Video Reflection

Yes, I am standing in my kitchen. It seemed to have the best lighting in my house.

Final Project

Final PLN Report

To be honest, I feel a little lost when it comes to the PLN. As stated in my halfway mark, I started a Symbaloo account and even worked on the tiles, so that I could use it. However, I don’t think I have since that day. It is really a neat idea, and I really liked the website. If a PLN can be different things, and I think it can, I have had one for years and just didn’t know what to call it. On my browser’s I have buttons for the places I go on a daily basis. I have two. One is for personal use with Internet Explorer and in Google I have my blog, the class blog and more that I check daily. For me this is the easiest so that I don’t have another page to check, there are just little buttons at the top looking at me and reminding me that I have to click on them several times a day.

Blog Assignment 14

Tuesday night on my way home from class, I made a cutoff point deciding what I could and couldn’t use. I went back ten years: I didn’t have a TV, computer or internet, cell phone, or radio. Once home, I turned the radio off in my car, so I wouldn’t forget in the morning. Also, once in my apartment I unplugged the TV in my room, turned off my cell phone, and packed up my laptop.
Wednesday morning when I woke up I immediately tried to turn on the TV out of habit. I was glad I had unplugged it. I get up with my husband and usually start the day watching the news, which I love. This morning after eating a very quiet breakfast, I started reviewing my homework. This helped pass the time. Previously I have listened to music while doing homework and thought I had good focus; however yesterday made me rethink that choice. I feel like I could focus a lot more without any distractions.
In regards to my cell phone, I did not like not having it. I don’t get many incoming texts or calls, but I learned yesterday that I am very spoiled to it. Whenever I had a thought or something I wanted to tell my husband, I couldn’t. I actually had a list of “stuff” I wanted to talk to him about by the time he got home last night. I never realized how many “random thought” texts I send him a day.
I did not like driving without my radio! I don’t actually live that far from the school, but it was the longest drive ever without something going. I think it made me a worse driver. No one has ever said I could drive and the lack of music let me stay lost in my thoughts, leaving me hardly focused. This will not happen again.
Over the summer, I am the only one (that I live with) going to school. My husband, brother and sister-in-law work all day. Therefore, I did not have much interference or support. We did talk about it at supper. I am glad I picked the day I did, because it really helped me get some studying done for my Cal 3 class. I also learned some interesting things about the best ways for me to study.
I would like to add that also Tuesday night, my Exceptional children’s teacher talked about our future students and how technology will affect them. I hadn’t really thought about it before. These children will have access to as much as me or more. The rate of super short videos on YouTube and always having conversations rolling thought texts will inhibit them in longer tasks. As a high school teacher, it might be too late to “fix” their attention spans, but I can make them aware of it, as Dr. Strange has. I think that is one of the most important things I learned from this exercise. At the start of this class, I felt like this class was too much and I had problems focusing. Now after spending yesterday technology free, I think our technology environments have a lot to do with how we perform. From now on, my homework space will be limited to only what my schoolwork involves.

C4T # 4

For this Teacher's assignment, I was assigned Angela Maiers' blog. After searching through her site a little, I liked her. She has written several books and writes on several topics. The first post I read was Google vs Facebook. As stated in my comment I left, I had previously heard of Facebook working on a video chat. I was glad to see that Google was working on one too. Google's chat is multi-user. It will be able to host up to 10 people, as well as, it being able to follow the one speaking. I hope to see one of these getting finished soon.

Mrs. Bloomingdale was two years into teaching. Her class’s reading discussions weren’t exactly very enlightening. As a new teacher, she felt bounded by “what she had to do” and didn’t know how to change for the sake of her classroom. The next year after attending a forum with Harvey Daniels, she began reading his book and realized she had been forcing what shouldn’t be.

With things working for her, she began with a new strategy for the class’s reading time. (I did ask if she faced any adversity here). The students became responsible for their reading and small group discussions. They also posted their discussions and homework to wikis. Soon after the new implementations, Mrs. Bloomingdale saw immediate results. Results that showed her students had their own discussions and really enjoyed their new freedom and responsibilities.

Blog Assignment 13

Jose Picardo, a foreign language teacher, has a blog, which he has won awards for, and has made several YouTube videos. In the video we watched, Mr. Picardo gives his list of Top Ten Tips for using Technology:
1. Streaming video
2. Use Music more often
3. Use teleconferencing tools: Skype, now Facebook video and Google video
4. Create interactive exercises based on your classroom: hot potato or gamemaker
5. Use white board more effectively for motivation
6. Podcasts: video, audio
7. Blog or wiki: showcase work and achievement, focus student efforts
8. Social networks create a closed group with students
9. Use internet tools: animoto and voki
10. Make most of students gadgets: their phones, iPods

This is a great list. It was nice to see that the majority had been covered in this class. I found it interesting for him to incorporate music more often. I am not sure how exactly to do this. One could use it as background noise or at transition periods, perhaps. Mr. Picardo also pointed out that we should only use technology when it helps us achieve our lesson objectives.
This blog did cause a little research. Voki is a free avatar that anyone can create and use on their personal sites. They are set up for use in the classroom and even have lesson plans available. I also thought that creating your own games was neat. Hot potato is a free downloadable game making system. Any teacher can create multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill games for their students. Tip ten was also very interesting: to use the student’s gadgets. The majority of our students will have the latest technology. It would be very efficient for classrooms low in money for these tools to use what the students can provide. Most standard cell phones come with video and camera capabilities. With Bluetooth or other connection devices they will be able to upload them and share them that way.

Blog Assignment 12

This assignment is of our own design. I was not very excited about this, because of my lack of creative skills. After talking it out with Michael, my husband, I decided to go with using technology to incorporate other cultures into your classroom. Also, today in my P.E. class, we discussed the effects of increasing technology use on our lifestyle. I thought these two would make a great post.

Find or make your own video discussing how to incorporate other cultures into your classroom. Then write a paragraph to summarize it and discuss what you could do in your classroom. Do the same for how technology has effected lifestyles.

Here are the videos I found:
Tony Shalhoub on using films in the classroom

This video is a news interview with Tony Shalhoub, Monk. He is an investor and promoter of Journey in Films. In the interview he talks about using foreign films to teach your students. Using foreign films will help promote and expose your students to other cultures. After the interview, I checked out their website and found it very interesting. There are all types of resources for teachers. It will definitely be worth checking out in the future. With the purchase of the videos(and I believe without), you can download lesson plans. There are plans for math as well. In the "perfect" school, the other subjects and I could work through a different culture together.

The Role of Technology
This video is comprised of tidbits of other videos to make the point. Technology and the advances we have made are great. However we should remember to stay in control of it. The speaker gives a great quote, “It is up to us to ensure that technology aids us and that it does not control us in the future.” As teachers, it will be our responsibility to teach and remind our students that they are in control of their technology and how it affects their lives. We should also teach them that once “it” is out there, you cannot take it back. The comments also bring out some good points. Should technology be blamed for crimes? Also, is the overuse of technology an addiction or a character flaw?

Final Project

Gina, Ouida, and I are in a Final Group Project together. We will be making a movie about creating forms and the stress they can cause. We will begin shooting next week.

Project # 15

Blog Assignment 11

Mrs. Cassidy has a very straightforward approach to technology. In her Skype interview, she stated about 10 years ago she received some computers. This gave her the ability to create a center for her students. From that year forward, more technology was integrated into her classroom. For my future classroom, I am interested in the wiki pages. I will definitely be doing more research on them. Some examples she gave from her class were wikis on Traditions, Rituals, and the alphabet. I could make a page around prime numbers, solving equations, or any other topic depending on the class I am teaching. I could also work with my students and help them create and add to their own PLN by sharing great sites and people with them. By being open to the technology, I and my students will be presented with the best possibilities that are out there. As she said in her interview, “technology is here to stay, it’s not going anywhere” and not using the current and upcoming technology will put us all at a disadvantage.
This post is based on First Grade in Mrs. Cassidy's Class and Mrs. Cassidy's Skype Conversation.

Project #14

Project #13

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3

Special Assignment #2

Khan Academy is a website started by Sal Khan. It is free education for anyone, anywhere, at any rate. There are videos, the majority made by Mr. Khan himself covering a wide range of topics. The topics range from math to a foreign language and everything in between. They are easily accessible and user friendly to follow. There is also a program one can set up as a “Coach”. This allows students to work on different subjects and their progress is “sent” to their teacher.

iTunes U is part of iTunes, obviously. To be honest, as one not previously exposed to Apple, I had a hard time figuring it out. With a little help from Stephen, I was able to dive right in. Through the iTunes store anyone is able to subscribe to a group of videos based on a certain topic. These topics range from business, medicine, the New Testament study, and so much more from different colleges and universities around the world, such as Emory, Georgia State, Oxford, and Cambridge. iTunes even has the Khan videos on it. Of all the videos I looked at, the majority were free. The ones that did cost were .99.

TED is based around bringing people together from Technology, Entertainment, and Design. It began as a conference and spread to the web. Its website offers the conferences that are still held, as well as other videos, and discussion boards called TED conversations.

Khan Academy offers videos and practice quizzes. Khan is very extensive, and since based in California, the website offers videos and practice with the California Exit Exams. As a current math student, I was very excited to be exposed to this site and used it. As a future math teacher, I was also very excited about it. It will be a great tool to expose my students too. It can be used as extra credit for those who do the practice work. Or for those who need a little extra instruction or students who miss it will be guided practice. Instead of googling with your fingers crossed for a legitimate website to pop up, I will be able to lead my students to this site and as their “Coach” see what they actually do on the site.

iTunes U has tabs for universities, K-12, and beyond campus. By leaving it in all categories and searching, one can find a topic on any level, or one could pick their current level and search it. A teacher could get their students to subscribe to certain topics or certain areas. Under the K-12 tab, one can click on their particular state to meet their states requirements. For Alabama, there is the Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX). For each subject, there are resources. Also, there are groups for the U.S. National Parks, the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham and topics on the oil spill. iTunes also shows you what people that viewed that particular video, also watched themselves.

TED covers a range of topics through videoed conferences. You can view them based on many different categories, such as, persuasiveness, most watched, or highest rating. A teacher could use TED to expose their students to other people’s perspectives. There are talks on women’s rights and other areas to expose students to show them the differences and opinions that people can have.

I picked a video on the explanation of Unemployment rates. From the title, Unemployment, I figured I would at least learn something about our current economic status. I did, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, puts out several numbers. I never knew this. We watch the news and see unemployment rates. However, as good stewards in this information age, we should be able to determine these different rates. With Khan’s help, now we can. He broke down the different rates and who is included in them. As a full time student, I currently do not have time for a job. (I know other’s do and have to work, but I do not.) I always wondered if I, and others like me, were affecting the unemployment rate. Because of this video, I know that we are not. After 4 weeks of not actively looking for a job, you are not considered part of the unemployed group, but the discouraged worker. I like the style of Khan’s video’s very much. They give you the feel of having your own personal teacher right there with you.

From iTunes I picked a video provided through ALEX and the National Park Service titled Pitcher Plant. It was about the Pitcher Plant. From the name, I thought it sounded pretty. Wrong: it is a carnivore. These videos would be excellent for an elementary science class. They are informational and fun. The narration gave a story book feel.

This video from TED seemed interesting based on its screenshot, Rachel Sussman's The World's Oldest Living Things. The pictures are amazing as well as the stories that go along with them. (Find out the lady’s name) became interested in the oldest “things” on the planet. Traveling around the world she has found and photographed about half of what she has found. This video is very helpful in putting into perspective the greatness of our planet.

Khan Academy has (find out how many videos) videos. I would positively assume there is a video to cover any math topic that I might face as a teacher. These videos will allow any absent students to be “taught” the lesson they missed. I could set up a Coach account and assist and watch the progress of my students. Also, any over-achievers or students who need extra help would have an easy access to any video they want or need.

iTunesU allows access to many videos provided by different colleges and universities, K-12 services as well as access to Khan and TED videos. Any students with iPods, iPads, or other Apple products would be able to carry their videos with them. I am not sure how likely the students will be to study instead of listen to music or play Angry Birds, but they will have the option. iTunesU and TED give the students access to different perspectives and cultural thinking.
TED will give the students great exposure to the design and entertainment fields. Through TED’s conferences, talks and conversations there is much exposure to other’s areas of expertise.

I really enjoyed this assignment. To be honest, I put it off as long as possible, even knowing that I was going out of town this weekend and that I would have to sit at McDonald’s to access the internet. However, all three of these websites are awesome. I have and will be using Khan for my own math classes here at South. I also see that using these (and others that might be around by the time I have a classroom) in my classroom. As the instructions said, I foresee that at some point math class may get repetitious. These videos will be great tools for my students. And, if my fellow teachers don’t know about them, giving them to my students for math will open them up to other areas that the videos cover.

C4T # 3

You're Allowed by Dean Shareski
Dean Shareski was my assigned teacher and I really enjoyed his article. It was about the power of blogging and one's audience. He was sharing with the readers that we need to use our voices through any means necessary to stand up for what we believe. This post also had several older and informative posts linked to it.

What About Forgiveness? by Dean Shareski
In this post, Mr. Shareski refers to another blog about Facebook and privacy. He brings a valid point. We should be teaching our students how to manage their "online lives" correctly. In this day of technology and "putting everything out to everyone" we should be teaching our students to take responsibility for their postings. Is there a such thing as online forgiveness? Should employers offer it to us? Regardless of these answers, we need to take responsibility for what gets posted.

Blog Assignment 10

Do you Teach or Do you Educate?
This video was very moving; mostly due to the music. The point being made was very clear though. With every video and blog we are assigned there is one continuous message. The current system is broken and we, as teachers or educators, need to do a better job. I don't think there is so much power in what you call yourself as to what you are doing in your classroom.
I have always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to help children and grow them into young adults. As I progressed through school and became a math tutor, I knew that I wanted to be a math teacher. The way the student's eyes would light up when they understood is unbelievable. In my opinion, it was one of the most satisfying jobs. As the video says, we need to "inspire, empower" and do so much more to grow our students.

Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home! by Tom Johnson
Mr. Spencer's post was quite funny. Gertrude's unbelievably long title is great. She and her long title come in to dispute with the teacher over pencil use. I know I have not had much classroom experience,but this seems to be a little to controlling. Does it really matter if the students think they are toys.
Also, as a newly reformed anti-burp back student, we have got to do something about all this standardized testing. I know that is easier said than done, however to get so hyped up over pencil use is too much. If our students are comfortable enough in the classroom or wherever they are to learn, it doesn't matter how they use their writing utensils.

Project #12

Blog Assignment 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
With this post and other readings, I have noticed a recurring trend: that our teaching style should be student centered. This almost sounds obvious, since we are teaching students. However, as Mr. McClung points out “it is a common theme” for teachers to think or act as if the lessons are about them. I know and Mr. McClung also points out this may be because of pressure for your students to succeed, but teaching this way will not help them. I am glad he points this out, because we are students now, and our education is about us. In a few years, we will be the one’s delivering lessons to our own students.
I can relate to Mr. McClung’s issue with plans. I am a total planner and these plans are often set in stone. I liked his statement, “we are performing in front of a crowd the struggles remembering what they brought for lunch that day.” I think this is a really good example for us to know our students and teach them. And of course, we should never stop learning. Technology advances daily and our specific field will advance too, as teachers we should always be learning and teach our students the same thing.

Blog Assignment 8

This Is How We Dream, Part 1 & 2 by Richard Miller
This video was great. Part one was very inspiring. I liked the use of the video to actually show what he was talking about. In our first or second day of class, Dr. Strange introduced us to this type of thinking: that we are being introduced to a listen/watch world. This video helped to capture my thoughts on this. As Dr. Miller was saying in the video, I grew up a write/read world. Things are changing.
It is up to us as teachers to educate our students in this new manner. We should be their guides, to give them the rules they will need to be successful authors in a listen/watch world. This class is helping me to become better at listening, watching, and creating this type of world. I think this is all very exciting and cannot wait to share what I know with my students.
Our future students will already be creating multimedia experiences and sharing them. As I previously stated, it will be up to us to guide them in the right direction. We will be able to give them assignments through their guidance. Also, the media that we will be able to share and discuss with our students will be unbelievable. Just as Dr. Miller shared the programs that search news reports and blog posts to find the happiest places in the world. I did Google Johnathon Harris and found his works. This one in particular is one you should check out.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
Carly Pugh is a great writer and I believe she will be a great teacher. The assignment is awesome. At first I was unsure of what it all would entail, but as she said great teachers lead by example. I watched Carly’s playlist and was blown away. I will admit at first I was overwhelmed by the amount of videos. However they are all such great choices, none could have been left out. On second thought, I could have lived without watching that last one -I did cry. But it was a great way to close-“Whom do you live for?”
This assignment is exactly what Dr. Miller was talking about. This playlist or anyone else’s tells a story. These playlists could tell anything the author wanted them to. Carly’s assignment is about self-expression, and a teaching philosophy. It was beautifully done and very inspiring. As Carly stated, our students will need to be pushed and shown new things and YouTube is a great way to start.
I do love to read, and I know everyone doesn’t. Using the videos to explore literature is a great example. It is exciting to see all that is out there and awaiting exploration by us and our students.

The Chipper Series and EDM for Dummies
This was a hilarious look at what I'm sure are common problems and questions Dr. Strange faces. Chipper's downward spiral was funny. It showed how little steps can change your life on a big scale. EDM for Dummies was also great. I kept waiting on the destruction scene from Office Space. These were both great looks at this class and its challenges. Other videos could be made out of any of our projects or other assignments. These were both great and I'm not sure if they are topable.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video brought about many ideas. These are all ideas that our school system can implement in any order and in any degree. Everyone has a varying learning style, so why are we still stuck in the classroom-lecture based style that has been around for 100s of years. In college, online and hybrid classes have been evolving and growing more and more popular. Something along these lines, or not, could be effective in the school system.

Project # 7

As you can see from my summary results, I did my survey on dessert. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day. Yes, day sometimes even twice a day. I figured everyone else at least liked dessert half as much as me and I was almost right. Seven of my eight surveyors did.
Of these seven that liked dessert, all of them picked all types of dessert. I listed five distinct types and other. They all responded to all of them. From this I can conclude that they, like me, are not discriminatory towards food. This is a healthy attitude to have and it can be applied to other areas in one’s life. From these categories, I received specific answers such as chocolate brownies, cheesecake, and Reese’s. I will say that I was surprised that fruit was picked as the most preferable flavor with a two point advantage. Chocolate my favorite did come in second.

I was also able to gather that I am not the only one with a love/hate relationship with dessert. Even my responders who liked dessert previously mentioned that there were weight management issues as well as diabetes.
There were seven that responded that they eat their dessert at night and after the meal. I do wish I had used names or other type of identifier to see how these two and other questions correlated. And as far as sharing goes, it was half and half as I expected. If someone is there to share with we do.

Project # 8

Project # 11

Project # 10

A few posts ago, we watched a video about a seventh grade girl and her PLN. She was using Symbaloo and after seeing how cool it looked I checked it out. However I soon had to move on and until today I have not had a chance to look more into it. I have taken the tour and moved around some tiles. Over the weekend I will delve more into it.

Blog Assignment 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Wow! This video needs a better disclaimer than “well worth the time”. Its title “Last Lecture” gave hints, but the recommended videos on the side told the secret. I wasn’t sure how this was going to affect the video though. Luckily, Dr. Pausch’s father taught him to introduce the elephant in the room early. We immediately found out he was dying from cancer. And yes he can do more pushups than me. That scene put things into perspective and I tried to contain my tears throughout the video.
One of his lessons was to put others ahead of oneself in all ways. He exemplified this by giving the spotlight to his wife for a few minutes to celebrate her birthday. For each of his three main topics, his dreams, enabling others, and lessons learned he had many stories and examples of how to achieve them. Also, in talking about his dreams and the lessons he has learned he brought up “head fakes”. This is a football reference that was almost lost on me, until he tied it all together at the end. But as teachers and mentors we should use this as a great teaching tool. The whole point of it is to get them doing one thing while learning something else. He uses a tool called Alice. Alice is educational software that teaches the students to write programming via storytelling.
All of Dr. Pausch’s lessons can be transferred to our future classrooms. As teachers we will also be mentors to several of our students. Dr. Pausch tells a story about one of the first students he helps. That one moment in his life gave life to a new thought process. And because of the great use of YouTube we get to profit from it. We now have the knowledge not only to help ourselves but others.
We must remember that when we hit the brick wall; it is not there to stop us. It is there to stop those that are not determined enough to knock it down. If it stops you reexamine your desires and charge it again. If we learn from everything around us, then we will achieve our childhood dreams and honor Dr. Pausch’s legacy.

Project #3-part 2

My first blog assignment was for Steps in Teaching and Learning by Kevin McLaughlin. His post was about Interactive Whiteboards (IBW). I thought this was going to be a post promoting them; however it was not. When I saw this I immediately went and found a demonstration video on YouTube so I would understand exactly what he meant in his post. He made a good point. It does not matter what technology you have or how much you spend on it if you or other teachers do not use it correctly. If the tool is to be interactive the whole classroom should benefit from it.
In the comment I left on his page I told him about the different ways we are learning to incorporate technology into our future classrooms. Also in his post he brought up Nintendo DS and I asked him about implementing them into a classroom.



The second blog that I found was Invisible Technology, Visible Learning by Kevin McLaughlin. This post was a video he made previously for a speech he made. In the video, he shows all of the different activities his students experience in their day. They make videos, podcast, and "play" on iPads. Several of the movies that were presented in his video used a green screen. This is amazing to me, because as an adult I have never even seen a green screen in person.
All of these uses of technology are great. Mr. McLaughlin is careful to point out it is not the technology but the students learning that should be the focus. In my comment I asked about the excitement all of these activities create in his classroom.

Blog Assignment 6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
I like the way this video presented its information. This video breaks down a “new” learning style. The simplistic approach lets the viewer focus on all the information being presented. This helped me along with the actual visuals being used.
This video asks, “Why does the student even need a teacher?” The teacher is there to lead the classroom. The teacher can be likened to a tour guide. They take you around and give you all the information you need. However, you do with it what you want to.
I do not believe myself to be ready for “networked students”. This class is helping me to be on my way. Technology changes so rapidly that I will have to stay on the forefront with diligence. Working on the rest of this classes projects and more experience will help. We might as well go with it.

A 7th grader's Personal Learning Enviroment
Our first video was about Wendy Drexler and in her video she was looking forward to middle school in the fall. It looks like she was successful. It is amazing what the children are doing in their classes. The way this young girl put together all of her reports and other class projects are far better than I could have. Watching these videos is very encouraging and exciting for me.
I found her PLE and the items it contained very interesting. I liked the research they had to do and file to hold the class animals. To be honest, I have not even looked at my PLN so I cannot compare them. However seeing hers makes me very interested in starting mine.

Are you for or against IWBs?
I found the three blogs very interesting that were listed in our assignment. After several minutes of searching and rewording my search, I found Computers in the Classroom. These blogs bring about very different points. On one hand, we are presented with those against IWBs:Ferriter,Staton, and McLaughlin. Yes, they cost a lot of money. They also point out how much other "stuff" can be bought. It would be great if every student or a group of students could have access to these things: iPads, netbooks, laptops, and so much more. However, Computers in the Classroom point out that the Interactive Whiteboards are in fact Interactive. In several of the comments, the teachers talked about the time their students get on the board.
As with anything, take it all in moderation. Direct teaching, technology and interaction all have their place. It will be our job to guide our students successfully through a complete classroom.

Project # 9b

Special Assignment #1

I have heard of Wolfram Alpha before and had only played around with a few times. I had never heard of Google Squared.
What percentage of China's population is the population of the United States? 22.89%
What percentage of India's population is the population of the United States? 25.54%
The basic ideas from Did You Know? are the same; however the numbers will continue to grow at an astonishing rate. Wolfram Alpha and Google Squared will be extremely useful. When you/your students need an exact answer or an easily readable comparison this is where you need to go.

Blog Assignment 5

This blog assignment made me feel very illiterate. I read/listened/watched several of the choices listed. The third graders were adorable. I’m not sure if they appreciate being called adorable but they were. I liked the picture associated with their podcast’s topic. Theirs was set up like an interview and I enjoyed it the most. Also, Langwitches was very interesting. Little children are so neat to watch at how fast they adapt. The 100 tips were very helpful and made me more confident in my skills as I prepare for my very first podcast tomorrow.

Project # 9a

My Sentence Movie

Blog Assignment 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? by Scott McLeod

Dr. McLeod’s argument was striking. As I commented on his blog, I did not pick up on his sarcasm at first. Once I did, I started over to get full enjoyment out of it. His poem style was nice, meaning, as he criticized new technology he was writing in a very old format. In English alone it is over 600 years old (thanks Wolfram Alpha). All of his statements were very true. We do need to teach our children to use these technologies as well as how to use them to support their education. Keeping children safe is all our concern, the first step in doing that will be for us to teach them, and not let them “find” the predators that are out there.
Also, as Dr. McLeod closed he brought up the competition these technology literate children will have. He’s right. They will have a considerate edge on children that aren’t. The literate children will know how to stay up to date with current technology as well as how to implement it into their activities.
Dr. McLeod is an Associate Professor at Iowa State University, the Director of Castle, and a co-creator for theDid You Know? series. He is doing his part to promote and encourage technology and its use in the classrooms.


The iSchool Initiative by Travis Allen

During high school, Travis Allen came up with the concept of iSchool. Now in college, he is growing his organization and on his way to changing the school system. The basis of the movie is to promote iSchool by comparing it to the current standards of school. Allen’s goal is to take technology fully into the educational system. He states that everything being used now can be replaced with the iTouch.

This initiative promotes technology, being green, and saving money. Through this video I learned a lot about the iTouch. All of the different applications seemed very handy. However, after googling it I could not find one for $150 as mentioned in the video. Also, the lack of needing books and paper will help save the trees, which is helpful for everyone. I do see a problem here between the book companies, but maybe not if the students are buying their e-books. He points out the different items required by the schools. One of these is a graphing calculator, which now runs about $100. When I was in high school, my mom had to buy me two.

You Can't Be My Teacher by Darren Cannell

I would like to start by saying how cute this little boy is. The deep message he is sending is lightened by him. We all want to be GREAT educators, which is why we are in this class. Regardless of taking this class or how well we do, at some point we will be educators. We either are now or will be in the future parents and/or teachers and we will affect someone’s life. Take advantage now and listen to this little boy.
The use of repetition in the video was to bring attention to those lines. Will you stick the traditional textbook? How can you as a teacher change your classroom? He starts with the basics- can you use the computer, what about the internet, and what about fear. We cannot let these things stand in our way; we must be technology literate and teach our students how to be as well.


Lux Arumuque by Eric Whitacre

Wow! This is my new favorite video. While watching it, I shared it via Facebook. This is a beautiful use of the internet. As the video began I was not sure what was coming, but all the faces and this beautiful song was great. I was unsure of how the song was put together so I googled this as well. I found Eric Whitacre’s website< http://ericwhitacre.com/blog/the-virtual-choir-how-we-did-it>. On his website are more songs and future projects, as well as, their information.
According to his website, this virtual choir started by someone posting a video of themselves singing one of Mr. Whitacre’s songs. It is amazing to see this trail of technology. One man wrote a song, one girl recorded and posted it. From here, we are posting about it.


Teaching in the 21st Century

This video was very engaging and super informational. I also caught Dr. McLeod’s name in the credits. At about a minute and a half in, she brings up google and all of its uses. Whenever I or my husband have a question about literally anything, I google it.
This video has been saved on my YouTube page and I will refer back to it. It had so much information in it. She brought out not only the positives but also how to incorporate technology. She also pointed out that regardless of the tools children have they will do what they are going to do.

Google Presentation #5

Project #3

My first teacher post, A Definition of Success, was by Pernille Ripp, a teacher arguing her definition of success. She brought up testing and grades versus anything else. She had several examples from her experience of true success. Success is not based on grades or what a student can burp back on a test, but how they behave, grow, their creativity, and their ability to learn and share. This blog was very inspiring to me. It also reinforced Dr. Strange’s theory of no grades. Who we are as people and everything about us should affect our successfulness.

The second post, The Kids are Alright, I read was by Kirsten Olson. In her post she was talking about the recent graduation of her youngest two children and the feelings she had that day. Her children attended an upper-middle class school. She felt that the school did not do it's best to make her children, or the others, their best. She stated that while her children graduated well prepared there could have been more. Reading her blog made me think about what I can bring to the table as a teacher. I want to do my best to encourage my students to do their best and to never stop learning. I also asked her a few questions about being a teacher.

Blog Assignment 3

A Vision of Students Today
by:Michael Welsh

I started my college career at a community college. There the majority of the statistics presented in the video were not true. All of my teachers knew my name and my average class size was 20. However there will always be students who read their assignments and those who do not.
I like that the video pointed out that the school and college setting has not changed in a very long time, if ever. I have not had much experience with a Smart board, but the use of new technology will better incorporate today’s students.


It's Not about the Technology
by: Kelly Hines

Mrs. Hines article acknowledges that technology is a great resource. Yet, there must be teachers willing to learn it and make use of it. Several of the comments left for her mentioned former teachers who had the technology but wasted it. As teachers, we must be continually learning. Our students will forever be on the edge of the breaking technology and it will be part of our job to keep up with them.
As an older student from a rural town, my high school was not on the leading edge of technology. All the blogs and videos provided by Dr. Strange make me very thankful for this class. As Mrs. Hines says, we need to willing and able to learn the new technology and I am both.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
by: Karl Fisch

Mr. Fisch references Terry Freedman’s blog. In Mr. Freedman’s blog, he states his own proposed standards for teachers and their technological literacy. People have different standards for different things and Mr. Freedman recognizes this. In his standards, he makes several points. It was interesting that he pointed out how it seems socially acceptable to admit, “I can’t use a computer” or “I was never good at math”.
Whenever I’m asked what I’m going to school for I always get the same look that includes a jaw-dropping stammer and a “Good for you”. Shouldn’t everything be equal? We need to teach our students to be well balanced and knowledgeable amount all of their subjects and how technology can affect them.


Social Media Count
by Gary Hayes

The rate at which they were turning over is a little overwhelming. Also, the amount of money spent on virtual goods seems ridiculous, but I am an outsider to the gaming world so I probably should not judge. The difference in what the U.S. does and spends as compared to China and other countries is outrageous. It was sad to see that we lose more money through pirating movies and music than is made on them.
All of this information will affect me as a teacher. As more social networking accounts are made and more students have better access it will become a necessity for teachers to understand them. While in this class we should take in all the information we can as well as how to replicate it and to continue learning so that by the time we have our own students we will at least be capable of staying on the same playing field as them.

Blog Assignment 2

Did you know? 3.0
by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Brenman

This video presented a lot of information. The amount of information about that amount of people was overwhelming. The video itself brought forth information about the changes that have taken place in the past few decades as well as what will change in the next few decades.

Never having seen the comparisons between the U.S., China, and India before, I am not sure, just as the video ends, what does all this mean? There could be several different future scenarios that could take place. We can look at the movie Wall-E, or other movies based on the future and learn from them. Do we want technology to take over? Or, will human contact stay important?

Mr. Winkle Wakes
by Mathew Needleham

Mr. Winkle, who has just woken up from a 100 years nap, goes out and about to explore his new surroundings. One would expect that everything would change after 100 years. That is exactly what Mr. Winkle found, until he came to a school. It was exactly as he remembered, and this was comforting to him. Is it good for there to be no change in education after 100 years? Definitely not, we need to teach our students to be compatible with their surroundings that have changed.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
by Ken Robinson

We are all creative beings looking for a place to express it. Sir Robinson points out that these places are usually at the bottom of the education totem pole. As a young girl and into high school, I danced. These weekly dance sessions allowed me to express how I was feeling and at the same time I was learning an art form. After high school this ended. I believe this has hurt my creativity and increased my writer’s block.
As future educators, we need to know about creativity and how to create and grow it in our students. It will be our job to guide them in the process of creativity. My first thoughts were “I’m going to be a math teacher, how does this apply to me?”. It does. Creativity and the use of new technology applies to all classrooms, inside and outside of the school system. It will be my job to encourage my students to explore new options in their world.

Cecelia Gault

My first response is wow at the difference in dropout rates for Finland and the United States. Finland sounds like a great place to live and teach. There needs to be a better balance in our school system between the “core” classes and the “art” classes. As a future teacher, I will have to do my best to prepare my students and foster their creativity.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
via edutopia

Mrs. Davis’s class seems like a really great class. I wish I would have had a class like this while I was in high school. It is great to see that her class was in rural Georgia and that they are connecting to other students around the world. This video demonstrates why we need this class. I had no idea half of the terminology that they were using. She is teaching her students to teach themselves just like us.
Giving the students the power to teach themselves will encourage them to keep learning. It also ties to their creativity and to keep sparking it. Also, connecting around the world allows the students to see new trends and different culture that they would not otherwise be exposed to.

Project #2 Wordle

Previous to this project I had never heard of Wordle. I have to say that it is one of the coolest things I have seen. I will be making more of these in the future.

Blog Assignment 1

Hello fellow EDMer's! My name is Bobbi Jo. I was born and raised in Jackson, AL. My plans for after high school were to go to college and get a degree in Math and Second Education. Instead, my then boyfriend and I put school on hold. We got married and were thrown into the real world. I can say that we have been happily married for five years now.

About a year into our marriage, my husband was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. After six months of chemotherapy, we moved to his family's hometown of Brewton, AL; so that we would be close to a radiation clinic. Once Michael was in remission for a few months he was ready to go back to school. I decided to join him. This past May we both graduated from Jefferson Davis Community College, our local community college in Brewton. From there we have moved to Mobile, to start on our Bachelor's Degrees here at South.

I watched Randy Pausch's Time Management video and really enjoyed it. I had heard several of the sayings that he used, but never really thought about them in detail. It was nice to get that deeper perspective about them. I am a list maker; however I would usually leave the ugliest for last. From now on I will start with (or at least try to) the item I least want to do. I really enjoyed the frog analogy.

Practice Post

My first post.