Blog Post #13: What Did I Leave Out?

What field trips are available to you as a teacher with out having to leave the classroom and/or school?

Read and/ or watch the following material to help answer the question.

Sharon Cromwell's article Take a Museum Field Trip -- Without Leaving Your Classroom

Connected Classrooms: Underwater Seasons with Seattle Aquarium

Connected Classrooms: Meet the Doodler


Blog Post:

Classroom field trips are something every teacher should at least experience once. Not only does it do a great job at incorporating technology into your classroom it also takes away some of the stress that you would have on an off campus field trip. With a virtual field trip you and your students are in comfort of your own classroom.

Sharon Cromwell's article Take a Museum Field Trip -- Without Leaving Your Classroom gives teacher a list of museums whose websites have been set up so that when educators access them it is like they are touring the museum but online. In this article she also gives suggested things to visit on the site and an activity you could do with your class while taking a virtual tour of the museum. This could be a great field trip to incorporate into lessons dealing with science, history and art.

Google+ has recently created an awesome feature called Connected Classrooms. This is where google pairs up with educational leaders and classrooms all over the U.S and they take virtual field trips. In the Connected Classrooms: Underwater Seasons with Seattle Aquarium video the Seattle Aquarium pairs up with an elementary classroom and they get a virtual tour of the Underwater Seasons of Washington exhibit. My favorite thus far is the Connected Classrooms: Meet the Doodler. This isn't a virtual tour, but it is an awesome virtual field trip. Students get too meet with some of the Google Doodlers and watch them show many pieces of there art work along with actually creating a Google Doodle activity.
The Google+ Connected classrooms is an fun a intuitive way to have a virtual field trip. 

C4T #4: DMLCentral

C4T #4 - Post 1: The Flaws of Online Course Testing 

Jade Davis posted a blog about the many flaws of online testing. One of her main complaints was that students at some universities are being monitored via web cam while testing. She proposed the question that what happens when something goes on in the background while a student is testing? What happens when a naked child runs across the seen? Are those images protected? I commented giving my opinion on the matter and thanking Jade for sharing the information because I had no prior knowledge about this going on.

My comment to Jade Davis:

Hey Jade,
I'm Johanna Logan a student at the University of South Alabama studying Elementary Education. Through my college experience I have noticed that most courses are blended which means you come to class in participate in the lessons and activities but your quiz and/ or exam is online. I personally do not agree with students having to be monitored by video throughout out the test, due to what could or does go on inside their home. I found your post to be very informational, I had no former knowledge of this going on in colleges.
Thank you for sharing.
If you have the chance you should take the time to look at my blog.
Johanna's Blog

- Johanna Logan

C4K: Summary for April

C4K #8: Jack R.

Jack is a student in Mrs. Lombard's 7th grade English class. The blog post I chose to comment on was titles Book Project. This post was about Jack's book report on the first 39 Clues Book. His summary was very impofromative with very minor gramtical errors.

My comment to Jack R:

Hey Jack!

I'm Johanna Logan, a student in EDM 310 at the Universtiy of South Alabama.
I have not read this books but your description makes it seem so interesting. I love books with good entertainment, it makes me want to keep reading. I'm impressed that you had very few gramtical errors.
Thank you for sharing, and keep up the good work!
If you get a chance visit my blog.
Johanna's Blog

- Johanna Logan



C4K #9: Paul


Paul is a student in Mr. Gardner's 5th grade class. Paul posted about why he felt that people were left handed. His assumption was that he felt that people were left handed because they used their left hand more than their right one. I suggested to Paul that he should do some research on why people are left handed to see if maybe his assumptions were right.

My comment to Paul:

Hi Paul,
I'm Johanna Logan and I'm a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama.
I think your reasoning for why people become left handed is very thoughful, maybe do some research on being left handed and see if your assumptions are right.
Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing!
If you get a chance visit my blog.
Johanna's Blog

- Johanna Logan


C4K # 10: Sean

Sean is a student in Ms. Thomas's class at John Hanson French Immersion School in Prince Georges, MD. The post that I commented on was about Sean sharing how he felt he could leave his mark on the world. He feels that helping others with their finicial struggles and donating money to the cause would help him leave a powerful impact on the world. I suggested to Sean that maybe one day he can set up a charity for these causes so that people all over the world can benefit from it.

My comment to Sean:

Hey Sean,
I'm Johanna Logan, a student studying Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. I think it's wonderful that you think you can leave your mark on the world by helping others with their problems. Have you ever though of maybe one day setting up a charity for these causes? Also, I think its wonderful that you want to be professional basketball player, sports are so much fun!
Thank you for sharing, and kepp up the good work!
If you get a chance visit my blog.
Johanna's Blog

- Johanna Logan

Blog Post #12: Assistive Technology

C4T #3: Quantum Progress

C4T #3 - Post 1: Best Class Ever - When I Leave the Room

In this post John Burke, a High School Physics teacher, shares a video of what happens when he leaves his class with a challenging problem while he goes to attend a meeting. He gets out of the meeting early and listens at the conversations that the students are having without them being able to see him. He is in shock at how much thought and effort they are putting in without out him there to hover. It makes him realize that the teacher doesn't always need to be in the lead, it is good for students to work to figure things out on their own or with the help of a classmate.

My comment to John Burke:

Hi John!
I’m Johanna Logan. I’m currently studying Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. I loved this post! I was in awe while watching the video. Seeing the kids collaborate when you left the room shows just how important it is for the students to be able to work alone for a portion of the class; we as teachers don’t always need to be in the lead.
Thank you for sharing!
If you ever have some free time you should go take a look at my blog.
Johanna’s Blog

– Johanna Logan

C4T #4 - Post 2: Back to Blogging With My Best Class Ever

In this post John Burke, a High School Physics teacher, shares a video of him letting his students collaboratively working together to solve a stage 4 Physics problem. He leads them in the direction they need so when it comes time to solve the problem they know everything they need to solve it. These students work so well together and you can see that they are engaging in what they are learning.

My comment to John Burke:

Mr. Burke,
I’m Johanna Logan. I’m currently a student at the University of South Alabama as an Elementary Education major.
I think it is awesome that you are allowing your students to work collaboratively to solve the problems. We as teachers need to remember that sometimes students need to be able to work it out on their own and not constantly be assisted. I enjoyed watching your videos, it was neat to see the kids in action.
Thank you for sharing!
If you ever have free time you should visit my blog.
Johanna’s Blog

– Johanna Logan

Project #14: Project Based Learning Plan #2

Lesson Plan

Adjective Topic Cards

Adective Sentences

Adjective PowerPoint

Adjectives Photo Book Rubric

Blog Post #11: What can we learn about teaching and learning from theese teachers?

In Brian Crosby's video Back To The Future he teaches us the importance of having a project based learning atmosphere. His kids were so excited when they were actually get to experiment with the lesson they were learning. You could tell that they were a lot more engaged in the lesson than they would be if it were just a pencil and paper lesson. I admire him for finding away to include Celeste into the classroom activities rather than work just being sent home for her to do. Mr. Crosby's class is a leading example of how project based learning should be incorporated in a classroom.

I have never really been introduced to the the Blended Learning Cycle but  I found Paul Anderson's version of the Blended Learning Cycle to be very interesting.

Quivers - Paul Anderson's version of the Blended Learning Cycle

1. Question: Something that catches the students attention.
2. Investigation/ Inquiry: You want the children to investigate, you need to be able to incorporate inquiry learning.
3. Video: This allows more time for class activity by allowing the students to watch a video on the lesson individually.
4. Elaboration: reading and use of Venn diagrams allowing the children to go more in depth with the lesson.
5. Review: The most important part, this allows the children to be worked with in groups or individually so that you know they understand the material and are ready to be tested on it.
6. Summary Quiz: Once the students have moved passed the review and you know that they are  ready to be tested on the material you give them a quiz on the information to show what they know.

In Mark Church's video Making Thinking Visible he goes into more depth about his book. He teaches us that teaching goes beyond classroom instruction and lessons. Teaching is about motivating the children to think and understanding the culture in which you derive your lessons from. Your classroom needs to have evidence of how the students are connecting and moving forward. Guest should be able to come into your classroom and see what the students are learning.

In Sam Pane's Super Digital Citizen he teaches us the importance of being safe on the Internet. He defines a safe digital citizen as someone who is safe, respectful, and responsible on the Internet. The students got to create a comic book character and use it in a story where their superhero demonstrates safe Internet use. I found this to be a good way to get students engaged into learning about being safe on the Internet.

I found the teachers in the Project Based Learning video to be very interactive, and wanting their students to learn in the best way possible. These teachers in the video pushed for their school to allow them to teach more than one subject with a group of students so that they would have more time with the students to be able to allow the students to engage in Project Based Learning. The teachers in this video stressed the importance of time in learning especially when its project based.

In Roosevelt Elementary's PBL Program they teach us the importance of PBL in the classroom and the benefits it brings to the children. It takes away the fear of public speaking because they have been used to PBL classrooms. They get to create and interact in projects and it allows them to gain skills that will use and apply in the real world. They become proud of their work. PBL at Roosevelt now enjoy working together and are performing well academically.