Final Progress Report on Final Project

For our final project, Amanda Patton, Windy Powell, Ashley Zaworski, and I, are making a video about surviving EDM 310. The video is based off of the hit TV show "Survivor". We have several different tips to surviving EDM 310, such as: Time Management, Checklist Instructions, Instruction Manual Help, and Google Instructions. We will be using the green screen for the opening credits.

Project #15 SMART Board Instruction

Blog Post #12

A lot of students who take EDM 310 are PE Majors. It's obvious that PE Majors won't be using Smart Boards and computers in the gym. So the huge questions that the these students have when they enter this class is, "Why do I have to take this class? How am I suppose to use technology in my classroom?" Well, I found a couple of items that may give these students some answers.
Watch the video, Wii in School. How do you feel about bringing in interactive video games into your classroom? What are the pros and cons?
Check out this blog, http://fairviewpe.blogspot.com/. What do you think about using your newly learned blogging skills to record your classroom activities? How would this be beneficial to you and to other teachers?
Lastly, look over this website, http://www.choosemyplate.gov/. This is a wonderful website that you can share with your students. Look through the website and find and explain at least 3 ways that you can use this site with your students.

Wii in School
I think that using the Wii fitness program in PE is wonderful! Students love the activities and it keeps their attention. Having a base pad for each student is probably pretty costly if you have a large class, but there are ways around that problem. The base pad is basically used to track each students progress. It's very effective if you have the money for it. If not, then you could just play the activity on an overhead projector and have the students follow along. The downside is that their progress isn't being tracked, but the upside is that they're still getting the exercise that they need and they're having fun. Activities include: kick boxing, dancing, yoga, and many more!
http://fairviewpe.blogspot.com/
Dr. Strange showed me this blog when I complained about the relation between blogging and PE. I fell in love with this blog immediately. It also encouraged me to find other related blogs. It's great because I can keep track of all of the activities that we do and whether they were successful or not. It's also a good way to share my ideas and get opinions from other professionals. This blog serves as a form of inspiration for other teachers who are in a creative slump. I'm definitely starting one once I get my career going.
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
Super Tracker is a personal nutrition and physical activity plan. Have your students start a Food Tracker and a Physical Activity Tracker and bring in a copy of their progress at the end of each week.
Have the students find their Daily Food Plan. This shows each student a personalized plan of what and how much food they should eat each day. It's based on their age, sex, weight, height, and how much they exercise each day.
Have older students find their BMI (Body Mass Index). This lets each student know their ideal weight and whether they have reached it or not. This is not suggested for elementary students because they're still growing, but it is perfect for high school students. There is a BMI Calculator on this site.

C4K - November

Ethan lives in Alberta, Canada. He has three post on his blog, so far. I read his earliest post because I related to it the most. He mentioned that he likes to hunt deer, squirrels, and chickens. In my comment, I shared my mutual love of hunting and I shared the different things that people hunt in Alabama. His second post was an Animoto video of a bunch of different pictures of Alberta. The pictures were gorgeous and the video was very well made! His third post was a series of different aspects of Alberta. There were pictures of different types of wildlife, videos of society, and several maps. I think Ethan is doing a fine job with his blog. I hope he keeps it up.

Bryan lives in California and he is 9 years old. He has a brother, a sister, and a dog. His favorite color is purple. He has around 10 post on his blog and more than half of them are about Mario. He even dressed up as Mario for Halloween. He said that was the best Halloween that he has ever had. They had Halloween activities at school and he got to go to a carnival later that night. He got to wear his costume all day. In my comment, I told him that I was glad that he had a good Halloween and that I loved his costume choice. I also  let him know that I love Mario, too. I actually dressed up as Princess Peach when I was his age. He is a very good writer!

Morgan is in 9th grade Pre-IB History. In her latest post, she writes about Napoleon Bonaparte's thoughts while he was on his death bed. Morgan is a very talented writer. She made this, some what, depressing story interesting to read. She had a couple of grammatical errors, but she's still young. Plus, her work was so much fun to read, that I hardly noticed the mistakes. I hope she keeps writing!

C4T #3

Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom
Observations from a Waiting Room
September 15, 2012
Ms. Knittle is a K-12 Technology Integration Specialist in Cape Code, Massachusetts. In this post, Ms. Knittle talks about what she experienced while in the hospital waiting room. She noticed that all of the kids in the waiting room were doing homework and the parents were right over their shoulders. These students are ill and are pretty behind in the classes. Ms. Knittle expresses her concern that these students are being pressured too much into studying. There's no time for anything else because they're either in the hospital or they're doing homework. Her argument is that homework is not always necessary. It doesn't always help and some students don't need it. Some people would argue that it's not fair for only some students to receive homework and for others not to, but fairness doesn't mean that everyone has to be the same. Fairness is giving each individual student an equal opportunity to succeed. 

Note Taking A Personal Choice
October 29, 2012

In this post, Ms. Knittle talks about her experience with note taking. There are several ways of note taking, but some ways work better for some than others. The iPad has over 130 note taking apps for people to choose from. In some ways, this is far better than traditional pencil and paper note taking. The iPad offers guided notes and helpful techniques. Ms. Knittle and her fellow educators were discussing which app to tell their students to use in class. They decided to pick separate apps, learn how to use them, and present them to their classes. This way, the educator AND the student are learning new tools. 
I had (and still have) problems note taking. I never seem to write the correct things down and what I do write down is many times illegible. Having an app that teaches me about different techniques would help my greatly. Teachers can also teach the skills that the iPad gives to students who do not have the iPad. I like that Ms. Knittle is constantly trying to find new technology for her classes. It shows that she is a dedicated and creative teacher. 

Blog Post #11

Little Kids...Big Potential

In Ms. Cassidy's Youtube video, she shows several pictures of her first graders using the internet to blog and find information. Teaching kids to communicate effectively this early can be a very positive thing. They learn writing skills by writing to their friends; Some of which who are in different countries. The students also learn internet safety. They know to only use their first name and to only say nice things. Cyber bullying is a growing problem in the cyber world today, and I feel that this is helping to solve it before it starts. The students are taught about search engines and what sites are appropriate to look at and what to do when they come across something on accident that is inappropriate. They use Skype to talk to other people in various places and they use Wikis to learn and find information from outside the classroom. 
I love the variety of technology that Ms. Cassidy uses in her classroom. It is refreshing to see a teacher using all of her resources to make sure that her students get the most out of school. I feel that these tactics used in Ms. Cassidy's class will help students to WANT to be in school. It makes learning interactive and fun!


Ms. Cassidy's Interview with Dr. Strange

Ms. Cassidy has been using technology in her classroom for 10 years! When she first started, she was given computers, but there was no way to download programs onto them. She was limited to use the internet to further her students learning and her own personal learning. She attended professional development workshops to help her become more technology literate. Ms. Cassidy talks about the support that she gets from the Technology Coordinator at her school. She also states that none of the principals she has worked for have been discouraging, but some of them also have not been interested. Ms. Cassidy sends a form home every year that has to be completed by the parents in order to be sure that parents are okay with the students being online and creating a blog. The parents usually accept this technological program because they can see the progress of their children through their blog. Students love learning new things, therefore they love the technology. It helps to keep the students excited about learning. 

One thing that stuck out to me in this interview was that Ms. Cassidy said she doesn't use a lot of technology in her personal life. I feel that this shows she is an educator who is there for her students. So many teachers stick to the textbooks and pencil and paper tests, but don’t want to take the time to share the technology that they use, with their students. This creates a burp-back atmosphere, which may hinder students in the future. I like that Ms. Cassidy stepped out of her comfort zone. She is dedicated to creating the best learning atmosphere for her students. Technology is an important part of life, and she is giving her students the opportunity to learn about what's out there. I feel that because of this, her students will be ahead of other classes, because of the knowledge they are gaining from her class.

Special Blog Assignment

A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind

In this article, USA Today covers professor Sebastian Thrun's education company called Udacity. This program is one of Thun's many online start-ups. It is based on free online courses. This is a revolutionary concept that it changing the idea of school. Schools are encouraged to "flip" there classrooms. This lets students watch the lecture at home on their computers and then use class time for homework and activities. Online colleges are continuing to grow as well. Students will be able to take colleges classes without the extreme cost of a traditional college and they can do it on their own time.
Thrun goes on to talk about what the future will look like in 30 years. He predicts that grades will not exist, that learning will be quiz and game based, and that instruction will be free. However, he does not predict that traditional schools will disappear, rather be separated from the modern educational system. They will both be effective in their own ways.
I really enjoyed this article. I agree with his predictions. In my own opinion, I feel like a greater percentage of schools will be working with flipped classrooms in the future. This seems to be a growing trend and from what I have read, it seems to be very effective.

Short Movie Project #11

Blog Post #10

Adventures in Pencil Integration

Mr. Spencer is using this cartoon to make fun of the "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" commercials. The Papermate guy is related to the PC guy and the Ticonderoga hipster is related to the Mac guy. I think it's funny that he relates Mac users to hipsters. He's basically saying that some people only use Macs because they're "in style". It's also funny that the PC guy is pictured as a nerd.
Although the two computers can do the same basic functions, like the pencils, it's a matter of which you prefer. However, now it has turned into a popularity contest.
Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?
In this post, Mr. Spencer writes a story describing how schools nowadays are moving away from creativity and towards making high marks on standardized tests. Some schools don't understand that you can learn while having fun. Games and stimulation's are more important than you think. Students will retain more information if they're having fun. At least, that's how I feel.
I know that when I was in grade school, the things that I remember the most were the fun activities. The games that we played helped me to learn the Solar System, my Times Table, and even the Periodic Table of Elements! Making students memorize facts for the test will not help them learn. The chances of them forgetting all of the information that they memorized is very likely. When students have fun, that information is logged into their long term memory and saved forever!
7 Reasons Why I Quit Reading Your Plog
In another one of Mr. Spencer's post, he talks about why he has quit reading certain Plogs (Pencil Logging). He gives several examples of plogs that he has quit reading. He says that some people are using their plogs to promote different information sites or products. Others are using their plogs to rate about their faculty and peers. He said that he hates reading these because he himself wrote a couple of mean post about his peers and got in trouble because of it. Mr. Spencer also talks about the fact that plogs are suppose to be interactive and that the authors have gotten lazy and do not reply back to comments.
So far, I love all of the post that I have read by Mr. Spencer. He is a very humorous man. I love his sense of sarcasm and the way he uses it to express his feelings about the school system.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
In my opinion, I feel that Scott McLeod is taking the role of an old fashion educator at the beginning of this post. This old fashion educator is stuck in their old ways and refuses to change to meet the needs of the students. Sure, this educators method worked well at one point, but now that society has grown and changed, it's time for our schools to do the same. 
I like how McLeod dictates this situation. It really makes you think. There are still educators out there that still feel like technology is hindering our students. The old fashion educator who says, "...you know they're just going to look at porn" doesn't understand that when students are given the freedom to learn through technology, they're learning to use technology the CORRECT way. The chances of them wondering off onto bad sites are far less than when they were stuck studying with pencils and paper. Of course, there are always going to be some advantages to sticking with pencil and paper. I mean, what happens when the power is out? The point is that students need to learn about what our society is growing towards. They need to know how to use it properly. This is our job as educators. 

C4K - October

OSG's AP Government & Politics 
This is an online 12th grade AP comparative government and politics class blog run by Mike Gwaltney. The students in this program are from around the globe. They post reflection pieces on a rotating basis and they also post to the blog for project assignments. The post that I read was by Courtney Ann on October 3rd. It was about the recent political debate. In her opinion, she feels that Romney won the debate. She said that Obama was not as motivated or as inspirational as usual. Also, his body language revealed that he was not on top of his game. She says that both of the candidates put up a good fight, but Romney pulled ahead. She hopes that Obama is more prepared in the next debate. The post was very well written and her views were very clear. 

Leti is a student from Dionisio Aguado Secondary School, in Fuenlabrada. Leti is in the process of learning how to speak English. His class uses their class blog to complete activities and interact with people from around the world. Leti's latest post was pretty confusing. He was asked to describe a celebrity. He did a very good job explaining these celebrates using the English language. The confusing part was that he was describing celebrities from Spain. I had no clue who he was talking about. The correct answer was a group of puppets named Trancas, Barrancas and Petancas. I looked it up, but couldn't understand it because it was in Spanish. It looks like a pretty funny show, though. 

Austin is a student in 7th grade English. His latest post was a summary of the character, Dally, from the book The Outsiders. He describes Dallys' thoughts, actions, and emotions. Austin did a very good job describing Dally. He used several quotes from the book and referenced the page numbers. He had a little bit of a problem with punctuation and grammar, though. A lot of his sentences had unnecessary words and were a bit confusing. I got his point though. I could see what he was trying to say and read it that way. I told him that he was doing a great job and to keep blogging. 

Susan Santoli 

In her post on October 31, 2012, Santoli talks about the keynote speaker at the conference in Ireland. The speaker was Dr. Patricia Mannix-McNamara. She is the Co-director of the Research Centre for Education and Professional Practice at the University of Limerick. On the final day of the conference, Dr. Mannix-McNamara gave a speech entitled So What is all this Education For? Santoli says that Dr. Mannix-McNamara is worried that there is a huge disconnection from what's happening in schools and what's happening in society. Schools are focuses more on high test scores and less on the child's mental and emotional development. Schools are no longer teaching about values and self-esteem. Dr. Mannix-McNamara says that the suicide rate in Ireland is at a extreme high. She directly correlates this to the lack of moral attention in the schools. 

I hate that schools are moving in this direction. Schools are lacking in creativity and the students are beginning to resent it. High test scores can be a very good thing, but as educators we need to make sure that we squeeze in some time to teach our students about self respect and other emotional and mental values. This way we develop the whole student.

Project #14 - Smart Board Instruction

The arrangement got a little out of order, but here's the finished product!