C4K September Summary

In my first C4K, I explored a blog from a student in Aukland NZ. It was an animated video she had made with a group in school. The presentation was a girl shooting a flying duck. It was only a few seconds long and didn't have a plot; but it is still an accomplishment they should be very proud of. The following was my response to the video. "Hello Annliz! I'm Marcus Thomas and I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama in the United States. I really enjoyed you and your team's video. I think it is cool that a group of twelve year old students are learning a skill like that. I am twenty six and would have no idea where to begin if I wanted to create an animated video. Did ya'll run into any problems when learning how to create animation? Have any tips you would like to share?"
In my second C4K, I read a blog from a student that was on the safety patrol at her school. She talked about her responsibilities and how she enjoyed wearing her safety patrol vest. In my comment I commended her and told her to keep up the good work. I also told her some of my old safety patrol stories from when I was in elementary school myself.
In the third C4K, I explored Annliz's blog again. This time she had written about a sport called tchoukball. It is a sport played with teams of 12 with 7 players on the field at one time. Each point is made by bouncing a ball off of a trampoline type Of apparatus. I am actually interested in this new game I have heard of thanks to Annliz and plan on researching it more. Here is my comment: "Hi Annliz. Its Marcus Thomas from the U.S. again. I had never heard of this game until I read your blog post. I have played sports my whole life. I have mostly played American football and ran track. Tchoukball sounds very interesting. I plan on looking into it more and seeing if there are some youtube videos available for me to watch."

Blog Post #6- What I have learned from the videos featuring Anthony Capps

Watching Dr.Strange and Anthony Capps' videos has shed some useful insight into PBL. Firstly I learned that projects are not only a means for students to show WHAT they have learned. Projects is PBL are used a tool in which to TEACH students. I also learned that when creating these projects, teachers make sure that the students learn the content necessary to complete the projects while doing them. This style of teaching also allows for a wide audience which in return; gives the students drive to complete their projects and show others what they have learned and created. Kids are also taking more pride in their work with PBL. These projects allow for students to breakaway from the traditional lecturing and worksheets.

Secondly, I learned about icurio and Discovery Ed. These are online search engines that are effective and kid appropriate. Icurio allows for students to save links, videos, and audio in which they can access again and again to utilize and reference and learning tools for a project or assignment. Discovery Ed gives kids great resources for social studies and science inquiries. Along with text, this website offers kids pictures, and videos that work as illustrations for the text. like Mr. Capps said, " A picture is worth a thousand words."
Lastly, I learned to "use tech and not teach it". In today's society it only makes sense to incorporate technology into the classroom. No matter what the economic status of a child, he or she has some type of technology readily available. I think the way Mr. Capps allows his third graders to reflect on what they have learned by creating an imovie is a great technique! I have personally witnessed my friend's two year old use a smartphone to get to youtube and choose cartoons for himself. If we don't use technology in the classroom then we are only making our own lives as educators more difficult.

Project # 8: Book Trailer

PBL and ACCS - Project #3 Presentation

Project # 7: My Passion

Project # 7: My Sentence

C4T #1 and #2 Summary

C4T #1

My first C4T assignment was by Mr. Wheeler. He is a college instructor in the U.K. First of all, I find it amazing that I am talking to a person half way across the world. I made a comment on his blog about  Jack Merizow's  Transformative Learning theory within the classroom setting and only a few hours later he had responded back. It is so cool to think that someone in another country whom I have never met cared enough to share his feedback with me. Here is a summary his post with my response and Mr. Wheeler's response. 

The Point of No Return
Mr. Wheeler starts off with a summary Merizow's theory. It states that when a person learns, it changes them forever. It may be a small change but it is still a change. Sometimes this can change our beliefs, values, and out outlook on life in general. Mr. Wheeler then tells us how it can be used for educating students. He states that it is important to constantly challenge students by placing them out of their normal comfort zones. Doing so will make them think in a different way and can change the way in which students learns. This allows them to think about things differently. Using this technique allows students to pull from personal experience when evaluating a subject and can help them breakaway from preconceived notions and beliefs. This also allows them to form a more well rounded view. 

My Response:
 I find Merizow's Transformative Learning Theory to be interesting, but I am not sure I am entirely on board with utilizing it within a classroom setting. I understand his reasoning but at the same time I feel that this type of learning would be effective in some areas of education and with some students but not for all areas of education and definitely not all students. Some students may have real problems handling the unfamiliar and disconnect themselves from the class and learning experience entirely. I do agree with challenging students but only to a certain extent. With that said.... I think Merizow is completely correct on the psychological side of his theory. I experienced a disorienting dilemma when my parents divorced two weeks before my junior year of high school. This life altering experience changed my beliefs, attitude, and my views in a lot of ways. I am just not sure of how well this theory would work in a classroom setting.

His Response:
Thank you for your thoughts Marcus. My response would be to say that there are students of all ages. Some of mine are quite mature and others very young (I'm a university lecturer), so I think the theory applies particularly well in my classrooms. I suppose it also depends on how well teachers know their students. Any level of challenge is better than passive learning, yes?

C4T #2

Ken Burns' The Roosevelt's Airs
This blog was a clip of the first eight minutes of a series shown on PBS about Teddy, Franklin and Elanor Roosevelt. Although the clip was only a small insight to what the series had to offer; I still learned a lot from watching it. It talked about a young lawyer named Franklin Roosevelt who at the age of 25 had a goal of day being the President. The clip also informed me the viewer that Franklin was related to President Teddy Roosevelt and went on to marry his favorite niece Elanor. I had no clue that Franklin and Elanor were COUSINS. The small clip also made me want to watch the full 14 hour series that covers the accomplishments and legacy legacy left by these great leaders of our country. As a matter of fact I plan on it. 

My Response:
Thanks for sharing. I had no idea that Franklin and Elanor Roosevelt were related. I also think this would be a great video to show a class. Teddy, Franklin, and Elanor did so much for this country and I believe it is important to keep their achievements and memories alive.

What questions do we ask? How do we ask? Blog Post #4

When I first started this assignment, I was a little confused by the topic. Once I began to read and watch the material assigned for this assignment, however, it all became clear. As human beings we learn on a daily basis by asking questions. If no one ever asked questions I doubt we would be where we are as species. If you have ever been around a young child you know very well that questions are an essential part of human nature.

While I read and watched the materials given for this assignment I learned a lot of great ways to ensure that what I ask students and how I ask students are beneficial to both them and myself. I learned to think about and write out questions to ask my students rather than asking questions that pop in my head. By doing so, I now have a database of questions that I can use again and again and it also makes questions more clear and understandable for the students. I also learned that it is important to call on students at random rather than ask the entire class to answer questions. This ensures each child is thinking of an answer and the same three " over achievers" are not the only ones raising their hand and answering all of the questions. Another skill I have taken from our assigned material is to ask students another question once they have answered the first question to make sure they truly grasp the content. Also, allow the students time to think between asking the question and calling for someone to answer. If you do not allow them time to think, how can they truly answer the question? I am glad we had this assignment because I have never stopped to think about the "art" of how to ask questions within the classroom setting. I have now learned skills that will make me a better educator and that will hopefully benefit my students as well. 

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers? Blog Post #3

By watching the videos on peer reviewing, I learned what steps to take when reviewing someone's work. The first thing I learned was that you should always start off by complimenting someone's work rather than disrespecting it. This makes sense considering the peer you are reviewing may be a "Defensive Dave". Always start by telling them what they did right rather than pointing out mistakes and degrading their work. Secondly, make suggestions to your peer about what changes you think should be made within their writings. And thirdly, make corrections. Collaborate with your peer and make the necessary changes to his or her writing in order to make it a satisfactory document.

I also learned a little about what kind of attitude to have towards the peer of whom's writing I am reviewing. The last thing you want is to be a "Mean Margaret" or a "Social Sammy". In order to properly review a peers writing, one must be considerate, and specific. One cannot merely say "your writings do not make sense" or "you have a lot of grammar mistakes". It is important to keep in mind that if you insult your peer, it will not only make them upset, but you allow for the chance for him or her to loose interest in the task at hand all together. It is also to be clear of what mistakes you have found and where the mistakes are in order for your peer to correct them and to make sense of what he or she has written.