Project 16 - SURVIVOR EDM-310

This video was created by Casey Allen and Amanda Lloyd for future EDM-310 students.

How To Add a Link List in Blogger

One of my fellow classmates sent an email to me recently asking how to add the links you see at the top of my home page. Here's how to organize your favorite links in blogger, you can easily add a gadget by following these steps: (click thru)

Design > Add a Gadget > (scroll down & click) Link List > Title (to your preference) > Sorting (drop-down arrow) > Sort alphabetically > (copy & paste your favorite links) to New Site URL > (enter site name in) New Site Name > SAVE and you're done.

Tabs should appear at the top of your blog's home page. You can access the gadget through the DESIGN tab each time you want to add a link.

Final Report on PLN

Here's an update to my previous post, Project 10: Building My PLN. I'm happy to report that my PLN has grown with the addition of: Alabama Learning Exchange, At the Teacher's Desk, Bud the Teacher, Mr. McClung's World, Nancy Devine, Thinkfinity, Thoughts are Free, Tom Johnson's Adventures in Pencil Integration, and ACCESS.

For ease and convenience, you can see that I have added tabs to these and others at the top of my blog home page. I received an email from a fellow classmate asking how to add this feature to her blog. In my next post, I will share simple instructions so that others can do the same. I also use google reader to read current RSS feeds from my PLN.

My follower list is growing on twitter. In addition to family and friends, I follow Dr. John Strange @winetimejs, @web20classroom, @ShellTerrell, @tomwhitby, @jswiatek, @Collaborize, @EdBookWorm, @milobo, @TeachaKidd, @wmchamberlain, @AllieHowell, @MrCapps, and fellow EDM310 classmates.

Here's the latest thing I've STUMBLED UPON to connect with others who share my interests. It's called "stumbling" and getting started is easy and free. The site does precisely what they claim, "StumbleUpon takes you to web pages, photos, and videos handpicked by your friends and like-minded people." I will warn you...it is terribly addictive! I think this would be an awesome EDM310 activity or enhancement to the PLN requirement.

C4T #4 - A Summary

For my final C4T comments, I visited the blog of Caren Carrillo. I commented on the most recent post (from January), Grading Parents and a (December) post, A Teacher's Frightening Power.

Grading Parents informs readers about a proposed bill put forth by Florida State Representative, Kelli Stargel, that would grade parents on their involvement in their child's education. The full CNN article can be found here.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, "Parents with children in pre-K-to-third-grade would get "satisfactory," "needs improvement" or "unsatisfactory" ratings in four broad categories." The report said, "They would be judged on their response to requests for meetings or communication, their children's completion of homework and preparation for tests, their children's absentee and tardy rates and their children's 'physical preparation for school,' including a good night's sleep and appropriate meals."

I offered Caren an update on the bill's progress as reported by Kim MacQueen, reporter for the Florida Tribune, written March 29, 2011. Here are a few comments I made in response to Caren's post:

I paid special attention to Rep. Stargel’s comments, "We’re not looking to grade parenting as a whole ... We’re not looking to grade whether parents bring brownies to PTA," she said. "We’re looking to grade: Are the children attending school? Are the parents filling out the proper paperwork? Is the right information on file in the classroom?"

This left me somewhat confused because I thought that most school districts employed truancy officers to regulate attendance issues and communicate with parents. I’m sure there are plenty of headaches from parents who neglect to complete proper paperwork.

However, would any of these issues improve if parents were graded? What would be the consequences if they were graded poorly? Is this the best way to encourage parental involvement? More importantly, what teacher has the time to take on the added responsibility of “grading” parents? This goes to Rep. Dwight Bullard’s comment, “I don’t think it should be burdensome…”
This is one story I will be following!

My second visit to Carens' blog led me to the post, A Teacher's Frightening Power. In it, Caren described her personal experience in a graduate level class. She vented her frustration about the professor's pedagogy and put a positive spin on the situation by using her blog to teach others what not to do in their future classrooms. I offered her some encouragement by discussing a similar situation I have encountered and referenced a link to www.ratemyprofessor.com. I closed my comments with, "Here's to inspiring our students and NOT defeating them!"

Blog Post 13

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange), a portal maintained by the Alabama Department of Education, provides lesson plans for teachers in all grade levels for all subjects. Lesson plans can be searched by author, title, or school. Web resources are also available for teachers, administrators and students. Professional Development Opportunities are promoted through links to the Alabama Department of Education Program Websites. Here teachers can find "teaching and learning tools, the latest news, best practices and more."

Information about Alabama’s Thinkfinity Partnership is also made available. According to ALEX, “Thinkfinity through the Verizon Foundation, has continued their support for Alabama educators through several generous grants. These grants support an active, dynamic training program. In addition to funding, Thinkfinity.org shares its 55,000+ resources with Alabama to link directly from the Alabama Courses of Study from Alabama’s partnership web portal, ALEX.” Thinkfinity also functions as a search engine for lesson plans, teacher training, student interactives, and at-home or after school activities.

A Podcast Treasury is also housed in the ALEX web site. Schools from across our state have uploaded podcasts in all subject areas to share with the web community.

I have added this site to my PLN and plan to use it often to seek out opportunities for professional development and grants. The lesson plans and podcasts will be valuable tools for my future classroom, as well.

C4K Assignments 7-10: A Summary

For my C4K-7 assignment, I visited Mr. McClung’s World and commented on the post E-L-S-E-R, Elser.

Jacob Elser, one of Mr. McClung’s students, recently won the state spelling bee and will represent Arkansas in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington on June 1-2. I congratulated Jacob on this outstanding accomplishment and wished him well on his upcoming trip and competition. I plan to return to Mr. McClung’s blog in early June to see the final results.

I visited Mr. McClung’s World frequently to read the most recent posts and had a chance to chat with Mr. McClung about Slideshare. With his help, I was able to learn more about the program and incorporate it into my blog.

C4K-8 was completed by the deadline. However, at the time of this post, the link was not available on the master spreadsheet and I cannot recall my comments.

C4K-9 required a thorough examination of Ms. Yollis’ Class Blog. Mrs. Yollis teaches 3rd grade in California and has taught for 24 years. Her bio mentions that she recently finished a Master's Degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. This is apparent in the construction and maintenance of her blog and more importantly, in the progress and learning of her students.

Mrs. Yollis’ 3rd graders teach visitors how to use HTML code, how to compose quality comments, how to shoot quality digital images, and so much more. The blog also features tabs for time zones and information about their home state of California.

Family Blogging Month is a fantastic idea! Here’s a brief comment I made to the post: “Family Blogging Month is a great way to connect with family and friends. The visits to your blog by my EDM310 classmates and I are proof of that. It's exciting to see so many people connecting.” I plan to share the video about leaving “quality comments” on my future class blog.

I commented on blogs from two students in Mrs. Yollis’ class, Brother's Blog, (aka, Ryan/Mr. New York) and Adia’s Babble Blog.

Mr. New York taught readers about fractions and asked for a vote to choose his next blog post. Since I’m a huge Shel Silverstein fan, I voted for a poem. I look forward to following up to see what topic won the vote.

Adia taught readers about Japan and used one of the 5 tips for quality comments by asking readers questions in her post. I answered a few of her questions and talked about some of my family traditions. I also encouraged her to visit my blog to see the timeline we were assigned to create using timetoast.com.

Progress Report on Final Project

I have a great deal of work to do on the final project. I am communicating with another EDM310 student to form a team. I have a concrete idea and plan to meet with my teammate next week to create and upload a video. I don't want to give away the theme of the project. Stay tuned.

Blog Post 12

Proposed Blog Post Assignment

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Throughout our assignments in EDM310, a common concern mentioned in our online discussions is internet safety and how to incorporate it into our classrooms. I visited the sites mentioned in my "proposed blog assignment." Net Cetera has videos for teachers and parents to use in their classrooms. The videos are well made and engaging for viewers young and old. Net Cetera also provides numerous links to additional online resources to aid in internet safety education.

One of those links, Common Sense Media, lead me to the YouTube video I've suggested for viewing, "A Common Sense Approach to Internet Safety". Google and Common Sense Media teamed up to "create this video of common sense tips and rules for families to help keep their children safe online." I learned about flagging inappropriate content to help "create and maintain a respectful community that everybody can enjoy."

I plan to use both resources in my future classroom and post links on my class blog.

"Common Sense Rules" will be featured on my class blog and my students will learn to be safe digital citizens.

Project 15 - Create A Book Trailer

Special Assignment - Mr. McClung's World

A review of Mr. McClung’s World reflects a teacher who strives to be connected not only to his students but parents, teachers, and the global community. To say that he is technologically literate is an understatement. It is clear that he is diligent, hard-working and organized.

To snag a line from his post, he is a “Power Teacher.” There can be no doubt that Mr. McClung chose the right profession. It is evident that he is passionate about teaching and learning. He uses technology to motivate his students in a way that’s fresh, engaging, relevant…NOT BORING/traditional. I am shocked that this is only his third year as a teacher.

Mr. McClung “expects” his students to be effective communicators and listeners. His rules are simple and clear and provide structure. Mr. McClung isn’t the only teacher in the room. His students become teachers with the “Teach-OK” rule. This motivates students to work hard to understand the concepts they are learning because they will be teaching those same concepts to their peers. It also provides a way for them to demonstrate leadership.

A little friendly competition is introduced with the “Scoreboard” rule. Kids love to compete, especially when they can beat the teacher. This is a clever way to encourage students to follow rules and “work together” to be successful. “Gestures”, “Class-yes”, and “Hands and Eyes” improve student’s ability to focus and pay attention.

Since Mr. McClung expects his students to STAY POSITIVE, this in turn creates a positive learning environment where students can not only be encouraged but encourage one another.

The first thing under “Everyone Needs” is a Dayplanner to aid the student’s in being organized…self-directed…self-motivated…responsible…reliable. As for homework penalties, late work constitutes the loss of a letter grade for each day that it is late. After 4 days, the student receives a failing grade on the assignment. Mr. McClung gives the student everything they need to complete the assigned task on time. Assignments and instructions are available 24/7.

As a mother of three, I sincerely hope that Mr. McClung’s parents appreciate what an awesome tool they have in Mr. McClung’s World. Collectively, my children have been in school for more than 18 years. They have never had a teacher offer a “vehicle” so valuable for learning. Mr. McClung’s World serves as a model for our future class blogs. I am definitely taking notes!

I really enjoyed browsing the helpful links and chose the following two links as one’s I would add to a classroom blog: THE PLAGIARISM CHECKER This tool will find plagiarized text in homework and other essays/reports. For fun, I really like Toondoo.

I would really like to know how to use slideshare. I tried to catch Mr. McClung while he was on chat to ask what version he uses. The basic version is free. I’m hoping that is what he uses because I can definitely see the benefit of integrating this into a classroom blog!

Mr. McClung’s blog is user-friendly. It is a window into his classroom. Parents, teachers, administrators and others have access to student work samples, classroom assignments, and helpful links to resources, and so much more.

Mr. McClung’s blog is a place where 8th graders would want to “hang out.” Cool gadgets like “Song of the Week” and “Dropshots” make his blog different in a good way.

Blog Post 11

Ms. Cassidy’s, Little Kid’s…Big Potential, validates the current research regarding technology and child development. Findings from the American Academy of Pediatrics conclude that “computer use enhances children’s fine motor skills, alphabet recognition, concept learning, numerical recognition, counting skills and pre-mathematical knowledge, cognitive development, and self-esteem or self-concept.”

Her 1st graders say it best, “We LIKE to write on our blogs” “My blogs help me WRITE better.” “I can SEE and SPELL my words better.” “We PLAN our videos in groups to show what we have learned.” “We use our webpage to help us FIND things.” “The pictures take me places to HELP ME LEARN.” “I can choose whatever page I need to HELP MYSELF learn.” “Playing the DS helps us be better PROBLEM-SOLVERS and learn to SHARE.”

The comments made by Ms. Cassidy that I wholeheartedly agree with are: “We cannot teach kids in this generation using the tools that worked 20 years ago, 10 years ago, even 5 years ago. We have to change because the world has changed. There are so many opportunities online now for collaborating, for learning from other people. You are handicapping your students and yourself by not taking advantage of those tools. As for not having the time, you will never have more time to learn about technology than you do in college. It does not get better when you have your own classroom. Kids and technology: It’s part of their world. They really like not having to power down when they come to school.”

I was glad to hear an EDM-310 student ask Ms. Cassidy how often her students blog. Her response in general was that blogging assignments are tailored to the class and based upon other opportunities the students may be a part of (computer lab)…but around once a week.

Like Ms. Cassidy, I will teach my students to be “digital citizens.” Internet safety will be a top-priority in my classroom.

I am pro-technology in the classroom. However, I must admit that I was relieved to hear that Ms. Cassidy’s class is not ALL technology, especially at the 1st grade level. Blogs are used in rotation as a center to enrich reading/writing. Skype, netbooks, wikis and interactive white-boards are also used as TOOLS TO ENRICH learning in her class.

Consider the following from childwellbeing.org. “Technology offers the greatest benefit when used for enrichment and as a tool that leads to the development of higher level information-seeking and problem-solving skills, although not at the exclusion of lower-order cognitive skills (i.e., rote learning). When computer access is sufficient and computer technology is employed appropriately, child development is improved. But it has become increasingly clear that learning FROM technology does not hold the same promise as learning WITH technology. Learning with technology to facilitate critical thinking and higher-order learning allows children to use technological tools to analyze the world, access and interpret information, and represent what they know to others. Cognitive tools are learner-centered and controlled, and as such, facilitate learner-centered child development, again positively impacting child well-being.”

Project 14 - Teach Someone Something - "How To Create An Avatar"

C4T #3 - A Summary

For my C4T #3 assignments I visited the blog Nebraska Change Agent and blogged with Beth Still, a Social Studies teacher from Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Beth uses Skype, Twitter, Google Docs, and Web 2.0 tools in her classroom. She is a “self- proclaimed edtech evangelist.”

I joined two conversations: “Controversy Over Grades” and “Twitter 101.” “Controversy Over Grades” was a hot topic garnering 21 comments as of today. Beth blogs about the latest “bandwagon” movement to abolish grades. As expected, bloggers weigh in on both sides of the debate. All had valid points.

Here are a few thoughts I expressed: I must admit that I am responding from a limited perspective because I don’t have a classroom yet. However, I can speak to your post from a parent’s perspective and a student’s perspective. Grades (evaluations) are important. They set a standard…a goal…a benchmark. Of course, all teachers will not grade the same (neither will future employers when it comes to performance evaluations.)

So far, two of my three children have earned full scholarships to attend college. They worked hard to make good grades because they understood that colleges admit students based on 1. ACT Scores 2. GPA and 3. Community Service. All are equally important in forming a prospective student profile. Both of them in their past had good grades and bad. Each received an occasional zero when they MISSED an assignment…but, this was an EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY for learning.

If you don’t do the work, you don’t reap the reward. If we soften our standards (or abolish them), where does that leave our students, our future workforce, and shall I say it…our society as a whole? For example, not so long ago, a winning team would receive one trophy as a team. Today, everyone on the team receives a trophy whether they participate or not. What does this teach? Entitlement? Teachers should make it their mission to know their individual student’s strengths and weaknesses and grade them honestly (I agree with you, Liz.)This may not earn them a seat on the latest bandwagon…but, their students will have a clear understanding of what is expected and how to earn it.

In “Twitter 101” Beth made an excellent point, “helping someone get started on Twitter, but failing to provide suggestions of who to follow is like starting out on a road trip without a map.” In my comment, I sent out a call for advice on building my twitter following and PLN. I was excited to receive a response from a blogger (Stephanie) who suggested I follow #edchat. From that suggestion alone, I added several new people to the list of those I follow. I would like to have more visitors to my class blog. So, I sent out a tweet inviting everyone to “come on over.”