Kristina Weaver EDM 510

Throughout this semester, I have not created a huge Personal Learning Network, but I do have a few sources I use and would like to continue using. Twitter  is a huge help for me when it comes to Personal Learning Networks. It is the quickest, easiest, and most up-to-date form of communication when it comes to anything regarding education. Through Twitter, I was able to follow a few teachers whose blogs I commented on for #C4T. Even on their blogs, some of the teachers had spoken about educational opportunities they found through Twitter. The other PLN I use is  Facebook . Through Facebook, I have friended teachers and liked educational pages related to the town I grew up in. I use this to see what it going on the the education system from my hometown. It is very interesting to see opinion and thoughts of what is going on in the school system. As I get more in depth with my teaching, I plan to expand my PLN. One can never have enough educational resources.

Post 1: This week I had Nathan's blog . He is a 7th grade student in Mrs. Lombard's class in Oklahoma. Nathan talked about how much he enjoyed playing basketball. He said he absolutely loves the "splash" sound the net makes when he scores a basket. "Splash" was the name of his post. I responded by saying that I also like to play basketball. I told him I never played at all in my life until college when I did for an intramural team. I also told him I thought his title was very creative. Post 2: I had  Tynisha's blog  this week. She is in Ms. Thomas's class at John Hanson French Immersion in Prince Georges, Maryland. She talked about her bucket list. In five years, she wants to be in her first year of college. In ten years, she wants to have a job that pays well. Her life goal is to make money and get a good life. I responded by wishing by good luck with her bucket list. I also told her I was in my 3rd year in college, and I loved it. Post 3: I re...

How would you incorporate the arts in your classroom using technology? -List an example for each of the arts: art, music, dance, theatre. -Be creative How Technology is Moving Arts Education Beyond the Classroom Integrating Technology into Art Class Inspiration Fridays iPad and Technology in Music Education Incorporating arts into the every day curriculum is something I plan on doing when I am a teacher. I am strong believer of keeping the arts alive. I would also love to use technology to go along with the arts. There are a variety of ways to include technology with the arts. For art and theatre, I would do a combination. The article  How Technology is Moving Arts Education Beyond the Classroom , tells about how the Pittsburgh Filmakers teach a course of how to use film to study art. This course is teaching students how to shoot and create their own movie. Art in incorporated by the graphic design. I could use this in my class room when we talk about l...

As a group we divided up the work for this blog assignment, two group members Carol and Kristina reviewed the resources given and discussed how they could be used in their own classrooms. Jennifer researched other resources to find what other assistive technologies are available for us as future teachers. Bellow is a collaborative summary of our research to answer the driving question. "What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher?" One assistive technology I could use in my classroom is  The Mountbatten . This device is a Braille typewriter for blind students. This is a very beneficial device to the student because it provides immediate feedback to the student. Immediate feedback is imperative to the struggling student so they can know if they are doing right or wrong. The Mountbatten allows the student to type in Braille and then reads aloud that has been typed. It can save, transfer, and receive files; it also sends the work to another computer the tea...

Post 1: This week I had  Lana Gerin's blog . She was asked to test an item of her choice from Quill, and she chose a giant dry erase easel for her classroom. She loved this easel because it was so large and had lots of storage space with it. It also did not take up a lot of space in her classroom. I responded by saying that she inspired me to buy one when I became a teacher. It would come in handy a lot! l Post 2: Lana Gerin had not posted anything recent on her blog, so I commented on an old post from Christmas. She talked about reading the book Prancer  with her students and then watching the movie. They did then a side by side comparison of the book and movie. She then posted some pictures of letters to Santa written by her students. I replied to her by saying how much I thought doing a comparison of a book and movie is. It really gets the children's minds thinking differently.

 In the video Back to the Future , Mr. Crosby shows us how to use incorporate technology and amazing learning experiences into a very diverse classroom. I learned from this video that just because we as teachers may be put into a complex situation, doesn't mean that we can't make the best of it. Mr. Crosby takes his class in which majority of them do not even know what country they live in, and gets them creating their own hot air balloon. Not only does his class experiment with the science of it, but they even incorporate writing and art. Technology plays a huge part in his classroom, too. I learned that kids are more than willing to work with technology and are excited about what it holds. The video Blended Learning Cycle is very informative on flipping the classroom. Paul Anderson gives a wonderful way that he teaches in his classroom. I love the acronym Qu.I.V.E.R.S. that he uses in the classroom. I learned that one of the most important things he talks about is the prob...

Post #1: I was assigned Terren's blog this week. He is a student at Joliet-West High School in Illinios. His post was very a very short welcoming message. I responded by introducing myself and telling him where I go to school. I also wished him happy blogging. Post #2: This week I had  Ulises's blog . He is also is from Joliet- West High School. In his blog, he gave some advice to future high school students. One of the most important tips he gave was to keep your grades up. I commented back by telling him that I am a college student. I also said that keeping your grades up and applying for scholarships was very important too. Post #3: This week I had  Jack's blog . He is a 7th grade student in Mrs. Lombard's class in Oklahoma. Jack gave a brief summary of the book The 39 Clues  by Rick Riordan. He said this book is about a big family secret and the children are trying to figure out what it is. I replied by saying that this sounded like an interesting book. I...

Mrs. Cassidy seems like a very well-educated teacher when it comes to technology. I think it is wonder how her children are so interested in the technology they use in the classroom. In the video  Little Kids, Big Potential , Mrs. Cassidy's children were talking about the ways they use technology in the classroom. Some of the things they used were blogger, wikis, and even Nintendo DS. It is very important to allow technology in the classroom because it introduces a new way of learning for kids. Not only are the introduced to a variety of new materaials, but they go on a self journey while learning. Children become more engaged in what they are doing. In the video  Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1 , Mrs. Cassidy explains how she got started with technology in the classroom. She first started a webpage trying to get things going. She also talks about the importance of protecting her children on the internet by only using first names and not matching their picture with their ...

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?  In the article Seven Essesntials for Project Based Learning , Larmer and Mergendoller list seven priorities that go along with PBL. All of these can teach us about PBL. 1. A Need to Know: This can be called an "entry event" which will make the student think and ask questions about the given subject. 2. A Driving Question: The driving question will be the main basis behind the whole project. It should be open-ended and require the students to work to find the answer. 3. Student Voice and Choice: This is important because it will keep the students interested in what they are doing. They should be able to have their own say in decision making during the project as long as it corresponds to the teacher's requirements. 4. 21st Century Skills: This project is important because it teaches the kids to use skills like communication and technology, which is important in this day and time. 5. Inquiry ...

Here are the links to our project: Family Ties Project Planner Content Rubric Oral Presentation Rubric Calendar

Post  1: This week, I was assigned Ken Halla's blog . He spoke about how he found this teaching tool called Kahoot through one of his new followers on Twitter. Kahoot  can be used as a review tool in the classroom. You can set up questions using your smart board, let the kids create their own names, and set a timer for the questions. I responded by saying I would love to use Kahoot in my classroom. I think it would be great to use on a review day or a quick review right before the test. Post 2: This week in Ken Halla's blog. He talks about where Daylight Savining originated from. He thought it was started by farmers, but it actually originated in England to help save energy. His post also says that the time change made its way over to the US during WWI. I commented back saying I had no idea that it started in England or that it came to the US during WWI. It was very interesting.

Randy Pausch's "last lecture" was amazing. He was a very inspirational professor to many students, peers, and most importantly, other educators. I learned from this video that it is important to not give up on the first try. When it comes to teaching, something may not work out the way you wanted it to go. Like Randy, we should continue to keep trying to make things happen when we have our mind set to them. I also learned that it is important to surround yourself with people who will help better you. In learning, you want to be around people who will help you when you when you do not understand something. Surrounding yourself with people who will better also play a huge part in teaching. There will constantly be other professors or higher educators around you to offer you advice and their opinions. But the most important thing I learned from Randy, was to always have fun. Teaching and learning will make a lasting impression when fun is involved.

Post 1: On my first Comments for Kids, I had Tyra D. from Mrs. Well's 4th grade class in Kansas. Tyra talked about how much she loved writing fiction stories. She said she enjoyed them because they would be about anything in the world. When commenting on her blog, I said how I also enjoyed writing fiction stories when I was younger because I could make them be about anything I wanted. Post 2: This week I have William from Mrs. Leatherwood's 8th grade Language Arts class. William's blog talked about all the interesting places there are to visit in Orlando, Florida. He said his favorite place to visit was Universal Studios because of all the thrill rides. I commented on his blog by saying that I love the city of Orlando. I also told him that my favorite place to visit in Orlando is Disney World. I recommended Downtown Disney, too because of the wonderful places to eat and the attractions.  Post 3: This week, I read Dylan's blog . He talked about a book he read cal...

iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten I learned that kindergarten classes in Fairhope and Gulf Shore elementary classrooms are using iPads to create book trailers using iMovie. These children definitely know more about iMovie than I do. They are doing this on a daily basis and use iMovie in their centers. The kids are looking forward to editing each others book trailers and watch them. The Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) is also being used on a daily basis in these classrooms. The AVL is a free online encyclopedia filtered for the age of the students. Students are assigned keywords to look up every week and are getting practice by doing this research. We All Become Learners In this video, Mrs. Bennett speaks about how everyone in the classroom becomes a learner, not just the students. She gave the example of how she teaches in early morning library class and will learn something new about the technology. She then teaches the students in that class what she learned an...

I learned that Anthony Capps is a third grade teacher in Baldwin County at Gulf Shores Elementary School. Mr. Capps and Dr. Strange talk about a lot of different technologies that are available and used in Baldwin County. One thing they talk about was project-based learning. I would love to use project-based learning in my classroom because it will allow for the students to become more engaged in what they are doing. It also gives the students a chance to broaden their learning capabilities. Another thing Mr. Capps and Dr. Strange talked about was iCurio. iCurio is a filtered web browser that bring up safe websites for children to browse through. I think this is a wonder thing to use in the classroom. By using iCurio, you would not have to wonder what your students are looking at on the internet or monitor them. This would simply cover it for you. Dr. Strange also said that it is important to be a learner if you are to be a teacher. I agree with this statement because everything around...

I had never heard of a Personal Learning Network (PLN) before this class. I think that PLNs are a wonderful, smart way to help build your resources. With a PLN, you can have access to a variety of people and websites when you may need help with something. As teachers, this is a wonderful opportunity to ask other colleagues for help or their input. You could even use this tool for classroom decorating ideas. Social media also plays a big part in PLNs. Using Facebook and Twitter can help build up your database just by using a simple hashtag. I plan on keeping in touch with many of my former high school teachers to start building my PLN. I also plan on following many professors and educators on Twitter. That way I could use a hashtag to search any problems or questions I may come upon. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

 In the video Asking Better Questions in the Classroom , Joanne Chesley talks about two kinds of questions that are asked: close-ended questions and open-ended questions. A closed-ended question allows for a one word or short phrase response from the student. An open-ended question allows for a longer response and more details from the student. An example would be, "What were the reasons for the start of World War I?" Asking a question that will call for an explanation will allow the students to engage more in their learning. An effective teacher should always use this tactic when asking questions. This will allow her to see the depth at which her students learn, study, and pay attention. It will also challenge the students to know the answers and become more engaged.

1. Ask  - "Our mission is to get our millions of users across the globe the answers they need. We've been in the Q&A business for more than 17 years, and although Jeeves has since retired, we carry on his passion for serving our 100 million users with answers they can trust." Ask is similar to Google and Bing. You can “ask” them anything and they will give you a precise answer. 2. Ixquick  - "Ixquick is the worlds most powerful search engine employing the most advanced metasearch technology." Ixquick is known for its extreme privacy. It includes advanced search, global search and power refinement. 3. Dogpile  - "InfoSpace metasearch engine offering search of the general web, or image, audio, video, and news. Also offers search of Yellowpages and Whitepages." Dogpile is a time saving search engine. It returns all the best results from other search engines including Google and Yahoo.  4.  Yahoo  - "Yahoo is focused ...

Post 1:  Family Literacy Day Ms. Cassidy's school hosted a day where the parents came in and had breakfast made by the administration with their kids. After some delicious pancakes, the kids read books to their parents. She posted some pictures of the children reading to their parents. When leaving my comment, I said how how wonderful it was to promote reading with parents and a pancake breakfast. I also said that I would love to do that in my classroom one day and get the whole school involved. Post 2: The Winter Carnival In Ms. Cassidy's recent blog post, she spoke about  a Winter Carnival at her school. Children were put in multi grade teams and were sent around to 8 different stations. She was in charge of the "Decorate a Cupcake to Look Like a Snowman Station." She posted pictures of different children decorating and eating their cupcakes. I commented on this post by saying I thought it was a great idea to put the kids in multi grade teams. By doing tha...

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I learned from all three resources that it is very important to stay positive while peer editing. Sometimes while I peer edit, I just want to tear apart a person's paper and find every single mistake. I learned that it is not the smart and proper thing to do. Staying positive will help out the other person so they do not think their paper is completely terrible. I also think it is a wonderful idea to start off with a kind word and giving praise while peer editing. I also learned that I myself am sometimes a speedy peer editor. One should always have a clear and focused mind on the paper being edited. I also learned that there are people out there who do not care about what one has to say about their paper. A person should always be open minded while going through peer editing. It also helps a lot to think in terms of what if someone was looking at your work. Peer Editing Video Tutorial Peer Editing Top 10 Peer Editing Mistakes

What will teaching in the 21st century be like?   Professor Dancealot The central message for "Professor Dancealot" in that a student cannot simply learn by reading straight from the book and listening to the professor. He must be engaged in the activity and even do some hand on learning and practice. The author makes the case for this conclusion by showing that the students are not ready to dance when they are presented with their final. They had no actual dance practice with a partner or in general. When the teacher told them to dance, they had no idea what to do. I agree with the conclusion. This example could be replaced with teaching. If I just sat in a classroom and listened to a professor speak on how to teach a class, then when I actually started teaching my own classroom, I would not have the first clue on what to do or expect. Teaching in the 21st Century 1. Technology causes students to become more engaged 2. Who will teach students about the dangers of the ...

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I was so nervous about EDM 310. All of my friends who have taken it have told me it was going to be horrible. "It makes me want to punch my computer," is just one terrifying comments I've heard. Another friend told me that as long as I stay on top of things, then I will be fine. But with more bad comments than good comments, I was still a bit anxious. I have a fear that I may get behind. I am going to have to stay ahead of the game to make sure I can get through this! So far, this has been nothing like any other class I have ever taken in my life. The most difficult part about this class will be learning how to get used to blogging. I have never had to check up on something so much before. I am going to address this by double checking the blog and assignments. That way I'll always make sure to be a step ahead. I'm still a little unsure about what is yet to come in this class, but if I reread the syllabus and directions to everything, I know I'll be fine!

Outline 1. About me 2. What are my passions 3. Why do I want to be an educator 4. What does an educator do Greetings classmates! My name is Kristina Williams, but you may also hear me called as Tina. I was born and raised in Mobile, AL and lived here until 2004. My mom got married, and we packed up to move to Lucedale, MS. I graduated from George County High School in 2012. Go Rebels! I was a member of the cheerleading squad and also a staff member of my school's newspaper, The Student Press. I started attending the University of South Alabama in the fall of 2012. I decided to attend South because it was so close to home, and I loved the comfortable feeling I got while I was on campus. I just recently moved back to Mobile about a month ago, and I am loving every minute of it! I have a passion for the arts. Especially dance and theatre. I have found out through many years of plays and dances, that I also have a passion for performing. I have wanted to become an educator si...