Blog Post #7

Technology has become very common among all ages. students in kindergarden are even using technology in the classroom. Using iMovies and the Alabama Virtual Library in kindergarden help prepare students. In the kindergarden classroom the teacher set up stations were students get the chance to make an iMovie( book trailer). Although it may seem like kindergarden student could understand technology, it only takes maybe two example to show them the work before they know how to do it on their own. The Alabama Virtual Library ( AVL) is a great free source to teach students basic researching skills.

In the video We All Become Learners, Mrs. Bennett states " teachers teach students, students teach students, and students teach us." By saying that Mrs. Bennett is stating that everyone becomes a teacher and a learner at the same time. Ipads in the classroom can be very useful. In Chicago the schools find them very useful and improve the grades of students. Technology make students interested. Technology is mainly taking control of students with t.v, texting, games, and so on. Having technology in the schools will make student interested in learning. iPads in the classroom becomes a virtual field trip to students.  

The video Top 10 reasons to use technology in education names a few reason why schools use technology. the video had some really good point such as " Student Love it." Students love play with technology such as gameboys, xbox, and watching t.v. These are all thing kids like to do now. By bringing technology in the classroom you gain interest of the student. Gaining the interest of student make them want to learn more.

Project 7 part b

                                                      Click here to view on youtube

                                                     Click here to view on youtube

Blog Post #6

 Project Based Learning Part 1 really shined some light on what PBL is. PBL is very common. PBL is the use of project to help students learn. PBL is a not only a means to show how students have achieved what you wanted them to, but it's for the students to actually learn something.  When coming up with a project, you should keep in mind to create a project that will have everything the students will need to know in the project. According to Anthony Capps, to strive a PBL must have or do; involve the audience, include student interest, driven content, and an authentic audience.  In
Project Based Learning Part 2 Mr. Capps points are that not every project will go as planned. He even  gives an example to a situtation where a parent had a problem with the project and as a teacher you have to respect the wishes of the parents.

Icurio is something I can see myself using in the classroom. Icurio is a safe online tool use for searches in the classroom. Students can search text, audio, and videos. Icurio has the capability of storage. When students do not finish their work or find something they would like to hold on to they can place it in storage.  Icurio is also a way of online organization. There is also a directory for historical features which allow students to look up again thing and get information.

 Discovery Ed is a great tool for the classroom. Discovery ed use videos to bring learning to life. Discovery ed can bring experts into the classroom about different subjects, especially in the subjects of science and history. This tool is good for those who are visual learners.

Blog Post #5

PLN is short hand for Personal Learning Networks. According to Dr. Strange a PLN is, " is those people, places, organizations, and activities which enable you to learn." PLN provide many of opportunities to learn. A few examples of PLN's that can help you learn to are Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. You start off establishing a PLN by finding a topic are you interested in. Next you form question about the topic you are looking up. This is where Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and blogs come in hand. You can communicate and follow different blogs to find out more re-search/ information. Dr. strange states that when you are looking/ making a PLN, " you are more detective than student, A LOT  more like a detective." Personal learning networks help teachers to find and share source, information, and ideals. I have already started building my own personal learning network thank to EDM 310. The blog we created is a great way to share different information and ideals.

Creating a PLN !

Teaching tutorial on creating PLN's

Project 7 Part A

My Sentence

Click here to view Youtube

My Passion

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C4K Summary

Winter Weather by Alondra was very interesting to read. I found it to be cool that is snows where she lives. I could really relate to her.  Just like her I do not like winter weather that much, and I love decorating the Christmas tree with my family as well.

I commented:
"Hi Alondra 
My name is Shernell Mabien, I am a student at the University of South Alabama. For one of my classes we go on different students blogs and make comments on their blog. Overall you did a great job on your blog. I think it is pretty cool that it snows in your town. I am from the deep south and it does not snow where I live. 
P.S I have a cousin that has the same name you do !"

For the C4k assignment I was assigned to a student from New Jersey in the 8th Grade in Ms. Leatherwood Class. The blog post I read was titled Having a Best Friend is Important by Carly. In the blog post Carly mention some key components of having a best friend, which are:

• Comfort
• Connection
• Unconditional Support
• Self-esteem
• Honest Opinions

I commented:

" Hi Carly, I am Shernell ! I am a student at the University of South Alabama, located in Mobile Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your blog post. The special bonds you listed are the same ones I have with my best friend. Sometimes we can just look at each other and know what the other one is thinking. I liked how you organized your blog post. Having an organize blog post makes it easy to follow. When you have a best friend, someone you know that has that special connection with you is very special to have. "

Carly had some very important key point about having a best friend in her blog. I could even relate to some of the thing she mentioned. I know when I am with my best friend it;s like sometimes we can read each others mind. Carly really describes the true diction of a best friend in her blog post.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Eden was very interesting to read. He describes a book named The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The book seems to be about magic. Eden does a good job describing the book, After I read his blog post it made me want to read the book. I commented 

"Hi, I am a student at the university of South Alabama. In one of my classes we comment on different blog every week. I have never read The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Is seems to be a very interesting book. You did a great job describing the book and characters. After reading your blog I am interested in know what an automaton is. Over all you did a good job on your blog."

For the Momments that Matter C4K I commented on a blog by Andrea. She wrote about the singer and fashion designer Rhiana. Andrea is really inspired by Rhiana. Many of Rhiana fans look up to her for her many accomplishments and because of her beauty. I commented 

"Great post Andrea!
I attend the University of South Alabama, and for one of my classes we comment on different blogs. I agree that Rhiana does not give up one being a good person regardless of her surrounding. She worked work to be come a very successful singer. "

C4T 1

For C4T #1 and #2 I was assigned  "For the Love of Learning" by Joe Bower.

The first blog I commented on was titled A Teacher that Quit is used to Show that Teachers Stay. Reading this blog really caught my attention. the blog mentions that 40-50 percent of teachers quit in their first 5 years of teaching. The blog talks about if the reason of teachers quit is because of the low pay or that etchers are treated badly. My comment to the blog was

   "I am a student at the University of South Alabama, and I am an elementary education major. Reading this article is very shocking. I did not know that 1 in 4 teachers quit in their first four years of teaching. I am aware that teachers are not paid as much as other occupations. However it makes me wonder why is it that between 40-50 percent of teachers quit; is it because teaching was not their true calling or is it another reason?"

The second blog I commented on was titled 3 Big Ideals about Teacher Workload. In the blog the writer talks about three ideals he would like people to know about teaching which are:

1.  I meet all my students' need only if some children don't show up
2. My working conditions are my students' learning conditions
3. Teachers are so busy teaching they don't have time and effort to learn how to be better teacher

My comment for this blog was:

      "Your article is very interesting. The list you gave in the article describes a lot of student and what they are faced with in day to day life. When you have students and they all have different situations you are not teaching just one student. You are teaching to different students who are facing something in life different from the student sitting next to him or her."

Search Engine Project #15

The search engines I chose were: WolframAlpha,  Aol, Bing,  ChaCha,Yahoo,Youtube, Duck Duck GO, and  Merriam-Webster. All of these source provide viewers with free assess to look up information.

                                               WolframAlpha provides many different types of information such as: geography, education, health, chemistry, finance, sports, computer systems, data, and much more. This search engine has the capability to help with mathematical problem which is helpful to all. WolframAlpha would be a very helpful website for student from the grade level kindergarden all the up to college students.

Click here to go to WolframAlpha

AOL stands for America online. The website it true to its name. AOL is the 4th largest online search engine in the U.S. It has more than 200 millions monthly consumers. This website is more than a search engine, it has the daily news, weather, and headlines all in one. This search engine is usefully when you need to look something up or, if we are looking to see what is going on in the world AOL is the place to look. 

Click here to go to AOL

Bing is one of my favorite search engines. Bing is owned by Microsoft. When searching for anything on bing you will get lost of options to choose from. Bing provide the information, images connected to the information, the location,  any new that there might be on the information, and videos. 

Click here to go to Bing

ChaCha is a question and ask search engine. It is a quick and easy way for you to get the answers to and question you might have on any topic. I personally like ChaCha because when ever I can not think of an answer to a question in my mind I can find it on ChaCha. However, even though ChaCha is a good search engine I would not use it if I was looking up information on a research paper or project.

Click here to go to ChaCha

Yahoo is a very well know and common website to many. Yahoo reminds me of AOL because they both provide many of the same opinions. On yahoo there is so much information at your finger tips. The homepage of yahoo has so many links to today news, weather, travel, technology, there is even a little comic strip on the homepage. Yahoo reminds me of a newspaper expect that its on online. Yahoo also provide a search bar to look up any information that you are looking too. 

Click here to go to Yahoo

DuckDuckGO is a search engine that is a little more private than other search engines, and has less clutter than other as well. I really liked how the website give you a tour of what all the website has to offers. DuckDuckGo is a simple search engine and it is community driven. 

Click here to go to DuckDuckGo

Youtube is one of my favorite search engines. Youtube is also a very common search engine. Unlike other search engines youtube is a video base website. Even though there are only videos on the website it is still very useful. As a future educator you can find all types of videos about teaching and video that can help you about lesson planning and how to improve classroom skills. Youtube is also helpful because if your are looking to find a way to do something such as arts and creates, you can probably for the most part find it on youtube. Youtube is also a great place to start a blog and post your videos. 

Click here to go to Youtube

Merriam-Webser is a very helpful search engine. Me personally when I do not know what a word mean it is helpful to go on a online dictionary to find the meaning. People really do not carry paper back dictionary anymore. Merriam-Webster is very convenient for looking up a word while you are on the go. It has been very helpful to me. The website also offer vocabulary words. When you look up a word it not only gives you the definition, but it also tell you how to annunciate the words, give you examples of how to use the word, and you can click on a button and the computer will say the words for you.

Click here to go to Merriam-Webster

Blog Post #4

I chose to answer the questions" What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?" by looking over the article, The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom  by Ben Johnson . One topic the author points out is that teachers do not know everything. Many students are mis-lead by thinking that just because he or she is a teacher they know everything. Ben Johnson believe that teachers should not assume that all students understand the lesson. Teacher generally ask after each lesson, "does everyone understand the lesson?" Normally most students do not answer or either give an answer they know the teacher wants to hear which is yes. However, when teachers ask a question is can be to board and is not specific enough. By reading the article you learn a few ways to see if students understand and is paying attention to the lesson. To do so the teacher can ask a question and wait a few seconds for the students to think of an answer then, randomly call on a student to give their answer.

I also chose the article Three Ways to Ask Better Questions by Maryellen Weimer.  In the article Weimer remands three action to improve questions.

• Prepare Questions
• Play with Question
• Preserve Good Questions

 When planning out a lesson it would be helpful to plan out the questions you would like to ask the students. Pre-planning question helps keep the teacher from just coming up with a question in the middle of the lesson that is not clear and can confuse students. Making questions clear help you to decide rather the question is a good question to ask and it also helps you to see when it is a good time to ask the question.

Playing with a question gives students time to think about what is being asked of them, and to write the question down in their note for study purposes. When students play around with a question they are able to think deeply into the question and come up with different techniques on how to answer the question.

Preserving a good question means instead of just answering the question on spot you can waiting to find out more about the question. In the article Weimer talks about how you can take the answer sthat students give you about a question and turn the question into a more effective question than what it was before.

Group project post 2

Click here to View Team Glue Project #2