Project #10

Finding the Right Tool
While online I found a fantastic tool to teach 4th grade students about drug abuse and drug addiction. The National Institute of Drug Abuse provides a lot of information on this subject. It also provides teachers or parents with a wonderful project for the students to do to understand the subject better. I think it is good because it not only provides this information to teachers but to parents to be informed at home too. This site provides so many facts for students too read and pictures for students to look at to understand the effects of drugs to the body. This site also provides a class project that could be done during red ribbon week. The project is called "Brain Power" and it tells about different modules that the students can go through. These modules provide different hands-on projects to help students get a better grasp on this subject. It I think this site could be very helpful no matter what age you teach. Students need to know about the effects of drugs on the body so maybe it will prevent them in the future from falling into addiction

Blog Post #6

Networked Students
Networked Students are students that are taught mostly by using the internet than by a teacher. These students use the internet as a tool to begin a journey of learning. This journey gives these students the opportunity to use the internet and all of its resources. This teaches the students how to use these resources to their advantage for the present and the future. Networked Students are taught to be independent learners. Students don’t realize everything the internet holds. It is not just a place to socialize about nothing that is remotely important. It is a place that holds so much more knowledge than we realize or know what to do with.
In the video the question is asked if teachers are even necessary or needed. This raises a very good question. With all of the information that can be found on the internet, do we really need teachers? If there is that large amount of information out there for everyone to use, why do we need to go to school to be taught what we can find out on our own. Although there are thousands of websites of information, students don’t know how to use all the information. They have to be taught. Not all information on the internet is correct. Some resources are not reliable to use.
When a classroom has networked students the teaching is a lot different than expected. Instead of depending on the teacher to tell all the answers and lecture all of the class time, students are expected to learn on their own. Teachers are expected to teach the students how to use all of the information they are being given. Because there is so much information out there, students have to be taught how to sort through it, so they can find the most accurate information out there. Teachers are needed to create learners not dependence.

My Sentence

Blog Post #5

If I built A School
What would you so if you were given an extremely large amount of money and told to build the school of your dreams. Krissy Venosdale began to dream about what her dream school could look like. The school she describes is very creative. The surroundings would promote learning. If was given that same opportunity, I would make my school very visually creative. The students would know which bus was theirs not because of numbers on the sides but because of the animal painted on the buses. A bus may have monkeys, whales, tigers, bears, lizards, dogs, and etc. When you walk in the school the students would be walking the mouth of the mascot. Every classroom would have its own theme and with decorative things hanging from the ceiling. All the desks would have positive notes from the teacher and from a student to help encourage a nice start to the day. In the hall there would be a large aquarium for the kids to look at every day. In the library would be several comfortable reading nooks with beautiful pillows for the kids to get alone and read. The shelves would be larger than life books to hold the library books. The playground would have a tree house, safety nets, bump and jumps, and a fun house. The school I would build would be fun and eye catching at every corner. Learning experience would have a lot of hands-on projects to bring the school work to life. Learning would not be just a chore; it would be a joy that causes curiosity in every student. All of the classrooms would have computers because every class would be a Flipped Classroom. Classroom time would be spend mostly on reviewing, group work, and helping students individually. I think flipping every subject helps not only the teachers but the students and parents. Classroom time should not be about repeating lessons. It should be about building off what they have already learned so they lessons can go deeper.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
In this video a choir is made by singers that have never met or performed together. The entire performance was put together through the internet and posted on You Tube. People that are not musically inclined might look at this and say it is not a big deal but they don't understand all the effort that went in to this. Being a singer, I am completely amazed and speechless. I am so curious of how this is possible. Singing with a group of people that large is hard enough but when you have never sang together or even met, it can be very difficult. It is completely astounding to me how all the parts are correct. If you notice in the video some of the people are wearing headphones and listening to the music so they can stay on the right key and follow along with it. The technical part putting all together would have also been very difficult.
It is incredible how this type of technology can connect so many people. People from all over the world are coming together for a purpose and walking away from this virtual choir with close friends that they can continue to connect with. It is so fascinating how people who don't know each other can come together and accomplish something as beautiful as this. To listen to Eric Whitacre talk about all of the thousands of people and that wanted to be involved in his virtual choir, it reminded me that everyone has a longing to interact with others. People want to feel a part of something. This choir has allowed them to be in contact with people they normally never would.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In this video it reminds us of all the resources and technology that can be used for teaching today's generations. There is not problem finding information because there are so many resources that can be used on the internet. Where we have been lacking is teaching the students how to use different resources and information. In this video is explains the difference between keeping students entertained and engaged. Engaging is the key to grabbing student's attention so they can learn and continue to learn. Keeping students entertained will not accomplish much. Entertainment only lasts for a short amount of time.

Flipped Classroom
I have never heard of a flipped classroom until watching all the videos Dr. Strange gave us to look at. After I finish my degree, I want to teach math and this is a perfect tool to use. I am super excited about this type of classroom setup. I think this is the best way to keep students engaged in the classroom. It causes them to learn to work outside the classroom and become more prepared before coming to class, which gives more time in the classroom for helping each group of students. Flipping the Classroom makes the students want to be more involved in what is going on in the class. It also allows students to help each other. This style of teaching allows the teachers to connect with the parents. The parents are able to keep up with what is going on in the class. This learning style can help students learn at their own pace. This allows the teachers to help the students that need more help in the class and it also allows the students that grasp the concepts faster to move ahead so they are not bored while waiting on the other students to understand. A flipped class allows the students to excel in and out of the classroom. This type of learning allows students to become more independent learners. I think in the future we will see more subjects and schools to be involved in a flipped Classroom.

C4T#1

Jan.26th
Mr. Elias blog was about how technology can be a struggle for several of the older teachers and a relief for the younger ones. Technology effects the teaching world.
My comment to Scott Elias:
Mr. Elias, I am a student at University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I understand when you talk about there being a huge technology gap between the generation today and the older generation. Last week in class we were discussing how fast technology has come in just twenty years. A am studying to be a teacher and I know it can be hard to keep up with all the technology that is coming out but if we don't keep up then we will get left behind. If we get left behind we are doing yourself and the students we are teaching an injustice. In ten years there will be even more technology to use that didn't exsist today. It is hard to know how we are supposed to teach our students when we are not even sure what will be accessable to them in the future. We have to show students how fast technology grows, prepare them for a world surrounded by technology, and show them how fun and useful it can be . Then, they will hopefully learn to use it to their advantage.

Feb.7th This bog was about how the rich are using their money to make the schools set up how they want and the effects it could have.
My comment to Scott Elias:
Mr. Elias, My name is Jennifer Whitley. I am from University of South Alabama EDM 310. I agree that the “Walmartization” of education sound scary. If the rich are the ones running the school that can do whatever they want with them. Every school, county, state, and students are not alike. You can’t have one standard for all of them. In education you have to work with the students to help them with their specific needs. The education world is not an experiment the rich can move around and play with as they want. That video is very interesting and scary.

Project #5 Presentation

Special Blog Post #1

WolframAlpha
When I searched "Compare populations of India, China, and United States" on WolframAlpha, I found some interesting facts. India and China have a tremendous population compared to the United States. The US has a little bit longer life expectancy but in numbers we have no chance of catching up. The United States would have to triple in population to even come close to the numbers in India and China. I search several other populations to see which ones were the closest. I searched Australia, Africa, South America and Canada. I found that South America has the closest population to the United States. When using this search engine I discovered many charts and graphs that could help me understand the difference between every population I compared against the United States. I also did some random searches on how many teeth are in the human mouth and how many teeth are in a shark's mouth. Instead of pulling up a bunch of sites that might have the answers, it told me exactly what I wanted to know.
I think this site can be very helpful to students. It makes things very easy to understand. When you type something into this search engine it takes your straight to the answer. If you type in a question it does not show you hundreds of sites that may have something to do with teeth, stories about teeth, videos or pictures of teeth. It only gives you the answer to the question you needed. I also think this site is good because it is less distracting to someone using it. When you use other search engines you can easily get distracted by all the different sights that pop up. When using this you don’t have to wonder around on many different sights to find what you are looking for.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
When I visited Gary Hayes Social Media Count I did not recognize what I was seeing at first. When I began reading all of the types of social media and watching the numbers continued to rise with extraordinary speed, I was amazed. I did not realize how much social media was used in a matter of just one second. I came to a shocking revelation after watching for a couple minutes. Technology in this world will only continue to become more and more a part of our lives. It will continue to grow and get more
As teachers, we have to follow the flow of technology so we can keep up with what is going on with the younger generations. We have to know how to catch their attention on their level. If we continue in the ways of teaching that we are now, we will never be able to grab their attention. Social media is so much a part of their lives and it will continue to be. As the years go on the social network will grow bigger and we have to be prepared to find ways to use it to our advantage.

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing
In “What Is Peer Editing”, "Peer Editing With Perfection Tutorial", and "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes", the creators help you understand the best way to help correct a person's personal work. I completely agree with the technique used in these peer editing videos. As they describe, when writing a comment, first, you should complement the writer on something specific. Then, politely point out the issues you saw in their writing. Last, suggest ways the writer can adjust their work to make it better. What happens if a peer only comments and corrects the work without a suggestion? The writer may not know how to correct the work. Giving a suggestion could help someone figure out how to improve their work.
Someone may question the importance of a complement, but when commenting on someone’s work it can be vital. When you complement the writer it starts off the comment on a positive attitude. This also makes the writer more prone to listen to what you have to say. When writing a comment you must take into consideration that the writer cannot see your body language or hear your attitude while writing the comment. When correcting someone’s work you have to be very careful of the writer’s feelings. A peer must be careful on how a comment is given. If someone mindlessly starts typing, the writer may become very defensive. To some people, correcting their work is not only an attack on their writing but on them personally. It is important to tread lightly but still get your point across.

Assistive Technologies
While watching “Assistive Technology For Vision and Hearing Impaired Children” and “The Mountbatten”, I was introduced to the idea of teaching deaf and blind students. I was also shown the technologies that have been created to help these students in the classroom. When teaching, you may encounter students that have these types of disabilities. Before watching these videos, it never crossed my mind that I may encounter these students. I have personally only come in contact with four people that have been blind or deaf. I am not sure if I would be ready to handle a situation like that. Gladly, there is technology out there that can help a teacher interact with those children even if you cannot read brail or sign. This insight has made me start thinking about how I would have to adjust my teaching to accommodate students with those handicaps. Thankfully, I know my alphabet and a couple words in sign language, so I have some sort of advantage over the average person. When in education, you never know the types of problems a child may have before they walk through your classroom door and come into your world. We all have to be prepared to adjust our teaching styles to every child that walks into our world.
Although there is useful technology out there for blind people to use, they still have some issues that could be corrected. Other technologies are still being created and improved. One example of helpful tools is in Art Karshmer’s video, “Teaching Math to the Blind”.This video informs the viewers the struggles blind people have with learning math. Math is not only a problem for blind people but for the average person. When a blind person reads brail the whole math problem is laid out sideways; this causes problems for everyone. The technology that Karshmer has created has changed the way a person with this handicap can learn by providing an easier way to learn math, which is a huge success. Apple has joined in on the effort to help technology to stretch its capabilities to accommodate the blind. In "iPad Usage for the Blind", this technology has been introduced on the iPad. The iPad now has the capabilities to personalize and adjust to the people that are using it. Using multiple ways to touch the screen and voiceover, the iPad has improved its accessibility. Although this technology has been very encouraging to see, they still have their down falls.
Although the technology has been very encouraging to see, they still have improvements that can be made. By watching a parent learn how to use this iPad in “Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/ Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad” video, I thought about another way this technology could be improved. Without having to listen to the voiceover to navigate through the iPad, a person should be able to talk to the iPad just like they would the iPhone , using Siri. This option would eliminate having the hear a narration through every file and app. Then, the user can get straight to their destination without the long drawn out process.In a classroom setting, if a child needed to use the voiceover that student would have to have earsphone to be able to use this technology. Athough it is an amazing tool for that child, it can be a distraction

Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts
Harnessing student’s digital smarts is a very good way to help students be prepared for using technology. It allows a student to have hands on, work with others, and be independent learners. As Vicki Davis said in this video, “when you use only pencil and paper only certain types of students will succeed”. Every student learns in a different way. When you allow students to vary from using only paper and pencil, it allows them to attempt to learn in a different atmosphere and way of thinking.
In Vicki David’s class all of the students work on computers and she does not always lecture in front of the class. Mrs. Davis is “letting them learn how to learn” and allowing her students to be “very comfortable with any technology". I agree with Mrs. Davis’ teaching style. By allowing the students to search for how to do a certain task they were given in class, this is a very good way to make students learn even more than just the meaning of a word or how to do a task. These students learn how to sort through the internet and find the information they need. It causes independence thinkers so the students are not dependent on the teacher to show the class every little task that needs to be done.This teacher if preparing them for life and not so they can pass another test.