Blog Post #6

To start off I would like to say the PLNs are very beneficial. It gives you support with what you are doing as a teacher. It provides several minds to bounce ideas off of and, to shoot questions to about problems that maybe happening in the classroom. Also it is important to "round up" so to speak like minds that are supportive. I decided to go with Symbaloo, I like the set up of it. I also like how Symbaloo utilizes the Cloud, it is really comforting to know everything I need is safely stored away. One of the reasons I like Symbaloo is that it really drives home the message of information being at your fingertips. I know I have not gotten a chance to really dive in and make connections, but I am already excited about the possibilities. For example a teacher ,that is new to the great process of Project Based Learning, could use it to quick search projects that could be utilized in class. Symbaloo can also bring up other sites quickly like Skype for a conference call with a professor around the world.
I think now that I have this tool that makes my life easier, I am going to sit back and wait like Mrs. Eva did. Mostly because I want the people in my PLN with the best qualities. It is like molding friendships the best ones take time, but I am very excited to see where it takes me!
Sources:
Building Your PLN-A Primer For Anyone
My Wonderful PLN - An Interview

Project # 8 Book Trailer

If You Take A Mouse To The Movies
Written by: Laura Numeroff
Illustrated by: Felicia Bond

Blog Post #5

The following videos were of conversations between Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange, on topics about Project Based Learning.
1.) Project Based Learning Part 1:Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
2.)Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a Third Grade Teacher
3.) iCurio
4.)Discovery Education
5.) The Anthony - Strange List of Tips for Teachers Part 1
6.)Don't Teach Tech - Use It
7.)Additional Thought About Lessons
There were several things I learned from the videos mentioned above. Foremost, the biggest I pulled away is to be malleable as a teacher, meaning be ready to change. The way Anthony talked with such enthusiasm in Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher it really made me reassess my opinion of where learning is headed. I first thought that learning should not go straight to all technology. Then I thought that "Here is a teacher with first hand experience with all the new tech, and accepts it." Most likely I even had more access to technology then he did growing up, so why should I not accept it? After watching the two videos on PBL it made me think back to a Comedy Central movie Accepted. In this movie the main character invents a college where the student is the teacher. Whether it was joking with the idea or not it gave a good definition of PBL, and maybe it is not a joke after all?
Technology, as mentioned above, I did not like the idea of it. The idea does scare me a little since it is new. After watching the two videos, iCurio and Discovery Education , I have decided to reconsider. To think that the information load like that would be at a child's fingertips? I would have killed for that rather than spending relentless hours searching through books just to find a sentence worth of information. The video Don't Teach Tech - Use it really made me feel comfortable with this fear. Be open minded, let someone teach you no matter who it is, or what it is about.
All the videos above have taught me that teaching is changing, and I need to learn more everyday if I want to keep up. The video The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1 really opened my eyes on some of the things I need to fix. I like to consider myself a decent learner, but I need to remember how to keep learning and not to stop. Mostly because there is always something new to learn.

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence is...

My Passion is...

Project # 3 Presentation

C4T1

My assignment for C4T1 was to review the blog posts of Jeff Delp. His blog Molehills Out of Mountains supports his ideals about the lives of teachers. Mr. Delps first post was 6 Things on my Education Wish List. The ideas behind this post are: how teachers should be professionally treated,good teaching is not only the curriculum, provisions of adequate resources, how tests and poverty effect the educational system, and to set less restrictions.I started out the comment on this post by agreeing with these ideas. I then stated that graduating from a large class, that I agree most with his number 1 statement; how teachers should be treated as professionals. I also requested his ideas on how to eliminate the political system within schools that reward poor teaching over greater strives.
The second post I commented on was Teaching for Today... and Tomorrow. Within this post Mr.Delp explains how it was difficult to make a presentation on School credits to a crowd that was so poverty diverse. I commented on his Prezi presentation, the one he used for the kids. It was amazing how he tied in a video of education independence, so to speak, with credits. Like I said in the post it sounded to me like "hey! school is going to be tough, but you need those credits! Do not be afraid to be yourself and rely on your teacher. They are there for a reason."

Blog Post # 4

Before I get into the details of each resource, I would like to say that they all share a common case. I think that particular case is to take time to be a teacher. What I mean by that is take THE time, make questions, think about your questions, and most importantly are your questions bettering the students or making your job easier? To start off I would like to dive into the making your job easier statement. Are the questions bettering the students or just making you feel better? Ben Johnson makes this point in The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom with his thoughts on the "Do you understand?" question. I agree with his point that the question does kind of relieve you of any remaining burden. I also liked how the Asking Questions Based on Bloom's Taxonomy stated in Asking Questions to Improve Learning would be a great tool for a teacher to use to review their own questions. Its a great rubric to really get the gears turning when developing in depth questions for the classroom.
The second topic that I found interesting was playing with the questions. The tips from Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom and also the demonstration showed in Questioning Styles and Strategies really helped with perspective. It really made sense to pause after asking a question. I know as a child I was relieved when the teacher called on somebody right away. That scared feeling really motivates one to think, though I do not believe "scared" is what the teacher is striving for. Also I believe Joanne Chesley's Asking Better Questions in the Classroom is a great model to play with questions. Chesley really opens up the field for questions with her point of just the way you ask the question.