Blog #5

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Blog #4 what is a podcast? How do we use podcasts?

​A podcast is a form of digital media used to stream audio and visual feed to other multiple media devices. It  a way to communicate with another person who is at a different location and still be able to see and hear them. Typically, the pod or camera is set on top of a screen to where the person's upper body is visible. The pod pics up the audio feed so both parties can hear each other. Some computers and other devices have built in cameras.  Podcast are not just for a two way conversations ; multiple people are able to join in. Podcasts are often used for business meetings where employees are in different locations. This way, a meeting can take place with several people present without employees ever having to leave their desks.

​Podcasts can be used in many different ways. The example I gave earlier where podcasts are used for meetings is a great use of podcasts. In the education field, podcast are being used as a teaching tool. For example, the website Langwitches has a blog post about  7th grade students learning to develop a story that will be shared with their entire community. The students' teacher set up a Skype session between the classroom and another teacher named named Christine Weitbrecht, who is a story telling expert, to answer questions from the students and help them with their story line. This Skype session enabled another teacher to help students without her having to travel to the actual classroom. Podcasts are a very useful tool and will hopefully be used in every classroom in the near future. 

Blog #3 Writing Peer Reviews

Peer editing is a very useful technique for students. Not only are you able to give feedback to other students and share ideas, but it is always helpful for another person to critique your work. Sometimes students over look gramatic and punctuation errors because they have re-read their own work so many times they fail to catch their own mistakes. I have chosen to edit my peers' work through email. In my opinion, this way allows me to privately give my critiques and ideas without having to post them publicly. Also, I find it better to communicate with individual group members when critiquing each other's work through email. With email communication, if one of my peers suggests something I may want them to elaborate on, we can communicate privately with each other without it being visible to the rest of the classmates and other people who may be viewing our blogs.

 The video What is Peer Editing?  provides great key points to remember when editing a paper. For example, the video says to remember to be positive and compliment your peers. No one wants to read  negative or harsh comments about their work, especially not from another student. We want to encourage and help each other to submit the best work possible. The video  "Writing Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes"  was a humorous and helpful video that displayed the most common peer editing mistakes. Always keep in mind that you should never be too picky, harsh, or defensive when it comes to editing each other's work. Peer editing is a method used to get students to work together and help each other, not to put someone down or discouraged. All of the resources that were given in this week assignment are helpful tools for peer editing. The sideshow had a wonderful exercise to practice editing another students' work. This exercise not only challenges you to find mistakes, but is a great way to practice commenting on someone else's work. I learned to go back and read your comments and make sure they are not offensive or vague. Remember you want to critique your peers' work they same way you would critique there's. 

Blog #2 collaborativel assignment

One word describes Mr. Dancealot, boring. I laughed a lot. His teaching methods were unreal.

He was the only one interested in his dancing . In this video, Dr. Dancealot gives poor instructions to his students that are learning complicated dances, such as the Foxtrot and Waltz. This video pokes fun at how some teachers throw information at students in an uninteresting way, and then  expect students to be able to perform difficult tasks based merely on the information they are given. For example, at one point during the video Dr. Dancelot is giving dance step instructions behind his desk where students are unable to see. When a student tries to stand up and perform the steps to grasp the concept of the dance, the student is scolded. This example shows how important hands on learning is in the classroom. No one can expect a student to perform a task perfectly without having practiced it first,  no matter how much instruction they are given. Even though the Dr. Dancelot is a bit extreme, it definitely shows the need to have group interaction and hands on learning techniques in the classroom.

Cathleen Ikner 

I was assigned the video, “ Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts” by Vicki Davis. This video can be found on the Edutopia website. The video is a great example of how to implement technology into the classroom and step outside traditional teaching methods. Vicki Davis’ students were sharing their thoughts and work with students all over the world! She has created a website called “Digi Teen” where students and teachers can comminucate through blog posts and share their ideas. They also have assigned topics they post their research and writings, that other students from around the world can comment on and pull information from. In addition, students can not only critique and comment on each other's work, but they can also collaborate on assignments together, even though they are thousands of miles from each other. Davis also includes her students in the teaching process. She allows them to stand in front of the classroom to share their work and not only instruct each other, but  Ms. Davis herself. For example, in the video she  says that her students taught her how to use Tetherraform,  which she was  unaware of how to use until her students showed her that day. Davis utilizes technology in her classroom on a daily basis.

Jasmine M

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

Wendy Drexler is an instructor at the University of Florida. She designed the university’s first blended Moodle course. Moodle can be used as a platform to construct fully online classes. Ms. Drexler also facilitated students in developing their perThe video explains what it means for students be 21st century learners. The male in the video explains how connectivism, “the theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties made possible through various tools of technology”, empowers and enables students to be in control of their personal learning environment. Students are allowed to make connections with others who will help these students in strengthening their learning process.

sonal learning environment, demonstrated in the youtube video ‘The Networked Student’.

An important question proposed in the video is “Why does the networkedHe was the only one interested in his dancing instruction.

 student even need a teacher?”. This question is pretty much answered in the video, while a networked student is allowed to be in control of their learning process and is an independent learner, he or she would still need guidance from their instructors. As described in the video a teacher is a ‘learning architect’ and  is their to aide students in building their personal learning network and to take advantage of learning opportunities presented to them. The teacher should also help students get excited and motivated about new information that they find. Teachers also offer guidance and assistance when a student becomes stuck or needs to effectively communicate with others.

Edna Montgomery 

Mr. Roberts thoughts on teaching in the 21 century, focuses on technology making the classroom an interesting place. I feel his thoughts of technology is great because of the ability to involve the students in learning more about the world. As a educator, interested in learning would mean a lot to me.

Blog#1 If I built a school, what would it be like?

Since reading Venosdale's blog and watching Mitra's YouTube video, my mind is filled with new ideas and learning techniques for students and classrooms. Krissy Venosdale is an educator who loves coming up with new and exciting teaching tecniques and aspires to have a fun and creative classroom. I LOVED Venosdale's ideas about having colorful and vibrant classrooms filled with different interesting things. I also agreed with her idea to teach children curriculum not based on their age but their abilities stages in life. After viewing Sugata Mitra's video I believe his whole in the wall experiment was brilliant. He displays the human mind's ability to independently learn and shows that given the right tools children can teach themselves and others how to operate computers and learn new things. His goal is to build a school where children learn from one another.

If I was given the opportunity to have my own classroom, I would teach my students what I believe to be the most beneficial in today ' s society. I would hope to be teaching 4th grade, and focus on introducing them  skills such as map reading, mental math, focus on proper grammar and how to write papers and comprehend difficult topics. Being exposed to the news and what is going on in the world would also be a major topic. I would use as many hands on techniques as possible as well as involve crafts and out door field trips. Children need to open their minds beyond the classroom and books.My goal is to teach my students skills they can take beyond the classroom. To be able to do things such as navigate places using a map, balance a checkbook and even hold a conversation with an adult on political subjects.

My main focus would be to teach them about the past, present, and future and to be able to say what the learned in my classroom they carried with them through out their lives.


I would like to use many hands on and visual methods. As a student I have found I retain and undertad information much better when given a project or some sort of visual aid long with the material. In addition, I am a huge advocate of field trips and taking students outside of the classroom.

Tools I would use in my classroom would be iPads ans smart boards. I would like to be able to give students links to various websites that go along with my lesson plans. As well as use various applications to assist in their learning. This would also help to venture outside tradition teaching methods.

My students will pay very important roles in the classroom. In fact, their roles will be just as important as my own. I expect them to frequently asks questions and start discussions. I also would encourage group activity and learning. Students need to exchange ideas and learn from each other as well as myself.

My Test Post Title

My first post! :)