Instructional Timeline Project #9b

Blog Post #9

I read "What I've learned this year" by: Mr. McClung. He wrote about what he learned after his first year of teaching.

He learned:
1. How to read a crowd
2. Be flexible
3. Communicate
4. Be Reasonable
5. Don't be afraid of technology
6. Listen
7. Never stop learning

His post was very interesting and it helped me see another persons perspective on teaching.  I do not know what to expect when I start teaching and I am sure many others feel the same way.  I liked that he said "be flexible."  We do not have to plan a perfect lesson.  What is most important about the lesson is that the students understand it.  I would say a lesson is not perfect unless the student all understand the material.  He also said "communicate."  I have issues with communication because I am shy.  I am trying to overcome that and be more out going and to communicate with others more.  If we can't communicate with our students and faculty then we aren't really doing our job correctly.  It is important that we know what is going on and that everyone is on the same level.  Lastly,  he said to "never stop learning."  This is so important to remember.  We have so much to offer as teachers so why not continue to learn?  We can learn from the people around us and even from our students.  His post was very informing and it helped me better understand what I may learn my first year of teaching.

1st progress report on PLN Project #10

I decided to use Symbaloo for my PLN.  I have not heard of a PLN until now.  Symbaloo is a very useful and beneficial program to have.  It helps you keep organized and allows you to have everything you need in one spot.  You do not have to type in every website you need.  All you have to do is open your Symbaloo and click on the website you want.  It lets you move the icons around so you can place them where it is more convenient for you.  I have been playing around with mine trying to figure it out and move around some of the icons.  I am very excited about this program and I know I will continue to use it after EDM310 is over.

Timetoast Project # 9a

Summary Post C4T Teacher # 2

   I was assigned Ira David Sokol at speedchange.blogspot.com.  He posted a youtube video about a guy name Joel Burns.  He was speaking out to everyone and was telling gay children that "It gets better".  The video was very sad to watch but very informing.  He told several stories about children being bullied and how they took their own life because of the pain the endured.  That just breaks my heart that someone can make someone else feel so bad that feel like they have no choice but to take their life.

    This needs to stop.  It is up to us to help do so.  Teachers and students can play an important role in helping to stop bullying.  If a teacher sees a child being bullied they need to stop it.  If other children see others being bullied they need to tell their teacher or someone of higher authority.  Burns wanted these children that are being bullied to know that "It does get better".  He wants them to know how important they are in the world and that they can do anything.  This was a very inspiring video to watch.  It really made me think of how just one person can possibly save a child's life.

Summary Post C4K comments 1 and 2

     I commented on Elio Reyes blog.  He is from Noel Elementary Class of 2011.  He also goes by the nickname "Elmo".  He is from Noel, Missouri and has lived there for almost ten years.  He said it is lame (lol).

     The blog I posted on was very unique and creative.  He made up a story to learn about the rock cycle. I myself when learning like to come up with little creative ways to remember things just like he did with the rock cycle. He wrote a really awesome story and here it is:

I was on top of a mountain minding my own business. Than out of nowhere I heard an unfamiliar noise and it started raining hard and I rolled down the hill really fast not being able to stop. Than suddenly I fell into a lake. As time went by I found myself being pressed up together with some other rocks and it made us into a metamorphic rock. I was frightened when I found myself deep under ground, it was dark and cold. The heat and pressure melted us into magma than we hardened an intrusive ingenuous rock inside a big hard volcano. Than a while later we turned into an extrusive igneous rock. I learned that we can transform to any rock by the rock cycle.  
 

Blog Post # 6

Networked Student by: Wendy Drexler

     How are we going to get the best professors if we stop using them and turn strictly to technology? I do think all these new technologies are amazing but should be kept to a minimum. They need to be kept to a minimum so we will still have teachers in our schools to be there for guidance and answers. This video was a good example of how we can use technology with our students and people around the world. I do not believe teachers will just stop teaching completely. I think the way they will be teaching will change. This was a very cute video with the cartoon and cut out animations. I enjoyed it!

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)


     She is way more advanced in her PLE then I am in my PLN.  She is very knowledgeable and organized with the technology she is using.  She is able to find websites on what she is learning and will blog about it.  That is exactly what I am doing and I have learned a lot of information.  She can take parts of information from several websites and save them for later use.  This is good because she does not have to save the whole article.  What else is great is that it saves the website of where the information came from.  She created a Glogster and emailed several scientists.  This allows her to connect to people around the World and get information from them.  She likes having the freedom and she believes it gives her the chance to be responsible.  I agree.  If it is being used correctly the student is being responsible and that should make them feel proud.

The Machine is Changing US by: Michael Welsh

     This was quite a long video but he did bring up several important points.  He used the quote "I find it hard, It's hard to find, oh well, whatever, nevermind."  He says this is one of the main things faculty complains about.  I have to admitt at times I have and do feel this way.  Maybe it is to hard and more easy to quit.  That is not a positive way to look at something.  I also agree with him that we are a generation raised by the self generation.  We learn from those before us and that is completely true in my opinion.  The last point I am going to bring up is about face to face conversation.  He says you become a different verison of yourself.  I know that is true because it happens to me everytime I am put in a new situation.  It is important for me to learn to not be ashamed or nervous of myself.  It will be extremely important I do no do this when I start my teaching career.  I need to be confindent and comfortable when teaching my students.