Final major project submission!

Learning to paint is a skill that I have always wanted to learn. Through this process I have learned that it is not as difficult of a task as I anticipated. It is actually extremely relaxing. The first week I consulted an art instructor that I had when I was in elementary school. Through this art teacher I learned that with painting, like any other skill, you will make many mistakes but you cannot give up. Throughout the week I documented my progress through weekly updates using many different cool tools. But as the Major Project concluded I made a YouTube video explaining in detail how to paint Cattails and Sunsets! I hope you like it!

Major Project!

I also wanted to document my learning through a google Slides presentation to show what I have learned from week 1 until now! Enjoy!

Progression! Google Slides Presentation

 

Last update before submitting!

This collage was created using PicMonkey. 

For the last and final steps you want to add the cattails! 

First you want to put your brush in both black and brown. For this step you can use any size brush depending on how large you want the cattails. You want to use a simple tear shape to make the cattail and fill in the middle creating a black and brown cattail. 

Finally you want to add yellow to one side of the cattail making it seem as if sun was shining on the cattail! To finish the project you will do the best part, signing your name! 

Major project update

Update!

Before posting my major project submission I wanted to update the progress I have made! This week I added the tall grass which will then become the cattails. This project has been pretty easy to learn and I think anyone can learn and paint this beautifully! 

I updated this project using Google Slides

Major Project

This week I continued the painting process. I could not get the college I made to load to Blogger so I created a Google Docs page to share with everyone!Major Project Update

This week was exciting because I feel like I have come a long way in the painting process! I am happy to share pictures of my progress but I am even more excited to make a video of myself painting Cattails and Sunsets! I hope you enjoy my progress so far!

Teacher Productivity

Professional Learning Network!

As a future educator and student I am absolutely HORRIBLE at staying organize and on top of my work. I get all of my work done but I am usually cramming to complete assignments or plan for the next lesson I have to teach. Teaching full time while going to school full time has been the biggest challenge of my life. But this is a challenge I am willing to undertake because I know my future will directly benefit from it. 5 Tolls for Increasing Teacher Productivity is an article that speaks directly to me! This article lays out 5 different apps that can help teachers to stay organized. I know that as a future and current educator I am going to take great advantage of such apps.

I believe that technology can solve many problems in the classroom, but you have to watch because we can rely too heavily on technology. I personally think Audio boom is such a great resource that can be used in the classroom (10 Tools for Teachers and Students). This app allows teachers to record voice messages and share them for free. It is so ironic because I was just thinking that I need an app to reach out to parents in a quick and easy way without having to type a newsletter on a daily basis. This app is great for that! This can help me to become a productive teacher because it allows me to be transparent with my parents and students on a more often basis.

I also think that Google Forms is a great tool to use in the classroom! (10 Tools) This app allows for all resources to be available in one place such as worksheets and quizzes. If i use this app in the correct way students can really find great success in my classroom. I believe that students thrive  in an  environment   they are comfortable in and the use of technology is something that todays children are very comfortable with.

As stated previously I believe that technology can help to solve many problems, but we cannot use this as the main focus of the classroom. We have access to resources at the tips of our fingers if we know how to appropriately use the internet. But  I think that sometimes we rely to heavily on technology and not the old school way of doing things, textbooks. I think that with a good combination of the two you can have a very successful classroom!

Week 11: Blended Learning

"Learning strategies and teaching strategies work best when they're aligned to the needs of the individual student"- When Does Blended Learning Work Best?

This by far is my favorite topic of the semester! I think blended learning is something that will really take off in the coming years. This provides students a means of engagement and a different type of learning they have no seen before.

As said in What is Blended Learning? , "courses can be blended in many ways and for many reasons." In this particular class we use blended learning in different ways. For example at the beginning of the semester we met face to face to go over the basics of this course. This helped students to meet the professors and ask any questions they may have about the class. After we met face to face for 3 weeks the class then became online. But the class is not just online, we have the option of meeting the professors face to face in the lab if we need any extra help. This gives students the opportunity to ask any questions or get things cleared up that they may be confused about. The online aspect of this class has changed my outlook completely on online learning. The professors do a great job of giving you multiple resources to learn about the information being presented. The only thing that I do not like about this class are the quizzes. For some reason I have always struggled with online test taking.

My philosophy on blended learning is that it is a great tactic to use in the classroom. It gives the students motivation to learn in a personalized way. 21st century learners love to use technology in any way possible. I think that if we teach our students an effective way to use technology they will thrive. Although I love blended learning we have to do it in the right way. If we use the technology as a means keep the students busy we are using it in the wrong way. We need to use technology in a way that is blended with traditional instruction. Overall I think blended learning is awesome!

Weekly Update on Major Project continued:

After blending the three colors together you want to start on the yellow. For this color you will just simply apply it under the purple without combining the two colors too much. If you get purple in your brush DO NOT whip it off! You want some of the other colors to bleed into the yellow so it looks like a seamless sunset.








To finish painting the base coat of the canvas you will paint about an inch of blue following about a half inch of black. After finishing this step the canvas will look like this:

This week I will be working on adding the river along with finishing up by adding the cattails!

This week i started the painting process! I actually ended up painting two different canvas' because I forgot to document my progress on the first one! But I have to say its been a fun start to the project! I am going to go step by step (with pictures) in regards to what I have done this week:

First these are the supplies you will need to start:
I bought everything from Wal-mart for SUPER cheap! The paint was all .50 and I got a pack of 25 brushes for $5

To start getting painted you will start with the biggest brush you have. You will paint about an inch to a half inch at the top of the canvas. You want to get blue paint on both sides of the brush while dipping the corners in black. Glide the brush from side to side in the same direction.




You will repeat this step for blue (without black on the corners) and purple. You want about an inch to an inch and a half for each color. It will look like this when you are done:




At this point you want to blend the 3 colors together. To do this you will take a paper towel and dab the colors to remove any access paint so one color does not overwhelm the other. After dabbing the paint you will take a flat brush and gently glide the brush from side to side to blend the colors:

Assessments!

"Of all the tools teachers have, one of the most important tools to use is assessments - Scott Kinkoph

As a current and future educator I have a strong philosophy on assessments. I think assessments are the backbone of our teaching and learning. "It’s not a stretch to say that assessment is a hot button issue in education; however, you’d be hard pressed to find an educator who doesn’t see the value in measuring student progress." Every Teachers Guide to Assessments I see great value in assessments but there is also a downfall to giving these assessments. 

I think that it is important to CONTINUALLY assess and measure students learning. Continually is the key word because if we do not measure it frequently we will not have accurate and up to date data. Students are learning more and more every time we teach on a certain subject. If we are measuring their understanding or lack of understanding, we will better be able to reinforce or reteach the information they have no yet grasped.  

I really like the article Every Teachers Guide to Assessments because it tells the good bad and the ugly of assessments. "The information gleaned from assessments is extremely valuable. Besides a score, which gives quantitative data about how much of the material tested a students has mastered, information about student misconceptions can be determined by analyzing which distractors they chose and why." Every Teacher The information that is obtained by these assessments are important because we are able to either expand on a certain topic or move on because students have concrete knowledge about the content area. Although these assessments give us crucial information, we have to use them appropriately in order for them to fulfill their purpose for us as educators. 

After we acquire the results from the assessment we must use the information in a certain and useful 
way. If we find that students are struggling in a certain area we need to find other interesting ways to teach this information. If we as educators are able to take the information and reteach it in a different way , students may be able to grasp the information if we approach it differently. I believe that assessments are just as important to teachers as they are to the students. They allow us to evaluate our teaching skills along with evaluating the students learning.  Overall I think that assessments are very important for both learning and educating our students!

Wordle

Just like the previous apps I have tried this app is wonderful! The app that I worked with this week is called Wordle. This app makes word maps and possibly posters that are appealing to the eye for a classroom. With this app you type in words that correspond with each other and the app generates a word cluster. 

I would use this app for posters in my classroom. If I were to use this app I would have to learn how to use it more to make it appealing to the eye, but overall it's a fairly easy app. I would use this because it can give the students motivations to learn. It app also shows the students the type of technology that is out there. 

Students could use this app but it doesn't do much that is very educational.  If I were to have a student use this, they would have to find the words that went together to complete the graphic. I could give the students the task of finding 20 words that correspond to make an appealing poster.

Overall I love this app! 

http://www.wordle.net/

Learning Environments

"A school’s perimeters are no longer the only place students learn. Kids are learning about the world from their homes, from the community, and anywhere it’s available to them."Learning Environments

       Learning space can encourage students to engage and learn in a new way because these spaces can be innovative, interesting and encouraging for learning. In this day and age the learning environment looks different for every student. For some students their ideal learning environment is a classroom filled with electronics and technology that can help keep them engaged. For other students their ideal learning environment is a room with entirely white walls that helps them to focus on the information that is put in front of them. Either way learning is encouraged in these environments because it helps the students to remain on task according to their needs. Also comfortable and inviting learning environments help the students to keep engaged because it feels like a second home.

      Google apps for education are a good tool for both teachers and students. These apps can merge physical spaces together and they allow students to choose their own tools for education. Students can use something that they are really good at to help and promote the education of other students. There are tons of apps out there that help students and teachers to promote physical spaces for students. Dr. Bruek explains it in great detail that is very helpful to future and current students!

"Who says the 21st Century classroom has to be a single room?" Designing the 21St Century Classroom

      Designing the 21St Century Classroom is much different than the classrooms of earlier years. Students are needing more and more to keep them engaged and we must keep up with those ever changing needs. In the modern classroom you need to choose desks that support the students every need. Whether it be working in groups or taking a test, students desk need to be able to change according to the current task. Having plenty of charging outlets is also very important. Not all students will have their electronics charged which means we must provide a means to do so. We must also have teachers that are willing to teach using the newest technology along with schools that are willing to purchase these things.

      As stated by Dr. Brueck in Digital Learning Spaces The University of Akron has many informal learning spaces that are innovative, collaborative and useful for its students. One thing he brought up that I thought was important is that the library is essentially open 24/7 365. With the use of online technology we are able to log on to the library at any hour to use its resources. Also, he said that the desks and tables in the conference rooms are very innovative and useful. You are able to move the desks to use them in many ways. The University of Akron also has many informal learning spaces in almost all of the buildings. You can usually find somewhere quiet and calm to study or just take a break. these spaces for very beneficial to students.

     These informal learning areas at the University of Akron are very helpful to me because I love a calm, quiet area to study or just simply take a break. Also, in the library there are rooms that you can meet with others and use for a study group or a place to work on a group project. I use these different areas often and they are very beneficial.