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