Project #12a

Blog Post #10

What I Learned from Mrs.Cassidy's Students
They love their blogs. Blogs get the kids really excited. I think that this is replacing the old way of writing in a notebook and then reading out loud to the class. This is a better way for kids to write because a) they can get comments from much older students and even other teachers and b) they aren't as nervous about what they write. I think reading in front of peers sometimes makes kids nervous and holds back their writing skills. They don't think so much about the people reading their blog so they are more open to writing what they really think.
They are learning to write good critiques. They are being taught how to respond to other people's blogs by seeing how people respond to theirs. They understand that it's best to critique someone in a kind but firm way. Point out what they did good first then help them find their flaws. It's much more effective than a rude comment or just saying what all was wrong.
They are learning to use so much. These kids probably know more about computers than I do. They are learning about webpages, how to navigate their own class webpage and how to use wikis, and even skype.
They like making videos. Videos are a great tool for learning because kids can go back and watch them and see where they made mistakes and where they excelled.

What I Learned from Mrs.Cassidy

Stand up for your ideas. Not everyone will be totally on board with your ideas. She says in the video that a lot of her principals weren't discouraging but they didn't really help her out. However, the parents loved it and the students absolutely love it so sometimes even though not everyone loves an idea it doesn't mean it isn't a good one.
Stick with the times. Things are changing. Teaching will be different now than it was when I was in school. You have to stay on top on understanding new things, especially about the internet because there's so much on it that can help. You have to keep up with the new ideas people are coming up with for learning in schools.
Be open to blogs. People really love blogs. Kids love blogs. Blogs are just good all around because these students know they have a huge audience and the amount of people that read it can be pretty astounding. It's a great confidence booster for writing.
Use what you like. The best way to get connected with the internet world is by getting involved in an area that you really enjoy. Example: if you like writing, blog. If you like photography, use Flickr.
Use the internet to establish PLNs. Using new sites can be weird and confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it can really help you later in your career.
Blogs can be used in every class. People don't think blogs can be used in every class but they can. They can be used just to get a message out there. But even for P.E. they could use it to post inspirational videos and quotes dealing with a certain sport. Or in math, they could post complicated problems and fun word problems for everyone to try to figure out. The use of blogs is limitless.
Make cheating either difficult or preferably impossible. I'm not quite sure how to do exactly this yet, but it'd be helpful to try in the classroom.
Protect your students. No last names, no pictures, teach them to be kind. Keep them also from other websites. Give them very specific rules on what to click on on the websites they use. They should not go to any other websites without permission.
Balance your time. This was kind of random, but spend time with your kids. Don't use your computers 24/7. Just something good to remember.

C4KSummary for October

C4K #1
I commented on Abo's blog this week. His assignment was to write about what he really hates. He wrote that he hated when he worked hard but then someone else gets credit. I agreed with him and said that unfortunately that happens sometimes in life. I also told him to be sure to write more than just a couple of sentences next time.

C4K #2
I commented on Elise's blog this week. Her topic was the best "last" year. She is moving up into 6th grade next year. She said she thinks she will make new friends, but worries about the homework load and having several teachers as opposed to just one. I told her moving up a grade can be scary but not to worry because she will make friends and having many teachers isn't a bad or scary thing.
Elise's blog

C4K #3
I commented on Arabella's blog. It was called "The Diary of Catherine Perr." I think it was supposed to be a diary entry from Catherine's point of view from a book they were reading. She wrote about a man named Henry and how horrible he is and how Catherine felt that she was ready for him to die. I told her her post was great. She wrote in a very formal style, it truly resembled a diary entry and she had no mistakes. I honestly had nothing negative to say about it!

C4K #4
This week I had Michael's blog. He did a slideshow about the meaning of the three kete of knowledge. I told him his grammar was good and also his slideshow was great with its visuals. However, the slideshow did not make much sense to me so I told him to be sure his message is clear to his audience.
Michael's Blog


>

Blog Post #9

Seven Essentials for PBL
Kids need to know what they are trying to answer, why they really should care about answering it, a choice in what they are doing and technology to back it up. This teacher really gave great detail on how to do that. The question needs to be wide open and deep, so that the students need a long time to come up with an answer. It should challenge them. Giving them an opening video or something like that makes them open to answering that question. It gets their brains going and drives them to find an answer. Once they have their question, they should be given a set of assignments. But this doesn't mean that they can't pick something of their own to do also. Letting them choose a certain way to present or some tool to use gives them some control over their project and makes them feel more responsible. Finally, they should definitely be using technology for their project. We are using technology everywhere now, it should certainly be used in the classroom. And don't forget to have them present to an audience.

Project Based Learning for Teachers
The biggest thing I got from this video is there is really no end to the questions you can get a student involved in. It just needs to be open-ended so they can come up with their own answer instead of stressing over finding the exactly right answer. It's more about being able to back up whatever you choose to say. Also, at the end it showed just how many different things there are to use on the computer, for educational purposes. There's so many!

PBL-High School Math
Not all classes are so simple to integrate this new way of learning into. But I liked how one teacher in this video put it as they were trying to think about how professionals in that subject actually do and then give them more of that experience. I thought it was a good way to put it. They talked about one way to teach a book and it showed really how we as teachers are trying to move away from that old way of teaching. They read a book and instead of doing some poster about the book or the author, they answered a very open question about being silent. This just shows the new ways of teaching really coming up in the classroom. It really helps students learn to apply what they learn to the real world and they don't have to wait to do that on their own, the teacher brings it to them.

What Motivates Students This was a great video to get a students perspective of what motivates them. They named off some really great things. Pointing out that a student did well. This really boosts a students confidence and shows them that they did a good job. It's a very positive way to remind them to keep up the good work!
Future goals. Whether they're working toward an awesome job, a big family, an expensive house, etc., teachers should let students know that all of that is much easier with a good education and motivate them to keep at it.
Extracurricular activities. This is more on the parents part, but one kid said he couldn't play baseball or swim if he didn't have good grades. Getting to do things that are fun certainly help motivate kids in school.
These kids were also asked what rewards worked for them.
Charts. These show kids basically where they are with their teacher. If they are on the low end, they aren't getting much, perhaps anything. The higher they go though, the better the prize.
Outside work. Most kids LOVE the outdoors, so an awesome prize for them is to get to do work outside or have a nature walk or something like that.
Food/candy/school supplies. This one's simple. Kids like to eat and they like fun things to use in the classroom. Easy as that.
Daily activities. Kids love having something different to do everyday, even if it's just for a few minutes. It's best if it teaches them at the same time.

Two Students Solve the problem of Watery Ketchup By Designing A New Cap
I won't even lie. I totally picked this video because I can completely relate. I LOVE KETCHUP. And watery ketchup is the worst. So I learned some pretty cool things about students from this video.
Give students a choice and they're more likely to get invested in their project. Do you really think if the topic would have been something assigned by a teacher they would have been this involved? These boys felt passionately about saving millions of users from the imminent disaster of water damage to a delicious supper (do you understand my feelings for ketchup yet?), therefore they worked hard to make an amazing project.
Technology expands learning and makes it fun. They got to use some cool technology to build a model and then build it in real life. This also saves them time of having to keep rebuilding several models over and over again.
They had fun. How many kids come out of projects saying this was fun? Not many. Project based learning is working and kids are really enjoying it. Learning can finally be fun and still sufficient.

Sources:
7 Essentials
PBL for teachers
PBL-HS Math
Motivation
2 Students