EDM 510 Reflection

PDP and PLN

A part of my personal development plan is to incorporate project based learning projects into my class requirements. The current school year is almost over but I have a number of PBL lessons that I want to try with my students next year. In addition, I want to create a classroom blog for my students. Observing some of the classroom blogs throughout the semester was a prime example that blogs can be beneficial and engaging for students. Finally, I plan to attend technology workshops and courses that are offered through my school district to improve, learn, and stay updated about new technology.

My personal learning network has increased dramatically. I use Symbaloo to maintain my PLN. If you are not aware of Symbaloo, please check it out. Symbaloo is a great way to organize your PLN in one place. I’ve had a PLN since EDM310. My PLN includes many social networks, blogs, ALEX, and educational sites. However, since taking EDM510, I added BIE to my PLN. BIE has a wealth of knowledge on PBL and many free resources available for PBL lessons. In addition, I added the Teaching Channel, Moodle, and Reddit to my PLN. The Teaching Channel is awesome because I can actually search a lessons and see how other teachers are effectively teaching it. All in all, my PLN continues to grow.

Book Review: How It's Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools

C4T Summaries

C4T Semester Long

Mr. Sladkey has not been active much in the month of April. In the one post that he posted he talked about The Engagement Wheel. The Engagement Wheel is where students teach the class. I thought this was a really interesting strategy. He made the point that having students teach the class in lessons will help them retain the information and make learning more fun. Most importantly, he made the point that when one teaches something, one can use it and will know how to use it better because he or she taught it. I replied with this comment: The Student Engagement Wheel is very interesting. I will most certainly try this activity in my classroom. For the most part, it will be a great way to get the students involved and keep them engaged. Most importantly, it will make learning fun! Mr. Sladkey, thank you so much for posting such useful information!

C4T Rotating

In the post I commented on, Mr. Spencer talked about an interview that he had with Meeno Rami. Meenoo Rami is the author of Thrive: 5 ways to (Re)Invigorate Your Teaching Practice. He discussed how he was blown away by her braveness and humility. He made the point that the book reminds teachers of why they teach. In other words, some teachers are worn out and even burnt out but the book helps bring them back into focus. In the interview, they discussed mentorship and how mentorship is important for new teachers. Having a mentor is helpful to new teachers because teaching can be very intimidating in the first couple of months of teaching. Meenoo made the point that no one knows better what you need than someone who has been through it. In the interview, Meenoo also talked about the importance of networking with other educators around the world. In other words, to better increase one’s teaching practice, it is good to know what is working for educators not just in one’s own area but all over the world. In my comment, I commended Mr. Spenser for giving us readings a great interview with the author. I also commented that I will most likely be purchasing the book.

Blog Post Assignment 10

Glogster a great tool to use for the classroom. With Glogster, teachers can create pages, assignments, journals, and a host of other things to make learning fun and exciting.

In a technology advanced classroom, Glogster would work well in class or at home. For example, Glogster can be used to post assignments that students can access anywhere. The great thing about using Glogster for assignments is that teachers can provide everything that students need for the assignment in one place. Most importantly, it eliminate the need for paper and time at the copy machine. Glogster is free but to get the best benefits out of Glogster, teachers will need to become a premium member. Some districts already has district wide membership. Nevertheless, premium membership is $35 for 1 year for an Elementary teacher with 30 students and $95 for 1 year for Secondary teacher with 125 students.

Try Glogster out by following the directions for creating a classroom assignment. In this project, you will use Glogster to create an assignment. First, go to Glogster.com and sign up; sign up as an educator. If you have a Google account, you can sign up and sign in using your Google information. After you have signed in, click on create a new glog. Choose the assignment template. Once you have chosen the template, you can edit the template to create your assignment. Your assignment must include instructions and some form of media (video or audio).

Here is an example of what your final product should look like: A Poison Tree Assignment This assignment is on “A Poison Tree” by William Blake for 12th grade British Literature class. Have fun!

PBL Lesson 2 (Late)

Students (seniors) will be broken into groups to help create a collection of movie clips for incoming freshmen on how to adjust to high school life. The 1st group will discuss study habits, group 2 will focus on academics, group 3 will focus on extra curriculum activities, group 4 will focus on teachers, and group 5 will focus on student life. Students will have to plan their movie, include text in their clip, decide how to best capture their topic, and come to together to put their clips together to make one movie. In addition, students will upload the video to Youtube. Here is the link for this project: PBL Lesson 2

Interview with Anthony Capps, Blog Post Assignment 8 (Late)

What I learned most from the question and answer session from Anthony Capps was that Project Based Learning must become a habit. The question that was asked was can Project Based Learning be done overnight. Mr. Capps answer was yes. However, it must be practiced and the students must be involved in PBL. He stated that before one can move on to another tool, one has to master the first tool. In other words, the tool has to be practiced over and over and must become a habit. Once the tool has been successfully master, the teacher can move on to the next tool. In addition, he made a point to use the tool that has been mastered in the future projects.

Another interesting thing that I learned was that students have a great desire for an audience. Because of this, Mr. Capps stated that he frequently invite parents so students can showcase their projects. In addition, he uses stuff animals as an audience. Students tend to perform better when they know that someone is watching and that they have an audience. He stated that the stuff animals worked well for his students.

All in all, the question and answer session between Dr. Strange and Mr. Capps was very informational. Mr. Capps is an experience teacher who frequently uses PBL in his classrooms so it was interesting to hear his responses.