Sunday, November 30, 2014

Blog Post #5 Part 2

In part two of blog post #5, we are to tell about how are personal learning network has changed. For my own PLN, I have added to my original blogs on Netvibes. I have found several history blogs that would be benefical in the future. I have also begun talking to different teachers in the are and networking with them by discussing issues and ideas about how they teach in their classrooms. Overall, PLNs are a great way to stay networked with others in your field and it is also a great way to make sure you are constanly learning and growing.

C4T #4

For my final C4T teacher, I chose the blog US History Teachers Blog.  This blog has a lot of useful posts that contain links to differnet historical topics.  For the post I commented on, the idea of how to study was discussed.  I explained that this was a great resource.  I think it is important as educators to help students learn how to study and how to learn and research new information.  I also made sure to comment on how useful the links on the blog were.

The next post I read was about using Quizlet in the classroom.  In my comment, I mentioned how I have used Quizlet in the past for my own studying purposes and that using it in the classroom is a great idea.  I also explained that I liked the idea of using the game option.  I feel that this would help students learn the information and that this is a tool that they will be able to use in future learning endeavors.
chalkboard with the letters c4t on it

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Blog Post #14

"Teaching Can Be a Profession" by Joe Klein

Problems and Proposed Solutions                                                           
1) Being able to pick from the best teachers which would happen by providing better academic
apple next to a chalkboard with abc's written on it
training for teachers and the ability to pick from the top of the class.  The way rewarding teachers would also be changed.

2) Seniority which can be changed by not paying teachers the same amount and changing the way performance is viewed.

3) Lastly, it was suggested that a board be established to help determine the teachers who are preforming well and those who are incompetent.  



The first issue addressed in the article by Joe Klein is the need to better educate teachers.  While I personally am only in the first tier in our own academic program, I disagree with this statement.  To me, the program I am involved with is very demanding and has shown me just how much goes into being an effective teacher.  I also see all the other students who are trying to become teachers working just as hard to make sure they are the best they can be.  I do agree that paying teachers differently based upon performance instead of how long someone has been teaching does change whether or not we have a more competent set of teachers.

Seniority is also addressed in Mr. Klein's article.  To change this, Alan Shanker suggested using academic testing to help determine what teachers are competent or incompetent.  He also suggested a "supervised internship."  I do agree with the idea of changing seniority.  Providing exams that challenge and encourage teachers to grow will separate out those that are good at teaching from those that are not good but remain in the system because of seniority.  I also agree with a supervised internship.  This would allow potential teachers to better understand what it is like in the classroom in turn making them more effective teachers in the long run.

Finally, it was suggested that a board be established to help regulate and guide teachers on standards and helping to remove under qualified teachers.  This idea is also a good one.  I think using it would also produce teachers who are always evolving and changing.

After reading this article, I do overall agree that there are some problems with the teaching fields that do need to be addressed.  The suggestions presented for fixing the problems are great ideas, but I do think the question than becomes how do you implement such over arching changes.




Thursday, November 20, 2014

C4K Summary for November

For the start of November, my first C4K student is Mustafa.  In this post, I read how Mustafa enjoys writing.  Mustafa explained that writing is fun because you can use your imagination and write anything you would you like.  For my comment, I explained that I agree with the idea that writing is fun. I also encouraged Mustafa keep up writing.


My second student for this month was Caitlin.  For her post, she explained the art project she made for her product design.  It was a small, grey coin purse that had a horseshoe stiched on the front and a "C" stiched on the back.  I told her how her design turned out wonderful.  I liked the creativity of the horseshoe and "C".  I also told her how her post did a great job of explaining her design.

My final student for EDM310's C4K was Pablo.  In his blog post, he wrote about Halloween and how he enjoyed dressing up and getting candy.  He also asked his readers how they liked Halloween and do if we think that you can be too old to go trick-or-treating.  My reponse was that Halloween is fun and the candy is great.  I also told him that dressing up is always fun, but you can be too old to go door to door for candy.


children holding hands around the world


Thursday, November 6, 2014

C4T #3 Summary

For my third C4T teacher, I had Mrs. Hadley.  She is a middle school teacher with a blog called Middle School Matrix.  The first post I commented on was great.  At the beginning of the year, she asked students to write down what they think their challenge would be for the upcoming school year. After that, she gave each student three sticky notes and asked them to write down what superpowers they would have.  The students than placed the sticky notes on a bulletin board. The answers were great.  Some wanted to understand things quickly and others wanted to be great spellers.  In my comment, I told Mrs. Hadley that I really felt like this project showed us that students are people just like us with fears.  I explained that I felt like we forget that the students face pressures too.

My second post on Mrs. Hadley's blog was in regards to her "Identity Projects."  At the beginning of the school year she had her students sit quietly and think for four minutes.  The students were amazed at what they were able to think of in that time.  For me, the one thing that truly stood out was the last sentence of the blog.  Mrs. Hadley said, "I love what students do when given choice and a personal connection."  That sentence to me summed up everything we have been discussing throughout the semester.  For my comment and I had to address that statement.  I explained that I agreed with her sentence and that her "Identity Projects" showed how true that statement is.

the word blog with a computer mouse attached to it

Blog Post #12