Book Study, Part 1 - The Smartest Kids in the World

Click here to view the following blog prompt.
Recently in class we started to read "The Smartest Kids in the World" by Amanda Ripley. I think this book is very interesting and a good book to read if you are interested in what it's like to be a foreign exchange student. I found interesting, and really enjoyed what I read through the first four chapters. I got introduced to the students: Kim, Eric and Tom, and I am very excited to read more about their experiences in Finland, Korea and Poland.

Out of the three characters, I think that I most relate to Eric. Eric is empathetic, and he always sees the positives in things. Even though lonely at the Korean school, he is very interested in the new culture around him. He enjoys math, and he worked hard in high school, taking rigorous courses. I view myself as Eric because I LOVE math, and I'm interested in new things. I am empathetic towards others, I try to stay positive in new situations, and I am pushing myself by taking difficult courses in high school. Eric's want for adventure stood out to me. After completing high school, instead of going to college, Eric wanted to try something new, and left his peers for a year. This took bravery and determination to travel and to study abroad.

The three different schools in Finland, Korea and Poland were very interesting to me. I learned that most of them are not like schools in the U.S., especially Korea. The way they taught and led things were very different. Out of the three schools, I think that the school in Finland would be beneficial to the United States. Finland offers a school that may be considered as "old-school". Even though the school does not use technology, I think that this would help the students in America to stay engaged and on task. The teachers in Finland are devoted and excited about teaching. I think teachers like this would benefit the learning envoiornment in the U.S., because if the teachers are promoting education, the children will enjoy it.

Click here to view an intrerview with the author of this book.

Tech Tools

These are all the tech tools that my class learned and used in class. 

http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=1985434

Swivl

My Web tool is: Swivl
Click here to see the Swivl Website. 

Click here to view this blog assignment.

Swivl Capture is a free app which is available to iPhone and Android users. This app is easily accessible.

This is an instructional video explaining how to use and set up this device with an iPad mini. The set-up process does not change with a normal iPad.

                                           

Above, is a video of Rebekah demonstrating and explaining the Swivl to her 2nd grade students.

To use Swivl, you must buy the device, then create an account to log into on the iPad. It is free to make an account, and you only have to provide your name, email, a password, and the country that you live in. You can upgrade your account to an Educator Pro Account, costing $5/month ($50 a year), or a Standard Pro account for the non-educators, costing $20 a month ($200 a year). You can also upgrade your account to a Team account, which you can contact sales@swivl.com for the pricing.
 Below you can view the differences in the three accounts.

You must be 14 years or older to make an account. After you make an account, you can view, share and export your previously made videos, upload videos, or make new ones. You can also create a project, or interact with your video by making a title for each of your videos, and cut the videos to make them shorter. 
Below, are a few explanations of what Swivl offers.
1) In your project, you can add presentation slides and other media to your video.
 2) With time stamped commenting, you can post time stamped comments for questions or feedback with varying privacy from public to private.
3) You can comment on a video, and give feedback to the owner, which is great for a group discussion.
4)You can also make notes in your video at certain time-frames, so you can go back and make changes to your presentation.

This is a video of a man using the Swivl camera.

How can you use this in a classroom? Click here to see Swivl's ideas for what it may be used for.

There are many uses for teachers or students to use this app and device.

• If a student is absent, you can video yourself teaching a lesson, and have the absent student watch it the next day.
• If you are a student teacher, you can record yourself teaching to get feedback, and recognize what you may need to improve on.
• If you are doing an activity that involves movement, you can record yourself and your students, so they can notice what they should have done differently.
• If a teacher wants to use your idea on how to present a lesson or activity, you can record yourself, and send them the video so they see the details that were included in your lesson.
• This lesson can be used for any type of lesson moving, or not. This video collects up to 8 minutes of record time, if your lesson is longer, you will have to take multiple videos.

Fun Fact- You can also be hired for a job for Swivl. Click here, scroll down to the middle of the page, and then click the link to view the available jobs.

A Visit to the Perot Museum

Click here to view this original blog prompt by Mrs. Kallas.

Below, you can watch a prezi of my experiences at the Perot Museum on March 8th, 2016, with my Education and Training class.

Click here to view the Perot Museum's website.

Creativity Counts!

Click here to view this blog prompt.
Creativity Counts! 

This is a link to Sir Ken Robinson's Website.

Here is a Video of Sir Ken Robinson's TED Talk video.
Creativity is.... using your imagination to do things the way that you want to do it, with no rules or limitations
Why does creativity matter in education? Creativity is important in education in getting a larger variety of ideas. With no creativity, students will not try their hardest in school because, they have no interest in doing so. When students are given space to do things the way they want to, the teachers will see better results. Creativity is also important if the teachers want students who do things different, and not robotic in their actions. 
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt as if your teacher didn't let you be creative? Yes, in AP English IV. Each six weeks, we get an assignment to summarize, define, and support with examples the argument made in a passage. Yes, I would agree, that there is not a large window to be creative however, our teacher gives us a specific font, layout, and size to type each of our findings. The teacher could provide a small chance for creativity by giving his students the opportunity to choose the font or layout of our project. Our teacher provides such a little space for creativity, as he has this layout for the assignment on his website, and expects us to erase his information, and fill in with our own information.
Have you ever had a teacher that let you be as creative as possible? Yes, in my Education and Training class this year. My teacher allows us to make teacher created materials with what ever materials we want, with no limitations. Our assignments are not strict, but rather a chance to show who each student really is.
How do we fix the problem(s) described by Sir Ken Robinson? I think that we should have the opportunity to take classes that would be beneficial to our major we are interested in, or get to take classes that interest us. For example, my major in college demands an Algebra class, but no Pre-Cal, so I should not have to take this class if it will not benefit me in the future. I also think that students are capable of knowing what they want to be when they are an adult, and should get to choose and start taking courses for, in the middle of high school. This would keep the students engaged in school when they are interested in the material, knowing that they are learning the topics for a reason that will benefit them in the near future.

My State Teach Tomorrow Summit Highlight

 The following blog assignment can be found here

TAFE Website


The trip to Houston, Texas was definitely a trip to remember. Although we did not get the award of advancing to nationals, there were many things that made the trip a good one. The best part of the trip would have to of been Sunday. After waking up, eating breakfast, and attending the first general session, we traveled to the University of Houston for breakout sessions. I liked how we were able to choose the ones we went to, and how there was a very large variety. I attended one about making teacher created materials out of recycled objects, one with the author of Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess, and one about working with hearing and vision impaired students, and students diagnosed with autism. I found the last breakout session very interesting. Overall, I had a great time in Houston, and I would quickly recommend this trip to my fellow TAFE members who did not participate, because it was a great chance to get closer with the future teachers in our chapter, and surround ourselves with other future teachers around the state of Texas. I can't wait for the 2017 state conference!
Pictures from our trip :)

Fold It!

Click  here to view the original blog post by Mrs. Kallas 

There are many different types of possible foldables to make.  

The following is one I created, to help my kindergarten classroom.

Alphabet and Counting Book

• This foldable covers information that is in the Kindergarten TEKS, such as being able to recognize all of the 26 letters, and counting.
• This book gives the kids a chance to say the sound of the letter they see on each page of the small book. They also can count to 50 by ones, or 100 by 10s, and can check to see if they are doing it right when they turn the page.
• The supplies needed includes staples, and  many pieces of paper, in any color, although bright colors help the students remember what they once saw.
• To create the activity you can- 1. fold a piece of paper every inch, or however big you would want the pages to be.  
  
  2. Cut on the lines, but leave a inch or so for the end.  
  
   3. Next, fold the paper back up, and staple the book on the end.
  
   4. Write in the information on the pages.
  5. If you want to add more pages, use different colors of paper, repeat steps1-4, and staple it to the back of the first book to add more.
• This foldable can be used as homework, or as a station. The students can bring this home, and tell to a parent, or have a partner in a station, who they can read this to. In an alphabet book, the student can see the letter, and pronounce the sound the letter makes to their partner. In the counting book, the student can start at 1, or 10, depending on their level (counting by ones, or tens) and say the following letter, before checking themselves on the next page.

Final Product-