Wednesday, May 6, 2015

tech tools 5

Soundcloud is an website that has millions of different tracks of music, recordings, documentaries on tape etc. It connects millions of people all across the globe, where people can listen and create their own tracks and playlists. You can view my profile at https://soundcloud.com/stream or just look up clafdaddy39. I created a playlist of Civil War songs and recordings in a playlist. here is the link to access it. https://soundcloud.com/you/sets

As a teacher, I would use this app in a similar fashion with that of youtube, but instead of showing videos, i would be playing audible tracks or recordings. Students could use soundcloud to turn in projects, create and upload their own music,and listen to their peers projects/tracks to network. As a teacher i could use soundcloud for resource in various ways. I could use to have students turn in projects, play tracks or playlists in class, create my own playlists, I could use to administer homework to my students as search engine, even though that is the most reliable source, My students are already going to have a sense of social networking just from their everyday lives, soundcloud just becomes another tool they can network with and also use it for educational purposes. Anyone can create and use soundcloud to publicly share their music or recording, so yes, students can create tracks just as easily as teachers.  Soundcloud is very accessible for anyone, but their are challenges. One must have a sense of how to create music or audible on their computer to be able to upload to soundcloud.

Here is the link one more time to soundcloud, soundcloud.com

tech tools 4

As a teacher, films and videos, i feel, should always incorporated into your lessons. Videos bring a new feeling to the classroom and changes the ordinary flow of teaching.Finding videos and movies to show in class can be tedious, but not anymore. Using Youtube, can be the easiest way and most effective way to show videos in the classroo m. There are millions of videos uploaded onto Youtube.com and you can find videos ranging from The Causes of the American Civil War to music and dress of the 17th century France.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkmMYUcixhA Here is the a link to a video documentary on the Battle of Gettysburg. You can access anything you need from youtube.

I love youtube. I have been using Youtube since it first came out and I will continue to use when I have my own classroom in the future.I could use Youtube in various ways. I could use it for accessing videos and movies, students could upload presentations and projects to youtube for easy access and also so they could all watch each others videos, share their videos with their families and friends, and using youtube is much less time consuming then going to a library and renting a documentary, you could do it from the convenience of your home or phone. I would use this tool in my classroom because of the accessibility, efficiency, and because how easy youtube is to use. My younger cousins know how to access it. Students can use youtube in a couple different ways. They could create their own videos, as well as teachers can, and upload them to youtube, they could also use youtube to watch other students videos or watch specific videos that I have chosen to show. example: I could give all the students the link to a video that i want them to watch for tomorrows lesson as homework that way I wouldnt have to waste time in the classroom showing them a video that they could access on their own.
Youtube.com Here is the link once again to apps website.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

a love story: the story of Hosea and the rescue of Gomer, Hosea Chapter 3

" The Lord said to me, Go show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adultress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes." 2. So I brought fer for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethek of barley.3. Then I told her,' you are to live with me many days: you must not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man and I will live with you. " 4. For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol, 5. Afterward the israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. they will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days....

The story of Hosea and Gomer is one of the greatest love stories of all time, because it is but a taste of the same love God has for his creation.

I wonder what that was like...Homer go find her..go find your wife who is back in prostitution and is with a lover who is not you, she is an adultress, but I want you to go find her and bring her back. Where did Hosea have to go? He didnt go into the nice, pleasant places of town...he didnt go to white collar part of the city, no...she isnt going to be there, she is in the place where "good" people dont go..men of God dont go, but Hosea went, he searched, and he found her. He saw her, probably chained, naked, beaten, and he said that is my wife! and I am here to get her back...but it wasnt that easy..there was a price to be paid, "I dont care who you are this is the price for her" so Hosea paid it in full, on the spot.

God did this to show Hosea the Love of God, he used Hosea as an example. God loved his people, even though they had turned their backs to God. They belonged to me, God, but they have turned away from me in search for life in the things of the world....Israel said " God youre great, but we have found something better, living in obedience to you isnt doing it for us anymore, and we have found something better...." This is a prophetic vision of God's love for us. His creation turned away from God, but he sent his son to be the payment for our sins...he sent his son to die for us and pay our payment so that we might turn back to God. That is the love of God. He loves his creation who has turned their backs completely from him, but he still loves them....and I love them so MUCH!! That he paid for in blood, the only way to buy us back....In the way Hosea searched to bring his wife back, Jesus searched to bring us, the lost, the broken, sinners, to give us Salvation because of his amazing grace and love. God had to pay for what already belonged to him, so that he could have relationship with us again...this is the amazing Love of God. God asked " what is the price" and he sent Jesus to pay it in full. The story of Hosea and Gomer is an amazing depiction of the love of our Savior.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Networked Professional learning: productivity

Teacher productivity is key concept when it comes to your personal success on dealing with the time of in the classroom and outside the classroom. For me personal, I wouldnt be the one who used all five tools to help with time, but I definitely could see myself using one or two of them. the first one I could see myself using is rescue time. A tool to keep you focused and on task and shows you how much time you spend doing certain activities. I know I can become distracted easily trying to do 10 things at once...but with rescue time, this tool will force me to stay on task at a time instead trying to multitask. The other tool I could see myself using is Springpad tool for organization. one can never be too organized, especially as a teacher. I could have a personalized organizing system that i created to help me for my own style of  organization. Organizing notes, lectures, images, videos, musics, grades, tests/quizzes, all of it, into a simpler way to hold my teaching stuff.
Those two tools are ones that I would personally use as a teacher in the future. They could make my life easier and give me more time to focus on life's more important aspects.

Friday, April 10, 2015

thoughts more on blended learning.

This post will be more about on how I will use blended learning for when I become a teacher. Being a History teacher I can see both positive and negatives to having blended learning in my classroom. Days in which I plan on showing movies or days in which I am not physically able to be there, mainly due to sickness, in having the blended learning, my students and I wouldnt feel as if we missed a day of class due to my lack of appearance. They would be able to access notes, videos,lectures online and wouldnt have to do tedious busy work for the day. On the other hand, it could be negative because lessons,notes, lectures etc. could create a class where some students are farther ahead or behind because of the lack of face to face instruction. Yes, we can say well if they want to learn they will participate or they will suffer, but I feel as if over time, students, will begin to tune out of online obligations and I just feel that personal this could create problems in teaching students. I just dont want my students to spew out facts and never remember a thing, I want my students to understand significance of major historical events. Doesnt mean that they will know every detail of the Civil War, but know why the Civil War was immensely crucial to the country 150 years ago and today.
So i can see blended classes working and being effective, but I still feel, for me personally, that face to face needs to be at least 75% or higher of the time.

Blended Learning

So has you can tell, i am not the biggest advocate of blended learning, having both in class and online class mixing together to create one blended class, but thinking about it much more and trying to destroy the walls that I have built up, I am seeing how much a blended class can be effective to the newest generation. I have a 9 year old niece and I love her to death. She can do much more with my smart phone than I can...she knows how to share photos, use apps that I had no idea existed. To me she is a wizkid with technology, and thinking about her education more I have come to realize that blended learning is not so evil after all haha. Yes, do I believe the most effective way of teaching is face to face, yes but not every student benefits from that. Each person is different in ways they learn the most effectively, and blended learning gives more options to students for more expansive ways to learn and grow!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

FInal review of Paleo! final review of my major project

Hey everyone, so this is my final review of the paleo diet as way to better your nutrition and to lose weight, that is why people go on different diets, lets be honest to lose weight. So I did the best I could for 4 weeks to stay on this diet while traveling for baseball so much.

Honestly I loved! I feel great! I have actually maintained my weight at about 188 lbs, and i do not know if i have lost any percent of body fat, but I do feel like I am in great shape and healthy because of what I ate during this time. I really recommend this diet to anyone! I will say this again shortly but this is strict, demanding diet, but with staying on plan and working out regularly you will see results quickly.

So lets talk about what I did and did not like about this diet, my thoughts on the diet and my advice to others who would be interested in this eating program.
What I liked about eating paleo: It tastes great! most people think because it is so simple that it cant taste good, but thats not true. Eating so clean tastes great and I found various recipes to try that were paleo friendly. Eating steak or chicken with just veggies and fresh fruits tastes great because the natural juices from the fruits and the meat mix to create an awesome flavor, free of processed additives,
I did not like is the strictness, and that is everyone's biggest complaint but it is also why it is such a successful eating plan. It is a tough, in that regard, but once your body gets used to the new changes in your diet, it becomes easier to say no to junk food and say yes to eating a banana instead.

I do recommend this diet to anyone wanting to burn fat and build lean muscle or just wanting to challenge themselves. It takes preparation, meal preparation is the best way to stay on task, that and determination.
 Eating nothing but fresh fruits,veggies,nuts,meat, and eggs seems boring, but I loved it! and I plan on continuing to eat paleo throughout summer! If you like to ask any questions about Paleo or my story with it, comment down below! take care, love Casey