Project 16 (Final Project)

Blog Post #16

Project #12 Part B

This is our lesson on Greater Than, less Than, and Equal to.

Blog Post #5 Part 2

PLN: Personal Learning Network

Throughout the EDM 310 course we have started to build our own PLN as well as connect with other teachers and students allowing us access to all types of teaching and learning resources. Having a variety of other students and teachers in our PLN will insure that we can branch out and ask for help, advice, or even just have an educational conversation.

The first additions to my (PLN) will first be my professors. At this stage in my education they are the closest quality tool I have to help me in all aspects of my education.Second, would be through some of our EDM310 assignments comments for teachers (C4T) , comments for kids (C4K), and Twitter. I hope to continually build and expand my (PLN) as I continue to grow as not only a student but also as an educator. 

C4K (Final)

C4K

Mrs. Lombard's 7th Grade Class

Student: Jack R.

Jack wrote about how to hit a dinger ball while playing baseball and talked about the best way to run the bases after hitting one.

I commented, My name is Danielle and I am a student at the University of South Alabama I myself do not know a whole lot about baseball, I’m more of a football fan so I have never hit a dinger ball or a home run ball. I am guessing that you have though because you seem to know the coolest way to run the bases..bald eagle and American flag, that sounds awesome! Maybe one day I will get to hit one and see what it is like. I enjoyed reading your blog and good luck in the future!






John Hanson French Immersion School in Prince Georges, MD
Ms. Thomas
Student: Gabby


Gabby wrote,
I am going to make mark by going to college majoring in experimental physics and then going into the Marines and fighting in the war. If I live after the many wars I will hopefully fight then I hope to work at a very prestigious Universty in the physics department and hopefully confirm string theory then go into cosmology or dark matter or even stay in experimental physics.



Hi Gabby, 

I am a student at the University of South Alabama studying to become an educator. I think you have some amazing goals for your future and all of them can be attained if you put your mind to it and work hard. Physics is such an interesting subject, however I will have to do my research on the string theory because that sounds very intriguing. Thank you for introducing me to something new. Happy blogging!  

Mr. Webbauro, Room 3

Auroa School in South Taranaki, New Zealan   

Student: J. Forsyth

Jayden wrote about his family farm and how some of their cows were acting weird. One cow jumped over their fence and the cows got out and had to be rounded up by him and his father.

I commented, 

Hi Jayden!

My name is Danielle Fields. I am a student of EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I am also very curious about the cow disease you mentioned above. I was thinking that maybe some sort of disease caused the cow to jump over the fence and act weird. Hopefully none of your cows were hurt because of this. I hope you continue to blog, keep up the good work.

Blog Post #13

What Did I Leave Out?

This week's blog post is centered around EDM 310 and something that I felt my professor may have left out that we should have done in this course.

We have done so many creative and useful things in this course throughout the semester. Many of the activities we have learned about and had to demonstrate I anticipate I will bring to my own classroom. There is only one thing that comes to mind that I feel might have been beneifical in our journey with EDM 310. I think if we did a blog post or video post that centered around a classroom observation in our area of education by taking a so called "field trip" to in my case an elementary classroom and observed their use of technology and ability to access and use the technology. 

This assignment could be done either as a collaborative or individual blog post. This type of assignment would give future teachers a first hand look at what we will be surrounding ourselves and our students with as well as techniques and first and ideas and experiences from a teacher and their students' use of the technology.

I observed Ms. Beck's first grade classroom at Mary B. Austin. In this classroom they have a Smart-board and only four Ipads available. The Smart-board is used a lot for all subject areas such as spelling, phonics, math, grammar, even art and science activities. It is great for interactive activities for the students' to not only view but also participate in. The Ipads are also great for practicing and reinforcing what the students are learning through interactive games and other apps. A down side to the Ipads is that there are not enough to issue each child one to use for the school year. This means that access is very limited to the students and they do not get the full benefactors that the Ipads could be giving them. Overall, it is great to see technology being used at such a rapid rate in today's schools and I look forward to seeing our classroom technology progress even more in the future.

Blog Post #12

Assistive Technology

C4T Summary#3

Beth Knittle: Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

Updating the Curriculum  

Beth's blog post was about ways that the curriculum in the classrooms needs and should be updated for the students currently. Also using technology in this type of updated curriculum in the form of project based learning.

I commented, There are schools in my area on the gulf coast and surrounding areas that are integrating technology in to the classrooms at a much faster pace than previous years. Most classrooms have Ipads or Macbooks for each child as well as a SmartBoard, helping to encourage and expand project based type learning in the classroom. A lot of the high schools are also offering new vocational and trade programs such as welding, and other mechanical type classes for students to earn college credit and decide if they may want to continue a career path in one of these fields.

Beth Knittle: Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

Communicating and Collaborating: Being a Digital Citizen

 Beth's second post discussed the influences and changes technology has had over the way people communicate with one another both personally, and professionally.

I commented, I agree, proper communication skills including letter writing should still continue to be taught to this generation. They live in a time where some of them have not and will not ever write a letter as a form of communication on their own. Although technology is a great thing and when used the right way is quite efficient, it has in some ways created an" out of sight out of mind" attitude towards communication and human interaction.

Blog Post #11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

Brian Crosby's "Back To the Future" video does a excellent job of showing the potential of project based learning in the classroom. Crosby demonstrates through his students that no matter where you come from, what part of the world you are in, or your financial state everyone is capable of learning. Crosby's students conducted a project where they sent a balloon in to the atmosphere and used this project as a base for other assignments, such as papers, blog posts, and Skype sessions. This was a very creative take on project based learning in my opinion.

In Paul Anderson's video " Blended Learning Cycle" he talks about blended learning being base for online, classroom and mobile learning combined into one basic way for students to learn. He mentions that the learning cycle consists of the 4 E's engage, expand, explain, and evaluate. In his classroom he stresses the importance of questions and encourages his students to always ask question.

These videos as well as the ones below do an excellent job of actually demonstrating ways and techniques to use project based learning in the classroom as well as the best ways to blend technology into students' learning toolbox in way that is fun and exciting to them.

Mark Church, "Making Thinking Visible"

Sam Pane 4th Grade, "Building Comics"

Project Based Learning, "Dean Shareski"

Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program 

Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning? 

Project Based Learning is one of the many ways that teachers and students can both simultaneously teach and learn from one another.

here are few helpful resources which helped me come to my final conclusion.
PBL - High School Math
What Motivates Students?
Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning 
Project Based Learning For Teachers
Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning:

Every good project needs things in order to successful and serve its purpose for leaning.

First engage the students' interests by using an a thought provoking "entry event" such as a video, discussion, field trip, or a guest speaker. This will spark conversation and interest among the students providing a great opportunity for learning.

Second, come up with a good "driving question". This will be the impotant main idea of the topic, something that is clear, and will challenge them to think. This will provoke thought among the students and challenge them to think more deeply about the topic, creating the perfect opportunity for discussion.

Third, is the student voice and choice. This is an important part of PBL because as the teacher it is important to let your students have a voice in their own education and learning. Give them project options or allow them to form ideas or suggestions about projects or assignments.

Fourth, be sure that the projects the students are working on are meaningful for the 21st century, meaning that they will have to perform tasks that are PBL format that will require collaboration, critical thinking, meaningful work, and the use of technology. 

Fifth, "Inquiry and Innovation". Be sure that the students will be engaged enough in the subject matter of the project that they will form their own questions and search for new answers or new ways of finding out the answers. Encourage them to question things.

Six, "Feedback and Revision" Allow student to experience feedback on projects from both the teacher and their peers. This will emphasize the importance of quality work they must provide in order to produce quality projects. By allowing feedback this opens the option for revision, students can then take the feedback and correct and reflect on ideas or work throughout their project. 

Seven, "Publicly presented product" this will create motivation among the students to perform well and provide quality work. Because they know their classmates with get to see their final product they choose to put quality effort into what will be present. They will want to be proud of what they are presenting. 

Students need to feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement. This among other things such as encouragement, general interest, excitement, and a sense of skill are all things that motivate students in the classroom. Overall, this what PBL can solidify 

Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

In the video Little Kids..Big Potential, Ms. Cassidy shows that there are very effective and efficient ways to use technology in the classroom. She created a class website for her students to use as safe learning tool in the classroom that allows them to surf the web and view safe webpages. She also uses blogging and videos in order to keep the classroom parents up to date on everything that is going on with the students, as well as an opportunity to give the students a chance to connect and reflect on their peers' work in and out of the classroom.

Cassidy mentions that without technology in the classroom out future students will become handicapped in their educational potential. Incorporating a class blog opens multiple avenues for students to connect with thousands of other students all over the world, and gives them a place to display and confidence in the work they are doing.This gets them excited to learn and use technology at the same time. 

As important as technology is for students to learn, it is ten times as important for the teachers to be equip, and to know the most efficient ways to use this technology in their classroom so that it will be beneficial to their students. Cassidy makes it clear that technology without knowledgeable teachers is ineffective. 

She has a great outlook on technology in the classroom and I agree with her approach. I hope to bring to my own classroom and students the gift of an engaging education through the use of technology.

C4K Summary #2

C4K: Comments 4 Kids Summary #2

Mr. Boylen's 7th Grade Lititure Class

Student: Niyah P.


Niyah wrote about a book from the Fear Street series, she gave a summary of the book she gave was entitled The Betrayal. She talked about the major points of the story and gave a great book tease about future plot twists in the story that would keep the reader interested.

I commented, Hi Niyah! I thought you did a great job on your summary of this book. It seems you highlighted some of the key points of the story and made it seem like it would be an interesting read. I have never heard of this book series before but it sounds very good. I'll have to check it out sometime and maybe recommend it to some of the students that I know. Keep up the good blogging!



Mrs. Maslowski's 4th period class           Joliet West High School- Illinois

Student: Taylor D.

Taylor wrote a great blog post about preparing for her ACT test and the different subjects that she expects to well in on the test. She expected to do well on the math portion because she said she has always been good at math, but that she does not like to take the time to read so she showed concern for that particular subject.

I commented, Hi Taylor!
My name is Danielle, I am a student at the University of South Alabama studying to become a teacher. I very vividly remember having to take the ACT test before I started college. My advice would be to get a test prep book from either the library or from a book store. Another option would be to form a study group to help you prepare for the test. I thought you did a great job on your blog post and good luck on your ACT!


Mrs. Lombard's 7th Grade English Class- Oklahoma 

Student: Lucy T.

Lucy wrote about the book series The Hunger Games and gave a brief summary about the first  book in the series. she also talked about how much she liked this book series and would recommend it for anyone to read. 

I commented, Hi Lucy! My name is Danielle, I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I thought this was a great blog post and description about The Hunger Games book. I have a read and seen the movie, so I would agree with you that the book has much more detail about everything and everyone. You did a great job highlighting the main points of the story. Keep up the great work!

Project #9

Project # 13

Is it Magnetic?

Image Source: Texas Watchdog

This project teaches students in second grade the difference between magnetic and nonmagnetic objects. This project also teaches students how to work collaboratively to complete research and writing assignments in a timely manner,

Is it Magnetic? Lesson Plan
Is it Magnetic? Lesson Calendar
Is it Magnetic? Project/Evaluation Rubrics
Is it Magnetic? Project Checklist

VIrtual Poster Sample (Included at end of Lesson Plan)

http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2010/10/former-magnets-chief-no-sense-to-hisd-magnet-funding/1288124658.column

Blog Post #8

Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

Teaching and learning go hand in hand, if you are teaching then you are also learning. Randy Pausch gives and inspiring leacture about a number of things in life that are relevant and beneficial to everyone. He speaks as someone who was constantly learning. Which I believe is invaluable first hand advice. I have compiled a list of things I learned or saw as valuable pieces of teaching and learning information while watching his lecture.

Through this lecture I have learned that teaching and learning share many of the same fundamentals, and "Without fundamentals nothing else matters." Randy talks about how some of the most valuable things he ever learned were learned indirectly through what he called a  "head fake", meaning he believed he was having fun and doing one thing when really he was learning something much more valuable in that moment. As teachers, we should heed this advice and strive to use it in a way that is beneficial to our students, which I believe that is exactly what project based learning is doing in the current realm in the education world. This type of " head fake" teaching is exciting to not only the teachers but also their students. Teaching is about leadership. 

He speaks about himself and his students being excited about what they were learning and doing academically and professionally. He spoke about "brick walls" being in our way for a reason, I took away from this that as teachers we should challenge not only our students, but ourselves as teachers and that as learners and teachers we should be willing to take risks. Most important give and get feedback when the opportunity arises. Then use that feedback to self reflect and better ourselves in those areas and as individuals.
Be honest and be upfront, As a person, a student, and a teacher. Because people will remember and appreciate it later. We must also remember while teaching or while learning that we must keep and open mind, this was something that was imminent throughout this lecture about Pausch's ideas. There is also "a good way and a bad way to say I don't know." Think before you react as a teacher. It is okay not to have all of the answers, seek answers and advice from everyone around you because there is always someone who knows more.Whether teaching or learning, everyone has something to bring to the table. Never settle on just one idea, dream, or goal. Strive to achieve more than you set out to in the begging and it is okay to fail, as long as you keep going. 

C4T Summary # 2

Intrepid Teacher

By: Jabiz Raisdana

Jabiz wrote a post about a literacy work shop that he attended and discussed the ways that Penny Kittle, also an educator, builds and helps student pursue their literacy goals and ways in which teachers can help their students to do so. He gave multiple examples of ways Penny helped them build better literacy in their own classroom and ways to get students to become independent in their reading journey. As well as how to handle one on one time with the students and how to maximize that time.

I commented,  As a student currently pursuing my degree in elementary education, this was such an insightful read. For me, this is another tool for my literacy "toolbox" that I am currently filling throughout my education. Any and all information teachers can get to improve their students' reading, writing, and critical thinking skills is golden. I agree that as stated above thinking takes time, let the students stew in the silence...I love this! Giving students at any age time to process and build upon their own thoughts can make for a magical payoff of creativity, understanding, and discover. I can not wait to become a teacher and build off of the knowledge that has been passed on to me from various places such as this post and many others. Thank you so much for sharing this invaluable information and sparking my intellectual capabilities as a future educator.

The Flipped Coach 

By: Jason Hahnstadt

Jason wrote an interesting post about a strategy he has been using as a coach. This strategy is called the SAMR Model. In the model he discuses the various ways he uses this model for his players and the ways the players use and share this information with their teammates and himself in collaboration with Google Drive.


I commented, Thought this was a very interesting post. Utilizing technology and digital references and feedback in partner with Google Drive is an valuable way to not only connect with a team but also to ensures that no one player is left out of the loop of what is happening first hand with their team. I agree that Modification and Redefinition are key components in this new type of learning strategy, but I also see endless value in Augmentation. Augmentation alone allows players to see first hand what they are excelling and struggling with and for the coach to see the same, allowing for ample time to catch and correct mistakes. I thought this was a great read.