C4K Summary for March

My first assignment for the month of March was Fernando O's blog post "Life on the Trails" from Mrs. Weil's fourth grade class in Kansas. Fernando O's post was about the Oregon Trail. In this post Fernando contained a little information about the Oregon trail, and he also explained what he thought he would like about the Oregon Trail. He also included that he believed "his family would not like the Oregon Trail because they do not like being outside." After reading and commenting on Fernando's post, I also included a link to a website that contains information about the Oregon Trail.

Below is my comment to Fernando O:

My name is Kaley McManus and I am a elementary education student at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on why you would like the Oregon Trail. The Oregon trail served for many years as the only way possible for emigrants to make it through the mountains and reach the west side of the North America. At least a half million pioneers traveled this trail. This trail was used until the transcontinental railroad was built in 1869. My family likes the outdoors, but I am not sure that they would like to walk two thousand miles. It would be interesting to travel through the mountains because you would get to see things that you have never seen before. The Oregon Trail is a big part of American History. If it wasn't for the Oregon Trail, It is possible that the United States would not have any of the western states.

Here is the link to a website that you can view about the Oregon Trail:

http://www.america101.us/trail/Introduction.html

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcmanus_kaley

Gmail: kaleymcmanus2016@gmail.com

URL for class blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com

URL for my class blog: http://mcmanuskaleyedm310.blogspot.com

The second post that I was assigned for this month is Per 6 Karlee's post "Job Shadowing Experience" from Mrs. Malowski's class at Joliet West High School in Illinois. In this post Karlee discussed her opinion of her job shadowing experience. She shadowed a history teacher, and she included in her post what she did and didn't like about this certain occupation. She also included that she was interested in a career in the medical field. 

Below is my comment to Per 6 Karlee:

My name is Kaley McManus and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. Good posts, and I think it is really great that you shadowed a job that you are not necessarily interested in. I never did that, and I ended up changing my major as a junior in college. I personally think that a career in the medical field and teaching go hand in hand with each other when it comes to personality type. You really have to be compassionate for others, empathetic, and patience to hold a job in either of these career types. Keep shadowing different types of careers, that is the only way you will truly find out what you want to do for the rest of your life. Keep up the good work!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcmanus_kaley

Gmail: kaleymcmanus2016@gmail.com

URL for class blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com

URL for my class blog: http://mcmanuskaleyedm310.blogspot.com

The third and final post that I was assigned was Sean J's "Jonah" post from Mrs. Lombard's 7th grade english class in Oklahoma. In the post Sean J discussed what he thought God was teaching Jonah by destroying his shade plant. Sean wrote that he thought that "God was trying to teach Jonah to start thinking about others, and to not just think about himself." 

Below is my comment to Sean J:

My name is Kaley McManus and I am a student from the University of South Alabama. Great post! I agree that God was trying to get Jonah to focus on someone else beside himself. There are so many morals that are taught in just this one piece of scripture. Not only is God trying to teach the importance of being selfless, but I also believe that God is trying to teach us that even when we are at our "lowest in life;" there are still others out there that are suffering more than we are. Keep up the good work!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcmanus_kaley

Gmail: kaleymcmanus2016@gmail.com

URL for class blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com

URL for my class blog: http://mcmanuskaleyedm310.blogspot.com

Link to scripture provided below:

Jonah’s Anger at the Lord’s Compassion

1But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

4But the Lord replied, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

5Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant^a and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

Blog Post #9

I would first like to start off by saying that all of these videos pretty much touched on the same ideas when it came to Project Based Learning (PBL). Project Based Learning is all about actively engaging your students in each lesson, encouraging critical thinking, involving the community, and self reflection. As future educators, we can learn so much from current teachers and students when dealing with Project Based Learning.

The first assignment is a web article called the "Seven Essentials for Project Based." In this article, they discussed the importance of incorporating Project Based learning into the classroom. This article teaches us that Project Based Learning is all about student engagement and cognitive development. It also covers two criteria that should be focused on when using PBL in the classroom. These two criteria are to make sure that lesson is meaningful to the students (make sure it is personal), and to make sure the lesson has an educational purpose. This article also covers many elements that makes up a Project Based Learning lesson. It first covers the importance of providing the "need to know content" by providing an entry event that engages the students' interest (Motivation). It is important that we give our students a reason why it is important to know that certain information. The article then discusses the importance of "providing a driving question." A driving question gives the students a sense of purpose, and it also challenges the students. Another element that is important in PBL is to make sure to give the students "a voice and a choice." This is a way to make the project more meaningful to the student, and the more "voice and choice" provided by the students the better. It also covers the importance of incorporating 21st century skills, and that is the use of technology to introduce to the students the benefits of collaboration and communication. This article also covers the importance of allowing students to conduct real inquiry to produce new innovation, the importance of always including a process of feedback and revision, and the importance allowing the students to publicly present their project to an audience to make it more meaningful.

The second assignment was a video called Project Based Learning for Teachers. This video also covered the components of PBL. This video defined project based learning as students working over an extended period of time to answer a driving question. It covered the fact that deep questions are a way to allow students to share their results with others. This video also covered certain topics that I have listed below:

Project Based Learning is:

• Inquiry based
• Open-ended
• Problem-solving
• Personalized

During Project Based Learning students learn:

• Communication skills
• Critical thinking skills
• Career and life skills

In Project Based Learning:

• Technology takes a role
• Students take charge of learning

This video also introduces to us a quote from Albert Einstein that the producer thought was the best way to sum up a means for Project Based learning. (Quote as seen below)

In the third assignment we were allowed to choose between seven other sources and I chose a video called What Motivates Students? This was personally my favorite video because it gave a variety of students' views on what motivates them in school, and what rewards they receive in school. The video started off with an older student (maybe high school student), and he stated that "the teacher acknowledging good work and good behavior motivates him to do good in school." It was interesting to see things shift though when the producer of video interviewed younger students (maybe elementary and/or Pre-teen students). Their were three particular students that said that the future and focusing on achieving their dreams motivates them to be a good student. The fifth student's interview took a different approach to the question and stated that disciplinary consequences from his parent(s) motivated him to do better in school. Project Based Learning can be tied to each of these motivations. For the first student, there is a sense of accomplishment when dealing with PBL. PBL lessons are more personal and more likely to make you feel that "sense of accomplishment" when completing a task. For the second,third, and fourth student, Project Based Learning is geared toward real life strategies. It provides the students to not only complete activities in the classroom, but to actively be involved with the community and the real world. For the fifth student, their is a way to incorporate parents into the lesson when dealing with the PBL method of teaching. This way the student's parent(s) can see their child actively engaging in the lesson, and this gives the parent(s) the opportunity to tell their child how proud they are of him or her. I have also provided a list of rewards that the students found were their favorite below:

List of Rewards:

• First student (High school student)
• Would be Food
• Second, Third, and Fourth Student
• Candy and doing work outside
• Brownie points
• Different things each day of the week
• Music monday
• Wacky fact wednesday
• Fifth Student:
• Classroom money with collaboration of a behavior chart: money is used in the store at the end of the week

The next assignment that I chose is an article called" Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning." This article touched on some of the components of the PBL method of teaching but covered more on the different tools that can be used for collaboration. These tools are as listed below:

• Collaboration tools:
• Titan Pad
• Wall Wisher
• Coarkboardme
• Google Docs
• Microsoft Live
• Today's Meet
• Linoit
• Skype in Education
• Quick Screen Share

The last and final assignment that I chose was a video called PBL-High School Math. This video discusses the many different challenges faced when incorporating the Project Based Learning method of teaching when in the entire school system. This video gave detailed examples of challenges faced, especially in the subjects of math and language arts. It also gave the viewers insight on that certain school's improvement scores since incorporating PBL. This video mainly served as a way to encourage schools to adopt the Project Based Learning method of teaching. 

Project Based Learning WORLD:

Project #9- Video Book Commentary

Blog Post #8

In this blog post I am answering the question,"What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?" I would like to start off by saying that "Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" video is one of the most inspirational videos that I have ever seen.

Not only can we take these points that Randy Pausch stressed on and use it in the educational world, but we could also use these points to get through everyday life. Here are a few things in Randy Pausch's last lecture that teaches us about teaching and learning:

1. "Brick Walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things."

This is an amazing point. As future educators, there will be many brick walls. As a teacher, the way you execute your lessons and the amount of time you put into your class will prove how badly you want it. Teachers should have a natural drive to be the best that they can be. There are going to be plenty brick walls to face, but it is how we tear down those brick walls that matter.

2. "Have fun while learning- it's ok."

This really describes the educational world today. The way to actively engage students is to have fun. Get students excited about learning, and encourage a "love for learning." As future educators, we will see the best results when our kids are having fun learning. 

3. "Never lose your child-like wonder- it drives us."

This point really speaks to elementary education majors. Think about it, NEVER lose your child-like wonder. Teachers need to realize, especially elementary teachers, that their students watch them. If the teacher acts like a boring adult, or they act like they are too cool to participate in fun activities. Then, the kids will act the same way. If more teachers focus on acting excited about their lessons and if they participate with their students; then the kids will be excited about learning in return.

4. "Loyalty is a two way street- Believe in your students and they will believe in and with you."

Believe in your students when it comes to learning, and believe in your students when it comes to teaching. NEVER GIVE UP on your students. It is important that as teachers that we push our students to be the best that they can be. If they know that we believe them, and they know that we always have their back. Then, they will believe in us, and they will believe with us. We should always remember that our students look to us as role models, and we need to give them a good example to follow.

5. "Apologize when you screw up, focus on other people."

It is important as teachers for us to apologize for our mistakes. Our students need to realize that we are not perfect, and that way its easy for them to understand that its okay to make mistakes. While observing this year, I have seen many students get very upset because they got a question wrong. If we as teachers explain to our students that "we all make mistakes." Then it is easier for these students to cope with messing up, and they do not constantly feel the pressure to be perfect. Just as I previously explained, students watch their teachers. We need to be that example. 

Here are some other points that Randy Pausch made:

1. "It is all about the fundamentals"
2. "Get students to be self-reflective"
3. "Always help other people enable their dreams"
4. "Never give up"
5. "Tell the truth, Be earnest"
6. "Always do the right thing"
7. "Show gratitude"
8. "Don't complain, Just work Hard"
9. "Find the best in everybody"
10. "Always be prepared"
11. "Brick walls let us show our dedication; Don't bail"

All of these points are very important to the educational world and also in everyday life. What really inspired me was Randy Pauschs last statement "This talk is not for you, it is for my kids." While Randy Pausch really made his last lecture for his kids, I think that this statement can be vital to us as future educators. As teachers it is not about us, but it is and will always be about our kids. As educators, we are not doing this for us, but we are doing this for our students. It is important for educators to be selfless just as Randy Pausch was, and remember who we are doing this for. 

C4T #2

I was assigned to Mr. Sowash's blog "The Electric Educator" for blog post three and four. The first post that I was assigned too was the #FETC 2015 Recap. I really enjoyed reading this post. FETC stands for  the Future of Educational Technology Conference. In this post Mr. Sowash discussed his trip to the FETC, and gave detailed information about his top take-aways from the 2015 conference.

List of Mr. Sowash's top take-aways:

1. The maker movement is growing (3D Printings, Makerspaces) 
2. The future of technology links the digitally and physical
3. Cool product of the show- Swivl 
4. Educators can influence companies
5. Gaming in the classroom

Below is my comment on Mr. Sowash's Blog:

My name is Kaley McManus, and I am majoring in Elementary education at the University of South Alabama. I am currently in an educational media class called EDM 310. We have been discussing and blogging on topics covering the importance of technology in the classroom and the many benefits of classroom collaboration. I enjoyed reading your post, and I am very impressed with your list of top take-aways from the FETC. As a future educator, the Swivl really got my attention. I could see myself using the Swivl for the "flipping the classroom" method of teaching, or even using it as a resource for my student's parents to inform them on what is being instructed in class. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to future posts. 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcmanus_kaley
Gmail: kaleymcmanus2016@gmail.com
URL for class blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com

URL for class: http://mcmanuskaleyedm310.blogspot.com

Below is a video describing the Swivl Robot. This is an amazing product!! I suggest that all future educators take a look at this video.

The second post I was assigned was Mr. Sowash's "Big Screens vs. Small Screens" post. In this post Mr. Sowash posted his conversation with a EdTech company called InFocus. This company was asking for Mr. Sowash's educational advice about their product the JTouch. Mr. Sowash questioned the company's usage for their big screen device. He then compared big screen devices to small screen devices in terms of usage.

Below is my comment on Mr. Sowash's Post:

Really inspiring that you decided not to take any insertions from these companies in order to keep your independence. I really enjoyed reading your post, and I liked the fact that you threw back a question to InFocus to stir up conversation on why their product was so vital to the classroom. I agree that small screen devices are so much more interactive and useful then big screen devices. Also, any small screen device can be streamed to a larger device with the right apps and programs. Maybe Infocus's product could be used in replacement of the Smart Board? Either way, the Jtouch is a neat display device that can be used in any whole group discussion or setting.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcmanus_kaley
Gmail: kaleymcmanus2016@gmail.com
URL for class blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com

URL for class: http://mcmanuskaleyedm310.blogspot.com

Below is a video describing the JTouch:

Project #13

Team Glue's Water Cycle Project

The Glue Group chose to do our Project Based Learning lesson on the water cycle. Our students are to construct a group poster based on which phase of the water cycle their group was assigned. Each group will also create a video of "their version" of the water cycle. This video can be a dance, skit, or etc. Our students will present their group's poster and video. The students will choose which video they are more proud of as a whole class. This video selected will be sent to the Local News Station.

Click here to view our project site:
Water Cycle Project Group Website

Individual Links:
Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan Calendar
Project Overview
Individual Project Rubric
Group Project Rubric
Water Cycle Diagram

Example provided to the students when preparing 

to make their "Own Version" video of the water cycle.