Additional Assignment #5

Tom Johnson's adventure's in Pencil Integration

This assignment was basically a redo for a previous blog posting that most of the students interpreted wrong. After reading the additional assignment postings and the previous assigned posted again I finally got the point. How could I have missed the irony of this in the beginning? Of course he's referring to computers and not pencils. The post that really stood out to me was " He Just Likes the Class for the Pencils". I thought it was strange how the teachers bashed this student because of their lack of ability to catch his interest. Students should be allowed to express their creativity and thoughts without being told not to do so. Even though the student confessed that he don't just like the class for the "pencils" but could not explain why he liked the class. I think somethings are beyond explanation. The teacher was able to connect with this student in such a way that no one could explain why the student really liked the class. This teacher gave the student permission to think! The other teachers commanded the student to listen! That's why I think the student liked the class.

Blog Post #13

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)

ALEX is an awesome website for teachers especially first year teachers. This website offers lesson plans for all subjects with Alabama State Standards. If you are a new teacher this website will definitely steer you into the right direction for planning and teaching every subject. ALEX provides web links, podcast treasury, lesson plans, and a personal workspace to create your own lesson plans for others to review. The lesson plans are broken down into many categories. First choose the course of study and grade level, then choose the state standard referred. ALEX is a website where educators are sharing ideas so that our children will benefit tremendously.

I was not aware of ALEX before this assignment. I am thankful for this website and I know it will be useful in my future career. This website is a great relief for first time teachers, however teachers should not use this as a crutch. I think educators should also add their creativity and ideas to the lesson plans also. I don't think a teacher should depend on this website for an excuse not to contribute to education.

Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS)

ACCESS is an online educational system that provides different courses for middle and high school students in Alabama through distant learning. This is for students who are behind, transfered, or simple want to get ahead for college without having to go to another school. It offers online classes to all high school students who might need credits to graduate. The students can enroll to ACCESS instead of having to wait another semester to finish high school. I think this is a great way to help students socialize with other socioeconomic groups.

My major is special education k-6 therefore my students probably won't be involved with ACCESS during my time of teaching. However I would encourage other parents and students to research information about ACCESS. I think this is a great way for students to stay on track or get ahead in secondary school.

Project #15

Progress Report for Final Project

I will be working in a group with Tiffany Morris and Catina Magby for the final project. We decided to record a short movie discussing EDM 310. We haven't decided how we plan to approach this skit far as a news cast, red carpet interview or a talk show. We will meet Tuesday to make final plans.

Project #6

Cell Phone Usage Form Summary

This questionnaire asked questions about cell phones and cell phone usage. My motive was to find out how depended and addicted students are to cell phones. I had 17 responses and 100% owns cell phones. The top cell phone provider according to the responses is At&t (41%), T-mobile (29%), Verizon Wireless (18%), then Cellular South (12%). I was surprised about the percentage of how many texts sent daily. 35% of the students send only 1-50 text message a day, however more than half the students cell phone plan is unlimited talk and text. 15 out of 17 students answered that it is not safe to text and drive but 11 out of 17 text while driving. Knowing something is wrong and still performing the act is crazy to me. 13students agree that the law for not texting while driving is fair while 5 others are neutral. 16 out of 17 students thinks their life would not be the same without a cell phone however, 12 students can go a week to a month without using their phone. I find that hard to believe but the numbers don't lie. No one uses their phone for twitter or myspace most of the students use their phone for other activities rather than facebook, online banking or emailing. Only 5 of the students find it difficult not to use their phone in class however, 6 students thinks it should be okay to use their phone during class.

I learned that people have good intentions but their actions differ. So many people said it is not safe texting while driving but yet they do. Then they agreed that the law was fair!! So if it is fair, that makes 11 out of 15 of the students guilty of a crime.

Blog Post #12

The last post asked which teaching method from Mrs.Cassidy's class would you use in your classroom? I chose Wiki. Well, it was brought to my attention by Caitlyn Lord to beware of Wiki because the information can be altered. My assignment is to watch How to Edit a Wikipedia Article and Wikipedia: Reliable? A Documentary . Write 2 paragraphs sharing your thoughts and comments about using Wikipedia in the classroom.

It never crossed my mind that the information on Wikipedia could be altered by anyone who wants to add information. Wikipedia provides information about any subject quick, however check the sources because the information given is not always reliable. Wikipedia offers information that helps doing research papers and homework more convenient. No more heavy books, no more copying pages from the books, and best of all no more spending endless hours at the library. Check the sources of the information because it may have been altered to make the interested subject look good or bad. You definitely can not trust what you read or see on Wikipedia or any other source. It is important that you double check information found on Wikipedia.

I will still incorporate Wikis in my classroom but will warn students to double check sources and not to rely solely on the information given. I think using a wiki would help broaden the students learning source. The students would not depend on the teachers' answers for every subject. Wikis would allow the students to ask other educators about certain content areas.

Project #12 Teach Someone

How to Properly Load A Dishwasher

Blog Post #11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class and An Interview with Ms. Cassidy using Skype

I commend Ms. Cassidy for using technology techniques in her classroom. Even though the other teachers are not interested and still using old teaching methods, Ms. Cassidy is using a new approach to learning.I think Ms. Cassidy understands the concepts of learning in a new era. She knows how to cater to her audience. Her students are interested in the curriculum and seems to enjoy the assignments given. In the video the students mentioned using wiki as a form of learning. I think this is a good idea because other educators can share their ideas with the students. Wikis are also a great teaching method because it is impossible for one teacher to know everything about a topic. I will definitely use wikis in my classroom curriculum. I know technological teachers have problems with "cavemen" teachers. If I encounter these problems as a teacher, I would persuade the teacher how technology benefits the students in so many positive ways. I would offer to help them become technologically literate. I think using Ms. Cassidy's approach would produce successful independent individuals.

Summary Post C4K Comments 3-7

I enjoyed reading and commenting on these kids' posts. They were delightful and I hope to incorporate blogging in my future classroom.

Week 3

Jonita

Jonita made an interesting video about pioneers, voyagers, and explorers. I think this is a great way for other students to learn from their peers. The video was creative and informative. She narrated the video well and I enjoyed watching it.

Week 4

Josh 6F

Josh evaluated his work performance in a group project. He evaluated himself in an honest manner. He knew his group didn't spend a lot of time on the project but was glad they completed the project.

Week 5

17 year old student and Luke

I read a 17 year old girl's post about what she learned in class other than the subjects taught. Her post was great. I think so many other students learn life skills also but don't really know how to explain it. She did a great job writing her thoughts in her post.

Luke discussed friendship skills. Ironically these two post goes hand in hand. Students learn to respect others in class and establish long term friendships. He discussed how to be a good friend and not to hurt friends' feelings.

Week 6

Sam S

Sam post was his very first post on his blog. He's excited about blogging and sharing ideas to others. I checked his blog afterwards and he's posted many great posts.

Week 7

Jacqui

Jacqui discussed her goal to become a teacher. She mentioned teachers ethics, what teachers can and should not do. Her post was humorous but so true. I encouraged her to always say no to drugs!

Summary Post C4T Teacher #3

Carren Carrillo

Carren Carrillo's post "Rubrics for Anything" was interesting. She explained a simply rubric containing yes, no, or maybe questions. This rubric is easy to follow and the grading scale is fair. I think this type of rubric is self explanatory and does not allow the teacher to give "opinion grades". I think teachers should consider using this rubric or a similar one in all assignments.

What Makes a Good Dentist?

In this post Carren Carrillo discussed her argument against standardized testing and teachers being accountable. She compared this scenario to a dentist visit. She posed the question "Is my lack of flossing the dentists' fault? Of course not." Her argument for teachers: "is it fair to judge teachers' abilities based on the achievements of students? If "achievement" is based on the current standardized test, I argue no." I agree with her argument. Teachers' abilities should not be judged by students' achievement on standardized tests. I don't think students are focused or even care while taking standardized tests, so why would someone "punish" the teacher for irrelevant tests? This post by Carren Carrillo was great!