My Final Reflection

My Final Book Review: How It's Being Done

Hello everyone here is my book review. It took some time uploading to YouTube but here is my video.

C4T Periment

For the blog I chose John Spencer, edrethink, John gives very in-depth post that cause his bloggers to think about the message.

For his first post John talked about how important are theories. Theories are the lay out for any idea. John believes that everyone should appreciate the theories. You would want any person who is great at their jobs to understand the fundamental concepts and theories behind those facts of information.

Comment #1

I agree that theory is important. Especially as a biology major, some of our scientific studies are based on theories. I believe research is important because it teaches students that you can not always find a direct answer to everything. Sometimes hard work and research must go into finding an answer.

John Spencer wrote a brief blog post on writing. He was so deep into his characters until he allowed the plot to develop on his characters terms. He was torn between using the plot he already came up with or allowing his creative flow to take control and develop a new story line.

Comment #2

I strongly believe that everyone should get lost within their writing. I believe writing as a therapy session for me regardless of the topic. The only downside of getting lost into your imagination, you must realize it it not "real". I would encourage anyone to get lost in their writing.

John Spencer talked about the owner of the Clippers and his racist comments and the little effort the players to only do a silent protest. He also talked about how people are going around and protest the Discovery Ed. Network because of the show Bad Teacher. He also talked about how people targeted him and questioned his actions. John’s overall message was to say to never blame the little person because of other people choices.

Choice #3

You should never blame the players for the owner’s mistakes. You should never blame a teacher for the State educational requirements. You should never protest an entire network, especially one that is important in education, for just one t.v.show. People need to think before they say things.

My PLN & PDP

Thought out this semester I have come across my useful resources. Many of those resources I have save and it is now a part of my PLN (Personal Learning Network). Here is a list of learning networks and social sites I have added to my PLN.

• Twitter

• Google Apps

• I Tunes U

• Blogger

• Symbaloo

• Stoodle

• Remind 101

I believe with some of these networking tools I will develop into a better teacher. Technology in the classroom is one of the important key things that is needed in the classroom. My PDP (Personal Development Plan) is to become a teacher that incorporates Project Based Learning more than traditional teaching. I will incorporate more videos and I will come up various ways to use the smart board. I will first ask my students open-ended questions first. It is my goal as a teacher to allow my students to think critically. I will not try to tell the students how to think or what to think. I will allow my students to work in groups more and use independent learning. When it comes to study session for my class I will create an account with stoodle. I will also use the technology to communicate with my students. I will use technology such as Skype and Google Hangout and Facebook page for my class so my students and parents can have various ways to reach me outside the classroom. I will also use technology to communicate with my parents. I will use remind 101 that is a text messaging system so that parents will be kept up to date all the time. As time counties on I hope to grow my PLN and PDP.

C4T Semester

This week my teacher , Steve Anderson present a new type of technology device in which you can have fun with and also use in the classroom. Sphero is a new up and coming device that you can connect and play virtual games on your smartphone. It plays virtual games but you can also use Sphero in the science classrooms.

Comment #1

I would like to buy this product. The Sphero looks like a great device to use. I can honestly say that I would consider using the Sphero for Education. I believe students would be engage into the product just like I would. I wonder how much a pack would cost for a classroom so that way I can present this to the chair of my schools science department.

Steve did a blog post about what was on his mind for the week. Steve went on to talk about various topics dealing with coding. He went on to say that coding is a great thing to start teaching in the classroom. He also listed apps that could help a teacher with teaching coding in the classroom. Steve also listed some apps that can be found on Apple and Android apps.
Comment #2

Hey Steve, I will defiantly look into the teacher apps. Those apps, I my opinion, will benefit me more in the classroom. This week I was really concerned about how to start using project based learning into my local school system.

Steve’s most recent post dealt with celebrating YouTube’s birthday. Instead of giving the history of YouTube he listed ways that you can edit, create shortcuts in order to fully enjoy your videos without any interruptions.
Comment #3

Hey Steve, I really did enjoy your blog post. These are some really great tips to use for YouTube. I will try those things out the next time I have to upload a video.

C4T Rotating

This week I was asked to read Lisa Thumann’s blog post. Her blog post was concerned about how she could attract more people to actually attend the conferences she host. Her biggest problem is that people RSVP to attend and she prepares for all of the people to attend and in the end, they do not attend. She was thinking that maybe she should make the registration fee nonrefundable. Towards the end of the blog she asks for the blogger’s opinion.

Comment #1

Hello Lisa, my name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama and I am a student in EDM 510. You have brought up a good topic. I believe in order to get people to attend you should tell them that the registration fee is nonrefundable. If you want to make sure that everyone attends you should send out emails or make a radio commercial encouraging people to come and register on the day of the event. I believe the more publicizing you do the better the turn out.

This week blog post I was ask to read William Chamberlain’s blog. He was asking “Why is history so important?” “Why do students have to learn history?” He went to say how he searched the internet for the answer but could not come up with a clear answer. He then turned to the bloggers for the answer.

Comment #2

In order to understand the entire story of a subject or situation, we first must understand the history. History explains why some things are set up a particular way. In my opinion, history is important in every subject. In order for us to appreciate the present we first must understand the past.

My Suggested Assigment

Directions

The assignment that I decided to create for my field of science was to conduct an interview with a Mobile Country science teacher. Throughout the semester we were introduced to the Baldwin Country School System and how they incorporated project based learning in the classroom. The interview could be done either as a video recorder or as a voice recorder and must be uploaded to the blog and also to your YouTube page.

Here is my audio recording I had some difficulty with doing the recording. However at the end of the day I have it done. This is my first time doing a recorded interview.

Book Review for EDM 510

Here is my YouTube Video for the Book Teaching Digital Natives. The video gave me a hard time but I finally have it published. Hope you enjoy!

Final C4K

Comment #1

The final C4Ks covered various topics. The first blog I read was from a student named Leatham. Leatham created a Mihi. A mihi is an introduction of yourself and some facts that people may not know about you. Leatham did a PowerPoint mihi telling the reader’s what country he is from, and also his favorite sport, and even his family. What I like about the power point was that he included the words in English and in his native language. I left my comment below:

Leatham,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama. I was brought to your blog for my class, EDM 510. I enjoyed your Mihi. Your pictures and your descriptions are great. I think your teachers, Miss Walters and Mrs. Barks, should be proud as to how you introduced yourself.

Comment #2

The second blog I read was from a student named Chyrus. Chyrus was blogging about his day during pool lessons. He went on to say how hard the lessons were but in the end he enjoyed himself. My comment for Chyrus is below:

Hello Chyrus,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama and I am taking EDM 510. I enjoyed reading your blog post. I believe the underlying message to this blog post is that hard work really does pay off. I believe with hard work you can achieve anything. Great job on the blog post Chyrus, I hope I can read more from you in the future.

Comment #3

The last blog post I read came from a student named Gwynn. Gwynn blog about her day during swimming lessons as well. She went on to say how afraid she was of jumping into the cold water. She was worried that she was going to freeze to death. However, at the end of the day, she jumped in and had fun and never realized that the water was cold.

Hello Gwynn,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama and am taking EDM 510. I agree that pool water is very cold when you first jump in, however, once you start to have fun you will forget that the water was freezing cold. Great job on your blog post I hope to read more of your blog post in the near future.

Comment #4

The blog post I read this week was from a student named Memory. Memory did a narrated video on the stages of the butterfly. I really the enjoyed the video because she drew every stage of the butterfly and included movements. I really enjoyed watching her video. Here is the comment I left on Memory’s blog.

Memory

Hello Memory, my name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama and I am taking EDM 510. Your video of the stages of the butterfly was great. I loved how you drew out each stage and narrated the entire process. Memory, you did a great job on your video and keep up the good work.

Comment #5

The next blog post I read came from a student named Benjamin. Benjamin made a video about his Beautiful Day. I applauded Benjamin for doing that video because I knew he was nervous about being on camera. He went on to talk about how he spent time with his cousin and how they ate in the park together. Here is my comment I left for Benjamin. Hey Benjamin, my name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend school at the University of South Alabama. I attend school in the United States of America. I enjoyed watching your video on your beautiful sunny day. I know it took a lot of courage to record your blog post. Always remember it takes real courage to face your fears. Great job Benjamin keep up the good work.

Comment #6

The last blog post I read was from a student named Martin. Martin did a drawing and video about the stages of the butterfly. Martin, created a great illustration the stages of the butterfly. Here is the comment I left for Martin:

Martin,

Hello Martin, my name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama. Great work on the butterfly presentation. Your drawing was great and your narration explained your drawings in great details. Great job and keep up the good work.

What I Learned From These Videos

The assignment this week was to watch various videos on different styles of learning. When I watched these videos the one thing I took away was that critical thinking questions are important in today’s classrooms. I also learned that teachers are going away from the traditional learning method. Since watching these videos I learned and gained information that I will use in my classrooms.

The first video I was required to watch was Mr. Brian Crosby. Mr. Crosby’s Project Based Learning was very inspiring. He grasped the student’s attention to learn without them realizing they are learning. One of my favorite projects he did with his fourth grade class was the “high hopes” attached to the hot air balloon along with the camera. Mr. Crosby has taught me that there are countless ideas that students can do with technology in the classroom. He took away testing and asked open ended questions in order see how students understood the subject. He showed me how technology allowed students to connect with other students and people around the world. As a result, the students were able to improve their communication skills. Mr. Crosby was also able to sharpen student’s critical thinking skills. I noticed with Mr. Crosby that he cared about all of his students and showed passion toward the subject. I learned from Mr. Crosby showed me that the future classroom is really centered on technology and how students are benefiting around project based learning.

The next person I was assigned to was Paul Andersen. Mr. Andersen conducted another type of teaching method called Blended Learning Cycle. Mr. Anderson blended learning cycle consists of five steps: Question, Investigation, Video, Elaboration, Review. I like this method of teaching. It helps incorporate independent learning along with project based learning. The one thing I like about this learning style was that he does not allow his students to proceed on to the quiz until they understand the review. The summary quiz, in my opinion, is a great idea. It allows the teacher to see the students’ progress. Overall, the blended learning cycle allows the teacher to be more hands on with the students but also allows the students to use critical thinking and working independently.

The third person I watched was Sam Pane. Mr. Pane allowed his students to create a comic book hero. This was very exciting to see students use technology in the classroom. The assignment allowed students to use dialogues and use their creative imaginations to come up with a story about internet safety. Overall, the students used technology to help meet the objectives of the English class and also made students understand the use of internet safety. What I learned from Mr. Pane was that he asked open ended questions to his students. The open ended questions and the group discussions allowed students to get their creative minds thinking. Mr. Pane showed me various ways that you can ask open ended questions and allow group discussions with students. He also allowed students to peer review other students work. His showed me another example as to how to incorporate project based learning.

The fourth video I watched was Mark Church. Mr. Church did his video on Making Thinking Visible. He allowed his students to work in small groups and challenged them with an open ended question. He showed how working in groups and allowing students to use their critical thinking skills are successful. Mr. Church showed his students a video and then applied critical thinking skills toward the video. This video showed me that open ended questions are an important concept in any lesson.

The fifth video I watched was Dean Shareski from Canada. This video showed me a different prospective in project based learning. Project Based Learning helps incorporate real world based situations in the classroom. This class in Canada incorporated three teachers in one classroom. They showed how you can blend History, English and technology into one semester long class. This classroom blending is a great idea. It shows students that you can place real world situations into classroom subjects. I would like to see classrooms in the United States try this idea.

The last video I watch was on Roosevelt Elementary’s PBL Program. This elementary school showed how students benefited from PBL. The great thing about PBL is that students can use critical thinking skills apply them to real world situations. PBL allowed the students to get excited about school. In my opinion, starting in elementary school with PBL is a great idea. Allowing students receive it during the beginning stages of school they will benefit them overall as students.

What I Learned from Mr. Capps

When I was first introduced to Mr. Capps I was really impressed with what he has done with Project Based Learning. Recently, he spoke with Dr. Strange and answered questions dealing with PBL. Overall, I have learned a lot of things listening to Mr. Capps. When it comes to incorporating PBL it really is a process. I realized in order for Mobile County School Systems to move forward, like Baldwin County, there first need to be volunteers. I believe that as teachers must act as a team in order to accomplish this goal. We must realize that at the end of the day, PBL is benefiting the students. It is our responsibility to give our students the tools in order to become successful citizens.

I also learned from Mr. Capps that PBL should not only incorporate the child but also the parents. I believe the parents should play a big part in their child/children learning experience. As a future teacher I want to incorporate PBL in my classroom. I would also allow other teachers to shadow my classroom and become inspired by ideas. It only takes just a few teachers to make a change occur. I will also use various ways to contact parents to tell them about the various things that the students are doing with PBL. Like Mr. Capps I would like to hold meetings during various times of the school year about the new things I learned about PBL. I am aware that every parent is different however, every parent wants their child to become successful.

Overall, I know that I will not become perfect with PBL right away. Like Mr. Capps mentioned, it takes some time to get adjusted both for a teacher and students. There are various ways to do PBL and as a teacher I will introduce these techniques to my students. In the end I know that students will learn how to solve world issues and learn how to work with various. My goal as a teacher is for my students to learn without realizing they are learning. We, as teachers should want our students to love coming to school. Mr. Capps has taught me that we should never be hesitant about trying new teaching methods. Technology is the key to unlocking the doors of education.

C4T I Chose

Comment # 1

The permanent teacher that I chose is Frank Noschese. Frank discussed in this post how to convince traditional teachers to stray away from the traditional types of questions and ask more conceptual diagnostic test questions. The summary of this blog is to make sure that as teachers need to make sure that students understand the concepts.

Comment:

As a future teacher I will not entirely stray away from traditional teaching but I will make it as fun and interesting as possible.
Comment #2

The next blog post Frank posted was choosing whether or not to do group projects or individual projects. He went on and gave the pros and cons of working in groups. Some of the pros would be that students could work together and share ideas. Some of the cons is that some students would not do as equal amount of work. He came to a conclusion that his students compare their own data sets. Each student in the group will do their own project and compare data toward the end of the experiment.

Comment:

It is always great to know that other teachers struggle with this situation as well. I honestly prefer for the students to work alone on projects. I say that because you how a student puts effort into a project on their own that is how they will do in a group project. I want to make sure that every student puts in effort into their project and not rely on their partner to do the work. If I chose to do a group activity I will always do a student evaluation to every member in the group to get their personal opinion.
Comment #3

Frank Noschese gave a TED talk about how students should do science instead of learning science. He went on and discussed his teaching method of molding instruction in science. He allow students to perform the labs first and allow them to go about the scientific process to understand the physics concept.

Comment:

This was a really great TED talk. I love the idea of students doing actually science over the standard forms of teaching. I agree that if students actually perform the art of science then they will understand and love science more.

C4T Semester Long

Comment # 1

My permanent teacher for the semester is Steve Anderson. Steve’s blog is entitled Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom. I most recently commented on an old blog post about how to build a brand. He went on and listed that some things that a person can do to build a brand: Crate a Landing Page, Create a blog and Create a Social Media Profile. Blow is my comment I left for Steve.

Hello Steve,

I am so glad that you decided to write about how you manage to create a brand. So many teachers, I believe should do the same. It is nice to online and find a teacher that can give you helpful information. As teachers we should become a support system for each other. Not only should be a support system for each other but for our students as well. I would like to create a brand for myself in which it could be beneficial to teachers and students. For students I will place my power points as well as what is due for homework on the web site. As for teacher, I will form a private chat group and also a blog on my life as a science teacher. I hope my blog will be successful as yours one day.

Comment #2

Steve recently started blogging about things that were on his mind. He was inspired to start this type of series by one of his close friends who is a high school principal. Steve goes on to talk about twitter and even Jeff Gordon. Below is my comment I left for Steve.

Good Afternoon Steve,

To be totally honest Twitter is not for everyone. I am the type of person I not big into twitter but I try to because of my Educational Media Class. Social Media is one of those things in which it can become an addiction or you can make yourself develop a healthy liking for social media. I believe the 3D printer is going to become very successful within the classroom. Being a Biology teacher, I can use a 3D printer to help my students better understand the Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cell. Also, they can use it for lab reports. Overall, when I am able to get the funding I will surely invest in a 3D printer.

Comment #3

Steve Anderson blog about his time at ASCD conference. While he was at the conference he walked away with many great ideas. However, he enjoyed the more hands on lectures vs. the traditional lecture style that most conferences revolve around. Steve went on to say how conferences need more hands on projects just like with students. Here is my comment on Steve's blog dealing with ASCD 2014.

Hello Steve,

I recently went to the NSTA conference in Charlotte, NC. The conferences were set up traditional lecture style. However, some of the lectures were fun and exciting. When I attend conferences I would want to see more of an open creative environment for every lecture I attend. The point of conferences is to walk away with fresh and creative ideas for your classroom. In my opinion, it is difficult for me to feel creative when they present it in a lecture type of environment.

Comment #4

Steve most recent blog post was he blogging about what was on his mind for the week. One thing that stood out to me on this blog post was how he said that blogging on the internet has become popular over going to a publishing companies. He also announced that the Edcamp USDOE has partnered with the Department of Education. Below is the comment that I left for Steve and his blog.

Hey Steve,

There are plenty of things that have me thinking this week. Your blog post this week was great and informative, as always. I agree with you that the internet has really become a more powerful tool to use instead of finding a publishing company. The evolution of blogging just proves that people really have a lot on their minds and there are people who agree with everything they say. Also, the Edcamp USDOE sounds like a great workshop to attend. I believe the more workshops that just pays attention to teaching, will help us become better teachers.

C4T Rotating

Comment #1

John Spencer is the writer of the blog entitled Edrethink. In my opinion John gives a very informative blog post that I think that all teachers and future teachers should read. His blog post that I read was dealing with immigration and the effects that it has to do with students and living the “American Dream”. Below is the comment that I gave under John’s blog post entitled This Is What Happens When We Stay Quiet.

I believe that the American dream should not have an asterisk beside its name. Once that child has crossed that American border I believe they should be entitled to go to school like every child. As a future teacher, it really is not my business to care if that child is here illegally or not but to ensure that they receive a fair education. I believe the government should make special consideration that if a child grows up here in the United States and their parents are illegal they should have the right to go to college. If we are the country of the free and our country is built on immigrants then why not give those students a chance to go to college and earn their citizenship as true Americans.

Comment #2

Jenny She is a teacher in New Zealand who post blogs of herself but also her students interact with their very own blogs. Mrs. She blog post that I recently read about how her students interact with technology. She went on to say that her students went on and tried other things with the technological devices. Jenny was also amazed at how the students watched her without her realizing. This just proves that a teachers influence is very big in a child’s life. Below is the blog post comment I left.

Hello Mrs. She,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am currently a student at the University of South Alabama taking EDM 510. It is amazing how big of an impact teachers influence students. They watch everything we do even when we are not looking. I agree with you when it comes to positive comments on blog post. Positive blog post help influence and motivate the blogger. I love that you are excited about what your students are creating with the technology you are teaching them how to use. I believe as teachers we should be excited about everything that our students create with technology. Becoming excited about what our students create will inspire them to create even bigger and better things.

Comment #3

Dorothy Burt is the creator of the Manaiakalani Film Festival in New Zealand. This film festival displays students who have been working on various films across the Manaiakalani school district. She went on to say how the film festival has grown over the years. She also went on to say how the film festival will display various student movies in two theaters. Below is my comment that I left on Mrs. Burt blog post.

Hello Mrs. Burt,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am a student in EDM 510 from the University of South Alabama. Congratulations on your film festival for being a successful another year. I enjoy the idea of seeing young people becoming creative with technology. It is also wonderful to view the world through the eyes of a child. I also enjoyed how you had a talent portion that afternoon to show other students various talents. I would like to see youth’s film festivals started here in the United States. I believe that it would bring the communities together along with supporting our youth. I hope you have another successful film festival this year. Hopefully, you could share some of the student’s videos with our Professor Dr. Strange and he can give us a link.

Comment #4

Scott McLeod, is the creator of the blog dangerously! Irrelevant. Scott’s blog post are very intriguing and dig deep inside the preparation of teaching. In his most recent blog post, Scott listed various things that he knew that newly graduated Education majors posed the tools to start teaching. Those tools they posed were: Project- and inquiry-based learning, Authentic, real-world work, Standards-based grading and competency-based education, 1:1 computing, Digital, online, and open access, online communities of interest, and Adaptive learning systems. He is my comment that I posted on his blog.

Hello Scott McLeod,

I believe that in our utopias every teacher is perfect and they try to work on all those building blocks for students. However, we all know that is not true. I believe every teacher lacks in some aspects in preparing their students for what it is really like in a class room. As a future teacher, the classes that I take, in my opinion, are based on a fantasy. I think that teacher preparation programs should teach future teachers how to teach a classroom full of repeaters that are in middle or high school. Also they should teach future teachers how to improvise your lesson plan if something goes wrong. I think that preparation should be more realistic and not based on an imaginary class room.

3 Technology Tools That I Will Use in my Classroom

Stoodle is a website that benefit students, teachers and tutors. Stoodle is an interactive student network that was created in 2011 by a student named Arjun Mehta. Mehta’s sole purpose was to bridge online learning experience with students. Stoodle is a website that allows teachers and students to have class outside the classroom. Teachers can have online office hours where students and parents can ask questions. Students can form study groups online and review for test. Students can also place questions on the white board and teachers can answer them in real time. I will surly use this website when I start teaching. I will have online office hours and I will also post study guides and online review sessions on Stoodle. I will also create an open chat group for the parents so that they can ask me questions during my office hours.

Sweet Search is a great search tool engine for students. It is great search engine that is useful for all grade levels. The great thing about this search engine is that it has been evaluated by a research department in order to help number down the lengthy searches. I will allow students to use this search engine when doing Project Based Learning activities.

Quiz Revolution is a great tool to use for teachers. Not only is it free to sign up for, Quiz Revolution allows teachers to create quizzes without any stress. Once you have created questions you can easily copy and paste them into your blog or your personal page that you created on the website. The great thing about this site you can use videos, pictures, and text all into your quizzes. Teachers can control the time when to start and stop the quizzes. The quizzes can be anything from multiple choice to fill-in- the blank. If you have a hard time coming up with questions for a quiz, Quiz Revolution already have prepared quizzes for teachers to use. Teachers can also review the stats and overall review results of the quiz. As a teacher I will use this online quiz site for my classes. I will use online quizzes as well as class quizzes in order to reassure my students of the content that was covered for that lesson.

Alex: Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex is a great website to use for teachers or, in my opinion, potential teachers who need ideas for PBL or knowing the objectives for the state of Alabama. While you are exploring the Alex website you can also create a personal workspace. In the personal workspace you can bookmark,create a podcast and create a teacher web page.You can use this personal workspace throughout your teaching career. Not only does Alex contain a personal workpage but it also has many other useful features.

Course of Study

Technology Education 6-8

Objective 1

Objective 2

Lesson Plans

The Balloon Inflator

Flower Anatomy

Personal Workspace

T'Keyan's Personal Workspace

C4K Comments

C4K 3.23.2014

This week my C4K’s dealt with the students and their field trip experience to the Butterfly Creek and also the students voice thread of what is their favorite fairy tales. Overall, the students on the field trip looked as if they had fun and discovered things about butterflies that they did not know. Also, with the fairy tales the students did a great job on their presentations. Here are my comments I left below.

Butterfly Creek

Good day everyone! My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama located in Mobile, Alabama in the United States of America. I watched your video on your field trip to the Butterfly Creek and it looks like you guys had plenty of fun. I took a trip once to a Butterfly Garden that was located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was fun and full of adventure. What were your favorite butterflies? Were you afraid to touch any of the butterflies?

Fairy Tale

Good day everyone! My name is T'Keyan Peoples and I am from the University of South Alabama. Great job on your voice thread about your fairy tales. My favorite fairy tale would have to be Snow White. I enjoy reading Snow White because it is full of action and comedy. The student I had this week name was Faauiga. Faaugia talked about how she enjoyed her weekend and how she had a great time at her cousin’s birthday party. She also went on to say that her favorite part was when they sang “Happy Birthday” and cut the cake. Below was the comment I left on her blog post.

Ambury Farm

Hey Faauiga,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am a student the University of South Alabama and I am taking a class called EDM 510. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed your weekend and your cousin’s birthday party. Birthday parties are always enjoyable. I agree the favorite part of the party is the cutting of the cake because you get to sing “Happy Birthday” and you can get the biggest piece of cake without having to eat your vegetables first.

3/30/14

This week, my C4K blog I read was from a young girl name Liku. Liku on her blog post decided to write a mysteries short story. He is my response to her short story.

Hello Liku,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am a college student at University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog post. I enjoyed the short story you created, it was very mysterious. Good job Liku! I cannot wait to read more of your blog post.

C4K blog that I read was James. James wrote his blog post on his community united together, along with his school and had a movie night. He went on to say that the movie they showed was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. He is my comment I left for James.

Hello James,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I attend the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed reading your blog post. I, like you, love having movie nights. One of my favorite movies to watch is Despicable Me 2. Reading how your community’s movie nights brings everyone together is very inspiring. It just shows how a school not only changes student’s lives but also a community.

4/6/14

This week I read a student name Uili’s blog post. Uili decided to write his blog post on the sport Rugby. He went on explaining the rules and the various positions of Rugby. Here is my comment that I left for Uili.

Hey Uili,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am from EDM 510 class from the University of South Alabama. Great job on you blog post. I enjoyed reading about the sport Rugby and the rules of the game. In the United States, Rugby has become a major sport to play, especially on college campuses. Even the college that I attend, has a male and female rugby team that plays various schools from around the region. It is great to see a sport that is loved and enjoyed by everyone. Louis was the next C4K student who blog I read. His blog post was on what he thought was good characteristics of a great friend. He listed many important qualities. However, the most important thing he listed was trust. Below is the comment I left for Louis.

Hello Louis,

My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am in EDM 510 class at the University of South Alabama. You have listed great characteristics to what it means to be a good friend. I agree that trust is the main ingredient into having a great friendship. Realize that in friendships you will have ups and downs however, what really matters is the love, respect and trust that made your friendship last.

The last C4K that I commented on was Katareina. Katareina wrote about the grueling two days when her class left for camp. Overall, she did not have fun but she still found fun things to do in her situation. Below is my comments that I left for Katareina.

Hello Katareina, My name is T’Keyan Peoples and I am taking EDM 510 at the University of South Alabama. I am so sorry that you had a boring time while everyone was at camp. Sometimes you have to see the good inside the bad. This was a great blog post to read. I hope you get to make it to camp the next time, Katareina.

iTunes U PowerPoint

This week for my assignment I decided to create a google PowerPoint presentation about iTunes U. My goal for this presentation was to inform teachers about this incredible extension of iTunes. Hopefully, teachers in both Elementary and Secondary education will want to use iTunes U.

The Last Lecture....

What is the meaning of life? What is the secret to be successful? These were things I always thought about when I was younger and still think about today as an adult. When I watched Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture, I thought about my life and my life as a teacher. When it comes to my life, I will never be content with the success I achieve. Some people think that is a bad thing but, Randy Pausch showed me that there is nothing wrong with chasing your childhood dreams. When I think about my childhood dreams, the only ones I could think of was becoming my high school valedictorian and going to college so I can help people. Simple right? Never! I worked hard to achieve my goals. I gave and always give over 100 percent. There are and were times in which, like Randy Pausch, I had brick walls that stepped into my life. Randy Paush said, “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.” There were many times that I felt like giving up and allowing that brick wall to win, but, I knew with hard work and God anything was possible. I actually achieved both of my childhood dreams. I became my high school’s valedictorian, in 2009, and I graduated from University of South Alabama with a degree in Biology in the summer of 2013.

Randy Pausch said, “When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.” When I decided to become a teacher I knew that my goal was to give my students the tools they need in life in order to be prepared for college. Randy Pausch taught me that as a teacher you should also help your students achieve their childhood dreams. I want my students to feel inspired by my journey. I want students to realize that you should never settle and always give your best. I believe that everyone is capable of doing anything and everything they want to achieve in life. I agree with Randy that if you really want to achieve something, not even a brick wall could stop you from reaching that goal. I want my students to view that through criticism. I want to be that teacher that is hard but everyone enjoys the challenge. I want my students to see that my criticism and toughness as a way to work hard. In the end, I believe that if you work hard in class, you will work hard in life.

Randy Pausch taught me that students should enjoy learning. I believe that students will learn and retain information better when they are having fun with education. Project Based Learning is a great tool to help students have fun in the classroom. I believe the world is nothing but a global classroom that is waiting for fresh young minds to explore its wonders. As a teacher you want your students engaged the moment they walk into a classroom. As teachers we must be mindful that there are many ways to teach children besides lecturing. I always viewed learning as a fun experience and I want my students to have that same experience.

The final thing I learned from Randy is that you should always enjoy life. My mom always tell me to enjoy life and be thankful for the time you have been given on this earth. There will be times in which life will be easy but there will be also times in which life is difficult. However, Randy has taught me you should enjoy both the good and bad times because even those bad times are great lessons. I want my students to realize that chasing your childhood dreams should not only consist of working hard but to also enjoy those moments of learning. Also in life you should always be kind to people because they will be kind to you. I want my students to learn what I have learned and that is life is your biggest educator.

In conclusion, Randy Pausch’s lecture inspired me not only as a teacher but has a person. He also made me realize that as a teacher we have the power to help students achieve their dreams. We should also be mindful of how we talk to students because you never know how you could impact their future. Randy showed me that even when he was working hard to achieve his childhood dreams, he always took time and enjoyed life. He not only enjoyed life; he enjoyed the moment. He made me look at my life and evaluate it. He showed me that even during your darkest hours, you should always enjoy life.

Sources

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

Project Based Learning Project

Here is my webpage it is still need some work: T'Keyan Peoples' Webpage

Open Ended Questions: Are They Really That Hard to Ask?

As teachers, we should always ask ourselves, “How can we become better teachers?” I know there is no such thing as a perfect teacher, however, we should always strive for greatness when it comes to our students. The one thing that as teachers we should always strive for is asking questions. There are many things that, we, as teachers need to know before we ask questions. The overall goal is to make sure that the students understand what exactly we are teaching. It is for difficult at times, for teachers, to word questions to students and they actually understand. Questions are important and is the foundation for project based learning. Questions shows whether or not if students understand the lessons. The big question for teachers is how to word those questions. We should always have the students engaged into the lesson. However, in reality, that is not going to always happen. In my opinion, in order to be an effective teacher, we must ask effective questions. When I say effective questions I mean open ended questions. An example, If Rosalind Franklin was alive, how would she feel about Watson and Crick receiving credit for the model of DNA? A closed question needs no example, it is the typical “yes” or “no” question. I believe that open ended questions have no right or wrong answers. Every student is entitled to his/her own opinion.

When I was in school, I was rarely given open ended questions. It seems that many teachers did not engage in conversations with students. Instead, they asked closed ended questions and taught with traditional learning concepts. I want to teach students in a way that I wanted to be taught and that is through engaging questions and more project based learning. Questions are meant to open a students’ minds for critical thinking. I believe critical thinking questions are important to ask students. Critical thinking question help inspire students especially when it comes to project based learning. Being a teacher is my job to make students interested and engaged in the topic. I believe that if students enjoy talking about a subject they will retain the information and will be able to pass a test whether if its essay or multiple choice. At the end of the day, it is my job to ,as an educator, make sure that my students are ready for the road ahead call life.

Project Based Learning and Alabama College and Career Ready Standards

C4T( Teacher I Chose)

Week # 1

Recently, the world has been impacted with a game that has cause various streams of emotions. All I have to say is two words; Flappy Birds. Yes, that is right, Flappy Birds is a game that has cause so much chaos with such a simple concept. The player of the game only has to tap the screen of the phone to control the bird. Sounds simple does it not? Well many people are becoming obsessed with the game of simplicity. However, what people are not realizing is that they are incorporating physics at the same time. Frank Noschese author of the blog Action-Reaction did a study to prove that Flappy Bird has some physics. He showed various physics formulas to show that the bird in the game is equivalent to a real life red robin in weight. However, everything else in the game is not so close to physics but what we find out is that there is some education to this game. The sad thing about finding out if flappy bird is true, if you do not have the game already downloaded on your phone, you will never know because the company removed the game about a 3 weeks ago.

Week #2

The second blog post that Noschase wrote was about dealing with the comparison of Quizzes vs. Projects. Noschase wondered when students take a quiz do they really understand the concepts of the questions? He went on to post videos showing how students used projects to explain topics in class vs. quizzes on which its knowledge that they have studied. He went on to say that he gives his students quizzes so he can see what they have learned from his lessons. He also assign his students projects so in order to give them a creative outlet and to see their viewpoint of the topic. I believe that students need both hands on learning experience and quizzes. In my opinion, hands on learning gives the students a better way of learning things verses sitting in front of a power point and a teacher lecturing. In reality they have had enough of that style of teaching. Allow students to have fun without them realizing that they are learning. However, an exam in any form or fashion will allow the teacher to see if that hands on approach to that subject was successful or not.

Week #3

The blog post I decided to read from Noschase dealt with teachers and their teaching methods. As the years pass us by and technology advances, teaching should change to, right? Well, sad to say, many teachers are very sensitive about the way they teach their students. The thing about it is, and I have to agree, is that the traditional method of teaching is not helping students learn the material. Noschase calls teachers who do not want to stray away from traditional teaching as reluctant. I believe that we must help our students. As a future teacher I will not entirely stray away from traditional teaching but I will make it as fun and interesting as possible.

Week #4

For my most recent read on Noschase’s blog I decided to go back to an old blog post when he was talking about Khan Academy. I found it as an interesting read and I wanted to know Nischase’s opinion dealing with Khan Academy. Overall, Noschase is not really impressed with the website. He views it as a way of teaching students short cuts verses learning and truly understanding the concepts. He feels that Khan Academy does not truly align with the teaching of Physics. He went on to say that KA needs a dashboard to show students how many times they entered a question wrong and common mistakes that students made in the problems. In my opinion, Khan Academy is a fairly resourceful educational tool. It is not going to be perfect overnight. However, in the end it is all about making sure the student learns and understand the concepts.

(C4T)Rotating Teachers 510

Week #1

My first week I read Michael Gorman’s blog entitled 21st Century Educational Technology and Learning. On one of his blog post Michael was giving his top three interactive digital tools that compare and contrast. The top three were Diffen, Venn diagram and Compare and Contrast map. Even though these are classic classroom brainstorming techniques, they have been revamped into mainstream technology programs to help students brainstorm. I commented and said I am glad that you decided to write about various ways students can brainstorm ideas. Even though these are traditional brainstorming ideas, they are still very effective. As a future teacher, I would like to incorporate these brainstorming ideas on computer and compare if it is better than traditional pen and paper.

Week #2

The blog I covered this week was from David Warlick. The blog post I read was about his experience with the snow storm that affected the many states two weeks ago. He was stating that even though he had a really bad trip, he managed to turn it into a humorous ordeal. In my opinion that is how society really is we try to take negative things and make it positive. Just like the saying goes when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Week #3 & 4

My week three and four blog came from Kelly Tenkely who is the author of iLearn Technology. In the week three post she introduced her fellow readers to Stoodle. Stoodle is like a virtual classroom that allows teachers to upload practice exercise or set up chats with their students. It is an excellent tool to poses as a teacher. Because students have questions regarding homework or the night before an exam. Stoodle not only benefits teacher to students but also when teachers are trying to collaborate on a project for Professional development. I went and commented on the blog post: Wow! Stoodle looks like a great online sight I will use. As a future science teacher when students have questions about homework or need extra practice for a test I will use this website for my students to use. I am really excited about using this website. Kelly’s most recent blog post is about an academy that is deviated to another style of learning. Anastasis learning is through creative thinking, inquiry and creativity. The academy starts in preschool and goes through eighth grade. The semester is broken down into a 5 week blocks and the students are all learning the same topic but just on different creative levels. They break down the goal and objectives by age. The students in the academy are all learning in one big room. The purpose of having them in one big room is to allow the students to learn from each other. The teachers are provided inquiry books for the students per grade level. I think that anastasis learning is nothing but project based learning except the students are on their own when it comes to coming up with creative ideas. I think it is a good way of learning but not teaching.

Comments for Kids Summary

Week #1

During my first week for comments for kids I was asked to read a blog from a child named Jack. Jack lives in Dublin, Ireland. When I read his blog post it really and truly touched my heart. The topic for his blog post was: “What I would do with a thousand euros that was not for me?” Jack said that he would split the money between charities everywhere. He wanted to give his money between the blind, the deaf, homeless and cancer. Once I read his post, I told Jack that is very thoughtful of him to give your money to people in need. Not that many children would give their money to people that they never knew. Jack, your blog post opened my eyes and allowed me to see that there are young people out there who cares about humanity. He replied back to me and said, “Thank You”.

Week #2

During my second week with comments for kids, I was given three different kids post I had to read and post a comment. The first student name was Domenic. Domenic blog was not the average blog. He decided to use his blog to write short story series entitled The Shield. The story is about a two young boys named Braiden and Nondome who are on a quest to find Braiden’s parents and to stop the evil Gandoon from getting the all-powerful shield. I really enjoyed Domenic’s imagination for the story. He really made me forget that I was reading a blog post. His details and deluge throughout the story grab my attention. You are a great writer and I cannot wait to see where this story is going to lead.

My second kid was Brady V. Brady wrote a blog post about the birth stones and what kind of stone each month represent. He also did a short video clip about his birth stone Garnet. He then ended his post asking reader what were their birth stones. I replied, that I was born in March so my birthstone is aquamarine. The one thing that I love about the stone aquamarine is that its color is light blue. Blue, especially light blue, is my favorite color so it is great to have a birthstone that reflects your favorite color.

The third child for the week name was Alexandria. Alexandria topic for her blog post was choosing between text and film. She went and wrote how she chose text or film because she could keep up with the story better. She also enjoys using her imagination when she reads a story. I went and replied by telling her that my favorite series to read are the Harry Potter books. I choose to read books over watching movies because movies do not tell the entire story in comparison to a book. Books allow you to use your imagination, whereas, movies uses the director interpretation of the book.

Week # 3

I had three students I had to comment on for week three comments for kids. The first one is Gulli. Gulli uses his blog post to talk about new mixtapes from various artist. I liked how he was very versatile with his music choices. He not only talked about artist that were in the United States but he also talked about a rap artist from the United Kingdom. I commented on his blog post by giving him a rap artist who I am sure he would like.

The next student name was Gabby C. Gabby did her blog post about her third quarter book project. She posted that the theme to the book was looks can be deceiving. I agree with Gabby that looks can be deceiving. In the end you never know that person you judged in the beginning could end up becoming your best friend.

The third blog came from Carolina Rain. I was not able to find my student so I decided to read her blog post. Carolina wrote a short story on her blog about a mother-in-law who did not like her new son-in-law. Her story went on to say that the mother-in-law poisoned her son-in-law with arsenic in his food. Overall, her short story was great. It really reminded me of a movie that I would see on the Lifetime channel. I hope she continues to write stories like this on her blog.

C4T ( Teacher that I was assigned)

Week #1

My permanent teacher for the semester that I was assigned to was Steven Anderson from Blogging About the Web 2.0 Connected Classroom talked about in one of his most recent blogs about Digital Learning Day. Digital learning day is a day that celebrates teachers that is into online learning and wants to encourage students to get into online learning. They offered various classes for teachers to help them get into online learning. The good thing about digital learning day is that it encourages everyone within the school system to participate. From students, teachers and even administrators are encourage to sign up for the online classes that are offered. In my option digital learning day is a good idea. I believe that if every school system would encourage online learning it would increase student’s excitement for learning.

Week #2

Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC)! Yes I said that correctly. I never realized that someone can take a course that is online for free. Steven Anderson introduced his bloggers the world to MOOC. MOOC, I realized is a great online tool to use. You can register for various classes dealing with every aspect of education. Teachers and even administrator can sign up and take online classes. I commented and said I think that the MOOC is a great idea to get teachers, administrators and students involved into online learning. I believe that teachers would benefit from MOOC more because it will open up another form of teaching. It will also help explain some subject in another manner for teachers to understand so that way they can be more effective as a teacher.

Week # 3

During week three I read Steven Anderson’s blog deals with Professional Development within the classroom. He goes on to say the some teachers use effective PD and others chose to not use effective PD. He gave three good tips in his blog concerning Professional Development: 1. K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Stupid) 2. Reflect. Reflect. Reflect. 3. Play. I believe that professional development is important in the classroom because as teachers we would not succeed without it.

Week #4

Steven Anderson’s most recent post is his choices for Favorite Apps for Learning on the Go. He goes on to explain that he is always busy from being in schools to traveling to different places until he realizes that he misses learning. I believe you can always learn a little something no matter where you are in the world. Your phone, or tablets always contain many learning apps to keep the brain engaged in learning. So of his favorite apps he listed was: Zite, Flipboard, and Twitter. Who knew that twitter can be so educational? Anderson went on to ask his readers what was our favorite educational app on the go? I commented and said these are great apps that you recommended. One of my favorite apps to use when I am learning on the go is YouTube. YouTube is just that one place where I can go and look up anything from educational videos to funny videos.

Project Based Learning and Technology: What a Perfect Match

Growing up in a family education was one thing that I always cherished. I knew that in order to be successful in life, I must receive an education. Growing up in late 20th century and transitioning into the 21st century I witnessed the evolution of technology and the effects it has had in the classroom. Project based learning is not something that is brand new to education, instead, it is the technology that is changing. In this blog post I will give you my scholastic journey and my personal opinion on project based learning and technology.

My public school journey began when I was in the 3rd grade attending Spencer Elementary School. I remember my teacher was using technology to help us learn within the classroom. My teacher used everything from VHS, music and computers. What I failed to realize, back then, I was still learning even though I was playing, watching TV and listing to music. When I watched the YouTube video(s) on Mr. Capps and how he incorporated project based learning with world events made me think about my 6th grade history teacher at Clark Magnet School. She incorporated project based learning every day in class. We discussed everything from the war in Iraq to even the stock market. When I entered high school I realized that my school was focused more on traditional learning verses project based learning. The teachers that taught me used the dry-erase board and worksheets more than new technology. My 12th grade math teacher was the only person who I knew that incorporated the smart board into teaching his classes. However, what I failed to realize was that in 2009, the year I graduated, technology was on the verge of changing in classroom settings.

Since, I have decided to take this journey into becoming a teacher, I have noticed that teachers use smart board, power points and educational gaming to teach students. I am amazed at how quickly technology has changed in the past five years. Teachers no longer stand in front of a class with a dry erase marker and an eraser. Instead, they have a computer and smart board where students can interact with the teacher and their classmates. When I watched Mr. Capps’ videos and listened to how he and other fellow teachers use the new technology that Baldwin County has provided, made me realize that Mobile County is lagging behind in technology. Mobile County, is a larger school district but what I want fellow up and coming teachers to realize is that if you are going to teach in Mobile County; realize that it will take this school system sometime before every student will be able to take home laptops and eliminate books. However, this should not stop anyone from doing project based learning. At the end of the day, MCPSS is making strides toward keeping up with the modern educational technology.

Since, watching Mr. Capps YouTube videos, I agree with his approach of teaching students. I believe that students will retain information better when they are excited about learning. Students should enjoy learning. Going to school should never feel like a jail sentence. Instead, teachers should be creative and realize that teaching does not end at three o’clock. Mr. Capps mentioned that he would sometimes stay at the school until 8 o’clock at night. We should all strive to be that type of teacher. He also mentioned that teachers should not teach technology but just use it. Technology is not going away! Also, students are in the age of technology. We, as teachers, need to grab our student’s attention with what they like to use the most: technology. There are many questions that I wonder about. Will this ideal of project based learning help increase ACT/SAT scores? Will PBL help students with Alabama Course Career Standards and increase graduation rates?

In conclusion, technology will continue to get better as the years continue. I personally can say PBL has helped me understand major topics and allowed me to enjoy school. Luckily, with the use of technology, PBL will become even more effective with students. Project based learning has always been a great teaching method that I know I will use when I become a teacher.

Khan Academy : The New Online Tutor

Khan Academy (KA) is one of the most talked about educational websites in this day and age. Many people wonder; “What is the big deal about the site?” “Why is it so popular?”. Khan Academy is an educational website that is meant to help anyone and everyone in subjects from math to Computer programming. Khan Academy was founded in 2006 by MIT and Harvard Business School graduate Salman Kahn. Salman started tutoring his cousin with math problems through Yahoo’s Doodle. When more of his relatives and friends started asking for help in math, he thought it would be great to put videos on YouTube and allow everyone to view his explanations. Salman’s videos became so popular on YouTube he made a life altering decision to quit his job and create Khan Academy.

One of the great things about Khan Academy is that it is a nonprofit organization that is free for anyone to learn and receive information. Salman has received very profitable donations from numerous people like Bill Gates and Google. Since 2006, Salman has taken KA and expanded the subjects that people can learn on his website. When I recently viewed the website KA has subjects from 3rd grade- college math, Computer Programming and even Humanities. In my opinion, KA is a website for everyone. I have had past history with Khan Academy. In the fall of 2012 I was taking Organic Chemistry. Anyone who has taken Organic Chemistry knows that it is a hard subject to grasp. There were many times in which I could not understand the various topics covered in lecture and the teachers and student tutors could not help. As a result, I took my problems to YouTube and came across Khan Academy. Khan Academy helped me understand Organic Chemistry. The videos were clear and understanding enough for someone who has never taken a chemistry class in their lives to grasp. The more I researched and viewed the KA website I noticed that Salman has hired experienced teachers, web technicians and business technology individuals in order to keep the information that is given out correct and concise with what is being taught in the classroom.

Khan Academy has not only helped me but it has also helped other people across the world. Barbra wrote on the Khan Academy website stating, “I just found your web site. I am 72 years old and I am now taking up learning where I left off. Thank you so much for all your hard work. Keep adding new subjects.” Barbra is a living testimony on how Khan Academy’s mission is “… by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere. “. Khan Academy has become such a resourceful tool in education that teachers and homeschooling parents use it to teach difficult topics to their students. Homeschooling parent Karla stated ,on the Khan Academy website, “My son and I have personally learned with Khan Academy math’s curriculum this year, and we can honestly say he has learned far more…” she also went on to say, “When doing Khan Academy lessons, I feel that my son, Khan Academy, and I are a dynamic learning team.” . When I read the other testimonials from other people it was all positive comments about KA. Many people see it as a very resourceful education website especially for math. However, not everyone is a fan of Khan Academy.

Krista McKeague, writer for Common Sense Media states, “The videos tend to be more procedural than conceptual and may, at times, contain minor inconsistencies that could confuse some learners.” Negative viewers see that the world is trying to put Salman on a pedestal because of website. When I furthered my research into finding negative comments about KA, I discovered that many issues are with the math subjects of Khan Academy. Justin Reich co-founder and co -director,author of the article: "Don't Use Khan Academy Without Watching this First", of EdTechTeacher states, “Khan teaches students to memorize a small set of procedural rules for dealing with multiplying negative numbers, with essentially zero effort expended to explain conceptually what the symbolic manipulations represent.” . In my opinion it does not matter how accurate a person must be in order to explain the subject I feel at the end of the day it is up to the teacher or homeschool teacher to teach the child/students the foundation for that topic in any subject and not just rely on a YouTube video.

In conclusion, KA is great educational resource, however, in my opinion, it should only be used at just only a resource. Once I become a teacher, I will use Khan Academy, along with many other videos, explain tougher topics to my students. I will encourage everyone to use Khan Academy because it is free and their main goal to educate anyone anywhere.

Works Cited
1.Khan Academy
2. Khan Academy Wikipedia Page
3. Educational Media "Don't Use Khan Academy Without Watching this First"
4.Common Sense Media

My Top Six Search Engines

This week assignment I was asked to give six search engines that I thought were helpful. I honestly thought this would be an easy assignment. However, what I did not realize there were many search engines for various reasons. Luckily, I was able to narrow my search down and give to you my top six search engines that I thought would be beneficial for people to use.

1.Yahoo. This is one of my favorite search engines. Yahoo.com is not only a search engines it is a great study tool for both teachers and students. One thing that I enjoy about yahoo is that you can ask questions in yahoo questions. This areas allows anyone to ask homework questions in any field of study. Also in yahoo you can view anything from movies, news and email.

2.Rate my professor.com is a search engine that is a useful source for college students in which you trying to decide what professors to take for the up and coming semester. In my opinion, this is the website that college students will be the most honest about professors. If you are new to a school or just attend a large university, this website will give you an insight at to which teachers are hard and easy. The only downfall is that not every university is on the website, Also, if your university is on the website check and make sure the professor you need an opinion on is on the website.

3. Wolfram Alpha. Wolfram Alpha is a computational knowledge engine. In my opinion, Wolfram Alpha is a great search engine for anything that deals with math or math related subjects. It gives search engines for other educational purposes as well. For example I typed in Robert Hooke, Wolfram Alpha gave me his date of birth time of death and other interesting facts about Hooke. I like this website because it gives you the information and not links to websites so you can search for them.

4.Monster.com. Monster is a job search engine. It allows you to find jobs in your local area as well as out of town job positions. One unique thing about Monster is that you can upload your resume and it can automatically fill in the job application for you. The good thing about Monster is that companies will post their applications on this website first before going to any newspaper. Why make looking for a job hard when all you have to do is go to monster.com.

5. KidRex.org. KidRex is a children safe search engine. As a future teacher, I would recommend students K-12 to use this search engine. It only gives children information that is being searched that is typed in the search engine. Parents will feel safe with their children using this search engine.

6. Ask.com. Ask is a search engine that is pretty much self-explanatory. You can ask a question and it will give you various links that will help you solve your question. The good thing about Ask is that you can even submit a question and real people will give you an answer.