Project #15 Lesson Plan

For this lesson plan, I centered it around a 2nd grade Social Studies lesson. Over a 5 day span we will cover the Indians and the Europeans and the background knowledge on both. On the last 2 days I will have them do an art project where they will have to make their own settlement out of popsicle sticks and then they will also have a short quiz on the material that they have learned. To see the lesson plan in full click the link  below!

Project 15 lesson plan

Project #14 Lesson Plan

For this lesson plan, I designed it around 2nd grade science. We will go over the phases of the moon and at the end of the week I will have them get into groups and they will have to do an assignment that puts their knowledge and what they have learned to the test! To view the full lesson plan click the link below!

Project 14 Lesson Plan

Project #12 Part A

                                  This is my video that I did on how to use the Smartboard tools!

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Sir Ken Robinson?

This week we watched a video called Bring on the learning revolution with Sir Ken Robinson. In this video Ken talked about how there is a crisis based on the fact that people are not making use of their talents. He goes on to say that at a young age our dreams and ambitions are shut down by teachers and we are instead steered toward achieving a more realistic passion or ambition. Mr. Robinson's example for this was the story he told about a fireman he once met. He said that the fireman told him that at a young age he had a teacher who asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, so the fireman said he wanted to be a fireman. The teacher then told him that he should choose a different career path because that one was not an ideal one. He did not let that deter him from pursuing his dream to become a fireman. He then grew up and became a fireman and told Mr. Robinson that just a few months ago he ended up saving that same teacher and his wife after they both got in a car accident. Obviously that teacher was glad that the student he discouraged had in fact grown up to be a fireman, considering he saved his life! I thought this was a very interesting story because I feel that some teachers do in fact discourage certain students from being different and wanting to pursue dreams that most people do not normally choose to pursue. They want students to conform and have similar mind sets instead of breaking the mold. Overall, Ken's whole point behind his lecture is that we need to have an education revolution and start encouraging children in what they want to pursue especially if they are really talented in that area. He ended his lecture by saying that children pour their dreams and ambitions onto the floor and it is our job as educators or parents to tread lightly so as to not crush their dreams.

Project #13

Lesson Plan

Me and my group partner did our lesson plan for this project on history/social studies and we specifically did it on Indian tribes. We designed it for an 8th grade class. The whole point of the project is that the students be put into groups of 3-4 and each group will be given a specific Indian tribe that they will have to do research on. At the end of the week they will present the information that they found on their tribe in a power point that has to be between 7-15 slides. At the end of the last day of the project we will discuss what they learned!

 To view our lesson plan in detail click the link below!
San Antonio Lesson Plan for Project #13

Blog Post #9

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

 

 

 

After watching the videos with Mrs. Cassidy I have to say that I have learned a lot about using technology in the classroom. The first video called First Graders in Mrs. Cassidy's Class is a short video that has to do with how her students use technology in the classroom. The main way that they use it is with blogs and according to the students they love it! They said that it is a fun way to understand the material better. The students also said that they use wiki's so that they can communicate with other people, including teachers, and learn information from other people. I also noticed that they use Skype to video chat with other teachers as well.

 

The last videos were interviews that Dr. Strange had with Mrs. Cassidy about using technology in her classroom. Mrs. Cassidy said that she received new computers around 10 years ago and decided to learn how to be an expert in technology so that she could use the computers for an educational purpose with her students instead of letting them go to waste. She said that she mainly started using blogs with her students around 5 years ago and that the students love it. Mrs. Cassidy says that she is amazed at how quickly the students figured out the technology! I found it very surprising that she really didn't have much help from administrators. They neither discouraged nor encouraged her technology use with the students. She did say that she had other people who supported her in her ventures though. Mrs. Cassidy also talked about how she is very safe with posting things about the students online. She only puts their first name on there and makes sure the parents do not have any issues with their work and videos of them learning being put online. Mrs. Cassidy says that her parents are very supportive and love to see their child's progress online! Finally she discussed how she does not really use technology in her personal life but has been more persuasive recently and has discovered that she can connect with so many people. Mrs. Cassidy says that everyone has a different entry point into technology whether it be through blogs, Twitter, or Facebook. I have learned that signing up with these different social media sites is a great way to build your personal learning network. Mrs. Cassidy says don't knock technology until you try it!

 

Overall I have learned a lot from these videos. I think it is great that Mrs. Cassidy is using technology in her classroom to help expand her students learning. I also think it is great that using this technology has also expanded Mrs. Cassidy's learning as well because it helps the teacher when they know how to use the technology just as well as the students. Mrs. Cassidy seems to be a great teacher and I applaud her in her use of technology in the classroom! I think everyone should watch the following interviews with her on using technology in the classroom, they are excellent!

 

Interview with Cassidy part 1

Interview with Cassidy part 2

Interview with Cassidy part 3

 

 

C4T February Summary

                             Comment For A Teacher

The teacher I was assigned was a woman named Beth Knittle. The blog post I read by her was called Be Different, You Are Different! She mainly talked about how everyone is different and that we shouldn't make our children conform to certain standards because they were made to stand out. She goes on to say that it is the people who didn't fit in and who were not average that have gone on to make the biggest impacts on society. Beth encourages being different and following your dreams, even if others do not believe you will succeed or find you weird. Her post was very inspirational, and I can really relate to a lot of the things she talked about in her blog.

I commented on her blog and said: "Beth, I feel the exact same way. Growing up I was always the shy kid who did not really have a lot to say. Being in college has really opened up my eyes to realize that it is okay to be who you are and that it really doesn’t matter what others think of you, as long as you are comfortable with yourself. This is why I try not to judge people anymore and just accept them for who they are because their little quirks is what makes them different from everybody else. You are so right in that we should also celebrate those who chose not to take the expected path!"

Blog Post #8

21st Century Learning and Communicating Tools

This weeks blog post assignment was to find some learning and communicating tools that can be used in the classroom with students. The first site I found is called Glogster EDU.  Glogster is basically a visual platform that students can use to create posters that includes images, text, drawings, and much more! They can also use it book reports and homework as well. This will be very useful to use in the classroom because it is easier for the students to complete projects without all the mess.

The next site that I found is called SchoolTube. It is very similar to YouTube except it is based on more of an educational standpoint. It is a safe, appropriate environment where students can upload videos for an educational purpose. My high school had a channel on this site where they would post videos pertaining to what was happening on our campus. It was very interesting and informative! Personally in the classroom I would only use this if we were doing a project related to using video, or I would make it optional for the students because I understand that not everyone is comfortable doing this and their might be some parents who do not want their children on a video online. 

The final website that I found is called Flashcard Machine. This a wonderful website where both students and teachers can make flashcards for whatever subject they need to study for! I would for sure use this because growing up and even now I use flashcards to help me study. I could let the students make their own cards and quiz each other on the material, or I could create my own and quiz them myself. This could then be turned into a game and whichever team wins could receive some kind of reward. There are so many things you could do in the classroom with this one tool! 

Overall I found these tools very helpful and informative and I would definitely use all of these in the classroom! 

Blog Post #7

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

This week we had to watch a video entitled Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. When I first started watching the video, I immediately recognized the man from seeing him on another show where he talked about having pancreatic cancer. Despite his health issues, Randy went on to teach others and inspire them to chase their dreams.

In the video, Randy talks about his childhood and all the dreams that he had and was hoping to accomplish. From there he went on to talk in more detail about each item on his childhood dreams list. Each item that he had on that list seemed almost impossible and unrealistic to accomplish. But with optimism, Randy went out in pursuit of these dreams. With every dream Randy always seemed to hit a brick wall. But Randy quickly realized that the brick wall is there for a reason. It is there to test us, to see if we really want this thing that we are pursuing badly enough. He goes on to say that most people would give up when they hit that brick wall, but for Randy it only made him want to try harder in order to achieve his dreams. One of those dreams was to be a Disney Imagineer. Randy worked hard and accomplished this goal. Mr. Pausch was also a professor for a long time and taught a virtual reality class where the students created their own virtual world. So, what can we learn from Randy about teaching and learning? What I learned from Randy about teaching is that it is important to push students to keep going, even if they have hit their "brick wall." This can apply to both schoolwork and chasing your dreams. Many people have made great things out of their life simply because someone was there to push them to try harder and give it another go or maybe they pushed themselves, even if they failed the first time. Plus, when you try harder you learn more because you are gaining more knowledge from your mistakes and what you can do differently to achieve your goals/dreams. What I also learned from Randy was a concept called "head fake." Essentially this is where students end up learning more from a project or assignment that they take with them throughout the rest of their lives, information that they didn't even realize they were learning. It is like playing a sport. You learn the basic of the game, like how to play, but at the same time you learn friendship, teamwork, and responsibility, things that you didn't even realize you were learning. 

Overall, I learned a lot from Randy Pausch. I learned that you should never let the brick wall stop you from pursuing your goals and dreams, a concept that you can learn from and encourage others/students to overcome as well. I also learned about "head fake" and how we all retain extra knowledge that we didn't even know we were learning, especially when we are pushing ourselves to do better and make it around that brick wall. Most importantly what I learned from Randy Pausch was courage. The courage to not except no for an answer when it comes to getting something that you really want, and also the courage to teach and inspire others even when Randy himself was facing a terminal illness. Randy Pausch was and continues to be a true inspiration.

C4K February Summary

C4K #1
My first C4K was for a girl who I believe was named Jordan, and she was an elementary student. Her post was mainly about the weather. She was tracking it for the week, If I remember correctly.

I responded by giving her positive reinforcement and encouraging her to keep doing what she was doing.

C4k #2
In my second C4K, I read a blog by a student named Carter. His blog post was about on why he liked using technology. Carter mainly said that he liked technology because it helped him expand his knowledge on his school subjects and overall made it easier to learn. He also said that using technology was fun for him!

I responded to Carter by telling him that technology is fun and does help you to become smarter in school if you use it in the right way. I encouraged him to keep using technology to better his education if it helps!

C4K #3
In my third C4K, I read a blog by Arton, a student in Ms. Ruiz's 3rd period. He wrote a post about family where he talked his brother and sister and how they depend on him and he depends on them. He then talked about his future wife and how he hopes that they will love each other and how he hopes to one day have kids.

My comment to Arton was: "Arton, I have a younger brother and we also depend on each other for a lot of things! Just like your older sister looks out for you, I also look out for my brother and try to encourage him to stay on the right track and to be the best person he can be!"

C4K #4
In my final C4K for February, I read a blog by Tair Pogue, a student at a school in Baldwin County. He wrote an essay on freedom and the different forms of freedom. He talked about freedom of speech, as well as freedom of religion. Tair mainly wrote that he feels that people should not be judged based on how they choose to express their freedom.

My comment to Tair was: "Hi Tair! That was a great essay that you wrote! I very much enjoyed it. I too value and appreciate freedom and I love the different things that you had to say about it! Freedom is very important and you’re right in that nobody should be judged because of the way they choose to express their freedom. You are a great writer Tair, so keep up the good work!"