Sunday, September 29, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Blog Post 6
What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?
Teacher present themselves to be the ones with all the answers, but as they talk to students they begin asking questions as if they have doubt about what they are talking about. Asking questions gives feedback to the teachers and gets students involved. In Joanne Chesley's video, Asking better questions in the classroom, she discusses the difference between an open-ended question and a closed-ended question. A open-ended question leaves the form of the answer up to the person who is responding, which gives the opportunity for more brainstorming about the questions. A closed-ended questions structure a response for the students and can be answer by a very brief phrase. As teachers, we have to be more careful about how we ask a question to students, so that we can get the response we are expecting from the students. When I was in high school, my teachers would always ask us closed-ended questions but would want us to respond as an open-ended response. It really does make a difference with how you ask a question.
In Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, Maryellen Weimer, PhD, gives three ways to ask better questions. The first is Prepare questions, always have questions ready for the students, so that way neither the teacher nor the students get confused. Being prepared early makes asking questions a lot easier so you can get the answer that you are expecting from the student. The second idea is to Play with questions, which means to leave it unanswered so that students can put on their thinking caps. Students can write the question in notes along with ideas pertaining to the question. The final idea is to Preserve good questions,and good questions can be kept and saved for later. Good questions can be used on a test or quiz. We need to ask good questions so that students see the importance of asking questions. We as educators don't have all that answers to the questions that students may ask, but we will do our best to answer them.
All of these strategies will help me make improvements when asking questions as a teacher. I want the students to get more involved and have their minds thinking critically about the questions being asked. I will be using these techniques in the future. As stated in EDM310, "Questions are more important than answers."
Teacher present themselves to be the ones with all the answers, but as they talk to students they begin asking questions as if they have doubt about what they are talking about. Asking questions gives feedback to the teachers and gets students involved. In Joanne Chesley's video, Asking better questions in the classroom, she discusses the difference between an open-ended question and a closed-ended question. A open-ended question leaves the form of the answer up to the person who is responding, which gives the opportunity for more brainstorming about the questions. A closed-ended questions structure a response for the students and can be answer by a very brief phrase. As teachers, we have to be more careful about how we ask a question to students, so that we can get the response we are expecting from the students. When I was in high school, my teachers would always ask us closed-ended questions but would want us to respond as an open-ended response. It really does make a difference with how you ask a question.
In Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom, Maryellen Weimer, PhD, gives three ways to ask better questions. The first is Prepare questions, always have questions ready for the students, so that way neither the teacher nor the students get confused. Being prepared early makes asking questions a lot easier so you can get the answer that you are expecting from the student. The second idea is to Play with questions, which means to leave it unanswered so that students can put on their thinking caps. Students can write the question in notes along with ideas pertaining to the question. The final idea is to Preserve good questions,and good questions can be kept and saved for later. Good questions can be used on a test or quiz. We need to ask good questions so that students see the importance of asking questions. We as educators don't have all that answers to the questions that students may ask, but we will do our best to answer them.
All of these strategies will help me make improvements when asking questions as a teacher. I want the students to get more involved and have their minds thinking critically about the questions being asked. I will be using these techniques in the future. As stated in EDM310, "Questions are more important than answers."
Friday, September 20, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
C4T
C4T#1
My teacher that I was assigned to is Ms. Sara Allen. She is a fifth grade teacher. In Sara Stay Determined: A reflection of a Math Workshop blog post, she emphasize on how being a math teaching works and what works for students. She understand the concept of what work for one class doesn't works for another. You have to change tactics, skills, organization and brainstorms. It's not about giving the students grades for their work but the skills that they need to learn and take with them in the future. It's about challenging there minds to problem solving. What I admired about this post was that she never gave up on the students. She challenge herself to find other solutions so that the students would understand. To grow as a team we have to work together and dream big.
C4T#2
Sara's Open Letter to My Class blog post was about how she doesn't want to leave her students. She expresses how most teacher would love to take vacation, reading novel, and sleeping in. She feels that her students was very special to her and it's hard to say goodbye. Sara reflects on the hard times and fun times that she had shard with her students. She explains that being there teacher has made a big difference in her life. What I love about this post was that she shared with them what she wanted them to remember as they move on to middle school. For example, she states that every person is a human being that deserves dignity and respect. We all never like to say goodbye to our students but we love to let them know how much we care as educators.
My teacher that I was assigned to is Ms. Sara Allen. She is a fifth grade teacher. In Sara Stay Determined: A reflection of a Math Workshop blog post, she emphasize on how being a math teaching works and what works for students. She understand the concept of what work for one class doesn't works for another. You have to change tactics, skills, organization and brainstorms. It's not about giving the students grades for their work but the skills that they need to learn and take with them in the future. It's about challenging there minds to problem solving. What I admired about this post was that she never gave up on the students. She challenge herself to find other solutions so that the students would understand. To grow as a team we have to work together and dream big.
C4T#2
Sara's Open Letter to My Class blog post was about how she doesn't want to leave her students. She expresses how most teacher would love to take vacation, reading novel, and sleeping in. She feels that her students was very special to her and it's hard to say goodbye. Sara reflects on the hard times and fun times that she had shard with her students. She explains that being there teacher has made a big difference in her life. What I love about this post was that she shared with them what she wanted them to remember as they move on to middle school. For example, she states that every person is a human being that deserves dignity and respect. We all never like to say goodbye to our students but we love to let them know how much we care as educators.
Blog Post #4
Langwitches 1st Graders Create Own Read Along Book
Reading in Langwitches blog about 1st grader who created their own read along book lead me to how podcasting works. It enables the students to learn more and understand what they are reading. Podcasts are useful when a students does not know how to pronounce a word. They can listen to the podcast and then repeat the words. This helps them learn the correct pronunciation. I love how they could use the handout to follow along as they were read to. It's good to have printed copy of what is being read in front of you. Students was able to give there opinions about what they learned. It's amazes me what technology can do for such young students. The most important part is that the students are learning.
Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast
After reading and listening to the Flat Stanley podcast by Jim Brown, I thought it was great. The class brainstorms with their teacher and comes up with a storyline for their audio story. I really enjoyed how all the students had a different part to record. As they were telling the story, you could really imagine the story that was being told. They use unique sounds to let you know when they were moving to the next state. The students were reminded that they needed to think about the senses and sound effects in their audio segment. This was very educational for the students as well as the teacher. We have to make education fun for the students and podcasting seems to be the key. I would love to have this method of education for my future students.
The Benefits of Pod casting in the Classroom
After watching Joe Dale's , Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom, I have learned a lot about podcasting. Students were more interested in how it works and the things that they could do. Podcasts enable students to access information anytime they want. Teachers can record their classes and upload it online and upload them as podcasts. This allows students to access previous lectures for reference and clarification on a subject. It encourages students to develop their own podcast, improve their listening skills and enhance learning. They enjoyed making podcasts more then watching them. The sound effects in the podcast made students more alert. I will definitely be using podcasting in my classroom when I become a teacher.
Reading in Langwitches blog about 1st grader who created their own read along book lead me to how podcasting works. It enables the students to learn more and understand what they are reading. Podcasts are useful when a students does not know how to pronounce a word. They can listen to the podcast and then repeat the words. This helps them learn the correct pronunciation. I love how they could use the handout to follow along as they were read to. It's good to have printed copy of what is being read in front of you. Students was able to give there opinions about what they learned. It's amazes me what technology can do for such young students. The most important part is that the students are learning.
Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast
After reading and listening to the Flat Stanley podcast by Jim Brown, I thought it was great. The class brainstorms with their teacher and comes up with a storyline for their audio story. I really enjoyed how all the students had a different part to record. As they were telling the story, you could really imagine the story that was being told. They use unique sounds to let you know when they were moving to the next state. The students were reminded that they needed to think about the senses and sound effects in their audio segment. This was very educational for the students as well as the teacher. We have to make education fun for the students and podcasting seems to be the key. I would love to have this method of education for my future students.
The Benefits of Pod casting in the Classroom
After watching Joe Dale's , Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom, I have learned a lot about podcasting. Students were more interested in how it works and the things that they could do. Podcasts enable students to access information anytime they want. Teachers can record their classes and upload it online and upload them as podcasts. This allows students to access previous lectures for reference and clarification on a subject. It encourages students to develop their own podcast, improve their listening skills and enhance learning. They enjoyed making podcasts more then watching them. The sound effects in the podcast made students more alert. I will definitely be using podcasting in my classroom when I become a teacher.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Blog Post #3
Meaningful Feedback To Your Peers
After watching the videos on peer editing, I have learned that giving compliments, staying positive, and making suggestions are three key factors. By giving compliments, you may gain the writers trust and boost their confidence. This may make the writer feel comfortable with sharing their work. However, we must face constructive criticism, which will help us to become successful writers.
Also stay positive, you should never give any type of negative feedback. Remember, you should never be mean or pushy when critiquing someone’s work. Most importantly, making suggestions may help the writer fix any errors in their work. Practice is the best method to become a successful writer. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
After watching the videos on peer editing, I have learned that giving compliments, staying positive, and making suggestions are three key factors. By giving compliments, you may gain the writers trust and boost their confidence. This may make the writer feel comfortable with sharing their work. However, we must face constructive criticism, which will help us to become successful writers.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Blog Post #2
Our Thoughts on Mr. Dancealot
Author: Kynyetta Barren, Doug Jarvis, And Kristie Bell
In the Professor Dancealot video we see the problem with not engaging our students. He simply spends the entire semester reading power points word for word to his class. Obviously, this is boring and considering his class is a dance class, allowing the students to actually perform the dance and then correct them as they are trying would be a much better method of teaching. The final exam in his class was a videoed activity test in which his students were expected to perform the numerous dances he lectured about during the semester. Of course, having never been allowed to practice these moves, the students were very unsure and did not perform well. We can learn that it is ridiculous to teach by reading to people from this video. Children can read the text without us. What we need to do is expand on the written word with activities that excite our students about the subject matter and allow them to apply the knowledge they obtained through their reading. What is the purpose of a degree if all we are going to do is read to our kids. As educators we are being taught useful techniques to create the total learning experience for our children and we must also continue to find new ways to present material to ensure we are giving the best for our students. video can be seen at: Professor Dancealot
My Thoughts On "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"
In Vicki Davis,”Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts” she uses all sources of electronic devices to teach the students such as computers, cell phones, videos, podcast, and blog sites. She feels that students need more than just pens, pencil, and paper to learn. She wants students to think on their own. The students learn from different students around the world through a website called Digi Teen. This is a way for students to blog and share ideas with each other. She allows the students to teach each other as groups. I think that idea is great because it prepare the students for the world today. I agree and disagree with this movie. I agree with the idea that the students can learn from the blogs, other students, and the internet. We all need to know what other different resources are out there. Some students learn better using the latest technology. I disagree because we don't want the students to just rely on the internet to understand the concept. Whatever happened to reading books to get information? What would you do if there was a blackout? Where will the backup come from without electricity? Generators simply do not last forever. I think we still need to re-educate our students to all sorts of way to learn without the use of some of the technology. This is where pencils, pens, and papers comes into play. If it was me, I couldn't just rely on the technology that is used today.Here is the video links to Vicki Davis, “Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts”
Doug Jarvis's thoughts on "Teaching in the 21st Century." What does it mean to teach in the 21st century?
Everyday, technology makes leaps that allow us to access information easily and quickly from smaller and smaller devices. As an educator, we need to learn to incorporate these devices to teach a group of students that are becoming more and more technologically advanced. The internet allows us to get answers instantly on any subject matter imaginable. It is our job to ensure that we guide our students to understand that tools such as the internet,facebook, twitter,and skype can be great sources of information. However?, not all information is reliable and factual. We want to help students to understand what a good source is and how to ask the right questions to evaluate information they look up is a must in an age of instant gratification. We need to encourage our students to question things and to analyze information that they come across. One way to do this is to teach them to always use multiple sources; to compare and contrast different perspectives and then use what they learn to form their own opinions that they can support with facts. There is certainly a risk of privacy and plagiarism because of the temptation to use work done by others easily obtained from numerous sites. We have to do our work in both educating them in the dangers and the immorality of this act, as well as following up their work by checking sources they cite to ensure that their work is truly their own. As we move forward in this world of technology, we must continue to educate ourselves and engage our children in the format they are most comfortable with. We have to challenge them to push the boundaries of learning and to make full use of the age of information. As an educator in America today, I want our children to be the stars of tomorrow. I hope all of us realize that we are behind the powers of the world in education today ( especially math and science) and we must all help to prepare our students to the best of our abilities, so that they can be relevant and competitive in the world market. We must be different as educators, we owe it to our country to never be complacent. We must always remember that the children are the future as educators. We have the sacred duty to mold them so that a bright future is given to them and the great nation we all call home. Video can be found at: Teaching in the 21st Century
Kristie Bell's Thoughts On "The Networked Students"
In video "The Networked Student," it effectively presents the importance in having a strong network as your support. The video was an actual project that was presented by Mrs. Drexler’s students. Most of the time, as students, we do not realize that a strong network can greatly benefit us and also help us long term with our future careers. I have heard so many students say after they graduate,” well maybe I could have gotten that job if only I had the right connections. This is where this video comes into play and it also points out the significance of why an educator is still needed even if we are well networked. First, let me just start by saying that we live in a modern world where technology is advancing and we should certainly learn how to get the most use out of these devices. This is where a teacher is needed because he or she is the educator on this knowledge. The educator teaches the students how to use this knowledge in their everyday educational learning and, if done properly, the student should find their studies to be easier with these new skills. The educator can show a student many different skills such as how to formally act when using the internet. Just for example, Dr. Strange let us know in advance that our work would be seen all around the world and that we should show professionalism in every single assignment. So in this case, the educator could show his or her students how to be professional in their blog posts or if they interact with other educators. A great motto that we were told in this class was "Always ask, never tell," and what that indicates is that we cannot possibly know everything and it is always better to ask than to just be unsure. This the purpose of educators, they love to answer our curious questions and help us get on the right track. This is why teachers tell us all the time to have a network and stay involved. This video repeats this information for a very particular reason and really gets across that students should explore in their educational learning on their own as well. Podcasts and rss feeds are both great examples of ways to enhance your learning. Instead of listening to that song on your ipod, why not download an educational podcast that is affiliated with your major. This broadens your learning and you can then take the knowledge you obtained and pass it on to others. Mainly, networking is this continuous process of education and how we can always learn something new. Educators are always networking themselves so they can serve as connectors to their students providing them with accurate knowledge. My reaction to this video was a positive one and it honestly made me think on what all I can possibly do to be a more networked involved student. Here is the link to the video so you can refer to it as well The Networked Student
Author: Kynyetta Barren, Doug Jarvis, And Kristie Bell
In the Professor Dancealot video we see the problem with not engaging our students. He simply spends the entire semester reading power points word for word to his class. Obviously, this is boring and considering his class is a dance class, allowing the students to actually perform the dance and then correct them as they are trying would be a much better method of teaching. The final exam in his class was a videoed activity test in which his students were expected to perform the numerous dances he lectured about during the semester. Of course, having never been allowed to practice these moves, the students were very unsure and did not perform well. We can learn that it is ridiculous to teach by reading to people from this video. Children can read the text without us. What we need to do is expand on the written word with activities that excite our students about the subject matter and allow them to apply the knowledge they obtained through their reading. What is the purpose of a degree if all we are going to do is read to our kids. As educators we are being taught useful techniques to create the total learning experience for our children and we must also continue to find new ways to present material to ensure we are giving the best for our students. video can be seen at: Professor Dancealot
My Thoughts On "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"
In Vicki Davis,”Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts” she uses all sources of electronic devices to teach the students such as computers, cell phones, videos, podcast, and blog sites. She feels that students need more than just pens, pencil, and paper to learn. She wants students to think on their own. The students learn from different students around the world through a website called Digi Teen. This is a way for students to blog and share ideas with each other. She allows the students to teach each other as groups. I think that idea is great because it prepare the students for the world today. I agree and disagree with this movie. I agree with the idea that the students can learn from the blogs, other students, and the internet. We all need to know what other different resources are out there. Some students learn better using the latest technology. I disagree because we don't want the students to just rely on the internet to understand the concept. Whatever happened to reading books to get information? What would you do if there was a blackout? Where will the backup come from without electricity? Generators simply do not last forever. I think we still need to re-educate our students to all sorts of way to learn without the use of some of the technology. This is where pencils, pens, and papers comes into play. If it was me, I couldn't just rely on the technology that is used today.Here is the video links to Vicki Davis, “Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts”
Everyday, technology makes leaps that allow us to access information easily and quickly from smaller and smaller devices. As an educator, we need to learn to incorporate these devices to teach a group of students that are becoming more and more technologically advanced. The internet allows us to get answers instantly on any subject matter imaginable. It is our job to ensure that we guide our students to understand that tools such as the internet,facebook, twitter,and skype can be great sources of information. However?, not all information is reliable and factual. We want to help students to understand what a good source is and how to ask the right questions to evaluate information they look up is a must in an age of instant gratification. We need to encourage our students to question things and to analyze information that they come across. One way to do this is to teach them to always use multiple sources; to compare and contrast different perspectives and then use what they learn to form their own opinions that they can support with facts. There is certainly a risk of privacy and plagiarism because of the temptation to use work done by others easily obtained from numerous sites. We have to do our work in both educating them in the dangers and the immorality of this act, as well as following up their work by checking sources they cite to ensure that their work is truly their own. As we move forward in this world of technology, we must continue to educate ourselves and engage our children in the format they are most comfortable with. We have to challenge them to push the boundaries of learning and to make full use of the age of information. As an educator in America today, I want our children to be the stars of tomorrow. I hope all of us realize that we are behind the powers of the world in education today ( especially math and science) and we must all help to prepare our students to the best of our abilities, so that they can be relevant and competitive in the world market. We must be different as educators, we owe it to our country to never be complacent. We must always remember that the children are the future as educators. We have the sacred duty to mold them so that a bright future is given to them and the great nation we all call home. Video can be found at: Teaching in the 21st Century
Kristie Bell's Thoughts On "The Networked Students"
In video "The Networked Student," it effectively presents the importance in having a strong network as your support. The video was an actual project that was presented by Mrs. Drexler’s students. Most of the time, as students, we do not realize that a strong network can greatly benefit us and also help us long term with our future careers. I have heard so many students say after they graduate,” well maybe I could have gotten that job if only I had the right connections. This is where this video comes into play and it also points out the significance of why an educator is still needed even if we are well networked. First, let me just start by saying that we live in a modern world where technology is advancing and we should certainly learn how to get the most use out of these devices. This is where a teacher is needed because he or she is the educator on this knowledge. The educator teaches the students how to use this knowledge in their everyday educational learning and, if done properly, the student should find their studies to be easier with these new skills. The educator can show a student many different skills such as how to formally act when using the internet. Just for example, Dr. Strange let us know in advance that our work would be seen all around the world and that we should show professionalism in every single assignment. So in this case, the educator could show his or her students how to be professional in their blog posts or if they interact with other educators. A great motto that we were told in this class was "Always ask, never tell," and what that indicates is that we cannot possibly know everything and it is always better to ask than to just be unsure. This the purpose of educators, they love to answer our curious questions and help us get on the right track. This is why teachers tell us all the time to have a network and stay involved. This video repeats this information for a very particular reason and really gets across that students should explore in their educational learning on their own as well. Podcasts and rss feeds are both great examples of ways to enhance your learning. Instead of listening to that song on your ipod, why not download an educational podcast that is affiliated with your major. This broadens your learning and you can then take the knowledge you obtained and pass it on to others. Mainly, networking is this continuous process of education and how we can always learn something new. Educators are always networking themselves so they can serve as connectors to their students providing them with accurate knowledge. My reaction to this video was a positive one and it honestly made me think on what all I can possibly do to be a more networked involved student. Here is the link to the video so you can refer to it as well The Networked Student
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