"Good Boy Fergus!" by: David Shannon
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Blog Assignment 8
This is How We Dream Part 1 and Part 2
Dr. Richard Miller is very informed and passionate about the infinite uses for technology. In his lecture he states,"We are living at the moment of the greatest change in human communication in human history". He believes it is a great age for reading and writing. We have access to almost anything we can think of right at our fingertips. We no longer have to go to the library to find a book or do research. Everything is available to us online.
Many people are embracing the use of technology in the classroom. Technology is advancing more and more everyday and students need to know how to use it productively. Dr. Miller feels we should prepare for a world where everything is done digitally. He even discusses how people are discovering how to compose things digitally without the need for word processors. Although this technique is new and not fully understood, people are figuring out how to do it and I'm sure that one day we will hopefully be teaching our students how to.
As a future teacher, I am excited about all the advances in technology. I want my students to embrace and enjoy learning and I know technology will help immensely. Teachers need to try and be on their students' level and teach them in a way they will understand and can relate to. For digital learning to work and be successful, Dr. Miller explains that educators must come together and share ideas and help to develop a pedagogy for this type of learning. The fact is that technology is not going anywhere so we might as well embrace it and use it to enhance our lives and learning experience.
Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
I really enjoyed reading Carly's post. It's obvious she put a lot of time, thought, and creativity into it. She seemed to really embrace the ideas of Dr. Miller. She thought of a way to use digital learning to express what she wanted to say. She made use of text, audio, video, and images in her post for a full digital experience. I loved her idea of the You Tube playlist. What a wonderful, creative, innovative way to express yourself and your teaching philosophy. I enjoyed reading her different ideas for her future students in her English class. She showed that there are many ways to get your point across without explicitly using the written text. I know she will be a fantastic teacher one day and her future students are in for a great learning experience!
The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies
I enjoyed watching these two student made videos. I really related to The Chipper Series because I am ,unfortunately, behind in EDM 310 and it was extremely hard to catch up. I am learning how important it is to be on time and meet deadlines. As a future teacher, my students will depend on me to be prepared and organized so I can teach them in the best way possible. EDM 310 for Dummies was great. It was nice to see that everyone has trouble with this class at the beginning but that Dr. Strange provides us with everything we need to be successful in this class. It's important to learn to do things on your own. If I were to create a video for this class it would be along the same lines as these two videos. I would hope to show future EDM 310 students that everyone will have some form of difficulty in this class but that it is possible to do well and there is ample help available. I still struggle with procrastination but this class is definitely helping me to overcome the trait.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video was very thought provoking. I think teachers forget sometimes that students don't solely learn from their teaching in the classroom. Students are constantly learning from many different sources whether it be Twitter, Facebook, or other online sources. They are even learning from each other when they text message. The video states that "every turned off device is potentially a turned off child". If technology is what's keeping a child's attention, then shouldn't teachers want to use more technology in the classroom? Learning is about so much more than memorizing facts and taking tests. It's also about sharing, community, growing as individuals, expressing creativity, using the imagination, and having fun. The video says that students need to be able to synthesize and communicate the information they are being taught. What service are we performing for our students if they only learn information for a test then forget everything the minute the test is over. This is not learning. One person on the video described the changing system as, "the death of education but the dawn of learning". This is a powerful statement to make but it is true. Students are learning to enjoy learning. The education system is changing and we must all learn to change with it. This new frontier of education is an amazing thing but will only serve as a positive event if we come together and decide to finally give our students the education they want and deserve.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
#2- The tool that most likely created this presentation is, Prezi. Prezi offers a great package to students and educators and it is completely free! All you need to sign up for it is an educational e-mail address. The plan offers 500MB of storage space, the option to make your Prezi private, the ability to use your own logo/trademark and premium support. Prezi is a great tool for the classroom because it can make a lesson more engaging, interactive, and fun for the students. Prezi is also a great tool for students to use to make their assignments and projects more interesting and creative.
#3- I used Make Beliefs Comix to make my own comic strip. It was so much fun and would be a great way to make a lesson or presentation pop and keep the students interested. It is somewhat hard to read the comic so I also included a link to it. Epic Fail in EDM 310
#5 I created this poll usingPoll Everywhere. It would be a great tool to use in the classroom to further make learning fun and interactive for the student.
Dr. Richard Miller is very informed and passionate about the infinite uses for technology. In his lecture he states,"We are living at the moment of the greatest change in human communication in human history". He believes it is a great age for reading and writing. We have access to almost anything we can think of right at our fingertips. We no longer have to go to the library to find a book or do research. Everything is available to us online.
Many people are embracing the use of technology in the classroom. Technology is advancing more and more everyday and students need to know how to use it productively. Dr. Miller feels we should prepare for a world where everything is done digitally. He even discusses how people are discovering how to compose things digitally without the need for word processors. Although this technique is new and not fully understood, people are figuring out how to do it and I'm sure that one day we will hopefully be teaching our students how to.
As a future teacher, I am excited about all the advances in technology. I want my students to embrace and enjoy learning and I know technology will help immensely. Teachers need to try and be on their students' level and teach them in a way they will understand and can relate to. For digital learning to work and be successful, Dr. Miller explains that educators must come together and share ideas and help to develop a pedagogy for this type of learning. The fact is that technology is not going anywhere so we might as well embrace it and use it to enhance our lives and learning experience.
Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
I really enjoyed reading Carly's post. It's obvious she put a lot of time, thought, and creativity into it. She seemed to really embrace the ideas of Dr. Miller. She thought of a way to use digital learning to express what she wanted to say. She made use of text, audio, video, and images in her post for a full digital experience. I loved her idea of the You Tube playlist. What a wonderful, creative, innovative way to express yourself and your teaching philosophy. I enjoyed reading her different ideas for her future students in her English class. She showed that there are many ways to get your point across without explicitly using the written text. I know she will be a fantastic teacher one day and her future students are in for a great learning experience!
The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies
I enjoyed watching these two student made videos. I really related to The Chipper Series because I am ,unfortunately, behind in EDM 310 and it was extremely hard to catch up. I am learning how important it is to be on time and meet deadlines. As a future teacher, my students will depend on me to be prepared and organized so I can teach them in the best way possible. EDM 310 for Dummies was great. It was nice to see that everyone has trouble with this class at the beginning but that Dr. Strange provides us with everything we need to be successful in this class. It's important to learn to do things on your own. If I were to create a video for this class it would be along the same lines as these two videos. I would hope to show future EDM 310 students that everyone will have some form of difficulty in this class but that it is possible to do well and there is ample help available. I still struggle with procrastination but this class is definitely helping me to overcome the trait.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video was very thought provoking. I think teachers forget sometimes that students don't solely learn from their teaching in the classroom. Students are constantly learning from many different sources whether it be Twitter, Facebook, or other online sources. They are even learning from each other when they text message. The video states that "every turned off device is potentially a turned off child". If technology is what's keeping a child's attention, then shouldn't teachers want to use more technology in the classroom? Learning is about so much more than memorizing facts and taking tests. It's also about sharing, community, growing as individuals, expressing creativity, using the imagination, and having fun. The video says that students need to be able to synthesize and communicate the information they are being taught. What service are we performing for our students if they only learn information for a test then forget everything the minute the test is over. This is not learning. One person on the video described the changing system as, "the death of education but the dawn of learning". This is a powerful statement to make but it is true. Students are learning to enjoy learning. The education system is changing and we must all learn to change with it. This new frontier of education is an amazing thing but will only serve as a positive event if we come together and decide to finally give our students the education they want and deserve.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
#2- The tool that most likely created this presentation is, Prezi. Prezi offers a great package to students and educators and it is completely free! All you need to sign up for it is an educational e-mail address. The plan offers 500MB of storage space, the option to make your Prezi private, the ability to use your own logo/trademark and premium support. Prezi is a great tool for the classroom because it can make a lesson more engaging, interactive, and fun for the students. Prezi is also a great tool for students to use to make their assignments and projects more interesting and creative.
#3- I used Make Beliefs Comix to make my own comic strip. It was so much fun and would be a great way to make a lesson or presentation pop and keep the students interested. It is somewhat hard to read the comic so I also included a link to it. Epic Fail in EDM 310
#5 I created this poll usingPoll Everywhere. It would be a great tool to use in the classroom to further make learning fun and interactive for the student.
Monday, March 19, 2012
C4T #2
For C4T #2, I was assigned to Paige Vitulli who is the Assistant Professor of Education here at the University of South Alabama. Her blog is entitled, "Pondering Paige". I truly enjoyed her blog. The first post of hers that I commented on discussed The Mobile Museum of Art's exhibit of the birds of John James Audubon. After taking her class of future elementary school teachers on a field trip to the exhibit, she had them each pick a bird of their choice and use materials that would be accessible to any elementary school to create the image. I think this was a great assignment and would also be wonderful to use in the classroom one day. I love that she had the students use resources available to most schools and that the assignment would be a great way to include art into a science lesson.
The second post I commented on was a video entitled, "Pay for Grades: Does Cash Work for Students?". This was quite an interesting video. It dealt with a small town in Ohio that began a program in one of their elementary schools that offered students cash rewards for passing standardized tests. The students received money for each subject they passed on the test up to one-hundred dollars. There were complications, however, associated with this program. First of all, there was the concern that a cash reward would interfere with the process of learning simply to learn. Many of the teacher's felt it would take away from the student wanting to do well for themselves if the thought of cash is what spurred their learning. Cash rewards also created competition between the students and caused much pressure on the student to do well. One big concern, which I fully agree with, is the reasoning that the teacher should be the motivation for the student, not money. The students that spoke on the video said the only reason they studied and worked hard was because of the cash incentive. The results of the cash for grades program only showed improvement in Math but not the other subjects. The school has since taken away the cash incentives for the other subjects except for Math and are evaluating whether or not to keep the program at all. Another repercussion of the program was that once the cash incentive was no longer there, grades began slipping.
I commented on the video and expressed my feelings of dismay for the program. One thing the video mentioned was that this school dealt with low resources such as textbooks. My feelings on this is why not take that money that was offered to students and use it to help the school? New textbooks and smartboards could make a huge difference in the learning of the students. A child needs to be kept engaged and it is the teacher's job to make learning fun and create a welcoming atmosphere conducive to learning and creativity. In my comment, I stated that I felt this program came across as laziness on the school board's and teachers' part and that if test scores are low, then there are many other options available to improve them then turning to money. I don't even consider cash incentives as a last resort but rather that it should have never even been an option. It clearly did not do much good and I hope that this does not become a trend across the country. I have included in my post the video so watch it and tell me what you think about the topic.
The second post I commented on was a video entitled, "Pay for Grades: Does Cash Work for Students?". This was quite an interesting video. It dealt with a small town in Ohio that began a program in one of their elementary schools that offered students cash rewards for passing standardized tests. The students received money for each subject they passed on the test up to one-hundred dollars. There were complications, however, associated with this program. First of all, there was the concern that a cash reward would interfere with the process of learning simply to learn. Many of the teacher's felt it would take away from the student wanting to do well for themselves if the thought of cash is what spurred their learning. Cash rewards also created competition between the students and caused much pressure on the student to do well. One big concern, which I fully agree with, is the reasoning that the teacher should be the motivation for the student, not money. The students that spoke on the video said the only reason they studied and worked hard was because of the cash incentive. The results of the cash for grades program only showed improvement in Math but not the other subjects. The school has since taken away the cash incentives for the other subjects except for Math and are evaluating whether or not to keep the program at all. Another repercussion of the program was that once the cash incentive was no longer there, grades began slipping.
I commented on the video and expressed my feelings of dismay for the program. One thing the video mentioned was that this school dealt with low resources such as textbooks. My feelings on this is why not take that money that was offered to students and use it to help the school? New textbooks and smartboards could make a huge difference in the learning of the students. A child needs to be kept engaged and it is the teacher's job to make learning fun and create a welcoming atmosphere conducive to learning and creativity. In my comment, I stated that I felt this program came across as laziness on the school board's and teachers' part and that if test scores are low, then there are many other options available to improve them then turning to money. I don't even consider cash incentives as a last resort but rather that it should have never even been an option. It clearly did not do much good and I hope that this does not become a trend across the country. I have included in my post the video so watch it and tell me what you think about the topic.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Project #10
For my PLN, I have decided to use Symbaloo. I enjoy this site because it allows you to have all your favorite websites right in front of you on one screen. One great thing about Symbaloo is the ability to open new websites in a new tab without closing Symbaloo. I also like that you can organize your websites into social networking, educational, news, etc... I am slowly building my PLN. So far I have included links to EDM 310, my blog, Google, and numerous other sites. I also have added links to various C4T and C4K sites that I have been assigned to comment on so that I can check in with them and see what new things they are doing. By the end of this class, I plan to have an extensive array of educational websites and resources to help me in my preparation to become a teacher. I look forward to adding many more websites to my Symbaloo. This is a screen shot of what I have on my Smybaloo so far but I plan to have much more added as I continue with it in the future. 
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Blog Assignment 7
The Networked Student
Wendy Drixler did a wonderful job with this video. I found it to be a very clever approach to making a video. It was relatively simple but straight to the point and very informative. The networked student does not learn in the typical classroom setting. Much of their learning is done independent of the teacher. This gives the student the opportunity and important responsibility of learning and finding information on their own. The students' online classroom, so to speak, allows them to build connections with other students and educators from all over. I think this is a wonderful thing because instead of just getting information from a textbook or one teacher, they are able to gain perspectives and knowledge from many different points of view. A teacher can teach a student all they know on a subject but no teacher has all the answers.
Wendy Drixler asks whether or not a teacher is needed for the networked student. I think a teacher is definitely still needed. The teacher is the one that teaches the student how to build connections,ask appropriate questions,distinguish between reliable and unreliable information, organize their findings, and to be a helping hand when the student is having trouble. Teachers are there to educate the student in many different ways. I think that to be a teacher of a networked student, you must be willing to give up some control but also know that you are still very much needed. At the end of the day, teachers are there to help the student succeed no matter what methods are used. Teachers are preparing their students for the future.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
In this video, I was able to see firsthand how technology is being used in the classroom. Although she is only in 7th grade, this young girl is able to do more on a computer than most adults. Her PLE (Personal Learning Environment) allows her to organize her social media and networking sites so everything is laid out and available to her on one screen so she can easily access things. She explains that she enjoys having the freedom yet responsibility to learn and do assignments in different ways. Though she is given more freedom, the teacher is still a vital part of her technological journey. The teacher is there to guide her and help her use social media and networking in combination with traditional teaching methods. The teacher needs to provide the lesson plan and can then include the use of technology to go along with it. I am slowly building my PLN (Personal Learning Network) and am seeing the benefits it offers. In EDM 310 we are building an online portfolio of our work, thoughts, and other important information that will allow others to see a part of who we are and what we are capable of as future teachers and as individuals. I found this article that describes a PLE, the benefits it offers, and how to create one. Check it out! What is A Personal Learning Environment?
Wendy Drixler did a wonderful job with this video. I found it to be a very clever approach to making a video. It was relatively simple but straight to the point and very informative. The networked student does not learn in the typical classroom setting. Much of their learning is done independent of the teacher. This gives the student the opportunity and important responsibility of learning and finding information on their own. The students' online classroom, so to speak, allows them to build connections with other students and educators from all over. I think this is a wonderful thing because instead of just getting information from a textbook or one teacher, they are able to gain perspectives and knowledge from many different points of view. A teacher can teach a student all they know on a subject but no teacher has all the answers.
Wendy Drixler asks whether or not a teacher is needed for the networked student. I think a teacher is definitely still needed. The teacher is the one that teaches the student how to build connections,ask appropriate questions,distinguish between reliable and unreliable information, organize their findings, and to be a helping hand when the student is having trouble. Teachers are there to educate the student in many different ways. I think that to be a teacher of a networked student, you must be willing to give up some control but also know that you are still very much needed. At the end of the day, teachers are there to help the student succeed no matter what methods are used. Teachers are preparing their students for the future.
A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
In this video, I was able to see firsthand how technology is being used in the classroom. Although she is only in 7th grade, this young girl is able to do more on a computer than most adults. Her PLE (Personal Learning Environment) allows her to organize her social media and networking sites so everything is laid out and available to her on one screen so she can easily access things. She explains that she enjoys having the freedom yet responsibility to learn and do assignments in different ways. Though she is given more freedom, the teacher is still a vital part of her technological journey. The teacher is there to guide her and help her use social media and networking in combination with traditional teaching methods. The teacher needs to provide the lesson plan and can then include the use of technology to go along with it. I am slowly building my PLN (Personal Learning Network) and am seeing the benefits it offers. In EDM 310 we are building an online portfolio of our work, thoughts, and other important information that will allow others to see a part of who we are and what we are capable of as future teachers and as individuals. I found this article that describes a PLE, the benefits it offers, and how to create one. Check it out! What is A Personal Learning Environment?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Blog Assignment 6
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was a truly inspirational person. His last lecture, like all his lectures, was full of wonderful advice and motivation to be a better person. This lecture dealt a lot with his processes of achieving his childhood dreams but more importantly it was about helping to enable the dreams of others. He worked very hard and was determined to achieve his goals. He never gave up. He talked about hitting a brick wall in his journeys to success. To him, that brick wall is there to show us how badly we want something and how hard we are willing to work to get it. So many people, me included, have simply given up when an obstacle presents itself. Randy Pausch always refused to give up and it paid off tremendously for him. He was living proof of what you can achieve through hard work, determination, and dedication.
Randy was an amazing teacher. He talked a lot about "head-fakes". He explained this as the process of learning indirectly. He was able to teach certain things without the students realizing what they were learning. One way he did this was through something he called, "edutainment". He used fun and entertaining methods to teach his students and others. He taught his students how to focus on people and work in groups. He also used peer feedback to help his students see ways they could improve themselves and the ways they worked with others. His course was about bonding and working together to achieve goals. One very important lesson I learned from him was to always raise the bar with your students. Even if they do an amazing job, always tell them they can do better. Teachers should never put a limit on a student's potential. Students should be constantly encouraged to keep working hard and grow and learn.
Randy Pausch was a firm believer in karma. He believed if you work hard and do things right then good things will always find a way to come into your life. Every teacher and person can learn a lot from the teachings of Randy Pausch. Even while facing death, he believed in living every day to the fullest, staying positive, and most importantly having fun. Teaching and learning shouldn't be boring, monotonous activities. They should be looked forward to and fun for all involved. Randy Pausch was a perfect example of the idea that good things will come to good people. You have to work hard and be patient sometimes, but your hard work and dedication will certainly pay off in the long run. I was truly inspired by this lecture and will carry what I have learned from Randy Pausch with me into my future teaching career and my life.
Randy Pausch was a truly inspirational person. His last lecture, like all his lectures, was full of wonderful advice and motivation to be a better person. This lecture dealt a lot with his processes of achieving his childhood dreams but more importantly it was about helping to enable the dreams of others. He worked very hard and was determined to achieve his goals. He never gave up. He talked about hitting a brick wall in his journeys to success. To him, that brick wall is there to show us how badly we want something and how hard we are willing to work to get it. So many people, me included, have simply given up when an obstacle presents itself. Randy Pausch always refused to give up and it paid off tremendously for him. He was living proof of what you can achieve through hard work, determination, and dedication.
Randy was an amazing teacher. He talked a lot about "head-fakes". He explained this as the process of learning indirectly. He was able to teach certain things without the students realizing what they were learning. One way he did this was through something he called, "edutainment". He used fun and entertaining methods to teach his students and others. He taught his students how to focus on people and work in groups. He also used peer feedback to help his students see ways they could improve themselves and the ways they worked with others. His course was about bonding and working together to achieve goals. One very important lesson I learned from him was to always raise the bar with your students. Even if they do an amazing job, always tell them they can do better. Teachers should never put a limit on a student's potential. Students should be constantly encouraged to keep working hard and grow and learn.
Randy Pausch was a firm believer in karma. He believed if you work hard and do things right then good things will always find a way to come into your life. Every teacher and person can learn a lot from the teachings of Randy Pausch. Even while facing death, he believed in living every day to the fullest, staying positive, and most importantly having fun. Teaching and learning shouldn't be boring, monotonous activities. They should be looked forward to and fun for all involved. Randy Pausch was a perfect example of the idea that good things will come to good people. You have to work hard and be patient sometimes, but your hard work and dedication will certainly pay off in the long run. I was truly inspired by this lecture and will carry what I have learned from Randy Pausch with me into my future teaching career and my life.
C4K Summary for February
I really enjoyed my comments for kids assignments for the month of February. They all showed the benefits of blogging in the classroom and most of the students seemed truly engaged and excited to be blogging.
My first student blog I commented on was for a student named,Martha . Her blog post I commented on was entitled, . The body of her post simply read, "I write because I was told to write." I commented by explaining who I was and why I was commenting on her blog. I then asked her if there was anything she enjoyed about writing or if she only wrote because she was told to. I also asked her if there what subjects in school she enjoyed the most. She did not reply, but I enjoyed reading her blog and hope she enjoys writing and doesn't only write because she is told to.
The next blog I commented on was for Ferry Lane Primary School, Year 6, in London. The blog post I commented on was entitled, "An Update From Tobago". It discussed what was going on during one of the teacher's trip to Tobago. The post included a great video and pictures. I loved how he included questions for the students to answer that were reading the post from London. He asked them for information regarding Tobago's capital city, how Tobago's bay, "Bloody Bay", got its name and he also asked them to find out other interesting things about Tobago. This gave the students a chance to feel included on the trip, learn some new things, and also do a little web browsing to find out the answers to the questions. I expressed to him how much I enjoyed the post and how I can't wait to use blogging in my future classroom.
I also commented on Mrs. Adair's Class Blog (grades 2nd and 3rd). Her blog post I commented on was titled as, "Snow Day". She discussed the recent snow they had that resulted in a special snow day off from school. She included pictures and questions (which I love) in the post. She asked the students to comment and tell her, How many inches are in a foot of snow? (math), How much snow is where you are?, and What things are you doing on your snow day?. I commented and told her how much I enjoyed the blog post and the rest of the blog and how it further impressed upon me the benefits of using technology in the classroom. I also asked her students to tell me what they enjoyed about blogging and how it helped them to learn more. I did not receive a response but still enjoyed the blog and loved seeing how the students responded to the post and how excited they were to be interacting with their classmates and teacher.
My first student blog I commented on was for a student named,Martha . Her blog post I commented on was entitled, . The body of her post simply read, "I write because I was told to write." I commented by explaining who I was and why I was commenting on her blog. I then asked her if there was anything she enjoyed about writing or if she only wrote because she was told to. I also asked her if there what subjects in school she enjoyed the most. She did not reply, but I enjoyed reading her blog and hope she enjoys writing and doesn't only write because she is told to.
The next blog I commented on was for Ferry Lane Primary School, Year 6, in London. The blog post I commented on was entitled, "An Update From Tobago". It discussed what was going on during one of the teacher's trip to Tobago. The post included a great video and pictures. I loved how he included questions for the students to answer that were reading the post from London. He asked them for information regarding Tobago's capital city, how Tobago's bay, "Bloody Bay", got its name and he also asked them to find out other interesting things about Tobago. This gave the students a chance to feel included on the trip, learn some new things, and also do a little web browsing to find out the answers to the questions. I expressed to him how much I enjoyed the post and how I can't wait to use blogging in my future classroom.
I also commented on Mrs. Adair's Class Blog (grades 2nd and 3rd). Her blog post I commented on was titled as, "Snow Day". She discussed the recent snow they had that resulted in a special snow day off from school. She included pictures and questions (which I love) in the post. She asked the students to comment and tell her, How many inches are in a foot of snow? (math), How much snow is where you are?, and What things are you doing on your snow day?. I commented and told her how much I enjoyed the blog post and the rest of the blog and how it further impressed upon me the benefits of using technology in the classroom. I also asked her students to tell me what they enjoyed about blogging and how it helped them to learn more. I did not receive a response but still enjoyed the blog and loved seeing how the students responded to the post and how excited they were to be interacting with their classmates and teacher.
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