Blog Post Assignment #10

1. I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga.

“I'M A PAPERMATE

I COST LESS, BUT BREAK

ALL THE TIME

I'M A TICONDEROGA

I'M THE MOST EXPENSIVE

PURCHASE A HIPSTER

WILL EVER MAKE”

This cartoon tells us the importance of pencils in classroom and gives us time to think of how pencils are useful in classroom in development of technology. There are two men who use pencils. Both pencils have benefits for choice. One uses Papermate pencils. Papermate pencils are more cheap and moderate in price. On the contrary, another uses Ticonderoga pencils. Ticonderoga pencils are more expensive, but they have a great quality.

2. Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? By John Spencer

I read posts on John Spencer’s blog. He is a teacher. First, I read “Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?” on his blog. In this post, he wanted to tell us what is important for student’s learning. His teaching style might not follow purpose or will his principal (school) for teaching. His principal focused on testing for students. I think that’s because of No Child Left Behind which focuses on standardized testing. Because of this law, teachers are increasingly only teaching for testing. However, he stated that teaching for tests does not provide student’s development of skills including of critical thinking, and creativity. Just memorizing facts is not for student and it closed students' door to possibilities in their future. He also said that it is important for teachers to encourage students to improve their skills of remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating.

Second, I read “10 Points on Pencils.” He provides the values of “pencils” for students although many technology tools are developing and some educators focus on technology in education. In this post, He also stated the fear of technology tools in education. They take away self-efficacy of students. In addition, he said the major issue is how to educate. Now, pencils do not have positive power in classroom, but they can give each student education in a personalized way.

3.  Don't Teach YourKids This Stuff. Please?

I cannot entirely agree or disagree with his opinion against technology in education because this has been controversial for a long time. I think technology tools for students have many pros and cons. I thought of both pros and cons in this debate, Technology Tools and Social Media in Classroom.

Pros:

Technology keeps developing with remarkable rapidity. Our students will work in technology and social networking; they should learn how to use the technology tools and devices such as laptops, iPad, iPod tough because they will have to use computer in the future.

The technology tools and social media can effectively engage students and help them build good communication skills.

Social Network Services such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter can help students elevate communication with their teachers, classmates, friends and somebody who they can connect with through them. Through SNS, teachers and students can debate and discuss for some questions, teachers can announce for students, students can ask questions for classmates and teachers.

Cons:

Students cannot get attention to what teacher is teaching and what is happened in classroom because of technology tools and social media. They are distressing in the classroom.

The technology tools and social networking lead bullying on chat and/or SNS in internet. Social networking websites provides students a huge of connections with others and they are not face- to –face, so they leads more cruel bullying.

They decrease students’ face- to-face communication with teachers and friends. It leads lack of development of speech skill and speaking skill. Especially, it is important for K-6^th grade students to have lots of conversations with parents, teachers, and friends to develop correct language skills including reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These tools social networking prevent them from express themselves by themselves.

Pictures:

http://ecowomen.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/pencils1.jpg

http://www.technected.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Technected-The-Mobile-Classroom.jpg

Project#14 Smartboard

C4T Post #3

C4T Post #3

I read posts in Mr. Bernia's blog, Principal's Principles.


3 words for years; hope, opportunity, and courage

He talked about importance of three words, hope, opportunity, and courage. First, he insisted that teachers have responsibility of giving their students hope and dream for their future although students come to school without hope now. Second, he declared teachers have to think a great deal of experiences and opportunities which they can provide for their students. He gave us examples including trips to a museum, to the art institute, a concert, or a sporting event. Third, he said teachers should have the courage to primarily focus on their student before focusing on themselves.

Smarter Balanced Assessments, change for the better?

He talked about the Smarter Balances Assessments. His school held Daytime Staff Meeting and he and his teachers discussed released items from this assessments. In this meeting, they thought of the following question, "what does the learner need to know and be able to do to successfully complete task?" In the discussion, they realized this assessments could play an important role in reading better professional practice and giving their students better education.
They discuss the following items related to the assessment;

• Give students appropriate opportunities to write, require them to support answers with evidence
• Give students the chance to use technology
• Teach kids to look at multiple data sources and synthesize/analyze them
• Teach kids the skill of taking notes, planning, and revising
• Be intentional. Teach kids the skills listed above and model them in our own practice
• Teach the process of approaching and answering a question
• Break tasks down. Teach kids how to break a complex task into components for themselves (also called “chunking.”)
• Create and assign performance task
• Provide real world examples in student work
• Teach kids to be good note takers
• How do we move away from “the right answer” obsession some kids have?
• Help kids develop better capability for time on task
• Provide students think time
• Teach kids about informational reading
• Change our interventions – less on work completion, more on learning
• Change our mental view of assessment – think of them as “thinking assessments.” Less multiple choice questions

PLN Project #10

I created my PLN by using Symbaloo. It is a great tool for accessing sites that I usually use. I no longer have to search through my favorites or bookmarks. It helps me organize my favorite sites, so it is easy for me to use these sites and Symbaloo decreases wasted time.

Project # 12

Blog Post Assignment #9

I read two blog posts of his four posts, What I Learned This Year (2010-11) and What I Learned This Year (2011-12). “At the Teacher’s Desk” is created by Mr. Joe McClung. He started the series of “What I Learned This Year” after his first year of teaching to give his feedback for audiences during the year. His annual reflections for his experiences and performances were great and I think they may encourage young or new teachers to grow up as a teacher. Additionally, they help educators and students who want to be a teacher grow professionally and become stronger spiritually, emotionally, behaviorally, mentally, physically.

First, I read What I Learned This Year (2010-11). I like "Don't Touch The Keyboard", the part of Mr. McClung's blog (2011). In “Don’t Touch The Keyboard” he talked about Mrs. Barron known as my classroom mom. She was tea support trainer. I agree with what Mrs. Barron said about never touch the keyboard when training a new employee. He said this also apply to teaching. Teachers can get into their hands and do the works for students when they teach their students a task and it is difficult for them to complete the task. Importantly, what he wanted to focus on is students will have fully never mastered the skills if teachers are substitute for them by doing their works. It is important for students to face problems in their works and struggle with them before completing because this is going to help them exceed. I believe students can grow and acquire various skills when they encounter some problems, critically think of them, and make themselves clear about them without giving up. This process is necessary and important for them to succeed to develop their skills. Educators can give just assists by asking questions, leading, giving them hints, and/or  just saying whether the work is correct or not.

Next, I read  What I Learned This Year (2011-12). In “You Gotta Dance With Who You Brought to the Dance”, during this year, he were wondering how he was viewed as an educator not only by his students and superiors but by his peers and whether he was approved by them. This bothered him and influenced his mood. He have decided that he try not to change himself according to his peers’ recognition because he is not positively influenced by suffering from perceiving his peers’ valuations. It is important for him to focus on whether he can take care of his ids and he and they can enjoy class. I agree with him! I think it is no matter how educators are looked at by others including colleagues, superiors, and public. Educators should always teach and act for students and should think of what affects students positively and leads their success.

I think his annual posts are his precious feedback for his works and his thoughts about his work and teaching. They help him improve his teaching and grow professionally as a teacher. It is important for him and us to primarily focus on students and give them fun to learn. In addition, they prevent him from being burn out although teachers may be sometimes burn out.

Picture: http://ruthcatchen.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/clipart12.jpg

Blog Post Assignment #8

1. Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream

Dr. Richard Miller is an English professor at Rutgers School of Arts and Science. He published many articles including the development of philosophy about consciousness that advances transformative teaching and writing practices. These video, This is How We Dream Part 1 and 2, showed how academic and cultural writing has been shifting. Dr. Miller believed that they can communicate each other immediately and widely in the world, so the current people are experiencing the greatest moment of communication changes. He discussed that the significance of literacy and how to write, research, and publish knowledge and information. He talked about the two types of the change, change incremental change and fundamental change.

The workplace was one of the incremental changes Dr. Miller directed attention to. Now, students hardly use texts only from such resources as encyclopedias and libraries that give information which students need. Besides, they do not use paper and pencils when writing to combine and organize gathered information any more. Currently, they use electric devices including laptops, iPads, and/or desktop computers when writing. Most of workplaces access internet and it allows them to research huge of information worldwide at anyplace. In my experience, I can write essays in my house as well as in the University of South Alabama and in certain coffee shop with internet access and get information worldwide. These convenient devises and workplaces were what Dr. Miller talked in these video.

In addition, the ability of collaborative use of networking technology and how to make up documents with instantaneous materials are another type of incremental changes Mr. Miller pointed out. Instead of using just text, technology tools having or offering the use of various communications or promotional media allow us to make up documents with materials happening or completed within a moment and filled with pictures, files, and/or sounds. The edited documents are composed of text and visual materials to get interests in the documents and engage readers to read them. Our convenient environments surrounding technology tools help us gather and organize experiences from at the past to at the present. The incremental changes in writing which Mr. Miller talked in these videos increases new functions and properties in how we compose document (write) and bring together information.

Dr. Miller believed that fundamental change, another change which he talked in the videos, is the possibilities of technology to change the basic precept of how to work, write, research, and publish. He stated that fundamental changes need to be beautiful and have power because it produces curiosity, creativity, and collaboration. I think the changes help us look at things not with a subjective eye, but with an objective eye. Additionally, I think these video told me how the use of these tools can elevate.

3. The Chipper Series & EDM310 for Dummies

The videos, The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies, were amusing! I think most of students watching these videos think this way. Students may want to do just enough to get by, but I am wondering whether the attitude of these students would shift when they take the classes organized like EDM 310. If so, I believed these students who make the least amount of efforts to get better would be more engaged and take care of what they have learned more.

I think students should start on what to do in advance and should not procrastinate to get successes and better. I think they should make an honest and every effort not to delay, and keep capturing it because they will have responsibility for themselves.

EDM310 for Dummies delineated actual attitudes of students in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class. Actually, I felt great as to render resistance at the first time and I thought like I am pressed by lots of work. However, I realized that it told me teaching myself, being self-sufficient, and being accountable for myself. It also said us how to continue to focus on and how to use our time effectively and it taught we should be lifelong learner. Therefore, they make us become a teacher in the future. 

4. Learn to Change, Change to Learn

Teachers have taught students for standardized testing and scores, not for the primary use of technologies while the world is under technology now. In this video, many people discussed it was necessary for education to change in classroom. Actually, kids spend lots of hours a day and teachers and classmates influence kids.

To develop the skills that they may be going to need in tomorrow, and in the future life, it is important for students to get meaningful experiences in school. I think it is crucial for educators to understand the interest of children and then get their attentions, and know how to interact with them through school curriculum to give them a high-rate learning environment.

Now, technology keeps elevating in the world, but our education is not enough. I agree with this video because we should finds the ways to catch up technology, bring it into education more, master it to aid students research and gather information, verify it, communicate through it, cooperate and solve problems with it. This may help teachers get the goal.

5. Scavenger Hunt 2.0

1.) Locate a tool that is similar to Twitter/Facebook and provides a social platform for teachers, parents, and students. Create an account as a Teacher and write a paragraph or two about how you could use this site in your classroom

Edmodo

Edmodo is similar to Facebook and allows people to share and collaborate. Edmodo provides teachers, students, and their parents a place to share and communicate each other. This is a great tool for class discussions, notifications, posting assignments, posting questions for teachers and classmates, and anything students can possibly think of. This makes connections between students and parents. 

2.) Find a video tool that you have never used. Summarize some it's special features.

SchoolWAX TV!

SchoolWAX TV is for educators, schools, students, and their parents. Educators approve meaningful videos on SchoolWAX TV and every one can watch them and learn by them if they hope. SchoolWAX TV helps students do homework and get extra helps. Additionally, teachers can get attentions and interests of students in the classroom by the use of video because it is animation. I would like everyone to share it!

3.) Find a tool to create a poll anywhere and at anytime. Create your first poll and post it here.

Blog Post Assignment #7

1. The Networked Student

The Network Student by Wendy Drexler explains what it is a network student and identifies the role of the teacher in the classroom of the network student. The network students are activity using social networking tools, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, search engines, etc.

I think the network students learn by the use of networking. Our PLN (Personal Learning Network) is consisted of family, friends, classmates, and other teachers. Now, PLN of 

students with technology becomes much 

larger and includes a great number of resources. Their community is not limited. With network, through some SNS (social network service), teachers can connect with master and/or special teachers in world, and share ideas resources, lesson plans, students’ feedback, methods of assessments, and so on. Additionally, students can connect with teachers and other students. They are still using their community to learn and develop. it becomes a global community now.

The global PLN helps our learning process. It provides meaningful and useful information, it provides support, motivation, and allows connections to be made. The PLN is not only about technology and websites, but about people. People with network help others learn. I think it is still important for the network students to have a teacher and/or professional instructor. Teachers can teach their students how to assess the information and evaluate the information for its creditability. Additionally, they can provide emotional support, encourage their students to learn and build confidence, and give their students advises to lectures and questions to them.

2. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

That's amazing video. Her PLN is different from mine. Her PLN is consisted of networking including resources, ideas, and search. She can learn by mastering technology. She do not use any papers, pens... However, I learn based on professors' lectures and on line. Actually, I need teachers who teach me face on face. In the future, students will have PLN with technology and networking like her PLN.

Picture: newamericamedia.org

Project #8 Podcast

C4K Summary/ September

C4K #1

Team 2 Spelling Bee

This blog is made by Team 2. Team 2 consists of Ms. Glaze's Room 7 students.This post talked about Spelling Bee contest. All children in Team 2 have been practicing spelling for the Spelling Bee. 

C4T Post #2

C4T #4
I’M EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE!

Mr. Jeff talked about the development of African countries with quotations of several articles. First, he  quoted the following articles of the hard facts about Ethiopia;

• Ethio Telecom’s customer base has reached 18.28 million people, registering a 59pct increase in the last fiscal year
• Mobile services, which constituted the vast majority of the customer base, had anticipated reaching 21.9 million subscribers and in actuality attracted 17.28 million customers. This was an increase of 700,000 people, a 79pct achievement of the target. Fixed line numbers reached 805,000 people or 81.4pct of intended performance targets.
• Internet and data service customers reached 221,000, 89pct performance. This does not  include 2.44 million users who receive mobile Internet service.
• There were more than 4,000 SIM and Voucher card retail distributors by the end of the fiscal year, while the number of wholesalers increased from six to 45, as the number of points of sale in the country reached over 45,000.
• “The number of mobile phone subscribers we have currently ranks us in the sixth position in Africa and first in east Africa,” said Abdurahmin adding that prominent countries like Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt are the ones beating Ethiopia’s figures.

Second, He talked Ethiopia's internet connection is not stable connection although Americans complained our internet connection. In Ethiopia, the line gets cut, the speed drops at heavy use times during the day, and overall the connection is not reliable.

Third, he talked about the African economic outlook by the following quotations of article;

• With almost 200 million people between the ages of 15 and 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. And it keeps growing rapidly. According to recent estimates, the number of young people in Africa will double by 2045. If this trend continues, the continent’s labor force will reach one billion by 2040, making it the largest in the world.
• The report warns that high unemployment among youth poses a serious challenge for the economies of African countries, whose recovery from the 2011 global economic and financial crisis had been remarkable.
• Emmanuel Nnadozie stated that challenges facing youth employment often vary across African countries and different income groups, he added, stressing the fact that in low-income countries, “youth in vulnerable employment and working poverty are the largest majority”, while “discouraged or inactive youth” are the most common group in middle-income countries. 
• Africa’s youth population is not only growing rapidly, it is also getting better educated. Based on current trends, about 59pct of 20-24 year olds will have had secondary education in 2030, compared to 42pct today. With the number of youth in Africa set to double by 2045, creating productive jobs for young people will continue to pose an immense challenge, according to reports.

Blog Post Assignment #6

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture





The last lecture is viewed by many people in the U.S. and this long video is a heart-tugged message by Dr. Pausch. The last lecture was given by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon University. He is recognized as a leading expert of virtual reality.(VR) Although he was too young to give the last lecture, he had a reason why he had to leave the university in which you had lectured for long term. That's why he had three to six months to live at that time because of a cancer. Actually, the lecture was not for us. It was for his children, Dylan, Logan, and Chloe. In the lecture, he talked about his childhood dream, enabling the dreams of others, how we can achieve our dreams or enable the dreams of others. In the great lecture, he gave us a lot of important things as a child, student, as an adult, as a teacher, as a woman and as a human being, I talk about the several things that I was moving.

I got the first good thing when he talked about playing in the NFL, one of  his childhood dreams. Graham, his coach of football team practiced no football, taught him the importance of the fundamental through his practice, ride him all practice. The important thing is what Randy was said by his coach Graham when the coach let him overcome his disadvantages. The coach taught him that being given a correction is what he was expected. Randy told us the learning in his football practices by his coach Graham. That's the critics are what ones still love the kids. I think we need that thing when educators teach the kids because the kids may think what they are doing if they do not corrected by adults who love them and know the right things. When the kids do wrong things, we have to point out the wrong things and then let them think of how they change and/or demonstrate the right things. I think they can not grow up if the kids who did the wrong things are not shown their faults.

In addition, he give us the importance of the critics when he talked about ETC project, the Dream Fulfillment Factory  which he accomplished with with Don Marinelli in the last part of this video. That was it is important for the kids to get a feedback and listen to it. It is difficult not only for the kids but for adults to receive the critics from others. For this reason, educators should teach the kids how the critics help them and let them think of how the critics help themselves.

Next, I got the second good thing to teach the kids when he talked about Building Virtual World (BVW) project. In this project, 50 students from art, CS, design, and drama ware randomly chosen, and make a team and the teams ware changed per project. He learned the important thing from his professor when he graded his students for this project. That was limitation is just preventing students to grow up. I think the kids have unexpected abilities and they can grow up the abilities through their experiences. I think the more they grow up, the more they enjoy learning and have a serious attention to learn. Therefore, teachers should give many chances for the kids to experience various things. For example, teachers take them to a company, a factory, a museum, a concert, a hospital, a university, a laboratory, etc. I think teachers should give them various social studies field trips to help them find their dream in the future.


Finally, I got the third good thing when he talked about the recital of the BVW project. He said that it is the best gift to give his students a chance to find the mind that they want to give pleasure to others. I was impressed by this word because I thought teacher can give the students a lot of chances to know various things and feeling such as joy, fun, pleasure, smile, sad, ugly, and so on. Teacher tell them when they feel these minds and whether these minds are right or not. In addition, teachers should not give the minds others when the minds are bad, for example, sad, ugly, angry, terrible, fear, etc. I am really to give a chance for my students to find the mind that they can give pleasure to others. I am proud of myself as a teacher when I can give the mind for them.

Project#9b

Project #9a