Blog 4

What would be the impact on students if a project ended by just ceasing work without any of the suggestions in this chapter? 

Students need reflection time to say what went well, what didn't, what would I change. If they do not get to cease their work they would not get to see what went great or what went wrong. Students need this time to reflect, to review, and to receive help from the teacher if they need it. Every once in a while, it is good for students to be praised for their good work. The book mentions the greatness of award shows. These are good for students and help them reflect on their work as well, and it allows students to know they did a good job. Students need to do this weekly which will help them in their learning process but also in their writing process. 

Giving Students Choices

What are the reasons for giving students choices in their learning?

So why should teachers give students choices when it comes to their learning? Why not?
Giving students choices in their learning, gives students interest in their learning. It can improve learning outcomes, because students got to pick an assignment that they are interested in. Giving students the power to make choices will increase student engagement. Students know how to use all the newest technology so why not let them choose what they use and how they show what they have learned. Students will learn so much better if they enjoy what they do, and students will enjoy what they do if they have the choice to pick what sparks interest to them. Students should be given the ability to excel in ways that promote an environment where learning flourishes. A teacher should not what their students to get bored, so give them choices to help prevent boredom. Students are students no matter how you put it, but what we as teachers want is for our students to be the best, and so we will do whatever it takes for that to take place.

Collaborate and Communicate

Hey everyone, I am going to answer and discuss the following questions. 

• Compare and contrast a collaborative wiki editing project with traditional in-class group work.

In a traditional in-class group work project a teacher and not tell who done what work and if all students have participated in the project. With a wiki teachers can go to the wiki history and tell who done what and at what time. Also with a wiki project students can work with other students around the world and not just their classmates. Students can work on a wiki at home with their partners online, whereas with the traditional in-class group work students are stuck to only being able to work at school when their group members at present. 

• What is the difference between cooperation and collaboration?

 Cooperating is when you work with someone in the sense of enabling the work. Collaboration is when you work side by side with a partner to achieve something.

• How can collaboration be taught?

 Reliable and responsible contribution is where collaborative learning has to start. To collaborate you have to be present and be with others, you can't collaborate alone. So teaching collaboration comes from teaching responsibility and teaching participation. 

Asynchronous Communication Tools

Today I am discussing blogs in my wiki. I love blogs, at first I thought I would hate them and it would be a waste of my time but it is like talking to someone that actually listens. Students could use blogs in the classroom to turn in assignments or to talk with other students and read about what each others thoughts are. Blogging is a great asynchronous tool. For those who do not know what asynchronous is (Asynchronous tools enable communication and collaboration over a period of time through a different time-different place mode) 
One can post anything on a blog that they want others to know or one can make their blog private so no one can read it. Blogging is a great tool and I am so glad I got into blogging. (:

My Feedly

1. What do you think about Feedly? Do you find it useful?
2. From your reading of your feeds, did you learn anything that you used in your future classroom? Provide an example or two.
3. Where did you comment? Did you get any response when you commented?

So last week I created a feedly and I liked it! It is very organized and useful. I can keep up with educational blogs and websites. I noticed in my "top stories" the flat connections was listed. I loved seeing that there. 

From my readings I found this student who made a video to speak out at his school, and I loved this. I hope my students feel like they can reach out to me. I would love to allow students to make videos to reach out to other students in the school. 

This story was called An Autistic Boy Speaks Out and yes I did get a comment back to my comment from the blogger who posted the story. (Cool Cat Teacher Blog)

The next story I read and commented on, was about making ones classroom as addictive as a game. It had 5 tips that a teacher could use to make school more fun like a game. One of the five tips was making school an event like FarmVille. I could use some tips for making my future classroom more addicting like a game, so I enjoyed reading this blog. On this blog by Douglas Kiang, no one commented me back. 

And lastly I commented on MindShift which was my favorite, because I really enjoyed the topic. It was on how important free play is for learning. I totally agree that free play is important for children! I could use this in my future classroom if I taught a lower grader. I would allow free time in my classroom everyday! Students need time to be creative. My instructor Janice Newlin commented on my reply to this blog.