C4K Summary for February

Ka Paw
My first C4K assignment was Ka Paw in Mrs. Behm's class. They are a blog of 5th-8th grade English learners from parts all over the world including Thailand, Burma, Mexico, and Guatemala. Ka Paw is one of Mrs. Behm's 8th graders from Thailan, who came to the United States in 2010. His first blog was a short autobiography telling us that he has one brother and one sister. Ka Paw's favorite colors are blue, black, white and purple. His favorite subjects are Math, Science and English. In my comment on his post I introduced myself and told Ka Paw about a girl I work with who is also from Thailand. I let Ka Paw know how great is what he enjoyed Math and Science considering the two subjects go hand in hand. Considering Ka Paw has siblings I asked if he was the youngest and told him I had two brothers as well. I then thanked Ka Paw for his post and let him know I would look forward to hearing back from him.

Zittarius
Zittarius is a student in Ms. McKeller's 3rd grade class. His blog was an introduction of himself as well. Zittarius is 8 years old and his birthday is July 24th. He lives with his mom and dad. Tarvis is his best friend. In my comment, I introduced myself and told him how much I loved my third grade class in elementary. I asked how him and Tarvis have been friends and what were some of his favorite things to do. I ended by telling Zittarius to keep up the great blog posts and I looked forward to him answering some of my questions.

Michael
For my third C4K student I was assigned Michael, a 5th grade student at Pt. England. This blog post was a Google Presentation just like the one we recently did. It was kind of neat and a little embarrassing to think I struggled making a project that 5th graders around the world did. Crazy how technology is taking over. Anyway, Michael's presentation was about some of his favorite things in life. He likes rugby and his favorite team is the "All Blacks". His favorite place is Rainbowsen and he loves Burger King. In my comment on Michael's presentation, I told him how my college class created one as well. I asked what Rainbowsen was and if it was an amusement park because he said his favorite ride was the "Log Fume". I then told him I would look forward to him commenting me back.

Addison
This week I was assigned Addison, a student in Mrs. Vannoy's 1st grade class. I was excited to read her blog because our lab assistant is their student teacher. This particular post was about her dad. I thought it was really neat a 1st grader was using the technology and tools myself as a college student is learning. Addison really loves her dad and loves how sweet he is to her. In my comment I told her how I was a daddy's girl and that one of my best friends name is Addison. I asked her if she had any brothers or sisters or if she was an only child. My comment is still awaiting approval but I hope she gets to comment back.

I've been really fascinated with this particular assignment of commenting on other students blogs. Not so much teacher's blogs because it's so interesting to see the different students from around the world. I love seeing them react and how well they are doing writing on their posts. It makes me think more about incorporating this tool into my classroom.

Project #10

Finding the Right Tool

Thanks to Maegan Slaten for her Top 10 Tools for Elementary Teachers Maegan's slideshow gave a list of tools, some that I was familiar with and others that I have never heard of. I am going to teach K-6, preferably 1-3. I plan on using technology in my future classroom and with younger students, it is important to teach them the safety of the internet first. NetSmartz is a "kid-friendly" website that teaches students about internet safety. In my classroom, before introducing any other form of technology the students will use, I will stress the importance of safety. NetSmartz provides presentations, lesson plans, video and educational cards, handouts and posters to display in the classroom. Safety is priority in a classroom, especially with the younger students who are new to the classroom environment.

Tramline

Tramline is a site that not only has virtual field trips but also has software that allows teachers to create their own field trips depending on age and subject. In my classroom I plan to use this website frequently. Whether its a lesson on the rainforest or hurricanes, Tramline has a field trip for numerous lessons. One tour I especially liked was the tour on Dinosaurs.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler opened my eyes to information I'am learning more and more about in this EDM 310 class. I have been up to date with the latest technology for years and always had the latest phones and gadgets. However even though I've had all of these tools, I have been technologically illiterate. When Dr. Strange asked at the beginning of the semester if we were technologically literate, I responded yes with high confidence. I mean I have all the latest gadgets I must be, right? Wrong. This video, along with many other posts so far in this class, I'am continuing to learn the importance of being technologically literate in order to succeed in this fast pace growth of technology.

In Wendy Drexler's video, the question "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" is asked. In my opinion, the teacher should be the expert. Whether s/he is or not, they should be. Students will always need that resource to answer questions they might have. Teachers shouldn't be discouraged or "competing" against technology. We should want to be experts in technology. There is a lot to learn about how to educate students properly when using technology and it is our job as educators in the technological age we're in to be fully prepared.

Am I ready to be a networked teacher? Not at all. EDM 310 was the first I've even thought about how technology influences in a classroom. I have been blind about this kind of stuff. Before now I have only taken my prereqs and not many education classes. I hope to use the resources from this class and really educate myself to be the best teacher I can. I have a lot more to learn but with Dr. Strange and all his networking friends I feel confident I will technological literate.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

It was neat to see a students point of view in their Personal Learning Environment. Mr. H's 7th grade student and Wendy Drexler created a video to describe the student's Personal learning environment. She has one page of different links to all the pages she uses. For example she has her FaceBook and blogs at top for her personal use. Then her school links at the bottom and all the search engines she uses for research. I really liked the point of view from the student and see how they really enjoy using it. This student said technology gives them freedom but at the same time gives them the responsibility to complete the work on their own. The more I learn about the technological world, the more I want to learn about it and how I can use it effectively in my classroom.

My Sentence Video

C4T #1 January

For my first C4T, I read and commented on The 21st Century Gifted Educator by Elvira G. Deyamport. In this post, Elvira and her husband give a lecture at a conference about creating a personal learning network. Using a PLN is useful because it helps teachers share their ideas with other teachers in a fast, organized, easy way. In the lecture, Elvira and her husband focus on FaceBook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. In my comment, I introduced myself and explained how I use Facebook on a daily basis. When I first commented on this post, it was before we started interacting with Twitter. I have learned so much since then and in my comment, I told Elvira I wasn't experienced with Twitter or LinkedIn. That being said, I intend to explore LinkedIn and hopefully enjoy using it like I have Twitter. Finally I thanked Elvira for her all her useful information and told her I was looking forward to more posts.

The second post I read was Telling Our Stories with Social Media by Elvira G. Deyamport as well. In this post, she describes her recent experience at MECA, her state educational technology conference. This trip she got a chance to not only attend but speak. This year she presented her list of resources for the social bookmarking took, Diigo. Elvira also describes the keynote's presentation on integrating social technology in classrooms. Eric and Elvira both believe that technology can be a way to showcase the students achievements and what they do in the classroom. My comment has not yet been approved but i started off by introducing myself and thanking Elvira for her list of resources. I tell her how I have never taking the point of view she has on. When thinking about technology in my classroom, I have only considered how it can help the students and help them enhance their creativity. It makes sense that technology can be a way to showcase the student's achievements; just never took that approach. I hope to come back and see my comment has been posted. I have subscribed by email, and look forward to Elvira commenting back.

Project # 5 Presentation

Special Blog Assignment #1

WolframAlpha
After watching the Dr. Strange's video, Did You Know?, it seems to be that this video is throwing us when facts to prove the United States is inferior to countries such as India and China. However, are we really interpretating the facts correctly? Two slides in the "Did You Know" video reports, "It is estimated that 18 million Chinese speak English now and 300 million are learners. So...if the "learners" do learn English there will be more people in China speaking English than the ENTIRE population of the United States." Once comparing the populations of India, China and the United States on WolframAlpha, my astonishment to the information in the "Did You Know" video died down.

The population is a key factor when looking at the data provided to us. The total population in China is 1.35 billion; United States is 309 million. Assuming that the entire 319 million Chinese succeed at learning English, the percentage of English speaking people in Chinese is 23.6%. Nearly 92% Americans speak English. Yes, there are more English speaking people in China than the total population in the United States. However, China has a larger population and therefore the numbers are about equal.

Two WolframAlpha Searches
"Students in Public vs. Students in Private Schools in Mobile, AL."
Public: 35,293
Private: 12,003

"Student/Teacher Ratio in Public vs. Private Schools in Mobile. AL."
Public: Mean= 16.35
Private: Mean= 18

WolframAlphra is a search engine offers sources of information regarding Mathematics, Statistics, Weather, People and Places, Culture & Media, and many more. This is a great resource to provide my students with doing research papers and answering questions they are unsure about. I have never even heard of WolframAlpha before now, but after playing around with the comparison of public vs. private schools it is bookmarked and a tool I plan to reference back to.

Gary Hayes
The Social Media Chart Gary Hayes created was astonishing to watch! The rapid speed of the increasing information is so fast, it's almost unbelievable. The information that caught my eye was the amount of text messages that were sent worldwide in just one minute; 11,415,525. It's sad to me that the personal interaction between people have decreased. As a teacher I hope to keep in mind the importance of personal interaction. I also recognize with the rapid speed of technological change, I need to stay up to date with all the latest technological advances. There's no telling where things will be in only a couple of years.

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing
"Peer Editing is working with someone your own age- usually someone in your class- to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing."
After reading Paige Ellis' Blog Assignment #12, I was a little discouraged to write this post without putting a lot of thought into it. Peer editing has always been a weakness of mine because I concentrate too much on the writer's feelings rather than helping them, especially if I have to see them everyday in class. However, after watching the video's suggested by Paige, I now know more on how to effectively critique my peer's writings. The first rule of effective peer editing is to always STAY POSITVE! You can get your point across without being negative and in a way that is not overly protecting their feelings. You should always start your editing with a compliment. Tell the writer you like their main idea, you liked the way they said this..., you enjoyed reading because..., anything that states what the writer did well. Next, offer suggestions as to how they can improve their writing. For example, the writer's word choice or their organization of the paper. Remember to make specific suggestions and to stay positive about it; its a suggestion not a demand. The last step in effective peer editing is to make corrections on the writer's punctuation, grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc. Paige Ellis's blog helped me to learn that in order to really master this quality, I must stay positive and complete all three steps.

How does all of this come into play with my teaching career? Well since I am going to be correcting students' work for a living, I need to realize that practice makes perfect. I can not honestly answer if I will critique my fellow EDMer's publicly or privately until I have come across a situation that I am forced to make that decision. For example, I can see myself offering compliments and suggestions in a comment, but maybe leaving them an email if they have obvious and numerous grammar and organization errors. I think peer editing is much harder for me than correcting a child because I am the type that worries about what other people's opinions of me are and with children, I know I have a way of talking to them and getting through in an appropriate way. The main thing I am taking from this assignment is to practice every peer editing assignment following the three rules. As with everything, practice makes perfect.

Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes
In the video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes a group of students explained the top 10 mistakes when it comes to peer editing. Although, this was cute and humorous, students can learn a lot from this video. I'am glad Dr. Strange assigned us this video, because it's a good resource for when I am teaching peer editing. One thing I need to keep reminding myself is that I am helping my peer when I give them feedback.