Blog Post #6

A Personal Learning Network is made up of any person or tool that can help an individual learn and succeed. Almost anyone can be in a PLN. As children, before we are in school, our parents make up our PLN. As we grow and move through life our PLN changes. Teachers, advisors, professional contacts, and even peers can all be a part of a PLN.

Personal Learning Networks can be very helpful in any profession. Teaching is very creative profession, and a PLN can help teacher come up with new, creative ideas for the classroom. Also, education is always evolving, and it is very useful for a teacher to have a PLN in order to make sure he or she understands new laws or standards. A PLN can even be used to help solve problems in the classroom.

Perhaps the easiest way to establish a Personal Learning Network is through the internet and social media. With the internet we literally have the entire world at our fingertips. At the click of a mouse a teacher can communicate with a colleague via email in another city or state. Another way to establish and maintain a PLN is social media. With social media, we can be connected to anyone in the world. It really is a great tool when it's used responsibly. My PLN will being with my professors from college and maybe some of my classmate. Watching this video with Steve Anderson can be really helpful when thinking about building a Personal Learning Network.

Building Your PLN
Creating a PLN with Web 2.0 Tools

Project #8

Book Trailer

Blog Post #5

I have always been a huge supporter of project based learning. I preferred to do projects over worksheets and test even in grade school, and I think most students feel the same way. English classes usually consist of a lot of reading and a lot of writing. Those skills are very important, but I want my classroom to be a little more lively than that. Project based learning isn't just a way to teach students. It is a way to make them want to learn, and it can also be a great tool that helps the students get involved with the community on a local and global scale. Anthony mentioned that project based learning is always evolving, and that is so true. When a teacher takes part in project based learning, the options are endless. There are only so many ways to ask a student a question, but there are countless ways to involve them with a project. One of the points that stuck out to me the most when Anthony explained project based learning was the aspect of student interest. I am so passionate about doing whatever has to be done to make sure my students learn. If that means projects everyday then I'm all for it. I think that is what separates the okay teachers from the outstanding teachers. A teacher who is willing to be creative and go above and beyond just printing worksheets and typing up a test is a teacher who will leave an impact.

Anthony also talked about a couple of online tools that I agree can be very useful. The first was iCurio. It is a filtered search engine that students can use that only produces educational media. This is a great tool! There is so much on the internet that we do not want our students stumbling upon. I think this is also helpful when keeping students on task. If they are only given educational options, maybe they won't be distracted by random websites that come up in their search results. iCurio also has an online drive feature. This is important in preparing students for life after school. Technology is becoming more and more prominent, and we are responsible for preparing our students for more than just standardized test. The other tool Anthony utilizes is called Discovery Ed. I love how he described it. Anthony said, "It brings the texts alive". By using videos, Discovery Ed gives the students a way to visualizes what they are learning. Videos are great tools for the classroom. Studies show that people retain information better when they see or hear it as apposed to just reading it.

These tools are great, especially for project based learning, but we have to make sure we are integrating technology into our classrooms and not just teaching technology. Our students need to be able to apply all these technology tools and not simply know how they work. Only knowing how these tools work and what they do will only get them so far. They need to be as comfortable with the technologies we show them as they are with Facebook or their smartphones. Knowing this will help them in the future as students and long after they have finished school.

Project Based Learning Part 1
Project Based Learning Part 2
iCurio
Discovery Ed
The Anthony - Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1
Don't Teach Tech-Use It!

Project #7

My Sentence is...
My Passion is..

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #4

What is most important for a teacher to remember is that we are doing a service. Teaching isn't simply a job. It is a duty to our students to make sure they learn as much as they can from us. With that being said, questioning is a very important part of learning. Since our obligation is to our students, we need to make sure we are questioning them effectively.

There are so many ways to ask students questions, but which of these ways is actually helping them learn? As an English teacher, my classes will partake in discussions. Those type of classes are perfect for using questioning methods. In a discussion setting, you want every student to be involved, and one way to get them involved is with questions. When discussing a book or a certain work in an English class, sometimes there are questions with no right or wrong answers. This can be really great for getting the students to think critically and form their own solutions. There are some tips on The Teaching Center website that I feel are very helpful in regards to questioning.

Having questions prepared ahead of time is very useful. In class discussions, sometimes students can get off topic. I want my students to be able to express themselves and think critically, but I also want to make sure they are staying on task. It is also important to ask only one question at a time. Sometimes one question can have multiple answers, so more than one student can share what they know. Another strategy I feel could be useful is to ask the students to elaborate. Asking a student how they came to the conclusion that they did encourages them to think deeper and not simply answer the original question.

The Teacher's response is also very important when questioning students. Perhaps one of the most important ways to respond to a student answering a question is to make sure they know you care about what they are saying. Pay attention to the student answering the question. It can be very encouraging for that student, and it can help them be more open to answering questions in the future. It is also important to not interrupt the student when they are answering the question. Students are more likely to open up in class when they feel comfortable, and following these guidelines can help the student gain that confidence.

The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom
Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom
Asking Questions to Improve Learning

Comments for Teachers 1

Educational Media
Students of all ages are spending more and more time in front of TVs and computer screens. Technologies can be great educational tools. There are educational TV shows, educational computer games, and even educational apps, but how much of that media is actually helpful to students? In addition, how many students are taking advantage of educational media? Parents are finding that their children are more likely to engage in educational media when they are younger. As the students grow older they begin to drawn to more media that is not educational. I found this blog post very interesting. I commented on the blog stating that I have noticed that once children get older there are not very many educational shows on TV geared toward their age groups. There are so many educational show for young children, but there aren't as many for the older children and teens.

Testing Kindergardeners
There has much debate over the decision to require kindergardeners to take standardized tests. Many people believe that these test are really being used to grade the teachers, not the students. Others are simply outraged because they feel like kindergarden is too early to being this type testing. In my personal opinion, I also believe kindergarden is too young for standardized testing. As stated in my comment on this blog post, I don't even see how a teacher can get a child that young to sit and concentrate long enough to take an exam. I feel that children that young are still learning what school is and how to act in a classroom setting.

Blog Post #3

Peer editing can be challenging for both parties. It is so different from editing a student. The person doesn't want to embarrass the author of whatever it is they are editing because they are peers, and the author may be nervous to let their peer edit their work. It doesn't have to be a nerve-wracking experience. In fact, there are a few guidelines we can all follow when we have to edit our peers' work.

Anytime we edit a peer's work we need to remember these three steps: compliments, suggestions, and corrections. Compliments are very important. We want to be able to give feedback that is positive. The author of the work needs to feel like they are being helped and not feel like they are being laughed at. It is also important to remember to give suggestions and not simply tell the author what is wrong with their work. For some people, writing isn't their strong suit, and they may need a little push in the right direction. The last of the three steps is corrections. Corrections help the author learn from their mistakes, so they can learn to be a better writer. There is also one thing that the author needs to keep in mind when getting his or her worked edited by a peer. Do not take corrections or suggestions personally. Remember the person editing is just trying to help , they are not trying to be malicious or degrading. Remembering these tips will help the peer editing process go smoother.

What is Peer editing?
Peer Edit with Perfection
Top 10 Peer Editing Mistakes