Blog Post #15

This is just a few of the words that reflect what I feel I have gained from this class. It really has been my favorite, and I am ever grateful for what I will take away from it!

Final Report on my PLN

Thus far, I have really enjoyed using EDM310 as my PLN. The lab assistants, Dr. Strange's Strange Thoughts, and the many educators that I have researched because of this class have made me a more curious learner and eager teacher. I swear that one day I will come to love Twitter! I'm not opposed to it. That's really not it. I just need to sit down for a good two or three hours (on a computer that moves faster than my grandmother) and learn how to really use it. I love all the links and contributions that some of the people I follow make, and I would really like to jump on board with that. I have found the educator's pln .ning to be extremely useful. There are quite a few authors and videos on there that are very thought provoking.
In conclusion, I have certainly learned the value of a PLN. I can't wait until I begin to use Twitter, or possibly some other social networking site and develop a list of people that I can actually hold conversation with to discuss the issues arising in my schoolwork, and soon my classroom.

C4K November

The first blog I commented on was one from Mrs. Yollis' room! She even found a way to use her blog when teaching math. There were example math problems that her students had helped to create on her blog and she asked teachers from all over the country to get their students to help contribute to the math problems on the blog as well. There was a comment from Wellford, SC (close to my old stomping grounds). The teacher and her students created math problems involving the state bird, a wren, the state tree, a palmetto, and other symbols that represent SC. I think this is a wonderfully interesting way to teach math. Math is such a hard subject to ignite interest in that these web tools are needed to initially motivate the students to want to learn.
The second blog I commented on was of a student in Australia named Kayden. I found it really interesting that I was commenting on his blog at 11PM on Sunday November, 20 and he already had a post up for November 21. This post was about some of his favorite name brands. His brands were Nike and Adidas, thus I concluded that he was interested in sports. The brands had very interesting drawings and used bright colors that went together in a funky fashion. I asked Kayden what types of sports he is interested in and if the colors in these pictures reflect his personality.
I am sad to see the comments for kids blog posts come to an end in EDM310, but that does not mean that they cannot be carried on of our own free will. I enjoy reading teacher's blogs and getting ideas for new lesson plans or resources to check out. I think we can all agree that over the past four months, these kids blogs have taught us just as much as the educators.

C4T#4

I have recently had the pleasure of following Mr. William Chamberlain's blog. I have read so much about Mr. Chamberlain from Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange. The first post I read from him was about the real value of using technology in the classroom. This is most definitely a post that will stay with me for a long time. Mr. Chamberlain addresses his belief that technology's value in education is collaboration. I have always considered myself an open-minded individual who values other people's ideas, but I had not taken into consideration that the most valuable asset of technology in education could be just that. I knew it was beneficial, but I had never considered that it was the MOST valuable asset. It never occurred to me to put an order on the benefits gained from integrating technology and education. I am not completely positive that I fully agree with Mr. Chamberlain, but I can say that I do not disagree. Furthermore, I am excited to spend some serious time searching the internet, my PLN, and myself to discover what I believe to be the real value of using technology in education.
The second post I read by Mr. Chamberlain describes a book that he recently began reading. This book is by Anne Reeves and entitled, "Where Great Teaching Begins." First off, I think of my old English professor who would be appalled to see the word, "great" in a title. Mr. Chamberlain states that he is determined to read and think about the book in its entirety and to ensure that he completes this task, he will be writing a blog post for every chapter. I really love this idea and think that it could be very useful for children (especially in grades 3-6 of elementary ed). From this chapter, Mr. Chamberlain has taken a few key points. They are: choosing the learning the students need, and determining who the lesson plans are for. When Mr. Chamberlain is speaking of the learning the students really need, it reminds me of the comment he left about my comment of the first post of his I read. It said something to the effect of lesson plans are not to be geared around technology because there is no standard that requires students to use the computer. First, create a well structured lesson plan that focuses solely on the student's learning. Next, get creative and find a way to incorporate technology into the lesson. Mr. Chamberlain determined that his lesson plans are for himself, the students, and the administrator. All teachers have written a lesson plan, and most administrators have written a lesson (since they were probably teachers at some point). But, have any students ever created a lesson plan? I'm going to guess the majority will answer no. Mr. Chamberlain suggests that it might be a good idea. I agree! I think it's a fantastic idea to have children give suggestions of how they would like to teach a unit. Who knows how to better engage a student than a student? I think it would be a very interesting, telling, challenging, and possibly an extremely worth while experience.

Blog Post #14

I must say that Mr. Picardo's blog is one that I will have bookmarked for my entire teaching career. The title, "Box of Tricks" is really very fitting. His entire blog, besides being filled with stimulating posts, is loaded with different tools that are easily available to educators. The resources provided (not only in the list given to us)are mostly compatible with Mac and PCs and come with a brief description of the tool. This description was very helpful to me because I have a painfully slow computer so it was convenient for me to read which ones I wanted to take the time to open. It is a true talent the way Mr. Picardo has made using technology in the classroom seem like such a breeze. He comments in one of his posts that gaining support is one of the most difficult tasks. I can imagine that is the real struggle in integrating technology into education. I was so impressed with his long list of resources that I e-mailed them to my mother (who I am desperately trying to talk into using more technology in her last three years of teaching), her teacher friends, as well as classmates of mine, and education graduates.
I love the way Mr. Picardo has broken down his "Top 10 tips for using Teachnology in the classroom." Once this daunting task is divided into 10 ideas, it becomes a lot less overwhelming. This video would be very helpful to those trying to incorporate technology more effectively into their curriculum. Each step can be researched if the educator needs to know editing software to start using streaming video, for example. A list of internet resources is found on Mr. Picardo's blog if a teacher is looking to adopt tip 9 into their lesson plans (using internet tools). All of his tips seems like no brainers to the EDM310 students. We all know that video is effective in motivating students vs. lecture, and we are also aware that students, teachers, parents, and administrators greatly benefit from sharing their ideas all over the world and receiving feedback. However, we don't know all there is to know about any of these tips, so let's use this video as an inspiration to FIND OUT! For example, my husband and I are huge music enthusiasts. I would love to learn the many different ways to effectively integrate music into my curriculum. I know that some children take a very strong interest in music as well, and perhaps using that concept in teaching would enhance their comprehension, as well as inspire them to want to learn. Mr. Picardo intends for this video to be a starting point for teachers so that they will expand their knowledge of the various ways technology can be useful to their students. I believe he also wants each educator to figure out what using technology in the classroom means to them. He is giving us several intriguing tools that he hopes will spark our interest. However, we cannot let him do all the work for us!

Final Project 16

Our group, The Septemberists, made a few tutorials of some really cool web tools. We hope that you find these resources interesting and encourage you all to make use of them with your future students.

Part 1-by: Frances Judd


Part 2-by: Hillary Parmer


Part 3-by: Greta Miller