Project #16 Aries Final Project

Project #15

Blog Post 14

CourseSmart has invented a digital textbook that allows teachers to track their students progress. Mr. Guardia seems to be confused because his students are showing in their textbook tracker that they haven't even opened the textbook but once but they are doing quite alright on the quizzes. Another issue with the textbook tracking is the software problems. After all of the experimenting with the textbooks Mr. Guardia noted that his students test scores were higher but their time in to the textbook was still lower than what was expected.
I would love to have this in my classroom. I think that it would be great to track my students progress. Knowing what students are doing their work and taking their work seriously is really important to me. I want my students to feel trusted and know that I believe in them but I feel as though they would question that with the digital textbook. Another issue I would have about the digital textbook is the software problems. If I used this in my classroom then I would want it to work properly and make sure there wouldn't be any complications.
If I could ask the teacher anything about this then I would ask if he would continue to use it or suggest it for anyone else. If I could ask the students anything them how they felt about the digital textbook. I would ask them about if they felt as though their trust was being tested or if they felt like they were being doubted. If I were to comment on this I'd bring up that I think it makes the teacher/student relationship more questionable of their trust. I would comment that the digital textbook makes the teacher/student relationship seem as though there was no trust at all and that the teacher doubts their students.

C4T

For the first C4T I had Scott Mcleod. The post had various slides that focused on ways to better the education system. I commented that I thought the slides were pretty funny and that I agreed with each one of them. I read other comments and they said the same thing and talked about how education has to develop more. I also commented that I found his other post to be really interesting and educational.

For this weeks C4T I had Scott Mcleod again. This post talked about weather teachers should be evaluated by student test scores or not. I commented that I don't think students or teachers should be evaluated on their test scores at all. I commented that I don't believe in standardized testing at all. Just because a students test scores say they don't know the information doesn't mean they actually don't. Students may just test badly or have test anxiety so I don't believe in standardized testing.

Final Report On PLN

When I first started my PLN I was completely overwhelmed and stressed. I didn't know how I would manage 9 hours of my time and the rest of my time for my other classes. I learned through out the semester that the way to succeed in EDM is time management. I've successfully gotten all of my work done on time every week through out the semester which I'm extremely proud of. I think that PLN can be for any age and grade of students as long as they understand the importance of time management. I'm glad that I've learned so much in this class and with all of the apps and networks we have used!

Blog Post 13

When watching the video Back To The Future it really shocked me that only 3 of his students could say what country they lived in. Brian Crosby really used hands on activities for his students to learn easier. By using the hot air balloon activity or the crushed can activity it showed the kids that learning can be fun and easy. He uses blogging for the students and I think that shows the students that technology can be used in the classroom as well. I like that he uses the blog for the students to talk about their activities they learned in class. I hope that when I have my own classroom that I can use blogging and technology for my students. Being in EDM310 has taught me that technology in the classroom can change the learning styles of a student by a lot. From watching all of the videos in EDM I've learned so much about how technology can advance the classroom and learning of the students. 

The Blended Learning Cycle is online, classroom, and mobile learning all blended together. This cycle is engaging, exploring, expanding, explaining and evaluating. Paul Anderson uses this through out his classroom for his students. He ask his students a specific question and ask the students to investigate on the question. They then focus on the video. The video allows an easy review for the students and also can be something for them to look back on whenever they please. Mr. Anderson then applies a reading about the topic. Review is next. By reviewing the students it helps him see where the students are lacking knowledge on the topic or what specifically they may be confused on. The students are not allowed to move on the final stage until Mr. Anderson feel they completely understand the topic. The final step is a summary test that test them on everything they have learned. I really like Mr. Andersons approach on this. I think that its a really organized and helpful way for the students to gain new knowledge on something they may have confusion with. Maybe one day I can use a similar strategy in my own classroom but have my own personal side to it. 

Progress Report on Final Project

Today my group, Aries, met to discuss our final project. We discussed what we wanted our projet to be about and what we wanted our topics to be. We made a detailed outline that had what each of us would talk about in our portion of the video. We also discussed when we wanted to meet for our final project to be done. Scheduling isn't easy when you have a group of college students involved in other classes, sports, jobs and other activities but we decided to meet Tuesday, April 23, 2013. We are all eager to start on this project and get it finished!

Blog Post 12

1. Watch Find the 5 Mistakes! video. Look for the mistakes and record what you think the mistakes are and then record the proven correct answers.

2. Next read 5 Grammatical Errors.

3. Write a post on what you learned or what you are still confused on. Include in your post how using correct grammar can help or hurt your blog.

MY RESPONSE: 

When watching the video I realized that I already knew all of the information so there was nothing I needed to record. Although I was already aware of the mistakes, my future middle school students may not be. I thought this could be a very educational video for them to look back on when doing their homework. The blog on 5 Grammatical Errors seemed a little harsh but I don't think it was meant to hurt anyone's feelings. Simple grammar can make or break a good writing post. I think it's important for students of all ages to know and use correct grammar is everything they write. I know that if I'm reading a blog post that seems interesting to me but it has a lot of grammatical errors then that will be the only thing I focus on. Proofreading your work can prevent these simple mistakes. 

C4K March

For the month of March I unfortunately did not save my comments. I can't remember specifically the students names but I do remember what their blogs were about and what I posted to them.

One student was new to his blog and was introducing himself to his classmates. He told his favorite subject and what he liked to do in his free time which was wrestling. I commented that he would learn that blogging for his class can be really fun and educational and I wished him the best of luck in his class.

The other students I was assigned to comment on was a younger kid that was new to blogging as well. The post that I commented on was about a history project he was doing in class. He had to make up an event in history. It was a really interesting post.

Another students blog I commented on was about her class and how she felt about blogging and about herself. I introduced myself and what EDM was about and wished her the best of luck with her new blog and classmates.

C4T #3

The previous blog I was required to comment on was for a teacher Ms. Miller who was assigning her class with a history project dealing with podcasting. I thought it was neat because each student was put into a group. The group members were all assigned a specific role so that no one was doing more work than the other. I thought this was a similar podcasting project like the one we did in EDM.

This week I was assigned to Ms. Millers same blog. I basically just re-read the blog and I still have the same thoughts. I think its great she is using technology in her classroom. Podcasting can be fun and a very educational thing for students to do. I know when we did our podcast for EDM I learned a lot.

Blog Post 11

In the first video it talks about how the first grade uses technology and when the students blog they get better each time with it. I can relate to this because the  more I blog for EDM, the more I am comfortable with it. It also talked about how they use smart boards and other hands on learning with the internet. The students use Skype to contact other students and discuss things they may be confused on. In my personal opinion I think technology in the classroom is great. Before EDM I wouldn't have said this but I've learned a lot in this class. I think using technology in the classroom can really advance a students education. I hope to use all the technology in my classroom that I possibly can.