PLN- Twitter

A PLN or Personal Learning Network is a system that allows for teachers and anyone else to connect through one network. This is extremely helpful for teachers because lesson plans, struggles, and idea's can be shared easily with one another through one website. I chose to research Twitter because I already have a Twitter account, which would allow me easy access to teachers and teaching programs from around the world without the hassel of registering for another cite.

Twitter is a PLN that connects people from around the world. Anyone can create a Twitter account, therefore it is important to also realize that information gotten from Twitter can be tampered with or untrue. This being said, Twitter has several different "groups" within their cite for teachers. One of the "groups" that is my favorite is PBSteachers. PBSteachers is a group that updates the cite with new teaching idea's, studies and other important information that can benefit a teacher and their classroom. I think that Twitter in particular will allow me to constantly update my teaching styles to better fit my students.

Another teaching 'group' Twitter offers is innovativeteach. This group posts links about different technology uses within teaching. This group could be extremely helpful in allowing me to find the newest uses of technology and apply them in my classroom. Technology is constantly changing and bettering and the more I understand about new technologies the better I will be at teaching my students.

Ease of Access

There are several helpful tools within each window's system that helps students with disabilities to have technology make their work easier. Three of the tools that I researched included, Onscreen Keyboard, Magnifier, and blocking of background images.

The Onscreen Keyboard is an interesting tool that allows for a student who may not have all the movement within their fingers to use their mouse and type what they want to say into the keyboard shown on their screen. This tool could be extremely helpful for students with physical disabilities that may not be able to push buttons or move all of their fingers. I believe that this tool would also be useful within my classroom because I plan on teaching very young children who may not understand or know how to type yet. Those students that may not be as strong with their typing skills, by using this tool will still be able to participate in typing activities without being left behind. This being said it is also important to teach those children how to type, but this allows them to finish projects quicker and remain on course with the rest of the class.

The ability to block the backgrounds on a screen would be extremely helpful for students with ADD or ADHD. These students have difficulties concentrating on one task at a time. This tool will allow for students to limit the amount of visual stimuli the encounter while on the computer. By limiting the amount of information that distracts them they will concentrate more on the tasks they are assigned and less on their backgrounds. I would also use this within my classroom as a means to make my entire class concentrate. Young children usually cannot sit still as long as older children and they get distracted easier. This will help me control the amount of distractions my students encounter on their computers.

My Bean Plants Growth Journal (Artifact Proposal #3)

Measurement #1:
The first plant shown in the picture above is from the first week of the project. This plant was measured at 2.5 inches. Some of the changes that our group saw as the plant grew to be 2.5 inches were the growth of leaves and a stem. The seed that we started with was only a bean. It was measured at .5 inches. This means the plant grew 2 inches in 2 weeks. We predict that the next time we measure the plant it will have grown 2 more inches.

Measurement #2:
The second plant in the above picture is from the second week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 4 inches tall. Some of the observations we noticed were a third leaf grew and the plant became too heavy to support itself so a stake was added to support the plant. Our group predicts that the plant will only grow another inch by the next measurement time.

Measurement #3:
The third plant in the above picture is from the third week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 7 inches tall. Some of the observations that our group noticed were several more leaves grew on the plant, all at different spots on the stem. Our group predicts that the final measurement of the plant will be at 11 inches.

Measurement #4:
The fourth plant in the above picture is from the fourth and final week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 13 inches. Our observations were the leaves grew larger than they were before and there are still more leaves being grown along the stem. Many times our hypothesis' were wrong which shows that sometimes the growth of a plant cannot be guessed about.

My Bean Plants Growth Journal (Artifact Proposal #3)

Measurement #1:
The first plant shown in the picture above is from the first two weeks of the project. This plant was measured at 2.5 inches. Some of the changes that our group saw as the plant grew to be 2.5 inches were the growth of leaves and a stem. The seed that we started with was only a bean. It was measured at .5 inches. This means the plant grew 2 inches in 2 weeks. We predict that the next time we measure the plant it will have grown 2 more inches.

Measurement #2:
The second plant in the above picture is from the fourth week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 4 inches tall. Some of the observations we noticed were a third leaf grew and the plant became too heavy to support itself so a stake was added to support the plant. Our group predicts that the plant will only grow another inch by the next measurement time.

Measurement #3:
The third plant in the above picture is from the sixth week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 7 inches tall. Some of the observations that our group noticed were several more leaves grew on the plant, all at different spots on the stem. Our group predicts that the final measurement of the plant will be at 11 inches.

Measurement #4:
The fourth plant in the above picture is from the eighth and final week of the experiment. When measured the plant was 13 inches. Our observations were the leaves grew larger than they were before and there are still more leaves being grown along the stem. Many times our hypothesis' were wrong which shows that sometimes the growth of a plant cannot be guessed about.

Artifact Proposal #1- Student Example

Immigrants coming to America for the first time were troubled with several different adversities. Coming from their home countries, immigrants traveled on a boat thousands of miles to reach America. The boat rides were unpleasant. Food was scarce and crowding was common. After days of travel the sight of the Statue of Liberty was beautiful. The Statue not only symbolized the end of a long and hard journey, but it promised a new start in a free country.

Freedom in America would come at a price. The immigrants were herded off of the ships, into lines where they waited to enter the main building on Ellis Island. This building held thousands of immigrants from around the world, but more specifically Europe. The immigrants, once inside, were shuffled through lines of tests and quizzes that determined whether or not an immigrant was worthy enough to come to America. Tests included health screenings, literacy tests and background checks. As the immigrants entered the building and at any point throughout the testing process an ailment was found in their health or psyche, they were marked with chalk symbols on their clothing. These dark symbols and failure of any test could result in deportment.

The different tests were difficult for immigrants. Most immigrants came through Ellis Island in families. These families could easily be broken up. If one family member failed a test, they could be deported without the remainder of their family. This caused great fear and problems for families passing through Ellis Island. Another stressor throughout the process was the simple fear of being deported. The journey to America was difficult but the immigrants knew they were going someplace better. If an immigrant was deported they had nothing to look forward to, making the trip back more difficult. Immigrants led a difficult life on Ellis Island, but many received entrance to America, which was an answer to a prayer for many.

Station 1: KidPix Pictographs

First Activity:

The first activity asks for the teacher to create a tally sheet for students to use in order to tally each student in the classroom's favorite sport. This tally sheet needed to include small words becasue young students are just beginning the reading process, as well as pictures to help the students better understand what is being asked.

Second Activity:

The second activity asked for a data sheet created in KidPix that a student would make of the information gathered from the completed tally sheet. KidPix allows for students to use their imagination when creating a project that shows different data that has been collected. KidPix has different tools such as, cirlce templats, line templates, different colors and stickers that students can use to create their projects. This program allows for an easy creation of a project, which makes it beneficial for elementary students who are just learning how to read and problem solve.

Third Activity: Discussion Questions-

1. How many students like basketball the most?

2. How many students like baseball the most?

3. How many students like football the most?

4. How many studnets like soccer the most?

5. How many students like volleyball the most?

6. What sport is the favorite of the class?

7. At recess what sport would have the most people playing?

The above are questions that would follow the data collection and project. The questions would help students better understand why they are collecting information and relate it back to learning similarities between students and how they can be used to create a project.

Fourth Activity:

This fourth activity provided step-by-step instructions for students to follow in creating a snowman. These instructions had the students answer different questions about themselves and based on how they answered the questions, differnet clothing and details would be added to their snowman picture. This allows for students to collect data about themselves and apply it to a snowman. In the end the class would be able to come together and discuss different similarities and differences within their snowmen to discuss the differences in the data of the classroom.

Fifth Activity: Dicussion Questions-
1. How many snowmen have a blue hat?
2. How many snowmen have a red hat?
3. How many snowmen have a red hat and black circle eyes?
4. How many snowmen have mittens and a scarf?
5. How many snowmen have gloves and no scarf?
6. How many snowmen have an apple nose?

The above questions are questions that would be used after each student has created their snowman based on the instructions given. These questions would be used to help tie the different data together and show how data can be different in some areas and similar in others.

Google Groups Presentation Reaction

This tool is useful because it allows students to upload documents within the group, which allows students to talk about the different topics brought up in class. This is also useful for teachers because it allows the teacher to create different groups for the students. The teacher could create a group on different group reading books, for example. If the class has been split into reading groups and each group has a different book, they can converse about the book they are reading within their books group. I also think that this is a good tool because it allows student to discuss with eachother outside of the classroom, at home or anywhere they have a computer. This allows for group discussion to extend outside of the classroom as well as within.
This tool also links teachers to one another which is a nice perk. Being able to connect to other teachers to share ideas and lesson plans helps teachers efficiency.