Blog Post # 16

My final Reflection on EDM 310

When I first began EDM 310 I had no idea what to expect from this course. This has been my first semester taking actual courses for education, as also my first semester at the University of South Alabama. This course surpassed all my expectations as I learned more about education and tools to use in my future career as an elementary teacher. This class has been the first challenging class I have had in college to date. This course has been a journey full of adventure, sleepless nights, and most importantly becoming a life-long learner! Read along as I express the ideas I have for my future classroom.

Compared to my first blog post “If I built a school” not much has changed on my personal vision that I have had for my students and classroom. What has changed is the tools and technology that I will use in my future classroom. Throughout my EDM 310 I have been provided with the opportunity to learn and discover new technological tools that I plan to enforce into my classroom. I plan to use tools such as Blogger, Twitter, iCurio, Discovery ED, iMovie, Podcast, iBook, YouTube, and Skype all tools that I have become familiar with throughout this course. Blogging is one of the most important tools I plan to use in my classroom. Blogging provides a way for students’ to improve upon their writing, and be enthused by having their writing published for the world to view. Giving the students’ the opportunity for their work to be open to a wide-ranged audience will give them something to be proud of and work hard at. Blogging also allows parents the opportunity to view their child’s work. I never dreamed I would use social media such as Twitter, and Facebook in my classroom. I have learned that social media can help parents be prepared of what is taking place in the classroom and can also provide teachers the opportunity to connect with other educators around the world as well. I love the possibility of using iCurio in the classroom. It is a curated safe search engine for students to navigate the web without stumbling upon or gaining access to inappropriate material. Discovery ED will be used in my classroom to produce life media footage to students regarding science and other subject areas. Discovery ED gives students the opportunity for boring lessons to become adventures. iMovie will be a source used to create book trailers and other media that can be used in the classroom. I will use the creation of podcast to allow students to create their own story with media. I will also use podcast for students who are sick and miss out on the material that was covered in class. There are many more innovative tools such as iBook, google slides, YouTube, and Skype which I will implement into my classroom as well. I will use technology to enhance the learning of my students.
I plan on using a project-based learning style in the future career as an elementary teacher. Providing my students with the opportunity to have a hands-on- experience where they are applying real life problem solving skills promotes life-long learners. I want to end ALL burp-back education. I NEVER want my students to learn material for a brief amount of time, take a test, and forget what they have learned. This is the method in which I was taught and it was not an education I want to lend to the next generations to come. There are so many technological tools that teachers are provided with to proceed with project-based learning. I plan to use the many technological resources available to provide the best education for my students made possible.

What I Want My Students to Know

I want my students to know that I love each and every child and care about their success in my classroom. Children in my classroom must understand that I have one ultimate goal. The goal in my classroom is that children will learn the tools to not only succeed in knowledge but to be a successful person in life as well. I am here in the classroom to make you learn and to learn in a controlled environment in an exciting way. It is my job to prepare each child for the future and I intend to go above and beyond regardless of any learning disability or behavioral issue. I want each child to know that trust is never given away easily and it will be earned in my classroom. I will earn your respect and you will earn mine.

What I Want My Students to be Able to Do

I want my students to be able to listen, and listen well. Listening is a very important aspect in life, and in order to learn one must be able to listen. I want each student to be able to follow directions. Following directions is crucial in life; in every job regardless of what one must choose to do an individual MUST be able to follow directions. I want my students to ASK questions. There is no such thing as a "stupid" question. If a child does not understand or would like to know more, ask questions.

What My Primary Way of Teaching My Students What I Want Them to Know and to Do

My class will be taught by using project based lesson plans. I would also like to incorporate games or movement within my lessons. These two methods of teaching will incorporate a different way to learn. Making the lesson, more interesting in a creative way will provide students with the ability to be more involved and become excited about learning. I also will use the latest technology in my classroom that is available such as iPads, MacBooks, and the SmartBoard. Often times I will break my class up into small groups to work on different lessons. I will rotate to each different small group to ensure that each student is on the right tract. I am there to instill confidence and encouragement! Having children gather into small groups will help build trust that each student is doing what he or she should be. It will also teach each student how to work with others, as well as working together as a team.

Final Reflection Video

Blog Post #15

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher? Select a few and discuss how they may be useful to you.
-Dr. Strange

Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children
Author: Brylyn Cowling



In this YouTube video, hearing and vision impairment is the main topic. This video asks questions such as the following: Are you doing enough to support these students? Are you prepared? It is so important for students with vision and hearing impairments to be given the opportunity to interact with their environment. Assistive technologies for the vision and hearing impaired include the following: text to speech devices, speech to text devices, talking calculators, iPads, iPods, screen magnifiers, and many more. When I become a professional educator, it will be my job to ensure that all of my students, regardless of their disability, disorder, or impairment are given equal opportunities to learn and succeed.

After doing my own research, I found an informative webpage called The Best Software and Gadgets for ADHD Students. If an attention deficit student needs assistance with school work or homework, assistive technologies can capitalize on his or her strengths while working around his or her challenges. Math software and gadgets for ADHD students help students who struggle with computing, aligning, and copying math problems on paper. Electronic math worksheet software enables students to organize and work through problems on a computer screen. Numbers that appear onscreen can be read aloud by a speech synthesizer. Products to consider for electronic worksheets include MathTalk, MathPad, and MathPad Plus. Talking calculators are also great for ADHD students. They have a built-in speech synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, and operation key a students presses, as well as the answer. Reading software and gadgets for ADHD students include audio books and reading software. Writing gadgets and software for ADHD students include portable word processors, which are lightweight devices that look like a computer keyboard with a screen. They can be helpful to ADHD students that have problems with handwriting.

When I become an elementary school teacher, I will have to be aware and conscience of any disabilities my students may have. It will be my job as a professional educator to support these students and provide them with the tools and resources available for them to be successful in my classroom.

Below are products I found that can help students with vision or hearing impairments:

Products for Independent Living, Blind, Low Vision, Deaf, or Physically Challenged-maxiaids.com

Learning Ally-A national nonprofit organization that assists students that have vision impairments and students with dyslexia.




Author: Phillip Hall

iPad Usage for the Blind
The iPad has many useful tools for the handicap student. The thing we enjoyed most about this video was actually watching a blind person present and give demonstrations on an actual iPad. The iPad uses voice-over, so the blind students are able to use their sense of hearing to find needed information. Using this tool seems like it will be a hard tool to navigate. It could also be a challenge in the classroom by beings disruptive, but this is what ear-phones are for. When the skill of learning to use the iPad is learned, it will enable the blind learner to explore the world. As with any new technology, for the blind or sited person, it will be hard to learn. However, after a technology is learned, we wonder how we lived without.


Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning on The iPad
This video allows the mom of a blind student to see how assistive technology is being used to help her child learn. Mom learned a lot in the short lesson given to her on the iPad. She will better understand the difference in the way she learns and her blind child learns. As a future teacher, I will try to give myself as much practice on assistive technology tools that I can. I need to practice these tools just like the mom on the video did. I think if we as future educators teach ourselves how to use these devices, we will be able to tear down many barriers encountered by our blind/deaf students. I also feel that some of the other assistive technology learned in this assignment, will be beneficial to not only our handicap students, but also to other struggling learners. Teaching Mom Video


Teaching Math to the Blind
Author: Duane Nelson



Mathematics can be a hard subject to learn for any student especially if they are visually impaired. Art Karshmer, a professor at the University of San Francisco, made a computer based system to teach math to the blind. Karshmer explains that it is tough for an individual who is blind to learn a two dimensional mathematical problem. Understanding this problem Karshmer created the 3 Million Touchpad. This device is an automated teacher and helper designed to use braille and technology together to create a possible two dimensional learning experience. This device uses a voice touchpad and a barcode scanner to identify each number being used. Plus each piece of the touchpad is labeled in braille so that students can still have the option of reading along with voice commands. This is an excellent technological tool that can help many disabled students.



While doing my own research, I found an excellent source that is helpful to anyone who is blind or losing vision called the National Federation of the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind is the largest, oldest, and is the most influential association in the United States. The NFB offers many things to these individuals such as training programs, technology, and innovative educational opportunities. Here are some of the programs that NFB offer: Possibilities Fair for Seniors, Braille Readers Are Leaders Program, NFB-NEWSLINE®, Braille Reading Pals - Early Literacy Program, The International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind (IBTC), and many others as well. The NFB also offers many different products and technological devices that will be helpful to the blind such as Independence Market, Technology Center, Blio, Audio Newspaper Service, and the Handheld Reader. The National Federation of the Blind is an excellent source that should be used for anyone who is blind or just starting to lose their vision.

Assistive Technologies for Teaching Students in Special Education
Author: Victoria E. Williams

Although I have never taught in a classroom with special needs children before, I have spent my life around special needs children. Growing up with a brother who had Angelman Syndrome taught me alot about children with special needs. I know that teaching children with special needs can acquire many unique challenges. Teaching special education requires patience and a heart to work with children to meet their specific daily needs and challenges in which he/she are facing. Their are resources that are steadily available to teachers in the field of special education. Their is a page called 50 Must See Blog's For Special Education Teacher's . This page provides multiple technology resources that can enlighten the knowledge of many disabilities and how to help become the best teacher for YOUR particular students. These 50 blogs help teachers in special education with tips of advice, strategies, strengthening IEP's, and how to work well with parents. This is a fabulous resource I would highly recommend to any teacher who has a student with special needs in their classroom. There are several teachers who teach special education who write blogs to reflect on their daily habits in the classroom. These blog's can be used to provide inspiration and encouragement in the journey of teaching special education.

Providing assistive technologies in the classroom for students with special needs could enhance the learning that takes place. Many students are given a better opportunity to learn when given assistive technology. Honestly, it depends on the student. My brother for example, would have been more stimulated by being given time to watch a movie in the classroom. My brother was very severe and had a very low IQ. Student's who are autistic, attention-deficit hyper disorder, or even cerebral palsy would benefit from using an iPad in the classroom to learn, as well as other technological resources. It is important to learn to accommodate the students in YOUR particular classroom. Students with special needs all have different challenges that need to be met, learning these challenges and how to blend them all to be successful in the classroom is of the utter-most importance. It takes special teacher's to teach special children!



This blog was written in loving memory of Joshua James Bingham (Brother of Victoria Williams)who had Angelman Syndrome. Joshua gained his wings on November 4, 2013. I am so thankful to have had 17 wonderful years with my precious brother!

Final PLN Report #2

Final PLN Report

It has been a journey creating my own personal learning network. I have continued to use Symbaloo to gather all my resources that will be wonderful tool's to use throughout my teaching career. I have a personal section which includes Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. I have learned through EDM 310 that personal social websites are beautiful resources and can be used in the classroom in positive ways. In my education setion I have many resources such as wanelo, google, blogger, discovery ed, icurio, and rubistar. I have enjoyed growing my personal learning network throughout this course. It has grown substantially since my first PLN report. Symbaloo is a great way to organize all the material and resources you choose without becoming overwhelmed. I am so excited to announce that I will continue to grow my personal learning network through Symbaloo all throughout my venture as a upcoming elementary teacher.I never realized how many tools were available through technology to help create innovative opportunities in the classroom. This Journey through EDM has taught me vital resources I will forever have due to Symbaloo.

Last C4T

Last C4T: Comments for Teacher's

The first teacher's blog I commented on was Dianne Krause who teaches technology. In this post I learned about infographics and how they can be a tool to others. Mrs. Krause defined infographics as visual representations of information, data or knowledge. Mrs. Krause wrote, "These graphics can be used to explain complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education. They are also used extensively as tools by computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians to ease the process of communicating conceptual ideas." I commented and asked Mrs. Krause how exactly i could use this in my classroom. I believe that if I could figure out how to integrate infographics into my classroom, it might enhance the information which is being presented to the students. This was a very knowledgable post. Dianne Krause's blog

I also commented on another teacher's blog named Jennifer Brokofsky. I found her blog very inspiring. All the little details that Mrs. Brokofsky put into her blog, gave me the impression that she loves teaching. The post I commented on she presented a lesson plan. The lesson plan that was presented was a math lesson plan and had objectives for fourth grade as well as 2nd grade. The lesson basically covers estimation, probability and problem solving. The lesson begin's by using skittles and separating all the skittles into their own individual groups by their colors. After the skittles are color coordinated the students then began to count how many skittles belong to each group. This is a wonderful lesson plan I would love to use in my classroom. I believe it presents students with a fun way to perform a math lesson plan. i believe this lesson would be much more memorable to student's as well! I was thankful for the opportunity to read and watch this lesson unfold before my eyes! Jennifer Brokofsky

Last C4K

Last C4K: November

This month I was assigned to comment on three student's blogs. The first student's blog I commented on was a student named Emmy. Emmy is a 6th grade student in Mr. Mark's class at Pt England school in Auckland NZ. The blog post I commented on was a photo activity Emmy and a few of her classmates had completed. This photo activity was a lesson to to teach the students about farming and where are food comes from. The students in Emmy's group organized the photos into the order that things are produced. Emmy explained how this process helped her understand how crops are cultivated and the process of farming. I enjoyed commenting to Emmy on this blog post. It was fun to see other students in another country learning the process of farming. I commented and discussed how farming is very common where I live! It was interesting listening to her discuss country living as I myself, live in the south. Emmy's Blog

I also had the privilege of commenting on a student's blog named Ronn. Ronn also attends Pt. England school in auckland NZ. Ronn is a fourth grade student in Mrs. Bark's Class. Ronn wrote about the importance of friends. He wrote about why people need friend's and identified what qualities in a person make a friend. It was very interesting to see a fourth graders perspective on what is a true friend. I commented on Ronn's post stating my personal take on friends. I thought it was a great way for the teacher to give student's the opportunity to discuss and learn how to establish good character in themselves to be a great friend! Look at Ronn's Blog Ronn's blog

Project #12 Part B

Project #12 Part B

Blog Post #14

Establishing a Classroom Culture

How will you start and stop your lessons? How will you set expectations with your students? How will you incorporate positive reinforcement into your classroom? What interactive signals will your incorporate to ensure that students are paying attention to the material being presented? These are all questions that help us as future teachers, begin to think about how we will run our classroom. These questions help us establish our own classroom culture!

Watch the following 5 videos, and think about how you will establish your own classroom culture. Write a blog post reflecting on ALL of these videos. Do not write only a summary of each video. Include all of your thoughts on these videos as well as your own ideas of how you will create your own classroom culture.

1. Ready to Learn: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

2. Setting the Tone from Day One

3. The Stop light Method: the End-of-lesson Assessment

4. Silent Signals in the Classroom

5. Ms. Noonan: Your Unique Class Culture


Establishing My own Classroom Culture

Creating your own unique classroom culture is the most important establishment a teacher will make in the classroom. After watching several videos from the teaching channel, I became so inspired to begin developing my own personal classroom culture. One of the most important concepts in my classroom for students to understand is to be able to know my idea of failure. If we never fail, we will never learn! I want my students to NEVER be afraid of not answering a question or attempting a problem because of the fear of being wrong. Students must understand that being wrong is ok, and we actually learn more when we fail. Mrs. Jen Soul is a third grade teacher from the teaching channel who has inspired me to allow my students to write their own classroom pledge. This is something that is formed and written at the beginning of the school year. It allows students to to take ownership of their own learning environment, and establish their own hopes and dreams. This can be used as a measure for bad behavior as well.

I love the idea of incorporating silent signals into my classroom. These silent signals are incorporated to ensure that everyone is paying attention and engaging in the material that is being presented. It also gives students the opportunity to praise their peers who have quality thoughts or answers. I believe silent signals will also provide a smoother way to communicate without interrupting the teacher, or their peers. I loved how Mrs. Wessling used a stop light method at the end of class to gather other students thoughts about the lesson. Students use sticky notes and post their thoughts onto the stop light. Students post what they liked about the lesson onto the green color, their learning thoughts or new ideas onto the yellow light, and thinks that stopped their learning on the red light. This provides the teacher with an opportunity to change the lesson to make it more effective. I want to incorporate an idea similar to this one because it will give students the opportunity to have a personal input on the lesson.

In my own personal classroom I have thought of several ideas to create a positive environment. At the end of the day I would like to have circle time. This would be a time for the class to get into a circle and discuss the “pit” of their day, and the “peak” of the day. The “pit” of the day is something that went wrong, or did not go according to plan. The “peak” of the day is their favorite part of the day. Basically students say something they didn’t like and why, and also something they did like and why. This is a great way for students to learn how to communicate with others. It also offers students who fear talking in front of the classroom, a way to become more comfortable in front of their peers. I would also like to incorporate a reward system. This system provides every student the opportunity to earn "money". It would be monopoly laminated money students would receive for doing their homework, rewarding good behavior, classroom participation ect. On Friday's students will be given the opportunity to "buy" something out of my reward treasure chest. this also is a positive way to help students understand the concept of money. I would also like to acknowledge when someone says or does something really good. I will facilitate this positive reinforcement by saying “Oh” and my students will say “snap”. I would like to began reciting a poem everyday before we talk about homework. This poem is from shel silverstein’s books. Some people might say the poem seems negative, but it is a humorous way to introduce homework. This idea was given to me by one of my professors, Dr. Vitulli who taught me arts in the elementary classroom. The poem is listed below.

Homework! Oh, Homework!
I hate you! You stink!
I wish I could wash you away in the sink,
if only a bomb
would explode you to bits.
Homework! Oh, homework!
You're giving me fits.
I'd rather take baths
with a man-eating shark,
or wrestle a lion
alone in the dark,
eat spinach and liver,
pet ten porcupines,
than tackle the homework,
my teacher assigns.
Homework! Oh, homework!
you're last on my list,
I simple can't see
why you even exist,

if you just disappeared
it would tickle me pink.
Homework! Oh, homework!
I hate you! You stink!

It is these simple little touches that make learning in the classroom fun. These are simple ways establish a positive classroom culture. I look forward to have the opportunity of trying these ideas out, and putting them into a classroom. Being a teacher is my dream job, I want to give my students the best classroom and teacher imaginable!!

Blog Post # 13

Education legend Sir Ken Robinson picked the talks he loves - all full of insight, bright ideas, and of course, creativity.

What can we learn from these TED talks? -Dr. Strange

Shane Koyczan: “To This Day...for the bullied and beautiful”
Author: Brylyn Cowling



Shane Koyczan’s "To This Day...for the bullied and beautiful" is so powerful. The main topic of discussion is about bullying. He mentions that when we are very young, we are expected to define ourselves, or others will. Isn’t this the way it works? If you aren’t bold in who you are, won’t others define us with terms and stereotypes that may not apply to who we actually are? When this happens, how do we stand up for ourselves when we do not even know who we are yet as a person? Who I am now is not who I was in high school. Who I am now will not be who I am in 10 years. Life is a growing experience. A physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growing experience. Why is it that we start at such a young age being so critical of one another? Is it a learned behavior? Is it in our genetic makeup to be so critical? Who are we to judge one another? Don’t we all have faults? We are none by zero means perfect, so why is the human race like this?

We are asked at a very young age what we want to be when we grow up. People ask you this question, and then shoot down your dreams and aspirations. Why are dreams so easily dismissed? What is it about our dreams that are so wrong? Children and young adults should be encouraged to dream and aspire to be whatever they are passionate about.

Something very interesting and enlightening Shane mentions is that we grew up to cheer on the underdog because we often see ourselves in them. Isn’t this true? I can reflect back on so many instances when I stood up for someone because I could see myself in their struggles and pain. I could, at times, relate to what they were going through.

What did I learn from this TED Talk? Most importantly, I learned to be encouraging. I will have to encourage my students to stand with me in putting an end to bullying. I will have to positively encourage each of my students to be creative and to DREAM. I will have to be sensitive to each of my students’ needs. Students are forced to come to school to learn content required by the state. Not only do I want my students to be educated in Mathematics, Science, Language Arts, the Arts, Technology, etc., I want my students to be educated in how to be a compassionate human being in our diverse society. I want to teach my students the importance of respect for others and themselves, self-worth, and discipline.

Wow! Our society has a long ways to go, but the change in our society begins with me.

“If you can’t see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer, because there’s something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit.” -Shane Koyczan

Mae Jemison: Teach Arts and Sciences Together
Author: Victoria E. Williams

Albert Einstein once said “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

Mae Jemison is a very ambitious individual who is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, and a dancer. Jemison inspires educators to create bold thinkers through merging the two subjects of art, and science together. Through TED talk Mae Jemison: Teach arts and science together she explains her perception of education from telling her own experiences and from her time spent in space. Educators job is to lay the foundation of our students to prepare them for the jobs of the future. If we are teaching material in an insufficient manner we are lacking in the efforts to prepare our students to be successful. Who does not want to be creative, or logical? Of Course, everyone desires to be creative and logical! These are two characteristics that correlate to each other when merging arts and sciences together. Mae Jemison said, “The imagination and creativity that it takes to launch a rocket ship, is the same imagination and creativity it takes to carve a piece of wood.”

If we want to inspire our students to be the future of tomorrow we should think about the way our education is being taught today. Jemison described it best when she said, “Science provides an understanding of universal experience and arts provides a universal understanding of a personal experience.” As future educators we need to begin revitalizing the sciences and arts in the educational system. Jemison said, “My chemistry teacher use to hold up a ball and would say this ball has potential energy, but nothing will happen to it until I drop it and it changes states.” Nothing will happen until we risk taking chances and change the way we are teaching arts and science’s in education. We need to forget being fearful of failure, and become daring teachers who are willing to make risks to conquer true success of the education our students deserve!

I believe that teachers should integrate art into every subject, not just science. If art was integrated into more subject areas student’s would be more interested in the material that was being presented to them. Yes, our philosophy of the way science is being taught needs improvement. I do believe that blending art into science will provide a better understand for students, but I think that integrating arts in every subject could shed light and create a more engaged learning process for every subject that is being taught. I have never taught in a classroom before, but I still believe that to be a successful teacher one must be unique, daring, and fearless. A teacher must learn to adapt to her students, what works one year may not work the next. I do believe however, that when adding art and involving incorporation of art into any subject, one will never go wrong.



Shukla Bose: Teaching one child at a time

Author: Duane Nelson






Shukla Bose is founder and CEO of Parikrma Humanity Foundation. The Parikrma Humanity Foundation is a non-profit organization that runs schools for under-privileged children in India. The schools provide quality English education to children from slums and orphanages. In the beginning of Shukla starting her foundation she realized the outrageous number of children that are uneducated. In the video she states that 200 million children from the age of 4 to 14 should be going to school but are not, another 100 million children are attending school but cannot read, and 125 million cannot do basic math. Shukla states that 250 billion Indian rupees are dedicated to government schooling with 90 percent going to teacher and administrative pay. The problem with this is that India has the highest teacher absences in the world. This reflects on the children's education because 1 out of every 4 teachers do not attend school the entire year.


At the beginning of her search to better education for the children her first school consisted of 165 students in a two story building with half of a tin roof. In just six years her foundation created four schools and one junior college. This included 100,100 children out of twenty eight slums and four orphanages. Shukla's main focus is to give these children from the slums an education and a peaceful place to live. The education that these children are receiving has inspired other family members of the household to want to learn as well. Shukla and her foundation started noticing that 80 percent and sometimes even 100 percent of the parents were attending school meetings. Many of these parents showed great interest and asked for a class to learn how to read and write. With this high interest from the parents she started an after school program for the parents interested in learning to read and write. Shukla Bose and the Parikrma Humanity Foundation have already helped out countless number of people and are planning to continue in the years to come.





Charles Leadbeater: Education innovation in the slums video
Author: Phillip Hall

Charles Leadbeater's video talked about how some of the world's poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn. The video starts out talking about how some people have better advantage points in life, for instance a poor child vs. a privileged child in the education world. What Leadbeater means by this is, your advantage point determines what you can see. The advantages some students have basically determines everything they will see and the questions they ask will determine the answer they get. The lessons children learn in school in developing countries are not for academic purposes but how they can stay alive. Education is a global religion and EDUCATION+Technology=HOPE for students in developing worlds.

Most of the education in our society is pushed upon rather than being self-influenced. Leadbeater states that education needs to work by "pull not push" method. In order for children to stay entertained and influenced about their education they should be motivated to do so, rather than having an education forced upon them. The "pull" method influences a student who looks to sell drugs and make easy blood money through criminal activity to stay alive rather than rely on education to play a role in life. The idea of a curriculum is irrelevant to children in developing countries who may see drug dealing as a necessity to survive. Education should start with things that would make a difference to them in their lives or settings.

Motivation is the key. Learning has to be productive for it to make sense and be self influenced. There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation means that education has a payoff, but you may have to wait quite a long time for it. However, that's too long if you're poor and have daily needs to meet. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades. Intruistic motivation is the key concept for a child seeking an education in a developing world. Developing countries use this technique to teach students essential things they need in life, for exapmple, how to make soap! Making soap is a very intrinsic way of learning.

The models that work best in the developing world are the "Chinese Restaurant Model" which uses the same principles but different applications in different settings. The Chinese model spreads vs. the "McDonald's Model which scales. Our education systems can learn more through the Chinese Model rather than using the "McDonald's model. Our systems fail to reach the people they most need to serve, they often hit the target but miss the point. Leadbeater makes a point in the presentation; We need a global wave of social entrepreneurship to create highly motivating, low cost ways to learn at scale in the developing world. The two types if basic innovation: sustaining and disruptive. Sustaining innovation sustains an existing institution and disruptive innovation breaks it apart and creates different ways of doing it. Sustaining & Disruptive can be in a formal or informal location. Our systems focus more on sustaining in formal setting and developing worlds focus on disruptive and need more reinvention. Where some of the world's poorest kids are finding transformative new ways to learn this informal, disruptive new kind of school, Leadbeater says, is what all schools need to become.Charles Leadbeater's Video

Project #15

Presenting My Tribe

This is a Project Based Lesson plan designed to present the culture, values and traditions of Native American Tribes to 3rd graders. Students will be able to engage in Native American Indian culture as they form a presentation in assigned groups. Each group will use their creativity to design their own tribe name and choose whether they will present by skit or by using google slides. Each group will make atleast one visual aid to go along with their oral presenation. Visual aids may include indian head dresses, indian customs, teepees, totem poles, ect. (The sky is the limit as long as the visual aid pertains to Native Amercian Indian culture) Groups who choose to perform by skits will be asked to write a script including all cast members. Parents will be asked to attend presentations. All presentations will also be recorded and embedded into the class blog.

Project Overview and Project Calendar

Native American Indian Tribe Rubric

Blog Post #12

Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Paradigms

(Collaborative)

Authors: Phillip Hall, Duane Nelson, and Victoria Williams

Sir Ken points out at the beginning of his video that we are still modeling our schools from times long ago; the 19th century. A time where people grouped children as academic (smart) or non-academic (not needing to be educated and basically illiterate). He also points out that during this time,our culture was based on Enlightenment and our economy on the Industrial Revolution. He believes our current system of education is structured on another era that simply does not work for the 21st century classroom.

In the video, Sir Ken states that we must 'Change the Paradigm of believing a child is academic or non-academic. Also, that we must teach children at their ability level. He believes that our current system, working under the beliefs of the Industrial Revolution, which keeps our children from learning at their full potential. He states that students should not be taught in age levels because even though children may be the same age, their levels of intelligence and creativity are very different. He believes children learn differently and must be taught differently.

As you view the video, anyone can see that Sir Ken is not a fan of medication for ADHD students. He makes reference to ADHD as being our modern plague. We felt as though he was comparing the ADHD plague in today's society, to the culture of Enlighentment and the Industrial Revolution era. Each plague playing a disservice to our children's education. Sir Ken points out to his listeners that we are living in the most stimulating times in history, with media and different forms of technology thrown at us daily. His point is, how can we penalize a student or anyone for that matter, for having a bit of ADHD. He helps the listener understand that there has been drastic changes in society since the 19th century. Therefore, we must change our teaching habits to fit the needs of our students. I felt that this is not something we have to think about doing, it is something we have to do to meet the needs of the society we live in. Sir Ken believes ADHD is a made up epidemic and that as educators, we have to allow children to discover their creativity and learn differently. The teacher also has to be willing to teach differently, not teaching children in what he calls batches.

Sir Ken Robinson also explains the difference in Aesthetics and Anesthetics. Aesthetics is when a person's senses are operating at full peak; they are at the top of their game. Anesthetics is when a person's senses is the total opposite. The person shuts their senses down and deadens their ability to be creative. ADHD would be under the influence of anesthetics. Sir Ken makes it clear that we place too many limits on many of our students and prevent them from reaching their full potential. He states that their are so many very bright students out their that we as educators have damaged because of these limits. We do this by continuing to model our educational system by an ancient rule. We must take these limitations off and allow our students to soar; then and only then will we see change needed to embrace the 21st century classroom.

The last part of the video dealt with Sir Ken's view on standardized testing and curriculum. He believes that this is definitely not the direction we should follow. This is one of the man reasons he believe it is crucial we 'Change the Paradigms'. In this section, he explains the difference between divergent thinkers and creativity. His definition of creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. Divergent thinking on the other hand is being able to think outside the box and have more than one answer or idea. Divergent thinking is not the same as creativity but true creativity cannot exist with it.

The thing we took most from this video, is that we as a society, especially educators, must get over our old habits. We must embrace a child's creativity, understand that students learn differently, stop using ADHD as a reason for not teaching the overstimulated student and discontinue the 19th century style of educating.








How to Escape Education's Death Valley

The information I took from Sir Ken Robinson's video, is how educators have the ability to challenge student more effectively. The three principles crucial for the human mind to flourish are: 1st principal- human beings are naturally different and diverse, 2nd principal- curiosity and the 3rd Principal- human life is inherently creative.


Human beings are naturally different and diverse. Education on No Child Left Behind is based on conformity. The education is necessary but not sufficient. True education has to give equal weight on arts, humanities and physical education. Sir Ken gives a great explanation on why ADHD isn't an epidemic! He makes a valued point that if you sit a child down and give them hours of boring work, don't be surprised if they start to get frigid and rowdy! Sometimes, this is not the fault of the student, just poor teaching skills.



The second principle, Curiosity, is the engine of achievement; kids prosper best in a broad curriculum. Task vs Achievement was also discussed. Task vs Achievement: the role of a teacher is to facilitate learning. The video pointed out that testing is sometimes a problem in teaching. Standardized tests shouldn't be the dominant culture of education, they should be diagnostic. It should be used to point out a child's target areas, so the educator can form lessons that focus on these weak areas. Standardized test does not make students excited and curious about learning, they limit students to making a score rather than giving them the knowledge to applying what they've learned in the real world.



Principles three, human life is inherently creative is one of the most important principals discussed in the video, in my opinion. We create our lives and we can recreate them as we go through life. Education isn't a mechanical system, it's a human system. As a human system, individuals require different approaches to learning; people learn differently. Students should not be made to learn the same as every kid in his class or school. Mechanical systems aren't made to be individualized but a human system can helps students in more specialized ways. Ken Robinson: How to Escape Death Valley





Ken Robinson: How schools kill creativity







Ken Robinson gives a great lecture and keeps the crowd interested by being humorous. He believes all children are artistic and creative, but the problem is that we lose it growing up or it is educated out of us. There is a universal hierarchy in education; where math and languages dominate, followed by humanities, and lastly the arts. He mentions that many professors, while highly educated, only use their intelligence within their own minds. They tend to forget that intellect can exist outside of the brain. He believes that people need to be more dynamic in their learning and have original thoughts. Robinson defines creativity as being original. The school curriculum focuses on more note taking and lecturing instead of giving students the ability to think on their own. If the school curriculum focused more on Project Base Learning this would allow students the capability of using more creativity. As future educators it is our responsibility not to steal the opportunities of creativeness but allow them to explore the possibilities.

Blog Post # 11

Aproaching teachnology and It's Benefits in the Classroom

Mrs. Cassidy is a wonderful example of a teacher who uses all the resources available in her classroom. I was inspired by the amount of technology that she takes full advantage of in her classroom. Mrs. Cassidy has a passion for teaching and truly loves her job. She teaches her first graders how to use technology and apply it to their everyday life. I feel these first graders know how to use some of these online resources even better than I do! I am so impressed at the amount of information that first graders can obtain at such a young age.
Technology has many pros and cons. Many teachers wonder how they can effectively allow their students to use technology without someone abusing the opportunity. In my future classroom, I will use an approach similar to Mrs. Cassidy’s. It will be my goal to make sure all of my students knows the ground rules for using the internet properly and SAFELY. I will make sure students know how to comment on other classmate’s blog with politeness as well as navigating to sites appropriate for their age level. It is the teacher’s responsibility to ensure that students are not abusing the privilege of using technology in the classroom. When students are using technology, I will constantly walk around the room and make sure students are doing what is asked of them. Students who do misuse the technology for other purposes will have consequences. I will not punish/hinder other students around them from learning with technology. Technology is not the problem; it is the students who choose to misuse it.
I believe that to be an effective teacher no matter the grade, one MUST incorporate technology into the everyday classroom. I cannot teach a classroom full of students with the same methods teachers used twenty years ago. The world has changed when it comes to learning. As a future teacher, I must accept the challenges that come my way and technology is the most essential challenge. If we do not continue to pursue technology in the classroom, children will not be eager to learn. Being a teacher is not always about what is easiest; it is about what is the most effective way to get the students to learn the material needed. Teaching students to use technology is not only a skill useful for learning, but it is also a skill needed to achieve success in everyday life. Technology is increasing more and more we must encourage our students to use the resources available to us, and provide innovative opportunities for our students to be inspired to learn.
Mrs. Cassidy models what every teacher should strive to do for their students, which is to inspire your students to learn by providing them opportunities which correlate to this generation. (meaning TECHNOLOGY) You can find out more about Mrs. Cassidy’s approach in teaching by viewing the links below!

First Grader's in Mrs. Cassidy's Class

Dr. Strange's Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1

Dr. Strange's Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2

Dr. Strange's Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3

C4T #3

Daily Digital Discoveries

Write In Private: Free Online Diary And Personal Journal | Penzu

Penzu is an online diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. With a unique and compelling user experience, it makes writing online as easy and intuitive as writing on a pad of paper.

tags: journal diary writing blog


Create Free Interactive Timelines – Stories Displayed on Maps | myHistro

“Watch and read thousands of fascinating timelines, or create your own. Complete with text, video and pictures to create a dynamic timeline mashup. Using myHistro, you can combine maps and timelines seamlessly into one great presentation, convert any public timeline into a personal pdf file, or export it into Google Earth format for offline storage. All completed timelines can be embedded into your blog and websites for maximum exposure.”

tags: timelines timeline history interactive socialstudies maps"


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Above is the exact blog that I read from Dianne Krause who teaches technology. Mrs. Krause discussed two tools that she found beneficial. The first tool that she wrote about was a free online website where students could have their own private diary. Students would be allowed to write in this journal knowing that no one else would be able to read it. I thought this would be an excellent tool to use in my own classroom to provide my students the opportunity to express themselves. When commenting I asked Mrs. Krause if there was any way that I could read what the students were writing without their peers being able to read the material also. I want to be capable of reading the material to know whether not the students are following the instructions and writing as they are supposed to be writing when the time is allotted for students to do so. The second tool I look forward to using in my classroom. It is an online source for students to make timelines and create maps for history/social studies. I believe that this tool would be a vital resource in my classroom for students to be able to put together a timeline and it would be an engaging activity for the students. I also think that this is an innovative way for students to create a timeline or map and embed it into their presentation for use on a project. I am very excited about these two new tools which have been presented to me. I encourage all future students to add these resources into their future classroom folder if you have one. These tools could be wonderful resources no matter the grade level. Diane Krause's Blog

The second post that I read on Mrs. Krause's education blog was about keyboarding proficiency. I believe that keyboarding is a necessity for us as future teachers to incorporate into our classroom. I commented by adding that one of my goals as a future teacher is to prepare my students for the real world. While it is vital to teach material that fits the standards and is appropriate for the grade level, it is even more crucial to teach life-long applications students can grow upon and apply to their everyday life. I believe that typing effectively is a skill that could benefit a future career. This application is one I will incorporate in my classroom. Mrs. Krause provides many resources that can be used as well to promote effective keyboarding.

Project # 12 Part A

Smart Board Part A

Project 10

C4K October

C4K OCTOBER

The first blog that I commented on and read was a student named Fisher. In this post, the students were asked to reflect on a story that they had all collaboratively read in class. Fisher did not follow the instructions that were given. Fisher wrote a bunch of letters for his post. I commented and told him to take advantage of the opportunity to be able to have a blog post, as I was not given the privilege in elementary. The teacher also intervened and Fisher got in trouble for not following instructions.

The second blog that I commented on was a 4th grade student named Sophia. Sophia wrote about her adventurous week in her classroom. I was impressed at the amount of technology her teacher is allowing them to use. The teacher is really taking advantage of the opportunities and resources that are available to them to make the classroom a more engaging learning environment. Sophia wrote about her class’s Twitter. She discussed also how they had a guess speaker come and talk to them. I was very excited to see a teacher inspired her student’s through technology. I could tell by Sophia’s post that she was very motivated to learn! Sophia's blog

Keis is a 6th grade student in England. I commented on his Google slide presentation that he had embedded in his blog. The presentation was on Farming. I thought that it was neat to see a student from England learning about the process of Farming and the hard work that it takes to cultivate crops. He even provided pictures to display all the different farming equipment involved. Since I live in Alabama where tractors, nurseries, and crops thrive, it was very intriguing. I was excited to see that he also had used Google slides to make the presentation. Keis's Blog

The last student’s blog was an eye opening experience on post modernism in the U.S. government. The student is a high school student who chose to write about how American citizens are more aware of what is occurring in celebrities lives, then what is occurring within our government. The student wrote about how many ordinary people were asked on the street simple questions that as American citizens, every individual should know and they were all answered incorrectly. The student wrote, “70% did not know that the U.S. constitution was the Supreme law of the land.” I commented with the following: “Hey! My name is also Victoria Williams. I am studying Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. WOW! I am thrilled to read something that contains so much value to others. Writing is something I enjoy doing and writing something that matters is even more enjoyable! I am thoroughly impressed at the amount of knowledge you possess on postmodernism. I agree with everything that you have written. It is unfortunate that we have people upset about who is in office, yet the individuals that choose to make these remarks did not even vote! You are 100 percent correct, our society would much rather enjoy watching reality television shows then knowing what is occurring within our nation. Many could tell you Kim Kardashian’s little girl’s name, but I guarantee they couldn’t answer simple questions concerning our government. It is a shame that our society has conformed to these ways, but the reality is that it has become human nature. It is vital that we take a stand in the rights that we ALL have as American citizens. I count it an honor to have had the privilege of reading this post. Thank you for sharing and writing something of such importance. Keep up the hard work it always pays off!” Post Modernism Blog

Blog Post #10

What can be learned from Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

It was a privilege to be introduced to this video of Randy Pausch. It was one of the most inspiring stories that have touched my future career for a lifetime. The lecture begins by revealing that he has terminal cancer, and was told that one month ago he was given only six months to live. He displayed a picture to the audience and showed how bad the cancer had spread. I thought that I would have to listen to him talk about how devastated his life has become since he was disbursed the devastating news. Astonishingly enough he discussed how he has lived a fulfilling life, had a loving family, and loved every aspect of the life that he has lived. It was clear that he lived his life to the fullest. Randy Pausch discussed how he put his family first and everything else second. I loved hearing how successful of a person that he was knowing that he had put his family first the entire time of his career. He knew that if he accomplished his own dreams first he then could help inspire others to achieve their own success as well. I want to inspire my own students that they can pursue ANYTHING in life. One of my biggest goals as a future teacher is to ensure that every child is given the opportunity to reach their own potential. Pausch looked at failure as an opportunity to learn and grow from the mistakes that were made in order to conquer success. He viewed failure as an opportunity to learn how to succeed. Failure does not mean that an individual is incompetent of achieving their task, but learning that the way that they are attempting it is not working. It is vital that my future students know that making mistakes is OK, as long as you learn from it. This is not only something students can apply to school work but also to real life. After all, we should be teaching our children to be successful not only in the classroom but in real life as well. Pausch was dedicated in absolutely everything that he did. I have always said, “If you are going to do something, give 110 percent effort. If your finishing product is not your absolute best, your time has been wasted. You did not reach your potential!” Randy Pausch taught his students more than just curriculum he taught his students lifelong lessons. I want to be the teacher that goes beyond the textbooks, and standards. While meeting standards are vital, teaching students lifelong applications is much more important. It is possible to teach meeting all the standards required while applying lifelong lessons as well. Learning how to communicate with others is something that an individual MUST learn to do to be successful in REAL life circumstances. To be successful every student MUST know how to LISTEN. Every student MUST learn how to work with others and work in groups.These are lifelong applications I will instill in my students. Randy Pausch always seeked to learn more. Dr. Strange's motto is for his students "to be lifelong learners." I am honored to say that I will continue this motto in my own future classroom! Please watch Randy Pausch Last Lecture you will forever be inspired as an educator!

Project 14

Meet My Mammal

This is a project based lesson plan for 3rd grade science. Students are taught how to classify an animal as a mammal. In this project based lesson plan, students will be split up in assigned groups of four. Each group will be assigned a mammal. Students will conduct a research project on their assigned mammal and create a Google slide presentation. Groups will present their mammal to the class using their Google presentation. After all presentations have been presented, individually students will be asked to choose their favorite mammal. Students will paint their favorite mammal, and identify which of the 11 mammal groups their mammal belongs.

Objectives

Students will understand the following:
1. Mammals are a class of animal.
2. Mammals have certain traits that distinguish them from animals in other classes, such as fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
3. There are many different types of mammals.
4. Mammals are classified by two shared characteristics. They all feed their young with mammary gland milk, and all have hair.

Project Overview & Project Calendar

Oral Presentation Rubric

Blo Post #9

Mr. Brian Crosby




Mr. Brian Crosby is a teacher who had the same 4th graders for three years. He had them for the 4th, 5th and 6th grade years. His students are from a low economic background but were excited about learning, because of how their teacher incorporated technology. Mr. Crosby points out in his video, that some of his students were unable to answer even the most simple questions. Many of the students did not know the city, state or country they lived in, and many did not know their address or phone number. He shared this status to point out how technology has made a difference in their lives. Mr. Crosby points out that even though a narrowed curriculum is not what educators want to teach these students, that a narrowed curriculum is what these students have been living with all their lives. After watching this video, it made our group reflect on our own lives. To us, some students, who may be very intelligent will begin school at a disadvantage. We believe some students are at a disadvantage because of the lack of opportunity due to their upbringing and childhood.
Technology definitely helps students level the playing ground for the disadvantaged students. It allows students who have not had the opportunities like we have had in our lives, or will never experience trips/vacations like we have. Technology also allows his students to visit other people around the world, on topics being discussed, that will be remembered forever. After watching the section of the video on High Hopes, we know his students learned more from releasing the balloons and watching them in real time, over what they can read in a book. Active learning is what he called it, it empowers his students to be better learners. This is a learning style we all wish could’ve been available to us earlier in our grade school years. It is a learning style we definitely intend on incorporating in our future classroom. The High Hopes lesson is one that we would like to do with our future educational classes.






Blended Learning Cycle







The podcast by Mr. Paul Anderson focused on the Blended Learning Cycle. Blended Learning is taking the techniques of online, mobile, and classroom learning and blending them together. The Learning Cycle is a excellent way of presenting material in a classroom by first engaging the question, then exploring upon that question, explaining the outcome of the experiment, expanding on the topic, and then reevaluate the question. When combining these two techniques at the same time it creates the Blended Learning Cycle. Anderson provides six steps that he uses in his Blended Learning Cycle. These steps are as follows:

• Question - When presenting to the class it is best to begin with a question to hook the students focus in to the lecture.
• Investigation/Inquiry - Teachers should allow their students time to search and experiment their topic to get a better understanding.
• Video - Using a video instead of just lecturing allows the teacher more time to interact with the class and gives the students the opportunity to learn independently.
• Elaboration - This allows the teacher to focus on explaining the topic more in depth.
• Review - At this point the teacher should evaluate the students to see if they are comprehending the subject.
• Summary Quiz - The last step is to test the students on the information they have learned to see if they understand the topic.

Mark Church: "Making Thinking Visible

Mark Church is a 6th grade teacher who inspires his students to form answers to valid questions in order to promote learning. After watching Mark Church's video Making Thinking Possible it was encouraging to see how students navigated their way to find their own answers. Mr. Church chose a project for the students in order to walk them through the process of thinking through a topic. He allowed the students to split up into small groups and work on a topic that they had been discussing. The topic was where they originated from and how they got here on Earth. After being split into groups, he then asked the students to come up with a title that summed up what the students were doing. He wanted this to be a phrase that could bring the groups thought about the topic to life. Every group came up with their topic, and shared the topic with the class. Then the students were asked to begin creating the project in there groups. Mr. Church explained how much each group’s topic had changed by the end of the project. This is a prime example of how we as teachers can make thinking visible. It shows how the students got from point A to point B and formulate their own thoughts and opinions. We all thought that this particular lesson of having the students formulate something from the beginning and watching and change at the end is an excellent tool in which we plan to use in our own classroom. Mark Church's valid point of making thinking visible is a fantastic resource to see how our students will navigate themselves to their own answers. We believe that it is critical for teachers to walk students through a process similar to the one Mark Church presented.

Project #9 Podcast

C4T #2

I was assigned to view a teacher, Jerrid W. Kruse's blog Teaching as a Dynamic Activity. The following is the post that I commented on...

Author: Jerrid W. Kruse
“Teachers create all other professions”.

Teachers also create their own profession. Some of the students in your class will eventually become teachers.

To what extent are you modeling effective teaching for those students?

I was a late comer to education. Teaching did not seem an interesting option for my life’s work.

I was wrong.

When are you explicitly discussing teaching and learning with your students? How are you helping your students recognize the intellectual challenge of teaching others? In what way do you explicitly share your passion for teaching with kids?

After reading this post carefully and giving myself time to reflect I then posted the following comment to Mr. Kruse's Blog:

Hey! I am a student at the University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I have been assigned to read your blog post and comment. I do not have my own classroom yet, so the questions that you have purposed really go unanswered at this point right now. “Teachers create all other professions.” This statement is so relevant in teaching and is true. We are laying the foundation for our students! Many teachers I had growing up did not take their position as serious as it seems you do. Since I am unable to answer the questions that you have brought to my attention, I would love to hear your personal answer. “To what extent are you modeling effective teaching for those students? When are you explicitly discussing teaching and learning with your students? How are you helping your students recognize the intellectual challenge of teaching others? In what way do you explicitly share your passion for teaching with kids?” Could you give me your personal answer to these questions? What is your main way of teaching in your own classroom?
Please feel free to contact me:
Email- Victoria.williams9207@gmail.com
My Blog: http://williamsvictoriaelizabethedm310.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @tori_williams92

Thanks, Victoria Williams

The second post I read of Jerrid W. Kruse was on the topic of teaching technology in his classroom. Mr. Kruse taught ed tech to be exact. He wrote about the irritability of his students frustrations when not understanding how to perform something correctly. He explained to his students that his goal was "critical curiosity"! I believe that this a wonderful way to covey to students that learning can be frustrating but it takes curiosity for one to learn. I commented with my reflection in a comment stating the following:

"Technology in the classroom can be both positive and negative at times I feel sure. As a future elementary teacher, we are taught in all of our college classes to incorporate technology in our future classrooms. We are constantly pushing the envelope with new ideas as to what we can come up with to develop even further technological tools/resources. I believe that it is vital to use technology in the classroom for students to learn. This decision has been reached due to the fact that students use technology on a daily basis. If we do not incorporate technology into our classrooms students are not going to stay engaged in the material that is being presented. Although there are many pros and cons to technology use in the classroom, the good out ways the bad."

~ Victoria E. Williams
University of South Alabama
EDM 310

Blog Post #8

Finding the Right Tool
Authors: Victoria Williams, Phillip Hall, and Duane Nelson (Collaborative)




Blog Post 8 challenged us to find new tools and tell how we would incorporate them into our classroom as future educators. We did not realize when we began research on this project, that we would come across so many different tools that would be beneficial when teaching. Phillip had to learn how to incorporate technology into physical education. He thought this would be a hard task, until he did the research for this project. After collaborating as a group we found many tools that Phillip could use to provide technology into physical education. We discussed how to incorporate ipods into physical education to offer music while students perform activities such as running. We also thought about incorporating tools such as the Wii Fit and Heart rate counters.

While researching this project, we came across some amazing resources/tools. The websites Phillip will incorporate into his lessons are: Electrikids for Teachers www.electrikids.com and www.peuniverse.com. Electrikids for Teachers provide teachers, parents and students, free fitness related activities to download and use. These website's also provide other websites related to physical education. Electrikids include activities he intends on incorporating into his individual lesson plans. Some of the activities listed included: Traffic Cop, Body Map, Applauding Heart-rate and Bean Bag Hockey. All of these activities include helpful tips and demonstrations on how to keep our bodies healthy and fun ways to enjoy physical activities. PE University is another website found while researching this project. PE University provides PE video activities, demonstrations on how to use weight-lifting equipment properly and social media websites exclusively designed for the physical education profession. The social medial component is compared to YouTube and Facebook.

There are also many other tools that can be used in the classroom. Victoria Williams becoming a future Elementary educator and Duane Nelson becoming a Secondary Educator the possibilities of using different tools in the classroom are limitless. One of the great tools that can be used in the elementary setting is ePals. This gives students a great opportunity to connect with anyone, anywhere. This tool will allow students to explore different cultures of their own and communicate with other people globally. Another great tool that can be used in a Secondary setting is Ning. This tool allows anyone to make a personalized social network which is a great use for both students and teachers alike. The number of tools of technology that can be used in any grade level are countless. It just takes research and drive of the teacher to incorporate these amazing assets into the classroom.

Although the tools listed above, is more than sufficient to improve classroom objectives, we came across another tool that Phillip plans on incorporating in his physical education class. The tool is the Wii Gaming System. The activities on this game is directly linked to the physical education classroom. This will be a most useful tool in Phillip’s class, especially on rainy days. Phillip learned that physical education should always include teaching that will promote good health, but also include learning that is enjoyable and fun. This in turn, will hopefully help Phillip's students become life-long lovers of physical education. Wii Youtube Video


Technology Used in the Classroom

Authors: Victoria Williams, Duane Nelson, and Phillip Hall



We all became excited when discussing what all could be used in the classroom when acknowledging technology available. Many teachers are unaware of all the resources that are steadily provided to us on a daily basis. We plan to use iCurio for our students to look up important people they are interested in doing research for that is relevant to the lesson. Victoria discussed how using iCurio in her elementary classroom would be a safe way for her children to navigate the web without stumbling upon negative or inappropriate material. Discovery Education is another beautiful resource to use especially when engaging in science. Discovery Education allows students to watch science in life action and bring the pages of a textbook and what students are reading to life! The SMART board is one of the latest innovations at the moment which we all can not wait to have the opportunity to use in our classrooms. The use of the SMART board is crucial to all of us because we did not have the opportunity as students to learn through an engaging process using technology, which the SMART board demonstrates so effectively. All of these resources have been discussed in our EDM 310 class so we took it upon ourselves to discuss resources outside of what has been brought to our attention in EDM 310. We discussed the many reasons that we could incorporate cameras and camcorders into our classrooms. Cameras and camcorders could be a wonderful asset when applying project based learning. We recently wrote a Project based lesson plans on for third grade science about insects. Cameras were used in this project/lesson. Which can be found on our blog. Cameras and camcorders could also be used in the classroom to engage students in participating in a learning scavenger hunt. There are endless possibilities to incorporating cameras and camcorders into the classroom. To be the best teachers that we can be it is a necessity to keep up with the latest technology and learn how to incorporate it into our classroom. Students will be more willing to learn material when they are using devices and experiences that many use on a daily basis.