Project # 15 Lesson Plan 2

Please see the links below to see my materials for this project. Any helpful feedback will be appreciated. Thank you.

Project # 15 Lesson Plan 2_Overview, Project # 15 Lesson Plan 2_Calendar, Project # 15 Lesson Plan 2_Rubric

Sources: North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Forum, Cool Cat Teacher Blog, Space

Project # 12 Smartoard Instructions Part A

The video in my blog is an instruction demonstration of the basic components of using a Smartboard. It won't get me any awards or acclaim, but I hope I was able to show some literacy for this project. Please leave any comments that will help me do better next time.

Blog Post # 10

One of the greatest things we can learn from Sir Ken Robinson is that teaching needs to be more student centric, in that their passions and talents are great tools to make learning more engaging. I can identify with the two types of people he mentioned: Those who don't enjoy what they and those who love what they do, as I was one of the fore, but now I much the latter. I've always wanted to teach, but I was in the linear world where I always made good money, but I hated what I was doing. I would use other passions and talents, like martial arts and amateur astronomy, to fill the gaping hole I felt in my life. I actually saw what Sir Robinson described as the "tyranny of common sense," in action with many of my co-workers, because they had already accepted their fate, and this can be a killer of a person's talents and passions. Likely, because of the way they were educated, they never were taught to think outside the box or search for the things they loved to do of circumstances. It has taken me over 30 years after graduating from high school to finally pursue my passion of being an educator, but I always heard that voice in the back of my saying, "If you keep teaching in your heart; you will keep teaching in your mind," so I never gave up. Until learning about the revolution in education through EDM310, I had never knew that I was "supposed" to be groomed to do exactly what I was doing all those years. I must admit that the revolutionary ideas of EDM310 are helping me to see where I can make my dream of being a teacher more productive and engaging for my future students. When Sir Robinson stated, "Schumann communities depend upon a diversity of talent, not a singular conception of ability," all I could think about were those wasted hours of classroom time where one of my teachers would have simply asked me, "What is your passion in life?" The fact is, they didn't much care about my passions, and I understand this because perhaps they weren't doing what their passion's were.

Reformers like Sir Robinson are seen as revolutionary in the moment, but considering his age and others I know, they had a voice out there that shook things up a little that got them set on their current paths. In that sense, someone taught them how to see education for what its failures are. As he stated, we've been sold into the fast food version of education, and it is time to turn away from something we know is dangerous to our health and welfare. Joining revolutions tend to be dangerous, and when talking about doing that with education, it is sometimes fatal, but that is exactly why I will join this revolution. It needs warriors that will reach into a students' curious mind, massage it with thoughts and ideas, distill as many passions from it as is possible, get it to engage its true potential, and set it free in the world to innovate it. As Sir Robinson mentioned, education has to be re-thought out to be something that is personalized to the students' interests. If we do that, think of all the innovations the world will experience as a result of our children being able to go after their dreams. I guess I was born to be a rebel, because I get EDM310 and all the great innovators that are connected with it. I've added another video by Sir Ken Robinson, Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley, for your consideration, since I liked how it added onto the video for the class. Vive la Education Revolution!



Sources: TED Talks, Ken Robinson, and Anonymous Art of Revolution.

Blog Post #9

Kathy Cassidy's use of technology in the classroom seems to have started with many obstacles to face, but she pursued the matter until she had it organized. From her video, Little Kids...Big Potential, it was

clear to me that all of her efforts were to put together her vision of a connected classroom. Ms. Cassidy's first grade students were being taught to use tech tools such as blogs, Wiki's, and Skype that connects them to local, nationwide, and international schools. I would never have thought to use the Nintendo DS, but it goes to show how in depth that tech tools are already in the hands of the world's students. I really feel that there should be more support from the administrative side of our schools that will support the use of all the technological equipment, that our youth see simply as toys, that is available for use in the classroom. Examples like Ms. Cassidy's first grade class are inspirational and show that our students are eager to use technology, because it is a part of their everyday lives. From what I have been able to reason on, a lot of the younger students know more than the average teacher (who doesn't get on board with reality and the use of technology), so it makes no sense to me that some educators still sit in the shadows, afraid to put technology to use. What I think is even worse than that is even after seeing what teachers like Ms. Cassidy and other's are doing with technology, young students going to college to be teachers are not accepting the inevitable: Technology has been here, will be here, and is going to dominate the classroom one day. In the subsequent videos with Ms. Cassidy being interviewed by Dr. Strange and his EDM310 students, this will become evident.

The interview videos with Ms. Cassidy were another outstanding example of the lengths it takes teachers to go through to get a tech literate classroom working properly. From the first video, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, I learned that I was one of those people who doubted how important technology's advance would be useful in the classroom. All the knowledge seemed to be so much to take in, but since

entering the door of EDM310's lab, that opinion has changed immensely. I can't see not using tech tools in the classroom exclusively, because I see what Ms. Cassidy meant by being tech illiterate will be a handicap to teachers now, especially so in the future. To be able to look around my home and know that I have enough tech tools at my disposal, tells me that it is impossible to leave it out of my future classroom, or even during my college education. This video showed me that the connected classroom is a fabulous place to teach from, and not just a mythical beast that lecturer's "yap" on and on about. I didn't see one student in all of Ms. Cassidy's videos that seemed unhappy about being in her classroom, and that is because they were engaged and connected with everyone; even EDM310 students. My classroom will, must, be a connected classroom, not only because it what I am being taught to use, but something that makes perfect sense for me to use. Being able to develop my own PLN will be a large part of establishing a true connected classroom.

Dr. Strange's video, Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2, gave me a lot of

information on how to establish my own PLN. Knowing that it takes time to build a network, I can be patient because I have some of the skills necessary to build a PLN, like Twitter, Simbaloo, Facebook and more. It is apparent that having a connected classroom requires a PLN, almost by default, since you need someone to connect to. Since I will be going into secondary education for science, after this semester, I will take Ms. Cassidy's advice about starting with what interests me. In a way, I already used Twitter for an astronomy class that I took, and it was Einstein themed, so science is something that I can relate to as an amateur astronomer. Using other tech tools like Podcasts is something I am looking forward to being more competent about, since having a PLN requires a lot of exposure of yourself through such a medium. I've started following others on Twitter, but I have to step up my game if I really want to become proficient at using, since it is something that the video showed me is speculative for many people. I will definitely incorporate Skype into my classroom environment and now while I am in college, because it is easy to use and a first grader won't show me up on it (haha). Even so, doing all of this great classroom connecting couldn't be possible without my first love in EDM310: the blog.

I found out through blogging that you can get connected to a tremendous amount of people who can view my ideas and the work I do. Some of the questions answered by Ms. Cassidy, in Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3, gave me some great ideas on

how often I should have my students blog, and I like the idea that I can be flexible and use the blogs as needed, which will be often for me. The way Ms. Cassidy uses her blog, which is to rotate how it is used, is the likely way that I will use my blog in the classroom and elsewhere. Keeping my blogs updated is something that is important, too, and this will come in very handy in keeping my PLN interested in what I and my students will be doing in the classroom. Doing the C4Cs, C4Ts, and C4Ks are really giving me a lot of experience in accomplishing running a great blog spot for my students, and knowing what and what not to do for keeping the identity of my students safe is a treasure of experiences to be aware of. Besides, blogs are an important part of PLNs and connected classrooms, and the video, Kathy Cassidy - The Connected Classroom, has been included because it is great for establishing the kind of classroom that the teacher of the future needs to set up, and even innovate. I hope you got as much out of these videos that I did, because it makes no sense to not use the advances in technology to create a better teaching environment. Learning all about it continues to be one of the most precious tools in my college learning toolkit.



Sources: Dr. John H. Strange, Kathy Cassidy, The Brainwaves, Smithfield Public School, Secure Edge Technology, Georgia Baker, and Sue Waters.

Project # 13

Please click on attachments below for the Las Vegas Group's Project 13 links

Project 13 Overview

Project 13 Calendar

Project 13 Rubric

Source: Council of Australian Governments

Project # 14

My project can be accessed by clicking on the links below.
Project 14 Overview and Project 14 Calendar

Source: Octa

Blog Post # 8

I was astounded to find out how many teachers are actually using 21st Century technology and communications in their classrooms. After researching tons of the tools that they use, I chose a top 7 and bottom 7, plus one more for elaboration, because there just never seemed to be an ending to what is out there. It was easy to find what tech tools could fit into the elementary classroom that I will be teaching in, and instructions on how to master the sites were not difficult at all. I would love to have mentioned them all in this blog, since it was a learning smorgasbord, but I hope the one's that I chose will help someone in their learning and teaching careers.

Schoology was my number one choice because it was project-based and allowed easy collaboration between the students, teachers, parents, and other educators. It does require an access code that is easily attainable from a teacher or IT professional at the

school. My next choice, Capzles, is in the top of my list because it had many applications in the classroom that could be used in one place, such as blogs, photos and documents management. Initially, I thought my third choice, Educreations, looked dull, but once I started playing with it, it proved to be a great online tool for teaching a topic and having students demonstrate their own skills, and it is especially designed for the iPad. Next on my list is IXL (Pronounced I Excel), a great online tech tool that allows students to practice math and language arts, make awards and reports, and has all of the states' CCSS on the site. I included Glogster in my top 7 for its great editing tools for all media, and is great for creating innovative projects that can showcase a student's talents. Used primarily for student responses, Socrative is on this list because it can be used on all devices that can connect to the internet, so the students can engage in activities almost anywhere. Even though Aviary rounds out my top choices, it is excellent for editing media, it is in my top 7 because it can create and modify screen captures, which is a tool often used for projects and much more.

Starting my bottom 7 is Snagit for Chrome, an online tool for sharing and collaborating information from projects, and it supports screencasts that can be saved into your Google Drive. I think my next choice, Mastery Connect, could be on either of my lists, because it allows teachers to network and share assessments from the Common Core. Popplet was a lot of fun to examine it was student and teacher friendly, and set up perfect starting and finishing collaborative projects or individual ones. It was hard figuring out where to place Crunchzilla on my list,

because it is great for students and teachers to learn how to program computer games through interactive technology. I would have loved Storyboard That when I was younger, but having access to a great tech tool that can create comics designed for students' classroom activities, is something I will enjoy learning more about and teaching one day. My next choice had me thinking how great it would have been to have it the day our project group had all types of Gremlins stopping us from recording our conversation. Audio Boo is an audio tool that allows you to record and share audio files with anyone, anywhere, and let's you edit and upload a photo for inclusion with the audio. Closing out my top 14 is ABCya, which would be great when your students get bored, because it is loaded with computer games and activities designed especially for elementary school students. These and other great sites make learning and teaching in a technological age a challenge, but it is worth it when considering how much more engaged the students will be.

The tech tool I chose to elaborate on is Educreations because it is designed for the iPad, which would be less costlier to have in the classroom and still be great to get the projects and assignments completed. At first glance, Educreations seems like a simple tech tool to use, but underneath that shallow exterior lies the capacity for students and teachers to create videos on any given topic. One of its best features is that

it allows you to upload images from anywhere and you are able to draw and erase as needed. Its audio recorder is state-of-the art and can easily connect the users voice to the lesson. With many lessons already created for Math, Language Arts, Science, World Languages, Social Studies and English, students and teachers have access to great study tools and examples of lessons that meet the CCSS. The site is very user-friendly and can be mastered in no time, but it keeps on giving in the learning and developing departments of education. The video, How to Use Educreations, is pretty much all you will need to become a professional on site. I've included the video, Muscular System, to show how creative and informative the lessons can be. I think Educreations is a tool good for anyone's tech tool box and I signed up for it because I see where it can benefit me already.

I hope you have enjoyed the few tools that I introduced in my blog that we haven't used so far in EDM310, and that they are helpful. Since I found so many tech tools, I definitely plan to read a few of the classes posts and see what I can use to add to my ever growing network. Overall, what I learned mostly from this weeks blog is that, when it comes to using technology, I don't know diddly squat! But, it is great to be learning about so many technologies that will help me as a student and when I become a teacher.



Sources: Fluency21, ABCya, IXL, Storyboard That for Teachers, Mastery Connect, Crunchzilla, Techsmith, Audio Boo, Popplet, Aviary, Glogster, Capzles, Socrative, Educreations, All Things Learning, The De-Tech-Tives 4 Teachers, Schoology, Lin Potter, Allistair Williamson.

C4T #2 and #3 Summary

During the latest of my C4T assignments, I have had the pleasure of following the blog of Ms. Dianne Krause, a Technology Staff Development Specialist, who posts some great tools for educators and students on her blogs. Dianne first introduced me to infographics, which are visual representations of getting as much information into a picture as possible, to relay that information to others in larger groups so that they are informed. When introduced to infographics, I thought about its use from my own experiences, and the idea of the color of Jesus’s skin came to mind: Someone in Europe expressed his color as “black” in drawings deep beneath the city in catacombs, while others portrayed him in their image. Such infographics once told us something that new one’s do not, so it suggests that we look further than the obvious in society, and wonder about other possibilities. However, this doesn’t tie in too well with my next blog of Dianne’s.

My second comment of Dianne’s blog was her introduction to the students at her school about newsela.com, which was a great tool to use, if I were an actually credentialed teacher, but topically showed me how to use the site to keep up with daily events on pretty much any passion that exists out there in the world. I really want to join this site, but you must have a code from a teacher, which is hard to obtain when you think the teacher doesn’t respond to your comments. Even so, I examined all of the stories I could find, and yes, it was very informative and contained tons of information on things I like and many of which I have no interest. Being able to discern between the two is easy, so the site makes a lot of sense to me.

What I really like about Dianne’s blogs is that there is always something that a student or teacher can learn something new about. She seems to do her homework and know where the weaknesses really are in our educational system, especially in the 21st Century framework. Once I am established as teacher, I feel that examples like Dianne’s will help me organize the way I teach. Dianne really contributes to wanting our students to do better and have more technical skills, and that is an asset for me to emulate.

Project # 9: Video Book Conversation

C4K Summary for February

I have really enjoyed reading the C4K blogs of the students that were chosen for me. I had Shavaughn, Megan and Rachel and they all exude a passion for what they wrote on their blogs. Shavaughn was informative about what he thought of students who drop out of school, and by providing an example of one of his female cousins dropping out due to pregnancy, I saw how it affected him personally. I encouraged him to be more vocal with his other relatives who are thinking about doing the same, because he knew the importance of even a GED. I thought he could inspire them, and I believe that he will. I made sure to let him know that his positive outlook on staying in school would benefit him, and others, in the future. I will be rooting for him.

Rachel was a replacement student because my original didn’t have anything I could comment on due to it not opening. Rachel had been given the assignment of writing about the theme of the book through the quotes that were in the book. She chose the book, Slated, and hit the theme dead on. Her thoughts were making the book come to life and the way she composed her thoughts on paper showed that she really enjoyed reading. It was hard for me to realize she was a 7th grader, because she actually writes like someone much more educated than what you would think a 7th grader should be. I think this reflects on the enthusiasm she has and the teacher that she has, because the great students always have a great teacher behind them. I had Mrs. Meredith, and I know whoever made her mind think more critically will be with her forever.

The other student, Megan, was doing an assignment on her blog about writing comic strips for technology. She was required to pick the comics for her technology story and write illustrations for the comic strip. I commented on how great her research abilities were, since she had to do a lot to be able to fulfill the assignment requirements. Megan used her comparative skills to distinguish between two sites and she was able to articulate the differences in detail.

I think these C4K students are much smarter than what I have heard some of my college peers give them credit for, often underestimating what their potential can be. As educators (I teach martial arts), we want all of our students to succeed, so it really “urks” me when they are mentioned in terms that imply their minds can’t handle intelligent academia. I look forward to reading more of them throughout the semester, because they are educational to me, in the sense that I am being made aware of how competent our students are, and how I can be a positive influence on their lives.

Blog Post # 7

If there is a list of the top ten classiest farewell lectures, the one by Randy Pausch has to be in the top 3, because it is inspirational to everyone, especially those who are teachers and lifelong learners. The video, Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, is certainly not the last imprint that Prof. Pausch will leave in the minds of people, since he left a legacy that enriched the academia and thousands of student who had the fortune of learning from him. Prof. Pausch's enthusiasm reminds me of the best teachers I have ever had and how much they influenced my life. Those are indeed the very best to learn from, and even though it was the first time I had heard of Prof. Pausch's last lecture, his message is one that I can clearly understand and begin to use as a student, and later on as a teacher. Incorporating his teachings in my own life will certainly lead me to be a more focused Project Based Learning (PBL) teacher. Those methods seem to produce the best educational/intellectual sharing tools that I have studied about since beginning college. Everything that Prof. Pausch talked about involved being a team player, and it certainly had a phenomenal effect on his teaching career and the way in which his students were influenced by it. An arrogant person he might have started off being, but by listening to his teachers, mentors, students, and those special in his life, he was able to become a great educator because he took their advice on his weaknesses and used it to improve his teaching methods.

Prof. Pausch taught computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, and that area of education is known to bring many minds together to complete a project. You can write a program for a video game, but you need a leader who can make a team that will cause that program to breathe life, such as graphic artists and other engineers. As in the "Building Virtual Worlds" demonstration, Prof. Pausch took his teaching experiences to show who was really behind the curtains - his students and his colleagues. Knowing that a teacher is the whole of his students and their

achievements makes you an accomplished educator is a great example by which Prof. Pausch lived and one by which we can all exemplify by being lifelong learners and selfless future teachers. He showed us that it is all about the right kind of teaching that will enthuse, motivate, and produce innovative learners, and how important it is for the "tribe" to be involved with teaching and educating those who have a desire to get past those "brick walls" our lives put up before us. A few words of encouragement from a teacher like Prof. Pausch make a difference in a student's life, and such a teaching method allows for the "dreamers" to find their niche in life.

Prof. Pausch quoted, "The best gift an educator can give is to get someone to be self-reflective," when he was talking about owning up to being critically evaluated. I think that being self-reflective is probably harder to instill in people than most of us think, and in my own experiences, even here in EDM310, it is hard for some people to look past their ego and see where good advice isn't meant to hurt them, but to make them better at what they do. By saying that "the best gold is at the bottoms of barrels of crap," simply means that no matter how much I might think no one is listening to you or me, it pays to be patient and continue to learn from even those people, and hope they get it one day. Teaching is all about helping your students and believing in them enough to hope they master the skills you teach them so they can make a difference. If students are taught to be earnest and truthful, accept their faults and take responsibility for them, and focus on others and not just yourself, then they will learn the values of teaching and learning the right way (Pausch, 2007). Being self-reflective can be a strong quality to incorporate into our careers as teachers and hopefully use it now while we are still learners.

I really started to appreciate Prof. Pausch's lecture near the end, when he began summing up his expectations for teachers and learners. His response to "What's your secret?" was the best example that we, as learners, can take away from the speech. Simply put, you only get out of it what you put into it. As I have learned from this class, being a procrastinator is an infectious disease that is best treated by putting in the long hours, doing the hard work, sacrificing a social moment, and wanting to learn more to one day be able to give it all back to others. The luck Prof. Pausch talked about can and will only apply if I want to achieve my preset goals, and the preparation for that moment of zen like he had will only be "my moment" if I do all I can to get ready for it. Knowing how valuable you are to yourself will help this

idea along, because others do see what you do and will rate you by the efforts you put into all they see you do. Prof. Pausch taught that everyone has the best inside of them, but it is sometimes difficult to get it out in the opeis way back to us. If I am going to be a great teacher, I have to be a great learner, and that means listening to great teachers and learning from them. I've included one of the last interviews done by Prof. Pausch because I was curious to find out if he was as great in the end as he claimed he was in the last lecture series - he was just that great and then some. I learned a lot of "keeping it real" for an entire life; not just when it is all peachy and keen. That is what really makes us successful in pursuing our childhood dreams, but only if we can see beyond that brick wall.



Sources: Carnegie Mellon University, Sunset Bay Academy, Cooling Graphics, Mauricio Vives, God’s Daily Work, and WSJ Digital Network.