Special Assignment- I Got the Metaphor

I read a great working definition of a metaphor by Chris Jones. He found me on Twitter after a lively discussion about metaphors. Here it is.


A metaphor is a mental/linguistic technique that helps us understand
a complex concept by relating it to our more concrete, observable
experiences. By comparing two discreet ideas, we explore
similarities and can infer logical relationships.


There are many examples of metaphors in literature. One of the best examples is in Shakespeare's
play- As You Like It. One of the lines in the play is very famous. I'm sure you have probably heard it before. "All the world's a stage and men and women merely players." It is actually an extended metaphor in which the world is a stage for all to view and enjoy. Men and women are the subordinate players on the stage. I could give many more examples.

I heard a metaphor in Mass this morning. I thought about this EDM 310 assignment in church! In the reading from Ezekial, the love of God is compared to the love that a shepherd has for his sheep.That is how the shepherd will do anything to protect and care for his sheep. How he will go find his lost sheep. Great metaphor!

Blog post #13- My Teacher is an APP

The article began by showing how two children in the same family, Allison and Noah, are handling their on-line classes. These two had very different approaches and will have different outcomes.
Noah is not taking it seriously and falls into all the traps that an on-line class provides.
Allison, on the other hand, is doing well because of her self-discipline and obvious maturity.
The article definitely surprised me when it told of how many children are involved in on-line learning in high school and even younger. The numbers were definitely higher than I expected.
The article provokes thought about on-line classes when it states statistics about how those in on-line classes do on standardized tests. Also, when learning needs to take place with a group or conversation, will these students be prepared? Learning a new lesson for an on-line high school student is just a click away. Do we really want a "click and learn" system? I don't. I am definitely opposed to full time on-line learning in high school and below. I think there should be a happy medium for those that wish to have that opportunity.
I am taking an on-line class right now. I would say that I definitely miss the human interaction. On-line classes require more self-discipline than regular classes. Are high schoolers really ready for that? Some, maybe, but not everyone can do it.The jury is still out.
On-line classes are only as good as your effort. You can't and never will be able to do this alone.
I'm someone who believes in moderation of almost everything. I believe that for on-line classes and technology in schools. Nothing is good when it is overdone.
It was a great article and expanded my knowledge. Thank you.

Project #15 Smart board instruction

C4K #10- Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog

     Mrs. Yollis' class blog is such an inspiration. I've been thinking about a class blog for my future classroom and have found a fantastic resource. Mrs. Yollis is so impressive with her desire to be and create lifelong learners. The world is her classroom. She has such great information on the blog for her students and the visitors.
      This third grade blog has had more than 72,000 visitors which is more than the EDM class blog. We just passed 50,000. This is amazing! All of the students seem to love everything about blogging and judging from the comments, the parents do too. It is so great how she connects with people in her school,neighborhood,city, state, and on the other side of the world in another hemisphere and time zone.
      Mrs. Yollis holds her students to a very high standard and extends that standard to all visitors. WOW! Mrs. Yollis also makes it look so easy because she has taken the time to educate herself about all aspects of blogging. This is the best blog I have visited this semester. I plan on visiting again to learn from Mrs. Yollis and her students. Thank you for the assignment.

Progress Report on Final Project

The September Group has decided on a final project. We are currently gathering information and ideas for our project.

We will be creating a "talk show" with a host, guest, and music.   Darrius will be using his musical talent. Brianne and I want to have a  fake commercial and a top 10 list. This will all be related to EDM 310. We all  like the idea and plan on meeting as much as possible to produce a quality product.

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We will be using a lot of technology and our creative minds. This makes a good  combination.

Blog Post #12 -Doing the Assignment

I learned a lot about the Voice Thread through this assignment.The tutorials are very well done. The voice thread is very easy and fun to use. It has many features that can enhance a lesson through technology. There are so many ways to comment and there are so many ways to create a good voice thread. Anytime a tool like this is used, it enhances learning.

VT also has negative aspects. Not being able to use youtube is a definite negative point because people are so familiar with it and use it all the time. There are so many thought provoking videos on youtube. I wanted to use one. Maybe in the future, this will be possible.

I chose a picture from Google images that I could use in the study of Alabama History. This is a picture that can excite students about the information they will be receiving in the next chapter.

I enjoy using the voicethread. It is a nice change of pace.

Blog Post #12- My Idea for an Assignment

     For this assignment you will learn about the Voice Thread. It is widely used in educational settings.  Please go to Voice Thread and register for an account.  It is free.
Explore the site on your own if you wish. Watch the Tutorial. It's 15-20 minutes and very worth your time.Explore the public gallery of voicethreads. Some are funny.Some are unusual. Enjoy them.

Take some time to think about a voicethread that you could use in your future classroom. Then, create it. It can be as many slides as you want or just one. You may include video or pictures.Remember, it's your voice thread.

 WARNING: Youtube cannot be used
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Embed your VT to your blog.

Be the first to comment on your  own Voice Thread.

Then, Write a Quality Blog Post  about what you learned. Please include the positive and negative aspects of VT, the reason you chose your picture/video, and if you can see yourself using this tool in the classroom.

Next week in C4C, look for the VT of the classmate to whom you have been assigned. Participate in the VT of your classmate. As usual, you must also comment, in writing ,to the blog post.

Project 14. Skype interview

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy


     Ms. Cassidy is a great teacher.She has good support regarding technology at her school, but she is the driving force behind its use in her classroom. Ultimately it is up to the teacher. She says that if you are not using technology in the classroom that you are "handicapping" your students. Good word. Very true. Ms. Cassidy teaches first grade. I wonder how much the second grade teachers use technology?

     Ms. Cassidy has a classroom blog. I would like to have a blog in my classroom some day. She takes all of the necessary precautions related to identity. Her students do not use their last names and pictures are used very carefully. I will problem encounter resistance when I try to set up a blog. With proper communication, common sense, and a true desire to help students and parents, I can do it.

     I like that Ms. Cassidy found another blogging classroom in which students comment to each other. It is always beneficial to find a classroom with something in common. It can even be a classroom on the other side of the world! This is great for the whole process. It is probably not very hard to find one, either!

     I like how Ms.Cassidy's blog serves as an on-line portfolio for her students and their parents to enjoy.
I wasn't shocked that the parents loved to see their child's work on line. This benefits the teacher, parents, and students.

     Ms. Cassidy stated that "kids and technology go hand in hand." She is so right. Kids are using technology more and more at younger and younger ages. She knows this and uses it to enhance the learning environment.  I'm still a little curious about how the parents reacted to their children bringing a Nintendo DS to school.

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I have two children with a NintendoDS and it would take a special teacher and very good reason for me to like this idea.

     Ms. Cassidy uses on-line games to help her students with certain concepts. She says she has a problem with her students trying to go to games that they want to play for fun, rather than one with an educational purpose.I can see how tempting this could be for a young person. It is good to be aware of this and make some proactive rules about it. I will use on-line games in my classroom.

     Ms. Cassidy uses technology in the right way. She is really educating               her students. I have learned a lot from her.

   


   

C4K Summary post -October

Here is my Comment for Kid summary for October. I enjoy commenting on kids' blogs. I always try to make their day.

Jordan Jordan did a rugby animation. It was very good. It was colorful and cute. I told him so. I told him I don't know much about rugby but it was nice to watch his animation. His favorite team is from France. From such a young child, I was impressed with the teacher for encouraging the use of this technology.

Krishant and Sienna(joint post) Krishant and Sienna are a 2nd and 3rd grader that participated in a speach contest. Krishant got second place and Sienna got third place. I watched the speaches and they both did a great job. I was very impressed. Krishant performed "Steve the Superhero" which had hand motions and cute expressions.Here is a link to the story.It is about a boy who smells bad after a day of athletics. Sienna's poem was about worms. In fact, it was entitled "Worms". She did a great job and was very cute. I told her that she deserves a delicious gummi worm.
Martha Martha is an 8th grader in New York. She is new at blogging. One of her posts was "I am writing on my blog. the end" I decided it was important to encourage her on her post of brainstorming about music. She did a good job and it was colorful and nice. I talked to her about music.

Ms Gardner post 11 This was a post about roaches. Interesting facts were given about roaches like their ability to live without a head and their survival through the ages. There was a cute drawing of a roach. I commented about the drawing and that it would make me hesitate before squashing it. I enjoyed the facts and provided encouragement to the students on a job well done. I ended by saying that the earth will never be rid of roaches. It was a very good and cute post.

I always put a lot of thought into my comments for kids. If my own children had a blog, I would want people to comment as I do. I am following the Golden Rule.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Going to Bat for my People in EDM 310

First of all, if you got the metaphor in "Don't Bring your Pencils Home" by Tom Johnson, congratulations. Well done. Enjoy your gift. I will enjoy mine.

If you didn't get the metaphor this semester or anytime in the past, this is for YOU, my dear people.

 Here are some reasons,I think, students swung and missed on this one.

1) Students were in the on-deck circle, all alone: Most students probably read this post in isolation. That is, they read it alone somewhere without anyone to talk to about it. They did not engage in conversation about what they had read. Their thinking was narrowed because of this.

2) Students were expecting a fastball and got as curve ball on the outside corner: After many weeks of watching videos and reading articles that called for literal translation, they were expecting it to be like that again. Many (6) weeks have passed since the Scott McLeod article. I think this was a big factor. It was all about the expectations for some.

3) Students went to the game and it started to rain after the first inning: The metaphor just wasn't very good. I think the author is an excellent writer. I love his word choice and his smoothness. He is very talented.I could read his stuff all day long! But the  metaphor is weak, in my opinion. Usually a metaphor provides a grand image and it's easy to recognize. A weak metaphor that runs that long is sometimes hard to distinguish. There is no larger image in this post, only a story that creates an interesting scene and wonderful characters.
So, if you take the word pencils out of this post and replace it with paperclips, will the story still work? Will the metaphor work? What if we put in the word puppy?  Most metaphors are much stronger than this one.

If a student missed the metaphor in the assignment, read it again, and still didn't understand, it is a weak metaphor.

4) Students thought they saw a triple play: Many students probably considered the story ridiculous and rare for real life ,but not completely out of the realm of possibilities. That is, as wrong as the story was, they thought it could actually  happen. Students based their thinking on experience. Many of these students were in high school just a few years ago, taking standardized tests.How many of them could tell you a rule that they considered absolutely ridiculous? Probably all of them. Let's face it. The educational system is often portrayed negatively and many have had negative experiences with rules. Has anyone watched John Stossel "Stupid in America?" I have.

5) Students got a Coke at the concession but always thought it was a Pepsi: The writer himself describes his post as a satirical story. There are other elements of literature in this story . Maybe a student saw hyperbole? figurative language? symbolism?  Just not the metaphor.

A good manager will always stand up for her players.

I hope I got a good  hit  for the team  in EDM 310.                  Game Over.