Book Trailer

Asking Questions: What questions do we ask? How do we ask?

Before this assignment, I never really thought that "asking questions" was such a big part of learning. I always thought that answering the questions was more important. After reading Ben Johnson's blog, I realized that answering the question doesn't matter if you are asking the wrong questions. The questions we ask should be well thought out and prepared before teaching. Preparing you questions can help students avoid confusion and keep yourself on the right track.I was really shocked when Ben Johnson wrote that months went by where students did not answer questions. I admit that I was one of the students that always allowed others to answer the questions, but I answered one every now and then. I think every student should be able to voice their opinions and be able to express themselves. EDM 310 has taught me a method of answering questions that can help this problem. Google padlet would allow teachers to view multiple answers at once. Every student would be able to answer questions and share their thoughts. This would also help teachers. Instead of just hearing one students answer, you would see answers from the entire class. You would know that students do not understand the material when many students do not know the correct answer.

Tips for Asking Questions

• When planning questions, keep in mind your course goals
• Aim for direct, clear, specific questions
• When you plan each class session, include notes of when you will pause to ask and answer questions
• Show that you are interested in students’ answers, whether right or wrong
• Do not interrupt students’ answers
• Wait for students to think and formulate responses
• Develop responses that keep students thinking

How Can iCurio and Discovery Ed Be Used Effectively in Your Instruction?

#C4T #1

C4T #1
The Creation Station: Changing the Climate of the Library
Author: William Chamberlain

Summary
Williams Chamberlain's blog began by describing how a librarian decided to make her library a place for more than just reading. She filled it with craft supplies so she can encourage students to more self expressive activities. Mrs. Owen, the librarian, wants to change students perception of the library. She wants it to feel like a gathering place for teachers and students. Williams Chamberlain also brings some of these ideas to his classroom. He tries to make his classroom as comfortable as possible by providing blankets to his students. He also created an area for a ukulele club.



My Comment I really love these ideas! I definitely think students are more motivated to learn when they are comfortable. I especially love the art supplies in the library. I love anything that allows students to be more creative. As a future teacher, I would love to see these ideas in more schools!

Student Commenting: A Letter to Students
Author: William Chamberlain

Summary

I was assigned to read a blog post by William Chamberlain. The post was about commenting on students blog posts. It explained how important comments are and how they should coveted. he wrote "When a person cares enough to write a good comment, you have received a very special gift. A gift of that person's time, thinking, and attempt to communicate. Do not take this lightly". 

My comment

Hello, 

My name is Raven Williamsand I am a current student at the University of North Alabama. I found your post very interesting because we are learning about commenting in my EDM 310 class. As a new blogger I completely understand how important comments are. I am still learning how to better my commenting skills. I really enjoyed reading your post!

http://williamsravenedm310.blogspot.com/

Project #3

Why Podcasts? How do we do a podcast?

A podcast is a cross between a "broadcast" and "iPod". Listening to a podcast is like listening to a talk show. Podcasts can be downloaded and viewed on iPods, mp3 player, smartphones, and computers. A podcast can be beneficial in classrooms because they enable students to engage in learning. Instead of just reading a book, they can hear the story brought to life from the teacher's voice or maybe even their own. Langwitch has a blog that describes how podcasting was used in the classroom. Students recorded themselves reading a story called "Dinosaurs Before Dark". The students were so engaged in creating their podcast. They even began experimenting with their voices and asked if they could redo their recording if it didn't sound just right. After creating their podcast, students were able to listen and follow along in their books. I think podcasts are a very creative way to influence learning.

Flat Stanley

My favorite project was the Flat Stanley podcast. Students were flattened by their smartboard and sent all across the globe. The students chose locations that they would write short scripts about. After listening to their podcast, it is apparent that the students had fun with this assignment. I really enjoyed listening to the student's stories and adventures! There was really no limit where these kids could go. England, Israel, Japan, and even space! One student even visited my home state Alabama. I think this podcast did a really great job in engaging students to learn. Students were able to learn about different places and experiment in making a pocast. 

Peer Editing

Grammar was never one of my best skills so I was kind of nervous when I was told that we were going to be peer editing. I'm not good at editing my own writing, much less someone else's writing. After reading Paige Ellis' blog about peer editing I feel a lot more comfortable about it. Correcting someones mistakes is important in writing because it could help them learn from it. Constructive criticism is very important. Especially when you are writing and the whole world can see it.



After watching Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes and Peer Editing With Perfection Tutorial,  I have
learned the proper way to peer edit. It is very important to stay positive! I know that I wouldn't want someone to be mean while criticizing my writing. You should always give compliments and explain what you like about it. When editing, you should make suggestions. Details, organization, and word usage are some areas you could use to make suggestions. Corrections are also very important when you are peer editing. Don't be too general when you are making corrections. Explain your corrections and where they need to be executed. If I were to comment on a peer's post I would do it publicly. It is important for the reader and the audience to see it. Someone could have read and thought it was correct.

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

"Mr. Dancealot"

The video "Mr. Dancelot" shows why it is important to teach skills rather than just facts. It was very obvious that a dance class cannot be taught with a power-point and a teacher standing behind a desk. Knowing the facts on how to dance means nothing if you cannot perform them correctly. Some of the students tried to engage in the lecture by attempting to perform the dance steps that were taught. Mr. Dancealot quickly shot down their attempts and told them that they were not allowed to interrupt his lecture. The result of Mr. Dancelots teaching methods was a bunch of confused students that probably failed their exam and learned nothing from the course.

Teaching in the 21st Century
After watching "Teaching in the 21st Century" by Kevin Roberts, I can see the importance of teaching skills within the classroom. Kevin Roberts sees how technology is becoming a part of our everyday life and wants to utilize it to enhance teaching. Kids use so much technology everyday, but they probably don't even know the full potential of what they can do with their cell phones, laptops, and other devices. The way the world is using technology is growing and expanding. Useless facts will not be important when applying for jobs. Students should be taught skills that they are actually going to use in their adult life. I agree with Robert's view that students should be engaged instead of entertained. I was a little confused about the difference at first, but after watching a video by Doug Johnson I can really see the difference. I found the best explanation was with a line from the video. "Show a kid a movie, you have entertained her for an hour. Give a kid a camera, you'll engage her for a lifetime." This is the attitude that all teachers should have in their classrooms. Instead of telling students the answers to their questions, we should teach them how to find it for themselves.

The Networked Student
Written by Tyler Malone

Wendy Drexler explains the education of almost all students in the near future. "The Networked Student" talks about the connection between many students, both in the classroom and worldwide. The "Network Connection" idea is great at the root and helps students connect with more people. The issue that I have with this method is that it loses connection with the people who are physically near you everyday. Networking brings together masses but does not help the social concept of connection at all. In my opinion there should be a medium found in this "Networked" method of education. The thought that a classroom does not need a teacher bothers me as well. Even if it is true that this type of teaching does not need a teacher I do not think that completely relying on your own self using the world wide web is a good place to be. Humans are supposed to interact with each other. Learn from the wise and lead those who look up to you. Leaders and followers are two key elements when trying to reach a goal. Those who have the characteristic of leadership should be able to use that for the benefit of others. Teachers are important to the education of students.



Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Written by Kristy Burton

In this Video Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts Vikki Davis says “I believe every student can learn every child can learn but where children have trouble is when you only have paper and only pencil then only certain types of students are going to succeed” I couldn't agree with her more. This is why I believe my major in physical Education in very important to our future society. Everything shouldn't be based off of notes and test. Teaching different types of life skills through technology and actions is very important. In her class she says she used a lot of different software and technology. This is very important for our students to learn especially with all of our advancements in technology. The one thing I completely disagreed with is the fact that she said she expected her students to Google ever word that they didn't know instead of teaching children through vocab. To me if you expect your students to Google everything they don’t understand they will never truly understand it because the answer is always there. The problem with this strategy is we can’t pull out Google during an interview and if we were never expected to actually learn the word how could we conversant and achieve greatness without our handy dandy sidekick Google. Blogging is probably my favorite source of technology in the classrooms mostly because it can connect us to different students and learning styles from around the world. I also believe with this exposure it can help to eliminate some of the horrible stereotypes we have about different cultures from around the world. What Vikki is doing is incredible she has really found a great way to connect with her students and educated them in a great way. There should be a class like Vikki’s in every school but we need to remember to teach the skills and not the facts when everything starts to become web based we start to lose sight of reality. Teaching math or chemistry online is a horrible idea. We need to learn to have a happy balance of both technology and hands on learning.
-Kristy Burton