Blog Post #16

Part 1:

My Teaching, My Future Students, and the Tools I will use in my Classroom:

When I become an elementary teacher, I hope to get a job teaching second grade. Elementary teachers teach all subjects in their classroom, but I want to change this. I want to split the subjects between the teachers of second grade and have the students change from classroom to classroom like in high school. All of the classrooms will be connected internally, so the students will not have to walk outside. My classroom will be math and science. I think if I, as an elementary teacher, only had a couple of subjects to teach, I could focus and teach those certain subjects better.

In my classroom, I will use technology to the fullest. I will use a smart board for teaching my students, and I will have a class blog to post assignments and events going on in my classroom. I will use a smart board to teach lessons, and also let the children play learning games on the smart board. After taking EDM310, I learned that there are many helpful learning tools teachers can use on the smart notebook to help teach your lessons. Using a smart board and blogging are two very important technology tools, I will use in teaching.

My students will use iPad’s to the fullest, as well as blogging and Google docs on the computer. My classroom will be equipped with one iPad for every four students. Before taking EDM310, I thought it was ridiculous that schools started having iPad’s in the classroom. I thought the students would get distracted and play games not associated with class. I realize now, children grow up with technology. If there were a classroom with just a chalkboard and teacher lecturing, the children would get bored and act out. I will also use blogging in my classroom. With blogging, students can comment and edit their peers work. As well as publish their work for the world to see. I have many friends who have a profession as an Elementary teacher, so I will get my class to comment and edit her class’s work on their blog. I never knew about Google Docs before EDM310, but now I use it for all of my classes. I will have my students do projects and collaborate using Google docs. I will also have assignments on Google docs where my students will all answer the assignment within docs. These are the many reason I will have technology in my classroom, so the students will not get bored because learning can be fun!

My classroom will be set up in sections. There will be a reading pit with comfortable bean bags, a computer section, and then of course student desks with a smart board. The reading pit will have a huge fish tank, so the children can also gaze into the fish tank, think and imagine. The reading pit will be equipped with books, but the students can also bring their iPads to read and play educational games. The computer section will have many computers. I will have iCurio set up on the computers, so the children can search for material and play games that are safe and educational. The desk and smart board will be for me to teach the children lessons. I will introduce projects on the smart board and have the students play educational games. My students will not want to leave my classroom at the end of the year because it will be so fun and filled with technology.

The Differences in Blog Post #1, and my Current Views of My Future Classroom:

After reading my Blog Post #1, there are only a few differences of how I would want my classroom. One difference is my views on the iPad. I said in my first blog post that I would have computers in case the children did not want to use the iPad. In my classroom, I want all students to be able to use the iPad to the fullest. There are so many things that are available on the iPad for learning.

The second thing I would want to use in my classroom is blogging and Google Docs. I did not know about blogging and Google docs before taking EDM310, and they are very helpful in teaching the children how to collaborate with other students. These are two very important aspects on the computer that my classroom with use to the fullest.

Part 2:

Final Reflection

Blog Post #15

iPad Usage For the Blind that was demonstrated by Wesley Majerus.
Written By: Jamie Baxter

iPad usage for the blind amazes me. Technology helps the vision impaired use a tool that people use that can see everyday.

In EDU 301, we had a blind artist come visit our classroom. His name was Ricky Trion. During his presentation he mentioned that he wanted an iPhone because of all the apps for blind people. He said there is one app that you can scan your shirt, and the phone will tell you what color shirt it is to help blind people get dressed.

This will be an excellent tool for me in my future classroom. If I have a student that can not see, this will be very helpful for them. The iPad would allow them to be able to listen to text I assign the children to read and many other things via the iPad.

Jamie found an interesting video titled Deaf Children Use Games Machines to learn in Schools. This was a news report in Birmingham Alabama showing where deaf students use gaming machines to help them learn a book. The children scan the book, and it plays a video clip about what the book page is about. This is a very interesting way to teach the students who are hearing impaired.

Teaching Math to the Blind- Thomas

How would you describe color to a blind person? We don’t often think that some of the most basic things can be complex and difficult to describe. And yet, I can find no words to describe a color that would genuinely describe it to someone whom is blind. It is so simple that it isn’t.

Although this could be heavily contemplated, I don’t think it would be important to describe color to a blind person. They may not be able to see color, but they have other abilities that I would rather focus on. Rather than trying to constantly describe something almost impossible to describe to someone whom has never seen it, I would focus on what they could do. Color may be beautiful, but life is not dependent on it.

However, in our society there are certain things that we have made our lives dependent on. As unfortunate as it may seem for those who don’t have it, we run our society with money. Trillions of dollars are constantly being spent around the world. And money is the only way for us to get our basic necessities for life in this society. We need money to purchase water, food, houses, everything. And I’m certain it is much easier to describe money than it is color. But the fundamentals for using and spending money are math, and how would you describe math to a blind person?

At first I didn’t even notice how difficult this would be. After all, blind people do have a way for reading. But math is truly its own language. We may be able to describe things with words, but it is rare to work out problems simply with words. Math uses numbers, uses many different and ornate signs, has rules for order of operation, and etc. So how could do you teach it to be read?

The video Teaching Math to the Blind showed these complications and one of their approaches to handling it. The video introduced a board which allowed students to construct math equations, to feel and understand the importance of the placement of numbers, and speaks to them. I was very intrigued by this so I looked up another technology being used to help blind people learn math.

I found an article titled, New UAH technology helps the Blind Learn Math. The article UAH Professor Helps The Blind, discusses the development of a computer program that allows math questions to be easily typed into a computer, and doesn’t require specific code. It is amazing the way our technology is advancing, and how it is helping reveal a world that was once almost indescribable.

The Mountbatten. This video was created by The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, FL

Written by, Colin Richard

Life tends to be a series of routines. We tend to go about our lives with our blinders on and let the world happen as it may, as long as it does not interfere with our routine. This “bubble” can make people forget their are others that have a routine too, but has to be structured a totally different way. An example would be people who are blind. Even when we think about it and try to put ourselves in their shoes, the feeling can never even come close. After all, there is something about doing an experiment and knowing that when we choose, our lives go back to “normal.”

So, when dealing with technology that aids people with a disability, normally the inventors are people that can step out of their boxes and understand what the other person could benefit from. The “Mountbatten” is no different. Produced by Quantum Technologies in Australia, this device has become the upgrade from the traditionally used Perkins Brailler. This device can, in addition to the traditional keyboard, include memory which allows braille text files to be stored in much the same way as is done with a word processor, speech feedback allowing the user to listen to the text he or she has just typed or from files, and forward and back translation between text and braille. The Mountbatten can be connected to a printer allowing files to be printed as text, while a regular PC keyboard can be connected to the Mountbatten enabling text to be produced as contracted or uncontracted braille. Speaking of technology, this invention even has bluetooth, which can connect itself to one’s Ipad or Iphone. So, being battery powered too, it is easily portable.

As we can see, this is a wonderful tool for the blind, in any setting. However, not every student will have this piece of equipment, it is almost five thousand dollars. One can not, being a teacher, rely on the disabled student or parents, to provide all the necessary tools that will help that child. As an educator, we need to first take initiative. Find out what tools are used at home and see if we can use these items in our own classrooms. The student will benefit greatly if they use what they already know. The Blind Access Journal is a wonderful website for any teacher that has a student with any form of visual impairment. After all, having the desire for the visually impaired, or any student with any disability, to succeed is the first and greatest step. Then the next step is how. This website gives that how.

In the end, students with visual impairments want to be viewed and treated like everyone else. So, in the classroom, let their routine of learning, become part of your routine of teaching. Now that is a routine everyone should follow!

Project #12 Smartboard Part B

Blog Post #14

For this Assignment you are to create a Wordle.

Go to Wordle and click Create your own. This Wordle is to describe your likes and interest. Enter all of the words you can think of that describe you or things you are interested in. You can change the font and colors to best describe your personality.

Here is my Wordle:

C4T #4

Post #1

When I read Shireen D's post Related Rates and Crowd Sourcing from her Blog titled "Math Teacher Mambo", I learned a lot for when I become a teacher.

Shireen has issues when it comes to teaching related rates and crowd sourcing. She lists these in her blog:

Issues:
* Finding problems that aren't the Wisconsin of all Cheese Balls.
* Reading and interpreting the problem.
* Being able to translate known information and subtly given information into Math Speak.
* Finding the right equation that links all the variables together.
* Navigating the Dangerous Path of Implicit Differentiation.
* Plugging back in at JUST the right time.
* Finishing things up with a tidy bow.

Shireen was thinking one class period and researching and she came across Bowman's set up with the table for variables in which Shireen thought were very nice, tidy, and useful.

She came up with an idea that with each homework she would get the students to do extra by thinking of real life situations that could be modeled by the simplified version. They would also discuss what rates are needed, and why anyone would care.

I commented telling Shireen that I love the idea she has that the students have to do extra by thinking of a real life situation that could be modeled by the simplified version on one of the homework problems. This will get the students thinking outside the box of just solving the problem, and they will understand it more. I am taking note of this for when I become a teacher.

Post #2

The second blog post I read of Shireen's was Jumping in the pool dogpaddling!

Shireen coached a FTC Robotics team for the first time. She said she and her students on the team were very nervous and did not know what to expect. They ended up having a fabulous time and met a lot of people.

I posted telling Shireen that I loved her post. I told her she might have some future engineers on your hands!

She posted this picture:

I told her I love the captions on her picture. I know she and her students had a great time doing something they never thought they would enjoy.

Final Report on PLN Project #2

This is my final report on PLN. I added the websites Education World and Alabama State Department of Education. I have had to go to The Alabama State Department of Education Website a lot this semester, and I will have easy access to it for the rest of my career. Education World is a very helpful website for teaching special education children. It will be very helpful in my future. I have a lot more space to fill up on my PLN, and I look forward to using this throughout my education career.

Blog Post #13

Alison Gopnik: “What do babies think” by: Jamie Baxter

Alison Gonik is a psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She researched about how children learn at a young age. In her video “What do babies think”, she explains how the past 20 years scientist and psychologist have changed their views on how babies think. I do not agree with this because I think babies learn and think the same way they always have. The reason one might think they learn different is because there are more tools to teach children due to technology.

One thing Alison said that stood out to me was "Babies and young children are very bad at narrowing down to just one thing. But they are very good at taking in lots of information of lots of different sources at once." I think this is a very interesting thing and made me think. I agree that children can take in a lot more information at a young age. The older they get the harder it is for children to learn because their attention span narrows.

Charles Leadbeater: Education innovation in the slums- Colin Richard

“Education +Technology =Hope”, so sayest Charles Leadbeater. His statements are mainly for children in 3rd world countries, but there are a few things I believe could be used in any educational environment.

One would be “radical” thinking. When it comes to anything that is not working well, it is stupid to continue and hope for the best. Our overall system here, especially in poverty ridden areas, need a different strategy. However, maybe the most radical of all thoughts would be emphasising teachers as the way forward. Making sure that teachers in lower class schools get a much higher pay raise would be high incentive to bring quality teachers away from other schools. Also, let the teachers be free to teach as they feel fit. Of course there would need to be yearly evaluations to make sure these teachers were not being incompetent, but I am sure there would be a more conducive place to want to learn by the students if this was allowed.

Second, “Start from a game or question….teach through normal fun things, not after”. To summarize, education does not need to begin with curriculum and then move to testing; teaching can start from what normally would be considered as extra curricula activities. So, let a game be the start, but have learning thrown in without the students even feel like it is a learning exercise. This, I learned, is called a “head fake” as told by Randy Pausch. Wonderful philosophy and one I will implement in my classrooms too.

I do disagree with some of Mr. Leadbeater’s arguments. One would be his displeasure with the current system that has a push, as opposed to a pull, element. Well, considering he said he was pushed into his education and he graduated from Oxford University with that method, how can one say that is a negative? Also, he says “Education has a payoff, but needs to be quicker if you are poor.” So, instant gratification is what technology has made our society and now we need to make education that way because of the poor? Now, should there be more technical and vocational schools? Yes, absolutely, but do not sacrifice higher learning due to a growing sense of deserve over desire.

Overall, this video was educational from a third world perspective toward teaching. There are problems all over the world that need to be addressed, but let us not doubt that without the funds or public outcry to back up radical thinking, there will never be the desired outcome that can only be talked about among the people that already have an education.

C4K Summary Post (November)

C4K#9

Mya is from a School in England, and she is in her 7th year of school. I commented on Mya's post "Rainbow Warrior Bombing".

Mya wrote about a yacht called the Rainbow Warrior. A crew was on the yacht and did not know at the time there were two french spies planting a bomb under the yacht. Mya wrote, "BOOM! Went the bomb, blowing Pete Willcox off his chair with ultimate force." Pete Willcox got everyone off the ship, and the New Zealand police caught the two men and put them in prison for ten years. When the French government found out about this two men in jail, they demand the New Zealand government release the men or they would not buy anymore dairy products from New Zealand. They New Zealand government gave the men to the French government, and the men stayed in jail for two years.

I commented telling Mya that I really enjoyed reading her post about the Rainbow Warrior bombing. She did an excellent job describing what happened in the bombing. Her story had so much detail, I felt like I was reading a history book. C4K #10

I commented on Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog Post Dr. and Mrs. Strange Visit!

The post was a visit Dr. and Mrs. Strange made to Mrs. Yolli's calls. Dr. Strange and Mrs. Yolli have been blogging for a while, and they have never met in person before this visit. Mrs. Yolli let her students ask Dr. Strange open ended questions. The class then separated into groups and did projects. One of the projects the students worked on were a PuppetPal Video. This is when they can choose a picture of something and insert it into the video. Mrs. Yolli posted two examples of videos her students had created.

I commented on the blog post telling Mrs. Yolli that I was so excited her and Dr. Strange finally got to meet. He was telling our class about Mrs. Yolli's blog at the beginning of the semester. He mentioned that he head never met face to face.

I have learning a lot this semester about 21st century learning, and I am excited to see it actually being used in this blog post. The students seem so excited and involved when completing the PuppetPal Videos. They are so enthusiastic and use their imagination in the videos.

I am definitely going to use blogging and other 21st century tools in my classroom because they seem very efficient.

I told Mrs. Yolli, "Thanks for sharing Dr. and Mrs. Strange's visit."

Blog Post #12

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?.

Changing Education Paradigms Written by: Jamie Baxter.

Ken Robinson’s video, Changing Education Paradigms, was a very interesting video and agree with everything he said. I learned a lot from his thought about ADHD medicine and divergent thinking.

I once was a daycare teacher when I was in high school, and there was a child in my class whom was on Ritalin. The days that his mother did not give him his medication, he acted out and was very hyper and disobedient. I did not realize then what the problem came from. I know children, when I was in elementary school, did not have medication for ADHD, so there had to be another solution. After watching this video, it makes so much sense to me that children are bored in classrooms. They are smarter and more educated through TV, phones, and computers; they get bored with boring lectures. Children cannot concentrate when the teacher is lecturing on a chalkboard. They need to have fun things to learn and be more involved with 21st century tools for learning.

I like the way Ken Robinson explained divergent thinking. He said, “Divergent thinking is not the same thing as creativity.” He explains that creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. Divergent thinking is an essential capacity for creativity. It is to see multiple answers not one. I learned a lot from this because it made me realize that my students in my future classroom are not all going to learn in the same way. I need to realize this when making my lesson plans, so I can accommodate for all my students.

How to Escape Education’s Death Valley Written by: Colin Richard

After watching this video, I know one thing for sure, I love Ken Robinson. His philosophical statements on education are spot on and right inline with my own. When I do a brief summary of this video, I will only reiterate in my own words what he states because I am really only echoing sentiments that I have held for at least a decade. So, let us not hesitate, let us just jump in.

“Humans are naturally different.” He explains that even siblings are entirely different so why should we expect great things to happen in school systems now based on conformity. Well, the easy answer is you can not. The “No Child Left Behind” educational protocol has done just the opposite of its mantra; it has actually left behind millions of children because of a premise of a cookie cutter educational system of “learning.” A fundamental problem has become the de emphasis with subjects such as Art, the Humanities, and P.E.. ADHD has become a scapegoat for children falling behind as opposed to teaching methods being so boring that kids just want to fidget. Curiosity has almost died in our education. Lost are the days of exploring why as opposed to being spoon fed everything to make sure you pass the test. Which brings us to standardized testing. If we look at Finland, which scores tops in Math, Science and Reading, it is not because they solely focus on these courses, it is because they do not obsess over these courses. It is also because there are no standardized tests. Plus, there is not even a drop out rate. Which brings us to a few answers to why. First, education is about learning. Kids learn in these environments where their natural instincts are satisfied during the learning processes. Second, testing is not the dominant culture of education. Third, they support learning not obstruct it. Finally and maybe most importantly, teachers are just as highly regarded as doctors.

“Humans are creative” so why not have Individualized teaching and learning. In this country we can not because we take responsibility away from the teachers. Bureaucrats tell us what is best and that is because there is not a high status in teachers. Teachers are put in a position where they can do the minimum, as long as their kids pass the standardized tests. Schools that are generally left alone to do as they please, tend to do better. They can see what they need to do, what needs improvement and what works with what they have. Dropouts have reasons too and most of the time the outside world engages them, right or wrong, a lot better than the classroom. We do need to create conditions where students thrive. Which brings us to his last and most poignant case in point.

Death Valley, the driest place in North America, where nothing really grows. However, after a massive rare rainfall, the following Spring, flowers were everywhere. This synonym to education is when given the right circumstance, learning can happen where once education looked dead.

So, let us stand together with people such as Ken Robinson and begin a revolution. Let us make sure that we will not stand for average. That we will not stand for millions of kids left behind. That we will not let bureaucrats from the top, dictate what the people in the trenches know. Let us stand up for our students, our kids and this country's future. Let us stand united in making teachers the greatest revenue this country has.

How Schools Kill Creativity Written by: Thomas Leytham

It is difficult to write a good summary for this TED talk simply because there wasn’t very much to it. I literally can sum up his message in two sentences.

Schools were created to industrialize people and because of this they kill creativity. To fix this, we should stop stigmatizing the arts and promote the arts as equals.

The rest of the talk was that of a poor stand-up comedian. I don’t mind jokes, but it was so constant that I found it obnoxious. They also didn’t circle into his message… lack of message.

I didn’t learn anything from this TED talk, which is quite a shame. I’ve heard this repeated banter about how to fix schools numerous times, specifically how we need to stop stigmatizing the arts, and this was by far the simplest and worst regurgitation that I have ever heard. You know what is killing my creativity? Being told to watch videos about how school killed my creativity.

Project 15

My project 15 Lesson plan is How Smart Is Your Food?

The school is hosting a Smart Foods = Smart Kids event to promote local wellness and healthy eating. You will divide your class into four groups to make four healthy recipes from - 1 entrée, 2 side dishes and 1 dessert.

Each team will present the recipe along with the calculated amount of supplies and total nutrients using a PowerPoint. The attendees of the event will vote for their favorite suggested meal.

Lesson Plan - How Smart Is Your Food? by: Jamie Baxter

Blog Post #11

Little Kids...Big Potential is a very interesting video, and I enjoyed watching it. It is about Ms. Cassidy's first grade class learning how to use 21st Century learning tools to learn. This includes Skype, Blogs, and Nintendo DS.

The school provided Ms. Cassidy's class with five computers. She started using these computers with her class because she did not want them to go to waste. The school would not allow the teachers to download anything onto the computers, so she was stuck using the world wide web. She starting using blogging and personal web sites because it was one of the only things she had access too.

Ms. Cassidy's students enjoy blogging because it makes them feel special that the whole world can see what they are writing. She states the internet and technology comes easy to the students because it is already a part of their life. I agree with this because my nephew who is five years old can operate a computer and iPhone all by himself. He can operate a cell phone and play games better than I could at age thirteen.

Ms. Cassidy always keeps her students identity safe by excluding their last name and never putting a picture on the internet of her students. She also teaches them how to surf the internet safely. This is a great thing to teach students at an early age.

During Ms. Cassidy's Skype interview she mentions how she uses "blogging buddies". A student from Ms. Cassidy's class and a student from another class from another school comment on each others blogs. They also Skype with each other to communicate on how to improve each others grammar. I am taking note of this because I will use this in my future classroom.

I am going to use technology such as blogging, Skyping, and making videos in my future classroom. I have a lot of friends who are teachers, and we can get our students to communicate with one another through technology. This will also improve my students communication skills because they will be communicating with children they do not know.