G. Morgan: 5th Grade Educator

Once my students create their blog link on their Google Site. I plan to start with them adding a Flickr photo, citing it correctly, and telling me why they chose the photo. My students love to search for images, but think they can just download them and use them. I think it is important to show them a proper web tool to use and how to cite it properly. I also am interested to see what and hear why they chose what they did. There are many other ways Flickr could be used in the classroom. Students can use it to search for images to use on projects or interactive assignments.  I chose an ocean. It is my happy place. I can picture myself laying on the beach, listening to the waves without a care in the world. This is more than just water and a sunset. I think it is calming and beautiful. I look forward to introducing my students to this web tool.    Cuba Gallery. (2011, February, 4). Ocean. Cuba Gallary’s Photostream. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/9fyftm  

Sharing ideas with others is an essential part of learning and continuing to gain knowledge. This is true for both children and adult learners. Learning from others and then making things your own is something teachers do all the time. However, what you do not realize is that there are times when teachers learn something new from students, too. Everyone offers different perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds that can help one learn something new or change the way you view something. It is important to include collaborative projects in your classroom. It is also important to teach students the importance of sharing opinions and ideas in respectful ways, knowing their audiences, and also how to respond properly to others.

Title:  Teaching with Blogs Authors: Kendra Oliver and Richard Coble Location: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-with-blogs/ This source is relevant because it discusses the effectiveness of blogs in the classroom as well as gives some blog ideas.   Summary:  According to Oliver and Colbe (2016), “Although people often think of social media as a space for non-academic interactions, blogs can be helpful tools for instructors interested in enhancing their students’ communication skills and increasing their students’ investment in learning. (Why Teach Blogs, para. 1). I always try to find a blog quote that strikes my interest, but also sums up the article along with the reason I chose it. Many traditional teachers may find a lot of the technology advances to be daunting, and may feel that students “need” the more traditional learning environment. However, times have changed drastically, and students “need” to be involved in technology because it is all ar...

  Title:  Using Blogs in the Classroom Author: U-M LSA Sweetland Center for Writing Location: https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/instructors/teaching-resources/using-blogs-in-the-classroom.html   This source is relevant because I want to investigate how to incorporate blogs into my classroom to encourage collaboration between students and teachers.  Summary:  U-M LSA Sweetland Center for Writing explains how blogs can be great for collaboration, it can improve students’ writing skills, and it could empower students. The empowerment part really struck my attention. According to Sweetland Center for Writing (2021), “While reading their fellow students’ blogs and comments, and responding online with their own comments, students recognize the value of clarity and what makes for strong and engaging posts” (Empowering Students, para 1). This is a great point and shows the importance of social media, blogging, and having an online presence in the world today. Students wil...

  Title:  Deeper Learning: A Collaborative Classroom Is Key Author: Rebecca Alber Location: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/deeper-learning-collaboration-key-rebecca-alber This source is relevant because it discusses the importance of collaboration along with skills to collaborate clearly.  Summary:  According to Alber (2017), “Teach students how to listen and ask good questions with these exercises designed to scaffold deep, meaningful collaboration” (para 1). This quote struck my attention right way because some students know how to “talk” to classmates, but they are not truly collaborating. This article dives into the importance of not only speaking, but listening, too. I will break down the main headings and what they cover.  The first heading is, “establish group assignments” which covers being creative, doing your part, and accountability. The second heading is “teach them how to listen” which discusses skills such as making eye contact, showing empathy, a...

I am always looking for ways to improve my own practice. I feel that RSS Reader will help me organize sites I follow and keep me up-to-date on the newest ideas. This will be an ongoing opportunity to continue to develop professionally.  Here are the five feeds besides my classmates’ feeds that I subscribed to and a reason why:  This was recommended and is filled with quick and easy tips to run a successful technology classroom. Fifth graders are still pretty young, so it is nice to find quick and easy ways to help them learn “techy tips”.  http://www.educatorstechnology.com/   This blog focuses on what is best for kids and that is what we are all here for! http://nativeclassroom.blogspot.com/ I have listened to ED Ted videos before and read the material. I want to keep up-to-date with this fantastic resource.  https://blog.ed.ted.com This blog has a lot of information about Google products and they are my BEST friend, so thought it would be a great blog to follo...

 I chose to modify my PA History Final project by adding in Symbaloo. I chose this because it is a research project and it would be nice to have resources all in one place. A major advantage is that each corner can be for one of the four places students can choose from for their project and students can collaborate to find websites that will be helpful. A disadvantage is that some students may just wait for others to find good websites to utilize.  Here is the project template with a general overview of what to do. Students would have detailed instructions on Google Classroom.  Final Project with Symbaloo Shared link added that we will add to.