Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Blog Assignment 14
Jose Picardo - Box of Tricks
Jose Picardo's educational blog, Box of Tricks, had many posts all about using technology in the classroom. There was one talking about iPads, another on Tripico, even one on a Voki Classroom. The only technology listed on there that I was familiar with was the iPad. So I looked up the others after finishing the posts on them and found that Triptico is an interactive resource application that teachers can use on their SMARTBoard, or as they're called in the post, Interactive white boards. Then I found that Voki is a free avatar service. It lets you create them, put your own voice with it and then post it to any profile you wish including social networks websites, and blogs. The classroom version of it lets teachers manage their classes and students as well as automatically make lesson plans. Both of these tools are something that I will be keeping in mind when I am in a classroom.
The long list of resources we had to look at included things like photo editing sites, sites to make powerpoints, sites to build your own flash games along with many other things. I made sure to bookmart that page to my browser as well as put it on my Symbaloo webmix. I am certain that I will use many of the resources listed on it in the future.
Finally we had to watch his video Top Ten Tips For Using Technology In The Classroom. In it he made sure to mention things such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, music and interactive exercises as well as a few other things. He made sure to give a brief reason why they are useful in his classroom. His final reason was the gadgets that your students have and are familiar with. If they already know a lot about it then they will find it easier to use. I think that they are a very good idea to use while teaching.
Final Project Post
The Learning Leos' Final Project
We decided to do a video on the importance of time management for this class.
We decided to do a video on the importance of time management for this class.
Final PLN Report
As of Now I have 46 tiles on my Symbaloo and I use most of them on either a daily or weekly basis.
21Apples
Preventing Racist Halloween Costumes
Mr. Grover posted about the Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) program at Ohio University making a campaign about culturally stereotyped Halloween costumes. At the end he asked what your school does to go about getting into a mess with Halloween costumes. My comment for this post told him first that I thought the post was great and then about how students here will stereotype cultures too when the girls are not dressed in revealing "animal" costumes.
Pearson's Free OpenClass LMS For Google Apps
Mr. Grover made a post about a new Google Apps for Education tool called the Pearson OpenClass LMS. He mentioned a few other the features it has and compared it to other programs such as Moodle, Blackboard, and HaikuLMS. I responded by telling him that it was a great and helpful post and that I look forward to future posts that have helpful tools in them.
Mr. Grover posted about the Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) program at Ohio University making a campaign about culturally stereotyped Halloween costumes. At the end he asked what your school does to go about getting into a mess with Halloween costumes. My comment for this post told him first that I thought the post was great and then about how students here will stereotype cultures too when the girls are not dressed in revealing "animal" costumes.
Pearson's Free OpenClass LMS For Google Apps
Mr. Grover made a post about a new Google Apps for Education tool called the Pearson OpenClass LMS. He mentioned a few other the features it has and compared it to other programs such as Moodle, Blackboard, and HaikuLMS. I responded by telling him that it was a great and helpful post and that I look forward to future posts that have helpful tools in them.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Blog Assignment 13
I chose to do Option 2 for this assignment. For this option we were to read My Teacher Is An App by Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon and then write a summary of the article and our reaction.
A.) The Summary
Ms. Banchero amd Ms. Simon take us into the world of virtual schooling. They do this in the beginning by letting us see how different the siblings Noah and Allison Schnacky are doing their work in their Florida home one afternoon. Then the facts come. Starting with the number of online schools in many states and how many students are attending them. They then talk about the percentage increase for those attending them in the last three years, which is 40%, they are now up to about 250.000 students that attend full time online schools. Some of these schools are state run but for a lot of them, the school has hired for-profit companies like K12 Inc., and Connections Academy. These companies do the hiring and curriculum and the schools just provide the students. They went on to talk about the standardized test score and how many of the students that are taking full time online classes have low scores. They went on to quote superintendents and teachers about the schools being completely online.
B.) Reaction
Part of what was discussed in the article was that teachers were 80% of the budget and the budget was the problem. Also that Teachers were less needed in the online classes. This made me worry that I am going through all these classes and studying like crazy for no reward at the end. As more and more classes and schools go online teachers are becoming less and less needed. My biggest concern is that by the time I finish school there will be no teaching positions open for me to show what I have learned and make some of the problem schools better for students.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Final Project Progress Report
Our group has decided that we are going to plan a lesson incorporating technology. Each one we use will be appropriate for the different classrooms we are going to be in. This will give everyone the chance to glimpse what their future classroom is most likely going to be like.
Blog Assignment 12
For this we are supposed to come up with an assignment that has not been done but that Dr. Strange may use in the future. For me I couldn't think of anything and so I waited to get ideas from other people that are in this class. Looking at their posts I saw that many of the classmates I follow were going along the same lines of setting a video to watch and then making an assignment around it.
I have decided to try the same thing. I found a video on YouTube about technological changes over the last decade. This video should be watched by students who can then discuss the technological changes over a different period of time. They may even be put into groups and asked to make a video similar to this for those time periods. If that was the case then they would also be assigned the behind the scenes video.
I have decided to try the same thing. I found a video on YouTube about technological changes over the last decade. This video should be watched by students who can then discuss the technological changes over a different period of time. They may even be put into groups and asked to make a video similar to this for those time periods. If that was the case then they would also be assigned the behind the scenes video.
Mrs. Yollis' 365 Project Blog
For this blog Mrs. Yollis is having her students bring in pictures of interesting things that they themselves or their family members do and she puts up a new one everyday. Her blogs are so organized and have visitors from all over the globe just like the EDM310 Class Blog.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Blog Assignment 11
Kathy Cassidy
![Tech Savvy first grade class]()
The video Little Kids... Big Potential by Kathy Cassidy is about her first grade class and the technology they are already using in it. She uses wikis, blogs, videos and Nintendo DS' in her classroom and her students seem to not only enjoy using them but learning as well. In my future classroom I hope I am actually able to use all of these things and the SMARTBoards. This way I would be technologically caught up with the way teachers should be at the time. By this I mean that by the time I get into a classroom they should all be running pretty much on technology alone. Textbooks, notebooks and pens should be for those that need a bit more time with learning the different subjects.
Dr. Strange and some of his former students in EDM310 also did a Skype interview with her and they discussed how long she has been using technology in her classroom and why she started. Dr. Strange also made sure to ask her the two important questions in this class: "What is technological literacy?" and "Should all teachers be technologically literate?" I agree with Dr. Strange and Ms. Cassidy that they should be and that it is more than just being able to use the tools in Microsoft Office.
The video Little Kids... Big Potential by Kathy Cassidy is about her first grade class and the technology they are already using in it. She uses wikis, blogs, videos and Nintendo DS' in her classroom and her students seem to not only enjoy using them but learning as well. In my future classroom I hope I am actually able to use all of these things and the SMARTBoards. This way I would be technologically caught up with the way teachers should be at the time. By this I mean that by the time I get into a classroom they should all be running pretty much on technology alone. Textbooks, notebooks and pens should be for those that need a bit more time with learning the different subjects.
Dr. Strange and some of his former students in EDM310 also did a Skype interview with her and they discussed how long she has been using technology in her classroom and why she started. Dr. Strange also made sure to ask her the two important questions in this class: "What is technological literacy?" and "Should all teachers be technologically literate?" I agree with Dr. Strange and Ms. Cassidy that they should be and that it is more than just being able to use the tools in Microsoft Office.
Blog Assignment 10
Do You Teach or Do You Educate? By Joshua B. Bloom
Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home!
Tom Johnson's Post has him talking to a coworker about finding the solution to the problem of students not learning but instead goofing off in class. She is more worried about bubble tests that don't even show how much a student learns and he is worried about getting them engaged in different activities and projects that will get them thinking. This approach lets us see that he is for learning in different ways and that things need to change in the schools. It also shows that people will not be there to help take the blame when things don't go the exact way they want them too but when things turn out for the better they will be beside you taking some credit for the success you earned. This was shown in the post by Javi saying "your" instead of "our" when she finally gave up arguing with Mr. Johnson.
I intend to educate instead of just teach by making sure that I have enough time to go to all my students and see if they actually get what I have been lecturing about instead of just giving the lecture and moving on to the next subject. To me, a lot of students nowadays are like this and it needs to be changed with the educators of the future, which I consider myself since I am in school to become an educator. This will help with students actually getting to learn the material.
I think the other big thing that I will make different as an educator not teacher is to help students know that they don't have to accept everything they hear from the teacher as a fact. Sometimes teachers are wrong and they will need to be told. The video listed the second definition of a teacher as someone who will "encourage someone to accept as a FACT or principle" To me, teachers should not be encouraging students to just accept a fact, they should be wanting them to make sure it is one through questions and research to help get them thinking.Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home!
Tom Johnson's Post has him talking to a coworker about finding the solution to the problem of students not learning but instead goofing off in class. She is more worried about bubble tests that don't even show how much a student learns and he is worried about getting them engaged in different activities and projects that will get them thinking. This approach lets us see that he is for learning in different ways and that things need to change in the schools. It also shows that people will not be there to help take the blame when things don't go the exact way they want them too but when things turn out for the better they will be beside you taking some credit for the success you earned. This was shown in the post by Javi saying "your" instead of "our" when she finally gave up arguing with Mr. Johnson.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Art Viewer Summary Post
In the first post I had to comment on for this week there were many pictures of still life sketches that his class had made. He said that the objects were spread out over a span of one and a half desks and they could do it from any perspective. My comment on this post told him that I thought his students did a wonderful job on all of the pictures that were posted. I also told him that I was going into elementary education and that I would try to do something like that with my students although I don't know how it's going to work out since I want to be all the way down at kindergarten.
The second post I was able to comment on from this blog was titled "The finished coke bottle" and it was just a picture of Mr. Burrows' finished painting of a coke bottle, lime and lemon. My comment on this post let him know that I loved the painting and that he did a great job with using mostly cool with a hint of a warm color.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Blog Assignment 9
Mr. McClung
In his reflective post of 2008-2009 he talked about making sure the lesson was student centered that way you keep their attention and know that they are comprehending what you are trying to teach them instead of just focusing on making it through the lesson. He also mentioned tying not to be too controlling when it does come to the lessons, let there be room for some flexibility because not everything is going to go according to plan every time! To him it is important to practice your communication skills constantly because they will be very handy in your career as well as an open mind for technology. He finally discussed why it is good to keep expectations for students at a normal place and to keep learning as an educator.
His reflective post for 2010-2011 was very student based. he wants teachers to always remember that it's about the students when it comes to teaching.
Change is not always something that people like but he thinks that you should at least try to be optimistic about new ideas, but know that not everyone will be.
Stay true to yourself instead of trying to fit in with the crowd is very sound advice that he gives in this post.
Although most people will find this hard to do because it may mean watching your students struggle, you will need to resist the urge to do the work for students when trying to help them because they will not learn this way.
Make sure to stay motivated and not passive once you've been at it for a bit was the last advice he gave in this post and I agree with him that a lot of teachers become comfortable with their jobs and fell into a routine.
In his reflective post of 2008-2009 he talked about making sure the lesson was student centered that way you keep their attention and know that they are comprehending what you are trying to teach them instead of just focusing on making it through the lesson. He also mentioned tying not to be too controlling when it does come to the lessons, let there be room for some flexibility because not everything is going to go according to plan every time! To him it is important to practice your communication skills constantly because they will be very handy in your career as well as an open mind for technology. He finally discussed why it is good to keep expectations for students at a normal place and to keep learning as an educator.
His reflective post for 2010-2011 was very student based. he wants teachers to always remember that it's about the students when it comes to teaching.
Change is not always something that people like but he thinks that you should at least try to be optimistic about new ideas, but know that not everyone will be.
Stay true to yourself instead of trying to fit in with the crowd is very sound advice that he gives in this post.
Although most people will find this hard to do because it may mean watching your students struggle, you will need to resist the urge to do the work for students when trying to help them because they will not learn this way.
Make sure to stay motivated and not passive once you've been at it for a bit was the last advice he gave in this post and I agree with him that a lot of teachers become comfortable with their jobs and fell into a routine.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Project #11 - Short Movie
Project #11
This is a short movie that I did with Xtranormal.com where I talked about the teachers that have influenced me.
This is a short movie that I did with Xtranormal.com where I talked about the teachers that have influenced me.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Angela Maiers Educational Services, Inc.
Angela Maiers
Her first blog post that I commented on was talking about the project she has going called Project: You Matter. There was a video on this post that had information telling you what the project was about and how everyone can help and is important. I commented telling her that I think it's a wonderful project that I will incorporate into my classroom and that she needs to keep up the good work in the classroom and on her project.
The second post was called "Tools I'm Lovin'" and it was talking about how youtube now has a teacher channel that makes it faster and easier to create and show videos in the classroom. I commented letting her know I was glad she shared it on her blog and let her know I would most likely be using it in my classroom as well.
Her first blog post that I commented on was talking about the project she has going called Project: You Matter. There was a video on this post that had information telling you what the project was about and how everyone can help and is important. I commented telling her that I think it's a wonderful project that I will incorporate into my classroom and that she needs to keep up the good work in the classroom and on her project.
The second post was called "Tools I'm Lovin'" and it was talking about how youtube now has a teacher channel that makes it faster and easier to create and show videos in the classroom. I commented letting her know I was glad she shared it on her blog and let her know I would most likely be using it in my classroom as well.
Project #10 PLN Progress Report
So far I have 36 tiles on my Symbaloo and plan to expand it further, not just for my learning places but on biographies and websites for those that have influenced my learning experiences.
Project #9b
https://technologicalexperiences.wikispaces.com/
I created a wiki for my Instructional portion of project 9. It will be about all the technology I have come into contact with throughout my life.
I created a wiki for my Instructional portion of project 9. It will be about all the technology I have come into contact with throughout my life.
Blog Assignment 7
Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
*Before I get started on talking of his teaching techniques I just want to say that it makes me sad that he has already passed away because it seems like Dr. Pausch would be a fantastic person to befriend.* Now back to the regularly scheduled program.
The first technique Dr. Pausch discussed in the lecture was the "head fake" which he started to learn at the very early age of 9, from his football coach. The "head fake" is indirect learning while learning something else, his example for football was that while the team is learning the game they are also learning things like teamwork and leadership.
Hard work was something Dr. Pausch really focused on in his classroom and I think that that was really important because people need to put their best foot forward including in the classroom.
To Dr. Pausch, getting feedback from the students help not only him, but also his students see what needed to be worked on and make that improvement. He got feedback through bar graphs that let everyone see how easy they were to work with and so they wanted to improve where they were if there overall score was not very high.
The most important technique he used in the class, at least to me, would be having fun. While it doesn't really sound like a technique to me, if you really think about it for some time, you will be able to see that it is as most teachers don't care whether their students are having fun or not so they are miserable and not really doing their best in class.
*Before I get started on talking of his teaching techniques I just want to say that it makes me sad that he has already passed away because it seems like Dr. Pausch would be a fantastic person to befriend.* Now back to the regularly scheduled program.
The first technique Dr. Pausch discussed in the lecture was the "head fake" which he started to learn at the very early age of 9, from his football coach. The "head fake" is indirect learning while learning something else, his example for football was that while the team is learning the game they are also learning things like teamwork and leadership.
Hard work was something Dr. Pausch really focused on in his classroom and I think that that was really important because people need to put their best foot forward including in the classroom.
To Dr. Pausch, getting feedback from the students help not only him, but also his students see what needed to be worked on and make that improvement. He got feedback through bar graphs that let everyone see how easy they were to work with and so they wanted to improve where they were if there overall score was not very high.
The most important technique he used in the class, at least to me, would be having fun. While it doesn't really sound like a technique to me, if you really think about it for some time, you will be able to see that it is as most teachers don't care whether their students are having fun or not so they are miserable and not really doing their best in class.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Blog Assignment 6
Wendy Drexler
I think that for us to be teachers of networked students we are going to be those that answer questions that our students cannot find online or just to point them in the right direction. There will also be the challenge of us having to sit back and be a guiding light for our students instead of being in the front of the classroom giving a lecture to students who are barely paying attention or zoned off in their own little world like we were in school. The most difficult thing that people are going to have to get used to from this change IS the fact that teachers will no longer be in the front of the class giving lectures, instead they will be off to the side on the computers right along with students letting them figure out for themselves how to do an assignment and only stepping in on really difficult portions.
On the other hand, I think that while this type of learning is just now getting off the ground it will still be in the first steps by the time I get in a classroom so I know that I will be getting used to it right along with all the other teachers and that hopefully if it does not work there will be a way for some teachers to stay in a traditional education setting. While I have this hope, I can look around out how fast things have progressed and know that this will not be true and that everyone that is now in school to be in the education field and current teachers will need to get used to teaching from a distance.
The Seventh grader's PLE and my PLN
I learned from the video that the seventh grade student uses Symbaloo to track all of her web searches down and since I had not started bookmarking my sites yet decided that it would be a good place to start. I went to Symbaloo and created an account and now I can get to everything I need to help me with this class at the click of a button, especially since I thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and set my Symbaloo as the homepage on my browser.
I think that for us to be teachers of networked students we are going to be those that answer questions that our students cannot find online or just to point them in the right direction. There will also be the challenge of us having to sit back and be a guiding light for our students instead of being in the front of the classroom giving a lecture to students who are barely paying attention or zoned off in their own little world like we were in school. The most difficult thing that people are going to have to get used to from this change IS the fact that teachers will no longer be in the front of the class giving lectures, instead they will be off to the side on the computers right along with students letting them figure out for themselves how to do an assignment and only stepping in on really difficult portions.
On the other hand, I think that while this type of learning is just now getting off the ground it will still be in the first steps by the time I get in a classroom so I know that I will be getting used to it right along with all the other teachers and that hopefully if it does not work there will be a way for some teachers to stay in a traditional education setting. While I have this hope, I can look around out how fast things have progressed and know that this will not be true and that everyone that is now in school to be in the education field and current teachers will need to get used to teaching from a distance.
The Seventh grader's PLE and my PLN
I learned from the video that the seventh grade student uses Symbaloo to track all of her web searches down and since I had not started bookmarking my sites yet decided that it would be a good place to start. I went to Symbaloo and created an account and now I can get to everything I need to help me with this class at the click of a button, especially since I thought it would be a great idea to go ahead and set my Symbaloo as the homepage on my browser.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Blog Assignment 5
Scott McLeod - Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?
In this post he tells all about how horrible the technology we use in schools are and asks that we not use them and then at the end he says that he himself is using it and to see which children have a leg up in the future. I think that he had a very interesting yet sarcastic way of going about telling parents and educators that there are ways for technology to be in schools without the students using them wrongly as long as they learn from an early age how to properly surf the web and use their other digital resources. I also think that there would be no comparison when it came to which children have a leg up in the future as this is the digital age.
It turns out that Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor at UK (University of Kentucky) and has received many awards for his work. He blogs regularly, is an idea generator and a CASTLE director. I find the quote on his home page to be quite interesting and very true to him: "If the leaders don't get it, it's not going to happen." So the leaders of our school need to get it so that his ideas can continue to happen.
The iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen's argument is for making school completely green by getting rid of paper, pens/pencils, textbooks, and printers & ink. To do this it would replace all of those things with and iSchool on the iPod Touch. He tells about all the learning capable features that are already on the iPod and of how much money it will save everyone if they switch. Plus it will lower our Carbon Footprint and raise how green our society is.
My reaction was one of wonder and surprise and fear all at the same time. The wonder is that schools really could go to be completely online and over iPods and the like without teachers and students ever meeting face to face. The surprise comes from how eager this young man sounds for it to be true. Though the fear comes from both of these things and the fact that if school goes this way then libraries are sure to be next, and since I am an avid reader I would hate for this to happen. I can't stand looking at my computer screen long enough to finish writing a paper so there is no way I would be able to stare at it to finish a book.
Jennifer Chambers & Erica Whitacre
Ms. Chambers found an amazing video of 185 voices all over the country singing one song together. It was a truly unforgettable sound that double in cool points once I found out that the people that made that soothing song had never once met in person! I think this is one of the best ways I have seen the internet used so far. I wish that those people would make more videos like that so that others would get inspired to do the same and then it would pretty much be perfect!
Teaching in the 21st Century
To Roberts teaching ultimately comes down to asking the question "what does it mean?". To him it doesn't matter the content, skills, or subject. You could be using Google, textbooks, or even just brainstorming ideas with a group or partner but Roberts will want to know what it means. What the meaning of a color is, what the meaning of being president is, or what the meaning of literature is. Like it says, no matter the content. And I think that is absolutely fabulous. I know that things will change for me as a future educator because it will no longer be knowledge getting crammed in one ear and spilling right back out of the other. The students will actually have to put in efforts on projects and assignments instead of throwing things together at the last minute since I will be using this way of always wanting to know what things mean.
In this post he tells all about how horrible the technology we use in schools are and asks that we not use them and then at the end he says that he himself is using it and to see which children have a leg up in the future. I think that he had a very interesting yet sarcastic way of going about telling parents and educators that there are ways for technology to be in schools without the students using them wrongly as long as they learn from an early age how to properly surf the web and use their other digital resources. I also think that there would be no comparison when it came to which children have a leg up in the future as this is the digital age.
It turns out that Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor at UK (University of Kentucky) and has received many awards for his work. He blogs regularly, is an idea generator and a CASTLE director. I find the quote on his home page to be quite interesting and very true to him: "If the leaders don't get it, it's not going to happen." So the leaders of our school need to get it so that his ideas can continue to happen.
The iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen's argument is for making school completely green by getting rid of paper, pens/pencils, textbooks, and printers & ink. To do this it would replace all of those things with and iSchool on the iPod Touch. He tells about all the learning capable features that are already on the iPod and of how much money it will save everyone if they switch. Plus it will lower our Carbon Footprint and raise how green our society is.
My reaction was one of wonder and surprise and fear all at the same time. The wonder is that schools really could go to be completely online and over iPods and the like without teachers and students ever meeting face to face. The surprise comes from how eager this young man sounds for it to be true. Though the fear comes from both of these things and the fact that if school goes this way then libraries are sure to be next, and since I am an avid reader I would hate for this to happen. I can't stand looking at my computer screen long enough to finish writing a paper so there is no way I would be able to stare at it to finish a book.
Jennifer Chambers & Erica Whitacre
Ms. Chambers found an amazing video of 185 voices all over the country singing one song together. It was a truly unforgettable sound that double in cool points once I found out that the people that made that soothing song had never once met in person! I think this is one of the best ways I have seen the internet used so far. I wish that those people would make more videos like that so that others would get inspired to do the same and then it would pretty much be perfect!
Teaching in the 21st Century
To Roberts teaching ultimately comes down to asking the question "what does it mean?". To him it doesn't matter the content, skills, or subject. You could be using Google, textbooks, or even just brainstorming ideas with a group or partner but Roberts will want to know what it means. What the meaning of a color is, what the meaning of being president is, or what the meaning of literature is. Like it says, no matter the content. And I think that is absolutely fabulous. I know that things will change for me as a future educator because it will no longer be knowledge getting crammed in one ear and spilling right back out of the other. The students will actually have to put in efforts on projects and assignments instead of throwing things together at the last minute since I will be using this way of always wanting to know what things mean.
Blog Assignment 4
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale was a very interesting read. All the reasons for podcasting that I read were very true and show how it makes sense for us to have them in classes now. Some of the reasons included:
- Effective communication
- Allows for project based learning
- The parents can see and hear what their child is learning/doing at school
This showed me that I can do this even with my group not meeting regularly, which takes in the reason of "distance learning" listed on the post.
Langwitches
This was a blog post from someone that had done a project with a class of first graders in which they did their very own read along audiobook with podcasts. The children were excited to do this type of new project and were just as excited when they got to read along to the very one they had just finished. I think that this shows that if first graders can do it on the spur of the moment than with us having time to prepare that our individual groups should have no trouble doing a podcast.
Judy Scharf
She tells what a podcast is and gives you tips and suggestions for a successful podcast. This site will help me in doing my own podcast because I can just go back and look at her tips when I am unsure of what to do next.
- Effective communication
- Allows for project based learning
- The parents can see and hear what their child is learning/doing at school
This showed me that I can do this even with my group not meeting regularly, which takes in the reason of "distance learning" listed on the post.
Langwitches
This was a blog post from someone that had done a project with a class of first graders in which they did their very own read along audiobook with podcasts. The children were excited to do this type of new project and were just as excited when they got to read along to the very one they had just finished. I think that this shows that if first graders can do it on the spur of the moment than with us having time to prepare that our individual groups should have no trouble doing a podcast.
Judy Scharf
She tells what a podcast is and gives you tips and suggestions for a successful podcast. This site will help me in doing my own podcast because I can just go back and look at her tips when I am unsure of what to do next.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Live The Conversation Summary
"Working on the Chain Gang" was about an activity Mrs. Goerend did with her 5th grade students. In this activity they all got 5 strips of paper and wrote their strengths on them. Then Mrs. Goerend had them all staple these strips as the links on a chain by making circles with two of them intwined. She is all about building community in her class room and has many great ideas to help her. My comment on this post was just letting her know I love the idea of building community in the class room and that her activities seem like something I am going to one day want to do.
"Building Community" was the post before "Working on the Chain Gang" and was again about an activity that Mrs. Goerend did with her 5th graders. This one was a bag that they brought in filled wtih things they love. My comment for this one was telling her about my 8th grade French teacher having us do a similar activity and that again I will be doing something like this with my students whenever I get into a classroom.
Blog Assignment 3
C4C Portion
This week the video on peer editing helped me figure out how to write a proper comment on my classmates blog posts. It talked of the compliments, suggestions and corrections we should include in each of these comments.
Kelly Hines
Ms. Hines discusses four very important things that teachers must recognize in order to be better educators. Included is teachers as learners, that learning and teaching are not the same thing, technology being useless without good teaching and finally to be a part of 21st century teaching without the technology. She reminds teachers that they are also learners and that if your student is not learning the material no natter how many times you "teach" it than maybe you should rethink your idea of teaching.
I agree with Ms. Hines that teachers now days do need to re evaluate the way they are "teaching" because as we all see the students are simply regurgitating what the teacher says and the minute they are done with a subject every thing they have "learned" about it gets removed from their brains. I also agree that teachers using technology is useless if the students are still unsure of what concepts they are supposed to be grasping.
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In Mr. Fisch's blog he first shows the opinion of Terry Freedman from the Technology Learning Blog, who is of a technological literate persuasion. He believes that all educators should be technologically literate and if they aren't they should be fired. Fisch then goes on to post a blog he wrote in February of 2006 but never published because he didn't think it was the right time. In that post he also talks about he need for educators to have a technological background. He compares today's teachers being technologically illiterate to teachers 30 years ago being unable to read and write.
I partially agree with Mr. Fisch's post because I do think that teachers need to have some understanding of technology in today's computer savvy world. It is outdated to believe that everything can be taught and learned with a chalk/whiteboard, pencil and paper. True, some students still learn this way and many teachers would prefer it stay like this but that is not possible with the way the majority of students learn today!
Gary Hines Social Media Counter
This thing is super freaky. It is the kind of thing that gives Terry Freedman and Karl Fisch's arguments a back bone. I say this because they are all for technological literacy from teachers today and this counter shows how technical our society is. I mean most of those numbers are above 10,000 and that is a lot!
These changes for my career mean that I need to update my use of the computer, internet and social networks. To me, all of those things are going to be popular in the classroom by the time I get there so I want to go ahead and prepare myself for the future. I would think that since I want to start off all the way down in kindergarten that it would no be so mandatory but then I look at my old neighbors 5 year old daughter and remember that I sat there with her on the computer while she played educational games during the summer to keep her mind sharp for the upcoming school year. I know that this means I will be doing many things with my students both on and off the computer, becuase after all you can't get a complete learning experience on the computer.
Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
This video was much like Did You Know? 3.0 as it gave fact after fact of useful and insightful information. As a student, I look at this and think about how many of the things that were said that I also do or used to do. The number is quite big as I also will sit in class on FaceBook, goofing off, or reading my e-mail, anything but pay attention to the teacher and lecture being given. I also am amazed by the number of students that actually helped with the information in the video as so many of my classmates here will complain about just wanting to get class over with, and it makes me wonder if KSU would be a better place for me as the students there seem to like to help out with projects and don't mind being in class.
As a future educator however, I look at this video and think of how much different it is going to be when I am in the classroom. There will be no sitting in circles and talking about ourselves or even just telling stories, instead the students are going to want to be on the computer and may have a technological way of thinking. This means that they will want to be online and have me on the board in the front of the room walking them through the steps of a program, not doing a powerpoint which will be outdated by this time.
This week the video on peer editing helped me figure out how to write a proper comment on my classmates blog posts. It talked of the compliments, suggestions and corrections we should include in each of these comments.
Kelly Hines
Ms. Hines discusses four very important things that teachers must recognize in order to be better educators. Included is teachers as learners, that learning and teaching are not the same thing, technology being useless without good teaching and finally to be a part of 21st century teaching without the technology. She reminds teachers that they are also learners and that if your student is not learning the material no natter how many times you "teach" it than maybe you should rethink your idea of teaching.
I agree with Ms. Hines that teachers now days do need to re evaluate the way they are "teaching" because as we all see the students are simply regurgitating what the teacher says and the minute they are done with a subject every thing they have "learned" about it gets removed from their brains. I also agree that teachers using technology is useless if the students are still unsure of what concepts they are supposed to be grasping.
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In Mr. Fisch's blog he first shows the opinion of Terry Freedman from the Technology Learning Blog, who is of a technological literate persuasion. He believes that all educators should be technologically literate and if they aren't they should be fired. Fisch then goes on to post a blog he wrote in February of 2006 but never published because he didn't think it was the right time. In that post he also talks about he need for educators to have a technological background. He compares today's teachers being technologically illiterate to teachers 30 years ago being unable to read and write.
I partially agree with Mr. Fisch's post because I do think that teachers need to have some understanding of technology in today's computer savvy world. It is outdated to believe that everything can be taught and learned with a chalk/whiteboard, pencil and paper. True, some students still learn this way and many teachers would prefer it stay like this but that is not possible with the way the majority of students learn today!
Gary Hines Social Media Counter
This thing is super freaky. It is the kind of thing that gives Terry Freedman and Karl Fisch's arguments a back bone. I say this because they are all for technological literacy from teachers today and this counter shows how technical our society is. I mean most of those numbers are above 10,000 and that is a lot!
These changes for my career mean that I need to update my use of the computer, internet and social networks. To me, all of those things are going to be popular in the classroom by the time I get there so I want to go ahead and prepare myself for the future. I would think that since I want to start off all the way down in kindergarten that it would no be so mandatory but then I look at my old neighbors 5 year old daughter and remember that I sat there with her on the computer while she played educational games during the summer to keep her mind sharp for the upcoming school year. I know that this means I will be doing many things with my students both on and off the computer, becuase after all you can't get a complete learning experience on the computer.
Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
This video was much like Did You Know? 3.0 as it gave fact after fact of useful and insightful information. As a student, I look at this and think about how many of the things that were said that I also do or used to do. The number is quite big as I also will sit in class on FaceBook, goofing off, or reading my e-mail, anything but pay attention to the teacher and lecture being given. I also am amazed by the number of students that actually helped with the information in the video as so many of my classmates here will complain about just wanting to get class over with, and it makes me wonder if KSU would be a better place for me as the students there seem to like to help out with projects and don't mind being in class.
As a future educator however, I look at this video and think of how much different it is going to be when I am in the classroom. There will be no sitting in circles and talking about ourselves or even just telling stories, instead the students are going to want to be on the computer and may have a technological way of thinking. This means that they will want to be online and have me on the board in the front of the room walking them through the steps of a program, not doing a powerpoint which will be outdated by this time.
Blog Assignment 2
Did You Know? 3.0
So many facts! That was my first thought when I finished watching the video. It told all about populations in terms of babies being born within the time of the presentation as well as the number of honor students in the US and China. There were facts about the years it took for radios, iPods, the internet and television to reach a market audience of 50 million people, for some of those, I would never have guessed it took so little time. It also had facts about some discoveries that are to be made within the next three years, including a super computer.
I would never have thought that for some of this information, like the time for the market audience, that it would take so little time. I say little because not everyone can afford things like televisions, iPods, or even internet connection, and yet it took less than 5 years for the iPods and internet and 13 years for television. The most believable out of the group was 38 years for radio. The scariest part was the super computer since it will exceed the human brain, I mean, who wouldn't be scared by something being smarter than them?
Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes shows that technology has come a long way in 100 years. It is present everywhere now, including hospitals, offices, libraries, and school. In the video it says that school is just the way he remembered it with students sitting there taking notes while the teacher lectured on and on. But, to me that is just not the case anymore. While teachers do still make you take notes while they lecture they have also begun to make the classroom and interactive place.
The teachers in my high school were learning about the SMARTboard by my first semester of Junior year (2007) and by the second semester there were already SMARTboards being brought into our school for teachers to start using. And yes, while there were still some teachers that opposed it and thought that things should stay the same as they have always been, those same teachers were loving the ease at which they could lecture by the time my graduation rolled around in the spring of 2009. I think that this is the way schools should be now simply because they should stay with the times.
The Importance of Creativity
Sir Robinson wants everyone to know that the schools now a days are killing student creativity. All schools worry about are the "fundamentals" of Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies. Everything outside of this, like dance and art, are pushed to the back and made to seem unimportant. He tells stories of his son and friends doing things that would be considered creative and how people are too scared to be creative in today's society since to be creative a lot of the times you have to be wrong.
I believe every word of what Sir Ken Robinson said about the schools pushing creavitity out and society being afraid to be wrong simply because I am the same way. I grew up as the quiet child that did nothing but study what the teachers told her to. I never played make believe games with my friends for real and always had a book in my hand. I see now that it was wrong for me to be like that and it killed the creative side of my childhood, but luckily I am making up for it in my life now.
Cecelia Gault
This video was just brilliant. The fact that Cecelia knows there should be a balance and that it is lacking in many schools amazed me. Her and Robinson discussed students in today's classrooms needing to be able to make better connections between the sciences and art curriculum. This is important because it will spark more creative ideas in our younger citizens. In the second half of her article she interveiwed Mr. Livermore, a senior research consultant at the Cultural Intelligence Center, and he said that for cultural intelligence to be increased that students should travel. This is a great idea since then the students would get first hand knowledge of how other cultures learn.
I think that Cecelia did a wonderful job overall and asked Robinson some amazing questions. To think that someone as young as her sees that things have to change for the better in the US is just mind boggling. That is because even some people in my generation and the generations above me refuse to see that anything is amiss with our education system.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Ms. Davis' class reminds me a lot of this class. The students are teaching her at the same time that they are teaching themselves and their class mates and it is all on the computer. They reach out to students all around the world, and if you remember, Dr. Strange showed us on the first day of class that people from all around the world have looked at our class blog and student blogs.
I think that Ms. Davis' idea of having everything online is a good thing and that it is teaching the students how to learn things on their own, and that it will be their responsibility and their mistake if the work isn't done on time or correctly, although she does still offer them some help and advice.
So many facts! That was my first thought when I finished watching the video. It told all about populations in terms of babies being born within the time of the presentation as well as the number of honor students in the US and China. There were facts about the years it took for radios, iPods, the internet and television to reach a market audience of 50 million people, for some of those, I would never have guessed it took so little time. It also had facts about some discoveries that are to be made within the next three years, including a super computer.
I would never have thought that for some of this information, like the time for the market audience, that it would take so little time. I say little because not everyone can afford things like televisions, iPods, or even internet connection, and yet it took less than 5 years for the iPods and internet and 13 years for television. The most believable out of the group was 38 years for radio. The scariest part was the super computer since it will exceed the human brain, I mean, who wouldn't be scared by something being smarter than them?
Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes shows that technology has come a long way in 100 years. It is present everywhere now, including hospitals, offices, libraries, and school. In the video it says that school is just the way he remembered it with students sitting there taking notes while the teacher lectured on and on. But, to me that is just not the case anymore. While teachers do still make you take notes while they lecture they have also begun to make the classroom and interactive place.
The teachers in my high school were learning about the SMARTboard by my first semester of Junior year (2007) and by the second semester there were already SMARTboards being brought into our school for teachers to start using. And yes, while there were still some teachers that opposed it and thought that things should stay the same as they have always been, those same teachers were loving the ease at which they could lecture by the time my graduation rolled around in the spring of 2009. I think that this is the way schools should be now simply because they should stay with the times.
The Importance of Creativity
Sir Robinson wants everyone to know that the schools now a days are killing student creativity. All schools worry about are the "fundamentals" of Math, Science, Language Arts, and Social Studies. Everything outside of this, like dance and art, are pushed to the back and made to seem unimportant. He tells stories of his son and friends doing things that would be considered creative and how people are too scared to be creative in today's society since to be creative a lot of the times you have to be wrong.
I believe every word of what Sir Ken Robinson said about the schools pushing creavitity out and society being afraid to be wrong simply because I am the same way. I grew up as the quiet child that did nothing but study what the teachers told her to. I never played make believe games with my friends for real and always had a book in my hand. I see now that it was wrong for me to be like that and it killed the creative side of my childhood, but luckily I am making up for it in my life now.
Cecelia Gault
This video was just brilliant. The fact that Cecelia knows there should be a balance and that it is lacking in many schools amazed me. Her and Robinson discussed students in today's classrooms needing to be able to make better connections between the sciences and art curriculum. This is important because it will spark more creative ideas in our younger citizens. In the second half of her article she interveiwed Mr. Livermore, a senior research consultant at the Cultural Intelligence Center, and he said that for cultural intelligence to be increased that students should travel. This is a great idea since then the students would get first hand knowledge of how other cultures learn.
I think that Cecelia did a wonderful job overall and asked Robinson some amazing questions. To think that someone as young as her sees that things have to change for the better in the US is just mind boggling. That is because even some people in my generation and the generations above me refuse to see that anything is amiss with our education system.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Ms. Davis' class reminds me a lot of this class. The students are teaching her at the same time that they are teaching themselves and their class mates and it is all on the computer. They reach out to students all around the world, and if you remember, Dr. Strange showed us on the first day of class that people from all around the world have looked at our class blog and student blogs.
I think that Ms. Davis' idea of having everything online is a good thing and that it is teaching the students how to learn things on their own, and that it will be their responsibility and their mistake if the work isn't done on time or correctly, although she does still offer them some help and advice.
Sunday, September 04, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Blog Assignment 1
Hi, my name is Jenifer "Jeni" Stovall. I am a third year sophomore at the University of South Alabama. I have lived in Clarksville, IN, Orange County, CA, Louisville, Ky and am currently in Mobile, AL. My major interests are very small and consist of only reading, writing in my journal, hanging out with my friends and volunteer with animals and/or small children, when they are together is when I'm the happiest. I am currently attending USA simply to stay close to home, it is only a two minute drive from my house and my mother is actually attending the college right now as well. Some things about my personal life include that I have been with my boyfriend for almost a year which is super exciting for me since he is the first real one I have had, although it's kind of embarrassing that we ended up getting together on his mother's birthday. I have always been close to my family and relied on them for support but things have been a little bizarre for me lately as my mother is now trying to distance herself so that I will grow to be a more independent young lady, I have only recently started to accept the fact that this change is necessary and have even sensed a change within my self. I absolutely hate negative people and am on the way of getting them completely out of my life, if I sense that a person will effect myself, my family or my friends in a negative way then I avoid them, it is something that has only recently began for me and am still working out all the kinks in my plan so it may take some time and I may lose many of the ones I consider to be friends but I think that it will be a change for the better. I want to be an Elementary Educator because I love getting to work with little kids and they always seem to be willing to listen to me so I am hoping that by catching them in the beginning I can make a difference in their lives and the will want to learn because I have seen a lack of drive in today's youth. I am passionate about people, I know it sounds weird and creepy but I mean it in the best way. I love seeing the smiling faces of people every day and strive my hardest to make anyone I come into contact with that isn't smiling smile. Above all things I am passionate about books. If I lived in a perfect world I would be the only person that loved books that way I wouldn't have to share them with anyone! I can't think of anything else interesting about me besides the fact that you will never see me wearing matching socks, so if anyone wants to know anything else you can just leave a comment asking it.
Dr. Randy Pausch on Time Management - From Dr. Pausch's video I learned that it is very important to have a plan and a daily to do list. I also learned that it is okay to change them as long as you keep one.
Dr. Randy Pausch on Time Management - From Dr. Pausch's video I learned that it is very important to have a plan and a daily to do list. I also learned that it is okay to change them as long as you keep one.
Monday, August 22, 2011
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