Comments4Kids #3

For this week's comments4kids assignment, I commented on Noah's blog post about his science experiments. One experiment that his class did is watching meal worms change into beetles. The experiment is not complete yet, but he said that he is really enjoying the experiment. Another experiment they have done in science class is making a plateau out of sand and clay. The students poured water over the plateau to show erosion making it in the plateau change into a delta. I told Noah that my mom used to teach 6th grade science and she would do science experiments with her class on a regular basis. I told him that I like experiments because they are hands on and I learn better with hands on activities. I told Noah to keep up the great work and to continue talking about his fun science experiments that he has done in class.

ACCESS

What is ACCESS? ACCESS is Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. The goal of ACCESS is to provide additional education to high school students in the state of Alabama. I think it is wonderful that ACCESS is helping low income high schools offer the Advanced Diploma and also AP courses for students to take. I do not really like that the classes are online because I think that high school students still need the classroom.

I don't think I will use ACCESS because I am going to be teaching Elementary School and ACCESS is for High School Students. I also don't particularly like ACCESS because the website was hard to navigate around. I went to Hoover High School, a school where money is not an issue. Hoover High School offers several AP courses and even the IB program. I guess I just am not as big a fan of ACCESS as I am ALEX because I will not be using it in my classroom and I graduated from one of the top academic schools in the state. I'm happy that the state is trying to make more schools like Hoover, but the low income schools also have the students that aren't as motivated in school, so I think it could be a waste of money.

ALEX

What is ALEX? ALEX is the Alabama Learning Exchange. The website is wonderful for teachers because it has the Alabama Course of Study, Lesson Plan examples, and Web links for teachers and students. The Alabama Course of Study tells teachers exactly what to teach in each content area based on the grade level. Not only does it tell the teachers what subjects need to be covered, but also gives lesson plan examples for the content required and helpful weblinks. The ALEX Website is wonderful for teachers of all grade levels to use as they are preparing lessons, especially since it is FREE!

I know for a fact that I will use the Alabama Course of Study section of the website to make sure that prepare my students for the next grade level. I think it is wonderful that the website offers teachers lesson plans to go along with the material. Lesson plans can be so time consuming and it is sometimes difficult to come up with good ideas, so I love the fact that ALEX is willing to share ideas to shorten the process some. There are also podcasts up on the webpage which can be really helpful to teachers. I will definitely use ALEX as a teacher and I recommend that others do aswell.

Comments4Kids #2

For this week's Comments4Kids assignment, I commented on Mark's blog. He wrote about his group Lego robotics project and how he was the one who did most of the work. He was very aggravated when he would be working while the other people in the group were goofing off. He said that next time he has group work, he will be sure to pick better partners. I told him that I used to hate doing group work with people who don't contribute to the project. I told him that it is very frustrating, but told him to keep up the good work. I also told him that if he makes an A on the project that it is his his work that got the group the good grade. I know that most people can relate to what happened to Mark in his group.

Comments4Kids #1

Students in Mr. Goerend's class has written several blog posts for people around the world to read and comment on. I commented on five of the students blog posts this week. The first post that I commented on is by a boy named David. David suggested International Football Day. I love the idea of international football day because I love football. I told him that I am very upset that I will not be able to attend USA's last football game of the season because it is on a Thursday and conflicts with class. The second post that I commented on was written by a boy named Cody. Cody talks about National Hop like a Kangaroo Day. The origin of this day is really meaningful to a boy named Max who didn't have an option but to hop like a kangaroo. I told Cody that I'm sure that Max felt very special when he saw everyone else in his class hopping around just like he did. Kids who do things to cheer up their friends are really awesome people!
The third post that I commented on was written by a student who referred to themselves as MS5. MS5 talks about national dress like a clown day! The day sounds like a lot of fun and I told MS5 that it reminds me of when I was in Kindergarten and had a lot of fun dressing up as a clown for school one day! And since everyone was dressed the same, it was a lot of fun! The fourth post that I commented on was written by Anna. She talked about National Mime Day. The day originated when she lost her voice after screaming at a football game and had to learn how to communicate to the people around her through hand gestures. I told her that the idea is great because it shows people how difficult it is to communicate when you don't have a voice. The last blog that I commented on was written by Noah. His post was about eating like sumo wrestlers. It is a day where you get to eat all you want, put on sumo wrestler suits, wrestle, and then eat more. It sounds like fun, but I would probably make myself sick by eating a lot! I think all the blogs the students wrote where they get to create an international holiday that they would like to celebrate is a wonderful idea and lets the students use their imaginations!

Dear Kaia

I absolutely love the ways that Mr. William Chamberlain uses blogging in his classroom. I looked at his classroom blog as part of my PLN and got some really great ideas from it. I loved it then and I love it even more now after seeing his influence in Kaia's life. Most teachers will give assignments to their class and not put much effort into it; Mr. C, on the other hand, puts effort into his assignments and really cares about what his students learn.

Comments4Kids is one of the weekly assignments that the students in his classroom have to complete. One blog that the students comment on is the blog of a three year old named Kaia. Kaia's father contacted Mr. C via twitter and decided to have a conversation on Skype with Mr. C's class. Since Kaia is only three years old she does not know how to read, so Mr. C's class put together a video of the comments they wrote on her blog. The class and Kaia's father turned just another weekly assignment into a meaningful project, both for the class and Kaia's family. Kaia's father even talks about the event in his blog. Mr. C, I think, seems like he would be a great teacher because he does actually care about what he does! When Kaia's dad asks him for audio or video for Kaia, Mr. C and his class put effort into creating a voicethread for Kaia. Mr. C is the perfect example of a good teacher who makes an impact in the lives of not only the students in his class but in people around the world. He commented on my PLN post this morning and it made me really feel good that he took time out of his day to comment on my blog post that took me such a long time to write.
Kaia is an adorable three year old girl that can really make an impact in people's lives through what her father has told her. She writes in her blog about how she loves to spend time outside, despite living in the desert. Her father took her outside one day to take pictures. I'm surprised at how Kaia's pictures turned out (you never would think that a three year old took them). She has a video of her talking about the pictures on the blog and how something as a whole can look so ugly, but parts of it can be so beautiful. Kaia is an intelligent girl and has a really good perspective of life.

Personal Learning Network (PLN)

Classroom blogs can be very helpful for teachers, parents, and students! I have developed a Personal Learning Network to get ideas on different ways that teachers use blogs in their classroom.
Mr. William Chamberlain uses his class blog to model technology use to teachers and students. His students can post on the blog with video, text, and pictures. He has links to useful websites that students can use to help them with their classwork. He even has a link to where his students can call him for help via Google and Skype. I think that is really great that he has the link because a lot of times when I have a question for a teacher, I don't know how to type it in words that the teacher will understand. Skype can really help students because they can talk for free through computer using the Skype phone; allowing the students to contact Mr. Chamberlain in an easier way than email.

Mr. Jarrod Lamshed uses his class blog to communicate with his students. He posts announcements for both his students and the community to see. He posted a video of a performance that the class had at Festival Theatre. He even has a schedule of events coming up in the classroom. Mr. Lamshed encourages the use of blogs saying they are great because you can give and receive feedback from other students, parents, and the community! I agree with him.

Mrs. Candace Follis uses her class blog to inform students what they will be doing throughout the school year. She has tabs for each of her subjects so that her students can find their way around the blog easily. The studens can look at the blog to find out what they are getting into before even signing up for the class. Not only can Mrs. Follis' students use her blog, but also new teachers. She posts her lesson plans so that other teachers can get ideas on how to cover a certain story covered in the literature class. I think it is great of her to share her ideas and I know that if I were teaching High School Literature I would definitely visit her blog on a regular basis.

Mr. Michael Fawcett has a really organized class blog that is wonderful for his students. He posts his class newsletter in a tab at the top of his blog for easy student access. Not only does Mr. Fawcett have the newsletter for his students to access at the click of a button, but he also has addition and subtraction practice tests. He has the spelling words posted onto his blog and links for students to access helpful websites. I also really like his blog because he adds pictures from classroom assignments.

Mrs. Kelly Hines has a class blog, but I like her blog for teachers better. She gives new teachers really good tips on classroom procedures and even the unwritten rules for new teachers. I really appreciate her tips because they will be very helpful as I work on my Classroom Management portfolio. She gives teachers some really great ideas on how to incorporate technology in the classroom. I also like Mrs. Hines class blog for her students. I like how she tells about what her class has done outside of the classroom and posts pictures. She also posts questions for the students to think about and answer in a comment.

All the blogs that I have looked at are wonderful classroom blogs. It is hard for me to choose a favorite! The information on the blogs is helpful for anyone who looks at the blogs. The students look at the blogs for homework, classroom information, and anything else the teacher decides to post onto the blog. The parents look at the blogs to stay connected with their child and being involved in their education. Other teachers look at the blogs as a PLN to learn ways that they can change their classroom blogs to make it easy for the students to navigate, answer questions, and even communicate with the teacher.

New Media Skills

I agree with the video, New Media Skills, that the skills judgement, negotiation, appropriation, play, transmedia, navigation, simulation, collective intelligence, performance, distributed cognition, visualization, and multitasking are needed to survive in the 21st century. I possess the majority of these skills. Judgement is used to personally decide what is right or wrong. Negotiation is used to work out a conflict with someone. Appropriation is used to budget both my time and my money. Play is something I do for fun so that I can relax. Transmedia navigation is all the social networks that I have joined. Performance is the way that I used everything in order to succeed. Mulititasking is a skill that EVERY person (especially students) must master! I use all these skills every day, whether I realize it or not!

Why Do We Even Need Teachers??

I think that even the networked student needs a teacher. Teachers know what needs to be covered in a particular class or subject. Many classes are offered online, which I think is wonderful. Online classes allow college, and even high school, students to get credit for a class without actually having to show up in class. However, even online classes still have the idea of a teacher. The teacher posts the assignments onto the website and uploads everything that the student needs. Without the teacher, the students could learn the completely wrong thing and end up failing in their career.

Teachers also are there to teach students how to be more computer literate, especially in the elementary schools. Elementary School teachers can incorporate computers into their lessons to make learning more fun for the students. Children think that computers are extremely cool and would love to do the majority of their work on the computer. Children NEED to know how to use the computer in order to succeed in the 21st Century where computers are pretty much taking over society.

Students of all ages need a teacher in order to learn what they need to learn. Teachers are there to teach and to answer any questions. Yes, most questions can be answered in a youtube video, but sometimes it helps knowing that there is a teacher that you can ask for help. Teachers will still be needed as much in 10 years as they are today, they will just have to keep up with technology and not let technology completely take over.

This Is How We Dream

I think that I am prepared, as a teacher, for the improvements that are being made in technology. I think that it is wonderful that technology has improved so much. You don't have to go to a Library in order to find what you need. If you do go to the Library, they still have computers to help you find what you need, rather than card catalogs. Technology has improved so much over the years and I think it is for the better. Computers have made education so much easier both for teachers and for students.

I do not think that the students will have a problem adapting to the changes in technology because they have grown up with it. Most students can't even imagine a life without computers and cell phones. Using computers is part of every day life in the world today. If students do not know how to use them, they can typically learn very easily. I think that my students will not have any difficulty writing with multimedia! I think that improvements in technology will just get better and better for education.

Since most things are on the internet, the cost for education can be much cheaper. If all textbooks are posted online then college students will not have to waste $300 on textbooks that they typically don't even use! I know the internet is not completely reliable (especially at USA where wireless connections are terrible) but having computer based assignments is a lot cheaper. Computers can be used for everything in education... and I think it is a good thing.

iPods

How can iPods be used in education? The Hoover City School System, I know, has already incorporated iPods into education. Teachers in the third grade at Riverchase Elementary School use iPods to allow students to hear themselves read aloud. Each teacher was provided two iPods and a voice recorder to use in the classroom. The students can read aloud into the voice recorder and later go back and listen to what they read. It is a great way for teachers to listen to students read and notice progress in the students reading by listening to the first recording of the year and the last.

Not only can iPods be used for education in Elementary school but also in Universities across the nation. Duke University has incorporated iPods into the classroom. Duke News tells readers that the use of iPods in the classroom has quadrupled after one year in the classroom. The University even provided first year students in 2004 with a FREE iPod. Now they give undergraduate students who enroll in a course that requires an iPod a free iPod. I know that if I went to Duke, I would enroll in a class that uses the iPods because I think that educators and students can do so much with technology.

iTunes U

iTunes U is a wonderful resource for both students and teachers. It is a free program from iTunes that allows anyone to access educational resources. Teachers can use iTunes U in the classroom. They can pull up an interesting book or video and share it with the class. They can download any podcasts or videocasts that will help them to better teach a subject that they are trying to teach. Each University on iTunes U can use the program to get certain information out to the Faculty and Students of the university.

It is great for students because it is a free program! If a student is struggling with a certain topic in school, he or she can go to iTunes U and find a podcast that better explains the topic so that they can have a better understanding of the subject. Suffolk University uses iTunes U to communicate with their students about speakers and interesting research on campus. iTunes U can also be a tool used for Alumni and prospective students to know what the University has to offer. I think iTunes U is wonderful for teachers, students, or anyone who wants to learn something.

Google Earth

What is Google Earth and how can it be used for teaching? Dr. Alice Christie answers these questions on her web page. Google Earth is a program that allows users to view maps, buildings, and other geographical elements. It is FREE, so anyone with access to a computer can download the program. Google Earth is a wonderful program to use in the classroom because it allows the students to interact, thus making a boring subject more fun.

Dr. Christie gives a few good reasons telling why Google Earth should be used in the classroom. One of her reasons is that it turns geography into reality, making the topic more exciting for the students. The students can better understand the concepts by using Google Earth to visualize information about the world. Dr. Christie even gives a few Google Earth lesson examples to help teachers incorporate Google Earth into the lesson. The website also has Google Earth tutorials and other Google resources to help teachers. Dr. Christie has a great website to help teachers incorporate technology into an every day lesson.