My last Comment 4 Teachers was Larry Ferlazzo. The information he finds and posts on his blog vary from things I would use all the time information that I have never even thought to search for. I think this is what makes it so unique. He mainly focuses on technology and incorporating technology in the classroom. He is big on PLN's and on social networking. Larry Ferlazzo was extremely helpful especially regarding this class. His posts on PLN's were extremely helpful and I was assigned to him around the time I was trying to finish mine up. He add tips and advice on how to do it.
Another aspect of his blog that I have never used but will come in handy is Google Earth. He has a tutorial for beginners and for advanced users. This is great! I have never used Google Earth but I can see myself getting on it often from now on. The tutorial was very helpful and easy to use. He is a beginner at it as well so he knew how to explain it to the newbies like me.
My favorite post from Larry Ferlazzo was probably "20 Interesting Images to Use in the Classroom". It is created by Tom Barnett. The pictures are awesome. He describes what pictures to use for what kind of explanation. For example, he said to use optical illusions for metaphors. I thought that was interesting. It is also one of those things that I'm not likely to forget. I will follow all of the teachers I have been assigned to in this class. Laryy Ferlazzo will be one of the most helpful ones for me, however. I feel like his aim is more towards teachers instead of students. His blog will definitely help me in so many ways.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Completed PLN
My completed PLN was easier to complete than I thought. I used many more links and applications than I realized! I also realized how much I actually use it! Each tile takes you directly to the website that you want. I even made my PLN my homepage for easier access! I know in the future I will add even more to my already almost filled up PLN. I am so glad I am able to use this tool!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Special Metaphor Assignment (Blog Assignment #14)
I clearly missed the metaphor example in the previous post. I'm not sure why. For the most part, I think of myself perceptive to metaphors and other examples. I think that maybe I have taken this class too seriously which concerns me because I am usually the one with a great sense of humor. Looking back on it now, I understand the metaphor in the assignment. Maybe it was so easy that I overlooked it. We may never know
Over the weeks, I have encountered countless metaphors. Kids seem to have the best metaphors. The kids I nanny for come up with great ones. Last week I heard countless times, "You're being a big baby". I also heard from a classmate, "That girl is one hot fox". Others I have heard this week: "What an airhead", "He is a bump on a log", and "You're a smelly goat". The list goes on and there are tons that I could name and I am still dwelling on the fact that I missed the first one.
In our future classrooms, I think we could use metaphors as wall decoration. I could have examples of them all over. Depending on the grade level and the subject, you could make your students incorporate them in a paper or in sentences that they must write using certain words or letters. There are many options. Using them frequently as a teacher is also key! That is a great start and gets your students used to hearing them all the time.
We use metaphors as a type of exaggeration or to get our point across. From the one I heard from my older sister after I got back from a run "You're a smelly goat" got the point across that basically said to me, "Hey you need a shower. Immediately." I got the point across. It got to me better than if she were to say, "Hey, you sweated a ton!" The point I'm trying to make is that for the most part metaphors are helpful in their own exaggerating way. Obviously, I'm not a goat or else I wouldn't be typing this up right now. I did smell like one though. I'll give her that. It got the point across in a descriptive way. Metaphors are a great tool to have. I hope that in future times, I will catch the metaphor much more quickly than the previous post.
Over the weeks, I have encountered countless metaphors. Kids seem to have the best metaphors. The kids I nanny for come up with great ones. Last week I heard countless times, "You're being a big baby". I also heard from a classmate, "That girl is one hot fox". Others I have heard this week: "What an airhead", "He is a bump on a log", and "You're a smelly goat". The list goes on and there are tons that I could name and I am still dwelling on the fact that I missed the first one.
In our future classrooms, I think we could use metaphors as wall decoration. I could have examples of them all over. Depending on the grade level and the subject, you could make your students incorporate them in a paper or in sentences that they must write using certain words or letters. There are many options. Using them frequently as a teacher is also key! That is a great start and gets your students used to hearing them all the time.
We use metaphors as a type of exaggeration or to get our point across. From the one I heard from my older sister after I got back from a run "You're a smelly goat" got the point across that basically said to me, "Hey you need a shower. Immediately." I got the point across. It got to me better than if she were to say, "Hey, you sweated a ton!" The point I'm trying to make is that for the most part metaphors are helpful in their own exaggerating way. Obviously, I'm not a goat or else I wouldn't be typing this up right now. I did smell like one though. I'll give her that. It got the point across in a descriptive way. Metaphors are a great tool to have. I hope that in future times, I will catch the metaphor much more quickly than the previous post.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Summary Post C4K #7,8,9, &10
The seventh C4K was The Unicorn Blog. This blog was a classroom blog with a teacher named Miss Pike. The blog is very organized and efficiently set up. The school's name is Epping Heights and it is in Sydney, Australia. I think that my favorite thing about this blog is that they have a little "visitors" box and it shows all the different people from different countries that have visited their classroom blog. I think that just shows the power and advantage of blogging. This is a class worth following.
The eighth C4K was perhaps my favorite C4K that I have followed this semester. It was Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog. Besides being a useful technological tool, her class blog is so interesting. I have seen some of the neatest pictures and posts from her and her students. The fact that she is so enthusiastic about learning and can put that same energy and charisma into her blog says a great deal to me. She wants to hear from others, her blog isn't just for her classroom purposes, I truly believe it is to help an inform others as well! I still to this day use her how to use correct html code post. That is bookmarked on my computer and I am sure I will use it for years to come. This is a teacher I would model my classroom blog after.
The ninth C4K was Hello World! by Kyle. He also attends Epping Heights. Unfortunately, there was not much to his blog. I left a comment with no response. He didn't have any blogs posted yet. I think something must have just gone wrong with his. I still saw some amazing students from EHPS.
The tenth C4K was Adia's Babble Blog. This blog was my favorite's next to Mrs. Yollis' blog. Her blog looks like someone my age did it. She has such great grammar and punctuation that it blows my mind. It makes me want to better my blog even more when I see what she can do and share. She has such neat experiences on her blog and you can tell she is eager for more. She has a solid blogging foundation and I truly hope she continues on blogging! She is way awesome. I hope to hear back from her sometime soon. She is a talented and gifted young girl. Adia can make a change for the better with the use of technology and her blog. We all should be able to say that!
The eighth C4K was perhaps my favorite C4K that I have followed this semester. It was Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog. Besides being a useful technological tool, her class blog is so interesting. I have seen some of the neatest pictures and posts from her and her students. The fact that she is so enthusiastic about learning and can put that same energy and charisma into her blog says a great deal to me. She wants to hear from others, her blog isn't just for her classroom purposes, I truly believe it is to help an inform others as well! I still to this day use her how to use correct html code post. That is bookmarked on my computer and I am sure I will use it for years to come. This is a teacher I would model my classroom blog after.
The ninth C4K was Hello World! by Kyle. He also attends Epping Heights. Unfortunately, there was not much to his blog. I left a comment with no response. He didn't have any blogs posted yet. I think something must have just gone wrong with his. I still saw some amazing students from EHPS.
The tenth C4K was Adia's Babble Blog. This blog was my favorite's next to Mrs. Yollis' blog. Her blog looks like someone my age did it. She has such great grammar and punctuation that it blows my mind. It makes me want to better my blog even more when I see what she can do and share. She has such neat experiences on her blog and you can tell she is eager for more. She has a solid blogging foundation and I truly hope she continues on blogging! She is way awesome. I hope to hear back from her sometime soon. She is a talented and gifted young girl. Adia can make a change for the better with the use of technology and her blog. We all should be able to say that!
Blog Assignment 13
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I have never heard of this site ALEX before. ALEX stands for the Alabama Learning Exchange. It was actually a very neat site and very easy to maneuver around. What I found, were a few very important uses for this site. This will absolutely come in handy when I become a teacher and have a classroom. The homepage has 8 tabs on it. The first one is Alabama Course of Study. This includes all of the standards in the Alabama course of study. This site is the easiest access I have experienced with trying to review the standards. The second tab is Lesson Plans and it leads you to lesson plans already made and suggestions for some. This is also a handy thing for those that are new at this! The third button is the Search button. You can search all of ALEX or you can narrow your search by the Alabama Course of Study standards etc. The next tab I couldn't access. It was Personal Workplace and you had to have an account with them. I hope one day to be able to access this. The next tab was Professional Learning. This had everything from info about Special Education to Library Media to School Improvement. This would be a great tab to further explore when I have a classroom of my own. I think it would hold even more meaning to me than it does now. The seventh tab was the Podcast Treasury. This tab was for sure something that many teachers can use to incorporate technology in their classroom. You could choose a content area and then search different podcasts for that area. That is a rockin' tool. I don't care who you are. The last tab was ALEXville. The clickable icon is a globe with surrounding houses called ALEXville. The information on that is unlimited. You can do everything from subscribing to the ALEXville news to the Alabama Teachers of the Year.
This site was a neat one to explore. I will absolutely use it as a future teacher. I will also recommend or show this to teachers and future teachers. They need to know about this if they don't already. This is a tool that we shouldn't take for granted. Schools in Alabama and teachers could benefit from this greatly. I am thankful for resources such as this. I already feel like I am being pointed in the right direction through sites and guidance like this.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Blog Assignment 12
Watch Salman Khan's video Let's use video to reinvent education. What are your thoughts on his ideas for using video to reinvent education? How effective would this be? Does this take the teaching aspect out of education? What would you change about The Khan Academy? Could this work in the school systems today? He says, "Anything that can be taught can be taught using this concept." What are your thoughts on that statement?
Write 3-4 complete paragraphs that state your opinion and thoughts on your response to this video.
Write 3-4 complete paragraphs that state your opinion and thoughts on your response to this video.
Final Project Progress Report
For my final project in EDM 310, I will be joining 5 other students in doing a puppet show at St. Elmo Elementary School. Anthony Capps headed this project up and I am more than excited to be doing this. We will be doing a puppet show of Where The Wild Things Are and the puppets will be huge! They are to be 3 feet and Anthony will be Max himself. This will be tricky to hold and maneuver the puppets with ease. That will be all part of the handiwork to acommodate these problems. I can't wait to get started on my monster puppet this week! The final show will be so fun to do and an awesome way to gain experience. We will be presenting at the end of this month. I can't wait to see how this turns out!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Blog Assignment 11
The youtube video I watched about Ms. Cassidy's Class was so awesome. First graders blogging and writing books? What an inspiration. Her first graders really seem to enjoy it. I noticed that they use Nintendo DS's to practice with letters etc. I have never thought about doing that before! I think most teachers automatically assume that those would be distracting for students, but if you think about it, they would be more interested in learning letters on something they can relate to and enjoy! This is a huge part of being technology literate. Like Ms. Cassidy said, you can't be "technology literate" and only know how to use Word or do a spreadsheet. That is not technologically literate these days. The students will not want to learn if you use those techniques. Technology is constantly changing. It only makes sense that students and the classroom need to keep up with it. Before this class, I definitely was anti-technology. I'm glad I took this class or else I am sure I wouldn't have a job for very long!
The techniques that Ms. Cassidy suggested to use in a classroom included countless sources. Twitter and PLN's are a big hit with her. Twitter is such a neat tool. I have discovered more daily every time I log onto Twitter. The resources are quite endless. I love that this an available tool and that teachers are using it. I will absolutely use this as a resource when I am a teacher. I want my students to be able to blog and have access to all sorts of technology. Fortunately, Ms. Cassidy didn't hit any major bumps in the road with anyone that tried to stop her from doing this with her class. She didn't always have support, but at least no one tried to shoot her ideas and techniques down. I know that is a huge risk when I have a classroom on my own. The principal and higher powers may not always agree with technology in the classroom. I am not sure what I would do if this became an issue. I know that permission forms to even use a computer is an absolute must and I know that they may not see my side of the issue. I think the best thing we can do is inform the "unbelievers" and show them how awesome and useful technology really is.
I love the safety precautions that Ms. Cassidy takes. I also love how in her youtube video she made the students recite a few rules back. Never using the student's last name is absolutely imperative. Also, making sure the students know what not to write on their blog. Never say mean things is also a big no-no. I think that the students in her class know and follow these rules. They really need to fully understand the importance of the safety rules. When I use blogging in my classroom, I will use these rules for sure.
I want to continually polish up on my "technology literacy". I know that I am miles away from being where I should be. I also know that before this class, I was miles away from where I am now. That is encouraging and makes me want to better the skills I have. It really is a fun thing to learn about technology these days. It will be even more fun to teach someone the things I now know! And I know for absolute certainty, when I teach my students this awesome stuff, I will be learning right along with them! That is so exciting to me!
The techniques that Ms. Cassidy suggested to use in a classroom included countless sources. Twitter and PLN's are a big hit with her. Twitter is such a neat tool. I have discovered more daily every time I log onto Twitter. The resources are quite endless. I love that this an available tool and that teachers are using it. I will absolutely use this as a resource when I am a teacher. I want my students to be able to blog and have access to all sorts of technology. Fortunately, Ms. Cassidy didn't hit any major bumps in the road with anyone that tried to stop her from doing this with her class. She didn't always have support, but at least no one tried to shoot her ideas and techniques down. I know that is a huge risk when I have a classroom on my own. The principal and higher powers may not always agree with technology in the classroom. I am not sure what I would do if this became an issue. I know that permission forms to even use a computer is an absolute must and I know that they may not see my side of the issue. I think the best thing we can do is inform the "unbelievers" and show them how awesome and useful technology really is.
I love the safety precautions that Ms. Cassidy takes. I also love how in her youtube video she made the students recite a few rules back. Never using the student's last name is absolutely imperative. Also, making sure the students know what not to write on their blog. Never say mean things is also a big no-no. I think that the students in her class know and follow these rules. They really need to fully understand the importance of the safety rules. When I use blogging in my classroom, I will use these rules for sure.
I want to continually polish up on my "technology literacy". I know that I am miles away from being where I should be. I also know that before this class, I was miles away from where I am now. That is encouraging and makes me want to better the skills I have. It really is a fun thing to learn about technology these days. It will be even more fun to teach someone the things I now know! And I know for absolute certainty, when I teach my students this awesome stuff, I will be learning right along with them! That is so exciting to me!
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