PLN learning

During the course of this class I have learned a lot about a personal learning network. I have learned to put myself out there through different mediums and in return sometimes get some feedback. I enjoy the blogs and think they are a great way to discuss your personal feelings on topics and a great way to get ideas from other people in the same field as you. I have this blog, the webpage, google reader, and gmail. I also have a facebook and a twitter. This things are mediums in which it is great to network with other students my age, as well as meeting people who are already teachers and administrators in the job. I like using twitter a lot. I have found many different people to follow, and have people to follow me. Through this I have seen other peoples updates and interesting things going on or just information that is useful which has helped me expand my horizons and be able to put myself out there. I have a personal webpage through MSU but I would like to make a different one or just expand the webpage that I have right now through Google. I think this would be a great way to start a portfolio and be able to use for interviews when I am applying for jobs. I would like to do this so I could put on there lesson plans I have done and information about me, what my accomplishes are and things like that. I have not had any big problems with the PLN. I think it is just a great medium for establishing yourself in the Internet world. Company's and people who hire you are almost always going to "Google" you or go on your facebook to make sure that you are who you say you are and you are a good person. Having a PLN say for a web page, gives them one place to go with all your information that they need or want to look at. I think this is a good part to add to this class, because even if it is not something that you are really interested in it makes you explore it anyways and then you may change your mind and come back and use it in the future. Overall I have had a good experience establishing my PLN and am glad you brought it into the course. I think that you should continue to keep it in the course so more people can establish their own PLN and also I am going to be able to use this in the future, or at least some of the information I have learned in how to establish a PLN for my future teaching career.

Performance Pay

Today in one of my education classes, we had a discussion about Performance pay. We had a structured "debate." We counted off by one and two so there were two groups who would be debating whether or not teachers should be paid more or get bonuses based off their students standardizing tests. To me, I was placed on the side that did not agree with teachers being paid off of how well their students perform on these tests, for example, the MEAP. I am still not exactly sure how I feel on this subject. I think that it is extremely hard for teachers to be judged solely off of their students test scores. There is so much more that goes into those tests. Such as students emotions and feelings. How they woke up that morning. If they are coming from a positive back ground,etc. This list can go on and on. I wonder though, why then these standardized tests are used to measure teacher performance. Consider a situation where a teacher is an amazing teacher, works super hard and tries his/her best to teach the students and for the students to learn. What if her students just are not good test takers? What if they get nervous and do not do well on the tests? I personally am a horrible test taker, but that does not mean that I do not know the material, I do know it. It is just hard for me to take tests like that. What then? What about that teacher he/she is just not good enough? I just feel there is so much more that goes into it that is not being taken into consideration. The government is making these changes and I believe they are going to happen sooner then later. As someone who will be entering the work force within the next few years, this makes me a bit nervous. I want to make sure that my students get the best education they can be. I want to be the one to give them that education. I think that it should be not about the money off the students but the teachers desire and the students desire to learn. How is this nation supposed to move forward if there are so many teachers and students who are not being considered into this situation. There is a lot to think about and I am sure much more information that I am not aware of (yet) but I am going to continue to educate myself on this situation and hopefully see what is going on and just try my best that I can. Teachers (most) do not go into teaching for the money, they go into it because they want to, it is something they want to do. So now that all this money is being "throwed" around, it seems everyone is worrying and doing this or that. I just think everything needs to be taken into consideration on a topic like this. Hopefully the government does just that.

Technolgoy Explored- Smart Board

The technology that I wish to explore for this week is a Smart Board. I have chosen this because I was unable to attend the technology information meeting on Monday in Erickson. I am choosing this because I did some research of my own on Smart Boards and found that this tool is very, very beneficial to a classroom. There are so many ways that this tool can be used and improved upon that it is almost hard to fit it all into one blog post. I think that having a Smart Board within your classroom gives you the opportunity (similar to using an ELMO) to really get the students to be hands on with what they are learning. It is more then just showing pictures and taking notes. It is writing on the board, possibly over an Internet site that is pulled up. Over a power point presentation that is pulled up or even over a student's assignment that is pulled up on the Smart Board. Also now that many students and schools are becoming very technology savvy this is a great way to be able to have access to personal school websites during the day at school and then as well at home. I think this would also be a way for students to take notes and use basically everyday. This board is so cool! I find it so interesting because it allows you to literally "write on the white screen" with the special markers and erasers that it comes with. I just find it so fascinating. I did a little simulation and with this board, it is like a computer screen that you can use your hands with. In one of my previous classes we used this board and talked about it a lot how we could use it in our classrooms. Everyone in the class wanted to get a chance to try it out. At that time I wasn't able to use it then but I wanted to. Watching the other students may ideas came to me during this time. I find that one of the best uses for the Smart Board is the students involvement. If I as a future teacher find the Smart Board so interesting, the students will for sure as well. Just being able to come up to the board and write on it while also learning and teaching a lesson using the Internet for example. Pulling up a chart and having the students walk up and fill in the chart. This can be used for all different subjects even. Going on field trips, etc. One thing that just came to me is also between the teachers being able to share material over the Internet and then bring it up on the Smart Board and save a lot of time. This sheds down to having more time for other things, giving the students more time to think and learn instead of worrying about not having enough time. Also that way all students in the grades are getting introduced to something like this and sharing a common idea. A great basis for students to take off and really apply themselves and learn. I believe Smart Boards also can be used for school meetings, staff meetings, parent-teacher conferences. It is so versatile and allows for great interaction. I think that is what I like best about the Smart Boards. The fact that the interaction is more then just a teacher standing in front of the classroom talking and lecturing off a power point or the board. But writing and asking questions and putting this right out there for all the students to see. I think this will also get those certain students who are more shy then others to come out of their shell and try out the technology.

South Africa

With the holidays coming up and this first semester of school almost over with, I am a bit overwhelmed! I find the best way for me to relax is to just get all my school work done and watch my favorite shows. I am looking forward to break also. I am going to be traveling to South Africa this up coming summer for a study abroad trip. I am extremely excited about this. I will be working in a school with a host teacher who I will also be living with. I am really interested in seeing the different cultures. But especially seeing the different the different way school is ran and the technology. I have been told that some schools have computers and Internet and some don't. This will be such a good experience for me to see how school is taught without technology. I fortunately was raised in a school district where all my years at school I had computers and Internet (Internet started when I was in 4th grade for me) and just lots of different ways to use technology (over head, etc.) I am really looking forward to this culture change and working with different students. I love teaching and think that this will be a great way for me to expand my knowledge and just learn new things. I am hoping to keep a blog while I am there (depending on when/if I can get Internet.) It will most likely be this blog, so if anyone is interested in how my trip is going and the schools, I will try to post as often as I can. Like I said I am really looking forward to seeing the difference in technology. We are fortunate where we live, but I think people are just as fortunate who live without technology because then they aren't dependent on sitting on a computer but exploring and having conversations. Best of both worlds seems the best way.


This is where I will be staying, Cape Town.

Classroom Communities

I wanted to post about how different students within the classroom all feed off of each other and really make the classroom a community. Today at my field placement I was laughing almost the entire time. The students within this class are so funny and really have fun, but learn as well. I find a lot of things really funny, and sometimes I tend to laugh at inappropriate times. I have learned to control this in most situations but sometimes the students are just so funny that I cannot help it but to laugh out loud. I noticed that the students within the classroom are all friends, and I think this is extremely important. School can be a scary place for many students and them being scared can prevent them from fully reaching their academic level. My teacher within this classroom has somehow created this community where all students help each other and really be there when a student is in need of some one's help. This counts with school work, home work and technology as well. The students take about 20 minutes a day to work on keyboarding. They play games on the computers but are learning how to type and key correctly. They have so much fun doing this and are always looking forward to it. I have noticed that the students encourage each other during this time. Sometimes some of the students get frustrated and want to quit, but the other students encourage them to keep going. I want to build a classroom like this and make sure that all students are comfortable and feel good about themselves to want to learn. To many students chose not to participate because they are uncomfortable or are scared of what the other students are going to think of them. I used to be one of those students, but then I realized that I had to get over it if I was ever going to succeed and be taken seriously. I think having knowledge in technology and things that other students your age can relate to, allows the foundation of building a classroom community and giving each student a chance to be comfortable, and share. Going back to how the students make me laugh, I really am going to have to work on that because when they notice that I am laughing, they usually say something like "oh the teachers laughing" and then they think it is okay to laugh like that. It is totally okay to laugh and have fun during school, but at the right times. Sometimes students can think they are being laughed at for something they did, versus something funny that happened. I want to make sure that I never make a student feel like I am laughing at them. Let's face it, kids say the darnedest things is so true. They just lay it all out there and it is great. I hope to bring my classroom to the place where my teachers classroom is right now.

Technolgoy Explored

The technology that I explored is an ELMO. A digital projector that is a way of incorporating technology into the classroom. Luckily I have had experience with using an ELMO the past few weeks in my field placement. It is extremely helpful and really allows the teacher to move around the room more but still have the information up on the board and not have to be writing. For instance, while reading students a book, it is sometimes hard for everyone to see especially if one of the students has problem with their eyes, or they cannot see because the people in front of them. This way, but putting each page under the ELMO the book is projected onto the screen in the front of the class, and all students can see. This even allows for students to read or go up to the board and point things out, etc. I have noticed that students pay a lot of attention and are less distracted when the ELMO is up and they are looking forward and paying attention. I find this technology to be very inviting and gives the students a chance to explore technology as well, and it being incorporated into the lesson they are learning. An ELMO is expensive and this could be a problem for many schools and teachers because funding is just not there right now. For those who are not sure what an ELMO is, it is just a digital projector, similar to an overhead projector, but there is no need for transparencies, you can use any kind of paper. This gives much more flexibility and can even be used similar to a Smart Board. If you have the projector projecting onto a white board, you can have the information on the white board and then write on the board as well, showing what you want. I have noticed that my teacher within my classroom uses the ELMO and even has the students write on the white board with what they are working on. For instance, they were correcting their math tests, the test was projected from the ELMO onto the white board and students would correct their mistakes. No one was bored, all the students participated and everyone seemed engaged in what they were doing. This just brought the energy level of the classroom at a place where all students felt comfortable and relaxed. This day in age all students usually have computers at home or some type of technology that they are familiar with that they can apply to using this ELMO.


An ELMO can be used for just about anything that you want all students to see. I believe that an ELMO would be most beneficial in an upper elementary classroom. Just because students that age have more experience and would be able to appreciate it more than those in the younger grades who might look at it as just a toy, and not a learning material as well. I have found that using the ELMO is fun for me and the students. I would love to have one in my classroom one day. It is just a great way to have student/teacher interaction, as well as student/technology interaction. Most of the students that we teach are going to be growing up knowing what a "text" is from when they are one year old. So why not bring it into the classroom as well.

Transportation, digital story

The video that my group and I made on transportation for a digital story.

Digital Storytelling, a yes!

Doing this digital storytelling was very fun and got me in the creative mood. I wrote a short-quick few sentences story on going to the Britney Spears concert with my friend. I used pictures that we took while we were there and also added some captions to the slides. I had to do this for another class of mine, I am going to post that video on my blog as well. It was for my TE 401 class and we worked in groups doing something called a digital storyboard. We went to the Michigan Historical Museum and had to take pictures on a certain topic. My groups topic was transportation. So we had to make a digital storyboard using pictures of different kinds of transportation and how it had developed over the years. We had a lot of fun making that video as well. I believe that this is a great tool for teachers to use with their students. It for one is a great way to get students involved with technology and become hands on with a subject within school. I learned a lot about transportation in Michigan simply by doing this assignment because you had to work on it and know the information. There are many things that teachers could do with this. Including projects and assessments. It allows students to take a part in creating the lesson. If this were to be done in an elementary school classroom the students could be put into groups and then share their videos with the class. Allowing all students to learn different topics but be masters at one topic. These types of things allow students to also feel very good about themselves. It brings out the creative side of you and makes you the "director." You decide how you want the storytelling to go, what music or audio you want to use, and what pictures or videos you want to use. I liked the medium I used, it was called Slide. I liked it, it was very easy to put the pictures up and add text. The only thing that I did not like about it was that I could not add music or audio. It was a silent storytelling. I don't find anything wrong with this, it is just a different way of doing it. Although sometimes adding music and audio is a great way to get students attention if they are bored by just the pictures and text. I looked at a few of the other sites as well and found that each one was different. A few of them I could not add text to, but I could add music, or vice versa. I think it is almost easier to make these digital storyboards on a computer-type program. Such as i-movie. I have a lot of experience with i-movie and that program is easiest for me to make a digital story. Using pictures, music, voice recording and text. Although the ones that we looked at through the workshop were very helpful as well. I find that this would be a great tool to use for students as an assignment and they would really enjoy it and get a lot out of it. I did as a future teacher and would be very willing to implement this option in one of my lessons.

Week 9 Digital Storytelling