Project #8 Book Trailer

Project #8 Book Trailer: The Velveteen Rabbit



Callie Barton

Blog Assignment #6

What did you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

1. Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher

2. Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher

• In these two videos I learned a few things. One of the most important things I learned was to not just assign projects to show what my students learned something but to use the projects for them to learn. I like the fact that he gave the students the opportunity to put in their own opinions and decide which 8 letters to send in his project. I think it is important to give students a voice and to let their opinions and critiques matter in the classroom. One of the things that I really liked that Anthony said was "never limit students." I think all adults, even teachers, underestimate children and their abilities. They know and can figure things out easier than we give them credit for. My 3 year old nephew can play a video and use a phone better than I can. Another great idea that I heard is to ask the students their likes and dislikes on each project so you can get ideas for the future projects. When it comes to PBL in the classroom he said that the students are more proud of their work and are willing to be more expressive and excited about their learning.

3. iCurio

• I actually had never heard of this resource until I watched this video. It is an online filtering tool so students can safely search online. It organizes and stores their research so they can pick up where they left off in case they had to stop their project/research for a while. It not only stores articles but it is also a search engine for videos, pictures, etc. which it also stores. One of the features that Anthony mentioned is that it also has read aloud accessibility. So students who have certain disabilities, such as being blind, can also access and use this site successfully. 

4. Discovery Education

• I  learned that this is a research tool that uses visual information. If the students were to look up a certain subject to research this site would bring up learning videos. In Anthony's words, "it brings experts to the classroom."

5. The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1

• One of the first tips you both agreed on was that teachers need to want to learn in order to be successful. I can definitely agree with this. Our job is to teach and since no knows everything about everything we will constantly be learning for ourselves and our students. Another tip was to work really hard but also make it fun at the same time. I honestly don't think you could be successful as an educator if you have one without the other; they go hand in hand. I learned that being flexible and able to adapt is also key to being an educator. There may be a day when you plan to go outside and look for bugs as a science project but it is pouring down rain, or you planned a computer project for that day but the internet system is down. You can't just quit for the day, you have to be flexible and come up with a new plan. Engaging students is another tip that I learned from the Anthony - Strange lists of tips. The students need to be engaged in order to learn and absorb information successfully. One of the best tips that I learned from this video is you have to be able to reflect on yourself as a teacher. No one is perfect, everyone needs to self critique themselves every now and then to become better. There is nothing wrong with looking back and saying "I should have done that differently." As long as you can reflect and learn something from it you can consider it a success.

6. Don't Teach Tech - Use it

• I found this video to be very insightful and interesting. I never really thought about this concept. The concept is basically not to teach technology but incorporate technology into their learning. So, technology wouldn't be a part of the curriculum, it would just be a resource that students use for their learning. You could assign a project on mammals and have them include a video presentation on iMovie of all the different kinds of mammals. Therefore, they would be learning about mammals but they would have to show their new knowledge by using technology.

7. Additional Thought About Lessons

• Anthony last thought was short and sweet. In order to be successful at your long term goal you have to set short term goals to get there. We all know as educators that our goal at the beginning of the year is for our students to know certain things by the end of the year. In order to get to that end result it is important to make unit goals, weekly goals, and even daily goals to reach our yearly goal.

Callie Barton

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...

My Passion Is...

Project #3 Presentation

Project #6 C4K Summary for September

C4K Summary for September



C4K Post #1

http://www.ptengland.school.nz/our-blogs/class1indivblogs

Esrah:

Heal the world By Michael Jaackson

http://vimeo.com/105505101

  
My friends and I had a task to complete a MTV video clip here is our version of Heal The World by Micheal Jackson. It was a challenge to see how well we can manage ourselves and the time that we had to complete this.

My Comment to Esrah:

Hello Esrah! My name is Callie Barton and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama in the United States in Mobile, Alabama. I absolutely enjoyed your 'Heal the World' video. Of course not only do I love the song that you chose but I love the meaning behind the video. There are so many terrible things happening in the world today that we could use some peace. As the youth of the world I hope we can all work together to make a positive difference in the future. You and your friends did a great job and I'm sure you all had a lot of fun making the video. Good luck to you!

Callie Barton

C4K Post #2

http://kidblog.org/MsHorsts5-1Class/

Jessica:

MATH 

my strategys in math are

• i look for a pattern
• i draw  a dirgam
• i make a modle
• i work back words
• make a list
• i write a equasion
• and hear is a pic of math
• 

My Comment to Jessica:

Hello! I am a college student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am studying to be an elementary education teacher. When I was your age I liked math but sometimes it could be very difficult. I didn’t like the fact that you could make one simple mistake and the whole problem was wrong. It is very important to have problem solving strategies in every subject, especially math. I think you have came up with some pretty good strategies. Good luck in all of your classes and have a wonderful year!

C4K Post #3

http://kidblog.org/MrSalsich1415/

Daniela:

Hello everyone!  Here is my poem:

A turtle is small

A turtle is big

A turtle is green

A turtle is brown

A turtle can be painted

A turtle can even be a boxer too!!!

I hope you like my blog!

P.S.  When I said a boxer I meant a box turtle

My Comment to Daniela:

Hey Daniela! 

My name is Callie Barton and I am an elementary education major at the University of South Alabama. I just love this poem about turtles. Are turtles your favorite animal? When I was a young girl I had a pet turtle for a while but then I decided to let it go so it could be with its friends. It was a small brown turtle like in your poem. I have never been really good at writing poems but my husband is great at it. You seem to be very good at it also. Keep up the good work and never stop writing! 

Callie Barton

Blog Assignment #5 Part 1

My PLN

Before I had this assignment I had never heard of a PLN.  A Personal Learning Network "is the set of people and tools that you can call upon for help, consultation, collaboration, or other assistance" according to Dr. Strange. Your PLN can be a wonderful resource, especially as an educator. Being able to communicate and reach out to other educators is a great way to be more successful yourself as a teacher.

To begin developing my PLN I first made an account on Symbaloo.  I was surprised that there was already a Twitter and Facebook symbol that was already logged into my accounts.  I also liked the fact that Google search is directly in the middle with all of my other sites around it.  I watched the Symbaloo introduction video that is on the main page.  I then started playing around with it seeing how everything navigates.  I deleted some of the stock symbols and added some new ones to make it more personal.  I also organized them all into the most used to the least used sites.  I found this site to be so useful, easy, and organized that I saved it as my home screen for Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.  I added a tab at the top for all of my education resources so I can have them all in the same place.

One of the reasons it was so hard for me to keep up in this class in the beginning is that I feel overwhelmed when there are too many places to visit for assignments, blogs, checklists, etc.  When I am not organized I feel like I have no control.  Under my education resources tab I added my Blogger, EDM310s blog, and Google Drive so I will have my resources for this class all in the same place.  I feel like this will really help me to stay organized with all of my online resources.  I am excited to use this site and keep adding new resources.

Callie Barton

Project #4 C4T Summary 1

Beth Still - Nebraska Change Agent

http://bethstill.edublogs.org/

Comment #1
My teacher does not comment very often.  The first comment that I posted was a blog that she had wrote in June 12, 2014 about Chromebooks and the Chromebooks deployment.  She basically just wrote that she was invited to be a guest blogger for ISTE and wrote about her schedule.

I commented back congratulating her on her being invited to be a guest blogger and talked about how I was curious to know how the Chromebook deployment went.

Comment #2
The teacher did not post another blog since my last comment.  I scrolled back through and found the most recent post after that which was May 22, 2014.  She was discussing a tragic announcement that one of our fellow educators four year old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia.  She went on to discuss donations and prayer for the family.

I commented back with deep sympathy and how important it is to rally together when something so tragic happens.  Although we may not be in the same school or even state, we should feel like all fellow educators are apart of a little family.

Callie Barton

Project #15

Search Engines


1. WolframAlpha - I had never heard of this search engine until this project and I absolutely love it.  It is a very useful tool and gives you everything you could possibly want to know about whatever you want to know about.  It's really neat how you can put in math problems or any calculation and receive the solution.  If you type in one word, I put balloons, it will give you the definition, pronunciation, an image, first known use, origins of the word, synonyms, rhymes, and so on.  This search engine would be a great resource for students or anything knowledge base.  I will definitely use this search engine in the future.

http://www.wolframalpha.com/

2.  Bing - This search engine is a lot like Google,  You can search for something you want to know about and it pulls up links that you can click on to find out more.  You can look at videos, images, maps, news, and more for whatever you search.  It does have pictures and titles of recent popular headlines at the bottom of the screen that you can click on to find out more about them.  I thought that was really useful since I do not keep up with the news on television.

http://www.bing.com/

3.  Wikipedia - This search engine starts out giving you the option to use any language around the world.  One thing that I find useful about this website is the content box.  The content box is pretty much an outline of what is in the article.  If there is something specific that you want to know about the topic you are searching you can just click on the link in content and it will take you directly to the specific place you need to be in the article.  So instead of reading and scrolling through the whole article for one specific "fact" this will save you some time.  You can find information fast and easy but Wikipedia may not always be the most reliable source.

http://www.wikipedia.org/

4.  Ixquick - I have never used this search engine before now.  I think this site is more helpful for simple topics.  The search is pretty basic.  You just type in what you are looking for and it brings up links that you can choose from.  To the left it does have an option for you to choose how recent you would like the links/articles to be.  For instance if you would like only links/articles that have been published or updated within 24 hours you would click on Past 24 Hours and it would only bring up those links.  This site also ensures full privacy.

https://ixquick.com/

5.  Dogpile - Dogpile is a brand new search app.  I like that it has a "Favorite Fetches" on the main page.  This option lists what people search for most frequently.  This site also has tabs that you can click on if you want to use the web, see images, videos, news, local, shopping, and white pages to use for your search.  I find all of them to be useful but the white pages are a little different.  You can click on the white pages tab and it gives you the option to type in anyone's name and get their information, address, public records search, and reverse phone look up.  Once you find who you are looking for (it gives where all 'John Smith' worked, lived, and their age) you can even pay for a People Search Report and a Background Report.  I feel like this could be useful but could also be dangerous and an invasion of privacy.

http://www.dogpile.com/

6.  DuckDuckGo - This search engines main motto is that they do not track you.  Apparently people may search for things they don't want other people to see and I believe this reassures them that they will not get tracked.  This site works pretty much like all of the rest.  You type in something you want to know about and it brings up links about that topic that you can click on.  I found this search engine to pretty basic but helpful.

https://duckduckgo.com/

7.  Yahoo - This is a pretty popular search engine but I really haven't used it much myself.  Looking at the page I like the setup and that it has Top News, your local up to date weather, and Trending Searches that you can choose from.  It has many sub categories at the top including mail, news, sports, finance, weather, games, groups, and many more.  This site is much like Google in that they have their own email that people can set up and that you can pretty much do or find anything on this site.  I found this site to be very useful and will use it more often.

https://www.yahoo.com/

8.  Ask.com - I have never been on this site but I find it very interesting.  The first thing that I notice is the Question of the Day.  They have a multiple choice question that you can answer and it tells you if you were right or wrong.  If you were wrong it gives you the correct answer.  It also lists the previous questions of the day that you can answer.  On the right of the screen there is a poll you can take.  The poll question for this particular day is "Did the NFL make the right decision with Ray Rice?"  You answer yes or no and it gives you the current poll.  The search engine basically does the same thing as the rest of them.  You type in a question and it brings up links that you can choose to find out more information on your topic.  I found this site to be more entertaining and may use it more for just the trivia.

http://www.ask.com/

Callie Barton

Blog Assignment #4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

I never really thought about how to ask questions or that it even made a difference.  Reading and watching the suggested videos brought to light a whole new way to prepare and teach.  

In the article, "The Right Way to ask Questions in the Classroom", Ben Johnson brought up the age old question that every teacher asks, "Does everybody understand?".  I can't begin to count how many times my teachers have stood in front of the classroom and asked that question.  Almost 95% of the time no one said a word and just shook their heads yes.  I can only speak for myself but there were quite a few times when I wanted to ask a question because I didn't understand but I didn't ask.  The article also brought up the subject of roles that students play.  There are the smart kids, the not so smart kids, and the kids that simply just do not care.  The students seem to realize what their "roles" are and play them all throughout their school career.  I can see where this would be true and I find it to be very interesting.  As a future teacher I hope to be able to recognize these roles and come up with a way to not let them stick with the students.  I want all of them to feel smart and to care.  One of the suggestions on how to keep students on their toes and thinking was to wait three seconds after asking a question and then call on someone to answer.  This gives everyone enough time to think about what their are going to say if they get called.  I think this is a great suggestion that I will use in my classroom.

The next article, "Ask Questions to Improve Learning" brought up a few good points and suggestions.  As a teacher it is easy to get caught up in being the leader.  One of the suggestions in this article was to not interrupt the students when they are answering a question.  Even when you are jut trying to finish their sentence because you think you know what they are about to say.  I am guilty of this in my everyday life with family and friends so this is definitely something I will need to be aware of when I am teaching.  Another suggestion that was brought up in this article was to show that you are interested in the students answers whether they are right or wrong.  I think this will give the students more confidence in answering questions.

I found another source that I thought was very animated, colorful, and informative.  It is a YouTube video called "Questioning Strategies" by Lourdes Altamirano.  It pretty much just reiterates what the listed sources are saying but I found it to be more interesting and easier to watch.

The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom

Johnson, B. (2009, March 30). The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/asking-better-questions-deeper-learning-ben-johnson

Ask Questions to Improve Learning

Bloom, Benjamin (ed). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive Domain. New York: McKay, 1956.

Davis, Barbara Gross. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. 1993.

“Questioning Strategies.” Center for Teaching Excellence. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.http://cte.illinois.edu/resources/topics/methods/strateg.html.

McKeachie, Wilbert, et al. McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005.

© 2009, The Teaching Center, Washington University in St. Louis

Questioning Strategies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHAYLcUPZac

Callie Barton

Blog Assignment #3

Blog Post 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

a. Watch the video, What is Peer Editing?  Keep in mind that there will be no assignments or quiz as stated in the video presentation.  This short video offers clear, simple advice on how to edit effectively.

b. View the slideshow, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial.

c. Watch the humorous video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes.  Don't be a mean Margaret or a Picky Patty!

d. Write two or more paragraphs detailing what you learned from material listed in a, b, and c above.

Peer editing seems to be self explanatory but you actually need to learn rules and have some experience and/or practice to be effective.  In the video, What is Peer Editing?, I learned the 3 steps to editing which are compliments, rules, and to stay positive.  You would start with giving the person you are editing a compliment about their work.  You would then make suggestions on how they could make their work better.  You could make suggestions about word choice, using details, organization, sentences, etc.  Lastly you would make the corrections.  Be specific but be polite.  The slideshow, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, basically just reiterated the same peer editing steps in the first video.  Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes was very cute.  I learned by this video that there are a lot of mistakes that can be made when doing peer editing.  It is not only the editor that makes mistakes but sometimes the person you are editing that can be difficult.  One of my favorite examples was Defensive Dave.  It is easy to feel pride in ones work and it is hard when someone comes in and critics it.  

I actually learned more from these videos than I thought I would.  I always had a problem critiquing others work.  It was easier with the concrete corrections like grammar or punctuation but when it came to personal opinion I always kept it to myself.  I felt that it is their work and they could write how they wanted to.  I believe peer editing helps the editor more than it does the person who is being edited.  I think it opens up their eyes to mistakes and may help them edit and critique their work more closely.  I will use these videos as a reference when commenting on other students blogs and assignments.  This is also definitely an activity I will try in my classroom.

Callie Barton

Blog Assignment #2

Mr. Dancealot

I believe the central message of this video is you learn how you are taught.  The author makes the case by lecturing dance moves, standing behind a desk when showing the moves so you could not see his feet, and by not allowing the students to interact and practice and then asking them to show physically what they "learned" mentally for their exam.  You could tell in class that the teaching method wasn't working.  Half of the students were sleeping and the other half were confused.  When it came to the final exam and they were instructed to show what they had learned by dancing, none of them had a clue what they were doing.  I agree with the conclusion.  He had end with that conclusion to get the point across.  If he would have given a written test the students probably would have done a little better since they had written notes of his dance lectures.

Teaching in the 21st Century

I was a little unclear of what Roberts thinks it means to teach in the 21st century but I think what Roberts means is that teachers need to evolve with technology in the 21st century and use it to their advantage when teaching.  He is telling teachers not be to afraid of change but to embrace it because it's changing with or without us.
Students can find anything out at anytime with google, cell phone, twitter, etc.
Teachers are no longer our main source for knowledge
Meaning of creation now vs then
Rethink tools and types of problems we ask the students to solve
Challenge them use technology in their homework assignments
Entertainment vs Engagement
I definitely feel that he is right in some ways.  Technology is constantly evolving and in order for us to be successful teachers we have to evolve with it.  I don't agree that teachers will be obsolete. There are just some things that computers/technology can't do.  They can give you all of the facts and information you need but they can't show emotion and physical interaction which kids really need.  It will definitely affect me as an educator.  I grew up without cable television, without internet/computer, and they just released the cell phone when I was a teenager.  Most kids these days know how to use a cell phone and computer by the time they are 5 years old.  In order for me to keep up with technology in the classroom I will need to learn and know how to use it. Not only will I need it to keep up with my students but it will be great for teacher resources and communication with fellow educators.

The Networked Student

My reaction was somewhat confusing.  On one hand I see the great resources we have at our fingertips but on the other I feel like technology is taking over.  On a daily basis I see people on their phones while driving, while out on a date, while eating at a restaurant, and so on.  I am sort of an anti technology person because of this reason.  I feel like it is taking over real communication and social skills.  Because of this, I don't really keep up with social networking so I am always a step behind.  When it comes to learning, researching, and teaching I feel like these tools could be vital but they are all so confusing.  In this EDM class, which is a lot like the class described in the video, I find myself very confused, anxious, and worried.  There are too many new resources to keep up with.  Just having more than three tabs open at the top of my computers stresses me out.  Everything is easier once you learn it but when something is foreign to you it may take a little longer to adjust.  It was neat to see all of the research and information he received just from the internet.  Being able to communicate with people around the world allowed him to get a variety of opinions which made his research more interesting.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis' main point is to get her students comfortable with all kinds of technology.  She connects her students to the rest of the world by technology.  My reaction is it is very important for students to comfortably navigate a computer but it is not the most important.  That is just my personal opinion.  I may be stubborn but I am not stupid.  I know one day pen and paper will be obsolete and there will be nothing but technology. These classes will better help prepare the students for their future.

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?

Elementary is definitely ahead in the learning race.  As an undergrad I feel that this is not our fault.  We did not grow up with the technology we have today. We didn't have individual Macbooks or iPads that were given to us in elementary school nor any one to teach us how to use it.  I wouldn't even have a laptop now if my job didn't provide one for me.  This is not an excuse, just the facts.  I'm sure when the kids in the video get in college the elementary students will be ahead of them in the learning race.

Flipping the Classroom

Yes, this is the first time I have heard of flipping the classroom,  I do believe it will be useful to me as a teacher.  It will allow the students to be prepared when they enter the classroom.  It will cut out more of the lesson  time and provide more time for questions and practicing problems.  This would have to be something I would have to review in classrooms that uses this process before I would use it in mine.  It is a great concept but it could also make things more confusing.

Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom

Teaching them how to act and respond from the beginning is something I could use in my classroom.  Letting them know that it's OK to be enthusiastic and to discuss and interact with the other students about the subject I am teaching.  Most teachers tell their students to sit down and be quite throughout the class.  That is boring and it makes the students not excited about what you are teaching them.

Callie Barton