Tell Me What Are You THANKFUL For.....(personal post)

Blog Post #13~ALEX

One word for ALEX, wow! This is a great web site not only educators, but parents and students as well. I see this as being a one-stop shop for new teachers like myself just getting into the real world of education. Though there may be things that you would alter from the site once you scan through it, I really see this as being a great guide. Their slogan "Quality for Every Facet of Learning" seems to fit their intentions greatly. It provides everything from lessons plans to different courses of study.  Even though I have family and friends that have been in education for some time I can still see this site as being an excellent guide for me.

I also checked out ACCESS and this network I think is also very useful.  It implies different ways that technology can be helpful to students around the world and how it allows you to learn things the same way whether you are face to face or communicating online.  I am almost certain that this will help many students entering college familiarize themselves with the different uses of technology.  It is not fun trying to play catch up with the 21st century technologies, and remember that you must always stay one step ahead!

Additional Assignment #5

I read Mr. Spence's blog and I think that his posts are well worth the time.   It's like he puts much thought in them to be better perceived.  Now that I have reread  "Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home", I understand the concept of it much better.  I think that with all his posts his main message is the students.  Even though he wants them to understand the purpose of what they are doing, it also seems as if he is not making it easy for them.  I think that when he gives his students a challenge no matter how big or small, it's not to punish them but to make them realize the potential they have behind all their fears.

Project #15

How Determinded Are you Really? 'Forum Survey'

Are you college student?

yes~100%
no~0

What is your class ranking?

Freshman~0
Sophomore~8%
Junior~54%
Senior~15%
Do Not Know~23%

How much time a week do you spend doing school related assignments?

0-10 Hours~62%
11-20 Hours~15%
21-30 Hours~15%
31+~8%

Do you have any kids?

Yes~24%
No~76%

Are you attending college for your own purpose or because your parents have made it mandatory?

Me~85%
Them~0
Both~15%

Have you decided on your major?

Yes~100%
No~0

How assertive are you? (1-5 with 5 being the highest)

1~15%
2~8%
3~0
4~54%
5~23%

Are you a member of a professional organization in relation to your career goal?

Yes~85%
No~15%

How well are your networking skills?

Poor~15%
Average~54%
Excellent~31%

How much time do you spend towards your personal life on a daily?

0-5 Hours~62%
6-10 Hours~30%
11-15 Hours~8%
16+~0

Blog Post #12

Go to a school (what ever grade to desire to teach) find a student and ask them a few questions about technology at least five.  They may be any questions of your chose.  Also explain to me why you chose teaching as a profession and why you enjoy this particular grade level over the others.

J. E. Turner Elementary School
3rd Grade-Tiffani Wright

Do you know what technology is?
Yes, it means computers & cell phones

What type of technology do you use at school?
well we just got some new computers called smart boards that are really fun work on

What type of technology do you use a home?
I have a computer and a laptop at home that I use to do my homework and my mom and dad they both have cell phones that I also use

What would your teacher do without technology?
I think she would be slower giving us papers to take home because she uses the computer for that and we would not have as much fun in her class because our new smart board would not be here and we could not be able to learn.

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? Do you think you will have to use technology on your job?
Yes I want to be a singer, and I think I will have to use technology to let people know when I have a show and to type up songs for me to sing.

I really enjoyed this interview with my student, she was very willing to answer my questions with the best of her ability. By the end of this interview I had to explain to her that technology is all around her and that it is more than just cell phones and computers. I decided to do teach third grade simply because to me they seem to be more willing to learn and more attentive to the teacher when it comes to learning new material. I have substituted for many elementary classes and I still seem to find myself more interested in third grade than the others(not saying that I wouldn't be willing to teach them all). I chose teaching as a profession because as a child growing up I have had a couple of teachers that has really inspired me in life not only when I was in class with them but as I progressed in school also. They taught me more than just the material in the books, but also how important education would be in my lifetime and how it's almost mandatory that I get one in order to live comfortably and be happy with my life. I want to be remembered as one of the teachers that impacted my students life and let them know that education is forever, and that knowledge is power!

Teaching Someone Something!

C4T #3 Summary Post

I was assigned to comment on Ms. Paula White's post who seems to have a lot of positive things to say about the way students and teachers should interact. She has posted some very interesting posts. The way that she writes things seems as if she feels that teachers should become more involved with their student's learning and also as educators we should be very careful with what we say and how we say it especially when talking with parents. 

Blog Post #11~ Little Kids...Big Potential

Mrs. Cassidy uses great techniques when it comes to teaching her students the way technology can be used today. I'm sure that getting all those little minds to cooperate was a challenge but with her seemingly passion for teaching, it was not an issue for her. I think that I would probably take a little something from all of the different approaches that Mrs. Cassidy uses to educate. The two I would probably use more often than others would be (like Dr. Strange)to get my students to create a blog and assign them to post something on it once a week and maybe on Friday's have a Skype conversation with a classroom elsewhere to learn different material from one another. Technology is not as bad as it sounds and once you get the hang of it, you can actually have some educational fun, much like Mrs. Cassidy's class seem to do.

C4K Summary Post 3-7

I was assigned to comment  on different kid's blogs that  ranged from elementary on up to middle school. 
The first child I want to talk about is Kane, he is a 4th grader at Pt England School that posted his volcano project.  He seemed to be an interesting kid who really enjoyed working with his other three classmates to get their volcano to erupt.  It looked very nice and he even wrote down a list of things that he would have done differently to make it a little better than it was, which shows great potential!  The other student was Tylara who is a 6th grader who talked about the school's parent/teacher conference.  She talked about how even though she wasn't able to attend to the conference she knew that she needed to work a little harder in Math, but she was doing well in her other classes.  It's very rare that you have a child at that age to really keep up with the progress that they are making in the classrooms.  Keep up the good work Tylara and try to make it to the next meeting if you can.  The third student was Maddie, who is a 7th grader in Miss W's class in Australia that was working on researching her ancestors.  I told her that by doing that she would find some  useful facts about her elders and her culture.  I also mentioned that I remember doing something similiar back in grade school and even though it seemed to be a never ending project it was very fun!   Another kid that I commented on was Madison who is a 6th grader in Mr. Goerend and Mrs. Quam's class in Iowa.  I commented on a poem she wrote that talks about her favorite spot in the classroom.  She goes on to say that the other students in the class often try to take her spot when she is not around because it is so comfortable.  So I also mentioned to her that I too have a cozy little spot at work that I love with a heater and all!  I also learned by reading Madison's blogs that her pet peeve is having a twin sister and that her favorite sudject is Math.  Now last but certainly not least, the last student that I commented on so far was Angie, who is a 4th grader in Ms. Naugle's class.  Angie talked about her in class project where they were measuring apples, and even though she left her apple at home, her classmate Nya shared her's so that Angie would not be left out.  I informed Angie that it's nice to have peers that don't mind sharing with one another in order to complete their work.  To conclude, I want to add that I really enjoyed commenting on these kids blogs, it allows me to see what they are thinking and how they react to different things in the classrooms.