Video Reflection- How I Have Grown Because of EDM310

Blog Post #14

These are some of my favorite tools that Jose Picardo listed in his resources part of his blog Box of Tricks: Kerpoof, Quizlet, PBWorks, Hot Potatoes. Kerpoof is neat because it allows students to tell their own story by drawing pictures. This  would work well in the classroom because it would not only help students with their writing skills, but would also let the students creativity be able to run wild. Another program I liked was Quizlet. The reason I like this program was because it allows you to create and share flashcards. Even know I make flashcards for my exams and I know most people do not make flashcards because it takes a long time to do. With this program there will be no excuse not to study effectively with flashcards.
Another way to share the achievements of your students besides using Blogger is to use PBWorks. This program  is an educational version of wiki and allows you to to put up news and classroom activities on the site. Another tool is Hot Potatoes; it is a free site where you can create quizzes and crossword puzzles for your students. This could be useful in the classroom because it is an interactive way for students to learn and study information. This website of resources is something that is updated throughout the year and is something all teachers should look at if they are not sure how to integrate technology into the classroom.

Final Report on PLN

When I posted about my progress of my PLN I did an symbaloo. I found some really interesting things for teachers when I did that such as schooltube, teachertube, and moodle. I found out those three things are great, but my favorite thing about my PLN is twitter. I have found more and more interesting teachers to follow that share ideas and their failures to those ideas. They also share the hardships of becoming a new teacher. By following new teachers I read about their mistakes and take a mental note about them and insure myself that I won't do the same thing. Twitter has given me the knowledge of teachers, new ideas, and the opportunity to look and see what other students are doing with technology. Also during the second half of the semester I found someone to add to my PLN that I thought would never be possible, Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz. She is a bestselling children's author and also travels around the country and does seminars speaking to children, parents, and teachers. I came across her on the internet when I was looking for an author to do my Skype interview with and she was the nicest lady. I was intimidated by her at first because I did not know what to expect, but she is someone now that I talk to every couple of weeks. She is my friend on Facebook and we communicate that way or via email.  She talks to me about being a teacher because she was a professor at one time to and also the importance of literacy in schools today. The further along EDM310 goes the more people and websites I add to my PLN. I have discovered that it is something that will continue to grow through out my career as a teacher.

C4T#4 Summarizing Teacher's Post and My Comments

1. This week I commented on the Creating Longlife Learners blog. The blogs most resent post was called Creating Your First iPhone App with HTML Flowchart. The subject is this because Mr. Needleman held a workshop that taught this very subject. I commented on his post and stated that I thought it was very interesting and I have always downloaded apps, but I have never thought of how to create them. Once I saw his flowchart of how to make an app it does not seem hard at all, and I realize now why some apps are not so good because anyone can do it.

2. This week I commented on Creating Longlife Learners blog again. The post I read this time was The iPad as RTI Invention Toolkit. In this post Matthew Needleman talked about his favorite apps for the iPad. He listed apps such as Dragon Dictation, iMovie, Pages, Storykit, and Dropbox. My favorite app that he talked about was Storykit because you can create books with images of the students or images the students drew. I commented on this post and stated that in EDM310 we learn about technology in the classroom, but we haven't really talked about apps and how they can be effective in the classroom so his list of apps was very useful to me.

Blog Post #13

 In high school I actually read Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business when I was a Junior for my English class. I am not going to lie that was a difficult book to read and I needed my teacher to explain to me most things, but that was three years ago and I am sure I would understand it more now. The reason of me telling you this is because after we read that book we also had to do a e-media fast which included the same guidelines as Dr. Strange has given us. I remember when I did it back then it was hard, but let me tell you this time around when I did it it was much harder. I believe this time around it was harder because I have been on the "drug of technology" for a longer period of time.
The night before I did the E-media fast I had to call my mom and boyfriend to let them know I could not talk to them for the whole day no matter what because I had to do this assignment for class. My mom and boyfriend both live in Birmingham, Alabama, so the only way I can communicate with them is on the phone or Skype and I could do neither during the e-media fast. Both of them were not fond of the idea because they were used to the fact that I was available to them through a text or a phone call. On the day of the fast I found it difficult, or for a better word excruciating, to leave my cell phone behind when I went to class. Also during the day I found out that without a computer I could no longer do most of my homework. That is when the light bulb in my head went off that really convinced me without a shadow of a doubt I need to learn more about technology if I am going to be a teacher because if already in a short day I need this much technology the students, that I will eventually have, will definitely need it. Also my mom just would not accept that she couldn't talk to me through out the day and know that I was okay so she would text my friends and ask how I was.
I cannot imagine how students will be when they enter my classroom after living a life full of media. It is true that times are changing and technology is taking over schools and if we choice to ignore that fact then we let down our students. If we teach with just a whiteboard, markers, and books then we will loose the attention of our students. Teachers cannot compete with technology so why not join it. We as teachers cannot expect our students to come into our classroom and be eager to learn if we are using old ways to teach. Students use technology all through out the day and they are comfortable with it so why make them leave it at the door when they enter the classroom.

C4K Summary #3

1. This week I commented on Mrs. Yollis' class blog number 289 about the Grand Canyon. At the end of her post she stated "What interesting facts can you tell us about the Grand Canyon?" I answered this by telling her about my visit the the Grand Canyon about three years ago. I told her that I was surprised how close you could get to the Grand Canyon's edge and how only a little bar was holding you back from falling. Also I stated how I saw lots of vultures at the Grand Canyon and I was not expecting that at all.
2. This week I commented on Elizabeth's Blog. Her blog post that I read was called Term 4 Assembly. She talked about how in her class they went over Outta This World and talked about space. She also said that they did performances about space and some where funny. I left her a comment that said I wish that she would have told me more about what Outta This World was about because if she did maybe I would have understood the post a little more. Also I told her that I loved her picture that she did of Earth.

Project 16

Progress Report on Final Project

Ashleigh Strasser and I are doing Project 16 together. We met and discussed our ideas about what we could do for our Project 16. We decided on doing the Do's and Don'ts on EDM310. We know what are does and don'ts are going to be and we are going to create a slideshow with them. For every do's and don'ts we will take a picture describing the do or don't and put those pictures in our slideshow. We will meet next Tuesday to actually take the pictures and start our slideshow.

Blog Post #12

In this blog post we are suppose to create an assignment for a Blog Post that we believe Dr. Strange would have assigned and then complete the assignment ourselves. When thinking about what I was going to do for this blog post I decided that we talk an awful lot about technology in EDM310, but we never talk about the technology that students love the most, video games. I looked on YouTube and found a video, Video Games Are New Teaching Tool, that talks about a school that does use video games to help the students learn. In my blog post I would assign students to watch this video, and then they would have to write a brief essay  explaining why or why not they think video games should be used in the classroom and whether or not they think it is benefiting the students or hindering them? Also they would write why they believe schools are so hesitant to accept video games as part of the learning experience.



This is my brief essay writing about the topic above:

Before watching this video I did not believe video games had a place in the classroom because that would teach students that all learning is that easy.  I also believed that it would  hurt the teachers because they would have to compete to hold a students attention against a video game. This video made me understand that it does not have to hurt the teachers because the teachers can use it to keep the students interested. Video games belong in the classroom because with the traditional way of teaching no longer holds the attention of students. The schools can choose to adapt to how future students learn or can continue to watch students lose focus because they are simply not interested in the old teaching methods.
I believe that video games are not hindering students but benefiting them because it is giving them skills of the computer and is keeping the students interested in school. With the teaching style of writing on a white board and reading notes out of a text book the students will fall asleep; I am telling you this out of experience. I have been in boring classes and I have been in exciting classes and the ones that I remember the most material out of is the exciting ones.
Why I believe that schools are so hesitant to use the technology of video games is the same reason schools are scared to use technology in schools period; they either do not know about technology, do not know how to incorporate it in their classes, or do not have the proper funding to get the technology needed. All three of these reasons are not good ones and all have answers to them. If you do not know about technology then there are conferences you can go or you can look on the internet. If you do not know how to incorporate technology into your classroom then look up ideas on the internet or just look at my blog. Finally if you do not have the proper funding then you could  do many things to raise money for your school to get the proper things you need to incorporate technology. 

Mrs. Yollis' Blog Review (Part 1 of C4K)

As I was clicking on all the links to Mrs. Yollis' blog I began to get more and more interested. She has a link on her blog to her website where parent can check out and play games with their children. I believe this is an important process of bringing technology into the classroom because parents can sometimes only see the bad in the internet and showing them what their child is doing puts them at ease. When looking at the post in Mrs. Yollis' blog I noticed that all of them have pictures. Adding pictures to the post draws people into reading the post and adds a sense of wanting to learn more. Also at the end of most of the post there was a question to spark conversation about the post, which I thought was a very good idea because it get not only the students but visitors of the site involved. I checked the number of visitors that Mrs. Yollis' site had compared to our own EDM310 site and she had more then us. Also I noticed that she has won first runner-up in best blog in 2009 and 2010.

Metaphor Special Assignment #1

Why we use metaphors could be for different reasons because you want to make your point easier to understand to your audience or because you want to prove a point without facing the consequences. An example in history could be a person did not agree with what was going on in the government, but because they fear the consequences of going against status quo they could write a pamphlet or book with metaphors. By doing this they are proving their point but at the same time can hide behind the metaphors if the government read the pamphlet or book. An example in literature is the novel Animal Farm. I read this book in high school and the whole book is a metaphor for Bolshevik Revolution. It is actually a perfect example of metaphors because the author uses the metaphors to hide behind what he really wants to express and also at the same time by adding metaphors in he makes it easier to understand. The definition of a metaphor is the comparison of two unlike things. An example of that in EDM310 is we are trying to compare education and technology which people believe are totally two unlike things. In reality though just like a simple metaphor of "love is a rose," when you see the two words love and rose separately you think they do not go together, but when you pair them you suddenly make sense. That is the same with technology and education when you hear them as two seperate words they do not seem to go together, but when you see it in action and how students react to it it suddenly makes sense. 

Skype Interview with Babs Bell Hajdusiewicz

Smartboard Lesson Plan on Coins

Blog Post #11

In the video with Mrs. Cassidy she talks about how she integrates technology in her first grade class. The technique Mrs. Cassidy talks about the most in the Skype interview is blogging. She talks about how her students love to blog instead of just writing with a pencil and paper because they have an audience. They have a thing on their blog that counts how many people read their post, which in return makes them feel important and what they are writing about is relevant. I would use this technique the most in my classroom when I become a teacher because it keeps the students interested in a subject and you can change what they blog about so it is always changing.

Some of the impediments you might have with blogging is cheating. That was one of the questions a student asked in the Skype video was if cheating was a problem. Mrs. Cassidy stated it could be a problem if the teacher does not keep the subject the students are blogging about relevant. When you give a subject students are interested in they will become excited about the subject and it will no longer become something they have to but something they want to do.

One of the benefits of using Mrs. Cassidy approaches about twitter was about followers. She said that if you follow people that sparks your interest or something that you are involved in them you will prosper in that area. For Twitter she gave the example that for students in EDM310, like I am, then maybe you will want to follow people on Twitter that are also in the process of trying to become a teacher or teachers that are just starting off. From that you will gain experience from their mistakes or interesting techniques to use.

C4K Summary #2

1. Today I commented on Class 3's blog post about how the BrainPOPpers signed their guestbook and said they really enjoyed their blog. I commented on their post by saying I have never heard of the BrainPOPpers but I will look them up on Youtube, because apparently the BrainPOPpers do videos. I also told them I would try to find their guest book and sign in myself.

2. The student I was assigned to this week was Michael. He wrote about football and how he loved it and who invented it. I commented back to him saying that soccer was my favorite sport to play, but football is my favorite to watch. I told him my favorite college team was the University of Alabama. I wished him good luck playing football and told him he would succeed.

The student that I got at random was named Tabbey. Her post was about why don't they call Columbus Day "Natives' Day" because the Native Americans were at America first. I told her this was an interesting post and I would have just accepted the norm if she had not mentioned that about Columbus Day. I told her it was a good point and she should keep up the good work!

3. The student I commented on this week was Menrinna. She wrote a poem on about being in the woods and hearing scary noises. I commented on her poem and said that her poem got me in the spirit of Halloween. Also I said I like how she said, "my hearts starts to pound like someone knocking on the door." Her poem was very good and I enjoyed reading it.

4. I commented on Kyan's post called Ireland Animation. In this Kyan did an amazing animation of a map of Ireland and a castle with a man walking by. I told him the castle and the map were very accurate and I loved the animation. I also told him it was neat how he got the man he drew to walk in front of a castle. I very much enjoyed seeing the work of kids mixing technology and animation.

5. On Mr. McClung's post Writing a Letter he talks how he is teaching his students how to write a professional letter. I commented on this post and said that I think it is great that he is teaching his students to do that because that was one of my favorite things I got to do in middle school was write letter and getting the responses. I also wrote and said I am in a class that is focusing on technology in the classroom, but it is good that he is still focusing on things like writing a letter because that is also important concept also.

Blog Post #10

1. In the video Do You Teach or Do you Educate it tells you the definition of teaching and educate and makes it clear what the difference of the two are. The video makes it clear that teaching is the lesser of the two. It describes to teach as show or explain how to do something, encourage someone to accept a fact or principle, give information or instruct in, cause someone to learn or understand something, and induce by example or punish to do or not do something. Teaching is like what Dr. Strange says opening the students heads and pouring in the knowledge and then burping them so they can spit it back out on test and exams. When we teach the students they really learn nothing but how to memorize something and then forget it. Without fully learning it though the students are not benefiting coming to school because in their jobs they will need to learn more then just how to memorize something and spit it back out.
The video also makes it clear that to educate is the greater of the two. It shows what can happen when you educate instead of teach stating it is to illuminate, enlighten, inspire, and empower. Also the definition it gave of educator is one who gives intellectual, moral, and social instruction. When given the choice most teachers would choose to be an educator when seeing this video. Being an teachers means to impact students lives for more then just that year that you have them, but instead for the students to look back on that teacher and remember the things they taught them and not just educational lessons but intellectual, moral, and social lessons.   


2. In Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home blog post he confronts the use of pencils with his  "Gertrude the School Curriculum Instructional Interventionist Academic Specialis." This person talks to him about research that says that kids who use pencils at home have lower test scores. Also talks about how the pencil is put there for entertainment and not for educational purposes; how the students will go home and just play "Hang Man" and other games and not do there homework. Also it talks about how students parents did not use pencils in there factory jobs and did not use pencils in schools so that is why the students think it is just  used to play games with. 
After rereading this post I figured out you could really replace the word pencil with computer and it would make perfect sense. How Johnson presented his argument was he took a tool that most schools think of as safe, and the tool used in every school and classroom and made it sound crazy that it was found in there. Johnson took all the excuses that most teachers and schools use so they do not have to use computers and switched it around to show those same excuses could be used for the everyday common object in schools, the pencil. 
What Johnson's argument is is that computers should be used in schools. In writing this blog post you can read between the lines of Johnson's post and see that he is saying that all theses excuses schools use about not using computers in there classrooms is just plain stupid. Yes it does give the students a lot of responsibility to stay on task if they use a computer, but won't they have to learn how to do that when they get a job too? To stay focus and not let distractions take you away from your true task. My favorite statement that this article said was responding to "How do you keep them accountable at home?" and he response by saying, "I don't hold them accountable.  I try and find projects that keep them interested.  But if they choose to play Hang Man or go on the pen pal networks, I'm okay with it. There's probably some learning that's taking place that we don't realize." When he says this he is telling everyone that is read this that yes some students will go astray and play games on the computer and get on social networks, but in doing this they learn something in itself. Even if it is if I do not stay on task then I'll never finish or get a bad grade or they learn something in the game or social networks itself. 

C4T#3 Summarizing Teacher's Post and My Comments

1. This week I commented on Mary's blog called See Mary Teach. The posted was called Paper reinforcers. This post was about how Mary is very organized which can be a good thing but it turns into a bad thing when she is so busy trying to stay organized she looses her creative ability. She is not only a teacher but a journalist so when teaching her kids to be creative in their writing and letting their mind go free, she realized she needed to do the same. When I commented on her post I told her that her post really hit home with me because I am really organized. My room is never messy and I rarely ever loose anything. This is a really good trait, but it does hinder my creative ability. I believe this because of what Mary said about worrying about organizing her words on the page she forgets to just write what her  mind tells her and just let it free.

2. This week I commented on Mary's blog again on the post Your PLN Gives You More People to Disappoint. This post was about how Mary moved to The Netherlands to teach and to build up a school. She is still a new teacher because she did not teach for the last year because she was helping build up the school she is about to teach in. She is challenging herself because she is doing all new things in a new country; there will be a surprise at every turn. She talks about how her PLN pushes her to do her best because she does not want to disappoint anyone. I commented on Mary's post about her PLN and stated that yes PLN gives you more people to disappoint but that alone gives you positive stress to push you forward in your work and to do the best you can in all you do.

Blog Post #9

I read Mr. McClung's What I have Learned This Year (2009-10) and What I have Learned This Year (2010-11) and honestly learned a lot from them. In Mr. McClung's What I have Learned This Year (2009-10) he talks about how he had to take a transition from teaching 6th grade science to teaching 3 subjects to Junior High students. He was comfortable teaching his first year and even got a little cocky because he knew a lot about science, but when he had to teach History he did not know where to begin. At first he was simply becoming like most teachers and feeding their students notes and becoming "ghost of  history teachers past." Then he strived to make his history class relevant and interesting to the students and he learned he was passionate about history too. He also talked about how in his history classes he had a lot of discussions but during them the students wouldn't give their real opinion and instead wanted the teacher's because they assumed it was the right one. He wants his students to not only look for the "right answer" but a different approach to that answer. I loved the part when McClung said teachers had to leave the ego at the door. Teachers wound not worry about being embarrassed or cool but loose themselves in the things they are passionate about, education. Going "crazy" for your subjects makes the students interested and makes them respect you because you show how passionate you are and that you take your job to educate them seriously. Also Mr. McClung spoke about Scope and Sequence. He stated that we should not just focus on the things we are interested in and go in more depth on those things, but instead focus on also the things you do not find as interesting. I agree with this because not everything you find interesting is interesting to others. You have to assume it is all interesting to the students and be just as passionate at each and every thing.
In Mr. McClung's What I have Learned This Year (2010-11) he speaks about how he does not spend time being a teacher pleaser, but instead focuses on his students and does not feel like an outsider because his job is for the students and therefore he should be with the students. He also talks about "naysayers" who are not as excited about change as he is. He says that you cannot let that effect you and you have to keep the fire of your passion. I believe if we listened to "naysayers" then creativity would be lost. If you love an idea or a different approach to something you should go with it and not listen to the people who are negative because there will always be those people. Also a point that I thought was the most important in this post was the one about "Don't Touch the Keyboard" he talks about if you teach your class to do something and a students do not understand and you explain more and they still do not understand you should not simply give them the answer but think of a new way of explaining and reexplaining. I honestly am looking forward to continuing reading what Mr. McClung writes about what he has learned in his 2011-12 teaching year.

SmartBoard Project #13

Click on the link below to see Jessica Walker's video. We could not make it one video due to time restraint.

SmartBoard Project 2

Book Trailer

Project #11

Blog Post #8

1. When watching Richard Miller's I Have a Dream Part 1 and 2 he brought about some good points. He was taking about how when he was a student he was in the library all the time because those are where the resources were. He loves books and that is why he said he made a career of it. He wrote a book but now the book is not printed anymore. It is online for everyone to view. You can buy it on Amazon for 59 cents even. He made his knowledge in the book available to all.
He even said that he now does research without stepping into a library. All the resources he needs is available with the internet. Making documents available on the internet and not through a book gets ideas out quickly. If you wanted on a book it might take two or more years. The internet Miller says is a "way to push ideas."
Miller said that people were downloading lectures from teachers on the internet more then they ever have. That is giving people knowledge that they once did not have. Miller says, "Ideas don't belong to us, but instead to our culture and we as educators must share our ideas freely." This is so true without the sharing of ideas then we are holding ourselves back it is just like "two heads are better then one," but imagine billions of heads and how great ideas can come from those people.
I feel like I am not prepared to write with multimedia right now but I know by the end of EDM310 I will be more prepared and will continue learning throughout my career. When I learn the skills of multimedia I will teach the base line of it to my students and I will let them explore it with their own imagination and responsibility.
2. In Carly Pugh's video Blog Post #12 she has come closer then I feel like I ever could or most EDM310 students could writing with multimedia. That assignment was definitely something Dr. Strange would think up. It would teach you to expand your thinking of what internet is and does like Millers says and puts your ideas for all to see and to learn from.
3. After watching The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies the primary message of these two videos is EDM310 is possible but only if you organize your time properly. I seriously want to be those girls sometimes in the EDM310 for Dummies that throw the keyboard because I am just that frustrated. My idea for a video that I would like to create is a video that records what I have to do in a week for EDM310 and explain how I handle the assignments with what I do in all my other classes. I will not be just happy in this video I will be like how I really am and scream at the computer when I am frustrated and express my frustration and show how I get through it.
4. In the video Learn to Change, Change to Learn I feel like the arguments are very reasonable. If they were not I do not believe we would have to take EDM310 to be a teacher. EDM310 is a building blocks for us as teachers to give us the tools and showing us how to use them in a very basic way. We ourselves have to explore more before we are teachers to fully understand how we can incorporate technology and social networking into the classroom.

Project #10 PLN

I just started using Symbaloo and it is a great way to organize not only my educational websites but also my social. It helps me see all the tools I can use and all the people I can connect to. Symbaloo will help me create my PLN because it will keep me connected to people who will help me and the tools that will complete the job.

Project #9b

Blog Post #7

I watched the video Randy Pausch's Last Lecture in which he talks about the techniques he uses when it comes to achieving his dreams and teaching methods he used at MIT. Some of Randy Pausch's childhood dreams include things like experiencing zero gravity, playing in the NFL, and becoming an Imagineer. The dream about experiencing zero gravity did come true but not without what Randy called "brick walls." Those are there to give people a chance to show how bad they want their dream. Randy beat his "brick wall," by being a media person and being able to experience zero gravity.
Randy did not however complete his dream of becoming an NFL football player, but he learned more from failing at this dream. Randy then said, "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." Also he learned from this dream about "head fakes," which are valuable and can be applied to many things. Football is a head fake because it teaches you things like teamwork and perseverance without you noticing it and having fun. Randy's dream about becoming an Imagineer did come true and it forever changed him. When he had the opportunity to be hired as an Imagineer permanently he didn't take it.
The teaching methods Randy used are all based around fun. Like he said he is dying and still having fun. When he went to the one of the deans at a university he learned it is all about how you say something that can make the difference. He also didn't become a Imagineer because he new as a professor he could enable not only his childhood dreams, but also others. What he learned when he taught the Building Virtual Worlds is to keep pushing the students if they exceeded your expectations you can still always raise the bar. As a teacher he also liked how, "students had a chance to show people who could be excited about it and that's the best thing you can give somebody is what it feels like to make other people get excited and happy."
Randy also mentioned in his lecture that educators need to help students become self reflective. When we allow students to do that we give them the responsibility to better themselves. He also mentioned that what gets you to achieve your dreams is roles of parents, mentors, and students. When he said this he included how we need to allow students to be creative. Lastly what he said educators need to learn how to learn from their students.

C4T#2 Summarizing Teacher's Post and My Comments

1. My post that I commented on was Ms. Melissa B post called Out of the Frying Pan.... Her post was about how her schools district was closed down because of Hurricane Lee and she got stuck in traffic for two hours on her drive home. She also talked about how she had to go to many long pointless faculty meeting and how she has so many papers to grade already.

What I commented back was that I was sorry she got stuck in so much traffic and if she wanted to grade less papers she could incorporate technology in her classroom. I suggested that she get her students involved with blogs since she must know a lot about them since she has one. If she did that she would have much less papers to grade.

2. I posted on Ms. Melissa B post again called "Product Liability". This post was a wordless post which, of course, had no words. It was instead a picture of a back of a seat at Yankee Stadium that stated, "Be Alert for bats and/or balls." I posted a comment on it that stated I also thought the sign was pretty funny. I also said I think it also states the obvious because if you are in a baseball stadium you should be aware of flying balls whether you have a sign or not. 

Blog Post #6

1.When watching Wendy Drexler's video, The Networked Student, I realized how unprepared I am to teach a student of the 21st century. Before EDM310 I considered myself technology literate, but now I see I thought that I was because I was staying inside my own box; not caring what was outside of it. Watching this video made me realize that in the future in order to get a teaching job you are going to have to know how to use technology to give your students a upper hand.
I like the idea of Connectivism, that believes learning occurs as part of a social network with many diverse connections and ties. Just because I like this idea does not mean that it does not scare me. I have a lot to learn in order to be the teacher this video talks about. The kind of teacher that empowers the students to take control of their learning and connect with others that will strengthen the learning process. I realize I will have to do more then just take EDM310 in order to be that kind of teacher, but I believe the students deserve it.
The reasons the video provided that the students even needed a teachers is because they will need someone to teach them how to take advantage of the opportunities, how to build networks, offers guidance when the student gets stuck, how to communicate properly, how to ask for help respectively from experts, teach them how to know the difference between bad and good information, and to help organize the mountain of information they receive. In order to do these things I have to know the appropriate knowledge to educated the students about technology, but I also have to learn from the students.

2. The video A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment (or PLN) it talked about how their personal learning environment allowed them to have more freedom and they do not choose to not do something, but they choose how and when to do it. The students want to do it right because they know the teachers are giving them a big responsibly. Her PLE compared to my PLN is similar although we do not have to write about a animals in order to hold one,but we are both blogging and doing research for a purpose. We also both are learning how to use technology to harvest information and use it toward our benefit.

C4K Summary

1. My summary of the comment that I left for Mauina's post, Silly Sports Day, is she talked about a game called ball tiggy and I told her that I have never played that game before and when I was in grade school I never did the fun activities that she got to participate in. I also told her that I played soccer here at the university because in her About Me section of her blog she said that she liked all sports.

2.In Mauina's post she talked about how she ran a 3.5K run. She talked about how her goal was to just finish the race without walking. Although she ended up having to walk at the end I told her sometimes giving it your all is better then winning. I also told her about one of my experiences when I ran cross country. She like me before her race was nervous, but we both fought through it and ended up finishing the race.

3.This week I commented on wi2011's blog and in his blog he talked about a book that he read. The book was called The Zombie Zone by Ron Roy. The book was about kids who went into a grave yard and thought they saw a zombie. I comment on his post with my experience when I was younger and read the book series Goosebumps. I also told him that the thing I am most scared of is zombies. I know that may sound a little crazy but it is true something about them genuinely scares me.

4. This week I comment on James letter to Ms. Lucy. In his blog he called Ms. Lucy as sweet as a pumpkin pie. I told him how humorous that was and how it made me smile. I also told him that I'm sure Ms. Lucy would love to know he called her intelligent. Also I told him he has a great opportunity to learn about up to date technology so he needs to take full advantage of it.

5. In Ethan's post Travel Budget List he talked about how he wanted to visit China or Japan because his dad is part Chinese and part Japanese.  I commented on his post and told him if I got to pick a place to go anywhere in the world I would pick Australia. The reason I would pick there to go is because it is home of many strange and interesting animals. I listed animals just as the salt water crocodile and the platypus.

Blog Post #5

1. My position in McLeod post, Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?, is I agree with him that technology is needed in the classroom to give students the upper hand. He listed most of the excuses teachers use, that do not incorporate technology into their classroom. McLeod was sarcastic when saying all of the excuses like he was worried, but he was really saying how ridiculous they were. I agree some where ridiculous, but things like sexting, predators, and cyberbullying are serious things. I do not believe however that integrating technology in the classroom will make those three things happen.  Scott Mcleod  is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the CASTLE, the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series Did you know? (Shift Happens). 


2. In Travis Allen's videos Travis Allen ZeitgeistYoungMinds Entry and The iSchool Initiative (Mobile Learning) he introduced some bold ideas. The argument being made by Travis Allen in his videos is to get rid of text books, paper, pencils, and copy machines in school and replace those things with an iSchool. In iSchool there are many programs for the students and the teachers. For the teachers there will be emails that you can send to students and parents; while also keeping up with assignments you have given to the students. Also as a teacher you can record your lesson for the day for a student that was absent and the student will not be left behind. For students there will be so many upgrades. They will have textbooks at the touch of there fingers, without having to carry a heavy backpack. Also they will be able to record their teachers lectures and  listen to them again if needed. Finally they will have questions answered with a touch of their fingers; such as the periodic table and the math formulas.  
My reaction to this video is WOW. How could someone so young have thought through such a great idea. What is incredible though, is not that he has this great idea but how he put the idea into action so fast. He is now going to Kent State and is 20 years old and travels the country with a team and promotes his idea of iSchool. I also think his idea has some flaws, as most ideas have at the being stages. I believe that his idea is good, but it is throwing to much at people all at once. He needs to gradually introduce schools into this program. Just throwing out all textbooks, pencils, papers, and copiers is extreme for schools. It is like putting all your eggs in one basket. You cannot ask schools to do that because it is too big of a risk.

3. When watching Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir- 'Lux Aurumque' video it showed me how people can come together through technology and create something so wonderful. My reaction to this video was so surprised; I never knew that many people could come together through the internet and create something that needed absolute perfection. This just shows the power of the internet to people. The internet is not all bad and filled with porn, predators, and cyberbullies, but instead it holds the power to let people be creative. 


4. In Kevin Roberts video, Teaching In the 21st Century, what he thinks it means to teach in the 21st century is to apply technology. Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge. Students can get knowledge with a click of a button on the internet. The teachers job in the 21st century is to be able to teach the students how to filter that knowledge they receive on the internet. How I feel about the positions that are expressed in this video is I feel they are very right. Teachers must now work with the internet and technology to teach students how they can become creative and how to filter out the things on the internet that are not reliable. If Robert is correct then how it will affect me as an educator is I will have to keep up will technology and innovative ways to apply technology into the classroom. 

Project #9

Project #8 "Put Me in, Coach"

My Sentence Movie

Blog Post #4

In Langwitches blog it talked about how 1st graders created there own read-along audiobook. In this blog it said  that the 1st graders read some of the book they were assigned while the teacher records them reading. The children loved recording their voices and wanted to get it just right. Also the teacher created a read along so the students could listen to their voices and their classmates voices as they read along with the book. My opinion about this blog is that this idea is a great one. I was wondering how I could integrate technology to kids that were so young, but the podcast was a great idea. The children would prefect their reading because they would be so interested in how they would sound when the other students heard the podcast.

In the 100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better post by Valene is about how your can use your iPod not to just listen to music but to help you develop good study skills and to even help you study. It mentions endless study  guides that you can download and use, such as Sparknotes. It also showed you applications you could use to make learning easier, such as iGadget. In this program you can move documents back and forth between your iPod and computer easily. This post also showed many more ways your iPod could be used to enhance your learning experience. My opinion about this post is I personally had no idea that  your iPod could be used is such ways. Apparently I was living under a rock because I thought the main purpose of an iPod was to entertain you with music. I was very interested in all the ways an iPod could help you develop good study skills and help you study.

In the blog post The benefits of podcasting in the classroom by Joe Dale is about kids who were born after 1980 are a part of a generation that has not had life without computers or technology, instead of sticking to traditional teaching we should do what the kids know and like. By doing podcasting in the classroom you can do things as simple as recording a lecture or doing a project based on it. Podcasting projects allow kids to be creative and help the kids develop higher order thinking skills. My opinion of this video is it was very interesting because I really have no clue about podcasting. I have had no previous practice with it, but by watching this video  it helped my grasp a concept about it and how I could use it in my classroom.

Project #5

C4T#1 Summarizing Teacher's Post and My Comments

1. I commented on "The best advice I ever received as a young teacher," by Steve Miranda. His blog was interesting in the fact that he did not believe following the established curriculum that did not inspire him and the things that the kids already knew. By him doing that he was feeling a lot of pressure from his school and many others, so he went to one of the most established teachers in his school and asked him for advice about if his should carry on teaching his way or conform into what was expected of him. That teacher told him to keep doing what he was doing as long as his focus is on his students.

My comment back to his blog was simply stating to some extent teacher should follow the curriculum and not completely throw it out the window even though some of it is tedious. My advice to him was that even though the  subject matter may bore him, it could be exciting to one of the students in his classroom. Also that although the subject matter may bore him the enthusiasm of some of his students should inspire him. 

2. I commented on Steve Miranda's post, The gilded classroom. This post was about how Mr. Miranda believed that adding technology to some schools today is a waste because teachers do not put to use the technology schools give to them. He also stated that there has not been proof yet as to if technology really helps students learn. The reason he believes this is not yet been founded is because technology has been "used to decorate the learning environment," and not used as a real tool.

My comment back to his blog was that I totally agree that schools are spending way too much money and teachers are not using the technology properly. I believe that teachers are using technology simply to replace the old things, such as writing on a chalkboard, when really they should be thinking how the students will use technology in the future and how to help them along the way with that.

Blog Post #3

1. In Kelly Hines' post It's Not About the Technology she talks about the need for teachers to be learners and I completely agree with that fact. I actually think that most teachers believe in that idea, but most do not put in the effort to learn new things. My teachers in high school taught me the same thing they had been teaching since they became a teacher. The world is evolving and at the same time teachers sound be evolving with it and learning the new technology. I also believe in what Kelly Hines said about teachers complaining that a student does not get the subject matter they have been teaching they blame the student. All students learn in different ways and if one way does not work then we should try another way and then another way until we get through to them and they learn the subject matter. Do not blame the students for not learning blame yourself, like Kelly Hines said you are not teaching if the students are not learning.
 The point that Kelly Hines made about technology is useless without good teaching could not be more true. The reason schools are not putting in more technology in some schools is because they do not think it will do much use. The teachers will use the technology if they learn how to do it themselves. It is really intimidating when you get something that you have no idea how to work and did not come with any instructions. The schools need to give teachers instructions on how to use the new technology and then the teachers will be able to incorporate new fun 21st century things and use the technology the schools has given them. 

2. In Karl Fisch post, Is it Okay to be a Technology Illiterate Teacher?, he discusses the problem of having technology illiterate teachers. He has gone back and forth on whether he should push teachers to be technology literate or not because he knows teachers have a lot on their plate. He ended up deciding to push teachers to be technology literate because this subject can not be pushed off to the side. Students deserve to get the schooling they need. If he waited there would be students lost and graduated without having the vital knowledge about technology that teachers need to teach them. 

Like what Mr. Fisch said maybe it was okay to not teach technology in the 20th century because people could get a job without being technology literate, but times have changed and in the 21st century if you are not  some what technology literate then you will find it extremely hard to find a job. I completely agree with this post and believe that students deserve the knowledge to help them get ahead any way they possibly can and with technology literate teachers it will definitely give their students a upper hand.

3. What I think about Gary Hayes Social Media Count is it is outstanding how much people use technology and go to technology for entertainment, to look stuff up, and many more things. People every day use social media more then you could even imagine, such as Tweeter has 1 billion tweets per week. I can not even think about a number that high and fathom it. It seems everyone in this day and age have to have some form of social media they are connected with. Even older generations are joining in on social media, such as my grandmother who now has a Facebook. If you do not have some form of social media it seems you are left in the dust. 
What these changes mean for my profession as a teacher is you cannot be left behind by not conforming with social media and technology all together. Students this century are interested in things such as Facebook, YouTube, and Tweeter if you use this to your advantage you will have your students full attention. This also means for my profession as a teacher that I must keep up even though I feel as if I know all there is to know about social media things will change as a new generation comes. I have to conform with it and learn what the new social media is of that time.
4. The movie A Vision of Students Today is a interesting video about how students view the classroom and how education is. This video had facts such as how the career some of the students are sitting in the classroom to get may not even be there when they get of school with their degree. Also the video had some crazy facts about how some students computers cost more then some people get payed in a month. That is the reason that students go to get a good education, is to not have a low paying job, but are they really succeeded by sitting in a class learning things that are written on a chalkboard. 
How I would look at this video if I were a professor is look at the facts that were given in the video and act on them. Make a movement to change those statistics positively. As a president I would watch this video and think how long can universities fool people into not getting their moneys worth of their education. I would want to educate the professors on technology and other ways to teach students besides lecturing and writing on a chalkboard. In order for kids to pay attention they need more then a boring lecture. 

   

Blog Post #2

1. The video Did You Know? 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod that came from the link Did You Know 3.0 was very interesting. The authors I believe in this video are trying to get the point across that technology is a thing of the future. Even though we have technology now it will be taken to a newer level before we even know it. Also they are trying to say that computers and technology in general are growing. Those who refused using technology are now forced to use it or be left behind.

My opinion on the video is that it is incredible. All the facts that are coming at you in that video are amazing and each fact proves the point of the video that technology is a continuous growing thing. I like how at the end of the video it talked about the babies that were all born during that video because it brought it all together to realize how many new people are being welcomed into the world and how many will change it through technology.

2. The video Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman that came from the link Mr. Winkle Wakes got its point across without just coming out and saying it. The video did not give complex reasons of why education should embrace technology, but simply gave the idea that businesses and hospitals embraced technology and were getting stuff done and saving lives but schools stayed the same and did not embrace. The school Mr. Winkle said was familiar because the teachers were still lecturing and the students taking notes. Through this simple video the author got his point across that schools should welcome technology not be scared of it.

My opinion of this video was it was genius because anyone who came across that video would get the main point; including people of all ages. I also liked the video because I agreed with it. Schools can no longer fight not having technology to teach children. Technology is something that children get excited about and will all have to embrace some day so why not give them those tools to do so.

3. In the video Ken Robinson says school kills creativity by Ken Robinson from the link Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity was funny but at the same time blunt about how school kills creativity. Ken Robinson  believes that schools should treat creativity just as important as learning how to read. Kids are not creative in school because teachers teach kids that mistakes are horrible so the kids in return do not try to try something new and be creative. In the educational system Ken Robinson said that something that does not change no matter where you go on earth is math and languages are at the top and art is at the bottom. This in turn makes kids think that art has less creditably the math or languages.

My opinion of this video is I agree with Ken Robinson in the fact that schools do not allow kids to be as creative as they need to be. Something that I don't agree with is that art should be seen as equal to math and languages. The reason I believe this is because math and language are center pieces of the world and must be taught to improve technology and life.

4. In the video Can U.S. Students Compete? by Cecilia Gault she ask some pretty smart questions to Ken Robinson. The question that caught my attention was "How does education change by meeting the needs of 21st century?" and how I would respond to that question is it needs to allow kids be creative in technology that the 21st century as brought them. What I would do to make sure Cecilia's in my classroom has a good education is I would do assignments on the computer that lets them learn to feel at ease navigating the internet.

5. In the video Harness your Students' Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis she taught in a school in rural Georgia, but connected her students to the world that surrounds them. Vicki Davis's main point was that teachers do not need to know everything to teach the subject because it empowers the students when they figure something out. She believed that when giving kids just a pencil and paper that only some types of students would succeed.

My opinion of what Vicki Davis is doing in her classroom is it is amazing. I love her method of teaching and letting the students figure things out because technology is always changing so there is no way you could know  all there is to know about technology. I also like Vicki Davis class because it teaches kids how to be comfortable with technology and teach them how to interact with other students through it.

Project #2

Blog Post #1

My name is Shelby Owen and my home town is Trussville, Alabama. I have lived in Trussville for my whole life; it is a small town most say, but I think it is much larger in fact it is my whole word. I have many interest but that one I base most of my life on is soccer. I have played basically every sport you can think: gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, and softball. I believe playing all those sports led me to the sport I truly adore, soccer. The reason I say that I base my life off of soccer is because I am here at The University of South Alabama  because of soccer. As I am sure you have guessed I play soccer for South Alabama and it wasn't the whole reason I chose South Alabama, but it was definitely the main reason. I also came here though because I did not want a big college, but I did want one large enough that I felt like I wasn't in High School anymore.

I have a very loving family that all love me very much, and I realize how lucky I am to be so blessed. I have one brother and one sister. My brother's name is Drew and my sister is Anna Grace. Drew is twenty-two and goes to college at The University of Montevallo. He was also going to be an elementary teacher, but he changed his major to business. My little sister just turned five and started Kindergarten. Most ask if my little sister was a surprise but in fact she was planned. My mom is a very loving person and loves to take care of other people and with me leaving for college she didn't want the house to be "empty" so to speak. I did not want a little sister at first because I did not like the idea of being the middle child, but I soon figured out things would not change. In fact, having a little sister led me to wanting to be an elementary teacher. I love little kids and why would I not want to spend my time with happy children all day. I look forward to the rest of my college time and eventually my teaching career.

What I learned watching Randy Pausch is plans might not go perfectly but if they do not it is not the end of the world, and it is okay to change a plan. Also I learned that if you have a lot to do in your plan for the day you should always do the hardest or "ugliest" thing first. Randy Pausch also said that you should not only have a plan for the day, but it is okay to go ahead and plan for the week, month, or semester. Things might change during that time period but at least you have a guide line. The first time I heard of Randy Pausch was last year in public speaking class. In that class we watched the video of Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. In that video he talked about his childhood dreams and how he achieved them.