C4K

For Yollis'365 Project, I was assigned to comment on Leila's neighborhood Tree blog post. Leila had taken a picture of a tree whose leaves were changing colors and asked Mrs.Yollis why she thought the trees in Boston changed before the leaves in her hometown. She also asked what color the leaves are on the tree. In my comment, I explained that I saw brown, green, orange, and yellow leaves and that I had several trees in my yard that looked like the one in her picture.

I was assigned to read Eleva's Blog @ Pt England School. In the blog post, Eleva described the introduction of the Rugby World Cup and she also uploaded a video of the introduction. In my comment, I explained that she described the introduction very well.I was able to do so because I could watch the introduction and she what she actually saw.

Blog Post 14

I was quite excited to do this blog post, because I love learning different ways to incorporate technology in my future classroom. I agreed with all of Jose Picardo's Top Ten Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom. I love the fact of using videos and music during a lesson. I believe that it will keep the children interested in learning and having fun while learning as well and student's learn better when they are having fun. However, I also believe that it is important to incorporate their own devices, such as an iPod or cell phone, in your classroom. Picardo's list of resources for teachers is among my favorite thing that I have read in EDM 310. As a future teacher, I plan to use the resources that he has provided to better technology in my classroom. I defiantly book marked Jose Picardo's blog.

Another tip that I was interested in was creating my own interactive exercises. I am not familiar on how exactly to do this, but I do plan on learning more about it and using it in my future classroom. Like in my former blog post, I explained that I plan to have class blog. Picardo's tip #7 was exactly what I plan to do. I believe that class blogs are important not only for students to keep up with the class, but parents as well. A blog would be perfect for posting due dates and upcoming assignments for the class.

Blog Post 13

For blog post 13, I choose option 2, which was reading the My Teacher Is An App article. The title of the article explains it all. Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon, the authors of the article, explain that roughly 250,000 students are signed up for full-time online schools. These students ranging from Kindergarten through twelfth grade are able to access their school work and test from the comfort of their own house. The article also explains that some high schools require students to take at least one online class to get prepared for college. The schools that offer the full-time online classes don't have as many teachers as the other schools, because all they do is answer phones and emails, and video conference with students and parents. However, some schools like the Southwest Learning Centers require students to attend class at least 14 hours a week with their choice of what days they want to come.

I have mixed feelings about the online schools. Like the example given in the article, students learn better by watching videos and interacting with their school work rather than just listening to the teacher lecturing. I know that some students wouldn't do good with online class because they would procrastinate with their school work and end up not doing it. However, I believe that it is important for teachers to use video clips, pictures, and other interesting visual aids in their classroom to keep the students' attention. I also believe that technology needs to play a huge role in classrooms, because it is on the rise and students' must be familiar with it.

Special Assignment #1

I understood the metaphor that Tom Johnson used in his blog post. I had to read the post several times before understanding his meaning. It thought it was a very clever idea to make the readers think and use context clues to figure out the meaning.

The Merriam-Webster Website defines metaphor:
1.) a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them.

I believe that we teachers use metaphors to enhance our stories and speech. Like Dr. Strange said in his blog post about this assignment, you cannot escape metaphors. I cannot go one day without using one because it is so natural. I think that teachers use metaphors to make their students think and use context clues in sentences to figure out what they are saying.

Examples of metaphors:
1.) The United States is the melting pot
2.)The dog was as fast as lighting
3.) Military men are known as chess men

C4K #10 Assignment

Before exploring Mrs. Yollis' class blog, I thought it was just an ordinary teacher blog. I was defiantly wrong. Mrs. Yollis' blog has a link for everything and seems very helpful for her students. Her students are able to be reminded for the HTML codes if they forget. They are also able to access her website from the blog homepage. Like her class blog, Mrs. Yollis' website very helpful too. It has a link to the spelling lists, lessons, and educational games for everyone to access. Viewers of Mrs. Yollis' class blog are able to see the counts of views from all over the world. The numbers are unbelievable. It is amazing to know that students from different countries are able to communicate so easily.

I also noticed while browsing over Mrs. Yollis' blog that she had several links for teachers. On her class website, she has a links to blogging tips for teachers. She also has a link on her class blog, Educational Blogging Resources for Teachers, that extremely helpful for teachers that want to blog. I really enjoyed reading through Mrs. Yollis' class blog and website. I learned numerous ideas and ways that I can use a blog in my future classroom.

Project #15

Progress Report on Final Project

For Project 15, Nikita Ladner, Eric Manheim and I will be making a video about the top five things to be successful in EDM 310. Nikita and I will play the role of the responsible and successful students. Eric, on the other hand, will play the role of the irresponsible student that procrastinates. This video will help future EDM 310 students to see the difference between how to conduct yourself in EDM 310 and how not to.

Project #14 Skype Interview

Blog Post 12

I have to say that I am addicted to Pinterest and while browsing on the website for hours I found an amazing article, 20 Amazing iPad Apps for Educators. I personally do not have an iPad, hopefully that will change very soon, but I spoke with several teachers that said they have iPads in their classrooms. This article gives 20 very good apps that will help an educator in their classroom. My blog post assignment is to pick five apps that you could use in you classroom and briefly explain how you could incorporate them into your classroom.

1.) Docs Anywhere- It is an app that allows you to work from any document and computer and then can transfer to the iPad by iTunes or USB. I believe that I would most defiantly use this as an educator because I love working from my laptop, however it is much easier to carry an iPad around all day. This app would allow me to make slide shows, word documents, or pictures from my laptop and transfer them to my iPad.

2.) Pages- Pages is an app that helps educators easily make test, notes, quizzes, handouts etc and file share them also. The app also allows educators to put pictures, graphs, tables or anything to better illustrate the information that is given. I would use Pages to better my communication with not only my students but their parents as well. It would make designing test, handouts, and quizzes fast and easy with the help from pages.

3.) Mobile Air Mouse- The name says it all! This app allows teachers to use their iPad as a keyboard, trackpad, or remote control that helps during lesson. It also makes it easier to incorporate technology in the classroom by letting the students help the teacher with visual aids during the lesson.

4.) Keynote- I believe as a future Elementary/Special Ed teacher I would use this app all the time. Keynote is a very helpful app that allows teachers to access wonderful visual aids for their lessons. Children love to look at pictures and other aids and it also keeps them focused during class. Teachers are able to present charts, tables, or pictures to the entire class by hooking the iPad up to the class computer. I believe that having visual aids during lessons adds fun and excitement to the lesson.

5.) LanSchool Teacher's Assistant- As technology is on the rise, it is our jobs as educators to better educate our students with the use of technology. Students are able to use the internet to find valuable information but it is important to keep them safe. The LanSchool Teacher's Assistant allows teachers to block any bad pictures or website and limit websites that students can access. This app is wonderful for teachers to monitor what the students are doing. I would use this in my classroom because I want my students to be able to access the internet without getting into trouble. I believe that it is very essential to teach children the importance of internet safety.

C4K

I was assigned to read the post Dartanian Visits Paris on the "Room 10 At Pt England School" class blog. Dartanian made a video about visiting Paris. In my comment, I explained that I was happy to see students make videos and post them onto blogs.


The second C4K I was assigned to comment on was Room 17 at Pt England School. I commented on the blog post, Wales and Italy. It was posted by a student who did research on Wales and Italy and wrote a post about them and also made a video. In my comment, I explained that I enjoyed reading the post and that I also learn several new facts about Wales and Italy. I also explained that I was thrilled to see students engaging into technology.


The third C4K that I was assigned to read was on the on Mr.McClung's World blog. The title of the post that I was assigned was "The Middle Ages...". The teacher asked his students to think about life back in the middle ages and the students reacted by writing on the board "life in the middle ages sucked". When I read this post, I laughed extremely hard. But in my comment, I explained that I knew where they were coming from. I can't imagine going back in time and not having television, computers, or video games.

Bog Post 11

After watching the videos about Ms. Cassidy's class being involved with technology, I am very motivated to do the same with my classroom. I loved seeing the different ways that technology was used in her classroom in the video First Grader's In Ms. Cassidy's Class. Her students looked like they really enjoyed learning because they were able to do their work on the computer or the smart board. I believe that it is very important for students to enjoy learning so they will never get bored or tired of doing the same thing every single day. Technology has so many gateways to teaching and learning. I can see myself having a class web page and allowing my future students to access it and play games or learn about material that will help them in my classroom. I love the fact that in Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy she mentioned that she uses her students' class blogs as a portfolio of their work. Their parents can go on the student's blog at any time and see the progress that is being made. I cannot agree more with Ms. Cassidy on the fact that technology will never go away. Like she said in the interview, we cannot teach the students with the same kind of materials that were used several years ago because so much has changed.

As a future teacher, I plan to incorporate technology everyday in my classroom. Like I mentioned earlier, I plan to have a web page for my classroom where I will have links and games for the students to further their learning. I also plan to allow students to use the smart board as well. Students love being able to play with technology and they see it as a treat. If learning on the smart board motivates them to pay attention in class, I am all for it! As Ms. Cassidy explained, safety on the internet it a very important matter. I will most definitely teach my students the important of staying safe on the internet. I must also send home letters to the parents asking for their permission for their children's work to be posted on the blog. I have learned several different approaches to using technology in my classroom by watching the videos of Ms. Cassidy.