Favorite

    Throughout our whole class we have had this semester, I have to say we have done some pretty fun things.  I enjoyed the group activities and partner work we did, along with the work we  had to do individually too.  Recently getting to share our SmartBoard presentations was one of my favorite things we got to do.  Making them was almost like creating a slideshow on Powerpoint but more interesting.  Sharing it in front of the class was a little nerve wrecking but it was an experience I am happy I got; figuring out how much of your finger you actually needed to use an where you needed to click to get to the next slide.
    Another thing I enjoyed doing was using the video audio clip program.  I choose to do our assignments with a partner which made it more exciting.  Getting to speak over pictures for presentations I thought was a helpful thing you could eventually use in your own classroom.  We did many activities using this, but it was so we could get the hang of it so it  was familiar to us.
   This whole class was one of the most helpful ones I have had at Stockton.  Yes, it was a lot of work and time consuming for some things like Gamificaition, but it was all things that could help us out later in our teaching lives.  Having our own websites and creating them and adding to them as the semester went on was great; we will always get to refer back and access it on any computer, Ipad, etc. for future use.

Prezi

    One of the videos I watched and enjoyed was Math Tweets. The first couple of slide were just normal slides you would see on a power point; then I hit a video around my third slide. It was a tutorial on how to use Twitter and many things you can do while using it. I liked the video because it was homemade using drawn little pictures that were taken in and out of the screen. I found it more entertaining and more exciting to learn about it because there were little people and it was like the narrator was telling more of a story. As the slides went on, they would zoom in and out of certain points so you could see them up close to get a better understanding. He talked about directing tweets at people with the @ sign, direct messaging. hash tagging #, retweeting, using only 140 character for tweets and making lists for certain friends you follow. You can stay in touch with people world wide and use Twitter educationally too. The main example was having the students of a calculus class update their twitter every hour on something they learned and ask any questions they had.
    Another Prezi I enjoyed looking at was the one called "Why we live where we do." Someone decide to make an immigration presentation on their grandparents and why they emigrated to Michigan. They opened up with a nice quote and moved smoothly along with background information and definitions of the difference between immigration and emigration. They included personal pictures of their grandparents and the date of when they got married and how many children they even had which I thought was really cool (7 kids, wow!). Another interesting fact I liked was how they came to Michigan and the pictures of their citizen cards and permission slip things they had to fill out. I personally like looking at pictures when some things are being explained to me. I also enjoyed the comparison at the end of the slides of why they chose Michigan over Finland.
   This Prezi of the Super Bowl quiz caught my attention because I enjoy watching football and wanted to see what it was all about. When I opened it, I found out it was on Super Bowl 46 and started asking questions like who were the two teams playing, when was kick off, naming team members such as the quarterback, who is performing at the half time show, and many more. I think making a Prezi quiz is a fun idea, it is definitely something I would do an also use in a classroom. It is not just a boring slideshow full of information because of the way new slides come up. Prezi can be used for so many different things whether it is full of educational videos and links, or a simple quiz to get students minds going.

Flipped Classroom

    One tip I got from Todd off of his webinar from 5/7/14 on Flipped Learning was that as long as the students are learning in the classroom and watching his videos, homework does not exist or matter. This was something that really stood out to me because I could not agree more. Teachers are always assigning a bunch of homework to students every night of the week and it can get overwhelming. Not only does it get overwhelming but also if someone was a little "iffy" about the lesson in class, the homework will be just as hard for them. By Todd assigning the videos for his students to watch and them doing their WSQ or KWL after, allows him to see who is doing their work and then seeing what the students did learn and what questions they had. It was amazing listening and watching his slide show about all of the different things he does with flipped learning in his classroom.
    If I could ask Todd a question, it would be, how does he think of all of his assignments and lessons ahead of time? I know in the video he said how easy it  was to flip math and science, but I was curious to why it was so easy, does he have a certain way of doing it all?
    After watching Todd's webinar I am definitely more inclined to use Flipped Learning in my classroom. I would love to teach art, so I was thinking I could post videos on art lessons of me doing tutorials for assignments. Then, students coming in the next day already knowing what to do and having their questions already typed up or written down on a piece of paper for me so we could use the whole class time to be working. It would be a fun way to teach students lessons and techniques used for the art class; by watching me I think they would have a better understanding of lessons and classwork.

Communication and Collaboration

    In the 21st century today, communication and collaboration are two important factors used in a classroom.  Talking to one another whether it is your classmates or professor always helps in the classroom, but also outside.  You can help one another on assignments asking each other questions and working together as a team.  Also, outside of class you can get one another's phone numbers for help and also use your Google account to converse with each other.  Talking to your professor in class is always helpful because you can ask questions and get feedback to do your assignment more accurately.
    Collaborating with other students in class helps you understand more. The assignments we did for levels 3 and 4 in the Tech Teacher Game had us working in groups and together to come up with ideas for tips for teachers. We also did the Horizon assignment which had us working in our Google accounts all together making a website on a topic we were assigned.
    I feel that if you do not use communication in your classroom, students will get confused and have many questions because you did not converse with them enough.  Students need to talk to the teacher and one another to learn; trying to teach themselves or not saying anything in class does not help them. Thinking about an upcoming test or quiz and someone not knowing how to do something, will result in failure, and no one wants that. I know that when I have my own classroom in the future I will make sure I have a secure balance of communication and collaboration.

Gamification: Is it just a fad?

    Throughout learning about Gamification, I have come to believe that is it not just another fad. As a child grows up, they are introduced to many video games online and also handhelds. In every game there was always some type of rewards given for completing levels, collecting points, defeating a bad guy, etc. Also, if you were to walk up to a child and watch them play, you would see how concentrated they were and focused.
    Today, introducing Gamification into classrooms and educational settings is a wonderful idea. It is like bringing a students childhood memory back of playing video games. When someone hears from their teacher or professor "Okay kids, we're going to play a game," excitement fills the room and everyone seems to be engaged in whatever activity it is. Gamification is highly educational in my opinion; there is such a range of things you can do with it from the games, to the assignments that follow, and even the research done for your own knowledge.
  I know that when I eventually have a classroom full of students Gamification will always be on my mind and even a possible article I could use with my students. If anything, I think the use of it will grow and not disappear like some of the other educational assets that have come and gone throughout the years.

YouTube & Google+

   YouTube and Google+ come together to do some pretty interesting things. Learning about them in class was not only fun but expanded our horizons to see other ways to interact with people.
   I never thought I would have a Google+ account, partially because I was not completely sure what it was all about.  Once we were told to make our own that's when the exploring began. Making circles to separate your friends and family was a great way to stay organized. Also, sharing your thoughts and even our own blog posts on our "feed" reminded me of Facebook.
   Even though I have no played around with it yet, I think my favorite part of Google+ would be the live video chat. I have never seen something where you can have up to NINE people in one conversation! I like how you can click on their little pictures to so they will then be the "center of attention." I am excited to experience this with other classmates and have some fun with it.
   YouTube on the other hand, plays a role in Google+. When professor Ross showed us how the live stream video chat links to your own YouTube channel it was definitely something we all did not know about. I think it is very convenient if you are trying to do a project that involves a video and it automatically uploads so your professor can just click the link to your channel and boom! It's there!  
    It's amazing how big of a roll technology plays in our lives today. It is useful in the educational world along with many other environments. I feel that Google, YouTube and all of these other websites we have been learning about in class are going to become huge and soon that is all that will be used in the classrooms.

QR Codes

Dear Principal Smith,
    I would like you to take a minute of your time to think about using QR Codes in our school district.  There are many different ways in which they can be used and I find that teachers and students look at them to be useful even outside of an educational setting. 
   Using QR Codes can allow a teacher to give tests, assignments, and activities to their students.  I have experienced using QR Codes in a "scavenger hunt" to learn how to use them and find more information by walking around and scanning different ones.  An example of an assignment using these codes would be to have the students log on to their Google accounts and go into whatever activity you have planned.  Then, for each question they have a QR Code that they must scan to find the answer. The awesome thing about these is that once scanned, it may bring you to a video, picture, and something to read. 
    The pleasant thing about QR Codes is that teachers can copy and paste links into websites and create their own!  How great is that?  They can change the colors of them, and even add a little picture in the middle of it if they wanted to and it will STILL scan! It gives the students something a little more exiting to look at as their scanning and maybe a laugh or two on the way.
    In my personal opinion, I found that making an activity like a scavenger hunt was fun and educational a the same time.  It got students out of the classroom and allowed them to roam around scanning different codes and taking in new information.  With this kind of activity you can then quiz your students on what they just learned and read about to make sure they were paying attention and actually reading/ watching what you wanted them to.
    The importance of using QR Codes in an educational setting I feel is growing.  If we bring these into our district and start using them it will "shake things up" and give the students a new entertaining way of learning rather than watching slide shows all the time or having a professor stand up in front of the classroom and lecture the whole time.
    I hope you take this into consideration and I thank you for your time.
                                                                                      Sincerely,
                                                                                 Brianne Mitchell