Sunday, September 21, 2014

Project# 7

My Passion is...
My Sentence is...



Project# 3 Presentation

Blog Post Number 5

My Personal Learning Network

A Personal Learning Network(PLN) is a network of resources a person can tap into to gain information on a variety of things. As a teacher they can keep you in contact with other educators. It also has the neat ability to give you ideas about things to try in your classroom. They are formed through meeting people with similar interests through social media. You can make your own by getting out there and talking to people. The more outgoing you are the more people will want to network with you. I think my first additions to my PLN will be my high school teachers.

PLN summary on 9/21: I think I have a pretty robust PLN. I effectively use social media to my advantage when it comes to making contacts. I utilize Facebook for keeping in touch with people from far away places. I also am utilizing twitter so that I can keep up to date with other teachers. For now those are my only two but I am very adept at using both of them.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

C4K Summary for September

C4K Summary for Texas on 9/7/14:
I introduced myself and let Texas know that I thought it was awesome that her cared about the environment. I spoke a little on how we treat the environment in America. I then wished him luck on his crusade on environmental preservation.

C4K Summary for Texas 9/14/14
I commented on his post about Cross Country. I told him that I used to run Cross country in high school and that I was always tired after I ran it as well. I congratulated him on finishing the run.

C4K Summary for Patrick 9/21/14
I introduced myself and started to tell him that it was very impressive that he could feel sympathy for characters even though he hadn't met them. I also asked for some more details in his blog post.

C4K Summary for Texas 9/28/14
I told Texas that I really enjoyed capture the flag. It is one of my favorite sports to play. I told him to keep up the good work.

Project #15

I found a few search engines that I think are very useful. Some have very specific uses but they all are nice alternatives to Google.

1. Dogpile- This website is sort of what Google was before it was invented. You can think of it as a fun website that complies links from other search engines.

2. Ask-This is a nice search engine. It is really sleek and it is very good at grouping the results together.

3. Bing- This search engine is great because unlike Google it thinks. It seeks to help the user by actually pulling up a website that matches the description.

4. Wolfram Alpha- Wolfram Alpha is a conceptual search engine. It looks for all data and gathers it for the user.

5. Yahoo- A much more social search engine. It tries to find fun and interactive results with its search engine.

6. DuckDuckgo- This search engine finds the information and can set it up for you on the results page.

7. Webopedia- A free online search engine that also acts as an encyclopedia.

8. Mahalo- This search engine is powered by humans. Humans that sift through links and give good results.

Blog Post Number 4

How do you ask an effective question?
This very question often comes up in most teaching classes. The answer is simple. You ask an effective open ended question. Asking closed questions isn't an effective way to elicit a good response. Asking questions that allow the person answering them to respond with more than one word are called open ended questions. These questions force the person answering them to recall the material they learned and requires them to answer the question with it.

For example,essay questions are great examples of open ended questions. They require the student to explain thoroughly why they thought and answered the way they did. This is a truly fair and effective way to gauge whether or not your students understand the material. If they aren't able to answer the question effectively then it might be best to rethink your teaching strategy.





Here are some links for more information as well as a few videos to watch.


C4T#1

I was assigned to Ross Wickens. He runs a P.E. blog and is extremely passionate about physical fitness and its effects on young people.

Post# 1: This particular post was about how he wanted to start a newsletter and an E-magazine for physical fitness. He felt that needed another way to stay active and connected when he was online and he thought this was the best way to stay active.

My Comment: I introduced myself and let him know that he inspired me to try to do the same. I found it rare that you have so many teachers who still love what they do after so long. I let him know that I hope his online magazine takes off.

 Post# 2: This post was about how useful Google Chrome is. He explained how Google Chrome has a few advantages over the other browsers and that it is incredibly easy to use. It is also is a great tool for students. It allows them a large amount of versatility in the features. Features like bookmark synching and optional accounts are invaluable to students.

My Comment: I introduced my self once more and began to recount my time with internet browsers. I told him how I started with Internet Explorer and eventually upgraded to Firefox. I then told him how much I enjoy Google Chrome as a nice back-up browser. I thanked him for the write up and said my goodbyes.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Blog Post Number 3

Learning About Peer Reviews

From the videos and slideshow I saw, I can definitely tell you there is a right and a wrong way to give a peer review. It is important to make sure that you stay positive but you don't get wrapped up in being nice that you forget to offer good criticism. When you offer criticism make sure that you are being specific and that you are offering advice. Don't waste that person's time by just telling them general statements. Being specific is something to strive for.

Another important point to remember about peer reviewing is that you need to make sure that you stay on topic. It can be tempting to go off topic at times when you are conversing. Fight the urge and focus on your task at hand. One final thing to remember is that you are working with another person. Don't be overly rude to them if you find a mistake. Remember to correct and always leave on a positive note.


Here are the links to the videos and the slide show.

The three peer editing rules.