Blog post 6 EDM310 Melissa Keeler

The several conversations with Andy Capp are enlightening and encouraging. I get excited and want to jump out there and start implementing some of these ideas! They will be so engaging. And even though it may be difficult or hard to put together a LBP, it is rewarding and you as an educator will most likely learn something new as well.
I like the idea of involving the community in some way so the students can relate the project to real world scenarios. I am so glad that the younger children are learning how to utilize technology because it seems to be more difficult to pick up the older you get. Maybe it is because the older student has been systematically taught in a totally different way and old habits are hard to break sometimes. The fact of the matter is, technology is a part of our everyday lives and we must teach our children and ourselves how to effectively use the technological tools of today and tomorrow.
We must also as educators be open to learning from our students and life in general. I like the idea of incorporating art into a project. It gives another chance for self expression. I was happy to learn of the child safe browsing tool called iCurio. The student has to sign in to use as a search engine. It will also store chosen information for the child which I find so very convenient. The information on this site has been pooled and then filtered so you can allow your students to independently browse without fear of something inappropriate popping up. Another neat feature is the site will read the information to your student, very handy for sight barriers as well as in Dyslexic cases. Another great site that was discussed is called Discovery Education. Again this is a safe, filtered site. It is great for video, music, voice thread, and pictures to enhance students' projects.
Teachers can also use this site to enrich the content of their class instruction.
I learned that being flexible and creative seem to be the keys to success. Even apparently "failed" projects DO teach the students something. Let your hard work be fun not drudgery, it will reflect in your lesson plan and in your students. Get students 100% engaged in the activity no matter how small or trivial it may seem to them. Peer review and self reflection. The ability to take constructive criticism and make positive changes from it.
These videos are helpful in learning what to expect in the classroom when I get out of school. It will be a very different environment than the one I grew up learning in. This is why I as an educator, I wish to learn as much about technology as possible so I can keep up with my students and also learn from and with them.





The conversations can be found at various sites: project based learning part 1

project based learning 2

iCurio

discovery education

strang list for teachers

don't teach tech-use it

additional thoughts about lessons

C4K journal for September 2014 Melissa Keeler EDM310

I had a student Jordan from NZ He and his friends had made a Math video as Math is his favorite subject it does not surprised he chose Math. The video was great! the only thing was that sometimes I could not hear the student's information over the music in the video. I asked him what kind of pet his was because he mentioned he had a pet named Ben. I have since looked back and his pet was a bird who unfortunately died of old age. I am about to reply that I am sorry for his loss as I also have a bird as a pet. I just +posted again Sept.12. I told him how sorry I was that his bird died, and told him about my own bird a Cardinal who was nursed to health and chose to stay with me.

my C4K post 2 was a student named ms. Jordan The school is John Hansen French Immersion School. It is a magnate school in Maryland, Not Virginia as implied on the Checklist. Also the student was in 8th grade, not high school. This school immerses the student in the French language while in a rich environment conducive to learning. It interests me. My Student either does not know how to speak English well or just does not care about her grade. I am willing to bet on the first scenario. I had told her that I wish she had felt like posting because I was interested in learning about her and her very progressive sounding school. ms.jordanms.jordan

my C4K post 3 was a student named Zach A The school is called Iowa High school. My student is in 5th grade and his post was titled "Talent or Hard Work". In it he compares talent to hard work and he strongly believes that Hard Work is much better. I agreed with him about the hard work and commended him for his work ethic. I also pointed out that talent is not bad. That some talented people have to work really hard in order to give the most of their talent. I also pointed out that being lazy, talented or not, usually did not produce success.

Post#5 EDM310 classblog Melissa Keeler

What is a PLN? A PLN is a collection of people and computer sites that will help you continue to be a lifelong learner.

How is a PLN formed? The collection should begin with a main topic in mind. Example: I want to learn about Jade. Jade will be my topic for my PLN. I will then get onto the computer and begin my search. When I come across a strong and reliable source, I will add it to my PLN. I will also add some people I personally know from my everyday life (my immediate community) who know about Jade and can help me learn about it. I will also go to Twitter and do the same thing I did on the computer sites. I will also add these people to my PLN for Jade. I will continuously check on these people and sites and continue to look for ones to add to my Jade PLN. A PLN is always changing.

How can you create your own PLN? You can create your own PLN by coming up with a topic. Research said topic. Begin to collect or list strong, reliable sources that are relevant to your topic. Also add people you personally know and who know about your topic. You can add people you do not personally know as well, like people from Twitter or Facebook as long as they can reliably contribute toward your topic.

Who will be the first additions to my PLN? My PLN for EDM310 will definitely include Dr. Strange as well as the members in my group (group 4). All of the faculty members I follow on Twitter. Some of the websites and pages I have visited for various class projects.

summary of my progress in developing my PLN- It is going slow, I am trying to make sure I begin solid that way I will always have a strong foothold on whatever topic I choose to teach or learn about.

Project#3 Presentation:

EDM310 classblog Project#15 Search Engines

Wolfram Alpha- This is a computational knowledge engine. It is very specific on searches and I noticed that when I typed in one word (general) searches like "dogs", it does not bring up a list of links like Google. Instead it gives me information on different sizes of dogs, litter sizes, and possible times a bitch can throw a litter. After showing me that information it gives suggestions on how to make my search more specific. The examples button is wonderful. I will use this site for specific searches and to help me turn a general topic into a specific topic.

Torrentz- This search engine is specifically designed for finding and downloading media files like movies, music, and T.V. shows. It is free and easy to use. When I type in a search (Metallica) a list of albums Metallica has put out comes up long with single songs. When I type in a search that is more general like Hell's Kitchen, it gives me a list of the T.V. series (which I did not know about), songs with that name, and the movie I was searching for. I use this engine for downloading music, movies and T.V. series'. This site works by using other people's files to create a whole product, it is free because you share whatever information you may have that they may want. It is a little spooky to me sharing files and all but I have not had any problems yet.

Go.com- This is a family friendly search engine. It is owned by the Walt Disney Company so it can be a trusted reliable source. It is very controlled as far as how I was able to search. The topics were set up on the page as picture tabs with selected information under the pictures. When I click on a tab, I can navigate through the information that is given. There is not a search bar to type anything in with, which is helpful in keeping inquiring minds from finding unwanted or inappropriate information. I will use this site to help further teach my son how to navigate the web. I will also use it as a sounding board. I will type in my topic and see if my information is present on their page or not. If it is not I may want to re-think or re-write lesson plan.

Kompass- This is a Business search engine. It finds businesses and tells you about them. I typed in Uniquely Natural and it brought up 27 companies that put out natural and unique products. Very interesting. I will use this site for finding new and upcoming companies to invest in on day-trading adventures.

LexisNexis- This is a search engine that is strictly directed in the direction of Law. It accesses all public records, newspapers, and hospital records. It is extremely specific, when you use this engine be sure and have your information in front of you because it asks for specifics in order for you to find information. I did a general search about child custody. It brought up a lot of information. Some of it was explaining the actual laws. Some of the information was actual court cases. A few newspaper articles came up but it was mainly court cases and laws pertaining to child custody. I will use this site to keep up with the different laws about education because they continuously change. With that said this will be a great tool for my continued learning after college.

All the Internet- This search engine searches most of the other more popular search engines all at once for you. It works like the typical search engine, I typed in "Cardinal" in the search bar and it produced a list of URL's. The list was broken down into separate sections which made it easier to navigate through the information. The sections were: sports, religion, and nature. They were not labeled as such but the main topic was present in each of the URL's. I will add this one to my PLN to look up general topics for research papers, lesson ideas, and personal research.

IxQuick- This search engine searches more than ten of the top search engines in total anonymity. This will be a good search engine to use in every day life as well. We are tracked enough, why be tracked when I am just trying to search for information? I did a general search and typed in the word bear. It produced a list of URL's in the same format as Google. It produced a variety of information from the Chicago Bears football team to a restaurant to the Black Bear in nature. I will use this engine for general research, especially if I am on a public computer.

Bing- This search engine is a general-type search engine very similar to Google. I typed in perfume and it gave me a list of URL's to stores that sell perfume. Finally when I got to the third page I began to see the definition of perfume, how perfume is made, etc. I have used this engine in the past and will use it again for general research.

Edm310 C4T journal on Mrs. She: Melissa Keeler

I posted on Jenny She's blog on Sept. 2. I loved her blog. I let her know how she inspired and excited me about the teaching/learning experience and commended her for encouraging her students when they stepped outside of her "lesson" and moved on to taking a picture or "snap". Instead of reprimanding her student, she asked to see it and then used it on that day's blog. I was so happy to hear that. Instead of closing a window of learning opportunity that her student opened, she not only left it open but involved the entire class in the learning experience. I can only hope to be such a great educator as Mrs. She.


On Sept. 14th, I posted on an earlier post of Mrs. She's because she has not posted a new one since I last commented. It was titled Having a Go at Photography. She had taken some picture of random flowers in her area with her cell phone camera. What stared the experiment was a facebook page by a young man who only has a phone camera yet seems to display quality photographs. Mrs. She wanted to see if she could do as well with her phone camera. I let her know that her pictures were stunning. I shared with her that I switched from using my digital camera to using only my phone camera because of the clarity, ease, and the fact that it is one less thing to lose.

A personal post Edm310 classblog Melissa Keeler

This is just a quick personal post, I want to apologize to my classmates and my instructor for getting so far behind. I believe that I understand what I am supposed to do now and there should be no more major kinks I hope. If you are looking at my blog posts they are out of order, post 2 is the most recent and post 4 is further on down and so on. Again hopefully I have got the hang of things and this will not happen again. Thank you to all who have helped me understand what I am expected to do. I see the light or in this case the rainbow at the end of the tunnel.

Post 2 Edm 310classblog Melissa Keeler

In video 1 Mr. Dancealot, The teacher is not teaching effectively at all! The author clearly shows the teacher reading off of a power point presentation and then doing the steps but he is behind a desk so the students can not see his feet and legs. When a student tries to get up and attempt the steps, the teacher immediately ridicules the student and tells him to be seated. The teacher never paired the students up to let them attempt the steps. When the final comes up the teacher announces the test will be open notebook and book implying it is written. When the students show up the teacher is there with music and a camera. The students are asked to pair up and dance. All of them have their hands full with books and notes, they do not know how to perform the steps or even what dance goes with the music that is playing. I agree with the author's conclusion because the teacher failed to teach his students, he merely read the material. He did not present the material so the students could see the steps, practice the steps, or learn what music went with what dance.


In video 2 Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts, Roberts brings to light that if information is so readily available then what is the teacher there for? We are there to help filter the information students are receiving through technologies such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. We are there to help them evaluate and understand the information as well as to help them remember it. We are there to teach the students how to create presentations, videos, and pod casts to name a few of the items. Roberts also encourages the use of cellphones, ipads, and laptops in class saying that these are today's tools not paper and pencil. I have to agree with Roberts Technology has taken over in all aspects of life. In order to function properly in life our students must learn how to properly utilize these tools. We as educators must also learn how to use these newer tools to effectively teach. I know this will affect me greatly as an educator because I will be learning from and with my students.


In video 3 The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler, the question Why does the networked student even need a teacher? is asked. My answer is: To guide the student through the vast amounts of information available. To teach students how to use the tools of today ipod, mp3,laptop and the different programs such as Power point, Excell, and Microsoft Office to name a few. Without teachers to teach and guide the students, the information can be inaccessible or useless.


In video 4 Harness your Student's Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis, The main Thesis is- The more connected you are, the more and faster you will learn. Vicki actively uses technology to teach and learn from her students at the same time. I agree with Vicki especially about having to "know everything about a subject in order to teach it." I strongly agree with her idea that we as teachers can actively learn along with our students.


In video 5 Who's Ahead in the Learning Race? by John H. Strange, The title is the question. The answer is the Elementary students. I am an undergrad and I am sadly far behind however, I am doing my best to catch up and LEARN!


In video 6 Flipping the Classroom author is unknown to me, I learned about flipping. I have never heard of this method before but I feel it is a great idea! I think it could be very useful as an educator. It will save time in the classroom and that extra time can be used to address any issues or problems the students may have. In a regular class setting the classroom time is eaten up with the instruction and little time is left for questions or practice. It will also engage the student and get them more interested in the subject that is being flipped, in the video it was math.


In video 7 Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom by Craig N. Owens, I learned the technique of showing the students the steps of learning History and I plan on using it. This will ensure that my students will not be blindly trying to grasp at straws. I also like the interactive approach rather than the I teach you/You learn approach. I love to learn and being able to learn from a student is a special and exciting moment.

post 3 Edm310 class blog Melissa Keeler

How can we provide meaningful feedback to our peers? This can be a very delicate subject. One must not be too harsh but problems do need to be brought to the peer's attention. After watching the the videos and the power point presentation I have a much better understanding of how to effectively communicate issues with my peers. Three important steps kept jumping out at me throughout all of the information. Compliment, Suggest, and Correct. I firmly believe that if all of us would stop and think of these three things there will be much less confusion and hurt feelings. It is hard to hurt someone's feelings when you point out the positives that they did achieve as well as some of the mistakes. When pointing out a mistake, be specific about what or why it is a mistake. Make suggestions on how to possibly rectify the situation. Finally, correct the peer again be clear and specific. Most of all BE POSITIVE! If a student gets discouraged by negative feedback they will lose the desire to learn.


Watching the video called Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes, I couldn't help but to see a little bit of myself in a couple of the students' enactments. Jean the Generalizer is a familiar face. I tend to be vague at times as to what I am talking about and I need to keep a constant watch on myself to NOT do this. Another of my favorite renditions was Off-task Oliver, guilty again. I am sure each of us can go through and pick out a few we need to work on. Whatever William is a wide spread problem and tough to handle sometimes. I would try to engage a whatever William by being more specific with my suggestions and corrections.



SOURCES- What is Peer Editing?
Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial- Adriana Zardini
Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes

Blog 4 EDM 310 Class Blog Melissa Keeler

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?
-When and what type of question
-Responding to questions
-Questioning styles and strategies
-Conclusion

We need to know when to ask a question and what type of question to use at that moment. If we prepare our questions along with the lesson plan or lecture we can effectively direct when we question and what type or types of questions are needed. If the teacher would like the class to go into a discussion, an open question can be asked. Open questions encourage discussion because of the different answers each student will present. If a more controlled environment is desired, closed questions can be asked. Closed questions are usually "yes" or "no" answers and leave little for discussion. If closed questions are asked, encourage the student to explain how or why they came to their conclusion. We can be specific and clear when we ask a question and try to avoid being too vague. If the student does not understand the question they will not be able to answer at all.
Now that we know some of the techniques of asking questions, we must master the art of responding to questions. We should give the students time to think about the question in order to answer it. A question can be put up on Power Point or the board during the lecture or lesson for the students to think upon. We can ask the students to think on that question and write a few ideas or possible answers down. During the middle or at the end of the lesson we can ask the students what their answers are and discuss how they came to that answer. When the answers do come acknowledge the student with eye contact, or a gesture. We can also acknowledge a student's answer by asking another student to expand on the previous student's answer. Do NOT seem uninterested in any answer or question, it could stop that student's learning dead in their tracks. If an incorrect answer is given point out why it is incorrect then ask a follow up question that will lead the student to the correct answer.
Keeping the students engaged can be difficult. If we use different styles of questioning we can liven things up a little bit. Physical representation can be used. This is when a student shows the class what he/she is thinking. A good example would be a girl acting like a princess she just read about. Pair sharing encourages students to pair up and compare and contrast ideas. Students can keep a "learning log or journal" where the student writes down especially interesting points about the lesson. The teacher can use the survey technique to see how many students are thinking the same ideas.
In conclusion, I personally believe what we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher is answered with one simple word... Listen! If we listen to our students we will be able to develop better and more thought provoking questions. We will also be able to better understand them, effectively making us better educators.

RESOURCES: Ben Johnson- The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom
The Teaching Center- Asking Questions to Improve Learning
Maryellen Weimer,PhD- Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom
Thoughtful Classroom- Questioning Styles and Strategies

EDM310 Melissa Keeler's fourth blog

This week has been one of healing. I caught a stomach virus and it was fast, strong, and draining. I am slowly but surely learning how to use blogger. I am finding it less nerve-wracking than when I first began. I was teamed up with some pretty cool people last week, I hope we are all still good and together in the same team. Chelsea was chosen as the team leader and immediately I understood why. She is very understanding and great at explaining the ideas and procedures that at first are so confusing and down right scary (to me at least). She put all of us at ease and encouraged us to keep coming. She also got all of our information and put it together so we could all be well-connected with each other. Chelsea also reassured us that we should not be intimidated by the material. Thank you Group 4. Thank you Dr. Strange for putting the groups together. You did a great job with our group. I feel that I will be able to learn and work well with Katy, Tori, Noah, and Chelsea. I can only hope that I can eventually bring something to the table that they can learn from me as well.