pln 19

Searching through the articles i found one titled "Reflections" on Mr.s Moritz's blog. It talked about how students would only look at the final grade instead of their whole rubric. Heres what i commented:
Dear Ms. Moritz,
This really is a great post with a lot of good questions. Depending on the project I only look at the final grade. For example, in English class after a big project I always want to look at the final grade first and then look at the rubric to see where I can improve. By doing this I have actually improved on my PLN presentations. I always think rubrics are helpful and their really is no downside to them. While they do give me a direction to go on, they also help me on what I need to make it the best possible. I do agree with you that it is sad that some students don’t look at the rubric. But that is their choice and they will miss out on opportunities. I also check what kind of feedback I get to, because a lot of the time it is helpful. I think teachers should always use rubrics, because not only are they helpful to me but they will be helpful to future generations of students.

Pln Reaction

This was one of my better Pln presentations. I was able to really speak well while presenting and still kept good eye contact. I did use a lot of filler words but I still was able to use more intelligent words. I was able to look at the audience more with the occasional note check. Usually I don’t use notes and I just try and memorize the notes and I think of a question on the spot, the notes were way more helpful. I wish I could really emphasize more on my question and get more students to ask questions.

pln 18

I was searching through the articles today when i came across a particular one that interested me. Though i could not post the direct source click on the links and press the next link that says "retakes". Roger's Personal Blog
My comment:
Dear Roger,
I agree with you that re takes are special and are important. I am amazed that you haven’t given up on re takes. It is sad that students average so little points when they retake the test. Being a student and son of a teacher I understand both sides conflict. When I get a chance to retake a test I truly am happy (seeing how it is so rare to happen). But I am one of those students who is glad that he has the chance to retake a test but, I use the same study methods. I am not encouraged by my teachers and to try different ways to study and I am glad that one teacher wants his students to do higher. With my mom being a teacher I see how frustrating it is for a teacher to see their students do so badly. Trust me there really is no way for you to get the message through every child’s head. In the end it really is up to the student. I would like to thank you for posting this because it makes me think differently about studying and hopefully I will do better on my next tests!

Pln 17 S2

I went through the articles today and found one written by Mr. Fisch. Though short it was powerful and talked about how textbooks are losing their power and becoming just tornadoe covers. Here is the link The Need for Textbooks. This is what i wrote:
Dear Mr. Fisch,
I thought your blog was very well written. The fact that it was so simple and still had such a good impact truly amazed me. I kept looking back at your blog and thought to myself I think we are reaching the end of the textbook era. While text books are important they are also becoming less useful. We are advancing so far in technology soon everything will be online or be on a laptop.
This happens in school to, while choosing our sophomore schedules children rushed to get the classes with technology and not just textbooks. I personally thought they were all crazy for all trying to have laptops but then I thought back and how much easier technology had made my life in English class. One I never got any hand cramps because I could do all my typing on my laptop, the projects were more advanced and more fun, and finally with using laptops I could use the internet to look up new facts unlike in a text book. Hopefully one day textbooks will be only for covering our heads during tornadoes.

Pln 16 s2

While thinking of a blog to comment I thought about one that really related to me. I went to a blog that talked about silent children during seminars. I was surprised by how many teachers commented on this blog. The article is titled "Quiet Student" and this is what i wrote.

Dear Kristen,
I think you did a great job addressing this problem through such strong points. Your article was very interesting to read and throughout the whole time I was reading it I was brainstorming ideas to fix this problem. Being a high school student myself I see this from a different perspective. I myself love seminars in my history class and I am usually just a natural talker. But I am also friends with students who don’t talk at all. After a seminar they walk out of class with me regretting that they did not say anything. One of them blames her confidence issues while another blames that she is an outcast. But at the end of the seminar they walk out with great notes. I think that there really is no solution to getting every child to talk. You could force them to in the middle of the seminar, but that may be unexpected and would throw them off making them appear to be stupid. What my teacher does is he tries to for warn the class that there is a seminar and that every student will need to talk, even if it is unrelated to the topic they are talking about. This has always seemed to be great because more children talk about different things and end up tying them back to the original subject. But there is no reason not to give them a grade if they do not talk during a seminar. Then they are not fully getting their maximum points unlike other students. I think if you talk you get a grade and if you don’t you get a zero.