Blog Post # 15

Project # 16

Blog Post # 14

Jose Picardo's educational blog page www.boxoftricks.net is a great website for teachers to visit. Jose is very interested in integrating technology in the classroom by using all of the tools that technology has to offer. While searching through his site you will find the "A-Z Internet Resources for Education" where you can find every possible resource a teacher could ever want to used in alphabetical order. It also gives a brief description of what each resource is and what it has to offer. Jose updates the list periodically and this is great to look though in order to know what is new and available to you. After reading through many of the items I found doink.com is a website that allows you to create and share animations. I actually went on the website and made my very own animation! It was very easy to do and students in elementary school would love to make their very own animations. They could even narrate the a story they made up. I would have never known that doink.com existed if I had not been on Jose's website.
Jose Picardo also has a youtube video "Top ten tips for using technology in the classroom." This is a short video where he gives his top ten tips for teachers who are looking to use in the classroom. He also shares how to integrate these tools in the classroom. I hope to continue to visit Jose's website often because it is so up to date on what is out there for technology.

Final Report On PLN

Since the last time I posted about my PLN on symbaloo.com I have added many new tiles. I have discovered how easy it is to recall something I need to find quickly if I would take a moment to save it to my PLN. I am very pleased to know that I can find exactly what I am looking for in just a few clicks. I hope to show my students how to use a PLN while they are in my classroom and how easy it will be to stay organized in the future. I hope to continue to keep up with my PLN throughout my college career. I am really glad that we were introduced to symbaloo.com in EDM310.

C4T # 4

On November 5, 2011, Jo Fothergill wrote a blog "Stronger Together." He talked about how he and a few colleagues were collaborating about a few ideas they were trying in their classrooms. He said that he is realizing how important it is for teachers to talk together about what they are doing in their classrooms because they can share what ideas are working or what is not. He really shares how he and a few of his teacher friends are working together and coming up with new methods of teaching almost daily. Reading his blog really made me think about how important it is to share ideas with others when I become a teacher.

On November 13, 2011, Jo Fothergill wrote a blog "Conference vs (un)Conference." Jo talks about how he took a weekend and went to a educamp. There they focus on education and having face-to-face time with other teachers and talk about important issues that real teachers are facing. I never knew that they have weekend camps for teachers to attend and focus on education. I feel like it is a great way to re-coop and talk with other professionals about teaching students. I hope to find an outlet for me to one day get together with other teachers to have a little fun and focus in on very important issues.

C4K November Summary

Mr. Mclung is an 8th grade social studies teacher in Arkansas. In his blog post "Creating a Timeline" he teaches his students to create a timeline using timetoast. I told him that we in EDM310 have learned to make timelines using timetoast and I think it is great that he is having his students learn to make timelines also.

Dante from Pt England school wrote a blog called "Fireworks." He wrote how he thought they were very loud and beautiful. I really like how he writes and calls his "mom" "mum." I told him that I really liked firework too and that he needed to be careful around them because they can sometimes be dangerous.

Blog Post # 13

On November 12, 2011 The Wall Street Journal published an article "My Teacher Is An App." This article talks about how many states are beginning to have more and more online schools. Students can log in at home and do their school work at any age or any grade. "Many of the students that are taking a part of this online schooling are kids that were already home schooled, students that have medical problems that may not may not be able to be in a traditional school setting, or students that feel they should not be in school for peer pressure or bullying." Many people argue that having their children enrolled in these online schools is helping prepare them for college cyber courses. The concept of online schools seems to be relatively new because many states have not yet decided if they want to take apart of it.
I believe that having these online schools is a great alternative to many students who may not want to go to a traditional school setting. When I was a in the fifth grade I was really nervous about going into the sixth grade because the school I was going into had three elementary school fifth graders going into it. I decided that I wanted to homeschool for my sixth grade year and see how I would enjoy it. While homeschooling I found it really hard for me to focus on what I needed to learn because I did not have a good curriculum to follow. I feel like if I would have the option of online school I would have the structure I needed without the chaos of the larger classroom size. I hope that that more states come on board with this concept of online school because I know that there are many more kids in this world that may feel anxious about starting a new experience such as middle or high school.

Additional Post # 1

This week our Edm310 class stepped back and learned a little more about metaphors. Dictionary.com's definition of metaphor is [met-uh-fawr, -fer]  
noun
1. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”
It really got me to thinking about how often we use metaphors in our every day lives. Dr. Strange had us read a metaphor "Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home." Many of the students in our classroom, including myself, missed the metaphor illustrated in the story. I that in the future I can catch metaphors in my every day life more clearly. It is important for me as a teacher to really understand what the message in a metaphor is trying to say because we have a responsibility as teachers to teach our students what they are. I have really enjoy reading and learning about things like satire and metaphors in edm310. I hope to be an example in the future of someone who really gets the big picture when I am reading stories such as "Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home."

Blog Post # 12

Our assignment for blog post # 12 is to create an assignment for a blog post Dr. Strange should have created. Write the instructions for the assignment and then do it. For my assignment I chose to learn more about the flipped classroom concept. I read a blog post that Bryan Bennett wrote talking about the flipped classroom. He wanted the readers to know that the flipped classroom is not only about the video. I had never heard of the flipped classroom so I had to do a little research on my own. I came across a youtube video that a man named Aaron Sam's did.
For my assignment I want the students to watch the youtube video "The Flipped Classroom" and write two paragraphs about how they feel about the concept, and how they would use the concept in their future classroom.
After watching the video send Aaron Sams (@chemicalsams) a tweet thanking him and leave a #edm310 hashtag so I can see it.

**If you really enjoyed the flipped classroom concept you can also check out the flipped classroom's blog page "The Flipped Class Network."

I really love the concept of the flipped classroom. I think it is great that the students are able to have more time in the classroom doing labs and many of the things that teachers have to leave out because they run out of time. With the students being able to watch the lessons at home as part of their homework assignments, they can come to class with a base knowledge of the material. Parents can also be more involved in the student's schoolwork because they can watch the lectures with them at home online.
As a future teacher I would really like to use the flipped classroom concept for my students. If I can get the students on board with the concept they will learn more about the subject matter. In the classroom I would be able to concentrate on our classwork by showing the children through labs and hands on activities how things in the world work. I cannot wait to test out this concept for myself and see if it something that I would really like to do more in the future.

Project # 14 Recorded Skype Interview

Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog

Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog
Mrs. Yollis is a third grade teacher in Los Angeles,California. Her classroom keeps a class blog much like we do here in EDM310. The blog page is very detailed and organized and is updated by her classroom with new posts daily. Looking at her blog page you can really tell that Mrs. Yollis tries to incorporate technology in almost every single aspect of her lessons. I think my favorite posts are about when her students get to skype with other classrooms from all over the world. It is so great how instead of just teaching her students about a particular place in the country or world, Mrs. Yollis actually contacts another teacher from that country or state and they have their students tell each other about where they are from. Her students are learning so much about technology and they are not even out of elementary school yet.
Another really interesting fact about Mrs. Yollis' class blog is that she has people viewing the page from all over the world. As of October 2011 she has had over 72,000 viewers! I think she is a great role model for future teachers who want to learn more about technology in the classroom. Her class blogs has even been awarded two years in a row for best class blog. I look forward to keeping up with Mrs. Yollis' class blog in the future. I hope that one day if she wants to do a lesson about Alabama she will contact my classroom and have a skype session.

Progress report on Final Project # 16

Brittany Enright,Katelyn Callahan and I are grouped together for our final project #16. We met together one afternoon and spent over two hours in the lab gathering ideas and even started on our project. We decided on making a movie trailer for EDM310. We are really excited about the project and so far it is turning out really great. We will meet again in a week and finish the project.

Project #15b

Blog Post # 11

Mrs. Cassidy is a first grade teacher who has really taken advantage of using technology in the classroom. In her youtube video "Little Kids... Big Potential," Mrs. Cassidy's first grade students talk about all of the different things they do in the classroom that that involves technology. It is so great to see how these students are using computers, skype, blogs, and even the nintendo ds in the classroom. The coolest part to me was that they had their family members from all around the country commenting on their blogs. The students talk about how writing blogs help them learn to spell better. With this world being so technology based it is important to teach students at a young age how to use it. I believe that Mrs. Cassidy is a great role model for teachers everywhere.
In Mrs. Cassidy's skype interview with Dr. Strange she talked about how the students have a lot more pride in their school work because they know that people from around the world will be reading it. I think that is great because they will want to learn more about the subject before they start to blog about it. I also think it is great that parents are really getting on board with this idea of blogging in the classroom. If parents want to know what their children are learning about they can simply go to the internet and see for themselves. Before I took edm310 I never knew of this whole world of blogging. It is so great to see that real teachers are already applying this to their classrooms. I cannot wait to blog with my students! Maybe one day Dr. Strange's edm310 class will be commenting on my students blogs!

C4k October Summary Posts

Jake's Blog

Jake in Miss Hutchinson's class wrote about all of the places in the world he wanted to visit. He wrote that he his family was from Russia and he wanted to visit there one day. Jake wants to visit many places and he has very specific reasons to go to each place. I told him that my family was from Romania and one day I wanted to visit there. Many of the places he wants to visit are the same places that I want to visit one day also.

Brianna Takes Charge!

Brianna in Mrs. Jenny's room 6 made a video on how she has learned to take charge of her school work. She says that she can do her homework and listen to her teacher. I told her that I wished when I was her age I understood how important school work is. I also told her how important it is to listen to the teacher and I am glad that she does. I hope that when I am a teacher my students listen to me.

Night and the Friendship Club

Night in Mrs. Burne's room 10 made a video talking about how he loves friendship club. He said that they learn how to be good there and they play games with friends. He said that he tried toffee and thought it was good but really sticky. I told Night that when I was younger I attended girl scouts. I told him that I made a lot of friends there and that it is good to go to places like that because they are fun.

Nathan's Science Project

Nathan had to do a science project using the scientific method. He chose to grow two bean plants watering one plant with water and the other plant with coke. He studied the plants for a few days and neither plant grew. He said he still wonders why the plant watered with water did not grow. I told him that he did a great experiment. It is important to find things out for yourself and using the scientific method will help you organize your data.

Hunter's Blog

Hunter is in 5th grade and is on the football team at his school. Hunter's blog post is all about each game they played this year. He also talks about the other teams players, and if they won or lost. I told Hunter that I never played any sports growing up and that playing sports can teach you a lot of lessons about life. I also told him that I hoped he would continue to play throughout middle and high school because he can receive scholarships to continue playing in college.

C4T # 3

On October 18, 2011, Bryan Bennett wrote a blog post "Video Is Not The Answer." He talks about how many teachers are focused on the video aspect of the flipped classroom and they are missing the bigger picture. I had not heard of the flipped classroom and had to do a little research on my own to really understand what the concept was really about. I found this link on youtube that really helped me see the full picture of what the flipped concept was really about. Bennett stresses that the video aspect of the flipped classroom is a reinforcer rather than the entire concept. He says one way to use the flipped classroom is if students are having trouble keep up with the lectures they can watch the videos to help them with that subject. I really enjoyed the blog because I learned a totally new teaching method, and I learned how to use the flipped classroom concept to the fullest extent. I wrote to Mr. Bennett that I was an education major and I wanted to learn more about the flipped classroom so I can use it in the future.

On October 24, 2011 Mr. Bennett wrote a blog post "Thoughts of Innovation." He started thinking of the concept of innovation after a tweet that a teacher Steven Anderson wrote on twitter about innovation. Mr. Bennett says that teachers have the opportunity to innovate every single day. We have the chance to try something new with our students. If we try something new and fail then we can still say at the end of the day that we tried something new. I really like that he is not afraid to try new things as a teacher. I believe that we all can learn something from this blog post and I am glad I was assigned to read it. I wrote to Mr. Bennett that I hoped in the future I would not be afraid to try new things and innovate my classroom.

Blog Post # 10

After watching the youtube video "Do you Teach or Do you Educate?" I really took a minute to think about what I am truly going to do when I became an elementary teacher. The video describes what it means to be an educator rather than a person who just teaches facts and dates. The video describes an educator as someone who inspires, is a mentor, and is an advisor.
When I think about the teachers I had growing up I can only think of three who truly has made an impression as an educator in my life. I hope that when I become a teacher I can be a great example of what a teacher is supposed to be. I want my students to be life time learners and learn that they can go great things if they set their minds to it. I am glad I watched this video because it really put into perspective what I am really trying to accomplish with my education degree. I hope to learn how to be an educator rather than just a teacher in my everyday life.

"Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home" by John T. Spencer is a little story about how sometimes educators can take a situation and blow it out of proportion. Mrs. Gertrude is arguing to Mr. Tom that students should not take pencils home because they do will do poorly on standardized tests. Mr. Tom quickly corrects her and tells her that they should encourage students to take home pencils, even if they use them to play games, because they can be used for learning.
This story illustrates how sometimes we can miss the big idea of things if we focus on the little stuff. Teachers can learn how to be creative with their students and show them how to productively use things such as pencils and most importantly technology. Educators may be afraid of technology because it can be a distraction to their student's studies. If we teach them to use it properly then they will benefit them more then they will know. When I become a teacher I plan on teaching my students how to use all of the tools they are provided to its fullest extent. I really enjoyed how Mr. Spencer used the story about pencils to show how educators can be sometimes. I am glad that we were assigned to read this post!

Blog Post # 9

"What I learned this year" by Joe McClung is a series of posts he has written for the past three years of what he has learned teaching that year. It is so interesting to read because you know that he is young and relatable. I know that when I become a teacher I am going to be so nervous, and it is encouraging to read his posts because he has been there and you learn how he has overcome it. In the 2009-2010 blog I learned how important it is to find your "class mom." She is someone who knows the ins and outs of the school, and she knows many of the students. I know when I am a student I will want to be very involved in my child's classroom. These moms can really come in handy from time to time so it will be important to know ahead of time who you can rely on.
From the 2010-2011 blog I learned how important it is as a teacher to not get too comfortable. When you feel like you are getting into a groove of teaching he suggests that you add something in your teaching style that will challenge you a little bit. You will never learn more things if you do not try something different. I fee like if a teacher tries different teaching styles on occasion the students will find the subject more interesting. I hope to read more of Mr. McClung's blog posts in the future. He really gives great advice that any teacher can take advice from.

SmartBoard Project #13

Due to time restraints our group had to make two video's. To see the Shelby and Ashley's video
click here!

Project # 11

Project # 12

Blog Post # 8

This Is How We Dream Part 1 and 2
In the youtube presentations "This Is How We Dream Part 1 and 2," Dr. Richard E. Miller discusses writing with multimedia. He begins to tell the audience how vital the times are that we are living in because of the fact that technology is advancing at such a rapid pace. He spoke about when he was a young child he had a love for books. Dr. Miller grew up and actually wrote a book where you can find it in a library amongst many other books, or "you can purchase it on amazon for 59 cents." Dr. Miller takes us through the last few years of how technology has made its way into literature. He points out that now we do not rely on pencils and paper but rather, we carry our laptops for reading and composing most of our work. Any and everything you could possibly want to be educated about can now be found at the click of your mouse.
Dr. Miller discusses several ways for us to bring this technology into the educational scene. He says that we need to have: spaces that foster collaborative learning, inspiring teachers of new media composing, pedagogies that foster creativity and collaboration, and ubiquitous composing technology. Dr. Miller wants all of the humanities and sciences to come together and share their technologies in order to make a more unified University. The rate that technology is growing I agree with Dr. Miller. I am in my junior year here at the University of South Alabama and I am just now understanding the importance of the role technology is playing in my life. As a future teacher I hope that when I am in my classroom teaching my students I will be able to explain just how important technology is in their own lives. I enjoyed this presentation and I hope to learn more about writing with multimedia in the future.


Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
Reading through and watching all of the links that Carly posted on her "blog post #12" really helped me to see what we should really be doing as a teacher teaching with technology. It will be so fun to have a lesson planned out and simply have the students read through it at their own pace ,and be able to click on the individual links to really understand the concepts. Using all of these different sources in one assignment is exactly what Dr. Miller was talking about. I will continue to learn about what is available to me on the internet so that I can one day collaborate it all into lessons for my future students.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 For Dummies

"The Chipper Series" and "EDM 310 For Dummies" was a lot of fun to watch. I recognized a few girls in the video's, and it is cool to see that we are getting to make fun videos to watch for future students. The Chipper Series was a series of events that a student in Dr. Strange's class went through after she quit school because of the work it took to be in the class. It is humorous to see the different things she tried to do in order to be a successful person. Life teaches many lessons and the greatest lesson Chipper learned from the back of a garbage truck, was that if you want to get anywhere in life it is going to take hard work.
EDM 310 for Dummies was also a fun video to watch. When I heard about this class before I even stepped into the door, I was frightened about the hard work it was going to take to pass the class. I have learned now that I really enjoy this class more than any others this semester. I am learning life time lessons about technology and my very own character. I have learned so much about myself in this course, and I would do a video about some of the lessons I have learned about time management, my dreams and how I hope to accomplish them in the future, and how much fun EDM 310 can be.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
"Learn to Change, Change to Learn" is a video found on youtube. The video features many different educators, CEO's, and professors talking about how the traditional classroom needs to change because the times are changing. Children are being raised in an entirely different world in the 21st century than in years past, and we need to update our educational system to keep up with the changes. I agree with what I heard on the video. What stuck out to me the most was the fact that questions can be answered on the internet, but we as teachers need to teach students to learn to validate the information. Students cannot take everything they see on the internet as truth. Teachers need to teach their students how synthesize the information and test it amongst other sites to make sure it lines up. We have an important job as educators and we need to utilize the internet as much as we can. Networking with other teachers is really important too. If one teacher has a question about something than another teacher may have the answer. Teachers from across the world need to unite and help each other out. The title of the video says it all. Learn to change, change to learn.

Blog Post # 7

"Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture" was the most inspirational videos I have ever seen. Prior to this lecture Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told by doctors that he had about 3 to 6 months left to live. Randy begins his lecture telling the audience that he is not going to talk about cancer or being upset that he is soon going to pass away soon. Rather, he is going to talk about achieving your childhood dreams. Pausch breaks the speech up into three parts:childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned. Each of these topics are so important in realizing that it is not too late or impossible to fulfill your childhood dreams.
Pausch gives us a list of his childhood dreams ranging from wining oversized stuffed animals, being Captain Kirk, and being a Disney imagineer. Randy talks about how he accomplished almost every childhood dream he ever had. He talks about the brick walls he ran into and how they were important in how he reached his goals and made him the man he was today. In fact, there were many brick walls in his past that arose in his past that could have stopped him in his tracks. Instead of giving up hope he took those obstacles and learned how to overcome them and make his dream come true. Watching the lecture I saw many of my own brick walls that arose in my past and I hope to revisit those dreams and try a different approach to making my own dreams come true.
The second section of the lecture was enabling the dreams of others. For ten years Randy has changed countless of student's lives with helping them realize their childhood dreams and making them come true. Pausch been fortunate enough in his live to have met a countless number of people who have been influential in his own life. He gives his listeners much of the advice that has been given to him. My favorite part of the lecture was when he talked about the course he taught Building Virtual Worlds. He had the students work on projects with virtual reality and they were able to realize their own childhood dreams and apply them to work. Many of his students were able to continue on and use the knowledge they learned from him and have very successful careers. Pausch was truly an inspiration.
The last part of his lecture was really heartbreaking for me. He summed up all of the great works he has ever done in telling the listeners what he has learned from everything. He truly wanted to change peoples lives and I believe he has changed more than he will ever know. He seemed to have a great grasp of life and it just broke my heart to know that his life was cut short from such an awful disease. The advice that he gave can reach to any generation. He made it very clear that it is NEVER to late to revisit you childhood dreams and make them come true. At the end he told the audience that the lecture was for his three children. He was such an inspiration and I hope to never forget the message he was teaching in his lecture.

Project 9b Timetoast

Progress of PLN

Before EDM 310 I had never heard of an PLN. I would never have imagined how useful it would be in making my school work so organized. I chose to use Symbaloo as my PLN because I love that you can personalize every tile. When I started my Symbaloo I deleted almost every tile that it originally cam with because I wanted to start fresh. Now that I have been using it almost daily I have added about 25 tiles. I really enjoy how I can keep up with my c4t and c4k's all in one organized list. If I want to recall something I simply click on it. I am glad that we are assigned to keep a PLN for this classroom because I feel like I would never find out on my own what it is.

C4T # 2

In Beth Still's blog "Leadership Day 2011: An Appeal to Nebraska Administrators" on September 4, 2011, Beth is asking educators in Nebraska and all over the United States to "dust off your Twitter account and start again." She talks about how she was the only person running a department at her school and she felt lonely and overwhelmed when it came to making decisions in the committee. A friend of hers told her to join Twitter in order to get other educators advice and opinions about things she was trying to make decisions about. Beth did not "get" twitter until one day she wanted to complain about something that was affecting teachers State wide. With the overwhelming response to her tweet she quickly realized what an effective tool Twitter can be to a teacher. Beth has become almost an advocate for Twitter and wants all teachers to get on and start using Twitter for their classroom. Her license plate even spells out Twitter!
I wrote to Beth that I had never used twitter before EDM 310, and I am still learning how to work with it for educational purposes. I am eager to learn and I feel like it is great that we are being taught how to use it in a classroom. I enjoyed reading her enthusiasm about Twitter and hope to read more of her blogs in the future.

In Beth Still blog "Will There Be an ISTE12 Newbie Project?" on September 28, 2011, Beth is talks about a project she started in 2009 called the Newbie Project. This is a project where she used her personal PLN and Twitter to raise money to send an ordinary teacher to NECC to learn all they can about technology in the classroom. In 2009 it was a great success and she decided to do it the following year. This is the third year for the Newbie Project however, she has too much on her personal plate and cannot be the one in charge of the project. This blog is a call for someone to take the reigns and finish what she has started.
I wrote to Ms. Beth and told her how great the Newbie Project was and that I hoped someone would see the vision she had and continue it in the future. It is so important for teachers to be up to date in the latest technology. Going to NECC would be such a great opportunity to learn and share with others how to use technology in the classroom. I truly hope someone steps up and fills her shoes.

C4K September Summary Post

Madison's Biopoem

Madison in Mrs. Huebner's class wrote a biopoem with a wordle attached to it. She talks about how she is a funky girl who loves going to church and dreams of going to Italy one day. She also said the person she wanted to meet most in the world was Selena Gomez. I told her that she was a lot like I was at her age except I wanted to meet the group Hanson!

Anna Kate's Blog

Anna Kate from Mrs. Kilgo's class wrote about her favorite animal in her blog. She explained that horses are her favorite animal because she wanted to go to a rodeo one day. I told her that my daughter's favorite animal is a horse, and one day I hope she gets to go to a rodeo because they are really fun.

RJ's Blog

RJ who is also in Mrs. Kilgo's class wrote about an animal he thought was very interesting. RJ learned all about the botta pocket gopher and wrote about all of it's interesting facts. I had never heard of this animal before and I actually learned a lot about the small gopher. I told him that I enjoyed reading his blog because I never heard of the botta pocket gopher. I wrote to him that I know my cat would love to play with something like that. I enjoyed reading his enthusiasm about these animals.

Blog Post # 6

In "Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student," we learn about a true story of a student studying American Phycology. In his classroom his teacher uses the method of Connectivism. This concept is based on learning in a digital age. Using social networks and websites students can find the information they want to learn by themselves and share it with others. This is a more hands on approach to learning, and it helps you find information by yourself on the internet. Using this method students learn by finding information themselves and checking the information to make sure it is credible.
The question was asked in the presentation "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" This is such a great question because it does seem like the student is basically doing all of the work. In this day-in-age it is so easy for anyone to just google a question and instantly it gives you a long list of information to go through and find out what you want to read. As a teacher we need to make sure we are helping the students by showing them what is credible in the internet. I have always hear in high school that we were not allowed to use Wikipedia for any sources. It was not until I was a sophomore in college when a teacher gave us an example of why it is not a good idea to use it as a source. There is so much for students to get involved in on the internet and it is important for teachers to help sharpen the students eyes on what is actually credible.
At first I would think using connectivism in an elementary school would be too much for the students to handle. But, after reading many of my comments for kids and looking at their blogs I feel like these students really enjoy using the internet to learn more about the world we live in. These young students need to be taught early on not only how to use technology but, to learn what information is even worth the time to read. Teachers in the 21st century have such a huge responsibility to make sure students are ready early on for the technology in this world. I have said it on this blog page many times that technology is not going anywhere and we need to teach our students early on how to use it right. I enjoyed Wendy Drexler's post, and I hope she does intend to start connectivism as soon as possible!

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

Watching the presentation of a "7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment" about a real student using her PLE made me feel like I knew nothing about the internet. She did such a great job explaining what she was doing and how she was doing it. She showed how easy it is to keep her school work and have her social networking websites all on one on web page. I use Safari as a web browser and it keeps all of my websites organized but, I have not used a PLE to keep all of my school information organized. I enjoyed watching this presentation and look forward to building my PLE in the near future.

Blog Post # 5 " Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please? "

Scott McLeod is an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is also the founding director of the UCEA center for the advanced study of technology leadership in education (CASTLE). Castle is the nation’s only academic center that is dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. Scott is also the co-creator of the video's Did You Know? that we have already viewed in EDM 310. He is a very successful educator of technology for other teachers and has won many awards for his work.
Scott McLeod wrote a blog entitled "Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?." This blog is written to satirically point out the absurdity of the negative view points of people concerning the internet and it's "dangers." Being raised in a family with deep religious views, I have heard many of the same things he was saying in the blog. My cousins, for instance, are not allowed to wear short sleeves, shorts, or have a television in their house. They feel that the sin of the people that are on the t.v. will come through into their house. It is so sad to think people are that naive to how the world works.
Scott Mcleod knows that there are bad things such as cyberbullying and porn on the internet, but he is making the point that we as teachers need to teach children how to use the internet right. We need to be the example of what to do on the internet and teach them the dangers of it. If we block them out completely from the internet then children will not know the great and educational aspects of it. I plan to take what I learned from this and make sure I will teach my students will learn everything about the internet.

The iSchool Initiative

"The Ischool Initiative" is a presentation by a high school senior Travis Allen. Travis is proposing a solution to some of the problems we are having with the traditional school setting such as, classroom sizes getting larger, teachers getting let go, and massive budget cuts. The solution he is proposing is using Apples popular itouch as a platform for educating students instead of the traditional classroom. Using the itouch would be easy to use for students and help save money on books, ink, and paper. Travis points out applications that are already available to itouch users and he shows how each application can be used for an education. He insists this ischool will be the solution to the problems we are facing in the classroom and wants to spread the word that this can be done with the help of others. It is awesome to think that this 17 year old high school student has this much concern for the future of our education system. Although I feel like the plan is very realistic for the near future, I do think that this young man will have a great impact on where the school systems are headed.

In "Travis Allen's ZeitgeistYoungMinds Entry," we find Travis Allen three years later at Kennesaw State University where he still companying for the ischool initiative. We find that he has become very successful with the ischool initiative and is recognized world wide. He and his team of 25 other students travel the country and visit schools getting them to embrace global learning. He has become such a success story of a young teen really wanting something to change and getting out there and doing it. I hope to teach young minds one day to be brave enough to go out and change the world for the good. Travis is a real inspiration to anyone who wants to get something done but does not think they can. I look forward to hearing more about the ischool initiative in the future.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'

After watching "Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'" I was speechless. This is a virtual choir where 185 people from around the world who never met sang Lux Aurumgue. This video really demonstrates how we can do anything with technology. I have been singing all of my life for various different groups and bands and I have never been a part of something so unique as that choir is. I hope to see more virtual choirs in the future because it is so moving to see so many different people coming together in harmony.

Teaching In the 21st Century

Watching the video "Teaching In the 21st Century" I really start to feel the responsibility of what I will be doing every day as a teacher to children in the 21st century. It is such a wonderful responsibility that I will not take lightly and it is important to remember that you can be that one teacher that may change a child's life forever. Knowing that children can search the web for any and all information in this day in age on websites such as google, bing, and wikipedia may make a teacher feel like they are useless. What can we teach them that they cannot just go home and google? In the video it says that teachers in the 21st century should be the filter for these students. I believe that this is very true. It is now our responsibility as teachers to show the students what is beneficial and safe for them to look at, and what can be harmful to their minds and computers such as viruses. We have such a great responsibility to teach these young minds and it is our job to teach them what will be useful for them in the future. Technology and the internet is not going anywhere so we need to teach students how to use it correctly now while they are young so they can change it for the better in the future.

Project # 9 Time Line

Project #8 "Put Me in, Coach"

Blog Post # 4

I love the idea of doing podcasts in the classroom. After listening to "Eagles' Nest Radio" I really understood just how effective it can be for young students. Doing a podcast in the classroom helps the student get more involved in the lessons, and it helps them retain more knowledge of the subject. Years later, children will still be able to listen to their podcast and be proud of what they did. Reading the "Langwiches Blog," I see that even children as young as 6 and 7 years can be a part of a podcast. These students are getting to learn so much about technology at a young age.
I feel like it is so important for teachers to learn all they can about what ipods have to offer for education. This new generation of kids have so much technology at their fingertips, and it is important to teach them how to use it to it's full potential. I have had my ipod for several years now and had no idea it did anything more than play music. Reading "100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better" has opened my eyes to a new way of studying for college. If children learn how to use the ipod now, then they will be years ahead of my generation in studying.
I enjoyed listening to these young students podcasts. I hope to use podcasts in my classroom on day!

Project # 6 "This Is My Sentence"

Project # 5

C4T #1

On August 31, 2011 Paul Salomon issued a blog "The perfect marriage/school." He basically compared his marriage to his personal classroom. Paul gave the example of how he and his wife have many unspoken rules and agreements and because of those agreements they have a healthier, happier marriage. He says that the rules they have are simple things like, who ever wakes up last has to make the bed but they are important to them because it helps make their relationship work so well. When comparing his marriage to his classroom he stated that he and his kids also have similar rules to help insure the kids are getting what they need from their teacher. He said that these rules work for him and his students but may not work for every classroom.
Paul knows that having these rules and agreements will motivate his students to do or not to do something because they know the consequences. He is tired of educators trying to find the "one size fits all" methods for the "perfect" classroom. He knows that each child and each school year is different and it is up to the teacher to find what teaching style best suits the needs for the children that year. Paul motivated me to remember that when I become a teacher I will have to find out what the needs are for my students before I try to find the "perfect" teaching style. Like marriage, teaching is a lot of work and you have to work together to make it successful.

On September 11, 2011 Steve Miranda posted "The Gilded Classroom." Steve talked about how school districts around the country are spending millions of dollars on new technology such as smartboards and laptops for classrooms in order to boost academic achievement. He talked about a special he watched on television about a teacher in her classroom with the new smartboard asking the kids a question and each child had a remote answering questions like a game show. Steve argues that that students do not want teachers to disguise the classroom as a game show with new technology however, they want teachers to care what they are doing enough not to rely on technology to teach a classroom. He feels like spending all of this money on new technology may be a waist because children may not like it and want that money spent on other things such as new telescopes or new books.
The blog was an interesting read and I do feel like I can take some things from it as food for thought. However, I do not think that trying to use technology in the classroom as a way to motivate students is a bad thing. Yes spending that much money on something like a smartboard may seem like a little much but, it is helping children be motivated to learn. I do agree with Steve when he said that if you spend time getting to know you students then you know whether or not they enjoy using technology then you can decide to use the technology for that classroom or not.

Blog Post # 3

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines would be a great blog for all existing and upcoming teachers to read. She states in her blog that technology should not be the only focus on teachers and they should round out having great teaching skills with blending in the new technology for students to become familiar with it. It seems as though educators have drawn a line in the sand concerning technology and making teachers chose to teach "by the books" or exclusively with technology. This should not be true. Every child learns in their own special way integrating "good old fashioned" teaching methods with using the latest technology will help each and every student get the information they need in the way they learn best. Mrs. Hines is right in the fact that teaching is not only about technology and I feel all teachers need to get sight of that. Computers and smartboards are both great tools for teachers to use inside the classroom and they should be available to students in each and every room to help them grow and be better prepared for the future. When I am a teacher I hope to remember the message Mrs. Hines is trying to send out so my students can better understand the world around them.

Karl Fisch's "Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" was a sobering blog for me to read as a future teacher. He really stressed in his blog the importance of teachers in this day and age to be completely literate with new technology. It reminded me that everything in this world is happening at such a fast pace and we as future teachers need to be able to teach our students how to use these important tools in our lives. Technology is all around us and children are going to learn how to use it with or without us teaching them. It is crucial that we teach them the correct way and so they can learn all they can from it. I am so glad South is offering this Edm 310 class to prepare future teachers to be technologically literate and we can share our knowledge with our future students.

Gary Hayes "Social Media Count" is a tally system per second of how many times things such as twitter and facebook is
used. The numbers go up at such a fast pace it is a little overwhelming to think how much technology is being used at that exact second. To see numbers like this it is crazy think that many of our generations grandparents have never even owned a computer. Many of our children by the age of 2 know how to at least turn the computer on and off and play simple games to pass time. This world is truly changing at such a rate if we do not learn how to use technology we will be left behind. We as future educators should prepare ourselves to teach the upcoming generation to be equipped to know how to use this technology properly. We are more responsible than ever now to shape their minds and get involved in these new technologies. Seeing this social media count has opened my eyes to the fact that I do not know as much as I should about social media and I need to get out there and learn more.

Michael Wesch's video "A Vision of Students Today" made me realize that what many of those students were saying was exactly how I feel every single day about the traditional classroom. The video was set inside a lecture classroom and basically asked the students to write down what many students were thinking about in a typical lecture. Things were said such as "I buy hundred dollar textbooks that I never open up" and "I will read 8 books a year and read 2300 webpages and 1281 facebook profiles." Watching this video you can tell these are students just like me feeling the same way I do. The traditional classroom serves a great purpose but with technology playing such a huge role in so many of our lives I feel major universities should try and better integrate social media with college courses. When I become a teacher I hope to take this video and try to help my students not feel like some of these students do.

Peer Editing
Peer editing is such an important thing for kids to do all the way up to their careers. I feel like it helps them in many ways to better their personal work and get a better insight into what others feel about a particular subject. Peer editing also trains your eyes to see things in your own paper that you may not have seen yourself. The rule about complimenting on your peers work is so important because you want them to take the advice in a way they feel like you are not trying to personally hurt their feelings. Depending on what needs to be said about the review I feel like it is the reviewers choice whether to make the corrections public or a little more private. I enjoy reading others work and I hope they take the job of peer editing serious because sometimes that is the only other set of eyes that see the paper before the teacher grades it.

Blog Post # 2

"Did you know 3.0" by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod is one of the most eye opening video's I have seen in a really long time. The video gives startling statistics about technology, language, and education here in the United States and around the world. One of the most shocking statistic for me was the fact that the 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's is greater than the total of the population of the United States. I personally feel like teachers in the United States should find out what they are doing in India that is so successful and try and implement it into our curriculum.

This video also made me think of our family when we had our first computer that everyone had to share. My sisters and I were only allowed 30 minutes a day to get on to the computer and play our various games. It is funny to think back because now every member of our family has their own personal laptop. Technology is growing at such a rate that it will be impossible to catch up if we do not start to learn how to use it now. It is becoming such a helpful tool in every aspect of our lives and I personally am glad I am in the generation that is able to learn from it.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" is a video about a man who woke up after 100 years of sleeping. After he wakes he wanders the streets and finds himself inside an office building where he is quickly learns that the times have changed. He gets overwhelmed after seeing how much we rely on this new technology and feels he has to leave to go to the hospital. When in the hospital he finds that machines are keeping people alive, and doctors are depending on technology to perform some of their operations. Feeing even more overwhelmed he leaves again to find himself by a local school. Inside he school he feels right at home because students still learn in the same way they did 100 years ago.

It is so funny to watch my 2 year old little girl grab my phone and push her application button and play her games on my phone all without any help from me or her dad. Many kids these days spend a lot of time in front of computers and video games and would rather play on these devices rather than do school or homework. I feel teachers and parents should learn from this and find tools for their kids to implement learning while they are on the computer. Sitting in a classroom for eight hours straight listening to lectures is something kids these days are having more trouble with because there is so much more they would rather be doing. If we learn to integrate the two together we would have more students interested in school.

The video of Sir Ken Robinson on "The Importance of Creativity" was such an inspirational speech to watch and it really opened my eyes on how society truly looks down upon creativity. When children are young it is so cute to see them express themselves in art and dance however, when they reach elementary school they are forced to stop almost completely. Children of all ages should have an opportunity to express themselves in the arts while they are school to help them with creativity. If they are encouraged to be creative it may help them in the long run be more confident in themselves.

I personally do not feel like I am a talented in any type of art because I was never pushed when I was a child to see what I could or could not do. I fortunately went to a church with a children's choir and I even had a few solo's. Now as an adult I am on the praise team at my church where I sing every Sunday in front of everyone. If as teachers would encourage all types of creativity we may be surprised of what our kids can actually do. We may have a child in the classroom who is struggling with a particular subject and we can find another way to help them with art or dancing. Allowing more creativity in the classroom is something I really hope to see in the future of education, and I for one will help that happen.

Cecilia Gault is a young student in Finland who is interviewing Sir Ken Robinson on his take on the myths of creativity. The kids in Finland are making better grades than the children in the United States. While Cecilia is interviewing Mr. Finland you can tell that she is a bright young student and it really seems like she will go places in life. How can we as teachers in the United States teach our students to be so successful? I feel like we should look at every child and try and see what area they are special in and give them the chance to shine like Cecilia had. If we truly care about these kids we as teachers would give them every opportunity to grow and do the things they love.

"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" is a video about a teacher Mrs. Vicki Davis who allows her students in her classroom to use every and all technology to learn from. Students in the video were using cellphones, computers, and computer games in her classroom to enhance what they are learning in the classroom. The students were working independently and in groups using the technology in ways even some grown ups do not know how to use it. Mrs. Davis mentions that all students have the capacity of learning but we as teachers need to use all that there is available to them such as social media. Using the traditional pen and paper method may not be what we should rely on 100% of the time anymore because we have so many more options now. It is so important for children to know how to use all of this technology because they are the future of this world.
When I become a teacher I hope to see the students as Mrs. Davis does. Children are like sponges and if we teach them how to use this technology properly then there is no telling what our future will hold. Allowing them to to be creative and explore with everything that is in their reach will challenge them to invent and create a brighter future. We should not be afraid of children and technology instead show them how to use it. I cannot wait to see what the future will hold and I know that this new generation is going to be the minds that change it.