Sunday, November 24, 2013

Blog Post #14

Directions:
Visit National Geographic Kids website. Describe ways in which this tool could be used in an elementary school classroom.

National Geographic Kids


There are so many ways in which this website would be so useful in the classroom for children. The students could easily access this website from iPads or computers in the classroom. It is a safe website with a lot to offer. There are many educational videos and pictures that the children can so much about animals. In addition, there are so many cool stories that the children would really find interesting. Also, the website offers fun games and activities for children to play.

national geographic kids magazine
Also, this website would be a great tool for teachers. I could introduce a science lesson using one of their videos. This website has unlimited possibilities for use in the classroom. The children would love it!

C4T #4

Jabiz Raisdana

For my final C4T I was assigned Jabiz Raisdana. According to twitter, he is a "teacher, learner, dad, bleeding heart, music and film addict."

Post #1 - "Toys R Us We are Watching"

In this post, "Toys R Us We are Watching Jabiz talks about a reaction he had to a Toys R Us commercial. Moreover, he desires that children not get so caught up in toys, but to appreciate the outdoors and simple things of life. He uses pictures of his own children and a personal story of spending the day with them to support his point. He also uses other videos as well. He gives advice like talking to your children and taking them outdoors to help with this issue.

Comment #1

In my first comment to Jabiz, I introduced myself and told him about our class and why I was visiting. I also left links to the class blog and my blog. I also told him when I would be posting a summary of my visits to his blog if he would like to see it. Also, I told him that I could relate to this post. I told him that I have two nephews and a niece, and I watch their faces light up every time a toy commercial comes on. However, I told him that I am so glad that they still love the outdoors. I told him that it seems like toys and technology has overtake society.

Post #2 - "Ubiquitous Exposure"

In this post, "Ubiquitous Exposure" Jabiz talks about his upcoming trip to Thailand to explore the jungle. He then goes on to talk about the importance of outdoor experiences for children. He offers great examples of ways that children could get this exposure to the outdoors in school. He talks about outdoor classrooms, chicken coupes, school gardens, and animal centers.

Comment #2

I really enjoyed reading this post! I loved his thoughts about the importance of outdoor experiences for children. I wished him safe travels and great learning experiences while in Thailand. I also told him that I loved his examples of ways to expose children to the outdoors. I told him that I had an outdoor classroom when I was in elementary school and loved it! I also reminded him that I would be posting a summary of my visits to his blog on my blog.

Project #12 Part B

PLN Project #2

symbaloo


I added a few more tiles to my PLN on Symbaloo. You can view it by clicking here. I added the National Geographic Kids website. I thought this would be a great tool for teachers and students to learn more. I also added the Starfall website. I learned about this website while working in an elementary school this semester. If offers great educational games and activities for elementary students. Last, I added the Etsy website. This website allows me to buy and order all kinds of different things from individuals around the world. I really enjoyed expanding my PLN. I will definitely use this in the future.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Blog Post #13

Shane Koyczan: "To This Day.. For the Bullied and Beautiful"
By: Elizabeth Johnson

In the video, ”To This Day.. For the Bullied and Beautiful”, Shane Koyczan takes us through his struggling life journey. He was ridiculed and bullied as a child. He was told that his life ambitions would never come to pass. But from these struggles and pains, he became a writer. He wrote an incredible spoken-word poem called “To This Day”. In this spoken-word poem, he does a beautiful job talking about the bullied and hurting children and how they tend to go unnoticed in classrooms.
There is so much that we can learn from this video! As a future educator, I want to make it my mission to love and encourage all of my students. I hope to facilitate a classroom where all are equal and discipline those who bully others. I really enjoyed this video. It definitely opened my eyes to the issue of bullying and the lasting effects of it.

stop bullying


Shukla Bose: "Teaching One Child at a Time"
By: Rachel Hinton

In the video Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time Shukla Bose talks about the different schools she has created to enable children to learn. The schools allow children from slums and orphanages to learn things that they would never have the opportunity to without her help. This talk shows us how important it is to give every child an opportunity and not only the children but their parents as well. Bose makes a very good point when she talks about the parents and how many times it is thought that just because they are from the slums they do not care. This is far from true. She says that most of the time at conferences they have 80-100% attendance. This is pretty amazing. Maybe if our parents were as concerned about their children they would be more eager and receptive to what is being taught because they would be proud to show their parents what they are learning.
There are many encouraging things that can be taken from this video. In my opinion if children can go into a school that is taught in a language that is foreign to them, learn things and come out wanting to be neurosurgeons then anything is possible in a country where we have resources to use at our fingertips. We should take this as a lesson that if we push our students then anything is possible. Never expect less of your students because you never know what they are capable of.
one finger


Kakenya Ntaiya: "A Girl Who Demanded School"
By: Calah Reynolds

In the video A Girl Who Demanded School, Kakenya Ntaiya shows us the troubles she went through to get to where she is now. When she finished middle school, she had the chance to go to high school, but she had to get her father's permission first. She made a deal with her dad, saying that she would go through the traditional Maasai rite of passage of female circumcision if he would let her go to high school. While she was in high school she met a young man from her village who had been to the University of Oregon, and she wanted to go to where he had been. She applied and was accepted into Randolph-Macon Woman’s College with a scholarship, but before she could go she had to get the support of her village so she could raise money to fly to the United States. After she finished college, she came back to her village and, with the help of her village elders, built a school for young girls in her community.
We can learn a lot from Kakenya Ntaiya. At her school in her village, she is making a difference in so many young girls lives. She is teaching them that they don’t have to go through the traditional Maasai rite of passage of female circumcision, they don’t have to get married when they are 12 years old and they can all create and achieve their own dreams. She is opening up so many doors for these girls that they wouldn’t have had otherwise. From Kakenya we can learn that you have the opportunity to make something of yourself and that you can achieve a lot in your lifetime if you put your mind to it and do it.
Kekenya

Saturday, November 16, 2013

C4K Summary for November

C4K Summary for November

children and technology


Post #1- Uili
First Day of School

Uili begins by stating the directions for the assignment. He writes about his first day of school, then he revises and edits it to make it better. Uili talks about his routine that morning, his car ride to school, and what it was like once he arrived at school. He talked in much detail about all of these tasks. In his second piece of writing, Uili revised his work. He made some grammar corrections and chose some better word choices. It was a big improvement!

Comment #1-
In my comment to Uili, I introduced myself, explained where I went to school, and left links to the class blog and my blog. I also told Uili that he did an excellent job of writing his post. He used great grammar and word choice. I also told him that I saw awesome improvements from his first post to his second post. I also told Uili that I could relate to his post because I have also had many first days of school.

Post #2- Kaya
Kaya Tells Us Why We Need to Use the Crossing"

In this post, Kaya uses a video to explain the importance of using the Crossing (or Crosswalk). She says that she uses it when coming to school. Kaya talks about how it is important to use it and not walk in the road so that people will be safe and not get hit by cars. She did a great job, and I loved how she used a video!

Comment #2-

First, I introduced myself to Kaya. I told her my name, that I was from EDM 310, and left her links to the class blog and my blog. Also, I told Kaya that I loved her post and how she used a video to tell what she wanted to say. I told Kaya that I thought it was great that she was learning how to be safe so that she won't get hurt. That is very important to learn at a young age. She did a great job!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Project #15 Learning Plan 3

Blog Post #12

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

Ken Robinson


#1- Changing Education Paradigms
by: Rachel Hinton

In Ken Robinson's video he begins by talking about the reasons the school have began to change. First of all schools want to teach children how to be apart of the changing economy and secondly they want them to have a sense of cultural identity and globalization. Robinson points out that this is being done in the wrong ways.
Schools are trying to teach students with old methods of teaching, ways that are non effective and boring. He states that we are alienating students and they have no desire to want to be in school. They are now saying what is the point because they see so many people, even with college degrees, not succeeding why would they want to sit through something so boring if it will not further then in the future? This current type of education is not for this age. They need something new and exciting, something to engage their interested.
We found it very interesting the point Mr. Robinson makes about ADHD. We had never really realized how many people had been diagnosed with this. If you really think about his argument against it it makes so much sense. In today's world students are thought to be unruly and uncooperative if they don't want to sit still and listen to a lecture for an hour and thirty minutes. If we gave them something more interesting it is a good possibility they would not be this way. This is something that should be considered by teachers and parents alike.
Divergent thinking is something Robinson points out that I find very important. Divergent thinking is not the same as creativity. This is when you take a question and are able to interpret it and answer it in many different ways. If we teach children how to not only be creative, but also become divergent thinkers, their thought process would develop so much more than we could even imagine. We are killing this type of thinking by educating the students. It's like when they are " educated" they forget how to learn on their own.
Mr. Robinson tells us if we can begin to think differently about human capacity, understand that collaboration is key and understand the habits and habitats of instruction that is when we will have effective teaching.

School of Parafigm


#2-How to Escape Education's Death Valley
by: Elizabeth Johnson

There are many things that we can learn from Ken Robinson’s video How to Escape Education’s Death Valley. He begins by saying that he was told that Americans did not get irony. However, he discovered that Americans do understand irony when he heard about No Child Left Behind, because children do, in fact, get “left behind”. According to Ken Robinson, scary numbers of students drop out of school in America. It’s not that money isn’t spent on education in America, it is that the money is going in the wrong directions. He describes three principles to allow children’s minds to flourish. First, human beings are naturally different and diverse. In NCLB, diversity is ignored and conformity is encouraged. I learned from Mr. Robinson that children must learn from a wide and broad curriculum instead of a narrow-based spectrum. The second principle that is crucial for children to flourish according to Mr. Robinson is curiosity. Children are natural learners. They just need to interested and spark their curiosity. He says that great teachers not only pass on information to students, but they also mentor, stimulate, provoke, and engage. I want to be this kind of teacher! I want to be more than just a “passer of knowledge”. I want to facilitate learning in my classroom. The third principle is that human life is inherently creative. We create our lives as we go through them. He goes on to talk about standardized testing and the educational school system in Finland. So, what are some things I learned through this video? I learned the importance of valuing students through teaching. It’s so important to individualize, be creative, and spark curiosity when teaching. No two children are the same, and the way they learn is different. Also, I need the support of others while teaching. It’s so important to continue to learn and be trained throughout my career. I really enjoyed this video! I learned so many things from Mr. Ken Robinson.

lightbulb


#3-The Importance of Creativity
by: Calah Reynolds

I watched Sir Ken Robinson’s How Schools Kill Creativity, and I thought it was very interesting! I love his humorous attitude. He is entertaining to watch and I think we can all learn a lot from him. Robinson makes a very good point when he says, “We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it.” If you think about it, that is true. When you look at a child they have such creativity and wonder, but as you watch them grow into adults most of them lose that spark. Schools nowadays are so focused on the math and sciences rather than the arts and music, and many people look down on the idea of someone wanting to grow up to be an artist or a singer. That is one thing that is wrong with this world. We should be embracing the idea of our children wanting to use their creativity and think outside of the box. We need to educate our children on “their whole being so they can face this future”, not just one side of the brain. Children grow up learning that it isn’t okay to be wrong, but as Robinson said it, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” He’s right, you shouldn’t live your life trying to please others. You should live your life by taking chances.

Children Creativity


"We might not see the future, but they will. Our Job is to help them make something of it."

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Blog Post #11

Technology in Kathy Cassidy's First Grade Classroom

Kathy Cassidy


Kathy Cassidy is a first grade teacher who uses technology extensively in her classroom. Mrs. Cassidy uses different forms of technology including blogging and wikis. In her video, First Graders in Mrs. Cassidy's Class, I was able to watch how her kids use technology hands on. Her students post frequently on their class blog and receive comments on their posts. I loved how one of the little boys said that he loves blogging! You could hear the enthusiasm in his voice.
One of the techniques that I may use in my classroom is found in her first video Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1. I loved her approach to frequent blogging. Even as first graders, she still allows them to use technology to blog on a frequent basis. A lot of people would just dismiss the thought of using technology at such a young age, but I loved how she still encouraged it with her little ones.
I think one of the impediments I may face would be students that do not receive permission from their guardians to access the technology I would use in my classroom. Mrs. Cassidy says that she sends home a permission form at the beginning of the year, asking for permission form parents for students to use technology in the ways that she does. If a student was not given access from their parents, I would still require them to watch other students and listen to me explain to them how to do it.
There are so many benefits from using Mrs. Cassidy's approaches to technology. I loved what she said in Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3. She described how blogging could be used in Physical Education. Coaches could post practice times or exercises to complete on the blog. I thought this is a huge benefit. It improves communication between students, teachers, and parents. Another benefit it the fact that it is paperless. Using technology cuts back on the use of paper that is used in classroom.
I really enjoyed watching the interviews with Mrs. Cassidy. I learned so many things that I will use in my classroom one day.

Friday, November 1, 2013