C4K Summary for February

Week 1

Alyssa's Blog, Mrs. Balestrin's Bunch: Alyssa wrote a Valentine's Day poem. She loves to get cards and do fun things on this day. She is in second grade and lives in Canada. Her teachers name is Mrs. Balestrin.

My comments were: Alyssa, My name is Kim Templeton. I live in Mobile, Alabama. I see you live in Canada, that is a long way from where I live. Is it cold and snowy today? It is 68 degrees in Alabama today. I am going to college at the University of South Alabama to become a teacher. I enjoyed reading your Valentine’s Day poem. I think Valentine’s day is a fun day as well. I like giving cards, but I like getting cards too. Did you get to make a box to put all of your cards in? I used to decorate a shoe box to put all of my cards. What did you do with your cards? Well…hope you stay warm and Happy Valentines Day!


Week 2

Paul, a ninth grade student at Roibinson High School, was assigned to watch a PBS about WWI. He then had to make a google presentation on WWI. He did an awesome job. He made the war sound so realistic. He was very detailed in his writing, but yet brief in his summary.

My comments were: My name is Kim Templeton and I have been assigned to read your blog. I am currently a student at the University of South Alabama. You are an awesome writer. I like the way you made the history feel more realistic and not just a bunch of facts. The part about the trenches with lice and mud, yuck I hadn't thought about that. I think that was a very interesting fact that made it feel more realistic. Another thing I found interesting, was the German medic who sent pictures to Hitler to discourage him from torturing the Jews. Making a personal connection makes the war seem like more than a story from a book. Realizing these are real people who suffered and sacrificed their lives. Great job, I enjoyed reading your blog!


Week 3

Mrs. She's Class Room #6 my comments were: Enjoyed reading your blog. I live in the United States, which is 7,807 mile away from New Zealand. That is a long, long way away. I have never visited New Zeland, but I have seen pictures on the internet. I am a student in EDM310. My teacher is friends with your teacher. I see you have some ipads in your classroom. I hope you enjoy learning on your new ipads.

The first student was Abigail. She is five years old and made a video clip about the olympics. My comments were:I attend college in the United States. My teacher is friends with your teacher, Mrs. She. I enjoyed watching your video about the Olympics. Maybe, you will get to watch the Olympic games. What is your favorite Olympic game? Mine is figure skating.
Kim Templeton

The second student was Ana. My comments were:; color: black; text-align: justify;">My name is Kim Templeton. I go to college in the United States. My teacher is friends with your teacher, Mrs. She. Wow, your story was awesome. I love the words you picked to describe your scary pumpkin. He does have an amazing pumpkin head all thanks to you.

Week 4

Dnatia is a tenth grade english student in Mrs. Martins class at Baldwin County High School. On her blog she wrote a list of the top ten lies about high school.

My comments were: My name is Kim. I am taking EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. My assigment is to read your blog, leave a comment, and then post on my blog a summary of yours and my comments. I had to chuckle when I read your list of lies. I remember all those lies. I might have to disagree with the food. I loved the food at the high school, but I went to school in Ohio. So, what is the truth about high school? Is it a waste of time? No,  I think it is helping you learn valuable skills to survive in this crazy world. Enjoy it while it lasts. Take advantage of all of these opportunities, and yes I said oppurtunities. High school is what you make it...a drudge or a launching pad for your future. Your blog is looking good. Keep up the good work.

Project # 10

Finding the Right Tool

I plan on teaching elementary students. Hopefully, the upper level grades. I found this website: http://beyondpenguins.ehe.osu.edu/issue/polar-mammals/100-free-web-tools-for-elementary-teachers 100 Free Web Tools for Elementary Teachers. This site is broken down into different topics. The topics were Organization & Collaboration, Search Engines & Directory's, Google, Templates & Lesson Plans, Research & Reference, Games, Reading & Writing, Math & Science, Arts, History & Social Science, Online Libraries & Activities. I choose to elaborate on the activities topic.



Exporatorium Hands-On Activities has fun educational activities for your class. These are science based activities. You can browse by topic and type. There are activities and video you can watch. I think this would make Science more appealing to the students. Reading it from a book, sometimes is not very engaging. Watching a video or hands-on project can really get students thinking.  I clicked on an activity called Lightening in Your Mouth. For the activity, you had to chew a piece of wintergreen lifesaver looking in a mirror in the dark. The candy makes sparks. It gives an explanation which was, when you crunch on the candy, you are making light with with friction. Here is a link to the site: http://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/activities

Blog Post #6

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

The Networked Student is a video created by Wendy Drexler's high school students. In the video it shows how students can gain valuable knowledge through sources on the internet. Learning how to find these tools and use them is why they still need a teacher. I think students will always need a teacher. Kids need guidance and direction. Think about it like this, if you locked students in a room with books, paper, and pencils would they learn? No, they need direction and motivation. That is why we have teachers to inspire, guide, and motivate. 

Networked learning allows the student to take more control of their learning process. The teacher is needed to guide the student and show them how to build the network. With the help of the teacher, students learn how to find and organize the material. Students need  the help of a teacher for guidance in communicating with others on the internet and proper etiquette. 

Teachers must be familiar with technology to help students develop these valuable skills. Colleges spend a lot of time trying to educate teachers, but are they educated with technology? Teachers have valuable tools at their fingertips. If they don't know how to use them, then what good are they? Thanks to Dr. Strange, I am  now learning how to use some of these tools. 

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

This video was made by a 7th grade student who is learning about science using the web. The student commented on how she has freedom and choices she can make. This is really a neat way to allow kids to focus more on what they are interested in, but still stay focused on an objective. They are not forced to learn the exact same way at the exact same rate. Human nature even tells us this is not right. I am sure this 7th grade student did not learn how to use all that technology overnight. Her teacher would gradually introduce her to new resources with instructions on how to use them. This 7th grade student is not only learning science, but how to gain valuable knowledge on her own. I have created a personal learning network through EDM310. This network will allow me to connect with other teachers and collaborate and discover new ways to teach. 

Project #6 My Sentence Video

Blog Post #5

If You Built A School, writtnen by:Krissy Venosdale

Krissy Venosdale is a GiftedEd teacher (grades 3-6) She is eMINTS trained & EdD student~loves tech, photography, & learning. She teaches school at Hillsboro R-3 School District, Hillsboro, Missouri. The blog she posted on her dream school was a teachers dream come true. I could visualize the school in my mind and it was awesome. The cafeteria designed like a coffe shop, that would really change the feel of nasty school food. The atmosphere at Starbucks almost makes the coffee tastes better. The tree in the library would make me want to visit the library. She would use many non-traditional teaching strategies. The common core of the school would be character, helping others, and being your best. Technology would be a daily event, not a special event. This is without a doubt a dream. 

My dream school would be similar to Mrs. Venosdale's. Teachers and students would have roomful of technology.  Decor would change to look more like a science museum. Children would not be required to learn the same things, at the same time. Students would be allowed to learn and develop skills in their own time. Education wouldn't be based around standardized test. Students would have hands-on learning activities, like a science museum. Exhibits would be displayed along the halls. This too is a dream. 

>Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'

>Breathtaking, This was really amazing. Being able to connect all of these people and put together a choir. Technology is advancing faster and faster. Eric Whitacre's idea started with a young girl who sent him a video of herself singing one of his songs. He then posted in a blog asking for people to send in videos. These people had never met or practiced together. He later went on to produce a choir of over 2000 people from 78 countries. My mom, who is 70 years old was totally amazed. She still can't get over cell phones and being able to talk to someone from another country. She was really shocked when we did facetime. With technology like this, what will classrooms be 10 years from now. 

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Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts (John Strange version)

Kevin Roberts give his idea of teaching in the 21st century. He doesn't think students need to be taught to use technology, but rather how to properly use it. The internet is a vast amount of information that is available to anyone. We can learn just about anything on the internet. There is so much information at our fingertips. Google is the answer to many questions, but it's knowing how to use the information. As teachers, we must teach students how to validate, synthesis, leverage, communicate, elaborate, and problem solve the information. No longer do we need to focus on facts and information, but skills on how to use the information. Students need to learn about piracy, plagiarism, posting, editing, uploading and etc.  Anyone can get on the internet, but we must be taught proper etiquette. The focus of teachers will not be how to stop technology, but how to use it to engage students. I think as an educator, it will require us to be creative and make use of technology.

Dr. Lodge McCammon Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipping the Classroom

Dr. Lodge McCammon is a curriculum and contemporary media specialist from The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation in Raleigh, NC. He has created a program called Flipping the Classroom. The teacher creates videos for the students to watch at home. Then, the students come to class and partner with other students and discuss and elaborate on different concepts and ideas. I actually had a class like this at Sinclair Community College and I loved it. You could watch the video as many times as you wanted. In class, the teacher would give us worksheets to work on as a group. You could collaborate with other students, unlike a lecture. As a future educator, I will incorporate this into the classroom. 

Project # 5 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

Langwitches

The Langwitches podcasts were amazing. How motivating to kids to create their own. They learned some great skills along the way and enjoyed doing it. The kids were so involved and excited. You could hear it in their voices. Why couldn't they have this when I was in school. Kids these days...spoiled rotten by technology. This was a very creative way to involve the kids and help them develop skills such as writing a script, listening, comprehension, collaboration, speaking skills, and fluency. Technology has allowed students to re-listen, think critically and logically about the best way to present the story. The podcast were so fun to listen to. My brain started clicking, thinking of all the amazing ways an educator could use this in the classroom. 

Flat-Stanley project by a first grade class.

Flat-Stanley was another great podcast. It talks about places around the world. The kids were required to find a place of interest and learn about it with the inte intentions of recording their findings. This was a home work assignment and together with their parents they had to read a book and write about it. They had to tell the location, transportation, What they could do there, and how they would get back home. This was teaching so many skills. Wow, an awesome way to inspire kids to want to read and learn. 

Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano currently lives in the United States, but was born in Germany and raised in Argentina. That is really cool. I would love to just visit those countries. I can't imagine being able to live in so many places. I would say she is an awesome world language teacher. She didn't learn her skills from a book or classroom, but she has first hand experience. 

I enjoyed her blog and twitter. Tolisano is the author of the book “Digital Storytelling Tools for Educators” and founder of the Around the World with 80 Schools project.

Project #3 CT4 #1

Summary of Teacher's Blog #1

Mellisa B. starts her blog talking about the ending of the year and packing up the tree. The new year and a clean slate. She will be busy helping students prepare for college by writing them letters of recommendation. There are ten bullet points about the new year for a teacher. These are from a teachers point of view. She discusses all the changes, meetings, rules and regulations the schools enforce upon the teachers. It talks about issues teachers have to deal with everyday, such as lack of security, waisted meetings, and getting along with co-workers.

Summary of Comment #1

Hello, My name is Kim Templeton. I am currently taking an Education Media class EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I was assigned to read your blog and leave a comment. I am to return in two weeks and read your blog and leave another comment. At the end of the month, I will then post the comments to my class blog. Templetonkimberlyedm310.blogspot.com. Your post was most humorous. My journey of teaching is just beginning. Your details of all the meaningless meetings and wasted time makes me chuckle. I am a school bus driver and we have to attend mandatory meetings. It is usually the same regurgitated reminders, only we don't get a lunch. It must be exciting working with high school students and watch the excitement of a new life begin. It is nice to hear a teacher have positive comments about their job. Where my daughter attends high school, her teachers are not quite as motivated. The school has some problems and the teachers are not real motivated. It was good to hear there are some who care. I look forward to reading your next post. Kim Templeton

Summary of Teacher's Blog #2

Mellisa b. was getting her two daughters from the airport for Christmas. They both went off to college. One daughter went to Wisconsin and the other daughter went to North Carolina. Since, her daughters moved away they have actually grown closer. She said, "Distance makes the heart grow closer."

Summary of Comment #2

Congratulations on getting two girls through college. That's a big accomplishment. It sounds like they've had an awesome coach. My son is graduating this year and is college bound. Enjoy reading your blog it always makes me smile.

Special Blog Post #1

Many students misinterpreted the data Did You Know?

The article Did You Know? was very misleading. After doing a search on WolframAlfa, comparing populations of India, China, & the United States, the article made a little more sense. The United States has a small population in comparison to China and India. China has the largest population in the world with 1.35 billion people. India’s population is 1.21 billion and the United States only 309 million. India might have more people with the highest IQ, than the United States, but that is because they are 4 times larger in population. In China, 18 million speak English and 300 million are learning to speak English. That means 318 million people in China will speak English. That is more people speaking English than the U.S., but the U.S. only has 309 million. After doing the math, it is easy to see why China has more English speaking people.

Next, I did a search on WolframAlfa comparing the three countries education index. The United States education ranked 5^th in the world, China ranked 115^th, & India lagged behind at 146^th in the world. The United States ranked really high compared to China and India. Another search revealed, United States ranks 5^th in the world population for living standards. China ranked 94^th for living standards and India 123^rd. When you compare apple to apple, the United States is an awesome place to live.

WolframAlfa is an awesome tool for comparing data. The information comes from a reliable source, unlike some websites. It gives factual calculations of various topics. I will use the resource in the future and pass it along to my students some day.

Gary Hayes Social Media Chart

Gary Hayes Social Media Chart is amazing. It is hard to imagine, people are so connected with social networks. I am not sure social networks are educating people, but definitely entertaining society. Social media is growing by the second. The social media has become a highway for businesses. It has opened up a new way to advertise, not only locally but universally. Amazing to think how fast things are changing. What will it be like to be a teacher 2 years from now? Teachers need to keep informed with technology in society and how to incorporate these ideas into learning.

Blog #3

Peer Editing

It is necessary as a professional to have good grammar skills. Writing is an important tool in communication. If you have good writing skills, it greatly improves your communication with others. When you send an email, this might be their first impression. Peer editing can be very helpful. I have visited the writing lab many times. We know what we mean to say, but are we conveying this in writing? I don't know how many times they have looked over my paper and asked who are you talking about here or what is this about? and suddenly I realize, oh that doesn't make sense.

Peer editing is a great idea, if it is done in the right way. You don't want to be to picky. Remember to make positive comments. It is easy to see the bad in everything, but make an effort to find the good. Be specific when editing, give an example. Try to find ways to improve their skills, not just find their problem. Most people who are not good writers already know. The key is to help. Give them ideas to help improve their skills.

Assistive Technology

The MountBatten is an amazing piece of machinery. I didn't know something like this even existed. I found it interesting that it also teaches you how to read braille. If a teacher didn't know braille they could learn as well as the student. What a great way to improve communications for the blind.

Technology has come a long way. The IPad has opened many doors for people with disabilities. The VoiceOver feature on the IPad 2 is pretty impressive. My niece is sixteen and legally blind. She has really benefited from these devices. What used to be impossible is now made possible. She can communicate with her friends and learn things that would have never been possible a few years ago. The great part is she can be more independent. No one wants to depend on others for help. I think another great thing about the IPad is everyone has one. It doesn't look like a special device for the blind or deaf. How amazing is that? 

Professor Art Karshner, in the video Teaching Math To The Blind, discusses the difficulties blind have learning simple math. In most programs for the blind, the reading goes across the screen not up and down as used for math problems. His solution was a math grid with block  tiles, similar to a scrabble board. You scan the block and it tells you the value. I guess, I never thought how difficult it would be for a blind person to do math. This concept seems like it would work. It still would be hard, but it certainly would make it easier. Most people need a visual to do math. I think this could easily be incorporated into a classroom. It doesn't seem difficult to use.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

Watching this video made me feel like the first day of class with Professor Strange. At first, I was overwhelmed by his idea of teaching. It was so different and I was so scared. Sometimes, when we are afraid of something we run from it. Well...I am still taking the class, even though I was scared. I think the teacher on the video had some great ideas, but I'm still a little skeptical. I looked on the Eutopia.org website and watched a PBS called Digital Nation. It went back and forth between the pros and cons of technology. It discussed some of the issues Korea is having with addictions and treatment centers for phycological disorders caused by the internet. In Korea, they are now teaching 2nd graders how to use the internet responsibly. There were a number of studies done to compare so called "multitasking" and focusing on one subject at a time. The results were most students think they can multitask, but they were not doing as well as they thought. Technology is developing so fast it is hard to even do a study on it. By the time they complete the study, technology has created something else. A principal in New York said, technology is like oxygen and it makes school more sense to students. Technology has changed the world. On Edutopia Douglas Rushkoff said, "Ultimately, computer literacy must be a prerequisite to computer use. I'm not saying that they should know how to open a machine and fix it, but that they understand something about the algorithmic, expression-based platforms on which they are asking to spend so much of their time and energy. This is where schools should come in, exposing students to coding languages while also helping them to think critically about digital tools and virtual spaces." Hopefully, as an educator I can help educate students on how to make good use of technology.