Kristi Bain's EDM310 Class Blog

pencils

2010-12-15T21:23:00.000-06:00

Project 16

2010-12-14T23:05:00.002-06:00

Final Report on PLN

2010-12-13T12:46:00.000-06:00

Through the use of Symbaloo and the help of Dr. Strange and this EDM 310 course my PLN has grown drastically over the course of the semester. When I first heard the world Symbaloo I had no idea as to what that was or a PLN, short for Personal Learning Network. I was taken back by this idea along with lots of other things I learned in this course and I now cherish the very idea of a PLN. This allows you to create your own blocks with websites which are most useful to you. These do not have to be strictly educational they can be social network, personal, recreational, favorite sites, etc. You can put any sites you would like as blocks in your PLN. Once they are there all on that one screen all you do is click the one you are interested in and it takes you there right away. Some of my tiles are Facebook, Twitter, EDM 310 Class Blog, my EDM 310 blog, Gmail, Regions, Target, and many links to teacher's websites and/or blogs we have learned throughout the course. My PLN is now my homescreen so once I open my internet it takes me there and I click where I want to go. This is something great for anyone to have not just those in this EDM 310 course, so get one!

Summary Post C4K 8-11

2010-12-13T12:33:00.001-06:00

**C4K 8
This post was done by the class. It was their game for the week and it was the memory game, Simon. This was an interactive version where the viewer could play the memory game and then see their score results. I enjoyed this post because it is something done each week for the class on their blog kind of as a break from classwork. However, it still incorporated education through the memory of numbers (how many times the light blinked) and colors (which color blinked). I had a hand held Simon game when I was younger and loved it so it was fun getting to play this interactive version.
**C4K 9
This post was written by a student named, Bridget, and was titled, Remembrance Day. This was the most moving post I have read by a child in this entire course. I am going to share it by pasting it below:
You walk into the room and turn on your TV. A cold chill breezes through the window so you crank up the heat in your modern style mansion and close the window. CTV appears on the screen; you crane your head and adjust your eyes, two planes just crashed into the world trade centre.
Why do we remember? It’s a simple question, but when I try to answer it my mind stutters for a moment as I realize it’s not as easy to answer. But I think hard and remember the soldiers who fought for Canada’s sake, for our freedom, and for our rights. They risk their lives so that my niece can watch Hannah Montana on her big screen TV. So I can sit in a comfortable chair, relax, and let all my worries escape into the dim light. So that kids can go to school, have a desk, have chairs, friends, computers, books, crayons. An endless list which most of us take for granted. So next time you complain about school being hard and worthless, think again before it is gone.
I wish I could meet a soldier and ask him all the questions on my mind. Did you ever realize you could die at any moment? When did it hit you? When you killed another human did you feel regretful? The questions race around my mind as I remember the soldiers who fought for our country. Their spouse staying awake all hours of the night until they fall asleep into a worrisome slumber waiting for that soft knock on the door at 5:30 in the morning. What now? We remember and continue to educate so that future generations will never forget and always remember.
http://kidblog.org/MissByrnesClass/author/Bridget30/
I shared with Bridget 9/11 as I saw it. This is a portion of my response:
I remember 9/11 very vividly. I was at school maybe not in my own home but something I am given the freedom to do each day. Our teachers turned on the tv in their room and we watched as the day unfolded. There are many questions we all keep in mind for those who were there that day and for those who fight for our freedom each and every day. I loved the sentence you ended with, “We remember and continue to educate so that future generations will never forget and always remember.”
**C4K 10
I commented on khops blog for this assignment. He had built what is called a Kerproof of the planets. It included a mneumonic for the order of the planets which was great as well. I had never seen one of these created before and it is a great image of his subject. I'm used to seeing Pluto in the planet list but it is only a star now. Overall it was something neat I would like to use with my class in the future.
**C4K 11
This post was by, Delia, and it was titled, High Sky Ride. In this post Delia created a story prompt. It was about a rollercoaster ride and there was a man next to her eating popcorn while on the ride. I enjoyed her promt because I remember writing prompts and stories similar to this one when I was in elementary school. I am not a fan of roller coasters. However, she made it seem fun, scary, and exciting all at the same time. There was also a good bit of humor behind the idea of a man eating popcorn while on a roller coaster ride. The end of her story prompt left the reader in suspense of what ride she would venture to next.

Final Reflection EDM 310

2010-12-12T22:04:00.000-06:00

Summary Post C4T #4

2010-12-12T08:33:00.001-06:00

My fourth teacher was Dr. Paige Baggett. The title of her blog is Pondering Paige. Dr. Baggett is a teacher at USA in the education department. I was enrolled in her Arts in Education course in the summer 2010 term so I was glad to post on her blog. I remember her talking about her blog during our class multiple times.
The first post I commented on was a list of a few of her favorite artists in no particular order. It included artists such as Matisse, Van Gogh, Warhol, Picasso, and many more. She also had a link to the video Women in Art on her blog post. I shared with her that I would not have known about some of the not so familiar artists on her list if it was not for taking her course. I commented that Warhol is an artists which really sticks out to me because he is so vibrant with his work. I also enjoy Romare Bearden and that I did not even know of this artist until I took her course. I chose Bearden at the end of the semester to complete our brochure project on. I respect her love for art and enjoyed her list of her favorite artists.
The second post was Jitish Kallet's Public Notice 3 at the Art Institute of Chicago. Dr. Baggett had pictures of the artwork from when she visited there. The piece of art's purpose is to link to events in history, Parliament of Religions and the terrorist attacks on September 11th. The text of the work is displayed on the famous Woman's Board Grand Staircase. The words are written in neon colors. I commented that this is such a wonderful work of art. The pictures made me visualize myself being at the art institute and walking up the stairs one step at a time making sure I take in every word in the work of art.

Additional Assignment #5

2010-11-19T08:47:00.000-06:00

First off, John Spencer really knows his students! I admire how he trule understands who they are and what they are going through. He is certainly one who is concerned with their learning, but is also concerned with building a lasting relationship with them. I enjoy how he refers to computers as "pencils." Although they can serve some of the same purposes, they are on two different levels. It really caught my attention when he was referring to his students using their "pencil" drawings and making them more life-like and giving them detail by smearing the graphite among other things. While reading this post, I was imagining the beautiful pictures we have that are created by pencil conforming into the media we see that is created by the computer now. These two mediums may be different but they still allow the student to create whatever they desire. I like how he does not necessarily defend his students but he knows why they react certain ways and how to control the classroom. The blog on "He Just Likes the Class for the Pencils," stood out to me the most in relation to this. It really pointed out the fact that, yes, computers are fun to learn with, but the reason our students should like class is not because of the media we present. It should be because of the understanding relationship they have with the teacher and the content they learn.

Blog Post #13

2010-11-19T08:36:00.000-06:00

**ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)
ALEX is a free website that allows educators to gain resources that will help them in the classroom. This website has received multiple rewards. In 2007, an honorable mention. In 2008, the Digital Education Achievement Award. In 2009, the Digital Education Achievement Award for a second year. After viewing the website, I found that it will be very useful to me as a future educator. There will be times when our creative juices come to a halt and this site will be there as our aid. At this site, we will fin activities, lesson plans, an area to ask other teachers, and view podcasts. This will be another great site to keep in mind in my future as an educator.
ALEX offers many resources for teachers. If you look at the tabs on the left-hand column, you will find many resources for ideas: courses of study, web links, lesson plans, search, personal workspace, professional learning, podcast treasury, and ALEXville. The course of study tab gives acess to grade level, course of study, key words, ALCOS standards, and it will show the web links and lesson plans available. The web links tab shows web resources for teachers, administrators, and students. It also allows you to search, recommend, or report broken links. The lesson plans tab allows you to create your own lesson plans through logging in or you can find one by typing in the author, title, or school. The search tab allows to search by keyboard or narrow the search by choosing an ALCOS standard, lessons/activities, weblinks, lesson plans/resources. The personal workspace tab allows the user to log in, create a personal workplace for storing and submitting lesson plans and teacher web pages. The professional learning tab gives a place to receive information about grant opportunities, ALEX/Thinkfinity leadership, special education, library media, web development, google tools, and many other resources. The podcast treasury lab allows the user to choose by subject, view top downloads, featured content, AL show cases, links, and content partners. ALEXville is a tab consisting of a globe surrounded by houses. The globe leads to the blog for this site by simply clicking it. You may click on any of the houses to lead to many different areas.

**ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom Educators and Students Worldwide)
The vision of ACCESS is to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. Madison City Schools, Troy University, and the University of Alabama were featured. The mission of ACCESS is to deliver equitable, quality learning opportunities for all citizens. This is availale for all public high school students. This also offers virtual field trips. ACCESS does promote ALEX on its resource pages.

Project 15

2010-11-18T13:25:00.000-06:00

Form Results Project #6

2010-11-14T21:32:00.000-06:00

1. Do you believe teachers you have previously been taught by used technology effectively in the classroom?
*none of the time-3
*some of the time-12
*most of the time-2
2. Have your teachers seemed to only know the basics about technology?
*yes-16
*no-1
3. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree, do you think what you learned about technology in grade school has helped you in college?
*1-6
*2-4
*3-3
*4-1
*5-3
4. What do you believe would be best and should be required for teachers in order for them to keep up with the latest technology?
*workshops-10
*college course-1
*support groups-2
*utilize websites or blogs-4
5. Should every classroom contain a blog or website?
*yes-11
*no-6
6. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree, do we as education majors receive enough hands on technology instruction to utilize in our classroom?
*1-1
*2-2
*3-7
*4-5
*5-2
7. Do you believe the iSchool initiative video we watched should be used in our classrooms in the future?
*yes-7
*no-10
8. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree, should technology be used for 90% or more instruction and hands on work (pencil and paper/projects) be 10% or less of instruction?
*1-3
*2-8
*3-6
*4-0
*5-0
9. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree, do you believe if children do not utilize technology to the best of their ability that they will drown once in college or out in the real world?
*1-1
*2-1
*3-9
*4-3
*5-3
10. Do you believe there is more bad technology than there is good?
*yes-0
*no-17

From these results, it seems as if the seventeen people who took my survey are not too keen on technology use in education. Mostly they claim their teachers that previously taught them used technology effectively only some of the time. All but one said that their previous teachers only seemed to know the basics about technology. The majority thinks that what they learned about technology wise in grade school has not helped them in college. They believe workshops are the best way to keep teachers up to date with the newest technology. One question which seemed to be controversial was "Should every classroom have a blog or a website?" Eleven said yes while six said no. Those six must not be seeing any positives behind the use of this in the classroom. Most were in the middle/undecided on whether we receive enough instruction about technology as education majors. Seven believed the iSchool initiative should be used while ten did not think so. This means a majority though technology should not move forward towards this or that it is just not what they consider to be a good idea. Most people do not agree that technology should be 90% of instruction with pencil and paper work being 10% or less. The group was undecided on if the use of technology would advance a person in life or not. Everyone did not think that there is more bad technology than there is good.

I enjoyed the results I received from the survey. When I sat down to create it I was not sure what to do it on so I figured doing it in relation to what we were learning would be a good idea. I have been contemplating the topics of these questions since we have been in this class and I enjoyed the input from these other students. Most seem to want to hold back some from technology but it mainly seems as if they are still iffy about the advancements of it.

Blog Post #12

2010-11-14T18:25:00.003-06:00

Read this article 'Teacher Expectations Raise Student Achievement' about teacher expectations and student achievement http://www.suite101.com/content/teacher-expectations-raise-student-achievement-a167553

Also watch this video 'Expectations: The Self-fulfilling Prophecy' about teacher expectations http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wL5t8YH1Q

After reading the article and watching the short video, write a short summary of each. Once you have done so, then express your thoughts on the topic. This is an important topic for aspiring teachers so it is important you understand it.

**Teacher Expectations Raise Student Achievement
This article discusses the importance of expectations in all teaching areas. The article says if you expect your students to fail and behave badly, then that is the result you will most likely get. If you expect your students to do excellent work and behave properly, again that is the result you will most likely get. You as the teacher must have the right attitude about learning and teaching in order for your students to make achievements. The article's overall message was if you have high expectations, your students will have higher achievements. If you have low expectations, the students will only achieve what you expect of them. This article is very important for aspiring teachers to read. It is important that we as future educators understand that the expectations we have for our students will determine what they learn and achieve.

**Expectations:The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
This video is a discussion about the effect of teacher's expectations. The video explains the importance of having high and helpful expectations for students. The lady who was narrating the video said something which really stuck out to me, "Students tend to live up to the expectations their teacher's set for them." I agree with this quote 100%. As a teacher, if your standards are set high then your students will reach and possibly exceed those standards. If your standards are low, students will give you what you expect and nothing more. The video has an example where a teacher told a student they expected them to get a D and that is just what they got. This remark does not help the student, it only hurts them and does not push them to make any higher than the D expected of them. Teachers are not the only ones who should have high expectations, the students themselves and the student's parents should also have high expectations for the students. The more positive influences the children have in their life, the better they will do in gaining their education. Teacher's expectations and student achievement go hand in hand. We should set high standards for our children in order for them to succeed.

Final Project Progress Report

2010-11-14T17:25:00.000-06:00

My partner and I are and have been collaborating on our final project. We actually work together so everyday we discuss this course and most recently have began discussing our final project. We not only see each other but we have each others e-mail address and phone numbers as well. We want our ideas to be examples of the different things we have learned in Dr. Strange's course. Our goal is that our project exemplifies a piece of everything we feel we have learned about technology in our EDM 310 course. We will continue to collaborate daily and cannot wait to get to the end of the process to see what our final product will be. I know we will be proud of it and it will be a reminder of what this course has taught us as future educators.

Teach Someone Project 14

2010-11-07T22:15:00.000-06:00

C4K Summary Post 3-7

2010-11-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

*C4K 3

This post was written/drawn by Isaac. Above what he posted he had a picture he had drawn for class. It was a cultural picture and he explains its meaning in his post. He had a taniwha drawn who scared all of the dangerous sea creatures away to save the mariners. They were on a journey and he claimed his happiness that he finally reached land.

The fact that he had a self drawn picture which related to his culture made me feel like I knew him in a way. The story he told behind it gives a great mind image to go along with the concrete one which is already there. I feel like he really told his story through this picture. I encouraged him on his creativity and ability to draw the reader in visually.

*C4K 4
This post was written by Ellie and was a look back on something she did in her childhood. She was at a friend's house and they made a cake. However, it was not normal. It was full of water, dirt , and a lot of other "yucky things" as she said. They cooked it in the oven like a real cake. They did not eat it but spent the day pretending her toys were eating it and had a party.
This brought me back to memories from my childhood. I never made yucky cakes but I was addicted to my easy bake oven. I'm pretty sure I went through two of those when I was younger. This was not a blog at all related to education but it was personal to Ellie. This post as well as my C4K 3 were personal but it allowed me to feel like I got to know the students just through their posts.

*C4K 5
In this post Cesar is talking about the event in history where Fort Ticonderoga was captured. He writes his post as if he is the one headed out for the capture. When he gets there the plans do not go smoothly. The men he wants to help him are drunk. Once they make it back to the city the other men take the glory of the capture when he was the one who was in charge and did it all on his own. He tells this story as if he is truly living it.
I loved how the post was vivid and seemed so real. I was actually glad to see this class taking historical events and putting themselves there. History is my least favorite subject but if I was assigned to post like this on historical events I would have enjoyed it more. I feel like this method is a way in which the students will actually learn and digest the material. Putting themselves in the situation is a great way to make learning the historical events fun and more interesting.

*C4K 6
In this post Cameron is discussing an episode of a tv show. The show is called I Love Doctor Who. He goes through the episode and tells the reader about a couple of the characters and praises the graphics in the show. He exclaims the show is a must see.
I have never heard of this tv show but it sounds like it definitely draws him in. I encouraged him to write on each episode if this was something he would enjoy sharing with the rest of his classmates and the world. Everyone may not know exactly what he is talking about but they will inquire about it. This may cause them to explore online to see for their own.

*C4K 7
In this post Evan is discussing Halloween. It is a very short and simple post. He tells us his costume is a sweat shirt that is a skeleton when you zip up the hood. He is ready to eat lotes of candy and that the big candy bars are his favorite.
I told him his costume was a great idea. I also told him to be safe and have lots of fun. I encouraged him to keep up with his blog as well.

**Only one of my children's posts were educational. I wish there were more based on what they were learning in class. However, knowing the children in your classroom on a personal level so that you can build a relationship is important as well.

Blog Post #11

2010-11-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

**Little Kids...Big Potential!

This video was very inspiring and just downright adorable. Their teacher is great and is teaching them about so many useful tools. Ms. Cassidy incorporated all of the different technological ways she is using to teach her students. The fact that she has started these kids at such a young age using Wikis and Blogs will help them so much in the long run. They will be far more advanced in technology than other children and it will make their education a better experience. I have never seen this approach in a classroom for children as young as first graders but their teacher is getting them a step ahead in learning. They will pick up a lot easier on new technology and be inspired to learn more about it since they are exploring it now. I find this video as an inspiration to incorporate these different techniques in my classroom as well. I want to teach second grade so seeing how advanced these first graders are with using it gives me all the inspiration to know that my students are capable and need the opportunity. I think it gave great ideas to aspiring teachers and showed us that anything is possible at any age all you have to do is teach it.

**Discussion with Ms. Cassidy
Ms. Cassidy has used technology in her classroom for about ten years. She received five Sunray computers in her classroom and this inspired her to put them to use. They computers were a great tool but you could not upload any programs to them. So she turned to teaching her six year olds how to use the internet. They were able to have blogs and look at websites they could learn from as well. he begins using technology with her students at the very beginning of the year. She has had a classroom blog for five years and a video blog for two years. She adds things to each of them as technology advances and as things update in her classroom as well.
Ms. Cassidy has a technology coordinator which helps with technical support. She does the planning and work alone but she uses the coordinator in times of need. Her administrators have been a great support system towards her efforts. In order for students to work with the computers their parents must sign a permission slip. They also get one signed in order to have their pictures taken and posted on the classroom webpage or the student's blog. She keeps things very private and only posts the students first names and never correlates their names along with the pictures. Parents enjoy the technological tools their children have access to in their classroom. They enjoy it as well because they can keep up with what is going on in their child's classroom. Parent involvement in classrooms these days seems to be a struggle. However, everyone is always on the internet at work and at home so they are more apt to be involved through exploring what the classroom is doing in a different way. The children's progress is also listed for the parents to view so not only do they learn things during a parent/teacher conference which may only happen twice a year but they can keep up with them daily.
The children enjoy the ways in which they are learning and it is not unusual to them because it is part of their daily classroom routine. Ms. Cassidy states that we can't teach these children tools which were used years ago because they have changed and keep changing constantly. Our children must be taught through what is used today. The first graders see their blogs as something viewed by an audience. This makes them work harder at it because they are proud of the viewers. They enjoy comments and advice on the blogs they are posting from their audience. Ms. Cassidy shows them how many people view their blogs. The tool she uses shows how many times their page is viewed and it has a map to show when people from other countries view their blogs.
Ms. Cassidy strongly believes that every teacher must be technologically literate. There is no way technology is going to go away it is only going to grow and advance. She believes students should start their own online network right now. There is no need to wait. They can even just start with what they are interested in and then develop it from there through education.
Ms. Cassidy is a big user of Twitter and influenced Dr. Strange to dive into Twitter as well. They are very enthusiastic about it and find it especially useful for homework. The fact that students from Dr. Strange's class were able to interact with her through video and ask her questions was great.
Her overall classroom approach is collaborating through different forms of technology. This video was great for aspiring teachers and motivated me to make sure I stay on top of technological tools in my classroom. I would love to do blogs with my students and create a class blog because it is so important for their advancement but it creates parent involvement as well.

Summary Post C4T #3

2010-11-04T13:03:00.000-05:00

Jason T Bedell is the author of these two posts. His website is titled, Reflections on Teaching and Learning. The link to it is http://jasontbedell.com/.

**Post 1: What Are They Thinking?

In this post, he says that he has talked about emphasizing communication outside of the classroom but we need to look at ways to emphasize communication in the classroom itself. In order to communicate effectively with our students we must gain insight on their thought processes. We can then diferentiate our instruction based on specific needs of the students.
He tells us about a site called Poll Everywhere (polleverywhere.com). It is a free online tool which utilizes tools most students already have such as cell phones, iPods, and computers. You can create three types of polls and two are more likely to be relevant. They are multiple-choice and text. You setup the question and students answer primarily via text message. You can allow people to answer more than once and you can control how they answer. Text messaging is the default way to answer but answering through Twitter is useful as well. You can also choose "Web Widget" which embeds the poll into your classroom website and students can then take their time and respond from home.

I agree that communication inside the classroom is not focused on communication outside of the classroom. Also, how we communicate with our students should be adjusted to their needs and wants. If we communicate with them in a way which they use frequently such as text then we will get better input from our students. I think that the concept of this site is very useful for the classroom.
It would decrease a show of hands in the classroom and could directly be placed on the screen in front of the class. However, if they are answering through text most schools strictly ban cell phones. So possibly they would do it at home and then the next day view the responses. Either way it interacts in a way in which the students enjoy.

**The Dark Side of the Apple's Integrated Experience
In this post he discusses Apple and their new app store. He enjoys Apple products but chooses not to own any. He has used them before at his previous work and has learned the ups and downs to what their products have to offer. Apple prides itself on an integrated experience because it is easier for their users and it ties people into the Apple Ecosystem. This makes it more likely that someone who buys an Apple product with continue to buy more. He feels like their products are not geared towards education or the benefit of their users but that they make it more about what can benefit their business profit wise.

I am not a Mac user either. However, my fiance is. Apple does draw you into their ecosystem. He has a Mac and now he strives to buy more and more of their products. Apple is out to lure the consumer in rather than help them as an individual. I also feel that they design their products to only lure consumers in in order to put big time money into their pocket. However, there are those out there who love Apple products and I respect their opinions as well.

Blog Post #10

2010-10-31T14:55:00.001-05:00

An Open Letter to Educators:
I really enjoyed this post! It was definitely amazing to see what all Morgan has done since she just graduated last spring. She explains that the teaching style used today in North America is the same as what was created hundreds of years ago. That hit me like a brick and was not an easy pill to swallow. This is something that we should be ashamed of. We should be wanting our children to be taight by those who are using the most recent developments in the education system.
When she discussed her feelings on being a college student and listening to lectures that made her fall asleep, I felt her same pain. This is an everyday experience in my classes. Not all of them but atleast two of them. Her thoughts on the enjoyment she has in her computer class for education made me feel like we could definitely relate. How she feels definitely relates to my feelings of this class.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home:
The message of this post was great! It talked about how most people dwell on their problems rather than trying to find a solution to those problems. It is very important that we search for solutions to our problems. I loved his example. This also made me thing that educators focus more on the negative than on the positive. They must not dwell on the negative unless they are doing it in order to formulate solutions.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life:
The first question was "What is my sentence?" This means what does my life mean to me and what do others think of me. This is important because we all want to be remembered as someone who made an impact while they were on the earth.
My sentence is: I want to be an educator who lives every second of my teaching experience impacting the lives of children. I want my students to remember me for the rest of their lives as someone who taught them well, who was diverse, and who was fun and made them desire to learn everyday.
"Was I a better educator today than I was yesterday?" This is a question we as educators should ask ourselves at the end of each day. We should take it seriously because it will open our eyes to a lot of things about ourselves and how we are performing. It would also be great to journal our thoughts on this each day to make sure we are better tomorrow than we were yesterday.

Additional Assignment #3

2010-10-31T14:52:00.001-05:00

Sir Ken Robinson

1. What do you think is the most important thing he says in this presentation?

I believe it was in the beginning when he addressed the economy. He asked, "How do we educate our children to take their place in economies of the 21st century?" This is of great importance since the economy is constantly changing. Children must be able to adapt to changing situations such as the economy which plays a vital role in our lives.

2. Is there anything you disagree with in this presentation?
There is nothing I necessarily disagree with in this presentation. However, I felt as if he felt in some way that ADD/ADHD is a joke. I do agree that it is taken a little far and it seems like it is a growing "epidemic." It seems as if every other kid is being put on the pills for it. I do believe it exists but I disagree with the high number of children being diagnosed with it. I do not believe the research they do on each child is extensive enough and they just throw them on the pills because the parent says, "they are hyper or they can't focus." It needs to be looked at a lot closer because I do not feel like the issue is a big as it is being made out to be.

3. How congruent are Sir Ken Robinson's positions with those you are being taught in the college of education? Where is the agreement, where is the disagreement?
The agreement and the disagreement is the use of technology. It is the fact of it being used in some areas and not used at all in others. I feel like the only technology we get in the education building, as of my experiences to date, is the use of the smart board. I feel like all other technological information is gained through this class. I do agree we are being taught as students did hundreds of years ago and that needs to change.

4. What can you do to address the issues he puts forth?

The best thing is to EDUCATE others on these issues. This could be the start of coming together as educators and citizens to make a change in the education system around the world. Most people have never though of the things pointed out in this video which are what affects education today and we need to address those to make education a major improvement in the future.

5. What do you think of the presentation?

I really enjoyed the presentation. I loved how he presented it through illustration on a dry erase board. This is great for visual people and people who prefer to listen. I believe I could be the speaker or narrator of the presentation. I could be the voice behind the person drawing because I can barely draw a stick person.

Smart Board Instruction Project 13

2010-10-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

Skype Interview Project 12

2010-10-21T20:13:00.004-05:00

Blog Post #9

2010-10-19T13:00:00.000-05:00

Mr. McClung's What I've Learned This Year:

-How to Read the Crowd:
In this section he points out that most teachers do not make their lessons student centered. Teacher's become more concerned with the delivery for the content that they forget the most important aspect which is that the lessons must be centered around the students.

I have not yet experienced what he has through student teaching and reaching the realization that most teachers focus their lessons on what they can get through. I will be more aware of this now and will watch this through observations in pre-sequence and sequence. Also when I have to make a lesson plan, I will know I need to be aware of how it is set up. I need to be concerned with the comprehension of the students not the delivery of the lesson.
-Be Flexible:
He points out here that we as teachers especially beginners need to realize that lessons and everything you do in the classroom does not have to be PERFECT. It never will be. If you mess up or something goes wrong from your original plans just work with what you have and you will turn it around even though it does not follow strict guidelines of your original plan. He also points out that what you prepare for your lesson hardly ever ends up being taught that exact way because you end up changing things up.

I strongly agree with this. I do not have the one on one experience with this in the classroom persay but I have experienced it in a different setting. That setting was my Speech 101 course. You take time to outline your speech and write it word for word and when it comes right down to delivering it in front of the course you do not recite it word for word. You end up getting a different idea and go off on that or you just change up the words a little bit. I did this in my first speech and beat myself up over it thinking it would affect my grade when it actually did not at all. After that I realized I do not have to follow such strict guidelines. I need to let it flow from my mind and not be so word for word.
-Communicate:
He explains here that communication is key in the workplace specifically his school where he teaches. He states that we need to communicate constantly with fellow teachers and staff. Communication is key not only with them but with the students as well. Also if you ever come across a problem or disagreement with another teacher the only way to solve it is through communicating to one another.

I have experienced communication issues in the workplace. If everyone does not communicate so that they can work together and things can flow well then things can get out of hand. You need co workers input and insight. They can teach you different things and help you in many different ways. There is nothing wrong with having that connection. You just need to break out of your shell in order to accomplish it.
-Be Reasonable:
He is telling us that we need to be reasonable in the goals we set for our students. We sometimes set those goals really high and some students accomplish them while others do not. We do not need to scold those who fail at accomplishing the goal. We should praise them for the effort and praise those who accomplished the goal.

This was definitely my favorite point so far. It is so important that we treat students equally. We can have high expectations but at the same time we should never be disappointed or scold those who do not meet the goal. I loved his quote, "Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again."
-Don't be Afraid of Technology
He is talking about how so many teachers and people in general seem to be so scared of technology. They are constantly worrying about whether they can tackle technology or not. They need to take a deep breath and realize technology is our friend not our enemy. It takes time but we all need to learn it.

This speaks to the heart on what we have been learning in this course so far. We have learned all aspects of technology and how when they are put to use they truly benefit not only us but the students as well. Technology is a great way to make a positive impact on our student's learning process.
-Listen to Your Students:
He learned this was such an important aspect when one of his students put on their end of the year report that he knew Mr. McClung cared about him because he listened to him. It is very important that teachers listen to their students as well as get to know who they are.

Listening does play a very important role in the classroom. If we listen to our students they really see we care about them and it makes them see that everything they say is important. We truly need to get to know our students. They need someone to talk to and they see us most of their day and they love to rely on their teachers.
-Lastly...Never Stop Learning:
He tells us that we as educators should never stop learning. We constantly beg students to learn and we need to realize we are in a learning environment as well and need to soak up all we can. People can change how they learn everyday and need to never stop learning.

I understand the importance to never stop learning. We can learn something new everyday. I know when I learn something new I always say, "I learned something new today!" We can never learn too much. So we must keep learning each and every day.

Timetoast Timeline Project #9b

2010-10-17T21:51:00.004-05:00

Kristi Bain's EDM 310 Video

2010-10-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

Blog Post #8

2010-10-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is How We Dream Part 1 & 2:

I definitely agree with this. We hardly use pen and pencil anymore. It is all on computers. I know from my experience in college I barely use my books, hardly every take notes, and barely turn in work in class. Instead of looking up something in your book students turn to the internet. Teachers hand us or we have access to power point notes which are already printed. Many students take no extra notes in class and if they do it is rare and not many. Most teachers also ask that work be submitted online through USA Online rather than turned in in class. The internet allows us to share knowledge and collaborate with others, get almost any information we need for free, and is constantly changing and updating every second. Teachers who are willing and inspired to teach to the best of their ability using writing and technology are still needed in my opinion. Everyone needs to know how to write well and keep up with how to use technology. Students need the teachers and the resources that collaborate together to give the best education possible to students.

Smart Board Arguments:

I did not comprehend those two critiques which did not think smart boards are useful. I definitely do not agree with them. Yes, they are expensive but they allow the teacher to do so much more. Any work they show the kids can be saved and when they need to review the material for a test they can simply pull it up. They can write on it when they want to add something to a site or whatever they are viewing. They can bookmark anything they would like to save for later. Students can interact with it. So much more can be done with it as well. Teachers definitely need to take a class or have some kind of instruction on the smart board before they have one in their classroom. This will allow them to know every little thing they can utilize in order to further their students' education. I found a blog that gives teachers fun and exciting ideas on how to use the smart board. It is http://smartboardchat.blogspot.com/.

Additional Assignment #2

2010-10-13T21:46:00.000-05:00

How Kids Teach Themselves Video:

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?

I do believe that if a learner is motivated then they can teach themselves. This is evident in the experiment that Sugata Mitra is doing around the world in this video. He is putting a computer in front of these children and that gives them the motivation to learn how to use it since they have never used one. If someone really had the drive to learn how to ride a bike I know that they could get out there and teach themselves no matter how long it took them.

2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?

We see directly from this video that the kids in the video all became motivated once they saw the computer placed in their community. They took the resource and their motivation to the test and taught themselves about that computer all on their own.
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
I am not sure that I can sit here and give specific comditions that are necessary for kids to teach themselves. There would be a variety of conditions dependent on the area, situation, subject, material, specific child, etc. This would apply to any other person for me to. The conditions necessary depend on all of the things I previously listed. The most important condition necessary is the TOOLS and MOTIVATION to learn.

4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?

Whether the child or person is trying to teach themselves how to ride a bike or how to use a computer/internet, computers and internet will play a role whether it is direct or indirect. We can use the internet to teach us how to learn almost anything. If I have trouble with a problem in math persay, then I go to you tube and watch a teacher teach it again on there and most of the time it really breaks down the type of problems I am trying to learn how to work.
5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?

Motivation and a desire to learn plays probably 90% of the role. I say this because without this then the child or person would not spend the other 10% teaching themselves. I feel if it was 50/50 we would slack off from teaching ourselves. We must be full of motivation and desire in order to accomplish what we set out to do.
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?

I think they definitely play a role but at the same time, isn't that when you turn to the computer/internet to find out what to do.
7. How do you motivate someone to learn?

You motivate someone to learn sometimes by being a "role model." If you are looking to learn the same thing and you are already motivated and working towards that, then someone else who is in the process of getting motivated to teach themselves can look up to you and you can help each other.
8. How are you motivated to learn?

I am motivated to learn based on the goals I have set for myself. They give me all the motivation I need to teach myself based on what I need to accomplish.
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?

I do not believe that someone who is not motivated to learn can learn. If you do not have motivation then you are not going to make any attempt to focus in order to learn.
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?

I teach myself all of the time. I feel like in school we are not receiving enough information from the teacher on what we are supposed to be learning. This especially relates to my math class. I am not starting out on the right foot in the class because based on the minimum which is what he has taught is not getting me anywhere. I have to look up sites, you tube videos, ask other students, go to the tutoring lab, etc. in order to learn all of the material.
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?

I personally see the teacher as the core of the learning process. This is based on how I was brought up in school. We as students take what the teacher teaches us and feed off of that in order to learn. Sometimes we do take what they tell us and then teach ourselves more about the topic so that we know all we need to know.
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?

If children are able to teach themselves, are we as educators being a success to these children in the classroom?
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?

What do we need to do to ensure that we are the core for their learning process but that we provide them the opportunity to teach themselves. Children need to learn in different ways. To me those include with teacher only, by themnselves, and with other children

PLN Project #10

2010-10-10T22:48:00.000-05:00

Timeline Project 9a

2010-10-10T20:51:00.001-05:00

Blog Post #7

2010-10-10T19:51:00.000-05:00

When I first saw the video we had to watch and post on this week I was thinking blah and then I discovered Randy Pausch's video may have been a little over an hour but it was one of the best videos I have seen. In the beginning we learn that he is affected by cancer. This truly touches my heart because my best friend was diagnosed with cancer when she was fourteen. I have been there beside someone with this horrible disease every step of the way so I kind of have some insight of the impact it makes in his life. He asks us not to pity him which most people find hard but after having someone so close to me have cancer and ask the same of people you get to understand why. It makes them feel like a charity case and they need support and guidance on how to push through rather than others feeling sorry for them.
I loved how he talked about the brick walls we face in our everyday lives. If we do not push ourselves to the fullest in order to break the walls down then we have failed ourselves. We must make goals and strive to accomplish them each and every day.
He described different types of learning and one of those ways was indirect learning. This makes people think they are doing one thing, while actually you are teaching them another thing. An example that he used was putting children into sports, such as football. They think they are only learning football, but they are learning a lot of things. Children learn how to play together, team work, and how to persevere when things get tough.
He introduced a class called Building Virtual Worlds. The things his students were able to do and accomplish were amazing. He used a project based curriculum and said that you could tell how a group of students are working together based on their body language. Mr. Pausch also advised us not to lose our childhood wonder. Our childhood wonder is such an important thing to keep in mind. Without his wonder, he would have not accomplished everything he has. He also tells us to cherish feedback. The people who give us feedback want us to succeed, or they would have let us keep doing the wrong thing. I can see that now due to being enrolled in this class. I enjoy reading my feedback and taking in what others have to say about my work.
This video was definitely inspiring to me as a person and as a future educator. I am so glad that watching this video was our assignment. At the end of the video he tells us his two "head fakes" about his speech. The first one was that you need to lead your life the right way,and your dreams will find you. The second one was that this speech was not for the audience it was for his three children. He gave this speech, so that his kids could go back after he is gone, and get advice from him.

Summary Post C4T Teacher #2

2010-10-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

The blog I was assigned to post on was Mrs. Ann Carnevale's and it is titles Bits 'n Bytes. You can find her blog at http://anncarnevale.edublogs.org/. Under her blog title she has a subtitle and it says "Elementary Instructional Technology News and Notes" and I would say that is exact to the subject matter she puts out in her posts. I kind of like to call it "tips and tricks."
The first post I commented on for her was titled "Photo Magic." This post talked about webinpaint which is an online tool she found which will take out something unwanted or that cannot be used in any picture without leaving a blank space. This is great for the teacher who has students who are not allowed to have their picture published. The teacher now can take a group picture and be able to display it because she would now have access to this tool which will take those children out of the picture without anyone being able to tell. I loved reading her post because this is a great tool that I can use in my future as a teacher. I could even use it for personal use when I take a picture that I can crop to get something out of the background and once I have cropped it all of what I want to be gone is not then I can simply use this tool. I also remember students in my class who could not have their picture taken and they would have to stand out of the picture which seperated them from the group. Now they can be a part of the picture and if it will be published I will simply use this tool to take them out.
The second post I commented on was the one she published prior to the one I first commented on because there was no new post. This one was titled "What I Learned on Summer Vacation." In this post she talked about what she discovered this summer when she was reviewing large pdf files on education. She had began to get frustrated because the pdfs had so many pages and she had to scroll and scroll to find what she needed to go back to. She really wished there was a way she could bookmark on a pdf and she thought there was not a way. One day she ran across how to and the steps to accomplishing that are posted on her blog. It is a great tool I can not only use as a teacher but I can use it now as a college student. In our EDM 310 class our instruction manual is an example and by using this bookmarking tool it will help a lot to get back to things I need to locate quickly. She said you even title your own bookmarks and can be as specific as you want so that when you go to bookmarks you click the exact one that you want. I found this information very useful to me now and in the future as an educator.

Blog Post #6

2010-10-03T21:54:00.000-05:00

The Networked Student:
Why does a networked student even need a teacher?
I think the only reason why a student would need a teacher is to give the guidelines for the course and what they need to complete and accomplish for the course. The video specifically states the teacher hardly ever lectures. These students use almost every tool you can find in the technical world to learn the information for their psychology class. They may be guided but it seems like they are dropped in to "technology land" to either sink or swim in order to learn the information in order to be successful in their course.
I know we are in EDM 310 to learn about technology and its advancements in education however there are some things we are reading and learning about through other teacher's blogs that I have indifferent feelings about. These tools these students are getting to use and become familiar with are great for them to use to their advantage to learn more about technology. However, at the same time these students are barely being lectured by a teacher. I for some reason view this as not the best thing for the students. They are able to interact with classmates and others around the world but they cannot teach each other. They need that guidance and lecture from their teacher in my opinion.
I would not say I am prepared to be a teacher of a networked student. I am right now just learning how we can use these tools in our classrooms. Also, since I do not completely agree with the idea of this I do not think I would ever be clearly mentally prepared to teach in this way. I do not view it as teaching since the teacher basically has no involvement. It seems to me the teacher is more like a mentor.
7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment:
A lot of these things we view in this course catch me by surprise since I am not the most technologically savvy person. I did enjoy seeing her PLE since I have not seen one before. It was a great tool for her to access everything she needed. She was also able to seperate her school stuff from her personal stuff such as facebook. Our PLN is definitely different than this. Hers is more in depth and has access at the click of the mouse to anything she needs to access school and personal related.
The Machine is Changing Us:
This video was intriguing to me. He made very interesting points throughout his video. The videos he showed were also very humorous and caught my attention. Two of the things he brought up that I really liked were American Idol and the term whatever. I actually have watched a couple of seasons off and on of American Idol. However, I as well do not see why it is so big. TV may play a part in everyday life but the obsession with shows such as American Idol are not very clear. His brief history on whatever was also very interesting. Everyone has their own definition and interpretation of the phrase. There were many other things he discussed and I truly enjoyed the entire video.

Summary Post C4K 1 &2

2010-10-03T21:09:00.000-05:00

The student I had was Kyle. His first post was "All About Me." It said that he was from Missouri, loves spending time with his family and friends, and playing video games. One thing I found interesting about Kyle is that he has a learning disorder in math but he does not let that get him down. Math is actually his favorite subject. The second post was "My Learning Manifesto." In this post he included what he plans to accomplish this semester and how he is going to achieve it. He wants to listen better, turn his work in on time, help other students when they need it, pay attention in class, and be nicer to other students. He really placed emphasis on making sure his assignments were turned in on time. I shared with him that I am bad about procrastination as well and that is something I should work on this semester as well. His manifesto encouraged me and made me think of different things I need to improve on. You can check out his blog at http://grou.ps/noelclassof2011/blogs/person/kptbtpwbwlopwrdyb.

2010-10-01T08:28:00.001-05:00

Get Your Own Free Hypster.com Playlist.

Blog Post 5

2010-09-26T14:28:00.000-05:00

Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog
This is a third grade class that has created a blog that contains podcasts. They have three podcasts listed so far. Each one provides the listener with facts about the topics and different things that will involve the listener. The three podcasts they have posted right now relate to Ancient Romans, time travel with different explorers, and shark facts. They are all very informative and kid friendly.
I could utilize this in my podcast very effectively since my topic is websites that are useful to teachers. This blog/radio which contains podcasts and tools utilized by that classroom would help give teachers ideas in order to succeed with technology. These podcasts are directly guided by the children and are a great example of one on one involvement learning for the student which involves them utilizing technology.
The Education Podcast Network
This site is an effort to provide a wide range of podcast programming that may be helpful to teachers looking for content to teach with and about, and to explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century. This site contains a directory where teachers share their insight and ideas on podcasts in the classroom. On the left hand side there are multiple links to podcasts on certain subject matter as well as links to elementary class podcasts.
This would be a great website to add into my podcast if we would like to include a site that relates to podcasts and how they are useful for the classroom. This is a great resource for teachers who are new to podcasting or those who just would like to get more ideas to utilize this in their classroom.
Judy Scharf Podcast Collection
This blog provided by Judy is amazing for anyone looking to start a podcast for their classroom. It is definitely a beginners website with a lot of insight from her and links for the reader which all provides a great introduction to this use of technology. She provides the reader with what is a podcast, benefits of podcasting in education, tips to succeed, a time schedule for creating a podcast, etc.
Again since my podcast topic relates so well to all of these sites this would be yet again a great site to discuss. It would give beginning podcasters a tool to refer to that they may have not known was out there before. It would be a source they could use to being podcasts themselves but to also share with other teachers down the road who are looking to start podcasts in their classroom.

Blog Post 4

2010-09-19T19:05:00.000-05:00

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff...Please:
Mr. McLeod's post points out what is good about internet use but mainly used the bad to make his point. He captures the reader's attention in a unique way due to the form and the wording he uses in his post. I have my beliefs and values against the bad things associated with phone and internet use such as porn websites and sexting. However, I am also aware of the good associated with technology. While in this class I am learning that the good of technology does overcome the bad. If we want our children to make the most out of technology but stay away from the bad we must educate them and instill morals so that they steer away from those negatives in technology. He is Associate Professor of Educational Administration at Iowa State University and the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). He is also the co-creator of the Did You Know? (Shift Happens) videos.
The iSchool Initiative:
This high school student really made my brain turn and think about his iSchool initiative. I honestly do not think I could point out one bad thing about it. Have I thought about it? No of course not. Not only did he show us the basics of what we could do today with the iTouch in a classroom but he also gave us an outlook on what tomorrow could bring. I am honestly not a huge iTunes App guru but he really showed how many educational app resources are out there. The future use ideas for having something set up where the students and teachers could communicate at all times and have their class as an application was great. Also having access to lunch menus, grades, what's coming up in class, etc. would be great tools. The internet being blocked to only education websites would assure that the students are not in the classroom looking at things such as facebook rather than taking notes for the class.
The cut in costs this iSchool would provide would allow for much more improvement and job availability for teachers in schools. The average cost for a school to run per child a year is somewhere over $600 he estimated. Well if a child only has to buy an iTouch and a few apps they are looking at only $200 or less. I know most parents spend atleast that if not more in the school supplies they take to the school for their child alone which does not include all of the money the school puts in for each child. It is also something that would be used every year in school. Therefore, unless necessary to buy another one a child could use the same one the next year by keeping their iTouch up to date with the Apple software.
The Lost Generation:
When this video started and she was reading along with the print I was beginning to get very angry. It was completely negative and the things about her kids and divorce struck me. However, when she reversed it and read from bottom to top that is what our generation should want society to look like. We do need to reverse it. It really stuck out to me how fast society is going downhill and if we don't reverse it then that is the generation we will live in and it will be our fault for not making a difference.
Virtual Choir:
I read the post before watching the video and I was thinking to myself there is no way possible and that it was insane. When I started playing it I was definitely amazed at how technologically challenging I thought that would be. However, they pulled it off and that is amazing. That comes to show how far advanced technology is. All we need to do is use it.

Additional Assignment #1

2010-09-15T22:44:00.006-05:00

Google Squared provides you with educational implications through the ability to search anything you would like and then google squared provides you with a table giving information in relation to what you searched. You can add or take away any search information from the table. If you want it to give you a different column of information which it may not have provided you can create a new column and type what you would like to know such as the year what you are searching was founded etc. If the table does not include once specific brand you were looking for say if you were searching designer brands, simply type that in the search and it will be added to the table. Google Squared is not only providing you with search results but it is allowing you to use the search results to benefit you the best way possible by getting the specific results you would like to see.
Wolfram Alpha provides you with educational implications through the ability to search but more in a specific way related to a certain city, word, math problem, a specific date,etc. Wolfram Alpha's results give you one page of information on exactly what you typed in. If you give a math problem, it writes it out gives the answer and even has a visual for you to look at. I typed in my birthday for example along with the year. The search result gave me the sunrise/sunset for the day, any important events that happened on that day and in that year, it also gave celebrity birthdays, etc. Wolfram Alpha takes you straight to a result with a breakdown of what you are searching nearly everything you might be wondering about it. The neat thing with this site is you do not have to worry about after typing in a search trying to decide which link to click to the website you think might be best. This provides you with the best and most specific results with just the push of enter after you type in what you would like to search.
I was not aware of Google Squared or Wolfram Alpha before this assignment.
Your comments have altered my thinking about the Did You Know Assignment. Before I was amazed at the statistics and sat in awe. I could see the statistics and they gave me a wow feeling about how technology is moving at a constant rate and at the rapid rate it is moving. However, you have shown us the reality of that through our own assignment. Through that video we only saw numbers and could only think on it. Through what you show and tell us about technology we are apart of those statistics by doing the work hands on. These searches showed me how much technology is at our fingertips and how useful it is. We as educators would be blinded if we did not take hold of the great technological tools in society which will make us better educators and give our students a better education.

Blog Post #3

2010-09-12T23:19:00.000-05:00

A Vision of Students Today
This video captured most of my experience in college. It differed in that my class size average was no where near 115. The college I attended before South was even smaller so my class size has never been over 50. I have never taken a laptop to class either so I was never in class working on other things. Everything else pretty much applied to me. I will be atleast $20,000 in debt, I do work everyday, I do read only half of what I should for class, etc. I could add things to the movie that relate to sports on campus, campus clubs, fraternities/sororities, parties, exercising, and other things college students involve themselves in to add to the time we spend everyday as students doing different things. One of the students added up how many hours based on what their papers were and that was 26.5 hours a day. If you add everything I said they just drastically adds on more hours. There are only 24 hours in a day. This gives an idea of what a day is like for the average college student. It's not easy.

It's not about the Technology
In this article Ms. Hines talks about her views on teaching and education today. Her main point she wants to make is we can teach 21st century learning without all of the technology we use. She discusses how everyone she knows is always telling her technology is best we need things such as computers, ipods, blogs, etc. but she does not necessarily agree.
I agree with the first three points of her list of four things that every teacher must recognize in order to effectively and positively impact students in a new generation of learning. Those are: 1. Teachers must be learners 2. Learning and teaching are not the same thing 3. Technology is useless without good teaching. Her fourth point I do not agree on and that is Be a 21st century teacher without technology. Teachers must constantly learn in order for us to be up to date with what will help our student's learn to the best of their ability. Learning and teaching are definitely not the same thing. We may teach our students anything but until they learn it they have gained nothing from the education you are supposed to be providing them. Technology is useless without teaching. If we do not use the technology we are given to teach our students then all it is doing is collecting dust. We not only need to teach with it but we need to show our students how to use it. I do not believe we should be 21st teachers without using technology.

"Is it ok to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?"
Karl Fisch's blog post has been nominated for awards and after reading the astounding material in it I can see why. He was so precise to the point and just outright honest on his feelings of teachers and there need to be technologically literate. The points he made though about the growth of technology truly apply to teachers and how they impact their students. If teachers are not technologically literate, they are basically like those who used to not know how to read or write. He explained that in the 90s people could get away without knowing technology, in the beginning of the 21st century you could survive without it, now it is getting to where you almost have to know how to use technology, and in the next few years if you are technologically literate you will drown.
We only have so long with our students and if we do not teach them with the most recent technology and do not make sure that they have learned it and not just simply been taught it then we are responsible for them drowning in the real world. We as teachers must make the conscious decision to be technologically literate and make sure our students are as well.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
I literally just sat there for over thirty seconds and watched the world of technology flash before my eyes. I could not believe the numbers I saw and how fast the speed of their increase was. That is absolutely unbelievable. I am sitting here still in shock from it. This puts into perspective that us as educators NEED to teach with technology and know how to use it. This is what our students are surrounded and challenged by and so are we but we have to take on the challenge so that our students can tackle the challenge of technology as well.

Presentation Project #5

2010-09-12T21:16:00.002-05:00

Summary Post C4T Teacher #1

2010-09-12T18:09:00.000-05:00

Aaron Eyler: http://synthesizingeducation.com/blog/

1st post:“Let’s Do More Mentality”
In this post Aaron was discussing how in education but also in life we have a "let's do more" mentality. We always want to add on to the things we are already doing to try and improve education. Essentially what we end up doing is adding on more than we can accomplish. We need to do what we set out to do first in education, accomplish that improvement, and then move on to the next goal we have towards improvement. Doing more is good but doing right is more important.
In response I stated that the people making decisions in education such as the state, school board, etc need to have an inside view of the classroom from teachers. They do not realize the direct effects the "let's do more mentality" are leaving behind. If everything in education was done right to begin with or at least try something then fix its kinks more would get accomplished, adding more will only lead us to a dead end road.

2nd Post: Your Goals vs. Our Goals
In this post Aaron was challenging the reader to view how teachers go into each school year with their goals for the year. He was asking is teachers may be selfish in the goals they set. Could they only be to benefit them as a teacher and not the students? Teachers should take themselves and their students into consideration when making goals for the school year. They should also allow the class as a whole to make goals not only for the whole class but for themselves as individuals as well.
In response I stated that I may not be a teacher as of now but this article allowed me to realize how teacher's set their goals and what might be a better way to approach mine when I become a teacher. We should set goals for ourselves which we feel can be accomplished but at the same time will affect kids in a positive way. On the first day or in the first week of school when you allow your students to create a list of goals for the class you could write them on a poster and hang it in the room for the rest of the school year. This article really made me think and answer questions I had yet to think about as far as my career as a teacher will go.

Blog Post #2

2010-09-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

Did you know 3.0?
So what does it all mean? As the video ended with this question, I just sat there for at least thirty seconds just staring at the screen in awe of the video I just watched. The statistics on the video were astounding. I knew that as time goes by so many things happen such as babies being born, music being downloaded, text messages being sent, etc. However, I never knew exact statistics.
The technology and education statistics that were listed were the ones that caught my undivided attention. I knew technology was improving at a fast rate but when given the breakdown of how fast different sections are developing it puts it into perspective. We are a country totally controlled by technology. We as educators will be teaching students who will have jobs that do not even exist right now. That is mind blowing in itself but it is absolute truth. The United States relies so much on technology that the value and outcome of education in other countries is constantly becoming greater than what we have here. Our values and goals as far as education in our country goes need to be shaken up with the reality of how well students in other countries are succeeding compared to ours.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
If anyone who has been dead for a while this is most likely the exact same thoughts and experience they might have if they came back to life. Even someone who has been dead five years or it could be less than that would still be amazed by what has changed in technology since they have been gone. Technology is changing at a rate that is so fast paced it is almost impossible to keep up with. Every single day when a morning newspaper is read there is at least one if not more articles on a change in technology that is occurring or has recently occurred.
The only place Mr. Winkle could relate to was in a classroom. He remembered the desks, the paper, the pencils, and a teacher lecturing the students the entire day at school. While he did find somewhere he remembered as the same it should not have been that way. So many tools with technology are surrounding us and we need to utilize those tools in order to make our students successful in their careers. I do not support the constant reliance on technology but it does need to be incorporated in order to make our students successful. Without knowledge of technology our students will drown when they enter the real world.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
This video was full of charisma and humor but along with that he made a lot of valuable points related to education today and creativity. In today’s world our focus in education is solely on brain power and nothing other than that. Like he said in the video, in education we do not focus on anything past the head on the human body. The focus is all on the brain and only on half of it at that.
In school the arts is put on the back burner and in some schools it is being completely taken away. The arts are full of creativity and all we are doing is pushing it aside and getting rid of it. The arts that are incorporated in schools are even given levels of importance. Music and Art are more important than dance or theater. Why is it that one is more important than the other? We also categorize subjects like math and literature before anything else in education. Why are these two considered to be most important? Every subject should be considered just as important as the other.
The student in your classroom who may be struggling with a subject or who may be fidgeting in class might need to learn it in a different and more creative way that suits them. We are holding students back from the arts and creativity. We are shoving education and the importance of degrees down their throats without giving them a chance to explore who they are and what they can become. Every person has creative juices and we as educators need to let them flow and not ignore them.

Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts
This teacher is doing a lot of good for this rural school in Georgia. She is giving these children a learning experience they will carry with them the rest of their lives. Technology is constantly changing but this gives them something they can build on for the rest of their lives. I enjoy technology and what it can do for education but at the same time I believe there should be an equal balance between pen and pencil work and work with technology.
Technology should be learned gradually and over time for students. This especially applies to those who do not have much experience with it at all. We cannot as educators throw a lot technology wise on students at once. Technology can come easily to some and difficult to others. However, if technology and paper and pencil work are evenly distributed each student has a chance to practice and shine in both aspects of education.

Project #2 Wordle

2010-09-05T21:34:00.007-05:00

Blog Post #1

2010-08-29T22:11:00.000-05:00

Hi, I am Kristi Bain and enrolled in the T/TR EDM 310 course. I am originally from Hernando, MS. However, I lived in Oxford, MS from fifth grade until I graduated high school and no I do not like Ole Miss. However, I am a Bama fan! When I graduated high school I went to Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. I was a nursing major. August of 2009 was my first semester in the actual nursing program. That semester taught me a lot about myself and showed me how I can overcome pretty much any challenge. It also revealed that nursing was not where my heart was and that education was where it needed to be. I always knew I wanted to be a nurse or an elementary school teacher but with the encouragement and push of my family I headed to nursing. I have now taken a stand by making the decision for myself based on where my heart lies and which occupation would make me the happiest in life. When I chose to change my major I also decided I needed a change of scenery so I moved to Mobile. My boyfriend at the time lived in Satsuma and his whole family is near to Mobile so I knew if something happened I would have people close to me who would be willing to come take care of me. So based on that and the fact that I had been told the University of South Alabama had a great education department, I packed up and moved here. I left a lot behind at Delta State but I also gained a lot when I transferred.
When I was born one set of my great great grandparents were still living. Therefore, I made five generations when I was born. This was very unusual and a big ordeal for this to happen especially in the small towns of Hernando and Corinth. My family was featured in two newspapers soon after I was born. My parents have been married for 23 years and I am the only child. I am recently engaged and we are getting married on May 28th. I want to enter the field of education because I love children and I know how important education is to me and I want to convey this through my teaching. I want to impact students with something they need and will carry with them forever and that is knowledge.
I am very passionate about organizations which help children health wise or with their education. I am dedicated to helping with Children's Miracle Network which is the philanthropy for Phi Mu. St.Jude is also huge for me because they saved my best friend's life and fight every day to find the cure for cancer and heal children from their terminal illnesses.
I hope I have included some facts that are important about me and to me. This is my life in a tiny nut shell. I am looking forward to the challenge EDM 310 will bring me this semester, how I will grow from it, and how I use what I learn from this course in my classroom.