Twenty Percent Project Update

I have gathered a plethora of resources on sign language I have found online as well as iphone apps. I made a pinterest board with my resources.I also discovered a pretty cool online photo editing site lunapic and made my video cover. From these resources I have made a video of myself signing the ABC's. Below is what I have so far.

Video Cover Picture:

Pinterest board:
Sign Language Pinterest

My ABC signing video

 Next,I hope to put my video to music, as well as include subtitles for each letter. My next step will also include signing simple words and phrases that that can be used in the classroom such as please, bathroom,water,etc.

Whole Brain teaching

As I was looking through pinterest, I came upon this video about Whole brain teaching. I was intrigued so i watched it. Whole brain teaching is a radical new teaching system based on three principles:  the system should be brain based, fun and free. I think whole brain teaching could be very useful for elementary school grades. It stresses a student centered ideology and gives students an opportunity to be leaders and teachers. I love the mirror element where a teacher says something and the students repeat back to the teacher exactly what they were taught. I also think using hand gestures could help younger students remember concepts.Singing is a great way for younger children to learn concepts as well. There is even a classroom management tool involved in this teaching system: the class yes and hands and eyes. I think both of these could be another way of getting children;s attention and keeping them on task. I may try this Whole brain teaching in my prekindergarten classroom because it seems so much fun and engaging for the teacher and students

. What do you think of this?Has anyone seen this teaching model in action? if so, has it been effective?

How I am using technology to foster my learning

Steps for Cultivating my PLN

1. Check tweetdeck for new ideas I am interested in( I check this daily on my iPhone)

2. Check Pinterest and pin things to my board that I like in the education section

2. Retweet or tweet 5 or 6 things a week to  #usdedu

3. Pick interesting ideas,concepts,activities from my hashtag groups on tweetdeck and create a blog post about it

4. Comment on Other Peoples blogs

5. Check Edmodo for class assignments

6. Create blog posts for class assignments

These are just a few steps I take to cultivate my PLN. Hopefully this is helpful for you !

My Learning so far

Although the course is not over yet, I feel like I have learned so much about how technology can enhance ones career and personal use of the internet.

As an educator, I have found that it is very helpful to hear others perspectives,ideas,activities, thinking,etc. Before, I would attend school mettings and PD days to get that wonderful teacher to teacher advice,suggestions,feedback. Now, I have learned that through social media sites such as Twitter, Pinterest,blogging and Scoop it, I have access to a plethora of resources. I now can use twitter effectively, instead of seeing it as a "this is what I did today"app. I have come to  use Tweetdeck everyday to connect with other educators and expand my teaching practices. I have also learned how to cultivate my own PLN and what a PLN is. Creating my own blog puts my thoughts and ideas about certain concepts on paper and i am able to hear other peoples comments and perspectives on the issues. I am now more connected than I was before.
I am starting to become more of a risk taker with my ideas and I am learning that this is okay and actually quite helpful on my blog. I can not express how excited I am witha ll this social media and can not wait to bring it into my classroom and share all of the wonderful things I am learning.

Organized tweets are very beneficial.Tweetdeck has been amazing!

Math Matters

Math Matters Article

"Why do I need to learn this?"

When it comes to math, I have heard this so many times from many students in the upper elementary to high school level. I admit, I even asked this question when I was growing up as well.What happens sometime sis that students are not taught the reasons why math helps them thus children do not see the significance of learning math. They just see math as equations, and problems to solve and outcomes are the things that educators mainly focus on. This is how I saw math growing up.  However, as the article by Cindy Donladson above states, it is much more.It was not until I began studying math more and teaching it that I realized how important and valuable it is.Donaldson's answer to this common question is "“Because knowing math will keep as many doors as possible open in your future.” She is right! She discusses that math is very important and it matters in three ways :personal,patriotic and patriotic ways. Personal and Practical ways why math matters resonated with me the most.

The Personal way that resonated with me the most was that math helps develop our problem solving skills. There is a process to solving equations an this process is very similar to how we solve everyday problems in our lives. Math is important because it helps our brains think logically. It "helps us define the problem solving steps". 

Practically math is everywhere. Without it, life would be chaotic. I use math when buying things, cooking, at restaurants, making clothes, and even buying houses. When do you use math during the day?? It is hard for me to think of sometime when math is not used.

Math matters a lot to me. As educators,parents,and friends  i believe there should not be a fear or boredom of math but many ways to celebrate its importance and this importance and value should start by teachers explaining why math matters. No more "why do I need to learn this?" but rather "Math helps me and I enjoy it!."Lets change our view on math to one of importance and excitement.

What do you think about this? Agree/disagree? What does math mean to you?

Does early education matter?

Infographic on Early Education

Working as a Pre-kindergarten educator has shown me how critical learning is at an early age in a child. These children are capable of learning so many different things. Children not only learn social skills at this age but ,as the infographic says, by age five 90% of their brain development has taken place. It is remarkable to see first hand how learning occurs whether it is teacher directed or even student centered learning that is taking place.  Our brains are able to take in and process a lot of information at a young age. This is why  I believe early  education does matter!

If this critical period of development is undervalued or seen as unimportant, the effects are, as shown above, detrimental:high school dropouts, crime, and even teen parents. Disappointment is the one word that came to my mind when I read the fact that : 35-40 % of children are not ready for kindergarten. I think that more public educational institutions should provide a pre-kindergarten and preschool that can emphasize learning,play, and value high quality early childhood education.

As the infograph states: Every child should be able to thrive. I think this should be the goal .

Here is an example from my classroom of just one learning experience that has occurred in the Junior Kindergarten classroom I work in.The children learn how to count  in english,spanish,korean,Japanese and german during morning circle time.They are only 4 and a half to 5 years old.This is one way of allowing  childrens minds to grow and develeop and promotoe this ealry learning.We are now in the second month of school and out of the 16 students in my class, teh majority can count in these 5 different languages. The brain is remarkable. Imagine how much more children are able to learn if placed in a high quality early education setting. So far i have seen that songs, hands on activities, Ipad, and videos are helpful tools that promote early education and am excited to see the learning process expand as the year goes on.

  

Here are just a few question to ponder about. Let me know what you think :)

What do you think about early education?What does high quality early education mean to you? How can early education be valued more in our society?

Connected Learning

How do we teach students how to learn instead of just being students? This is one of the main questions the video "The Essence of Connected Learning" highlights. I agree with the video that our learning institutions should be environments of passion,interest and engagement. I think it brings up some interesting points that hopefully will lead to a more engaged,passionate, and networked society of learners instead of students.

The Essence of Connected Learning from DML Research Hub on Vimeo.

One of the key concepts in the video that resonated with me was individualizing learning experiences. It is so important to get to know each and every one of your students in your classroom and then teach to with their interest in mind. Oftentimes and in the past, as educators, we have taught to assessments and only facts. This has not lead to mastery or engagement but rather short term memory and uninterested students. For learning to occur, allow the children to be curious,discover, explore and inquire. Project based learning is a great way of allowing for exploration and inquiry to occur so that learning and understanding is taught. PBL also relates learning experiences to real world application. This year the class I am working in is doing a PBL on maps. i am very excited to see how this goes and will definitely keep everyone updated.

The second point that resonated with me is that learners do not need to be taught to learn the same way. I believe that there is more than one right answer. Emphasizing the one right answer concept, to me, limits peoples creativity, their want to explore more and can decrease confidence levels in people. Offering choices, allowing for group collaboration, and the use of authentic and alternative assessments such as interviews, portfolios, readers theaters, monologues,etc can help teach students to learn.

Connectedness has allowed learners to share their ideas with each other and really become passionate. I know that helping someone else get better at something feels great. Hopefully out students and educators will embrace this idea of connected learning because I believe it can be very effective.