Project 12- SmartBoard Part A

Project 15- Lesson Plan 3

Get Fit! Lesson Plan

Teaching children how to have a healthy lifestyle is an important aspect of a teacher's job. I have composed a month long lesson plan, which includes lessons in art, English, and Math. At the end of the month, there will be a Parents' Day, where parents can come and see all of the art work that the students have created. Also, every Monday, we will have some form of quiz, so the parents will have the opportunity to take the quizzes as well. Please look through my website and comment with any thoughts and suggestions. Enjoy!

Comments for Kids- March

On March 20, 2014, Mrs. She's class in New Zealand had to write a fitness story, but instead of publishing a typed blog post, her class made videos and pictures. Meliana explained in her video how she likes to run fast, jump like a frog, and hop like a rabbit at fitness time. She concludes by saying that she likes fitness, and she posted a picture of a girl jump roping on a sunny day. I commented on her blog post on March 20:

"Hey Meliana! My name is Megan Long and I am a student, just like you, but I go to the University of South Alabama in the United States of America. I like fitness, too! It is a great way to be active and stay healthy. I love the fact that you have to draw a picture along with your story. You picture is very good and I enjoyed listening to your story. Thanks for sharing!"

If Meliana keeps up the good work in fitness class, she will definitely stay healthy! Keep up the good work, Meliana!

On December 16, 2013, Kori-Lee wrote her final blog post for her seventh year at Pt England School in New Zealand. She explained how she has learned so much this year, and she has made many new friends. She really enjoyed her teacher this year, and she explained that she wishes to be in room 20 next year. Kori-Lee says that she loves art and making movies, so I told her how she should try iMovie, because I have really enjoyed getting to learn how to use it this semester. On March 26, 2014, I commented on her blog post:

"Great blog post Kori-Lee! My name is Megan Long and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in the United States of America. Ending a school year is always bittersweet. I am happy that you made new friends this year, and I hope that next year you will make many more. This year, I learned how to use iMovie to make movies on the computer. If you have never tried that, you should because it is a lot of fun! Good luck next year at school, and I hope that you learn a lot!"

I hope that Kori-Lee was assigned to a great teacher this year, and I hope that she is using what she learned about blogs and technology to further advance her studies this year.

Blog Post Ten- What Can We Learn from Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson discusses the evolving education system in America, and the entire world, during a TED Bring on the Learning Revolution". He states how the education system is being reformed, which is not what needs to happen. When something is reformed, something is being fixed, but Sir Ken Robinson asks the question, "If nothing is broken, why fix it"? Rather than fix the education system, we need to simply revolutionize it.  By revolutionizing the system, we can make the system more effective by transformation. Sir Ken Robinson says that we are in a humanitarian crisis, and this crisis needs to be solved.
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Sir Ken Robinson states how "many people go their entire lives without knowing their talent" and the education system is a major cause of this. In an effort to emphasize how we, in the modern society, take many simple pleasures for granted, Robinson quotes Abraham Lincoln- "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew." He gives an example of this by explaining how older generations wear wristwatches, while people of the 21st century do not see the need to wear a wristwatch. This exemplifies how humans do what humans have always done, and humans do not like change. As a future educator, I need to be a supporter of change, becuse this is how my students will thrive.

For most students in high school, the end goal is graduating and becoming a college student. Robinson, though, explains how college after high school is not necessary. As aforementioned, Robinson believes that people generally do not understand what his or her talent actually is, and this is mainly because of the education system. We, as 21st century students, feel as though we must attend college and become a wheat others tell us to be, but Robinson explains that "human community depend on the diversity of talent, not a similar conception on ability". As a future educator, my responsibility is to to allow students to explore and discover their talents, and I will support my students in all that they do.

In today's society, students feel as though there are standards that need to be met, no matter what the circumstances are. In order to show this, he discusses how the education system is like a fast food restaurant- everything is standardized. Just like fast food is destroying the human body, Sir Robinson explains that the standardized model of education is ruining the human mind. The standardized education system does not feed students' passion. As teachers, Robinson explains, we need to "create the conditions in which [students] can flourish", instead of forcing students to learn the same material as every other student.


What can we take away from Sir Ken Robinson? In order to reform, transform, and revolutionize the
education system, we need to customize and personalize the curriculum individual students. Every student learns differently, and students all have different passions, so it is necessary that we, as educators, allow students to thrive in their passions. Sir Ken Robinson emphasizes that importance of teaching every student differently, and as an educator, I will always remember this importnat lesson.

Blog Post Nine- Little Kids/ Big Potential

Kathy Cassidy, a first grade teacher in Canada, allows her students to use technology resources, such as blogs, web pages, Skype, and Nintendo DS in order to better learn and connect with others. The students in Mrs. Cassidy's class explain how much they love using these resources in Mrs. Cassidy's video, "Little Kids...Big Potential". By posting work on blogs, students are capable of receiving feedback from all around the world, which gives students the incentives to become better writers. This also allows the students to have an online portfolio of the work produced. A class webpage is another tool that Mrs. Cassidy uses. This allows students to have access to many different links and resources all on one page, which is easily accessible for parents as well. Another great resource that Mrs. Cassidy uses is Wikis, which allows students to learn about different topics or subjects by having people not associated with the class explain the topic in his/her own words. The students make videos that they put not only on their blog, but also on their Wikis. By using skype, the students can connect with virtually any person, anywhere, including experts of different subjects. Playing Nintendo in a classroom may sound crazy, but this techniques allows students to learn about sharing and problem solving. The vast amount of technology that Mrs. Cassidy uses in her class causes her class to be successful, because the students are interested and engaged in the resources used to teach material.

In Dr. John Strange's interview (part one, part two, and part three) with Mrs. Cassidy, she explains how her classroom, which incorporates a variety of technology, is so successful. She emphasizes that technology is never going away, so we, as teachers, need to stay up-to-date with new technology, but this may be difficult because of a school's budget. Mrs. Cassidy uses technology when teaching her students every subject, even if simply a blog is used to journal what each child has learned. She also states how important it is for students in college to learn as much as possible before becoming a teacher. As an education major, I believe that it is my responsibility to learn as much as I possibly can, so once I become a teacher, I can use the resources and knowledge I have collected in college to be the best teacher I can be. Mrs. Cassidy's classroom is a great example of what a 21st century classroom should look like.


In order for students to become bloggers, or for students to use the internet for educational purposes, students need to follow proper internet safety precautions. Teaching these precautions and making sure that students are following the precautions are the teachers two main priorities when it comes to internet safety. I believe that, when first introducing technology in the classroom setting, teaching internet safety is very important.

Project 14- Lesson Plan Two

"This Day in History" Project Based Learning Plan

History is the most important subject to teach, because every event impacts the future, either directly or indirectly. I have provided a month of lessons revolving around history that has occurred on a specific day. The calendar explains what event has occurred on this day in history, along with the activity that goes along with the event. The overview and checklist summarize the learning objectives that are covered throughout the month, and the overview also has the driving question as to why we are studying history every day. Enjoy! 

Comments for Teachers Number 2

On February 14, 2014, Sharon Davison, a Kindergarten teacher with so much aspiration to truly teach her students, explains in her blog post "Tweets, Tweeting Via Twitter" how she enhances the learning process of her students by introducing them to the world of technology. She uses Twitter to allow her students to collaborate efficiently with students from many different schools, by allowing her students to "see what others in the world are doing today". As Sharon explains, allowing her students to blog and be involved on social media teaches them more than simply how to use technology. By connect with people globally, her students are learning how to makes connection throughout the world and actually be engaged in their learning. I responded to Sharon's blog post and informed her of how informative her blog post was.

"My name is Megan Long and I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama, and I will be following your blog over the next few months. I really enjoyed learning about the way you are incorporating social media into your teaching style. We, as teachers, can use resources, such as Twitter, to connect with other classes throughout the world. I believe that it is our responsibility to introduce our students the all the positives of social media and truly explore the benefits of these sources. When the students know that other students are going to see their work, I believe they will perform much better. Thank you for sharing! If you desire to connect with me, please follow my blog at longmeganedm310.blogspot.com, or on Twitter @meganelainelong"

I provided Sharon with my blog address along with my Twitter name, which she quickly began following me and she even told me how much she enjoyed my blog! I feel as though we, as teachers, need to research how other teachers are using different resources to teach their students. I believe that Sharon has a passion for teaching that every teacher should have!


On March 13, 2014, Mrs. Davison explained some of the exciting events that has been occurring in her classroom. She loves to teach her kindergarten class how to read, and seeing the progress of her students really excites her. She has used tools such as the iPad, Google Hangout, and AirServer in order to engage her students, and she explains how she can see how these resources assist the students with learning. For instance, her class has been studying the works by Dr. Seuss, and she uses Goggle Hangout to allow the students to connect with other kindergarten students in another state. AirServer has also been a successful resource for Sharon's classroom, because this tool allows students to "remotely access what is on [your] iPad". Sharon concludes her blog post by explaining how teaching students to read is a magical event, and she excitingly states how "Learning is for everyone. Technology gives all my students a voice".

"Sharon, this is a fantastic blog post! I truly enjoy reading about the resources you use in your classroom and I know that your students enjoy learning this way. I recently wrote a blog post about different resources that are useful in the classroom, and I should have added Google Hangouts and AirServer. I have never heard of these resources before, but I am anxious to learn more about them now that I have learned about your success with them. Also, I recently worked with a group to develop a Project Based Learning plan centered around the use of technology, and coincidentally, we chose to create our month long plan using Dr. Seuss. He is a fantastic author and students can learn important character lessons from his works. If you are interested in chacking that website out, the address in sites.google.com/site/pblplans. Please feel free to check it out and let me know what you think! Thanks for your enlightening post!"

Sharon Davison is a great example of a passionate, inspiring teacher, and I am so honored to be able to follow her blog to learn about her teaching styles. I consider Sharon to be a part of my Personal Learning Network, and I am excited to keep learning of the work she is doing in her classroom.

Blog Post 8- Great Tools for Teachers!

The internet contains so many useful websites for teachers! As EDM 310 reaches the final half, I can reflect on the resources that I know so much more about, which makes me anxious to learn about even more resources. As a future elementary educator, I will rely on the resources in which other teachers and sources provide on the internet in order to successfully begin my teaching career.




I believe that arts are a very important aspect of the classroom because many subjects can be taught through the use of art. Crayola provides a great website for educators which provides creative, engaging lessons centered around art for every grade level. This website gives access to hundreds of lessons which is fantastic for any future or current elementary teacher!

For any grade, math can sometimes be difficult to understand, which is why the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives created a website specifically for math. Here, math activities are provided for every grade level, from shapes to functions. Since technology is being used in many classrooms throughout the nation, this website is a great tool to incorporate technology into math lessons. Among hundred of great math-teaching websites and resources, the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives really stands out.





The Smithsonian provides a website for teachers to virtually learn and teach students. On the site, educators can find virtual tours of current exhibits at the Smithsonian, along with lesson plans to assist educators in teaching the material. Do you or does your class still have questions about the material, don't worry! The Smithsonian provides simple ways to contact the experts. For any subject, but especially science and history, this website is a great tool!

Project 13- Lesson Plan One

Dr. Seuss Project Based Learning Plans

In order for a classroom to have an exciting learning environment, teachers have a responsibility to engage students in every way possible. For a lower elementary grade level classroom, Dr. Seuss is a great resource to use in order to engage and enlighten the students. We have created a website that includes a month long lesson plan all centered around Dr. Seuss's books. On the Overview, we have listed a summarized explanation of what the lesson plan covers, along with which common core standards are covered throughout the month. The checklist explains the objectives for the month, and the calendar has every lesson for the entire month. Enjoy!

Project Nine- Mark Prensky's Teaching Digital Natives

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