Project 16

Copy of the Document

Our group of Nell Broughton, John Russell Smith, and myself designed a plan for a smartboard training day to be used to present to teachers in the Mobile County Public Schools.

C4K Summary 3

C4K 7 Mr. McClung's World
Mr. McClung has quite an interesting website! I was assigned to comment on a section in the World Language Festival section. It was a video of a group of boys from Ms. Leffer and Ms. Barron class that sang Enrique Iglesias's "Hero." They did a VERY good job! It sounded so beautiful. I was very impressed.

C4K 8 Year 6 Egyptian Class
Every year the 6th graders take a trip to El Alamein and I was able to comment on the student reflections from their trip. It was very informative and entertaining to read. They shared facts they learned on the trip and fun activities they enjoyed. It was nice to see students enjoying a field trip and also learning from it.

C4K 9 Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog: Quality Commenting During Family Blogging Month
Mrs. Yollis is a stellar teacher and has an awesome class! I see why Dr. Strange talked so much about her this semester! I really enjoyed reading the post that praised the class' quality commenters. It is great to see families commenting on the student's blogs. The class has done such a well job.

C4K 10 Grace from Mrs. Yollis' Class
Grace had written a post on how to post a quality comment. It was very informative! I highly recommend using it as a reference in commenting on blogs next semester. If I had the steps of quality commenting to follow I think I could have been much better. I particularly liked the suggestion of posing a question to keep the reader interested. I believe I will try to do this in the future.

Project 16 Progress Report

For our final project, Nell Broughton and I will be working on a plan for a SMARTboard training day. Many teachers in the Mobile area are having smartboards installed in their classrooms with no training on how to use them. We hope that with our plans a school or South and use them to work with teachers to make smartboards more useful in Mobile County Public School System.

Blog Post 12

A potential blog assignment I found might be interesting incorporates the use of twitter.

Pick one teacher you were assigned to follow this semester and choose one interesting link about technology and/or education they have posted.
1. Find some information about the educator you picked. Does he/she have a website? What and where does he/she teach? Write at least one introductory paragraph about the teacher.
2. Share the link you found interesting. Then write at least 2-3 paragraphs on why you chose the link and how it could help you as a future teacher.

Project 14

Blog Post 11

Ms. Cassidy's Class

I want to start off by saying those kids are AWESOME! They are doing things as 1st graders that I am only learning about now! It is so amazing that they are mastering the computer at the same pace they are mastering addition or simple spelling! I can't imagine how much our world will change as this generation grows up!
Now, Ms. Cassidy is truly an inspiration for any aspiring teacher wanting to incorporate technology into the classroom. "Technology is here to stay." This resonates so strongly the importance of learning what we do in EDM310! Technology is going to change the world of education and it is time for teachers to get ready for it. Ms. Cassidy sure has!
I really like the way she uses the blogs in her classroom. She states that she tries to do blog entries with the entire class as a whole in the computer lab about once a week. At other times children are able to post during their free time and at home by choice not requirement. This allows the children to be free with their imagination which only sparks more creativity!
I also liked her response to the student question about cheating by looking at former students' assignments online. She stated that it isn't necessarily cheating more or less piggy-backing with someone else's information, which concludes into collaborating.
Again I say PRAISE TO MS. CASSIDY!

Special Assignment: Mr. McClung's World

1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog?
He is very dedicated to blogging! He is able to be fun and educational too! I'm sure it keeps the children's interest.

2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator.
I can tell Mr. McClung really loves his career. He is very passionate about teaching. He is dedicated to his students and goes over and beyond the call of a teacher!

3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher?
I love how he has come up with specific rules to keep the children's attention. I found his rule "keep your dear teacher happy" funny but very true. I think if the students obey the rules and pay attention the teacher stays happy, which makes the learning environment compatible.

4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement?
Day Planner: This could possibly be the most important tool for a student. It helps to keep them organized and keep up with assignments.

5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment.
Having a late assignment policy is very helpful because it is inevitable a student is going to turn in at least one late assignment during a course. Mr. McClung's is a very reasonable policy and easily met by a students.

6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher.
His want to share information with others is a sign of true passion. I like that he uses the blog as a way to interact with students and parents to keep everyone up-to-date and informed. I find that it would be in my best interest to use something similar to share information about my classroom with the world in a way to show how proud of my students I am.

7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list.
Convert PDF to Word - This is easily explained. It is a website that obviously converts PDF files to Word files. This is such a wonderful tool because it enables you to make changes to documents that couldn't be made otherwise.
Translation Website - This allows people to freely translate from one language to another. This can do wonders for breaking language barriers between classrooms around the world!

8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract.
I like his rules they are very protective of the students which is most important! I would reconsider the rule about using the name of the school for websites that are educational. Such as the comments4kids program. It is nice to see where the other students go to school if they are commenting on your blog. Plus it could establish future relationships with the corresponding classrooms. A key rule I might add is when navigating to a site not given in instruction always seek permission from your teacher or parent. With computer viruses and children predators becoming such a threat it is important for teachers to take as much precaution as possible with the internet.

9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me.
The category my C4K was filed under was main page which seems to be the most current and most important topics Mr. McClung has posted. It is a real mixture of fun and education. It addresses problems, marks goals, praises successes and so much more. I really enjoyed the variety in it.

10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger?
I love his different purposed pages, such as Class Rules, Social Studies, Cross Country, etc. It makes it easier to navigate directly to what the children are looking for. That way the cross country students don't have to siphon through social studies posts and information to find what they need. I also like the use of categories and the twitter feed. It made really localized all his information and made it as simple as possible.

11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others?
This is great for parents to keep up with what is going on with their children's schooling. Administrators can also see the progress the class as a whole is making. As for other teachers and students aspiring to be teachers, it is a GREAT resource to use when establishing our own PLN and class blog.

12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think?
Other 8th grade blogs I've seen are blogs managed by the students and supervised by the teacher. This blog is more of a online bulletin board for children and parents to follow and keep up with important class assignments and achievements. It gives the students a look into how blogs work but doesn't actually give them the ability to apply that information. I like both formats and feel it would be most productive to incorporate both forms into the classroom just as EDM310. That way we are hearing from them and not just about them.

13. Add any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClung's World in depth.
I really think Mr. McClung's world is an awesome tool. The more I think of it I like the term I used calling it a "digital bulletin board." It does exactly what classroom bulletin boards do such as, post achievements, remind children of rules, and display upcoming goals. The big difference between classroom and digital which is the best difference: ANYONE CAN SEE IT. You don't have to be in the classroom to see the great things the students are doing. Parents can praise their children everyday and not just after report cards and parent-teacher days. It circulates the classroom to all.

C4T Summary 3

For the past 2 weeks, I've had the pleasure of commenting on Andrea Hernandez's blog Ed Tech Workshop. She became a teacher in the early 1990's and has since worked hard to put her digital "handprint" on the world.

The first blog post I commented on was titled: "My life as a reader"
It was wonderful to see that she was such an avid reader! I love that there is someone out there that uses her passion for reading in her classroom. I also admire that she reads to her children every night. I hope that when I become a teacher and maybe a mother I will be able to express the importance of reading just like her!

The second blog post I comment on was "Portfolios-- A 'Digital Can of Worms?'"
This both showed her dedication to her work and also her discouragement for digital portfolios. She has tried very hard to incorporate the digital portfolio despite the problems she has encountered. She has looked for others that share the same desire to use the portfolios and use them properly. She plans to post more about portfolios in the future including her troubles or "cans of worms" and the results. I plan to look back and see if her information can be used when I begin my portfolio for this class.

Blog Post 10

1. An Open Letter to Educators
I've been in college for 3 years now and I've only had one class that embraces the new teaching methods Dan Brown and Morgan Bayda. Even my online classes have not embraced the methods they talked about. I've really only seen this in EDM310. It is important that teachers understand the world of education is changing. Many teachers on campus still don't allow laptops in there class. I used to take my ipod touch to class and google anything I didn't understand and get my answers instantly. Teachers should find ways to incorporate such new technologies. Why not involve the students more? I hate so much to go to class and have to watch the same old powerpoint and listen to the same old lecture. It is time to make changes. Let students answer questions based on findings from the internet and allow them to participate in the information supplying.

2. Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!
I have so much discontent for "drill and kill tests." Standardized exams has become the central focus point of the entire school system. Teachers don't focus on actually being sure the students are learning and understand what they are learning. Everything is "this will be on you CRT, SAT, ACT, etc." All I hear from class rooms are test scores and standardized testing. Why not focus on what the children are learning, not what they scored. I've never felt the standardized tests formed by the school board who isn't in the classrooms with the students was a true measure of the children's learning.
This form of schooling doesn't factor in students who are very intelligent but don't test well. One grade at the end of the quarter/semester shouldn't determine how much they have learned. Then we see school funding cut because of lower test scores which only hurts the system more. The teachers are told to only focus on what is on the test and be sure to drill it into the students leaving no room for anything else. At this point you lose important elements that make a good teacher great! It completely removes the freedom in learning and teaching, which ironically is when the best learning takes place.