I'd Really Like to Eat a Child

Today, I need to write a book review for the book "I'd Really Like to Eat a Child." So I thought I would share the book with all of you and discuss my ideas. First of all, I think the title needs to win an award in itself. Every time I tell people the title of my book, everyone has a shocked look on their face. I think every single person has thought they heard me wrong. Yet, that really is the title of the book.

The book is about a young crocodile named Achilles who has bananas every day for breakfast. One day, he decides he would rather eat a child. His parents try to get him to eat sausage or even chocolate cake instead, yet he refuses. His parents grow concerned that he won't eat, while Achilles leaves to go on a swim. Down at the river, he comes across a girl, where he becomes excited at his opportunity to eat a child. Yet, when she sees him she is not scared at all. Instead she finds him cute, and even tickles his belly. Achilles returns home, determined to grow big enough to eat a child, by eating more bananas.

Overall, I found this book really cute and fun to read. There were also a few different themes I picked up on. One would be wanting to grow up too fast. I don't know about everyone else but when I was little I always wanted to be bigger and go to school, or do things older kids did. Achilles wanted to eat children and be bigger than what he really is. Yet, he learns (as well as I did), that it takes time to grow big enough to do certain things. Also, the book has the concept of "biting off more than you can chew," literally. Again, I have gone through the situation where I thought I could hand more, but turns out I couldn't. I think the book covers the aspect of growing up very well. It seems to be a great story for kids to relate to as they grow up.

This book is very friendly and the colors and cartoonesque pictures help convey that. Readers are brought into the story with bright yellow colors as the day has just begin. Achilles is obviously drawn smaller than everything else, to convey the idea the he is young and little. Every picture seems to be scribble like to convey the childish feel. As the story progresses it seems legit as the pictures become darker. The color hues move from yellow/white to pink/purple, to dark blue. It conveys the day turning into night through Achilles day. These artistic elements are crucial to the story as they convey feelings/emotions.

If it weren't for TE 348 I would have never tried to analyze childrens books as much as I do now. I now try to find underlying themes that are conveyed through characters or plot. I also now look into the artistic elements to see how they contribute to the story. I actually like the fact that I look deeper into these stories as I can see which ones are worthwhile. Overall I think the story of Achilles the crocodile is very worthwhile and fun for a growing child to read.

Wikis, Blogs, and Weebly

Over the course of the semester we have looked at a lot of technological mediums to either communicate with our students or other collaborators. We have looked at ways more specifically to either have a class page or have a page to display more information. These sites include blogs, wikis, and even an actual webpage sit like Weebly. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and each offer something new and refreshing.

A wiki has been the most recent thing we have done, and to be honest, I think that this has the most potential out of the three depending on the use. If a class website is in need, I feel Wiki is the best. Simply because it offers more by allowing editing options for anyone. I think this opportunity really makes a wiki extremely beneficial and different from the rest. AS a class website, wikis offers different pages to be used. There can be a home page, to give a brief introduction. This can give an overview of what the website is for and maybe what students (or parents) should do. There can be pages with specific details on educational information or information that pertains to the class and their agenda. Although all of this can be offered on a normal website, the big thing for Wiki is students are able to edit. This means, they can go in and ask questions on the same page as the information. This keeps the information a lot more organized as it all on one page. It allows the teacher to see the question about the information presented, and respond in an orderly fashion. Overall, wiki keeps thing organized because students can present their problems right at the text. They don't have to wait until class or make a post, it all is on one page. I think this is extremely beneficial as it allows organization and may make things easier in order to respond. A Wiki also seems beneficial in that it seems the best medium to have the students make a group project. Again, it seems to be because of the opportunity to edit. Students can get in groups and create websites about some topic. They could work collaboratively, even if they aren't together due to the editing. This makes group projects easier for students and more importantly the parents of those students. Also, when other groups read the website they could offer questions about the material right on the page. As you can see, my big point with wiki is it allows others to edit your site. I think this is a way that Wiki as a "one up" over the other mediums, and is better to use depending on the reason for the site. Mostly, I feel Wiki should be used to present educational information and group projects simply because of the editing.

Recently as well I have been working on my portfolio on weebly. And let me just say, this has been fun! I like figuring out the pages and how to embed things and making it all look professional. I think weebly is a great tool to create a class website that simply talks about agenda or the class itself, or as a tool such as the portfolio we are creating.I feel weebly is a great way to just present and agenda or information about the class itself because it would all be straightforward information. There probably wouldn't be as many questions so a normal discussion would work just fine. I feel the portfolio is beneficial to use on weebly also because I feel that this is the one out of all three that can be made to look professional. This way when you are trying to market yourself as a teacher, your website has a professional feel to it. It may make people look at you in a better fashion, as the professional website is basically a reflection of yourself in your profession. I think this is a way the students can use weebly in class. They can each make a weebly about themselves, their goals for the semester, and their concerns. Then at the end of the semester they can go back in and reflect upon whether they have learned and accomplished their goals. Weebly could also be used to present educational information as well, although I think Wiki would be the better choice due to editing. Overall, I feel weebly is a great way to present information in a well organized manner. There is still room for discussion, although I don't think that aspect would be as utilized as it is in a Wiki. The weebly seems to be a good way to make an organized website to present class information or personal information. It may not have the editing skills of Wiki, but I think it's ability to look professional offers a "one up" if a class website or a personal portfolio needs to be made.

Blogging on the other hand has been my favorite in the PLN aspect (although I think out of these three weebly is my favorite). I have enjoyed blogging because of the opportunity it offers to share new information and to read others thoughts. It is a great way to basically have a journal. I am comfortable writing my concerns and accomplishments as well as anything I found interesting or confusing. I have been able to express myself all semester in areas of technology and education and I really think I have learned a lot from that. I have also learned a lot from reading others blogs by seeing their thoughts, concerns, interests, ideas, or any information they had that was new to me. I think blogs offer something new than the other mediums as a blog has many different posts on a plethora of information. A weebly or Wiki may be to a specific criteria, yet blogs can be just about anything everytime you make a new post. I think this is beneficial as you don't have to decide at the beginning on what the concrete material is going to be. You could simply make it a reflection blog, so it can be about any topic. This seems to be the "one up" that blogs have on the others. Blogs can be used in the classroom as a reading or writing device. Student's could make blogs as basically a journal. It could present concerns, ideas, thoughts, questions, or accomplishments. It could be a great way for students to learn about each other by reading others. The teacher could also make a blog to reflect on what was presented that day. This could clarify any confusing thoughts and maybe show students what were the big ideas from that day.

Overall, I think blogs, wikis, and websites such as weebly are all beneficial in presenting information. They seem to be familiar in that they are used to present information through a medium of technology. Yet, they all have different aspects that make one more beneficial than the other depending on the goal of the project. Weebly seems to be good to use when presenting educational information or for group projects since students can edit with questions or elaborations right on the page. Weebly seems to be beneficial for a professional page about yourself or the class, since the layout options make it look more professional. Lastly, blogs seem to beneficial to talk about a wide array of topics and express feelings. Obviously they all can be used in any of these ways, but they each have their own aspects that make one more beneficial than the others. Overall, I think these three mediums are really interesting, and I cannot wait to use them to present material using technology to my class.

Wikispaces

After creating my wiki and editing others, I found it could be a pretty useful tool to use in the classroom. It seemed fairly simple to use and the best part was the editing of others websites. There seems to be a lot of uses for wiki spaces, and it may set up ways to collaboratively work with students. One of the biggest things about wiki spaces is that it allows other members to edit your own website. This way, everyone can add their 2 cents to the website to either correct the answer or make it more well rounded. There are many different ways that wiki spaces can be used in the classroom, and allow information to reach everyone and be changed by anyone.

One example of a use is simply using it as a discussion board. Sure there are other websites to use to create discussion, but this one makes it all seen on one page. Whereas actual discussion boards means everyone must make new posts or reply to posts, which means reading it may take effort by clicking on different posts and keeping track. Whereas wiki spaces allows all of the information to be on one page so it is easy to read and keep organized. Students don't have to continually click on posts to see what others have said, instead it all is right there at the main website. This goes along with the idea that it can be used to announce something. If the teacher has something important they would like to tell the class, then they could post it on wiki spaces. This way, if students have questions or want to add something they can do so right on the same page. It keeps things less confusing as all of the information is on one page, which seems to be a successful part of the site.

Simply having a wiki space as a classroom site would be extremely beneficial. Things such as study guides, notes, and what needs to be done for homework could all be posted for the students to view. Again, they could even add questions to the page to keep things organized. This also may save the teacher as a lot of the students may have the same questions, but as long as one student asks, the rest could see the response. Posting all of these things on the website would be very beneficial to the teachers and the students. Again, it is a great way for the teachers to contact all students in an organized fashion. Every announcement or any work could be posted, so that all students can see and add questions. Which like stated before, students could see each others questions so that would save the teacher some time, and allow for the students questions to all get answered. It would also be extremely beneficial for the students because it can teach them responsibility in an organized fashion. If a student is absent or forgets what to do for homework, with wiki spaces they really have no excuse for not completing things. It will be their responsibility to get on the class site and see what is all due or what all was done the day they were absent. IF they have any further questions they could edit the page with them, but ultimately the goal of the website would be to save them time and save the teacher time since the students will be responsible for checking the site.

Also, the site is a GREAT way for planning. This was shown in the introductory video for wiki spaces where four friends wanted to plan a camping trip. I am not sure how much this concept would be used in the classroom, but it could be somewhat altered. This idea of planning could be used to plan a class party, so students can sign up for what to bring. In elementary when we did this during class it wasted a lot of time because it was unorganized. This would save time in class because students would sign up on their own time, and everything would be on one page to keep it organized. Students could see what others are bringing, sign up for something else, and even add things they think should still be brought.

Wiki spaces could also be used to create group projects. Students could be assigned to form a website about a particular subject. They could then work in groups to complete some in class, but also add and edit the website on their own. This way they can help each other learn by fixing each others mistakes or adding on to make the answer more complete. Other groups could then look at these websites and ask questions about that groups topic. That way everyone is learning something new, while working collaboratively on one website.

Overall, wiki spaces provides a lot of the same functions that other mediums may offer that we explored (such as blogging). Yet, I think wiki spaces is extremely beneficial due to it's use of editing the one page. It keeps things really organized so you don't have to look through separate posts of people. It is a great way to teach the use of technology. It shows students how to get on the Internet, make a web page, and even edit somebody else's web page. Overall I think the use of wiki spaces teaches students responsibility, technology uses, and keeps things really organized!

Conception of a Teacher's Job

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." ~Donald D. Quinn

I came across this quote in a magazine earlier, and I found it really interesting. I don't know about anyone else, but I come across a lot of people who say teaching is the easy way out. They say that I shouldn't even have to go to college o be a teacher, it's just an easy career that one chooses. The "hard" or "successful" jobs are seen as these doctors, lawyers, and dentists. I mean yes they all have extremely difficult jobs as well, but that does not making teaching any easier. It seems that maybe people have these stigmas about teachers because of comparisons of pay with other careers. In my eyes, teachers don't get paid enough for what they do. It seems that teachers do not get enough credit for their job, which this quote points out. I mean as a teacher I am going to have a room with 30-40 students that all learn differently or have a different pace. Yet, I have to find a way to make it work and make sure everyone is learning. Does society not realize how extremely difficult this will be/is? I think that the people who say it is easy don't realize a lot of the struggles and adaptations teachers don't have to make. Which is why I really appreciated this quote. It points out that teachers have to accommodate to a lot of diverse students, and even deal with students who don't want to be there so they act out. All this is done, usually, with no help like these other careers have. I am not trying to bash on other careers, because I know I could never be a doctor, lawyer, or dentist. I wouldn't be able to handle what the do. Yet, teachers have different struggles that I feel I may be able to make work. It's not that I feel teaching is easier, it's that I feel a passion for the job, so I know I can handle the stresses that come with it. Overall, I jsut really appreciated this quote because it pointed out some things that non-teachers may feel to realize so they think this career is "easy." I don't know if anyone else has this problem, but hopefully this quote gives everyone something interesting to think about!

Nervous Again...

One thing that I have commented a lot about in this class, whether in my blogs or on others, is that I am really nervous to be a teacher. It makes me very apprehensive that I am having these feelings, sometimes I question whether being nervous means I will be a bad teacher. I know it's not the fact that I won't like my job, because that just doesn't make sense in my head. I have a passion for kids, teaching them new things as well as me learning from them. Not liking being a teacher seems really silly to me, so this makes me think that my apprehension means I am simply not going to be good at it.

First of all, as I stated earlier, I know I am going to LOVE being a teacher. That is once I am comfortable. I know that I will really appreciate my job as an educator simply through the experiences that I have had. I tried to follow an engineer around in their daily work, and I got too bored! I knew that wouldn't be the right thing for me. I even tried to follow a nurse anesthetist around, but found I am no good with blood. Really, I only followed these other professions around simply because my uncle said teaching wasn't worth going into. I doubted my choice at that point, and tried other areas. Yet, I came out of this experience longing to be a teacher more than ever. I know that it is one of the few jobs that can actually make me proud of what I do. I will be educating future generations, which is something really crucial. Not only will I be educating them, but I will be forming bonds with students and making a difference in their life. I know that the feelings from these experiences are amazing! For example, when I tutored a year ago, I had a young girl that really struggled with math. She came in every day frustrated beyond belief and really doubted her self. We constantly worked on practice problems, where I had repeatedly told her that I knew she could do it. Yet, she wasn't seeing immediate results so she was constantly beating herself up. But, I seen progress from the start, starting with her confidence. By the end of the semester, she had brought her grade up two whole letter grades. When she came up to me with the biggest smile on her face and gave me a huge hug, I knew what I wanted to do. I could see how happy she was with herself, and knew that I had made a difference for her. Yet, as an educator I know I will make a difference in more than academics. I came across this type of situation also when I tutored a year ago. I had a young boy that seemed to be interested in topics that other boys in his grade found "dumb." Therefore, he was very shy and really talked to nobody at school. So when I met with him, I focused strictly on him. The first couple of times we met, he never smiled and barely talked. I could tell that he was very insecure and it really broke my heart to see a student so upset with who he was as a person. Therefore, I took interest in his hobbies and what he was up too. At first, he was shy and barely responded, but when I had repeatedly talked about his interests (remembering what he told me to start), he could see that I truly did care. I remember when he first laughed with me even, it was probably the best feeling I had ever felt. To know that even though I couldn't be with him all of the time and make him feel better, I could see him once a day and make a difference. My last day with him he gave me a huge hug and wrote me a letter thanking me for everything. I don't know how I will top that moment, but it's time like those when I know that teaching needs to be my profession.

With all of this passion to be a teacher, you would think that I have confidence myself. Yet, I don't. I honestly have never been more nervous in my life for student teaching and beyond, and these situations are still 1 to 2 years away. Yet, I can't help thinking about it and I can't seem to settle my nerves when I do. I hate that I feel this way, because I am afraid it will hinder what I do as a teacher. I honestly couldn't tell you the whole reason why I am nervous. I know that as a student teacher I am afraid of what the main teacher will think of me. That really scares me. I found an article for future student teachers, so that I could see if it had any meaningful tips. The article said to come in early before the school year starts to help. I know that this would help since I could form some sort of relationship with the teacher. I could see how they plan to set up the classroom, and hopefully become comfortable with them to ease my nerves. It also says to observe other teachers before you go in. This way, you don't have to completely mimic the teacher in the classroom. I have observed some teachers and I plan on doing more before I go into student teaching. I know that this will really help because I could find methods that I like or don't like, and even get advice. The last tip in this article states to invite the principle in to observe you teach at the end of the year. This is where my heart dropped in the article. Another person judging me? No thanks! I get nervous enough to have the teacher in the room, but the principal too? I think I would have a heart attack! I only hope I can gain the confidence to be comfortable with myself as a teacher, and be even comfortable enough to be judged by whoever.

To be honest, I debated posting this blog. A lot of others in the class seem really confident as a future teacher already. I have made so many comments about how I am not, so I am afraid people will question me. I really am passionate for this and know I will be fine, I just get very nervous in these types of situations. Therefore, any advice would be very much appreciated. =)

PLN

As this course is ending, reflecting on things we have done has taught me a lot. For example, the personal learning network was a core part of the beginning weeks. We used devices such as twitter, blogging, RSS feed, and social bookmarking on delicious to build our PLN. So far, I think that these tools can be very useful, although there were some weaknesses throughout the development of my PLN.

After weeks of working on my PLN, I found that my favorite part was probably blogging. I like to write my ideas or thoughts and see what other people think. Most people comment providing feedback that could make our ideas better or more detailed, so it really beneficial. Also, if I write about a confusing topic, it can provide the opportunity for different points of view to be heard. This way their ideas could either build off of mine or correct mine so I can better understand the topic. I also found I like to read blogs just as well as write them. I like to see what other projects people are working on and what other people are thinking. It's cool to see the different blog topics and it even inspires some of my writing. Overall, blogging helps my process of reading and writing, by giving me ideas and feedback. One drawback would be that it does not receive immediate feedback. It can take days before someone notices and comments. Also, with the amount of blogs on the Internet, it is hard to find ones that are interesting or most beneficial to read.

Twitter can be the quicker more efficient form of blogging, although it is not as elaborate. It can be useful to get a small point across in the most efficient way to get immediate response. The tweet deck gives constant updates, so I can keep track of when my students or colleagues update their twitter. It is the best form to use if you want a fast response for something short. The draw back is that it only allows for so much writing. There is a word limit, so that you can't post an elaborate idea. This makes it hard to share some things at a quick way. Some ideas can't be condensed enough to fit within the word count. Therefore, sometimes it is a struggle to decide whether to tweet the topic or blog it. They both are beneficial, but sometimes no one is better than the other, so it makes it difficult to choose.

The RSS is very beneficial as it is a great way to organize blogs you want to follow. It shows the most recent updates between all of the blogs in the feed. It is extremely beneficial that all of my blogs I find interesting are all on one page. It saves a lot of time for trying to find a blog to read, or when I am looking for a blog to respond to in my own blog. This can help update you with colleague’s ideas, what the students are blogging about, or any other topic of interest in the blog feed. The one thing that I absolutely hate about the RSS feed was actually building it. I had the hardest time finding blogs that I found interesting enough to follow. There are still some on my feed that I don’t ever look at, but I have a few that are very beneficial. Once I did have some good ones, and once I keep finding more, I know I will appreciate the feed as it organizes all of my blogs to follow.

Last time we wrote about our PLN, I had not used my delicious account yet. But, the time finally came when I forgot some websites for my paper while I was on a public computer, and I was relieved that I had saved them to my delicious account. Overall, my bookmarks on my computer save me by making it so much easier to access websites I use a lot. To have an account where I can open all my bookmarks on any computer makes me feel safe. I no longer have to worry about going somewhere because I would have to search for websites. Instead I can just open My Delicious and have all of my bookmarks that make my life easier at home. The main drawback is that it is work to keep it updated. Right now with a click of a button I can add a website to my tabs, or bookmarks, on my computer. Yet, to add it to my delicious account I would have to open delicious and submit it. It doesn’t take long, but I always seem to forget, so I am not very good at updating.

Overall, at the beginning of the course I thought these networks were a waste of time and just busy work. Yet, now I see how beneficial the PLN can actually be. I seem to be more organized and have a lot of places to turn to for ideas. The organization makes easier access so I don’t have to worry about wasting too much time looking for ideas. The biggest dilemma I have with a PLN is actually developing it. It seems to take a long time to actually get it started, and even keep it updated. Yet, I know that it is very beneficial after all.

My Studiyo

***The quiz is too big to embedd! Here is the website to see it properly!


For this weeks assignment, I researched online for a technology I thought would be interesting to try out. I ended up coming across My Studiyo, which is a website that allows the creation of online quizzes, where multimedia devices can be incorporated. Overall, I thought it was very cool idea!

The first thing that struck me was that it was easy to make. Going into, I thought that an online quiz would just be more of a hassle, and not worth it. I was completely wrong! There were templates set up so that you could decide the them of the quiz. I found a notebook paper theme with flowers, which fit perfectly to my quiz subject of flowering plants. There were several others to choose from, and even plain themes to match any subject. After picking the theme, you titled the quiz and moved right into the questions. You could chose open ended questions or multiple choice, which is what I did. I input a question, then gave 4 possible answers, marking the correct one. It then gave you an option to add images, videos, or audio to the questions. I chose to use just images as I was just making an example. After I had a few questions, I decided to end the quiz. The option was given to add another multimedia device for the end, to be displayed when scores were given. After that, you just published the quiz, and that was it! It was so easy and I found many pros to using this system.

First of all, due to the allowance of creativity in this website, the online quiz could be used for virtually any age. The questions could be really easy such as 1+1, or even move into subjects such as genetics. This allows for teachers of all grade levels to explore the use of my studiyo and use it to their advantage. So many times people think technology should only be used for older students, where this website proves that idea wrong. The questions could be very simple, and the website is not hard to use at all. If anything, it is a great source to get young students feet wet in technology. They could learn to use the internet, or even really simple things such as how to control the mouse. Even on the opposite side of the spectrum, the students could learn about technology by making a quiz of their own. It really is an easy website to use, so it would not be a difficult task. This could help the students in two ways. One would be that they are learning to use the computer. By making a quiz, they are learning to use the internet, type, and search for pictures. Secondly, making a quiz teaches the subject matter. They may be making a quiz for another student to take, but as they make it, they learn the information. They have to come up with questions and correct answers,so they learn the material.

Another pro I found was the use of multimedia in the quiz. Obviously, any quiz can be done through paper and pencil. Yet, this is become rather boring and old fashioned. Any use of the computer nowadays makes assignments more exciting and keeps attention better. With this certain website, multimedia is incorporated, and easily incorporated at that. Just for my quiz I was able to find pictures of flowers and parts of flowers for each question. This can either give a hint to what the answer may be, or it could get them thinking more. For example, I ask what the function of the petals of a flower are, and put a picture of flower petals. This instance does not give a hint, but showing a picture may get them thinking. Maybe it is just my learning, but for a question like that I picture the petals in my head. Here, the petals are right in front of them so they only need to think about the picture. Using the pictures as a hint may seem too easy, but depending on grade level that may be a great way to help the students learn. Not only are pictures allowed in this quiz, but also videos and audio. I did not use this in my example quiz, but I could see how this may be beneficial. Again, the media can be used to probe thinking. Or it could be used to ask the question itself. For example, I could have included a video of bees carrying pollen from the stamens to the pistils, and then asked the process shown. The process would be pollination, and the students could see this process through the video. This makes it a lot more interesting than worded questions, and showing the video may make the students understand the concept better. Audio on the other hand, may be limited to only certain subjects. For example, the audio available would be perfect for a music based quiz.

Although I really liked this device, I found that there could be some cons. One may be it could be limited to certain subjects. All subjects could be used since you can ask any question, but it may not be worth it to make say a math quiz online. Simply because the multimedia may not be very beneficial, or even available. Math pictures would simply be not needed, so pencil and paper may be the better choice. So this website may not be the best choice depending on content matter and the need for media. Another con would actually be making the quiz. It was very easy to make, but because some written quizzes may already be made, some teachers may not change. They could be stuck in a routine of written out quizzes, and don't feel it is worth it to make a quiz online. Also, making a lot of quizzes online may not work out depending on the availability of computers. If students can only use the computers every now and then, online quizzes may not be worth it. Although it could be a nice change in routine.

Overall, I found this online quiz idea to be really cool. I had seen and heard of online quizzes before, but none based on the idea of media. I think the media use really adds something to the quiz, and promotes further thinking along the way.

"A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't like to Read"

Recently in my TE 348 class, I read an article titled: A Lot of Fat Kids Who Don't Like to Read. It was based on the effects of Pizza Hut's Book It! program and other reading incentives. I had never heard of the Book It program, but after some research I found that it is basically that each child gets a goal of books to read, and if they reach they goal, they get a reward of Pizza. The article goes on to talk about offering incentives to read, and I found a lot of it's key points to be really interesting.

First, the article states that our culture is based on behaviorism. It goes on to say "the way to get things done is to dangle goodies in front of people." There was a study done that results that the more someone is rewarded for doing something, the less interest that person is likely to have in that activity. Basically, the reward program offers temporary compliance, but results in the wrong type of motivation. This is a key point that I found very interesting. Extrinsic motivation are motivations outside of the task, where intrinsic motivation is an interest in the task itself.So many people talk about the amount of motivation a student may have, whereas the though should be on the type of motivation. Another key aspect of this article is the idea of "good citizenship program." This is where kids get rewards for doing something good for somebody else or society, only to get something out of it for themselves. This idea again goes along with the type of motivation that should be enforced, not the amount, which seems to be the overall thee of the article.

This article made me think a lot about myself as a student first of all. I have realized that I am one of those students that is wrongly motivated, which makes me feel a bit disappointed in myself. One example they gave, was my exact frame of mind. "Students who are led to think about grades tend to be less interested in learning, less likely to think creatively, and less likely to choose difficult assignments." When I read this statement, I thought of myself right away. When I do any type of assignment or something I have the grade in the back of my mind. I work for the good grades, not to get something out of it. I hate to admit that, but I have to be honest about this. I don't remember a time when I thought about doing homework to learn, I do homework to keep good grades. Because I do get good grades, people think I am really smart, but I admit that I am not. I am constantly telling people that I am not that smart, I just apply myself to my work. Which is so true. I have so many friends that know so much more than me, yet they don't apply themselves to the work. Whereas I put a lot of effort into my work, so I get the grades that make people think I am smart. I know I have the wrong motivation, yet I feel at this point I cannot change my thinking. Even the part about choosing less difficult tasks is true. If we get an assignment where we can choose the route, I will choose the easiest one that will get the job done and get a good grade. I feel so bad now that I have read this article and actually thought about it. Yet, after reading this article I chose the difficult paper so I was pretty proud of myself at that point. Overall, I found that I look into the rewards for assignments, and I know I have the wrong motivation. Yet, I know with some effort I may be able to change my thinking, but it is going to be a hard thing to do.

Thinking of how I am as a student, I know how I need to be as a teacher. It seems ok to offer a little incentive, but that cannot be the basis of the activity. Nor can good grades be the basis of the activity. I know that students should work towards good grades, but their main frame of mind should be putting in the best effort they have for an assignment. This way, they will ultimately end up with the good grade, yet they will come out with a lot more knowledge than they started with. It is my job as a future teacher to provide the students with the right motivation, and not focus on the amount. Overall, this article gave me a whole new perspective on rewards for reading, and I hope that I can make a difference within my classroom.

Check out the article!

Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?

Going off my last post, I thought about a TV show that I am addicted to. Yup, it's "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?" I absolutely love this show right now. It has become an almost everday competition between my dad and I, sad right? Well, as much as I love to try to answer the questions, it makes me very apprehenisve for my future teaching career. I find almost every time that I am NOT smarter than a 5th grader. After a majority of the questions I think " I should have known that, why didn't I know that?"

Why does it make me apprehensive for my future career as a teacher? Well I feel that I am not prepared to teach the students, if I don't know the information myself. It seems that a majority of the questions are simple facts or equations that I should know as a future teacher. I mean it is the criteria of elementary education since that is the basis of the show, so shouldn't I be nervous if I don't know the facts? I feel as if I should be able to tell you all of these elementary facts, so it makes me very nervous that I am far behind in my background knowledge. I am very concerned that I won't be able to answer questions as a teacher or an intern. At least as a teacher I can clarify that I don't know all of the answers and that I get confused too. This way it makes them feel better for not understanding certain concepts. Yet, as an intern I feel the main teacher will look at me like I am uneducated. I feel they will judge what I don't know and doubt me as a future teacher. I don't want to be doubted and I don't want the students to think they can't come to me with questions.

Overall, I find this show very interesting and fun to watch. Yet, it makes me doubt myself as a future teacher and I am very concerned about that. I know I write a lot about this feeling, but getting so close to being a senior working in classrooms and my internship, I am starting to think about it a lot more. Hopefully I can get over my fears and just try to do my best!

Are you ready to play Jeopardy?

Growing up, one of my favorite games to play in class was Jeopardy. I was presented the game in middle school, then went on to use it in high school and even a class in college. I went online recently to find a template, and found one I could explore for this weeks assignment. The jeopardy game I found is exclusively on the internet. You form a password for your template, so that nobody else can change it. Although I chose to explore this certain template, there are plenty of others that are on the internet and there are even programs to install into your power point.

With the template I found, I found it very easy and fast to use. There is no need to register for anything. The only thing necessary is that you create a password. This password makes it so that nobody can edit or change the game that you make. This also allows for you to get back into the game and change anything. After you enter the password, the template automatically comes up.You now make a title, and start deciding on categories. With a simple click of a box the questions and answers can be set and saved. It really is a simple tool to use, with nothing confusing at all. There is even a score at the bottom, where several teams can play. I have yet to figure out how to work the score (if you do let me know), but that is a very beneficial aspect of this certain template. When I was in school we had to keep track of our own score since the power point template was used. Yet, if you could just click to add points, it would make the game move at a quicker pace and make it easier to use. Also on this website you can use anybodies template that was already created. There are hundreds of categories and games that can be played. You cannot change them, but some of them fit perfectly to what you may be studying, since a lot of them are probably teacher made. I don't find a lot of people making jeopardy games for another profession, so most are probably used in a classroom somewhere.

Here is the main screen of the game I made for SME 301:



And this is what the screen looks like with the question and answer:



The main way this technology could be used in the classroom is as a review for tests. This is exactly how it was used in my classes when I was growing up. It is a great way to combine several different concepts and review main points about them. Most reviews are pencil and paper where you search a book or notes and write the answer down. Yes students can learn from this, but it is far less intriguing and interesting than a Jeopardy game. Turning the review into a jeopardy game has a lot of pros. First of all, kids are more interested. Like I stated, a pencil paper review can work. But students will most likely be far more excited in the game. The sense of competition can make the kids really try and get involved with the game. Students will find it fun since it is a game that they can play against classmates, and they will find it interesting as it is a technology based review that may not be applied very often. Not only is it something fun and interesting, but it also allows for several different subjects to be incorporated. There are 5 different categories that can be used. And within each category there can be 5 different aspects of the category. For example, a cumulative test could have all of the categories studied over a while. This would be like the example I made. Then within each category there could be the 5 main points of that broad topic. Or, the game could be made just a general test, where the 5 categories are the 5 main topics of that general study, for example weather. Then within each category there would be 5 specific questions about the sub-topic. So the Jeopardy game could be used in a variety of situations. Another pro is that the game could be used on any topic. A lot of games make it difficult to study certain topics, like possibly math. But Jeopardy could be used in any topic including math. You could even put equations and the game and have the students solve the equation for the answer. One other pro of the game is it encourages student involvement and discussion. If there is a question that maybe several people couldn't figure out, then it is obvious that the topic needs to be gone over a little more. The class could be open to discussion at this point, where the students help each other to learn. The game could be stopped at any point to do this as it is not timed. If it were a pencil/paper method, the struggles would not be apparent until the papers are gone over, which may be too late. Yet, with a jeopardy game, the struggles can be apparent right at the time and in front of the class. This way everyone can review the concept at the time, so they can understand it for the upcoming test or assignment.

As far as cons, there could be a few struggles. First of all, if the students don't participate, then the game will be a bust. The game is all about student participation and without that, it simply would not work. Also, depending on the content the game could be hard to make. It seems that it is made for fairly simple wording or content. So if the material is very elaborate, this may not be the tool for you. It seems to be aimed more towards small short answers, so it limits the amount of material you can incorporate. Also, it may be hard to think of categories and topics that are legitimate. if there isn't a sufficient amount of material that can be used, you could find yourself just filling in categories with pointless information. It then would be ultimately a waste of time, since only some of the questions will be of help. Overall though I really enjoyed this template and will for sure incorporate it into my future classrom.

Starfish Story

I was at my moms school the other day where she is the secretary, talking to one of the teachers. She asked if I was going to school and what I would be going into. I told her education, which of course she got excited, she loves teaching! We talked for a bit, then I had to go. The last thing she said to me was "remember the starfish story when you teach!" I nodded my head in agreement and smiled. Yet, I had no idea what she was talking about! Curiosity got the best of me, and I hopped on google right away, to see what in the world the starfish story was. I ended up finding a youtube video, and I found the story very inspirational.

The video is at the bottom of the blog, but in case it is not working here is a short summary: A man is walking on the beach, when he sees a young boy tossing starfish back into the ocean. The boy claims that the starfish will die since the tide is out. The man claimed the boy was crazy, as there were miles of beach, so he would never make a difference. The boy picked up another starfish, tossed it back into the ocean, and said "I made a difference for that one."

Of course, I can see why she would tell me to remember the video. I feel this story is very inspirational to a future teacher, or even teachers now. As future teachers, we need the encouragement to not give up on students. It may seem like we cannot make a big difference in a lot of students lives, but even if we can fully reach through to one, we are making a difference. We should take pride that our future profession allows the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young children. We are able to provide encouragement and motivation to future generations. So if we don't have the encouragement ourselves to not give up, how are we supposed to make a difference to them? This video really opened my eyes to future struggles I may have. I may end up in a room with 25 students, and feel overwhelmed with my job of having some sort of an effect on them. I have to know, that I may not reach through to them all. As much as I may try, some just may not be accepting or even care. Yet, there are bound to be students I will make a difference with. Even one, one is always better than none. I feel that it will more than likely be more than one, but it's hard telling now. So if I tell myself to aim to make the difference that I can, I will accomplish something. I cannot aim to make a huge difference with every student I come across. That is just not plausible. I may alter a lot, but a long lasting difference may come in very few numbers. But how many other jobs can say that have effectively made a difference in someones life, especially a young child. It really is rewarding, and will boost my confidence if I can reach through to these students.

Yet, as much as I find myself enjoying this story/video, it reminds me of a past situation that may be considered it's downfall. I was volunteering for a 5th grade classroom, when there was one student that was not cooperating at all. He was behind in every subject, always acted up, and really just didn't seem to care about school whatsoever. The teacher sent him to the hall, again, and I had asked her if I should go work with him or talk to him. She said "no, he's a lost cause." I was shocked. How could a teacher ever think of a student that way. No student is a lost cause, unless they are given up on. This story reminded me of this situation because I think teachers may get it in their mind that as long as a difference is made for one student, then it's ok. Which if you try your hardest, and can only reach one student, then it is for sure ok. But I think with this story can come the mentality that some students can be given up on, since the teacher makes difference or affects the others. I feel that the teacher should try their hardest, the whole time they are in contact with the student. It may seem like nothing is working, but if the student is given up on, then it for sure won't work. It should never be looked at as a lost cause unless they move on.

As a future teacher, I will try my hardest to affect and make a difference for ALL my students. I will push them and encourage them the whole time that I am in contact with them. Some students may seem like I more successfully made a difference on them, but that does not mean I give up on the others. If anything, I encourage them more. It is my job to not give up on any of the students, just as the story with the starfish. I really enjoyed this story and gained a lot of insight from it. Hope you enjoy it too!

Digital Story Reflection

For my video, I used the basis of having a hero. In my video I explained that my brother Jason is my hero for serving in the military to defend us. I used images and a song to convey more meaning.

My Hero on PhotoPeach



Telling a digital story may be useful for teaching because it is more interesting and intriguing that normal lecture or worksheet instructions. An assignment can be introduced in a fun way, so that maybe the students will be more excited to complete the assignment. The music and pictures will captivate them making the assignment or project seem more fun or entertaining. This is also a great way to introduce a topic because a background story can be told. With digital story, the teacher could provide a fun story leading into the new unit or assignment. For example with my video, it would be a perfect introduction if I were to plan a hero based assignment. The video provides an example of who a hero could and be and example of why. Leading into an assginment, the digital story could ultimately be a fun way to introduce the unit or a fun way to prove instructions on what to do.

This may be useful for a student to do story telling this way because it allows the opportunity for creativity. The students could choose a medium to use, choose the images, and even pick a song to incorporate. They have so many options how to construct the story, so it makes it more fun since they are not being told what to do. This may also be useful because it integreates technology. I remember in elementary every year we would get a hard coverbook, where we had to construct a story based on a topic given to us. It was very exciting because it was like a real book, yet digital story telling provides so many more opportunities. With technology, there are a lot more tools and mediums to use. It is so much more broad than the paper and pencial method. Using technology to tell a story also gets the students knowledge with technology. So many times students are forced to use a pencil paper method, so as time goes on students are clueless with a lot of programs in technology. Yet if fun and convenient methods like digital story telling is introduced, then the students may feel more comfortable with technology. I know if I would have done things like this in school, I may feel more comfortable with a computer or the internet.

For the tool that I used (photopeach), I really liked it for the most part. One thing I liked was that it was very easy to use. The pictures uploaded in seconds, and there were step by step instructions. I also liked the options for adding music to the show. There weren't a set list of songs to use, instead you could search youtube or even upload a song you have on your computer. I really enjoyed that aspect because I had a song picked out, but wasn't sure if I would be able to use it. Another aspect I enjoyed was that after I finished, I was able to go back in and edit the captions. I made some spelling mistakes after I had pressed finished, so it was nice to be able to go back in and edit without having to redo it all. Although I really enjoyed photopeach, I found that there was one thing i got frustrated with. I had to remake my video 3 times! Although we were allowed to edit captions, nothing else could be changed (at least from what I could figure out). I ended up changing the title, song, and order of pictures which in all I had to redo the video. I may be able to blame it on my lack of planning intensively, but there were somethings that I just didn't think about until I watched the finished video.

Overall I really enjoyed making the digital story and the tool that I chose to use. This would provide a unique expereince to the classroom and I cannot wait to try it out!

Open Ended Assignments

For my TE 348, we were told to chose a book, and make an application project that provides in depth thought. That was it. I sat there thinking, what do you mean? Talk about the themes, plot, characters? Critically analyze it? Going to my teacher wit a ton of questions, I was hoping to get more of an answer of guidelines. For example: include characters, talk about their changes, 2-3 pages. No, instead I got a repetition of what was already confusing me. Frustrated, I left the classroom completely stressed out. How was I suppose to complete an assignment, when I don't even know what it is. It's going to be a long end of the semester...

This idea got me thinking about open ended assignments. I HATE THEM. I am the type that needs a rubric, and needs exactly guidelines. I want to be able to check things off one by one, and get it completely finished. How are you supposed to completely finish an open ended assignment? You don't even know what the finished product should look like! I tried to look online about the pros and cons of this type of assignment, but I couldn't really find anything interesting. So I thought I would think through the idea, and what past teachers have said to create a blog.

First off, I want to talk about the pros of an open-ended assignment. The biggest one I can think of is it encourages creativity. Students are able to think of what topic or type of project they want to do. These assignments allow the opportunity for students to put their personality into school work. For example, if a very crafty student gets an open ended assignment, then instead of the usual paper, they may make a visually appealing poster with the same information that a paper may hold. This sense of creativity can show the teacher who the student really is. They will most likely put things they enjoy into the assignment, revealing their inner self. Along with this idea, the open ended assignment will allow for different viewpoints. Students may do different topics which allow for a variety of discussion. If the assignment is all done on one topic, and the construction is open ended, then the way students assemble their work may provide different viewpoints. One may make a video with images and music, whereas one may make a poster with solely text. Seeing the variety of ways to construct one topic, can allow for better learning of the topic since their is different types of information presented. Another pro is that these type of assignments promote student responsibility. Students are responsible for making sure to make a decent finished project. They are responsible for thinking of a topic and/or constructing the piece. It is up to them to make sure they understand somewhat of what it should be about and creating something to the best of their ability. On that note, these assignments show exactly what the student is capable of. The students can not just complete the bare minimum of a rubric based project. Maybe those students that do the bare minimum will shine in these projects since they are encouraged to make something to the best of their ability that will satisfy the topic. So overall, the open ended assignments allow for creativity, different points of view on information, encourage responsibility, and even show what the students are capable of.

As for the cons, one would be that these assignments can confuse and frustrate a student (me!). If some are not given exact guidelines, it will just confuse them and frustrate them more making the assignment a struggle. The students will be so focused on what exactly they should do, that they may not learn the information along the way. This would make for a pointless assignment, since the whole point is that they should learn the information as they do the project. Another con would be that students may not complete the project to the best of their ability, and then put the blame on the teacher. A student may construct something that shows not a lot of effort compared to others. Yet, the student may say "well you said what ever we wanted to do." Obviously, the teacher would mean there has to be some sort of effort put into it. Therefore, with an open ended assignment, the teacher needs to clarify general guidelines. It needs to be said that the showing of effort must be obvious. It is obvious that there aren't as many cons (that I can think of at this point). The overall cons would be that it stresses students out enough that they miss the point of the project and students will slack.

Obviously this post as a lot of generalizations about students. I am in no way saying that these problems or successes will come about with all students. I presented these pros and cons based on my own experience. With looking at what I wrote (although I hate these type of assignments), I think it is important that open ended projects be incorporated in the classroom. There are obviously a lot of pros to the idea, even though some students may not enjoy them. A lot of other students may love the idea of these assignments since they are creative. It is not fair to them if a teacher does not allow these type of assignments. No matter if an assignment has a rubric or not, there are going to be students that dislike one or the other. So the use of both will satisfy all students at one point or another. Not only that, students need to be encouraged to be more responsible and be creative. This is the perfect way to do just that.

Enough of my thoughts, what does everyone else think?

Mr. Winkle Wakes Up

I came across a video in my RSS feed that I found pretty interesting. The video is about Rip Van Winkle waking up from a 100 year slumber, and finding new technology in a lot of places. Yet, when he goes to a school, nothing is changed at all! The computer that is in the room is described as dusty and unused. It makes me think about the lack of technology in schools, and my future goal as a teacher.

This video is a great example of the digital storytelling task for this week. Although I have not started it, I feel that watching this video and realizing the importance of technology along with it, I m more intrigued to make my own. Since I have not created my video, I thought I would use my thinking due to the video to reflect on my lesson plan and how I feel about the integration of technology in classrooms.

With creating the lesson plan that integrates technology, I found my biggest problem was figuring out what the lesson should be on. It wasn't hard to find a way to use technology, as there are so many programs. There's word, powerpoint, online mindmaps, excel, search engines, and countless other technological tools for teaching. It was very easy to incorporate many of these technological aspects, so I found myself wondering what the problem was. If it is so easy to incorporate these aspects what is the dilemma? I know growing up I didn't encounter nearly enough technology in the classroom, and it seems through my observations that that hasn't really changed. In the 5th grade classroom I worked in, not once did the children do anything with technology. Wait! I take that back, the teacher justified this observation by stating that they did in fact watch a movie....Yes, a movie was her prime (and only) technology used. It seems sad that there is so much available, but none of it is used! Why?

A later blog by Matt revels several reasons. One reason could be funding. Not every school has the funding available to invest in computers, projectors, laptops, microphone systems, etc. Without the funding for these resources, of course they aren't going to be able to be used. Yet, I can't see funding as a huge problem. Every school I have observed has had at least one computer in each classroom if not a computer lab in the school. Yet, they were still not being utilized. Why? The teachers. Teachers seem to have a problem shying away from the standard lecture, pencil and paper type of classroom. A lot of this is because they haven't had the training or experience with technology. Which is a good reason on why I am taking (and learning a lot in) this class. I want to be prepared in technology and know how to incorporate it into my classroom. yet, not only is it a lack of training, but a lot of people say that technology is not reliable. Which yes, there can be problems with technology (as I am writing this post my letters are showing up 30 seconds after I type them ! =() But, I would say more often than not technology is reliable.There are times when it does fail us, but that's why there is always a whiteboard and other resources to think of a new way to go about it.

So why use technology? It adds a lot of exciting and interesting ways to go about teaching a lesson. Kids will not be bored with constant lecture or pencil and paper work. It will also teach children how to use technology. In the video Rip encounters so much use of it in areas outside the school. It is obvious that technology is a huge part of society today. School is a prime setting to learn about these technologies so it is important that they start to be used.

Why am I writing about incorporating technology again??!!- This class has really opened my eyes to the importance of technology in the classroom. As a midway point in the semester I have already learned So much about how to integrate technology into my lesson plans. I have even created a lesson plan that does just that. It seems that I have come across so many different mediums I can use in my future classroom all thanks to this class. Just having all of this knowledge makes me feel like I can make a change in the education system. I can go into a school system and proved the knowledge needed to simply start integrating more technology. I am definitely excited for what more I am going to learn, and realize that this class is of great importance to me in my future teaching career.

Enjoy the video!

Matt's follow up blog!

Developing a Personal Learning Nework

In this class we have done a lot to develop our PLN or personal learning network. The tools we have used to do this so far are twitter, blogging, our RSS feed, and social bookmarking. So far, I think that these tools could be pretty useful. They each offer their own strengths and weakness that can be reflected upon.

Twitter allows tor immediate updates. It can be useful to get a small point across in the most efficient way. The tweet deck allows for constant updates on when someone just "tweeted." That way I can keep track of when my students or colleagues update their twitter. It is the best form to use if you want a fast response for something short. The draw back is that it only allows for so much writing. There is a word limit, so that you can't post an elaborate idea. This makes it hard to share some things at a quick way. Some ideas can't be condensed enough to fit within the word count.

This is where blogging comes in. I have really come to enjoy blogging. It is a great way to get an elaborate idea across and even get feedback. I found that I like to write my ideas or thoughts and see what other people think. It allows for constructive criticism so that others could help make your thoughts better. It can provide the opportunity for different points of view to be heard. This can help a misunderstanding or confusing topic, as if a bunch of people have other ideas, it can be pieced together. Reading blogs is also very beneficial to me. I like to see what other projects people are working on and what other people are thinking. It's cool to see the different blog topics and it even inspires some of my writing. Therefore, blogging ultimately helps the process of reading and writing, since that's essentially what it is. Although, there are drawbacks. One would be that it does not receive immediate feedback. Someone may be on at the same time and comment write away, but most of the time it takes a while. It can take days before someone notices and comments. Which is another drawback. It is hard to sift through all of the blogs and find some interesting enough to read. Although once they are added to the RSS feed it can make things much easier.

Ah, RSS feed, where would I be without you? Honestly this saves me with my ideas for my blogs. Whenever I feel like writing a blog, I head to my RSS feed to see what's new and interesting. The RSS is very beneficial as it is a great way to organize blogs you want to follow. It shows the most recent updates between all of the blogs in the feed. You can even click on each individual blog page to see their updates. It's great that it is all on one page, so I dont have to spend a majority of my time searching for ideas. It organizes the blogs very well, so that all you have to do is look through the feed. This can help update you with colleagues ideas, what the students are bloggin about, or any other topic of interest in the blog feed. The only drawback is actually building the RSS feed. To go and find blogs that will be updated enough and have interesting topics was harder than I thought. I spent hours trying to find blogs to put on my RSS, but once I added them, my life was so much easier.

One other PLN device we used is the social bookmarking through Delicious. To be honest, I haven't had to use this yet. BUT I know that when I do get the opportunity it will prove to be very beneficial. My bookmarks on my computer save me. They make it so much easier to access websites I use a lot. I havent had to use delicious yet becaue it really is the only computer I use. I use my work computer be we are only allow to do so much that isn't work related, so I never need other websites. But to have an account where I can open all my bookmarks on any computer makes me feel safe. I don't have to worry about going somewhere because I would have to search for websites. Instead I can just open My Delicious and have my bookmarks right in front of me. Drawbacks are that you have to update it. If I add a bookmark to my bookmarks now, then I have to go to my delicious account and add it there if I want to use it on another computer.

Overall, I think that PLN's are very beneficial. They allow for organization and to present ideas to receive feedback. We can use them to tell those in our networks what we are thinking and see their ideas. We can also organize our blogs or bookmarks, so no time is wasted. I think with all of them the drawbacks are the effort and time to start them and update them. At the beginning it doesn't see worth it because it does take a lot of effort to build the PLN. Yet, once it's built, it is very beneficial to keep updated!

Voiced Presentation

I was really nervous to post this, I hate my voice on a recorder (as I see a majority of the class also does!). But I had a lot of fun doing it! And it was so easy, I had never imagined it would be that easy. I was dreading doing it thinking it would take me forever to figure it out, but it really didn't!

Matter Presentation

For this slide show I decided to incorporate an idea I went over in SME this semester. I think making this presentation was really fun! It was a cool way to make a lesson. After reading the article on the BBP (beyond bullet points) approach I actually learned a lot. I learned that the less text the better because human memory can handle so much. I have always used bullet points in my presentations so this was definitely different. The article said to have a main headline for the text so that the students were capable of actually taking in what is on the slide. For that reason I simply had a general definition as the "headline" on the slide to make it easier understood. The article also stated that images help people to learn visually. Therefore for each state of matter I had a slide of images as examples. I really think this method is beneficial and hope to remember some of the techniques for my future classroom.

Perfecting Projects

Recently, I came across an article in my google reader, where the blooger is talking about a failed project. He starts off by talking about how his dream is to make a classroom that has lecture and more student involvement. In doing so, he is constantly trying to render up new projects where the students research, discuss, and involve themselves in order to learn. In order to create these projects his criteria is:

• It requires students to interact with material on their own.
• It seems to be a way for students to grab information that I otherwise would have had to convey through lecture.
• It requires students to manipulate the material in an individualistic level–that is, they can emphasize what strikes them as most important.
• It embeds much of the skill-work I try to teach, like writing and reading, and makes it seemingly more relevant.

In thinking of this criteria, he created a project for the students to learn about communication. Instead if lectures, he wanted students to be able to research online for tips on public speaking. The students were to take these tips and pick the most important to them, to complie a unique list of their own. Yet, after a short time the students began to turn in completed work. He was dumbfounded on how the students were getting this activity done so quick. Until he realize they had taken a short cut. The students had failed to reasearch online (since they weren't forced to list sources to make it more fun) and htey had just made up their own tips. At the end, the teacher was stuck with a variety of work. Some students actually put in the effort while some made it up, making the grading process very difficult. The blogger makes the generalization that with almost every project there can be shortcuts available, and students are persistent on finding those shortcuts. It left him in wonder if projects that actively involve students are any better than lecture.

This blog somewhat scares me, as I feel I am going to struggle with these same ideas. I too hope to have a classroom that is extremely active and less of me lecturing straight facts. I think it will make learning more fun and the involvement will keep the students intrigued for a longer period of time. I think his criteria for projects is exceptional. They really are the basis for activities that involve the students with hands on approachs that are very relevant. I am nervous that I may struggle to come up with quality assignments. I'm scared they will either be too easy or won't be understandable. I am going to focus so much on student involvement that I may fail to pay attention to the quality of the work. It seems that these dreams are very similar to current teachers and aspiring teachers. We all want to make the learning environment fun with less of us talking, yet as the blog shows, there are some drawbacks to this approach.

When I think of myself as a student, I can honestly say that if their is a shortcut that the teacher won't notice to get me the same grade, I am going to tak it. So sue me. It's probably safe to say that a majority of students feel the same way. It just seems to be a frame of mind, because we just want to get the assignment done. With this, I think it will be difficult as a teacher to judge whether a student took the shortcut or not. Unless they completely goofed, it is usually something that can be hidden and the teacher won't notice. For example, with this bloggers project, the students can easily make up their own tips and write them out. If they don't have to list sources, who is to say they weren't really found on the internet. This is the problem with trying to make projects fun and enjoyable. The more fun they are, the easier it is to bypass acually working. Like in the example, he didn't want them to have to list sources so it wouldn't be a hassle, but this allowed students to make things up. If sources were required, it would be almost impossible for them to not research, because each soruce could be checked. Of course, no teacher wants to be the mean one to make more work and make assignments more difficult. But it trying to make learning enjoyable means allowance for students to slack, is just simply not acceptable. I would rather be the teacher that they think is too hard, because I know I am doing my job. I don't want to be mean, but it is in my job description to make sure I am pushing these kids to learn. If I make it too easy, then what am I there for?

Overall this blog was very intersting to me because it shared real life struggles of a teacher. We want to make a fun, enjoyable, and active learning environment, but it can be hard when kids don't put in the work. It seems that we need to find the medium of the two and make it work. I know it will take quite a few failed projects to grasp this concept, but I just hope I can make it work!

Enjoy!

Readers Define Books

Today in my TE 348 class (seems to give me a lot of topics to blog about) we had one of our biweekly discussions about a book. The book discussion today was on Seedfolks, a narrative told through the eyes of 13 characters. The book takes place in an urban city, where the city is segregated. Nine year old Kim, who is Vitenamese, plants some lima beans in a trash lot. Other diverse characters join, and it forms a story around the garden that they all take part in. The themes include character development, overcoming diversity, and the transition from a neighborhood to a community.

For this book, I was the personal facilitator. That means my role while reading and thinking about this book was to figure out why I read it the way I did. I had to think about, and discuss, why my personal background and experiences shaped the way I interpreted the novel. After a while of brain scratching, I came up with a few ideas.

I decided that I can understand that a garden would encourage character development due to my own experiences with my character. My personal experience is that I played softball, so taking part in such a sill ything seems unimportant, but I formed relationships, hardwork, and dedication just as the characters did in the book. Yet, my group members failed to see something as simple as a garden to alter life ways. They had no personal experiences that could make them more understanding, so we didn't really see eye to eye.

Another idea that I had was that I was shocked of all the diversity of characters in one area. There were 7-8 different ethnic groups mentioned (out of only 13 characters), which was a surprise to me. I came from a community that was so small I could count other ethnic groups within hundreds of people on one hand. In my high school there were maybe 3 people of another race (Mexican and African American). Due to this, it is safe to say that I am not used to diversity and any opportunity to explore it is something new to me. When I brought up this point in our discussion, another girl had gone to a high school where there were a diverse amount of students. She said sh probably had a majority of the ethnic groups listed in the book attending her high school. Reading the book to her wasn't as big of a culture shock to her as it was to me. She was used to the idea that there was a vast array of people in one area. Whereas I have had it stuck in my mind that in one area there are only a few "outsiders."

This whole idea of everyone reading the story really got me thinking for when I become a teacher. Teaching a book seems pretty simple. There are implied themes, character traits, morals, etc. The teacher just needs to make them known and discuss the importance. Yet, what happens when two students interpret a book totally different. Each student will think their interpretation is right. It may be confusing for them to understand that people read differently. Yet, if this were to happen, it would provide for a great learning experience. The studens could learn to understand each other. They could also learn to challenge each other. I feel that challenging and understanding are two very concrete ways to get through a book. The students can learn from each others ideas to either formulate or edit their own ideas. It will be a great way to get the students thinking critically and question why was the book read differently when it is the same words on the page for everyone. Overall, this process will provide the children with deeper analysis to better understand themselves, and to better understand each other.

Overall, I think this discussion really opened my eyes to reading. It is very appareant that background culture and experiences can shape the way we think about a book. It doesn't mean that we are right or wrong, it is just how we think. Through this process we can learn more about ourselves and about our peers. This process really made me enjoy reading more. I was able to critically think about who I am and what does that affect. At the end I had a better understanding of myself on character development, community, and diversity. All in all I really enjoyed this process of reading, and it really makes me want to read this way more often so that I can develop a stronger sense of who I am!

Google Docs

When I first read this weeks assignment, I questioned what google docs was. I assumed some prgoram that I would simply use to complete this weeks assignment and forget about. Much to my surprise, it is actually something I see myself using in the future. I really feel like if google docs becomes more popular, microsoft office may have to watch out! Google docs offers very similar programs, and there are quite a few advantages.

First, it is all free! What a surprise and relief. It's hard to believe that these programs are free! I mean, I paid over $100 for microsoft office for my macbook, yet google docs offers almost the exact same thing for no charge at all. Now that is what every college student wants to hear! It's almost shocking that something like this is free, when it offers so many programs and utilities.

Second, it is available from virtually anywhere. Last night, I was working on my resume, when I got way too tired. I went to bed and gave up on editing. Yet today, here I am, right where I left off and I'm editing at work without saving to a disk or emailing it to myself. It was so nice not having to hassle to find my USB or e-mail the document myself. It seems it saved a lot of time and frustration. Especially since it automatically saves periodically. It allows for almost no way of losing your work, and allows for easy access anywhere.

Third, you can save your work for others to access and edit. Too, this is genius. I am always wanting someone to read over and edit my paper, but I always seem to have to bring it to them or e-mail it. Through google docs they can simply sign in and view my work. This is also amazing for group projects. I don't know how much I can express my hate for group projects in college. With everyone having different class and work schedules, it is always so hard to find a time to meet. With google docs, one powerpoint presentation can be available to the whole group. Everyone can get on, review what others have done and even add to it themselves. What a life saver! This is going to be very sueful for my next class project. I no longer need to worry about where and when my group is going to be able to meet!

As far as classrom use goes in my future teaching career, I think the possibilites are endless. First off, like I've noted, it is great for editing. This is someting I feel really important to learn at a young age. Editing is crucial to papers and other work, so students should jump right into the idea. They need to be able to know how to edit. Too look for grammatical mistakes, incorrect sentence structure, and others. Not only is the editing process important, but also the allowing of editing is important. Too many students submit work without a run through (guilty!). It is important to teach them that although they may not want too, it is only beneficial to them to allow others to look at their work. This process can point out their mistakes so maybe they will learn. It can help them to improve on their writing and editing skills, which will only be beneficial in the long run.Also, this allows for various forms of programs to be used at no cost. It can allow for a variety of projects in the classroom, so it is not always boring worksheets. Since it is free, it allows students to creat cool powerpoint projects at home or in a library, where they can be creative. It can allow students to create their own presentations, and post for others to see. It is not something that students will have to pay for, which is what a lot of parents are concerned about. Another use for the classroom, is group projects, like I stated for college use. It allows for group projects incorporating technology to start at a younger age. This give students the opportunity to work together on a project, and even add too it outside of school.Google docs also allows for the teacher, myself, to review work as students post it. It can allow for immediate feedback to the students so they can improve their work. Teachers can review the work and give a quick response. This can give students the opportunity to improve their work before it is actually submitted. This allows for improvement of mistakes, and a better grade, which is the ultimate goal. Google docs also is very important in the technology factor. It is a very basic program that can be put in use at a younger age, for free. It introduces students to technology, and it is not too difficult to grasp. It is a great introduction to the world of technology, which is an idea that needs to be learned as soon as possible. It shows them how to scces the internet, make presentations online, type, submit work, look through other peoples work, edit online, and create spreadsheets. It incorporates technology ideas that are very basic and need to be realized at a young age.

After all of these advantages of google docs, there are always drawbacks. One thing I had a problem with was formating. While constructing my resume, I had an extremely difficult time with formating in the document section of google docs. I struggled for a long time trying to fix every detail. Still to this day I cannot make it work. It seems like it is a waste of time trying to figure out all of the formating issues, and it just leaves me feeling frusturated. Although I feel the urge to give up, I know with all of the advantages of google docs, I should learn how to use it properly.Also, I feel that people are going to become too reliable on the system. I don't think it should take over in any way. I still think pencil and paper technique should be used. Technology isn't always reliable, and sometimes it is a struggle to work with, so I think everyone should keep that in mind.

Overall, I am a fan of google docs and am looking forward to taking advantage of what it has to offer.

That's nonfiction? Really?

Yesterday in my TE 348 class, we discussed nonfiction. Of course, I immediately started to dread this discussion. Ever since I was a kid, I hated nonfiction. Every nonfiction book I read, or was forced to read, was too boring. I don't want all of the facts. I want creativity and imagination. I wanted to read what the dog said to the cat, or what happened when the school bus shrank. I didn't care how a certain conversation played out in a war, I was a kid! So, as I grew older I never gave nonfiction a chance. I always thought of it as the boring and bland books that were simply facts. Yet, after class yesterday, I realized that I actually didn't mind nonfiction!

The Magic School Bus is classified as nonfiction! I was shocked. I guess I should have assumed, it is very educational. But the whole shrinking school bus to go into a human body through me off I guess. It seemed that it may have some weird classification since it is a mixture. Yet, the book says it was nonfiction, it just had some fiction ideas. Which, after the discussion it all makes sense.

I guess the thing for me, was how nonfiction was presented to me in my first interaction. My first presentation of nonfiction was that it was strictly facts. It couldn't be a creative or elaborate story, it was simply hard facts. Boring, right? I was immediately turned off and everytime I heard the word nonfiction I cringed. Also, growing up it seems that when I was presented with nonfiction in school, it was the boring kind. The type that was page after page of straight facts that wasa chore to read. The only time I was presented with something interesting was at home, because I was able to choose what to read. If my teachers would have made nonfiction seem more interesting, maybe I would have a want to read it now. But now, I am stuck in this idea of nonfiction being boring facts.

Ultimately, this got me thinking of how to present nonfiction when I am a teacher. I am without a doubt going to do everything in my power to make it interesting and fun. I don't want my students to be biased just because I am. I also don't want them to be biased because I don't present the material in a good way. I want to open their eyes at a younger age of all of the possibilities of nonfiction. It doesn't have to be all facts. It can be a creative story that has facts embedded them. I want them to see that nonfiction can be creative. It can consist of fake characters or events that are not possible. As long as the sole information is truthful. I don't want them to go through school thinking that nonfiction is boring. I don't want them to turn out like me, and only read nonfiction when it is required for class. Nonfiction books offer so many opportunities for children, and I need my students to be in reach of those opportunities. Ultimately, I hope to show my future students that nonfiction can be fun to read, and shouldn't be a genre that they avoid!

Mastering the Teacher Voice...

Last year for my TE 250 class, I was placed in a 5th grade classroom at Shasftsburg Elementary. I loved the class, but I was very nervous! Especially when the teacher had me create my own lesson plan! I felt so lost and had do idea what to do! I ended up doing a lesson on sign language, which went pretty well. The kids enjoyed it, but at times they got a little too excited and started to all talk and laugh. I tried to get them to stay on task as much as possible, but it seemed they didn't want to listen to me. That's when I was told that I need to get my teacher voice. How the heck do you get a teacher voice? Turns out, I was being to quiet and soft spoken. The teacher told me that I need to have a more strong voice, which doesn't necessarily mean yelling, it just means don't let the students talk over you. Make sure the tone is that you have control of the class, yet it needs to be welcoming.

While thinking about this concept, I serached online for articles. I came across a book that is 44 Smart Strategies for teachers. Strategy number 44 was all about perfecting the teacher voice. The articl states that screaming will get you no where, which I agree. It will either make the kids listen for just that moment, simple because they are scared, or make the kids act up and push your buttons. I think that both of these ideas are real possibilites for what can happen. Nobody wants a class thta is scared of them because they scream, but teachers do want classes that will actually listen and mind. The article discusses how there are many different teacher voices that should be readily available in in use. For example, the enthusastic voice to get the students excited and make them actually want to listen. There is also the strong stern voice to make students pay attention and behave. The article discusses a variety of other voices that could be helpful in my future teaching career. As a teacher I need to find a balance between all of the voices. I don't want to stick to one, because that could be misleading and boring. I need to learn when to use certain ones and when certain voices should not be used. The tone of the teachers voice can be crucial to the student teacher relationship, so I feel it is really something that should be learned.

In order for a teacher to learn when to use these different voices, they just need to be tested. Within the first couple of days/weeks of school, the teacher should test these voices and obsreve outcomes in different situations. If in a certain situation you realize that a certain voice gets positive results, the article says to make and note and try to utilize that idea. Whereas, if a certain voice doesn't go over so well, discard that voice and try something new. We want to be in control of our class, but we have to work with what our students will accomadate to to gain that control. Another thing the article says, is to use a microphone if needed. I feel that microphones in elementary classrooms are a splendid idea. I volunteered at a classroom that used them, and I found that the kids were more likely to pay attention and understand the concepts. The projection catches their attention so they are able to hear you. Kids in the back are also not straining to hear, so they are focusing on understanding rather than trying to hear.

The article also goes on to state that non-verbals also has to deal with the "teacher voice." For example the teacher eye. Everyone has heard of the teacher eye, but I am not sure if I have it in me to give it! The evil glare showing students that they see that sometihng is being done wrong can be very frightening. Yet, I know it works. Watching students get the teacher eye, they immediately stop and behave. Maybe this is something I sohuld practice in the mirror? All I know is I need to learn it! Other nonverbals can serve as ques on what needs to happen. For example, all through my school days the teacher would give a peace sign for when we need to settle down. Everyone would stop talking and pay attention when that hand went up. I think this sign is somethng I would utilize as a teacher, because it gets the students attention, yet it is less threatening.

Overall, the teacher voice is something that needs to be practiced and mastered. I know I don't want students walking all over me, but I also want to feel approachable to them. I need to find different voices to balance out, to make my persona as a whole friendly but in charge.

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