Project 9

My PLN Progress

So far my PLN is turning out pretty well. I now have numerous amounts of social networks that all help me learn more efficient ways to teach technology. I was hesitant about being so public with my every move at first, until I realized I am growing up and becoming a professional. Social media is not middle school drama any more. My PLN's have helped me in so many ways. I am very thankful for blogger because I can read teachers blogs and see the techniques they use in their classroom. By picking up their information, I learn what may work best in my classroom. On twitter I can search #education and tons of options come up. Everything I may need to know is simply at my fingertips. By using symbaloo I have all of my information simply one click away. I think it is a great way to stay organized. Through commenting on a teachers blog I received two free books in the mail from him. Mr. Prator enjoyed my comments and sent me books to help me out with my future. That is AWESOME to me! I hope to continue to learn more about PLN's, and find more people to follow. 

This Is My Sentence Video

Project 10

Finding the Right Tools

After a lot of research and blog reads I finally found some tools I can use in my classroom. I will be teaching special needs students in elementary.  Some argue that technology is not for special needs children because they are not capable of using it; however there is technology out there made just for them. In a blog iDevices in Special Education Classroom I learned there are many different features on iPads to help the disabled. There are built-in accessibility tools such as zoom and high contrast display make this a tool to support visually impaired. There are apps that are inexpensive and exciting to increase vocabulary, sight words, math facts, reading comprehension, organizational skills, and drawing skills.

On a different blog I learned that children with autism do better with pictures, by having an iPad they will visually learn better.  Also something interesting I discovered was the Model Me Kids, it teaches children social skills on the computer. It also helps them pay attention. Model Me Kids offers an array of engaging videos for school. Children with autism, nonverbal learning disorders, and other special education needs make perfect candidates for the videos, although all children can benefit from social skills reinforcement.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student
In Wendy Drexler's video The Networked Student it shows step by step how a student in the 21st century learns. It explains how a student is in a American Psychology class does not even need a book, how his teacher hardly ever lectures, and how he only attends class three days a week, while the other two days are online.
The teacher encourages them to use valid websites and credibility. The student searches with various web tools. He understands that blogs are mostly opinions, other than facts; he can also choose to comment with his own opinion if he likes. He then makes his own blog that others such as his classmates, or anyone else around the world may comment on to help him out with more information. 

Technology is a HUGE factor today, you simply cannot learn without it in the 21st century. However, a teacher will ALWAYS be needed.  A teacher is the one who teaches the student how build networks and create opportunities. Lets just face it, we all get stuck at some point and need help, the teacher will be the one there to offer guidance. The teacher will teach the child how to  communicate properly and how to respectfully as for help. The teacher will also teach how to differentiate between good information and propaganda. A teacher helps a student organize all of this information, not because he or she has to, but because the teacher cares about the students success in life. After watching this video, I am more eager than ever to start teaching so I can prepare students for success! 

C4K

Roibersdale High
Justin Cometti, student at Roibersdale High, made a slide show presentation that had step by step instructions on how to make a slide show for his History project. It was very well laid out and explained well too.

Balestrin's Bunch
My student was Andrew M. and he wrote a blog called Two Birthdays. Andrew is a 2nd grader from Canada. He explained how he has two birthdays to go to. One is playing laser tag, and the other is at Gym world. He sounds pretty excited.

Little Voices, Little Scholars

This is a 2nd grade class blog, these children are from Auckland, New Zealand. These students have a class blog and are all very new to blogs. They are instructed to write stories then draw a picture to match their story. This in my opinion is a great way to challenge the child's imagination

Baldwin County High
In Kiley's blog Self Expression, she defines how she expresses herself. She chooses to express herself through decorating, hair color, and music. Kiley also likes quotes and drawing. She likes putting fun colors in her hair. I believe she is really brave to do that, and I am proud of her for not caring what others think about it.  She had some grammar errors and a few punctuation errors, but other than that I enjoyed reading her blog post. 

  

Blog Post # 5

Krissy Venosdale
On Krissy Venosdale's blog If I Built a School, was great. She explained her dream of building a wonderful school. She explained how creativity would ooze out of the walls, and how there would be a tree house in the library, and how students would have access to pretty much anything they would ever need. Ms. Venosdale dreams big, and there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that. Reading about her dream school gave me chills, it sounded amazing! If no one ever dreamed before, not much would be accomplished today.

My dream school would be very similar to Krissy Venosdale's. The whole school would be neon, and welcoming. Each class would have desks, rolling chairs, and bean bags. To me not every one learns well in a desk; some learn best when they are most comfortable. My computer lab would have computers of all types for those who are not quite up to date. My lab would also have a group of assistants to help students get "up to date". My dream gym would have weights, bats, balls, nets, and any other equipment one may need for physical education. I would also make my doorways extra wide so those in a wheelchair can properly fit through. The library would have couches, bean bags, and books of all kinds, even electronic ones! I want my library to have a special room that children can go in so a recorder can help sound out words for the children. Most importantly my dream school would never be on a budget, it would always have enough money. When on budgets schools have to cut out important things children may need, and that would not be the case in my school. The children and their needs come first.

Eric Whitacre 
In Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir he shows an amazing use of the internet. I have honestly never seen anything like it. He showed a choir performance from people who have never met or practiced together before! At first I had no clue what was going on, and then I realized these people all did their own individual video and he pieced them all together. The things we can now do with technology is outstanding. I can only imagine what we will be able to do within the next ten years.

Kevin Roberts
In Kevin Roberts video (Dr. Strange edition) Teaching in the 21st Century he makes a lot of valid points. What does it mean to teach in the 21st century? Well to me teachers still have a very important role in the students life. Yes they have all this information at the tip of their fingers, but who will teach them how to properly use it? The answer is us. We will teach them how to determine what is true information, verse false information. To most all the questions asked in the video, I thought to myself "I would definitely Google that". Technology is taking over the classroom, no doubt; however we as teacher will always be needed to teach something. Whether it is on how to verify information, or how to turn on an iPad, teachers will always be needed.

Flipped Classroom
In Katie Gimbar's Why i Flipped My Classroom she explains how her students were all on different levels and she was spending too much time going over material, instead of teaching new material. That is why she flipped her classroom. She had information online where students can pause, rewind, and re-watch any thing they needed to, and as many times as they needed. The students could also post questions online to other students and the teacher. This can be very useful, and I will definitely look into applying this method in my classroom.

PROJECT #5

C4T #1

No Rewards
Mike Prater discusses in his blog No Rewards that he does not agree with physical rewards for learning. I however disagree with that because one of my favorite memories was competing against my classmates and wining a prize. Knowing there was a reward pushed me that much harder to learn something. He also points out that we should genuinely care for the students and I could not agree more with that. I feel that I am going to be the teacher that when someone walks up to me and ask how many children I have, I will say however many is that is in my class. I will love, care, and help my children anyway I can; not for the reward of knowing I did a good deed, but because you never know what someone is going through at home. Students need to know they are cared about.

Loving the Unlovable
I had chills by the end of this blog. This blog talked about how Mr. Prater saw his roster and realized that he had all repeat students in his class. That is quite the challenge to know that no one in your classroom does not want to be there. It could make teaching very difficult. Mr. Prater however, took the bull by the horns and ended up making a huge impact on most of his students. Loving a child can make a difference in their actions, and I hope that all teachers realize this sooner than later.

Blog Post #4

Read Along Audio

In the video Langwithches I strongly believe pod casting would be a great tool used in the classroom. It's great that these students are making their own read along books. I believe when a child hears something from a child's tone they understand better at times. If a child had trouble reading he or she could listen to the sound of the word(s) and eventually learn how to sound it out. This is a great process and it makes reading fun. I do not know many children would not enjoy reading in character. Pod casting can make the learning to read experience fun. If I have a student struggle with reading this is definitely something I will use. 

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing
This video Peer Editing takes us through 3 steps to ensure ourselves we are helping in the correct manner. The first step is to make sure you compliment the author. Tell the author what you think he or she did correctly. The second step is to make suggestions. Help the author make improvement or revisions to their work by offering your opinions. The third step is to help make corrections. There is also one important rule to peer editing, which is to stay positive! I learned that there is more to making peer reviews other than looking for mistakes and completing an assignment. The point of peer editing is to HELP another classmate understand the assignment more clearly and offer your opinions on how they could improve it in a friendly manner.

Assistive Technologies
After watching the assigned videos, I have a new understanding for the difficulty that visually and hearing impaired students have functioning in the classroom. It is very important that we as future educators understand the importance of the technologies available to make learning a fun experience for them.When I go out into the educational work force, especially since I am a special education major, I plan on finding a way to have access to every technology available to assist in the education of an impaired child.

Vickie Davis
During the video Harness Your Students, I found myself on the edge of my seat listening for what Vickie Davis had to say next. I wish I had a teacher like her in high school. She explains how the internet can help a student think on their own, and I never would have viewed it like that until watching this video. I am all for students thinking on their own and teachers making the students learn. So many student now days, think that everything should just be handed to them on paper, but not every child is capable of learning that way. Some students are visual learners and technology helps them.

Special Blog Post #1

Wolfram Alpha
Using Wolfram Alpa for the first time was extremely eye opening. Anything I looked up I had a result right in front of me. I believe this website will be useful and effective to students and teachers. It will be useful because unlike google, where you have to scroll and try to look and see if the webpage has the correct credentials to be trust worthy information, Wolfram Alpha has everything related to your search.
I used Wolfram Alpha to search for the population of Alabama and Tennessee. This website not  only showed me the population of each state, but the population growth as well.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know 3.0
As an American to see all the statistics from this video is beyond shocking. To know that so many people have cell phones and computers in their reach is pretty scary. I do not like the fact that young people are so up to date, because they expanding themselves to a whole new world when the have internet access. It is dangerous to me, and I believe kids need to be monitored at all times while using internet.  In reality though the world is turning to technology and cyber space more and more every day.
Like the video said the top jobs ten years from now do not exist yet and will use technologies that have yet to be invented. So in a way I guess it is a good thing for the younger generation to be up to date with the adult world, because the world is progressing daily and someone has got to know how to operate things. I am very interested to see what the future holds technology wise.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
After watching Mr. Winkle Wakes, I have two sides on this video as well. The first one being: Imagine being in a coma for twenty years and waking up to a whole new world. Can you imagine how much change there would be in twenty years? Especially when there are new generations of apple products pretty much daily! So in twenty years try to picture things... I cannot even begin to imagine the products that will be out. That being said thank goodness we have people who are smart enough to come up with these items.
When it comes to the school part of the video, I kinda have to disagree. School is not the same. There are ELEMENTARY schools with iPads now. What elementary kid needs to use an iPad to learn one plus one, or the colors of the rainbow? I do not agree with most technology in school that early, but I guess it is something that has to be done this day and time.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of  Creativity

 In the video Sir Ken Robinson presented he pointed out how teachers are "required" to teach. Teachers are expected to teach by the guidelines of the state. Sir Ken Robinson tries to explain how all children learn differently from one another and I could not agree more. Some children are hands on learners while others prefer to learn it on their own. He explains that creativity is becoming extinct.

I completely agree with Sir Ken Robinson. I am a very different learner myself, and it really depends on what subject it is if I prefer to be hands on or learn it on my own. I believe teachers should encourage children to do things the way that is most comfortable to them. If teachers can structure their teaching style to fit the need of each student, I believe the students would be more eager to learn.If teachers would step outside their comfort zone, and think outside the box children will also begin to think that way. 

Pinterest
As I created an account for pinterest and began to explore, I am still debating on whether or not I will find it helpful in the classroom. I did find a few videos to help explain Factoring in math that I thought was cute and will probably use it for my children. I like things broke down into song form because I learn faster that way. I do not believe I will let my students use pinterest because that is not getting them to think of creative ideas on their own. I do not want my students to rely on other peoples ideas I want them to have their own train of thought. Yeah this website is great for suggestions, but that is also taking away from the students in my opinion.  

Project #2 - Wordle

Blog Post #1

About Me
My name is Haley Thompson, I am twenty years old, and I am a junior transfer majoring in special education. I live in a small town in Mobile County called Chunchula. I am attending the University of South Alabama because I graduated from a junior college, where I also played softball, and felt that South was a good choice for my next chapter of life. I am majoring in special education, because I have a very big heart when it comes to children with special needs. I would go over and beyond to help these kids learn. While teaching, I also plan to coach volleyball and softball.
My passion in life is helping others in need, and who cannot do for themselves. I do not help people for the praise and compliments; I simply help them just to help them. A few other things I enjoy are sports, singing, and church activities. Something interesting one may want to know about me is that on December 8, 2011 my life was turned upside down. I was in a very tragic drunk driving accident, and lost my roommate of two years in it. For a while I questioned God and why he would take the life of the one who had her seatbelt on, yet keep the one who was ejected. I now understand that it is all a part of God's plan, and although I may not know the reason I am still here I know He has a big plan for me. I will continue to trust Him, and I plan on sharing my testimony with others to help save lives.

Future Classroom
When I become a teacher i want my future classroom to be very welcoming to the students when they walk in for the first time. I plan to have it very colorful with art work all around the walls. When I was growing up it was always a relief to me to walk into a classroom that did not feel so intimidating. My desk will be in groups of four because I will be doing mostly hands on group work. There will be a lot of communication skills being worked on since I am majoring in special education K-6, so I feel it would work out best being in groups. Children with special needs often feel intimidated around other children and that will not be the case in my classroom. I want the kids to learn to communicate without the fear of being made fun of. We will be doing a lot of "ice breaker" activities to help break down their fear. The children should never be scared to ask a teacher a question, so my number one rule will be "Never be afraid to ask a question, there is no such thing as a dumb question." At the end of the year I want my kids to be able to walk out of the classroom and say "Ms. Thompson was my favorite teacher, and I cannot wait until next year. She makes learning fun and really breaks it down to me where I can understand the material step by step." If the students can walk out and say that, I will know I have reached my goal as a teacher.

Dr. Pausch and Time Management
Dr. Pausch made some very good points in his video that stood out to me. Goals, priorities, and planning are very important when it comes to time management. We should always ask ourselves these questions: Why am I doing this, what is the goal, Why will I succeed, and what happens if I choose to not do this? If we asked ourselves these questions before everything we dreaded, I guarantee we would not dread it as much. The answers to these questions are what our personal future depends on. The statement "Failing to plan is planning to fail" hit me like a sack of bricks. That statement is so very true. We should plan each day, week, and semester. Yes your plans will change from time to time but that is completely okay because at least you have a plan. Also we should not focus on doing things right, but doing the right things.  If we spend too much time focusing on doing things right we will miss the opportunity of getting the right things done.

Test Post Number One

Test Post Number One