Blog Post #5

The iSchool Initiative
The iSchool Initiative is a video from Travis Allen, a student from Fayetteville, Georgia. Allen is a 17-year-old student that takes the initiative to try to help the education system today because of tremendous budget cuts, class size, and teachers are laid off. Allen believes technology should be a useful source in the classroom and by having technology; in return schools will save money. According to Allen if an iPod Touch is used; textbooks, paper, writing utensils or copy machines would not be needed to educate students. iSchool involves purchasing various apps geared to the subjects that are taught and allows students interactive involvement while learning. Allen also points out that the iSchool will be helpful to parents so that they are involved with their child's progress in the classroom.

Allen being a 17-year-old has impressive ideas on how to improve the budget crisis with education in America. I agree with Allen when he states that technology needs to be in every classroom, and the budget cut crisis in America needs to be fixed. However, I do not agree with making everything technology based, because technology has some downfalls and glitches. If everything is technology based students have a better chance of cheating on assignments and students do not have the classroom interaction, in which some students may need. I also will be cautious with allowing students to have such expensive and fragile equipment outside of the classroom, which may lead to the risk of damaged or stolen devices. I do not think schools should eliminate paper and pencil work; however, there should be some classroom assignments to ensure we are reaching each learning style. Overall, Allen's presentation was impressive, and I am sure in the near future, many schools will adopt the iSchool initiative or an initiative similar to Allen's initiative.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'

When I first watched the video, I did not see the point of the video and thought it was extremely annoying. After watching the video again, I understood the purpose of the virtual choir. The video is an example of how technology will change a classroom and in this video, technology is changing a regular choir room. It will be weird and would take some time to get use to, but now, I cannot fathom having a virtual choir. Having a virtual choir takes the joy of seeing the students dressing in their choir clothing and watching them in a traditional setting. I do agree that technology should be included in classrooms, but I do not think changing to a virtual choir would be a good idea. I could understand practicing online with students, but with the actual performance, I think it should be in a traditional setting.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Teaching in the 21st Century is a powerful eye opener that allows teachers and future teachers to see how students should be educated. As educators, we must realize that time has changed and how children are growing has changed tremendously. Technology has changed so much in the last 20 years, or less and children are dependent on technology for just about everything, therefore, as educators, we have to use the resources that will reach students and engage them in learning. The video reveals that to be an effective teacher we must engage students in learning and get out the habit of teaching students information that they can learn on their own. Educators have to challenge today's youth by engaging them in the lesson and not just entertaining students. The video is also a great indicator that we must create lessons on higher level thinking, according to Bloom's Taxonomy, where students can analyze, evaluate and create.

Why I Flipped the Classroom by middle school teacher, Katie Gimbar and Flipping the Classroom-4th Stem by fourth grade teacher, Ms. Munafo are both great videos on how to change teaching. Katie Gimbar and Ms. Munafo discuss how flipping the classroom is helpful in math classes. Flipping the classroom, introduces a new way of teaching that capture every student in the classroom in learning and using applications. Flipping the classroom allow parents and students to preview the material that will be taught the following day through their computer; however, if a student does not have access to a computer then the student will be allowed to watch the video at school. These changes in teaching allow teachers to create activities for students that allow them to apply themselves and work at their own pace.

When watching the videos, I had a million question, but thanks to the Flipped Classroom FAQ most of my questions were put to rest. Flipping my classroom is an excellent way to engage every child in learning and the allowing students to work at their own pace. I like the idea, if students do not have access a computer at home, letting the student preview the video that morning or a designated time. I never imagine teaching this way, but with flipping the classroom, as the teachers have mentioned, lecturing in front of the class only meets 1/3 of the student’s needs and either leave the other 2/3 of students behind or have students wanting more. I would love using this technique in my class, because when teaching every teacher expects to meet each need of the students they are teaching. Integrating flipping the classroom means that I can interact with my students more, and students are applying what they have learned to various activities that are assigned.

C4K for the month of September

Juli C4K #1

Juli is a fifth grade student at Chestnut Tree in Buenos Aries, Argentina. Juli's class had Dot Day, where her teacher Greta, read a story about a girl who thinks she cannot draw. Every day the girl draws a dot and one day the teacher decides to encourage her to add other things to her picture of dots. After school, the little girl's teacher gets the picture from her and frames the picture after the students leave. The next day the student comes in the class and finds her picture in a frame. "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds is a great book for teachers to read to younger students because it let students know that it is okay to be different. The story also shows younger children that every drawing is unique in its own way.

Kaylee C4k #2

Kaylee is an eighth grader at a Catholic school in Northwest Iowa. Kaylee lives on a farm with her parents, siblings, and a dog name, Misty. Kaylee's recent blog was posted on September 27, and it was about her homecoming. Kaylee's posted pictures of each day, except for Monday because they had mass, of the different events. On Tuesday, Kaylee and her classmates wore gray for Monochromatic day; Wednesday was Nifty Fifty day, where the students attached fifty items to themselves; Thursday was Herd day, the students dressed up as different animals, and Friday was black and gold day, because of the school's color. I enjoyed viewing Kaylee's pictures because I got a chance to reminisce on my days in high school. I also enjoyed seeing the great ideas Kaylee's classmates used during homecoming week and how different their events are from the events the South.

My Sentence Video

Project #5 Presentation

Blog Post #4

Langwitch

Benfits of Podcasting

According to the video, podcast was created because today's society of the new millennium reliance on technology, therefore, podcast was a way to reach out and enhance their learning. The video shows several great scenarios of how podcasting can be used in the classroom. Podcasting is an excellent tool to assess higher level thinking in relation to Blooms Taxonomy, which all teachers try to achieve when teaching. Podcasting allows students to be creative by giving them projects and allowing them to get hands on experience. Students are also involved in the learning process through podcasting and are introduced to a different learning style. Podcasting has allowed students when absent to hear the same lecture as their peers, while holding the student and parents accountable for the missing content. Podcasting is a useful tool that helps students, but also helps parents to evaluate the teacher's teaching method and see how their child may behave in class.

The benefits of podcasting are phenomenal. Podcasting has introduced a new form of teaching as well as classroom involvement. Students can also use podcasting as a useful tool when studying by reviewing previous lectures from class. Dale also provided great websites that showed how to create a podcast and various tutorials that can be used.

Podcasting with First Graders

First graders are introduced to podcast by reading scripts from Vacation Under the Volcano by Mary Pope Osburne. During the process of recording or editing the podcast, students were attentive, patient with the teacher and their peers. The students enjoyed listening to themselves, and if the student made a mistake, they wanted to redo their recording until they got it correct. The podcasting activity allowed students to review their reading for fluency, voice fluctuation, and be creative. Incorporating podcasting in a reading class improves the student reading comprehension, storytelling, listening and speaking skills. The students enjoyed making the podcast and read along when the teacher played the audiobook. I would use podcasting with my reading class to get out of the routine of listening to traditional cassettes and making their own audiobook.

Podcast Collection

Judy Scharf describes a podcast as a blend of "broadcast" and "iPod". Scharf recommends step-by-step directions to create a podcast titled Podcasting.According Schharf, podcasting is inexpensive that only requires a microphone, software that allows editing and uploading the podcast and a RSS feed. Scharf also includes several tips to use when assigning podcasting activities. I think the most important thing about creating a podcast is having fun and making it a learning experience.

Project 3 C4T

C4T Summary
Understanding the Technology in Common Core compares the Common Core standards to the standards that are in California. Common Core and the California standards are similar in many ways, but the common core standards prepare students for college and a career. According to Needleman's research, Common Core uses a variety of technology in every subject. Students will need to understand and apply the use of technology because technology is expanding and is becoming a requirement for virtually every profession.

I like the Common Core standards because the standards are rigorous and prepare students for higher learning. The Common Core standards are also specific and the content is more in depth, therefore, I believe the standards will be an excellent change for education.

Fluency Timer Now Available for iPad, iPod, iPhone is a new app. The app allows teachers, students and parents the ability to monitor how well a student read. The fluency timer app allows students to record themselves and playback what they have read. Research has proven that the fluency timer is a great app for students because it allows the student to listen to themselves read and the students are able catch their mistakes. The app allows the teacher to pay attention to the student's errors and not have to worry about the length of time the student is reading.

The fluency timer is a great app that allows the student to time themselves and hear their mistakes, but it is also a great app that allows the teacher to use as an intervention to help students improve their reading skills. The fluency app is a great intervention tool to use in any classroom.

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing
What is Peer Editing, Peer Edit with Perfect Tutorial, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes are all great videos that reveals what peer editing is and how to be an effective editor. What is Peer Editing and Peer Edit with Perfect Tutorial are both videos that provide step by step instructions to editing. According to both videos, there are three steps of editing, compliments, suggestions, and corrections. When editing someone writing, the editor should give compliments and always remain positive and keep in mind how he or she would feel if someone were editing his or her paper. The second step, which is suggestions, states that the editor should suggest how to improve the writing. Correction is the final step and involves the editor reading the writing sample and looking for errors in grammar, sentence structure, punctuation and spelling. When critiquing someone writing the editor has to remember to stay positive and reread the assignment to check for errors.

Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes is a great video that shows what a peer editor should not do when editing another person paper. The video gave different scenarios and each scene was a good example of what not to do. The video is also a great approach to reach students that are visual and auditory learners. When writing, students are so worried about putting the information on paper or screen that they do not carefully read what they are writing; therefore, proofreading is crucial. As for the editor, the editor has to be careful when proofreading for mistakes to make sure they are in compliance with the three steps of peer editing and not being rude when editing an assignment.

Technology in Special Education

Using technology in the classroom is a great way to help any student, but is an excellent help in special education classrooms as the video shows. Computers and other devices are helping students communicate and read. Technology has helped nonverbal students express themselves and help others to communicate with them. Special needs students are often left out because they are different, but technology has help bridge the gap so students with special needs can have access to the same thing as other students. Bringing technology in the classroom has helped children with disabilities tremendously by building their self-esteem, helping teachers to communicate and educate the students.

I would use every technology that is available for students with a disability. I would use devices that would help communicate with my nonverbal students. I would also use laptops, smart boards, and I pads or other tablets to help my students have an equal access in and outside the classroom. A student with a disability should not receive any less treatment than a student without a disability; therefore, I would fight for the equipment I need to help my students. However, I feel that it will be a hard fight because school districts are always having budget cuts.

Apps for iPad

I am very interested in learning how to include the use of iPads in the classroom and I was amazed after watching How iPad Works for Academics with Autism. I would use the Sign 4 Me app in a special education classroom especially if I had some nonverbal students. The app is a great way to help the student express themselves and communicate by using sign language, which is a visual language to communicate with the teacher and other students. Sign language would help eliminate some frustrations in the classroom when I cannot understand a nonverbal student or a student with a disability. The app teaches ABC's, words, and sentences. This would be a great app in my classroom because I already know sign language and can communicate with the student on their level. I also believe this would be a great app because students are learning a different language.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Ms. Davis is a teacher in a rural area of Georgia and she has introduced a new learning technique to her students. She has did away with paper and pencil work and let her students learn through technology. Davis allow the students to learn the through their experiences and teach their peers what they have learned. Davis also allow her students to teach her and she is aware that she does not know everything and is willing to allow her students to teach her new things. Davis also started the flatworld classroom project which allows students to communicate with other students.

I truly enjoyed the video because Davis was very inspiring and wants to change the way we teach. I think it is very beneficial to include technology in the classroom and allow students to learn through experiences and teach others. I am thrilled how technology reaches out to students and let the students be creative. What I enjoyed the most about the video is how eager the students were to learning and how they got to see the world outside of their rural area.

Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know

Dr. Strange's version of Did You Know 3.0 is explaining how fast technology is changing. The video shows how other countries are growing and learning English in relation to the United States. India has the most honor students compared to all the honor students in the whole United States, according to the video. Not only does India's honor students outnumber the whole population of the United Sates, but the video also states that China has more English speaking people than the United States and even more people are learning. With that being said, it is sad how English is the only language the United States has to learn, and some cannot speak it fluently, yet another country not only knows their language, but can speak English as well as the people that have spent their entire lives speaking English. Dr. Strange's version enlightens educators that technology is steadily changing, and we must continue to incorporate it in our teaching. We as future educators have a challenging job because not only do we have to prepare students for a job that does not exist yet, but we also have to incorporate technology which is always changing.

Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod’s, Did You Know, inform viewers about technology as a whole, not so much targeting education as Dr. Strange’s version does. Fisch and McLeod reveals that jobs created in 2010 did not exist in 2004, making me realize how fast the job market is changing. I am so use to using Google to look up things, but not once do I think about what was done before Google, when I had to find information on the web. The video also shows how technology and the internet help market things over a wide span. What stood out the most about this video is by the time a student is half way finish getting a bachelor’s degree, the information they have learned will is outdated. As a result, a student will never learn enough to do their job adequately because of the continuous change in technology. Both videos show how fast technology is changing, but if we want to succeed, we have to be willing to have an open mind and be ready to conquer every obstacle.
Mr. Wrinkle Walks

Mr. Wrinkle Walks by Mathew Needleman is about a man that wakes up after 100 years and finds that the world has changed. Mr. Wrinkle goes to several businesses and see that they are using computers, instant message, printer, and web cameras to communicate with people around the world. He is so confused and decides to go to a local hospital, upon walking into the hospital, he find patients on respirators. Mr. Wrinkle is amazed at everything he sees and decides to go inside of a school. In the school, Mr. Wrinkle finds that it is set up the same way it was when he was in school. Mr. Wrinkle discovers the classroom has not changed and students are still sitting in desk and listening the teacher lecture. Mr. Wrinkle finds a computer in a section of the room that no one has been using and is covered in dust.

I agree, that over 100 years, the technology world has changed. The medical world has discovered many medical advances that have helped people live longer and to have better lives. I also thank technology for allowing us to do business over the world and not having to leave our homes to do so, as Mr. Wrinkle observed. However, I am not pleased with the fact that Mr. Wrinkle goes into a school and find that over 100 years education is still the same. I do believe that education has changed,and not all of the changes has been for the better. Education changed for the worst by teaching students material for standardized test and not allowing students to be creative and think outside the box. However, I do agree that schools purchase expensive technology, but are so concerned about teaching how to take tests, that students are not using the technology. Overall, Mr. Wrinkle Walks is a great video that reveals how much technology has changed over the years.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson The Importance of Creativity suggests that schools destroy children creativity by only educating students academically and not creatively. According to Robinson, everyone is born creative, but schools force that creativity out of a child’s mind by emphasizing the importance of academics. Schools do not recognize art essential for students to be successful and rank art at the bottom of the teaching realm. Robinson states that even after the Industrial Revolution, public schools focused on educating the smartest and skilled workers. Public schools expect all students to excel academically and treat art as an extra circular activity, but not as a potential career choice. As Robinson inform us, all the education in the world does not guarantee a person a job, therefore, no matter how much a person succeed academically, a student's creativity ability could have a better success rate in finding a job.

I agree whole-heartedly with Sir Ken Robinson, public schools focus the majority on preparing students for standardized test and various test taking strategies. Students become bored with school, and some even start to misbehave, but I strongly believe students misbehave because they are not challenged artistically. However, if school systems emphasized on integrating arts into the curriculum as much as reading, math, and science, students would not only learn more but would be attentive during the lesson. Robinson opens my mind in seeing how valuable art will be in a class only if students had a chance to express themselves. Julian Lynn’s story about being in elementary school and her teacher thinking she had a learning disorder was the most influential segment of the video. More times than often, students are diagnosed with learning disabilities or having ADHD because they cannot focus or sit still in class, but if arts could be integrated in the lessons, there could be fewer cases.
A Day Made of Glass
Before watching A Day Made of Glass Unpacked 2: The Story Behind Corning's Vision, I did not understand what A Day Made of Glass 2: Same Day Expanded was about. After watching Corning's video Unpacked with the dialogue, I got a better understanding of the presentation. Corning shows how the future will advance by using energy efficient devices and computer operated devices. The technological advances that are mentioned in the video allows children to have a more hands on learning experience and involves the children in the learning process. Some of the advances are used now to a certain extinct, such as smart boards and I pad, but the video shows a higher level of advances that I am sure over time will be more prevalent all over the world. If Mr. Wrinkle had woken up in a world like in the Day Made of Glass, he probably would have had a heart attack because everything was computer operated and made of some sort of interactive glass, from the school, parts of a vehicle, and the closet in someone's bedroom.

A Day Made of Glass allowed me to see how far technology has come and how fast it is growing. It seems every year technology is advancing and making life better and interesting. The advancement in technology provides many opportunities, such as allowing doctors to collaborate on projects halfway across the world. The video also makes me realize that as educators, we are preparing children to obtain jobs the does not exist. However, I understand why children must have an open mind to learning and to expressing their creativity to be successful.