Additional Post #1

Metaphors: What They Are and Why We Use Them

1. I missed the metaphor in Tom Johnson's post because I was reading to deep into the post. I do admit that I did not look in full depth of the post. I honestly thought he was talking about pencils until I reread the post and caught my mistake. Actually, I posted it in my response to the post.

2. Metaphors I have encountered:
(a) I would die if I didn't get those shoes.
(b) I'm freezing to death.
(c) I'm so hungry I can eat a cow.
(d) I'm starving to death.
(e) You need to relax your mind.
(f) Time is money.

3. While teaching the difference between metaphors and similes, I would have my students do a poem for the two so they would be able to see the difference. Since they were the ones to actually write the poems it would be embedded into their minds what the difference is.

4. Metaphors are words we use in conversations that gives the listener or reader a better understanding with fewer words. Writers use metaphors to capture your attention where as speakers use them to get through what they are trying to say with a better understanding.

Blog Post #15 ~ Final Reflection

Blog Post #14

After exploring Jose Picardo's blog, I knew I had to add his blog to my PLN. It will definitely come in handy in the future. I love tip two, "use music more often." I totally agree with that. Kids of today listen to music and learn the lyrics after the first time hearing the song. From experience, I know this work. I had a teacher that taught us pro nouns through a rap. Corny yes but if you were to ask any of her students to list you the pro nouns I can bet that they would sing the "Pronoun Rap."

I have never heard of Hot Potatoes but know I will be using it inside my classroom so that I know that all of my students will learn on the same pace. I have already started using Picnik.com for my own personal use but will continue to use it inside the classroom because what kid don't like pictures. I will definitely keep Jose Picardo's blog and tips in mind when setting up my classroom and teaching.

C4T Comments for Teachers

In the month of November I read and commented on Steve Wheeler's blog. Steve is an Associate Professor of learning technology in the Faculty of Health, Education and Society, at Plymouth University.

The first post I commented on was In Flanders Fields. This was a poem by John McRae that was about the graves in of the falling soldiers in Flanders Field. I commented " I am a student at the University of South Alabama whom is enrolled in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I enjoyed the poem. Although I have never been to Flanders Fields I have heard lots of stories from JROTC instructors when I was in high school. One day I hope to go and see for myself."

The next post was A Head Teacher Writes. This post was similar to Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home. A guy who wanted to bring in I pads or tablets for every child so they could be mobile and take them home was denied by many. Stating that many teachers, parents, and others were against it because it was a waist of tax payers money or because they were illiterate to using one. I understood this metaphor now that I know that "pencils" is code name for laptops and tablets. My comment was "I love that. Being that I read a paper titled Pencils, I understood the metaphor. I think it is great that teachers call technology pencils. Quite funny actually."

C4K Comments for Kids

On November 13, I commented on Mrs. Yolis' class blog. In additional to reading her class blog we had to do an additional assignment. I learned a little about Mrs. Yolis and how she teaches. My response to that assignment was Mrs. Yollis is the type of teacher that we, as future teachers, hope to become. Not only do she teach her students by using technology but she also involves their family members, classrooms from all around the world, and others who are interested. Her entire focus is on her students, something we need to see in more teachers.
After exploring Mrs. Yollis' classroom blog, I notice that Mrs. Yollis has a lot of links that she encourages her students and other visitors to look and learn from. You can tell that she took time putting together her class blog and updating it on a daily bases.
I read her Meet Mrs. Yollis page and learned that she has been teaching for 25 years. She recently received a masters degree in “Integrating Technology in the Classroom.” Travel is one her and her husband's past time. Their favorite vacation spots are: Hawaii, Montana, Alaska, Belize, the Arctic Circle, and San Diego.
The video How to Comment was a video made by her students. The video included five tips on commenting. Those tips were: compliment, add new information, make a connection, end with a question, and proofread.
I also enjoyed How to Shoot Great Digital Images. It's a video of her students teaching how to take great pictures. Some tips include inhale, exhale, then snap the shutter button.
In the sidebar of Mrs. Yollis’ blog page contains items such as a cluster map. Her blog had 75,589 visitors between January 7, 2010 and November 13, 2011. Where as for EDM 310 only had 51,262 visitors between January 9, 2010 and November 13, 2011. The sidebar also contains awards that her blog has won. Such as Edublog, including first runner-up in 2009 and 2010, a lifetime achievement award in 2010, and also the best overall for elementary in 2009 from Digital Voice Awards.

On November 16, I commented on Lisa, a student in Room 13 at Pt. England School, blog. Her post was Fake Alien Snot. My response to her post was "Hello Lisa,
My name is Raven. I am a student at the University of South Alabama who is enrolled in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class located in the United States. This class teaches us as future teachers how to include technology in our classrooms. I enjoyed your post. Sounds like you all had a lot of fun making alien snot. I most definitely will have to do that project with my students when I become a teacher. Keep up the good work kiddo!"

Final Progress Report on PLN

When I began using a PLN, I had no clue what it really was. I have continued using my PLN not only for EDM 310 but I have learned that when you are planning a wedding and Christmas shopping online this is a very helpful tool. My PLN has grown with many icons for planning that it should be in one of the bridal magazines. I am glad I learned how to use a PLN it is such a good tool for web goers.

Project #16

Blog Post #13

Beginning this blog post I started to do option 3: Engaging in E-Media. Being that I work around technology I knew that I wasn't going to be able to really do option 3. Since I love to read I decided to go with option 4. I read Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Aldous Huxley, born in 1894 in England, was one of England's most accomplished authors. When he wrote Brave New World in 1932, he offended many of his readers. When I first started to read this book I was kind of offended by it myself. I have read many books about sex and drugs but none of them touched me the way this one did.
The setting was in London of 632 A.F. This book is about the future where they use sleep techniques and just technology to make the world a happier place. Everything from the present time has been done away with. Such as marriage, child bearing, emotions.
According to this book, sex is like a social affair. At an early age children are being introduced to sex. For the ones who can reproduce they are encouraged to use birth control. Instead of marriage, they believe in "everyone belongs to everyone else" because the thought of having a family would be considered having an addiction to porno.
Children are no longer created by sexual contact but instead by "decanted bottles" and raised in Hatcheries and Conditioning Centers. During the time of development each fetus are divided into five classes and then marked a "Plus" or "Minus" member. Ranking from highest to lowest Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon determined what their status in the world would be and how they would develop.
Emotions no longer exist because if they did no one would be happy and if no one is happy then the world has problems. Instead they were controlled by a drug called soma, a pill that takes its users on a hangover-free "holiday".
There are five main characters, three of which who are considered to be misfits. Lenina, a social butterfly, was known as not being as slutty as the other women. Bernard, an Alpha Plus psychologist who is a loner because he doesn't look like the rest of the Alpha Plus. Helmholtz Watson, a professor at the College of Emotional Engineering in the Department of Writing, loves to write poetry but can never publish it because it is not allowed. John, the Salvage, born by a Beta who got lost on a "holiday" but raised by Indians was brought back to the New World by Bernard and Lenina after one of their "holidays". Mustapha Mond, the world controller of Western Europe was once a physicist doing deep thought research on real science. When discovered what he was doing he was given the choice of being put on an island or to become a world controller. Of course he chose to give up science, and now he is in control of people happiness. Being the person he was before the controller, he has a collection of forbidden literature locked away in his office.
After seeing his mother die from soma, John went on a rampage to get rid of the drug. With the help of his friends Helmholtz and Bernard, a riot broke out and the police were called. Being escorted to the controller, Bernard denied all part in the riot and blamed it all on John and Helmholtz. Seeing that Bernard and Helmholtz were being transferred to an island of their choice, John exiled himself in an abandoned lighthouse. Doing a ritual the Indians does as a purifying, John whips himself in the open where it is caught on film and shown to the public. After being shown, hundreds of the public came to see John for his violent behavior for themselves. When seeing Lenina, the woman he loves and blames, come to watch John attacks and whips her. Seeing John attack Lenina, the crowd goes mad with excitement. The next morning, when they return to see John act again they find that he has hanged himself.

Project #14

When beginning this project, I started by getting the opinion from a graduate of South Alabama but also a retired teacher. Unable to use Skype because of her age but also health conditions, I asked her questions and wrote down her answers. Her answer to many of the questions were "things have really changed." Asking how, she looked at me like I should have known the answer, she said "well baby, first that classes are integrated but now you also have computers in them." She feels that students aren't learning with the technology in the classroom because it's taking their attention away from the teachers but also the teachers aren't doing any work because the computers are doing it all. This brought me to get the view from a "new generation" teacher.

Project #15

C4K #11 Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog

Mrs. Yollis is the type of teacher that we, as future teachers, hope to become. Not only do she teach her students by using technology but she also involves their family members, classrooms from all around the world, and others who are interested. Her entire focus is on her students, something we need to see in more teachers.
After exploring Mrs. Yollis' classroom blog, I notice that Mrs. Yollis has a lot of links that she encourages her students and other visitors to look and learn from. You can tell that she took time putting together her class blog and updating it on a daily bases.
I read her Meet Mrs. Yollis page and learned that she has been teaching for 25 years. She recently received a masters degree in “Integrating Technology in the Classroom.” Travel is one her and her husband's past time. Their favorite vacation spots are: Hawaii, Montana, Alaska, Belize, the Arctic Circle, and San Diego.
The video How to Comment was a video made by her students. The video included five tips on commenting. Those tips were: compliment, add new information, make a connection, end with a question, and proofread.
I also enjoyed How to Shoot Great Digital Images. It's a video of her students teaching how to take great pictures. Some tips include inhale, exhale, then snap the shutter button.
In the sidebar of Mrs. Yollis’ blog page contains items such as a cluster map. Her blog had 75,589 visitors between January 7, 2010 and November 13, 2011. Where as for EDM 310 only had 51,262 visitors between January 9, 2010 and November 13, 2011. The sidebar also contains awards that her blog has won. Such as Edublog, including first runner-up in 2009 and 2010, a lifetime achievement award in 2010, and also the best overall for elementary in 2009 from Digital Voice Awards.

Progress Report on Final Report

Our final project will include myself, Dominique Spence, and Gretchen Mcpherson. We will be doing our final project on the skills we have learned in EDM 310. We plan on using the green screen, Imovie, and podcast to enhance the effect of our project. Our project is a surprise so we don't want to tell too much. Stay tuned for more!

Blog Post #12

While watching Steve Jobs' Inspirational Speech think of are you motivated enough to motivate your students. As he stands before the graduating class of Stanford, he tells them three different stories. Each story has its own moral. Listen and pay attention closely for I want you to describe in three different paragraphs on what you think each moral is.

Before watching this video, I just knew that Steve Jobs was the guy who invented Apple. Since I am becoming a bigger fan of Apple I decided to Google him. Turns up there is a lot to learn about the late Steve Jobs. Like Bill Gates, Jobs is also a college drop out. Many parents force their kids to succeed in college but I have to disagree by saying college is not for everyone. Bill and Steve prove that point clear. Even without a college degree they were able to become successful legally.
In Jobs first story it was about his early part of life. His biological mother wanting his adopting parents to be college graduates so she would be more comfortable with her baby living with them. Although his adoptive parents were not college graduates (adoptive father high school drop out), they still encouraged Steve to go to college. A prestige college at that where they were paying tuition out of pocket. Six months into the semester Jobs decides to dropout but become a drop in student where he learned calligraphy. This was the first skill he learned for Mac. The moral of this story was knowing how to connect the dots. Steve said "you must trust in yourself enough to know that later on down the road the dots will connect." I agree. When doing the connect the dots puzzles I always start from the end and work backwards to the beginning. This scenario even plays with my life. When I was old enough I planned out my entire life. To where I live, who I want to marry, to what I want to be. Although I have changed the pattern of my 'dots' I know that they will still make the same pattern in the end. With that being said it leads to Steve's second story.
Steve's second story was about love and lost. You must love what you are doing. Starting Apple at the age of 20 in his mothers garage, he found what he love at an early age. Ten years later he lost it. He learned that being let go was the best thing that happened to him. He created two different programs Next and the other one is like the new Disney, Pixar. Pixar became large where as Next was bought out by Apple. "Sometimes life will hit you in the head with a brick but don't loose faith." In the end he never lost what he love. This moral ties in to what I have believed in for a very long time. A career is something you love where as a job is something you are just doing. Yes, we all know that some teachers do not get paid that much but if you love it why should the pay matter? My major was once where I knew the pay would be good but the classes stressed me out and did not bring me enjoyment while taking them so I switched to where my heart was, teaching.
The last and final story was about death. Like Steve, I live by the same quote "live every day like it was your last." After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Steve never gave up he just kept living like it was his last. He said that even though he was face to face with death it wasn't nice. "Nobody is ready to die not even those who want to go to heaven." He encourages that you should follow your own heart and mind to not to live in any one else shadows. Like Randy Pausch, it is sad that Steve Jobs past on. It is great that they left a great legacy for many people to come.

C4K Comment for Kids #2

For the past month I have been following two different students. On October 24 I commented on Charlotte's page. Charlotte is a student from 2KJ
"My name is Raven. I am a student at the University of South Alabama that’s located in the United States. I am currently enrolled the class EDM 310 which teaches future teachers how to stay in contact and teach our students by using technology. When I was in grade school my family and I went to the New Orleans zoo or to Biloxi, Mississippi. Yes, there are penguins in other countries. No, I have never been to Phillip Island but will look into going there one day because your slide show seem like you had a lot of fun. Keep up the good work." Her response was "Hi Raven,
Thanks for your comment on my blog i loved it! i love to hear from people all around the world! hope to hear from you soon,
Charlotte."

On October 27 I commented on "We've got the Write Stuff," a year 4 class at Pt England School in Auckland NZ. My comment was "Hi!
My name is Raven and I am a student that's enrolled in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama located in Mobile, Alabama. I really enjoyed your post about the Canadian flag. I love how you had the flag move along the mountains while you talked about it. I have never been to Canada but I do have a lot of Canadian money. Keep up the good work, kiddo!"

Blog Post #11

After watching the video "First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class," I realized that Ms. Cassidy has a class of intelligent 6 year old students. In Ms. Cassidy's first grade class they know how to use blogs, webpages, wiki's, and skype in order to communicate with students from other places. In my class I would like to bring blogs, webpages, and skype into my classroom. I would use the blogs for my students assignments on a daily bases to teach them how to read for comprehension and write correctly. The webpages would allow my students to check and follow what will be going on in class. The most important thing would be skype, because I would like for my students to interact with students in other places who are on the same level as they are.
Of course nothing ever goes exactly as plan without a little trials and tribulations to get to that point. My problems would consider between both student and parents. After graduation, I would like to start off by teaching here in Mobile but then move to Georgia where I will educate in one of the rural areas because I volunteer at my mom school and seeing those kids not having the same opportunity I had in elementary with playing guitars, recorders, learning Spanish. I want to give back to my community. This will be a problem because after school is over many of my students won't have access to a computer unless they go to the nearest library but what if their parent don't have transportation? Not only would this problem stop my students, parents might get upset because their child couldn't do their work. With that being said this should encourage the parents to get on the band wagon so they can't complain why their child is "left behind" technology wise. In order to solve my problems plan A would be to encourage my students to do fundraisers where it will allow them to afford a computer inside their homes. If plan A fails plan B would be to go to my school system and government where I would argue the "no child left behind" act. Like the teacher from the movie "Freedom Writers," I will stop at nothing to better educate my students because by all means the children are our future.

C4T #3

For the past couple of days I have been following the "Tech for Teachers" facebook page. My first comment was on a video titled "Play Again Film Trailer." This video was about children not going outside to be apart of nature anymore. Now days kids spend majority of their time watching television or playing video games. Yes, they make video games such as the Wii or Xbox Kinect where you are the controller. When I was growing up I know I got a bike as a present either every Christmas or every other Christmas. Where as kids now don't ask for bikes, skates, jump ropes, side- walk chalk to make hop scotch. They just ask for games and more games. I am curious on how children of today's time would react if there was no such thing as Wii, XBox, or Playstions? Sounds like a great idea.
The second video that I watched was "Why Let Our Students Blog" by Rachel Boyd of New Zealand. In summary of this video, Rachel gave a couple of good reasons to why our students should blog. Not only should they blog to communicate or to expand outside the classroom but "to give them skills useful for their digital future." I agree with Rachel because while being in EDM 310 I have learned more things about what I can do with my laptop than I did in my computer class. Not speaking bad of my computer class. Kids can learn a majority of things from blogging and also meet new people.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?
While watching this video, I realized that I shouldn't have changed my mind in the beginning. I thought I wanted to be a pediatrician but I soon realized that I was not going to be able to deal with seeing very sick children or even the thought of seeing one die on me. I went back to my original plan, becoming a teacher. I chose to become a teacher because I knew I wanted to help children. Not only help them but to teach them and advise them to become anything they want to be.
This video showed the difference between teaching and educating. I think that I have the power of both. You must have both qualities if you are in the education field. One might out way the other but you have both qualities. I will make sure I both advise and impart knowledge into my students.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!
In Mr. Johnson's post he disagrees with Gertrude, his school's Curriculum Instructional Interventionist Academic Specialist. She argues that students in low income areas should not use pencils because they would just use them as entertainment. Johnson responds by stating, "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."
I think Mr. Johnson uses sarcasm to make his point. Like many others have quoted "don't be scared to learn," and students are always learning that's why we are there. We can advise the students to learn in a creative way. I feel if they use pencils or not they are still learning. Bringing your pencils home in order to do your school work will result in a good grade but if they don't then it will result in either a failing grade or a grade they don't want. I don't think by using pencils will lower test grades. For me for example, when I write or in this case type it stays in my memory therefore, my test scores go up. So in this case a lesson was learned whether it’s part of the curriculum or not.

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year By: Mr. McClung
For my blog post #9, I chose to do Mr. McClung's "What I've Learned This Year 2008-2009" "What I've Learned This Year 2010-2011." In his first blog post from 2008- 2009, he summarizes on his first year of teaching. While doing so he also gave some good pointers to teachers who are coming in. First, you must "know how to read the crowd." He states that "teachers become so concerned with the delivery of the content that they are missing the most important aspect of teaching, and that is checking for student comprehension." I agree with McClung fully. Teachers of today teach according to these CRTs or EQTs. To me, I don't think students really get the comprehension when taught that way. His next pointers are "be flexible, communicate, be reasonable, don't be afraid of technology, listen to your students, and never stop learning." All McClung's pointers are very helpful for first time teachers. It should be about the student, listen to your students, and also never stop learning. You are never to old to learn and everyone wants someone to listen to them.
The second part 2010-2011, was about the third year of his teaching career. After accepting many new jobs, McClung states that this end of the year reflection was easier. The best quote that he said was "I guess the moral of this lesson is that you cannot allow others to stifle your own excitement and joy that you experience in teaching or any other facet of life for that matter." I totally agree with that. Many people go to school to become a teacher but people start talking about the money or how bad the kids of today is so they find another major. I think that if you are passionate and want it to be a career and not a job, then keep that major. His pointers in this post was first "know who your boss is, don't think everybody will be as excited about change as you are, don't be afraid to be an outsider, don't touch the keyboard, and don't get comfortable." I think that McClung is a good inspiration to future teachers. Every future teacher should follow these pointers.

Project #13 Smartboard Part 1

Blog Post #8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2
As I began watching Miller's video, I instantly became bored. His voice did not catch my attention but his video itself did. Pushing myself to pay attention to what he was saying, turned out that I enjoyed the video. He has very good points where he makes us, not only as future teachers but Americans, think about how we write and read now days. If you sit back and think about it, do you really see that much pen and paper in classrooms now? Just being enrolled in EDM 310 should give you the answer to that question.
Miller encourages everyone in the education field to learn how to write in the multimedia format. This format allows you to not only publish your writings in a book but also online. Everything we use in today's time in some way has to deal with technology. If you were to walk into a classroom and look around the first thing you won't see is a chalk board. There is something like it though, called a smart board.
I honestly can say that I agree with Miller, due to the fact that technology grows all day every day. In a few years, who knows there might not be something called pencils and paper. Besides, who wouldn't want to learn and write the multimedia way? Using pictures and videos can really get your point across instead of just writing it on paper and turning it in. I will definitely be teaching my students this method.

Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh
I can honestly say that Carly is ready to become a teacher. As a teacher you have to think of ways to keep your students interest and Carly did just that. The playlist idea would be a great idea as our final reflection project. That way it shows Dr. Strange all that we learned and help us put to use what we learned. She took Miller's words and ran with them. She did everything he told us to do when writing with multimedia.
Her links were great. Not only did they help her put her point across they helped make the post more enjoyable. She had categories from humor to serious. I loved the video "leave your mark" because you should think outside of the box and do something in life that people will remember you by. I walk around town and see so many people on the streets and think to myself "I wonder what they had planned for their life when they were younger?" This brings me to the video “when I grow up” and “Don’t laugh at me." I will definitely be showing these three videos in my class.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies
Watching both of these videos showed just how I felt at the beginning of our EDM 310 class this semester. As the class went on I noticed that it became easier. Notice I said easier not EASY! In the video "The Chipper Series," Chipper procrastinates and when confronted by Dr. Strange she comes up with an excuse like every other student has ever done. Like many students who get fed up with not being able to stay on task with their school work, Chipper drops out. After her idea creating her own school that allowed students to come, go, and do as they please failed, Chipper returned back to Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. In the video "EDM 310 for Dummies," the two girls were at the beginning feeling just like I was, frustrated. As the video progressed it showed that Dr. Strange had come up with a book EDM 310 for Dummies. This book broke EDM 310 down that the girls were able to succeed in their work. I think I could do one of these videos. My group and I came up with an idea for one of these videos. I honestly want to do the playlist project that Carly mentioned in her video.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
In this video, a variety of different educators gave their opinion about how they felt about the way kids are being taught today. I both agree with this video. I agree with the fact that, yes teachers should become technology literate so they are able to teach kids of today's time. Kids are very technology literate and like one of the women from this video said "Kids are very rich developers through their emails, texting, and social networking, but yet all that is band from the classrooms." I agree with her. I am glad that I have learned some ways to stay connected to my students outside the classroom from EDM 310. I believe that educators should use something inside the classroom besides books to keep their students attention and involved.

Project #12 Book Trailer

Short Movie Project #11

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch was an inspirational speaker. He spent his life inspiring others After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Pausch lived his life every day like it was his last. In this video of his last lecture, he talks about his dreams, him helping others achieve their dreams, and lessons he has learned along the way. This lecture was not to be sad he simply did not want anyone to feel sad for him or his family.
"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." When Pausch said this I honestly felt like he was talking to me. I believe that if you truly want something you would not let anything stand in your way to get what you want. This was a very inspirational quote because everyone should live by it. Teachers should live by it inside their classrooms so their students this will believe that they can be anything they want to be if they put their minds to it. He spoke frequently about his students and the adventures of discovery they made together in the field of the virtual world. He mentioned that when he gave his first assignment, and the students turned in videos that amazed and awed him, a fellow employee told him not to let his students know that they did a great job because they may not work as hard. Instead he repeatedly told his students to do better.
"Alice", the project Randy was working on at ETC was "millions of kids having fun while learning something hard". Another one of Randy's quotes was "When you're screwing up and no one is saying anything anymore, that means they've given up on you." This quote ties into the previous quote I mentioned above. If teachers let their students know that it is okay to accept constructive criticism; without it you would never know your flaws. He encouraged other teachers to allow there students learning occur during something fun. Like everything else, when the going gets tough "experience is what you get when you don't get what you want".
At the end of his lecture, Randy made a great point, "Don't bail the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap." Everyone goes through hard times in order to get to where they wanna be in life. He also said "don't complain; just work harder." Even after so much criticism Randy got to where he was by working hard. As Rafe Esquith mentioned in his book "kids these days don't want to work for it they just want their life handed to them on a silver platter." I was very excited to have watched this video. I plan to bring these lessons into my classroom and hopefully my students will learn from them so they can pass them on.

C4T Comments for Teachers #2

For the past month I have been following Tom Hobson's also known as Teacher Tom blog posts. Mr. Hobson is a pre-school teacher who was against small areas for small children. I also is against that small children should be taught in a small environment. It gives them no room to grow or be a child. His first post was The Best Of All Possible Worlds. In summary, this post was about a teacher who never lost the site of teaching no matter how small his classroom space was. Like many other classes Teacher Tom's class was moved into the gym where the little ones were able to move about and do fun activities. Teacher Tom mentions that his class has the best of all possible worlds because they can now run around, build block structures, and do gutter activities without knocking or hurting anyone else. For instants, his student Violet was building blocks and accidentally knocked them over, instead of hearing a cry Hobson heard her tell him that it was okay because she could rebuild it.

Hobson's second post was titled Soon It Was Someone Else's Turn. In this post he talks about how children are sneaky but cute. In his class he has a hamster wheel where his students (yes, 3-5 years old kids) are learning how centrifugal force is being used. Connor, one of his students, claims the wheel as his own and would not let any of the other students play with it. During the next class time Connor saw Gray, his classmate, playing with the wheel and instantly went charging for it. Like any other adult would do, Teacher Tom told Connor he would have to wait until his turn. Like any other 3 year old Connor didn't like that decision, so he waited beside Gray. While both boys helped each other with the task of keeping the car rolling on the hamster will, Hobson praises them a little to quickly. After hearing Hobson say "Connor helped Gray by holding the base so it wouldn't fall over," both boys pulled but Gray was quicker. Getting impatient Connor left to find better things to do. When told by Hobson that it was now his turn to play with the wheel, Connor no longer wanted to play with the wheel.

Reading Tom Hobson's posts while looking at the pictures let me know instantly that I was finally in my right major. I can not wait to become a teacher so I can watch and observe the little ones.

Project #10 PLN First Progress Report

When starting EDM 310 I had no clue what PLN was. I just kept hearing other students and teachers at my mom's school saying "I have to add that to my PLN." Now I've learned that PLN stands for Personal Learning Network. I created my PLN and so far it has been a great help! No longer do I have to think hard of what page of the website I love. Now I just click on my PLN. When asking around which PLN system to use, symbaloo or netvibes, many of my classmates said symbaloo would be a better choice. After watching the video of the 7th grader, I chose symbaloo. This creates easier access to the websites I use the most. Not only have I added facebook, twitter, and my g-mail but also, my school email and my shopping website as well. Even after EDM 310 class I'm sure I will continue using my PLN!

Timetoast Timeline Instruction Project #9b

Project #8 Podcast Group

Timetoast Project #9a

C4K Comments for Kids

On September 13 I left a comment on TomJoe's, a student in Mr. Harris' Room 19, Class Blog. The topic was Where in the world ? Slovenia and Kazakhstan. He gave the demographics of both places. At the end he talks about rugby, a sport that in the United States will be called soccer. I told them rugby is not a popular sport in the United States but we do have a sport like it called football and I am a huge fan of it.

On September 24 I read I like my iPad by Mr.Capps and Mrs. Yim. The kids from a Baldwin county school got iPads in their classroom and they were the first ones to use them. I comment, "I enjoyed the facial expressions on the students faces. Watching the video encouraged me to become a teacher even more. Ms. Buffett did a great job by giving these kids the iPads. By the looks on their faces, they were ready to learn. I will continue to stay posted to see what more these kids have for me."

On September 28 in Mrs. Dahl's class my student, Ocean, did a book report on Superfudge. The book is about a kid who mom was having a baby and he did not want her to so he decided that he would leave. I commented saying what a cool name. I am glad to see you enjoyed the book. Most importantly I am glad that you actually read the book to enjoy it. I became a Judy Bloom fan after reading this book. Continue reading it is a great way to go on adventures without leaving home. Have fun reading kiddo.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student
The 21st century student does many things that we are being taught in our EDM 310 class. Just like I am assigned, he reads other blogs and comment on them. He also writes his own blog where other classmates and others can review and comment on. Like many students in the 21st century he uses his iPod as a learning device.
The video asks the question "why do we even need a teacher?". Teachers are needed whether or not technology exist. In this instants, it looks as teachers are not needed because a student can look up and learn anything through the internet. A teacher's responsibility is to guide their students by helping them learn on their own, to answer questions students have, and to guide them through the learning process.
I think this video shows a lot of great things that the internet can do. It also shows the things we are learning in this class and it helped me understand the ways that it will better my future. Not only will this help us out, but it will also help future students who are studying the same thing and run across our blogs.

A 7th Grader PLE
As I listened and watch the video, I thought to myself that this could not be a 7th grader. The way she talked portrayed her to be in a higher grade level than what she is. She is intelligent and organized to be in the 7th grade. I can remember when I was in the 7th grade I had notebook paper outside of my binders crumbled at the bottom of my book bag. She mentions that she likes doing her work better on the computer because she can do it at her own time and in her own way. If all students were like her, grades would rise. With a checklist, like myself, she still feels like she has independence. With that being said, it gives her the feeling independence where she but still having deadlines for her assignments but its all up to her when and how it is completed.
Although I have not yet set up my PLN, I plan to use Symbaloo just as this 7th grader did. Another classmate of mine told me that this program is easier to use rather than delicious. Just as hers was helpful to me, I hope mine will also be helpful to someone who looks at mine later down the road.

Blog Post #5

Don't Teach your Kids This Stuff
As I began reading this post I found myself getting very defensive because I felt that this guy was outrageous about not letting your kids associate with anything to do with technology. I think that Dr. McLeod's post is very attention catching. The way he wrote it you actually had to read between the lines to understand what he was really talking about. Dr. McLeod's main message is to teach kids technology because it will help them in the long run. The children who do not get to use technology and know how to work it will miss out on job opportunities in the future. For the simple fact that while technology is advancing, majority of the companies and jobs are advancing too.
Dr. McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa state. He is a professor in the Educational Administration Program and he also created one of the Did You Know videos! Dr. McLeod has won several awards for his technology leadership work, and he blogs regularly about it!

The iSchool Initiative
The iSchool Initiative is a more ecological way to learn. Instead of using pen and paper, textbooks, and copy machines, each student would have there own iPod platform that would have all the features of an iTouch. There are already plenty of apps that have what each classroom would need, but if just a few more were added to meet the requirements of each school system then this could work out.
I think that Travis has a great idea. Although I think this will happen within the next few years, we already have iPads in the classrooms so why wouldn't it work. I just wonder when will the students began using this? Will it be in kindergarten or when they hit the 5th grade? I know for a fact this works for college courses.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
All I can say is wow. Was that really conducted online? None of these people have ever met before, yet they still sing in perfect harmony. This is just another example of the amazing things you can do with technology. Whitacre has really made it hard to fill his shoes. I am still in disbelief. I can't wait to see what he has to show us next!

Teaching in the 21st Century
"Teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge, we are the filter." This was the main sentence that stood out to me in this video. Kevin Roberts is very right about this. It used to be that teachers knew it all and they were the ones that taught us everything we know. There are so many different sources we could go to if we have a problem to solved. Now days teachers are there to guide students in the right direction when problem solving.
To teach, means to help students learn, not by themselves but with the help of a teacher. I think this video has a major impact on the way that teachers who are against technology view technology use in the classroom. This video will make them see that they are still useful and needed in the classroom. Technology is not replacing teachers, it is just helping the students to be prepared for the future. I think that every teacher should want that for their students, right?

My Sentence Movie

Blog Post #4

Langwitches
Langwitches is a website dealing with the podcasting in a first grade classroom. The teacher got a group of her students to record a script that she wrote. As young kids they loved the fact that they could hear their own voices as they read alone. I enjoyed how the teacher was able to write down the steps. I will love to do this as a project inside my classroom. It will allow the students not to use the 'burp-back' method instead they will be engaged into the activity.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
I really enjoyed the video. I think podcasting inside or outside the classroom is a great way for students to learn. There are students who learn better by taking notes, listening, or a visual approach. Podcasts can be use for all three approaches. I like the idea that if a child has to miss class they can just log onto iTunes and watch or listen to the pod cast so they will not be behind. It is also a good way for parents to get involved in their child's learning. I remember when I was younger and it was story time, my teacher would play the tape as we followed along in the book. To me that way made the story come to life and I loved o hear the 'ding' when it was time to turn the page. Students recording their own podcasts can also bring more excitement in their learning. By getting the students involved and changing up the everyday routine may keep their attention span open for different learning skills and keep them interested. Hopefully that will result in higher grades and more learning instead of 'burp back'. This video helped me to realize that when I get my classroom I will be using this technique with my students.

100 Ways to use your iPod
Who would have ever known that the same gadget you use to listen to music you can also use it as a note taker or listen to newspapers by podcast? I surely did not. Going through grade school I always thought that you either had to google it or buy it. There were plenty of times I have bought sparks notes or spent all day looking at sparks note when I could have just downloaded them to my iPod. I also thought about investing in getting a Kindle instead of continuing buying books. Why do that when I can download it onto my iPod. I would have never known that my iPod could have been used for so many different reasons. The learning tool on how to do a podcast will help me and my group when we do our podcast.

Blog Post #3

It's Not About the Technology
I think that the most important point that Mrs. Hines made was teachers must be learners. People are constantly learning and in order for someone to be an effective teacher they must be able to be a learner first. Just because teachers were taught a certain way when they were going through school doesn't mean that they have to continuously teach in that way. This is mainly important because the students of today are growing up in a different way than children did 20 years ago. Most teachers have access to a computer and know how to use it but why not use these as learning tools in the classroom?
Mrs. Hines also made the point that learning and teaching are not the same thing. She is very right about this. Just because you are teaching a student something does not mean that they are learning it. If the teacher realizes that the student is not learning what they are trying to teach them then the teacher needs to take a different approach to the way they are teaching. The teachers need to form their teaching methods to each student as an individual. I agree 100% with what Mrs. Hines says in this blog!

Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In this post, Karl Fisch discusses why it is not okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher. Computers in the classroom should be used as a learning tool for both teacher and student. Some teachers don't want to change their ways because of they are stuck in the time when they were taught to teach. Little do they know that times and technology continuously changes and they need to do the same. Being technologically literate is all for the learning of the student. I think that in order for the child to be taught the correct way teachers must have the drive to stay up to date. I totally agree that principles should be accounted for their teachers if they are not up to speed with today's world. Principals and teachers should want their students to succeed, right?
Karl Fisch and Mrs. Hines have a lot in common with the way they view technology in the classroom. I agree with them both and think that every teacher should start using it, and make a change in the way that they teach their students. Besides, students today are our future and we need to train them in every way we can!

Social Media Count
Seeing these numbers change in less than a second blows my mind! This is evidence that technology is advancing continuously. I know that as a teacher, I will need to keep up with technology even as I get older because it is the way people around the world stay connected to society.
I think that teachers need to stay up to speed with technology in order to stay connected with their students. To be able to be on the students "level" will allow them to gain more respect for you and for them to trust you with what you are teaching. Times are changing and so is the way that students are learning.

A Vision of Students Today
Although this was my first time seeing this video I can honestly say I am the majority of those students. I think that it is overwhelming what is expected out of college students. When the classmates were showing statistics, it all averaged out to be 26.5 hours of work a day. I know for me personally every hour of my day is filled with something. If it isn't school than it is work. Since this semester has started leisure time does not exist for me!
A way that this video does not relate to me is when they showed a sign that was suggesting spending a lot of money on books that they don't even crack open. Personally, I wait until after my first time in a class before buying books that way I know whether it is actually needed or not. Overall, I think this video does accurately represent the average college student and their day to day life.

Project #5

C4T Comments for Teachers

For the past week I have been following David Hopkins' blog posts. His first post was How Important is the "About" page on your blog. In summary, this post says without the about page how will the reader know about the person who is blogging. According to Mr. Hopkins and many others it is very important. Without the "About" page readers will not be allowed to learn about the bloggers. An excerpt from the post states that many readers will stop reading if they were unable to read an "about" page about the blogger. I agreed with everything Mr. Hopkins said. He also mentioned in his blog about some people thinking that if they were to do an about page that it will lead to unwanted guest to follow their blogs. I think that in a sense yes that is true but, like Mr. Hopkins stated this page is not only looked at by readers of your blog but also by future employers. Therefore, an about page is very important. Hopkins' second post that I read was What's your "elevator pitch"? Do you even have one? In this post, Hopkins talks about what is the 'elevator pitch'. As he states the 'elevator pitch' is when giving a speech either about yourself or your business, you should be able to talk about it in a timely matter. He used the simile like taking an elevator ride from the top floor to the bottom floor how you move from floor to floor in a timely sort. Hopkins mentioned that it is a good way to prepare yourself for the "who are you and what do you do" question. Although this was my first time hearing about the 'elevator pitch', I think that everyone should have prepared and ready an elevator pitch on hand at all times. Not only will the elevator pitch be good for conferences or employers but also if your dating or meeting new friends it can come in handy. We all should have an elevator pitch even though some or longer than others but we all should have one. For the ones who do not have one or don't think theirs is long enough you should practice so it can grow.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0
Let's just start off by saying "wow." Does technology really move that fast? I would have never thought that what I have learned and what I am still learning will not be important in the next three years. Although I can see how that is possible because I-Pods, laptops, and definitely desktops have changed in just one year. The thing that caught my attention the most was that China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world. To me it's hilarious because what about us as Americans?
If I don't learn anything while in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 about being technologically literate, then according to this video I should. According to this video in a couple of years computers will be able to function on a higher level of a human's brain. This video shows the progression of technology and how the world is honestly changing according to technology.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
This video shows how technology is all around us besides in the classrooms. I honestly don't think this video is accurate because technology is in the classrooms but it might not be as fast as it is evolving everywhere else. Teachers might not use the technology but it's there. Like Mr. Winkle saw that there was a computer but it was just dusty and not being used.
We are learning that all teachers should be technology literate. I think this is what Mr. Winkle is trying to show us. Although he wasn't use to technology but the video shows that technology should be use in classroom so that it won't look foreign when you go out into the world.
Sir Ken Robinson
I strongly agree with this video schools don't support creativity. By living here in Mobile, Al schools really do take away the creativity for the simple reason we have to wear uniforms.By wearing uniforms no child is allowed to be themselves. I feel that children in artistic classes should have regular classes just as math, science, english, and history all are.
All students are not the same.Speaking from experience when I get bored I loose my attention. All students have different learning types; some can learn by listening while others learn by watching.
Ken said a quote that stuck with me "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never be original." This is true because as we grow we all make mistakes and without mistakes you can never say you learned a lesson. Kids get scared of having the wrong answer so they never ask questions because of fear of being wrong. We have all heard the saying "There's no such thing as a dumb answer." If we show kids that it is normal to be original then kids would be know that it is okay to show their creative side.
Cecilia Gault
I think Cecilia has a bright future of becoming a reporter one day! She did very well in asking questions that would get the viewer more interested in the topic that is being discussed. Although you could tell that she was nervous she stayed very calm and pronounced everything with confidence. She is an intelligent young lady in order to understand and communicate back and forth with Ken Robinson. We as teachers can help children be more like Cecilia by keeping them engaged in the class room, and have every class like a public speaking class.
Vicki Davis
After watching Vicki Davis I strongly agree with her. She is the kind of teacher I envy. She is a very inspiring teacher and those students are lucky to have her. I think it is such a great idea how she lets the students teach some of the lessons. By the students teaching the lessons, it is forcing them to learn the required materials, and not as Dr. Strange calls it "burp- back" material.
I think it is also neat that she lets the students explore into the basic lessons she gives them, and the students are actually able to teach her about the projects she has assigned to them. The style of teaching that Vicki does is rare but it's the way we all should be teaching.

Wordle Project #2

Blog Post #1

My Story is Just Begining
  I am a 21 year old junior at the University of South Alabama. After graduating from high school in 2008 I attended Alabama State University where I was pursuing a major in Biology Pre- Medicine. I transferred to South last year where I declared my major as  BMD (biomedical science). I was born and raised in Mobile, Al. I have a loving and caring family that is very understandable about all of my decisions. 
   I am very passionate about children. While growing up I always knew I wanted to help kids no matter what the job was I was going to give my all to help kids. I chose a major to become a pediatrician but decided to switch to education because I don't think I would have been able to handle a death of a child but knew I was able to handle teaching and watching the excitement in the children eyes as they learn. In my opinion their are too many people out there who take jobs for the paycheck and not because they love what they do. I hope to be that teacher that  make a difference in children's lives to where they can't wait to come to my class.


Randy Pausch's Time Management

   After watching Dr. Randy Pausch’s video I learned that being able to have time management is like air you need it throughout your life. I have never been great with time management but I use the planning system not to say that I follow the list thoroughly but I make the attempt to make the list and try to follow through with it. Leaving class Wednesday night I realized that the little things that I did know about time management is not going to work while taking EDM 310.  When I make my to-do list I now know that I have to actually follow it. Randy Pausch talks about that we never ask the question “why we are doing something” we just do it.  Hearing that made a lot of sense to me; we do our assignments and what our parents told us because we are getting graded for them or we know there’s consequences behind our actions but do we actually do them just because. I can honestly say I have never sat and thought why I am doing this I just done it.   While doing this assignment I asked myself why did Dr. Strange tell us to watch the video and blog about it, my first reaction was to gain the points and don’t fail his class but I thought outside the box and saw the bigger aspect and came up with if I learn how to ask myself why I am doing an assignment before doing it when I teach my class they will be able to use the same skill and give more effort into their assignment.  He also mentions that everybody makes mistakes and its okay to fail sometimes it’s a part of life and with each mess up comes a learning experience.  I had never heard of Randy Pausch before I watched his video and since I enjoyed the video I decided to Google which led me to watching another video of his "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams."