Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Blog Post #13
Brian Crosby's video "Back to the Future" was very interesting to see. He teaches a set of students through 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Of course some will move and come in and out, but I am assuming most stay essentially the same. The students he teaches, more than 90%, are second language learners. The students are also children of poverty.
In Brian Crosby's class, he has one computer for every student. He goes into a couple of the projects that he does, and the students response. Instead of testing the students on why the class did the project and the outcome, he will have each student blog about the project. The students will embed the video on the project and talk about why the project works.
One of the projects the class did is send a balloon into the earth's atmosphere. Mr. Crosby had the students write a story as if they were the balloon. They embedded pictures taken from the camera attacked to the balloon, and pictures taken from the launch.
Active learning is Mr. Crosby's main teaching thought, much like Dr. Strange's thought process. I have said many times that I disliked this thought process for the first part of this semester. It took me a couple weeks to get use to this idea of rather than asking the teacher what to do or having the teacher tell me exactly what to do, I had to figure it out for myself. It was mind blowing to me and honestly, has changed my outlook on learning.
Mr. Crosby's students look excited and wanting to learn in all of his videos. In the times I would shadow teachers, the second language learners never looked like that way. They looked bored, and when called on to answer a question, they 80% of the time did not know it or need help to understand what the question was asking. Which I though was understandable, because they were second language learners. Although I have not seen Mr. Crosby's students when called upon but active learning did them like it has done to me then they are doing fantastic in their classes.
Another thing I like about Mr. Crosby is that he teaches through activities. I am a hands on type of girl. I guess I learn better than way. I learn and want to teach by the motto of "Teach me; I'll forget. Show me; I'll remember. Involve me; I'll understand." It actually is a Chinese proverb. I have a feeling Mr. Crosby goes by it too.
The first thing that anyone watching "A Vision of Students Today" that is a student in any college or university at least in the US that is "I Know!" The 200 students at Kansas State helped to form what was to be said in this video that ranged from "18% of my teacher know my name", "I complete 49% of the assigned reading", "I will spend 3 1/2 hours a day online", "I will be in $20,000 in debt after graduation". This video did not just mention all the things that the teachers, students, or the colleges and universities are doing wrong, but what is happening in a whole.
I think that this video is a dramatic message to teachers and administrators. First, the thing that I think a great deal of college student will be going through is that debt. I understand some of the thing that a college student has to pay for, yet some are a little much. I am not going into specifics on that subject. I know that I as a college student do not read all of my assignments. I do not think any college student could and get all their work done. Also there are some teachers who still give us busy work, which I do not understand. The reason for busy work in the grade schools was literally to keep the students busy, yet we, college students, have a lot of other work more than likey to do for that class as well. So we could just work on that big project at the end of the semester. I am not talking about this or any class I have this semester. I actually love all my teac
Monday, November 19, 2012
Final Report on my PLN
Progress Report on Final Project
Comments for Kids: November
The first comment I did for November was for two teachers that were in a conference in Ireland. They were blogging about all that they were seeing. The blog I commented about was telling about the National Gallery of Ireland. The blog was fittingly titled "National Gallery of Ireland", and my comment was this:
Hi! My name is Maria and I am also a student at University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310. I am currently going to school to become an elementary teacher. I loved reading about the National Gallery of Ireland. My great grandparents emigrated from Ireland when they were children. So naturally I enjoy anything for Ireland. I am excited to look through more of your blog posts. Have a great time in Ireland.
http://eschbachmariaedm310.blogspot.com/
C4K #8
My second comment for November was for Daniel. He did a blog post about the Eiffel Tower which was very informative. The blog was titled "The Tower of Eiffel", and my comment was this:
Hi Daniel.
My name is Maria. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog post about the Eiffel Tower. I never knew that the Eiffel Tower had so many steps! I also was intrigued to find out that the Eiffel Tower was made in celebration of The French Revolution. I hope you continue blogging!
Maria
My blog
C4K #9
My third comment for November was for Emma. Emma's blog post was about what she did for during the month of September. She said she build a ski-ball game out of used cardboard which I loved! Emma's class also had Dot Day where they went around and drew dots on the sidewalk in celebration of "Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds. Emma's post is titled "September Reflections". My comment was this:
Hi Emma,
My name is Maria, and I am a student at University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I wish I could have seen your ski-ball machine! It sounds like it would be a lot of fun to build and play with. Keep using your imagination and building things!
My blog
Maria
C4K #10
My fourth for comment for November was for Brooke Emmons. Brooke's blog post was about "The Caged Bird". She compared Melinda and the caged bird. Brooke said that both Melinda and the caged bird want to be free. Brooke's blog post is titled "Melinda- The Caged Bird". My comment is this:
Hi Brooke,
My name is Maria. I am a student at University of South Alabama, and I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I liked your analysis of "The Caged Bird". I have not read it before, but I feel as though I understand the story with your description. Keep reading!
My blog
Maria
Friday, November 16, 2012
Blog Post #12
For this week, Dr. Strange has us making our own blog post. After much deliberation of how I wanted to do this, I found a great blog post, and it did can be used for all grade levels. After which I found a video by Sir Ken Robinson dealing with the same subject.
The instruction would be this:
1. A. Read this blog:
Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher's Field Guide
Summarize and describe your thoughts and reactions.
B. Send Gaetan pappalardo (@gaetanp ) a thank you Tweet. Mark it #edm310 so I will see your Tweet.
2. Watch this video. You can start at 35mins into the video. :
Sir Ken Robinson - Educating the Heart and Mind.
Summarize key points and relay your thoughts.
Follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
My assignment
Engaging Parents
Gaetan Pappalardo caught my attention by his first paragraph in Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher’s Field Guide. He talks about how he loves watching new teachers. How new teachers are pretty much running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Another thing I liked is that he was honest. In the next paragraph, Pappalardo said that the beginning of school meetings with parents may be the only time teacher will see or speak to parents. Teachers need to take advantage of this. This is the basis of his blog post.
He continues his blog by saying that parents do not care about teachers qualifications. Pappalardo follows this by saying that “Parents value how a teacher makes their child feel, over if he/she remembers the capital of Utah.” Parents want their child to be valued and loved in school. Pappalardo then brought up the obvious point that love is not the “in” thing right now. The “in” thing is getting the numbers in standardized test scores which will case less of the love. So what is the answer? Pappalardo does not know, but he believes that a part of it has to come from parents. Yet all this has to start with dialogue. He ends his blog saying that he will post one positive tweet a day. He shares all his hash tags so you can do or follow them.
I really liked the picture he gave of first time students. I know that the teachers he describes, in part, will be me. I found it surprising at first that parents do not care about teacher’s credentials. I feel like this whole blog post is like Pappalardo says “a hippy moment” but if more than two people are saying it, one of them being the Dali Lama. Then it has to be true.
I feel as though teachers are on such a tight teaching schedule that they do not have any time do to activities let alone make sure that the student feels loved. Not to mention in some places a teachers are not even allowed to hug the younger elementary children because it is not professional. That is not showing the love.
As for parents having the power, I totally agree. I think teachers have been complaining about this since it started and we still have standardized test. If parents were more active in the dialogue or more parents were active in it, then more people may listen.
Sir Ken Robinson - Educating the Heart and Mind
“Most people have no idea what they are capable of.”
Sir Ken Robinson says that the dropout rate in the US is 40% in his video “Educating the Heart and Mind”. He continues by saying that the suicide rates, especially in people from 15-20, are in historically high rates. Young men are four times more likely to commit suicide than young women. Suicide is also the 4th highest cause of death in the world. He continues with more statistics about people in jail or going to jail and unemployment. One that startles me is that 900,000 cases of ADHD were misdiagnosed in the US.
Sir Robinson touches on the creativity that he talked so strongly about in the TED conference, but his main objective here was to talk about the empathy of humans. He says that “we shut empathy off so we can do things that are unimaginable.” The reason that people are so lost and depressed is because they lost their connection to themselves. They have no sense of themselves.
What does this all have to do which education? Sir Robinson says it is part of the problem for this, and it also needs to be part of the solution. What do we do about it? First to recognize that education that is personal. Sir Robinson suggests Alternative Education, although he thinks that it is funny that it is called Alternative Education. The second is that arts need to be a part of education. Music and art is how we experience our own individuality, Sir Robinson points out. The third and final is mindfulness or to focus in on themselves, to have the children practice a form of meditation essentially.
Sir Robinson’s first point has the same problem that Gaetan Pappalardo’s blog pointed out, standardized test. It is hard for a teacher to make education personal while the pressure. It is not impossible. Many great teachers do a fantastic job at it, but I believe it is at the core of our problem. Teachers are not allowed to teach to the students but to the test.
I think that a good point that Sir Robinson pointed out that in this technology age especially after learning so much in this class we need to remember that children are not data driven. I do not mean I am not going to teach with technology. I am so excited about the prospect of it. I mean that we need to use technology as a tool and be able to teach the whole child.
The instruction would be this:
1. A. Read this blog:
Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher's Field Guide
Summarize and describe your thoughts and reactions.
B. Send Gaetan pappalardo (@gaetanp ) a thank you Tweet. Mark it #edm310 so I will see your Tweet.
2. Watch this video. You can start at 35mins into the video. :
Sir Ken Robinson - Educating the Heart and Mind.
Summarize key points and relay your thoughts.
Follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.
My assignment
Gaetan Pappalardo caught my attention by his first paragraph in Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher’s Field Guide. He talks about how he loves watching new teachers. How new teachers are pretty much running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Another thing I liked is that he was honest. In the next paragraph, Pappalardo said that the beginning of school meetings with parents may be the only time teacher will see or speak to parents. Teachers need to take advantage of this. This is the basis of his blog post.
He continues his blog by saying that parents do not care about teachers qualifications. Pappalardo follows this by saying that “Parents value how a teacher makes their child feel, over if he/she remembers the capital of Utah.” Parents want their child to be valued and loved in school. Pappalardo then brought up the obvious point that love is not the “in” thing right now. The “in” thing is getting the numbers in standardized test scores which will case less of the love. So what is the answer? Pappalardo does not know, but he believes that a part of it has to come from parents. Yet all this has to start with dialogue. He ends his blog saying that he will post one positive tweet a day. He shares all his hash tags so you can do or follow them.
I really liked the picture he gave of first time students. I know that the teachers he describes, in part, will be me. I found it surprising at first that parents do not care about teacher’s credentials. I feel like this whole blog post is like Pappalardo says “a hippy moment” but if more than two people are saying it, one of them being the Dali Lama. Then it has to be true.
I feel as though teachers are on such a tight teaching schedule that they do not have any time do to activities let alone make sure that the student feels loved. Not to mention in some places a teachers are not even allowed to hug the younger elementary children because it is not professional. That is not showing the love.
As for parents having the power, I totally agree. I think teachers have been complaining about this since it started and we still have standardized test. If parents were more active in the dialogue or more parents were active in it, then more people may listen.
“Most people have no idea what they are capable of.”
Sir Ken Robinson says that the dropout rate in the US is 40% in his video “Educating the Heart and Mind”. He continues by saying that the suicide rates, especially in people from 15-20, are in historically high rates. Young men are four times more likely to commit suicide than young women. Suicide is also the 4th highest cause of death in the world. He continues with more statistics about people in jail or going to jail and unemployment. One that startles me is that 900,000 cases of ADHD were misdiagnosed in the US.
Sir Robinson touches on the creativity that he talked so strongly about in the TED conference, but his main objective here was to talk about the empathy of humans. He says that “we shut empathy off so we can do things that are unimaginable.” The reason that people are so lost and depressed is because they lost their connection to themselves. They have no sense of themselves.
What does this all have to do which education? Sir Robinson says it is part of the problem for this, and it also needs to be part of the solution. What do we do about it? First to recognize that education that is personal. Sir Robinson suggests Alternative Education, although he thinks that it is funny that it is called Alternative Education. The second is that arts need to be a part of education. Music and art is how we experience our own individuality, Sir Robinson points out. The third and final is mindfulness or to focus in on themselves, to have the children practice a form of meditation essentially.
Sir Robinson’s first point has the same problem that Gaetan Pappalardo’s blog pointed out, standardized test. It is hard for a teacher to make education personal while the pressure. It is not impossible. Many great teachers do a fantastic job at it, but I believe it is at the core of our problem. Teachers are not allowed to teach to the students but to the test.
I think that a good point that Sir Robinson pointed out that in this technology age especially after learning so much in this class we need to remember that children are not data driven. I do not mean I am not going to teach with technology. I am so excited about the prospect of it. I mean that we need to use technology as a tool and be able to teach the whole child.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Project # 13
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Comments for Teachers #3
Jarrod Robinson or Mr. Robbo is is a Physical Education teacher from country Victoria Australia. I commented on his blog post "The Video Analysis App Battle". This post was about the apps for video analysis for coaching and which are the best. He had six apps listed that the reads were to click on and vote on which were the best in a poll at the end of the post. Mr. Robbo's poll concluded that Coaches Eye was the best video analysis app. Although I do not know for sure what makes a good app, I made a go at it in my comment:
Hi,
My name is Maria. I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I do not know a lot about these types of apps, but I like Ubersense and Coach My Video because they are free. I like any app that is free because then students, parents, and teachers (or in this case coaches) can all have the app. I also liked the look of Coaches Eye. I liked that there were different colors for different highlighted points. Only down point about that app it was one of the more expensive.
My blog
Maria
App for Android
The second blog post I commented on from Jarrod Robinson was about an app for an android phone for PE teachers. This app was to help measure the fitness level of anyone. Although I am a newly lover of all things Mac, I am glad there is things out there for those who disagree. The blog post is titled "Fitness App for Android". My comment was this:
Hi!
Maria Eschbach from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class here again. This app is interesting. I think that it is great that this is available for those who do not have apple products. Also I think that this app will be very beneficial to PE teachers. I know that mine did a lot of guess work. So there would be no excuse now.
My blog
Maria
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Blog Post #11
In the video "Little Kids...Big Potential", the first graders talked about all the technological things that they do in Ms. Cassidy's class. The first graders talked about how their writing has improved while writing on their blogs. Before this class, I would not have understood this, but I agree. I think that my writing, or at least my grammar and editing have improved. They went on to talk about using wikis, videos, Nintendo DS, and Skype.
I love just seeing the pictures and how focused the children are with the computer. It would be hard to see a child that focuses on a book in first grade. I loved the idea of using wiki to better understand things like traditions. I think that using something online and getting several people to comment on it will get a more comprehensive answer to a question. I thought it was interesting to hear about using an Nintendo DS to help with problem solving and sharing.
Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy
In her interview with Dr Strange, Ms. Cassidy goes into detail about how she started with technology. She mentions that she started with five computers that she could not put any software on, but they had internet access. She started to research what she could do with them which expanded into blogging and other things.
Ms. Cassidy says in her interview that she is always pushing the envelope with her technology coordinator. I hope I can say this when I become a teacher. I want to be at my administrators door saying, "Look at this cool new thing!". She goes on to say that not all administrators support her technology driven classroom. I wonder how it is to work with that. I asked her on twitter. I am waiting on a comment back.
Although there has been talk about it in my previous blogs and videos I have seen, I guess I have never thought about how much this will be a blessing for parents. Ms. Cassidy said that parents love it because they can see how their children are doing whenever is convenient for them, not just at parent-teacher night. She then mentions: "technology and children go hand and hand". That is a statement I need to remember! "They like not having to power down when they are at school." This mentality is probably the reason why the children in the pictures look so focused. Another thing Ms. Cassidy said that I had not thought was that children get excited about writing for many people. Why write on pencil and paper for just me? I never thought of it that way.
I like the idea of having a classroom hub website. Ms. Cassidy mentions how she tells her students not to click on the advertisements on the sides of the website. I like the idea of having one website where a student can find links to all the websites they need for the class like a symbaloo of sorts.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Comments for Kids: October
My first student I commented on in October was Anttub954. This student wrote a very imaginative story about Thanksgiving called "The Wacky Thanksgiving". It started like any normal Thanksgiving story, but then everything went wrong. This student has a great imagination. This was my comment:
Hi Anttub954! My name is Maria. I am a college student in Alabama at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I really enjoyed your story. I thought it was going to be a normal Thanksgiving story, but it changed into something I have never heard before. You have a great imagination. I hope you never lose it and continue writing stories.
C4K #4
The second student I commented on was themcpatrick. The blog was called "Group Work" which got my attention. This student had great ideas about how to successfully work in a group. Some things that I learned the hard way. My comment was this:
Hi themcpatrick! My name is Maria, and I am a student at University of South Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I like you do not like to have group projects. It seems I always get paired or grouped up with someone who does not want to do any work. You made great points about how to improve any situation. Even if there is no problem with your group members, with these points the group will make sure that no problems arise. I am going to save these and use them later on. Great job! Wish I read this when I was in high school.
C4K #5
The third student I commented on has the code name Skywalker which he said in an earlier post was not his real name, but he liked it. I liked it as well. He wrote in his blog titled "A Long Weekend" about Terry Fox Day which I did not know what this was. I looked it up and found out this day is about cancer research and exercise. I think this is a great day to have for students to help them understand what cancer is. My comment to Skywalker was:
Hi Skywalker,
I really like your "name". My name is Maria, and I am a student at University of South Alabama in the US. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I found your post interesting because we do not have Terry Fox Day in the States. I looked Terry Fox Day on the internet and now know what it is. I hope you continue with you blog, and the use of the internet. I know it has been a great help to me.
C4K #6
My fourth and final student I commented on for the month of October was Matthew. He did an analysis of "The Outsiders" titled "The Outsiders Characterization: Dally". My comment was:
Hi Matthew. My name is Maria. I am studying at the University of South Alabama to become an elementary teacher. I like your analysis of “The Outsiders”. I have not read the book since I was in the 7th grade, but your thoughts on it brought me back to the story. Keep reading!
Maria
http://eschbachmariaedm310.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Special Blog Assignment
A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind
USA TODAY was celebrating its 30th anniversary and commemorating this event, some of the USA's greatest visionaries were interviewed for an article titled "A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind". Mary Beth Marklein, the author of the article, asked these people to talk about the world of tomorrow as they see it.
She first interviewed Sebastian Thrun who is a "Google vice president and Stanford research professor best known for his role in building Google's driverless car." He is the founder of Udacity which is a free online educational company. Udacity offers courses like Programming Languages, Design of Computer Programs, and Artificial Intelligence.
The next visionary Marklein interviewed was Sal Kahn. He is best known for flipping classrooms. Flipping a classroom is where students learn the lesson at home and then do activities, homework, or further learning in the classroom.
The article mentions Kahn's thoughts on the future of education, or the way he would like education to look in 30 years. He mentions that grades are "the failure of the education system". I have heard that many people want to get rid of standardized tests, and I agree with that. Yet his thoughts on getting rid of all grades caught me off guard. Kahn said he would like a system to be on mastery of a concept or skill. The student would be able to take as much or as little time as needed to master the skill. I honestly do not know how I feel about this. All I think about is the simulation lab in nursing school. I wonder how mastery of a skill would be tested. Would it be tested?
Another thing that struck me was that Kahn is "aim(ing) to make an online college education as affordable as a cellphone bill," and Thrun has a free online college. I am with the rest of college students out there wanting cheaper tuition cost, but I am a realist to a point. I wonder how it is that there is enough money to pay teachers and other staff if the cost is as low as a cellphone bill or lower. I do not see this happening. I wish it would, so I would not have to save up for my children's education.
She first interviewed Sebastian Thrun who is a "Google vice president and Stanford research professor best known for his role in building Google's driverless car." He is the founder of Udacity which is a free online educational company. Udacity offers courses like Programming Languages, Design of Computer Programs, and Artificial Intelligence.
The next visionary Marklein interviewed was Sal Kahn. He is best known for flipping classrooms. Flipping a classroom is where students learn the lesson at home and then do activities, homework, or further learning in the classroom.
The article mentions Kahn's thoughts on the future of education, or the way he would like education to look in 30 years. He mentions that grades are "the failure of the education system". I have heard that many people want to get rid of standardized tests, and I agree with that. Yet his thoughts on getting rid of all grades caught me off guard. Kahn said he would like a system to be on mastery of a concept or skill. The student would be able to take as much or as little time as needed to master the skill. I honestly do not know how I feel about this. All I think about is the simulation lab in nursing school. I wonder how mastery of a skill would be tested. Would it be tested?
Another thing that struck me was that Kahn is "aim(ing) to make an online college education as affordable as a cellphone bill," and Thrun has a free online college. I am with the rest of college students out there wanting cheaper tuition cost, but I am a realist to a point. I wonder how it is that there is enough money to pay teachers and other staff if the cost is as low as a cellphone bill or lower. I do not see this happening. I wish it would, so I would not have to save up for my children's education.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Blog Post # 10
When I saw this cartoon, I thought of the commercial that was seen a couple of months to a year ago comparing a PC to a Mac. The Papermate would be the PC in this cartoon, and the Ticonderoga would be the Mac. The Papermate is saying he costs least, but he breaks more, which I feel is like PCs now. I feel that my PC might just shut down sense I said that. While the Ticonderoga says that he is the most expensive purchase a hipster will ever make. I know that there is a joke in there that I am not aware of or do not understand. Yet what I do understand is that even though Macs are more expensive, they are more trustworthy and have technology that is easier to use once you understand how to use them.
This reminds me of a comparison I found which compared PC and Mac owners. Which made me think, which person do I what to be?
Adventures in Pencil Integration
In "Why are your kids playing games?", John Spencer uses his a satire approach to get people's attention. In this story, a principal calls in his character and scolds him for allowing students to play games. John Spencer's character even says that doctors use the approach of playing games to learn, but the principal will not listen.
I think that this way of writing is fantastic. It makes people think about how silly they are thinking, especially about a topic such as this. Students need to be able to play games. Playing games helps them learn and helps them to connect what they are learning to the bigger picture.
I read several more of John Spencer's blog post, but another one stood out to me. This blog was titled "The Con Academy". This post has the same unique way of spelling out John Spencer's thoughts on a topic. The topic though was flipping the classroom. He has quite a different view on flipping a classroom than other blog post and videos I have seen. Spencer's post mentions that this is not a true flipped classroom, yet it appears that he has some strong words against it.
Don’t teach your kids this stuff.
Dr. Scott McLeod's blog titled Dangerously Irrelevant. Dr. McLeod is the co-creator of the Shift Happens series which have been seen by over 40 million people worldwide. In his biography, I found that he is also "is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues." Dr. Scott McLeod's blog post, "Don't teach your kids this stuff, Please", had great sarcasm to it. It spoke how parents, teachers, administrators, and board members should not teach children about computers. Dr. McLeod did not stop at computers though. He continued with scanners, PLN, how to make videos, do social networking, and so much more that I do not think he missed one. I also think he did not miss one of the reasons why parents, teachers, and so on do not teacher the children about all that is listed above.
I enjoyed reading this because I know these people. They are in my family. I will not say any names. Yet after learning how much technology can help in schoolwork and in a classroom, I wonder why it is that people are afraid of technology. I think it is because they do not understand it. It is the American way. If you do not understand something than it has to be bad for you, we cannot learn what it is.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Blog Post #9
Volume I
Mr. McClung’s blog post for his first year titled, “What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009)”, caught my attention by the picture he put at the top of the post. It said, “An important decision I made this year is ‘stay positive”. “Stay Positive” was written in his own handwriting. This is one of my mottos. I feel as though parts of this blog post he wrote strictly for me. In one part, he commented about how teachers need to be flexible and not strive for perfection.
In this blog, Mr. McClung has great advice for teachers, teachers who are now teaching or will be teaching. I feel like his blog was a mini lesson for me. A lesson that I need to hold on to and remember on my first year of teaching to be flexible, communicate with others, be reasonable with you expectations with students, do not be afraid of technology, listen to your students, and never to stop learning. All of these are great points and that Mr. McClung learned them all after one year of teaching is wonderful.
Volume IV
In Mr. McClung’s blog post for his fourth year, “What I've Learned This Year (2011-2012)”, it was interesting to hear about his struggles with being accepted by his peers. After reading the first blog, I thought the last was going to be even better. I did enjoy the blog. I just thought he would give a pep talk the whole post. Yet Mr. McClung gives us an insight on what his struggles were with I thought was refreshing.
After that point, Mr. McClung talks about how he was a little lazy because he had all of his lesson plans already mapped out, and there was nothing more for him to do. It is funny that he says that. I shadowed some teachers a few semesters ago that said in a few years a teacher has his or her lesson plans down, and teaching gets less stressful. Makes me wonder if these teachers meant you do not have to do as much.
Project # 10 Progress Report
I began to delete all the tiles that I would not ever use such as the sports networks while adding all my EDM 310 sites to Symbaloo. Everyone knows I use those a lot throughout the week. I added other tiles such as my online class, Google Drive, and the website for University of South Alabama. I also added tiles for blogs I have been following. With this feature it is easier to check on the blogs, as well as just about everything else.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Comments 4 Teachers #3
“Stop trying to find a fix rather than a solution.” This is Chad Segersten’s first idea of how to fix education. He has five in his blog post, How to Fix Education in 5 Easy Steps! In this post he outlines five steps that he suggests including empowering great leaders out of the administration and empowering great teachers. My comment was this:
Hi. My name is Maria and I am also a student at University of South Alabama in EDM 310. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I agree with the points you make about changing the educational system. I especially liked point 3 about empowering the administrators. I feel that administrators get painted as the bad guys especially with the standardized tests. Although I am not a teacher yet, I agree that working together with other teachers would be beneficial not only to the teachers but the students. It helps to reinforce the information.
Maria
http://eschbachmariaedm310.blogspot.com/
Does Technology Make Us Impatient? is a blog post John Spencer wrote on the blog Education Rethink. He has been taking a break from blogging and twitter to write a book. He comments on how Twitter seems a lot faster now that he is as use to it. He mentions an idea that technology makes life faster, but because of this he finds himself becoming more impatient. My comment was this:
Hi,
My name is Maria, and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I agree with your thought at the end of the blog. I find myself wanting things to be faster. I get impatient with my dog, the mail, and this week the voting line. Thinking about how could technology help this to make it faster. I agree that I love technology. That I feel that I am a better student and will be a better teacher with it. Yet I love those times when I pick up an old paperback library book and sit outside. Thanks for your post.
Maria
My blog
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Blog Post #8
Dr. Miller’s video This Is How We Dream was very interesting. In his video, Dr. Miller shows a range of technologies that are available now. He discusses that, via technology, he and students do not need to go into a library for information. He has done all the research through the internet. He also shows how people can collaborate on a project over the internet. Dr. Miller talks about iTunesU, which I forgot about as a learning technology. I was able to go on and find lectures about things I am interested in. I have always been curious about taking a sign language course, and on iTunesU there is a lecture available to download about it.
This video has parts that were honestly alarming to me. As I was watching this video, I was thinking: “I do not know how to do this or that, and most elementary students that I will be teaching will.” Dr. Miller discusses the how multimedia writing can be used to our advantage. I am genuinely glad that I am in EDM 310 and will begin my journey to learn these techniques.
The technology Dr. Miller shows is daunting to me right now. At the same time, I am excited the prospect of the technology. Throughout this class, I am learning that I only knew the tip of the iceberg of what a computer can do, and this video demonstrates this well. One quote from Dr. Miller that stuck out to me in his video was “the limits and the restrictions are largely ones we put on ourselves”. This quote sums up my relationship with a computer before this class. I stuck to what I knew and did not learn anymore. Now I am learning much more.
Carly’s Blog Post Assignment
Carly Pugh’s Blog Post 12 was an inventive assignment. In her post, she suggests that future EDM 310 students do a YouTube playlist detailing their philosophy as a teacher. In this playlist, there would be 10 different videos. I think this assignment would be a challenging multimedia writing assignment, but it would make me realize who I wish to be as a teacher. One of my videos would have to be “You can’t be my teacher”. I saw it on Carly’s blog, but I found it a couple days before and was waiting for the right time to post it.
I enjoyed many of the videos she put on her own playlist, but I would have to say my favorite was “Creativity to the Rescue”. I agree with Carly that we, as not just as teachers but parents, teachers, aunts, uncles, etc. need to support the creative minds of children. If the child wants the train to sound like a dog or a bird like in the video then let them.
EDM 310 is Different
EDM 310 for Dummies is a very funny video. The video is a sales pitch for “EDM 310 for Dummies”. It starts off with two girls frustrated with the class. Leading into the question, “Does EDM 310 have you down?” Once the girls receive a copy of “EDM 310 for Dummies” their opinions on the class changes, both are enjoying the class and telling what all she is doing because of knowledge learned from EDM 310.
The Chipper series said a quote that sounded very familiar “Teach me so I don’t have to learn”. I believe Dr. Strange said this to my class the first day of class. The Chipper series outlines what happens to a student who is a product of, as Dr. Strange puts it, “Burp-Back Education”. The video follows a girl who starts off in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. She drops out of school because she does not like the way Dr. Strange is teaching his class. She then gets several jobs that she is not able keep for one reason or another. After she is not able to keep her job of a garbage person, she decides to go back to school and really try this time.
There still seems to be classmates of mine that dislike the use of technology in the classroom. I would like to participate in a video about a student in EDM 310 who starts the semester not wanting technology in their classroom for when he or she becomes a teacher for whatever reason. May be there can be several students having different reasons why they do not want technology. By the end of the video and the semester, they realize that technology is a great resource in the classroom and only helps to further the education possibilities.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
The first 20 seconds of Learn to Change, Change to Learn makes you realize how much there needs to be a change. In that first 20 second, Keith Krueger says that Education is ranked number 55 by the US Department of Commerce in for the level of I.T. intensiveness, only 55 professions were ranked. Education was the lowest. If that is not a sign for a change, I do not know what is. The video continues to show how a change needs to happen.
This video ,in 5 minutes and 36 seconds, shows teachers with amazing ideas. Ideas from having the students taking their cell phones to collect data. Another idea is that school is where students come together to do enrichment or group projects. One teacher pointed out that a school should be a community system rather than a classroom system. I could go on about the great ideas these individuals made, but instead I wonder why it is that we have the system we still have. If there are many great teachers and professors telling us and even showing us a better way to teach, why are we stuck in the old ways? May be because it is easier? I hope that my generation of teachers can change it.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
I chose Edmondo for my social networking site. From the initial looks it very similar to Facebook. One of the features I like is that it is free. I saw other sites that may have been nicer, but they are $24 or more a month. I also liked that the grades can be posted on this site. There also is a place for teachers to post assignments, alerts, quizzes, or a poll. Two other features I liked are the calendar and the library. The calendar can be used for students to keep up with when assignments that are due, and the library is used for posting documents or links for the students.
My comic strip from Make Beliefs Comic is here as well if you would like to see what it says.
My poll from polleverywhere.com is something I have always wondered about since more than southerners seeing this post. I may be able to see what the majority of people say.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Comments 4 Teachers #2
Grapefruits and Maps
The first blog post I commented on was about a lesson she did. The lesson was teaching students about how maps where made. She showed the class how difficult it was to make sure the maps were correct. The class did this by making a map on a grapefruit, and then cutting the peal off. This blog post was named Grapefruit and Maps for obvious reasons and my comment was this:
Hi my name is Maria. I am a current student at University of South Alabama. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I think that this is an excited way to learn about how to make maps. I like anything that is hands on. I especially like this one because the students were working in pairs so they had to agree things like how to take the peel off. I also like that it got a little messy. I think that sometimes teachers worry about keeping everything clean too much, and do not let the students be kids. I have one question what would you suggest as a better writing utensil on the fruit? Would a regular pen work? Thank you for the great idea! I will use it!
Ms. Ferguson later commented back suggesting a regular ball point pen or a crayon.
Just Not the Same!
THe second blog post I commented on was titled Just Not the Same!. On this post, Ms. Hadley Ferguson was talking about how a lesson she did in two different ways, one inside and one outside, had different outcomes. My comment for this post was this:
Hi Ms. Hadley, Maria Eschbach here again; I enjoyed reading this blog post. I liked seeing your thoughts between the two years. I like you like anything that is hand on and gets the students moving. So that the students in the first year were outside running around, I thought, was great. For the second year, I love that you took over the hallway. That is something I will use in later years. So with the knowledge you have now, about either the ending of the lesson or the activity being stronger which method will go next year?
I have not received an answer to my question yet.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Blog Post #7
The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler is a very interesting video. This video is about a teacher teaching through the theory of learning called Connectivism. In using Connectivism, the teacher does not lecture or have a textbook for the class. Instead, she inspires the students to go online and gather a personal learning network. She wants the students to take control of their own learning and make connections that will strengthen the learning process.
Throughout the video, you can see how one of her students uses Connectivism to his advantage. He shares what he has learned through a social sharing site like wiki spaces. By doing so, he is helping future students that take the same course make the connections that he did. This entire video reminds me of my class EDM 310. We are making connections with teacher through their blogs, twitter, and even within the classroom itself. EDM 310 does not have a textbook, and Dr. Strange does not lecture. When the students get stuck on something, Dr. Strange is there to help, but he mostly empowers his students by having them try to find the answer for themselves first.
At first, this method of teaching takes a little getting used to. Now that I am in this class and have a teacher that is pushing me towards self-learning, I wish that I had this class my freshman year of college or even in high school. I would like to teach my students to stand on their own feet and not to lean so heavily on the teachers.
Which leads one to think if a student could look up the answer to any question: why would they need a teacher? A student needs guidance when it comes to the internet. A student needs to know which sites can be trusted and which cannot. Also a student will not know how to get started with Connectivism, and a teacher will help. The teacher also is the person who gets excited when the student “finds that pearl of information.”
Personal Learning Environment
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is very interesting. I commented on Wendy Drexler’s video that I would have loved to learn this in high school, but middle school would have been even better. Throughout this video, a student walks us through her PLE. She tells us her PLE does not just have websites to do with her schoolwork, but also contains Facebook, YouTube, and other social networks. I really liked the PLE that she created. I think it is organized and easy to work. It reminds me of my PLN that I am making for my EDM 310 class. I think that the main difference from what I can see from the video is that my PLN can be seen by anyone at any time, and a PLE is a personal thing.
The student says in her video that she likes to learn this way because of the freedom. “You can choose how to do it, and when to do it.” I recently read some of Teach like your Hair’s on Fire by Rafe Esquith. In that book, he pointed out that many teachers are teaching how to get into college and not how to finish college. I believe that with this skill of being able to do school work at without a teacher telling you to do this section on Monday and this section on Tuesday will help any student will excel in college.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Comments 4 Kids for September
My first C4K was for a student named Deserae. She is a year 5 student at Pt England School in Auckland, NZ. The blog post I commented on was titled improper fractions. Deserae gave a great picture demonstrating how to change an improper fraction to a mixed fraction. My comment was:
Hello Deserae, My name is Maria. I am a current student at the University of South Alabama in the United States. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I really enjoy your picture of how to covert an improper fraction into a mixed number. This picture makes the conversion very easy to understand, and I am sure is helpful to anyone who is having problems with converting improper fractions to mixed numbers. I hope to use pictures very similar to this one when I become a teacher. I hope you continue to enjoy Math!
C4K#2
My second C4K was for a student named Henry. He is also a studnet at Pt England Schools. He had written a great story called Frozen Beach. This story was about two boys from a hostel, and what happened when they ran away. He complemented his story with pictures. My comment was:
Hello Henry! I am a college student from University of South Alabama which is in Alabama, United States. I am studying to be an elementary teacher. I enjoyed reading your story. I liked the twists you incorporated into your story like that the water at the beach was frozen. It would be interesting to see that. I also enjoyed seeing your artwork. With the artwork, it brought your story to life. I hope you continue to write stories.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Blog Post #6
I have wanted to watch Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture since he recorded. It is sad that it took me till now when I had an assignment to watch it. I have over a page worth of quotes from the lecture that I find myself already using. My favorite quote is “brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things,” or as he later said “they let us show our dedication.” This is a great thing to teach your students. I would teach my students that just because something stops you from achieving you goal does not mean you give up on that goal. It means you fight harder. You look for new ways to achieve that goal, and when you attain it will be all the sweeter. Although like Dr. Pausch pointed out, you may not accomplish your goal but instead gain experience. The experience we receive from not achieving our goals may not be known to us for years down the road. Experiences alone do not change us, but moments as well.
Another quote I like is “when you’re screwing up and nobody is saying anything anymore, that means they gave up.” This is something I would like to teach my students. I want them to realize that when they are getting corrected that it means that someone cares for them and wants them to succeed. When someone is giving you a hard time about something you did wrong do not complain; you just work harder. I wish I could tell this to myself as a child, but I will settle for teaching my students it.
An additional quote I like is “find the best in everybody; no matter how long you have to wait.” Everyone has that one annoying person in the office or classroom. I often times will go and try to befriend that person. I think this is a great lesson to teach students because with 25 or more students in a classroom there will be differing personalities. As well as when they get to college or out in the work place there will be many more people these students will have to get along with. To find the best in others is a great tool to have to get along with other people.
“Apologize when you screw up,” may be the hardest of lessons Randy Pausch taught. This point actually has two parts, both of which can be hard for student as well as some adults. Apologizing would be the first part, and the second part would be the admitting that you messed up. Often times we want to blame others for our mistake and never take ownership of our mistake. I think this is a great point to teach students. This also is about doing the right thing, and as Randy Pausch says “when you do the right thing good stuff has a way of happening.”
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Blog Post #5
The iSchool Initiative from Travis Allen is great. It outlines all the great ways an iTouch or iPad can be used in a school setting. Travis has great ideas to use these devises in a school setting. He shows some of the apps that can be used. The apps will not only help teachers and students, but these will help parents stay in touch with both. Also I love that this is just a taste of the apps that can be used for students and schools.
I would suggest that iPads be used rather than iTouchs. I think this would make it easier for students to be able to see documents and be able to do work. I think that Travis’s idea of limited internet access is a great idea! I know that with the entire internet at their fingertips students might be tempted to surf when they should be doing schoolwork. Also there needs to be no way for the iTouch or iPad to be linked to the student’s cell phone number. The student then will not be able to receive texts. There also needs to be some way to watch the student’s email because if the students cannot text each other then they will email each other.
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir performing 'Lux Aurumque' was amazing. When I found out that all the performers have never met and never performed together, I thought this was a great feat. I was curious how the people were picked to be a part of this project. I looked up Eric Whitacre’s blog to see the answer to my question. He held auditions online. He uploaded a new video recently with 3746 videos from 76 countries.
Teaching in the 21st Century
I thought Kevin Roberts video of Teaching in the 21st Century was interesting. One thing he said that caught my attention was that “Teachers are no longer the main source of information; they are the filter.” I really like this quote. With all the information out there for students, it is hard to decipher which website is telling the truth and which is not. Roberts also makes a good point in that it is not just our job to help students remember. It is also a teacher’s job to help a student understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create as well. Similar to what I am doing as a student in my class now, I would like to incorporate this in my classroom. I would like my students to be able to do their homework online, communicate online, and be completely at ease on a computer. So when it comes time for them to be in a class like EDM 310, they are ready for it or at least have a start since my students are to be elementary students. Yet the way things are changing my classmates and I may be teaching a great more of technology than we realize.
Flipped Classroom
I am so excited about flipped classroom. This is an amazing idea. When a teacher flips his or her classroom, he or she will send videos to the students for them to watch at home. These videos will be the instructional portion of the lesson. The students normally will then complete a couple of questions about the video as well. When the students come into class, they already have knowledge about the lesson and can go into deeper learning, practice problems, and other ways of learning. I would love to do this in my class! I have gone to classrooms and seem the different groups of bored students, challenged students, and confused students especially in a math class. I am glad that Ms. Katie Gimbar put up the FAQ because her first one “What if a student does not watch the video?” was my question. I was surprised when she said she did not have a lot of problems with this. When a student did not watch the video they tended to ask to go watch it before, or if they only watched parts they would normally be peer taught. She did a second part to the question saying to other teachers not to re-lecture. Another question I did not have, but I am glad she covered was “How does this work for all learners?” She mentioned that the high level learners did well because they could move ahead, but the lower level learners were doing better as well because they could pause and rewind the information. I also liked to watch Ms. Munafo video about flipping. It was interesting to see a teacher describing this method for the parents. One thing I want to know is that the boards they are using. I know that the boards can be reused every year, but is there some way to use a smart board or something that is less waste? Another thing I am curious about is whether the school, Hilburn Academy, Ms. Munafo is from has incorporated additional subjects other than math yet.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Comments 4 Teachers #1
Do You Have This in Your Pocket?
The first blog post I read was called Do You Have This in Your Pocket?. This post was about how Dr. Buck keeps a memo pad with him at all times to help him remember things. As you can see from my comment below, I liked this idea. My comment was:
Hello Dr. Buck, my name is Maria and I am a current student at University of South Alabama. I enjoyed this blog post. I am one that likes to have a memo pad with me, but I am one that normally has one at my day time job. Why I have not thought about putting on in my purse or my wallet in not sure. I like to use the note pad feature of the Iphone, but a true memo pad, I believe, would be used more. I will have to go look for a memo pad to help keep my thoughts and my to-do list together.
The Case Against Multitasking
Dr. Buck’s second blog post I commented about was called The Case Against Multitasking. It showed an infogram that stated how the use of multitasking was not good for us. My comment was:
Hello Dr. Buck, Maria Eschbach from University of South Alabama here again. I really found this blog very interesting when I began to read this I looked up and saw that I had 10 tabs open on my browser. One thing I saw that the infogram does not mention is the effects of television on us as well. It mentions wireless devices, computers, and other electronics but with no mention of television. I wonder what changing the channel after every commercial is doing as well, or the combination of picking up your laptop during the commercial break. Thank you for the post. It was most informative.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
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