My Sentence Video

Blog Post # 5

The iSchool Initiative

For this blog post assignment, I watched The iSchool Initiative by Travis Allen. First off, I thought it was amazing that a seventeen year old high school student thought about this and put together an outstanding video. His arguments were well thought out and could easily be obtained. I never realized how many useful apps were available for students through the iTunes application store. Travis mentioned about using the iSchool to save money for students and the school system in general. However, the school system would have to purchase all of these along with the cost of all of the applications. Yes it would save money in the long run, which is what we need, but the cost in the beginning would be outrageous.
Today, some schools have already purchased iPads for students to use for homework and such. Although, I do not think they are being used in place of textbooks, paper, pencils, and so on. Though, I imagine that this will change fairly soon and students will use their iPads in the classroom for everything. I am completely on board with this idea and I hope every school will be able to use this type of technology in their school.
Virtual Choir
Oh, I absolutely loved this video,Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque' ! I found it amazing that these people were from all over and had never met each other before. Imagine all of the different things someone could do with using the internet in this way. Business men and women can make conference calls with each other, meeting with multiple people at once. Teachers can collaborate with other teacher all over the world. Students can meet other students from around the world and talk about each other culture. There are tons of other ways to do with using the internet in this way and as future teachers, we should all try and incorporate this in our classrooms.
Teaching in the 21st Century
The video, Teaching in the 21st Century , is something all educators should watch. There is an information overload and it can sometimes be difficult to find a reliable source on the internet. The only thing my teachers ever really drilled in my head was to not use Wikipedia as a source for papers and such. I think it is our job as teachers to talk to our students and help them understand what a reliable source is, and what is not. We also need to help them with things like paraphrasing and giving credit to those sources that they do use. There is so much to learn and teach about using the internet and it is our job to do so. I think this would be a great lesson to spend time on before a research paper or project is assigned.
Flipping the Classroom
If you haven't already, watch some videos about flipping a classroom. My personal favorite was Flipping the Classroom - 4th Grade STEM This idea is genius! I wish all of my teachers did this when I was in grade school. This is something I would definitely consider doing in my future classroom. However, this new approach might take some time for both the teachers and students to adjust to. Though, I think this new approach is worth it and should be tried out by all teachers. It took me a few seconds to understand the concept but it's obvious. The students do the learning of new lessons at home, and would essentially to their homework in the classroom, so the teacher can assist with questions the next day.

Blog Post #4

Langwitches 1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Adiobook
I will admit, I chose this one because it was the first. However, I'm glad I did! I never thought about having a child, especially a first grader, create their own version of a script to a book and make a podcast. I thought the idea of printing out the script for the others to follow was brilliant! It allowed the children to follow along and practice reading while listening to another child speak.
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
I had never heard of podcasting until this assignment. I wish this was popular when I was in school because there are many benefits to using this technology in the classroom. This video hits on all of the main benefits and even shows examples using real life situations. For example, when a child is sick, a teacher can record the lessons so the sick student does not fall behind. I know I will take advantage of that feature when I become a teacher. As a child, I hated missing school because trying to make everything up was a huge pain.
Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting
This post on Langwitches blog is about a lesson that helped students learn and comprehend Hebrew. The students learned about the story of Purim and had to write a script and record them telling parts of the story in Hebrew. The students worked together in recording and editing the podcast. This lesson really seemed to get the students excited to learn a new language. This is something I would love to use for learning new vocabulary units.

Comments for Teachers - Project #3

Are You a Steward of Time? -Jeff Delp
In this blog post, Mr. Delp touched on the fact that much time is wasted during faculty meetings at work. Delp noticed that he, and many other administrators, were taking time away from teachers by pulling them away from their work and talking to them about pointless subjects that could be discussed some other time, in another way. He created a blog for all of his teachers and faculty to communicate together and share news and ideas with each other. This was also a way for him, as the principal, to share news worthy information about the school or community to his teachers with out taking more time away and calling a faculty meeting. Delp also sent out regular running google documents out to his staff for daily reminders and announcements. He encourages others to use these methods and to see if they help save time.
I left Mr. Jeff Delp a comment commending him for changing his school for the better and trying to save time. I stated that teachers already have a tough time finding enough time in the day to teach lessons to students and take care of everyday classroom chores. Finding ways to get announcements and other news to teachers in a more efficient way is extremely important.

Recognize The Big Rocks -Jeff Delp

In this post, Delp talked about his struggles separating the "big rocks" from the "pebbles" as a principal. He hits on four main areas where he seems to be having troubles. The first, Effective relationships. Delp says that it is necessary, for those who want to improve schools, to communicate and keep strong connections with one another to effectively improve things. Next, Instructional leadership. He believes that his role as principal is a vital role and must not be taken lightly. Delp makes a comment stating that he is always trying to push forward and keep up with professional learning. Thirdly, Climate and Environment. He states that even though teachers and staff can not control the things that happen around us, they need to be able to work together and learn how to stop negativity from spreading around the entire campus. Last but not least, Balance, the most important. Delp states that his biggest trouble is finding balance with his work and being able to separate those big rocks from the pebbles.
I commented on this post saying that I, too, had troubles separating the big rocks from the pebbles. I thanked him for all of his hard work and that I love reading about a principal working their hardest to improve a school.

Project #5 Presentation

Blog Post # 3

What is Peer Editing?
For this assignment I watched the videos Peer Editing, Peer Editing Slide Show, and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. Most of the things the first two links touched on are common sense. Peer editing is taught at such a young age now days that it is important everyone knows how to properly edit a peers work. However, I will admit that when leaving my comment for C4C this week I was not specific with some of my suggestions and fell under the "Jean the Generalizer" category in the last video. I enjoyed these videos, especially the last one, and I think all of these could be tools to use in the classroom.
Peer editing needs to be taught as soon as possible because it's good to get other students to help each other out with papers and other assignments. Also, allowing a student to assess another students work can potentially help them be able to do better on their own work. It may also be easier to get critiqued by a fellow peer rather than by a teacher. Although, sometimes students may feel embarrassed to have another student edit their work, I know I was when i was younger. Either way I think peer editing is beneficial for both the students and the teachers.

Technology in Special Education
I absolutely loved watching the video Technology in Special Education. I encourage all educators to watch this, even if you do not have to teach special education children. This video shows how beneficial technology is in a special education classroom. I never realized how hard it can be for special education children to learn in a classroom without technology. Technology helps them communicate with the teachers better, thus, allowing for a better learning experience. It also helped some students be able to read easier s well.
Overall, this video was extremely eye-opening. At first, I thought it would be more of a chore to try and teach special education children to use technology in a way that would be more beneficial. However, this video shot down every doubt that I had. Yes it may take time for the children to be able to understand how to properly use technology, but it is obviously well worth it in the end. I hope ever educator who teaches special education children see this video and seriously consider incorporating technology into their classroom.

Apple Applications for Special Education Students
After looking through tons of applications in Apple for special education I finally decided on one that would be the most beneficial for everyone. Proloquo2go. This is a text to speech type of application that allows children to talk to others if they have trouble speaking on their own. It is compared to the AAC device that most people are familiar with, just without the ridiculous price. I would use this in my classroom with any child who has trouble speaking because I think being able to communicate effectively with the students we are teaching is vital in learning. I love how Apple has created thousands of app for learning and I will definitely be using these in my future classroom.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Watching the video Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts makes me wish that technology was incorporated into my classes when I was younger. I thought it was incredible that these students got the chance to do projects and work on assignments with other children from all over the world via the internet. The children in this video seemed so eager to learn and talk to other students from other countries. I would have loved to have gotten the opportunity to do that when I was that age.
Not only does technology make learning a more exciting experience, it also allows for children to connect with other students o get their opinions. Or to just talk and get to know about different cultures. Watching this video gave me the idea to do a project were students have to connect with a student in a different country to learn about their culture and then present their findings and new friend to the class. I can not wait to use these ideas with my future students.

Project #2-Wordle

Blog Post 2

Did You Know?
After viewing Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version I sat and thought about what I really did know, and it is not a lot. I had an idea in the back of my head about most of the facts covered in the video but I was not fully aware of the extent of some things. The fact that just 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's far outnumbers the population of the United States. Also, more children in other countries can speak more languages than the children, and adults, here. This shows that our education systems are failing at doing their job, we should be striving to have the children we teach be the best, not just average. I was aware about the large numbers of technology that the world uses, it is still mind blowing to see the numbers.
It is still mind boggling knowing that other countries are rapidly surpassing our education system. As educators, it is out job to make sure that we are at the top and that our children we teach get the most out of education. Today, it seems as a lot of educators give up on kids who misbehave and act out in class. Instead of giving up on them we need to find ways to channel their energy into something that they are good at so they can succeed. Education is the foundation of life and we need to make sure that as an educator we set up a good foundation.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
Watching Mr. Winkle Wakes really made me think just how much the world has changed the past 100 years and how it changes even faster in a shorter amount of time. However, I thought it was interesting that the schools had not changed at all. Is that a good thing? I have not yet decided. Part of me believes that schools should evolve and change with the rest of things to enhance the learning experience. But then I think of how simple it is just to keep things the same. Though, as I'm typing this, I'm starting to think it would be more beneficial for schools to evolve with the changing world they are in.
Technology is a great thing and can be very useful in the classroom. However, I think we need to be careful in limiting how much technology we use. Personally, I prefer the face to face interaction with a teacher because if I need help I can raise my hand and someone can come help me and show me what I'm doing wrong instead of telling me over the computer. I realize that online classes are beneficial for college students but I would hate to see online classes become available for students grade k-12.

The Importance of Creativity
I really enjoyed this video, Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity, I thought Ken Robinson was entertaining yet hard hitting at the same time. I absolutely loved when he said "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." That is so true and such an obvious statement, though I never thought about it. Watching this video made me think about creativity and how, in fact, educators are killing it.
One of his stories that really stuck out to me was the one about Jillian Lynn and how she became a dancer. Her mother brought her to the doctor because she could never sit still. Today Jillian would have been diagnosed with ADHD, thankfully back then that disorder did not exist or otherwise she would not have become the amazing dancer that she is. It's sad that people would rather take a drug to cover up their disorder than do something spectacular with it like Jillian did. I know that when I become an educator in the classroom I will encourage kids to be creative so that they can come up with something original.


A Day Made of Glass
I really enjoyed this video, A Day Made of Glass . How cool would it be to be able to have access to all of the glass technology described in the video? I would love to have all of it. I think it would be useful for so many different things, even things not described in the video. I think this type of technology would allow for easy access to many everyday tasks as well. Organizing would be so much simpler. Yes there are already tablets out on the market to buy but they are not glass and and transparent and can not do nearly the same things that the tablets described in the video can do. Sometimes technology scares me with it taking over so fast but I would welcome this kind to our world in a heartbeat.
In light of Mr. Winkle wakes, I think these two videos correspond together perfectly. Our world, in the aspect of technology, is changing so fast it is hard to keep up with. Sometimes I feel like Mr. Winkle, I wake up and all of a sudden there is a new piece of technology that is beginning to take over. For example, the iPhone 4s came out about a year ago and the new iPhone 5 is being released sometime this month! How many of us even have the newest iPhone? I sure don't. Anyways, technology is all around us and eventually I think it will be all we know so we better be prepared and welcome it with open arms because it is happening whether or not we want it to.