Final Reflection EDM310

FINAL PROJECT #16

Final PLN

This is screenshot of my PLN. I used Symbaloo to create it. It has everything I need posted on it so I can access the websites quickly and easily. I have on my PLN Gmail, South Alabama, Facebook, Google, USA Online, Blogger, Charter, Twitter, Regions, Skype, Audacity, EDM310, and the ALEX websites. These are the sites that I visit most often. I use all of the listed websites regularly for my personal and educational experience. My PLN will never be finished because I believe that I will keep learning in order to better myself and my students. I think my intellectual journey has been wonderful. I have learned so much and so many different tools I can use to further my learning and my future students learning. I have learned more than what I thought was even out there. This class has given me such insight on how to teach my students and the many different things I can do in my classroom to teach my children through technology. The progress I have made with my PLN is so great and I am so proud of myself. I plan to keep expanding my PLN throughout the years and making my learning and teaching experience more enjoyable.

Thanksgiving St. Louis 2010

C4K Summary #8-#11

C4K #8- "Mahana's Super Cool Animation of Her Pirate Ship!" This post is an animated movie of Mahana's pirate ship she created. The ship moves across the blue water as a clapping sound effect occurs. It really brings life to the ship! It was a very cute video.

C4K #9- "Today I read Snakes During Reading Class". This came from a fourth grade class and they call themselves the Shooting Starts. This post was a few questions that the class put together to ask about snakes after reading about them in class. The questions were

Why did people think snakes had powers?
Why did people kill snakes?
Why did snakes eat their prey before killing their prey?
Why did some snakes live underground?

I think it was great the child came up with their own question to ask about what they learned that day.

C4K #10- "Flat Arjun Leaves Home". Flat Arjun (like Flat Stanley) is leaving Westford, MA and headed to India. He is ready for some fun! This post was by Arjun and he is sending him flat self to India. I think this project is great and I will incorporate this in my classroom one day.

C4K #11- "Walk Two Moons". This was a post by a student named Clare. She wrote a short sentance about a book her friend suggested her to read, "Walk Two Moons". She heard it is a great book and is excited to start reading the book. I commented and told Clare how important and fun reading is and that I hope she enjoys the book!

Special Assignment Yasmine- "The Best Recess in History!". This post by Yasmine was really cute and enjoyable to read. She talks about how she had the best recess ever because she and her friends were doing gymnastics on the playground. Her and a friend did a really cool trick together and all of her classmates were clapping and cheering them on. She felt as if she was flying and wanted everyone to see. She exclaims that this was the best recess in history!

C4T #4 Summary

Ms. Jenny She is a primary school teacher in New Zealand. She created this blog to record her experiences, reflection, learning, sharing, and any other things that matter to her career as a teacher.

We had the Dragon Dance at the Cultural Festivals at our School {September 26, 2010}

In this blog post by Ms. She, she discusses the dragon dance her students did for their schools cultural festival. She and Helen Squires put the idea together. In the performance her students did  a traditional dragon dance, kung fu, and umbrella dancing for the schools culture festival. Ms. She's students are very talented. Ms. She has a video of her students participating in the culture festival.

We Should Listen to the Kids

{July 7, 2010}

This post by Jenny She was great. It was about teachers or adults always being in charge and always being right. The post also discusses how teachers and adults can learn from students. For example, in this post Mrs. She talks about when she was a first year teacher she had no idea how to use a Mac. She was very embarrassed and didn't want her colleagues to know so she asked a grade 6 student to help her use the mouse. This is a great example of how teachers and adults can learn from children. Even if it is as simple has how to use a computer mouse. Mrs. She also posted a video of a child giving a presentation about adults and teachers listening to children advice. This video was fantastic and makes adults want to give children more credit. The over all message of this post and this video is to LISTEN TO THE CHILDREN! Simple as that. It is to listen and learn from children and they will listen and learn from you.

 

Additional Assignment #5

Tom Johnson's Adventures in Pencil Integration

I really enjoyed reading all of Mr. Spencers posts. They all related to education very well and made me think about when I will be a teacher.

The first post I read was Just Teach Them to Solve for X. I really enjoyed this post, I actually chose to comment on this post. I loved the metaphor technique used in this post. The post was about the problems he was facing from using metaphors to teach. I think it will be very helpful for students to learn, in fact I may use this in my classroom one day if it is necessary.

I then read The Medium Shapes the Learning. This post was about keeping the students engaged in the material and in learning. I think this is very important becuase if your students are interested and engaged in the learning process, the more they will learn and take away from the experience. If you can remember one thing as a teacher, it should be to keep your students engaged.

The post Sketch Portraits was very interesting as well. It was about describing the pencil as many different things. It is important to recognize that students will change from day to day or year to year and it is the teachers job to adjust to these changes and still make sure that the student learns just the same. 

The last post I read was He Just Likes the Class For the Pencils. This post is about having a healthy relationship with your students. You want you students to look up to you and trust you as a role model. It is important to let students know you care about them and want to help them. If they see that you care, they will care in return.

Atlanta Thrashers Hockey

Dave Matthews Band Atlanta, GA November 2010

Blog Assignment #13

ALEX

ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. Before this assignment I have heard ALEX mentioned once or twice. I did not know what it meant or what it does, however I had heard the term before. The ALEX website is designed for aspiring teachers and current educators. It is a great website because it  has lesson plans posted for all subjects and for all teachers to see. The lesson plans are all led by the guidelines of ALCOS (Alabama Course of Study) as well which is important because as a teacher you already know that the lesson already meets the states standards. There are links on this website that go to podcasts, a personal workspace, and professional learning websites. Teachers are also able to make their own lesson plans with ALEX and other teachers can view them as well. 

I really enjoyed viewing this website. I am so happy that I know that something like this exists! It will be very helpful for me when I am an educator. I will enjoy seeing what other teachers are doing and the lessons they are teaching. I am interested to see the creativity as well. I am also excited to share my work and lessons with other educators as well. I think it is important to share ideas to better our students education. It will also be extremely helpful because all of the lessons presented follow the Alabama Course of Study which is necessary. I will no longer have to search through websites and find lesson that do no meet my schools or state requirements. It is such a great resource and I will absolutely utilize this website in my teaching career.

Project 15 "Who Will You Choose To Be?"

Form Results and Summary

Summary

Most students in this survey live at The Grove or within 10 miles of campus. The majority of students drive to school. Surprisingly, most students that took this survey do not park in a designated parking zone, they chose other. More than half of the students who took this survey have recieved a parking ticket from the University of South Alabama. Most students have recieved between 1 and 5 tickets. Most students agreed that there are not enough parking spaces at the University of South Alabama. The parking service at the University of South Alabama was rate very poor to okay by these students. Overall, the studnets who were given this survey stated that the University of South Alabama should make changes to the parking services. Students think that there should be more parking spaces.

Progress Report on Final Project

We are making some progress on project 16. I have met with my group this week. We have been discussing ideas and trying to think of something creative. Our plans are to keep in touch by email and meet sometime next week to discuss some more ideas we may have. From there we will design our project and get to work on it ASAP. We are trying to be very creative with this project so we are thinking really hard!!

Blog Assignment 12

Blog Assignment 12 DUE 11/14

Read this article 'Teacher Expectations Raise Student Achievement' about teacher expectations and student achievement http://www.suite101.com/content/teacher-expectations-raise-student-achievement-a167553


Also watch this video 'Expectations: The Self-fulfilling Prophecy' about teacher expectations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wL5t8YH1Q


After reading the article and watching the short video, write a short summary of each. Once you have done so, then express your thoughts on the topic. This is an important topic for aspiring teachers so it is important you understand it.

Teacher Expectations Raise Student Achievement
The Article "Teacher Expectations Raise Student Achievement" discusses the importance of expectation in all areas of teaching. The article says that if you expect your students to fail and behave badly, that is the result you will most likely get. If you expect your students to do excellent work and behave properly, that is also the result you will most likely get. You must have the right attitude about learning and teaching in order to have your students achieve. The overall message of this article is if you have high expectations, your students will have higher achievements. If you have low expectations, the students will only achieve what you expect of them. I think this article is important for aspiring educators to read. I think it is important to understand the your expectations you set for your children will determine the outcome of their work and what they achieve. When I am an educator I will set my expectations and my students will be able to greatly achieve.

Expectations: The Self-fulfilling Prophecy

This video is a discussion about the effect of teacher expectations. The video explains how important it is to have high and helpful expectations for students. The woman narrating this video says something that I really like, she says "Students tend to live up to the expectations that their teachers set for them". I believe this quote one hundred percent. As a teacher if you set your standards high, your students will reach those standards. If you keep your standards low, they will give you what you expect. It gives an example of a teacher telling a student that they were expecting a D from them and that is what the student got. This remark does not help the student, it only hurts. The teacher didn't say the student was stupid but the implication was clear. Teachers and parents should both have high expectations for children. I think this video is important because it stresses the importance of having high expectations. In my opinion teacher expectations and student achievement go hand in hand. It is important to set high standards for our children for them to succeed.

Blog Assignment 11

Little Kids.... Big Potential!!

This video is so inspiring and absolutely adorable! These children have a great teacher and are learning so many useful tools to learn. I think it is great that Ms. Cassidy had incorporated all of the different technological ways she is using to teach her students. It is also great that she has started these children using Wikis and Blogs at such a young age. They are so advanced for just being 1st graders. I have never seen this approach in this young of a classroom but I think it is a huge step forward in learning. If you start these children young using these tools of technology to learn, the easier they will pick up on it and the more they will want to learn. I find it very inspirational to incorporate all of these techniques with my students even at a young age. I want to teach kindergarten and sometimes you think that the young children are not capable of using computers or other ways of technology but this is proof that they can! I want to teach my kindergarten class to use these tools and let them explore learning in a new way. This was a great video for an aspiring teacher to watch, especially a teacher who would like to teach the younger students :)

Discussion with Ms. Cassidy

Ms. Cassidy has been using technology in her classroom for about 10 years. She chose to do so because she received 5 Sunray computers in her classroom. The computers were great but you couldn't put any programs on the computers so she needed to find a way to teach her six year olds with the Internet on these computers. These ideas came from having blogs and webpages for the children to learn from.
Ms. Cassidy starts working with her six year olds with this technology at the beginning of the year. She has had a classroom blog for five years now and a video blog for two years. She adds things as she goes and as new things arise.
Ms. Cassidy has a technology coordinator that is support and helps assist her if she needs it but overall she does all of the planning and work on her own. However she has a great support system from administrators and others have not really had an input. In order for her students to work with computers they must have a permission slip signed. They also have to have a permission slip signed to have their pictures taken and posted on their webpage or blogs. Ms. Cassidy only posts first names and does not correlate children's names to faces in pictures. Parents enjoy their children learning through these tools. Parents like it as well because they get to see whats going on in the classroom. They can keep up with their child's progress and can check it whenever they like instead of just during the conferences.
The children love this way of learning. They don't find it unusual at all, it is part of their life.  Ms. Cassidy thinks that technology is not going away. We cannot teach children with the tools that we used 5 to 20 years ago. The tools have changed and we must learn to use them.Ms. Cassidy enjoys blogs for her first graders because there is an audience. They enjoy that people view their blogs and want to work harder for more people to view their work. It makes the children happy that people can view their work and give them advice or comment on their work. Ms. Cassidy uses tools to show her students how many people view their blogs. It shows how many times that their page is viewed and she has a map that shows when people from other countries view their blogs. Ms. Cassidy thinks that every teacher should be technologically literate. Technology is not going anywhere and teachers must be up to date. You need to keep up with what is happening. She suggests that students develop their own network online right now. She thinks this will help them develop a better technological background. She suggests people start with what you are interested in and go from there. If you are interested in video then start there! If you like photography then start there! Just what ever grabs your attention will get you on a great path. Ms. Cassidy is  aTwitter user but not a big Facebooker.  She got Dr. Strange into Twitter even. Ms. Cassidy and Dr. Strange are very enthusiastic on Twitter and find it very helpful for homework. I thought it was great that the students in Dr. Strange's class asked Ms. Cassidy questions as well. It was great that they got to interact in this video and be able to ask what was on their mind. The overall approach that Ms. Cassidy uses in her first grade class is collaboration through different forms of technology. She uses blogging, Wikis, and Webpages as the main sources for her teaching and learning philosophies. I think she is a great inspiration for future teachers, especially because she has taught her six year olds to do all of these different things with technology. I would really like to use blogging in my classroom because it is an electronic portfolio. I really like that all of the students work can be accounted for and viewable for others and their parents. I would anticipate more parent involvement in my classroom if their children had blogs. The parents could see what their child was up to and see their progress in the class. I think this would be great and beneficial for all parties involved: the teacher, the parent, and the student.

Project #14 Teach Someone Something

Smartboard Project

Leigh Setser, Leslie Ketchum, and Hailey Rascoe

C4K #3, #4, #5, #6, #7

#3: Room 16 Said, "On the weekends on friday night while we were watching tv in our homes a big massive thunder clap striked glenn innes and panmure in the middle off the night that frightened everybody". I said to Room 16, "Hi Room 16! I am a student in USA at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am reading your blog as an assignment for one of my classes EDM 310. I really enjoy your blog. It is a great way to communicate with each other and with others from around the world! I enjoyed reading your post. I can relate to this post because thunder and thunder claps frighten me too! I get very nervous and scared when it thunderstorms. When I get scared I just try and think of something else to get my mind off of being scared. This may work for you too if you get scared. Keep up the great work!"

#4: Amykate said, "today the port power came to are school to talk to us about what they eat,sleep and told us not to smoke and if they smoked they would lose the jod and they also told us about what was in the smokes and how much sport we should have a day you should have a lests a 20 min a day . and they help us with are survey and they are on there blogs = www.team16epps.edublogs.org".

#5: Unique said, "in our computer class rooom we are making a video about ourselfs and my video is going to be about how i grew up in citys a small  town and in a reservation. i hope i do well on it!" I replied to Unique, "Hi Unique! I am from the USA and attend the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am studying education and are reading your blog for an assignment for my class EDM 310. I enjoyed reading your post and learning that you are going to make a video. One of my assignments this week is to make a video as well too! I am excited! I hope you are excited too. I am sure you will do great on the assignment. I also think it will be very interesting! Have a great school year!"

#6: AlbertO had a riddle that said, "I like bananas. I swing in the trees. I pick the bugs off babies. What am I?". I responded to AlbertO, "Hi AlbertO! My name is Leigh. I am from the USA and attend the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am taking the course EDM 310 and we are learning about technology and education. I really enjoyed your riddle! I think I know the answer! Are you a monkey?? Keep up the great work!"

#7: Unisaur posted:

My Photographs

I took this picture because it went along with the elements of photography.This is a picture inside the USS Alabama.What do you think I should name this picture?

 

I responded to unisaur, "Hi my name is Leigh and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am studying education and I am in Dr. Strange's class EDM 310. I enjoyed this picture very much! I have also been to the USS Alabama, I think it is really cool! I love this picture, it is very artsy! I think you should name it Alabama Architecture! I think it is a great example of how art is everywhere! Thanks for the great picture, keep up the great work!!"

 

I really enjoyed reading these children's blogs. I am so inspired by them because they are using technology in so many great ways. These kids are doing such a great job and I encourage them to keep up the great work!!

C4T #3 Summary

Teacher: Wesley Fryer


Smartphone Activations, iPad Sales and Vision for Transformed Learning

Mr. Fryer begings his post by telling you that Apple has 300,00 apps in the app store. That is a lot of apps! He askes the question if the teachers are moving their curriculum into an online, blended model. I would say that about half of my teachers are moving their curriculum this way.  He also goes on to discuss a topic that was discussed in article about the use of the iPad in education and in business. The exerpt from the article says they are seeing a significant usage of the iPad in education and surprsingly in business as well. Executors all the way to nurses and doctors are using iPads in their fields. Mr. Fryer also explains that the iPad is a hit and more and more people will learn and start using iPads. (As a matter of fact, Mr. Fryer posted this blog post with his iPad!) I like when he says that if you or your school has not embraced this the blended model of learning then you are already behind. This reminds me of Dr. Strange becuase he enforces this in the class as well. It is important to form a blended curriculum and act together in support of this vision.

Digital Storytelling and Writing with the Story Arc and Freytag's Pyramid

Mr. Fryer is discussing and showing different examples of stroy arcs, also known as dramatic structures. Story Arc's show the story in parts of rising action, climax, falling action, and so on. We all remember our teachers drawing these on the boards in elementary school to help illustrate the different parts  of a story. He shows different pictures of different examples:

Additional Assignment #3

Sir Ken Robinson

What do you think is the most important thing Sir Ken Robinson says in this presentation? When he asks the question "how do we educate our children to take their place in economies of the 21st century?" I think this is very important because the economy is changing all of the time. Children must be able to adapt to situations in order to take their place in the changing economy.

Is there anything you disagree with in this presentation? Honestly there is nothing that I disagree with in this presentation. Everything Mr. Robinson states is well supported statements and he gives reason to believe. Everything he speaks about are things that I have been encountering lately.

How congruent are Sir Ken Robinson's positions with those which you are being taught in the College of Education. In other words, where is there agreement? Where is there disagreement? The agreement and disagreement is that technology is being utilized however there are still many areas that do not utilize technology. For example the College of Education is doing a pretty good job of using technology in the classroom and also educating us on the technology. However we are still being taught like students were taught a hundred years ago which is not as beneficial to our learning.

What can you do to address the issues Sir Robinson raises? You can educate people on these issues. If people knew what was going on they would probably be more willing to try and work together to make education a thing of the future. If people were educated on some of the issues discussed they would understand more on what is going on in the education system today.

What do you think of the presentation? I really enjoyed this presentation. I thought is was very clever to use a cartoon to help illustrate the issues that are being discussed. I thought the Sharpie noise was cute in the beginning was cute as well. I would like to be the speaker/narrator (I think) of this kind of presentation. I am not a good artist but I could probably talk or read a script! I also believe I could probably play the role of the designer.

The W Atlanta

Blog Assignment 10

An Open Letter To Educators

I enjoyed reading this post! I also thought this post was interesting because Morgan just finished school this past spring. It was really impressive to see what she has done and how successful she has been. She explains that in North America the teaching style that is used today is the same teaching style that was created a hundred years ago. This really stuck out to me. It reminded of me of when Dr. Strange asked us as a class if we had children if we would send them to a doctor that has been practicing for thirty years but still using the same techniques and technology, or if we would send our children to the doctor who has been practicing just a few years but has the newest and updated techniques and technology. This is similar to the fact that our students are being taught the same way they were taught a hundred years ago. This is not something we should be proud of.

When Morgan talks about her university experience of listening to lectures and trying so hard to stay awake, I feel her pain. I know that I am not the only who has struggled to pay attention and stay awake during a long lecture while having to be still. This is difficult and unreasonable for students. Morgan talks about how she enjoys her Ed computers class because she is learning about collaborating and using all different techniques. She is learning to work with other classmates and having a PLN. This is familiar to me because this reminds me of EDM 310. I truly enjoyed this post because I feel like I can relate. I feel as if I am going through the same things that Morgan discusses in her post. I also like how she included the video by Dan Brown because his situation is opposite. He opted to drop out of school and not continue his education. This is the opposite of what I would do and what Morgan chose to do.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

This was a great post. The overall message was that often times people dwell on problems and don't spend anytime finding a solution to the problem. This was a great and entertaining example. It is important to demonstrate solutions to problems as well. I also thought this was an example of how sometimes educators focus so negatively on some things instead of finding the positive.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life

The first question was "what is my sentence?". To me this means, what does my life mean to me. This also means what is the first thing that people will remember about me. This is a very important question for me because of course everyone wants to be remember as doing something great. My sentence is: "I want to be the best person and educator as I can be. I will encourage my student to want to learn and make them excited about it everyday. My students will learn through many different techniques. I want my students to remember me as the teacher who made learning fun".

"Was I better today than I was today?" This is a great question to ask because it is an evaluation of yourself. By asking his question we can improve ourselves each and every day. By asking this question you can succeed in all areas of your life. Try it, and see what happens :)

Skype Interview

Blog Assignment 9

What I've Learned This Year

I really enjoyed reading this post by Mr. McClung. It really helped me to realize that as a teacher you will learn a lot more once you get in the classroom. What really affected me most was Mr. McClung talking about being flexible as a teacher. This is very true. He says we all want things done a certain way and we plan for these perfect lessons. Sometimes things do not go as planned and you need to be aware that they are just children and you must go on with the lesson anyway. This piece of information will greatly help me when I am an elementary teacher. He also speaks of how communication is the solution to problems. If you need to work something out it, it is important to talk it out. I agree with this because then you understand what the other person is feeling/saying and they understand you as well. Mr. McClung talks about being so worried about being assessed by his superiors and making lesson plans that were good for him and maybe not so great for his students. I also agreed with what he had to say about being effective with your lesson planning. It is important that your students understand the material you are teaching. That is how you become an effective teacher. He also talks about as teachers they hold high expectations and sometimes students reach them and sometimes they don't. He says not to get upset if the student(s) do not reach your expectation. We just must encourage them to keep trying :) I also agree with what Mr. McClung has to say about not being afraid of technology. Technology is very helpful in education. He says to not be afraid and take your time to learn about technology and how to use it. I like it when he says you are not supposed to be able to master a computer system the first time you use it. Mr. McClung says it is important to listen to our students because you might be the only person that does. That really made a point with me because it is true, we might be the only stable adult that the student will ever see in their life. It is important we listen to them. Mr. McClung ends his post with explaining that we should keep learning as educators. It is important because it will only be beneficial to us as teachers and to our students. I really felt like I learned a lot from Mr. McClung's blog post. I will use what he talked about when I am a teacher :)

Project #11 Short Movie

Additional Assignment #2

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves? I believe anyone can be motivated to learn. I believe that if you are self motivated you can learn and teach yourself. I think it is very important to be intrinsically motivated and I believe it is an important quality to have.
2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves? I think so. I think they can teach them selves little things but not things that are big in life. I think kids can teach themselves by exploring and doing hands on things. If the children want to learn something, they will learn it one way or another. I believe that children will do things on their own to learn something they want to learn. I also believe children will ask questions in order to learn. They are good at asking questions!
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself? I think conditions for children to teach themselves needs to be somewhat structured with some independence. I think children need to go through guided discovery  in order to teach themselves. They can learn through discovery.
4. What role do computers and Internet access play in the process? I think computers and Internet access play an important role in the process of children teaching themselves. This needs to be carefully secure for children. It needs to be monitored for the children's best interest in learning. I think computers do not play as an important role for children as it does for adults in teaching yourself.
5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn? I believe that motivation and desire comes first and technology comes second.  Children must have  a desire to learn and a desire to teach themselves as well. Desire and motivation go hand in hand in learning and teaching yourself.
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process? I believe children will learn from facing problems in the learning process. Sometimes we learn best from making mistakes. When we face problems we have to figure out how to fix it and get to where we need to be. This has to go the same for children in their learning process. Questions are so important for children. Children ask questions because they want the answers and they want to learn. It is important that we do not push these questions aside and we answer them.
7. How do you motivate someone to learn? I motivate someone to learn by encouragement. I also tell them the benefits of learning. Learning will get you so far in life. I think encouragement is the most important form of motivation to learn. It also is motivating when the teacher is passionate about what they are teaching. That is big motivation to learn as well.
8. How are you motivated to learn? I am motivated by passion and encouragement. I like to be told I can do something and I like to see people passionate about something. It makes me excited to learn!
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn? I think so but it is definitely more difficult. They will not learn as much as the motivated learner.
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why? I teach my self sometimes. I teach myself by using the Internet to look up things such as recipes. I try and teach myself by watching others do something as well. I also teach myself because it is a sense of accomplishment when I have learned something useful all by myself.
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning? A good teacher is the motivator in learning. A good teacher is passionate about what they are teaching and they make you excited to learn . When I have a teacher like this I absolutely love the class and I always end up with a great grade in the class because I am interested and excited about learning the material.
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video? That children teach themselves sometimes because it is the only way they can learn. That is truly inspiring to me!
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers? I think this video should inspire teachers and make them want to me motivational to their students and teach students to motivate themselves. It is so important to be passionate about  the material you are going to teach your students!

Blog Assignment 8

This is How We Dream

Richard Miller is talking about how we have the ability to communicate instantly and globally. This is so important for literature and many other professions. This is the time to engage in literacy. It is so important for people who enjoy and take part in reading and writing.
Mr. Miller loves books and dreamed about a career that involved working with books. The end result is a book.
He believes there is a fundamental change and an incremental change. He talks about how he can figure out just by going on line and finding new information. He explains how this process only takes a few seconds.
It is pretty cool how he is showing how we can come from a reading/writing lifestyle to a watching/listening lifestyle. He shows us how to do so by making word documents into web documents which is really awesome. This could be really important and useful. He also show show a print document can be made into a web document.
I think this is a great idea and I believe that life will be like this shortly and is already on the way. Pretty soon we will be listen/watching our "books" and assignments. It will also be able to incorporate videos in learning instead of the pictures you see in text books.
Richard explains that we have found that as we work in this digital environment, there is  a new kind of material that changes before our eyes and is updated instantly. When it is said this way it really is an eye opener. If you think about it, the information we read on the web is updated all of the time and immediately. More information can be added as well. It is different in the books sake because once the book is printed there is not editing and going back. There are also visual aides.
You can view lectures online instead of sitting through one in a classroom and they can be edited as well.
This was a really interesting and informative video. It has two parts that both had great information and great ideas for technology in learning. The most interesting to me was making print and word documents into web documents. This is already happening and will continue to happen as time goes on. I enjoyed Mr. Miller's video! He had some excellent points!

Chipper

I thought this was entertaining because it shows the typical college student waits until the last minute to get their work done. Let's be honest, we have all been procrastinators at some point or another, some of us more than others! I thought Jamie Lynn and Dr. Strange did a good job in the video. It was cool how they show Chipper coming back and updating Dr. Strange with her life and what she has been doing. It is a good way to see how procrastinating now can affect your future. It can be carried with you and affect the jobs you get. It is an important to not procrastinate with work in any subject or in any work environment. This video was very important to me! This is the exact reason why I do my very best to not procrastinate!

EDM 310 for Dummies

This was not the first time I had watched this video but it was still just as entertaining! I thought Jamie Lynn and her partners did a great job on this video. I love the info-mercial take on the podcast. They were comical and informative. It is really funny because I am sure most of us have felt this way before! I will admit it, the first couple of weeks I was very confused and frustrated about some things, but after I got the hang of things it has been such a fun class and I am learning so much. This video gave me hope that I can learn lots of new things and its not as complicated or frustrating as it seems. This video was great!!

Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative

Just reading the title made me question what this article would be about. Personally, I love Smartboards and think they are great! I think there is so much you can do with them. I also think there are so many ways to learn with a Smartboard. I took a small class on Smartboards in my AED 301 class and I fell in love with all the ideas of Smartboard. After reading this article I must say that I disagree with most of Mr. Staton's arguments about the Smartboard. I think using a Smartboard is totally different than using the computer. Students enjoy seeing the information on a large screen better than on a small computer screen. I also think it keeps children more interested if the teacher is pointing and clicking with their finger on the Smartboard than clicking their mouse at their desk. I also think it is awesome to save or hide material on the Smartboard for teaching and learning. There are also many games you can play on the Smartboard to enhance student's learning as well. Yes, Smartboards are expensive but they are so much better than writing on a chalk board. It saves so much valued time because you don't have to erase and write something else on the chalk board. On the Smartboard you can already have what you need and just navigate to it when you are ready for it. Overall, I think Smartboards are a SMART initiative and I love using them! I hope when I am a teacher I am lucky enough to have one or something like it in my classroom.

Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards

I think that maybe a Smartboard is not for everyone but I believe I would make good use out of having a Smartboard in my classroom. He gave his away after a year because he said he couldn't find any use out of it but I know I could! He says Smartboards do not promote individual creativity but I believe they do.  I think a student could be creative by using a Smartboard for different projects or assignments. It could be  a really cool way to teach the classroom about something they are interested in. In general, I just see Smartboards a great learning and teaching tool. I think they are fabulous but possibly not for everyone. If you like it then great, if you don't then oh well!

Timetoast Project 9A

My Friend's and Family's Birthdays!!!

Timetoast Project 9B

Pearl Harbor

1st PLN Progress Report

I believe I have had a pretty awesome intellectual journey! I have enjoyed learning all of the different tools there are to help you learn. I cannot imagine how many other learning tools there are out there. I am just excited to be using some like Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Audacity, Delicious, and some others. I really had no idea these tools could help me enhance my personal learning network. I use e-mail and USAonline to communicate with some of my professors as well. I do not think I would be able to functions without some of these things! I use Skype very often to keep in touch with friends and family that do not live near me. Skype has also come in handy with me when it comes to my math homework and studying math. I actually use Skype to contact my parents in St. Louis, Missouri for their help and guidance with my math homework. This has really helped me. I also use Skype often to keep in touch with other relatives throughout the United States. I am following just a couple people on Twitter (Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian). These two aren't really helping me with my studies but it is helping me learn how to use Twitter! I use Facebook to keep in touch with classmates. I communicate with my classmates about assignments in class or if I just have questions in general. Sometimes it is quicker or more convenient to check your Facebook instead of sending an e-mail or making a phone call. Of course I am very familiar with Blogger now. I check my blog everyday and can keep up with my assignments, other classmates ,and my professors. It is also really cool to read about other peoples blogs and other teachers blogs. I feel like I am learning a lot of useful information by using Blogger. I have also used Audacity to create a podcast which was really fun. I learned that podcasts are great tools for teaching and learning. I also use Delicious for book marking my favorite or most visited sites. I have also become a little bit familiar with Google Docs. It is great to share and view information this way. It is very helpful! Over all, I believe I am definitely making progress with my PLN. I feel like as time goes on I will have more to add to my list!

Blog Assignment 7

Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture Achieving your Childhood Dreams

The video begins with Mr. Pausch talking about his condition with liver tumors. The doctors have only given him 4- 6 months to live. This is a lot to handle in the beginning of this video. It is unexpected and he doesn't seem to be bothered by his condition. He is in good health as of right now and even gets down and does some awesome push ups. This makes the crowd and my self laugh. He asks for us not to pity him. He is excited about the lecture.


This lecture is about how to achieve your dreams and how to help others achieve theirs. This is very important as a teacher. Mr. Pausch makes a great analogy of being eight or nine years old and watching men land on the moon. This is so important because he thought anything was possible after seeing such a sight. This is important to remember because I believe sometimes we forget that anything really is possible. Mr. Pausch is doing a great job inspiring people to achieve their dreams.


Mr. Pausch explains his personal experiences with achieving his dreams and they are pretty inspirational. He talks about when he was young and wanted to "go to the moon". Well, he got to experience zero gravity and work with NASA on some project. He checked that of his list of dreams. His second dream was to play NFL football. That dream was never achieved buy he feels he learned more from practice and just playing the sport. He believes he achieved more valuable things than playing NFL football.


A quote that Mr. Pausch says in his lecture really affected me. It really made my eyes open up and realize that even when you don't get what you want, you get something. The quote read "experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted". This is so true in so many different ways. For example, if you don't get the job you want but get another, you are gaining experience. This quote really is so important to me and I think it is something to live by.


He also talks about meeting/being Captain Kirk was one of his childhood dreams. He met William Shatner and that was another check for his childhood dreams. Another dream of his was winning stuffed animals. He looked up to the macho guys who had always won stuffed animals at fairs and carnivals. He has won A LOT of stuffed animals and shows pictures and even brings out some of the animals he has won. This is another check off of his childhood dream list.


Mr.Pausch wanted to be an imagineer. He wanted to make stuff like Disney world. He said this was more difficult than experiencing zero gravity. He applied to Disney buy was denied. He eventually got the opportunity to work on an Aladdin project after going through many, many people. He loved imagineering. It was fabulous he says! You just walk around and get inspired.


He talks about how he helped Tommy achieve his childhood dream of working on the Star Wars moving. Mr. Pausch is a very inspirational man.  He should be the poster child of nothing is impossible. I am so impressed with everything Mr. Pausch as accomplished. He truely has done everything he has wanted to do. It wasn't easy, but he has been so successful. He truly is an inspiration to me. I would like to hear more from him. He is great! He closes with saying that its not about achieving your dreams, its about how you lead your life. This was an excellent lecture. He is a great man!

C4T #2 Summary

The Next Tech Generation SEPTEMBER 11

Jeff Utecht describes the different technology generations in his blog post on September 11. He talks about Marc Prensky's Paper Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants and it was really interesting to me. A Digital Native is considered a person who was born after 1977 and a Digital Immigrant is considered someone who was born before 1977. In 1977 the first personal computer came out so that is why Prensky picks this date. It is definitely interesting to look at the different generations this way. I would be considered a Digital Native because I was born in 1990. Mr. Utecht goes on to discuss that technology can define generations and I also believe that is an interesting way to view generations and technology. Then he goes on to describe what he calls The Web Generation which is any person who was born after 1991. He explains that in this generation the people have never grown up without the web. These people rely on the web for almost anything and are efficient in using it. These people have always known what a website is. After describing the Web Generation, Mr. Utecht talks about the Mobile Generation which is any person that was born after 2007. The year 2007 is when the iPhone came out. He explains that the people of this generation will grow up asking their phones for directions or almost anything and will most likely use laptops over desktops. Jeff Utecht closes the blog with this statement "I think these separations of the generations around technology can help us better understand them in that aspect of culture and their life." I must say I have to agree with Mr. Utecht on this one. It puts into perspective what technology is like with the different generations.

Check this post out http://www.thethinkingstick.com/the-next-tech-generations

The Reflections of Learning 2.010 SEPTEMBER 22

Mt. Utecht is describing his experience at the four day Learning 2.010 conference. This is Mr. Utecht's third Learning 2 conference he has pulled off and organized with less than 20 educators from the Shanghai. He explains how exhausting and time consuming it is to put together a conference. He says you don't realize how mentally drained you are until after the conference is over. Mr. Utecht enjoys this conference because it is trying to break the mold of traditional conferences. His team and him are trying to think about new ways to learn through the conference and and the conference structure. The conference was mostly about the teacher being a facilitator in the classroom, so they had no presenters, speakers, just facilitators. He says in order to be a part of this conference you needed to be flexible and willing to adapt to change. He says being this way is how some of the best learning occurs. I agree with him as well. I think if you are willing to be flexible and willing to adapt to the occasion you will be a better teacher and a better learner. When Mr. Utecht first did this conference in 2007, it was the first educational conference to fully incorporate the use of Twitter. Twitter is now blocked in China so no one was able to post updates about the conference. This made him have to think of other ways to get the community involved with the conference. A website was introduced that allows you to post 12 second video updates and they used conference channel to capture thoughts and give away prizes at the Learning 2 conference. Mr. Utecht believes that their inclusion of students during the conference is what will be most memorable. He believes that overall the conference was great. People seemed excited and engaged with the information. He was told many times that it was the best conference people have attended. All of the exhaustion was well worth it!

Check this post out http://www.thethinkingstick.com/refelctions-on-learning-2-010

Podcast Project #8

Get Your Own Free Hypster.com Playlist.

Blog Assignment 6

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Enviornment

I watched this video about a 7th grade girls PLN. I was extremely impressed and I feel as if I learned some new things. I also like what she had done and I got a few new ideas for my PLN. It is so crazy that these young kids can do all of these things with technology. Seeing this kind of work by a 7th grader really inspires me and makes me want to do all of these things in my classroom when I am a teacher. The kids will learn so much from doing these things and it will help with organization skills. It is really cool that all of her things for school and for play are all in the same place and all easy to get access to. I am just so impressed and cannot wait to learn more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEls3tq5wIY

The Networked Student

I wasn't sure what to expect when this video first began. I thought it was really creative with the cartoon character paper people. It was a nice visual aid and helped show you exactly what was going on. I like how the narrator of the video described everything and related it to the 21st century. It is so important that we realize we are a part of this age of technology and need to take part in it. We need to be sure we are learning and keeping up with technology in education.

This video was great for explaining how and what can be used in technology and learning. It was a brief overview of all of the things that are out there that can be used to learn. A lot of things can be learned without a classroom and pencil and paper. I think that is the coolest part about technology and learning. I liked learning that there are lectures on iTunes from professors from some of the top universities in the country. It is cool to know that you can learn from some of the best professors from the best universities from your iPod. It is actually unbelievable. There really is so much I am learning and have yet to learn!

I believe I am on my way to being prepared to teach a networked student. I want to use technology in my classroom in so many different ways. Depending on the grade I teach will be using the technology and tools that are appropriate for their age. I still have a lot of learning to do but I cannot wait to do so! By the time I finish my journey to becoming a teacher I will be prepared to teach a networked student! When I am a teacher I will also keep learning to keep up with the newest technology and teach my kids!
http://techliterateteacher.blogspot.com/2009/06/networked-student.html



The Machine Is Changing Us

This video was really interesting and I feel as if it made me think about some things in my generation. I really like Mr. Wesch's explanation of the meaning of words throughout different decades, specifically 'whatever'. The use of 'whatever' really made me think and laugh at the same time. I know that I say 'whatever' all the time. I say it when I am mad or pushing something off but never for what it really means.  I enjoyed the examples of the use of the word 'meh' in The Simpon's clips. I feel as if in the twenty years I have been living different words have meant different things and language changes as time goes on. I know in another ten years there will be new expressions and new words that were meant for something else in today's world. I enjoyed watching the segment about YouTube. YouTube is such an interesting website and you can do so many things with it. I like it when Mr. Wesch explains that when you are Twittering, YouTubing, Facebooking, and Blogging that you are not talking to the people, you are talking to a web cam or typing on a keyboard to a screen. You don't know who you are talking to or when so it is interesting that we network these ways. It really makes me think when I am using all of these networking tools, that I have no idea who I am talking to and who is "looking" at me. I really enjoyed this video and I learned a lot. It also made me think about a lot of things. We are all connected!!



C4K #1 and #2 Summary

I read the About Me and Manifesto of an 8th grader at Noel School. This 14 year old boys name was McCoy. In McCoy's About Me post he talks about his siblings and how family is important to him. I commented on his post telling him how my family is very important to me as well. McCoy likes sports and his favorites are basketball, baseball, and volleyball. He talks about math and how he learns a lot from it. I let him know that I am taking math class now and it is a lot of learning for me too. McCoy enjoys making people laugh and is easy to get along with. McCoy is a hard working student and has a bright future ahead of him! In McCoy's Manifesto post he talks about what he is going to do this school year in order to be a better student. He says he will get a good night sleep before school so he can focus better in class. He says if he doesn't focus he will miss out on learning. McCoy is very smart for saying this, it shows great maturity to me. He says he will raise his hand to talk and turn in his homework on time. McCoy promises to be respectful and ask questions when he does not understand something. He says he will be friends with a new student and help them out as well. McCoy's manifesto shows how mature he is and how he will be successful. I let him know that I thought he had great ideas and knew exactly what it will take to be successful in class. He is definitely on the right track! Check out his blog! http://grou.ps/noelclassof2011/blogs/person/pzwciuhmhmjrxsvin

Blog Assignment 5

The Education Pod casting Network

This was a great way to help set up a podcast. I thought it was especially helpful for those who have never done a podcast before. As a matter a fact I am extremely glad I watched this! It was also easy to read and understand. It would be nice to see more of these websites around today due to more and more podcasts being recorded. This website did a great job of describing what podcasting and education mean. It is clear, simple, and straight to the point. It is a great resource for educators when it comes to coming up with new ideas and planning their lessons. I also really like that the podcasts are grouped into subjects and you can navigate through the subject to learn more about that specific area.
http://epnweb.org/index.php?openpod=16

Eagles' Nest Radio Episode #3 Roamin' with the Ancient Romans

Oh my goodness these children are awesome! I think this is so cool that these children get to do something like this. It is such a fun way to learn about a subject and to learn about the technology as well. The kids sound great on the radio show as well. They really are professionals! I really learned a lot about the Romans from listening to this radio show. The children are so enthusiastic and really know what they are doing. This would be a great exercise for all students and schools to participate in. Children would be so excited to learn this way and would benefit from doing something like this. Their voices change with the subject they are speaking about which really gives the radio show personality. I cannot believe that third graders put this together. I also give props to the teacher for involving his/her students in such an awesome project. This could not be any cuter. This gives me inspiration to use this in my classroom when I am a teacher!
http://blog.woodward.edu/ps_edmison/?cat=103

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better

I thought this website was really cool and I learned a lot of new things about using the iPod. The iPod is definitely not just a device to carry all of your music and listen to it, there is much, much more. In fact, there is so much that I thought would never be available. Reading the facts listed on this website really opened my eyes (once again) to the many things you can do with technology, especially in education. It is such a great idea to integrate your studies together and keep them in one place like the iPod. Instead of having millions of paper to keep track of and lose, the iPod holds everything you need for class. This website reminded me of when I watched the iSchool Initiative http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68KgAcx_9jU Some of the facts listed in the 100 Ways to Use Your iPod would be beneficial with the iSchool invention. This kind of information makes me excited to be learning about all of these cool  things to do with technology. I feel like there is so much more out there that I don't even know about!
http://www.bspcn.com/2008/02/16/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better/