Blog Post # 6

What do we need to know about asking questions to be an effective teacher?

                      "Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much."

                                                                                        ~ Francis Bacon

As a student in school, I remember being terrified at the thought of answering a question or even asking question. I always thought that my

question was trivial or that it would make me look less intelligent. I felt that way in a lot of my classes, even though I knew my peers probably felt the same way. In some of my classes I remember teachers asking if anyone had a question, most of the time no one would ask a question. The teacher would then move on to whatever was next in the lesson plan. In other classes, some of my teachers would have a class discussion and everyone would be involved. I always felt comfortable asking a question when there was an actual discussion going on. I think the class discussions made everyone loosen up and feel comfortable. It did not feel like all eyes were you and that everyone is waiting for you to make a mistake. I think when all of the students feel comfortable and there is open communication going on, the students excel and learn more.

  In Ben Johnson's article, "The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom" , He discusses how teachers can improve their questions so that they actually benefit the students. Johnson explains that most teachers ask the generic question, "Does everybody understand?" Even though the

students do not respond or they do not understand. By asking that question, it comes across as this is your last chance to ask something or the lesson will move on. The teachers feel that they have reached their obligation and if the students do not ask a question, then it is not their problem if the students do not ask a question. Many teachers feel this way when it comes to asking their students questions. This method of questioning may be faster, but it is not effective and the students are not learning. Johnson then goes on to explain how teachers can ask engaging questions. The first solution is stop asking yes or no questions. These questions have no depth and they are not helpful to a student who is already confused. A simple, effective  approach to asking a good question is to use questioning strategies. The first strategy has been researched by Mary Budd Rowe. The strategy includes asking a question to the class and then pausing for three seconds before calling on a student to answer. By completing this strategy, all of the students will naturally be thinking of an answer, because they want to be prepared if the teacher calls on them. I think the strategy is a good one. This allows the teacher to ask questions that engage the students and it requires the students to prepare mentally and think of a question. The students do not know within the three seconds,  if the teacher is going to call on them or not, so they must be ready. I would defiantly use this questioning strategy with my students when it comes to getting them involved in the lesson. 

On the Teaching Center website, it includes a list of ways for teachers to ask questions that help improve student learning. The website explains that when a teacher asks questions to their students, that they are modeling a process for the students. Then students in turn can use this process themselves. The process includes some of these general strategies: keep in mind the course goals, avoid asking "lead in questions",

do not ask more than one question at once, and  have a follow up question for a “yes-or- no” question. It is important to remember to keep the course goals in mind, whatever skills and concepts that the students must learn. The questions you ask should help the students practice these skills and communicate them clearly. It is best to avoid "lead in questions", because they are phrased in a way that suggests its own answer and this inhibits students from thinking on their own.It is also important to not ask more than one question at once. In the discussion students do not respond most of the time, because they do not know which question to answer first. It is always best to include a follow up question for a "yes-or- no" question for the students. For example, try following up with asking them why they answered the way they did and to provide an explanation and evidence.This also generates a discussion between the teacher and student and the students with each other. 

 
                                                                        

Project #7

Book Trailer

Blog Post # 5

How Can iCurio and Discovery Ed Be Used Effectively in Your Instruction?

Project #7

C4T #1 Blog Post

Comments for Teachers

Lee Kolbert's blog "A Geeky Momma's Blog" was very entertaining and a great read! I read her post titled: “Levels of Social Gaming

Acceptance”, written on July 20th, 2013. She writes a comical post about the trending game Candy Crush. The post begins with her complaining about her friends making Facebook posts about the game. She doesn't want to accept her friend’s invitations to play the addicting game. Then one day everything changes while she is waiting at the doctor's office. We all know how this ends right? There in the midst of boredom she caves in and starts playing the all time addicting game of Candy Crush! She is now hooked and is playing the game at full force. She ended her post with “Don’t try to resist. Just go into the light.” The post was funny and I enjoyed reading it! Even though the post was light hearted and fun, I still learned something. I learned that you should always give something new a try, even if you think you won't like it. You cannot learn and grow without putting yourself out there and trying something new.

Summary of Comment

In my comment to Lee’s post

I included my name and that I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I also mentioned that I am taking a EDM310 class, and that we are creating blogs as well. I also included my links. I complimented her on how entertaining her post was to read and how much I enjoyed it. I also told her how I could relate to “falling victim” to the Candy Crush game. I was a holdout on the game at first too, now I cannot get enough! All in all I would definitely recommend Lee Kolbert's blog "A Geeky Momma's Blog".

2nd Post and Comment

On Lee Kolbert's blog "A Geeky Momma's Blog" she included a post from Diigo, a web annotation tool. The post was written on September 10th, 2013. In the post the company Diigo welcomed

its 7th million user and celebrated a major redesign. The post included some background information on Diigo. Diigo first started out as a social bookmarking service back in 2005. Now the company also includes web archiving, group collaboration, image/screenshot markup,mobile apps and so much more. Diigo has become a multi-tool for personal knowledge management. Diigo now provides a way for knowledge-oriented information consumption like reading, browsing, collaborating, and remembering. They say that they are here to streamline work flow and dramatically improve your productivity. I learn something new everyday. I had never heard of Diigo until I read this post. The post was straightforward and informative. It included a brief history of the company and the new changes that it made to be more efficient. After reading this post I learned about a web tool that I could possibly use in the future for my classes!

In my response

to the Diigo Blog Post, I introduced myself again and I said the name of University that I am attending. I also included a link to the EDM310 class blog and a link to my own personal blog. In my comment, I explained to Lee that I had never heard of the web company Diigo. I learned about the web tool through reading the information on the blog post that she posted to her blog. I explained how I thought that Diigo seemed like a useful tool, especially for some college courses. I also told her that I might even use the web tool for my classes. The post was informative and straightforward. I  learned some new information about a possible tool that I might use for school!

Project #3 Presentation

Blog Post #4

Why Podcasts? How do we do a Podcast?

   

        I have heard people mention podcasts before, but I really did not know what they were until now. In my EDM310 class we will be using podcasts in several assignments.What is a podcast you ask? A podcast is an audio or video program made available in digital format for automatic download over the internet. Podcasts can be downloaded for purchase or for free. Podcasts are a easy way to record information and share it with  many people from all over the world.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

“Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom”, by Joe Dale was very entertaining and informative. The clip included several great examples of student and teacher podcasts and the benefits of incorporating them in the classroom. Podcasts are an effective method for communicating and interacting with students outside of the classroom. The podcasts especially come in handy when a student is absent. A teacher can upload a podcasts with

the lesson plan that was learned the day the student was absent. Podcasts are also a great way to allow the parents to feel involved and know what their child is learning in school. The students in the clip seemed to really enjoy working with the podcasts and creating them. The students also get a chance to use their creativity and innovation skill when they create their podcasts. The podcasts seem like a great tool to use in the classroom. There are so many fun projects that could be done by using podcasts.As a teacher I would definitely incorporate the use of podcasts in my class.

The Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting

The “Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting” was really interesting. It showed how a class learned the Hebrew language with the help of podcasts. The students made a podcast of the story of Purim.

The student’s Jewish Studies teacher worked with them to write their own parts in Hebrew to create a collective podcast of the story. The children loved listening to the voices in the podcast. The students learned a lesson on writing a script, listening, collaboration, comprehension, and speaking skills. The students had so much fun putting together the podcast that they did not even realize that they were learning something. I would absolutely use a podcast in my lesson plans. I would do podcast projects for reading and for learning a new language. By using podcasts the students are learning about technology, the lesson, and having fun!

The Judy Scharf Podcast Collection

The “Judy Scharf Podcast Collection” post had a lot of informative information on the topic of podcasts. Judy explained that the term “podcast” is a cross between “broadcast” and “iPod.” She also went on to explain that a podcast is a “radio-style” talk show. The podcasts sometimes include music as well. I learned through this post that a podcast can be listened to on a computer or MP3 player, and that it may be downloaded from iTunes or a podcasting hosting service. Podcasting is a great tool to use. It enable information to be shared with millions of people through the internet. Judy also explained how easy it was to create. All you need is a microphone, a computer, and the free downloadable software. This post has helped me prepare for my upcoming podcast assignments in EDM310, and I cannot wait!

Blog Assignment # 3

How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

Peer Editing

In this week’s blog journey I learned the fundamentals of peer editing. I believe in the power of peer editing and constructive criticism. I think any critique or edit , when executed tastefully is beneficial to anyone’s work. A lot of times people cringe at the thought of being critiqued or even feel uncomfortable critiquing someone else’s work. I can relate to both of those feelings, but when you know the fundamental steps of peer editing it makes it easier for everyone.


The Fundamentals of Peer Editing
    
       In the slideshow Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial and the video What is Peer Editing?  I learned the proper  ways of critiquing a peer’s paper.The definition of peer editing is to work

with someone your own age to help improve,revise, and edit his or her writing.The golden rule is to always stay positive whenever editing someone else’s work.The video and slideshow both included the three basic steps of editing. The first step is to start with compliments about the person’s work. For example, telling them you liked the topic or how you liked all the great details they used. The next step is to make suggestions on how they could improve their article. A few areas to make suggestions on, are word choice and organization. The final step in the editing process is to make corrections involving punctuation,spelling, and grammar errors. The video and slideshow were very informative and useful. They both gave a break down of  the editing process. The new information I learned will benefit me as a student now and when I become a teacher later on.

     The video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes, was really entertaining! The students in the video did a wonderful job of showing

how not to edit a peer’s paper. The students explained these mistakes:Speedy Sandy, Jean the Generalizer, Social Sammy, Off-task Oliver, Pushy Paula, Mean Margaret, Defensive Dave,Whatever William, Picky Patty,and Loud Larry. Off-task Oliver was my favorite. You can’t be a Off-task Oliver and not provide valuable criticism to your peer’s work. When editing a peer’s work you have to focus and follow the steps of the editing process. There are many ways to give positive and valuable critiques to someone Else's work. Remember  the golden rule of  editing is to always be positive whenever critiquing some one's paper!


Peer Editing: Public vs. Private

As for the peer editing for my group, I chose to edit in the privacy of Google docs. Google docs was

great to use because the comments and suggestions were made in the same place where everyone’s work was stored. This made the editing process that much easier because the corrections could be fixed before they were posted to their blog. I would also make suggestions publicly on a peer’s blog if there were no real mistakes. I used the public method when I commented for my C4C this week, because there were hardly any mistakes. Either way it is always good to help improve someone else’s writing, so that it can be the best it can be!

Blog Assignment # 2

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

                                       
Mr Dancealot
By, Lisa Smith, Heather Smith, Amanda Weller, and Briann Smith                                                         
Mr. Dancealot is unfortunately a typical class for many students. The professor lectures but the concepts are never thoroughly explained or covered. Students are expected to listen to directions rather than be taught the steps of the dance. Some things must be taught physically, rather than verbalizing a physical movement. Using these teaching methods will display serious negative consequences. PowerPoint presentations should not be the only learning tool that your Professor uses. There should be activities for hands on experience because statistics show that people learn better by actually doing it rather than just being told about it. During the times that Mr. Dancealot did present to the class a dance move, he had a desk blocking his movements and he taught from a far distance. This is not a good teaching method. Teaching, especially a class as physically involved as dance, should be hands-on. He also did not allow movement or talking in his classroom. Mr. Dancealot failed as an educator, failed to realize the proper way to teach dance, and he failed to educate a single person in his class. Mr. Dancealot is a prime example of how a teacher’s teaching technique can hinder a student’s ability to learn and understand information. He gave poor instructions and expected the class to follow along. The lesson he gave was rushed and lacked the adequate information that the students needed to prepare for the final. For the dance lesson, Dr. Dancealot should have created an in-class activity that allowed the students to practice using the dance steps and participate in a mock test. By creating an in class activity, the students would have been able to rehearse the dance steps and get an idea of what the final would include. The in-class activity would also give the students a chance to ask questions about any of the dance material that was confusing to them.

Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts  
By, Briann Smith      

The Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts  is a great video on involving the use of technology in the classroom. It was interesting to see how one teacher from rural georgia could create connections for her class and school all around the world. I agreed with the teacher that not all students are able to learn with just pen and paper. In today’s world technology and having computer skills has become vital a lot of things. We use computers to communicate and to get information. So it is very important that children learn from a young age how to work with computers safely and effectively.


The video included a day in the life of a computer teacher and her class in Georgia and how the use of technology has connected them to places all over the world. The teacher, Mrs. Davis, helps her students to understand technology and to become comfortable using it. In her class she teaches on how to use blogs, computer software, and also how to collaborate with people from all over the world by the use of technology. She not only teaches how to use blogs, but she is a blogger herself  on the awarded Cool Cat Teacher blog, which has  about six thousand readers.

The Brainstorm Team
Mrs. Davis also strongly believes in student involvement and she encourages students to brainstorm and find answers on their own. She describes the pride and empowerment her students feel when they figure out something for his or her self. Mrs. Davis expects the students in her class to use their personal strengths and to think about how they can improve and use their technology skills. She customizes the class’s curriculum by their ability and strengths.

In her computer class, her students are currently learning about Open Sim, a virtual life program. In Open Sim , the students create their own avatars, which are digital representations of a user in any virtual world or any online community. The students also create their own blogs. One student, a girl named Virginia expressed how proud she was of her most recent blog post, a post on rights and responsibilities. The blog post was a collaborative project with other students from around the world on Digi Teen.

The Digi Teen
Digi Teen is a global collaborative platform for student bloggers around the world. The global platform was founded by Mrs. Davis and Julie Lindsey, a teacher in Qatar. Students and teachers from all over the world use Digi Teen to post blogs, connect, and to share ideas.

The Flat Classroom Project
Mrs.Davis and Mrs. Lindsey also founded the Flat Classroom project. The Flat Classroom Project provides a place for students to learn and experience from other students about the trends in technology. The students can collaborate on reports and make videos on the trends in technology. So, they get to experience first hand on the new trends and how to use them.

Technology's Impact in the Classroom
Mrs. Davis’s class is a great example on how the use of technology can really impact a student’s education and a school’s connection with others. The use of technology in a classroom is so important in today's world. It provides students and teachers with a way to learn about new technology and to connect and share with others from all over the world.

The Networked Student
By, Lisa Smith        

The Networked Student uses information from teachers, fellow classmates, and the internet circle to further their career's in learning. It starts with the student’s ability to learn new technologies and to think outside of the traditional classroom. The student is given an enormous amount of information that he or she will have to absorb and begin adapting to this new way of learning.The student must have access to the internet and have proper technology for this system to work. It will also take many hours of research to get the required information/learning material all in one spot for study. In the end it is up to the student to change their way of learning by becoming the networked student.

First you will get the guidance from your teacher on what topics you need to know about. Then you would ask any questions that you may have about the topic and she will give you feedback so that no one is confused. You will then be instructed to surf the internet and find material to help you on your subject matter. Everytime that you locate beneficial material you will add a bookmark to that page. In the end you will put all of your bookmarks into one folder and this will create your textbook for your subject. 


Having all the resources at the touch of a fingertip is amazing. It is like no end to learning new things. It is very exciting to know that my own children get to use some of “The networked Student,” ideas in their classrooms now. Through the use of Smart Boards and other handheld devices I can see the changes already beginning to take place. Welcome to the future of learning!

Teaching in the 21st Century 
By, Heather Smith                                          

Teaching in the 21st century means realizing you are not the only source of information to students. Knowledge can be found anywhere at anytime. Educators have shifted from supplying knowledge to filtering it, according to Roberts. Being technologically savvy will result in better learning and communicating with students. People may question the negative aspects of using vast amounts of technology, but as Roberts stated, tools provide temptation, but they are not the source of negative behavior. These technological tools were viewed as entertainment alone, but now they are more than that. Entertainment is using creativity of others, engagement is using the creativity of the participant. Lessons need to be relevant, challenging, and engaging, regardless of what tool used to accomplish this. Teaching in the 21st century, according to Roberts, means there is a necessity for devices. A necessity to use any and all means available to a teacher and student in order to obtain the maximum amount of knowledge. This means teachers should use every possible resource available, including devices and their software, apps, blogs, sites, etc. I agree totally with Roberts thesis. If there are options available that will enhance the learning experience, then they should be used. If there are options that will allow students to better remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create- then use those options! As a future educator I believe teaching will incorporate the use of all available tools on the web available. I think it will take more time than should be allowed, but educators will soon realize that things are evolving and the teaching methods used today must evolve as well to handle the need for a “teacher”.

Flipping the Classroom 
By, Amanda Weller                                                       

Flipping the Classroom discusses the importance of the old learning techniques, learning online, and bringing homework into the classroom. Its purpose is to bring learning to a whole new level. Flipping the Classroom was created and modified by Dr. Lodge. His creation is going to allow more creativity and students to get a more hands on experience with technology.

What a student does in the classroom can now be done at home. It will give teachers more time to teach, ask questions, and spend more time with the class. As of now, Flipping the Classroom is only being used for mathematics and it is being used for any grade level. So far the expectations are high and students are coming to class with questions about materials they are unsure of. Teacher's are finding this new technology very useful because they are able to see what activities the students are doing and how well they are doing. Flipping the Classroom is a new and exciting experience that is going to help change and promote a higher level of learning!