C4T #3 Summary

For C4T #3 I was assigned the blog at . The person who runs the blog teaches Year 3 in Hamilton, New Zealand. He also runs a class blog and is a supporter of a PLE and the idea of technology in the classroom. Looking through some of his posts, its great to see how people outside of colleges love the idea of technology to further their student's education. Both of the comments I posted are still awaiting approval, so I'm not entirely sure he has seen them yet.

The first post I commented on was originally posted on April 27th, 2011 as the earliest one I could find was on camp for the school he teaches at. This post talked about QR codes as an app you can find on smart phones. Basically, you can turn the image of a somebody's mouth into a QR code that can be read using a smart phone. When you scan the code, you hear what they have recorded. He even included a video on how to do this. I thought this idea was really intriguing, especially viewing it from a History perspective. It could really make the subject come alive for students. While it would be quite difficult to do this on a large scale of a classroom, because you'd have to make sure there was access to a QR scanner, the idea is still a great. I would love to try something like this in a classroom I teach in and who knows, by the time I graduate it may be completely feasible.

The second post I commented on, I actually went a little further back to find and I chose it because the idea is so fascinating to me! Now this post was over a year old, but when I went digging, I found that it was still completely relevant to today. In the post, he talked about how the Internet as a whole had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year. I found another article that said it had been nominated again for this year. First, I thought this was a little ridiculous. The internet, really? The thing I use to get on Facebook and keep track of classes? However, it really has done a lot for us. Not only does it connect people in ways they never thought possible. Why shouldn't the Internet win? Not only that, but the blogger made a good point. This is not only for the Internet, but for the people as whole, because people have made the Internet what it is.

Project 13 - SMARTBoard Instructional

Project 12 - Book trailer

Project 9b - Instructional TimeToast

This TimeToast is on the biggest battles of the Civil War. The links for pictures are included in the TimeToast itself and all of the information was found here.

C4T #2 Summary

For the second C4T, I was assigned to read the blog of Tina Barseghian. The first post I read was titled An Attempt at Describing the Schools of Tomorrow and in this post Mrs. Barseghian talks about the New York Times' Schools for Tomorrow summit. Previously I had been assigned to read the blog of a teacher who had been invtied to be a panelist, after pointing out the lack of educator representation. In her post, Mrs. Barseghian summarizes what a few of the panelists talked about. They basically said that curriculum needs to be designed with technology in mind, so it is not a distraction and how every child she have internet access at school, if not at home. However, she did point out that there was a severe lack of student input and even fewer educators on the panel. I pointed out that things go back to the teachers and the school system as a whole, not just individually. I also agreed that every child should have internet access in the classroom, because they deserve the right to benefit from technology and the things it can show them.

The second post I read was What's Your Major? Working Toward the Uninvented Job. I was reminded of one of the first videos we watched for this class. In Did You Know? They pointed out that the top jobs now did not even exist in 2007. That is basically what this post talks about, how things are changing and suddenly, the most important degrees are business, computer science, biomedicine, and biological sciences. Grade-school children now will wind up in career fields that aren't even a flicker of imagination at the present time. This is amazing and I can't wait to be preparing these students. However, it should not be done at the expense of our liberal arts programs. What fun is school going to be if all students do all day is Math and Science? No History, no music, no electives in general. Liberal arts classes are just as important and it's rather sad to see that, while we are advancing, these subjects are being left in the dust.

Project10 - PLN Progress

I have created my PLN using Symbaloo. I really like this website, because of it's ease of use. Most of the websites I have saved are quick links to things like the instruction manual, the syllabus, the Google docs, as well as links to the Class Blog and my own blog. I've saved links to YouTube videos that I have liked. I also found Symbaloo a good way to save the links to all of the C4K blogs and the C4T blogs I have commented on. Lastly, I'm using it as a quick way to get to Timetoast, Twitter, Glogster, and YouTube.

Project 11 - Short Movie

C4K 1, 2, 3, 4 Summary Post

C4K #1
For the first C4K assignment, I was assigned Erick in Mrs. Huebner's class. For the assignment, the class was told to do a biopoem. Erick enjoys swimming, helping others, wants to be strong and smart, and is afraid of the dark. I told Erick that it was okay to be afraid of the dark, because it can sometimes be a scary place. I also told him that he is very bright and couldn't wait to read more about him.

C4K #2
For the second week of C4K, I was assigned to Abbie's blog from Mrs. Kilgo's class. For their assignment, they were to research a desert animal and blog about it with anything they had learned. Abbie's animal was a zebra and I actually learned something from it. This is what I told her, that her blog had actually managed to show me what I did not know about the animal.

C4K #3
For this week, I was assigned to watch the video put together by Danielle, Elise, and Cade on Satchel Paige. I thought these children did a fantastic job! You couldn't even tell that it was the first time they had filmed the interview. They spoke clearly and the student operating the camera did a great job, because some people just don't know how to operate things like that, myself included. I really can't wait to see more projects like this from the St. Elmo's Explorers or Coastal Technology Project. It seems really fascinating.

C4K #4
Countries I would like to visit and why - John
For the latest C4K, I was assigned John and his post made me smile. He wants to visit the United States, because his father's family lives here. He wants to go to Las Vegas when he is older so he can play in the casinos. He also wants to play for the New York Yankees. Lastly, he wants to go to Samoa so he can visit his grandfather. I thought, for the most part, this post was really touching and you can see what is most important for him. He loves his family and that's great. I've really enjoyed reading these blogs the past four weeks, because children are so inventive and show just how far-reaching technology can be.