Blog Post #10 What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

I learned a lot from watching Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the learning revolution video. In the video he states that there is a crises of human resources, and that we make very poor use of our talents. I agree that we all know someone who is not using their talent to the best of their ability and we wished we had their ability, to show them how to use it. Sir Ken said that he has met people who didn't enjoy what they are doing and some who do enjoy what they are doing, and say this is who I am. There have been times when I was doing something and I took a minute to think about it, and realized that is was not for me. We all can remember that time in our lives when we were about to do something and that moment we realized that this is not who I am. It was that time when we knew we had to make a change. Like Sir Ken said it is about our passions and what excites our spirits.

"We need a Revolution in Education" is what Sir Ken's speech was about. Reform is no longer acceptable, something much more has to be done to change education in the 21st century. I agree with him, over the years the way students learn have evolved, so I think that the way that teachers teach should do the same. Technology has become a major part in today's world and educators should take a hold of this and use it in their classrooms. I learned that we should personalize the education to who we are teaching. As educators you have to keep in mind that what worked 10 years ago for students will not work for students today. So much has changed through the years and it is our jobs to change with it, for the sake of the students. One quote that Sir Ken stated was, "we can not predict the human outcome, just the conditions in which they flourish." I learned from this quote was that as educators we can not predict where, when, or how the students are going to be successful but we can provide an environment for them to strive for success.

Project #15 Project Based Learning Plan #3

Lesson Plan #3

Project #12 Part A Mastering SMARTboard Tools

Blog Post #9 What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

In Mrs. Cassidy's videos (Part1, Part2, Part3) she talked about how she introduced technology to her 1st grade classes 10 years ago. She was given some computers for her classroom and needed to find a use for them. Mrs. Cassidy does not use much of technology for her personal life, but found it to be very useful for her students. On a weekly basis she allowed her students to create a blog post to introduce them to technology. I like that she is exposing the students to this at such a young age. I also think the younger they are exposed to these type of things, the more likely they will keep using it later in life. The approach that Mrs. Cassidy took was very direct, she took the tools she had and used it in the best was she saw fit. I agree with Mrs. Cassidy that we should start off by finding something we are interested in and sign up for different tools that will allow you to explore and learn more. I love how the students like to go to their blogs and read the comments written by people from all over the world. I think I will start off with my students to create videos of something they like, I think this will break the ice of using technology in the classroom, while letting the students get to know each other in the process.

Blog Post #8 Finding 21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools

After giving this assignment some thought I decided to Google "online learning tools for elementary students" and to my surprise several websites popped up. The one that caught my attention was 101 Websites That Every Elementary Teacher Should Know About. I already had some websites in mind that I heard about but did not get a chance to explore them yet, so this assignment allowed me to do so. Because I am a mother of a two year old son, I was already in the mindset to explore some learning tools for me to use with him. Within the 101 websites that was listed I found some that I liked more than others, so here are a few I think will be a great use in and out the classrooms.

1. Pinterest

I heard Pinterest to be a good site to use to get different ideas to use in the class room. You simply go to there site, sign in and from there you can type anything that interest you (elementary art projects, science ideas, or elementary math), the ideas are limitless. Once you have typed what you want to search, several pictures pop up with ideas from several websites, you can then pin the ideas you like to use and go to that website to get the full page of instructions. You can also pin ideas for a later use if need be.

2. Fuel the Brain

I found Fuel the Brain to be useful because it allow students(1-12 grade) to play learning games and provide learning resources. I think students will enjoy the feature of creating their own worksheets and personal mini books. Sometimes students get tired of same old way of learning and this site has some new ideas.



3. Starfall

Starfall is a really great website to use for early elementary students (PreK-2 grade)at home and or in the classroom. I heard of many teachers using this in their classrooms as one of their play stations. This site also have activities that align with Common Core Standards. The Starfall store allow you to purchase things like books, posters to hang in the classroom, puzzles, sing-a-long cds, and games.

C4T #2

Annie Palmer's Breaking Education Barrier blog was very informative to me. I learned new things about teaching reading comprehension and fluency. In the Step Up Comprehension post, Annie mentioned that there is different levels of comprehension and the need of more knowledge on different levels of comprehension. She also provided a link for rubrics that teachers can use if they wanted. One statement that I liked was she said, "teach them what surface level and deep level comprehension is." In her "The Power of Fluency Instruction" post Annie states that phonics and comprehension have been the main focus of reading, and raises the question "where does fluency fit in?" Fluency is the bridge between phonics and comprehension. Research says that there is a lack of fluency focus in our programs and teacher training. Annie ends her post with take some time to consider your reading instruction and the reading program you use and continue to develop and build on your knowledge of fluency, the forgotten component of reading.

Project #14 Project Based Learning Plan #2

Lesson Plan #2

Project #9 Book Conversation

C4K Summary

Cordell is a third grade student who class has a blog. On his personal blog post he wrote about how his class will be watching different movies and had to post about what they felt about the movie, if they liked it, would they give the movie a thumbs up or thumbs down, and would they recommend that other people to see it.I thought this was a great idea for a post and interesting to see what all the students think about the many movies they were going to watch.

Delan was a student who wrote his second blog on his BEST back flip. I was a little confused when I first read his post, His title read "My best back flip" but as I was reading the post, it was about a front flip he and his friends had did on the trampoline. I made sure i commented and ask him to re-read his post and make the needed adjustments. Overall I enjoy reading students blogs and commenting on them.

Blog Post #7 What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was a great lecture for everyone to watch. He gave some great pointers for people to use throughout life. Whether you are a dreamer or just someone looking for encouragement, you can find it in Pausch's lecture. As a learner I learned that as we learn we are also teachers. We need to make sure that we have FUN while learning, and as we learn we need not to complain just work harder. As I become a teacher I got some great advice from the lecture for myself. The BEST gift a teacher can give is to get the students to become self reflective. I know we have all been told to look over your test a second time to make sure all questions have been answered, but from Pausch's quote I took it beyond just looking over test a second time but in all that we do, we should take some time just to reflect on the things we have done. As teachers we will constantly be learning from our students and I thinks not just students but others as well, as I have heard before we should become LIFETIME LEARNERS.

Project 13 Project Based Learning Plan #1

Birds From Around the World

Blog Post #6 What are Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)

Personal Learning Networks(PLN's) are tools that are used to get connected to people and stay connected. We use these tools to contact people for assistance, collaboration, or information. Teachers can use PLN's as a way to connect to other teachers in their state or around the world. As a teacher this is a great tool because education is forever evolving so this allows teachers to stay connected to the ever changing field. Personal Learning Networks are formed in many different ways one way is seen in Welcome to my PLE! by a 7th grade student. There is no right or wrong way to form or create your PLN just as long as it works for YOU. The first person that I will add to my PLN will be my oldest sister who has been a elementary teach for over 10 years.

\