Blog Post Number 5 Part 2

This is the final summary of my PLN for the semester. I can now firmly say that I have a strong PLN. I have utilized Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Symbaloo and Tumblr to create connections with other educators and people across the world. I can say without these my life would probably be much more difficult when it comes to making connection. The best part about these sites is that there really are thousands of people just waiting to link up with you. These are people who have the same passion as you and only want to see others like them succeed which is such a great feeling.

C4K Summary for November

11/2/14
Elena
Elena made a blog post about how she was pledging to not procrastinate any longer. She had at least 9 other signatures on the post and she seemed very proud of it. I said I would sign her pledge and told her she was awesome for making the pledge. I then told her to keep fighting the good fight.

11/9/14
Sebastian D
Sebastian wrote about Real Madrid and how he likes their team. Real Madrid is a soccer team and they are doing quite well this season. I told Sebastian that I really enjoyed soccer as well and that Ronaldo Christiano was my favorite player.

11/23/14
Sebastian D
Sebastian wrote about how he loves this time of the year. He especially loves seeing his family. I told him about I love this time of the year as well. I told him to cherish his family because he will look back on these times and smile.

Blog Post Number 14

This week I was tasked with responding to an article by Joel Klein.

Pick from the best:

For this section of his article Mr.Klein starts by saying that one of the biggest problems with teachers is that we don't start hiring from the top of the teaching class. Instead, he says that we just hire any teacher that applies. He says that by doing this we can help deal with the problem better.

My Response:

 This is my opinion. This isn't a good idea at all. Anyone can follow directions or even pass a few tests and get a diploma. A high score on a test does not mean that you should teach. I can score highly on a fiction paper but that doesn't mean I should be a writer.

His approach to dealing with this issue is very simplistic but I don't think he understands how truly disastrous it would be to try to hire on the teachers at the top of class. Teachers in general aren't paid well at all in the first place so doing that would only serve to even further discourage people from even entering the profession in the first place.

Seniority distraction:
His argument for this is that seniority is inherently bad because it can cause some teachers to become almost impossible to fire. He proposes that there be a way to have their performance monitored.

My Response:
This is my opinion. I agree with him on this. I think that tenure allows for educators to become complacent. This doesn't mean that we do away with it though. It is there for a reason. This is job security for many people who are already in a low paying profession. I think there needs to be a review on renewing the tenure for teachers every seven years. This way it is often enough to oust bad teachers as well as reward new ones.

Radical Change:
He proposes having teachers govern themselves. This way we can better address our own problems.

My Response:
This is my opinion. That won't work because of how people are intrinsically. The teachers aren't paid enough and they aren't given respect in general American society to want to try to police themselves. It would only end up worse off.






Here is the link to article Teaching our children can be a profession: Column

Blog post Number 13

We were tasked with making our own blog post this week so I thought I would talk about time management with the internet. The internet is vast and it has many things on it. Some of these things are really fun and interesting and some other things not so much. One of the really cool advantages of being connected to the internet is that you can test yourself to see if you manage time well.

What I mean by test yourself is to see how long you can stay on a website or play a game and see if you still get your work done on time. These may seem like distractions but they are actually really eye opening when it comes to understanding how you manage your time. One thing that I have discovered about the internet is that is a giant time sink. Five minutes can turn into two hours if you aren't careful.



Luckily, you can find ways on the internet to help you manage your time better. One of these many devices is an online alarm clock. They can go off after a certain point in time and let you know that it might be time to start working on that assignment. Another great tool is the app Rescue Time. It allows you to see how much time you spend doing any particular thing online or even offline. The results may astound you.



Another great app is Focus Booster. It works by helping you set times to start working on things. It takes into consideration things like snack breaks so it is very useful. And one final app is Toggl. Toggl tells you how many times and how much time you have opened or even spent on a project. It is a great way to be aware that you might be spending too much time on your math and maybe not enough time on your science class.



Hopefully my post can help you understand how to better manage time.

C4T #4

11/16/14
Summary: I chose Dr. Will for my C4T this week. His post was about how useful and awesome Google drive is and how it has so many practical applications in everyday life and inside the classroom.

My Comment: I told Dr.Will that I had just recently started using Google drive and that it was so helpful with organizing things. I manage two clubs and as a result managing them has gotten much easier.

11/30/14
Summary: I picked Nicholas Provenzano's blog from my C4T this week. The blog I read was about how he had his students work on a project to create their on creation myths.

My Comment: I said that I really wanted to use this project in one of my classes. I really liked how interactive it was.

Project # 12 Part B

University of South Alabama

Department of Leadership & Teacher Education

Lesson Plan Format

Name:____Group 4______________________________    Date:___11-14-2014______________

School:__USA_______________________________    Grade Level:___first________

Teaching Strategy: Group Work, Demonstration, cooperative learning

    Time Required:___45 min______

I.    Subject/Content Area

Example:  Adding/Subtracting Whole Numbers

II.    Alabama Course of Study

First Grade

(1) Students develop strategies for adding and subtracting whole numbers based on their prior work with small numbers. They use a variety of models, including discrete objects and length-based models (e.g., cubes connected to form lengths), to model add-to, take-from, put-together, take-apart, and compare situations to develop meaning for the operations of addition and subtraction, and to develop strategies to solve arithmetic problems with these operations. Students understand connections between counting

and addition and subtraction (e.g., adding two is the same as counting on two). They use properties of addition to add whole numbers and to create and use increasingly sophisticated strategies based on these properties (e.g., “making tens”) to solve addition and subtraction problems within 20. By comparing a variety of solution strategies, children build their understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction.

   

III.    Concepts

List and/or define important vocabulary terms and/or concepts.

Whole Numbers            Missing Addend Model    Addends

Set Model                 Comparison Model        Sum

Measurement ( number line )        Number Line Model

Closure                Associative

Commutative                Identity

IV.    Behavioral Objectives

Students will be able to add and subtract whole numbers

V.    Evaluation (Assessment included here)

Students will complete worksheets on adding and subtracting whole numbers. Students will come up to board and demonstrate.

Teacher observation/student participation is not acceptable without telling specifically what you are looking for.

VI.    Materials - worksheets, pencil, colored pencil, small candy

VII.    Teaching/Learning Procedures

    A.    Motivation

If you have 3 pieces of candy and want 5 more how many pieces of candy do you have now? Provide the students with peppermints or etc.

Students will be able to add and subtract whole numbers. This is used in every day life. They will be able to understand numbers and how to count.

    B.    Instructional Procedures

We will go over Addition of whole numbers a+b=c. Discuss the properties of whole number addition. Learn the set model and number line model. We will work a few examples. Discuss the Subtraction of whole numbers introduce a-b=c. Learn the take away model, missing-addend, comparison model, and number line model.

If you have 5 pencils and you give Emily 2 how many pencils do you have left? If you have 3 markers and Jon has 4 if you put your markers together how many total do you have now? Can you think of things you can add or subtract?

Closure

Addends and Sum are all parts of addition equation. Minuends and Subtrahend are parts of subtraction equations. Work examples of addition of whole numbers and subtraction of whole numbers.

This is used in everyday life. If you are buying snacks you need to be able to add how many you need and to subtract what you already have. This is also important for seeing how much material you need.

Give them something to look forward to tomorrow.

We will have suckers etc. and will be adding and subtracting them. You never know you may end up keeping one at the end of the lesson.

Supplemental Activities (Early Finishers, Enrichment, Remediation) Include:

        Students who finish early will be asked/allowed to work with the other students who need help after their work has been checked.

        Students who desire enrichment will be directed to work other examples.

        Students who need remediation in math will be provided assistance to help with adding and subtracting whole numbers.

This must be realistic [working individually with students for remediation is not ALWAYS workable in a busy teacher’s day.]  Some teachers have a chart on the wall that tells what to do so that this does not need to be discussed every time.

Professional Reflection

This should be completed after a lesson has been taught:

Include:

    1. Were the instructional objectives met? How do I know that students learned     what was intended?

    2. Were the students productively engaged? How do I know?

    3. Did I alter my instructional plan as I taught the lesson? Why?

    4. What additional assistance, support, and/or resources would have further     enhanced this lesson?

    5. If I had the opportunity to teach the lesson again to the same group of students,     would I do anything differently? What? Why?

Project Number 10: Interview Movie

C4T# 3

C4T Summary for 10/26/14

Summary: I was given Deb Frazier's blog for my C4T and she made a post about a "Book Bash" which is basically a picnic with reading for kids. You just get as many parents who are interested in helping their child with their literacy and it takes off.

My comment: I just said that I love the idea of a book bash. I think that it really does help kids create relationships with other while helping them learn to read. Which, to me, is extremely important.

C4T Summary for 11/9/14

Summary: I was assigned to Deb Fraziers blog again for my C4T and I read her post about sharing in the classroom. I was more focused on getting the kids to share their thoughts on books or papers. The students had a pretty overwhelmingly positive response to it all.

My comment: I said that I would like to try it out in my classroom. No matter how old you get you never lose that sense of wanting to share what you are thinking with others. I just hope it goes as well as her class did.

Blog Post Number 12

Blog Post #12 Collaborative Group #4

A. This video is just about introducing what Assistive Technology is and why it is important to have the classroom. For example, you could have a blind child in the classroom and as a result they will require a different approach to learning. They are just as smart and able and their able-bodied counterparts. They just need a different kind of help.

By: Sterling Spencer

B. Apple has a range of technological options to help those who have disabilities live their lives to the fullest with their technology.

For the users with vision problems the “Voice Over” will read the screen to them. For those with hearing problems they can access the “Face Time” feature on the phone and can then converse with people face to face. For the users who have diminishing motor skills can utilize the “AssistiveTouch” features in the IOS. The IOS also has features to assist those with attention deficit or cognitive disabilities stay on task.

By: Sterling Spencer

3. The Mountbatten brailler is introduced to be a way to incorporate the blind into the classroom curriculum. This device allows the student to type what he or she is trying to say and the device prints the message in braille and reads the message back to the student in the process. The Mountbatten saves files and is able to transfer and receive files from the computer. This gives the blind an opportunity to achieve all academic goals they have set for themselves.

       

By: Paula Holt

4.      Technology never ceases to amaze me!! In Teaching Math to the Blind, Professor Karshmer discusses the difficulties of teaching math to the blind while he demonstrates how to use his innovative device that will make it simple and easy to teach math to the visually impaired.

                 For sighted children, it is very easy to explain a math problem on the board because        

           they can see how the numbers line up vertically. They then can add/subtract/divide/                                     

           multiply accordingly. But for blind students, Braille does not line up just so. Their            

           numbers stay linear and they can only read them from left to right. This makes math way  

           harder for them to figure out. But with Professor Karshmer’s device, students can scan

           numbered tiles which tells them what number each tile is. They then can place it

           anywhere on the board and line up tiles to make problems easier for them to feel

           and figure out. Such a simple creation but it has a remarkable impact on it’s particular set

           of students. I personally have a very close friend who is blind and just from talking to

           him I know that it is extremely difficult to get a job if you are blind. With math skills your

           chances increase drastically. That’s why technology is such a huge must for students

           with special needs.

By:Taylor Gray

5.     Another more familiar piece of technology that is becoming increasingly important for the blind is the Ipad. It’s so refreshing to see something so popular being put to good use

           for once! After watching ipad Usage for the Blind, I’m so amazed at what Apple has

           done! Using the Ipad for the blind is simple and so easy for them to hear and understand

           what they are doing while they are using their Ipad. This opens so many doors for them.

           Now they can create and store all kinds of information and easily access it without any

           outside help. I know that there are other forms of technology that have been made

           accessible for the blind, but according to my friend who is blind, most of these devices

           are very expensive. An Ipad isn’t cheap but it is attainable. It is also being used more

           and more in schools. This gives special needs teachers an easy tool to interact with

           with their blind students and give them a chance to feel in control! By: Taylor Gray

E. In this video we see someone showcasing the “Voice Over” feature on the Ipad. You can turn it on and the screen will read everything on it to you. It will even tell you when there is nothing there. It will even offer suggestions to help you out.

By: Sterling Spencer

6. Denise shows us how learning on the ipad is simple and easy for someone who is blind. By simply running your finger over the screen the ipad tells you what app or program you are about to click on. It is set to double tap, so when you are over the app you need you can double tap anywhere on the screen and it opens the app. The keyboard is the same way making it easier to send messages for someone who can only hear. This is a great tool for a blind person to communicate with the world. I feel this is a great aspect and will go a long way for the people who simply can’t see, but have all the dreams just like the ones of people with vision.

By: Paula Holt

7. Special Education isn’t for everyone. It takes a calm, cool, collected, organized , and confident person to work with the special needs. Teaching can become overwhelming, so it is great to have a variety of options in your PLN. Working with parents and other teachers can offer many new ideas to help the special needs. Jeff Dunn has created an article 50 Must-See Blogs For Special Education Teachers.  This article provides 50 blogs for you to add into your PLN. Jeff has broke them down into different groups making them easier to find what you need. Special Education Teaching Tips and Strategies, Technology and Assistive Technology, Special Topics, Special Education News and Policy, Special Education Law, and Various Topics on Special Education. Expanding your PLN allows you access to many ideas you can incorporate in your lesson plans.

          

By: Paula Holt

Project Number 14

Here is the example project:
Example Project

Here is the lesson plan
Lesson Plan

Here is the calendar
Calendar

Here is the rubric
The Rubric

Driving Question: What song is this?

Blog Post Number #11

For this blog post I was asked what we could learn from a series of videos about project based learning. Before I start, I want to say thank you for including videos with high school teachers and their perspectives. It really is helpful to see how they implement PBL in their classroom as opposed to elementary school students.

Alright, so I think from the videos I watched I think we can learn that PBL takes many different forms. It isn't a specific kind of lesson. It can go from the upkeep of a blog to creating a hot air balloon and launching it into the atmosphere. All of these work because the students can learn a multitude of skills from the project.

What I think is great about the videos is that they all present wildly different examples of PBL. I have to admit I was surprised about how many types of projects work for PBL. I really did enjoy the Q.U.IV.E.R.S. acronym and how he managed to implement it into the class.

Here are the videos I watched for the blog post.