Blog Assignment #15

Part One
The main tool I focused on at the beginning of this class was the SMART board. I still stand by that tool because it is capable of doing almost anything and can be implemented in almost every lesson possible. My high school classes were very limited in technology. I did not know how much was available to teachers to use. After four months of being in this class, I would like to add a few more methods, tools, and more to my “future classroom”. These are three additional parts I would like to include in my original "future classroom" post.

“Flipping the Classroom” I want to teach/explain important lessons, concepts, and theories through uninterrupted videos online. I will then have the students come to class, after watching the lesson for that day, and apply the lesson in class through worksheets, activities, practice problems, and more. This will allow me to answer my student’s questions and help those who are falling behind or advancing quicker. This will allow me to assign less math problems homework, and more math projects.

Class Blog I want each student to have a blog, on my class blog. Each video lesson will be attached to the class blog. Hopefully, I can find a way to show, specifically, which student watched the lesson or not. I will also include important notes, a tutoring page, a resource page, and important class updates. My resource page will include links to helpful blogs by other people. My tutoring page will include a forum area for students to ask me questions and include what we discussed in available after-school tutoring classes.

FluidMath If I had to describe FluidMath in one word, I would say it is “engaging”. This software can be used on a SMART board. It can turn word problems into a visual experience. (For example: “Two cars are head North at 55 mph, how long…….”) These problems can be drawn and the program plays them. It also provides graphs that can be changed bit by bit and adjust appropriately as you show, for example, how negative numbers and positive numbers in a particular area of the equation affect the graph. This will keep my students more engaged than lecturing and drawing each change by hand.

I want my students to be confident and successful. I want to be able to use all resources possible to make them feel comfortable and good in math. My goal is to do this, without having each student live and breathe technology so much that they cannot add without a calculator.

Part Two

C4K Summary for April

Timothy K. of Mrs. Geldes’s Class Timothy K. lives in Bellevue, NE and he likes the Oklahoma Sooners. He loves using Minecraft to build houses. His post, “Don’t’ Judge”, is about the story, “The Sneetches”. He describes the story in a nutshell by stating, “If you never read the Sneetches I’ll tell you the story in a nutshell,ok? So the star-bellied Sneetches think their better than the plain-bellied Sneetches. And then this guy, Sylvester McMonkey McBean, takes their stars on and off and then they realize that it doesn’t matter what you look like.” Through this story, Timothy learned to not judge others based on their appearances. I commented on this post because this is a very important message for today’s generation. I told him I had read the story too. It teaches a great lesson- we are all the same, no matter how we look. We can all accomplish amazing things! I told him to keep this message in his head and heart as he grows up. I really enjoyed this post. It was well-written summary, while including the key parts of the story.

Hannah and Becky of Mrs. Morris’s and Miss. Jordan’s Class Hannah and Becky are twins from Australia. The post I decided to comment on was called “Warrnambool”. Over their Christmas holiday, their family visited Warrnambool for 4 days. They saw kangaroos, koalas, and went to Tower Hill. Tower Hill is a dead volcano. They were surprised at how many animals lived in “The Volcano”. They went to a BMX track, a carnival, the beach, Lake Pertobe, and visited friends. Overall, they enjoyed their holiday. They asked those who would comment to tell them “Have you ever been to Warrnambool?” and “What did you think of our holiday?”
I commented on this blog post because it was so well written. They went into detail about each day. It was very organized and they included many of their pictures. I told them about my friend who is visiting from Australia. I have learned so much about Australia because of my friend. I also know they say holiday instead of vacation. I answered both of the questions. I have never been to Australia and I think their holiday was exciting and fun! I also told them I have a twin sister too. We also do things together like they do.
They replied to my comment. They asked if my friend lived near Victoria or not. They also would like to visit New York and other places here. They wanted know if I had been to New York. Hannah and Becky are great bloggers! I, overall, enjoyed their blog. They go on many adventures with their family.

Project #13

For our SMART project we used a variety of tools. We uploaded, shared and viewed items in Google Drive. We shared emails and texts and well as the instant message feature in Gmail. We used the SMART Exchange for brainstorming ideas. It was very helpful. Using these tools helped to make our “facetime” much more productive as we already had a plan of action all we had to do was implement each piece. Due to unfortunate circumstances that required a member to be out of state, we could not meet to record our project on the planned day.We used Skype and texting to plan a new day/time. We also used skype and texting to plan possible alternative options if our "plan B" fell through also. Skype was a great experience and it is possible to use it on your phone also! The technology we have learned how to use from this class, has been very helpful with finding alternative ways to communicate and plan.a

Project #16

Final Report on My PLN

My PLN has been a great resource to me throughout the year. My PLN extends past my Simbaloo page, which has links to blogs I find helpful, Skype, Pinterest, Delicious, Google, Twitter, math-based websites, Twitter, and Youtube. The contacts that I have gained through these sites show the strength and usefulness of my PLN. I have followed everyone suggested in the class. I have access to real-world experiences until I graduate and then even after graduation. I have learned so much from their post and from reading their blogs. Many questions I have that deal with education can be answered by the blogs I have linked on my Simbaloo. ANY question I have, in general, can be answered by Youtube. I believe Google Search Engine, Wolfram/Alpha, and Youtube have been the most useful part of my PLN.

C4T Summary

A Geeky Momma’s Blog

Mrs. Lee Kolbert is an educator, blogger, and hockey mom. She enjoys bringing the benefits of social media into the classroom. She co-hosted on a local cable TV show called Palm Breeze CAFÉ. The two posts I have chosen to post on were:
Bullying: Not just for Children Anymore
Why I’m Celebrating National Grammar Day And Why You Should, Too.
The post, “Bullying: Not for Children Anymore”, is about bullying in the work place. It has a video about how adults reacted to coming across a guy being murdered in an elevator. Although these two people were actors, the people who came across this scenario did not know this. Majority of the adults who came across this event, were shocked, walked off, and did nothing about it. If you were not willing to help stop a murder or tell someone about it, are you willing to stop a bully or tell someone? Probably not. If people witness bullying or even a murder, the more people that are around, the less likely they will do anything about it. The bully can be the office jerk, the boss, and one. The rest of this post describes the physical and emotional effects of bullying in the work place. Then it provides solutions such as, talk to family, file a grievance report, rest, file a sick leave if you feel physically affected, and more.

I commented about the importance of publicizing this issue. Adults need to know they aren’t alone either. No one likes to think they are out of control, especially adults. If we tell children to talk to adults when they are being bullied, then who do we tell adults to talk to? This post was a great read and brought to like an important, overlooked issue.

The post, “Why I’m Celebrating National Grammar Day And Why You Should, Too”, is about different grammar problems found in emails and other everyday communication. She states: “Am I the only one who believes educated professionals should be able to write complete sentences? Is it too much to expect people to understand the differences between:

• your and you're
• to and too
• its and it's
• there, their, and they're
• wear and where
• lose and loose?”

She then covers rules and provides sites for people to “get out of their own way” and learn grammar rules. The most important thing is to be consistent. If you are going to capitalize a specific non-proper noun word or use the oxford comma, then you most do so everywhere in your document.
I commented about the importance of grammar, in specific, the Oxford Comma. I did not know what the Oxfod Comma was, so I followed the link she provided. This comma is the comma put before “And” and “Or”, such as in the sentence, “Bob, Sally, and Bill ran up the hill”. I commented that I have been dedicated to using it sentence since elementary school. Good grammar is necessary to be seen as a professional. As a teacher, we will be writing documents, worksheets, and plenty of emails; therefore, we need to proficient in good grammar.

Project #15

Blog Assignment #14

Summary
This article is about how several Texas A&M professors are using a new technology called CourseSmart. CourseSmart allows professors to “see” which students are using their digital textbooks, how many times they have opened it, if they are highlighting, and so on. Each student receives a personal engagement index. However, only the professors see these, unless the professor shows them. This technology gives the professors more insight on their students, therefore, those professors can help their students better. There are some negatives. Some students do not take notes using a file CourseSmart receives information from. Some students can just leave their book “open” to increase their engagement index. A professor can read their students enough to know whether they are “cheating” the index or use different technology to learn.This technology is going to be implemented more broadly this upcoming fall.

Reaction As a Teacher
CourseSmart would help me understand my students better. I can see which chapters catch more interest, which chapters that never get looked at once or twice, and it will help me learn the studying habits of my students. CourseSmart is a great technology for teachers. Of course, there are always negatives. It will be up to me, as a teacher, to look at an engagement index and determine if that score really reflects the student. CourseSmart might cause us to become dependent on it for “reading” and knowing our students. It is our responsibility to know which students are like Hillary or Charles in this article.

Reaction As a Student
As a student, I personally hate reading textbooks. I am an A/B student in college and was in high school. I have learned to learn without reading from the textbook- I go to class, take notes, and use the textbook to add missing info to my notes or read a small paragraph. CourseSmart would show my studying habits are not “good” because I don’t use the textbook enough or rarely at all. I do not believe CourseSmart should give an engagement index score to a student. This technology should simply show how each student studies or possibly does not study. I personally would not like CourseSmart because I do not trust that my professors (or past teachers) would take the time to truly get to know their students before they make an instant opinion of the student based on their index.

Questions for the Teacher

1. How do you use the information you receive by using CourseSmart?
2. Do you believe the index given to each student accurately portrays their study habits?
3. How do you get to know if your students are engaged in the class? (CourseSmart, body language, etc)
4. Do you believe CourseSmart invades on student privacy?
5. Since these students have chosen to go to college and pay for the textbook and tuition, should it be your responsibility to keep up with whether a student is reading the textbook or not?

Questions for the Students

1. Do you believe your index score accurately reflex your studying habits?
2. Have you ever used an excuse, dealing with a bug or failure in the software, to explain your engagement index?
3. Do you believe it is necessary to read the textbook to pass this class?
4. Do you think CourseSmart is beneficial to you as a student?
5. Since you paid for the class and the book, do you believe professors should know whether you use the textbook or not?

If I were to Comment…
CourseSmart is a good tool for professors, if and only if, the professors use it as a general analysis. It shows only a broad analysis of whether or not the textbook is useful for this class or not. If the professor has a high percentage of students pass and they rarely opened the textbook, the professor can decided whether to make the textbook optional for the next semester class. The professor cannot set out thinking CourseSmart explains and understands who student is. Teaching is a person-to-person experience.

Final Project Progress Report

Our group has ultimately decided to do Option B. We have decided to meet twice next week. We have a tentative outline prepared about which topics we are going to cover and how we are going to cover them. We will decide next where our video will be located. I believe Option B is better because it prepares future edm310 students. An iBook simply shows what we have been doing all semester long.

Blog Assignment #13

Back to the Future
Before I watched the video of Brian Crosby- Back to the Future, I was slightly confused about Mr. Chamberlain’s comment. After the video, I complete agree with Mr. Chamberlain! Mr. Crosby used a single project to engage his students and teach science, language arts, critical/abstract thinking, and then proceeded to connect it to further projects and create a global opportunity for his students. This video was absolutely amazing. I work at a Mobile County elementary school and the “sit quietly and raise your hand if you have a question- but not right now” comment hit home. It is sadly beyond true. I have personally seen bored students, confused students, and students who are natural investigators have to be forced into the standards required of an elementary school. There “wings” are being tied down because our school system is not updating and embracing global learning and self-learning fast enough for our society and the type of children it produces. Not schools are the same; thankfully, schools are changing for the better. We are starting to educate our teachers differently and giving them more resources.

Paul Anderson
In his video Blended Learning Cycle, Paul Anderson explains how his classroom uses the Blended Learning Cycle. This incorporates Mobile, Explore, Classroom, Explain, Expand, Online, and Evaluate. He wanted to revert back to what he knew, which was “The power of the question”. He uses the acronym QUIVERS.

QUestion
The question is also considered the hook in learning. He presents his students with an unfamiliar phenomenon, such as the Oiler’s Disk. This question leads them to make predictions of how it might work or occur.

Investigate/Inquire
After presenting the question, his students investigate the cause or the answer to the question. He wants them to experiment and look at the phenomenon and test it.

Video
He uses videos to give a lecture or teach his students. Each student can watch it independently and it frees him up to do more.

Elaboration
This part of his teaching is when he elaborates on the lesson. They do extra reading, look at diagrams, and so on to further their understanding.

Review
He meets with each student individually and asks them probing questions. The questions review whether or not the student truly understands the material. If the student does not, he sends the student back. If the student “knows what he’s talking about”, then they can proceed to the Summary Quiz.

Summary Quiz
Students take a quiz to review and show their understanding. At the end of the year, the students take a comprehensive exam to show their overall understanding.

Mr. Anderson’s method is perfect for a science class. I could not stand science in high school. It was mainly focused on the textbook. Science is supposed to be hands on, right? I believe his strategy can be adapted into other courses too, such as math, literature, and so on.

Blog Assignment #12

My Blog Assignment
Create a video of you teaching a lesson that you would find in a middle/high school mathematics textbook. (Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus). This can be of you explaining a concept, proving a theory, or applying rules and concepts to an example or two. This video must be at least two minutes long. Incorporate technology somewhere in your explanation. You must be in the video and you must present yourself as an aspiring teacher- do not wear sweatpants, holey blue jeans, exposing blouses, t-shirts, etc.
Watch these two videos before you attempt your video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UWqP-E0Q1U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u06Yrvt2XLc&list=ECE7EBBE9A482DC959
Take notes! How do these two videos approach explaining a lesson? What did you take from these videos and how did you apply what you observed to your video? Upload your video to YouTube and embed it into your blog. Include your response to the videos and previous questions in the same post. Follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post.

Response
The first video was more entertainment oriented. He wanted to teach his students a lesson, while staying in tune to the fact that math is boring to high schoolers. The second video, in my opinion, is focused on students in high school who are in a “upper level” course like Pre-Cal and Calculus. He teaches the lesson effectively and clearly; however, I could not see students in 10th grade and under having the ability to pay attention long enough to watch many of his lessons. I could be wrong though. I enjoyed the clarity of the second lesson and the entertainment from the first lesson.

I wanted to keep my lesson short and sweet, yet clear.My lesson was Algebra: How to Multiply Binomials. I need to work on my entertaining aspect. I was pretty boring in my lesson. I also need to work on clarity. I should have done another example. I want to try “Flipping the Classroom”, so working on my video lessons is very important. I also need to get a webcam with more visual clarity. My video is "wavy" and blurred slightly.

C4T #3 Summary

Thumann Resources
Lisa Thumann works “with innovative learning technology at The School for Global Education and Innovation at Kean University in New Jersey.” She “works with educators to improve teaching and learning using technology.” Lisa Thumann’s blog, Thumann Resources- more like Google Resources- is a wonderful blog focusing on the applications of Google in education and Google apps. I learned so much about Google through her blog.

First Post Her post, 20 Percent Time, is about applying Google Company’s idea, 20% time. Google employees use 20 % of their time to working in a different field of expertise or explore their ideas in different parts of the company. I believe this is a great idea and worth incorporating into today's classrooms. She also includes links, provided by another teacher, to use as a basis of searching ideas. I commented on this post and asked for ideas of how I could incorporate 20% time into a high school math class. I think it would be great for my students to explore things they want to and feel more in-control of what they are learning. I wish my past teachers used this idea.
Second Post In her post, Untapped Apps on Google Drive, Mrs. Thumann listed apps that many people do not know about! She describes how each app is useful and what it does. These apps are: Pixlar Editor, HelloFax, WeVideo, GeoGebra, TwistedWave, and RightSignature. I commented on this post to inform Mrs. Thumann how wonderful this post was! I think it is great to have attention brought to useful, unknown apps. I plan on using GeoGebra in my classroom because it incorporates Calculus, Algebra, Geometry, and more.

C4K Summary for March

Garrett My first assigned student for March’s C4K assignment was Garrett of Mrs. Goerend’s 5th grade class. Although his blog posts are short, he loves to add in tons of details! The post I responded to was an exceptionally detailed post about the book Encyclopedia Brown: Super Sleuth, by Donald Sobol. First Garrett described what the book was about; who Encyclopedia Brown was; and what he liked about the book. Garrett used great details and liked to include his reaction to different things that happened in the book. In my comment, I discussed and described a book series I read, the “Cam Jansen Mysteries”, which are similar to his book. I told him about my favorite book in 5th grade, The House of the Scorpion. I commented on his great use of detail and how he should keep up reading. They are so many great stories and books out there! Although he did not reply, Hannah (in the same class), replied and said she had read the same series I had! I’m so glad some kids still enjoy reading. I have met many who don’t!

William My second assigned student was William of Dr. Theodocian’s class blog. He is in 8th grade. His posts were thoughtful. He enjoys using technology in the classroom and believes he is becoming a better student because they use technology. He recently attended a school event called Life 101. This event taught the 8th grade students about bills, paychecks, jobs, putting aside money (because kids are expensive), and more adult responsibilities. I commented on this particular post because an event like this is needed in all middle schools and high schools. I expressed to William how important that event was and how true some of the things they taught were. I hoped he found it fun and interesting. I asked if he found other aspects of the event interesting, besides what he wrote.

Max My third assigned student was Max of Point England School. He is a year 8 student and 12 years old. His blog is filled with stories and creative writing. He uses great detail and is not afraid to be lengthy and creative in his post. The post I commented on was about a story about a dog who rescued someone at the beach. His story was not a simple story. It was about how the beach looked; how they life guards were asleep; how he reacted to the situation; and how Doggie Dog rescued John from drowning. For a 12 year old student, I had not expected such a great, detailed story. I told Max to keep up the great work! His stories were great.

Andrea J My fourth assigned student was Andrea J in Mr. Boylen’s Language Arts class. She is in 8th grade and 13 years old. Her blog is filled with posts about books she is reading and posts with answers to questions. In her post, “What Do You Think You as a Student Gain from Blogging with Students and Others Outside of the School? Is it Worth the Time? Why or Why Not?”, she states how she thinks it is worth her time and she is glad she is experiencing something she might not experience again. After reading through her comments to other’s comments, I figured out her opinion had changed slightly. She loved blogging and she hoped to keep blogging as she got older. I commented on her change in her belief of blogging and stated how this was my first year blogging as well. I hope she will keep up blogging because it will open many doors for her.

Blog Assignment #11

Mrs. Cassidy's First Grade Class
Mrs. Cassidy’s approach to teaching her students through blogging, Nintendo DSs, and other forms of technology is very interesting. After watching the Skype interview and video of her first graders, I am inspired to brainstorm more about how I can use technology to my future students’ advantage. Recently, I have begun playing on the Smartboard in the classroom where I work. I discovered some Multimedia and interactive objects that are algebra and math related. I believe I can find more or create multimedia to use on the Smartboard. The FluidMath product for Smartboard is my favorite so far. I can use this product to really show how word problems work and how graphs behave when a single number is changed.
Not only can I use the Smart board, I can create a class blog to post all my lecture/lesson videos for my “Flipping the Classroom” lessons. Students will be required to make a post about their reaction to each lesson video. This will also let me inform students faster about events, such as a test being moved or if there will be a substitute.
As a current math student, I use other math websites to explain new concepts and math problems to me. It is a great help to me and I think my future students would benefit too. As a result, I would like to create a “tutoring center” on the class blog. Students can post preapproved helpful math websites; they can ask questions about certain math problems; and they can answer other student’s questions. As the years pass, I will keep the best websites and add them to the tutoring center blog each year.
If Mrs. Cassidy’s First graders can learn using the internet, I believe my future high school class can and will benefit too. However, I might face the opposition of my future employer and fellow math teachers. I hope to change their opinion about using technology by proving how my students will and are benefiting from my teaching methods. I also may have students who do not have a computer or have very limited computer access. Within the next two years and a half, I hope most school systems will have iPads or laptops available to each student in each school. If not, I will try to increase their access by giving them extra time at the end of class to go to the library or offer after-school tutoring, in which I will give them computer access to watch the lesson videos and ask questions.
I personally believe there are more benefits to learning using technology than there are negative effects. As a future teacher, I must constantly prove that statement and show others it is true too.

SmartBoard Project #14

Blog Assignment #10

I’m a Papermate. I’m a Ticonderoga.
“Oh, get that one instead! It’s cheaper and it’s the same as the name brand!” Every day we hear people say this generic statement. Sometimes the cheapest brand is not always the best or the “same as” the expensive brand, as in the case of these two brands of pencils.
This cartoon is not just about two types of pencils. It goes deeper than that. This cartoon can be applied to our education system. Pencils, paper, and textbooks are cheaper than iPads, SMARTboards, MacBooks, and other PCs; however, they do not deliver the same education opportunities and preparation for our students. In a sense, the paper, pencils, and textbooks are the Papermate pencil and the iPads, laptops, and other technology are the Ticonderoga pencil.
However, after further reading, I believe this comic goes even deeper than technology versus basic school supplies. Papermate and Ticonderoga are both pencils and both can be used beyond busy work, worksheets, and unsubstantial writing. One may be more expensive and better than the other, yet we can use either one to open the doors to our students. We must be creative and not factory-like for this to effective.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?
Mr. Spencer’s story on how the principal of the school dislikes games and interactive “games” between students. Applying games to learning is too sketchy. The principal does not care if these students are engaged in learning and if they are learning. He focuses more on preparing them for a single test.
Mr. Spencer brings to light a very upsetting truth about our education system. Our education system is not always held back because of lack of training, money, and resources. It can be held back by the people who run the school. Although they mean well and focus on test scores, these authoritative figures can enforce views that hinder our students learning and opportunities. Instead of focusing on our students want to learn, ability to teach themselves, and future success on their own, they focus on test scores. I personally believe our society is reinforcing this view by constant wanting numbers and scores to show their level of achievement. It is concrete and less abstract than rating a teacher/school based on how much their students love to learn or apply what they learned.

When A Child Hates Pencils?
This post is about a child who hates pencils. He does not specifically hate the pencils, but the writing that comes with them. He hates writing because he always had to write unsubstantial assignments, received F-A-I-L in large stamped letter, and grew tired of the “peppy praise”, “colorful stamps”, and bribes. As a punishment he had to write words from the dictionary or write sentences over and over and over again.
On the second day of class, Mr. Spencer gives the student a pencil and told him to write whatever. He would receive no stamps or letters. Mr. Spencer would read them and leave comments, feedback, and corrections. This student produced a poem about flying and a origami dragon with a poem on its wings.
As future teachers, we need to keep in mind how we use writing in a negative and positive way. How do our students view writing? Does learning always have to be in assignment form and busy work? How can we execute effective head fakes in the classroom? Overall, we need to focus on our students more than teaching in a factory-like way.

The Meaning of “Adventures in Pencil Integration”
After exploring Mr. Spencer’s blog, I believe his title, “Adventures in Pencil Integration”, means to look past technology and look at the ways using a simple pencil can open doors for our students.


Scott McLeod- “Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?”
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iowa. He is the founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). UCEA CASTLE is “the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators.” You can find more about him through his bio.
Dr. McLeod’s post makes a strong, sarcastic, yet clear point about our children with technology. Everything has ups and downs; however, we do not hide our kids indoors 24/7 because they might get kidnapped, nor do we take away pens and pencils because they are pointy and sharp. We must teach our child proper precautions with pencils, pens, strangers, and the internet! We cannot hinder our student’s and children’s success because we are not willing to teach proper use and precautions. I enjoyed this post. It made me think about how we avoid new advances and other things because of their possible dangers.

Project #12 Book Trailer

Project #11 Green Screen Movie

Blog Assignment #9

Mr. Joe McClung
What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009)
After his first year of teaching in Noel, Missouri, Mr. McClung reflects on the seven main subjects he learned throughout the year. These subjects are:

• How to read the crowd;
• Be flexible;
• Communicate;
• Be reasonable;
• Don't be afraid of technology;
• Listen to your students; and
• Never stop learning.

There are many teachers I had in high school who should really read this blog.

How to Read the Crowd Mr. McClung discusses how he became so focused on his superior's views of his lesson plan, he lost touch with his students and their comprehension of his lesson. My past teachers played out this issue in their classrooms. They had become so out-of-tune with there students and focus more on their superiors' views of their lesson and it's content, than on the students' view. We would sit in class, completely lostin the lesson, and the teacher either: 1) never noticed we were confused, or 2) they eventually noticed but could not figure out where we had gotten lost. As Mr. McClung states, they become less student-centered and "miss the most important spect of teaching, and that is checking for student comprehension." As a future teacher, I need to make my students the center of my lesson plans. I want my students to walk into class and never have to experience the feeling of helpless confusion.

Be Flexible Mr. McClung felt like he was being too controling and would let imperfections, that occured when "performing" his lesson plans, bother him immensly. Students AND teachers are not perfect. As a future teacher, I must be flexible. Every day is different. Every student is different. A cookie-cutter, "perfect" lesson plan will not be plausible. Mishaps will happen and I must be able to roll with it.

Communication Mr. McClung covers the most obvious, yet most difficult topic. Communication is necessary in the work place. It can resolve drama and build teacher rapport. I will keep in touch with my fellow teachers because they can be a great source of ideas and problem solvers.

Be Reasonable Teachers tend to have expectations for their students. Sometimes these expectations are so high, it is difficult for a student to meet them. When the student fails to meet the expectation, we become upset instead of encouraging. I believe having certain expectations for my students is good. It encourages them to succeed. However, I must pay attention to how high or low my expectations are. If majority of my students meet my expectations, I know it is a good level and I can possible increase it much later. For those who struggle, I will not give up, I will encourage them to keep striving to meet the expectation.

Don't Be Afraid of Technology "Technology is our friend and is essential to living in our microwave society of today." Current teachers are afraid of the advances in technology. Future teachers need to embrace it now and being more open to learning new software, new technology, new anything. As a future teacher, I need to be open to technology.

Listen To Your Students Students tend to feel like no one is listening to them. They feel like their teachers, parents, older adults, and sometimes their peers ignore what they say or deem their opinions as inadequate. I must listen to my students. If I listen to them, they are more likely to listen to me.

Never Stop Learning "It's never too late to change your way of thinking, learning, or style." This statement should be absorbed and followed by everyone, future educator or not. As a future teacher, I must keep learning, keep adapting, and keep changing. My students year after year will change. This will be due to the changes in society, social interactions, and technology.

I believe once I start teaching, I will most likely confront similar problems Mr. McClung faced. However, I have the ability to keep learning from other teacher's experiences to help adjust to my first-year students.

What I've Learned This Year- Volume 4(2011-2012)
After his fourth year of teaching-third year in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Mr. Joe McClung reflected on two parts of his teaching. These are: You Gotta Dance With Who You Came To The Dance With and Challenge Yourself.

You Gotta Dance With Who You Came To The Dance With Surprisingly, the first topic he covers in this post is kind of similar to the first topic he covered in his first year of teaching. Instead of worrying about what his superiors thought of him, he worried about what his peers thought of him as an educator. He stated, "It took me most of the school year before I was ever able to cope with need that I felt to please my peers." He allowed this to bother him most of the year. At the end of the year, he stated, "Upon further reflection I have decided that I can’t try to change who I am as a teacher based on the perception of my peers and that I need to stay true to what has gotten me this far." What had gotten him this far was his focus on "making sure that [his] students are taken care of and enjoying class".
I believe my (future) students should be my primary focus. They should be the focus in my lesson plans and in my lecture.

Challenge Yourself Mr. McClung reflected on his past year and realized he was starting to get into a routine. "I began to depend on old lesson plans and my creativity started to slowly vanish." He learned, when a teacher gets comfortable with their lesson, they "get lazy and ultimately [their] lessons will start to suck", and their students stop enjoying class. Thankfully, he will be teaching a new subject area the upcoming year. As for other teachers, and myself as a future teacher, we must constantly challenge ourselves. We must keep ourselves from getting into a rut, a routine. We must keep our students' interest.

Blog Assignment #8

This Is How We Dream: Part 1 and 2
Richard Miller's video was almost foreign to me. I could understand the potential of writing with multimedia. I can see the importance and it's place in our upcoming future. However, I felt like I have been living under a rock for the past few years. My experience with technology, outside of Facebook, email, web searches using Google, and Microsoft Word/Excel, has been minimal. I did not realize how minimal until after I began this class and watched this video.
Writing with Multimedia is our future. As future teachers, we should know how to use technology to our best ability and we should learn how to write with multimedia. We need to know this to prepare and teach our students. Students can prepare papers with videos and never have to worry about the library's hours of operation! Videos can increase the spread of an idea because it can convey a message better than written text. I believe our students will be more successful learning how to write with multimedia because they can use the ways and skills they used to learn this and adapt it to other future technology.
Am I prepared to write with multimedia? Yes and no. Yes, because I understand the importance of learning to write with multimedia and the importance of learning as much as possible about using technology. No, because I am nervous and feel slightly intimidated by such new learning and teaching options.
Will my students be able to do this?. Without a doubt, my students will be able to write with multimedia. They will understand the importance of multimedia and how to use it to convey their understanding of school subjects. I think my students will be well-rounded, be able to think critically, and be able to use technology to learn on their own. They will because I want the dream of writing with multimedia to become a norm- something students will do daily.

Carly Pugh
Carly's answer to the "design-an-assignment" blog post uses Youtube videos to create a playlist that expresses her philosophies as a teacher. I think this idea is as close to Mr. Miller's dream of writing with multimedia as currently possible. Instead of writing a paper on her philosophies about teaching, she conveys them through an organized collection of videos that adequately match her philosophies and ideas. I have never thought of using Youtube like this. I personally use Youtube to answer questions, learn new things, and to research topics. I definitely do not feel intimidated by the playlist idea. I love it! I plan to create my own playlist of videos that convey my beliefs, philosophies, and ideas. It will allow me to have an easy way to show other teachers, employees, and possibly students my ideas and what I believe.

The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
These videos were humorous. They put a funny twist on realistic viewpoints in EDM310. Although, not everyone thinks like Chipper, many think similar to her. To be successful in EDM310, you cannot procrastinate and you must do your work on time before the deadline. The EDM310 for Dummies video expressed how most of us felt the first two-three weeks of this class. There were days when I was feed-up, angry, and stressed out because of this class. I no longer feel this way because I have learned how to learn. I taught myself how to use new websites, devices, and more through tutorials, websites, and other students. If this book was real, life for new EDM310 students would be less difficult.
I would like to create a video around the theme- increasing the Arts into STEM subjects. Although this is not a "help with EDM310" video idea, it is a video I would enjoy participating in and producing. After being assigned to Paige Vitulli's blog, I realized increasing the Arts in the school system was not a far-fetched idea. I have always wondered how I could increase right-brain based projects in my future math class. I felt this was odd of me. I no longer feel that way. I would like my video to bring to light the importance of the Arts in the education system and possibly introduce new EDM310 students to the stem to steAm idea.
For those who would like to learn more, follow this link to a stem to steAm video on Paige Vitulli's blog.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
For many hundreds of years, people would write their ideas and stories down on "homemade" paper, scroll, and stone. Only a select few could read and create these stories and ideas. After a few hundred years, along comes the printing press. Did we decide to ignore the new, advance technology and write books by hand? NO! This new invention made it possible to mass produce books and stories. It allowed more than a select few to learn to read. Now learning to read is something we do in Kindergarten and 1st grade because of the easy access to books, to written material. Our school system has always been slow to change. It almost reminds me of a brick wall with a few cracks here and there, which allows little slivers of change to seep in. On this brick wall is a stone door. EDM310 is preparing future educators to open this door and let the advances of technology, multimedia, and a network to all people, professions, and more flood into the schools. Change is good. If we did not change, then we would still be writing on scrolls, stones, and makeshift paper. Majority of the population would not be able to read either.
Students should be allowed to perform to the top of their ability. They should have the opportunities available outside of the classroom (without instruction), inside the classroom (with instruction), too. Social media networks, blogs, youtube, interactive papers, and more should not be looked down upon. These will be the portal to our future student's success.
How can our students be successful with these portals? As teachers, we need to teach our students how to use these opportunities, how to use the internet safely, how to find reliable sites, and so on. If we teach our teachers, then we teach our future.


Scavenger Hunt on WEB 2.0
Poll

Comic Strip Using MakeBeliefsComix

PhotoPeach
PhotoPeach is a free site that allows you to upload pictures, make a powerpoint, and add sound to it. It makes powerpoints interactive through built in polls and quizzes. This site is also great for educators! A Premium Class Account can manage a large number of student accounts with adjustable privacy and allows sharing. This is great for class projects. Students can use it to make their powerpoint projects and teachers can use it to make powerpoints more interesting and engaging.

C4T #2 Summary

Paige Vitulli
Paige Vitulli is a woman driven to bring the Arts into the classroom of all subjects! The first post I comment on contained a video titled, "stem to steAm". The video discussed how creativity leads to innovation, which is then increased by the other STEM areas. Some businesses are based on creativity and innovation and then built by chemistry, math, engineering. I commented on how I thought this video was inspirational and provided good reasoning why we should increase the importance of the Arts in all grades of school. There is a reason why students always ask, "When will I ever use this in the real world?" I don't use what I learned in Biology or Anatomy. Teachers have told me many times, we take such a diverse amount of courses in math, science, english, etc to become well-rounded students. How can we be well-rounded if we do not include the importance of the Arts? I definitely want to include more creative opportunities in my future math class.
My second post on Mrs. Vitulli's blog was on "Integrating Technology and the Arts in Reading and Math". This posted included a Google Slides Presentation that provides links to Interactive Arts sites for Integration, Mathematical Practices, and Common Core State Standards. The rest of the post included pictures of Radial Symmetry, Tessellations, and Notan Designs and a video on the Name Design and Radial Symmetry. The post included instructional videos to each project.I commented on how I did the Radial Name Design Project in Geometry class in tenth grade. Many of the projects I did in school were more memorable than the class lectures themselves. I continued to say how I agreed on how important hands-on activities are in school. I plan on using many of these projects in my future classroom.

Blog Assignment #7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture was inspirational! It was a "head fake" lecture to show us how to live our lives and to teach his children an important lesson. It made me think about all the dreams I have accomplished, every dream I have bailed on, and every dream I've let others convince me not to follow.
There are a few key points he made that stood out the most to me:
* Brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something;
* Learn/teach the fundamentals, the fancy stuff will follow; and
* Find the best in everybody, no matter how long it takes.

These are the best key points directly involved with teaching. Math is a subject full of obstacles, such as hard concepts, difficult problems, and confusing formulas. Math is also a subject that revolves around fundamentals. You cannot learn Calculus without knowing Algebra. It is impossible! Even further, you cannot learn Algebra with out knowing basic addition, subtraction,multiplication, division, and the number line. These points do not just apply to math, it applies to everyday life. I am going to teach these values in math and connect them to their life. One of most important points is to find the best in everybody. I want to teach high school students. High school students usually do not care if you give up on them and decide they are the "worst student ever". The student will tend to fill your idea of them. Why act good if they think your bad anyways? I will do my best to find the best in all my students.
Although not mentioned in the previous list, the most important point Dr. Pausch makes in his lecture, that definitely pertains to teaching, was to never set a bar. If you set a bar, your students will reach the bar, but not pass it. They see it as good enough. If you teach your students to be just "good enough", then you are not preparing them to be successful and ambitious. If you are not preparing your students to be successful and ambitious, what is your job as a teacher?
Towards the end of Dr. Pausch lecture, he advises us on how we can achieve our dreams and help enable others to achieve theirs. Although the first two points, "never lose your child-like wonder" and "help others" , were somewhat obvious, the last few points were not. These are:
* Tell the truth;
* Be earnest;
* Apologize when you mess up;
* Focus on others;
* Be good at something;
* Show gratitude;
* Do not complain, just work harder;
* Be self reflextive; and
* Use a feed-back loop.
I can use these to become a better teacher and produce better students. Students need to trust and respect a teacher and teacher needs to trust and respect a student. Many of today's students do not respect teachers. I am going to be honest with my students, focus on them, show gratitude for the things they do, apologize for lost test and wrong accusations, and be self-reflective to fix my mistakes. In return, I believe my students will learn to respect me and to "mirror" my behavior. Instead of complaining about my students behaviors, test scores, attitudes, and lack of ambition, I am going to work hard to correct these issues and never stop. Not only can I use these points, my students can use them. I will teach them to be self-reflective, to be honest, to not complain but to work harder, and to be earnest.
Everything Dr. Pausch mentioned in his video gives me inspiration to stop giving up and bailing on my dreams. I want my students to follow theirs. I must lead by example!

PLN Progress Report #1

My PLN
My PLN is growing slowly; however, it has been quite useful. I decided to use Simbaloo as the base for organizing blogs I like, such as Math-n-Spire and Better Explained. I have created many tiles linked to websites about teaching tools/strategies I love, such as Flipping the Classroom and FluidMath.
I am currently following 14 teachers, education bloggers, and/or past edm310 students on twitter. I believe these contacts are a huge part of my PLN and I will definitely keep following more people who inspire me or have great ideas. Besides twitter, youtube is a huge part of my PLN! I enjoy looking up videos, tutorials, and teaching strategies that seem successful. Blogger and my new addiction, Pinterest, are also a huge addition to my PLN. I am currently working on learning and using my Delicious account to increase my PLN.

The website where I found this picture is a great website for anyone who wants to know of more sites and software to increase their PLN! I am definitely going to use some of his suggestions!

C4K Summary for February

IbMcClean02
For my first C4K, my assigned student was a student of Mr. Cometti, an edm310 graduate. The student had a really interesting post on WWI and what it would be like if the war had never happened. “What if WWI would not have been started? What if Austria-Hungary had not declared war on Serbia? How would the world be today?” They stated how 37 million lives would not have been lost and women would have possibly not entered the work force as soon. He broke down the casualties of Russia and United States and mentioned how cities also had to be rebuilt due to the war. I enjoyed reading their post because I have never thought about what it would be like if WWI had never occurred! I responded to his blog post by expressing my admiration for their response to the question. They chose both an obvious change, “37million people would have lived longer lives”, and a thought out change, “many women might not have gotten jobs”.

Sophia
For my next C4K student, I was assigned to Sophia in Mr. Sapia’s class. Her blog is terrific and expresses her enthusiastic and positive personality. The particular post I commented on was, “Homework Rules! Or does it?” She posted, “Yes, I LOVE homework. I love it because if I’m having a bad day, homework can help me take my mind of things, and sometimes homework can be fun! I like school, so reveiws to do at home is a wonderful thing, too!” She has a very mature outlook on homework. She described her homework as a review, not time consuming, and sometimes fun. Homework is easy to her because it reviews what she did in class and makes it easier for her to remember. She enjoys the amount of homework her teacher assigns and believed it is a good amount. She then compares her 20 minute max. homework to her mom’s 3 hour homework when she was her age. Her mom did not have the same homework opportunities as she does. She enjoys having Mr. Sapia as her teacher. I commented on how she was very enthusiastic throughout her blog and this particular post. I told her how I did not like homework at her age but I agree with her today. I wish I had the same enthusiasm and outlook on homework she did when I was in fourth grade. I ended my comment advising her to keep her enthusiastic attitude because it will take her far!

Wiremu
Then I was assigned to Wiremu’s blog, a Year 6 student at PT England School in Auckland. His post, The Bush Walk, was about his class’s bushwalk to Omaru Creek. He discussed his dislike of the area of the creek they went to because it smelled terrible and how the teacher seemed to not notice their need for water. After he finally got water and felt more energized, he was very excited to head back to school and hoped he would not have to go back to the creek that smelled like “a dead rat and duck poo”. I enjoyed reading his post and commented on how schools can be so different and similar. I also commented on how their school included outdoor activities in their learning curriculum. I thought this was a great idea and asked if their school has other outdoor activities during the year.

Billy
For my last February C4K, my assigned student was Billy from Baldwin County High School in Mrs. Miller’s 10th grade class. His post was about the puritans and why they came over to America. This post is derived from the class assignment to read “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. He informed his readers that the English Protestant Church formed after the reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Those who wanted to continue to purify their lives grouped together and came to America. There were different “degrees” of puritan’s purity. Average Puritans in the New England Colonies lived longer than people in England. Billy stated, “It is often said that New England invented grandparents, for it was here that people in great numbers first grew old enough to see their children bear children.” I commented on how surprised I was. I did not know there was such a difference in life expectancy and had no idea the New England Colonies were the first to really see grandparents come into the picture. I believed his post was great and informative. I ended by saying, “keep up the good work”.

Project #8 Team Terrific's Podcast

Blog Assignment #6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
The video, The Networked Student, asked a very important question: "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" The networked student needs guidance to use technology to his/her advantage. They need to learn how to be respectful and polite when asking for advice from professionals. They need to be shown how to make learning a scavenger hunt, how to use the internet effectively, and they need to be shown what sites are trustable and safe. Who taught the networked student to be a networked student? The teacher.
I enjoy the different approach on learning; however, this style of learning seems too extreme for a high school classroom. This is more of a college student approach. I like the idea of using Simbaloo as a site for the students to collect websites that are relevant and helpful to their topics in school. Each student could make their own Simbaloo page and be required to find a helpful and reliable source online for each topic covered in class. The topic would be expanded on in class and the students would be required to tell what they learned through blog post on the class blog. I will require each student to follow a math blog relevant to the subject matter, be it Algebra, Geography, or Pre-Calculus. My students can use their blog to post their thoughts on the subject matter and learn from others who comment on their thoughts. I believe a student is a networked student is they know how to use technology to their advantage.
Overall, the “networked student” idea is the extreme of what I have learned from this class. I understand, as teachers, our role is to teach our students the curriculum provided while incorporating technology and to teach our students how to use software, websites, and more to their educational advantage. They need leadership to learn how to use what is available and around them effectively.
A 7th Grader’s Personal Learning Environment
This 7th grader’s PLE makes my PLN look weak and possibly useless. However, I have not been working effectively on my PLN as much as I should. This video gave me great ideas on what to use in my future classroom. As previously stated, I would like my students to use Simbaloo. Math is a subject that can be taught via technology but it is very difficult to make it a paperless/pencil-less subject. I think making students create their own PLE will help them figure out how they learn best. I will help them in all of their classes and they will most likely use it outside of school and in college.

Project #10

FluidMath- My Use of Technology
I will mostly likely be teaching Algebra, Algebra II, Geometry, or Pre-calculus to 9-12 graders. To help me with teaching math to these students I will use the software FluidMath.
FluidMath is a software used on Tablet PC or Interactive Whiteboards. It animates, graphs, creates, and solves math problems. Teachers or students can write the problem by hand on the board. The software graphs equations and animates them by allowing teachers or students to change bits and pieces of the equation and show how each section of the equation can affect the graph’s appearance. This is mainly an assisting software for teachers and a source of exploration for students. It allows students to understand difficult concepts through graphs, animating the problems, and more; therefore, allowing the abstractness of the concept appear more “concrete”.
I plan on using the “Flip the Classroom” idea. I believe it will help me target all of students’ needs. I plan on using FluidMath to help with some of my students’ questions during class and to add more substance to my online podcast lessons. I will definitely use the animated graphs to explain Conic Sections! I still have problems understanding how each part of the equation for a parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola affects the shape, length, direction of the graph. The animation, which allows the student or teacher to change each part of the equation independently, shows how the shape changes. This is a lot easier than graphing each change to see how it affects the graph.
In an example in the youtube video linked to this post, the “narrator” draws two cars and a line with a distance written under it. The equation to determine which car will reach the end first is next to each car. The software animates the race and shows who wins based on the equation of car. It brings to life word problems. Word problems are difficult for many, many students. I think this software will help my students tremendously. By using this software, I expect my students will find many math concepts less abstract and difficult. This software will make math more interesting for my students.
FluidMath makes SMARTboards and other interactive whiteboards more useful in math classes. It recognizes handwritten math. It can be used on many platforms such as:
• Tablet PC
• SmartBoard
• Promethean Board
• Mimio
• Interactive Projectors
• eInstruction Mobi
• eInstruction Touchboard
• Hitachi StarBoard
• Polyvision
• PC with a keyboard
The main reason I chose this use of technology is for clarifying abstract concepts in math. This tends to be the problem with students in math. If I can make math more “concrete”, I can help my students learn to enjoy (or at the very least, tolerate) math. I want to teach my students to think more critically. This is not a “spoon-feeding” software. It helps students wrap their head around concepts; therefore, they can successfully apply the concept to current and future problems.
The following link is to the FluidMath youtube video and information page. The second link is the site where I found this great software and other suggestions!
http://www.fluiditysoftware.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&catid=6&Itemid=3
http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/tmwt

Post Assignment #5

If I Built A School
Mrs. Krissy Venosdale is an inspiring educator and an innovation “activist”. She loves bringing out creativity and innovation in her students. Her, “If I Built A School Post”, she describes her dream school as having a “HUGE sign on the door that said “Welcome: Now Entering an Innovation Zone.” and “It would be neon, because innovation should be noticed.” She proceeded to describe it as a comfy, colorful, full of creativity, and the library would have a huge fake tree with a treehouse in it. The cafeteria would be like a colorful, comfy coffee house and the art room would be “like a studio”. There would be no grade levels. Children would advance to different rooms not based on age but based on “readiness and ability”. Professionals would talk to the kids about their careers over lunch instead of in speeches. She would have a colorful school bus available for field trips to science labs, universities, community projects, career exploration etc. Children would be taught to learn what they were passionate about and could sign up to host a session about their passion. State test would be cancelled. “We’d learn to read for the joy of reading, do math because problem solving is important, and learn because we love it.” Mrs. Venosdale has a wonderful dream. I really hope some of it will come true.
If I had the chance to build my own school, I would go all out. My school would look like a normal brick school; however, it would be covered in murals. To the right of the school, there is a large pond surrounded by gazebos that are large enough to hold a classroom of students each. To the left of the school, there is a huge colorful playground with plenty of swings and picnic tables. It has hallways of color and murals done by the students. The doors are decorated differently each week by the students. Each room is not a classroom of all subjects, but only one subject.
Each classroom has art supplies in it, SMARTboards, and a class blog. Every student is assigned a personal computer, an iPad, and a beanbag. Students can show their mastery of each subject through any medium possible. They can make a drawing, a podcast, a blog post, and more. It is up to the student on how they wish to learn and show mastery. There is a teacher for every 6 students in the school. The rules of the school is based on the honor-system and respect for yourself and others. The curriculum will not be based on what is “required” to be “learned”. Students will advance based on mastery of a subject. If a student masters a section of a particular subject, they will advance to the next section and so on. This is individual of each subject. If they do not master a particular section of a subject, they will not advance in that subject but can still advance in others. Graduating is based on mastery of all subjects.
The cafeteria is carpeted with green AstroTurf. It is filled with potted trees and plants, fake bugs and animals, and a “sunny day in the meadow” panorama on the walls. Tranquil nature sounds will play and picnic blankets will be provided in a ratio of 4 people per blanket. The students can choose to eat in the cafeteria or outside at the picnic tables. Lunch and recess is an hour long each and everyone goes at once, not based on “grade” or age.
During lunch or recess, a child can choose to go to “career lab”. Career lab is a room that focuses on a different career every week. In the lab, a child can talk to a professional and can do some of the things they would do if they were a scientist, astronomer, musician, artist, teacher, etc. A child can also go to a music or art room and participate in a “workshop” based on the lesson of the week, such as guitar, drawing animals, piano, singing and more.
The library has books of all genres, including audio books. It has three sofas, 20 beanbags, very fluffy carpet, and a pretend castle. Parents can come in during lunch, recess, or after school and can read books with their child. The auditorium holds plays created by the drama classes every two weeks. The entire community is invited to watch the plays. It is also the resource room for parents who want to learn new technology like iPads and computer software.
My school allows flexibility, freedom, and creativity for the students.

Eric Whitacre Virtual Choir and NPR Interview
Eric Whitacre is a dedicated, creative man. He saw an opportunity and created a masterpiece! This virtual choir was astounding! I cannot believe he was able to combine so many different videos in such harmony. He expressed his mastery in the vocals for choir. He brought people from around the world together as one. The Virtual Choir is truly magnificent!

Teaching in the 21st Century
Kevin Roberts believes teaching in the 21st century means teaching students how to use the resources they have to be engaged in learning. No one is teaching students how to use the web, know what is creditable or not, know what is considered plagiarism, and more. No one is teaching students how to use the technology they use more often than pen, pencil, paper, or books, in a professional manner. Our future as an educator will be focused on technology. We can prepare our students for their careers and life better by teaching them to use technology than by teaching them strictly by a book and pencil. I believe he makes a great point when he focuses on how students aren't truly being taught what they need in today’s society. It was almost shocking and a cold slap of reality.

Flipping the Classroom
After watching videos on Flipping the Classroom by Katie Gimbar, Dr. Lodge, and Ms. Munafo, I cannot fathom why this is not more common today than it is. It is a terrific approach to teaching. Flipping the classroom is the solution for the lack of time available to give our students the help or challenge they need to succeed. Katie Gimbar is also a math teacher, which is what my plan is to be. I feel that if she found it to be effective than I can also apply it to my future classroom. I plan on trying this the first year I begin teaching. It will allow me to be able to reach all students- bored or confused or in the middle. Math is a difficult subject for many students and this will help me give the students a chance to learn and hopefully enjoy the applications of math. I hope “Flipping the Classroom” will become more common in the upcoming years.

Project #6- My Sentence Movie

Project #5 Presentation

C4T #1 Summary

Venspired
On Jan. 24. 2013, Mrs. Krissy Venosdale posted about passion. She states, “Schools became about numbers. About reports. About data. Points. Grades. Percents. Levels. More data. Stuff. Is a percentage of “facts they know” going to matter in 30 years? Or is that passionate teacher they had who inspired their love of science going to make the difference? ….It’s what counts today and tomorrow and well into our future.” Passion is truly what matters. Have we lost passion in schools?
As a response, I commented about my passionate high school teacher, Mrs. Boswell. She was so passionate, it drove some students crazy! I have heard many times, “How can someone be that passionate about English?!” However, she is the most memorable teacher at the school. She has taught over 33 years and loves every minute of it. Because of Mrs. Boswell and my current Calculus teacher, I want to become a high school math teacher. I don’t want to be a teacher who just teaches how to take a math test. I want to bring passion back into the classroom. I want my students to come out of a class wanting to ask why, wanting to find all possible options. There is a huge difference between learning for a test and learning because you want to.
Mrs. Venosdale is an inspiring blogger, so I ended my comment by asking, “Is there any advice you could give me about bring passion back into the classroom? How have you incorporated it into your classroom?” I have not received a response; however, she seems like a very busy teacher!
On Feb. 7, 2012, Mrs. Krissy posted, “It Might Be Today”—a post on how no matter how bogged down and overworked you feel, as soon as your students walk in that morning, all of that “floats away”. Her students inspire and move her. Each day just might be the day a student will always remember. “One day may just be the best day of teaching you ever have. It might be today. Enjoy it.” I commented on how her posts were always inspiring and designed as “food for thought”. This post really made me realize what teaching was all about. It is a never ending challenge with the best reward of all- the “ah-ha!” moment when a student understands something. I know this feeling because I work with a class of 2nd graders. It is an amazing feeling when you see their faces light up. I know that no matter how bumpy my life gets or how busy and bogged down it will be, my students’ smiles and excitement will make every day worth it.
Since I am going to be a secondary math teacher, it will be a huge challenge to get my students to enjoy and get excited from learning math. By high school, many students have deemed math as hard, boring, or totally pointless. I want them to show them how it is useful and how it is really “cool” when you apply laws to a problem and suddenly you figure out the answer! I want my students to feel successful. I think, if I add technology into my future classroom, more students would become interested or at least give it a second thought. So I asked, “Do you have any suggestions or ideas on how I could combine math and class blogs?” I really hope she can respond to this one!