BLOG POST 6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

1. In video one, I learned that project based learning is not only a need to show that a student has achieved something, but a mean to get them to learn something. To assign a good project, the projects should:
(1) Have an authentic audience so that the students are rewarded for the work and motivated.
(2) Reflect student interest.
(3) Should involve community (connect students with the "real world")

2. In video two, I learned that every thing may not go as planned in a classroom. For example, a child may have to do an alternate project because of religious beliefs or by the advisory of the parent. By this fact, I know that as a teacher I should create alternate lesson plans, so that all of my students can receive an enjoyable learning experience. Also, I learned that project based learning is not intended for students to memorize information and "burp back", but the intent is for the student to be a learner.

3. In video three, I learned that iCurio is an online tool that teachers can use to assist students with their learning development. iCurio allows students to safely surf websites while being educated because it filters the websites that the students are viewing. The teacher who uses iCurio do not have to worry about their students viewing websites with inappropriate content. This gives the teacher more room to teach instead of patrolling the computer screens for inappropriate websites.

4. In video four, I learned that discovery ed. help students retain more information while learning and enriches their research experience.

5. In video five, I learned that if you are not a learner yourself then it is impossible to be an educator (educators constantly learn).

6. In video six, I learned that it is best to use technology instead of teaching technology. The difference between teaching technology and using technology is that teaching technology is only teaching your students how to use technology, but using it means that you integrate their technological skills with the lesson plan. For example, if you are assigning your students to learn how to operate a smart board as that day's lesson then that is teaching technology, but if you are assigning your students to do a powerpoint on birds and allowing your students to present their powerpoint using the smart board then that is using technology.
If you use technology then they will learn how to use technology while learning information, which can make it more fun! The purpose behind using technology is to keep students excited about what they are doing and to share what they are doing.

7. In video seven, I learned that my student may not learn everything in one day, but they may learn in a year's time of school. So, when I am creating my lesson plan then think about what I am going to be teaching over a year's time period. Also, when I am creating a lesson plan, I need to find a way to get my students' attention, keep their attention, and measure what they have learned.

PROJECT 7

BLOG POST 5

I have learned that a PLN (Personal Learning Networks) is a network that is designed for organizing information and keeping record of the websites that you use. It is like your own personal assistant or organizer. I can definitely see myself using one as a teacher! I know as a teacher I will be busy, busy, busy and with the PLN I can keep up with websites and other material that I use as a reference (so I do not have to worry about forgetting things).
I used symbaloo as my PLN and I like it! It is a great source for organization and I added EDM 310 blogspot to my network so that I will not forget it. I’m excited about learning more later on about PLN!

BLOG POST 4

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

To be an effective teacher, we need to know that questions are asked in order for something to be understood or to bring clarity. Questions help an individual gain more knowledge which takes a person into depths of information that seemed impossible to learn. Is it true that no question is a dumb question? I would say yes because if there are not any questions then how would our minds grow? If there are not any questions then how can your doctor find a better way to treat your cancer? How would teachers facilitate their lesson plans? How would businesses create new ways to make money? How could this paragraph be written? It is an evitable fact that questions are more important than we think that they are.
In Ben Johnson’s article, “The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom”, he stated that questions need to be specific. After reading this article, not only did I realize how important asking questions were, but I realized that asking the right questions were important also. Did you know that asking the right questions can help your students learn more and help you (as the instructor) judge their understanding? Asking the right questions mean to ask open-ended questions (questions that are not yes/no questions and ask for details). For example, you may ask a student to tell you the details of World War II, instead of asking if World War II started in 1914. If you ask for a detailed answer, you will see how much a student understands and if they have been studying like they were supposed to.
In conclusion of my research I have learned that in order to be an effective teacher, one must know the importance of questions and asking the RIGHT questions!

BLOG POST 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

The videos ( What is Peer Editing? and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes ) and slide show ( Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial ) about peer editing offered information that will not only help us now, but will help us in the future (on jobs and in life). I agree that peer editing is a learning experience and that we need to learn how to use constructive criticism on our peers (since we will be future teachers one day). Peer editing will prepare us to learn how to deal with our future students and their parents. Peer editing will help us learn how to talk to others in a professional manner and teach us how to consider others when offering them constructive criticism. Having peer editing skills can help us keep a job, make new friends and keep the old ones! The videos and slide show was very interesting, informative, and beneficial.

Being positive, using compliments, and being specific are great ways to mention corrections to your classmates. Using those three techniques will keep you from offending others and help present your suggestion in a pleasant manner instead of rude and mean. I've learned that it is all about word choice. The words we use will make the difference between a rude comment and a positive comment. It is a great idea to practice what you are going to say, by speaking it out loud as if you are face-to-face with that person. This will help you hear what you sound like (as far a sounding rude or nice). By watching these videos, I have learned that the goal is to provide help to another person by helping them learn and not to tear down their character.