Educational Myths

    The most surprising myth to me was the one about the different learning styles (audio, visual, etc.). I have spent much of my life believing that these styles really do affect how each child learns. Many of my lessons that I have written have had different learning styles in mind. I had never heard about the percentage thing so that was also very interesting. It did not seem very plausible though.
    I'm not really sure how to phrase this because I don't necessarily disagree because it's backed by research, but I feel like students do have different learning styles to an extent. It is definitely easier for me to learn when I have things written out for me versus when I have things told to me. But, it really does depend on the situation and I would not say that I need things written all of the time. Perhaps it's not necessarily a thing that's ingrained or specific to each student, but some things are more helpful than others.
    I have had professors that want me to speak to each learning style when planning lessons or activities. Especially in high school did I see these different learning styles mentioned. I often took tests or quizzes to figure out what learning style I was. The teachers never did much with it, but they made sure that we knew which style we were.
    To change someone's mind, I would suggest that it is not true and offer to show them some research. I would simply say, "huh. I actually heard that that is untrue. I read an article about it in my fifth year at GV." I would then suggest that it is nice to plan lessons for different learning styles or to make sure that students really get it, but it's more important to focus on making sure the student is focused and interactive. If a teacher plans a whole lesson toward auditory learners and the kids get nothing out of it, then it's not because they are not auditory learners, but because the lesson was not captivating or the teacher went to fast or another reason.

Fair Use

The topic I have been assigned is fair use. 

• Definition: 

• Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism - See more at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/#sthash.onebvczO.dpuf

• http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use

• Why the law is in place:

• The rationale behind Fair Use is to help protect freedom of speech. If someone wants to make a comment about anything that is copyrighted, a song or a movie per se, the Fair Use law allows them to do so and use a portion of what they are talking about without getting in trouble for using copy-righted information. For example, if someone wanted to make a negative comment about the movie "The Wizard of Oz" and wanted to use a quote or a clip of that movie to make their point, under the Fair Use law, they are allowed to without the people that hold "The Wizard of Oz"'s copy right coming after them.

• http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use

• Statistics:

• IP theft has a negative effect on employment in all copyright industries. It is estimated that the U.S. economy loses 373,375 jobs annually due to piracy.

• The U.S. Trade Representative estimated that the U.S. economy lost between $200 and $250 billion in 2005 due to piracy.

• http://thefightagainstinternetpiracy.weebly.com/statistics.html

• A teaching resource:

• Videos

• http://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-copyright-fair-use

• The link that I gave takes you to a page with different videos about fair use and copyright information to use in the classroom. Each video is about 6 minutes long and meant for middle school students. It gives the definition of fair use and copyright and also gives students situations where they look at if fair use is fair

• Lesson plan

• This next link is an entire lesson plan based on teaching copyright and fair use. There are links to different sources that have info about copyright/fair use, tests and quizzes on the material, as well as ideas on how to relate it back to your students

Feedly

Flubaroo

• For my technology tool, I signed up to research Flubaroo. Flubaroo is an online tool that allows teachers and students to grade things quickly and accurately. The types of tests that Flubaroo can grade are somewhat limited (Multiple Choice and Fill-in-the-blank). Even though the grading can be fairly limited, Flubaroo allows teachers to save time on the easy aspects of the grading and spend more time on the things that require more attention, like essay questions or short answer. Flubaroo also has many other tools useful to a teacher and students, like showing individualized feedback, showing the different grades through graphs, and the option to email students directly with an answer key. Basically, Flubaroo makes grading easier and less time consuming, a plus for all teachers!
• Flubaroo is great for teachers because it allows them so much more time to do other, more important things. Flubaroo is also useful to students and the classroom in general. Teachers can make practice tests for students to practice for an upcoming exam. Students can stay up to date with their own personal achievement and get individualized feedback from teachers. They can keep up with how they're doing on a certain subject and make sure they know where they stand quickly and simply.
• I found a few different sources that reviewed Flubaroo and its effectiveness. 
• The first review I found was from Edshelf and the reviewer stated that Flubaroo was "easy to use...straight forward...a perfect fit." The reviewer loved that they could use their already favorite tools like google docs, with Flubaroo. One user stated that Flubaroo was a bit hard to set up, but tutorials on Youtube helped out!
• Another review I found was from Teaching Generation Now. This review was more extensive. They stated that they loved Flubaroo because "It is free... It is easy to use... It can be used with many subjects and many ages..." The cons that they came up with for Flubaroo are that it can only grade things that have one correct answer. They also didn't like how you could only use graphs for whole class data and not individual data.
• Another review is by Exploring Learning. This user loved how easy it was to use Flubaroo and that you can use it with Google docs. They believe Flubaroo is "a really useful tool" and it "allows her to see which areas were misunderstood" quite simply
• One drawback to Flubaroo is that you must use it with google forms. It does not work with simple Word documents or Excel.
• There are a few alternatives to using Flubaroo
• Autocrat
• FormMule
• Super Quiz
• Here is a list of educational resources for Flubaroo!
• This is a video for Flubaroo. It shows how to use Flubaroo to grade assignments. This video goes step by step through the Flubaroo add on for google docs.
• This link comes from "ThingLink" and is actually a diagram that shows step by step instructions on how to use Flubaroo in the classroom with grading.
• This link comes from "edcode.org", a website that suggests tools for teachers' use. It explains that Flubaroo enables quick and easy grading!
• Scott Siberson goes over the different features specific to Flubaroo and how it will make grading easier for teachers.
• This link will show you the ins and outs of using Flubaroo in your classroom.

Technology Blog Post

• How many computers are in the classroom?
• The classrooms in my school do not have stationary computers in the classroom. Each teacher has a laptop that the district provides. These are generally the only computers that are in the classroom. These laptops are the teacher's laptops and the students do not have access to it. We have a computer lab, which is right across the hall from my classroom.
• Does the teacher have a computer connected to a projector?
• The teacher has a document camera (My CT uses this majority of the time) and the option to connect their lap top to a projector. My CT rarely connects her laptop to a projector, unless we are showing a video or something from online (an article, a website, etc.) 
• Do the students have their own devices?
• The students have access to ipads. There are 30 ipads for 2 classrooms and they alternate using them. They have access to computers when they go into the computer lab. There are 30 computers available. On the Ipads, they have different math and spelling apps that we will be using. Currently, our ipads are not working. Of course there are a few hiccups in the beginning of the school year and we are excited to get to start using our ipads and the different apps. 
• Are they able to bring in their own devices?
• There is a network for students to bring in their own devices, "byod." This is more so for the older students, as our elementary friends are doing as much with one on one technology. Since we have Ipads for the students to use in the building, as well as a computer lab with enough computers for each student, there is no need for the younger students to bring their own device. We do most of our work on paper and only some of the work needs a device to complete. 
• How many computer labs are in the building?
• There is only one computer lab. It has 30 computers in it and 1 printer. Since there is only one computer lab, each class has an assigned computer lab day and time. Thus far, we have not run into any problems with only having one computer lab. 
• How many movable carts (e.g., a cart containing a classroom set of laptops or tablets) does the building have?
• There are enough movable carts for each classroom to use them with another i.e. two classrooms to a cart. There are 5 grades with 3-4 teachers in each grade, so there are about 15 or so carts with 30 ipads.
• Currently, my teacher does not believe that the district is following their tech plan as it is stated. One such problem is that in it, there is a piece about how the staff will be given the tools to help the students integrate technology into the classroom. My CT wishes that the tech staff would give them more control and allow them to do things on their own. Right now, the tech staff has to do everything for the staff. My CT expresses the concern that she wishes the tech people would teach them how so they wouldn't have to wait on the tech staff to do it. At this point, there are little to no opportunities to assist teachers and staff in becoming more effective with their technology. There is little direction into how to use the technology in the classroom. The tech plan states that the want to allow technology to be widely and readily available to the students, but it's frustrating when they have the ipads but they aren't working properly. This plan was written for the 2012-2015 school year. Thus far, my CT is not happy with the tech plan and the support they have been given. I am hoping that as the year progresses and we get settled back into a routine, the technology available at my school becomes more easily accessed and I get to see the students interact with it!

Post #5

Personally, I think that using blogs in the classroom is a fantastic idea! Today, parents and students alike are always looking for a simpler, quicker, way to get the information they need. Sending home a newsletter in a child's backpack is simple, but there are so many things that could go wrong. It could get lost, destroyed, forgotten. For older students, they're less likely to pass on the information to their parents.
A class blog would help parents and students stay connected to the teacher. Today, most people are connected to their technology. They have smart phones, computers, tablets, and more. It would be super simple for a parent to jump on a teacher blog and see what their students are doing or what they need to prepare for. Older students could easily use their phones or computers to get on their teacher's blog to see assignments, things they need to remember, and activities that are coming up. Another advantage to a class blog is that it is real time. An email or a note sent home is useless if something is forgotten or plans change. If that was the case, multiple emails would have to be sent out and important details would not be conveyed until the next day.
Blogs help students explore technology and how it can be useful. They can communicate with their peers and teachers by commenting or messaging. A blog post is time stamped, which would help the teacher keep track of when assignments are turned in. Blogs allow the students to be interactive and collaborate with their peers about assignments and ideas. I also think that a blog is safer and more effective than a Twitter or a Facebook, especially for younger students. With a simple blog, students aren't putting as many personal details about themselves out in the open.

Post #4

Educational Blogs

1. Mrs. Lynch's Blog: Mrs. Lynch is the principal for Ravenna Middle School in Ravenna, Michigan. Her blog has many different links to different educational activities and resources, such as free typing tests, ideas for technology in the classroom, and her personal book list. 
2. The Lemonade Stand Teachers: The Lemonade Stand is a blog by a kindergarten teacher. I could not find an about me page or her name on the blog, although she did have a picture of herself. On The Lemonade Stand, there are various blogs about how she has set up her classroom, activities for the different holidays, interactive math journals, and other math ideas. It appears as if she blogs frequently, as her last post was September 2nd,
3. Whalecome to Second Grade: This blog is by a third grade teacher named Christina from Virginia. She was originally in a second grade classroom, but was transferred to third for this school year. Christina's blog seems to be a blog about her personal experiences in the classroom and ways she has dealt with different situations. She frequently blogs about the books she shares with her kiddos, her classroom setup, and classroom management.
4. Julia Garnett: Julia Garnett's blog is a bit different from the other blogs I looked at. Julia is an art teacher in Parma, Michigan. Her blog showcases different pieces of art that she has made, information for the parents and students in her classroom, and different projects she is undertaking. 
5. Jennifer Ward: Jennifer Ward is an English teacher in Ionia. She is also a technology enthusiast. Her blog generally has posts about how to incorporate technology into the classroom, how she runs her classroom, and tips and tricks for new teachers.
6. Mrs. Jenkins Blog: Mrs. Jenkins blog is a lot like blackboard. She posts what each of her computer classes are going to be doing, what to anticipate the next week, and assignments the students might have.
7. CEC: This blog is actually a blog put on by CEC. It showcases important ideas, activities, tips and tricks, and answers questions that new special education teachers might have. There are four different women that write for this blog.
8. Autism Tank: This blog is a blog by Hailey. She has been teaching for seven years. Autism Tank blogs about autism resources and offers support from Hailey, a special education teacher.
9. Teaching Now: Teaching Now is a blog designed specifically for teachers. The blog posts include info about new laws that are affecting teachers, ideas about poetry, books that teachers may find interesting, and teacher humor.
10. Digital Education: This blog is focused on education technology and how to incorporate it into the classroom. It posts about different technology teachers can be expecting, ways to use technology in the classroom, and how to help students respond to the changes that are occurring.