The posts for Mrs. Yollis and her student Grace were both about quality commenting. I commented on both posts how useful their information was since I was new to blogging. Both posts mentioned a 3 point comment which I thought was a great idea. I also commented how I really liked blogging in the classroom and was hoping to incorporate it in my classroom in the future.
My other post was from two students and where they went on their Christmas breaks. One kid went skiing in Poland and the other went to India. I commented on how much I liked to ski. I also thought it would be really cool to go to India for Christams and what great memories they would both have.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Blog Post 13
ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a project from the Alabama Department of Education. It was created to provide many different types of educational tools and information to educators, parents and students such as lesson plans, WEB links and interactive activities. Most of these resources are connected to Alabama Courses of Study by National Board Certified Teachers.
The resources on ALEX are endless. Teachers can find lesson plans, WEB resources and professional studies. There is an area where they can store and submit lesson plans. There are courses of study for every age group on any subject. There are numerous podcasts to watch. ALEX is an ongoing project. It will continue to grow based upon user input.
Websites like ALEX and ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide) are only a benefit to teachers. To be able to obtain ideas and information from some of the best educators in the state is incredible. Both ALEX and ACCESS are easy to navigate and very user friendly. All teachers should have knowledge of these websites so that they can provide the best for their classroom.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Progress Report on Final Project
For the final project, my partner and I have already chosen a topic and have been working on thoughts and ideas for it. It is an idea we both thought would help future students in this class, since both of us had this issue.
Blog Post # 12
One of the things I struggle most with in school is time management. I realize from watching some of the videos we have been assigned in this class, I am not the only one. It seems like the number one complaint from students is there is not enough time in the day. So I found a video on Time Management that gave some great tips on ways college students can manange their time better. After watching this video, are there any tips you would add?
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Special Assignment - Mr. McClung's World
1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog? The way his blog is constructed gives the impression that Mr. McClung loves information. He likes to find it and organize it.
2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator. ? As an educator it appears that he is very energetic. He is definitely not a 7 to 3 teacher and very dedicated to his job. You can tell from his blog that he puts in a lot of extra time into his classroom.
3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher? I thought his rules were great. He keeps them to a minimum which shows that he knows what his students can handle. I think this a good idea because if you make too many rules they just forget them. By having just five basic rules and some expectations students will know what is expected of them.
4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement? Day planner. This is important so that the students can stay organized and keep up with what is going on in the classroom.
5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment. He doesn’t assign a lot of homework but if you are late the penalties are: 1 day late = loss of a letter grade, 2 days late = loss of a letter grade, 3 days late = loss of a letter grade, 4 days late = failing grade on the assignment.
6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher. He calls it the “vehicle that drives majority of the technology in our classroom.” He uses the blog as a means of communicating information about his classroom to student, parents, and other teachers. I think this is a great way to keep everybody informed on what is going on in the classroom and hope I can incorporate something very similar.
7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list. The first one I reviewed in depth was Convince Me http://www.convinceme.net/. I loved this one and I am going to add it to my Twitter account to follow. I think this one is really cool because I love to argue and usually my opinion is not the popular one. This web site shows students that they are all entitled to their opinion and can stand up for what they believe. It shows them that there is nothing wrong with them not all agreeing on everything. The second one I reviewed was Guys Read http://www.guysread.com/. I thought this was a great link. My son struggled with reading for many years until I started reading Harry Potter to him. Boys don’t like to stop, sit down and read. Sometimes it takes a lot of encouragement to get them to pick up a book. So this is a great web-site where boys can find books that other boys have really enjoyed. It also has lots of links to other stuff that boys would enjoy.
8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract. Keeping children safe on the internet can be tricky. I think Mr. McClung’s rules are pretty good and he covers everything pretty well.
9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me. I reviewed World Festivals. What a great opportunity this was for students. They got to learn so much about foreign languages in a creative way. It was so much better that sitting in a class and repeating what a teacher said.
10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger? I thought his log was great.
11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others? He has tons of information. As a parent I would love this because I would always know what was going on in the classroom and what my child was doing. As a student it is a great blog again because of the information and ideas he provides.
12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think? It is just such a big blog. Some of them I have visited don’t have near the information or resources that Mr. McClung has.
13. Add any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClung's World in depth. Only thing I would say that would be useful when analyzing his blog is to take your time. Mr. McClung has a lot of good information to observe.
2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator. ? As an educator it appears that he is very energetic. He is definitely not a 7 to 3 teacher and very dedicated to his job. You can tell from his blog that he puts in a lot of extra time into his classroom.
3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher? I thought his rules were great. He keeps them to a minimum which shows that he knows what his students can handle. I think this a good idea because if you make too many rules they just forget them. By having just five basic rules and some expectations students will know what is expected of them.
4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement? Day planner. This is important so that the students can stay organized and keep up with what is going on in the classroom.
5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment. He doesn’t assign a lot of homework but if you are late the penalties are: 1 day late = loss of a letter grade, 2 days late = loss of a letter grade, 3 days late = loss of a letter grade, 4 days late = failing grade on the assignment.
6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher. He calls it the “vehicle that drives majority of the technology in our classroom.” He uses the blog as a means of communicating information about his classroom to student, parents, and other teachers. I think this is a great way to keep everybody informed on what is going on in the classroom and hope I can incorporate something very similar.
7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list. The first one I reviewed in depth was Convince Me http://www.convinceme.net/. I loved this one and I am going to add it to my Twitter account to follow. I think this one is really cool because I love to argue and usually my opinion is not the popular one. This web site shows students that they are all entitled to their opinion and can stand up for what they believe. It shows them that there is nothing wrong with them not all agreeing on everything. The second one I reviewed was Guys Read http://www.guysread.com/. I thought this was a great link. My son struggled with reading for many years until I started reading Harry Potter to him. Boys don’t like to stop, sit down and read. Sometimes it takes a lot of encouragement to get them to pick up a book. So this is a great web-site where boys can find books that other boys have really enjoyed. It also has lots of links to other stuff that boys would enjoy.
8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract. Keeping children safe on the internet can be tricky. I think Mr. McClung’s rules are pretty good and he covers everything pretty well.
9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me. I reviewed World Festivals. What a great opportunity this was for students. They got to learn so much about foreign languages in a creative way. It was so much better that sitting in a class and repeating what a teacher said.
10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger? I thought his log was great.
11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others? He has tons of information. As a parent I would love this because I would always know what was going on in the classroom and what my child was doing. As a student it is a great blog again because of the information and ideas he provides.
12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think? It is just such a big blog. Some of them I have visited don’t have near the information or resources that Mr. McClung has.
13. Add any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClung's World in depth. Only thing I would say that would be useful when analyzing his blog is to take your time. Mr. McClung has a lot of good information to observe.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Blog Post #11
First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class
Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy
I really liked the interview with Ms. Cassidy and the video of her class. I definitely think I would use a blog in the classroom. I love how the blog keeps parents so informed. So many parents can’t get into the classroom as much as they like but the ability for them to be able to go on the blog and see what their child is doing is great. They can keep up with their progress all year long. It is so important to keep the parents involved as much as possible.
I think the only downfall about using a blog is making sure the parents were comfortable with it. Sometimes people are funny about showing their children’s picture or letting them participate with internet activities. I think I would handle this problem the same way Ms. Cassidy did by instilling precautions when posting children’s pictures and names. I think once you make parents comfortable with this, they will be fine.
I also liked her use of the nintendogs. This is a really good way to teach kids so many things. They learn how to work together, responsibility and also all about dogs. I had previously read about nintendogs on another teacher’s blog that I reviewed. After I saw it on went on the internet and researched it to see what it is all about. It is now nintendogs plus cats. So you can have a dog or cat. I am including the link nintendogs + cats to the website.
Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy
I really liked the interview with Ms. Cassidy and the video of her class. I definitely think I would use a blog in the classroom. I love how the blog keeps parents so informed. So many parents can’t get into the classroom as much as they like but the ability for them to be able to go on the blog and see what their child is doing is great. They can keep up with their progress all year long. It is so important to keep the parents involved as much as possible.
I think the only downfall about using a blog is making sure the parents were comfortable with it. Sometimes people are funny about showing their children’s picture or letting them participate with internet activities. I think I would handle this problem the same way Ms. Cassidy did by instilling precautions when posting children’s pictures and names. I think once you make parents comfortable with this, they will be fine.
I also liked her use of the nintendogs. This is a really good way to teach kids so many things. They learn how to work together, responsibility and also all about dogs. I had previously read about nintendogs on another teacher’s blog that I reviewed. After I saw it on went on the internet and researched it to see what it is all about. It is now nintendogs plus cats. So you can have a dog or cat. I am including the link nintendogs + cats to the website.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Comments 4 Kids
My first post was to a student about a tennis match:
Hi Brooklyn,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in a class called EDM 310. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher. I think it is really exciting that you are a competitive tennis player at the age of 9. I am happy to see that you won your first match. It is always great to win but what was even more impressive was your great attitude after your second match. Good luck in your future games.
My second post was to a student who wrote a great poem about riding on an airplane:
Hi Micaela,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in a class called EDM 310. As one of our assignments we get to read students blogs from many different schools. I am so glad that I got to read your poem. It was great. I am never very good at rhyming words and having it make sense at the same time but you did an amazing job with that. Keep up the good work!!
Molly
Hi Brooklyn,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in a class called EDM 310. I am studying to be an elementary school teacher. I think it is really exciting that you are a competitive tennis player at the age of 9. I am happy to see that you won your first match. It is always great to win but what was even more impressive was your great attitude after your second match. Good luck in your future games.
My second post was to a student who wrote a great poem about riding on an airplane:
Hi Micaela,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in a class called EDM 310. As one of our assignments we get to read students blogs from many different schools. I am so glad that I got to read your poem. It was great. I am never very good at rhyming words and having it make sense at the same time but you did an amazing job with that. Keep up the good work!!
Molly
Comments 4 Teachers
The last two weeks I followed the blog of Jen Deyenberg. She is a primary teacher that is Canadian but currently residing in Scotland. I loved her blog. She had some incredibly creative ideas. Her first blog was about Geocaching.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. This particular lesson was based on the book The Very Hungry Butterfly. Ms. Deyenberg was able to incorporate so many things into this one lesson, literature, science, art, listening, and working together.
Her second post was equally as inventive. She used something called Nintendogs. This a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo. This project gave her students a chance to learn the real responsibility of taking care of a dog. They worked in groups of three and had to learn to work as a team to take care of their pet. She also had a veterinarian come in and speak to the class about how to take care of their pets.
I definitely recommend checking out her blog at http://www.trailsoptional.com/. She is very creative and has some great ideas.
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. This particular lesson was based on the book The Very Hungry Butterfly. Ms. Deyenberg was able to incorporate so many things into this one lesson, literature, science, art, listening, and working together.
Her second post was equally as inventive. She used something called Nintendogs. This a real-time pet simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo. This project gave her students a chance to learn the real responsibility of taking care of a dog. They worked in groups of three and had to learn to work as a team to take care of their pet. She also had a veterinarian come in and speak to the class about how to take care of their pets.
I definitely recommend checking out her blog at http://www.trailsoptional.com/. She is very creative and has some great ideas.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Blog Post 10
I agree that there is nothing worse than sitting hours on end listening to someone lecture about something. It definitely is hard to stay focused. Usually by the next day I am unable to remember 90% of what was even said. I liked the video that Dan Brown made. He made some great arguments for changing the education system. I especially liked the quote about having to pay hundreds of dollars for books that he never opened and that information was now free.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home
This a great post. That we can let something so small like taking pencils home seem so big. It sends the message that we really need to stay focused on the big picture.
Blog Post 9
What I've Learned This Year
It is always helpful to have someone else's insight. Mr. McClung gave some great advice on how to handle the first year of teaching. He was able to be honest with himself and learn from his experience. I think that one of the most important things he stated was being flexible. You always have to be ready for any curve balls that life throws you and I can only imagine that this is especially important in teaching. Mr. McClung seemed to realize early on that being able to go with the flow was going to make his teaching go much smoother. He also found out that even though his formal education was done, that he still could always learn more. Knowing this will only make him grow each year as a stronger and better teacher. I am definitely going to bookmark this article so that I can go back and be reminded of his ideas when I start my first year of teaching.
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