Blog Post 15

C4T 4

Cool Cat Teacher

For the past two weeks I have been reading and commenting on the Cool Cat teacher blog written by Vicki Davis. Vicki Davis, is a mother and full time teacher in Camilla, Georgia. The first post that I read on her blog, Vicki Davis listed a lot of different links that she thought were helpful to teachers. She first lists the link and then either comments on or summarizes it. I personally thought the 9 ways to start a 9am meeting on time link the best because one of my biggest pet peeves is being late. I told Ms. Davis that I really liked her blog and thought it was very helpful and she wrote me back thanking me for commenting.

In the second blog post, Ms. Davis tells about a former student who wrote a letter to her about another one of his teachers. The student, Jessy Irwin states that the reason he is writing the letter is to publicize the work that one of his favorite teachers, Professor Boyer, is doing. The student writes about how Professor Boyer has used YouTube and other forms of media to attract stars and famous people to do interviews with his class of more than 3000. Professor Boyer even managed to get the leader of a peace movement in Burma to do a Skype interview. The student has great things to say about his favorite Professor, but the reason that Ms. Davis posted the letter was because of the emphasis the letter puts on technology in the classroom and how Professor Boyer has made great use of it. I wrote Ms. Davis and told her that I really enjoyed the post and that I looked forward to hearing about the interview.

C4K Summary Post-November

C4K #11

This week I was assigned to comment on Mr. McClung’s class blog. Mr. McClung is an eighth grade teacher at Woodland Jr. High in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I viewed a google power point presentation in which Mr. Mc Clung had created for his class on the Renaissance. I found the presentation to be very interesting. I commented on the blog post telling Mr. Mc Clung and his class thank you for sharing the interesting and helpful information on the renaissance. I stated that I always loved learning about the Renaissance period and enjoyed the post very much.

C4K#12

This week I was assigned to comment on Miriam’s blog entitled “Mariam’s Magical Moments”. Miriam is a student in Mrs. Yollis’ third grade class in Las Angeles. In her blog post, Miriam shared one of her special family recipes. Miriam shared how to make Piroshki. At the end she asked what the viewers liked to bake on rainy days. I really enjoyed learning how to make Piroshki and I loved the pictures she posted of herself making it. I commented on Miriam’s blog post telling her thank you for sharing her special family recipe. I told her that I would consider making Piroshki sometime. I also stated that I loved to bake chocolate chip cookies on rainy days.

C4K #13

This week I was assigned to comment on Dante B’s Blog. In his post, Dante told of his experience at Camp Bentzon. Dante described many activities that he was involved in at camp, but specifically told of how he enjoyed learning how to sail. I comment Dante’s post telling him of how much fun Camp Bentzon sounded. I stated that I thought it was so neat that he learned how to sail. I told him that he was a great writer and to keep up the great work.

Blog Post 14

Wolframalpha

1.No, I did not know about wolframalpha.
2.No, I did not know about Google squared.
3.The United States is 22.8% of China’s population.
4.The United States is 25.4% of India’s population.
5.My opinion about Do You Know did not change. Statistics reinforce the fact that technology should be encouraged in the classroom.
6.I think I will use wolframalpha .I think it is very helpful and convenient to have ready access to populations and also the other services that wolframalpha has to offer.

My Question: What percentage of Israel’s population is male and what percentage is female?

50.12% of Israel’s population is male. 49.88% of Israel’s population is female.

Final PLN Report

Final Project 16

Blog 13

For this blog post, I chose to do option one. In this assignment, I was introduced to Wolfram-Alpha. I used this site to look up the populations of China, India, and the United States between the years of 2008 and 2011. I was not aware of how easy it is to use Wolfram-Alpha, you can type in any subject and get all kinds of information about it. While doing the search, I found out that the population in China in 2008 was 1.31 billion, and today the population is approximately 1.37 billion. That is a lot of people! I also found that in 2008 India’s population was 1.18 billion, and today it is around 1.23 billion. The population in the United States in 2008 was around 304 million, and today it is about 313 million. I knew that China had a large population, but I never realized how many people that really is. I had fun using Wolfram-Alpha, and I will definitely be using it in the future! For my search next week: what percentage of the population in Israel is male and what percentage is female?

Additional Post 1

I am not sure why I missed the metaphor in Tom Johnson’s post. I have encountered many metaphors lately while reading my Bible. I feel that the Bible is a perfect place to find metaphors. As educators, we need to make sure that students know what the definition of a metaphor is. I feel that educators not only need to explain to students what metaphors are, but we also need to use them often in the classroom. I feel metaphors are used to keep students interested and thinking. Metaphors are used to keep things fun so students do not get bored.

C4K- Mrs. Yollis' Class Blog

This week for our C4K we were to explore Mrs. Yollis’ class blog and look at all of the links that she provides. Mrs. Yollis is a third grade teacher in Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Yollis has 22 students in her class, 11 boys and 11 girls. In her “Meet Mrs. Yollis” section, Mrs. Yollis shares that she has been teaching for twenty five years. Mrs. Yollis is a student as well; she just recently received a master’s degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. She also shares about her love to travel. I love the picture that Mrs. Yollis shared of her and her husband swimming with the turtles in Hawaii.

In the link “Learn HTML Code” section, Mrs. Yollis shares HTML tricks. I really liked this link; I thought it was very helpful and interesting. If I were a student in Mrs. Yollis’ class, I would use this link quite often.

In her “Time Zones of Friends” link, Mrs. Yollis displays different clocks that display the different times of different places around the world. I also really liked this link. I thought it was very interesting, and if I were a student in Mrs. Yollis class, this would also be a link that I would use often.

In the link titled “Learn about California,” Mrs. Yollis includes a great video presentation about California. This is a great link for visitors who want to learn more about where Mrs. Yollis’ class is located in California. I really enjoyed watching the video and learned many things about California that I did not know before.

The link that I enjoyed the most was the “Learn How to Shoot Great Digital Images” link. In this link, a few of Mrs. Yollis’ students share great tips on how to shoot digital images. I really enjoyed exploring Mrs. Yollis’ class blog and I love what Mrs. Yollis is doing in her classroom with her students. I plan to continue to keep up with Mrs. Yollis class blog!

Report on Final Project

I am a member of the September group and we have decided on a Final Project. We are still gathering ideas, but our plan is to create an EDM Talk Show and Commercial. We plan to use a lot of things that we have learned in EDM this semester,along with a lot of music. Our group will be meeting on Tuesday of this week to get started.

Blog Post 12

Voice Thread

When I did this assignment, I thought back to the first week of this semester when Dr. Baggett introduced herself by using voice thread. I remember thinking, “What a cool idea, maybe we will have a chance to use voice thread in EDM.” But the semester is coming to an end, and we have not used voice thread, so I thought it would be a good idea to make an assignment using it. I had a lot of fun creating my presentation on voice thread. I love how I was able to add photos as well as my own voice to narrate. I also love that instead of viewers leaving written comments, voice thread allows viewers to leave audio comments. I definitely will be using this tool in the future, and I think future students will enjoy it just as much as I did. So here is my assignment: Create a voice thread presentation that introduces yourself. Include pictures and audio comments on each photo explaining why you chose to put the photo into your presentation. Your presentation should be much like a story about yourself. You must include at least 10 slides. After you post your voice thread presentation, then visit two other classmates' blogs and leave an audio comment on their voice thread presentation.

Project 12 Skype Interview

Project #15 Smartboard Instruction Pt.2

Blog Post 11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy’s Class, Little Kids… Big Potential and Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy

The video “Little Kids… Big Potential” is a great video created by Ms. Cassidy that gives viewers a great example of what goes on in Ms. Cassidy’s class. In the video, students talk about the fun and exciting things that Ms. Cassidy allows them to do in the classroom while using computers and Nintendo DS’s. First Graders in Ms. Cassidy’s class tell of how they each have their own blog in which they post at least once a week. The students also stated that they are allowed to use their Nintendo DS’s to plan fun games that help them learn. The students in Ms. Cassidy’s class also use Skype quite frequently. During the Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy, she tells Dr. Strange and students how her first grade students are working on computers on a daily basis. Ms. Cassidy stated that when she first started teaching, five computers were given to her for her to use in her classroom. Ms. Cassidy wanted to make great use of the computers, but the computers only had internet access and no new programs could be downloaded on them. So, she started the personal blogging idea. In the interview, she explains how her first graders love to blog and parents and siblings love to read and comment on the blogs of their students. Ms. Cassidy stated that it made her students feel special knowing that all of the world could see what they were writing about. Ms. Cassidy mentioned that in order to keep students safe, students go by a first name basis on their blog, and pictures of students are not posted. Ms. Cassidy teaches her students how to be safe on the internet by encouraging them to go only to the links that she suggests and to stay away from advertisements. Ms. Cassidy stated that she does not have a lot of trouble with her first graders navigating away to other random outside sites, she has more trouble with them playing games that they are not assigned. Ms. Cassidy also mentioned “Blogging Buddies”. “Blogging Buddies” is a way for students in Ms. Cassidy’s class to comment on another student’s blog in another class, whether it is at the same school or at another school across the world. By being able to do this, students can comment on each other’s blogs and even Skype one another and discuss different things such as how that they can improve on their writing skills. I think that “Blogging Buddies” is a great idea and I could really see myself using it in my classroom. I really wish that I would have had the same opportunity that the students in Ms. Cassidy’s class do when I was in the first grade. I would have loved to blog and I honestly think it would have helped me become a better writer in elementary school. I love how Ms. Cassidy stated that Technology is never going to go back to how it used to be, so we as teachers are going to have to change with it. I think that I could use a lot of Ms. Cassidy’s ideas in my classroom, especially the “Blogging Buddies” activity. I think that by allowing my students to use blogs, it would help them tremendously in their writing. It would also allow parents to see what exactly their kids are doing at school and how much that they have progressed in their writing throughout the year. I think that Skype is an awesome tool, and I will definitely be using it in my classroom with my students. I really enjoyed watching the Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy; she had many great, interesting and useful tips to share. I cannot wait to introduce technology like this in my classroom; I feel that it is going to make learning fun and exciting for my students and something that they look forward to when entering my classroom every day.

C4K Summary Post- October

C4K #6

For the sixth C4K I was assigned to a blog post by Isaac. Isaac is a student at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. He is in Mrs. Jenny’s Room 6. During this week, Room six was learning how to walk in a straight line. In the post, Isaac made a video presentation in which he explained how to properly walk in a straight line. He stated that you must put your hand behind your back when walking in a straight line. In my comment, I told Mrs. Jenny and Isaac that walking in line in a straight line is very important. I stated that I knew that Room 6 is excellent at walking in a straight line, and I know that it makes Mrs. Jenny very happy.


C4K#7

For C4K #7 , I visited the class Blog of Room 10 at Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand. I watched a video post by Henry. Henry drew a picture of a soccer player named Thierry Dusautoir and made the picture come to life in his video. In my comment, I told Henry that I the picture he drew of Thierry Dusautoir was really awesome! I told him that he was a great artist and that I thought it was really cool how Room 10 is learning how to add videos to a blog.


C4K #8

For C4 K #8, I visited Mr. C’s Class Blog, where I read a post by Angel. In her post, Angel shares a story about how her dog was getting attacked by a coyote and her Dad tried to shoot the coyote and instead accidently shot her dog Trixy. Trixy survived the accident, but lost one of her limbs. Angel talked about how Trixy has managed to overcome being handicapped. She stated that Trixy was recently in a swimming competition where she came in second place. I commented on Angel’s post telling her that I was sorry to hear that Trixy had been hurt, but I was glad that she was okay. I told her that I thought it was so awesome that Trixy came in second place during the competition even though she was handicapped. I complimented Angel on her writing, and encouraged her to continue.

C4K #9

For C4K #9 I visited the Class Blog of Room 17 of Port England School in Auckland, New Zealand. I was assigned a post on the New Zealand Bitterns. In this post, Room 17 made a Google Presentation which they displayed many sides with many facts about the New Zealand Bitterns. The slide show was very interesting. I commented on the post thanking Room 17 for sharing and said that I really enjoyed viewing the Google Presentation because I had learned so much from it.

Blog Post 10

Do You Teach, or Do You Educate?

I really enjoyed watching this video; it really made me think about why I really chose to be an education major. There is nothing that I love more in this world than having the opportunity to help people. God has blessed me tremendously, and has given me a strong passion to help people. I have had so many opportunities over the past years to travel around whether it is across the world or across the United States and do what I love and that is to minister to people. I feel that teaching is the perfect place for my passion.
As a teacher, I do not just want to be an enforcer of rules, or a great explainer of math, but I want to be someone who students look up to, feel comfortable to share with, and someone who inspires them to learn. I want to be a teacher that students will look back on and think, “I really learned a lot from her.” I do not just want to teach my students facts; I want to teach them to love to learn and to never stop. I enjoyed the video very much because it made me think about why I really want to teach.

Tom Johnson’s Don’t Let Them Take the Pencils Home!

After reading this blog, at first, I was very confused. But, after exploring the blog a little bit, I read that it is actually set in 1897 and is a story following a man named Tom Johnson. Tom wants to get every student to own a pencil, but he is having a hard time doing so. Even though this story is set in 1897, it deals with problems that today’s schools face. In this post, Tom Johnson is dealing with a woman named Gertrude who has a problem with pencils being taken home because she thinks that the students are using them as entertainment. Gertrude’s main point is that children who take home pencils usually score lower on standard tests. But, she isn’t seeing Tom’s point. Tom is making the argument that pencils can be used to help students learn and that entertainment isn’t really a bad thing. Students can use the pencils to play hangman, or they can use them to write or do educational things. Tom says that he is keeping students interested by giving them the pencils and that the pencils will help in the long run. I think that this is a very creative idea by author and teacher John T. Spencer. He addresses present day problems while including the past. I really enjoyed this blog.

C4T 3

"A Journey in TEFL"

For the past two weeks I Have been reading and commenting on Eva Buyuksimkesyan’s blog “A Journey in TEFL”. In her post, Ms. Buyuksimkesyan tells of activities that she uses with her students in hope that her viewers can use them with their students. In the first post I read on her blog, she shared some activities that she used when teaching her students how to describe. Out of the five activities that Ms. Buyuksimkesyan shared, I like her “Ideal Holiday Destination” activity the best. During this activity, 10 postcards of holiday destinations are displayed. The teacher will have the students walk around and choose a postcard and then have them go back to their seat and write a letter to a friend telling them about them why they should choose the destination for their next holiday. In my comment to Ms. Buyuksimkesyan, I told her that I really enjoyed reading her post and that I thought the activities that she mentioned were very fun and creative. I also told her that I really liked her activity “Ideal Holiday Destination”, and that I would definitely be using with my future students. A few days after I commented on her post, Ms. Buyuksimkesyan wrote me back telling me that she had checked out my EDM blog and that she was really glad that I chose to comment on her blog.

In the second post I read, Ms. Buyuksimkesyan tells about how her students were having problems understanding the meaning of sentences. She talks about an exercise that she gives the students to helps them practice understanding the meaning of things. Ms. Buyuksimkesyan states that, at the end of the exercise, she put a quote which she then turned into another exercise. In the exercise, she omitted the modal verbs to have the students fill in the gap to give them practice. In her post, she includes many ideas of exercises that would be great for teachers to practice with their students. I really liked Ms. Buyuksimkesyan’s wordle exercise idea. In this exercise, she took a quote and turned it into a wordle, much like the wordle we did at the beginning of the semester, and had the students try to guess the quote. In my comment, I told Ms. Buyuksimkesyan thank you for sharing her great ideas. I told her that I really liked her Wordle activity idea, and that I would definitely be using it with my future students. I really enjoyed reading Ms. Buyuksimkesyan’s blog, she shares so many fun and creative ideas. I will definitely continue to keep up with her blog.

Blog Post 9

What I’ve Learned This Year (2008-2009)

In the first blog post, Mr. McClung gave his reflection of his first year of teaching. He listed several things that he had learned through his first year. The first point he made was that he learned how to read the crowd. McClung stated that when he first started teaching he was too worried about pleasing his superiors that he lost his students while teaching. McClung says that the delivery of the lesson is not what matters, what’s important is if the students get it or not. McClung states that it is important to be flexible. Things are not always going to go as planned in the lesson plan, but it is important that the teacher knows how to move on with the lesson even when mistakes and sudden problems occur. McClung makes a point that it is important to communicate in the work place. When something is going wrong, or if a problem arises with a fellow teacher, it is important to confront them with the situation and talk it through. McClung encourages teachers to be responsible. I love the statement that McClung makes “Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again.” He also points out that we should not be afraid to use technology. Technology is our friend and it is there to make the job easier. McClung states that it is very important that a teacher listens to their students. It is important that the teachers really get to know the students that they are teaching and listen to what they have to say. Students should feel like they can come to the teacher when they need help. Lastly, McClung states that teachers should never stop learning. Teachers should continue to learn and adapt their teaching style to what works best with students even after they enter the classroom. I think Mr. McClung made great points in his post that all teachers can learn from. I really learned a lot by reading Mr. McClung’s blog post.


What I Learned This Year (2009-2010)

In Mr. McClung’s second post, he again gave a reflection of what he learned throughout the year. He also again had the same type of post and listed different points about what he learned. The first thing he said was that it is important to adapt. He said that it is important to never get too comfortable and that change is good. The next point he made was about the path least travelled. In this section he talked about teachers not using their opinions in the classroom but to let students be independent thinkers. The third point he made he said was the most important: find your school mom. What he meant by this was to find someone who could take you in and show you the ropes, so to speak. The next thing he talked about was that teachers should check their egos at the door. It is not important how good you think you are, what’s important is how well the students are learning. It is not our job to feel smart, but to give students the best opportunity to succeed. The next piece of advice he gave was to not be a control freak. He says that it is okay to want to be in control because a teacher should have control over their classroom. But, teachers can’t control every little thing that goes on. The next thing he talks about is to not lose sight of what is important. Mr. McClung talks about his problems with his school’s administration and how it was affecting him. But, he says that focusing on the problems was hurting his students because he wasn’t completely concentrated on them. The last thing he said was that it’s what you learn after you know it all that matters. What he meant by this was that, even though we might know a lot, we will still always have a long way to go before we know it all. I really liked this post and I feel like I learned a lot from what Mr. McClung had to say.

Project 13

Blog Post 8

This Is How We Dream

In part one of the video, Richard Miller starts by expressing his love for books. He talks about how he grew up in a house that was filled with books. He states that he “dreamed of a career involving working with books.” Miller stated “the result of a career working with books is a book.”The book that Richard Miller wrote is now sold on Amazon for 59 cents. Miller goes on to talk about the differences of writing today compared to writing in his younger years. We do not need libraries or pen and paper; most of the information we need we do not even have to pick up a book to find because it is all on the internet.

Miller mentioned that he was asked to write an article in response to the one year anniversary of the killings at Virginia Tech. He stated that he did not even have to go to the library to find information, all the information that he needed and used was found on the internet. Richard Miller goes on to talk about how the internet is great and fast way to post his lectures. He states that without the internet, it could take up to two years to be published. With the internet, Miller, as well as anyone else, can post their lectures within just a few hours.

In the second part of the video, Miller talks about the building at the University that he has taught in for the past sixteen year. He states that it is a building “designed for automobiles”, because the parking lot is in the center of the building. He goes on to talk about the “green building” that he and his collaborator had created which would combine the best of the Humanities and the best of the Sciences. This “green building” would be sustainable and solar powered. Miller states that the internet is a great way to share dreams such as his “green building” with the world and to get the ideas out there. I believe that I am prepared to write with multimedia and I believe that my students will be able to do this as well.




Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh

I found Carly Pugh’s blog post very interesting. Her idea was so cool! In her blog post, she creates an assignment in which the students must create a youtube playlist which included ten videos that describe what the student’s philosophy as a teacher is. She gives many ideas of what types of videos the student can add to their playlist. Carly even made her own playlist in which she stated, “Good teachers teach by example”. She also left many links in her blog to help the student understand why the assignment was created. Carly’s assignment is much like Richard Miller’s because they both show how the internet can be used to obtain knowledge.



EDM310 Is Different

I really enjoyed watching the Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies. I thought that both videos made great points and were pretty funny. The thing that stuck out to me the most in the chipper series was the subject of procrastination. I used to be the worst when it came to procrastination, but I have learned that procrastination is a huge no-no in EDM310. I have never been behind but I sure would hate to be behind because I feel like it would be very difficult to catch up. As far as the video EDM310 for Dummies, I feel that I could be in that video sometimes. If I were to create a video for this class, I would like to create a video titled “How to Survive EDM310”. I have a lot of advice that future EDM310 students could benefit from.


Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video is about the effect technology has on education the way students learn. The people in the video make points about how kids are using social networks, cell phones, and other things to collect data and do research. The point that was made that I really agree with is the man that said that the point is not teaching kids facts that they need to memorize, the point is to teach them to know how to figure things out. Some of the other people mentioned that the classroom needs to be a meeting place, a community, for students to share and learn ideas.

Short Movie Project 11

Project 12- Book Trailer

C4T 2

For the past few weeks I have been reading and commenting on blog posts written by Dorothy Burt. Dorothy Burt lives in New Zealand. I really enjoyed reading her post and found her points very interesting. In the first post that I read, Ms. Burt talks about a series of articles that were sent that talked about school serving breakfast to students. In her post, Ms. Burt states “the paper informs us that numbers of kiwi students attend school with no breakfast. They also inform us that breakfast is necessary for learning to occur.” She also mentioned in the same week, “we have had agitation provoked by the media about schools stating that access to technology is necessary for students to learn.” Dorothy Burt stated that thinking about arguments made her think about shoes. She then began to talk about how when she was in primary school she never wore shoes. She says that these arguments are like her saying she needed shoes to learn.

At the end of her post, Ms. Burt asks her viewers of their opinion. She asked of the viewers experience with shoes and school and if they thought that it affected their learning in any way. In my comment to Ms. Burt, I explained to her that where I lived a dress code was given to students in which they had to follow. I wrote that even though I was required to wear a school uniform, I feel that shoes have no influence on learning. I stated that even though I did not like the idea of uniforms when I was in school, if students are all dressed a certain way, then some students will not feel left out and it will provide a more comfortable learning environment for them.

The second post that I read, Ms. Burt posted a video on the Teacher Dashboard. The video explained what the Teacher Dashboard was, how teachers use it, and the positive things about using it. The teacher dashboard uses Google docs to help teachers organize their lesson plans, share their documents with students, and allows teachers to keep an eye on what their students are doing. The Teacher Dashboard is very helpful to teachers and students because it allows them to access their documents and work from any computer.

I commented on Ms. Burt’s post telling her how neat that I thought the Teacher Dashboard was. I told her it was not until I started EDM 310 that I realized how many useful tools that Google had to offer. I stated of how I have found Google docs to be so helpful this semester and that I use it very often. I told her that I hoped to be able to use the Teacher Dashboard when I get in the classroom and that I thought it was a wonderful tool.

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Dr. Randy Pausch led an incredible life. His “Last Lecture” series about achieving your childhood dreams is one of his many great accomplishments. “The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” is a lecture that includes great personal stories and many different life lessons. Dr. Pausch was and continues to be an inspiration to many.

At the beginning of the lecture, Dr. Pausch states that even though he has cancer and knows that he will soon pass away, that fact is not important in the lecture. By “introducing the elephant in the room” Dr. Pausch catches and holds the audience’s attention. After this, Pausch goes on to discuss his own childhood dreams. His list includes being in zero gravity, playing in the National Football League, authoring an article in the World Book Dictionary, being Captain Kirk, being a guy that won big stuffed animals in the amusement park, and being an imagineer with Disney. What is truly awesome is that Dr. Pausch accomplished almost all of these goals.

Next in the lecture, Pausch goes on to explain how either he accomplished these goals or how they changed. Starting with being in zero gravity, Pausch figured out that NASA had a contest where students can submit proposals as a team to ride the “vomit comet.” Well, Pausch had put together a team of students and went as a reporter and accomplished his goal of being in zero gravity. Pausch never did play in the National Football League, but stated that he learned more from that goal than any other. Football taught him enthusiasm, discipline, and how to handle criticism. Dr. Pausch did get to author an article in the World Book Dictionary because of his work with Virtual Reality. Pausch edited his being like Captain Kirk goal to simply “meeting Captain Kirk.” William Shatner happened to write a book with a co-author about the actual physics and science of Star Trek and Pausch helped create a virtual world for their cause. You can tell from how fondly he remembered that moment that meeting Shatner was a great experience for Pausch. Pausch admits that his goal of winning giant stuffed animals was a little “mundane,” but he seemed proud that he accomplished it. What Pausch seemed most proud about was the fact that he became an imagineer. This goal took the longest time and Pausch even says that he thought this was the most difficult to accomplish. Pausch used his success as a Virtual Reality specialist to become an imagineer and he helped design such things as the Aladdin and Pirates of the Caribbean rides.

Pausch talked a lot about his own personal goals and how he achieved them. But what he was really talking about was the way you live your life. Pausch accomplished great goals and has a great story. But what is most impressive is not that he accomplished most everything he set out to do, but that every person who talked about him had nice things to say. That feedback from others is proof to Pausch’s statement that it’s not about goals, it’s about the way you live your life. Pausch led his life the right way, and had a great life that is an inspiration to many.

Timetoast Timeline Instruction Project 9b

Project 10 - Personal Learning Network

I used Symbaloo for my PLN. Symbaloo made it very easy for me to add and organize all of my favorite websites that I use for school and entertainment. The University of South Alabama Homepage,EDM 310 Class Blog, Blogger.com, Gmail, and Youtube are websites that I added to my PLN that I most frequently use for school purposes. I also added websites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,and blogs that I read on a daily basis to my PLN. My PLN looks kind of empty right now, but I do plan to add a lot more sites to it.

C4K Summaries

C4K 1
In this C4K I was assigned to Sarah, a student who wrote about her desire to be a teacher, have a million kittens, and live in a mansion. Sarah's first post mostly had just simple sentences which made for an easy and interesting read. I told her that I too planned on becoming a teacher and shared her enthusiasm in some of the things that she mentioned, including being shy and helping the elderly. Sarah was very sweet and even wrote back saying, "Brianne Woods It is so cool that we are alike in ways."

C4K 2
The second C4K that I was assigned was actually the same girl, Sarah. This time, she posted a Wordle, much like the one we did in class, in the shape of a musical note. Her Wordle had hot pink letters on a black background which really made the pink stand out. I commented and told her that it looked awesome and unique and that pink was my favorite color.

C4K 3
The third C4K I was assigned was for a blog from a girl named Alex. In her blog she tells about how she went to a theme park with her family. She didn't like waking up early to go, but she did have a lot of fun and even said she ate a good burger from a restaurant. I commented and told her that I also love going to theme parks and told her she did a good job on her blog.

C4K 4
In this C4K assignment, I was assigned to comment on the St. Elmo's Explorers Blog. These students were fortunate enough to have Lucy Buffet donate iPad's to their school. I thanked and congratulated the students and told them that I was excited that they had the opportunity to use new technology for educational purposes.

Blog Post 6

The Networked Student
By: Wendy Drexler

This video is about a student at the 21st century high school. This video shows how students of the 21st century can use the internet to help them learn. The student uses Google Scholar to find websites to help him get information that he will need for his class. The students also have blogs where they can share their thoughts and have discussions with other classmates. The hope of the teachers at the 21st high school is that students will learn a lot by using the tools on the internet and that they will continue to use them even after they graduate.
Students need a teacher to be there to instruct and encourage as they learn. Even though most of the students work is individual and has to be done on their own, the teacher’s job is still the same: she is there to help the students learn and answer questions when needed.
I feel that I am ready to teach a networked student, and I feel that it would be fun to experiment with teaching a “network student.” However, I do not really like the idea of students not being taught in the classroom because I think that students can learn better when a teacher is present to assist them. My PLN is similar to the student's PLE because it contains all my academic pages as well as the social network sites I most frequently visit.


A Seventh Grader’s Personal Learning Environment

This girl seems to really know what she is talking about when it comes to getting around on the internet. She knows how to use the internet and how to apply it to her school work. I like how she is very organized and has all of the important sites she uses in specific places on her computer screen; she has a good system and she likes using it.

Podcast Project #8

Timetoast Timeline Individual Project #9a

Blog Post 5

Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
By: Scott McLeod
www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org

I really enjoyed reading Dr. McLeod’s blog post. His sarcasm definitely made the post even better. I feel that Dr. McLeod did a great job expressing to parents how important technology and the internet can be to their children. Parents are saying the reason they will not allow their children to use the internet is because there is too much bad stuff out there. True, but with the right protection and instruction their children will be able to learn and explore things that will only help them better their education.
Dr. Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. Dr. McLeod is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. He is the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. He has received many national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National School Boards Association. All of the information that I have included about Dr. Scott McLeod I got from http://scottmcleod.net/bio/.


The iSchool Initiative
By: Travis Allen
www.youtube.com

I thought that Travis Allen’s iSchool idea was really neat. Although it was really interesting, I am not so sure that I like it. While Allen’s idea will save public school systems a large amount of money each year, I am just not so sure about it. The iPhone has many tool and apps on it that can be very useful to the teachers, students, and parents, but it also has some negatives.
By doing away with textbooks and making students read information from a computer cannot be very good for their eyes. I personally think that writing notes down is very beneficial to me, so I think doing away with paper would only hurt students. I feel that the iSchool idea could help in some ways, but I think that completely taking away the traditional methods of teaching is not going to help solve the problems of the educational system.



Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir
www.techliterateteacher.blogspot.com

This video was really awesome. After watching it all I could say was WOW! It is so cool that 185 people, who are in all different places around the world, can be brought together and sound so good. It is so cool to me how a person can use technology and create something so incredible like this performance. This just goes to show that you can do pretty much anything with technology.



Teaching in the 21st Century
By Kevin Roberts
www.youtube.com

This video is one that really makes you think. In this video Kevin Roberts expresses that the curriculum used in teaching today should be focused more on skill than facts and content. When teaching a concept teachers need to show how to validate and problem solve with the information. I like the point that Roberts makes, “students do not need to be entertained, they need to be engaged.” It is important for teachers to challenge their students, to get them interested, and to make them want to learn. Today students not only obtain knowledge from their teachers, but technology has allowed them to learn from searching the internet. It is the job of teachers to show students how to use and apply technology in a way that will be beneficial them. Teaching has changed so much over the years, and I think it is a good thing.

My Sentence Video

Blog Post 4

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
by :Joe Dale
www.joedale.typepad.com

I never realized how useful and helpful that podcasting can be until I watched this video. The thing that stuck out to me the most is how helpful podcasting can be for students who have been absent. Podcasting is a great way for teachers to record their lectures and put online for students. Not only is podcasting a great tool for students who are absent, but it is also will allow students to go back and listen to lectures while reviewing for tests. Podcasting also provides students a fun way to learn. There are many projects that students can do which involve them learning to make their own podcast. I know that I will definitely be using podcast in my classroom.



100 Ways to Use Your IPod to Learn and Study Better
www.bspcn.com

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of an IPod is that you use it while listening to music. While that is true, the IPod is used in many other helpful ways. Students use their IPods not only to listen to music, but also to listen to podcasts, read books, and play games. Apple provides a large selection of apps which can be very useful in helping children learn. I think that the IPod, when used the right way, can be a great way to help students and teachers.



Langwitches
www.langwitches.org

“1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audio Book” is an article about a class that creates a podcast. The students in the class were recorded reading parts of a story and then the teacher took those recordings and put them on the internet for a podcast. Then the teacher made a booklet so the students could follow their own voices as they read. What a great reading exercise! The teacher recognized the fact that some students learn better when they hear something rather than seeing it. Making this podcast was a great and creative way to help the students learn and I will definitely be trying ideas like this in the future.

Project 5

C4T 1

I was assigned to read Mr. Frank Noschese's blog. In the first post that I read, Mr. Noschese talked about students being afraid to step out and take chances. He stated that the reason why students were not open to taking chances is because they are afraid of messing up. I commented on his post and agreed with him. I told him I also think that students are scared of failure. I said that students become discouraged when they hit their first road block and they do not want to keep trying. I stated that I feel that it is important that teachers stress to students that it is okay to mess up. People normally do not solve a problem on the first try, it takes time. Messing up is okay.
In Mr. Noschese's second post, he posted a blog from Daryl Taylor. Mr. Taylor is a high school physics and astronomy teacher in Connecticut. Mr. Taylor travels to different schools all over the world and runs collaborations in classrooms. In my comment, I told Mr. Noschese that I thought that the best thing about Mr. Taylor's response is that it shows how much emphasis he puts on different ways of teaching. Collaborations are very useful in keeping students interested and helping them to have an open mind and Mr. Taylor uses this strategy very well.

Blog Post 3

For my C4C assignment, I left my classmate a comment on her blog. I enjoyed reading her post, and agreed with her views about where technology is headed and how it will affect the classroom. I did give her a few suggestions in the area of sentence transitions and grammar. I chose to comment on her blog rather than send her an email because I think it is okay to mess up. Everyone messes up, and I think it is a good thing to be corrected.



“It’s Not About the Technology” by Kelly Hines

In her post, Kelly Hines talks about technology in the class room today. The world today is busy discussing and deciding what new technology is needed in future classrooms to help change teaching for the better. Kelly Hines states in her post,” I do not believe these things are the first things we need to initiate in our classrooms.” I agree, everyone should recognize the need for an overall change in the approach of teaching and learning.
She gives a list of four things that she thinks teachers must recognize that will help students in the new generation of learning. Hines first states that teachers must be learners. Teachers must be invested in their profession and must be up to date on the trends and tools. As Kelly Hines states, teachers must know what their students are doing and where they are coming from when they enter the classroom. Secondly, learning and teaching is not the same thing. Hines says, “If a student has not learned, no matter how much effort has been put out, no teaching has been done.” Different people learn in different ways and not everyone learns at the same pace. Thirdly, Technology is useless without a good teacher. A lot of money is put out every year in order for schools to be up to date on technology. Teachers must be willing to learn how to use these tools in order for them to be beneficial. If teachers are not open to learning how to use them and use them the right way, then they go to waste. New technology can help better teaching if it is used in the right way. Lastly, be a 21st century teacher without the technology. Teachers do not need technology to help better their teaching. Using exercises such as critical thinking and problem solving are things that will benefit students. By allowing students to think and use their creativity, teachers will help better prepare students for what they will face in the future.




Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

After reading this post, I have to say I agree with Mr. Fisch and his ideas. There are many teachers these days that are technologically illiterate, and I believe that is a hindrance in the classroom. I think a lot of the teachers who are not up to date on technology are the teachers who have been teaching for thirty years or more. I can kind of understand where they are coming from. If I had been teaching for thirty years and I had to change my way of teaching after all those years, I am not so sure that I would be open to that change. On the other hand there are the teachers who are just stubborn and do not like change.
I agree with Karl Fisch, I think that teachers who choose to be technologically illiterate are just hurting themselves in the long run. Principals are most likely going to hire a student who knows how a lot about technology and who knows how to use it over a teacher who is technologically illiterate. I am with Fisch, I think that teachers need to explore right along with their students. Teachers need to be up to date on technology and know what their students are experiencing.



Gary Hayes Social Media Count


Viewing the Social Media Counter made me realize how much social media affects our world. The counter is a useful tool to show prospective teachers what lies ahead in the teaching profession. I believe that social media will continue to thrive and dominate our society and further influence the teaching profession. I believe it is our job as future teachers to be ready for all aspects of the job, including social media and how it affects the classroom.
Mr. Hayes’ Counter shows how social media is growing. I believe that social media will continue to grow and further impact classrooms. I believe that future teachers will need to continue to keep an open mind and research upcoming social media ideas. A key part of teaching is connecting with students and understanding where they are coming from, understanding social media is just another way to do that.



Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today


After watching this video, the thing that stood out to me the most was how busy the video said the students were. According to the video, students were twenty six and a half hours each day. This is an impossible statistic, but I get what point they were trying to make. What I got from the video is that students are very busy, so it is crucial for teachers to make very good use of their time in the classroom.
An easy way to make better use of class time could be the use of technology. Although the video stated that some students sit on Facebook in class or use their computers for non class related things, if teachers knew how to properly use technology, students would participate.

Blog Post 2

Did You Know? 3.0
www.youtube.com by Karl Fisch and Scott Mcleod

I found this video very interesting because it highlights how far technology has progressed and how fast improvements can be made and applied. The video is effective because it is able to show the importance of technology through statistics about different aspects of technology. The video repeatedly shows facts about how quickly our present world is changing and highlights the sudden changes in technology.
I believe that while the video had catchy music, cool graphics, and great statistics, the video’s best quality is the case it makes for technology in education. Though the video may not say that technology makes education better, the facts alone cannot be ignored. With how much technology has advanced, we should be making technology more available in classrooms.


Mr. Winkle Wakes
www.youtube.com by Mathew Needleman

Mr. Winkle is an old man who just awoke from a 100 years sleep. He awakes to find that the world he once lived in has made some major changes. Computers and fax machines are now used in offices. Lasers are used in hospitals during surgery, as well as machines that are keeping people alive. In his last visit of the day, he visits a school where a teacher is lecturing the class and only one computer is used in the back of the room. Mr. Winkle was comfortable in the school atmosphere and was glad to see that one thing had not changed.
This video made it clear that our schools are very behind where they should be when it comes to technology. I think that in schools is where modern technology is needed the most. I feel as if students are being cheated by not having access to the technology they need to help them understand things that their teacher cannot teach them.


The Importance of Creativity
www.ted.com by Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Randy Robinson does a great job talking about how schools today do not realize the importance of creativity. Schools today are so caught up in teaching the core subjects such as math, science, and English that they have no time for any kind of art. In his talk, Sir Randy argues that the arts are just as important as any other core subject.
By ignoring the arts in school, students are not allowed to express themselves. I think this plays a big role in a child’s lack of imagination. By allowing the children the freedom of doing art, music, and dance, it allows them to express themselves and also to develop a creative imagination.


Cecelia Gault(Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
blogs.scholastic.com

As a teacher, I would make sure to recognize that every student learns and expresses themselves creatively differently. I think that the reason why Cecelia seems so educated is because she was able to take part in an encouraging learning environment. I agree with Cecelia’s concerns about the U.S. and her view that the country needs to pick up the pace in terms of education. I think that Cecelia’s conversation with Sir Ken Robinson encouraged her because she was able to see that there are people out there who are pushing for the encouragement of creativity in the classroom. What I can do as a teacher to make sure the students like Cecelia have a good education is to be encouraging, open-minded, and to remember that every student is different.



Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
edutopia.org

Teacher Vicki Davis shows how effective technology in the classroom can be. She not only teaches things on the computer, but through her computer work she teaches literacy and other life skills. Ms. Davis uses her classroom to let her students communicate with other youth across the world through a social network, she teaches the students new computer programs, and also lets her students teach her. Vicki Davis, through her knowledge of technology and how it can help a student learn, has transformed the way her students think about school and problem solving.

I think that Vicki Davis has done a great job of letting the students work on their own and figure out things for themselves by using technology. She has figured out that her students all learn differently and that they can learn even better if they are given the opportunity to learn in different ways. She understands that no student is the same, and she has been awarded for being a creative, original, and understanding teacher.

Project 2

src=http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/4005114/Project_2

Blog Assignment 1

                Hi, my name is Brianne Woods. I am twenty one years old and I am from Mobile, Alabama. I graduated from Faith academy and I am currently a student at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in Elementary Education and I absolutely love it because I think that kids are the coolest people on the planet. I can’t wait until the day when I finally get to stand in my classroom and teach kids something new. Nothing is more rewarding to me than having the opportunity to teach a child how to read or write. So, needless to say, I am super excited about becoming an elementary teacher.

                In my spare time I love to shop and hang out with my boyfriend. I love to travel, and I hope to one day be able to go to France. I have an unhealthy addiction to cotton candy and cotton candy ice cream and I love to watch Alabama Football.

                God has blessed me with the best family that anyone could ever ask for; I have the most awesome parents ever. I have an older brother and a sister who is the same age as me. If it were not for my family, I do not know what I would do, life would be so boring. I have been dating my best friend for one year now. Levi is such an amazing guy and I could not have asked for a more perfect boyfriend. We plan to get married after we both finish college.

                During the summer I work as a counselor with a camp called Wild Week, a Christian youth camp based out of Texas.  I have a huge passion for helping girls who are going through hard time and God has allowed me to serve and minister to girls who need help through Wild Week. It is really awesome.

The most important thing to me in life is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  I am just an average girl who messes up every day, but I have been saved by God’s grace.  I’m not perfect, and I never will be, but every day I try to be more and more like the perfect one.  If it were not for the Lord, there is no telling where I would be today.

The video on time management was very interesting. The thing that stood out the most to me that Randy Pausch suggested was: when you have a list of things to do, always do the most difficult thing first. He used the example of having to eat three frogs and how you should always eat the largest one first. I think that information can be very helpful to me this semester because I often find it can be hard to motivate myself, especially when some of my tasks seem particularly complicated.