Blog Post #15 Final Reflection

When I become a teacher, I want to teach somewhere around 1st-3rd grade. I would love to teach math but any subject will do. I want to use the Whole Brain Teaching style and Flipping the Classroom. I would do a lot of work online so that no one could be left behind and there would be no excuses. Technology would be used in our normal daily routine. Games and projects would be in our daily schedules. I will still expect a lot of my students because I know if I don't expect much out of them they will not strive to be as smart and talented as they are. I know everyone is capable of more than they realize so when you expect more they will surprise you.
My class would be fun, thought provoking, and cause students to want to learn even beyond what we do in the classroom. In my classroom we would use project based learning. We will spend most of the classroom time to review, practice, and help the students that are having the most problems. All review work and future work can be done online on our class website. Videos will be used to help those who need more help the children that are progressing fast than other can be given harder work to do while the attention is given to the ones that are in more need of help.
My class will not be a normal class with only pencil and paper. We will have all the technology that we could use at our finger tips. My students will use computers, Blogger and Youtube to keep up with all the work that we will be doing in class. All of this technology can also help parents be able to keep up with what is going on in the classroom at all times, even when they are not there. Technology is always growing so, as teachers, we have to keep up with it so that we are not doing our students a disadvantage. We have to prepare them to be comfortable with whatever technology comes their way. Our students will encounter technology that hasn’t even been thought of yet, so we have to get them ready to take it on. .
My students will work in groups, depending on what we are doing. Centers will be used in our classrooms to give students different areas of problem solving and working together. Students have to learn to work with others to strive for a common goal. They will also work as individuals so they can become independent learners and not have to depend on others to tell them what to do. We will use the Smart Board daily for lessons and interactive games. My room will not be like anything I grew up with. That ship has sailed and there is no going back to the way teaching used to be.

Project #16

Project #13

We used a Google Drive doc,text,google messages, and facebook to discuss what we wanted to do on our project. We had some issues with Skype and Google Hangout so this was our other option. Skype would not link all three computers together for some reason. Google Hangout would not load correctly. Using all of these tools allowed us to get work done a little bit faster when we had a planned meeting. We decided on some of the things we wanted do for our project.

Blog Post #14

In this article, we are informed of something called E-Reading. This is something that can be used to determine whether a student is reading the text book. Teachers never know if students are reading the material for class. Some students may never even open the book. This allows a teacher to keep up with who all is participating in reading the chapters that are being taught. Is this a good thing or bad thing?

Teacher's Point of View:
In the point of view of the teacher, this may be just another thing to add on to their work load. It also allows the teacher to determine if, even if someone did read, the book is appropriate for his or her classroom. There may be a possibility that, even if the student did read, the book may not explain a topic enough and the teacher needs to go over the topic in even more depth or explain the subject differently than the book did. It also allows the teacher to see which learning strategies work for which students. Some students may be able to just go by what the teacher teaches in class and not read and catch on just as quick. Some students may be able to read what is on the E-Reading but still not be able to comprehend what was read. When students get to college shouldn't they be expected to figure out their own study habits, so why should a college teacher have to keep up with something that should already be a responsibility for a student? This allows a teacher to determine if their class is so easy that students don't need a book. It could also show if a class is too hard. In that case the students did read the book they still had problems.

In the Student's Point of View:
The students may think that this is more work that has to be done on his or her part also. With the E-Reading tool they will be made to be even more responsible, this is a good thing. Now the teacher will know for a fact if they read what they were supposed to or not. They will not be able to get away with not reading and lying about reading. The proof will be in E-Reading. Although the student may not like this, it will actually help them be more prepared for class and tests they will be given. Also, this can show the students, if they didn’t do well on a chapter, reading is very important and it makes a difference in how you perform in the classroom. If the students come to this conclusion, they will take more of an initiative to read. The student will adjust his or her studying style to incorporate more reading.

Questions of Teachers:
-How much work does it add on to you to have to keep up with how much everyone is reading?
-What if a student is not good at reading and comprehending what they just read?
- What if a student reads and still does not do well on performances in the class?
-What if the E-Reading book does not explain the subject well. What would you have to do?
-Some students may be better at writing the information down when it is discussed in class instead of reading it. Would they be penalized for not reading even if they did well on the test?

Questions of Students:
- Are you more aware of the importance of reading your text book?
- Are you taking notes from your text book in your normal study habits?
-Would you prefer to write notes down to study or read?
- Do you like the fact that your reading is being watched?
-Have you noticed and improvement in your grades when you actually read the chapters?
-Are the books useful in your classes? Do they explain the topics in enough detail?

My Comment:
I think it may be a good idea for middle school and high school students, but not for college students. Those students should already have good study habits. Some students may not be able to just read a couple chapters and understand everything right away. I am definitely one of those students. I don't learn by reading chapter after chapter. I may even have to read something over and over until I completely grasp everything it is talking about because I get distracted very easily. I have to write stuff down, hear it out loud, and see it in action with my own eyes. Yes, it could be a good idea for some teachers to use as a guide, but just because some students don't read the text book and does well on a test does not necessarily mean they class is too easy. It may just be that they are a good guesser, studied their notes really hard, made flash cards and sang a little song to remember the information.

PLN

I had fun finding my PLN. I found some through the assignments, through classmates, and some through just browsing through the internet. I think some of my favorites are Whole Brain Teaching, Teachers Pay Teachers, and TED Talk. Although all of my PLN can be useful, I think I will use those three the most. I want my classroom to be like a Whole Brain Teaching classroom. I will probably use Teachers Pay Teachers many times for cheap resources. TED Talk is a wonderful place for encouragement and ideas. I never knew what a PLN was, nor did I think it was important when I first heard about them. Now I am very glad to have one because I know how useful it can be for the future.

C4T

Feb 20th My Comment on Teachernz: I am a student in EDM 310 at University of South Alabama. I have never heard anything about the Sixth Sense. After watching the Ted video I am very curious. I think that kind of technology could be very helpful. In reality, I don't think people will wear something of that size around their neck all the time. In my opinion it is not very realistic. Maybe if the product was smaller people would be more interested. I think in the future with some appearance changes it might be more appealing to buyers. March 1st My comment to Teachernz: My name is Jennifer Whitley and I am a student at University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I think a "Paperless Day" would be a very good idea to get the students out of their normal routine of paper and pencil. I believe this should happen very often. In the pictures, you can see the students are very engaged in all the activities they are given. I have never thought about bringing a cell phone in the class so they could learn how to bluetooth.That is a interesting idea. Doc Horse Tales
Joseph McCaleb recieved his PH.D at University of Texas with emphasis in English and rhetorical studies. He is the director of UMCP, which is focused on digital media.
My comment to Joseph McCaleb:
My name is Jennifer Whitley. I am from EDM 310 at University of South Alabama. I never realized how important having a PLN was until I started taking this class. I have come to the realization, as a future teacher, that without a PLN I would have to come up with every lesson plan myself with no help and hope my approach is good enough to engage the students. I am now building my PLN. I know I don't have all the answers and I can't be expected to have all of them but I do have all the resources I could even need at my finger tips. Why waste the technology? I would be doing myself and my students an injustice. I can learn from people that have been teaching for years. April 13th William Chamberlain teaches sixth grade at Noel Elementary school in Noel, Missouri. My comment to Mr. C: My name is Jennifer Whitley. I am from University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I really liked this video. It makes me think about how the teaching world is today. When a newer teacher wants to try something new in their classrooms, instead of the cookie cutter way, people are set back by it. They are scared of the idea of something new and unknown but as they test the waters with the new teacher more people see their accomplishments and want to join. As teachers we have to take a chance and come up with new ideas and stop following the same boring routine. Get out of the box and try something new and that could be in any area in our lives. April 17th He is a Chief Storyteller in room 304 at Waukee Middle School in Waukee, IA.He listens to, learns from, and provides feedback for sixty-five 11-and-12-year-old storytellers-in-training. My comment to Russ Goerend: I am Jennifer Whitley from University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I have actually never heard the term "dogfooding." As I kept reading I understood what you were talking about. We should never give our students something to work on that we would not even try ourselves. We should always be open to new technology. We should never discourage a student from using a certain product but some products are better for other people. It just depends on the person and what it will be used for. It is a fantastic I for product owners to do this, so they will get truthful feedback in the product.

C4C

Jan.26th
My Comment to Angela Vliet:
Angela, I am Jennifer from EDM 310. I completely agree with Dr. Pausch's statement too. I am not a very organized person and I have been learning the past couple years. Without planning when I would do my school work and study I would be in trouble.I have to put eveything in a calendar to keep track of everything. I ,also, completely understand your problems doing school work and studying. I have found that studying a little at a time can help in the long run. Once your teachers give you a chapter, studying that chapter that night is easier than having a cram session the day before the test. When I study it makes it easier if I take short breaks every couple hours if I know I will be studying for a long period of time. Also, I learned that when I study I have to be in a quiet room with no music or tv to distract me. When I was younger I could handle all the distractions with ease, but not now. I can't even handle people talking in the next room while I am doing school work. When you schedule a time to study or do work and stick to that schedule it makes school a lot less stressful.

Jan. 31st
My comment to Alexandria Thompson:
Alexandria, I think you did a good job on this blog. I liked how you quoted Sir. Ken Robinson to get your point across. I would suggest that you go back to the blog #1 and look under the "VERY IMPORTANT" section. This section shows how to separate each paragraph and topics. Also, you may want to check your spelling of Pinterest. Have a good day!

Feb. 7th
My comment on Rebecca Stuart:
"..that money could be used to go toward a much bigger national debt.." I agree. I don't understand why gaming is so big either. I just think of other things I could use that money for.
As a whole the blog post was fine, but you may want to go back and read it out loud. Some of the word choices you used were not really needed or was in the wrong tense.

February 12 My comment to Alexandria Thompson:
Alexandria, I think it is very interesting that students that are so young are learning to use this type of technology. I agree that it is a very good tool to use to keep the parents informed about what is going on in the classroom and seeing what the students are leaning. I believe creating a script is very important too. I never thought about how important punctuation is when you are talking. You made a very good point.Although, I did see a punctuation error. You may also want to check the very last sentence and reword it.

Febuary 20 My comment on Rebecca Stuart:
Rebecca, I completely agree with you about flipping the classroom. I think it is a fantastic idea. I have never heard of it before this class but it makes so much sense. Of course you may have to go over what was taught online in the videos for the children that don't quite get it but at least you will not spend most of the time on lecturing. The rest of the class can be spent on practicing what was learned and helping the other students in the class. I will find a school that allows me to teach this way because I believe so much in it.

March 1st
My Comment to Jarrod Roberts:
I think that is a fantastic analogy for why we need teachers, when it comes to networked students. All of those little parts really explain how much is out there but when you learn to use it correctly then it can function in the way it was meant to be.

March 6th
My Comment to Abigail Mularz:
I was worried too when I started reading about having a PLN. I think after we have more practice it will come easier to us. We have to have a PLN to help us in the future so we might as well get started now. Good luck with creating your PLN

March 20
My Comment to Abigail Mularz:
This is quote is the most mind blowing part of this video.
"Children are having a much more stimulating and rich environment outside of school. They are very rich content developers through their social websites, portable computers, and cell phones yet all of these are banned in school. 'Every turned off device is potentially a turned off child.' Technology needs to be accepted in the classroom; it is not there to provide information on traditional subjects."
I think this tells us, as teacher, we have to do everything possible to grab the attention of our students. What we are doing now is obviously not working so something has to change.

March 30
My Comment to Rebecca Stuart:
Rebecca, I feel the same way about student teaching and my first year of teaching. I can also be very shy around people I don't know, which will not make that situation better. It is a little scary to think of, so the first thing I did was read about his first year of teaching too. I have already learned by working at a daycare for four years that even if you plan like crazy it does not always go as planned. We never know what the day holds so it is better to be overly prepared than the students have nothing to do.

April 6
My comment to Alexandria Higdon:
My school was the same way about using phones. If we were caught they were taken until the end of the school year. I only had one teacher that used technology in the classroom for a fun way for us to learn and that was my favorite class. Kids are drawn to technology and staying in communication with people so why not bring that into the classroom.
"He realizes how much students will learn using technology and he challenges the reader at the end to try not using the technology and see which students come out on top. He knows that the students using the technology and resources not allowed to the others will reach more places and become better students."
This is so true! There are so many jobs that include knowing how to use computers and other technology. Students that have more knowledge about technology will be more likely to get better jobs and ultimately succeed in higher levels because they are more skilled.

April 17th
My comment to Lindsey:
These sites you have mentioned sound very interesting. I will have to go check them out for future use. As teachers, we have to come up with so much creative material for our classes. This site would be fantastic for a first year teacher. Thank you for the head start in preparing us!

April 24th
My comment to Ciara Deese:
I also love this type of teaching. This engages the students and makes them to competely understand the subject before moving to the next step.