Blog Post #16

Part 1:

I am majoring in Secondary Education with a concentration in Social Studies. In my first post about what the perfect school would look like I really had no idea on what I wanted to do. I thought I did at the time but after taking EDM310 I think I know how I really want my classroom to look like.  On my first blog, I wanted basic technology in my classroom. Which was just basic computers for the students and using the SmartBoard.  After this class I've learned so much about technology in the classroom.

The way I would like my classroom to look like is for all my students to be able to blog. I want to set up a classroom blog were students can post their assignments and be able to communicate with other students around the world through their blog. I will teach my students the right way to comment on other others blogs. Also, the student can show their parents what there learning from any computer.  I will still use the SmartBoard but now I know how to demonstrate using a blog on the SmartBoard. I will not tell them too much because I would prefer them to figure out how to do things on their own.

 No Burp Back Education is definitely one thing that I will promote. I can use iCurio to get PBL activities. iCurio is a great website for students and teachers. You can get lesson plans and information that is helpful for students. Also, I can get the students to get in to groups. Groups projects are very essential for learning. Working in groups, students are allowed to share their ideas to their classmates, learn how to criticize the correct way and take criticism, and learn by doing hands on projects which means I will not have to teach them everything.

Last, I will teach how to use technology. Google docs is great especially working with groups since others are allowed to edit that persons work. Hopefully, my classroom will have Mac Computers. There is so much more you can do on a Mac than you can do on a PC. I will teach the students how to edit a movie, make a book trailer, or an ibook. 
  
Part 2:

Project 16

Blog Post 14

Directions:
Browse Teacher Tube and summarize all of the things you can find on the website.



TeacherTube is a website that is similar to Youtube but for teachers! It is a safe website were teachers can share videos, documents, audios, and photos, and other resources. You can also watch tutorials and lectures. Teachers can also create blogs.  You can search specific items by grade level and subject. When browsing through the videos, I realized that most of them were from students which I thought was interesting! You must register to upload and rank items. I think TeacherTube is a great website for teachers because it has everything in one. 

Project 2 Final Report

 I decided to use Symbaloo. I have started to use symbaloo more often since I made one. I've added a few more tiles such as PBS teachers, Scholastic ,and teacher tube. All the new tiles deal with students and teachers. I can get lesson plans and worksheets for my future students. Click the link to see my updates!

C4T

 John T. Spencer is my last teacher. I really liked reading his blog. Not only did he talk about things to implement in the classroom, but he also talks about the social part about being a teacher that I haven't seen on my other C4T's.

From "Living for Teaching " to "Teaching for a Living"
  On his first post he talks about when he first began teaching that he believed teaching was his identity. In his free time he would write lesson plans, grade papers, and spent time with fellow teachers and talk about education. He began to realize that he was missing out on his sons life.  John began to realize that teaching is part of him and not who he is. Before this, John was unable to ask for help and did not like to take breaks because he considered it to be lazy. Now, John has became more vocal for things such as healthcare cost and teacher salary.

Comment 1:
Hello John. My name is Dominique Jones and I am a student at the University of South Alabama class EDM 310. I really enjoyed reading your post. Even though I am not a teacher yet I like your ideas.  When I become a teacher I need to remember  not make teaching my whole life. I should also be able to speak up and to enjoy doing things that I like to do. Thank you!

How to Survive as an Introverted Teacher

On John's second post, he explains on how to survive being an inrtoverted teacher.
John considers himself as an introvert and when he first began to teach he felt that he needed to eat lunch with the staff in the lounge but he really wanted to read a book or be at every school event to support his students.

He gives 7 examples on how to survive the extrovert-dominiated teaching field. :

1.Conferences-  John meets his students one-on-one weekly.  This helps the students get valuable face time with the students.
2.  Social Media- He likes to talk with his few close friends this way instead of talking face to face.
3. Introverted Hobby- Chose a hobby. John likes to write in his free time.
4. Limit Noise- Limit everyday noise such as the radio in the car.
5. Permission to be Alone- Give yourself

permission to withdraw.
6. Volunteer for Introverted Projects- Chose work that allows to be self-directed.
7. Awareness- Explain to others who may think you are being standoffish or shy. Explain that being an introvert is and that is why you work well in specific areas.


Comment 2:
Hello John. My name is Dominique Jones and I am a student at the University of South Alabama class EDM310. I can really relate to this post. I consider myself to be an introvert especially meeting new people or being in groups. I am a Secondary Education major and I get nervous when I observe classrooms and I definitely need to work on that!  These tips are great and I will remember to use them when i become a teacher.  Great Post!

Project 12B

This is Part B to Project 12.

Blog #13

Alison Gopnik: What do Babies Think?

30 years ago psychologists thought babies could not think. Alison Gopnik is a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley and in this video she talks about what babies are actually thinking. Most people think that babies are dumb and useless. Alison wants people to know that babies are smarter than we think they are. Studies show that babies are able to distinguish that people will not like the same things by the age of 18 months. Babies and children are always learning. Studies also show that 4 year olds are able to find out an unlikely hypothesis than adults given the same test. Alison explains what it is like to be child. Children can take in lots of different information from a lot of sources compared to an adult who have a more focused driven conscious. She goes on to say that being a baby is like, “being in love in Paris for the first time after you've had 3 double espressos.” Alison says that there is nothing wrong with being an adult but being a baby has its benefits such as open learning, imagination, and creativity.  

Shane Koyczan: To This Day...for the bullied and the beautiful

The main thing that should be learned from this video is how damaging bullying can be for a child and what an impact adults have on shaping a child’s future.  This video is the best one that I have watched all semester long and think that all teachers, present and future, should watch this video.  Children are constantly being asked what they want to be when they grow up and then being told what not to be.  Their dreams are being called silly or impossible.  Children are being expected to define themselves at young ages and if they don’t, others define them.  They are labeled slut, geek or fatty and told to accept the identity that others give them.  We tell children to stand up for themselves but that is hard to do if they don’t know who they are.  People often mistake standing up for themselves as embracing violence.  Koyczan begins to address these issues in poem form and makes some very profound statements that I believe all people should watch and listen too.  I am not going to quote this entire video, even though it deserves it, but I am going to end with my favorite quote from this talk. “And if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror.”

C4K

C4K#1:
My first C4K of this month was Doris. Her post was about dancing. Doris and her some her classmates have a dance crew. They are a 70's and 90's dance crew that occasionally perform. On this day they got a chance to perform in front of the school.

Comment:
After reading some of you post, it seems like you like to dance. Dancing is fun and keeps you fit! I like to dance but I am too shy to dance in front of an audience. I think its great you can get up in front of your fellow classmates and dance. Keep dancing and have fun with it!




C4K#2:
Post 1:
On my second C4K I had to comment on at least two of my kids posts. My C4K was this week was Adam.  The first video I commented on was about feeling healthy. He discussed  the benefits of being healthy.

Comment:

 I like your video on being healthy. Being healthy is a good thing. I like how you mention that when you eat a lot of bad food you wont  be able to climb across all of the monkey bars. Good job!



Post 2:
Adam's second post was a video about Canada's first nations. He drew some pictures of what the first settlers looked like. He also drew a picture of some weapons they used, buffalo's and a treaty.

Comment:

I like your video on first nations. It  seems like you know a lot about the first people that settled in Canada and things like buffalo's and treaties. Good Job!

Project #15

Our lesson plan for project 15 is having our students write a research paper on Thanksgiving. Check out our website for more details!

Blog #12

How to Escape Education's Death Valley

By: Dominique Jones

  

Sir Ken Robinson begins his speech with how ironic No Child Left Behind really is. Statistics show that 60% of the population and 80% of the Native American population drops out of school. He thinks No Child Behind is not diverse but instead conforms students. Ken thinks education should give an equal amount to each subject such as arts, humanities, and physical education.

Test are helpful but should not dominate education. All high performing systems engage their students, teachers have a high status and pick only the best, and the school level should decide instead of the state level. People need to recognize that education is a human system. Ken compares education to Death Valley. Death Valley is the driest and hottest place in America which means nothing is able to grow there. In 2005  it was covered in flowers. This means that students being able to  learn is possible they just need the right conditions by creating a climate of possibility.

3 reasons  the human mind flourishes :

1. Humans are different and diverse. Kids learn better when they’re able to use their talents.

2. Curiosity. “Engine of Achievement.” Teachers have to be creative but great teachers have to mentior, stimulate, provoke, and engage.

3. Human life is creative. We all create our life. 

Changing Education Paradigms 

By: Jennifer Hamrick

There are multiple things that can be learned from Sir Ken Robinson in the above mentioned video.  Sir Ken Robinson begins by talking about how every country is reforming public education right now and there are two reasons why.  One reason is economical.  How do you educate students to take their place in the economy of the 21st century? We can’t anticipate what the economy will be in a week so,  preparing children for 10 years from now is almost impossible.  The second reason is cultural.  We need to find a way to teach our kids how to have an identity while being part of globalisation.  Millions of kids are being alienated by trying to prepare for the future by doing what has always been done in the past.

Children were once told that if they worked hard, did well, and got a college degree, they would have a job.  While a person is still better off having a degree, nowadays, it doesn’t mean you will get a job.  Standards of education need to be raised and the current system was designed and conceived for a different age.  It was designed for a system that Ididn’t believe “street kids” could get educated.    In the system, we were told that there are two kinds of people, Academic and Non-academic.  Many non-academic people are made to believe that they are not brilliant because they don’t meet certain standards.

According to Sir Ken Robinson, the current economic and intellectual model of public education is causing chaos.  ADHD has risen with standardized testing guidelines and the further East you go, the more fictitious epidemic of ADHD rises.  As a learner, you can have an aesthetic experience where your senses are operating at peak level and you feel alive.  Or you can have an anaesthetic experience and your senses are shut off and you feel deadened to what is happening.  Children are being anaesthetized to get them through the education process when they need to be woken up to what they have inside themselves.

The current model of education is about conformity and standardization.  The reform needs to go in the opposite direction.  Students need to see that there are lots of possible answers and lots of ways to interpret questions.  Stop teaching students that there is only one answer and how to work collaboratively.  The real world calls for collaboration and most great learning happens in groups.


 The Importance of Creativity
By:Dominique Jones and Jennifer Hamrick
 

Sir Ken Robinson talks about the importance of creativity in this video and how creativity is just as important as literacy.  One of the things that we can learn from this video is that kids will take chances.  They are not afraid of being wrong but they are taught that being wrong is something to be ashamed of.  By the time kids become adults, they are too frightened to be wrong and don’t want to put themselves or their ideas out there.  Kids are being educated out of their creativity.  Everywhere you go in the world, there

is a hierarchy of subjects with Math and Languages at the top, then Humanities and then the Arts at the bottom.  There is also a hierarchy within the Arts where music is at the top but dance is at the bottom.  As young children we have been taught that the most useful subjects for work are the ones at the top and kids are steered away from the subjects they like because they are told they won’t ever get a job doing those things.  It’s crucial that we rethink the fundamental principles that we educate our students on.  We are suppose to prepare our students for the future but don’t know the future so we should really prepare them in every subject we can. 

Blog Post #11

Kathy Cassidy is a 1st grade teacher who uses technology in her class regularly. She thinks that technology is important to teach with this generation and teachers should be technology literate. Her students have their own blog and they make a class video on different subjects. Cassidy likes for her students to have blogs because parents can look at their children's work whenever they like. Also, when students have blogs the whole world is their audience. 

Cassidy thinks that teachers should start with what they are interested in. Since I am concentrating in  Secondary History, I think I would use blogs for my students. Students would be able to communicate with other students around the world and can relate it to some of the material in the textbook. Since I will be working with older children protecting them is important. I'm sure that the students will try to get on other websites. I will provide all the links on the classroom blog so the students will not have to search for any other sources.

 

Project #12A

Project #10

I interviewed Mrs. Robinson and some of the things we discussed were the differences in teaching in a inner city school vs. a non-inner city school. We also discussed some technology that she uses in her classroom.

C4K

OCTOBERS C4K

C4K #1

My first C4K is from Ariana. Her blog was about her taking her first online class. She is taking her first online class which is AP Government. She was hesitant at first but she is finally getting familiar with the tools. She really enjoys using Google Docs, drop box, and discussion forms. She also found out that having patience is essential for learning how to use technology.  
She is glad that she traded in her pencil and pad for Google hangout. 

Comment:

Hello Ariana, my name is Dominique Jones, I am student at the University of South Alabama class EDM310. I am a junior and this is my first time having an online class. I thought it would be easy but it can be frustrating at times and it is a big responsibility to keep up with your work. But I am slowly but surely learning the ropes and being patient does play a key role. I actually love taking notes on paper I personally think it helps me learn the information better. But everyone learns differently. In EDM310 we recently started to use Google docs and i really enjoy it. It is easy to communicate and I like the fact someone else can edit your work. It is great to hear that more schools are teaching students to use and become comfortable with using technology more because they did not use it as much when I was in high school. Also, you will be more comfortable in college since you already know how to use it. Good luck with everything!


C4K#2

My second C4K was Caitlin. Her blog post was about service dogs. I watched three videos about service dogs that help people who have a variety of conditions. These dogs help people who have autism, seizure alerts, psychiatric service, mobility assistance,  and those for hearing.  The website I went on was called little angels dog training. I also learned that people donate money to this organization to help pay so these people can get dogs.


Comment:

 Hello Caitlin. My name is Dominique Jones and I am a student at the University of South Alabama EDM 310. I really enjoyed this post and found it very informative. I did not know that they trained dogs to help people for other medical reasons. Next time that I see a person with a guide dog I wont automatically think the person is blind.




C4K #3

My third post was a child under the name Potato LOL XD. He was talking about the forest eco-system. He talks about producers, consumers, and decomposes.

Hello!  My name is Dominique Jones. I am a student at the University of South Alabama EDM 310. I like your post about the different animals in the eco-system. It seems like you posted this to help your classmates before they learned this in class. I like how you posted the pictures of the animals so they could get a better understanding. Good Job!













C4K #4

My fourth kids blog is Aidan. His blog was about a speech he wrote about rebuilding a city. He proposed three goals to help the city. The three goals were make the city green, improve transporation,  and better entertainment. He thinks the city would be beautiful and their would be no more air pollution. The city would have more plants, trees, and parks. Also, people would walk more than drive their car. The second, idea was to have environmentally friendly transportation. Last, Aidan would like the city to have more activities for children.


 Hello Aidan. My name is Dominique Jones and I am a student at the University of South Alabama class EDM310. I really enjoyed your speech on rebuilding ChristChurch. You have some good goals on making the city better. Especially on going green because that is a very important issue today. I also like your third goal which is culture and entertainment. I like how kids can have workshops to build things instead of them being in the house all day. Great job!

C4K #5

My last C4K of the month was Jana. Her post was about a book she read called Melody. Melody was a girl that has cerebral palsy. melody wishes that she could talk. She dreams about being able to play and talk with her friends. Melody wishes that should she could be like everyone else.

Hello, Jana. My name is Dominique Jones and I'm a student at the University of South Alabama EDM310. I really enjoyed your summary of Melody. It seems like it is a really good book but it is sad that she has trouble talking and playing with her friends. There are a lot of kids like Melody out there and we have to remember to treat them like anyone else. Good job!