Final Project #16

Podcast Project #8

Our group name is Not The First 10 and the members are myself, Barclay Thompson, and Brooklyn Rowland.

Blog Post #7

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

Why does the networked student even need a teacher? This question was posed at the end of the video on student networking. It is a very good question because the video made several valid points. The "student" in the video has a class that meets three days a week and twice online. His teacher does not lecture and he does not have a book. So, how does this student do his work? Simple, he connects to other students through various online forums such as blogs and forums and delicious. He also uses things like iTunes U, where he can download podcasts and listen to them on his iPod. The student is, quite literally, learning as he walks to class.

So, why does the student need a teacher if he can do all of this on his own? Well, someone has to be there to show him the way, to hand him his arsenal of supplies and send him on his way. So the teacher doesn't lecture in class? That's fine. Personally, I find lecturing to be quite boring at times. If a teacher does not attempt to liven the material up, of course the students will get bored. However, if you give them other opportunities to learn in a different way, suddenly everything becomes real. They can connect with other students just like the way Vicki Davis' students did. The networked student needs a teacher to show them the way. You can have all of the information you need at your fingertips but if you do not know how to use it, what good will it do?

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment

I really liked her Symbaloo and PLE. It is refreshing to see someone using these tools to such an extent. It furthers her education in the sense that she can find something that relates back to her science class, save it, and share it with her classmates. I feel like all students should be able to do this. In my PLE, I also use Symbaloo because it is incredibly easy to organize the various links and things. I can make the tiles different colors and it is incredibly easy to go back to my C4K or C4T assignments.

Blog Post 3

Peer Editing and Peer Editing with Perfection

When it comes to peer review, I have decided that approaching the problems headfirst and just outlining them in a comment is the best way to go about it. So long as you don’t completely bash the classmates writing, constructive criticism in a comment is the best way to go. I believe the Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes video called this person a mean Margaret. Being sure to compliment the writing and how things flow is an absolute must and would help them take things not quite as personal. If you approach the person in a comment in a polite manner and keep the attitude out of your critique, then there is no problem with leaving a comment. If the person would like to continue on with the conversation, moving to e-mail would benefit in that sense.

I find things like this are a good resource to have, not just for this class but all classes. I’ve found as I move along in my History classes and reach the higher levels, peer editing is an incredibly valuable resource. Being able to collaborate with people in my class, even if their papers are on a different topic, is nice. It’s always best to have another set of eyes looking over your paper. Someone else can always find something you did not see before. As educators I’m sure we will be approached by our students and fellow educators for help in this aspect as well.

Technology in Special Education

I really like the fact that one of our posts focuses on technology and special education, because I don’t think this aspect of education can be forgotten as we move forward. Last Fall I took my Special Education class and the professor required us to go out into a facility used for special needs children. I chose Learning Tree and was able to witness first-hand technology and special education. There were several children there that did not speak but were able to communicate with an iPad. It really is something to watch the student with a teacher and being to learn just like another other student, all because of technology.

In my classroom, I would do the same. One of the things we talked about last year was how special education students are kept in separate classrooms, away from everyone else. They are essentially kept from receiving the same education other kids receive. I strongly believe that if we have technology such as an iPad app that will allow a non-speaking child to speak and learn, they should be granted the same education as well. I believe progress in special needs should be granted the same allowance as progress in regular classrooms.

iPad and Autism

Being that I am in a Social Sciences/History concentration of education, I automatically went right to the History and Geography section. I found World Book – This Day in History. In it you select a day and it gives you photos, illustrations, music and speeches from that day. I believe this is one way to really make History come alive not just for special needs children but for all students in the subject. It’s one thing to read a transcript of the Emancipation Proclamation; it is a completely different thing to hear it. I believe this app could be used for a special education student to be able to learn and grasp the subject, as well as stay focused.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

The first thing I noticed about this video was that it was posted in 2009. If she can do all of this, connecting her students to the world and teaching them to think outside of the box, then it should be more than possible now. There are so many new advances and apps being developed that it would seem silly not to use it. Vicki Davis shows exactly how to implement all of the technology we are learning about in EDM 310 in an everyday classroom.

Learning is a community challenge. I would have loved for the opportunity to teach the class or learn from a fellow student. Sometimes things are just different coming from a peer. Group projects, when effective, can prove extremely useful for students. When all members of the group are willing to collaborate and learn together, everyone benefits. This applies to how Vicki Davis says that her students taught each other Terraform. In a classroom with technology, there are some cases you rely on the knowledge of others. That is what I like the most of the Digiteen effort. You really do learn with others not just in your state or country, but from around the world.

Project 2 - Wordle

This is my wordle and I really like it! Mostly because the biggest words also happen to be the most important words to me.

Blog Post 2

Did You Know 3.0 by John Strange

“India has more K-12 Honors Students than ALL of the K-12 students in the United States.” This statement, taken with the fact that India does have a higher population, is still shocking. I did really like this video though, because it is tailored towards our class and the things we read and deal with. This video got the point across that we are always doing something with technology. It is forever at our fingertips. Even I’ve become more aware of the amount of time I spend on Google or on other class related websites. It’s interesting to see.

I did take time to watch the original. I feel this time around there were several things I did not catch. For instance “it is estimated that a week’s worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.” This just seems so shocking to me. Granted, things did travel by word of mouth as opposed to being able to hop on a computer and Google something. However, because we are so connected at any given moment, there is no excuse to be living in your own world. We should know what is going on around the world or even in just our community.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

The more I watch this video, the more it really begins to bothers me. It shows just how behind education really is in a technological standpoint. If other fields can make these advances, then why did it take so long for education to catch up? It shouldn’t be like that. If anything, we should have been the forerunners in this advance. The children we educate will become the doctors and lawyers and officer workers that Mr. Winkle witnesses using technology. Shouldn’t their first taste of technology come in a classroom where they can learn and grow?

As much as the video bothers me, it also slightly intrigues me. Here you have this little character that awakens from a slumber and sees how different his world has become. There are computers and breathing machines and telephones; nothing he knows to be normal. How many Mr. Winkle’s existed when technology first began advancing? I think educators who chose not to use technology in the classroom could be called a Mr. Winkle as well. Why make your students suffer because you just don’t want to learn?

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

“My contention is that all kids have tremendous talent and we squander them pretty ruthlessly.” “My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.” These are two of my favorite quotes from the Ken Robinson talk on creativity. One thing that he does very well is mixing the humor with the seriousness of his talk. I especially loved the bit where he talks about Shakespeare being in someone’s English class. He then goes on to say that there is a hierarchy within every single public education system in the world. First are math and Science, then humanities, and finally the arts. He doesn’t just target the European or American education systems; he targets all of them. In his view, it is designed for people to be steered into the subjects that will be useful as opposed to the subjects like arts. Robinson says that intelligence goes hand in hand with creativity.

I enjoyed this talk as much as I did the first time around, mostly because he is so adamant about the use of creativity in the classroom. The best part of the talk is when he talks about the dancer, Jillian. Back then, she is taken to a dance school and sees people just like her, who have to move to think. Nowadays, just as Robinson said, she would have been put on medication and told to calm down. This rings so incredibly true, because instead of finding creative outlets for overactive children, we instead have them tested for ADD or ADHD or some other learning disorder when, in reality, the student could just be bored. A medication isn’t always the answer, especially in the case of a classroom. If people just took the time to figure out students, instead of jumping to a conclusion, students would be so much more better off.
A Day Made of Glass 2

Firstly, I’m sure something like this would scare Mr. Winkle as much as a normal desktop computer would or a machine that kept people alive. In fact, I felt a bit like Mr. Winkle while watching this video. Is something like this even possible? Could we have this technology at our disposal in the next fifty years? Maybe even less? Just imagining the possibilities for a classroom with this sort of integrated system excites me. This should be the direction our education system is moving, if only because we can as a whole benefit from it exponentially. Something like this, with the glass tablets and wall-to-wall touchscreen, gives the words ‘hands-on’ an entirely new meaning.

The medical portion of the video was just as neat. Mostly because you can be in one location and a specialist halfway around the world can help you solve something. This sort of thing could be so beneficial to everyone, not just certain countries or people. Also, everything was incredibly energy efficient. Even the elementary school shown had an energy usage graph on the wall. I think that would make people stop and think about their carbon footprint and the way they help to shape the world.

Blog Post 1

Hello again!

Since it is plainly obvious on my blog, I'm just going to go ahead and point out that this is my second time around in EDM 310. Not because I didn't pass or dropped the course or any of the above. I'm taking this class again to improve my grade, because the grade I received is not me and I can do better; I know I can do better. So here we are once again and I'm ready to learn the new things this course has to offer.

About me

I was born in Houston, Texas on June 16, 1990. My dad is a building supervisor for UPS and in January following Hurricane Katrina, he was transferred first to Gulfport and then to Pascagoula, Mississippi. When the school year ended, our lives were packed up and shipped 500 miles to the east. For the first two years, it was just me and my parents so this led to a very strong bond between the three of us. After finishing high school in d'Iberville, I applied and was accepted to Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Mississippi was not the place for me and even though I feel this still rings true today, I am back home. Being isolated away from my family, even for a semester, was not for me. So following the end of my first semester as a freshmen, I transferred to University of South Alabama. It could not have been a better fit.

I have two older brothers. Chris is the oldest and moved to Mississippi roughly a year after we did. In February of this past year, he was transferred up to Kansas City, Missouri for a job. Andrew is the middle child and moved a year or so after Chris. He is actually looking at moving back to Houston in October. It was recently announced that in January my parents will be moving back as well. That is going to prove interesting.

As for what I enjoy doing, well, at the top of that list is sleeping. I also love, believe it or not, working as I now work at a bowling alley. It is exciting to be learning new things within the bowling alley and really loving the environment you are in. I've always been really passionate about History and thoroughly enjoy sharing that passion with others. This is why I chose the field of education. If you truly love the subject and can present it in such a way, it can come alive and students can benefit immensely.

Randy Pausch on Time Management

What is interesting to me about this lecture is that the second time around watching it, being in a different mindset, has forced me to look at the entire video differently. When he begins talking about the to-do list, he tells you to ask why are you doing it. Why is this particular aspect on your to-do list? He also makes a very valid point within the same breath. No, someone is not going to take you for not completing a task on the list. However, are you going to fail in some other aspect for not fulfilling it? Just like in an economics class, what is going to be the opportunity cost if you don't do it? "Doing the right things adequately is better than doing the wrong things beautifully." This quote makes a lot of sense when you break it down, because it is almost like the quality v. quantity argument. You could have a hundred things on your to-do list and you could just check them off one by one and at the end of the day, you have a conglomeration of completed tasks that may or may not help you. However, if you do the right things in the right manner, it will make all the difference in the world. All in all, I really have enjoyed watching this lecture a second time around. Dr. Pausch is a brilliant speaker who unfortunately passed away in July 2008 from pancreatic cancer. He delivered his last lecture in September 2007.

2nd Test Post

This is my second test post.

Test post

This is a test blog post.

Blog Post 15 - Final Reflection

Final Project 16

For this project, Brandon, Whitney and myself tackled Wikipedia, blogging, and podcasts in an educational setting. We went with advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as our own opinion.

Blog Post 14

Box of Tricks is the blog of Jose Picardo, who is the head of head of Modern Foreign Languages at Nottingham High School. Mr. Picardo's tips are use streaming video, because there is a wide variety of videos out there about any subject. Use music, because you can relate it to your students in any way, shape, or form. Use teleconferencing tools such as Skype; I think with Mr. Picardo's classes, because they are foreign languages, this would be a great idea! Especially if you could get them to speak with native language speakers. Create your own interactive exercises using websites; learn how to use your whiteboard (I'm guessing he meant SMART Board) more effectively. These go hand in hand in my opinion, because you can do so much with a SMART Board. Create your own podcasts using Garageband and Audacity. Along with that, create blogs and wikis to display your student's work. If you going to spend great deals of time on teaching how to use these tools, why not showcase them on a blog? We saw this first hand in all of our C4K assignments. Use social networks like Facebook. He says it is controversial, but nowadays groups are closed and it is a perfectly viable way to connect with students. Lastly, he says to use internet tools, because there are loads out there and it just takes time to find them and lastly, make the most of your students gadgets like phones and iPods.

What I really enjoyed about the video was that Mr. Picardo geared the tips in his video towards students. He knows that students like music and tells you to use it in your lessons. I like that he gears his lessons towards students, which should happen anyway. However, he is using things that students already have familiarity with. I would definitely use Facebook with my students and have podcasts that they can listen to on their iPods. All in all, I really enjoyed this video.

C4T #4 Summary

For this month's C4T, I was assigned the blog of Bill Genereux. I really like this blog and am grateful for the opportunity to read through some of the posts. The first post I commented on was titled Taking Risks While Teaching which was a really awesome post. Mr. Genereux was talking about how some of the oldest teachers will tell you things like, not to let the students see you smile before Christmas and don't ask a question you don't know the answer to. He quickly began to argue against the latter, saying that just because we don't know the answer to things, doesn't mean we shouldn't go outside of our comfort zone. Why can't you discover the answer as student and teacher? I instantly thought of the class motto for EDM 310, because that is what it reminded me. What do we do if we don't know the answer? We go and find out. I especially like Mr. Genereux has no fear when it comes to teaching. He is teaching a programming course with nothing but an interest in games and a rudimentary understanding of programming. I like that about him, because he is not afraid of the fact that he may not have all of the answers. Instead he said that there is the book and then an endless stream of sources online.

For my second C4T, I commented on the post titled Unemployable Generation. This post actually fascinated me, because it is being noted that people who have gone longer without being employed have a higher chance of not finding a job, than those who are moving from one job to another. Then Mr. Genereux talked about how some of the 20 year-old students he advises tell him that they have never held a job, full-time or part-time. I found this shocking, as did Mr. Genereux. Then I politely replied that I was in both categories. I had my first job at the age of eighteen, but I have also held this job all throughout college while having a full course load. This was my favorite part of the post: "I realize there is a difference between enrolling in a course and holding down a job, but character is character. You can’t turn it on for work and turn it off for school. It doesn’t work that way." I think this speaks volumes, because these students aren't getting the same valuable lessons until later in life, when they aren't likely to take it as seriously. No matter what, I think eventually these students will have the real world experience they need. However, in this day and age, they really cannot afford to lose out on it.

C4K 9, 10, 10 Summary Post

C4K #9
For the first November C4K, I was assigned the blog Mr. McClung's World and the post I commented on was about Ben Folds. Ben Folds is a songwriter and the lead singer of the group Ben Folds Five. Mr. McClung had a song posted called Philogosphy. The song lyrics have a really deep meaning behind, especially when he says "my philosophy keeps me walking when I'm falling down." I said that when you apply that to teaching, it's really hopeful. I really enjoyed this song and blog.

C4K #10
For the second C4K, I was assigned Mrs. Yollis' blog, which I really loved exploring and looking around. I commented on day 304 of the 365 Project she is doing for the blog. The post was about a game called Wari in Ghana. We know it in the United States as mancala. The object of the game is to get the most stones into your mancala. I loved this post, because I played it with my friends and brothers when we were younger. It was a good way to keep us entertained on rainy days and we weren't destructive while playing. I liked being able to see something that I recognized in a blog post.

C4K #11
For the final C4K of the semester I was assigned to Sesalina's blog. Sesalina is in Year 6 at Pt England in Auckland, NZ. I commented on her post about Mars. This was a very fun blog post to read as she described how we were looking for new place to live and so we journeyed to Mars. She accurately describes the journey, with the moving and shaking of the ship and even how Earth would look from Mars. I really loved how she said she would school, sleeping, and her friends. She sounds just like me!

Final report on PLN

Here is a look at my final PLN. It has expanded greatly since the first PLN summary we had to do. Now it contains more articles and videos that I have liked, as well as link to all the C4T blogs I had to comment on. The blue squares are all of my C4K assignments. It will be interesting to see where these blogs are a year from today. Even next year I will be expanding on my PLN and adding to it, maybe taking things away from it. As a teacher it would be good to always have resources that you can go to if you need ideas or questions answered. I really like the PLN I have established this semester.

Blog Post 13 - Option 2

To be completely honest, the article My Teacher Is An App scared me a little bit. I rather doubt that was the writer's intention, but reading about the online schooling did manage to freak me out a little bit. The article discussed, in great detail, the positives and negatives of online schooling. While in some cases, standardized test scores were well below the average and the drop-out rate was higher than with traditional schooling. On the other hand, it was a great tool for students who progress faster and do not have the means of attending a school that can suit them without holding them back. The best case was with the mother who had a kindergartner that could already would and would be challenged in his classroom, because he'd be helping the other children to read. She opted for online schooling and the child is excelling now. Then you have the case of the child at the beginning, who got bored easily and opted to wait until he felt like doing his homework to work on it. Just like with every scenario, there is an upside and downside; the challenge is finding a happy medium.

I can see the benefits of online schooling, really I can. It's cheaper, saves resources, and parents are more in tune with what their child is learning. All of these things were discussed in the iSchool Initiative video we watched for Blog Post 5. It really is a fantastic idea, however, I do not support the idea of fully online learning. Maybe it is just me, but being on a computer all day actually hurts my head and eventually, I get bored. Also, you have to take into account that some kids will wait until the last possible second to get things done. In my opinion, no real learning is going on with them just breezing through the assignments and what they need to read/listen to. Also, it would also take a great amount of discipline to be able to sit in front of a computer and only think about school work or that lecture you didn't bother to listen to the day before, but really need to do so. I think for online learning to be completely successful, it needs to be both in the classroom and online. That's what we are essentially learning now, isn't it? Call me old-fashioned, but I like the feel of the classroom setting and everything that comes with it. However, I do know that change is inevitable and eventually, the education system will be altered. This not only will happen, but it has to if we want our children to be successful. While I may not like online classes for myself as a student, (because I know how easy they are to forget about) sometimes it is better for people to learn that way. Just because we do not like something, doesn't mean we should deny other people from learning in a way they are comfortable with.

Project 15 - SMARTBoard Instruction Part 2

Blog Post 12

As we are nearing the final weeks of this class, we have all had our fair share of problems with various things. Maybe your problem was with figuring out your blog with the various posting, the editing HTML, or even with the ALT and TITLE modifiers. Maybe you fought with your Timetoast the first time you were asked to create one. Or maybe your problem was with anything Google related. Not all of us can be tech-savvy, but as we are nearing the end, we have solved all of our various problems, whether it was asking an assistant or e-mailing Dr. Strange, we got to the answer.

But don't you wish there had been a quick tutorial? Maybe a short 30-second video for when you completely blanked on how to do an ALT or TITLE modifier or even a little video on how to work the various screen capture programs. I know this class is about finding the answer and not having someone show you everything. However, we all have a brain lapse. A momentary panic when you go "AHHH! I don't know what I'm doing!" So, I think the blog post that should've been this semester would be to take an aspect of the class you struggled with and create a video, showcasing your mastery of this aspect.

Different things you can use are:
1. Adding pictures to your blog
2. ALT and TITLE modifiers
3. Anything Google related
4. Timetoast
5. Screen capture
6. C4K, C4T
7. Wordle
8. Anything else you want

I think this should be a blog post because the video could be used to show a first timer how to get through something that might be a little tricky at first. It could also show that the person has mastered something they struggled with all semester. For me, it would be the ALT and TITLE modifiers, because they were always giving me trouble.

Mrs. Yollis' Classroom blog

I really love Mrs. Yollis' blog as it differs drastically from other blogs that we've looked at and commented on, both student and educator alike. One of the things I looked at was finding out just who Mrs. Yollis was and I love that she said she was a lifelong learner. This is what we have been told from the beginning, that we must be willing to be learners our entire life. It's also amazing that so many people are in tune to her blog. This idea of technology in the classroom is spreading, as it very well should. This blog is used on a daily basis and connects students, parents, and visitors alike. She posts videos for days like Veteran's Day, making her third graders very in tune to the outside world. I applaud Mrs. Yollis and her blog; it makes me want to do it myself.

Final Project 16 Progress Report

The Green team has a few main ideas to work with

1. Talk to teachers we know about opinion of tech in classroom
a. Smartboards
b. Twitter
c. Blogs
d. Internet in general
e. Podcasts
2. How to survive EDM 310 (LAST)
3. Compare and contrast the pros and cons of tech in classrooms with the opinion of the intentions of the company that designed the product
a. Smartboards
b. Podcasts
c. Educational websites/ Wikipedia/ Youtube/ forums
d. Blogs
e. Timetoast
4. Doodling in classrooms
5. Mainstream movies in classroom that might not be completely accurate should they be shown in classrooms

Number three is the most probable project for us. No matter which topic we choose we each plan on choosing one topic and doing research so in the final project we can each present our findings.

The Green Team consists of Brandon Hasting, Whitney Watson, and myself.