Final Post

Project #16

Final PLN report

My PLN is on Symbaloo. Everything is coordinated by color, and all my websites have icons that apply to that particular website. I love Symbaloo because you can make it completely your own. It makes everything very easy to get to. It also is super easy to add, edit, or delete anything that you need to. You can make it different categories by going to the next widget over. This makes using a PLN very simple. I would recommend anyone who wants to start a PLN to use Symbaloo. I had never used one until I took this class and I found this one to be "beginner friendly." You can also search the internet from the center of the screen. Having a PLN can be super easy and organized with Symbaloo.

C4K Summary Post (November and December)

The child I was assigned to first was a little boy. He went to Noel Elementary and his blog was about his dog. He had a black lab puppy. I commented back stating that I had a yellow lab but she was almost two years old already. I wished him luck in school and told him to keep up the good work on his blog. The next blog I was assigned to was about Flat Rohin. It was a paper man named "Flat Rohin." The class created their own "flat man" and sent them all around. Flat Rohin was in Portland, Oregon (about 3,000 miles away from the school). I commented on how I though that was a very neat idea. Since Flat Rohin wrote a summary and took pictures in every place he went then the student got to learn about a lot of different cultures. The last student I commented on was more of a group project. They did a video on how to plan a paper. Overall they did a great job on the video. They explained everything, and I really think they helped the class out by making the video. I commented back by saying they did an awesome job. I encouraged them to keep up the good work because technology is getting more advanced every year. At their age I could not make my own video, so they were far more advanced than me. Yasmine was my last assigned blog for the year. No one was commenting on any of her blogs so the whole class decided to comment. I commented on her blog about a book called "Unbridled Fury." She gave a summary of the book, and she really did a great job. I commented back saying that I would have to read the book now because her summary was so good. I encouraged her to keep her blog because it could always help someone, even if just one person. I have thoroughly enjoyed Comment for Kids this semester, and I hope the kids got as much out of it as I did.

C4T #4 Summary Post

The first blog I commented on was "10 Teacher Sayings I Hate." The blog gave examples of sayings such as "He's lazy" and "She's loud." I commented back stating that I thought teachers used these sayings because they didn't want to deal the children. I believe some teachers blame the children for not getting something because they feel they shouldn't have to reteach it. The next blog I commented on was titled "Make Time for.....Conversation." It was about who students are speaking to, when they are speaking, and what about they are speaking. I commented back that I had never thought about that. Yes, students talk in class but it's probably not about the subject you are teaching. I think using creativity in the classroom keeps students engaged and interested. I loved reading these blogs because they were always interesting.

Additional Assignment #5

       Just Teach Them to Solve for X is about teaching students in a different way. Not everything in life is simple and to the point. The math teaher in this post was teaching his students to solve for X by drawing a picture. This made the students think about the concept of how getting X worked, which probably stuck with them more than a "chalkboard lesson." Sketch Portraits seemed to be about getting to know your students. If you have a better awareness of them then you will know how to handle and talk to them. Communication is key as a teacher, and we must know how to speak to our students. He Just Likes the Class for the Pencil was about nbont shaming the students. In my opinion, children learn better when they are enjoying what they are doing. No matter what technology you have, if the students do not enjoy it then it will not help. The Medium Shapes the Learning was one that I was not sure about. I think it meant that you did not need to have the latest technology to teach the students; instead, digger deeper and being creative with what you have will help them learn. If a teacher is not motivated, then they can not expect their students to be.

Project 15

Mickey Mouse's Picnic


The Ants Go Marching One by One

Blog Post #13

    Alabama's Learning Exchange, also known as ALEX, is a website that provides a numerous amount of resources for teachers. The website has the Alabama Course of Study requirements, lesson plans, web links to other resources, professional development websites, podcasts on every subject, as well as a personal workplace to keep anything you create or want to use. If you aren't sure what you are looking the website have a "search" section that lets you type in anything and it will search the whole website for you. 

   ALEX is a wonderful website for any teacher in Alabama. The lesson plans range from Kindergarten to twelfth  grade and are any subject from art to career technical education. The website is free so cost is not an issue. It also very organized and easy to use. As a first time user, I found it very simple and to the point. Anything I wanted to look at was there, and it wasn't hard to find. I would recommend all teachers to use this website if they have to create their own lesson plans. Click here for the link: ALEX

Social Networks

I sent out a survey among my EDM310 classmates to see why they began using social networks. I also wanted to know which ones they used and if they used them for school. Another question I asked was if they thought having a Facebook for class to get missed assignments would be helpful. Since social networks are growing everyday, I think colleges should use them. My online classes are almost like a social network because I never see my teachers but we communicate through threaded discussions and emails. I think we should save students some money and just have a Facebook page instead of spending $1,800 for an online class. To see my results from the survey just click here.

Progress Report for Final

For the final project, my partner Ali Reynolds and I plan to go into an elementary classroom and show how the smartboard is being used for curriculum. We also plan to interview teachers to see why the smartboard is helpful to special needs children. The schools we will try to go to are Allentown Elementary, and Westlawn Elementary. We are taking into account that we may not be able to video all the children since it is against the law. Before we begin recording, we are going to ask the teachers if all the children are able to be recorded. If not all of them are, we will make accommodations for them NOT to be recorded. We will show the many different uses of the smartboard in the classroom, as well as how the children interact with it.

Additional Assignment #4

Blog Post #12

Classrooms for the future is a great video that shows what the classrooms should be. I believe this would be a great blog assignment because the students could give their thoughts about the futuristic classroom, what they would or would not change about it, and if they think the change would help or not. The students could also see the reasons behind the change since the video shows where the classroom came from. It gives ideas and reasons to back them up. The video is only 3:26 minutes long, so it isn't something they would get bored watching either.

Project 14

How to create a blog

Blog Post #11

Mrs. Cassidy's approach to technology in her classroom is very creative! I think the children using their DS to play educational games was great. They are getting to do something educational while keeping up with technology. In my classroom, I plan to use the smartboard with most of my lessons. Something I hope to use is Skype. I like that she had a geologists telling her students about rocks. This way the person you are studying does not have to leave where they are; it is convienent for both the receiver and the caller. I think children benefit from using technology because pretty soon that is the only thing they will be using. I also think the children writing on blogs instead of books was a great idea! Positive comment can boost any child's self-esteem, and at a young age this is very important. I hope the school I teach at is up to date with technology so that I can use some these techniques as Mrs. Cassidy did.

C4K #3 - #7 Summary

FiaFia
  For theC4K #3 assignment, my kid's blog was talking about FiaFia Night at school. They were separated into groups to draw images that went to a certain song. My kid's group was named "MTV," and was scheduled to show their video on September 22. "Never Say Never" by Justin Bieber and Jayden Smith was the song they were assigned. I commented on the post stating that I liked Justin Bieber, but I had never heard this song. I did go listen to the song on iTunes, and it did have a catchy beat to it. I also stated that I would love to see the images that drew, but I never heard anything back from them.
My Weekend
   My C4K #4 assignment was a child who lived in Australia. The post I commented on was about his weekend which was not very good. They had a terrible storm with tornadoes, and they even had an earthquake. He said that the storm was twice the size of Australia. I left a comment saying that I had never experienced a tornado or an earthquake so I couldn't imagine what he was going through. I also said I hoped everything got back to normal soon, and that everyone was safe. Someone else commented saying that the next weekend was supposed to be just as bad as the past. I hope everything turned out okay for them!
Video (C4K#5)
  This C4K assignment was probably my favorite. Her blog was about a video they were required to do, and we were also doing a video that week in EDM. We commented about that, and actually have a thread of about 5 comments going. She said the only thing they have done so far is upload pictures of themselves and since their are 13 children in her class, it has taken a while. I told her about the video I created, and how I read a book so that children anywhere could see it. She thought that was a fabulous idea. She loves doing things on the computer so I think it is good she able to have a computer class.
Congrats!!!
   C4K #6 was a blog congratulating the class on their blog accomplishments. He talked about how important having a blog was to him, and how much he appreciated his teacher for setting the class blog up. I commented on his blog explaining that before this class I had never done blogging before but I am beginning to enjoy it. He had a picture of his puppy on a lter post, so I also commented about that and told him a little bit about my dog. He seemed to really enjoy blogging with his class, and his classmates seemed to enjoy it as well from what the comments they left said.
How 'Bout Them Apples

   This C4K assignment was about a project she did with her class. The cut up apples to see how many seeds were in the apples. Since her group had the most seeds, they won! I commented saying that I was so glad her math teacher was using things that the class enjoyed to help them learn. I also told her that if you cut an apple in half (stem to side, not straight up) that it makes a star at the center. I congratulated her and her group on winning the project. It is nice to know that her teacher was bringing a healthy food that the class enjoyed into her lesson to reiterate what she taught!

C4T #3 Summary Post

   My assigned teacher was Chris Pearson. He refers to himself as teachernz on his blog. This first blog I commented on was a video called Web 3.0. The video was about how rapidly technology is emerging, and what it used for now. In my comment I stated that it was shocking! I didn't know that my washing machine had anything to do with the internet, but according to the video it does! I am very curious to know how the 3.0 internet will change things in the future, since everything seems to be changing now. I also stated that I needed to get on board with everything because it was not going to wait on me.
   This next blog I commented on was called Education Reset. It was basically about how the education system needs to change. In my comment I told him that I completely agreed with him. The education system needs to be rebooted fast. I also stated that the longer we wait to change it, the more we are damaging our future. The children in the system now are the ones being effected, and they are the ones who are going to have to live with this. We need to do something NOW! The sad thing is that the only people who see this a priority are the ones receiving a paycheck. I am so glad he posted this blog and is taking a stand against the education system.

Project 13

Blog Post #10

An Open Letter To Educators
Morgan Bayda's blog post was about a video that Dan Brown created. He talked about how educational facilities need to step it up to if they want to keep up with the real world. He talked about how we need to empower students to change the world, not try to make them conform to it. I agree with this completely! EDM may not be my favorite class because of all the work, but I have learned more from this class than I have any other class at South. The world is changing all around us constantly! We can not teach our students to conform to something that is not stable or consistent. They have to be able to make their own choices and ideas. Major changes need to take place inside of America's schools in order to make empowered students. With one click, someone can search anything in the world or connect to anyone in the world. I want my students to be able to be creative, active learners. I want to learn from them on how to be a better teacher. I do NOT want them to walk in my classroom and almost fall asleep. I will use blogs, encourage PLN's and do class projects that let them be creative in their own ways. Children are our future, and if they continue to conform nothing will ever change, or improve.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

Mr. John Spencer was one of my C4T's earlier this semester, and I really enjoyed his posts. I became a follower then because I actually enjoyed reading his blog. This post was another great one! I LOVE that defended hangman. Children can learn to spell and even learn different words by playing hangman. When I was in elementary school, we got to play hangman at the end of the day, and we always looked forward to it! I also like that he did not argure about the issue, rather he created a solution. I think teachers depend too much on the students work at home. Yes, it is important but so is a kid getting to be a kid. Being creative with fun projects can help tie the two together. Mr. Spencer's blog posts are always very interesting!

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life

WOW! Super motivational video! I liked it a lot. It really makes you think, especially the question "Are you better today than yesterday?" That made me realize a lot. No matter what, you should always strive to be better than your best. What happens to you today, does not dictate your tomorrow enless you let it. My sentence is "I am a child of God who wants to educate children since they are OUR future."

Additional Assignment #3

Changing Educational Paradigms


Sir Ken Robinson did a great job on this video! It was very interesting and well put together. The most important thing I think he mentioned in this video was that we medicate our children. Today parents spend more time at the doctor trying to figure out what is wrong with their child rather disciplining them. I work at a local daycare and when a child becomes disruptive, the parents ask "Do you think they need medicine?" I find this to be disturbing. He pointed out that 98% of students start out at a genius level but every five years that percentage decreases. Since every child has this capability, we need to figure out why they are losing it when the become "educated." I do not disagree with anything that Sir Ken Robinson said; in fact, I found myself agreeing with everything. My time has the University of South Alabama and at the College of Education has been much like a factory. None of my teachers have taken the time out to get to know me. Most of them do not even know my name without a roster. They teach us what they feel we need to know, and spit us out into the "real world" expecting us to know everything. As a future educator I will encourage the parents of my students to work with their children before trying to medicate them. If I was required to do a presentation like this one, I would want to be the artist! However, I can not draw so I would do the sound effects or try to at-least. This video is well worth watching, and I recommend it to everyone reading this blog!

Skype

Blog Post #9

What I Have Learned This Year

   Mr. McClung made some really good points! As a future educator, I found them very helpful. Knowing ahead of time that the lesson you plan is not the same as the lesson you teach is helpful because you don't set yourself up for dissapointment. The lesson you teach may be better than one you plan. Also, being reasonable is another that hit me hard. Accepting that not every student will make a 100 on every test is not something teachers really think about in the beginning. When he amde the point about not being afraid of technology, it made me think about all the teachers who received smartboards this year but had never seen one before. Experiencing new things is somethng teachers deal with on a daily basis. Another one was listening to your students. I encounter this now because I work at a daycare, and sometimes the only person who listens to them is their teacher. I also agree with him on the point teachers should never stop learning. This ties in a little with not being afraid of technology. Being a teacher does not mean you are constantly teaching, you are also learning from your students and co-workers. I really enjoyed this post, and I believe he did a great job putting it together.

Blog Post #8

This is how we dream: Part 1 & 2
This video was a lot to take in. I did not understand all of it at first. Part 2 was my favorite of the two because it seemed a bit more simple than the first. The way the video was put together was good. My only problem with it was when it showed certain computer screens, I could not see anything but the pictures. I just wish it was a bit more clear.
He said that computer and composition were ways to push ideas into our culture, why wouldn't we be a the front edge of that? I agree, why wouldn't we? We should be. We should try everything possible to push ideas into our different cultures. By pushing ideas, we could learn more about different cultures which is desperately needed in America.
I am not ready for multimedia writing if it is the same as he is showing. I am okay with technology now, but I'm not great. This is something my students will be doing by the time I graduate; therefore, I NEED to learn. This class has taught me more about technology in 3 months than I ever learned throughout my life. Writing in Multimedia is something I will be looking further into before I graduate.
The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
All the present/future talk in the beginning of the Chipper Series confused me a little bit. I am pretty sure the Chipper Series is about not turning things in late because throughout the whole video they discuss being late. I feel the video was proper for this time of year since, according to our class blog, many people are beginning to slack.
EDM310 for Dummies just about sums up how I felt when I started this class. I was scared I would turn things in late, but not anymore. I have gotten used to the class and the scheduling of when I do my work. I have not turned in anything late, and do NOT plan to either! One suggestion I will make about the video is in from the comment section. THE BOOK WOULD SALE! I would have bought it at the beginning of class without a doubt.
Dumb Smartboards?
I personally like the smartboard! During my field experience I was placed in the first grade inclusion class. Since special needs children do better with visuals, the smartboard was a GRAND idea. They can see everything and anyone with bad eye sight could see as well because it is much larger screen. People say that money is big issue, and I agree, but why not spend money on something that will help the children of today be better adults for tomorrow. The money of our community should go to help schools and students. I have included a link to a blog that argues why smartboards are helpful inside the classroom. I hope you can see the that positive out weighs the negative.

Here is the Link!

"The Best Teacher Ever" (short video project)

Instructional Timeline

Additional Assignment #2

How Kids Teach Themselves
I believe if learners are motivated that they can teach themselves. I also do not think age matters. If a child is old enough to read then I think they can learn anything they want to as long as they are motivated and wanting to learn. In order for someone to teach themselves, I think, they need to be interested in the subject. Most people are not going to be motivated to do something unless it is something they are interested in. They also need to the resources, if someone wants to learn the computer then they need a computer. The internet has made this possible. Almost anywhere in the world, the internet is available. Children and adults can Google anything they want, which means they can learn anything they want. The internet also allows anyone to receive resources from anywhere in the world. The problem with this is that some places do not get access to the internet. Do these cultures just not learn? I believe they do, but in a different way. They use their own resources and learn to improve their own culture. I teach myself all the time with this class. Labs are available but I do not go to them all the time. I feel you learn more when you teach yourself because what I have been shown to do, I have sometimes forgotten; However, what I have shown myself to do, I still remember because I had to work to learn it. This video makes me wonder if teachers are still really needed. With technology rising they way it is, it provides new ways to teach ourselves, but who teaches us to use the new technology? It's a cycle that will probably go on forever.

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch's last lecture was amazing! He is a phenomenal speaker. As soon as he started speaking he told the audience about his ten tumors and that he only had months to live. WOW! He made me realize just how valuable life is. He wasn't sad, or gloomy; in fact, he even stated that he didn't not want pity or for people to think he should be sad. During his lecture he got right to the point, and kept my attention the entire time. The first point he talks about is his childhood dreams. He talks about dreams he accomplished, and also the ones he did not. Some were big, some were not quite as big. Either way, he admitted his failures and successes. Something he points out right away is that "brick walls are not there to keep us out, but to give us a chance to show us how bad we want something." I loved this! It can be used in every aspect of life, and I plan on applying it to mine.
Being a professor helped him enable his childhood dreams. He even had a student who had a dream to work on a Star Wars film, and eventually was able to work on three of them. Another thing he talks about is the course he created called Building Virtual Worlds. Fifty students from all around the university were chosen to create groups of four. Each group did a different project, and this became a major hit! During the presentation of the projects parents, students, and faculty came to see watch. Every one around the university wanted to be involved in this course. The students would get thrilled by reactions of the audience and by the tone of his voice, I could tell he enjoyed it as well.
Randy Pausch teamed up with Don Martin to create the Dream Fulfillment Factory. He stated that the success of this was probably because he and Don were so different, but in my opinion it just goes back to the saying "Great minds think alike." These men made the Entertainment Technology Center great! Carnegie Mellon University was a place for students to go in order to fulfill their dreams. We need more universities like this; actually we need more professors like this as well!
During the last part of his video he stated that parents and mentors are a huge part in making dreams come true. This is something I believe as well, I am very thankful to have parents that help me achieve my dreams. Randy Pausch was an amazing professor, and I can only hope to be such a great teacher as he was. Watching this video was definitely worth it and it did not seem like it was over an hour long. I would hope that every person who is looking to be a teacher watched this video.

C4T Summary Post

The teacher I was assigned to this time was great! His name was Tom Johnson, and he named his blog "Tom Johnson's adventures in pencil Integration." The first blog I commented on was about show and tell in his class. His class had to go home, sketch an item, and write a few paragraphs about it. The next day they would do "Show-and-Tell" in front of their classmates to describe the item. Mr. Johnson started off with his which help lead into the rest of the class. Some of the comments stated that it wasn't right to make the shy kids get in front of the class. I disagreed, because after reading the post it showed that the assignment really helped the class get to know each other. Plus, everyone should know how to get in front of peers and speak.
The next blog I commented on was my favorite. It was titled "How will people see Us?" The class took a few pictures and the students kept serious poses. The students began to ask questions pertaining to the future. One question was "Will people think we did not joke, or laugh, or have fun since we aren't smiling in our pictures? Will people think kids were always serious?" I had never thought about this before. Maybe the way people took pictures in past generations was just a sad moment or day, but really they had a lifetime of happiness. Maybe we take pictures the way we want people to believe we lived. Smile to make people think we are happy, frown to let someone know it had been a bad day, or a serious pose to let people think we were more intellectual. Either way, the camera leaves a small legacy on our lives.

Progress Report for my PLN

I am using Symbaloo for my PLN, and I love it! It keeps all my sites very organized, which makes them easy to find and use. Symbaloo also lets you make everything your own. For example, my site is color-coded, and organized by social networks, school websites, and search engines. I haven't added every website I need yet, but I do have all the websites I use for this class added. I plan to add more websites and keep it color-coded. So far I like everything about Symbaloo, and watching the seventh grader's video on her PLN is what made me choose Symbaloo. I would recommend Symbaloo to anyone who likes to be organized and creative.

TimeToast

Blog Post #6

1)  The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler was a wake up call for me. I know that technology is creeping into our schools but I guess I did not realize that by the time I am a teacher it will be even more advanced than it is now. I have an average knowledge of today's technology. I felt like I knew a lot about technology until I entered this class and found out so much more.
     As a future teacher, if I do not keep up with technology I will not be able to teach my students everything they need to know. I have to be ahead and able to teach the students more about technology than they can teach me. Although I will be an elementary teacher, my students will still be using technology. I have a 13 year old brother and he is almost more technological advanced than me.
    To answer the question "Am I ready to teach a networked student?" No I am not. I do believe this class is helping me to prepare to teach them, but I will have to further my education after this class. I am going to try my best to take workshops about computers and technology so that I can be up-to-date on technology as much as possible.

2) A 7th graders Personal Learning Environment is a very interesting video. I think her PLE was pretty neat! I even may start to get familiar with Symbaloo. I guess my PLE would be my checklist and instruction manual for this class. Like hers, it also gives me freedom to do things as I wish and be creative. It also holds me accountable to be a responsible student, and I practically choose my own grade. By choosing my own grade I mean that turning work in on time and sufficiently is completely up to me. If I choose not to do my work and turn it in late, a teacher does not hassle me they just simply give me a bad grade. It is all up to me.

3) Michael Welsch's "The Machine is Changing Us" proves he is a wonderful teacher. I am glad that I watched this video although it was rather long. In my opinion, some of his comments contradict each other, but I can also see why they do. Technology is something that has a gray area. Some people think the advance in technology is a bad thing, but some people also think it is a wonderful thing! I do not think we will ever be sure of every pro and con about technology but I do think that technology will continue to advance. His points about the internet were so true! YouTube is something everyone started using without realy understanding the purpose. This comment keeps running in my mind and I think it is something to think about: A camera allows you talk to anyone without knowing who you are talking to or where that person is at.

C4K Summary #1

The name of the student I was assigned to was Alberto. While reading his "About Me" blog post, I realized we had a lot of similarities. He is from Mexico, which is a place I have always wanted to visit, but now lives in Missouri. I also have family in Missouri and thought it was cool to be randomly assigned to someone and have family that lives near them. Alberto said he loved computers, and that me think he was really smart! He also said math was his strong point in school and mine is as well. In my comment to him I encouranged him to stay strong in math because if he's good at it now, work will only be easier for him in the future. I also told him a little about myself and what we had in common.

The next post from Alberto I commented on was his "Learning Manifesto" post.  In this post he set goals for himself as a student. I thought this was a great way to get students thinking process geared for success. Since Alberto stated he enjoyed computers then I'm sure doing his goals on a blog was easy for him. My favorite goal he mentioned was to his homework as soon as it was given to him. I stressed in my comment that by doing this the homework would go by faster because the knowledge would still be fresh on his brain. I could use some of his goals as a student in college so I also suggested he keep these goals throughout his life as a student.

Blog Post #5

Well first of all, WOW! Eagle's Nest Radio was great! All of their podcasts were really good and interesting too. Langwitches made me want to switch from using audacity to garbageband. If they can use if quickly in a classroom then I would like to try it. I also did not know that there were so different things available for your ipod towards learning. I will be looking more into these options since I own an iPhone. If I ever do a podcast again I will put music in the background. This way background noise is eliminated and the music could go along with the topic. I listened to the Eagle's Nest Radio podcast on Rome and learned a lot. It was interesting, and I was glad to hear that the students recorded themselves. Technology was being used and the students were still leaning. I will try podcasts in my classroom as well.

Blog Post #4

1) "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?" by Scott McLeod. According to his biography, he is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Police Studies at Iowa State University. He is also the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. I agree with his post, but at first I did not quite understand it. Reading the comments helped me understand it a lot though. One person commented that kids know more than adults about technology, and this is so true! Children are being taught about technology in schools, and the parents are out working not learning about the newest technology. The only thing parents can really do today about their children using technology is to talk to them about the basics of internet safety.

2) The iSchool Initiative is a great idea!! Grades will go up because teacher/student communication will be more sufficient. Parents will be able to access student grades and notes without any trouble which will help increase parent involvement. Helping our environment is also a big plus! Not having to kill trees to buy textbooks will leave more money to pay teachers, and that means less unemployment.
My question about this is: How much memory does this iSchool hold? Books may take up a lot of space, and all the applications may as well. I like that a seventeen year old student took the time to start a program like this. I think that it will be the next generation of schools, and that it will be successful. I enjoyed this video, and wish that my high-school would have done this.
3) When I watched "The Lost Generation," at first it kind of scared me. To think that most of it is how many people view their lives was a bit scary. When the video was reversed, it made me smile. It also made me think that we can change our world, we just have to try. We have to teach our students about hope, and why having hope is important. We also have to teach them how believing in their dreams is just as important as conquering those dreams.
4) WOW! Watching the Virtual Choir was very soothing, and something I needed to hear after looking at a computer screen for so long. It was amazing how it was put together, and they still sound great. I think it is really cool that people could use their musical talents online instead of just in person. I really enjoyed this video and will probably start showing it to other people right away.

Additional Assignment #1

Google Squared helps educationally because it gives a nice, easy to read chart which makes things easier to compare. By allowing you to add anything to the search chart, it broadens your availability. This way you don't have to constantly go back and forth to different websites for statistics. It also gives you the source of which it received its information which makes references easy to find. WolframAlpha is a little more specific with its searches. Instead of giving a wide variety, it gives a few at a time. WolframAlpha was easier to read for me, and I did prefer it over Google Squared because it seemed more organized. Both of these search engines help educationally because provide charts, sources, and specific information instead of just websites. 

I have never heard of either of these search engines until this assignment; however, I will be using them more often now. I would not change my comment on "Did You Know? 3.0" because although the video gave a lot of statistics, they were very specific ones. I will change the way I view and react to statistics. I knew China had a bigger population than the United Stated, but I wasn't aware of just how big the gap was. I will use Google Squared and WolframAlpha to compare what I hear, and maybe even compare what I see from their results.

Blog Post #3

1) The video "A Vision of Students Today" by Michael Wesch was the perfect video to describe my life in college so far. Only about 3 or 4 of my professors actually knew my name while I was in their class, but almost all of them probably do not know it now. This semester only one of my professors uses the chalk board, the rest use a smart board or will never see me at all because it is an online class.
My favorite point in this was that the chalkboard encourages the teacher to move. If teachers were more active I think the students would be more involved in the learning process. One girl pointed out that the person she sat beside paid but never comes to class. Maybe this is because the teachers are not being creative. They let technology teach the students and just push a few buttons. I like the smart boards, but I also think you can use them and still be involved instead of just pushing the "next" button.
2)"It's Not about the Technology" was a great post! I loved that Ms. Hines put teaching AND learning back into the hands of the teacher instead of the technology. Today, so many teachers are not creative because they rely too much on technology. Technology can be a pro and a con in classrooms.
Although technology is very useful to the teaching experience, I think it is less useful in the learning experience if it is not used right. Smart Boards provide games while incorporating learning, which I completely agree with. Learning should be a fun experience, rather than just sitting in a desk watching the power point screen.
3)In Mr. Ficshbowl's "Is it okay to technology Illiterate?" he points out that it is NOT! When I read the statement: “If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.” I couldn't have agreed more. In today's society technology is advancing everyday, and like he said, teachers already have a lot on their plate.
Students and teachers could learn some technology skills together, this way it gives teachers a chance to learn with their students which will help the students learning process. The teachers could get more creative with technology if they knew more about it. Since teachers are preparing students for jobs that are not even created yet, they NEED to know the advancing technologies and how to help the students learn by using them.
4)Watching the social media change every second is a little scary. It reminds me of the video "Did you Know? 3.0" If the US box office can make $11.03, then why are schools struggling for money? It amazes me! People spend so much money on technology and yet not spend any money in our schools to better the education of the generation who will be taking care of them.
Already $27 billion spent on new TV sets this year. If our schools received this, we would be able to provide our students with much more than we do now. Hopefully when I get a job I can teach my students that although having the newest things in technology at home may be cool, that also having them in schools to help them learn and get better jobs would be even better.

A short presentation about my journey through Life

From start to beginning...

View more presentations from kaylalynette.

Summary #1

My first teacher blog was about trackpads. I wasn't sure what a trackpad was but she explained it in her blog. She also pointed out that using a trackpad allowed the teachers to be more involved in the classroom. The students could also use the trackpad and the teacher was able to walk around the room instead of standing at the front the whole time. I commented that I had never seen a trackpad, but would be interested in using them in my classroom. I also stated that the trackpad was a useful tool for teachers because students did need to be more involved.
The second blog my assigned teacher wrote about was an earthquake in a place close to her heart. She used this experience to explain the advance in information technology. She told the story of how she found out about it through Twitter and Facebook rather than just the news. I commented on this blog stating that I was sorry to hear about the earthquake but I was glad she could use the experience to explain the advance in technology. In her blog she said that she didn't think paid professionals could have produced a page as fast as the ordinary people on Wikipedia did. I agreed with her on this because, like I said in my comment, my teachers never let us use Wikipedia because ordinary people could edit pages. In both of my comments I left a link to my blog so that hopefully she could look at it.

Blog Post #2

1)I really enjoyed the video "Did You Know? 3.0" by Karl Fisch! It gave a lot facts that kept my interest, and honestly scared me a little. I knew technology was advancing, but I did not know it was advancing as fast as the video showed. Another thing that shocked me was that 1 our 8 married couples met online. Technology is taking away the personal aspects of life. We no longer have to communicate face to face, therefore no one has to really see our emotions.
The question asking about who we asked things before google make me think! Today people are so dependent upon technology that we lack communication skills. According to this video, the amount of time it takes to reach a market audience of 50 million is increasing by a significant amount! I am sure very few on Earth can remember a day without technology. Once again, I am glad I watched this video, it gave me a new outlook on just how fast technology is emerging.

2) Mr. Winkle Wakes was an interesting video on how much the world has changed. I liked how it showed the fact that schools have not really changed. Especially with the reality of how much the world has changed. Sometimes I personally feel like Mr. Winkle because it seems like everyone is more technologically advanced than me.
Although schools are changing, they are not changing nearly as fast as the rest of the world which is why school is still comforting to some. I think schools should always have just about the same environment to them, no school should get too technologically advanced because our students still need the basics. Mr. Winkle will have to adapt the "new" world he awoke to, just as we have to adapt to all the changes most of the world is making in technology.

3)Ken Robinson's "The Importance of Creativity" video was great! It kept my attention from start to finish because he made really good points. His points were valid and made me think of how I want to teach my class. I completely agree with him about creativity being just as important as literacy. If our students aren't given the opportunity to be creative, then their imaginations leave them and if the teachers are not creative, we can't expect our students to be.
Another thing that I am glad he pointed out was that although math was important, dance was as well. Math, history, language arts, reading, and science are all important but so is art! When a school has to make cuts the first to go is art and music, which I completely disagree with. By taking art and music out of schools, this is exactly how we are killing creativity. He says that his definition of creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. The students in our classrooms can't be original if we are taking away the freedom to use their creativity. Although I do not think going to school should be just about using your imagination, I do think more teachers should allow creativity in the classrooms. I would recommend this video to all schools!

4)Vicki Davis in the video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" is the kind of teacher I aspire to be like! This school is lucky to have such an involved teacher. She doesn't stay at the front teaching, she learns as well. This proves that teachers can be involved with their class in a positive way, along with letting the students be creative. This video ties a long with what Ken Robinson was saying about letting the class be creative. Vicki Davis was allowing her to class to creative and, from what the video showed, they were enjoying it.
If I were going to teach secondary education I would do what she is doing and allow my students to teach their own peers for one class. Clearly she is learning with her class, and I think the students will remember her class for a very long time because of her method of teaching. Her class seemed enjoyable, and she seemed to really enjoy her job.

Blog Post #1

My name is Kayla Salas, and I am a junior majoring in Elementary Education. This is my first semester taking classes in the College of Education, and I am on the “new” program so it is a little nerve wrecking, but I am still very excited to finally get to this point. I graduated from Mary G. Montgomery High School in 2008, and I have lived in Semmes, Alabama all my life and hope to change that after graduation. I have an older sister who is a nursing major here at South, and a younger brother who plays football for Semmes Middle School. My boyfriend, Lee Jenkins, and I have been together for almost two years now, and he is a senior at the University of Mobile majoring in secondary education.
When I was seventeen I began working at my current job, Moffett Road Baptist Child Development Center. I am an afternoon caregiver to thirteen three year olds and during the Summer I teach the K3 curriculum in the mornings. I absolutely love my job, and it makes me even more excited to become a teacher. I chose elementary education as my major because I want to help make a difference in the lives of younger generations. Outside of school and work, I attend Orchard Assembly of God where I volunteer in the two year old nursery. Teaching is something I have wanted to do since the second grade, and I am thrilled to start living that dream.