Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Final Report on PLN
I have been continually updating my Symbaloo page with new sites that I have come across throughout this semester. I added Mrs. Yollis' website along with Jose Picardo's list of A-Z Internet sites. In addition, I added some great sites to use in the classroom, including netTrekker and SAS Curriculum Pathways. I found some great clip art by Phillip Martin, as well as a site containing free graphic organizers. I also added some fun game sites that I will be able to use with my students for review and practice. My Symbaloo webmix is still not complete because I feel that I will continue to grow as a teacher and discover new and exciting sites that I will be able to introduce and use in my classroom.
C4T Number 4 Summary Post
I had the pleasure of reading and commenting on the "Concrete Classroom" blog. It is the blog of Michael Kaechele. He is a Global Studies teacher in a Michigan high school.
My first comment was made to his post entitled, "Genocide." In the post, Mr. Kaechele discussed how he was going to introduce and teach the concept of genocide. In the post, he asked people to comment with any ideas, suggestions or other feedback on his lesson. I commented to him that I liked his springboard into the lesson of asking the question, "Why do people hate?" I also thought it was a great idea to have the students interview real victims of genocide to get first-hand impressions of this problem. I also told him that the idea of a student-created video as a summation of the lesson was a fabulous idea that I was sure that the students would enjoy being involved in.
My second comment was on Mr. Kaechele's post entitled, "I Don't Know Either." This was an update on this previous post, "Genocide." Mr. Kaechele decided to change his introductory question to his lesson to, "Why do people tolerate hate?" In addition, Mr. Kaechele brought in a guest speaker that was one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan to share his story. He also discussed the scandal at Penn State, relating it to the issue of genocide. The students divided into groups and began their research in order order to complete their final project, which was to produce a mini-documentary. After having some trouble, Mr. Kaechele provided the groups with a template to use for assistance with their research. However, he provided no direction for their final project. He wanted the mini-documentary to be completely student-centered. He hoped his stand-back approach would help his students become creative and have complete ownership in their project, thus instilling a sense of pride in them. I commented to Mr. Kaechele that I liked his idea of inviting a guest speaker as part of his introduction to his lesson on genocide. I also mentioned to him that, although he provided a template for his students to use during their research, I was glad that he left the creation of the final documentary entirely up to them. I told him that by doing this, he inspired his students to be creative thinkers.
My first comment was made to his post entitled, "Genocide." In the post, Mr. Kaechele discussed how he was going to introduce and teach the concept of genocide. In the post, he asked people to comment with any ideas, suggestions or other feedback on his lesson. I commented to him that I liked his springboard into the lesson of asking the question, "Why do people hate?" I also thought it was a great idea to have the students interview real victims of genocide to get first-hand impressions of this problem. I also told him that the idea of a student-created video as a summation of the lesson was a fabulous idea that I was sure that the students would enjoy being involved in.
My second comment was on Mr. Kaechele's post entitled, "I Don't Know Either." This was an update on this previous post, "Genocide." Mr. Kaechele decided to change his introductory question to his lesson to, "Why do people tolerate hate?" In addition, Mr. Kaechele brought in a guest speaker that was one of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan to share his story. He also discussed the scandal at Penn State, relating it to the issue of genocide. The students divided into groups and began their research in order order to complete their final project, which was to produce a mini-documentary. After having some trouble, Mr. Kaechele provided the groups with a template to use for assistance with their research. However, he provided no direction for their final project. He wanted the mini-documentary to be completely student-centered. He hoped his stand-back approach would help his students become creative and have complete ownership in their project, thus instilling a sense of pride in them. I commented to Mr. Kaechele that I liked his idea of inviting a guest speaker as part of his introduction to his lesson on genocide. I also mentioned to him that, although he provided a template for his students to use during their research, I was glad that he left the creation of the final documentary entirely up to them. I told him that by doing this, he inspired his students to be creative thinkers.
Summary Post C4K (Covering November Comments)
During the month of November, I had the opportunity to comment on some fabulous student blogs. The first blog that I commented on was that of Joe McClung. His post contained three lessons. The first was about a creative way the class was raising money for the United Way. The teachers volunteered to take their pictures and have a beard added to the photo using the Beard Me iPhone app. The students voted for their favorite teacher by donating money. The teacher with the most money won. The second lesson was reminding everyone that a little bit of humor can brighten a day. Mr. McClung told of a student named Kyle who came into class wearing a blue tutu. Everyone had a great laugh. The third lesson was about not giving up and trying to do your best. Mr. McClung told about his school preparing for the final meet of the cross country season. My comments to Mr. McClung pointed out that even a short laugh can brighten the classroom. I also told him that I thought the use of the Beard Me app was a creative type of fundraising, and I hoped he would post the picture of the teacher that raised the most money.
The next comment I made was to a student in Mrs. Yollis' third grade class. Her name was Taylor S. She wrote a short story entitled, "Whitney and the Black Cat." I commented that Coco sounded like a determined cat and must really like to play with yarn. I told her that my cat, Kate, is similar because she likes to play with yarn, too. I told Taylor S. that I was glad Coco returned home and in time to go trick-or-treating, and I asked what Whitney and her cat's next adventure would be.
My final comment to a student was to Mary I., who is a Year Six student at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ. Her post was about the Assembly held at her school on the first day of Term Four. I told her that I was happy she learned so many new things about space and our solar system. I was glad that she was able to learn so much from Team 1's presentation on the sun, and I reminded her that the sun is an extremely important part of our solar system. I concluded my comments by telling her that I was glad that she was learning by having fun and wished her the best of luck during Term Four.
The next comment I made was to a student in Mrs. Yollis' third grade class. Her name was Taylor S. She wrote a short story entitled, "Whitney and the Black Cat." I commented that Coco sounded like a determined cat and must really like to play with yarn. I told her that my cat, Kate, is similar because she likes to play with yarn, too. I told Taylor S. that I was glad Coco returned home and in time to go trick-or-treating, and I asked what Whitney and her cat's next adventure would be.
My final comment to a student was to Mary I., who is a Year Six student at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ. Her post was about the Assembly held at her school on the first day of Term Four. I told her that I was happy she learned so many new things about space and our solar system. I was glad that she was able to learn so much from Team 1's presentation on the sun, and I reminded her that the sun is an extremely important part of our solar system. I concluded my comments by telling her that I was glad that she was learning by having fun and wished her the best of luck during Term Four.
Blog Post # 14
Jose Picardo's Educational Blog
Technology and Education Box of Tricks is an educational blog written by Jose Picardo. Mr. Picardo is a Modern Foreign Language teacher at a secondary school in England. He started his blog in 2007, and won an Education Blog Award sponsored by Scholastic in 2011.
After reviewing his blog and the various links, I believe that the purpose of his blog is to provide technology-related information that can be used to enhance teaching.
On the main page of his blog, Mr. Picardo discusses some programs that can be useful to teachers. Triptico is a resource for the interactive whiteboard. I have not heard of this application before, but after reading about it, I can see that it would be a useful tool. Best of all, it is free. This application has different activities and interactive activities that you can customize to your lesson.
Mr. Picardo discusses the benefits of the iPad, which is noteworthy because I have learned through EDM 310 of the many benefits this device has in the educational field. Mr. Picardo highlights an application named Comic Life. I have not used this app before, but it allows students to create their own comic strip. It could be based on an objective, but it also allows students to put a creative twist on the subject area.
Mr. Picardo gives directions on his blog for creating a video quiz. He suggests using Word Press, a flip camera and a plug-in named Quizzin. The video quiz can be posted to a blog for students to take. I am not very familiar with this type of assessment and would need to research it more before making a decision on whether or not I will use it in my classroom.
Voki Classroom is another program that Mr. Picardo discusses on his blog. This program would be beneficial in a foreign language classroom. Although the program appears interesting, it is not something that I would use. My degree is in elementary education, so I think this program would be more beneficial in a high school foreign language classroom.
Mr. Picardo highlights Macmillan Teacher's Day. This is a seminar where he was invited to deliver the keynote speech. His speech was titled, "The Case for Social Networking in Education."
In addition to the five programs he highlights on his blog, Mr. Picardo gives links to different categories that contain useful information and resources for teachers. The categories include: interactive whiteboards, Internet resources, modern languages, podcasts and tutorials, social media, and views and opinions.
Mr. Picardo gives 10 tips for using technology in the classroom. These tips are all very useful. In fact, some of his suggestions have been included in the requirements for EDM 310. As such, I have first-hand experience in discovering the value of his tips. His top 10 tips include: "use streaming video, use music video more often, use teleconferencing tools, create your own interactive exercises, use your interactive whiteboard more effectively, create your own podcasts, start a blog or a Wiki, use social networks, use Internet tools, and make the most of your pupils' gadgets."
One of my favorite links that Mr. Picardo has is his A-Z Internet Resources for Education. This is a useful list of programs available to enhance learning in your classroom. It is all technology-based. Mr. Picardo continually updates this site with new programs. I believe this list to be extremely useful. Therefore, I am adding it to my PLN, and I will recommend it to other teachers as well.
Technology and Education Box of Tricks is an educational blog written by Jose Picardo. Mr. Picardo is a Modern Foreign Language teacher at a secondary school in England. He started his blog in 2007, and won an Education Blog Award sponsored by Scholastic in 2011.
After reviewing his blog and the various links, I believe that the purpose of his blog is to provide technology-related information that can be used to enhance teaching.
On the main page of his blog, Mr. Picardo discusses some programs that can be useful to teachers. Triptico is a resource for the interactive whiteboard. I have not heard of this application before, but after reading about it, I can see that it would be a useful tool. Best of all, it is free. This application has different activities and interactive activities that you can customize to your lesson.
Mr. Picardo discusses the benefits of the iPad, which is noteworthy because I have learned through EDM 310 of the many benefits this device has in the educational field. Mr. Picardo highlights an application named Comic Life. I have not used this app before, but it allows students to create their own comic strip. It could be based on an objective, but it also allows students to put a creative twist on the subject area.
Mr. Picardo gives directions on his blog for creating a video quiz. He suggests using Word Press, a flip camera and a plug-in named Quizzin. The video quiz can be posted to a blog for students to take. I am not very familiar with this type of assessment and would need to research it more before making a decision on whether or not I will use it in my classroom.
Voki Classroom is another program that Mr. Picardo discusses on his blog. This program would be beneficial in a foreign language classroom. Although the program appears interesting, it is not something that I would use. My degree is in elementary education, so I think this program would be more beneficial in a high school foreign language classroom.
Mr. Picardo highlights Macmillan Teacher's Day. This is a seminar where he was invited to deliver the keynote speech. His speech was titled, "The Case for Social Networking in Education."
In addition to the five programs he highlights on his blog, Mr. Picardo gives links to different categories that contain useful information and resources for teachers. The categories include: interactive whiteboards, Internet resources, modern languages, podcasts and tutorials, social media, and views and opinions.
Mr. Picardo gives 10 tips for using technology in the classroom. These tips are all very useful. In fact, some of his suggestions have been included in the requirements for EDM 310. As such, I have first-hand experience in discovering the value of his tips. His top 10 tips include: "use streaming video, use music video more often, use teleconferencing tools, create your own interactive exercises, use your interactive whiteboard more effectively, create your own podcasts, start a blog or a Wiki, use social networks, use Internet tools, and make the most of your pupils' gadgets."
One of my favorite links that Mr. Picardo has is his A-Z Internet Resources for Education. This is a useful list of programs available to enhance learning in your classroom. It is all technology-based. Mr. Picardo continually updates this site with new programs. I believe this list to be extremely useful. Therefore, I am adding it to my PLN, and I will recommend it to other teachers as well.
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