Project # 5 Presentation

Blog Post # 4

Flat Stanley Podcast

I just love flat Stanley, and so do my kids. In fact we have a Flat Ally at our house! Ally is my middle daughter and in kindergarten. I listened to the Flat Stanley podcast done by children from all over the world. This was so entertaining to listen too! How lucky for these kids to get the opportunity to learn and work on a project with so many kids from all over. They showed so much enthusiasm for this project. Their use of expression while reading this was great, it's so good to learn these skills at a young age to be a good reader. I love how they got to learn facts about all the countries that Flat Stanley got to go too.


Langwiches-1st Graders Create Audiobook 

Langwiches post is about first graders creating a read-along book by recording the children reading, and the teacher making the script. This is such a neat idea to do with students of this age.This is a great way for  students to see the beginning and end of an in depth project, and all the work that gets put in it. As a person that loves to read, and help children learn to read I loved that the children used there "reading" fingers to follow along with the podcast. It's a good thing that the teacher made them write about their experience, not only to teach the kids to write their thoughts, but so the teachers receive feedback on how the kids liked the project.

Curriki- Podcast Collection

The Curriki site is so full of information! I know I would use this if I ever got the chance to podcast with my class. This was good for me personally to read because it gave a simple definition of what a podcast was. I like that it's got examples for student and also a rubric for you to have for grading. It's so important for kids to learn these skill early. It will enable them to keep up with the fast pace of technology. I myself, still have so much to learn, but how exciting to get the opportunity to learn these skills!

Special Blog Post Assignment # 1

Wolfram

Wow! This site was so neat! In fact my nine year old sat, and looked up rock information for her lesson in school this week. I love how the random facts pop up at the bottom. This will 100% be used in my house again and again. You can use this site at a tool to get students to go and learn a new facts each week and get them to share and talk about it. That will be a good idea to get them to interact with each other, and get a feel for technology all at the same time.

I found using Wolfram that the population between India, China, and the United states were:
India- 1.21 Billion
China- 1.35
United States- 309 Million
So, it obvious that India and China are much more the same size compare to the United States.
I also did two more comparative searches. I decided to try a smaller scale and search two cities population.
Bay Minette, Alabama- 8,044
Mobile, Alabama- 195,111
The difference is huge!  Next, I did it by state.     
California- 37.69 Million
Alabama- 4.803 Million

The Count

I do believe I could watch this all day! I'm amazed at how fast those numbers are moving. It just means that we, as teachers also have to learn and keep up at a fast rate. The numbers are not going to slow down. I'm still always so shocked at the amount of money spend on gaming.

I'm not a gamer so I just don't understand. I looked at how much was spent in the last year and couldn't help but thinks that money could be used to go toward a much bigger national debt, instead of a game. But, that's a whole other issue I have with a lot of things.

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

I believe, if done right peer editing can be beneficial to students of all grades. It allows people to make their work better. I think if you make a point to keep a positive tone then the whole critique will be more pleasant for you, and the person you are critiquing. Also, starting out with a compliment is a good way to ease into the editing, and critiquing part.

Compliments are important when you are editing, it will help the other person feel as if they are not being put down in a negative way. So you should always start by saying how well they did in certain parts of their work. I learned to be clear in the way you critique, so there's no confusion over what they could have done different. It is so easy to make small mistakes in spelling ,and grammar. so peer editing is a great way to help your writing skills improve.

I believe that if one of our peers has just minor mistakes, then it should be published on their blog. There is no reason if the editing is done in a positive way that the other person should be embarrassed. Now, if there is a multitude of issues in their blog, then maybe an email explaining how to fix the problems. Also you can always add some advise or tips to the student.

The Mountbatten

The Mountbatten Braille Machine is an advanced machine used to produce audio feedback to blind students. This machine can also send and receive file to a computer. This machine would be useful in helping a blind student feel included in the classroom. also this machine will allow the teacher to properly teach the student their lesson. I'm proud of the way technology is used in these sort of ways. These machines that aid the disabled will always stick out in my mind more than others. I have a special place in my heart for the disabled.

Teaching the deaf/blind

I could not imagine being either deaf or blind, but for those that are, I believe are extremely hard workers. Technology has gone leaps and bounds with inventing programs, machines, and electronics capable to assist in these students learning. To me, one thing that is slightly annoying is the ladies voice on the Ipad. I know it's a small matter for such a big advance in technology, but I could hardly finish the video. The concept is amazing, I just can't imagine having to hear that on a constant, daily basis.

I think at first the teacher, student, and parents will have to work together a lot. Not only to get to know each other, but to also learn to work together to learn the new devices. The teacher can go to additional workshops to ensure they know the appropriate amount of knowledge about the particular programs. I believe, that a student that is deaf or blind would flourish with these resources, and become a great learner.

Harness Your Digital Smarts

I really enjoyed this video, and the way Vicki Davis teachers her students. She really pushes her students to learn new things, and in return her students end up teacher her a few things. It's interesting to me that she said, " when you only have pencil, and paper only a certain type of person can succeed." This sorta hits home for me. I get absolutely bored to tears when having to sit and do pen, and paper work, and always have. I love being able to be hands on, and using other means of learning, or teaching rather than doing worksheets of something similar.

I like that Vicki Davis takes the time to customize the students work according to how they learn. That says a lot about what kind of teacher she is. I love that these students are given the opportunity to learn the different learning trends, and blog with other students around the world. Her students will be given an early in life outlook of how other live, and learn.