Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
C4T#4 Summary
C4T#4 Comment #1
My new C4T blog is called Pair-a-dimes for Your Thoughts and is authored by David Truss. His most recent post was an extremely thoughtful piece on flexible learning opportunities. My favorite part from this lengthy post was a part where he said that education subjects are "streams, not silos." What he means by this is that each subject area is not contained all by itself. Rather, all subject areas are intertwined and can be somehow related. After introducing myself, I pointed out how much I liked what he had to say about all subject areas being like intertwining streams. I think this is something that some teachers aren't aware of. I told him how I thought more teachers of different subject areas need to work together to make their classes relate to one another at times.
C4T#4 Comment #2
The second blog post by David Truss that I commented on was one about how more and more school systems are going underfunded. He made many points about how schools are getting less and less money and even how some schools use the money they do get on the wrong things. He made several points about how properly funded education is necessary and needed by society. I commented that I agreed with his statements and was encouraged to see an educator speaking out about this matter. We all know how important education is for the future; so why is it so hard for us to facilitate it?
My new C4T blog is called Pair-a-dimes for Your Thoughts and is authored by David Truss. His most recent post was an extremely thoughtful piece on flexible learning opportunities. My favorite part from this lengthy post was a part where he said that education subjects are "streams, not silos." What he means by this is that each subject area is not contained all by itself. Rather, all subject areas are intertwined and can be somehow related. After introducing myself, I pointed out how much I liked what he had to say about all subject areas being like intertwining streams. I think this is something that some teachers aren't aware of. I told him how I thought more teachers of different subject areas need to work together to make their classes relate to one another at times.
C4T#4 Comment #2
The second blog post by David Truss that I commented on was one about how more and more school systems are going underfunded. He made many points about how schools are getting less and less money and even how some schools use the money they do get on the wrong things. He made several points about how properly funded education is necessary and needed by society. I commented that I agreed with his statements and was encouraged to see an educator speaking out about this matter. We all know how important education is for the future; so why is it so hard for us to facilitate it?
C4K Summary for April
C4K#9 Angelica
My student this week was Angelica from Miss Ouano's class in Auckland, New Zealand. Her latest blog post was a story about a dragon who puts eggs on people's doorsteps on Easter. I told her that I thought her story was interesting and that I had heard of the Easter Bunny but not the Easter Dragon. I told her I might not like Easter egg hunts if I knew a dragon was the one hiding the eggs. Lastly I wished her good luck in class.
C4K#10 Jasmyne
My final C4K student is Jasmyne from Miss Lavakula's class in Auckland, New Zealand. The blog post I commented on was about a white tailed spider. It had a picture of the spider and didn't really have much other than that. I told her it was a scary looking spider and asked her if she had an interest in spiders. Then I told her about some of the spiders we have here in Alabama.
My student this week was Angelica from Miss Ouano's class in Auckland, New Zealand. Her latest blog post was a story about a dragon who puts eggs on people's doorsteps on Easter. I told her that I thought her story was interesting and that I had heard of the Easter Bunny but not the Easter Dragon. I told her I might not like Easter egg hunts if I knew a dragon was the one hiding the eggs. Lastly I wished her good luck in class.
C4K#10 Jasmyne
My final C4K student is Jasmyne from Miss Lavakula's class in Auckland, New Zealand. The blog post I commented on was about a white tailed spider. It had a picture of the spider and didn't really have much other than that. I told her it was a scary looking spider and asked her if she had an interest in spiders. Then I told her about some of the spiders we have here in Alabama.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Blog Post Assignment #13
The assignment for this blog post is to pick your favorite figure from American history and do a short report/biography on your chosen person.
You may include pictures, audio, or even a Google slide presentation in your post.
You should include links to all your sources of information used in this assignment.
William Barret Travis is the person I chose for this assignment. He is my favorite figure from my favorite event in American history; The Alamo. Here is a short report I prepared on Travis.
Born in South Carolina on 9 August 1809, William Barret Travis will always be remembered as the Texas commander at the Battle of the Alamo. He spent his childhood in Saluda Co., SC, which was also the home of James Butler Bonham, another Alamo defender. Travis studied law and became a practicing attorney for a brief time before marrying Rosanna Cato at the age of nineteen. Within a year, when Travis was barely twenty years old, they had a son, Charles Edward Travis. Remaining in the area, Travis began publication of a newspaper, became a Mason, and joined the militia. The marriage soon failed, however. Travis abandoned his wife, son, and an unborn daughter, and headed for Texas. After arriving in Texas in early 1831, Travis obtained land from Stephen F. Austin. He set up to practice law first in the town of Anahuac, and afterwards at San Felipe. When friction developed between Texas and Mexico, Travis was one of the first to join the Texas forces. When Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos demanded the surrender of the Texan's cannon that resulted in the Battle of Gonzales, Travis was one of hundreds to come to the its defense. He arrived too late, however, to take part in the action. On orders from Provisional Governor Henry Smith in January of 1836, Travis entered the Alamo with about 30 men. Within a few days, he found himself in command, when then commander James C. Neill took leave to care for his family. Travis commanded the Texas defenders during the Siege and Battle of the Alamo. His Appeal from the Alamo for reinforcements has become an American symbol of unyielding courage and heroism. Although a few reinforcements arrived before the Alamo fell, Travis and over 180 defenders gave their lives for Texas independence on 6 March 1836. Remarkably, Travis was only twenty-six years of age at the time of his death.
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World
Fellow citizens & compatriots
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country VICTORY OR DEATH.
William Barret Travis,
Lt. Col. comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves. Travis
Sources
tamu.edu
thealamo.org
You may include pictures, audio, or even a Google slide presentation in your post.
You should include links to all your sources of information used in this assignment.
William Barret Travis
William Barret Travis is the person I chose for this assignment. He is my favorite figure from my favorite event in American history; The Alamo. Here is a short report I prepared on Travis.
Born in South Carolina on 9 August 1809, William Barret Travis will always be remembered as the Texas commander at the Battle of the Alamo. He spent his childhood in Saluda Co., SC, which was also the home of James Butler Bonham, another Alamo defender. Travis studied law and became a practicing attorney for a brief time before marrying Rosanna Cato at the age of nineteen. Within a year, when Travis was barely twenty years old, they had a son, Charles Edward Travis. Remaining in the area, Travis began publication of a newspaper, became a Mason, and joined the militia. The marriage soon failed, however. Travis abandoned his wife, son, and an unborn daughter, and headed for Texas. After arriving in Texas in early 1831, Travis obtained land from Stephen F. Austin. He set up to practice law first in the town of Anahuac, and afterwards at San Felipe. When friction developed between Texas and Mexico, Travis was one of the first to join the Texas forces. When Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos demanded the surrender of the Texan's cannon that resulted in the Battle of Gonzales, Travis was one of hundreds to come to the its defense. He arrived too late, however, to take part in the action. On orders from Provisional Governor Henry Smith in January of 1836, Travis entered the Alamo with about 30 men. Within a few days, he found himself in command, when then commander James C. Neill took leave to care for his family. Travis commanded the Texas defenders during the Siege and Battle of the Alamo. His Appeal from the Alamo for reinforcements has become an American symbol of unyielding courage and heroism. Although a few reinforcements arrived before the Alamo fell, Travis and over 180 defenders gave their lives for Texas independence on 6 March 1836. Remarkably, Travis was only twenty-six years of age at the time of his death.
Travis's Famous Letter
To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World
Fellow citizens & compatriots
I am besieged, by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna I have sustained a continual Bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, & our flag still waves proudly from the walls I shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all dispatch The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country VICTORY OR DEATH.
William Barret Travis,
Lt. Col. comdt.
P.S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels and got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves. Travis
Sources
tamu.edu
thealamo.org
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Blog Post Assignment #12
Assistive technologies available for our students who are disabled or impaired have developed rapidly in the 21st century. Teacher are now far better equipped to effectively teach students with disabilities because of this. Here are a few examples of assistive technologies.
After watching the video, iPad Usage For the Blind, I learned about the voice over feature on the iPad that allows a visually impaired person to use the iPad effectively. Whenever the person puts their finger on the iPad, it responds with speech and lets the person know where they are on the iPad. Being able to use an iPad to listen to books, newspapers, or magazines can help visually impaired people operate independently rather than having to have someone else read to them. Audible is a good audiobook app that I found and think would be good for a visually impaired person to use. It allows access to over 150,000 audiobooks and is operated by Amazon.
In The Mountbatten video showed an example of a student using a device for typing braille. The device reads aloud the letters being typed on it. It can help students and teachers who cannot read braille understand the student who is typing it. This allows for the impaired student to be more involved in classroom activities and group projects.
I found a very interesting blog post authored by Lisa Nielsen on her education blog called The Innovative Educator. In this post she covers 25 different assistive technologies such as talking calculators, audiobooks, text to voice software, etc. Every one of the 25 items she briefly discusses also has a link to a much more in depth analysis of the particular item. This blog post seems to cover most all types of assistive technologies and would serve as a good starting point for anyone interested in learning about such devices.
After watching the video, iPad Usage For the Blind, I learned about the voice over feature on the iPad that allows a visually impaired person to use the iPad effectively. Whenever the person puts their finger on the iPad, it responds with speech and lets the person know where they are on the iPad. Being able to use an iPad to listen to books, newspapers, or magazines can help visually impaired people operate independently rather than having to have someone else read to them. Audible is a good audiobook app that I found and think would be good for a visually impaired person to use. It allows access to over 150,000 audiobooks and is operated by Amazon.
In The Mountbatten video showed an example of a student using a device for typing braille. The device reads aloud the letters being typed on it. It can help students and teachers who cannot read braille understand the student who is typing it. This allows for the impaired student to be more involved in classroom activities and group projects.
I found a very interesting blog post authored by Lisa Nielsen on her education blog called The Innovative Educator. In this post she covers 25 different assistive technologies such as talking calculators, audiobooks, text to voice software, etc. Every one of the 25 items she briefly discusses also has a link to a much more in depth analysis of the particular item. This blog post seems to cover most all types of assistive technologies and would serve as a good starting point for anyone interested in learning about such devices.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Blog Post Assignment #11
Back To the Future
Brian Crosby's speech about techniques and methods used in his classroom taught me a lot. Crosby lets his students be active and express their own knowledge and feelings in the classroom. He encourages his students to have personal learning networks and to collaborate with the other students in class. Mr. Crosby is a very good example of what a 21st century teacher should be like. He seems to incorporate technology into his classroom flawlessly. Technology allows students to expand their ability to learn much farther than they ever could without it.
Sam Pane 4th Grade
Mr. Pane is a very interesting teacher who succeeds at keeping his class interested and entertained with his teaching; which is something that I personally believe is extremely important. Mr. Pane's way of teaching his kids about internet safety was a very interesting concept. He combines many skills into one lesson and has his students learning quite a lot in just one project. Being able to combine many different skills in one lesson or project is something that a successful teacher should be able to do. His students seemed so excited and ready to learn in his class. Mr. Pane provides a great example of how to keep your students interesting in learning.
Project Based Learning
This video shows that collaboration isn't limited to just being between students. This video shows how three teachers worked together to combine their classes and used technology to help their students learn. Teachers seem nowadays to only operate their classes without any input from their colleagues and peers around them. I think it is important that we as teachers work together to provide our students with the best educational experience that we possibly can. This video also showed me that students will surprise us teachers with how much they can do when we allow them some freedom to work and learn together. The skills shown by some of the students working together on projects really impressed me. Providing students with well-prepared project based learning experiences can really allow them to shine.
Brian Crosby's speech about techniques and methods used in his classroom taught me a lot. Crosby lets his students be active and express their own knowledge and feelings in the classroom. He encourages his students to have personal learning networks and to collaborate with the other students in class. Mr. Crosby is a very good example of what a 21st century teacher should be like. He seems to incorporate technology into his classroom flawlessly. Technology allows students to expand their ability to learn much farther than they ever could without it.
Sam Pane 4th Grade
Mr. Pane is a very interesting teacher who succeeds at keeping his class interested and entertained with his teaching; which is something that I personally believe is extremely important. Mr. Pane's way of teaching his kids about internet safety was a very interesting concept. He combines many skills into one lesson and has his students learning quite a lot in just one project. Being able to combine many different skills in one lesson or project is something that a successful teacher should be able to do. His students seemed so excited and ready to learn in his class. Mr. Pane provides a great example of how to keep your students interesting in learning.
Project Based Learning
This video shows that collaboration isn't limited to just being between students. This video shows how three teachers worked together to combine their classes and used technology to help their students learn. Teachers seem nowadays to only operate their classes without any input from their colleagues and peers around them. I think it is important that we as teachers work together to provide our students with the best educational experience that we possibly can. This video also showed me that students will surprise us teachers with how much they can do when we allow them some freedom to work and learn together. The skills shown by some of the students working together on projects really impressed me. Providing students with well-prepared project based learning experiences can really allow them to shine.
C4T#3 Summary
C4T#3 Comment #1
My new C4T blog is called Thurmann Resources and is authored by Lisa Thurmann. She works at The School for Global Education and Innovation at Kean University in New Jersey. She recently posted an entry in her blog that discussed how teachers are going to learn and adapt to Common Core. She talked about how her team is going to develop Common Core Communities of Practice. These will serve as a way for teachers to learn with one another how to implement Common Core and enhance their ability to learn and teach.
After introducing myself, I told her how as a future teacher I appreciate the efforts being made by people such as herself towards helping educators learn these new standards. Learning new standards and requirements is never an easy thing for teachers to do, but with enough effort put forth by everyone in the education community it can be done effectively. The Common Core Communities of Practice seem like a great way for teachers to collaboratively learn the applications of the new Common Core Standards.
C4T#3 Comment #2
The second blog post by Lisa Thurmann that I commented on was one in which she discussed many useful apps that you can use on Google Drive. I found this post to be interesting because I have only been familiar with Google Drive since I began EDM310 and I am eager to learn more about it and its uses. Her post covered several apps ranging from video & picture editing to mathematics software. I told her about how I had just became familiar with Google Drive and that I looked forward to checking out some of the apps that she mentioned in her blog.
My new C4T blog is called Thurmann Resources and is authored by Lisa Thurmann. She works at The School for Global Education and Innovation at Kean University in New Jersey. She recently posted an entry in her blog that discussed how teachers are going to learn and adapt to Common Core. She talked about how her team is going to develop Common Core Communities of Practice. These will serve as a way for teachers to learn with one another how to implement Common Core and enhance their ability to learn and teach.
After introducing myself, I told her how as a future teacher I appreciate the efforts being made by people such as herself towards helping educators learn these new standards. Learning new standards and requirements is never an easy thing for teachers to do, but with enough effort put forth by everyone in the education community it can be done effectively. The Common Core Communities of Practice seem like a great way for teachers to collaboratively learn the applications of the new Common Core Standards.
C4T#3 Comment #2
The second blog post by Lisa Thurmann that I commented on was one in which she discussed many useful apps that you can use on Google Drive. I found this post to be interesting because I have only been familiar with Google Drive since I began EDM310 and I am eager to learn more about it and its uses. Her post covered several apps ranging from video & picture editing to mathematics software. I told her about how I had just became familiar with Google Drive and that I looked forward to checking out some of the apps that she mentioned in her blog.
C4K Summary for March
C4K#6 Hine
Hine is a young girl in Mrs. Jenny She's second grade class in Auckland, New Zealand. Hine did not have any blog posts that were specifically hers but she was in a post that showed a video of the entire class 18 on a school picnic. I commented that the whole class looked like they had a great time and enjoyed the day.
C4K#7 Leka
Leka is a seven year old boy in Mr. Barks & Mrs. Nua's class in Auckland, New Zealand. His most recent blog post was a biography poem he made about himself. From reading his poem I was able to learn a lot about him and what he liked. I noticed he talked about baseball quite a few times in his poem. I told him that I too love baseball and that I played when I was younger. I asked if he followed American baseball and told him about my favorite team. Lastly, I told him that if he worked hard enough he could achieve his dream of becoming a baseball player.
C4K#7 Lizara
Lizara is a seven year old student in Ms. Squire's class in Auckland, New Zealand. Lizara's last blog post was about a boxer named Joseph Parker. Apparently Parker is Lizara's favorite professional boxer. I told Lizara about some of my favorite professional athletes and also that it is important for children to look up to athletes such as Joseph Parker for inspiration.
Hine is a young girl in Mrs. Jenny She's second grade class in Auckland, New Zealand. Hine did not have any blog posts that were specifically hers but she was in a post that showed a video of the entire class 18 on a school picnic. I commented that the whole class looked like they had a great time and enjoyed the day.
C4K#7 Leka
Leka is a seven year old boy in Mr. Barks & Mrs. Nua's class in Auckland, New Zealand. His most recent blog post was a biography poem he made about himself. From reading his poem I was able to learn a lot about him and what he liked. I noticed he talked about baseball quite a few times in his poem. I told him that I too love baseball and that I played when I was younger. I asked if he followed American baseball and told him about my favorite team. Lastly, I told him that if he worked hard enough he could achieve his dream of becoming a baseball player.
C4K#7 Lizara
Lizara is a seven year old student in Ms. Squire's class in Auckland, New Zealand. Lizara's last blog post was about a boxer named Joseph Parker. Apparently Parker is Lizara's favorite professional boxer. I told Lizara about some of my favorite professional athletes and also that it is important for children to look up to athletes such as Joseph Parker for inspiration.
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