Blog Post 9

Back To the Future – Brian Crosby

Brian Crosby has a 4th grade class that will be enrolled in his class for the next three years (grades 4, 5, 6). Over 90 percent of his students are second language learners. At the beginning of the school year, Crosby took a survey of his students’ knowledge in his class. Most of the students weren’t able to give basic demographic information.

There is a disconnection between students and learning because of a narrow curriculum.  However, students only know a narrow curriculum.  They have only been taught in a lecture style. Students don’t have any experience or input to build schema for the world. It is hard for them to imagine if they don’t know how to do this. As teachers, if we don’t have imagination or creativity then where would the students passion stem from?

Crosby took a narrow curriculum and enhanced it to 21st century learning. A hands on activity that he and his students did with the hot air balloon covered standards that the students needed to know and gave them experience on how air pressure and other things work. After the activity was done, the students embedded videos and summaries about the activity and why the reaction was the way it was on their blog.

Crosby explains that active learning empowers students to learn own their own. It allows them to connect with others, collaborate with classmates, and include thoughts and ideas during activities.  Brian Crosby changed his 4th grade class by doing things that attract their attention. His class went from not knowing their basic demographic information to illustrating science projects to other students in a different country. Crosby’s class is the perfect example of innovative learning.

Paul Andersen: Blended Learning Cycle

In this video, Paul Andersen who is a high school AP biology teacher, is explaining a system he uses within his class. Mr. Andersen uses a strategy known as the blended learning cycle. The strategy is combining mobile, online, and classroom learning. There are six parts to this learning cycle. The first one is a question. This is also known as the hook to get them interested in the topic. The next step is investigation/inquiry. Then they have a video of instruction. This frees up some of Mr. Andersen's time and the students are able to review the videos when they do not understand. The next step is elaboration which goes into the explanation of the answer to the question originally asked. Then he reviews with the students. He meets with the students individually or in small groups to ask them questions to check their understanding. This also gives the students the opportunity to ask him questions if they are having trouble understanding. The last step is a summary quiz which is about what they had just covered. He will not give them the quiz if he can tell that they do not have a good understanding of the subject. If they do not do well on the quiz then he makes them start the process over.

We think that this strategy is a great idea. We think the first step is extremely important because it gets the students interested in the topic. The investigation step is important because the students need to find the answer out for themselves. They are more likely to remember the information more if they find it out on their own. The video gives the students more insight about the topic at hand. The review stage is especially important because it gives the teacher the opportunity to evaluate if the students are ready to take the summary quiz. We think that it is good that he gives the students the chance to go back and learn the information again if they did not get it the first time.

Making Thinking Visible

In this video, Mark Church, co-author of the book Making Thinking Visible, describes a little bit about a lesson he does in his 6th grade classroom with this students. This lesson is the “headlines routine.” The students are going to work in groups to do a project on a video they had watched the day before in class on early human beginnings and the origins of society. He will have the students talk about the puzzles and video their groups and come up with a short headline to tell what it is really all about. He gave each group a long thick sheet of paper to write their headline on after their discussion. After every group had completed their headline they shared them in front of the class. The students needed to have just a little bit to back up why they chose this as their headline. After doing the same unit for two more weeks, Mr. Church will ask the students what is the headline now since they have learned a lot more and things have changed since the beginning to when they are doing their final projects.

We think this would be a great idea to use in the classroom. This would work especially well for long projects like the one in the video. This engages the students in thinking about what they already know, or what they think they know in the beginning. This also allows the students to stay interested in the assignment and continue to learn and change the headline as time goes on and they learn more about the specific unit.

C4T #3 and #4

C4T #3

The Lasting Legacy of “The Red Group”

In this blog post vice principal, Erin Paynter, tells about watching a little girl chose colors because of the group she was in school. She wanted to use the red color pencil and give her brother a green. Now we would assume that the colors are based on skill. She emphasizes that as teachers we need to be careful in how we group students and not to confine them to just one group for a long period of time.

In my comment I said that this story makes me realize that as a future teacher I need to keep in mind to change up the groups within my classroom. I do believe that it is important to have groups within the classroom but the students should not be confined to just one group. Students should be given the opportunity to work with everyone in the class. Thank you so much for sharing.

C4T #4

My Back-to-School Letter to My New School #SAVMP
I was assinged to Erin Paynter again. Ms. Paynter has not posted any new post. This post was the most recent before the Lasting Legancy of "The Red Group." In this post she is giving an update that she has recently become a part of an on-line mentoring project called School Admin Virtual Mentor Program. She posted a letter that was sent out to the families of her students. In this letter she introduces herself and expresses her passion for the students education. She also discusses something she refers to as the 6 C's: Creativity, Critical-Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Character and Community. She wants to shift how the teachers are teaching. She said " the process of learning is the goal, not the content of learning."

In my comment I said I really enjoyed her post and could that she portrayed her passion for the students education and her own learning. I also said that communicating with the community is vital. The letter did a wonderful job at at informing the community of what you expect out of the school year. I thanked her for sharing.

Blog Post 8

Why I Flipped my Classroom by Katie Gimbar
Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipping the Classroom

Katie Gimbar and Dr. Lodge McCammon both have made videos on what flipping the classroom means. In the videos they discuss how before flipping the classroom teachers spend ninety percent of class time on lecture. When a teacher flips the classroom, they provide students with videos and activities that cover the lesson that would normally be taught in the classroom.Once the students are in the class they work on the lesson they have already learned. After flipping the classroom, the teacher can focus on each students need and what part of the lesson they did not understand. Giving the students the videos that explain the lesson gives them the opportunity to re-watch the video if they do not understand it the first time. Before flipping the classroom, the students only had one chance to understand it because once they teacher explains it and then moves on. This is a good concept but could be difficult in the beginning.

Pearl Diver
Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

This is an app that covers number and operation standards. Since iPads are becoming more common in the classroom this is a tool that could easy be accessed. This app helps the students understand how numbers are represented and the number system. The students must understand and know how to represent fractions on a number line. This game is more geared toward grades third through eighth. I chose this tool because it is something that will keep the students engaged. The students can also move into harder levels as they learn more so they are not confined to the same problems. If the teacher was to cover fractions and their place on the number line, they could let the students play this app to practice and check their understanding.



Summarized by: Keri Brown

Spelling City is a website and also has an app for iPads other devices. This app has a feature to search the language arts standards correlation list for standards by region and grade. This app provides correlations to U.S. Standards by State, Common Core Standards for each State's Implementation, Australian Standards by State, Canadian Standards by Province, and English National Curriculum Standards. This is a great tool for teachers to work with students in the classrooms as well as at home on their own time for homework or extra help. There are many games provided on this site for parts of speech, nouns, synonyms, contractions, phonics, Dolch-sight words, as well as vocabulary activities. There are also premium membership opportunities depending on how many students you have. There are many benefits with the premium membership such as, student activities being tracked, student test results and activities are automatically recorded, and you can create customized lists and lessons to meet each student's individual needs. This makes it great for ESE, ESL/ELL, and RTI.

21st Century Learning is Here!
Summarized by: KeNesha Brown

Mark Stevens explains how the technology people use in their daily life influences how students learn. Students and teachers have changed, and learning has changed, as well. However, the former setting of a school remains the same over the last 100 years. Stevens states, "We live with the reality that the same structure of brick, mortar, and steel will continue to greet us each morning" (Stevens). The great thing about 21st century learning is it can take place anywhere. Stevens explains that learning environment is not about the cool gismos and gadgets that are being used but the teacher applies today's technologies to make materials for students more engaging. "In other words, encourage the students to create, communicate, and collaborate in many ways" (Stevens).

"Learning in the 21st century takes new thinking" stated by NEA Executive Director John I. Wilson. 21st century skills are required in order for teachers to prepare their students for the globalized workforce. The teachers should find ways to incorporate technology while fulfilling the requirements for the curriculum. There are many useful tools that are available for teachers.

The question that Stevens mentions is "what does this 21st classroom look like?" He explains that interactive demonstration allows students to work through materials together. In addition, having access to the internet allows students to engage and transform content from around the world through tests and reliable learning portals. Students should have pens that records audio and data, because it helps students learn organization skills and allow teachers to share notes easily. Also, Stevens states that mobile devices allow students to learn on the go. Moreover, web-based applications allow teachers, students, and parents to stay connected outside the classroom.

The question is where do we start from here? Stevens explains that all teachers must think through the entire learning experience that they are creating for their students. Stevens provides NEA's and SETDA's key questions to inspire teachers thinking on how they can incorporate technology this school year:

-What tools and technologies will help the students create, collaborate, and communicate better?
-How can teachers let students learn with technology they already have?
-What is the appropriate role of the web, social media, mobile technologies, interactive white-board, etc., in today's classrooms?

Mark Stevens made some great points on 21st century learning. Teachers should consider ways to incorporate technology in their classrooms. These generations of students that educators are up against are more advance. Every moment of their lives is evolved around some form of technology. Educators must enhance their lesson plan to keep the attention of their students and cover all of the state standards. The main focus of the teachers' lesson should be allowing students' interest be the guidance to their learning process.

From reading Mark Stevens article, I did a search on tools to use to incorporate technology in students learning process. The website I can across is called BrainPop. BrainPop is a great tool to use as an inside or outside source in the classroom. It provides students with videos and games on any subject and topic. BrainPop is a tool that I would use to make sure my students are using technology as a tool of learning.

Project 9

C4K September

C4K #1
This week I was assigned to comment on Lynn's blog. Lynn was assigned to write a paper about something she believed in. Lynn believes in great trusting relationships. She had to give a personal example of why she believed this. She wrote about the relationship she is in now. She described their relationship and how they trust each other.

I told her that after reading her blog it was clear that she really believed in a trusting relationship. I said that it is great that her boyfriend and her can trust each other. I also said that this blog can be related to many people because we all want to have trusting relationships with other people. I told her that this was a well written blog and she addressed the topic well.

C4K #2
This week I was assigned to comment on Shirley's blog. Shirley did a video on place value. In the video, she is holding up a sign with a problem on it. She goes step by step on how to add the numbers. Once she has added the numbers she says sum of the two numbers.

In my comment, I told her she did an awesome job of explaining how to add the two numbers and she should keep up the good work.

C4K #3
This week I was assigned to comment on Johnlee's blog. Jonhlee did a presentation about camping. He gave examples of things that you would need to bring to be prepared for camping. He also gave examples of things someone would need to be aware of such as possums. He included pictures on every slide.
I told him that his presentation was very informative about camping. I also said I liked how he used pictures within his presentation. I told him he did have a few spelling errors but overall he did a great job.

C4K #4
This week I was assigned to comment on sixth grader Cody's blog. Cody answered the question how much does the sky weigh. He said that the sky weighs nothing but that the atmosphere weighs five billion pounds. So in a way the sky does weigh something.

In my comment, I told him that I have learned something new. I never really thought about the weight sky but now I know that it is the atmosphere that weighs something. I said that he did a great job at answering the question.

Blog Post 7

Project Based Learning Part 1

This video is a conversation between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps about Capps experiences as a third grade teacher. Anthony Capps looks at projected based learning as not only a means to show that the student has achieved something but also a means to get the students to learn something. The goal of a good project is to have an authentic audience, have student interests in mind, and have it involve the community some how. If the student have an authentic audience they push themselves more to do their best work. If they are given the opportunity to show their work off they are also rewarded not with just a good grade but by the audience. Having students interest in mind while making the goal for projects is important because we need to select things that will keep them engaged. Being able to involve the community somehow within projects that occur in the classroom is important because then the student can see how it relates to their life outside the classroom. As an example, Anthony Capps has his student write a letter to their congress man , Joe Bonner, to address the issue that women are now allowed to fight in open combat. Capps used this topic to tie into their reading which was about equality and cultures. Capps was also about to meet the reading, writing and history standards required by the AARS. Once the students were done writing their letters, Capps had them peer edit and revise each others. After all of the revisions were made the student picked the top eight that would be sent to their congress man. The students were okay with picking these letters because they felt as if it was representing them as a whole and not just the individuals that wrote them.

After watching this video I have learned that is can be come what easy to incorporate project based learning in the classroom. I learned some goals to set when making a good project. I have also learned that these projects can meet multiple standards that are required for the students to learn. This type of project also let the students learn how to revise and critic each others work which is also very important. Involving the community plays a major role in these projects. When you do incorporate the community the students not only learn the information but they also learn how to put it in the context of their everyday lives.

Project Based Learning Part 2

This video is also a conversation between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps about Capp's experiences as a third grade teacher. Anthony Capps tells Dr. Strange about two different projects that had some difficulties. The first project was about the students researching what it would be like to be a child in Afghanistan. The student were to make a movie about it and include pictures. He was shocked at how the students came up with their own questions to answer. Some of them focused on specific things like religion, fashion, warfare and farming. One of his students was not allowed to participate in this project because his father had served in Afghanistan and did not quite agree with his son learning about the culture. Mr. Capps gave him an alternate assignment which he did well on. As teachers, we need to be prepared for thing like this. We need to have alternate assignments in place just in case if the parents do not agree with the project the students are assigned.

iCurio

In this video, Dr. Strange asks Anthony Capps what iCurio is and how he uses it within his classroom. Capps describes iCurio as a tool that has filtered information that students can use. Students can safely search for things like pictures, videos and websites on iCurio. iCurio is a search engine for audio and video around subjects that fit into the Common Core Standards. The students are given a login for iCurio and can search things by themselves. iCurio supplies the students with storage capacity. Not only can teachers store things but so can the students. If the students find something interesting or relevant to their topic they are searching they can save it to their account. This gives the students the practice to learn how to be organized. iCurio also has a directory for historical figures. This is a great tool because it makes it easier for the students to find who they are looking for. The students can type in a generic search into this directory and iCurio will find the people that fit the description. iCurio is great for all grade levels and can give the teacher comfort in knowing the students are using a safe site to find information. iCurio also has a read aloud feature which can be great for ELL students, blind students or if the student has a learning disability.

Discovery Ed

In this video, Dr. Strange is asking Anthony Capps what is Discovery Ed and is it a useful tool. Capps refers to the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" and he says then "A video must be worth a million." Capps lets his a students search on Discovery Ed to find videos about the topic they are discussing such as plants. Capps describes Discovery Ed as a tool that brings experts into the classroom. Providing a video to go along with text is a great way to get the students to retain more about the topic. Capps allows his students to make videos within the classroom. Capps says the students like reading just as much as making the videos. Discovery Ed is a great tool to use because it can provide the student with a source other than their teacher to learn from.

The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers Part 1
Summarized by: Chelsea Calvert

In this video Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps are creating a list of things that consists of things that as teachers we should do. They make a list of four things that teachers should do. Teachers need to be lifelong learners. To prepare ourselves to get into the teaching field we need to be extremely interested in learning. We need to be constantly learning and modeling how to learn. Teaching is hard work and even after you leave your classroom you should still be seeking to learn new information. Learning how to teach should be a teacher’s hobby and part of their everyday lives. It can be very rewarding once you have learned something new that you can incorporate within your classroom. Teacher need to be flexible and creative. As teachers, we need to be prepared for surprises that might arise in the classroom. We need to be prepared to go outside the normal routine if something were to come up. Teachers should also reflect on their work. We need to be able to critic ourselves to master teaching. These four things are all important tasks that teachers need to focus on.

Don’t Teach Tech - Use It
Summarized by: Keri Brown

Anthony starts off by explaining that whether we like it or not we use technology every day. He states “we’re immersed in it whether you want to be or not, you can’t buy groceries without it.” Anthony says that technology is natural for kids whether they are in low-income areas or high-income areas, technology is a part of their lives. When creating your lessons, you should scaffold technology into those plans. Anthony says that you should focus on one technology at a time and make sure your students have different opportunities to review and continue practicing and using each technology. Once students have practice with a technology tool you can then add on and incorporate the use of other technology. Anthony uses iMovie with his third graders and he says that by allowing them to use iMovie they can be creative, express themselves, it is free, it is clean, and the students love it. You should use technology in your classroom to allow your students to get excited about what they are doing, use it to let them share what they are doing, and scaffold it to let them use one tool at a time then progressively add in more tools. Do not expect perfection from your students, because it is not going to happen. Students will make mistakes, but as a teacher you should allow time to reflect on those mistakes so they can better themselves the next time they use this technology. Dr. Strange states “you don’t have to worry about spending a great deal of time or energy teaching your kids how to use technology, just give them the opportunity, and don’t expect perfect.” As the teacher, you should “do it first.” Use the technology and do the projects to better understand why students are asking questions and how you can help them.

Additional Thoughts About the Lesson
Summarized by: Kenesha Brown

Anthony Capps explains that “a lesson is four layers thick.” When teachers are preparing their lessons, there are four things to think about. The first layer is think about the lesson in terms of the year. Teachers should think about how are they going to cover the content standards and have the curriculum they prepared covers all of the standards. The next layers is unit. There are layers within unit that create the rest of the four layers to an effective lesson. Teacher should consider unfolding a unit in a way “that is meaningful and that is connected in some type of way.” The unit should be a stairwell of goals that teachers want their students to meet. “Stretch out a unit by saying we going to start the unit off with this and by the end of the unit the student should be able to do this.” The unit then moves down to the week. Teachers should think about their goal on a week scale. They will need to try to figure out how everything is going to get done. Most importantly, the final layer is the daily lesson. The daily lesson is the way teachers get students’ attention. It is the hook to what they can expect to do. It is also the way teachers can evaluate students learning.

Project 2: 1st Progress Report

My Personal Learning Network
I choose to use Symbaloo to form my Personal Learning Network. For my personal learning network, I put the websites I most frequently visit and some learning websites I viewed from this class. In the top left corner I put things like Google and the weather together. In the top left, I put sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and links to my emails. On the bottom left I have put sites like Flickr. In the bottom right, I selected sites such as the EDM blog, the instruction manual and USA home page. I think this is a great tool for everyone to have because it makes navigating through the internet easy. I feel that my future students will be able to create and use PLNs in the classroom and at home.

Project 13

Our Google site: Lesson Plan #1
By: Chelsea Calvert, Kenesha Brown, Keri Brown

This lesson plan is for fifth grade students that will last for two weeks. The students will have to write a research paper about one of the thirteen colonies. The driving question for the paper is "What is colonization? Describe the colonization of North America." Before the students start their paper, they will get to play a trivia game on iCurio to see what they already know. Once the students have completed their paper, they will be paired up with another student who also as the same colony to form a presentation on Google. The students will have to compare what they found and decide what are the most important facts to include into their presentation. Once the groups have completed their presentations they will have to present them to the class. This lesson covers English Language Arts and Social Studies Common Core Standards.