Blog Assignment #16

Summary Post C4T #4

C4T #4 Post #1

For my C4T #4, I choose the author Phys Ed Practitioner R. In this blog post, the author was discussing the dominance of sports in the P.E. curriculum. Basically this blog argued whether sports education have the evidence to support our desire to change to using this as an alternative approach to our teaching. It argues that nearly ten years ago we had enough evidence to show that this approach works. But the question is how this one way of teaching and learning promotes health and physical activities. Also the blog ask to consider that if sports are the dominant approach, do students learn more about health outside of the Physical Education classroom. In my comment to this post, I said that I personal think that students do learn about Physical activities outside their P.E. classroom because at the secondary grade level all students are required to take a health class and also students can learn about personal health and physical activities from their parents or other family members.

C4T #4 Post #2

My second C4T was a teacher by the name of Lois Lindemann. Mrs. Lindemann teaches math at Dornfield Henry Fanshawe School, a secondary school in the UK. Mrs Lindmann blog post is titled There’s a maths problem lurking in the corner of this gift shop. Her blog post was simply a picture of the alphabet but it also contain a math problem. In her post, she ask the question, "What’s the first question that you think of when you look at this photo?" The first question I thought of is why is the letter "E" missing. Mrs. Lindemann metion that she will be trying an "E Numbers task" data handling task with her 10 students sometime soon, so that was the purpose of the picture in blog post.

Blog Assignment #5 Part 2

PLN Final Summary

Before blog post five, I was not making any progress in developing my PLN. After reading some information and watching several videos about developing a PLN, I am a strong believer that building my PLN will help me become a better educator in the future. For my PLN I choose Symbaloo. I choose Symbaloo because of the amazing features it offers. I feel that Symbaloo is very helpful because it makes building my PLN extremely easy. In Symbaloo, by clicking on a title, I can immediately start using a website. I also can drag and drop titles and add or delete them. I am often on Google searching for any information that I find helpful towards my career. I also have a Facebook that I frequently use. I just recently created a Twitter account to help build up my PLN and to meet more professional people that are willing to help assist me with any information or questions I may have about my career as a professional educator. I added iCurio, Blogger, and my EDM310 class blog in my PLN just to name a few. I am far from done with developing my PLN; I will continue to add helpful websites to my PLN that I find useful.

Blog Assignment #14

List of problems and there associated solutions that should be addressed.

• Giving far more school choices to families

• Using technology to improve teaching and learning

I particularly choose these two examples because I thought they were some interesting topics to discuss. For my first example, I am not sure if I honestly agree or disagree with this statement because I know several parents who are not necessary picky about where their child attend school but they have certain preferences. Not saying that anything is wrong with that because I would also as a parent want my child to receive the best education if I had options in my particular area. The only problem I see with this issue is that all cities or towns are not the same in their population side. Some school districts have only one school serving each grade; others may have several schools for all or some grades. For Example, a child that is from a very small cities or town may only have one school in his or her home district and therefore would not be able to explore other options. However, I do think that it would be an excellent idea if parents could decide what school their children attend.

For my second example, I highly agree with this statement simply because as a future educator, I have begun to notice that technology is a great new way of teaching and learning for both teachers and the students. Also Dr Strange always stresses the fact that technology is the new way of learning and he is absolutely correct. More and more schools are beginning to incorporate technology into their classrooms, so if you are wondering how kids are becoming so smart and computer literate, the use of technology and the 21st century teaching skills is the correct answer. Technology can be used in several different ways in a classroom, for example; an instructor may restructure a lecture into a group activity, having students conduct online research to boost their understanding. With such a vast reference tool, the students might pose questions that no one in the class, not even the teacher himself, can answer.

Whether or not parents are able to decide what school their child attends, I also feel that parents should play their part in making sure that their child receives the best education by helping their child with their homework, practicing reading and writing skills, or being involved in school activities. With a world of information at their fingertips nowadays, it seems like kids should be finding it easier than ever to succeed in school. You can never go wrong by incorporating technology into your class. Technology makes it easier to spend more overall time on learning, it allow students to collaborate and share ideas, and practice communication skills all while having fun at the same time.

Project #6

C4K Summary for November

My First C4K this month was a student by the name of Patrick. Patrick blog was titled Break up Declaration-Dress Code. In his blog, Patrick wrote about his school enforcing all the students to wear school uniforms. Patrick felt like everyone should be able to express themselves through their own clothing by being able to wear whatever clothes they wanted to wear instead of paying extra money for school uniforms or waiting for a certain day to dress down. He thinks that the school should get rid of the dress code and be more like most public schools which do not require their students to wear uniforms. In my comment to Patrick blog, I told him that I understand exactly how he feels and I do agree with him because every parent is not able to buy their kids uniforms each year.

My 2nd student was a 5th grade student by the name of Savanna. Savanna blog post was titled Homework floder promblem/solution. In her blog post, she simply gave advice to her classmates about what resources to refer to if they forgot their homework folder at home or lost it. In my comment to Savanna’s blog, I told her that was extremely nice of her to inform her classmate on what to do if they forgot or lost their homework folder.

My third C4K was skipped due to Veteran's Day!!!!

My last C4K was a 5th grade student by the name of Trevor. Trevor blog was title My sister and I. In his blog post, he explained some similarities and differences that he and his sister have. One of the things they both have in common is that they both enjoy playing video games. He also mentions that he enjoys skate boarding but his sister does not; she enjoys playing with her stuffed animals but he does not. Overall the point Trevor is trying to make is that we all have similarities and differences. In my comment to his blog, I told Trevor that I like the fact that he has a great relationship with his sister. I also explained to him that my sister and I also have a lot of things in common.

Project #12 SmartBoard Instructions Part B

Blog Assignment 13

Blog post #13

What Can We As Teachers Learn About Teaching Physical Fitness

Watch Flipped Lesson-5 Components of Physical Fitness and 5 Components of Fitness. Think about the five components of fitness and ways you can apply them in your classroom. Read What is Physical Fitness or you can research your own information and answer the driven question in a quality blog post.

Answer the question in a post that adheres to the standards found in the ACCRS in Writing a Quality Blog Post.




Assignment

Physical fitness is your ability to carry out tasks without undue fatigue. Also Physical Fitness is a general state of health and well-being or specifically the ability to perform aspects of sports or occupations. Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition, exercise, hygiene and rest. It is a set of attributes or characteristics that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activities. There are five components of Physical Fitness; cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility and body composition. Cardiorespiratory enduarace is the ability of the circulatory system to supply oxygen during sustained physical activities. Muscle strength is the maximum amount of force a muscle can produce in a single effort. Muscle endurance is the ability of the muscle to perform without fatigue. Flexibility is the ability to bend and move the joints through the full range of motion. Body composition is a high ratio of lean tissue and fat tissue in the body. I could teach my students the definitions of the five components of fitness and help them work towards getting physically fit in order to maintain a healthy life style.

Blog Assignment #12

Project #4

C4T #3 Summary #1

In my C4T #3 post #1, I was assigned to a Physical Education teacher by the name of Joey Feith. Joey Feith is a Physical Education teacher in Canada and also the founder of ThePhysicalEducator.com. In this particular blog post, Joey host the 2014 #physEd Awards. Like most award shows, he allowed all the winners to conduct a speech by uploading a video that they recorded of themselves. I thought this was very cool because everything was done through technology, which is something I never seen before but I love the idea. Also in his blog post he gave a special thank you to all the people who took the time to vote and promote the awards. In my comment to his blog, I told Joey that I never knew award shows for Physical Education teacher across the world exist and that once I become a Physical Education teacher, I hope to be awarded for my outstanding performance as being a Physical Educator.

C4T #3 Summary #2

In my C4T #3 Post #2, I read and commented on another one of Joey Feith blog post. A quick reminder that Joey Feith is the founder of ThePhysicalEducator.com, so in his most recent blog post titled The Skillbook he was discussing his goal of building a community of physical educators who were willing to help push each other to be the best teachers they could possibly be. For the last few years, he was dedicated to helping physical education teachers get online so they could connect, share, and collaborate with fellow educators from around the world. In his process of building a vibrant, engaged, and geographically diverse community, his overall vision was having every child everywhere get the high-quality physical education experience they need and deserve. As I was sitting there reading his blog post, I thought to myself that this is really a great idea and something that I would love to be a part of to help better prepare for my future career as a Physical Education teacher. In my comment to his blog, I told Joey that I would love to be a part of something that is going to help benefit my career and that I enjoy reading his blogs because I always learn new things.

Project #10 (interview movie)

Project #14

Project Based Learning Plan #2

Calender
Rubric
Project Based Learning Checklist
Project Design

Blog Assignment #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

In the video Making Thinking Visible, Mark Church assigned his students into small groups and allowed them to get together and discuss a video they had watched the day before. The idea of this project is for the class to discuss in their groups their own personal thoughts and opinions about the video and create one head line that summarize what they thought the entire video was about. I really thought this was a great project that would get the entire class active and allow everyone to voice their own opinion. From a teacher stand point, I learned that group projects help students become better problem solvers, better understand and communicate ideas, work together with others, and produce high quality work. Also I learned that the students were very comfortable with working together and sharing their ideas. The important thing I learned about teaching is that it is highly important to incorporate group assignments into my classroom. When done properly, a good group project helps keep the class active while having fun doing so, which is known to help students store facts into their long-term memory and later recall the information when it is needed or suitable in a particular circumstance.

Sam Pane video Super Digital Citizenship was such a great video to watch. Sam Pane was a very fun and energetic teacher that kept his class active with group discussions and the use of technology. During his class lesson he was teaching his students how to use the internet safely. In other words, he was teaching them what information to search for and what information not to search for. Also he taught his students how to evaluate the correct information they are researching and how to be a super digital citizen. According to the video, a super digital citizen is a person who chooses to act safely, respectfully, and with responsibility. I truly thought this video was extremely helpful because Sam Pane taught me that I have to be a fun and energetic teacher in order to keep my class active and make my students feel excited about learning new things or having open discussions in class. Technology is the new way of teaching and all schools are beginning to incorporate the use of technology into their classroom, so teaching these students how to be a digital citizen at an early age is a great way to reflect responsible value.

Blog Assignment #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

Mrs. Cassidy video Little Kids...Big Potential is another video that constantly reminds me of how important it is to incorporate technology into my classroom. I learned several different factors about teaching and learning from Ms. Cassidy's videos. One fact is that incorporating technology into the classroom get students overly excited about learning and participating in class activities. Also students love to write in their blogs because other people outside their classroom such as family members, students from different classes or schools, and the community can view their blog post and leave comments. The comments really get the students excited because it re-ensures them that they have a real audience and that real people are actually viewing their work and commenting on it, which is a great way for students to practice collaboration and communication skills. The kids in the video were so awesome and very smart. They taught us how they log into their blogs and different resources they use to help them learn.

Technology help students see and sound out words better. Writing in blogs help students become better writers over time. One of the students in the video mentioned that her writing gets better every time she writes in her blog. In Ms. Cassidy approach to the use of technology in the classroom, she made a very important statement. Ms. Cassidy mentioned that there are so many opportunities online for collaborating, working together, and learning from each other, and teachers that are not taking advantage of the use of technology is actually handicapping their students by not allowing them to explore those options. I truly agree with that statement because as she mentioned, the world is changing and therefore it is time to make some adjustments and change the way we are teaching and learning as well.

There are two techniques Ms. Cassidy used that I will most definitely use in my classroom. The first technique is allowing students to work in groups. Studies have shown that group projects can help students develop a host of skills that are increasingly important in the professional world. Group projects can also help students develop skills specific to collaborative efforts, allowing students to tackle more complex problems than they could on their own and delegate roles and responsibilities. Group projects also teach students communication skills and how to be respectful, how to sure, and how to take turns. The second technique is using Skype to talk to other students in other classes or schools. Skype is also another tool that can help enhance student's communication and public speaking skills while at the same time having fun doing so.

Project #12 (Part A) Using the Smartboard Tools

C4K Summary for month October

C4K Summaries

My first C4K was a sixth grade student by the name of Kaili. Kaili blog was titled Marley, which was a book she had read. In her blog post she simply asks a question about the book and revealed the answer below the question. In my comment to her blog post, I explained to Kaili who I was and my reason for commenting to her blog. I also told her that I have not read the book that she is discussing but I will be sure to search for the book and read it because it sounds very interesting.

My second C4K was a seventh grade student by the name of Carrie Landshark. Carrie blog was titled "Edible Goldfish Bowl." Carrie blog post was about a book her class was reading called, "The fourteenth goldfish." Alone with the book, her class had a project where they each created their own edible goldfish bowls. For the ingredients, they used cookie dough, frosting, chocolate chips, and colored rock candy to create the fish bowls. In my comment to Carrie's blog post, I told her that she did an excellent job on her blog post and in explaining the ingredients for the project. I also mentioned that she named some of my favorite toppings such as cookie dough, frosting, and chocolate chips.

For my third C4K, I could not find the name of the student that was giving to me, so I commented on a student name Ruby blog post. Ruby was a 3rd grade student and her blog post was titled Basketball. In ruby blog post, she explained that basketball was here favorite sport and that she actually plays on a basketball team. She also said that she loves to practice basketball and that she even practice with her father sometimes. Basketball was also my favorite sport in school. I started playing at the age of five and have been enjoying it every since then. In my comment to Ruby's blog post, I told her that basketball was also my favorite sport back in school and still is.

My fourth C4K was a student by the name of Toma. Toma was a year six student at PT England School in Auckland, NZ. Toma blog post was titled Reading Maps. In his blog post he posted a picture of a map that his Literacy class was learning to read. In my comment to his blog post, I told him that maps were fairly easy to learn once he learn the difference between North, South, East, and West.

Blog Assignment #9

What can teachers and students teach us about Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning is a method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge. In PBL, students are active, not passive; a project engages their hearts and mind, and provides real-world relevance for learning. After completing a project, students remember what they learn and can retain it longer than is often the case with traditional instructions. From a teacher stand-point, a project should be meaningful and fulfill two criteria. First, students must perceive the work as personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that they want to do well on. Second, a meaningful project fulfills an educational purpose. Well-designed and well-implemented project-based learning is meaningful in both ways. Also every good projects should incorporate the Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning; a need to know, a driving question, student's voice and choice, 21st century skills, inquiry and innovation, feedback revision, and a publicly presented product. Because of this, students who gain content knowledge with PBL are better able to apply what they know and can do to new situations.

By using Project Based Learning techniques, teachers can teach us how to work together over an extended period of time answering a driving question. Using PBL can teach a person to use collaboration skills, communication skills, critical thinking skills, and career and life skills. Also PBL allows a person to take advantage of what technology has to offer, such as using Google slides, Google docs, Popplet, QR codes, movie maker, Skype, and several other cool tools that technology has to offer (Project Based Learning for Teachers). Also, when creating a project, it is helpful to know what motivates and excite students to learn. Students can teach us about PBL by explaining their motives, like what catches their attention or what topic is more interesting to them, or what help them stay focus over an extended period of time. In the video What Motivates Students, one of the students mentioned that receiving positive feedback from his teacher helps keep him motivated and make him feel like he accomplished something. Being that I am still a student, I must say that I totally agree with his statement because I still find myself getting excited when I receive good positive feedback from my professors. Positive feedback re-ensures me that I am doing the right thing and makes me want to continue doing my best. By seeking this information, teachers would be better prepare when trying to create a project that he or she find meaningful and exciting for the entire class.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A

Where would the world be without Smartphone’s? Let me start off by saying that I would absolutely have a nervous breakdown the second I discover my Smartphone is not in my presence. I myself would fall under each category that is listed in the data on Zogby Analytics. However, I believe that having a camera is important, but I am not obsessed with taking photos every minute of my life like some people I know unless I am celebrating at a special event or something in that nature. I will admit that I am a victim of never letting my Smartphone leave my side. It has become so bad to the point that I do not like to let people use my phone for any reason. Also each morning I wake up, the first thing I do is roll over and check my phone for miss calls, text messages, Facebook notifications, or Etc.

As listed in the above data, 24.1% of the entire world population has a Smartphone. That means that billions of people are staying connected with the latest technology all around the world. In today's society, kids as young as five years of age have a Smartphone. Smartphone’s have became so popular that I can see how they can be a big distraction for adults and especially for school age kids. I like to think of Smartphone’s as a gift and a curse because they are extremely helpful for one's needs, but they can also get you into a lot of trouble. iPhones are extremely popular as well, but I am more of an android guy. With an android phone, you have access to much more free apps versus an iPhone. Having a Smartphone is just like having a mini computer because you can search the web to seek any information that is beneficial for your health. Also you can download Skype, blogger, have access to twitter, or YouTube, which is very helpful because most schools are beginning to incorporate these tools into their school systems and classrooms to help enhance students ability to cope with the 21st Century Teaching Skills. Without Smartphone’s, the world would be moving at a much slower paste. I see why people Smartphone never leave their side, because without it, we would be lost in the world.

Part B

I have yet to see anything in education that generates excitement and motivates students the way tablets or Smartphone’s do. Being that I am a Physical Education teacher, I still find tablets and Smartphone’s to be very helpful and bring much excitement into my classroom. There are several activities I can incorporate into my classroom using a Smartphone or tablet. One example is that I can set up one tablet on the smart board and use it to play music that my students can step to during our step and aerobic lesson. I can also show my entire class how to download apps that are beneficial to their health such as MyPyramid App, which is an app design to help people eat balanced meals. Another helpful app would be the Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker app, which helps keep track of the food people put into their body. These apps can be used during school as well as outside of school to help students maintain a healthy fit life style. The last example is one that I think all students would enjoy. On Friday, I would allow my students to have a free day and search any information or play any games that they would like to play that have been filtered and confirmed by the Alabama State Board of Education.

Project #9

Video Book Commentary

Project #4

C4T #2 Summary #1

In my C4T #2 post #1, I was assigned to John Spencer. John Spencer is a teacher, author, speaker, incessant doodler, and perpetual bender of paper clips. In his most recent blog post, John posted a blog about how we cannot predict the effects of technology. I found this post to be very interesting because any topic discussing or explaining the use of technology is a good one. He talked about the dominant narratives he's seen revolving around the apple watch. The first vision was how wearable connectivity will make life better for people such as, using the watch to diagnose diseases, utilizing more accurate exercise regiments, and staying connected with friends and family while being more mobile. The second vision explained the down falls of technology, such as lacking of privacy and full of tech addiction, where nobody is able to pay attention to the world around them. In my comment to John's blog, I explained to him that I agree with both views. Technology has become to be extremely helpful far as making things easier for people, such as communication, transportation, and researching information. I also agreed that lacking of privacy is one of the biggest down falls about the use of technology.

C4T #2 Summary #2

In my C4T #2 post #2, I also was assigned to John Spencer. In this blog post, John was explaining that a person first draft will probably suck, and that is okay. John made a great point when he mentioned that suckin' at something is the first step to actually being good at something. He goes on to say that we are living in an instant publish world. A person may write a paper and expect for the first draft to be perfect, which in most cases that is never the outcome. I think that people are failing to realize that practice makes perfect and that the first draft may not be perfect but in due time, things will start to get better with practice. In my comment to John's post, I told him that I was so glad to hear him say that because I often find myself getting upset when I fail at something on the first try. I also told him that his blogs give me so much life and re-ensure me that there is still hope.

Blog Assignment #8

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

Randy Pausch last lecture was such a great inspiration on what is truly important in life. His story was so inspiring and it has made a positive impact on my life. Randy had a lot of childhood dreams, not only did he dream big, but he did everything possible to make his dreams come true. Randy talked about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned: how you can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others. One of the things I learned about teaching from this video is that you have to be willing to enable the dreams of others, and then you will begin to see the excitement you get from helping other people learn. This video also has showed me that you cannot change the things that happen to you in life, you just have to be able to deal with it and continue to move forward. This video has truly given me a different view on life. After watching the video, I knew exactly what changes I needed to make in my life in order to fulfill all my dreams. It was such an honor and a blessing to be exposed to this inspirational video. My heart truly goes out to Randy wife and kids.Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Project #13

Project based Learning Plan #1

Project Lesson Plan

Project Calender

Project Rubric

Project #7 (Part B)

Student's Video

Partent's Video

Blog Assignment #7

How do we all become learners?

As always, I learn so many new interesting things from watching the videos that Dr. Strange assign to the class. In my own personal opinion, I feel that the way to become a better learner is to be a great listener. If we are close-minded about other people views, our progress is not only limited but completely blocked. In the last video I watched titled We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett made an excellent point about how we all become learners. She stated that when using a device of some kind, educators have begun to notice it changes the dynamics of the learning. The teachers teach the students, students teach other students, and students also teach teachers. In other words, everybody becomes a leaner and a teacher all in one.

One new interesting tool I discovered is How to make an audio QR code. Before watching this video, I never knew how simple it was to create a QR code. Teachers use QR codes to read books to their students or record a reading story. When creating a QR code, you can record as many times as possible until you feel you have recorded it correctly. I think this tool is great to use in the classroom to get students involved and interested in reading books. I also learned that younger kids get excited about reading once they hear their actually teacher voice on the audio recorder.

The iPad Reading Center video was so much fun to watch. During the video, the entire time I was thinking, "who came up with these amazing ideas that make students want to get involved and participate in daily activities.” In the video, the teacher used an iPad to allow students to record their self while reading a book. After the students were done reading, they were able to listen to themselves read aloud as they read along to check and make sure that they did not make any mistakes. That is so awesome!! This would also be a great strategy to use to get students excited about reading as well as checking for corrections.

Popplet is an online concept mapping site that allow students and teachers to create maps using images, text, videos, drawings, and basically anything someone could possibly think of. Popplet is a great tool to use in the classroom because it can be very useful for visual learners to follow along with during the lesson. Popplet not only help students learn to read a book, but it also helps them practice typing skills. One of the best things about popplet is that it is an app that is completely free of charge.

Alabama Virtual Library provides all students, teachers, and any citizens in the State of Alabama with online access to essential library and information resources. It is primarily a group of online databases that have magazines, journals, and newspaper articles for research. What I learned from this video is that teachers have begun to incorporate AVL into their kindergarten classrooms to allow students to search a topic and learn important facts about that topic. The kids can search pictures of their topic and AVL also has an audio sound system that can read the information a loud to the students. AVL is a fun and easy project that teaches kids how to research information.

Project #8 (Book trailer)

Dan, the Flying Man

Blog Assignment #6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

The conversations form Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps were very helpful and beneficial to me towards my future career as a Professional Educator. They both talked about Project Based Learning and gave some examples on how PBL works and how students benefit from the program. PBL is a teaching method in which student gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complete question, problem, or challenge. As mentioned in the video Project Based Learning Part 1, the goal of PBL is not only a means to show that the students have achieve something, but a means to get students to learn something and be excited about learning and creating something as they discover their own knowledge. As a teacher, you have to create a project with all the content that students will need to know. Anthony Capps also stated that there are certain goals of a good project. You want to have an authentic audience, pick a project that sparks the student's interest, involve the community, and have good content.

Anthony Capps also mentioned some helpful online tools, such as iCurio and Discovery Ed. iCurio and Discovery Ed are online tools that are being incorporated into the Baldwin County school system to protect students from discovering something online that is inappropriate. iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safety search websites, images, and videos that has been pulled and filter for educational use. iCurio also have several other features to help students become better learners. It allow students and teachers to store information they think is valuable, it helps students practice organization skills, and it also have a read aloud feature that is helpful for students who may be deaf, blind, or who may have a learning disability. Discovery Ed accelerates school districts' digital transition through comprehensive standards-based content, professional development, formative assessment, and community engagement proven to positively impact student achievement.

Another interesting topic that Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps talked about is Tips for Teachers Part 1. I really wanted to discuss this particular video because I am studying to be a Professional Educator, and I feel it is highly important to learn everything there is to know about teaching. Dr Strange mentioned that in order to be a professional Educator, you must be interested in learning and model that behavior for other people so that they will be interested in learning as well. Anthony Capps mentioned that teaching is hard work and you must be consisted and dedicated to your work and constantly learn new things so that you will become better at mastering teaching skills. Another very important tip for teaching is that you must be able to respond to events that were not as planned, also all teachers must be flexible, creative, and cannot be permitted to one particular way of doing something.

C4K Summary for Month September

C4K #1

In my C4K #1, my student was a year 8 student at PT England School in Auckland, NZ. My student name was Mikaiah and in his most recent blog post, he was describing this Tukutuku pattern that he was assigned to do by his teacher. In his blog post, he simply explained how to figure out the steps in completing the pattern. He gave some examples of different patterns and he also created a list of steps that would help his audience figure out how to complete the patterns. In my comment to his blog post, I told him that I really liked his blog post and that we had a lot of things in common. Also I figured out how to complete the pattern and explained to him that the pattern was counting in multiples of three.

C4K #2

In my C4K #2, I was assigned to a 5th grade student by the name of Seth. In Seth most recent blog post, he wrote a blog about his job as being on safety patrol at school. Seth really enjoyed his job because he was able to leave class early so that he could set up and be prepared to perform his duties as a safety patrol hall monitor. He also mentioned that being on safety patrol is pretty hard and a bit frustrating because he had to stay on his best behavior and he hardly had a chance to hang out with his friends. In my comment to Seth blog, I told him that having a job at his age is a great way to teach him how to be a responsible student at a young age and keep him out of trouble. I also told him that he will inspire all the other students to be on their best behavior so that they will have an opportunity to be on safety patrol as well. You can visit Seth's blog and his classmates blog at Mrs Schramls Class.

C4K #3

In my C4K #3, I was assigned to a student by the name of Olivia. Olivia was a fourth grade student and she had a great talent in selling popcorn. In her most recent blog post, Olivia wrote a post about which is more important, "having a talent or hard work." She stated that hard work would be more important than having a talent, and I personally think she is correct. In my comment to Olivia blog post, I told her that hard work is more important than having a talent because although a person is talented at something, they still have to work hard in order to maintain that talent. I also told her that I was glad she was able to discover one of her many talents and that she did an awesome job on selling a $1000 worth of popcorn in two weeks.

Project #7 Four Movies (Part A)

My Sentence

My Passion

Project #3 Google Presentation

Project Based Learning

Blog Assignment #5

Personal Learning Network

A personal learning network is a powerful professional development tool that allows teachers and administrators to connect with other teachers and administrators across the country. A personal learning network allows educators to seek advice, trade best practices, or simply network with other professionals. These connections are typically formed through social media outlets including Google, Twitter, Facebook, and etc. A good way to create a PLN is to keep up with personal social contacts such as family, friends, and former students. Also stay connected with educators around the world who share best practice and resource information. You can also share bookmarks with others, see what others are bookmarking and join groups to get updates on new bookmarks.

In creating my personal learning network, I decided to use Symbaloo as my guide to getting started. While creating my PLN, I discovered so much helpful information that I can use now and in my future career. On the first row of my PLN, I decided to incorporate social sites that I thought would be the most beneficial and helpful to me towards my career. I added twitter, Google, Blogger, Yahoo, and Facbook. I also added other helpful tools such as, different pharmacies, the weather channel, Skype, and Youtube. As a professional educator, it is highly important that we do not assume we know it all. Know one is perfect and know one knows the correct answer to to everything.

Blog Assignment #4

What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

The reason teachers ask questions is to improve learning. A lot of times teachers ask really good solid questions, but the questions they ask do not allow their students to use critical thinking skills. As a professional educator, it is highly important that teachers ask questions all the time. To increase student's participation in the classroom, teachers must be aware of what questions to ask and how to ask them. The type of questions a teacher ask should provoke higher levels of thinking as well as brain storming to enhance the development of students thinking skills. Good Questions make students think, they encourage participation, and also improve the caliber of the answers students give and the questions they ask.

As mention on the Asking Questions to Improve Learning website, when preparing for class, a teacher should compose specific questions that they will ask their students (or questions they anticipate their students will ask them). Doing so will help increase students participation and encourage active learning. A few helpful tips teachers should remember before asking questions is to always avoid asking leading questions. A leading question is phrased in such a way that it suggests its own answer and therefore discourages students from thinking on their own. Follow a "YES or NO" question with an additional question. For example, follow up by asking students to provide evidence or an example, or have them explain why they answered the way they did. Aim for direct, clear, and specific questions. Also try using more open-ended questions versus close-ended questions. An open-ended question leaves the form of the answer up to the person who is responding and therefore requires more thinking. A close-ended question structure the response for the students, and it can be answer by one word, such as "YES or NO", which does not allow the student to form ideas at all.

Project #4

C4T #1 Summary #1

In my C4T #1 post #1, I was assigned to read Will Deyamport, III most recent blog post. Will Deyamport is a district instructional technologist, connected educator, and digital media learning consultant. I found his blog post to be very interesting because it was such a motivational post. In his blog post, he was talking about his Doctoral defense that he had to present to his committee. He started out talking about preparing for his defense and how nervous he was about failing or not being successful during his presentation. Although he did an excellent job in defending his dissertation, I personal think it is normal for a person to feel nervous or scared about something that their life depends on. My favorite part of his post was after he got accepted into the committee, he stated, "I was relieved, excited, overjoyed, and ready to ball out like I had just won an NBA championship." On my comment to his blog, I congratulated him on his success and told him that his post was very motivational and inspiring. I also mention that I was a student working on my Bachelors in Physical Education, and I would love to make it as far as he did.

C4T #1 Summary #2

In my C4T #1 post #2, I was also required to read Will Deyamport, III most recent blog post. In his most recent post, he was talking about three growing fields in healthcare. He mentions that after the economy continues to recover from the recession, several new job opportunities will play a critical role in the recovery. Health care and social assistance are expected to contribute significantly to new job creations between 2012 and 2022. The three fields of healthcare jobs that are expected to grow are Home Health and Personal Care, Physical and Occupational Therapy, and Medical and Health Management. He then begins to go in full detail and give a description of each job. On my comment to his blog, I thanked him once again for the amazing blog post. I also explained to him about how competitive any job in the healthcare and medical field can be and that it was great to know that there will be a lot more opportunities for those type of jobs.

For more blogs by Will Deyamport, III, visit his page at www.iamdrwill.com