EDM Final

Here's the link!

My Final (and continually developing) PLN

My PLN has grown exponentially since the last time I examined it. I don't really think about it, it's just become my go-to work station. But I did try the symbaloo thing for a while and wound up dropping that. It was a cool idea and I still have the page, but I think I like what I had before. I've made my internet home page like my dashboard. From there anything I need is just one or two clicks away. Twitter has also developed into a nice addition to my PLN. Admittedly I'm not on it as much, but I have used it to understand that I'm going to explore it a little more when summer comes. I know we've been looking at each others blogs along with countless professionals, but just lately it has really hit me how valuable the blogging network can be in a PLN. Just posting of raw information alone is amazing, but the communication aspect alone expands the playing field incredibly. For one of my other classes we studied an author who was the an expert in that subject, and after a quick google search I posted on his blog. Within a couple of days we had emailed a few times. I would have never imagined that this could have been possible. Blogging connected me, a student who's just now stepping into the classroom for the first time, to a scholar who's been at this for years. I think my PLN is taking me places... and it's something that's ongoing too. I plan on using the skills I've learned here to help me keep learning!

The Metaphor

1. Why did you miss the metaphor in Tom Johnson's post, or, if you "hit the nail on the head", why do you think you understood the metaphor and why do you think that others in the class missed the metaphor?
I won't lie. I completely missed Mr. Spencer's metaphor. To be honest I think I was taking things a little to seriously, and with all my other assignments on top of that, I didn't give it the thought process that I should have. Sometimes going slow has it's benefits, especially when it comes to putting quality thought into the message that's starring you in the face.

2. What metaphors have you encountered since I asked you to create a log of them?
1 We're rolling in the dough
2 Life is a box of chocolates 
3 She's the apple of my eye
4 My minds exploding with all these thoughts bouncing around
5 It's been walking around my head
6 Kicked the bucket
7 I have spaghetti legs
8 Love is a battlefield 
9 Baby I'm a prize and you're a catch and we're a perfect match
10 They are two pees in a pod
11 He baited the conversation to get the answer he wanted
12 You have to hook the reader with your introduction 
13 Pencil Integration through the eyes of Tom Johnson 
14 I'm just a rat in the cage 
15 You stabbed my in the back
16 Jerry landed tickets for us at the concert
17 Keep the rhythm right there in the pocket
18 That class is full of a bunch of mouth breathers
19 It's time to hit the grind
20 I hit the sack when I got back to my dorm
21 That kid has been sawing logs all class period 
23 The apple doesn't fall far from the tree
24 That joker's a lose cannon
25 Aren't you just cheeky today?
26 He's like a one man band
And so on... I'm stopping there because this list will probably go on forever.


3. What other things can we do as educators to help our students to understand and to use metaphors?
I believe if we use them more often then our students would understand them. Even challenge them with deep metaphors that may seem a little beyond their reach and help them along to understand what's going on. It hits on a creative and in depth form of thought that can be a transition into any subject in the classroom. 

4. Why do we use metaphors?
They make life interesting! Imagine reading a book without metaphors. It would be like describing events written through an extremely boring textbook. They also provide us with a whole new level of creativity to express what we're thinking. We use them so often were unconscious about it, but if you were to really think about it and try to speak without using metaphors, I believe you'd find yourself a little frustrated. Metaphors provoke a whole new train of thought. One that challenges us to think further than what's just sitting right in front of you. 

C4T #4

Teacher Tom's Blog
  

Teacher Tom!

     Teacher Tom's blog is one that I will revisit often! I looked not only at a few of his posts, but also at his school system he has set up. Using the Cooperative System, he has designed a pre-school setting that is really plugged into the surrounding community. His last post was somewhat of a progress report of the schools functioning, but he also mentioned how he is finding and using resources fro the surrounding community. He'll visit estate or garage sale's did through construction scraps and other places like that to find materials for his classroom. In his own words, he calls the teaching catalogs a "last resort" for his classroom. I think this really cool. I let him know in my post, but to me this is extremely innovative! The way he not only brings the surrounding community into the classroom but uses it to find resources. I hope to learn more from Teacher Tom in the future and find ways to make my classroom look more like his.

     His second post was the result of a little spring cleaning. While rumbling through the closet and old storage spaces Mr. Tom found tons of odds and ends that he didn't want to throw away, but couldn't really use in an activity by themselves. So he decided to bring them all out at once, step back, and just let the kids figure out good uses for them. Pretty soon pyramids were being formed by empty yogurt containers, foam blocks became the source of hours of entertainment, and puzzles were being made from left over frame scraps. I saw how amazing it was that children can create wonderful things from absolutely nothing... and do it extremely well. I commented the first thought that popped into my mind. "How often do we limit our students with our rules and regulations?" Almost the entire time at school we're given a certain combination or certain pattern to solve problems. Very rarely are we given a load of materials and then told, "Knock it our kid, see what you can do with it." But what would things look like if we did? I think we would find ourselves in the midst of great minds in every classroom we step in. I believe those great minds are always there and have always been. We just don't give them the chance to show that.

C4K #9

My First comment brought me into a classroom all the way in Egypt. Their latest posts commented about a few projects they had been working on. One of the most notable topics was their classroom reading project. They got to choose their favorite character in the story they were reading and then they took turns acting out different scenes. Another thing they mentioned were the projects they were doing in different languages! This is what stood out the most to me, and it's what I commented back on. I thought it was pretty amazing they could do different school projects in at least three different languages! I told them how I wished our school systems here required us to learn more than one language, because while they are 10 and 13 year olds and already fluent in three languages, I'm 20 and just now picking up Spanish.

Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog

Mrs. Yollis' class has been doing something that I think is very interesting. Through their class blog, not only have they connected with other students in classroom across the world, they have also brought invited their friends and family members into the classroom! What a great way to connect families and the local community into the school! Mrs. Yollis has also advocated many lessons while the family blogging moth has been going on. For instance she has shown her students how to navigate the internet safely and also explained how to leave a well structured, grammatically correct comment that pertains to the material on the blog. I commented on their great idea and the success they've been having!

Jaden's Awesome Blog
     Jaden has picked a mascot for his blog named Mr. California! Mr. California is a chipmunk who enjoys playing all kinds of sports like basketball, soccer, baseball, hockey, and tennis. He also mentions his friends from other blogs that are all classmates. I commented back and told him that I didn't have a mascot for my blog yet! If I had to pick one it would be Mr. Chompers, an alligator from Key Largo, Florida who likes to swim and relax in the sun all day. Hopefully both Mr. California and Jaden will comment back!

A Little About ALEX and ACCESS

The Alabama Learning Exchange
    The Alabama learning exchange is a website that connects teachers, students, and parents through the internet. To me it seems to serve a few different purposes. In one aspect, it connects parents to the classroom. There is an abundance of links connecting to the Department of Education so parents can stay up to date in the local school systems. Links that connect them to academic material that their children are learning while at school and other resources that help them better understand what is going on inside the classroom. In another light, it is a great tool for teachers to share and collaborate on their ideas for their classroom. There is a database of lesson plans for every subject and all topics covered in those subject areas. English teachers can collaborate on lessons covering Macbeth with other professionals all across the state through this one website. There are also resources for students to connect to the Alabama Virtual Library and links that will help them find online tutoring for all subjects. This website connects those inside and outside the classroom so they understand what's going on, and where to get help if they need it.

Alabama Connected Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide
  The Alabama Connected Classrooms is an online program that sets up an extensive online learning network through the Alabama Department of Education. With Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) and other online resources, they provide an education environment for high school students to collaborate and learn. It is essentially an online PLN for students to acquire real academic credit towards their highs school and potentially college career.


     Both of these resources can be extremely useful inside my future classroom. To connect them back to student success and academic achievement, I could recommend these websites to students who are struggling in certain fields, but even more importantly I could use these to help me become a better educator. If my class is having a hard time with a topic I can see what other teachers are doing and try their ideas in the classroom and see if there is more success. It's a wonderful way to keep yourself up to date and relevant as a teacher. There are also tons of resources for students that I would definitely point out for their benefit. I remember using the Alabama Virtual Library when I was a student and I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. That was my first taste of how the internet can be used academically. Both of these websites bring technology into the classroom in a manner that influences the students to see their computer through a different lens. Suddenly the laptop becomes more than an online socialization surfer, it becomes a very valuable tool they can use at school.

The Last Project Progress Report

I'm in a group with Mary Ashely and Cherish. We've met a few times, and I'd say our brainstorming has been along the lines of presenting and solving problems found on campus. We started on a much bigger scale, but so far this ones been kinda the driving force. We've also been looking at other things inside our classes that could be influenced by what we've learned in EDM 310. Still looking at the drawing board with bunches of ideas. Hopefully it'll turn into a pretty good post later on!

Project 15

Me and Mary Ashely York got together and created a video for the First Gift USA competition. It turned out well! and hopefully we'll be able to post it after the judges view it.

Post 12 - An Idea

     Ever since I started this class, many of my thoughts have been geared towards using the things I'm learning in my other education classes. Yesterday I commented on a Egyptian students blog and in my Education in a diverse society, we have addressed the differences in the languages that other countries teach. Here is a potentially unique ability to exchange ideas or learn from a group of 6th grade students who are currently doing projects in three different languages while I'm in college and just now trying to pick up for the first time. There are so many different avenues one can go down in this scenario, and lots of potential to learn something unique.
     Often I hear students in EDM 310 talk about the things we do in this class, but only in the context of EDM 310. I don't think some of them grasp what we are doing is much more than one class and I'm afraid they will limit it to one class when there are a multitude of opportunities to use the skills we have learned. So I propose that in some manner or another, you incorporate one of your other classes into the skills you have learned in EDM 310. Wether it's as simple as finding and posting on a known icon in the field of the other subject or putting together a research project. See how you can connect the dots, because the possibilities are endless. See how far you can take the ideas you have learned in EDM 310.

Blog Assignment #12 - Break The Mold
      Much that you learn in EDM 310 is about collaborating, creating, and thinking critically with others through the use of technology, so that is what you are going to do. Only this time it will not be in the context of EDM 310. This time, the topic is  NOT about using technology in the academic setting! We have talked to many professionals on this topic and we have many wonderful ideas, so now DON'T talk about using technology in an educational environment, just use it in an educational environment.
  
    


      How can you merge the other classes you are taking this semester with the things you have learned in EDM 310? What can you gain by taking the technological savvy skills you have learned in EDM and inserting them into your other classes? 


     Your next post will be that combination. No stipulations or limits but BE CREATIVE and THINK CRITICALLY! The no stipulation thing is so you have all the room in the world to do something amazing... not cut the project short.

     IDEAS = collaborating with known professionals in a different field using technology - creating an "online textbook" with blog posts, videos, wikis, etc. - skype interviewing - collaborating with other classes - creating a website or blog with other topics - connecting the classroom you're in now through the use of technology...

                                             Anything you have learned how to  do in EDM 310, but this time the topic does not concern EDM 310, just the skills you have learned here. 

Let's see if we can apply what we know in a different context!

My Example

For my Education in a Diverse Society class (EDF 315) I am currently compiling research and other information to write a paper that will be my final project. Seeing as this is semester wide assignment that will be turned in at the end of the term, there is lots and lots of research, and there loads of things I need to find out.

So first, I made an account on Evernote. This way anytime I see something that reminds me of my project or stumble across anything that I think would be a good to add I compile it through evernote.

While looking at blogs and websites of those who are knowledgeable in the subject I would copy links, pictures, documents anything... all into evernote. Just to see what it was like. This is the first time I've ever used it, and when I sat down and started writing my paper it made things go very smoothly. Instead of hunting for sources and ideas while I was trying to compose a paper, I'd already gathered them and they were only a click away through my account.

I also networked with many others using (gasp I know) Facebook. I know I know, it doesn't hold a candle to other networks we have been exposed to, but this is the one my teacher uses. Through this she constantly posts links, news articles, videos, and many other current events pertaining to education in a diverse society. Anything that I found and deemed potentially useful went straight into my evernote account. Anything that I downloaded from the docsharing aspect from USA online also went straight into evernote.

Finally (this is how far I am now) I opened a google doc where I uploaded my work in progress project. Sharing it with family members, classmates, professors, and a few trusted friends, anytime I make changes they give corrections, ideas, an any advice they think would make the presentation better!

So it's still a work in progress. I'm still browsing the internet finding new ideas, my evernote account is still expanding, and my google doc has much more to grow, but it is coming together very smoothly because if the things I have learned in EDM 310.

Stepping Into Mr. McCLung's World

     

Mr. McClung is now another acquaintance thanks to my EDM class. He has used his blog in a way that connects his students, the school's academic side, the extracurricular activities of the school, parents, teachers, and even makes it personal by throwing in things that are interests to him. To me he has done a great job with it and after taking an in depth look I have learned a lot. 

1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog? He's very conscious about how one can use the internet to collaborate and expand. There are tons of links to other teachers and websites that are extremely helpful, he has his blog set up in manner that ties the whole school together rather than just his class. It's almost as if he uses it to connect his classroom to the entire school, community, and even an national/international due to the access of the internet.

2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator. We have all had teachers who believe that students are there to listen and learn. That teachers are their to teach and that's just how the system works. That is teaching, but an education is something entirely different. An education is where students learn how to learn through many different mediums and with open minds. Just by looking at his blog, I get the feeling Mr. McClung supplies his students with an education that is worth while, rather than teaching and drilling his students with facts they will try to spit back out at him.

3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher?  He is a very high-energy, collaborative, and involved teacher. He expects the students to be involved, and his class revolves around his students. As an aspiring teacher I hope I can do the same things he is doing. Even by doing silly things as the class-yes game, he brings his students into the lesson and at the same time they're having fun. You can't really beat that. Also the way he explains they will depend on each other to learn is very important to me. It shows he values his students' opinions and ideas.

4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement? A day planner, because everyone needs to learn how to organize their work schedule. If they use this, it will only help them better balance out their school schedule and help them greatly in the future. Although I didn't like it at the time, the teachers I had that constantly told us to use our planners really helped later on. It teaches you how to take on more responsibility with your work.

5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment. You can still get credit for late work. Like our class, you won't get full credit by any means, but you still get some. I think it's good to have a system like that because student are going to turn things in late. Things pile up or sometimes we forget and then before you know it, the deadline has passed. What's good about this system is that there is still incentive to learn the material or do the activity. If there's no credit offered most likely students just won't do it at all and miss out on a potentially good learning experience.

6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher. It's a collaborative tool. He uses it to link the students, teachers, and parents to things happening both inside and outside the classroom. By posting links and other information in comments he also uses it as a tool for exchanging information for all groups involved. I want to use technology to do the same things for my students. Use it as a way to connect students to teachers to parents to other students and exchange information and ideas throughout the web. What a great way to learn.

7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list. I viewed the World War II Propaganda website, and to me that one was really cool. Mr. McClung teachers a history class and I can see this as a valuable tool for homework assignments or class projects. The site just had archives of different posters, advertisements, and other published works from all sides of the war. It would also spark up some great conversations in the classroom. After poking around that one I checked out the Convince Me website. Convince Me is a place where others can start debates, listen in on debates, or supply their side to a debate on any topic one can imagine. There is the fair share of silly ones such as "pirates vs ninjas," but then there are politically active ones and others that are centered around current events going on in the world. It's neat because you only have so much space to say your point. A paragraph or so at the most, so you must be precise and effective. The website provides students a place to see things from different perspectives and hear ideas that maybe they wouldn't have thought on their own. I think both of these made the list because they invoke thought, and both can be used for a variety of reasons.

8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract. Part of me thinks that the nickname thing is a little bit over the top, just because if you have a facebook practically everyone can find out anything about you, but for a classroom setting I understand completely. I think his rules and guidelines a very clear and effective. I sure wouldn't take anything away, and to be honest I can't think of anything to add. Maybe something about not clicking on links in the sides of the webpages they are using. Sometimes those can be questionable.

9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me. I viewed the Lesson Two - Tryouts post. Apparently many of the student organizations hold big tryouts all at the same time for various activities. This can be quite taxing on the teachers because that will be the only thing students are thinking about during the entire week. Even if they tried out and they get their results at the end of the week, it seems like the only thing that attracts their focus are the discussions about tryouts. It was about Mr. McClung looking forward to an end to all the drama of tryout week.

10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger? I would like to learn how to create a layout like his. He has all the tabs on the top and different things all over the place that not only make it look nice, but also make it extremely easy to use. I would like to learn about the different abilities of the different blogging websites and pick one that suits my ideas the best. I also liked the music in the sidebar and the different buttons that make his blog easily navigated. He's got loads of information on there and you can find it ll easily the way he has the page all laid out. 

11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others? It's useful to them because it extends the classroom out to them. By simply clicking a button they know everything that's going on in their child's classroom, and they can also contact the teacher easily. That in itself is a huge accomplishment.

12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think? To me his is much more detailed and embedded in the school. Other class blogs seem to be limited to that class only, but what I like about Mr. McClung's is that it opens doors throughout the entire school. He has posts about the talent show and other school fundraisers and it's also focused around connecting parents to the classroom as well. Not to say that the other blogs weren't good, but to me his went a little above and beyond. 

     I'm really glad Mr. McCLung's blog made the list! I've learned much about the things I wish to learn, and how I will incorporate the idea of a class blog into my future classrooms. 

Blog Post 11 - Learning from Mrs. Cassidy

Mrs. Cassidy teaches a first grade class in Moose Jaw, Canada who has been extremely successful in integrating technology in her classroom. Below is a video that she made with her students.

     After being introduced to Mrs. Cassidy through twitter, Dr. Strange and a few EDM students were fortunate enough to sit down and have an interview with her. In the interview (click the link if you wish to check it out) Mrs. Cassidy shared a few ideas on her success with her students.
     I think the hardest thing we will have to do is be able to convince others that technology is worth the time and effort in the classroom, and it appeared to me that that was no problem with Mrs. Cassidy. Listening to her talk about the projects her students are doing and how well things are going it was amazing to see how excited she was. I found myself wondering what our schools would look like if all (or even just half) the teachers shared her outlook. She was extremely excited so the students were excited and they were covering lots of academic ground, collaborating outside of the classroom, learning through many different mediums all while having fun. She not only brought technology into her school, but she was having great success with it.
     Fortunately enough mentions that she has never had many run ins with her staff or administration. I foresee administrative attitudes either being extremely helpful or being the biggest obstacle. Like she said, as far as the other teachers, some will be resistant and others enthusiasts, but the administration pretty much makes the final decision. I think the best way around this is simply showing them all the potential technology offers. Showing them examples that have been successful like Mrs. Cassidy's class always helps.
     What I think we can learn the most from Mrs. Cassidy's output, is her attitude as a teacher. She states that we must always be learning. This is something I want to integrate into my classrooms in collaboration with my students. Much like Dr. Strange did with twitter. He didn't understand it, so both him and his students took it on to see if it was worth while. And it was! now both sides have learned another valuable  tool in their PLN. That's my biggest takeaway. Integrating a collaborative, open minded and accepting academic environment inside my classroom using technology.

My How To Project!

How to play Bananagrams with my little sister Mallory.

C4T #3

     Pernille Ripp is a fourth grade teacher, and the first post I read by here was What Have I Done? In this post she voices her concern for teaching students how to think critically. In her classroom she encourages students to speak up and places value on each individuals voice, but she also understands that this is very different from the mainstream classroom. She is encouraging students to talk and think while other teachers are simply throwing information at the class, and she'e concerned how this will affect her students in those other settings.
     I replied and told her what she was doing was great. I believe students need that, so the challenge for us a teachers becomes not how to teach kids how to think critically (they can do that amazingly if we just let them), but how do we teach them to walk in both worlds. In her classroom critical thinking is encouraged, yet in others it's not, but that doesn't mean students shouldn't think critically in those environments. It's a challenge to bridge that gap, and often I think we'll find ourselves wondering the same thing as Mrs. Ripp. Asking if we are really doing the right thing, but I believe that we are.

     The second post by Mrs. Ripp talked about using a child's name when trying to discipline them. During class if a student is not paying attention or off track then most teachers tend to use the students name. "John sit up," or "Ellen quite drawing," are pretty common in our classrooms, but Mrs. Ripp explains how this can be harmful. By using a students name, now the whole class knows exactly who is not doing what. Suddenly all of the attention is focused on that one student, and for some, this can be a crippling embarrassing moment.
     I commented back agreeing with her. She offers multiple alternatives, but what I commented on was how she related the class back to her students. She stumbled across the idea from a student who, during a class assignment, told her that being called out in class like this is embarrassing. She centered an activity around student's opinions, and then she took that advice. I hope to learn how to center my classroom around my students the way she does.

Post #10

An Open Letter to Educators
     Morgan Bayda's blog post includes a video from Dan Brown where he explains his positioning on the education system of today. Through the video, Dan Brown explains how the educational society has evolved from it's beginnings. In the past knowledge was a owned by the few, and the masses were left out. This changed as society changed. Today knowledge has reached a whole new level of availability. Information is not only everywhere, but it is also free.
     How does this apply to the school systems today? This means that the traditional styles of teaching are not only outdated, but harmful to our students. Brown explains why he dropped out of school because the subject material was not only boring, but irrelevant. The classroom tended to be one way. The teacher was there to teach and the student as there to learn and memorize facts. A classroom where collaboration was hindered and critical thinking was all together absent.
     Although Morgan Bayda does agree with Brown, both of us tend to disagree with his decision to drop out. Morgan states how she has trouble staying awake in those classes, and I too find myself dosing off in those situations. Apparently Morgan's EDM class is much like our own in which we are challenged to think for ourselves and collaborate with other classmates to get the most our of our time. We are challenged to be creative and think critically about everything around us. To question everything we knew and either agree with it with a better understanding, or change it to suit our new thoughts. When we experience classrooms like this we wonder why the others are not the same. Not that all classes should be carbon copies, but I start to question things when the only interaction I have in a class is where walk in, sit down, listen, maybe scribble a few notes, and then leave.