Week 1: Fall Semester 2017

Well, here it goes. I'm a future junior high/ high school science teacher working towards my masters with a licensure. In class, we always learn about all these important "education topics and buzzwords". Reflection is mega important in the learning process. We've learned it time and time again. So we talk about how we want our students to reflect. I suppose it's only fair to do the same for my own learning.

I'm going to start with my instructional techniques class, even though it wasn't my first class of the week. It sort of ties in to the reason why I decided to write this blog. We started class with an inquiry based question. The basic outline can be found here:

http://www.pimaregionalsupport.org/Resources/Documents/Theory_Cube.p

We had a cube in front of us, and had to observe the cube. All sides were visible except one. We tried to find patterns in order to predict what was on the side of the cube that we couldn't see. We have a small class of only 5 students, so we broke up into two groups. Each group made a prediction of what may be on the other side. We wrote our predictions on the board and explained why we chose what we chose.

Instead of just telling us what was on the other side of the cube, Dr. Makkii let us continue to think about it. By doing so, she generated interest in this cube. By beginning class this way, she allowed us to see what we can do with our students in the classroom. This is what we continued to discuss on both Tuesday and Thursday of this week. It really is important to get students interested in learning. Instead of just giving them the answer, we should make them find it.

So you may wonder, why teach science in the first place? Well for me, it's easy. I LOVE science. I love learning new facts, experimenting, and even just observing phenomena. But when the answer relates to my students, it isn't so cut and dry. Students should learn science for economic productivity, career prep, to help make personal decisions, to help make social decisions, and also for personal fulfillment.

Now that we've figured out why we should teach science, it's important to look at how students learn. We used the book: How Students Learn created by the National Research Council, in order to look at this topic further. Side note: this is an AWESOME source and is free to download by clicking on the link.

There were three main concepts that were discussed about the learning process. First, we need to engage prior understandings. We need to see what type of preconceived notions that students have regarding the topic we are teaching and address those in order to move forward with the learning process. Second, it is important to keep in mind that both factual knowledge and conceptual frameworks are important for understanding. Making sure to tie the two together is essential in the classroom. Lastly, we need students to self-monitor their learning. They need to be aware of how they best learn and also whether or not they are understanding material. Students should be engaged in their own learning process.

There are four different types of learning. There is learner based learning (which keeps in mind what the students think and know), knowledge based learning (which focuses on the material itself), assessment based learning (which looks at visible learning), and community based learning (which discusses the importance of a positive classroom culture that promotes discussion).

We can compare learning to chess. We can watch someone play chess and learn quite a bit about it. If someone explains why they are making the moves that they are making, we can learn even more. By practicing, we become even better. When we practice with an expert nearby to help explain our mistakes, we can become a really fantastic chess player.

Seriously, READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A FUTURE EDUCATOR! There are sections for younger grades as well as the different subjects for the older grades.

I'm in two other education classes. The first was cancelled for the week, but the second class seems like it will be pretty helpful. We had a pretty short introduction, starting with the syllabus and getting to know our peers. My prof for this class has lots of different experience, so I'll be curious to see what she can add to my classroom knowledge.

I'm also in a few more science focused classes..

I'm trying to stop thinking of organic chemistry as a horrible class I NEED for my major. I really do think it will be a good refresher and I will also gain quite a bit of knowledge. I'm realizing that I actually do remember quite a bit and that my prof is fantastic when it comes to explaining what we need to know. Thank goodness.

Reviewing what I've learned for the week. Protons=positive, neutrons= neutral, electrons=negative. Protons and neutrons are massive while electrons are non-massive in an electron cloud. The atomic mass =A which is = #p+#n. Confused yet? If you have no chemistry knowledge you probably are. Basically, atoms are made up of three different types of structures, protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons hang out together and the electrons float around them.

Structures want to be balanced, and this is why chemical reactions take place. Elements like to be noble so they gain and lose electrons. If you're looking at a periodic table, the noble electrons are on the far right.

So why study organic chemistry? Well polymers are made of monomers, which the main element is Carbon!! AKA carbon is super important to our world. Silicon is similar to carbon.

Crap... we're writing chemical formulas? IT'S BEEN 6 YEARS SINCE CHEMISTRY!!!

That was my immediate thought. After about a two minute panic in my head, I realized I could do this and honestly had to do this.

So lets look at a website to hopefully help. http://users.stlcc.edu/gkrishnan/periodictable.html

Electron configuration. Not hard. There are different shells in each electron. It starts with 1s, which can hold 2 electrons. 2s can hold 2 electrons, 2p can hold 6 electrons... so on so forth. Kind of memorization, kind of past knowledge.
Here is radium.. element 88. This is a good example of how to complete an electron configuration for an element with a lot of (88) electrons.
1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 4s2 3d10 4p6 5s2 4d10 5p6 6s2 4f14 5d10 6p6 7s2

Okay. So now we're looking at bonds. There are 2 types, covalent and ionic. Ionic occur when metals and non-metals transfer electrons. Covalent occur when two non-metals share electrons. There are two types of covalent bonds: polar (not even sharing) and non-polar (even sharing).

There are 7 diatomic molecules and they are all non-polar, meaning they equally share electrons. I Bring Clay For Our New Home aka I, Br, Cl, F, O, N, H are the diatomic molecules.

Anion=negative charge, Cation=positive charge.

H2O2 is the molecular formula
HO is empirical
H-O-H-O is the structural formula.

So is it weird I find Lewis structures fun? Probably. Basically Lewis structures show us how elements connect together to form molecules.

Welp, there is my chemistry for the week. Overwhelming? Yes. Doable? Absolutely.

Environmental geology really focused on hurricanes this week. We learned that hurricanes get their power from warm oceans. Cumulonimbus clouds are made by rings formed from the warm water. If you see lightning or hear thunder, you know you are under a cumulonimbus cloud.

So why are hurricanes particularly dangerous? Storm surges can be up to 20 feet and can move far inland. In the case of Katrina, these went inland 1/2 mile! Projectiles can be dangerous as well. Sewer water leads to disease and poison water snakes tend to find people because they want warmth.. Yuck.

Houston really wasn't ready for a hurricane like Harvey. It's already sinking into a sand/clay base which water sits on top of clay. There is an over-pumping of water, oil, and gas. The average elevation is only 6 feet above seawater.

My professor seems to think New York would be devastated as well if they were hit with a hurricane. Something to keep in mind.

We also discussed the pressure system involving hurricanes. Low pressure in the center of the hurricane leads to a dome of water forming. The direction the wind is moving and hitting the land is the most deadly. This side has the storms, the high winds, and the highest surge. Yikes! Mother nature can be nasty, unfortunately. Sending thoughts the way of the victims in Houston during this tragedy right now! They could be seeing negative effects from this for years.

Lastly, I had Earth's Atmosphere and Weather. This was a super short class (50 minutes feels short).
We learned about climate vs. weather (climate is long-term, weather is short-term), talked about the atmosphere, and reviewed the syllabus. We also talked about hurricanes for a while, mostly because of what's going on in Texas right now.

Phew! Lots going on last week. I've got to remember to order my books and to get all of my homework done for next week. Thank goodness for a 4 day weekend!

-K

Instructional Technology Infographic: Summary of Learning

I chose to use Piktochart as my instructional technology cool tool for my final summary. I chose this because it was one of the cool tools that I really liked. It's a great tool for presenting information in a way that is different than your typical powerpoint. It is also something I will have my students use in class, because it can be used for real world presentations.

I am coming out of instructional technology with a whole new view on technology. My room set-up will be different, because of this class. I will use technology often in my class, because it can help keep students interested and focused. I also hope to have one-to-one computers for my students so that I am able to have a blended classroom. I have learned about multiple tools to use in the classroom, such as those that can be used for formative assessment.

I will use formative assessment tools in my class to gauge learning during the learning process. I will also have students create infographics, and use many other tools. I will likely let them choose between a couple tools in order to allow them freedom of choice, but also still have a project based off of a topic. They will do this using tools like ebooks or comic strips. I also want students to blog about class (what they're learning and how they feel about the class) so that I can find any issues and correct them.

Technology really is the wave of the future and can be used to help increase students' interests and achievements in the classroom. I hope to make learning fun and interesting for my students, instead of the typical lecture classroom. Thanks to Dr. Savery for a great semester and thanks to my classmates for working with me during the learning process!

Final thoughts/ Reflections

     I'm not going to say that I'm now an expert chef. I still have a lot of practicing to do before I would even say I can cook well. But at least I can now respond to the question, "Can you cook?", with an answer like "sort of" or "a little". Before, I would have laughed and responded with "not at all". I've learned a lot of the basics of cooking, as well as having the ability to go to the grocery store and not be completely clueless. I feel comfortable in reading a recipe and putting together a meal. I realize that everything I make isn't going to be perfect and that it takes time and practice to become better. I plan on continuing to learn more recipes and advancing the items I make to the next level. I'd like to create a recipe book and find cost-friendly, healthy recipes. Cooking is time-consuming and expensive though, which can make it hard to fit into a busy schedule. I hope to find ways to add it into my day, whether it be by meal planning ahead of time or by finding fast recipes.

     I've realized the importance of having people to help when testing out a new skill. My major sources turned out to be my mom, my sister, and my friend Sydney. I used my brothers a lot as taste testers for my food. I had a lot of good reviews on what I cooked, but I also had some bad reviews. My brothers are more picky, so things like cooked carrots and broccoli didn't go over well with them. 

     Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I would recommend to anyone learning basic cooking skills. My major problem I had with this project was remembering to document everything and post it to my blog. I immediately wrote things down in my notebook, because I'm more of a pencil/ paper type of person. I'm working on getting better at sharing my material online. My goal is to continue cooking and continue blogging. I want to have my students blog, so I want to continue to use technology to reflect in order to show them the importance of doing so.
     I've yet to get a group together to actually cook a 4-course dinner for, but am hoping to do so at some point soon. When I do get the chance to put together a dinner, I will make guacamole and corn salsa, a regular salad, shrimp tacos (probably chicken too, for those who don't like seafood), and apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. 

Desserts

Now onto the fun things to make! I love desserts, and cooking them was an enjoyable (although time consuming) process.  

Apple Crisp 4/5

I found my recipe for this on a website called Allrecipes. Click here to get the recipe that I followed. The biggest pain about this was peeling and cutting all of the apples. It doesn't look all that great, but it tasted delicious. You definitely have to add vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce to this dessert to finish it off. 

                               BEFORE COOKING                                 FINAL PRODUCT

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

I feel like homemade chocolate chip cookies are a staple to any bakers list of recipes. I wasn't a huge fan of how the cookies turned out, but it could have been because of my oven or because of my baking times. I like the website AllRecipes, and used it again. Click here to find the recipe I used and how to prepare the cookies.

Chocolate Fudge 4.5/5

Allrecipes proved to be an awesome source. You can search anything you want to make and it typically comes up with a recipe. For my fudge, you can click here to find the recipe. I didn't realize how simple fudge is to make! It was probably one of the easiest desserts that I've done.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries 5/5

All I did for these was melt chocolate and dip strawberries in it. I melted the chocolate at one minute intervals, for 4 minutes total. The major problem I came across was that I got water in the chocolate, which caused it to get lumpy. Be careful not to get any water in your melted chocolate and make sure the strawberries are completely dry before dipping them.

Soups/ Salads

Soups and salads aren't something that I make often. I feel like I should incorporate salads more often in order to get my recommended vegetable intake for the day. I chose two salads, a regular garden salad and a strawberry salad. I also picked one soup to make, which is a copycat recipe of Panera's broccoli cheddar soup. Soups are something I want to work on more in the future, because they are easy to throw together and can be cooked during the day in a crock pot.

Strawberry Almond Salad 5/5

For my first salad, I decided to do a strawberry salad. I used spinach, almonds, raspberry vinaigrette, and fresh strawberries. This turned out pretty well. I liked the mixture of the fruity taste with the salad.

Garden Salad 4/5

For my second salad, I chose a regular garden salad. I used iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, boiled eggs, Italian dressing, and carrots. I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of this, but it was a pretty easy recipe. The only major thing I had to do was boil the eggs ahead of time. I feel like it's hard to go wrong with a basic salad, so this seemed to go over well with my family. Next time though, I will leave the toppings off of the salad, for people who don't like eggs or carrots on their salad.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup 3/5

For my broccoli soup, I followed a recipe on allrecipes. Click here to get the recipe. This soup wasn't a big hit. I'm not sure where I went wrong when making it, but it didn't seem to be a crowd favorite.

Entrees

I now see why people don't cook... Not only is cooking expensive, it is also time consuming! I'm learning to appreciate good food more though, as I'm cooking it. Besides the hefty price tag (the more ingredients you use, the more expensive it becomes), I actually enjoy cooking. You know exactly what's in your food, and you can adjust the taste of the food to your liking. 

I laugh now looking at my mom's struggle cooking for 5 kids with 5 completely different tastes. I hate green beans, Derek (my oldest brother) hates eggs, Kerrie doesn't like chocolate anything, AJ basically only eats PBJ, pop tarts, and chicken nuggets (keep in mind he's almost 20 years old), and Ryan won't eat anything that AJ won't eat. Yikes! How she ever made dinner that we all ate blows my mind. 

ANYWAYS...

I cooked different entrees and sides for this part of my project. I tried to use multiple different types of meats, but realized that I had no idea what to buy in the grocery store. I used this website for helping picking the best cuts. Before this project, I literally only had cooked chicken and eggs. Now, I can say I've cooked with shrimp, pork, and multiple different types of beef (steaks, roast, ground beef). I've made pizzas, homemade mashed potatoes, used a slow cooker, and have cut up my own veggies. 

Shrimp Tacos 5/5

This was another project done at my friend Sydney's house. She was definitely a big help in this project. She walked me through a lot of the cutting that we did. 

Ingredients

-1 pound bag of shrimp, peeled and no tail

-Soft shell tortillas

-Hot sauce (whatever kind you like)

-Corn and Black bean salsa (recipe can be found on my appetizers page)

-4-cheese blend

-Lettuce

We thawed the shrimp the night before we cooked it. If you don't thaw it ahead of time, you can rinse the shrimp under cold water to thaw it. We cooked the shrimp on the stove, making sure the shrimp were fully cooked. We then heated the tortillas in the microwave for about 20 seconds per tortilla. Add in whatever ingredients you like and you have a delicious shrimp taco!

Pot Roast: 5/5

I think this was my favorite dish to make. The slow cooker allowed for easy clean-up, because I used a slow cooker liner. 

Ingredients:

-2 chuck roast pieces (a little over a pound each)

-Bag of baby carrots

-5 potatoes

-Pot roast Mix Packet

-1 and 1/3 cup of water

The first thing I had to do was brown the pot roast. I did this on medium heat, and did each side for 4 minutes. 

While I was doing this, I washed and cut the potatoes into slices. 

After everything was washed and cut, and the meat was completely "browned" on each side, I put it all in the slow cooker. I mixed the packet and the water together before adding it to the slow cooker. I then added it in with all the ingredients and set the slow cooker to 8 hours. 

This was my final product. The beef was really tender, and it was my favorite meal to eat and to cook. 

Pork, Rice, and Mac N' Cheese 4/5

Okay, I'll admit it. This one wasn't really from scratch. I used the boxed mac n' cheese, and boxed rice. It definitely made my life easier and is a more realistic option. For these, I pretty much just followed the directions on the box. 

The pork was a learning process. I first cooked it on the stove. I seasoned it with a steak and chop seasoning, which I really like. I added olive oil and then cooked the pork chops on each side for 3 minutes. I then put them in the oven on 350 degrees. The timing on this is a little foggy for me. Our oven at my house is a little old, so I had to keep checking the chops to make sure there was no pink. In order to do this, I took them out and cut one of the pork chops in the middle. 

Here is my final product! My mom was a big resource for this one. I kept asking her simple questions like: How do I know this is done? How many people does one box of mac n' cheese feed? How much rice should I make? 

Steak, homemade mashed potatoes, and broccoli 3.5/5

This was a hard one for me to make. I wasn't sure about broccoli timing, I had no idea how to make homemade mashed potatoes, and I've never made steak before. Cooking the steak was difficult, because I had no idea how long to cook it for. 

The first step was buying the steak at the grocery store. I went with a Spencer steak, which turns out to be another name for a ribeye. The cut was great. There was a good amount of marbling (fat) which gave it a really awesome flavor. I first seasoned the steak with steak n' chop seasoning. 

I then browned the steak on each side for 3 minutes per side. I put the pan in the oven on 350 degrees. This was the tricky part. My boyfriend prefers his medium well. So I had to continue to check both steaks to see what their internal temperature was. 

I cooked the broccoli in the oven at 350 degrees. I left it in around 8 minutes to give it a little crispness, making sure to not overcook it. 

I cut up potatoes and put them in a pan with plenty of water. I cooked them over medium heat, making sure that the water didn't boil over. I let these cook for about an hour. These ended up taking a lot longer than the steak, so if I did this again, I will definitely cook the potatoes ahead of time. 

This was my final product. Not too shabby for a first attempt! I overcooked the medium well steak a little, so I need to keep a better eye on the steaks as they are cooking. 

Appetizers

Okay, so the first thing you learn about cooking when you start to cook is that nothing goes as planned. At least, that was the case for me. My original plans took a nose dive after discovering a few things. One, I don't have a double boiler. I hate to buy one if I don't know that I will use it. So I had to swap the idea of making queso for quacamole. Two, peeling eggs isn't as easy as you would think. My deviled eggs turned into egg salad. And three, no matter how much you follow a recipe, you may have to improvise. Let me know what you think! Side note: I also made egg salad, but didn't take any pictures or write down the recipe. I'm pretty new to this whole blogging thing, so writing every thing down and remembering to document is not easy for me. 

MY CREATIONS:

The first thing that I made was guacamole. My friend Sydney helped me with the ingredients and set up for this. When grocery shopping, Sydney helped me to pick out a ripe avocado. I had no idea what to look for, but she explained it to me. The avocado should be a little squishy, but not super squishy. If it's too hard, it will be too hard to mash.

Guacamole 4/5

Ingredients: 

4 avacados

4 tsp of lime juice

4 tblsp cilantro

a handful of red onion

1 jalepeno

salt to taste

First, we took the pit out of the avacados by cutting them in half and scooped the avocado out. We then mashed them with a fork. We squeezed the juice out of two limes, cut up some red onion, cut a jalepeno (making sure to take the seeds out), added cilantro, and mixed it all in with the mashed avocados. We then added salt, a little bit at a time, and mixed it in. We continually added salt until we liked the way the guacamole tasted.

TACO PIZZA 3.5/5

Next, I made taco pizza. I followed a recipe from LivingWellMom for this. On her website, she does a really great job walking you through the cooking process.

Ingredients

2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded lettuce

I'll let you go to LivingWellMom's website to get the rest of the recipe. I don't want to take credit for something I didn't create! I really thought it was an easy recipe to follow and was easy to make. I liked the flavor, but my brother-in-law said it would have been much better with taco sauce. My timing on taking it out wasn't great, so the crust was cold when I served it. 

Homemade Pizza 2.5/5

I originally was planning on doing more of flatbread pizza, and following the recipe from Carrie's Experimental Kitchen. However, things didn't go as planned, so I improvised. I used too small of a pan, so my "flatbread" turned into a thick crust pizza. I also didn't have a lot of the ingredients for the first recipe (mayonaise and garlic were main ingredients that I thought we had in the kitchen, only to find out we didn't have them). I found pizza sauce in the cupboard, so decided to make a more traditional pizza. 

       

I set the oven to 350 degrees and let it preheat. I spread the dough out into the pan. I added some olive oil to the dough. I then cooked it for 10 minutes. It didn't seem to be fully cooked at that point, so I put it back in for 5 more minutes. I then added the pizza sauce, cut up tomatoes, plenty of mozzarella cheese, and basil. I baked it for another 15 minutes. 

I didn't like how this one turned out. I don't think the dough cooked all the way in some spots. The flavor also wasn't all that great. I think adding pepperoni or black olives (some other type of flavor) could have helped. My brothers and mom also didn't really like this recipe. The term "bland" came up a lot when describing it. 

Black Bean and Corn Salsa 4/5

This was an improvised recipe. My friend Sydney (who also helped with the guacamole) helped with this one. I liked the flavor of it! I'm excited to share this with you all. 

Ingredients:

3 cans of black beans

2 cans of corn

Diced red onion (we used about a handful)

Cilantro (again, about a handful) 

1/2 a jalepeno

Lemon and Lime Juice (juice from a small lemon and a small lime)

Salt and Pepper to taste

We basically just cut everything up and mixed it together! Make sure to drain the juice from the black beans and corn.

Technology and Productivity

     Technology can definitely be used to help me become a more productive teacher. It can help me with grading, so I have more time to spend with students. It can help me to let students work at their own pace, instead of all at one pace. It can also help me to keep things more organized and allow for more effective communication with students and with parents. There are many, many other ways technology can be used.

     I can also use technology to help solve problems. As Jake mentioned in the Powerpoint presentation, technology is not the goal of the lesson, but a tool used to solve a problem or to meet a goal. We can increase student engagement, communication, and interest by incorporating technology. If a student is behind, we can use technology to let them work at their own pace. We can find tutorials on YouTube to help learn how to do/use different tools. We can also use technology to find others' who have more experience and can help with our teaching methods. Personally, I can find interesting ways to teach lessons to my students by reading what others have done in the past. I can also learn about different technology tools by reading blogs and watching videos. I can increase my organization and time management by using technological tools. Students will hopefully be more interested in learning, and will be more focused. Parents will be better connected to me and to their students learning process. By keeping a blog, parents can read it to see what we are learning in my classroom each week.

     I see myself using multiple productivity tools. The article, 9 Smart Productivity Hacks for Teachers, lists some tools I will likely use. I will use PlanBoard (or something similar) to plan my lessons on. Instead of having everything written in a notebook, I can stay organized through the use of an app. I will use the Google system for students to communicate with me and eachother easily. I will use GoogleDocs for easy grading and feedback of written assignments. This video discusses Google for Education and it's uses in the classroom. I will likely use YouTube to either post videos or to find videos that are relevant to my material. I may use Zaption, or something similar to help students stay engaged with videos. I also want to formatively assess my students during any lectures I may do, so things like Turning Tech or Kahoot will be tools I will use in my classroom. There are so many things you can do with technology that I could go on and on. Technology can be used in many ways, and can increase both teacher and student productivity in the classroom.

Blended Learning

     We have used blended learning a lot in our technology class. For those of you who don't know what blended learning is, this website provides a lot of good information on the topic. I think it has been effective in teaching me different technological tools. The cool tool reviews have provided me insight into the different applications that are available to us to improve our teaching. We also have used blogs and twitter to share information. I think this is something that is important to learn how to do, because blogs help you to reflect on material learned. By reading others' blogs, we can also gain additional insight into other teachers' thoughts on different topics.

     I feel that our technology class could have been more blended, where we watched videos before class instead of during. We could then use class time to discuss different topics and our thoughts on the topics.
     I personally think blended learning should be implemented more in the classroom. Station rotation can be used in younger students to prevent boredom. Lab rotation would be awesome for me as a future science educator. I also really like the flipped classroom style and plan to use it in my own classroom. Having students learn material online and use class time for discussion and reflection can help students stay interested and motivated. I also think using blogs to reflect on knowledge can be beneficial for students.

     Stacy Hawthorne discussed with us how blended learning changed the students attitudes towards the classroom. Technology in the classroom can help to raise the achievement bar. Having a relationship with the students also is important to help them learn.

     Stacy is a fantastic source for blended learning information, having worked with schools and districts across the US to develop blended learning styles. She tells us that in a blending learning model, students have to have control over time, place, path, and pace. There are four types of blended learning models. The first is the rotation model (which includes station rotation, lab rotation, flipped classroom, and individual rotation). The second is the flex model, which is where students have complete flexibility. The next is enriched virtual, and the last is a self-blend model.
     If there is not any institutional support, you should use the station rotation model. This is easy to implement. Flipped is also common for teachers. Self-blend is common for students who go to a traditional school but take online classes.
     One major thing that I took away from Stacy's presentation was that it is important to not get hung up on the definition blended learning. You can use lab rotation and flipped rotation at the same time. She also talked about the importance of really knowing your online technology. She also mentioned that if you don't 100 percent know what you're doing with a certain piece of technology, you shouldn't add the technology to your classroom.
     Blended learning is very personal to the teacher, to your students, and to your subject. You can find pieces and parts to blend. You can determine whether to blend just a particular unit, or the whole year. You have to think about how much support students will need in the classroom. The main reason to go to a blended learning format is in order to create a better relationship with students and to improve achievement.
     The article, Five Reasons Blended Learning Fails, discusses the different problems that can occur with blended learning. These problems include: programs starting too fast, no staff buy-in, students that don't feel invested, tools that aren't chosen strategically, and not changing the org chart. Keeping the failures in mind can help us to achieve the best success with our blended learning models.

Formative Assessment

• What is your philosophy on assessment? 

     My philosophy on assessment is that formative assessment is incredibly important. Assessing students as they are learning the material is necessary to see how well students are performing. 

Rick Wormeli tells us that formative assessment has the greatest impact on student achievement. Kids can learn without grades but they can not learn without a formative assessment. If we focus on summative assessment, students don't learn as well. 

     When we focus less on grades and focus more on formatively assessing students, we see an increase in student achievement and mastery. Alfie Kohn discusses all of the negative impacts of grades on student achievement. He tells us that grades reduce the students interest in learning itself, reduce students preference for challenging tasks, and reduce the quality of students thinking. While I think deadlines are necessary to make sure students stay focused on the task at hand, I don't see the importance in grades. I agree that our focus should be more on formative assessment and students success and achievement, instead of summative assessments and grades.

• What are your impressions about the 2 formative assessment technologies (PearDeck & EduCanon) Scott shared?

     PearDeck is an interactive presentation which engages students using a polling system. I think this is a good technique to use to see if students are understanding concepts during the learning process. We can use polls to see the percentage of the class that knows an answer. We can also have students write definitions or answers to questions and submit them to the teacher. I would like to use something along the lines of PearDeck when doing any lectures to my students to be sure that they are understanding the material being presented. 

     EduCanon is a great source to help teachers flip their classrooms. Interactive questions can be added to videos to help teachers gauge students learning. I really like this tool a lot. I'm a big proponent for the flipped classroom style and I think a tool like this can be very beneficial in students learning process. The teacher can tell by looking at responses that students learning is taking place. 

• What was the most striking thing you took away from Scott's presentation? How will it impact your own learning?

     Scott really highlighted the importance between formative and summative assessments. He also showed us in the video two different tools to use for formative assessment during the learning process. PearDeck and EduCanon are two tools that I will likely use in the future. When it comes to my own learning, I will try to start taking tests/ doing practice problems during the learning process instead of after. 

     Scott also brought up many other topics related to formative assessments. Knowing the standards for what I am teaching is incredibly important. Pre-assessing students is also something that Scott talked about. By giving a pre-assessment, we can see what students know and don't know. Socrative was also discussed. It can be used to quiz students and to give us results regarding each question on the quiz. We can then analyze our teaching style and students' learning using the results given. This was another handy tool that he presented us with that I will more than likely use in my teaching. 

Final Cool Tool Review: Bitstrips

Overall, I would definitely not recommend the use of Bitstrips in the classroom. Besides inappropriate content and language, the application is not uploading my bitmojis to my computer from my cell phone. Read on to learn more:

What is the tool that you have chosen? What does it do? What else do you know about it?

     The tool that I have chosen to use is Bitstrips. It is a comic character creator. I know that it is commonly used by high school and college students. When I originally picked this application to review, I thought that you could make comic strips with it. I realize through working with the app that you can't create your own comics. You can only use the comics that they have given to you. There are multiple different comic pictures that you can choose from. They can depict your current mood, can send someone a message (such as wishing them happy birthday or telling them thanks), or can tell people what you are currently doing.

How might you use the tool in the classroom? Think about TPACK and link your example to it.

     I wouldn't use this particular tool in the classroom. I like the idea of creating an avatar, but this particular tool may not be appropriate in the classroom. Things like comics that give the middle finger and comics that use cuss words would make this inappropriate for classroom use.

     Having an avatar that looks similar to yourself could be useful in the virtual world, so students could potentially use this application to create a bitmoji for use as a profile picture. We can relate this to TPACK by incorporating the avatar into usage in the technology framework. Many students may want to have online discussions about content, but don't want to use their own face as the main user in order to protect privacy. An avatar could increase technological communications in students.

Why would you use the tool in the classroom? Again, think about TPACK:)

Again, I would use this tool to create an avatar. I think students feel more comfortable participating in online discussions with an avatar as their profile picture. This relates to the technology component of TPACK. We can relate this to content knowledge because we could have online discussions using the Bitmoji characters. I don't think students will get enough out of this application for it to be worth using in the classroom. As discussed before, this may be a good application concept, but the app itself is more for use outside of the classroom due to the inappropriate nature of the application.

Could students use this app to create their own digital media artifacts? What makes it easy to use? What would challenge students?

Students could definitely use this to create their own avatar! It's super user friendly. You first create a character that depicts you, then you get to dress the character. It's meant to be a public application, with the ability to create an avatar easily. Picking a classroom appropriate comic may be something that students would struggle to do. Another major issue that I ran into was uploading my bitmojis to my computer from my phone. I tried sending them via Facebook and email, but the upload failed. Students may run into the same issue when creating an avatar.

Link to the website where the app can be accessed or downloaded.

This is an android application, but a link to the website can be found at http://www.bitstrips.com/

Learning Space in the Classroom

How can space (“learning space”) encourage student engagement and learning?

     Learning space can absolutely encourage and also discourage engagement and learning. A good learning space can increase attention span and engagement while a bad learning space can do the opposite. Later, I will discuss how challenging traditional learning spaces can increase student learning.
     In her video, Holli Tonyan discusses "Campfires in Cyberspace". She talks about the four different areas that need to be in a space, whether it be in person or virtual instruction. The campfire is the first area, which is where storytelling (lecture) takes place. The second, the watering hole, is where the discussion occurs. Thirdly, there is the cave. In the cave, we encourage reflective learning done by students. Lastly, we have the mountain top, which is where students tell everyone what they know and also relate learning to the world. Overall, we need students to be able to listen and learn, discuss, reflect, and share their learning. These are the four needs that have to be met to encourage successful learning and retention of information.

What role can Google Apps for Education (GAFE) play in the development of learning spaces?

Google Apps for Education can help develop online learning spaces. The website, Google for Education, lists reasons why we should use GAFE. First off, it is a free resource. Secondly, you can use it on any device. It also allows for easy collaboration on documents and projects. Also, communicating is easy on this system. Personally, I like to use the google apps that the University of Akron provides for us. Using it for powerpoints, word documents, and worksheets is easy and free for me to use.

What assumptions should we challenge as we design learning spaces for the future?  

   

     We should challenge the traditional classroom assumptions when designing new learning spaces. As discussed in the video "Flexible Learning Environments", we need to focus on keeping students comfortable. By having movable chairs, carpets, comfortable places to sit, places to lie down, places to stand, and the ability to move around, the students are more engaged in what the teacher is saying. This video also encourages teachers to give up control when it comes to the traditional learning environment and let students take the lead on their learning process.

     The video "Project-based Learning at High Tech High" also challenges traditional stereotypes and thoughts. The head of this school shows the benefits of having smart classrooms with technology available in many different ways. The school has all glass windows instead of traditional walls. The school also incorporates students of all socioeconomic statuses and encourages all students to pursue further education past high school.

     The article, "Designing the 21st Century K-12 Classroom" lists six things that all classrooms should have. This list includes: desks and furniture that support collaboration, ample electrical outlets, a "smart" teacher lectern, lighting that is easy to control, physical space that goes outside of the classroom, and fewer expansive gathering areas. This list is pretty comprehensive and incorporates technology as well as group learning.

How does The University of Akron's campus currently approach the design and development of informal learning spaces?

     The University of Akron's campus is currently working towards designing and developing new informal learning spaces. The library is the learning "hub" for learning outside of the classroom. There are multiple computers, which include both Macs and PCs for people who have different preferences. There are also multiple meeting rooms that include projectors in order for students to have group study sessions and meetings. The library has a lot of outlets, including some built into the tables. There is a Starbucks with food and coffee which supports using the library as a meeting place. There are booths for comfort and more traditional chairs for easy mobility which support group work. I think that the University of Akron is doing well in supporting the use of technology in education.

How well do the informal learning spaces on UA campus align with your needs and expectations as a learner? 

     I would say overall, the informal learning spaces meet my needs and expectations pretty well. I have used meeting rooms for group study sessions, I like to use the student union sometimes when I want a more open environment with lots of people. I like going to the library because there are quiet areas upstairs that help me to focus. The only thing that I would say needs improved is the amount of computers in the library. I often use the computers and during the week, especially close to the end of the semester, there are no open computers. It can be frustrating when I can't get on a computer in order to do homework or study. Other than that, I really like The University of Akron's set-up.

Cool Tool Review: Camtasia

What is the tool that you have chosen? What does it do? What else do you know about it?

The tool that I chose to review this week is called Camtasia. Camtasia is a pretty awesome tool, and has a lot of different functions. The main purpose that I would use Camtasia for is for screencasting. Lectures can be recorded using Camtasia and downloaded to different media outlets (Youtube, etc.) for students to view. Using this software, you can edit and create videos. There is no limit to the length of videos recorded on Camtasia. I found the software to be user friendly, and would definitely use it in the future.

The major downfall to this program is the cost. In order to buy the unlimited software, there is a charge of 199$. If I found myself creating videos and screencasts often, I would find the software to be worth the price. However, at the current moment, it isn't economically advantageous for me to buy the program. I did, however, enjoy the free 30 day trial that they offer.
This video, released by TechSmith, gives a run down on Camtasia and it's uses.

How and why might you use the tool in the classroom?

I would use this tool in order to create a flipped classroom. I would have students watch videos ahead of time created using Camtasia. I could then use class time to have discussions, do projects, and have students reflect on the material. I really like the idea of a flipped classroom, and hope that tools like Camtasia can help this become a major concept in my future classes.

Could students use this app to create their own digital media artifacts? What makes it easy to use? What would challenge students?

I wouldn't have students use this to create their own artifacts. This comes down to the cost of the program. I found it to be user friendly and really liked the program; however, I would have students use free software to create videos. Overall, I really enjoyed using this program. I would recommend at least trying the free 30 day trial to those who are unsure about spending the money on the program.

EBooks in the Classroom

How did/do you see the use of ebooks impacting the writing process? How will that affect students? How will it effect your teaching?

     At first, I was hesitant about the use of e-books not only in the classroom, but also in general. I enjoy being able to open a book and to flip to any page I need to go to. But after using e-books more and more often, I realize how convenient they really are. We can now download any genre of book, from anywhere in the world. We can share and create our own books, as well as download others' works. You can click on certain topics to learn more about them, you can have words you don't understand read out loud, and you can search for certain words in the text.
     So it makes me wonder, how will this impact the writing process? I think it will have major impacts on the writing and reading process. When it comes to writing, students can write e-books in order to feel like they are writing for a much larger audience. As Rushton Hurley said, "When children create for the world, they make it good. When children only create for their teacher, they make it good enough". This quote really sums up the importance of allowing students to write and create e-books. They can write to a broader audience and see when people download and comment on their work. Jon Smith has done a lot of research on the topic of e-books. One interesting implication that he found when working with students with autism in 5th and 6th grade was that engagement increased. He found that students spent more time on task, and seemed excited about writing. This was something he was struggling to do at first, even when using multiple different writing prompts. He discusses his journey with the students here.
     I know that this is something that will affect my teaching. Technology is an important aspect to students, now more than ever. Incorporating things such as creating e-books in the classroom can help to keep students engaged and interested in different topics. For teachers who are new to e-books or unsure how to create them, here is a link that helps to breakdown the e-book creating process.

What benefits do you see to using student created ebooks in the classroom? How do you see them fitting in your future classroom? What main considerations will you need to make to use them effectively?

     As I stated before, student created e-books can increase engagement in the classroom. I will definitely use student created e-books in the future. Science is a really good subject to use these for, because students can create books to reinforce learning of knowledge from the classroom. They can provide links to sources and put videos on their e-books. It is important to incorporate content and pedagogy into the e-books. We want students to learn while creating these. We also need to consider the available technology in our classroom. Some classrooms may have computers for every students, while others may have one or no computers for all of the students.

    What was the most striking thing you took away from Jon's presentation? How will it impact your own learning?

     The most striking thing that I took away from Jon's presentation was the impact of writing e-books on students learning. During his video, he told us that kids should be creating stuff. Kids really don't enjoy worksheets. They should also be sharing their work in order to feel like the audience is larger than just the teacher. Another important point that Jon Smith gave in his lecture is that we should give students some kind of sense of the world and globe. Trying to make them walk away not only as better students, but also as better citizens and creators in our society. Jon has copies of e-books created by his students here. They give us a good sense of what students are capable of when it comes to creating e-books.

     I realize that keeping students excited about learning is key to keeping them interested. Incorporating new technology, such as e-books, can help to facilitate the learning process. I also recognize that technology is quickly changing, and that it is important to stay current on the technology that is available for use.

Copyright, Public Domain, and Creative Commons Licenses

What is your responsibility as a teacher to understand and use images with copyright, public domain, and creative commons licenses?

     An issue that often arises with the use of technology is the issue of copyright. Teachers and students are often unaware of what is allowed to be used and what isn't allowed to be used inside and outside of the classroom. It is our responsibility as teachers to understand copyright laws and to help our students understand copyright laws. As our society becomes more reliant on technology, we want our students to know what they are allowed to use and what they are not allowed to use.
     Teachingcopyright.org gives a lot of information on what copyright is and isn't. They give us a definition of copyright: Their website tells us that "copyright is a form of legal protection automatically provided to the authors of original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works". So from this, we can determine that copyright is meant to protect the creator of artistic works. By incorrectly using these works, we are violating a policy, which is called copyright infringement.
     There is a document called, "A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright" by Cathy Newsome that lays out what exactly copyright covers. In this document, there is a chart that lays out fair use compared to illegal use of different materials. This is a great reference point for teachers who are unsure whether or not their material is allowed to be used in the classroom.
     Creative commons licenses help to get material shared more easily. There are different creative commons licenses, which allow you to decide the level of copyright on your material. We need to know the different types of creative commons licenses so that we can use materials properly. We know when we see a C symbol, it is necessary to contact the creator before sharing the image. However, if we see a cc symbol, we can follow the rules for how to properly use this material. If you have any further confusion, watch the video on this link, done by Common Craft, for more information.

What are our responsibilities to use (and teach students) to select images, text, video, and audio with proper citations?

     It is our responsibility to teach students how to properly select and cite images, text, video, and audio. We need to give credit to individuals who create content. We also need to help students to understand the importance of copyright.

     We also need to teach them about Creative Commons and the different licenses that we see so they know how to use and cite the material correctly. The following video, done by The Teaching Channel and Common Sense Media, follows Novella Bailey. She is a teacher at a middle school in New York who is helping us to learn how to teach our students about many of these issues.

What are the ethical issues around music and movie downloading? How can this be addressed with your students?

     The major ethical issues around music and movie downloading are fair use issues. By illegally downloading works that don't belong to us, we are taking someone's work without giving them credit. By doing so, we are participating in copyright infringement, which is illegal. By teaching students about the problems that arise by illegally downloading materials, we can hopefully get them to find better, legal sources. We also need to help students to understand the importance of copyright. I would like to have students create original material (videos, artwork, etc.). I would then tell them that someone took the material without paying for it. Then we could have a group discussion about how this makes them feel. They worked hard to create this material, and aren't receiving payment for it. This would be a good way to have students really understand the true importance of copyright infringement.

Recipes for Appetizers

Hi all! I was hoping to get rocking and rolling on cooking up some appetizers last week; however, I had the flu. Not only did I not feel like cooking, I don't think anyone would want to eat anything I cooked. I did, however, make a list of appetizers to make and a list of ingredients needed.

My main source for recipes was Pinterest! If you've never used Pinterest before, I highly recommend it. You can save recipes, workouts, etc. on different boards for future use. I created a board specifically for this project in order to store potential recipes for future use.

The first recipe I found was for Loaded Deviled Eggs. Deviled eggs are something I've always wanted to learn to make, so I definitely wanted to include them in my project. The recipe can be found on the website link: SixSistersStuff.

My next recipe can be found on the Baking Fairy's page. I think queso is simple, but really tasty. It is always a hit a parties and I'm hoping to learn to make it.

Holly from Spendingwithpennies posted a recipe for honey garlic wings that I am really looking forward to trying. I know it sounds crazy, but I am a complete newbie to cooking! I've only ever used chicken breast, so cooking wings will be an adventure for me. I'm hoping that by using her recipe, I'll be able to cook some tasty wings for parties in the future.

My next recipe is for a taco pizza. This is a little heartier of an appetizer, but I think it would be good for potlucks, etc. I found the recipe on a website called Living Well Mom, and it promises to be a crowd pleaser!

Because I have quite a few friends who are vegetarian, I wanted to do something similar to the taco pizza, but with a vegetarian option. I found a recipe for a caprese flatbread on a website named Carrie's Experimental Kitchen, from a fellow blogger named Carrie. I'm excited to try this new recipe because it looks delicious!

I'm excited to start cooking this week! I'm hoping I feel better soon so I can start ASAP! Cheers to starting my learning experience!

Lesson Paths: Cool Tool

     The tool that I've chosen for this week is Lesson Path.  Lesson Path can be used to upload videos, write articles, put links to other sites, and also to create pop quizzes for students. You can create a "learning playlist" for students. You can also find material that has been uploaded by other users for use in your classroom. Lesson Paths can be used for academic and also recreational purposes.

     Lesson Path could be used as an online learning tool for students. This tool could also be used to upload material that was covered in class so that students that were absent for the day can learn the material. I would use this tool in the classroom as a supplement to material covered during class. You can add a quiz to the end of the lesson to make sure students understand what was covered.

     Overall, I didn't like this tool. I found it complicated to create a lesson and I didn't like the set-up. I tried to create a learning playlist covering the planets in the solar system. I also created a pop quiz to go along with it. I would have preferred an in class activity or a different website to help students learn about the planets in the solar system, compared to the lesson that I created.

     However, I found some good lessons that others have created using Lesson Path that I liked a lot. I personally wouldn't use it to create lessons; however, I think that I may use it to find supplemental material to use in my classroom. I would like to find a different website with an easier set-up for my own use.

    I don't think that I would have students use this site to create their own digital media artifacts. As I said before, I found it difficult to use. I would have students use a blog or website format instead of using Lesson Paths. Although others may enjoy using Lesson Paths, I did not like the format of the website.