Blog Post #16: My Final Reflection

Part 2 Blog Post #5 Progress with my PLN

I have used my PLN on symbaloo about once a week, not as much as I should have. I started to understand it way more and I think I will be using it a lot more in the futire  for all my classes and even work further in the future. It is a great way to organize all of the websites I use on a daily basis even for websites I needed to return to later on in the month for example the C4K assignment in this EDM 310 class. I would definitely recommend anyone to create a personal learning network.

  

C4T #4

The Title of his Blog: Yo: A Math Teacher's Blog

Post #1 Niko Rowinsky frist post was titled "Is This Going To Be On the Test". He talked about how students would ask him this question and he worried why. He came to the conclusion that students only asked this question to study the material only for the test and forget it later on. I thought he was absolutely right, and I couldn't agree more.

My Comment:Hi my name is Janae, a student at The University of South Alabama. I have asked this question plenty of times in high school, but I never thought there was anything wrong with it. Now that I see how this question is approached from the perspective of a teacher I can see how there is a problem with it. It does make sense that a student would study the material only for the test and forget it later on.


Post #2 The next post Niko told his class to create a video. The prompt was "If you nhad 30 seconds to tell the whole world about math, what would it be? What point would you make? What story about you and math would you tell?" I thought this was very interesting and the students did a great job.

My Comment:  Hi, My name is Janae Ivory, a secondary math education major at the University of South Alabama. All I can say after watching these videos is "WOW!" Amazing! I liked the the second video so much because the number one question I always hear is "When will I ever use math?', and that video addressed that question. Your students did a wonderful job. this makes me so excited to become a math teacher now. Thanks for Sharing!

C4K Summary for November

          Mikaela wrote her blog post on similes and metaphors. She wrote two poems about dogs and best friends. She did a really good job defining these two definitions.
My Comment: Hi Mikaela! My name is Janae, and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama. I remember learning about similes and metaphors when I was in the 5th grade. I love your poems, and the pictures that you posted also. Great job defining a simile and a metaphor then giving examples. GREAT POST!!!!!Her Reply: Thank you! I love writing similes and metaphors! I really enjoy it and I get to share my ideas with people!

          Trey showcased his idea of a product. He created a product of a chair that has heating and cooling,  someone could sit outside whether its cold or hot. .My Comment: Hi, i'm Janae Ivory a student at the University of South Alabama. Wow, what an amazing product design. This is such a smart idea, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to sit outside drinking a hot cup of chocolate looking at the beautiful snow, and the only thing that would make better is a warm place to sit. Great Job!!!!!
          Reagan has wrote her post on finishing her first quarter strong and she is looking forward to starting her second quarter. She has even set goals to become a better reader and writerMy Comment: Hi Reagan, my name is Janae Ivory, a student at the University of South Alabama. Great job in finishing the first quarter. It is wonderful that you have learned so much in the first quarter and have set goals for yourself in the second quarter. 

Blog Post #14

Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein

Problems:
Seniority: Layoffs, Rewards etc.
Pick from the Best

Seniority:
I completely agree with everything Klein had to say on this topic. It is a huge problem that seniority overrules pretty much everything. If a teacher is not willing to change to  help the student learn, or if they may not be a very good teacher they should not be able to have immunity based on how many years they taught. For example, I graduated from a school in Long Beach, Ca, and the school district was unfortunately doing layoffs due to budget cuts. One of my and the school's favorite teacher was given a pink slip because she was a new teacher; she had only been teaching for 2 years.  She was an algebra and geometry teacher and everyone loved the way she taught, she made math understandable, but another teacher who had been teacher for 20+ years wasn't fired because he had been teaching for so long but his teaching methods were not effective. I also agree with proposed solution.

Pick from the Best:
I agree with Klein on this idea as well.It is very true that teachers are hired on degree alone and not on their set of skills. I agree with Klein, it would be a very good thing for teachers to be chosen from the top third of their class.

This article has opened my eyes to the teaching field and has made me think back to realize what I read is often true. These are major problems with fairly easy solutions. I think the main thing that needs to be done is for individuals in the field of education to think of whats best for the students.

Blog Post #13: What did I leave out?

Directions

How could Project Based Learning be used in math? 

We have seen how project based learning is used in history, science, and english, with students doing their own research, and creating a project using some form of technology whether they used iPads, a smart board, or computer. Use the sources below to give an example of how PBL could be used in math. Make sure you answer the question that follows the standards in Writing a Quality Blog Post.

Project-Based Math: Beyond the Textbook

PBL in Math

The Assignment

How could Project Based Learning be used in math?

Project-Based Math: Beyond the Textbook

In this video we saw students working together in groups on assignments and a project. I think the students learned more, and understood things more because they were able to discuss with each other. The students enjoyed creating projects and they all said they learned a lot more through PBL. They were excited about learning more and getting better grades.

PBL in Math
When using PBL in math it is important to have students move around and work together as a group. Its even better when students are able to go outside and use real world examples to solve math equations.Most students are not able to understand math by doing multiple problems out of a textbook, they want to learn in a fun way.

Project Based Learning  could be used by using real world examples, and situations to learn math. It could be used by working in groups and discussing everything with their peers where it's more understandable.

Project #12 Smart Board Instruction Part B

C4T #3

I commented on Lois Lindemann's blog. The title of the first post I commented on is titled Back to School-Time to Set some Goals. This post was about what she expected for the school year ahead and goals she set for herself for the beginning of the school year like remembering all of her new students' name by the end of the first week. She also says how she would like to establish routines so she would not have to reinforce practical classroom routines every lesson.

My Comment:

Hello my name is Janae Ivory and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. My major is Secondary Mathematics Education. I am very excited to become a high school math teacher, and reading your post about the goals you have set for yourself for the beginning of the school year has me more excited than ever. Setting goals are very important to me because it is a way for me to stay organized and to keep up with everything. I also want to commend you on trying to learn every students name in only a week’s time because im sure its a lot of names to learn. It was great reading your post, I hope you achieve all of your goals and have a wonderful school year. 

Her second post is titled (An Unusual) Measure for Measure. This post was about an experience this teacher had when trying to figure out how much weight would be enough for her car to carry and how many trips would she have to take. She stated in the post that she wasn't good at converting kilograms however she knew how much a cyclist weighed, so she used that to determine how much she could carry i n her car at once. She said in the end thatb was a great unit of measurement to use and she will be using Fabian Cancellaras (the name of the cyclist she used) in the future.

My Comment:

Hi my name is Janae Ivory, a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama, and I am a secondary mathematics  education major. This was a really cool post to read. It was so interesting to read how you used math in an everyday situation. When people learn what my major is they ask me why and say "when will you ever use math", but I just respond with "I love Math". But thanks for sharing this story, it was very entertaining to read. 

Blog Post #12

      Math is tough alone, and the hardest subject in school for some. I could only imagine how difficult it could be for a blind individual. In the video Teaching Math to the Blind Professor Art Karshmer introduces a tool that allows blind students to still use Braille, something they're familiar with, and electronic feedback. Instead of the math problem written in one horizontal line the student can align the math problem the way it should be. They are also able to receive verbal feedback of the math problem.
          I think this tool is very useful for blind students. It is important for them to understand math because as Professor Art Karshmer said in order to get a job in engineering, technology, computer sciences etc. math is an important part of the equation, and the easier it is to practice and understand it the better,  with this tool its definitely possible. As a future math teacher I am excited to know that there are instruments like the one in the video to help these students understand math more and gets them ready for the future ahead of them in what ever career path they choose to go on.
     The website  Teaching Visually Impaired has numerous articles of tools available for teachers to use with their students. In the article Math Adaptations by Carmen Willings she talks about what teachers can do to make math more understandable and even suggests which instruments ans tools work best with each area of math. -Janae Ivory

This short six minute YouTube video, Braille in the Classroom, it helps you understand how braille works, how it is helpful, and some of the different types of braille. One of the devices they use is called braille display. This device will connect to the computer and will transfer the text from a computer screen into braille for the student. In the YouTube video iPad Usage for the Blind usage for the blind</a> he shows us how to use the iPad from a blind person point of view. As he demonstrates, you can hear how he has the voice control instructing him in he background. The voice control helps him  find his apps, tools, or whatever item he is looking for. Having an iPad in the classroom would be very beneficial to the student. Especially since everything is changing into technology. -Macy Roe :)

Assistive technology can help students with learning disabilities leverage their education. It can be a wonderful tool for students that have Dysgraphia which affects a student's writing ability. This disability primarily affects handwriting and coherence. Students with this writing disorder will not perform efficiently when being taught how to form letters. Furthermore, they will probably forget how to correctly form words later because of improper movements of muscles required to write. However, there have been technologies created to help them counter this problem.

Dragon Dictation is a speech recognition application that  produces words you speak  by recording your voice. It allows you to update social media statuses such as facebook and twitter by speaking. Dragon allows you to speak and send emails or text messages. Additionally, people can create notes and reminders to help them navigate throughout the day. This technology could be useful for students in the classroom who have Dysgraphia because it would allow them to complete their writing assignments by speaking out their words. As a teacher I could allow a student to use their device to assist them in the writing process. This is another way technology is affecting education in a positive way because it is assisting students who have learning disabilities.-Justin Thomas

My family has a history of hearing impairment. My maternal grandfather wore hearing aids from his 40s on to his death at 89. My mother is very hard of hearing, as are most of her siblings. I have lost a significant amount of hearing in my right ear due to military service and I imagine my genetics don't help with that. I have often thought of what it would be like if I was afflicted with my family's impairment at a school age. This post was a great chance to see what would be available to me if I was a hearing impaired student today. The Hearing Loss Association of America has a section of its website dedicated to Hearing Assistive Technology. In the link they talk about an FM system. I have vivid memories of my grandfather using one of these to listen to the TV. After multiple complaints from my grandmother about him blasting Braves games at full volume they invested in one of these FM systems. He placed the receiver close to the speakers of the TV and he had it hooked into his hearing aids. As an educator, I can see this working well in the classroom. The teacher could simply wear the receiver around his or her neck, or keep it on the desk if it was powerful enough, and the student could take it from class to class. It seems kind of primitive in today's technological world, but if it isn't broke, don't fix it. I guess.

Linked here is a video from Oklahoma about Assistive Technologies that educators can use to help deaf/hearing impaired students. Around the 5:30 mark of the video, the iPad is discussed. It seems as though iPads are becoming quite the norm in classrooms these days. I found this short section of the video to be very interesting, as I'm expecting to have iPads available to me in my future classrooms. Here is a short video of deaf students using iPads for the first time. You can see how excited the children are, but also look and see how engaged they are in their learning. My wife, God bless her, is an avid Pinterest user and heard me talking about this blog post. She very quickly found this board. I don't really know how Pinterest works, but there is some really great information on that link. That's what's so great about our modern world today; there's so much information out there. I think that if we just put forth the effort, real effort, to find it, then we will always be in a position to help our students. -Kyle Parrish

Blog Post #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

Back to the Future
Brian Crosby, the speaker and the teacher in this video has shown plenty of examples on how he is able to capture the interest and encourage his students to learn in a fun and enthusiastic way. He allows his students to be involved in hands on activities such as the hot air balloon project or the soda can project. Crosby then has his students post what they learned during the science project to their blog instead of taking a 20 question test. I think what we can learn from him is that their isn't just one way to teach, that teachers should teach in a way that benefits the student the most. By doing this the student learns in a fun way and is most likely to remember what they learned.

Blended Learning Cycle
In this video Paul Anderson introduces Q.I.V.E.R.S., a system that proved well for his students. It stands for question, investigate, video, elaborate, review, and summary quiz. This is one method of teaching that I have not come across in this class yet. What we can learn about teaching and learning from this video is that teachers don't have to teach from power point presentations or just write notes on the white board, there are other ways like QU.I.V.E.R.S. that allows students to learn and be engaged in what is in front of them.

Sam Pane 4th Grade - Building Comics
In this video Mr. Pane was very active in his class. He opened class with a driving question and led a discussion with his class. They discussed their topic and he assigned them to create a comic about what they discussed, But before they did their own they built one together. I think what we ca learn about teaching and learning from Mr. Pane is to engage the class in a discussion to get them interested in what they will be learning and to get them involved in a test run for an activity before they do it on their own

Project 14: Project Based Learning Plan #2

Our group decided to assign a group project for 11th grade high school students. They will create a digital media project of their choice showing the whether or not the events of Pearl Harbor had an effect on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.They will have one week to complete the project. I have provided links to the rubrics that will be used, the project overview, the calendar that shows when each part of the project should be done, and the checklist we used to make sure our project our project was up to standards.

Project Overview

Project Calendar

Rubric for Individual Performance in a Group

Rubric for Evaluation of a Project

PBL Checklist

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

Mrs. Cassidy says plenty of times in all three videos that technology is not going anywhere, that teachers should strive to learn technology and use it to help students learn in a fun way. Mrs. Cassidy uses blogs, games, and Skype in her classroom. She allows her students to connect with students all around the world and discuss the things they do in the classroom. She organized her class in to centers, she says she has a reading center, a center where they use Nintendo DS for games, and a center where the students blog. I think the technique I would use that she uses is a class blog. I would start a blog where the students would blog every week about what they learned, if they liked what they learned and what they found difficult and easy. If I were to encounter any problems such as bad comments or for student to come across something inappropriate on the internet, I would educate my students on why its wrong to leave bad comments, and   why its important not to stray from the websites they are assigned to use. By using these approaches I would hope that students would be excited to come to class to learn and do projects, and to share their work with students all over the world.

C4K Summaries for October

London wrote a blog post tilted "You Don't See Me", this post was a poem about how she is different and would like for others to understand her situation before they judge her. I loved this poem she wrote because I feel like everyone is judged for the decisions they make and could easily relate to this poem. I commented that we can all learn not to pass judgement based off the decisions others make when we do not fully understand the situation and have not looked at it through the other persons perspective. I really liked her post.

Brody discussed finding a cure for aging in his blog post. He said he would love to find the cure because he would be able to make lots of money, he would be able to see generation after generation, and he would be able to invent lots of things because he would have all the time in the world. He ended his post asking if we would like to find the cure for aging. I first commented on the creativity of the subject and how it made me think. I also said that I would not like to find the cure for aging because everyone is meant to live and die, but if the cure was found, only a select few should know about it and use it to keep the earth in balance. Brody's post was very thought out and unique.

Eden wrote a descriptive poem on a wedding, He used plenty of descriptive words and told his image of a wedding. I commented on how much detail he used and how I loved his image of a wedding. He did a really good job. 

Oloti post was pictures of the plane he built with paper, cups, hot glue gun and more. His class was reading about Jeff Thomson, an artist who created many things like an elephant, car, boot, and a chicken with corrugated iron. I commented on how great his plane model looked and that I liked how he gave some background knowledge on Jeff Thomas because I have no idea who he is.

Project #12: Smart Board Tools

Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?

Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning
The seven essentials are: a need to know, a driving question, student voice and choice, 21st century skills, inquiry and innovation, feedback and revision, and a publicly presented project.

Project Based Learning for Teachers
Project based learning helps students learn collaboration skills, critical thinking skills, and career and life skills. PBL meets stats standards and always have driving question. technology should be applied, anything from Popplet to Google Docs and any other online learning site or tool.

High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementation
In this video teachers had to learn a new way of teaching, they had to change what they had been doing for years. teachers had to think of ways to apply PBL to math and English. In the end they designed amazing PBL projects that students loved.

PBL: What Motivates Students
Almost all of the students in this video said what motivated him was what they would gain in the future whether it was a job or career, get a degree, and a house. They all said that in order to get these things they would have to do good in school and go to college. The students in this video also commented on what rewards they receive in school and how they like them.

Project- Based Learning: Success Start to Finish
In this video students presented their PBL projects. They also spoke on how they felt about this new way of learning, and had nothing but good things to say. They loved being able to learn in a new ways and they loved watching the presentations because they weren't required to do power points, they could do skits and other fun stuff.

Students can teach us about what works better for them as far as how they learn the best. They are able to show us if the methods we use interest them, helps them understand concepts, and if it gets them ready for standardized tests. Teachers can teach us that project based learning can help students learn in a fun yet informative way. They let students have input on what they are able to do and this allows the student to be more excited about school.

Implications and Teaching Opportunities for Camera Use in Teaching and Learning

Part A
     Technology is a big part of our world today. It seems as if scientists are trying to figure out every way possible for us to adopt technology into our lives, and it is so hard to run from it, so I say embrace it and use it to our advantage. Technology should definitely be used in school if it could help not only students but teachers learn too. Its wonderful that we have information right at our fingertips, we just have to find it. The information that was provided on the EDM Class Blog talked about how much we use our smartphone and the camera mainly. I think cameras are an amazing thing to use while in school. For example if a science teacher were to take their class to the park, or beach, or somewhere where nature is easy to identify, students would be able to take pictures of everything they found interesting, like plants, insects, birds etc., and simply search those photos in a search engine to find additional information. There are many ways to use the internet, laptop programs, and apps for education purposes.
       We can even look at social media networks as a way to connect with people all over the world who share our same educational interest. Just think, a class in CA could connect with a class across the country in NY, or even across the world in Australia, using Skype, or Google hangouts, or even complete projects with each other using Google Drive. Technology today has allowed us to learn in fun ways and has students looking forward to going to school and learning.

Part
If I was to assume that my entire math class had a smart phone, tablet or iPad, I would have them save their money and not make it mandatory to buy a $100 graphing calculator, I would just let them use their devices. They would use programs like Padlett to compare answers to questions, and other online math programs like Geogebra, and  Desmos to complete math projects and group work. (I discovered these two programs from a teacher's blog that I was assigned to earlier this week.) They would find math blogs and websites to find easy ways to remember formulas and thermos, and discuss methods they use to solve math equations and remember math equations. They would use their camera to record their work, and share it with other students and the teacher, when they are in school or at home.

Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Learn Teaching and Learning from Randy Pasuch?

        One thing that really stood out to me was when Pausch was referring to a moment in the semester where he required teams of four students to complete a project in 2 weeks. He said they really surprised him and explained that the work that was turned in looked as if it was done in an entire semester and it was "A" material. The moral of this story is never underestimate what your students can and can not do. This is great advice  for a future teacher. We can also become great learners by self reflection. If we can look at our work and feedback that is given to us, and change those things we could all become better teachers and learners. We can also learn to love the job we have as a teacher, because if we do then our students would love what we teach them, and are excited to turn in projects and present. This was a wonderful lecture and I loved every bit of it. I learned a lot and it has me even more excited to become a teacher and a learner.

I have provided a link to this amazing lecture so you all can watch and enjoy!

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

C4T #2

           I commented on David Sladkey's blog.  The title of his blog is Reflections of a High school Math Teacher." I found this blog to be very beneficial to read because I am in school to become a high school math teacher.
           The first post I read was "Have the Student Teach the Class: Student Engagement Wheel." Sladkey explains why it is  important for students to engage in the class, and why he thinks students should teach the class. He wants students to experience the same feelings teachers do when they have taught something to the class and everyone understands it. My comment was, I told him that I agreed with him, that I was planning on becoming a math teacher, and how useful the engagement wheel is, and how I can't wait to use it as a future teacher.
             The second comment I left on his blog was for the post titled "Shifting to the use of Desmos and Geogebra Online Graphing Calculators." I really enjoyed reading this post because Sladkey introduces two programs dedicated to the math field, Desmos and Geogebra. He explains what these websites are, how he uses them with is students, and even gives images of how one student uses these programs. I was very excited to leave a comment on this post. I wrote how it was exciting to learn about a program specifically for the Math field. After learning about all the programs used for teaching in this class I was trying to figure out how it would all apply to math, this is why I found the Desmos and Geogebra websites so interesting.

Project #9 Video Commentary

This is my group discussing the topic that was assigned to us which is provided below.

"Is [education] just for tomorrow, or is it for the rest of our students' live? Do we
need to teach them things that even we agree they don't need to know, except in order to pass the
test? When we see the bored looks on their faces, do we just turn away and blame them, or do we
change?" (p. 190, Teaching Digital Natives ) What evidence does Prensky give in Teaching
Digital Natives to support this conclusion? What other evidence would you offer to support it?
Do you agree entirely with his assessment? If not, what reservations do you have and what
evidence do you offer as an explanation for those misgivings? Finally, how must teachers and
teaching change? Is that possible? Is it likely?

Blog Post #7: How Do We All Become Learners

1. We can all become learners by opening our mind and accepting new information. As a future math teacher I honestly do not think I will not be using much technology, but I do think technology is great for other subject for research like science, history, and English literature. As far as project based learning plans I will be using this tool.

2. How to make an audio QR code
In this video I learned how to create a QR code. The way the Ms, Michele explained how to create a QR code was very helpful. Honestly, before I watched this video I didn't even know what a QR code was. Iv'e seen them before but had no idea what it was.

3. iPad Reading Center
In this video I learned that a student does not have to sit in class and listen to the teacher lecture. Technology can help us all learn in a fun cool way.

4. Poplet with Ginger Tuck
I learned that there are numerous programs out there that can students learn more and in a fun way.

5. We All Become Learners
I learned that everyone could become learners when we use technology. Teachers don't know everything, and we shouldn't expect them too, but in a lot of cases teachers learn from their students. In this video it was discussed how a student helped the teacher use a program correctly, and the teacher was then able to pass her new knowledge of the program to her other students.

Project 13: Project Based Learning Plan

Our group decided to create a project on the Great Depression for 11th Grade high school students. They will be working in groups completing a digital timeline using a smart board. They will also be writing a paper comparing to sources. Find out more about this project by clicking the links below.

Links for PBL

Calendar

Project Overview

PBL Essential Elements Checklist

Rubric for Individual Performance

Rubric for Grading a Project

Project #7 part B

Movie for Students




Movie for Parents

Blog Post #6

iCurio
This is a tool used online by students to safely search audio, videos and other sorts of media along with articles. iCurio is filtered by the teacher to shield the students from unwanted, unsafe, and inappropriate webpages. The student can only see what the teacher allows them to see. Its also a tool to store valuable information and organizing it online. This tool also has a program for students with a learning disability, for example a student who is blind could listen to things read out loud and listen to audio.
Discovery Ed
This is an online tool for students to search for additional information that is not discussed in class by the teacher. What I learned from this video is that students can retain more information if they listen to audio than reading an article or listening to a class lecture.

The Anthony- Strange Tips for Teachers
The tips that stood out to me the most was to really be interested in learning yourself, Dr.Strange says we need to model our behavior for our students. Anthony also shared a tip that stood out to me, he said let work become a fun experience, to have fun and let becoming a better teacher a hobby. I learned to go with the flow of things if something goes unplanned, to be creative and come up with a backup plan. The most important tip I thought was reflection. As a future teacher I should reflect on what works and what doesn't to come up with a better plan for the future.

Use Technology, Don't Teach It
I learned not to teach technology and to use it. Instead of teaching tech, Anthony says we should gradually introduce new concepts of technology and for the students to continue to practice what they used to get better and more familiar with it. He also says not to expect perfection the first time or ever, that students will continue to get better.

Additional Thoughts About Lessons
I learned that there are four layers to every lesson. The first is how the lesson fits in with the year, The second is what projects would be used to cover all content standards, the third how unit projects fits into a week, and finally fourth, the daily lesson which is just as important as all the other layers of a lesson.

Project #8 Book Trailor

Just One More Pet

C4K Summary for September

Zion is a 7th Grade student at Pt England school in Auckland. The blog post that I commented on is called "Children and Exercise", and he wrote about how important it is for children to stay healthy and exercise to keep the muscles strong, and to stay fit. He gave a great example on how to do so. He said sports like rugby, touch and cross country are great to stay fit. I commented that I completely agreed with him that it is important to stay fit and healthy, also  I love he provided examples of ways to accomplish a fit lifestyle.


London titled her blog post "My Life and How it Is." She discussed how she hates for other people to be judgmental because everyone has flaws that make them different, and she tells why she is different. London says "I HAVE GOALS', her goal is to be a R.N. and work with sick people and children and travel the world trying new foods and exploring different things. I commented that I absolutely thinks she's right that people should not judge each other for our unique traits that makes us who we are. I also said how ambitious and how excellent her goals are.


Liberty titled her blog post "Talent or Hard Work". She discussed how talent is not all that it takes to accomplish your goals, that you need to put forth a great amount of hard work to be successful in any thing that you do. She gives singing as an example, that if you want to be a singer, of course you would need talent but, in order for you to be famous you need to put in hard work. I commented that I agreed with her 100 percent and that relying on talent alone would not take you far, and how wonderful it was to hear her opinion on the subject.

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence is......

My Passion is.......

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #5: Personal Learning Networks

"A personal learning network is a set of tools and people that you can use for help, consultation, collaboration, and other assistance."(Dr. John Strange) I had no idea what a personal learning network was, and trying to figure out who and what would be in my network started off very difficult, but then I realized there were a bunch of people who I could go to for help. I remembered that I had created numerous study groups in the past whether in high school or in college. I am still connected to most of those people either on social media, like Twitter and Facebook or through email, text, and video chat. I'm sure this same kind of network would be very useful as a teacher. I know that as a future teacher I can use my PLN to collaborate with other teachers to come up with new effective ways to teach, and  new ideas that could make learning fun.

I created my PLN on Symbaloo. This is a website where you can organize all of your resources you need for learning. For example on my symbaloo homepage I added Blogger, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, my school websites, and my various email accounts. I did this so I can easily locate my blog/class blog, and easily connect with those I go to when I need help.

When I first started using Symbaloo I was very confused. I didn't know what to add on my homepage or how to add it, but after playing with it and using the examples it was very easy. I started thinking of all the things I use on a daily basis for homework, studying,and  projects. I added them and organized them from left to right with school websites like sakai, and mymathlab on the left, and social networking sites like Twitter and Tumblr on the right. I love the way this website works, and I think I will be using it for a very long time.

Search Engines

Google's definition of a search engine is "a program that searches for and identifies items in a database that corresponds to the keywords or characters specified by the user, used particular to find sites on the World Wide Web."

Ask.com
Ask.com also known as askjeeves.com is an engine that gives direct answers to questions from the web and real people. You can find answers to all questions in all subjects of education. This website also includes a toolbar for download to get you quicker access to the site with quicker results. This a great search engine to find answers to all questions.

IMDB
This is a search engine dedicated to the entertainment field. You can search for almost anyone who has released music, acted in a television show, movie, play, basically almost anyone in the entertainment field. If you have a favorite actor and is looking for movie that they starred in simply search their name and anything they appeared in will show along with the character description, date, and title of the work,
Youtube
According to Google's definition, you tube is a search engine that mainly searches for videos and playlist. YouTube users can sign up for an account where they can subscribe to pages that interest them most. you can pretty much find any video your looking for whether its cooking, comedy, music, and almost every other topic out there.
Yahoo
This is a search engine that includes email accounts, information on jobs, horoscopes, stocks, news, shopping etc. This engine is not best used for research projects, but for world news, stocks and all of its miscellaneous uses. Email is another great feature of this website. It includes chat, calendar, and an online social profile.
WolframAlpha
This is a search engine is used to calculate all kinds of information including science and math. This website gives knowledge not by searching the web but using built in data algorithms and methods. This search engine is used best when searching for information along the subjects of math science, and data.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a search engine that searches for all kinds of information. Its best used for biographies, projects, history reports, research papers, or anything that has to do with information. It is not best to use this site because anyone could add information whether it is true or not.
Tumblr
Tumblr is a website where you can search and view blogs of subjects that interest that interest you most, whether it is fashion, cooking, sports, pretty much anything. You can receive information, new ideas, and it is very entertaining also. This site is mainly for searching blogs.

Blog Post #4: Asking Questions

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

The Right Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom

In this article by Ben Johnson I have gained a new perspective of asking questions. As he  talks about the general questions asked by teachers and how these questions are proven to be ineffective, it brings me back to high school where I suffered from one of the three roles he discussed in classrooms. In subjects that I had a hard time understanding, I never raised my hand to answer a question, and I was always happy someone else volunteered to do it. After reading this I am thinking of questions I can ask my future classes to understand difficult concepts.

Asking Better Questions in the Classroom by Joanne Chesley
This video discusses open ended and closed ended questions. Joanne Chesley elaborates on the difference of these questions and why one is more effective in the classroom for critical thinking. Asking open ended questions allows the student to think harder and longer about the question.

Questioning Styles and Strategies
The strategies presented in this video are some of the same in the first article, but I was able to see how these strategies actually worked. The whole class was engaged in discussion about the book they read. The random calling for students to answer questions showed that all students were thinking of the answers even though they were not called on. Every student was eager to answer questions and they did very well.

Open Ended Questions by Andi Stix
Andi Stix elaborates on what open ended question are, how they work, and gives us examples. Open ended questions are more effective because the answer requires more than just a yes or no, or a three word phrase. It requires the student think harder to come up with an answer that fully grasps the subject in which they are learning.

It is important to know which questions to ask and how to ask them. We ask questions to check for understanding, but depending on the question the answer might not confirm that the student truly knows what they are learning. We need to ask more critical  and open ended questions to receive the response we are looking for. These kind of questions can influence the student to think on a more critical level to learn more, or even lead them to ask more questions if they do not know the answer.

Blog Post #3

I can provide meaningful feedback to my peers by letting them know what is great about their work, and what they could do differently to improve their work. I would let them know in the nicest way possible to not hurt their feelings or embarrass them. I would also critique their work according to standards set for a good project, or rubric.

What is Peer Editing,  Peer Edit with Perfection
After watching the video I learned to compliment my peers work before I suggest they make any changes, I also learned how to correctly give advice, and to be specific to what I'm am referring to in the paper. The most important thing and the first step to peer editing is to compliment my peers paper and tell them specifically what was good

Writing a Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes
This video was very humorous however it did get their point across. I learned that there are many ways not to do a peer review, like point out mistakes in a harsh tone or in a mean manner, or point out mistakes and not be specific or provide and explanation why.

Blog Post #2

Mr.Dancealot
In the " Mr. Dancealot" video the teacher was shown instructing a class on learning various ballroom dances, however the method he used proved not to be effective. I think the author's main message in this video was that each subject whether its dance, math, P.E., history, etc. takes a different kind of teaching. The author makes his conclusion by showing how confused the students were during the final when they actually had to recite the dances. I agree with the author's conclusion, Not one teaching method can be used for every subject, for example a teacher lecturing on how to solve a math equation would not be the ideal way for a student to learn how to solve a math equation, rather than the equation being simplified in front of them on a board.

The Networked Student
In the video The Networked Student by Wendy Dexler, the author is describing a situation in which a student is using technology including blogs and websites to communicate with other students all over the world and help them in problems or give his input in situation that he was in early. This video is showing students using new technology to learn and develop new skills. The teacher is needed to teach him how to build the networks for guidance, to communicate properly, and how to use these new forms of technology that may be difficult for him, and to develop certain skills to take with him into the world and solve problems. This video showed me that there is more ways to teach and learn, that communicating with others around the world could really expand our knowledge and show us how to do things we thought we may not be capable of. After watching this video I am liking forward to learning new things this semester.

Harness your Students' Digital Smarts
The video Harness your Students' Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis believes that only a select few students will succeed if paper and pencils are the only materials used. She teaches her students how to learn and succeed using blogs and any kind of technology out there. By using her method in teaching she learns new things herself and she finds that more students can succeed and learn more. This video has me thinking of the kinds of ways I might want to teach one day and if it would be successful for me as well.

 
Who's Ahead of the Learning Race
To answer Mr. Strange's question, as far as using new technology the elementary students are defiantly ahead. I am an undergraduate student, and I have not used some of the programs listed in the video that the elementary students have used.  I would say that I am not ahead in the learning race.

Flipping the Classroom
 
Flipping the classroom is definitely new to me. After watching this video, it has shown me a new way of teaching. This is definitely a strategy I would consider taking due the fact I will become a math teacher and this subject could be quite confusing to a lot of students.

Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom
As discussed in this article Bringing the Locker room into the Classroom I think I could bring participation and having students work together to help each other understand concepts and problem solve. I feel like it would be a very effective way of learning and discussion.

 

Blog Assignment #1

     Before registering for EDM 310, I honestly had no assumptions of this class nor had I heard anything about it. However after I registered for the class and began discussing my new schedule with other education majors, I began to hear mixed reviews of the class. Some said they really enjoyed it, even though it was time consuming, that the class was very hard but they had learned a lot and more than they had expected. Others completely disagreed and told me they felt sorry for me and that they were glad they had already fulfilled the requirement. I was really not to sure what to think about all the mixed comments, but my main fear was that it would be difficult keeping up with all the work and if I had the time to take this course while having a job.
     Compared to other classes I have taken here at South or in high school, I'll have to say that this course might be the most challenging, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, however, it is just new to me and something to get use to. The most difficult thing for me in EDM 310 this semester would be time management. I will have to learn how to balance all of my classes and my job to where I could have the 9 hours I need for this class, and the recommended study time for my other classes. The best way for me to overcome these difficulties would be to have a scheduler or planner and check it daily for future tests, assignments, and projects, and schedule time to study or complete each assignment.

Practice Blog Posts

Outline

A. Who am I

a. My name

b. Why am I here

c. Why do I attend U.S.A.

B. Why Education.

     My Name is Janae Ivory, I attend the University of South Alabama  along with my twin sister. I am not from the state of Alabama  or surrounding areas like most students who attend U.S.A. I am from Long Beach, Ca. My family and I moved to Mobile, Al, where my dad is originally from. I am attending this University because it is the best in its area, and I have decided to join the Secondary Math Education program.

     I have chosen this area to study because I am very skilled in the math subject and I am very experienced in tutoring. Most students that I have worked with tell me that I explain math in a way that makes is more understandable. I feel that if I can understand a subject that most find difficult and confusing then I should share it.