My Sentence/ My Passion

My Sentence

My Passion

PBL Presentation

What are Personal Learning Networks (PLN)? How can they help you as a teacher? How are they formed? How can you create your own PLN? Who will be the first additions to your PLN?

What are Personal Learning Networks?

Reasons for teachers to create a PLN - Catlin Tucker

Connect to other educators at any time

Teachers can stay in touch and share resources at any time regardless of their location.

Keep Learning

To continue growing, we must continue learning. Personal learning networks give teachers a way to continue learning.

Embrace the change; Don't fight it

Teaching methods are constantly changing with new technology. Being able to connect with teachers that use this technology successfully is a great way to expand ways to teach a classroom.

I chose to use symbaloo to start building my PLN. I included tiles like teachers tube to help expand my networks in education. I included twitter because I follow teachers who share valuable resources. I also added tiles that is linked to my blog, the EDM310 class blog, and other tools that I might need in EDM310. Some of the tiles I added are personal ones. They include music, social media, and some of the places that I shop. My goal for my PLN is to add a lot more tiles that will help me succeed as a teacher.

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

I think that is really important for teachers to learn how to ask good questions. I didn't know that there was a wrong way to ask questions until two years ago when I joined Alpha Delta Pi. Going through recruitment was an amazing time for me. I got to meet a lot of new people and became a part of an amazing sisterhood. Recruitment was a lot like speed dating to me. You're basically trying to learn as much as you can about a person in a small amount of time. I didn't learn about asking question until I was able the other side of recruitment. We constantly had workshops and activities that would help us be able to talk to potential new members. The most important thing we learned was how to ask open ended questions. These workshops could go on for hours. We were always brainstorming new ideas and learning more effective ways to ask questions. I always hated going to those workshops but now I'm really thankful for them.

 It's really important for teachers to be able to ask good questions. Students need to be challenged and I don't think that questions that just end in yes or no accomplish that. I also think it is important that ALL children should be participating in answering. I just think that it's crazy that a child can sit in a classroom for months without answering a single question. How do  teachers know that they understand if they don't ask?

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

I always hated peer editing in high school. I always had trouble editing my own work so I never really wanted to edit anyone else's work. I didn't realize the importance of peer editing until I started college. I took an English course during the first semester of my freshmen year. To say that I was unprepared for this class would be an understatement. I was lucky that The University of North Alabama had a writing center. It had a staff of students that would help edit or review any writing assignment for any course. I practically lived in the student writing center during my first semester of college. I always recommended it to anyone that was having trouble with writing.

I feel a lot more comfortable about peer editing after watching the Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes and Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial. I've always been hesitant about correcting people on their mistakes because I thought they might get upset or offended. I've started to change my mind about since I started blogging in EDM 310. I don't get upset or offended at all when someone tries to offer me suggestions. They have all been really nice about and have shown me examples of how to give positive suggestions. I prefer to give my suggestions publicly. I've read a lot of blogs and never noticed any mistakes until I read someone else's review in the comment section.

What Is Peer Editing

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Professor Dancealot 

The way that kids are being taught in classrooms is constantly changing. My elementary school classrooms didn't even resemble the ones you see in most schools today. If you would have handed me and Ipad in the second grade I would have had no idea what to do with it. Now, most of these second graders that know how to use Ipads better than I do! 21st century teaching is more about guiding students rather than just teaching them. A good example of this is the Professor Dancealot video. It shows a teacher trying to teach a dance class by lecturing. Students spend the entire class sitting in their seats listening to a power point presentation about dancing. When they show up for the final exam at the end of the semester there is a camera and the teacher tells them to grab a partner and dance. After an entire semester of just taking notes, they are expected to know how to dance. I think the video is over exaggerated, but it definitely has truth to it. This is the method that a lot of teachers are still using. Just giving kids information and testing them on it later is learning. It's just memorization.

Teaching in The 21st Cenury

Role of the Teacher

     -Filter

Main sources of knowledge for students

     -Social Media

     -YouTube

     -Google

     -Blogs

     -Cellphones

Where will the learn about...

     -Pirating

     -Plagiarism

     -Slander

     -Copyright

     -Crowd sourcing

     -Confidentiality

Engagement vs. Entertainment

     -Engagement and entertainment are not the same

   Entertainment                                      Engagement

      Passive                                                  Active

      Enjoyment                                             Learning

      Short-term                                            Long lasting results

      Doesn't require relevance                      Meaningful and applicable

     Creativity of others                                 Creativity of participant

Teaching in the 21st Century is a prezi presentation by Kevin Roberts that describes the way you should prepare yourself to be a future teacher. There are a lot of things that students need to learn about when using technology in the classroom. It's our job as teachers to be the filters with what they're learning. Most students are going to learn how to use Google and social media sites from home or their peers. Our job is to make sure that they use these tools correctly and responsibly. The prezi also compares entertainment and engagement. I agree that students should be engaged more than entertained. A student that is engaged is going to get more long-term effects than a student that is just being entertained.

The Networked Student

The Networked Student is a video by Wendy Drexler that describes the learning method of a student at a 21st century high school. He doesn't use a textbook and the teacher almost never lectures. He learns through connections that he has formed with other students, teachers, and more. He stays connected through blogs and other tools. He creates a blog to reflects his thoughts and subscribes to other people's blogs as well. I think that this could be a very effective way to learn. The student is learning a lot more because he is going outside the classroom to learn. In the video, the student had classroom lectures on his Ipod from a teacher at Berkeley. 

Harness Yours Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis is a teacher in a rural town in Georgia that uses technology to connect her students the world. They connect and collaborate assignments with other students from different areas or countries. I really like that she doesn't just tell her students the meaning of new words that she uses in class. She expects her students to find the definition for themselves. I think that teaches her students that she isn't going to do everything for them. It probably helps them remember the terms better as well. In the video, she says that her students were also teaching her some thing about what they were working on. 

Who's Ahead in the Learning Race?

I definitely think that Elementary students are ahead in the learning race. If I were to walk into one of their classrooms, they would be teaching me how to use macs. I don't know how to do half of the things that the students were working on in the video. Macs are foreign to me and I have no idea how to use a QR. These students are more literate in technology than I am and they're only in elementary school. I can't even imagine how much they are going to be able to do when they get to college.

Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom

Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom describes how Craig Owens uses coaching techniques in his classroom. He started to notice that he was the center of the class. Students always looked to him for the answers instead of trying to find the answers for themselves. He got the idea from a basketball game where he was an honorary coach. While in the locker room, he saw the players discussing, debating, and asking questions. Everything that he also wanted to see in his classroom. I think that using coaching methods could work very well in a classroom. Students could work as teams to solve problems like teams work together to win games. I think it helps students a lot more when they work together. It gives them team work skills and forces them to find a solution together. I would definitely use a method like this in my classroom.  

What about EDM310?

I've heard a lot of different things about EDM310. Some people say that it is a great class and really helped them learn what teaching in a 21st century classroom will be like. Most people talk about how hard it is and how much work it is. I've also heard people say that it was a waste of time for them because they don't plan on using much technology in their classrooms. I've also had a few people ask for my opinion of the class. I always tell people not to take the class if they don't have time for it.
My biggest fear about this class is the group projects. When I took  this class last fall I had a lot of problems with my group assignments. Parts of blogs were always missing, no one ever showed up to group meetings, and I didn't even know that most of my group had dropped the class. I plan on communicating with my group a lot more this semester so it won't be so unorganized like the last group.
EDM310 is a lot different than any class that I have taken. Most of the classes I have taken have just been ordinary lectures classes. Teachers just teach the material and test you on it later. EDM310 is a lot more hands on than other classes. You have to learn how to use different tools to be able to complete assignments.
The most difficult thing for me will be making time for assignments and getting them done on time. I am really used to being able to wait until the last minute to do my homework because it's usually just a study guide or review sheet. I tried to wait until the last minute when I took this class the first time. I just ended up with a lot of late and incomplete assignments. I've already started planning to do things differently this semester. I can't do a lot of work at once because I get really distracted and end up putting it off until it's too late. Now i'm splitting the work up into smaller assignments and spreading them out during the week. It's a lot easier for me to do smaller amounts of work over a longer time period.

Source: http://4-designer.com/2013/12/Beautifully-computer-vector-material/#.U_pz1qJX-uY

Who am I? Why do I want to be an educator? What does an educator do in his or her practice? What are my passions?

My name is Raven Williams. I am from Ashville, Alabama. If your not from there then I can almost guarantee that you won't know where it is. I have two brothers and I am expecting to have another one in October. I attended Ashville High School and graduated in 2011. While I was there I was involved in Future Teachers of Alabama, art club, and cheer leading. My hobbies are are anything that gets me outside and active.


Ashville was the only place that I lived until I moved away for college. The first college I attended was The University of North Alabama. I probably changed my major about 10 times my freshmen year, but I always came back to education. I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I just didn't know what I wanted to teach. I decided to become a physical education teacher last year after I transferred to the University of South Alabama. I want to be a PE teacher because I want to help students learn what it really means to be healthy. My PE classes in elementary school were all about playing sports or some random game. Sometimes the teacher would just give us a ball and let us run free. That is not the way I want to teach. I want student to truly learn what it means to be healthy and how important staying active is.

Outline

• About Me
• Hometown
• Family
• Hobbies
• School
• Why I want to be a teacher
• College
• Wellness 

Source: Raven Williams

    

Final Reflection

Not many of my thoughts have changed since I wrote my first blog post in EDM 310. If I could build a school, it would still be the one I imagined in week one. My ideas were all about how to get the students to enjoy learning and make it more fun. Even though my ideas are the same, EDM 310 has introduced many resources and tools that will make my job a lot easier. I decided to re answer the questions from blog post one for my final reflection. 

What do I want my students to know?

I want my students to know how to properly take care of their bodies for the rest of their lives. It's easy to get a student to exercise in my classroom, the challenge is to help them want to continue when they go home that day. It's even more challenging to push them to continue after you are no longer their teacher. I want my students to know how important physical education is. The decision to start making healthy choices will help students continue healthy lifestyles when they reach adulthood.

What would I want my students to be able to do?

I want my students to be able to know that there is more to physical education that just games and sports. When I was in PE, my teacher just took us outside and let us run loose for an hour. I want to teach my students skills and techniques that they can continue to use. I want them to  know that technique is more important than just doing something. What I really want my students to be able to do is know the difference between just playing and exercising and being healthy.

What will be your primary way of teaching?

The way I plan to teach my classroom is very simple. I want to provide my students guidance instead of just telling them what to do. I can't just tell them the right answers all of the time. I want to help guide them to figure the answers for themselves. I also plan to teach using project based learning. One of the projects I will definitely try is having students create exercise videos. I will have them split up into groups and make a collective video. Each student will contribute an exercise or stretching portion to the video. After they make the video, I will make copies to give the students to keep and use for later. I will also keep a copy to show future classes. I think that when students see them it will make them excited to make their own videos.

What role will students play in my classroom?
How will they participate in the learning process? The way students will play a role in my classroom has not changed. I plan to have students create their own exercise plan that they will use everyday. They will be able to choose the way they exercise during a time during class. I think it is a great way to allow students to show that they can make healthy decisions. Their opinions about things that I teach will also influence me when I am teaching. I don't want to teach something that they hate doing unless it is absolutely necessary that they learn it that way. I want them to be able to learn in the most fun way possible.
What tools will I use in my classroom? In my 1st blog post I said that I would not be able to use a lot of technology in my classroom. I thought that there was no use for Ipads or computers. Since I have been in EDM 310, I have found many apps and programs that I can use when I teach. My favorite is Daily Fit Log. It helps students create fitness plans and record their progress. This is definitely going to be part of my teaching plan. I also still plan to use the Wii and other kinds of games. 

Project #16 Prezi

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?

I always thought that iPads were overrated and too expensive. I definitely changed my mind after I watched Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad. As I future teacher, I realize how important it is to be able to teach every student in the best way you can. With tools from Apple and other programs, teaching the deaf and blind have become much easier. The video shows how you would use an iPad if it was set to use as a deaf or blind person would. When you slide your finger over an icon, you would hear the name of that application. You would double tap the icon to open the application. 

The Mountbatten is braille writer that allows tactile and audio feedback to students. As the student types in braille, the machine produces the braille and announces what the student is typing. It is a very advanced machine that can save files and send and receive files form a computer. The Mountbatten is great in classrooms for teachers and students that do not know braille. It also allows blind and deaf students to participate. As a student types in braille, the machine can mimic and convert to print and display it on a screen.

Raven Williams


In Art Karshmer's video "Teaching Math to the Blind" he addresses the issue of how teachers teach basic mathematics to blind students. This past semester I've been taking Math for Elementary Teachers. In this class we have studied different ways to visually show students how basic mathematical principles work, such as counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Throughout the entire semester of drawing pictures and diagrams illustrating the problem I did not think about how a blind student could learn these ideas. Art Karshmer opened my eyes to the dilemas that special needs students would have with any subject. In his video he shows one tool that has been proven useful to blind students. He uses small blocks with numbers written on them in both print and braille. Students can put these blocks onto a grid so that the problem can be set up the same way that any student would set it up on paper. This may not seem to be a very advanced technology tool, it helps many students learn mathematics.

In today's world there are numerous tools that teachers can use in order to help special needs children learn any and every subject. It is important for any teacher, whether specializing in special ed or not, to know the different resources available and how to use them in order to better the life of all students.Sarah Irvine Belson lists a few tools that help blind students learn mathematics.

Audio Aids help students who cannot see to read the problem. This is computer based and will simply read the exact problem to the student to hear. The only problem with this tool is that as the problems get more and more complex students have a difficult time solving the problem after just hearing a computer read it to them.
Tactile Representations show the problem through braille. Like Art Karshmer said in his video, the problem with using braille to show a mathematical equation is that braille is linear, meaning that while most students set up math problems vertically visually impaired students will be at a major disadvantage in learning.
Tonal Representations show graphs to blind students by playing musical tones. This is a great way to represent data that is typically limitied to visual aids. The problem with this tool is that, like tactile representations, it is not very effective with more complicated math problems
Haptic Devices are ways to show as shape to a blind student. This can be used for both two-dimentional and three-dimentional shapes. While this tool is an excellent way to show non-numeral data to visually impaired students, it is very expensive and many schools cannot afford this technology.
Sarah Belson states on her webpage that these tools and methods can be used together based on each individual student. This is true for any student learning any subject. While this list of tools ranges from very technologically advanced systems to braille, these tools allow for visually impaired students to learn math with as little extra difficulty as possible.

http://www.unclegoose.com/products/braille-math-blocks/











Being a teacher in the 21st century means that there are an infinite amount of assistive technologies available at our fingertips. This neat video, demonstrated by Wesley Majerus, is titled iPad usage for the blind. Wesley gives us an insight on what it's like for a blind person to use a new technology on an iPad made specifically for blind people. This software allows Wesley to control the iPad primarily with his fingertips as he double taps and uses swipes of his fingers to move around. This software is something effective that any teacher could have in their classroom if they have a blind student. It would be useful when the other students are using computers or iPads so no one is left out. 
While researching the topic of assistive technologies, I came across this TeachThought website. The author has complied a list of 8 helpful assistive technology tools for the classroom. 

- Screen Readers: These are described as programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer. 
- Word Talk: This program can read aloud any document written in Word and create audio files that can be saved. Students with reading disabilities can use screen readers to help them understand course materials. This is free. 
- Word Prediction: Available to help students with writing challenges. 
- Supernova Access Suite: A complete screen reader with natural sounding speech and integrated screen magnifier with Braille display support. 
- Video Magnifiers: Sometimes described as a form of closed-circuit television that uses a video camera to display a magnified image on a monitor or television screen. Students with low vision can use them to read their course materials with greater ease. 
- Close Captioning and Subtitling: Enables deaf students to watch the same online video material as their colleagues. This makes it easier for them to participate in online courses that offer video lectures of their professors. 
- FaceMouse: For students with limited mobility, FaceMouse turns a standard webcam into a mouse operator, allowing students to use their head and facial gestures to perform a number of tasks, including pointing the cursor, clicking on sites, or typing on the keyboard. 
- Sip-and-Puff Systems: Makes computer use easier for students with mobility challenges, including paralysis and fine motor skill difficulties. Sip-and-puff systems allow users to control a mouthstick, similar to a joystick, using their breath. Students can direct the mouthstick to click on web pages, type, and perform other functions. 


Any of these tools could be useful in any classroom that has students with learning disabilities. All you have to do is a little research and you are guaranteed to find something that works in your classroom. 

A. Teaching Hearing and Vision Impaired Children 
By: Kayla Szymanski 

While researching Teaching Assistive-technology To Students Who Are Bling or Visually Impaired, I found they have an abundance of resources. When you go to the site they have the following choices you can read about: CSB Assistive Technology Center, Environmental Considerations for Assistive Technology, Overview of Assistant Technology, Principals of Assistant Technology for Students with Visual Impairments, Special Education Technology British Columbia Index, and Virtual Instruction. What is Assistive Technology? Assistive Technology can be defined as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." (-National Institute of Standards and Technology) Basically the goal of assistive technology is to give students with disabilities access to literacy and communication in their school, home, and community. While teaching it is essential to have background information on each student. Do they have medical eye conditions, or other diagnoses? Have they completed the Learning/ Literacy Media Assessment? Have they completed the Vision Assessment? Also before teaching your students make sure the classroom environment had adequate lighting, positioning, glare, and contrast control. If students are having trouble with text make sure the following steps are properly followed: font style, font size, color, boldness, and the layout of the font. Here are some characteristics of a student who might be a likely candidate for a print reading program: Uses vision efficiently to complete tasks at near distances. Shows interested in pictures and demonstrates the ability to identify pictures and or elements within pictures. Has a stable eye condition. These students may use optical aids such as eye glasses, magnifiers, or telescopes. Using computer technology is great for assisting students with disabilities. We now have access to enlarging software, called Zoomtext. Screen Readers is another great tool, this tool is a text to speech program which reads text aloud to students. Another tool is Tactile Access, this is a refreshable Braille displays they can be hooked up to a computer and it then displays a line of braille.

C4T for November

I was assigned to read Mel Hamada's blog for my C4T for November. She is a Physical Education teacher and currently teaches at Yokohama International School in Yokohama, Japan. 

PE SPECIALIST TEACHERS, PE MINUTES AND MORE

Summary:

Mel Hamada explains why having a PE specialist in schools is beneficial.  She uses research from Dick Telford who studied over 800 students. They were tested at age 7 and were re-tested for the next four  years. In 13 of the study schools, the team employed PE teachers to teach two 50-minute classes to the students.  The other 16 schools had PE taught to the students by their classroom teachers. Telford’s research has proved that ”there’s a clear relationship, the fittest schools are the ones which got the best results.

My Comment:

Hello,
My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I plan on being a physical education teacher and I thought this post was very interesting. Especially the part about Telford’s research. I definitely agree that all schools should have a full time specialist PE teacher.

Concept Based Learning - Invasion Games

Summary:

Mrs. Hamada shares her thoughts about the changes in physical education classes. She uses a method called invasion games.

My Comment:

Hello,

My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I completely agree that PE is changing. I think it is important that teachers see this and embrace it.

What did I leave out?

Why I chose Physical Education

I began participating in sports when I was in fifth grade. I started out with basketball and eventually started cheering as well. The times I was playing or cheering were honestly the best times of my life as a student. I knew that I wanted to always be involved in sports so I began coaching. I coached my first youth league cheerleading team  when I was a senior in high school. This was my favorite part of my senior year. Being able to create routines and cheers never got boring. Even though I loved cheering I knew that there was a lot more to coaching than just dancing and cheers. I wanted my girls to be healthy athletes. Part of our practices were always dedicated to just stretching and exercising. 

When I was a student in High school I was given the opportunity to be an elementary school teacher's aid. My job was to help students that were still learning English as their second language. I loved it so much that I joined my schools FTA organization. The Future Teachers of Alabama helped me a lot when I decided I was going to school to become a teacher. It allowed me to go to many conventions that showed me the all of my options for college choices.

The moment I knew I wanted to be a PE teacher was at a youth cheer clinic for our elementary school. It was a great experience and it felt like like I already had my own PE classroom. We had to plan new things to do everyday, keep kids involved, and discipline them everyday. 

I also want to be able to teach outside of school. I want to be able to do anything that involves sports or being outdoors. I want to be able to lead classes in kayaking, canoeing, hiking, swimming, and anything else I can learn to do and teach.

C4K for November

 

Farewell Peter Fatialofa

By: Marilyn

Summary: 

Marilyn writes a farewell to the rugby player, Peter Fatialofa. She belives that he was a great rugby player and helped her to be proud of her Samoan culture.

My Comment:

Hello!
My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. Your post was very sweet and touching. You chose a great topic to write about. Keep up the good work!

Kuwau Island

By: Sebastian

Summary: Sebastian explains what he will do when he arrives at camp on Kuwau Island.

My Comment: Hello,
My name is Raven Williams and i am a student at the University of South Alabama. This sounds like so much fun! I went to camp when i was in middle school and I had a great time. Sports were my favorite part of camp too! i hope you have a fun time at camp!

SMARTboard project part B

What can we learn from these TED talks?

A Girl Who Demanded a School
By: Kakenya Ntaiya

There is a group of people in Kenya called the Maasai. Boys are meant to be warriors and the girls are meant to be mothers. Kakenya Ntaiya was engaged at five years old and was supposed to be married when she hit puberty. At the age of puberty, Maassai women participate in a ceremony that the community considers a rite of passage. Female circumcision is part of the ceremony. Kakenya realized that after the ceremony she could no longer peruse her dream of being a teacher because she would have to quit school. She made a deal with her father: She would undergo the traditional Maasai rite of passage of female circumcision if he would let her go to high school. Her father agreed to avoid shame from the community. After she finished high school she received a scholarship to Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Virginia. After she arrived in America and began college she learned that the ceremony she went through involved genital mutilation and was illegal in Kenya. When she returned to Kenya she decided she wanted to find a way to give back to her community. She built a school for girls because she wanted them to have a place to feel safe. Because of Kakenya Ntaiya, there are 125 girls that will never have to be mutilated or be married at the age of 12. At the end of the video Kakenya says " be the first: people will follow". 

-Raven Williams

Video #7: Teaching One Child At A Time By: Shukla Bose

Shukla Bose presents a presentation about a foundation she started at her kitchen table called, "Educating Our Poor, more than just a number game." She went and visited some of India's slums and found tons of poverty stricken children who would never have the opportunity to attend school. This breaks my heart, I recently took a mission trip to the Honduran slums and this video reminds me of all the children I came in contact with. In the city I was staying in, the life span of a Honduran man was 50 years of age. As a teacher we will never know what are students are going through. Mrs. Shulka talks about how daily they would play with the children and be exhausted, but when they went home they would have the memory of each smiling face they came in contact with that day. She talks about millions of children who actually attend school but cannot do basic math, and have problems in other academic areas. But Shulka says they are not in the number game. She wants to focus on one child at a time, getting them into college and into a successful job. She taught 165 children in a roofless building, she also teaches their parents in an after schooling program. Mrs. Shukla has an amazing story and an awesome love for teaching, she is truly an inspiration. I admire her for so many reasons, one being that I have been there and saw how these children live day to day. Being a new teacher we need to keep in mind that all of our students will not be perfectly dressed, groomed, or even have a stable home. This is why we have to make sure and help each child individually, some children might need extra attention that others will not. Shulka states that children have to believe that change is possible. In a poverty stricken world she has given each of these children hope, hope in becoming more than their parents could ever imagine. This, in my opinion, is the definition of a true teacher.

-Kayla Szymanski

Video #2 Turning Trash into Toys for Learning
By: Arvind Gupta

In Arvind Gupta's talk he shows different toys that children can make themselves for very little or no cost. Many of these toys are based on a scientific priciple, such as a motor or a whistle made from a straw. These toys can be used in a classroom as tool to teach with while keeping students interested and active. The main thing that any teacher or soon-to-be-teacher can learn from this talk is that while it is important for students to be active participants in the learning process, this does not mean that classrooms must use the latest technology. Many schools are not able to afford computers or tablets for that classrooms and the students often don't have access to these devices at home. This is when it becomes important for teachers to get creative and use the resources they have available, such as straws, paper clips, batteries, and newspapers. Arvind Gupta proves in his demonstration that computers are not neccessary to teach and engage students, but rather for teachers and adults to be creative and show children what can be done with the simplest things.

One of the most striking statements that Arvind Gupta said was how "the best thing a child can do to the toy is to break it." This is interesting because most people would think the opposite, especially if resources are scarce. What good is a broken toy?Many people use the phrase "you learn more from failure than you do from success". The same applies when children create toys. They can better learn how it works and the science behind their invention by breaking it apart and testing different situations. In the video Gupta demonstrates how the sound changes in his straw whistle when you cut off the end. This would never have been discovered if not for testing it and "breaking" the original toy. Children are naturally curious so it makes sense that they would want to try experimenting with their home-made toys.

http://explaining-science.co.uk/arvind-guptas-science-toys/
-Alyssa Sherman

Teach Arts and Sciences Together

By: Mae Jemison

 Mae is a very intelligent and inspirational woman. She begins her lecture by stating what she believes is most important. She says that we need revitalize the arts and sciences. She points out that what we do today will be vital in the future. In the future the world will be building on the basic knowledge and discoveries that we come up with today. Just like now, we are building off of ideas that are from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. We have to ask ourselves: What are we contributing to that legacy right now? Jemison says she is skeptical that we are doing much of anything. In a sense, we are failing to act in the future. We are purposely lagging behind. 

"Each generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill or betray it." - Frantz Fannon 

Our mission should be to reconcile science and the arts. We think of science and arts as two separate things, which probably dates back to centuries ago but it is critical now. We make decisions every day and if we don't bring them back together we may have problems in the future. Jemison claims some people say science and scientists are not creative. Some people may say artists are not analytical. When these concepts underly our teaching we have a problem. No one wants to be uncreative. No one wants to be illogical. Jemison also states that back in the 60's people had hope for the future. People had wonderful ideas. Many things that are cool today are based on those concepts. Jemison took certain objects with her when she went into space and when asked why her answer was simple. The items that she took represented human creativity. 

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

-Haley Marrs

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

Changing Education Paradigms: By: Kayla Szymanski
Sir Robinson starts his video by describing several changes that are taking place in our public school systems across the globe. He talks about our economic future, and our cultural beings. Mr. Robinson simply states that people today are trying to meet their future needs by following in the footsteps of the past. Today in our society an educational degree will not guarantee a good career. In fact technology is becoming so rapid in our school systems, teachers will almost be obsolete in the future. Mr. Robinson also states how students diagnosed with ADHD are constantly distracted by their electronic devices. This makes you wonder, if we could channel our teaching strategies to match their technological lives maybe they wouldn't be so distracted? Bringing technology into the classroom is the best way to fill the gap between your teaching techniques, and the way they live their everyday life. Technology gets your students involved, they are no longer bored, and they are always engaged. This video is a great inspiration to all starting out teachers, it will open you eyes and show you that the old ways of teaching are not acceptable anymore. Why would you teach in a outdated way, your only hindering your students ability to learn? Near the end of Mr. Robinson's lecture he says that the most great learning experiences come from group activities. This video basically is trying to portray that the school systems need to get away from standardization and go to divergent thinking. Divergent thinking is the essential capacity for creativity and to see multiple answers, not just one. Instead of teaching memorization skills, teachers should try and enforce the importance of using your imagination and creativity in everyday life. This video will open your eyes to the problems of how student are being taught in our educational school systems today. The entire idea of EMD310 I think, is to stop this cookie cutter mold that society has put on teachers, and teaching methods.

How to Escape Education's Death Valley
By: Raven Williams

In this video, Ken Robinson speaks about the problems with No Child Left Behind and the educational system in America. He says that No Child Left Behind is ironic because millions of children are being left behind. 60% of kids are dropping out of school in some parts of the country, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. He believes that education in America is going in the wrong direction. No Child Left Behind is based on conformity instead of diversity. He says that human beings are naturally diverse and that no two children are the same. NCLB focuses on standardized tests instead of focusing learning in all subjects. He believes that standardized tests are important, but they should not be the dominant part of education.
He also said that the role of a teacher is to facilitate learning. Education cannot be improved if you do not pick great people to teach and give them constant support for professional development. At the end of the video he compares the educational system to death valley. It is hot, dry, and nothing there will grow. Death valley received 7 inches of rain in the winter of 2004. The floor of the valley was covered in flowers in the spring. He concluded that death valley isn't dead, it is only dormant.

The Importance of Creativity By: Alyssa Sherman

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

In this video Sir Ken Robinson explains how modern education standards effects children's creativity. This video was very interesting and informative. Sir Robinson says that because the standards of education and intelligence are aimed at the typical "acedemic" subjects, such as math, science, language, and social sciences, children are steered away from any creativity or talents they may have in the arts. The lesson he tells listeners is that teachers should allow students to be creative and do what they are naturally talented in. A student who is a dancer should not be forced to sit still in class to study math and science. This is an extremely important lesson to learn as future teachers. Not every student will succeed by siting and listening to a lecture on science, or other acedemic class. Teachers must be ready and willing to encourage students to be creative and do what they feel is right. Sir Ken Robinson makes an excellent point that everyone involved in education should be aware of and follow.

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

Sir Ken Robinson - Bring on the learning revolution!
There are two types of people in this world: People who enjoy what they do and endure it and people who love what they do and speak to their authentic selves.
Education keeps people from their natural talents. Talents must be searched for because they will not be lying on the surface. In education we need change. We need a revolution - it needs to be transformed into something else. Abraham Lincoln is quoted saying "We must rise with the occasion; not to it". I like this quote because he is saying we must be engaged. Ken points out that most teenagers don't wear watches because adults grew up in a time when if you needed something you wore it. Kids these days are growing up in a digitized world - the time is everywhere. Life is not linear it is organic. By linear, Ken means we are on a track that we follow and if we follow it correctly we end up set for the rest of our life. By organic, Ken means we create our lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to circumstances they help to create for us. He says the pentacle for education is getting into college, although not everyone needs to go to college. The heart of the challenge is to reconstitute our sense of ability and of intelligence. He discusses the fact that parents are competitive and kindergardeners are being interviewed these days. It is a bit ridiculous that such young children have to compete for a place in kindergarten. Human talent is tremendously diverse. People are often good at things that they don't really care for. Passion is to love the things you are good at. Ken says that we need to understand that learning is an organic process. The outcome cannot be predicted.

C4T #3

Whats in your PhysEd Bag?

Summary

Physical education teachers list what they keep in their PhysEd bags. They list they tools and items that they use everyday in their classrooms. 

What's In Your PhysEd Bag?

By: Patty Kestell

My comment

Hello,
My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I found your blog very helpful because I am a physical education major. These things are very important to have on a daily basis.

What's In Your PhysEd Bag?

By: Joey Feith

My comment

 Hello,

My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am a future physical education teacher. I think these are great thing to keep in your PhysEd bag! i really like how you use evernot on your Ipad to record student learning.

C4K for October

Zach's Blog

Summary

A student describes his day at school.

                                                                         My Comment

Hello!

My name is Raven and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. It sounds like you had a very busy day! i usually have a lot of fun in reading too. It is one of my favorite subjects. Keep up the good work!

Largest Black Holes in the Universe

Summary

A student describes black holes. He explains and shows a lot of evidence about black holes. 

"We are just beginning to understand the impact these outbursts have had on the universe: On the shapes of galaxies, the spread of elements that make up stars and planets, and ultimately the very existence of Earth."

My comment

Hello!
My name is Raven and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog! The milky way is very interesting and fun to learn about. I had no idea that black holes were becoming so destructive and dangerous. Keep up the good work!

Voter Discrimination: It Still Exists

Summary

A student describes how discrimination is still present in voting. 

My comment

Hello,

My name is Raven Williams and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I thought was blog was very interesting. I never really gave thought to how discrimination in voting was still present in America. Our country has come a long way, but we still have things to work on.