STEAM Friday!

Our second STEAM Friday was a success (thanks to Teachers are Terrific)!! The kids worked in groups to build bridges using only toothpicks, marshmallows and one piece of paper.  This was their second attempt building suspension bridges (last week they used straws, paper clips and 2 index cards) so they carried their successes and failures from the previous week to help this week.

The plans:

Building Time:

Cheering on the groups!

Testing the Bridges:

The winner- held over 2 pounds!

The kids love these activities and they're learning problem solving skills as well as group work skills. Here are a few reflections from the students:

Today in STEAM we designed and engineered bridges.  Our first plan when making bridges was to put the marshmallows on the side.  Then we changed our plan by putting the toothpicks with the marshmallows on the bottom.  My favorite part of the challenge was putting the bottom on.  I think STEAM is important because you get to learn and have fun. - Autumn

Today in STEAM we designed and engineered bridges.  Our first plan when making bridges was to poke holes on the tips to make it stay on the bridge holder.  Then we changed our plan by putting more toothpicks on so it can stay on the right part of the bridge holder.  My favorite part of the challenge was to test the bridge on the holder and seeing if it would work.  I think STEAM is important because you can make all sorts of things an practice until you're older, you will know how to do it without directions, it is awesome! - Kiara

I think STEAM is important because you get to have fun with groups by making things and messing up, but it's OK if you mess up because you learn and it's only for fun! - Nevaeh

The final products...you guess the winner :)

Back to School!

I can't believe summer has already come to an end!  It went so fast, but I have to remind myself that not everyone gets two months off so I need to be thankful for the time I did have!  :)

I am excited to start this year because we are trying a lot of new things!  My teammate and I will continue to tackle the Growth Mindset based on Carol Dweck's book, Mindset (if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it...find it here on Amazon!)

In addition, we will also be piloting Google Classroom so I am anxious to see what that brings to our kids.  My personal goal this year is to plan a thematic unit around culture and expanding our students' world knowledge. With a new reading curriculum on top of all this, it will be an exciting but challenging year!


Check back often to see our kids' great blog posts!

Greek Mythology Part II- Favorite People

This week we read the story of Perseus and Medusa.  While it seemed a little gory for some of the girls, the boys all loved it!  I asked the students to write about their favorite person so far and as you can see, Perseus is the favorite!

My favorite person is Perseus because he was brave and nice.  He went to get Medusa’s head and he did not turn into stone.

- Hector

My favorite person is Athena because she’s a goddess of beauty and what’s cool about her is she helps Perseus complete his quest.

- Damious

My favorite person is Perseus because he is brave and nice.  Something that he did that was brave was that he went to go get Medusa’s head to save his mom from Polydecetes.

- Alex

My favorite person us Perseus because he solved most the problems in the story.

- Robert

My favorite person is Perseus because his adventurous and brave.  He’s adventurous because he went to cut off the head of Medusa and he cut it off.

- Julian

My favorite person is Perseus because he saved his mom.  He saved his mom by getting Medusa’s head.

- Josh

Pandora's Box is up next week!

Introducing Greek Mythology!

As we near the end of another school year, I decided I wanted to branch out from our current curriculum.  I remember learning about Greek Mythology when I was in 5^th grade and how I loved every second of it.  I figured if I love something this much, maybe my students will too!  I did some searching on Teachers Pay Teachers and discovered amazing units by Nicole Shelby (find her units here).  Because Greek myths can be a bit racy, she took the main myths and re-wrote them in kid friendly language.

We are a week into the unit, and my kids are in love!  They walk in every morning and ask when we are going to do more Greek mythology.  Music to my ears!! As we finished our first week, I had the students write their favorite thing they’ve learned so far or one new thing they have learned.  I hope these make you smile as much as they made me! J 

My favorite thing I learned so far is King Midas is a greedy man and powerful man.  I learned that Zeus is the boss of all the Gods and is married to Hera and his brother Hades is the God of the underworld.

- Juan

Something new I learned in from the Golden Touch is never like gold more than your family because you can get sad when something happens.

- Lupita

My favorite thing I’ve learned so far is King Midas because he had the golden touch and because he learned his lesson that family is more important than money.

- Emily

My favorite God is Zeus because he is the king of every God and the king of lightening. 

- Luis

My favorite thing that I've learned so far was sometimes there is bad luck and good luck.
- Josh T.

My favorite thing I've learned so far is King Midas got the golden touch.  One new thing I've learned is never wish a foolish wish.
- Priscilla

More to come every Friday!

Compare and Contrast Part III

Chimpanzees and Gorillas
By: Breanna and Nylah

                Do you know a difference between a Chimpanzee and Gorilla? First, Chimpanzees and Gorillas both don’t have hair on their faces.  Second, Chimpanzees have brown fur, but Gorillas have black fur. Third, Chimpanzees have flexible arms, but Gorillas arms are longer than their legs.

Have you ever wondered what Chimpanzees and Gorillas eat? First, they both eat bananas, fruit, and flowers. Next, Chimpanzees eat small mammals, apples, sprouts, and seeds. Third, Gorillas eat bamboo, berries, young twigs, tree bark, and plums.

Do you know where Chimpanzees and Gorillas live? First, they both live in Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda. Then, chimpanzees live in Rain forest, middle of Africa, Burundi, and Jungles. Last, Gorillas live in Mountains, Dense Jungles, in small groups, and Western Lowland.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHIMPANZEES! IF Chimpanzees stand up they are 4 feet. Baby Chimpanzees stay with their mom about 8 or 9 mouths. When a mom dies another mother adopts it. Chimpanzees use tools to help them. Chimpanzees can be 6 or 7 times stronger than a human. Chimpanzees can get the same diseases as humans.

FUN FACTS ABOUT GORILLAS! There are two different kinds of Gorillas a Eastern and Western. Gorillas are the world’s largest primates. Gorillas are almost related to humans, but they are 98% different. Adult Gorillas can eat up to (30kg) of food each day. Female Gorillas only give birth three or four times.

I hope you had fun learning about Chimpanzees and Gorillas!

Gorilla

Chimpanzee

_______________________________________________________

Follow Deer and Chinese Water Deer
By Eimy

                Can you tell a different between a Chinese water deer and Follow deer? First, both have small tails and have small legs and small horns. Second, A Follow deer have white spots or dots and have red and brown fur A Chinese water deer only have brown fur. Third, A Follow deer can be brown or black, A Chinese water deer can be white or black.

Do you know what a Chinese water deer and a Follow deer eat? First, they both eat grass. Second, A Chinese water deer eat wheat, But a Follow deer eat fruit berry. Third, A Follow deer eat leaves, and chest nuts.

                Do you know where a Chinese water deer and A Follow deer live? First, A Chinese water deer and a Follow deer both live in grassy places. Second, a Chinese water deer live by small trees, but a Follow deer live in woodland and in deer park. Third, a Chinese water deer live around river and streams, But a Follow deer live in the Isles, Europe and in North Africa.  Those are some facts about a Follow deer and a Chinese water deer.        

Chinese Water Deer

Follow Deer

Compare and Contrast Part II

Basking Shark and Great White Shark
By Brian

You will learn about what Basking shark and great white shark looks like. First, basking shark has no teeth but great white shark have sharp teeth. Next, basking shark and great white shark are both 14 feet big. Then, basking shark swallows his food whole, but great white shark chows his food.
I will tell you about what basking shark and great white shark eat. First of all, they both eat seals and krill. Also, basking shark eats small fish. Great white shark eats big fish. After that, great white sharks eats sea lions and other sharks and basking sharks eat everything.

I will tell you where basking shark and great white shark live. In the beginning, both live in the ocean. Secondly, great white sharks live in North Africa and basking shark live in Southern California. Finally, both sharks live in Australia. I hope you liked my essay on Great white shark and basking shark.

                                                                                Thank you.

Basking Shark

Great White Shark

Compare and Contrast

The last few weeks, the students have been researching two animals and writing compare and contrast essays about those animals.  We've also been discussing blogging and how when we blog, the whole world can see our work, not just their teacher and parents.  We've discussed how motivating it can be to know that so many people around the world could view our work and make comments.  The next few posts will showcase some of our best work!

Camels and Kangaroos
By Emily and Lupita

You will learn about what kangaroos and look like. To begin with camels have small ears however kangaroos have big ears. Second, in common they both are mammals. They both have brown fur.  Another reason, kangaroos have straight necks and camels have curved necks.  Camels have humps on their back.

You will learn about what kangaroos and camels eat. First of all, camels eat thorns. Furthermore, they both eat plants but camels eat salty plants. Third, kangaroos eat grass and baby kangaroos eat small bugs or plants.

You will learn about what kangaroos and camels live. First of all, kangaroos live in New Guinea, Arabia Islands, and New Zealand. Besides,  in common they both live in Australia but camels live in the Australia  desert. After that, camels live in South America. I hope you liked my nonfiction writing. 

Fun Facts

You usually see Kangaroos in zoos and animals parks. Some kangaroos live in groups name mobs. Camels they find their way in a sand storm with their eyes closed.

Projects of Room 17

It's been way too long since my last blog post, which can only mean one thing...we've been busy! The past few weeks the students in my ALD class (academic language development) have been working on research projects.  They first picked their groups, then which topic they wanted to research based on leveled texts I got from a grant last year.

First, students read the book cover to cover.  Then they used an outline to write down facts and vocabulary from the book.  Once we were finished researching, students were able to choose between two final presentation tools: Animoto or Prezi.  Animoto is an animated slideshow that plays music, there is a free trial but it does cost money each month, not much though.  Prezi is a free interactive alternative to traditional slide making programs.  In our previous projects we used PowerPoint, but I wanted to show them a variety of ways to make final presentations.

I showed the students the basics of each platform, but then I gave them the time to really dive in and explore.  By the end, they were all able to add pictures and some even videos to their presentations.  I helped with final editing and finalizing each project, but the students truly did most of the work!

Enjoy!

Prezis:

The Rockies

The Grand Canyon

Niagara Falls

Animoto Videos:

Niagara Falls

The Grand Canyon

The Mississippi River

First Post of the New School Year!

It has been a crazy start to the school year with a lot of changes...good changes!  This year, third grade is departmentalizing which means two teachers are teaching math, science and social studies, and two teachers are teaching reading and writing.  I am the literacy teacher and I love it!

So, I was approached by a friend this summer who was getting her dog certified as a therapy dog through Therapy Dogs International.  He finished his training and is now certified to read with kids.  I spoke to my principal about letting him come to school to read with the kids, and he loved it the idea! We started two weeks ago and now Yogi and his handler, Mary (my friend) come every Wednesday for two hours at a time.  We schedule the kids in 15 minute intervals, with a 15 minute break for Yogi. The kids are loving it and are constantly asking me when they get to read with him again!

Officially, Yogi is part of "Tail Waggin' Tutors" which allows therapy dogs to come into schools and work with struggling readers.  These students are often shy, nervous, apprehensive, you name it, when it comes to reading.  This program allows the kids to read to Yogi in a non-threatening atmosphere and help build their confidence.  My hope is to get more therapy dogs at our school to help our students!

I asked students to write a quick blog post about their experience with Yogi.  Specifically, what their favorite part was and why, and would they like to read with him again?

Here is what they wrote!

Dorismar
Reading to Yogi is fun and the end of the story is fun because Yogi is so funny and I pat him in the fur,  I do want to read to Yogi again because it is so fun when he moves around and he lays down.

Josh

Josh
My favorite thing of reading with Yogi was he listened all the time and the time when I laughed it was when he went to sleep and it was fun.   I would like to read to him again because it was fun and I
 wanted to spend more time with Yogi,

Maribel
My favorite part was when I sat down on the grass and Yogi started to lick me.  It was my favorite part because he was super cool because he got on top of me.  Yes, I want to read with him again because he is soft and big and when I was reading I felt his soft fur.

Robert

Robert
My favorite part of reading with Yogi was when he would snuff me because it tickled.  I would like to read to him again because he was a good dog and I really like him.

Lupita
My favorite part of reading with Yogi is when I was reading and he was in my lap.  When I was reading he was sleeping.  I would like to read with him because he is cute and big and I like Yogi.

Deveni

Rosina
My favorite part of reading to Yogi was when he laid on my lap and fell asleep.  He woke up and he wagged his tail.  I would like to read with him again because it was fun to read to him.  It was very fun.



Deveni
My favorite part of reading with Yogi is when Yogi put his paw on my book because Yogi likes my book and was like "read the book!" I would like to see him again because he is a sweet dog.



I look forward to a fun school year with Yogi and can't wait to watch my kids build their confidence in reading throughout the year.  If any of you can get this program, or one like it, in your school, I highly recommenced it!

Check back for more Yogi updates throughout the year!

Digital Storytelling and My Journey- The End!

Wow I can't believe this journey is over!  It was definitely a course filled with ups and downs, with a lot of frustration but a lot of satisfaction as well.  This final reflection and portfolio showcases my work through the last seven weeks in CU Denver's Learning with Digital Stories course taught by Professor Remi Holden. By completing this portfolio, I was surprised how much I accomplished in a short period of time.  Here is the link to my final portfolio, and below is my final course reflection. I hope you enjoy learning about my journey as much as I enjoyed it!

Myself as a Learner in this Course

The following addresses how I learned in this course, how I understand social learning practices, how my experiences in this course inform how I will learn in the future, and the ways I understand myself a connected learner.

When I read the syllabus a few weeks before the course, I was a bit nervous of what was to come.  I didn’t even really understand what a digital story was.  Then as the first week began I watched the two screencasts and part of me felt better and part of me felt unsure.  Remi stated that it was ok to feel frustrated, confused, discouraged (I can’t remember all the adjectives but there were a few) so I knew I wouldn’t be alone in my feelings.  I am pretty sure the first week’s assignments took me about 3 days to complete as I was exploring DS106 and the different aspects.

As the weeks went along, I became more and more comfortable with the course and assignments and even began looking forward to the DS106 assignment bank.  My progression of comfort in the course is very evident in my blog posts and tweets as the weeks went on.  This comfort level increased based on how I learned in this course.  At first, everything was new to me; blogging, tweeting, digital stories, DS106, Daily Creates, literally everything was new.  I learned by doing and trying.  I learned by viewing other classmates’ work and from trial and error on my own.  I learned by asking for help from classmates and Remi.

This leads to how I understand the social learning practices given theory by Lankshear and Knobel.  My whole journey to become a teacher and more recently getting my master’s degree has had a fair amount of social learning, although I wasn’t really aware of the label until recently.  My cohort through CU Denver’s Urban Teaching Program became my go to for help and questions more so than my professors on my road to becoming a teacher.  Some of my master’s classes have had a lot of social learning and some had none.  This most recent course on digital story telling has had the most social learning.  My favorite definition of social learning comes from Lankshear and Knobel’s New Literacies chapter 7, but it is from a quote from Brown and Adler.  They say, “[Social learning] is learning based on the assumption that our understanding of concepts and processes is constructed socially in conversations about the matters in question and 'through grounded interactions, especially with others, around their problem or action” (p. 218).

My social learning became evident when I asked for help in a blog post regarding DS106 assignments and within one hour of my post, I had two classmates offer suggestions to me.  I immediately took their advice and was on my way.  Even though this is my last graduate class of my program, I plan to continue incorporating social learning into my third grade classroom.  I have learned how powerful it can be, especially for younger students who are like sponges.  There is a lot of research out there that discusses how important social learning and group work is for English language learners and my plan is to incorporate as much as I can this coming year.

My Co-Design of this Course

The following addressed how this course was different from others I've taken, how I contributed to the development of this course and our learning community, how I was responsible for directing both my own learning and also the shared experiences of peers/others, and how I would have designed this course differently.

With the exception of one or two courses in my program, this course was very different.  It challenged me to think on my own and rely on myself and the help from peers to figure things out.  My whole ILT program was online so there is always some degree of self-reliance, but here I was pushed farther than before.

I feel I contributed to the development of this course by bringing a different perspective (that of an elementary teacher) to the group.  There were a lot of people in the class that had something to do with education, but to my knowledge I was the only elementary school teacher.  This allowed my peers to see this class through a different lens than their own.  Those that read my blog could see how the Lankshear and Knobel readings or DS106 assignments could be tied to elementary classroom.        

I was responsible for directing my own learning through DS106 assignments and digital story critiques.  It was up to me to pick the DS106 assignments and then learn how to complete them.  This was a lot easier said than done.  There were so many assignments I chose that were a learning curve.  Whether it was figuring out Windows Movie Maker or Audacity or just simply how to embed things into a blog.  As far as the digital critiques went, I could choose a story that interested me or taught me something.  For example, I watched a lot of Ted Talks on education and I found myself paying close attention to the news or Facebook in order to find stories I wanted to critique. 

One of the most helpful aspects of this course was reading other responses to the text.  Each person had a different take on the same chapter and it was very helpful to read other responses and put it all together.  What I had to say might have helped someone else that was struggling with a concept or something I read on another’s blog helped clear up my confusion.  This shared experience of working through a complex text together, I think benefited everyone.

There are two things I would change about this course: the story critiques the second half of the class and the lack of grades.  I found that many of the remixes the second half of the course that people critiqued, including myself, were not as in depth or were more surface level than the critiques the first half of the class.  For example, remixed songs or fan fiction.  I realize those remixes are very important to some and maybe I am being naïve in saying they are more surface level or just for fun.  But for me and my journey through this course, I preferred the critique criteria the first half of the course where I could watch Ted Talks or news stories that were not remixes.  But then again, Lankshear and Knobel argue that everything could be considered a remix of something else so perhaps it just comes down to personal opinion.  Finally, it was hard for me to never get a formal grade for my work.  I know everything was read and kept track of, but I am person that needs that grade to keep me at peace that I am on the right track.  Although, I am assume if I was failing, I would have been notified by now!       

My Understanding of Pedagogy

The following addresses how I understand Remi's course design and ongoing decision-making, how this course changed my understanding of pedagogy, how my understanding of "instructor" changed, and some feedback to Remi about this course.

I would be curious to see how this course was designed before this semester as I had heard it used to look very differently.  My understanding of this course design comes from what I have seen on DS106 as our syllabus correlates to the DS106 syllabus.  I very much appreciate Remi’s ongoing decision making throughout the course because I feel like he was really listening to our reflections and acting accordingly.  He wasn’t afraid to veer from the syllabus and update it to meet our needs.  For example, I was one of the people who was frustrated with the Daily Creates because there were very few I related to each week.  I never directly complained about them but would mention my concerns in my reflections and a few weeks later he made them optional.  This goes to show he was really listening and doing his best to meet our needs. 

With that being said, this course didn’t necessarily change my understanding of pedagogy, but it did help confirm my beliefs.  I knew the importance of social learning, but like I said before, I didn’t have a name for it other than group work or collaboration.  Through Lankshear and Knobel’s final two chapters and the real time exposure I got to social learning, it has confirmed that I need to ramp up my efforts in my own classroom.            

To me an instructor is someone who guides you along your journey and helps you reach your goals.  Their job is not to ‘push’ all this knowledge at you, but be there for support as you try to find your way.  I think all of us became ‘instructors’ in this course as we all helped each other through the journey.  Selfishly, it was comforting knowing others were going through my same struggles and I learned about their same struggles through their posts, whether it was technology issues, work or travel obligations, to confusion about assignments, etc.  Our ‘instructor’ was there each Monday to check in and help guide our work for the following week.  It was always nice to be showcased in a screencast as it validated and acknowledged the work we were doing.   

All I have to say is if you had asked me 8 weeks ago if I was going to make it through this course, I would have said probably not.  I remember saying to someone, I don’t know how anyone with a job will have time to complete all of these assignments!  Not only did each week get easier and easier, but I began to look forward to things like the critiques and DS106 assignments.  I learned about a world I never knew existed (fan fiction and anime) and learned about new programs and web 2.0 tools that will be very useful for me in the future with my students.  I think it is very important that you emphasize to ‘newbies’ that it seems like a lot but it is worth the journey, if I could do it, anyone can!

References:

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

Here is the embedded version on my portfolio.  To view the complete site, click here

Week 7 Reflection

How well do you feel you completed the requirements of the week’s assignments?

This week, I completed all the assignments and they were on time!  My feelings towards the final chapter were mixed but in the end, I do see how they tied it all together and I really liked reading about the Q2L school.  I think if I read that book again I might get even more out of it...

What gave you trouble? What did you enjoy most? What did you learn?

Nothing gave me trouble this week, luckily.  I completed my Lankshear and Knobel response from Spain in my mom's apartment with great wifi and did my visual assignment when I got home.  I really enjoyed the visual assignment because I am starting to get excited about applying some of these things to my classroom.  I learned a little about html this week and how to embed a Google slideshow into my blog so that was exciting!  I also liked all the comments I received on my L&K post, it was interesting to read everyone's thoughts and responses to what I wrote.  

What would you do differently? What questions to you have?

I think some of my comments in my Lankshear and Knobel reflection came out in a different way than I intended.  I think some people reading my blog took my words to say that I don't like this class or that I am annoyed with all the "pull".  That was not my intention at all, it was simply my very first thought that changed very quickly once I dove in.  I have very much enjoyed this course and all the freedom and choice in the assignments.  I feel like this class has been better than most!  

What are some of the larger issues surrounding your work?

No issues!

Score: 10/10

Backyard Photo Safari

For this week's DS106 assignment, I decided to stick with the visual assignments because they are my favorite.  I chose one that might be boring for some, but the application to the classroom could be very powerful.  It is a backyard photo safari that takes viewers on a photo journey through someone's yard.  Now my backyard is fairly plain, but I chose this assignment because I was thinking about applying it to the classroom.

One of the most powerful things I learned through CU Denver's Urban Teacher Program was how important it is to allow the students to bring their own culture and funds of knowledge into the classroom.  I thought this backyard photo journey could be a really cool way for me to get to know the students at the beginning of the year and for the students to get to know each other.  It wouldn't necessarily have to be their backyards, it could be anything.

In my current school, we would probably have to modify this a bit by either doing it in class together or by using actual pictures the kids have, not digital.  For some, this could be homework during the first week of school and have students share on Friday, for example.  This assignment would teacher the kids about creating digital slide shows and allow them to learn to be digital storytellers!

Here is my photo journey!



  

Moving Towards "Pull"- Last L&K Response:

While reading this chapter I had a roller coaster of thoughts and emotions running through my head.  While the concept of social learning through a masters and teaching cohorts is intriguing and forward thinking, I would be upset if I was paying for a class and I had to learn everything myself...why pay for it then?  Now I don’t know all the specifics around tuition but my first thought was that would not be ok with me.  Perhaps this is because I am so used to learning via the ‘push’ model where I am told what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be finished; it is all I have known really until this class.  And I’m not going to lie, I felt a bit annoyed at first about this class and its freedom and flexibility.  I was thinking if I had known about DS106 previously, I could have accomplished the same result for free.  But then I lose the credits, the guidance of a professor, and a known, close knit group of classmates to collaborate with and seek advice.  Now reaching the end of the this class I realized how much I’ve learned on my own and how much I’ve explored on the web that I never knew existed.  So I guess I am a fan of the ‘pull’ concept and social learning.

Moving towards the school in New York, I was encouraged by the findings.  I love the idea of what the Q2L School is doing and how they are going about their teaching.  Their goal to use “game like learning to connect student learning to the demands of the twenty-first century and support young people in their learning across digital networks, peer communities, content, careers, and media” (p. 246) is exactly why I chose instructional technology as my masters.  I want my students to be prepared for the 21^st century and in order to be prepared; they need critical thinking, technology and problem solving skills that are so hard to teach from a text book in the standard classroom.

Now, playing devil’s advocate...how does this concept work with kids from all different backgrounds?  I know typically New York is fairly diverse and these students were chosen from a lottery system, but as I was reading, I kept thing what background did the kids have?  Were they already proficient readers and writers?  Were they at grade level in math?  Do they have internet access at home and parent support?  

These are the things I have to think about when trying to apply this concept to my situation, even though I know this case study was 6^th and 7^th graders.  It was also interesting to read that “school’s resourcing and operating costs fall within the parameters of the school’s district-approved budget” (p. 246), I would be curious to see what that looks like and how they got all the partnerships they did.  What the Q2L school is doing sounds expensive and something my district would never consider so seeing the financials of this all would be interesting!

References:

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

Reflecting from Spain

• How well do you feel you completed the requirements of the week’s assignment

This week was a little rough for me traveling and being out of the country.  I managed to get all the assignments completed but one was a little late and I wasn't able to engage with my peers as much as I normally do.  I was finally able to respond to comments on my posts and I got to read peer work this morning.

Fan Fiction Digital Critique
Chapter 7 Response
DS106 Assignment
Daily Create #1
Daily Create #2

• What gave you trouble? What did you enjoy most? What did you learn?

Obviously the wifi situation gave me a lot of trouble this week.  One hotel only had it in the lobby and it was a very weak signal and the current hotel's wifi cuts in an out all the time (obviously I can't be too annoyed because I am in a beautiful part of Spain enjoying the sun and the beach) but it was still stressful.  Another thing was the Blogger app on my phone doesn't let you use links but I was able to take screen shots of the fan fiction I read and hopefully people could read too if there chose.  

I enjoyed learning about fan fiction, I had never seen it before and I liked reading different 'what ifs' and the crossovers between some of my favorite shows.  I have also learned to have a great deal of patience this week with all the frustrations surrounding trying to get wifi!

• What would you do differently? What questions to you have?

I guess there isn't much I would have done differently other than trying harder to get EVERYTHING finished before I left.  I don't get home until Thursday but my goal is to start tomorrow and see what I can get finished.

• What are some of the larger issues surrounding your work

I am feeling better about creating assignments related to my focal theme or at least finding ways to tie assignments into my theme.

Here's to next week!

Score: 9/10

Something new from a far away land

Let me preface this post by telling you how nearly impossible it's been to blog from Spain...so much for being global...I couldn't get wifi to work in the hotel with a computer or an iPad.   I apologize about the lack of links but that's asking a lot apparently. For now if you want to see the mix up go to fanfiction, then mix ups, then Grey's anatomy then law and order SVU then it's the first one. I've also added screen shots!

This week I decided to try something new. I have never see any fan fiction before so I went to fanfiction.net and started browsing. Unfortunately, the wifi where I am isn't the fastest thing in the world so my options were limited. However, I explored TV shows and saw some Friends stuff, obviously everyone knows I love Friends, but changed my mind when I saw the mix ups section. I clicked on Grey's Anatomy then saw I could mix it with Law and Order: SVU and got so excited...two of my other favorite shows! To be honest, I think this mix up could have been done much better, maybe I'll write my own crossover :)

I chose to critique this fan fiction based on 3 of Lankshear & Knobel's literacy dimensions:

1.) crafting an engaging plot line that remains 'believable' despite the new twists given to characters and extant story lines. 

2.) may include writing reviews and providing feedback on other's narratives 

3.) using good grammar and spelling; or using bad grammar and bad spelling for developing characters, etc. 

1.) this story has believable plot lines because the back story here matches with the shows' plot. Even with the new twists and added characters (babies) the plot line makes sense and could really happen. 

Score: 10/10

2.) at the end of the fan fiction the author welcomes reviews and provides commentary on her thought process. Only 2 people have reviewed this work and based on the author's request I think he/she wants more feedback. 

Score: 10/10

3.) this was the weakest part of the fan fiction. There were several times when I had to re-read parts of this in order to follow or understand the new plot. The grammar was ok but nothing was so bad that it interfered with the story line. 

Score: 8/10

Chapter 7 Response- L&K

As I was reading chapter 7 this week I kept thinking how glad I was I became a teacher when I did. Chapter 7 seemed like a play by play of many classes I took through CU Denver's Urban Teacher Program.  It also tied in nicely from last week's conversation I had with a few peers on collaboration and why it is the new norm in the classroom.  

I think this definition from Brown and Adler on social learning sums it up perfectly, "learning based on the assumption that our understanding of concepts and processes is constructed socially in conversations about the matters in question and 'through grounded interactions, especially with others, around their problem or action'” (p. 218).  This is why schools are all about collaboration, especially with English language learners.  Students can learn just as much from their peers as they can their teacher.  Lanskshear and Knobel go on to say, “the emphasis shifts from ‘the content of a subject to the learning activities and human interactions around which that content is situated’” (p. 218).  So I am still teaching content but instead of me standing up in front of the class lecturing to 8 year olds about why 2 x 2 = 4, they are exploring together with manipulatives and coming up with the answer on their own, then we come back together and reflect on the learning.  We call it ‘the explore model’ at my school.  The same concept can work with any subject and this model allows the students to become the teachers and take charge of their own learning. 

This concept applies to all levels of education.  To me, this course is what Brown and Adler describe as a ‘pull approach’ class where we are taking charge of our learning.  Brown and Adler say, “A ‘pull’ approach assumes ‘passion-based learning’ that is ‘motivated by the student either wanting to learn about, make, or perform something’” (p. 228).  We have a platform to start on and it is up to us to go in the direction we choose.  If we want to create a certain DS106 assignment but we don’t know how, it is up to us to figure it out, we don’t have someone walking us through step by step.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I was extremely nervous about this in the beginning, I wanted someone just to tell me what to do.  Now, imagine how this must feel to 8 year olds when I am nervous about the freedom myself??  

Chapter 7 also confirmed in my mind that a classroom blog is so important for my students.  They need to know that someone out there besides me is reading/viewing their work.  Students need to know that what they are doing matters and it’s worth the effort.  The interactions they have in the classroom or online, even with just each other, are a great learning experience for them and it’s important for students to know that they can be the teachers too!

 References:

Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press.

Magical Light

I was worried when I first saw today's Daily Create that I was going to have to Photoshop a picture in order to get 'magical light' but then it said you can just take a picture, much better for me.  I took this photo last week when I was in Michigan and I think the sunset is pretty magical!

Story Map - A Trip through France

Nice

For this week's DS106 Assignment we got to choose a topic based on our interest.  I enjoyed the visual assignment I completed a few weeks ago, so I decided to try a new one.  There was one assignment that caught my eye last time but I didn't take the time to figure out the website I had to use to complete it.  This week I have more time so I tried again, turns out it wasn't that hard!

Omaha Beach

The assignment calls for you use a website called StoryMap to create an interactive map telling a story of a trip you took.  Last summer I went to France to meet up with my mom who lives in Madrid.  This story map is a very cool website that allows you to add pictures, descriptions and captions to a places you have visited and adds a pin point of that exact location on an interactive map.

Applying StoryMap to the Classroom
This would be a really cool activity to incorporate in the classroom.  When kids comes back to school they could make a story map of a trip they took over the summer, winter or spring breaks.  They could also use story map to accompany a history project, for example the route Christopher Columbus took, or the history of their family and where they came from.  The website is fairly straightforward and could be taught to a class easily.  Story map is a great replacement for the old-fashioned Power Point!

*The only thing I would change about Story Map is being able to add more than one picture per place.  I Googled it and the creator said he didn't want to make it too complicated (not sure more than one picture would complicate it, but oh well).

Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to embed my story map using html so you'll have to click through the link to see it...sorry for the inconvenience!

France 2014