Project 13

Project Based Learning Plan
Third Grade Social Studies/Science - Natural Disaster Safety Plan

My EDM 310 group designed a lesson using the Project Based Learning format. We decided to teach a third grade class about natural disasters. In order to teach the students about natural disasters, we created a project that engaged the students in the learning process through individual and group research as well explained the real world application of their activity. The project has the students use technology in order to describe a specific natural disaster, explain the cause and warning signs of the disaster, then create and demonstrate a safety plan.

Links:
Project Overview/Lesson Plan
Calendar
Individual Effort Rubric
Group Project Rubric
Checklist

Project 7 Four Movies Part B

Part B Two Movies As a Teacher

Teacher Movie for Parents



Teacher Movie for Students

Blog Post 7

How Do We All Become Learners?

Preparing Myself for Project Based Learning

Strengths:
-Experienced Digital Renaissance as a student during my senior year of high school
-Am currently observing a Baldwin County elementary school classroom participating in the Digital Renaissance
-Familiar with Apple, MacBooks, iPads, etc.

Weaknesses:
-Never experienced this kind of learning as an elementary school student
-Unfamiliar with Discovery Education Board Builder
-Somewhat unfamiliar with Alabama Virtual Library
-Unfamiliar with Poplet
-Somewhat unfamiliar with QR codes

The resources listed for this blog post enabled me to see current resources and teaching activities used in a true 21st century elementary classroom. These videos are important tools for helping us as teacher education students to prepare ourselves for when we are the teachers in the classrooms.

In "How to Make an Audio QR Code," Michele Bennett demonstrates how teachers can record files and transfer them into a QR code. This could be useful for many events such as Meet the Teacher Night, when parents can scan the code to find an introduction video by the teacher. These could also be used by students in their projects and they could also make their own recording for a code. "iPad Reading Center" and "Poplet with Ginger Tuck" both showcase ideas for kindergarten reading centers using iPads. In the first video, teacher Ginger Tuck shows how her students can record themselves reading and playback the recording to better students fluency and other reading skills. Tuck uses the application Popplet in the second video for her students to make visual web maps of books. Alabama Virtual Library is a resource that students can use to research and organize information, as shown in "AVL and Kindergarten Students." Another great online resource for project based learning is Discovery Education Board Builder, which allows students to create virtual bulletin boards of information. In "Tammy Shirley Discovery Education Moon Builder Project," Tammy Shirley's first grade student showcased her Moon Project Board she created. In "Mrs. Tassin 2nd Grade Students Share Board Builder Project" and "Mrs. Tassin students share Board Builder Project," Mrs. Tassin's second graders presented their project based learning group assignments using Board Builder.

It is important that we allow our students to use these resources to their advantage. In "Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten and "We All Become Learners;" Dr. Strange, Elizabeth Davis, and Michele Bennett discuss how kindergarteners are able to actively use tools such as iMovie and Alabama Virtual Library. Moreover, they are excited to use these resources. How can students being excited to learn possibly be a bad thing? I may be unfamiliar with some of these resources, but I am ready to prepare myself to be the best teacher that I can be for my students.

C4K Summary for September

C4K Summary for September

- Liku is a Year 7 student in Auckland, New Zealand. His post "Jab the Mascot." describes Jab, the mascot of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. In my comment, I related Jab to South's mascots SouthPaw and Miss Pawla.

- James is a Year 5 student in Ontario, Canada. In his post "about an awesome guy," he briefly describes his life. He has both a brother and a sister and likes sports, pizza, and the game Minecraft. In my comment, I mentioned my own brother and how the kids that I teach at my church also like Minecraft.

- Corinne is a 5th grade student in Connecticut. She provides book reviews of three books she has recently read in her post "Book Reviews!" She gave five out of five stars to the books The Ghost of Graylock and When You Reach Me, while giving Smile four stars. In my comment, I asked her if she had read any of the Nancy Drew Mysteries since she mentioned an interest in mystery stories. She replied that she had read a few but did not "get into them."

Project 8 Book Trailer

Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin

Blog Post 6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

Conversations with Anthony Capps Video Series

1. Project Based Learning Part 1: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
2. Project Based Learning Part 2: Experiences of a 3rd Grade Teacher
3. iCurio
4. Discovery Education
5. The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1
6. Don't Teach Tech - Use It
7. Additional Thought About Lessons

Since Capps is a new teacher, it is important for us to hear his advice because he is exactly where we want to be in a few years--successfully in our own classroom and dedicated to our students. There were many points in these videos that I simply hadn't thought about before but are worthwhile to know. First, project-based Learning requires reflection by both the teacher and the students. Capps mentioned his favorite project as well as admitting there were projects that were not as successful. Learning from your own thoughts as well as listening to your students' feedback is essential to the project-based learning process. As Dr. Strange says, "If you are not a learner, you will not be a successful educator." Teachers can use this reflection to enhance future projects."Create an opportunity for them to go beyond what you want them to do," says Capps.

Next, we must use technology in effective ways. That means we must spend more time using the technology and less time teaching how to use the technology. Capps says that his students pick up these skills quickly and I agree. Plus, there are several programs such as iCurio and Discovery Education to help both the teacher and the students engage in learning. However, we must be prepared and flexible whenever technology is surprisingly unavailable to us. Teachers must be able to make modifications and engage as many students as possible in the new lesson.

Also, teaching is more than a profession. It is a lifestyle that lasts longer than the 8 hours in the school. Teachers must be prepared to spend time at home working--whether that be reading over material, creating lesson plans, modifying projects, talking about your classroom and dinner at dinner, etc. It may sound overwhelming at first, but Capps says that he enjoys his work both inside and outside of the classroom. He says to make the most of your job and be willing to learn and enjoy it. As he says, "Let your work become a fun experience for you." It is impressive what all Capps has done in his short time as a teacher, but I hope and will strive to do the same.

Project 7 Part A

My Sentence Is... and My Passion Is... Videos

My Sentence is…



My Passion is...

Project 3 - Presentation

Blog Post 5 Part 1

What are Personal Learning Networks (PLN)?

How can they help you as a teacher?

As we continue into 21st century learning, we as teachers must learn new methods and practices to better ourselves and to prepare our students for our constantly evolving world. A way to do this is through a Personal Learning Network (PLN), a network of people, websites, blogs, and other resources. Vicki Davis best explains how PLNs can work in the classroom in her article "Personal Learning Networks Are Virtual Lockers for Schoolkids":

"A PLN becomes a student's virtual locker, and its content changes based on the student's current course work. When I assign them a term paper, the students comb the Web to sign up for information that will feed into their personalized Web page to construct a PLN for that topic. When they get a new project, they assemble another page."

If teachers wish to be effective and up-to-date on modern learning, a PLN can help them to connect use resources such as Edutopia or Discovery Education. It can also connect them to other educators across the globe sharing their ideas and lessons to learn from. Personal Learning Networks are never-ending. Students and teachers must add new resources and/or create multiple PLNs as they build their own network. There are many ways to form PLNs and numerous ways to use them in the classroom, but all will be able to expand their minds, make new connections, and, ultimately, enhance their learning experience.

How are they formed? How can you create your own PLN?

As mentioned earlier, there are many different ways to form your own PLN. Dr. Strange has mentioned before that Twitter is best way for him to connect with other educators and resources. He has also provided a list of many educators (and their Twitter handles) in Project 6 Fall 2009. Once you discover new resources to include in your PLN, you can use websites like Symbaloo or Netvibes to organize and keep track of your PLN resources. Symbaloo organizes different website icons by tile blocks, while Netvibes organizes RSS feeds of sites into block arrangements. Both are effective tools and easy to use.

Who will be the first additions to your PLN?

As I have begun to build my own PLN, I have added Dr. Strange, EDM staff members, and classmates to my network through Twitter. I also follow the education sites mentioned above along with others and use TweetDeck to access Twitter. I have also added Beth Knittle (my C4T #1) by following her on Twitter and adding her blog to my Symbaloo page. Although I am just beginning my PLN, I feel sure that it only continue to grow in this class. I am excited to see how large my PLN will become by the time I am an experienced teacher!

C4T 1 - Beth Knittle

Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom is a blog by Beth Knittle, a K-12 Technology Integration Specialist for a district in Massachusetts. Although many of her posts are about integrating technology in the classroom, the two posts I commented on focused on other changes in America's evolving education system. The first post, "Value Added Models: Where are we headed?" discusses the introduction of Value Added Measures as a way to evaluate teacher performance. The second post, "Education vs Regurgitation" describes adjusting teaching styles to produce life long learners.

Value Added Models: Where are we headed?

Value Added Model (VAM) is a new evaluation tool for teacher effectiveness. Instead of basing teacher performance on students' test scores, it measures what student achievement over the timespan of being in the teacher's class. It is not used in Knittle's state, but other states are adopting VAM (including Florida, who publishes a list of the top 1/3 of the state's teachers). Knittle seems a bit skeptical of VAM, but is open to learning more about it. In my comment, I related VAM to my Honors thesis research on Finnish teachers. There is almost no standardized testing in Finland and while I do not believe that the U.S. should copy this, I have doubts about using standardized testing to accurately evaluate teacher performance.

Education vs Regurgitation

In this post, Knittle explains that at one point in her teaching career she disliked students interrupting her or asking questions because it messed up her "scripted" lesson plan. As Knittle explains, "I was seeking students who were good at regurgitation. If my test results were good, then I was a good teacher." However, she has since realized that the students she once avoided were the ones who actually wanted to learn. Creative thinking helps to create life long learners, and Knittle says that building skills of a life long learner will help students better their classroom and the world outside of it. Using technology in the classroom makes this task more possible than ever before, and as teachers we must continue to foster the skills of a life long learner in our students. In my comment, I reflected on my own time in elementary school when I only wanted to please the teacher by being and still, but now I wish for my students to be like the life long learners Knittle describes.

Project 15 - Search Engines

Getting to Know Online Search Engines

1. Wolfram Alpha

"Wolfram Alpha is more than a search engine. It gives you access to the world's facts and data and calculates answers across a range of topics."

Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine that presents factual information on the subject searched. The site displays accurate information in an clean, organized design. This site would be a great resource for those who need extra help with math, since it can calculate mathematical problems. Moreover, it can be a valuable resource for students to learn the basics of a subject.

2. Bing

"Bing is a search engine that brings together the best of search and people in your social networks to help you spend less time searching and more time doing."

Bing is a search engine similar to Google and is Google's biggest competitor. However, it does differ from Google in a few ways. First, Bing takes pride in its image search, and displays an image of a world landmark as its homepage. The homepage landmark image changes everyday. Next, Bing connects users to social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, allowing those who use this feature to see their friends' likes and social media activity in the search page. For example, if someone connected to Facebook searches "Foosacklys," they might see that their Facebook friends Bob and Jill also "like" Foosackly's.

3. Yahoo Search

"The search engine that helps you find exactly what you're looking for. Find the most relevant information, video, images, and answers from all across the Web."

Yahoo Search is also a search engine similar to Google and Bing. Its search engine is somewhat overshadowed by other features of the site, such as Yahoo Mail and Yahoo News, but it works exactly like other popular search engines. It places both images and videos of the subject searched in the regular web search. This search engine would be helpful and convenient for those who use Yahoo Mail and/or Yahoo News since all three features are on the same site.

4. AOL Search

"Offers web results from Google, combined with multimedia and other content from AOL and various partners."

AOL Search is not only similar to Google, it is also powered by Google. However, as stated above, it is "AOLified" by mixing in content from AOL and network partners. On the whole, it is very much like Yahoo, with AOL having a Mail and News feature along with the Search engine. This search engine would be great for those who like Google and already have an AOL email and/or like AOL News.

5. Ask.com

"Ask.com is the #1 question answering service that delivers the best answers from the web and real people - all in one place."

Ask.com is a search engine that is designed answers questions rather than just displaying information on a subject searched. It presents results in a Q&A format in addition to pulling other webpages relevant to the question. This site would be helpful for someone who wants to look up a specific question. In the same search engine they could also research the web pages that relate to the question to validate the answer and to learn more about the subject.

6. Dogpile

"Dogpile.com makes searching the Web easy, because it has all the best search engines piled into one. Go Fetch!"

Can't decide between search engines? Dogpile uses both Google and Yahoo to provide the best of both worlds. The site works similar to both search engines and claims to filter out irrelevant information. This search engine would great for those who like Google and Yahoo. Elementary students would love the dog mascot of the site and the ability to "go fetch."

7. DuckDuckGo

"The search engine that doesn't track you. A superior search experience with smarter answers, less clutter and real privacy."

DuckDuckGo is a search engine that prides its security. It does not track users, and does not appear to have ads. Results are presented in a clean, organized way. Like Dogpile, this site will attract elementary users simply for its name and its mascot, a duck. Those who value searching anonymously and dislike advertisements will also like this search engine.

8. Ixquick

"Ixquick search engine provides search results from over ten best search engines in full privacy. Search anonymously with Ixquick Search Engine!"

Ixquick is a search engine that has features of both Dogpile and DuckDuckGo. Like Dogpile, it complies results from numerous search engines. Like DuckDuckGo, it values privacy and does not track users. The results are presented in a design similar to Google. This site would be valuable to those who like multiple search engines or Dogpile and also value privacy and wish to search anonymously.

Note: All italicized quotes are the search engines' taglines as shown in a Google search.

Blog Post 4

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

The Purpose of a Question

In his blog post "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom," Ben Johnson asks why teachers ask questions in the first place. As he says, "What does a teacher asking questions of a class expect the class to learn from the questioning process?"

Teachers ask questions to ensure that students understand what is being taught. Some common approaches include asking "Does everybody understand?" or calling on a student by name to answer a question. Yet, neither of those methods are effective approaches. Students will not always speak up when they do not understand. While the one student can benefit from being called on, the rest of the class does not. So, how can teachers ask effective questions?

Ways to Ask Better Questions

1. Create questions before the lesson starts.
In her post "Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom," Dr. Maryellen Weimer urges teachers to prepare their questions ahead of time instead of thinking of questions during the lesson. Questions prepared ahead of time are likely to be more engaging that questions created on a whim.

2. Ask specific questions.
Instead of asking if everyone understands, ask specific questions about the content taught but avoid questions that require a simple fact as answer. Open-ended questions (see #4) are preferred.

3. Call on students using the questioning strategies proposed by Mary Budd Rowe.
Johnson suggests using Rowe's method to call on certain students: A teacher asks a question, waits three seconds, and then calls on a specific student to answer. All students are more inclined to think of an answer this way, even though only one student is called on.

4. Use open-ended instead of close-ended questions.
In her video "Asking Better Questions in the Classroom Part 1," Dr. Joanne Chesley discusses open-ended vs. close-ended questions. Close-ended questions are questions that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Open-ended questions require an answer with a longer explanation than yes or no.

For example:

Close-ended question: Was Washington's surprise attack at Trenton after crossing the Delaware River a success?

Open-ended Question: Why was the surprise attack at Trenton a significant event of the Revolutionary War?

Chesley argues that open-ended questions should be used over close-ended questions. Open-ended questions enable students to use their creative thinking skills to provide an answer instead of simply memorizing a fact and spitting it back out when questioned. Open-ended questions help students to become active learners rather than passive learners.

5. Record and save questions.
Weimer also proposes that teachers save their questions for upcoming lessons. If a question remains unanswered, a teacher can keep the question, ask students to contemplate the question for a period of time (or use another teaching tool such as splitting students in groups or writing key words on the board), and ask it again later. Also, a teacher can save thought-provoking questions students may ask her and use it later for future lessons. This is the perfect example of how both the teacher and the student are learning from each other.

Asking students the right questions enables them to become active learners, which is what we as teachers must be pushing our students to become. As Beth Knittle says in "Education vs Regurgitation," active learners are "into learning, they [are] out of the box thinkers, connectors, imaginative, impulsive and curious. These [are] the students who [are] going to push the envelop, test the limits, create, invent and change in the world."

Blog Post 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

What exactly is peer editing? Adriana Zardini defines editing as "making suggestions, compliments, and changes to writing," as shown in her slideshow "Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial". Since our peers are our classmates, peer editing allows to edit each other's work, therefore allowing us to learn from and teach each other.

"What is Peer Editing?" by nrpatric and "Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial" outline the three steps of peer editing: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. These steps must be done in order to ensure an effective peer review session. It is easy to see the negative writing qualities before positive, so students must first compliment each other to highlight these positive qualities. Then students will make helpful suggestions before making clear, but not critical, corrections. After all, Again, It is important to remember that peer editing is done so all students can improve their own editing and writing skills.

It is important to remember that peer editing is done so all students can improve their own editing and writing skills. However, peer editing can be dangerous when someone is too critical or too defensive, as shown in the video "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" by Tim Bedley. All students must keep positive attitude during peer reviews in order to learn from their peer editing experience. Again, the purpose of peer editing is to make students' work BETTER. As Paige Ellis says in "Blog Assignment 12," "I believe that we are here to help one another achieve success."