Blog Assignment #6 - PLNs What Are They?

PLN stands for personal learning network. A PLN is the set of tools and people that one uses for assistance, consultation, and collaboration. A PLN is worldwide, usually free, and dependent on technology. Personal learning networks include all of social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs). Basically, a personal learning network is anyone that you come in contact with and exchange information with. Today, the PLN is a replacement of the classroom.

Personal learning networks can help one as a teacher because these networks help the teacher contact others easily. By expanding the amount of people that you encounter, the more ideas you will be able to relay to your students. The tools for PLNs are constantly changing. This is an advantage because this means that as a teacher, you will always be learning. Continual learning is just as essential for teachers as it is for students in the field of education.

Networks include those that you talk to on a regular basis, but for the most part networks are formed online. To begin forming a network, first, you think of a subject area of interest. Next, you search for activities, people, and places based on these similar areas of interest. You will begin following these people on social media, watching videos on YouTube, and communicating with others. Soon enough you will have a personal learning network in your specific area of interest!

I have already begun creating my PLN and I did not even know it! Dr. Strange, the EDM 310 professor at the University of South Alabama, and my classmates are already a part of my network because of my blog and Twitter account used for EDM 310. I plan to add C4T teachers from previous and future blog posts to my network. Teachers of the student blogs that I comment on for C4K will also be included in my network. Finally, I plan to include professionals in the field of education in my personal learning network. These additions will all be useful when I become a teacher!

I found a board on Pinterest that I will use for expanding my educational PLN! Visit Pinterest

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Blog Assignment #5

What Did You Learn From These Conversations With Anthony Capps?

From watching the YouTube videos Project Based Learning Part 1 and Project Based Learning Part 2created by Anthony Capps and Dr. John Strange, I learned many valuable tips and tricks for becoming a teacher in the future. From taking the class EDM 310, and attending a university that uses the tool, I already had a background on project based learning. It was nice to hear from an elementary school teacher, not much older than me, about how project based learning enhanced his classroom and his students learning experiences. I learned from Anthony that project based learning is not used only to show that students have achieved something, but it has evolved to where students use project based learning to actually learn a concept. I also learned that a project also needs an authentic audience, so the students can be awarded by their work. A project needs students interests, and to involve the community in some way so students get real world experience. Anthony also notes that most importantly when you create your projects, you must keep in mind the state educational content standards.

Anthony uses a unique online tool in his third grade classroom called iCurio. iCurio is an online search engine specifically filtered for educational material. iCurio is also used as a tool to store content by both students and teachers. Based off of Anthony’s positive experiences with this online tool, I believe that iCurio would be beneficial to my students and myself in the future. To learn more about iCurio, check out this video: iCurio.

Discovery Education is a great tool for project based learning. It is science and social studies based. I learned that this tool is excellent because if you pair text with a visual aid, students will retain more of the information. To learn more about Discovery Education, check out this video by Anthony and Dr. Strange: Discovery Education.

Anthony has very interesting tips for new teachers in his videos Tips for Teachers and Don't Teach It, USe It. One of these tips is to be interested in learning yourself and to model this behavior to your students. Another tip is that teaching is hard because teachers learn how to teach in their free time. Teachers must be flexible, have goals and achieve such goals. Anthony also says to use technology, don’t teach it. This is because with advancements in technology, students already have a background in technology and are interested in using it in the classroom. I will definitely use these tips when I become a teacher!

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Assignment #4

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

One of EDM 310’s mottoes is “Questions Are More Important Than Answers.” So, what do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher? Asking questions improves learning and increases student participation. Asking questions is a part of active learning which is essential to student learning.

According to the website Asking Questions to Improve Learning, there are general strategies that help teachers ask questions. One of these strategies is planning questions and when to ask these questions before teaching your lesson. Planning ahead increases student participation and allows you, the teacher, to measure student learning. Another general strategy is to ask a mix of questions. “Closed” questions limit the number of correct answers to test student comprehension. “Open” questions encourage class discussion because there are many possible answers. Managerial questions are asked to make sure students understand assignment instructions.

According to the website Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, there are three ways to asking students questions that make students think, participate, and improve their answers. These three ways are to prepare questions, play with questions, and preserve good questions. Similar to what I learned from Asking Questions to Improve Learning, preparing questions is an important part of creating a lesson plan. Preparing questions to ask one’s class is just as important as preparing the content for lecture. To play with questions is to make the students keep thinking about the question even after it is answered. One can do this by writing the question on the board or creating a PowerPoint slide so the students continue to view the question that was asked. One can preserve questions by revising them and using them in other classes. One can also save questions that students ask and use them in the future.

C4T #1

I read and commented on Will Deyamport, III blog, Peoplegogy. The first blog post I read was written by Terie Engelbrecht and titled Acer C720P Touchscreen Review. This blog post summarized the authors opinion of the pros and cons of the touch screen computer. Engelbrecht's opinions of the pros were that it is lightweight and easily portable, had a good battery life, and that it was easy to navigate file system structure. Engelbrecht's opinions of the cons were that it has abrupt shut-downs, no downloading/installing software, the offline access is limited, and there are limited screencasting options. Overall, the author loves her new Acer C720P Chromebook. She describes it as "an iPad that comes with an attached keyboard."

I commented on Engelbrecht's blog post, Acer C720P Touchscreen Review. In my comment, I introduced myself and wrote a little bit about EDM310. Because Engelbrecht is a Google lover, I wrote about how most of our EDM310 assignments use Google in some way. I also included that the touch screen Acer C720P Chromebook sounds like an overall good laptop for students because it is lightweight and easy to use.

The second blog post that I commented on was titled Chromebook: My Take , by Dr. Will. This post was similar to Engelbrecht's post writing about the pros of the Chromebook laptop. Dr. Will also included the benefits of the Chromebook in regards to using the lap top in schools. Dr. Will discussed affordability as one of the many benefits of the laptop.

In my comment to Dr. Will's blog post, I introduced myself and wrote about EDM 310. I wrote that because I am a future teacher, the Chromebook sounds like a good laptop for me to consider purchasing. I also wrote that school systems should consider these laptops as well.

Blog Assignment #3 - How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

From watching the video, What Is Peer Editing, and viewing the slideshow, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, I learned that improvising, editing, and revising the writing of someone my own age is the definition of peer editing. I learned the three steps to peer editing. The first step is complementing the author. The second step of peer editing is making suggestions to the author about how to make their writing better. I learned that it is best to make suggestions on word choice, using details, organization, sentences, and the topic. The third and final step to peer editing is making corrections. When making corrections check for punctuation, grammar, sentences, and spelling. The most important rules for peer editing are to stay positive and be specific!

After watching the video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes, I learned what not to do when creating a peer review. I learned not to be picky, general, or mean. I also learned that when it is your writing being reviewed, you can not take criticism personally. The point of a peer review is to help out a fellow student and all criticism should be constructive. When completing a quality peer review, don't forget to stay positive, be specific, and complete all three steps!