PLN Final Report

I must say, I have completely revamped my PLN since the last progress report. I am now using iGoogle for my PLN and I love IT! I like that I am able to personalize it in every way. My background is quite possibly one of my favorite things. I am going to Disney for Christmas this year and I was able to find a background of Cinderella’s Castle! It may be silly, but this has truly been my inspiration to get through this horrible semester (not this class; I am taking 19 hours!).

I have found through my PLN that I am more of a listener than a talker. I love reading people’s blogs and I have chosen several to follow that show up on my iGoogle page. However, I have come to realize that I do not like leaving comments. I think I like simply reading the posts. I honestly did not realize this was occurring until I began typing this blog post. In addition to the blogs on my iGoogle, I also have YouTube, the weather, fun facts, a calendar, and my cute little pink piggy that I adopted.

I love reading blogs from teachers around the world. I think it is fascinating to see what they are doing with their students. I have gotten many ideas about things to do with my own students in the future. Through my PLN, I have gained a new respect and appreciation for blogging. Prior to this class and my PLN, I swore that I would never blog, but I now see the point. Not only will I continue to blog and follow people’s blogs, but my students will most certainly blog as well.

Project 15

AA #5:

Adventures in Pencil Integration:
   I really like reading John Spencer's blog posts. I think that he has a great outlook on his students and education in general. It is refreshing to read stories from an educator who truly cares, and who honestly GETS education! Spencer uses "pencils" in relation to technology, as well as his students. I love all of the personal stories that he puts in his posts as well.
   In these four posts, he gives us four different experiences. I love the sentence that he uses: She's writing the world in ink and I'm sketching it out in pencil. He uses this sentence to show that the world is changing, education is changing. We cannot have the same old practices; they will no longer work in our society and schools. Spencer is able to see the importance of change and the ability of a teacher to conform with this change. In another post, he shows the importance of teacher-student mutual respect. Your students have to be able to trust you. We have to stop and realize that learning begins with this mutual understanding and respect. I loved his post "Just Teach them To Solve for X"! This interaction is so typical. Education seems to be all about the banking system now- put information in and spit it right back. But students do not learn from this type of "education"!
 

Blog Post 13:

    ALEX stands for the Alabama Learning Exchange. This is a free online resource that teachers can use. I have actually used the ALEX website when making lesson plans for one of my classes. There are many different resources on the ALEX website alone. You can look up: the course of study for any subject, any grade, and lesson plans. They have a search tool as well as web links specific for your job (teacher, principal, etc.). There are links to further professional learning. You can create an account and build your personal workspace. There is a link for ALEXville, which will give you resources for different projects and news around the state. Last but not least, there is a "podcast treasury" that you can access that gives you many, many, subject based podcats.

    The ALEX website is extremely useful for teachers, and even pre-teachers. As I mentioned before, I have used this site to help me make a lesson plan. This site is so useful because it has almost everything you need, all in one place. The information is valid and up to date. It is very easy to understand and navigate as well. I personally love this site!

Project 16: Progress Report

I will be working with Caryn Hyatt on our final project. We have decided to create a glogster detailing online resources for elementary teachers. We are very excited for this project and both think that it will be a lot of fun to create!

Project 6: Softball Survey

My survey was a compilation of basic questions in regards to softball. There were 19 participants in this survey. The results are as follows:

1. Do you know what softball is?
	Yes 19 100% No 0 0% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

2. Have you ever played softball?
	Yes 14 74% No 5 26% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

3. Is softball only for girls?
	Yes 5 26% No 14 74% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

4. Does the United States have a softball team?
	Yes 13 68% No 6 32% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

5. What is the difference in softball and baseball?
	Gender 13 68% Field size 15 79% Baseball is better 1 5% Size of the ball 19 100% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

6. Name one position that you can play in softball.

 

short stopcatcherpitcherpitchershortstoppitcherShortstopoutfieldfirst basepitchercenter fieldpitcher1st baseShort stopnonepitcherBattercatchercatcher, outfield, secon/third base

 

7. On a scale of 1 to 5, what is your interest in softball?
Not at all interested Very interested	1 - Not at all interested 7 37% 2 4 21% 3 4 21% 4 2 11% 5 - Very interested 2 11% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

8. Who is Jennie Finch?

 

a softball playeron usa softball team she is the pitcherI don't knowno ideateacherfastpitch softball pitcherI have no idea.A pitcher?dont knowDon't knowno clue. I don't know.softball playerDon't kno...

 

9. Softballs are not as hard as baseballs.
	True 10 53% False 9 47% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

10.The earliest known softball game was played in which of the following years?
	1887 4 21% 1926 10 53% 1893 2 11% 1902 3 16% People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Number of daily responses

There were several questions that really surprised me:

3. Is softball only for girls? 26% of the respondees said yes. This really amazed me!
5. What is the difference in softball and baseball? One of the selections was "baseball is better"; it really made me laugh that one person chose this response. I have a feelings that they were just making a joke and not taking the survey seriously, so I choose not to get upset about this!
8. Who is Jennie Finch? This question seemed like a "gimmie" to me! Even if you have never heard of her, considering that it is a survey about softball, it would be a safe bet to say a softball player.
9. Softballs are not as hard as baseballs. I was ver interested to see the responses for this question: 53% said that this statement is true, which obviously it is not.

Overall, my results were pretty typical. Softball is a sport that many people do not know very much about, and it is also a sport of many assumptions. The two students who said that they have a lot of interest in softball got every question correct.

I have played softball since I was 5, so for me these questions are obvious. It was very eye opening to see the results of my survey!

C4K 3-7 Summary

The blog I was assigned to for C4K #3 was entitled Dinner Time. The picture above was drawn by Melaia, a student in this particular class. I thought this picture was wonderful! I commented that I like the fish because it is cute and very creative. I also really enjoyed all of the bright colors and patterns that she used!

The fourth blog that I commented on was Juliet's personal blog. Her most recent post was "My 2 term reflection". In this post, she simply reflected on the term, her strengths and weaknesses, what she enjoyed, etc. In her description of what she enjoyed about the term, she said she enjoyed HSIE. I was not sure what this was, so in my comment I asked if she would explain it to me. She mentioned that she enjoyed having a pen-pal. Juliet and her pen-pal have a lot in common. I never had a pen-pal growing up, and I made sure to inform Juliet of how lucky she is in that aspect!

For C4K #5 I was assigned to a student's blog in Australia! Her name is Bianca and the post that I commented on was called Animals. It was a very short post, but she informed us that she likes: birds, cats, dogs, fish,rats, dragons, pigs, cows, and ducks. She ended her post by asking what animals we like. After reading her entire blog, I noticed that she really seemed to like animals. In my comment I asked her if she had ever considered becoming a veterinarian.I then informed her of some of my favorite animals: horse, frog, cat, dog, and rabbit.

C4K #6 was by far my favorite kid blog that I was assigned to. I was given EmmieT's blog to view. Her entire blog was so well developed! The post that I commented on was Hummingbird. In the post, she details her experience of having a hummingbird cross her path and actually touch her cheek on her way to the library. I love hummingbirds, so this post was very special to me.

With C4K #7 I was assigned to "skunkshark". The post that I commented on was called My Photographs. The problem with this post is that she must have edited the picture after I had already commented! However, in the comment that I left, I told her that I enjoyed the photograph, but that I do not know anything about photography. I told the student that they should continue with photography if it is something they are interested in!

Project 13: Smartboard

Project 14: Teach Someone Something

Blog Assignment 11

Little Kids... Big Potential and Ms. Cassidy Skype:



This video was so cute! It was really great for me to actually see technology being used in the classroom, rather than just reading about how it CAN be used. I have never seen a classroom such as this one, but it is very inspirational to know that it can be done, and in elementary school, which is where I want to teach. The amount of technology this class uses is incredible. I loved that they Skype to people all around the world. I would honestly have never thought to do this with my class, but it is definitely something that I will use now that I have seen it done!

I really want to me Ms. Cassidy! It is so inspiring to see and hear an elementary teacher using so much technology in the classroom. I can only hope to have the support that she does. I think that is what I worry about the most. Many administrators do not find this amount of technology to be necessary. I also worry about the parents' reactions. Ms. Cassidy's parents all were very happy in this setting, and hopefully my parents will be as well. I think it was very obvious from the video to see how truly advanced her students are! They even seem more mature than many 1st graders!

Blog Assignment 12

Getting to Know your Classmates:

You will be assigned to a classmate for this blog. You are to create a set of questions, with a minimum of 10, to ask your partner. These questions should be used to get to know your partner, as well as to understand how they feel about the class thus far. Type the questions and write a summary of the responses. You will need to provide a picture of the classmate. This can be the picture from their blog or any other appropriate picture they provide.


       Caryn Hyatt

1. Where did you grow up?
2. How old are you?
3. What made you come to USA?
4. Did/do you play any sports?
5. Are you an only child?
6. Do you have any pets?
7. How do you feel about EDM 310?
8. Is there anything that you would change about EDM 310?
9. Has EDM 310 been difficult for you?
10. Do you think you will continue to use the things you have learned in EDM 310 after this semester?

Caryn was born in Mobile, but she grew up in Grand Bay, Alabama. She is 20 years old, but will bee 21 in January. Caryn started her college career at Faulkner. When she was done there, she decided that she wanted to stay close to home, so she choose to attend the University of South Alabama. Caryn played volleyball in middle school and would have continued to play, however, she had to quit because she hurt her knee. She comes from a large family. Caryn has four brothers and one sister. She also has a cat, his name is Bunkie.

When Caryn started taking EDM 310, she was very stressed. However, over time it has gotten a lot better and more interesting for her. She does not like the length of some of the videos though! She does not feel that  this class is difficult, just that it is a lot of work. Caryn feels that she will continue to use a lot of the things she has done in this class. She hopes that one day, her students will create their own blogs and Dr. Strange's EDM 310 students can comment on them!

C4t #3 Summary:

Post #1:
I really enjoyed following Ms. Galloway's blog. The first post that I read was "Magic Wand". In this post she discussed two articles that she had read: one about changes in education and technology in the past ten years, and one about changes in education in the nest ten years. She was taken aback by all of the changes that have happened, many that we do not even think about, for instance VCR's. The article about the changes in the future made her wonder if some of the changes were a little too ambitious, however she did enjoy the article.

I read the two articles and had many of the same reactions as Ms. Galloway. One thing that really caught my attention is that the article about the future says that we will be using 90% less paper in schools within ten years. Really?! In my comment on her post, I voiced my concerns of jobs. I think that using less paper would be incredible for schools and the environment, but I do worry that many paper companies will simply shut down and then many will loose their jobs. Overall I really enjoyed reading this post and I was honestly excited for the next post!

Post #2:


View from the "hole"



I was rather upset that Ms. Galloway had not posted a new blog. I ended up reading an old blog, entitled "The Hole". This blog is about her and her husband's first home buying experience. They were living in Thailand at the time,  but wanted to buy a home in Seattle, Washington. Which is exactly what they did! They bought a "hole" in the wall place with a great view and the perfect floor plan and from Thailand, their renovations began. They used many technologies, such as Skype, email, iPhones, etc. in order to communicate with their friends and family, who were the ones renovating for them.

Although this post had nothing to do with education or anything of the sort, I still found it interesting to read. I thought it was amazing how they were able to renovate their home from across the world. They were a part of every decision made too!

AA #3

What do you think is the most important thing Sir Ken Robinson says in this presentation?


This entire video was amazing and the whole thing was important, but in my opinion, the most important thing that he said was: we are trying to change the future by doing the same thing we have done in the past.

Is there anything you disagree with in this presentation?


He mentioned that long ago, some people thought that some kids just would not benefit from education, that they would not learn. I believe that this thought still occurs today.

How congruent are Sir Ken Robinson's positions with those which you are being taught in the College of Education. In other words, where is there agreement? Where is there disagreement?


I think many of the beliefs and ideas discussed in this video do go along with the School of Education. Diversity is very important to us, in fact it is given it's own class. We discuss special needs a great deal too, and we often wonder if ADD/ADHD is too frequently and quickly diagnosed.

What can you do to address the issues Sir Robinson raises?


I am not sure what I personally could do, but I love the issue he raises about students being categorized by their age. Is this really the most important thing? In many cases children are held back, or even pushed too far, simply because of their age and what grade they are SUPPOSED to be in. Why not just let people be in the "grade" where their academic and emotional maturity best fit? This would decrease the boredom felt by "advanced" students and would decrease the insecurities and embarassment felt by students who are "behind".


What do you think of the presentation? If you had to do a presentation with others like this, what role on your team would you like most to play?


I absolutely loved this video! The content was wonderful and the presentation was even better. I honestly did not even realize that it was an eleven minute video because I was so interested! I am not a very artsy person, so I would not want to mess up my group project. I think I would like to be the narrator. I love talking, imagine that, and I do have a decent speaking voice (maybe a little country, but none the less!).