Blog Post 14 FInal Reflection

Final Project 16 How to video on iMovie

Project 13

My group collaborated on both Project 15 and 16. We used text messaging and gmail to plan our meeting times. We used Goggle docs to discuss our projects and come up with a written lesson plan and final project document. We used Goggle Document to brainstorm and discuss what learning objective to do a lesson plan on and to also brainstorm on a final video to do. We also used Google Presentation to come up with the slides for our lesson plan. In order to do our final video we used screenflow and imovie. I wish that we could have done an assignment showing us how to use screenflow through the semester. We did not use Google hangout because my internet would not allow me to. I have used it before though and think it is a great idea. I really enjoyed this project. At first I thought it would be really difficult to not meet fact to face but it turned out really much easier.

C4T #4

Comment 1

This C4T I was assigned to Kim Cofino. She works with international schools in technology. Her Blog was about 1:1 implementation updates. She lists three updates in her blog. The first one was about how children take care of the laptops they are given. They make students and parents sign a responsible use agreement to make sure they know the consequences when they damage the laptop. The second update was about accountability. The children are given three strikes when they do things on their laptop they are not supposed to. The third update is about balance. The children were having a hard time dealing with having a laptop all the time and the parents were having a hard time having a new laptop in the house. I commented on her post and told her about how I really would enjoy working with international students. I also told her I liked the accountability they hold to their students.

Comment 2

This week on Kim Cofino's Blog she talked about Digital Citizenship Week. She explains through her blog how she informs her middle school about digital citizenship. They start off with a different word every day to learn about through activities. Everyday they start out meeting in a special tutor group for 45 minutes to do activities including answering a survey, adding pin to a collaborative map, and adding a slide to a presentation that is shown to the whole school at the end of the week. After they have gotten aout of there tutor groups each grade spends 90 minutes with one of three teachers that teach them about the words used for each day. The school also had a couple of courses that participated such as PE and Technology. At the end of the week the Student Council presented the material everyone put together about what it means to be a digital citizen. I commented on her blog and shared my thanks with her for helping us with an idea to tach kids about digital citizenship. I also told her I hope that the school I end up teaching at will be as willing to participate as I am.

Project # 10 PLN Final Summary

Before

After

After

Since my summary I have done a lot of work to my PLN. On my first summary all I did was decide on how I would keep up with all the resources used in my PLN. I chose symbaloo. Since then I have added my blog and the EDM 310 blog. I have also added all the tools we have used and the teachers and kids I have commented on. I hope to continue adding to my PLN throughout my teaching career.

Blog Post #13

Electronic Media Fast

This week my EDM 310 class was challenged to try and not use electronics for 24 hours. We were given three attempts to see if we could achieve the challenge. The only way we could use technology is if it was needed for work. However, we were allowed to watch a movie in a theater just not on a television or computer.

Attempt 1

I attempted this challenge on Thursday and failed. I will go ahead and admit I am addicted to Facebook. I have to check up on what is happening with everyone at least once or twice a day. My boyfriend Kyle knew about this project and was very willing to help. As hard as it was, I had to give in and answer my parents phone call. This is why I failed the first attempt. My parents live in Tennessee and I do not get to see them very much so I treasure the conversations we have. After I had failed I went ahead and decided to check my facebook and watch television that night.

Attempt 2

My second attempt occurred on Friday. I told myself when I woke up that today was going to be the day I succeeded. It was going very well till Kyle forgot about the project and called me. I did not want him to think I was ignoring him or mad at him so I answered. He wanted to ask me if I wanted to go to a movie that night. The worst part about this attempt is that I was so close to being successful because all I did was answer the phone the rest of the day went great.

Attempt 3

My third and final attempt occurred on Sunday. However I already felt like I was going to fail this time. I am in my final week of classes till finals so I am trying to get a lot of projects finished and assignments completed. I was exactly right. I failed due to having homework due by midnight and trying to study for finals. I realized after failing the challenge that I cannot live without electronics. My generation and the one after me are growing up in a technological world. Everything now is being accomplished thru electronics so there is really no way around it. I fear the children I will have in my classroom will not enjoy the simple things in life. They will think everything should be done for them. I will also have to keep up with the new technology to make sure my students stay engaged in the lessons.

Project 15

Mobile County Pacing Guide Learning Objective 1.4

Progress Report of Final Project

My group and I have discussed several video ideas. We have not fully decided yet but we have a few choices. I posted on one of my blog posts about making a video on how to schedule EDM work throughout the week and Dr. Strange commented and said this would be a great idea for the final project. We have also talked about how to video on one of the tools we have learned to use also. If anyone has any comments on which one we should use, please feel free to comment.

Blog Post 12

1.Watch Normal Distribution Video
2.Watch Normal Distirbution
3.Watch MAT 110 Module 4: Normal Distribution Curve and Percents


Write a post in which you discuss the differences and similarities of the three videos about Bell Curve. Also do some research and find out some standardized test that you can use the Bell Curve to illustrate. Write at least one paragraph about the similarities of the videos and one paragraph about the differences of the videos. Also write one paragraph on standardized tests that use the Bell Curve. You will have to do a little research to figure the tests out. Follow the requirements in Writing a Quality Blog Post.

4.For the picture on this blog post include your own drawing of a Bell Curve.

My Example of the Blog Post

Similarities of the videos

All the videos mention the normal curve is the Bell-shaped Curve. They also talk about the mean (average) and standard deviation. The videos also include how to label a Bell curve with the mean and standard deviations. The videos also gives a percent for the very tail ends of the curve. The only other similarity all the videos have is the 68-95-99 percents used with standard deviations. For example, one standard deviation away from the mean is 68% of the data, two standard deviations away from the mean is 95%, and three standard deviations away from the mean is 99%.

Differences of the Videos

The MAT 110 Module 4: Normal Distribution Curve and Percents Video and Normal Distribution Video gives an actual problem to work with unlike the other video. However, the Normal Distribution Video works out the problems for to help you understand the percents and how to get an actual number. The actual 68-95-99 percents broken down are different in all three videos. However, all three videos only differ by a tenth or hundredth of a percent. The Normal Distirbution video shows a different symbol for mean and standard deviation. The mean symbol looks like a u with a tail and is called the mu. The standard deviation symbol looks like a cursive o and is called sigma. This video also goes over how to look for median and mode unlike the other two videos.

Standardized Tests

All standardized tests can use a bell curve to help show a parent how there child is performing compared to everyone else that took the test. A few of the test you will recognize are SAT and ACT. However there are a lot more that as a teacher I will learn to use. For example, WISC and IQ. You can also use the Bell Curve to convert a problem from a percent to an actual score.

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts- Special Post #12A

I believe that schools in the United States systematically destroy the development of curiosity and/ or creativity in students. This happens because teachers and administrators are not very excited about the growth of technology. Some teachers are so stuck in their ways that they want to stick to writing on a board and handing out the same worksheets year after year. I know throughout school all my teachers had taught the kids the year ahead of me the same thing I was learning. Technology is growing so fast that administrators need to provide seminars about new technology and make the teachers adopt the new ways of educating. If teachers start to add lessons using technology they will develop a curriculum that increases the curiosity and creativity of students. The key components to increase curiosity would be to use things that children are using for social network and make it educational. I do not know of a single child that does not enjoy getting on the internet and doing things. I know that there are still a ton of things children do not know about the internet. For instance, until I took this class I knew nothing about the website where you can create your own timeline, I had never blogged in my life, and had not used twitter to connect to people that could help me in my educational journey. The key components to increase creativity would almost be the came as curiosity. When teaching kids about blog posts, children can be creative by posting on their blogs and making their own timelines. However, the only way students are going to be curious about technology is if their teacher is excited and as curious as they are. Also the only way students are going to really show their creativity is if their teacher supports them and compliments their creativity. As I said in the beginning, schools need to give seminars in new technology and ways we can use technology in the classroom. Having seminars available and a good computer would help me to become more creative and curious. It would not hurt also if the schools and teachers fully supported the new technology and try everything they can to make sure our school stays up to date on new techniques and products.

C4K April Summary

Comment 1 April 8

This is my second week posting on Curtis's blog. This week he talked about Vermont. The one thing he mentioned about Vermont is Lake Champlain and the myth of a sea monster. He also mentioned Mt. Mansfield. I commented and told him how I have never been to Vermont. I asked him how the sea monster got his name. I also told him I would love the see the view from the top of Mt. Mansfield. I really enjoyed hearing about where he is from and he made me want to visit Vermont.

Comment 2 April 15

Well this was my final week posting on Curits's blog. He did not post any new blogs since my last comment so I commented an his All About Me Blog. He wrote that he liked baseball and listed his favorite team and also explained where he was from and his favorite food. He listed that his favorite food was pizza with maple syrup. I have never tried that but really do not think I would like it. I commented on his blog and told him about my favorite baseball team being the Braves and I loved watching it with my dad. I hope that he continues to post on his blog. I really enjoy being able to have the same kid for three weeks cause I really got to know a little about him.

Comment 3 April 22

Sadly this is my final C4K! This week I was assigned Ms. Jenny She's year 1 class in New Zeland and the third blog post in the month of April. The title of the post I commented on is Aneelis at Butterfly Creek. The post was a video done through animoto showing pictures of Aneelis and her adventure through Butterfly Creek. The pictures showed a lot of different animals including rabbits, butterflies, and goats. I commented and told her how I wanted to visit Butterfly Creek and have a butterfly sit on me like it did on her. I also asked her what animal was her favorite. I really like the animoto the teacher used to show the pictures.

Blog Post #11

Little Kids...Big Potential

In this video Ms. Cassidy's class explains some of the things they are doing with technology. The first child talks about how he enjoys writing in his book but he likes writing on his blog more. I am amazed that children this age are already diving into technology and know more about parts of technology than I do. Ms. Cassidy uses blogs to help the children with their writing and as a portfolio of their work throughout the year. She also teaches them how to use the internet safely. That has always been my biggest problem with young children using the internet. The webpage they use helps them with all subjects. They have a time everyday where they have the opportunity to pick which subject they want to work on. She also uses Wiki so her students can do their own research about things with the help of people on the internet. I really like how she is already starting to teach these young children how to research. I really like how she uses videos in her classroom too. The children have to learn how to work well with their classmates and also how to make videos. I never imagined children this age would already be this into technology. When I was there age I barely knew how to use a computer. I think now that technology has grown so much it is about time classrooms really start to engage students through technology.

Mrs. Cassidy's Skype Interview

I really want technology to be a part of my lessons when I teach. I really think having some sort of technology available to use will make my students want to participate more. The world now seems to revolve around new additions to technology so why not make my classroom revolve around technology. I fear that the parents will be a impediment of mine. I think they will like to be able to view their students work but will not like just anyone in the world being able to look at it too. If I encounter this problem I will probably do what Mrs. Cassidy did and at the beginning of the year send out a letter. The letter I send out will explain what we will be doing with the computers and the benefits and also the safety precautions we will take to protect their child. I also fear that the school I work at it will not have the funding to be able to give me computers in my classroom. To solve this problem I will try and talk to the superintendent and also get support from other teachers to help back me up to get the funding I need. I really want to use blogs in my classroom so my students can get a lot of positive feedback and maybe give them more confidence that they can do this work and can get better. I really think using technology will get my students more involved with the educational uses of the internet. I also think it will prepare my students for the years to come and college.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?

This video tries to help viewers understand the difference between educating and teaching. Teach is defined as showing or explaining how to do something, encouraging someone to accept as a fact or principle, giving information about or instruction in, causing someone to learn or understand something, or inducing by example or punishment to do or not to do something. Educate is defined as illuminate, enlighten, inspire, empower. The video then goes on to define educator as one who gives intellectual moral and social instruction and mentor as an experienced and trusted adviser.

It is hard to not sit through this video and know that you want to be an educator not a teacher. However, most people in today's society are teachers. I chose education as my major because I wanted to make a difference in childrens' lives. I also wanted to share my knowledge and experiences. I was a good student but there are a few things that I could have done different. Therefore I hope to be an educator to my students and inspire, enlighten, and empower them. I will make sure my lessons engage the students and require them to show me they understand the material rather than just memorizing it.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

Mr. Johnson presents his argument in a calm manner. He politely tells Gertrude that he does not see how a standardized test is a authentic measurement of learning. He then goes on to explain why he believes the article thinks children who bring home pencils have low test scores. Mr. Johnson teaches in a low-income school. Sadly many of the students see a pencil as a form of entertainment because they do not see their parents using them and only have them at school. His solution to children seeing pencils as entertainment is to involve the parents. This is probably one of the hardest things to do as a teacher. In my experience a lot of low income families tend to push education to the side. They seem to believe that their children will end up in the same jobs as they are in now. I think that his idea is great. We, as educators, have some influence on students, but the parents and home life is where it starts. He proposes to teach the parents some of the skills that their children are learning so the children will see their parents using pencils at home. Gertrude then states they will use the supplies to play hangman. I think my favorite part of this post is when Mr. Johnson responds to Gertrude "... 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." Some people still do not realize that when a child is using a writing tool they are learning. I mean Hangman teaches several different things such as spelling and how to write letters. I hope that I will be as creative as Mr. Johnson when I become an educator.

Blog Post 9

Mr. Joe McClung May 27, 2009

Mr. McClung starts off explaining he was a new teacher in Noel, Missouri. He describes that he had no idea what to expect as an elementary teacher but over the past year he has matured and learned a lot. I understand exactly how he felt that first day. I feel that way all the time right now. I have no idea what to expect my first year teaching. Thankfully, Mr. McClung has given me hope that after my first year I will grow as a teacher and learn a lot through the experience.

Mr. McClung goes on to explain a few things he learned through the year. The first thing he talks about is how to read a crowd. He talks about that when he was going through college he thought it was all about him and how he was being looked at by his superiors. Through this thinking he lost touch with the students when he gave lessons. He sees a lot of problems with teachers now days is they do not make lessons student centered. This leads to the students not fully comprehending the material. I could not agree with him more. I think so many teachers are concerned with how other teachers and the principal of a school feel about the lessons they are giving students that they forget about the student. I hope that when I teach I will make sure my students comprehend what I teach. I think if your students are able to comprehend your lesson then the way your superiors look at you is already taken care of.

He then explain how to be flexible, communicate, be reasonable, and to not be afraid of technology. He explains in his post that we have to remember that "the lesson you teach and the one you plan are always different". He then goes on to say that you cannot let mistakes get to you and get over the fact if a lesson does not go well. He give positive reinforcement by saying "simply work with it and try to better the situation". I am sure this is one thing I will have a lot of trouble with. I am a person that likes to plan out everything. I am getting better about being more flexible but still have a long road in front of me. Mr. McClung talks about communication and how it is important in building relationships with other teachers. He says that communication is a hard skill to develop. Thankfully, I am very good at communicating. I am not scared to ask questions and admit when I need help. I also am very good with talking to kids. They seem to like to talk to me and feel like they can tell me anything. Hopefully, this will be helpful in my first year. He then says to not be upset when a student does not meet an expectation. He then says "our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again. I feel confident that I will be reasonable. I have always had high expectations set for me. The one good thing is if I did not meet the expectation my parents would do exactly what Mr. McClung says the job of a teacher is. This really helps me as a teacher because I have had great role models show me how to do this.

I think the too biggest things in the post he learns are to listen to your students and never stop learning. He had a child list on their end of the year survey that he/she knew the teacher cared about them as a person when he listens to what they say. This not only impacted Mr. McClung but it has impacted me. This makes me really what to know my students and take the time to answer every question and listen to every story the children want to share with me. We, as teachers, have a chance to make a difference in every child's life, but we have to listen to them for them to trust us. Finally, he talks about how we owe it to our students to learn new ways of thinking, learning, and styles of teaching. This statement is so true. I have seen through EDM 310 that technology is changing every day. In order for teachers to really impact a student and make sure they succeed in life the teacher needs to continue to learn.

Mr. Joe McClung June 23, 2011

Mr. McClung talks about his experiences as a teacher after his third year. He starts off saying this was his first year to be at the same school for more than one year, be a head coach, be a cross country coach, and be a computer applications teacher. He then lists the things he has learned the past year as in the two posts before this one.

He starts off with stating you need to know who your boss is and to not expect others to be as excited about change as you are. He starts off with something I remember he said in the first post I read. "If you are not careful you can become completely consumed with trying to please so many individuals that sometimes your own students get left out of the picture." He does not mean that you need to know who you boss is meaning principal. He means your boss needs to be the students. They are what your primary focus should be. I love the way he phrases the students as the boss. I could not have said it better myself. I want my students to be my primary focus that is why I am a teacher and I hope that is why other teachers are teachers. He then explains that you cannot let other people put a damper on things you find exciting. I hate to say it but I am one of those people he describes that sits in the back of the room checking facebook and not really paying attention. However, now that I am taking EDM 310 I see how important it is to be excited about new techniques and new technology. I will now be like Mr. McClung and be the person sitting in the front engaged in the lecture and excited about the changes in education.

Two others things he mentions in this post is to not be afraid to be an outsider and do not get comfortable. Mr. McClung does not realize this but he explains me and the way I look at school. I have always been the outsider throughout school. I do not really care about fitting in with people. I go to school to get an education and a degree. I thought that was what school was there for so I am making sure I do what it is there for. I will approach my teaching career the same way. I am there to teach students and make sure they comprehend what I teach them. I am not there to be accepted by the teachers. The biggest advice he gives in my opinion is about noe getting comfortable. Once you start teaching the things you worried about while in school are now easy because you are not stressed and there is not a grade for what you are doing. The way you can prevent yourself from getting comfortable is think of new ways to plan, grade, and instruct. He states perfectly "we cannot afford to be passive in education; we need to be willing to be 'movers and shakers' and be advocates for the changes that need to happen in our schools".

Finally, he states something in this post that our teacher Dr. Strange in EDM 310 has also been trying to teach us by him instructing us this way. "If you touch the keyboard and take over the task that they are trying to learn than they will never learn how to do it on their own and you end up doing all the work." Dr. Strange teaches us by making us use tools that we will have to use in classrooms, however, he is not there to do it for us. His helpers and him will help if you need it but they will not sit there with you and do the project for you, you have to do that yourself in order to learn. Mr. McClung relates this to teaching and how we, as teachers, want to help a student who is having difficulty and accidently end up doing it for them. Doing this will lead to the students never mastering the skill and it hindering them through school.

Project 14 Smartboard Part 1

C4K Summary for March

Week 1 March 25

This week i was assigned a student from Bradford Schools. The name was not really given on the post but I was assigned the fifth comment on the page. This child talked about a day when she witnessed several different kinds of weather on a walk. I asked what city he or she was walking in and then went on to talk about the weather. I have never been in a blizzard and cannot imagine how cold it must have been. I also have never had a day that changed weather four different times. I would be just as confused as the child was not knowing whether to bring out an umbrella or enjoy the day when it was nice.

Week 2 April 1

I was assigned Curtis S for the World Blog Challenge. His post was titled Character. In his blog he talked about Percy Jackson. He started off asking Percy questions he was interested in knowing. He then listed the flaws of Percy Jackson. I replied to his post and asked him what book he was reading. I also complimented him on his great questions.

C4T 3

Comment 1

I was assigned Melissa B this time for C4T. Her blog post had a picture of a brick fence with the title shadow dancing on it. I replied and told her I loved the picture. I also love being outdoors and always like to look at the shadows of objects and see the difference between the shadow and the actual object. If you were to look at the shadow of the fence you would have no idea that it was a fence. I cannot wait to see if she posts more artwork and see what shadow picture she comes up with next.

Comment 2

Melissa B posted a new blog. This time her picture was of a snowman on a mailbox at the start of spring. I replied and told her that I think that people leaving Christmas decorations up all year is tacky. I think that it shows how lazy people in our country are becoming. The picture was titled "Wordless". I believe this is a perfect title because the picture is so comical it does not need words to explain.

Blog Post 8

Dr. Richard Miller's "This is How We Dream Part 1 and 2"

Dr. Miller starts off in his presentation in Part 1 explaining how we have learned. He says we have learned through books and grown up in places full of books and we have researched through books. However, times are changing and now you can do all your learning through a computer. He goes on to explain that he was asked to do a paper on the Virginia Tech shooting and he explains that he was able to write his paper with all the research needed without having to go to a library. He was able to go onto the web and see how candidates voted on a certain issue where you cannot do that with a book right after the vote is made. He also explains that his paper is not only available in print but also online. He also explains that we are able to collaborate projects now without ever having to meet in person. He uses the project he did on Martin Luther King Jr. as an example. The paper is not only text but also has audio and video that was found on the internet and from talks on campus. My favorite thing mentioned is the movable voting map that news channels are now seeing as a necessity. Theses maps show, as it is happening, who people are voting for in the presidential election. The one thing he emphasizes is that all of these are incremental changes not fundamental changes.

Dr. Miller continues to explain these changes in Part 2 by explaining where we work. In this video he starts off showing we research on the laptop. He goes on to give examples. One he uses is of a whale hunt and how it depicts the energy that goes into a hunt by showing to video documentary. He also explains that iTunesU is used for academic lessons and lectures and people are starting to realize that ideas belong to our culture not just an individual person. I think the most important part of this video is when he states, "We as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely." He also says that the limits and restrictions are ones that we largely put on ourselves when it comes to sharing information. The internet also helps with publication. Dr. Miller explains that if he was to try to publish this video through a publishing company it would have taken longer than it took to put it on youtube. Dr. Miller than explains what is ahead. He talks about Johnathon Harris and how he is composing with the web, not using the alphabet or images but using aggregating bots that search certain topics. He then sums it all up by saying for us to achieve this we need inspiring teachers, spaces for collaborative learning, pedagogies, and ubiquitous technology. He finishes his second video with saying "We can do this, we should do this!"

After watching this video I am excited to see how technology will change by the time I graduate. I think by the time I start to teach my students will be able to write with multimedia. I hope that I will be able to keep up with the technology. I am prepared to take classes if I need to and also keep up to date through the internet. I am already starting to write through multimedia so in the next few years I think I will be able to fully write in multimedia.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post 12

Carly's post is extraordinary! I know Carly personally and this post is so her. I have a love for English like she does and all the details are just amazing. Dr. Strange is right when he commented and told her she took what Dr. Miller said and applied it. She doesn't just come close to Dr. Miller's idea I think she goes beyond. If she just posted the videos with a title description anybody watching the videos would know what kind of teacher she wants to be. They would also know what her interests are and type person she is. I hope that I will be as creative as this post when I am a teacher.

EDM 310 for Dummies and The Chipper Series

I watched both of these movies at the beginning of the semester and really did not take them seriously. Now that you have had us rewatch them I wish I would have taken them seriously and applied what they were trying to teach us. I would love to make a movie about how to approach this class. I would include my idea of an easy way to organize the assignments for each week. That was the hardest thing for me this semester is to not let everything pile up on Sunday. I think this video would be very helpful and informational.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

The first thing that came to mind when I was watching this video is that EDM 310 is exactly like the classroom they are describing. I got a smile on my face when I thought the classroom they are saying we need is one that I am in now. In the video they talk about the technology that is banned in schools. I agree when they say we are taking a part of learning away. One of the speakers said schools is only one place they are learning, they are also learning in the community, at home,museums, and especially on the internet. I am excited to see if classrooms will change in the future. I think it is time for a class to become more technology literate. Students already know how to use a lot of the material, but they do not know how each of the things they use now can be used for education. I think this type of classroom will really have children want to engage more in the learning process.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

3. Make your own Comic strip

4. Animoto.com/education- this video tool lets you bring lessons to life. This tool lets teachers make videos and they can share them in a classroom, through email, on a blog, or through any social network. This tool lets teachers use there pictures, music, and videos to put together a fun and new way of giving a lesson to students.

5. Make your own poll

Make your own poll voting question with Poll Everywhere

Short Movie Project 11

Book Trailer Project 12

Blog Post 7

The Networked Student

This video is different then any other video I have seen. In this video they use artwork drawn out and just wipe it away when they get done with one piece. I honestly do not know if I am ready to be a teacher to a network student. I am still learning technology myself. I am afraid that a student will come and ask me how to do something and I will not be able to answer them correctly. I guess that first thing I need to do before I become a teacher like this is have a good PLN. A PLN will help in so many ways. I will have access to websites I have used in school that helped me answer questions I did not know. I will also have access to other teachers, so if I need answers then I can ask them and hopefully one will have the answer.

I was home schooled my junior year of high school through an online program. I had all my assignments and reading material on the computer so I did not need actual books. The only negative thing about this program was when I emailed or called a teacher for help on something I did not understand they never replied. I had no idea about PLN or all the things Google offers till this year. I think if I would have known about this technology and has a PLN I would have been fine. I guess I had a negative look on online learning till I started this year with EDM 310 and had help from a lot of different sources.

I do not know if I agree with Ms. Drexler doing this with middle school students. I worry that they do not know enough of the fundamentals behind each subject to be self-lerners. I am very interested to see how it turns out and maybe I will be more persuaded to give this network student a try. I understand that the network student needs a teacher. If this is what schools are going to I think that colleges need to spend more time on teaching us how to be this type of teacher so we are better prepared when we step out into the teaching world. I hope that I will be able to teach my students how to build a network and I hope I will be successful as a network teacher.

Personal Learning Environment

This video explains the advantages of being able to have a PLE and a paperless class. The 7th grader explains how she uses her PLE for her science class. I really see no difference in her PLE from my PLN. Both are used to help keep track of websites and tools that are useful. They also both let you search right there and add it to which ever tile you need to. I really like the idea of having a PLN and think it will be very helpful in my first years as a new teacher.

Project 9b Time Toast Instructional Timeline

PLN Progress Report Project #10

I am going to use Symbaloo for my PLN. I am not currently following anyone but I will add my twitter follows and my C4T and C4K to the symbaloo. I really like this website because it is very visual and you can see all your follows in one place. All you have to do is click on a tile and it takes you to the website of that tile. With this website I will be able to stay up to date with teachers and other sources I will use throughout teaching at the click of a mouse. I have included a screen shot of my symbaloo and when i finish all the empty tiles will be filled and hopefully will have a Webmix for each different kind of source I use in my PLN.

C4T #2

Comment 1
I was assigned Larry Ferlazzo and his post was part four of a five part series where he is answering questions using professionals that have written books on the topics or teach the topics. The post was really short but had a link to the article he has written. He has four professionals answer the question "What is the best advice you would give to teachers trying to help their students become better readers?" They all use different wording but two things they state that are really important is to make the students read, read, and read and also to show the students how you comprehend a passage when reading it. The way they suggest to show the students this is to illustrate or quote a passage an then tell the students what you, the teacher, thinks the author is trying to say. I commented on his blog website. I told him how I had a hard time with comprehension through school. This article really gave me great ideas to help my students not have the trouble I had in school.

Comment 2

Mr. Ferlazzo posted a blog about a website "Making Faces" that lets people make faces to show emotions. I commented to his post and told him I found it a great website for elementary teachers to use. This website will help children to learn different emotions and the words for those emotions. If I teach a kindergarten or first grade class I will definitely use this website to help my students learn about emotions. You can fins Mr. Ferlazzo post and my comment on his website

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

This lecture really surprised me. I kept putting this assignment off because I was thinking to myself great I have to watch a video for over an hour and then write four paragraphs on what i learn. Wow! I was wrong. This lecture was absolutely amazing. I will admit I cried at the end. Dr. Pausch is a wonderful person for all educators to look up to and dream about one day looking at life as he did in his last few months. I found so many techniques from his lecture that I want to teach my students.

The biggest thing I believe all children need to learn is Pausch's idea with brick walls. Throughout the whole lecture Dr. Pausch brings up his memories with brick walls. He said brick walls prove how badly you want something. These walls let people show their dedication. This technique to me can be used in a classroom. If a child is turned down for an audition in a school play or choral group or not accepted to go on an academic trip, and the child still tries everything possible to be a part of that play, choral group, or trip, then you as a teacher knows this child really deserved the spot he or she was not given. If a child persevered towards the dream he was denied at first, then I would make sure the next time he went for this dream I would back him or her up completely. I would make sure this child's dream came true.

Another huge thing Dr. Pausch talked about was his dream to play NFL. He talked about Coach Graham and the first first football practive with him. There are several things to take away from the section of his lecture, but the one that stood out to me the most is "you have to get the fundamentals down first for the fancy stuff to work". This is something that should be used in classrooms everyday, but students are getting short changed. The fundamentals of all subjects is crucial for a child to improve throughout school. For example, you have to know how to count before you can add or subtract. Also, when you get into upper level classes the fundamentals that are supposed to be taught to you in grade school overlap in courses. For example, you have to know algebra to be able to understand chemistry. So, me being an elementary education major, I have to make sure I teach my students the fundamentals while as Pausch also says "kids have to have fun when learning something hard".

The final technique I see as something I will use is "the best gift of an educator is to have someone become self-reflective". This is something that both Pausch and EDM 310 see as crucial in a learning process. The first things that came to my mind is how can I have someone show me self-reflection is they cannot write? Then it dawned on me. Children in Kindergarten and First grade show you self-reflection through pictures, how they tell a story, and show and tell. I did not realize till taking EDM 310 and watching this video that children of all ages show you self-reflection. The key is you have to know what to look for and then encourage your students that self-reflection is a good thing.

C4K Summary for February

Comment 1

The first week I was assigned Brandon from Mrs. Barks's 4th/5th grade class at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. The first post I stumbled on was about his vacation. He talked about going on a steam engine and getting a piece of coal. He went through a Victorian Village in a cart and he was not able to ride the Voyager. He then went on a tram to the air crafts. I replied to his post asking him to explain what M.O.T.A.T. means. I also related to him by telling I have been on a steam engine before too. i also wanted to know if he drew the picture in the post because it was great and had a lot of detail.

Comment 2

The second week I was assigned Emily from Mrs. Hubener's 5th grade class at Sioux Rapids, Iowa. The newest post of Emily's was about her upcoming weekend. She discussed in her post about going to visit her grandparents in South Dakota. She explained that her family would leave on Friday and stay till Monday. She also talked about the weekend before she was having a friend come over and they were going to the store to talk to the Australian guy. I explained to her that I love spending time with my family. I also asked her what her grandparents and her did for fun.

Comment 3

The third week I was assigned Taylor from Mr. Salsich's 3rd grade class in Connecticut. She included in her post a video. She talked in her post about a Flash Mob group she was in. They performed a dance to a song in "The Sound of Music." I responded to her post by telling her I was in "The Sound of Music" too when I was in third grade. I asked when the play was and also suggest another movie she might enjoy.

Comment 4

The fourth and final week in February I was assigned Mrs. Yollis's Class in California. This week was the first week that I was not given a student of the class. I really enjoyed the blog this week. Mrs. Yollis likes to have her students interact through her blog posts. This week she had a firefighter come in an teach the class about fire safety. Throughout her whole blog she includes photos and descriptions to the photos and my favorite thing is she includes questions throughout to let her students interact. I commented on her blog and told her I thought having the firefighter come into her class really seemed to have an impact on the children.

Podcast Project 8 Group E.M.S

Blog Post 5

Scott McLeod's "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

Scott Mcleod is the co-founder of CASTLE(UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education) and an associate professor. I love the blog and the sarcasm he put in it. Everything he says not to do in the post he really means to do them. The internet and other technology and preparing the younger generation for what the future holds. Now a days businesses are searching for people that are computer literate. How much more are people going to have to know ten years down the road? Our children need the exposure of making videos and podcasts to help when they have to give speeches in front of people. Hopefully with the exposure they will be less likely to be nervous. If you do not teach your children the dangers of technology and how to correctly use it then they will do things that are not safe. I believe parents need to take the time to learn about technology and then the fears would lessen. Our country is behind other countries because we will not take the time to teach our children the positives and negatives of technology.

Travis Allen's "The iSchool Initiative"

Travis Allen explains that his high school is experiencing major budget cuts. These cuts resulted in pay cuts, teachers being let go, and classes getting larger. He proposes an idea to help called the iSchool. The iSchool will be done on an itouch. By doing this schools will be able to get rid of books, paper, copy machines, and pencils. He then explains how applications that are available today can be used. E-mail would be one of the most useful because students, parents, and teachers can keep track of assignments and due dates. Chemical touch is an app with a periodic table that explains things about each element just by touching it. US Constitution is an app with an easy to read Constitution. World Wiki would replace maps and globes in a classroom. USA Presidents app has interactive content for each president. Star Walk has information about the universe. Formulae is an app that provides all science and math formulas needed for a student to do problems. Recorder allows students to record lectures and be able to send to other students that might not have been in class. The scientific calculator allows students to use the itouch rather then spend money on an expensive graphing calculator. The notes app allows student and teachers to take, receive, and send notes. Classics is a book reader that is easy to pick a chapter and flip through pages. This app can be used for text books and library books. iHomework gives students and teachers a list of assignments and keep track of each subject and the due dates.

This video really got me interested in knowing more about how much has changed since the video. I would really like to use this in my class and think students would enjoy school more. Students always learn more when they are having fun and interested in the way they are being taught. I really think Travis has the right idea with how the iSchool would save schools a lot of money due to less paper being used.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
This video is absolutely amazing. I cannot imagine that the people in this video had never met before. Eric is an amazing person to be able to put something like this together. This video shows how technology can create some wonderful things. Think of what people can do with any in the world using technology.

Kevin Roberts's "Teaching in the 21st Century

Roberts believes that teaching in the 21st century is not by teaching facts. Facts can be found anywhere, anytime, anyplace. However, if you teach skills then the students have to learn from you. The way teachers can see if students are learning is by getting them to apply the skills you have taught through video, podcast, blogging,or presenting. He thinks students should publish work through video, audio, or wiki. We as teachers need to rethink the way we teach. He also mentions however you decide to teach you need to make it challenging, engaging, and relevant. I could not agree more with Travis. Our world is growing rapidly and it is time for a change. If we do not change our children will be behind the rest of the world. I plan on using the tools I am learning in this class to incorporate in my teaching methods when I get my own classroom.

Reading Rockets

I am studying to be an Elementary teacher and this website seems to be geared towards elementary. I have absolutely nothing to say negative about this site. I really want to teach somewhere between 1st-3rd grade. These are the years, I believe, that can make or break a child's enjoyment of reading. This site gives games that you can have your students play to strengthen their vocabulary, comprehension, fluency, phonics, and writing. I also really enjoyed how the site gave possibilities of reading lists and books to go along with certain things in history.

I think this website cannot only be used at school with a teacher, but also with parents at home. With technology growing rapidly, I would really use this website in my classroom. However, most children have a computer at home, so I would assign things to do with this website at home with the parents. I believe a child really wants to learn if they see their parents are behind them and support them as much as their teacher does. I think Anthony Capps is right the website is very valuable to education.

Project 9a Timetoast

Blog post 4

revised 1/4/12

Podcasting with First Graders

It amazes me that first graders want to be so involved with reading. In my experience with children just learning to read, it is sometimes a hassle to get them to engage in a book. This podcast not only shows these children reading a book, but the book is a chapter book. I think the idea of a podcast for reading is a great idea to use in a classroom. The great thing about the podcast is it can work for not only first grade but possibly all the way through elementary school.

Podcasting in the Classroom

This video describes the benefits of using a podcast in the classroom. This video offers good examples for why I should use podcasting in my classrooms. One of the examples given in the video is when a child is sick and does not go to school. If the teacher uploads the lessons through podcast then the student will not be behind when they return. Another example given that I would use would be for students to come up with a podcast for a project maybe to interview someone in history or something to do with English. I think to let children use a podcast the parents need to be involved and sometimes it will depend on the age of the child too.

Listening Comprehension used with Podcasting

This article talks about how a second grade class used podcasting to learn a different language and apply reading, comprehension skills. Each student in the classroom was given a sentence to record to use for the podcast. Then they were taught how to write the sentence in Hebrew. Finally the teacher scrambled the sentences so each student had to come up and put the sentences into order for the story. I think this podcast is a great idea because, as a teacher, I could really engage my students in a story by making it a type of game. I think when you make learning fun a student really comprehends the lesson being taught and applies himself/herself more to the lesson.

This Is My Sentence Project#6

Blog Post 3

Peer Editing

I am really glad Dr. Strange decided to put an assignment about how to correctly peer edit. The Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes video was great. It really gave me an insight to the type peer editor I am. I hate to admit it but I am a speedy sally. I have never really seen the point behind peer editing. I always thought the teacher was the one who knew what he/she was doing and should be the only one allowed to grade papers, so I just went through the steps quick to get the homework grade. I know now how helpful peer editing really is and I will spend the time on my classmates' blogs to help them make their blogs great. In my C4C this week I did not see any errors so I just complimented how well he wrote his blog and how great his thoughts were on the videos from last week.

Technology in Special Education

In this video Lace Cook, shows how important technology is for teaching students with special needs. I love the beginning of the video with the black and white video and crickets chirping in the background. This really shows how classrooms are when just books are available. There is not much interaction between students, and I think especially special needs students need to socialize to help with their learning.

The video then starts to show the difference technology has made in the special education classroom. Corbin is the first example showing him listening to an ipod. He used to need a teacher to read aloud to him outside the classroom and now he can stay in class and listen to the stories on his ipod. The next example is Kris who has a hard time seeing his work. They used to use come kind of wooden stand for books, but now he uses a computer which makes it easier for him to communicate to teachers and classmates and easier to do work on. Sherae is another example used that also uses a computer to help her talk. Using computers to teach the students in the video helps to keep them interested and eager to learn. This video really opened my eyes to all the good technology does. I had no idea that special education students would be able to use technology easier than a pencil and paper.

I went to the apple itunes store and looked at the apps available for education. I found a really good application that was created by a speech pathologist. I think the app could be used to help teach my special needs students how to put stories into order. I would use the app as an activity, then ask the student to come up with a story that goes with the pictures in correct sequence on the app. The app is called Speech with Milo: Sequencing and this app is only part of a group of apps made by this Speech Pathologist. I would also use her other Speech with Milo apps to target other problem areas depending on where each student is at.

Gary's Social Media Count

This website shows different parts of social networks and how much the count is changing in less than three seconds. I knew our world was changing through technology but I had no idea it was happening this fast. I never thought I would see the day when my grandparents started internet surfing, or the day my dad owned an iphone and knows more about the phone than I do. I am still trying to wrap my head around how much our world is changing through all this new technology.

I think technology taking off like it has is a good thing for my generation and younger, but our parent's generation and our grandparent's generation is having a hard time changing their ways. I think this rise in technology is a good thing for schools because it helps those students who do not do well with paper and pencil show their strengths through technology. However, I think this is going to require all old and new educators to keep very up to date on new technology and be willing to learn.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This video was my favorite part of this blog post assignment. I have been in college three years and have spent more money on school and textbooks than I could ever imagine making in a year without a college degree. I think teachers and professors need to look at this video as a reality check. This video shows a professor and teacher that most students are coming to class but not paying attention. True that teachers try to tell you if you are on anything other than what has to do with class you will be asked to not bring your computer to class, however, very few students will actually care if they get caught.

I think in the future schools need to go to paperless books and maybe get rid of chalkboards and whiteboards. I believe students would pay more attention to a teacher and the lesson being taught if there was some type of interaction involved throughout the class time. I am excited to see how big of an impact this video will have on how we teach in schools in the future.

Project #5

Project 3 C4T #1

Comment 1

I was assigned Kelly Tenkely and the first blog I commented on was about speed booking. She talked of how this can be done either through computers or using paper if there are not enough computers available to the students. The blog talks of how this idea gets children interested in books and to help form reading groups in class. The way this speed booking works is each students is given a few minutes to read either a chapter in a book, look at the title of the chapters or read the introduction to the book. After time is up each student rates the book 1 of 4 ways: "I want to read more", "Interesting", "Not for me", or "I've already read".

I responded to her post by stating what a great idea the speed booking is. I explained how I am studying to teach elementary school and would love to use this in my class to help with vocabulary and get children more involved with reading. This idea really helps to teach children to not judge a book by its cover. Click here to go to the post.

Comment 2

Kelly Tenkely did not respong to my first comment so I found another post and commented on it. This Blog had to do with a website called Money Island This site allows students to learn about three different areas: saving and spending, earning and investing, and using credit wisely. The site takes the child on a journey throughout the world to learn and apply the three different areas along with other very important things they should now about our economy. The site also gives lesson plans and activities so teachers can incorporate the site into school. Ms. Tenkely also talks about how to integrate the site into a classroom. She suggests either having it as a center that students can rotate throughout the week or even use it as something to do at home.

I responded to here post by first stating what a great idea this site is. I also want to know her opinion on what is a good grade to start putting this in lessons about money. I then told her about when I was in school I was never really taught about what this site is hoping to teach children. I think it is definitely something children need to learn with how our economy is these days. I really hope I will be able to use this tool when I start teaching.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0- A John Strange 2012 Version by: Dr. John Strange


In Dr. Strange's video a lot of statistics are shown to not only compare the United States to India and China but to also compare the way technology has changed from last semester to two years ago. It is amazing to think that English speaking Chinese will outnumber the entire world in English speaking. The video also makes you think what you can do once your an educator to make your students more tech savvy and hopefully bring numbers up across the board with being bilingual and raise IQs.

I enjoyed watching Dr. Strange's version, but I have to say the originalDid You Know? version had more facts I was interested in. The original also had several different ways of showing how technology has changed over the years. I had no idea that the population of India and China were so much greater than the United States. The information about how many babies were born during the span of the video is just extremely eye opening. How much has the data changed since the video was first made?

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman

This video starts off with this old man who has been asleep for one hundred years finally waking up. He goes to explore the world and finds that a lot of things have changed since when he can remember. He sees big, tall buildings and goes in one. There he discovers the things that have changed with how businesses are run and the new inventions. He has no idea what a computer or printer is. He is amazed to see that the printer pops out a piece of paper with a picture on it. He also is bewildered by the fact that you can talk to a person through a computer and the person you are talking to be across the world.

He then ventures out to a nearby hospital to see if maybe he is sick. When he enters he again sees all these new machines. He sees people that are being kept alive by a machine that is making them breathe. He also notices the doctors using lazars and x-rays to perform surgeries on patients. He then leaves the hospital and walks till he finds a school and goes inside. Once inside he feels comfortable. He looks around and sees there are no changes.

This video really helps to show that several things have changed over the past one hundred years. Some of the things we are able to do now were not even thought possible a hundred years ago. However, I do disagree with the fact that the video thinks schools have not changed. I know going through middle and high school when teachers thought children were old enough to handle computers we did lessons and experiments on computers. A hundred years ago children were learning in classrooms with books and chalkboards.

The Importance of Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson

This video talks about the creativity of children in education. Mr. Robinson first starts off with how we as educators are here to educate children to be ready for the next five years when we ourselves do not know what will happen in those next five years. He believes that creativity is as important as literature now in education. He gives several examples of children and their own creative ways or looking at examples like God and the nativity story. He explains that these examples show children are not afraid of being wrong and that is a key thing is to not be afraid. However, by the time children grow up to become adults they somehow become frightened of being wrong. Mr. Robinson gives a reason why this is happening. He says that our schools are now being run to make it seem that a mistake is a bad thing which is leading to children losing their creativity.

After explaining a little about his topic he then goes into explain that every education system in the world has the same subjects and levels of importance for subjects. The subjects of most importance are math and languages, then humanities and the least important is the arts. Robinson believes the reason for public education is to produce university professors. I never knew that there was not a public education system till the 19th century. The one thing that worried me in the video is when he gave a statistic saying that in the next thirty years more people will graduate in education then ever recorded in history. We are already having a hard time with jobs, does this mean more types of teaching are going to become available?

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

The arguments made in this video have to do with changing the way children learn. The video suggests taking kids away from sitting passively in their chairs memorizing material from textbooks. The answer the video gives is to move to a technology that kids do not even realize is teaching them to help them feel empowered. I have to say i do not completely agree. I have learned over the years that everyone learns differently. Yes, some children might learn better through this new style of teaching, but what about the other children? I learn through hands on teaching. I also cannot watch a video or read something from a computer and truly learn something. I have to print out the text or stop a video throughout to write notes. I know I am not the only student that learns this way. I think the best thing would be to combine the two ways of learning. I think this would be the most beneficial to all children.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis

In this video Vicki Davis is seen as a teacher that has done something incredible with her students through technology. She has created a classroom where the students are teaching her and teaching the rest of the class. She is the cofounder of several different blogs. Digiteen is a blog where students from around the world come together and learn new things about digital citizenship. The Flat Classroom project is where students can study different technology trends with other students around the world and collaborate through videos and presentations.

My favorite part of the video is when she said a child cannot learn with just paper and just pencil. I could not agree more with her statement. I think there are certain students who thrive in the paper and pencil atmosphere, but there are students who would better thrive in the technology atmosphere. I think by joining the two students will not only become more diverse learners but also be better prepared for jobs after college.

Blog Post 1

All About Me
   
       Hello my name is Sarah Webb and I am twenty years old. This is my third year in college. I just changed my major from nursing to elementary education. I realized in the fall semester that I wanted to work with children, but I would rather work with in a classroom rather than a hospital. I transferred to USA this past summer from a small Methodist college in Athens, TN to be closer to my family. My parents still live in Tennessee, but will eventually move back to Mobile, AL.  I have one brother who is twenty-six and married. He has two children. They are everything to me. Riley, the oldest, is 5 and extremely smart. Brody is 3 and thinks he is invincible.
     Moving back down to Mobile to finish school was a great decision, but is still very hard being away from my two nephews. I had a different high school life than most kids. I showed horses competitively throughout middle and high school and was gone pretty much every weekend. The first two years of high school I tried to balance school and showing together while having to miss a lot of Fridays and some Mondays. I remember those two years having to make up the time I was gone after school hours every day. It was terrible so my parents home-schooled me my junior year and we spent most of that year down in Florida for me to train. Finally, I decided my senior year to cut down showing and go back to school to try and have a normal senior year. I made some great friends that year and really enjoyed going back to school.
      I think being home-schooled really made me appreciate teachers more and how much of an impact they really do have on learning. That is a big reason why I am interested in teaching. I want to have the same impact on students as my teachers had on me.

Randy Pausch on Time Management


Pausch talks of how we need to ask "Why?" when setting goals. He also says to do right things right no matter if they are beautifully done or not just make sure things are done right. Good judgement comes from experience and if things are not going the way you want that usually means you will learn from it and the next time it will be better. Planning is also important to time management and done in multiple levels. Also remember that you can change your plans but the only way you can is to first have an actual plan. The final thing he talks about in this time management video is doing to do lists he tells listeners to break the lists down to small steps and do the worst thing first.

Practice Post

This is my practice post.