Final Post- Peace EDM310 :)

Project #16 With Laura Scott

C4K #8 - #11 Summaries

C4K #8- Zaphanata's Fantastic Animation of his Pirate Ship

This post consisted of an animation of a pirate ship by a student named Zaphanta. He added sound and movement. I commented that his animation was really good. Also, I told him that when I was in school we weren't able to do fun things like this. I said that I hope he continues to do well in his class.

C4K #9 - Welcome to A4 Avish

This post was an introduction of a new student to the A4 class. It said that he likes to play outside on the slide. He also has a brother in year 4 named Ayush. I commented that I hope he is excited about his new class. I told him that I hope he finds some awesome friends in his new class. I wished him luck and told him to have fun.

C4K #10 - Flat Adam Leaves Home


This post was part of Mrs. Conlin's Flat Stanley Project. This class has been sending pieces of paper cut into the shape of a person and colored by the students. In this post, the student begins the adventure for his Flat Adam. Flat Adam is leaving Westford, MA, and is on his way to Nashua, NH. He even hopes to to visit Santa's Village on his trip. I said that I thought that his trip sounded really exciting. I told him how I had always wanted to go to Santa's Village, and I hope that he has a fun trip.

C4K #11 - Yasmine's Favorite Deserts and Clare's "Alice in Wonderland"


Yasmine's post was a list of her top five favorite deserts. Her favorite deserts are hot fudge brownies, any kind of ice cream except pecan, cheesecake, chocolate pudding, and cupcakes. I commented that they sounded like some really delicious desserts. I told her that my favorite desert is cookies and cream ice cream. I said that her blog looked really good and I'm glad that I got to read it.

Clare's post was a description of the story "Alice in Wonderland". She told about talking animals, rabbits in waistcoats, and people who have nearly lost their minds. She explains that Alice is certain that she is in a dream, but she can't seem to wake up. I told her that she gave a great description of this story. I also told her that this was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I said that my favorite character was the Mad-hatter, because he was so crazy and so funny. I told her that she had an awesome blog and to keep up the good work.

C4T Teacher #4 Summary Post

Beth Still

Nebraska Change Agent- Beth Still


I read Beth Still's blog for this assignment. The first post I read and commented on was about Skype. She wanted to get ten people, the most Skype allows, on a Skype video conference all at once. I told her that I thought it was a great idea. Also, I told her that I really liked how she was trying to take full advantage of the technology of our time. When it was over, she let me know how everything went. She said, "We had up to 7 cameras live at one time which was really cool. Four time zones were represented! However, there were major issues with the call kicking people out. The amazing part of all of this is knowing that through Twitter  I will always have people to turn to when I need help."

The second post of Beth Still's that I read was about how adjustments lead to major improvements. She explained how out of her thirty-eight students last semester twelve of them did not get credit for her course. The main reason for this was the quarterly project they had to complete. If they did one step wrong, every other part was affected. She decided to change it for the next semester. They started the project the first week of the semester, so they wouldn't have to do it all at once. The students aren't allowed to go to the next step without completing the one they are one. This allows them to work at their own pace. She also explained how she is trying to do more to build good relationships with her students. She seems to genuinely care about the success of her students. I commented that I thought it was very encouraging to hear stories like this one. I told her that I thought it was a great message being sent. I also said that I could tell that she is a very dedicated teacher. In her post, she posed the question, "Do I care too much?" She said that she didn't think so, and I told her that I don't think educators can care too much about their students' education. It's only when they don't care enough that it becomes a problem.
the lengths she would go to help her students.

Project #15 By Abby Smith & Laura Scott

Blog Post #13

The Alabama Learning Exchange is designed to compile educational materials and information into a time-saving one-stop resource for teachers and administrators in Alabama. Its goal is for Alabama students to reap the benefits of Alabama educators sharing their wealth of expertise and knowledge with colleagues. Since January 2007, on a monthly basis, over one million teachers, students, school leaders, and parents from Alabama and around the world access ALEX's fun, engaging interactivities-doubling previous usage rates. It is funded in part by USDOE Enhancing Education Through Technology, Title II, Part D grant as part of the five percent administration funds for the Alabama Department of Education.

The ALEX homepage has seven links to navigate the website. They are Courses of Study, Web Resources, Lesson Plans, Search, Professional Workspace, Podcast Treasury, and ALEXville. There are links people can go to where they can learn more about ALEX and Thinkfinity training opportunities, view past presentations, or search for grants, They can also visit Alabama Department of Education Program Websites to find professional development opportunities, teaching, and learning tools, the latest news, best practices and more. There are also pages to find tips, tricks, and tutorials on a variety of technology tools.

This is such a great tool for educators. I plan to use this tool when I become a teacher. I think that there is so much that we can learn by listening to other educators. We get to see the different ways teachers choose to teach. By keeping our minds open to the different ways educators teach, we are able to learn new and different ways to teach our students that we might have never thought of.

Additional Assignment #5

He Just Likes the Class for the Pencils

The main idea in this post is that ultimately, it's about trust and purpose. If we want our students to trust us, we have to be able to take the time to listen to them, so we can really get to know them. If we treat our students with respect, more than likely that is what we will get in return. The students aren't going to like us just because of some technology we use in our classroom that their other teachers do not use. They will like or not like us based how we treat them. If we don't care about what they have to say, more than likely, they will not care about what we have to say to them.



The Medium Shapes of Learning

In this post, the main idea is that we can't just pick a certain kind of technology we want to use to teach a lesson. We have to realize that the medium we use to get the information to our students can change the message if we choose the wrong one. Just because a certain medium may be more fun than another one, doesn't mean that it is the better choice.

Sketchy Portraits: 8th Grade Identity and Pencils

I think that the main idea in this post was about realizing that the students are at different ages, and they are experiencing different things in life. A fourteen year-old, for example, yearns for freedom and yet still clings to the safety of childhood. A first grader gives unexpected hugs, ignoring the rules of space and they interrupt you when they are excited. They aren't doing this to be rude. It's simply because of their age. They haven't reached an age where they learn these types of things yet. We have to understand that they are still children, and they are growing up and learning all the things we have already learned or been through. We should be more understanding.

Just Teach Them to Solve for X

In this post, I think the concept he is trying to get across is that sometimes we have to change the way we look at something, so we can better understand what we are looking for. Instead of using "x" as the variable in the math problem, he has his students create metaphors for the concept of "x". He wants them to understand how variables work, because if they don't understand how "x" is used, they won't understand how it is used in life. There are many different ways to go about teaching something. Teaching isn't always conventional. Sometimes we have to change the way the problem is seen, so the students have a better chance of understanding. It's amazing how we can not understand something looking at it as "x", but when we change the "x" into something that's real and not some "magical number", we can understand it a lot easier.