussions.  Discussions help students actively participate and keep them searching for answers, even if students' answers differ.

Resources:

The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom.

Asking Questions to Improve Learning

Asking better questions in the classroom/ Youtube video

Open Ended Questions/ Youtube Video

Project #4 C4Ta #1 & #2

C4Ta#1

Summary of Pineapple's Don't Have Sleeves:

The blogger is recalling an article about standardized test, and how they are not relevant all the time.  He shares a worksheet with the viewers from his daughter's sixth grade classroom.  The assignment is to answer questions from an excerpt of a classic children's story, which is supposedly designed to aid in improving reading skills.  The author inserts several versions of the excerpt into the blog, none of which clearly answer the question contained in the worksheet.  The writer expresses his concern over the lack of correspondence between the story and the questions.  He also is upset over the way students are being forced to not think for themselves, but think the way the writers would want them to think.

Comment:

First, let me say that I consider standardized test unfair, as they do not necessarily measure the knowledge of the individual student.  I think that all children learn differently and at a different pace. I personally have never done well at standardized test and feel that it doesn't make me a less qualified student.  This is where I stand on the worksheets.  My opinion is worksheets and test need to be relevant to the curriculum being used and need to help students learn skills that will help them not only in the classroom, but also in everyday life.  My experience leads me to believe the creators of standardized tests and worksheets make it hard for even adults to understand.  It makes it very hard for teachers and parents to help our students/children.  Again, I think students need to be tested on what is being used in the classroom, and would hope that the creators would be people that have experience working with these students.

C4Ta #2

Summary of Algorithmic Education:

The article was written a couple of years ago.   The writer expresses his concern over effectively using technology in the classroom. In the year 2013, a picture was posted of students using iPads to take AR test, and he made the comment about how taking those test by iPad is a waste of technology in the classroom. He tells us that people were highly offended by his comment, and he felt the need to remove it. He goes on in the blog to talk about all of the ways technology and computers can be an effective tool within the classroom. He remembers a time when computer programming was offered in schools, and how now (2013) it is barely taught. A main point he makes is that there is so much more teachers and students can do with technology, and they should know how to do it all to have an unlimited amount of resources. (More than just taking a online test) He also states that when it comes to reading, students and adults read all kinds of things they do not receive proper credit for like email, blogs, news, and webpages. He feels that this reading should also be taken into consideration when testing children.

Comment:

I agree that testing should not be the only way to use technology within the classroom.   Frankly, I find computer test hard and at times not relevant to what has been taught. I feel that today in 2015 we have come so far with technology and children know how to use a computer more than I do. They understand most all programs, and how the inside of a computer works. They are little genius's now when it comes to technology! He made the comment that we are just scratching the surface, but now I feel we have dived all the way in.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

     "Peer editing is providing meaningful feedback to peers, improving the quality of their writing. Peers refer to people within the same age group (readwritethink.org)." Peer editing can boost confidence for insecure writers. I am an insecure writer, and I constantly fear what my peers and instructors will say about my thoughts and opinions. Over the past year, I have written more papers than I thought possible. Through the help of peer editors making suggestions, I have built my confidence about writing. Although it may not be my strongest area, I do believe it has greatly improved. Along with improvement in writing, my grammar and vocabulary have improved tremendously.
      I learned that it takes steps to become an ideal peer editor. Steps that include positivity, suggestions (not forcing an idea), and proper corrections. When a person is peer editing they should always find what they like about the writers thoughts, and express those likes. They should also make suggestions that will help improve the paper, not upset the writer. If corrections are needed, corrections such as punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, the editor needs to be sure that he/she makes the proper corrections and that the corrections are accurate. A person that is editing can easily make a writer feel inadequate and self-consious about their writing if they do not approach all these steps correctly.

Blog Assignment #2

                         "Mr. Dancealot"
 I felt the central message of the video is to address what it takes to be a good, effective teacher, and to point out that there are teachers who do not teach effectively. The author makes a valid point when in conclusion the professor asks the students to test and show their skills and knowledge regarding dance. His ineffective teaching is proven when all students are confused and unsure of what to do during the test. I do not agree with the teacher. I do not agree with the teacher who teaches them ineffectively and then expects them to know what to do, but I do agree that the central message was proven correct from watching the movie.
                               
                                       "Teaching in the 21st century"
 Outline
 I. 21st century teaching
    A. Students
        1.access to technology
        2.social media
        3.learn anything online, no teachers needed
    B. Engage
        1. Teach students skills, how to correctly and effectively use technology
        2. Use it as a tool, and learn together
   
 I think that Mr. Robert's believes that teaching in the 21st century is exciting, resourceful, and can be engaging. I think it is a little scary the way technology changes all the rules, especially at my age where I see my children use the tools better than I can. I think as an educator I will need to learn everyday alongside my students, and together with the use of technology we can have endless opportunities.
                                           
                                                      "Networked Students"
 In the networked student video, it is true that students have any and all information at their fingertips. I think it is great that students have the access and resources to help them but feel that having a reliable live person (teacher) can help students grow along the way. A person that can be there to encourage them, and support them in all their endeavors.
                                                                                 
                                                                                "Harness your students digital smarts"
I agree with Ms. Davis in the video, it is great for students to learn from a hands-on approach. I feel it is the best way for students to retain their knowledge. I also agree that there will be things even the teacher will not know, but students will be able to teach them.

                "Who is ahead in the race?"
 In this video Dr. Strange has compared Elementary Education students to college students, like myself. It is no surprise to me that the results are way ahead for the younger students. The current students and upcoming generations of students have tremendous amounts of access to all the tools that aid in learning. I am the student in college now that is older and we didn't have all the resources available yet. (As in they weren't created yet!) I know I have much to learn, but with my students help and now the technology to figure it out, it will not be an impossible journey.

                                                             "Classroom Flipping"
This is the first time I have heard the term flipping the classroom. It is definitely a new and different concept. I feel that it could be useful in some ways. For instance, if a student is absent or needs remediation. In the area I live and hope to soon teach in, I'm not certain all students and parents would participate. I don't particularly love this new form of teaching, I think that one-on-one personal time with a student is so important, but I guess it is a new way of providing instruction.