Final Report on PLN

After some work on my PLN I now use Symbaloo, Sticky Notes, and Internet Explorer to hold all my websites, bookmarks, and important reminders.

C4T #4

Mrs. Morris's Blog
Mrs. Kathleen Morris is primary 4th grade teacher at Leopold School in Australia. On her blog she shares resources, blogs, practical ideas, thoughts, global collaboration, and technology integration. I've had the opportunity to comment on two of her blogs.
Internet Safety Posters
This post she gave 3 posters for anyone to download and print out. The first one was 10 internet tips for students, the second was 10 internet tips for teachers, and the last one was 10 internet tips for parents. I told her one of my favorites was the "YAPPY" rule which means never give out Your full name, Address, Phone number, Passwords, Your plans. She said she had originally got that from a Garfield cartoon; I thought it was such a cute way to remember an important tip! Also, another tip that stuck out to me was do not allow your student or child to spend all of their free time inside on the computer, get them to play outside. Many parents forget that their children should play outside or do some sort of physical activity and also many parents don't spend one-on-one time with them either they just let them do whatever they want to get them out of their hair. That's unacceptable!
Developing Blogging Skills
In this post Mrs. Morris tells her readers she wants to start a blogging scope and sequence but she doesn't want her bloggers to be limited to what they can do and blog. She loves the idea of her students blogging because she knows it's a good way for them to express themselves and learn how to write. Since she's had teachers ask her what they should teach next she made a rubric that covers all 3 levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each level has a higher more advanced skill the student can achieve. It also covers everything from just participation to comments and digital citizenship. I commented on it telling her I saved the rubric to hopefully use one day in my classroom. Also, that I think she is my favorite teacher I've been assigned to all semester. Mrs. Morris offers such good advice and everything she posts is actually something realistic that another teacher can use. She won a lot of awards last year and I can immediately understand why.

C4Ks for November

Jake K.
Jake K. is a 5th grader in Mr. Hagedorn's class in Chicago. He wrote about Thomas Jefferson and gave some interesting facts such as he did not like speaking in public so he would write private letters. I commented back telling him I liked that he posted a picture of him on a coin and that we had just discussed him in my history class.

Jake R.
Jake R. is a 5th grader in Mr. Billy Spicer's class in Chicago. Jake wrote about the presidental election; he was hoping Romney would win. He didn't think Obama was a good president and his class was going to do a mock election. I commented back asking him how his mock election went and that I had wanted Romney to win as well.

Project #15

Progress Report on Project #16

For Project 16, my group decided to make a 1-2 minute commercial for The University of South Alabama's 50th year anniversary. The commercial will be entered into a contest to win 3 mini iPads for my members. The commercial must incorporate the theme "Made at the USA". My group members have met several times and we have taken pictures and recorded scenes. We're all very anxious to finish it because we feel our idea will be the winner!

Blog #12

For this blog assignment it was left up to the students' discretion to create an assignment that coincides with our specialty and then do it. My specialty is to teach special education and special need students. The assignment I designed is to have students research online and find techniques to help special needs students better learn. The students can use one or more than one website but they must list it and also list any other information you may have learned.

Teaching Special Education & Learning Disabilites
This website says it’s a good idea to have the primary objective be finding the students’ weaknesses and strengths for the first two weeks of school and after that it will still be an ongoing process throughout the year. I thoroughly agree with this idea! If you’re able to identify your students’ problems at an early stage then you, as a teacher, can better equip yourself, your classroom, and your lessons to help them gain as much knowledge as possible. It would already be known these students have disabilities because we are discussing special education classrooms and students so finding out what works best for an individual student would be called their Individualized education plan (IEP).Learning your students’ challenges can help you create techniques to teach them.

 If a student is getting tired or overwhelmed easily then a way of helping them succeed is to add small breaks into the class and rewards for the child trying.
 If you have a student with auditory problems then include a systematic study of phonics also when lecturing also give them a printed lecture for them to read and be able to keep up.
 For a student with visual problems give them their school work with large print with fewer problems on the page and if they have trouble keeping their place while reading allow them use a reading aid such as a durable ruler or an object that was durable and colorful so they will keep up with it.
 Allows give support to reinforce the student’s efforts to help motivate them to gain more skills.
 Whether they are special needs students or regular students there is always a visual learner and an auditory learner so using graphs, pictures, and other visuals that go along with that you are saying can benefit both.
 Some students have a hard time staying focused so keeping the child close to you and the board and keeping them interactive by asking questions.

Technology is now becoming more common in special education classrooms because it allows students to complete their work easier and also helps them communicate more effectively.
 Students with poor handwriting skills could use a computer to type their work.
 Students who have visual problems can use a computer to see the words larger and closer.
 Students who have trouble communicating verbally can use software that can be downloaded to a computer that speaks for you once you type in what you want to say.
 If a child would rather listen to a recording on a computer so they can go back and replay it over and over to thoroughly comprehend it technology would play a key part.

Special needs students need the extra attention, care, and time to be able to effectively learn. As a special education teacher it is best to keep parents involved and supportive because the school system may not be as enthusiastic or as up-to-date. This website offers several links on the left side that may be of use and gives extra information on more disorders, parents rights, parents’ guide, etc.

C4T #3

Education Rethink
"Redesigning Space"
Mr. Spencer asked his ELL students to design or redesign space to see how they think. He recently asked them to redesign the classroom space and some of them had way off the wall ideas that were just impossible and others came up with more realistic ideas. Space matters when it comes to learning. The more comfortable you feel you seem to learn better and learn more. When he drove home that afternoon he saw an abandoned warehouse and thought if they could redesign that space for the community. I commented back telling him hopefully he could redesign his classroom little by little to make it more homey-like. When I become a teacher I want to have my students feel at home and feel free to express themselves in a positive way.

"Should schools be more boring?"
This post was one of my favorites! He discussed as he was sitting in an airport watching people on their cell phones, he had written half of a fantasy novel, and CNN was blabbering about some propaganda he began to think about school and when he was sitting in math class he would doodle. He says that boredom was often the beginning of creativity for him and wanted others opinions. I commented back telling him I agreed with him and that I wished students would make more of their down time while in class. As a teacher, I hope that my lectures aren't as boring but students need to be able to express themselves.

C4Ks for October

Rhett's Blog
Rhett is a 7th grader in Mrs. Peterson's class. In the post that I commented on he wrote about a story he came up with. In the story he witnesses a robbery and then men that robbed the store saw him and caught him. They put him in a bag and told him he was going to be held for ransom! I commented on it, telling him he did a great job with such a detailed story and that he has a very active imagination! He left me curious to know what was going to happen next.

Lauren's Blog
Lauren wrote on the USHRS Blog with her topic on "Interviews vs. Conversations". Her group in her class was assigned to interview people throughout her community. She says the task seemed very daunting and nerve racking. The group members came up with 3 questions to ask. As she began to prepare to interview her person she thought it would be easier to do it in a more conversational like way. She says her feelings became less nervous and more comfortable with the casual interview. I commented back telling her the more experience she gets speaking in front of others and to strangers her public speaking skills will get better.

Vitulli & Santoli's Blog
These two teachers, Vitulli & Santoli, set out to Ireland to partake in a conference. While in Ireland they visited many popular places and one of them being St. Patrick College. In this blog they posted a picture of a statue that is located on the college's campus. The statue is in memory of Fr Eamonn Cowan, he was a Chaplin of the college for many years before passing away. I commented to the teachers, asking if they knew what it was made of. I also tried to find additional informatio on the statue since they knew of very little and had asked if anyone could find something else. I didn't have any luck in my search though.

Blog #11

Skype Interview with Mrs. Cassidy
Mrs. Cassidy discusses how she became introduced to technology in her classroom. She started 10 years ago with the blogging and the video she began 2 years ago. Every year she tries to incorporate something new. Mrs. Cassidy says she always pushes the envelope and has a great amount of support to encourage her along. Mrs. Cassidy admits that she's been at her school with several new principles; none of them have ever discouraged her but some have been more interested than others. The parents seem to like seeing their child's work online so they can view it at home. The students' blog reflects their writing. The students love the technology and it's part of their world.

As for students who are learning to become teachers she comments that they should learn the technology now while they are still in school because as they get closer to teaching thier free time becomes less and less. Life will go on without blogs but students get excited when they see others reading their blog across the world. When students get comments back from people about what they're writing on, they become more confident.

The children are learning video, audio, and media with this technology. She says being technology literate means knowing what's going on in the current time not just using spreadsheets and word processor. Students should develop their own social network by any means possible.

She says to use what you're interested in such as video, photography, etc. and you can connect to a network that involves that. Dr. Strange brings up PLNs and he started using Twitter not long ago and now he has connected to several different influential people. Over time the people you connect with will help you use something new to teach you how the world is evolving.

Mrs. Cassidy has her students blog once a week in the computer lab but last year she had her students use blogging for reading lessons and other students can blog from home and when they do that they seem to blog more often. It just depends on the year and the amount of students she has in her class. She brings up blogging can even be useful for a physical education class because if the gym is full or they can't use it the teacher can upload their videos to the blog.

When I have my own classroom I do see myself using blogger as a resource for reading and writing. Also, I want my students' parents to stay involved and watch their child's blog for new posts. These posts will reflect their writing and we can see how they are changing and learning new ways to write. For reading I want them to read books or articles and then summarize or write their opinions about it. Having my students summarize or post their ideas will show parents and myself if they are understanding the material and what they are thinking about the books they are reading. I hope my students' parents will motivate and support their children and myself as far as using the internet to teach. I'm sure I will have those stubborn, over-protective parents that are very fearful for their child's safety and so I must reassure them we have their best interest at mind. Their child's personal information will not be shown and we will use only first names and could give them fake play names to go by as well.

Special Blog Post

A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind
Thurn, the Vice President for Google and educator for Stanford University has begun to revolutionize education in the classroom. Many critics say our school system is stuck in the past and needs to be remodeled. This past January he taught a free online artificial-intelligence class and it drew hundreds of thousands of students. That class was so amazing he didn't want to teach an ordinary traditional classroom. Thurn has come up with Udacity, it's an education company. Udacity is strictly on-line classes and they're free!! These online classes are taught by star professors around the world. Thurn has a staff of producers, editors, designers, camera men, etc. to help him turn his videos into something intriguing, entertaining, and exciting so students will want to learn.

Unlike an ordinary traditional college, Udacity can have hundreds of thousands of students sign up and all the classes are online and it's FREE!!! These classes will teach students a particular skill or concept, but if the student wants a certification or wants to take an exam they must pay a small fee.
At the end of the article he mentions he's not trying to do away with tradition schools he just wants to give a message of hope. He compares his education company to movies. As films grew they were able to reach the masses and in doing this they were able to lower the price for the audience.
I believe Thurn has a good idea but I question how is he going to afford to make these videos for the online classes with no tuition? Yes, there is a small fee for exams and certification but I'm sure not everyone will pay to get those services. Also, I wonder with all these small charter schools and online schools popping up over night they have no reputation so will careers and other colleges such as graduate schools recognize them as something legitimate? For students who really have no means monetarily to go to college or further their education these schools can benefit them more than not learning anything at all. Most students I know want to go to graduate school or get a masters and I don't see someone going to Udacity and furthering that "degree" at a traditional college to a master or doctorate degree. Also, I agree with the critics that our school system should be remodeled. I think traditional colleges should "flip" some of their classes to make them more interesting and have students wanting to wake up and go to class because it puts them in a better mood. My EDM 310 class has been by far the most hands-on class I've had in college and I absolutely love going to that class even if it is a night time class. I find myself engaged and I remember things that are said or done better than any other class. This is how more college classes should be whether they're online or in a classroom.

Blog #10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga.

Mr. Spencer posted this picture in his blog to mock the "I'm a PC and I'm a Mac" commericials. In the cartoon the heavy set guy is the uncool cheap Papermate while the skinny hippy kid is the Ticonderoga, an expensive product. Ticonderoga makes a more expensive pencil while Papermate's aren't nearly as costly. I believe if you read in between the lines Spencer is comparing the PC and Mac as well. PCs tend to be more like the Papermate pencil, they're cheaper and yes they do tend to catch viruses and break easier and more often than a Mac. The Mac easily sides with the Ticonderoga because they are very expensive, Macs seem to the new trend not only for hipsters but for older people also and from what I've gathered the viruses that attack PCs don't hender the Macs because they are made differently. Now I don't think Mr. Spencer is picking a certain computer over another and I don't think he's saying incorporate either in a classroom; he's only making a mockery. From the template and lay out of his blog I see pencils everywhere so I'm only guessing he's into the traditional pencil and paper education.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? In this particular post Mr. Spencer gives the readers a dialogue between his boss and himself. They discuss what his boss thinks was a game Mr. Spencer's class was doing and Mr. Spencer tries to educate him on what was really going on. His boss doesn't approve of any educating that looks, smells, and sounds like a game. He wants all his teachers including Mr. Spencer to teach for the test. Test scores are important to some degree but they are not why educators teach. I hope the conversation Mr. Spencer posted isn't real because in this day and age I would hope principals and advisors aren't still set on teaching for the test and not allowing educators to teach in their style. Dr. Strange is my EDM 310 teacher and one of his many mottos is to get rid of the "burp back" education. We as teachers teach to educate our students for the life they have before them not to have them memorize definitions, equations, and biographies for a test. The government is set on numbers and test scores to see if teachers are doing their job and to have no child left behind but it's practically impossible to get disabled children to learn at the same speed and level as a child without disabilities. It's unfair to children of both backgrounds to be asked to learn in such an environment. Regardless, if a teacher has a style of teaching that benefits the children and the children like it and learn something while doing it then let the teacher teach! Like the saying "tomato, tomatoe".

Are Pencils Making Us Narcissistic?
After reading this post all I can think is, "Really?" I cannot believe that conversation existed. I don't think pencils make students narcissistic. That idea seems a bit ridiculous. Mr. Spencer shares a conversation between a principal and a teacher named Mr. Brown; the principal says he had just read an article about pencils making society narcissistic. As students get older they naturally become more self-centered, I feel like it's apart of nature. Later in the conversation Mr. Brown says perhaps it's our words that change our mindsets like using the word audience instead of community. I feel there's nothing wrong with students, children, or people in general writing and sharing their ideas and opinions. Writing doesn't make one become self-centered or narcissistic. I quote from Mr. Brown "I'm pretty sure self-centeredness is a social and psychological rather than a technological issue. Blame humanity on that one." This is exactly what I think. I just can't believe this conversation was even had.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
This blog by Mr. McLeod was hilarious (once I got to the bottom)! He tells teachers, administration, parents, and board members not to teach their children to read the web, blog, communicate using social media, make videos, use hyperlinks, PLNs, etc. He's sarcastically saying this kind of stuff is non-sense, it promotes children watching porn and meeting strangers. That all this technology is going to cause sexting, cheating, and other bad things. McLeod ends it with this
"don't do any of it, please
really
'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids
can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two
can you?"
This last sentence cracks me up, I like McLeod's sarcastic sense of humor. Using these types of technology methods does not say all those bad things will happen. Of course, it can happen but it's not a guarantee that it will. Parents see shows like Dateline NBC "How to Catch a Predator" and it scares them into not letting their children use the internet or allow them to use social networks because they're afraid that it's going to happen to them. As long as the teacher, guardian,or parent monitors their childrens' use it should be fine. If a parent is still on the fence about the use of such then do some research on it or install a tracker on your child's computer to make sure they're staying on track. Most students are already using social media, tablets, computers, blogs, and making videos for YouTube at home so allowing the students to use these type of things in class will further their knowledge and skills.

Project #11

Project #14 Smartboard Presentation

Project #12

Book Trailer for The Little Red Riding Hood by Mercer Mayer

Blog #9

At The Teacher's Desk: What I learned this year 2010-2011

Here Mr. McClung is leaving his third year as a teacher and going into his fourth. McClung keeps a blog going of what he has learned every year as a teacher and posts it for all to see. In his third year he wore many hats as a head coach, a coach for cross country, and a computer applications teacher.

In his second paragraph he mentions to remember who you really work for. Not talking about your principal or administration but your students. Your job is to keep them happy and excited not to find acceptment from others. As he was going to begin his fourth year he was becoming afraid of being too comfortable in his work. In order to steer clear of this he picked up new tasks to keep him busy and make him learn new things. As an educator we must remember while teaching new tasks whether difficult or hard we must not get so frustrated with the student that we begin to take over their opportunity at learning. What I mean with this is not to not to touch the keyboard as McClung says. If we do the task for the student they'll never learn how to do it on their own.

Mr. McClung's World 2012-2012

As McClung left his fourth year he brought up a similar topic from last year. Pleasing others that aren't your students. Last year he said he didn't mind being the outsider that he would rather hang out with his students than the other teachers even at lunch time. It seems like McClung forgot about how important it is that it's not important what the other adults think of you. He eventually got over this worry but it took his most of the school year. Secondly, his other topic was one that he covered in his last blog as well. He previously said not to get too comfortable but this past year he found himself using old lesson plans and his kids weren't getting excited anymore. He was given the opportunity to teach a new grade and subject next year so he's really excited about the new change he must take on. He's taking this opportunity to snap out of his funk and challenge himself to be a better teacher.

Mr. McClung comes across as a genuine teacher. I know he means well and he teaches with best intentions. I feel as though he forgets what he says at the end of the year and then the next year he struggles with his forgetfulness.Many have commented on the his 2010-2011 blog I posted. They gave some of their ideas like the less is more approach and being so tech-savvy in a school that's not can make them become the oustider and not in a good way. Also, someone mentioned that all year long we train students for a test at the end of the year that doesn't benefit the students but benefit adults that use the test scores. That's not fair. Our job as professionalists should be to teach students to help them later in life and morally our standards set by the government are just off. It's pretty ridiculous. McClung's ideas were right, we should pay the most attention to our students and not the other teachers; especially if they're the type that slacks or are debbie downers. I don't think routines keep students learning I think it makes everyone comfortable. If your lesson plan calls for a routine for a couple of weeks then sure that's fine but after that switch things up. It'll keep things new, fun, and students will have to stay up-to-date on what's going on and what's due in class.

PLN Project #10

This is my first progress update on creating my PLN. I'm using Symbaloo as my tool to hold all my bookmarks on one page. I've set Symbaloo as my homepage so that way I conveniently have everything I need when I first open my computer. Also, Symbaloo has a Google search box in the center of my page so if I happen to need Google it's right there. I have all my blocks color coordinated as well. The red are the ones I have to look at every day. The pink on the bottom are for recreation when I'm bored. The green blocks are a necessity and the white ones are there for that random day when I need them. Like if mom says she needs me to look up plane tickets I have Expedia and if I'm looking for something for sale I have Craigslist. On the bottom I've got the orange (I haven't really figured out how I want to organize those or what sites I'd like to add there) and lastly is the blue, Twitter and horoscopes are for entertainment and when I want to stay in the know.

So far, this idea seems to be working better than clicking on my favorites bar multiple times.

Blog #8

This is How We Teach Parts 1 & 2

In these two videos Dr. Miller talks about the importance of writing and how writing in this present time is very influential. He begins talking about incremental change is how we use our laptops and the desktop is our 'work area' we can search the web and learn about anything without stepping foot in a library. He wrote a document about the Bush Doctrine all on his computer without a physical book. He published his document in print form and in online form. When you throw away the print form we will still have the online form indefinately.

Also, the perks of doing a document online you can add video and audio to it. One could take threads of different forms of documents and weave them into one document online. Even the newspaper companies are moving from a paper printed document to primarily being an online source. These were the incremental changes Dr. Miller spoke of.

As we begin to work online we can see how the websites we use change frequently and daily. This has become our culture and we now have begun to share our ideas freely. There are minimal restrictions to this new form, he says the only restrictions we have are the ones we place upon ourselves. A person must write a 'compelling composition' one that is interesting and intriguing. It will grasp attention and be shared internationally, it will start arguments and conversations. That is how one can make a difference.

There are more ways than using letters and pictures to express yourself or your document. The web offers new animation and autobots that can retrieve all kinds of information and you don't even have to use Google!

To sum it all up, I believe Dr. Miller is saying instead of using the old pen and paper function to share an idea or thought use multi-media and a computer! When you publish things on the web they get to people faster and when you publish your writings beautifully and different they are eye-catching! It makes people want to read it or at least look at. Yes, by the time I'm an educator I will be able to do this and I specifically want to work with special needs students so I'm not sure if they'll be able to do everything but they will for sure work with technology to learn and express themselves.

Carly's Blog #12

After reading Carly's blog, I absolutely love the format and lay out. It's pretty, colorful, has a not so typical font. She's funny and genuine about herself and her thoughts. I think she came up with a great idea and a lot of students expressed their same feelings in her comments. Carly has come very close to Dr. Miller's theory. The ten options she gave for students to use for their YouTube playlist were thorough and if I had been assigned that I know it would involve lots of time and thinking. I agree with her, that in a perfect classroom students have to think. She listed the videos she added to her playlist and then described why she chose those. I honestly think she did a wonderful job. I can tell she put in a lot of work into this blog and into her playlist.

EDM for Dummies & The Chipper Series

In the "EDM for Dummies" YouTube video, two students act out their frustration for EDM 310 class and they made a book called EDM for Dummies to help anyone taking EDM 310. I thought the idea was super cute! I'm sure many students that take EDM 310 can relate to the stress these students feel, especially in the beginning of the semester.
"The Chipper Series" is tummy aching funny!!! I laughed so hard at every episode! The students that made this video came up with several great ideas. If students don't go to school and get an education with a legitimate school, it looks like their life could go like Chipper's.
If I could participate or make a video I think it'd be fun to make a video on why you should be a 'good' teacher. I'd shoot what a 'bad' teacher is such as one that doesn't care what their students do, the kind of teacher that is looked down upon and doesn't uphold to moral standards. This would show students and others that teaching is not only a simple, mindless job. People chose to become teachers because they have a passion for it not because of its sterotype, "Those that can't do, teach."

Learn to Change, Change to Learn, is a phenomenal video, period. This is the first video I've watched that has an older generation of adults admiting the faults that the government and schools have. They are saying, having technology in schools would ultimately change schools for the better. They have seen how much people, especially the younger generation use technology for daily tasks. One of the commentors in the video says children are big communicators, they use text messaging, emailing, and instant messaging but all of those things are banned from their schools. As I was watching, I just began to nod my head; I couldn't agree with them more. I wish I could've joined in on their conversation. The government wants to make school such a rigid place. Full of rules, regulations, children have to be quiet all day; I wish they could see how children would act differently in a more warm, interactive environment. Children don't prosper in a cold, white-walled room with a monotoned instructor. Children are full of life, energy and joy. They want to be comforted, loved, enthralled, amused. Having technology introduced in the classroom would help those that are shy have a voice, help the ones that don't pick up on things as fast, show students a different approach to learning, for children that are hands-on learner they could use it, there are just several ways it would increase the productivity. I just wish those that are writing and approving the laws and bills would take a step into a 21st century classroom and get an eye full.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0
Discovery Education

On PhotoPeach an educator can use this site to post assignments or lessons such as a slideshow and make their students accounts. The teacher can post pictures, audio, and projects for parents to see as well. The students are not able to modify or delete their account. The cost to use this program in the class can be as low as $9/month for up to 50 students!! That's incredibly cheap.

This video Teaching in the 21st Century was made from a Prezi Presentation. The Prezi website offers similar qualities that the PhotoPeach does. Prezi's prices give you a little more bang for your buck at $4.92/month or $13.25/month. Prezi gives you so many choices to make your presentation more entertaining than an average powerpoint. If you're an educator think of all the presentations you'll have to make for your students and all the different lessons you'll teach, that small price won't even put a dent in your wallet.

Animoto is a video making tool. Its ability to analyze music, photos, and content automatically makes this tool unlike any other. This feature gives you the time to work on other things. You can choose your music, pictures, and share it even in high definition. Animoto even offers a mobile app for you to share videos from your iPhone or Android.

Here is my poll I created on Polleverywhere.com. It took seriously, less than 30 seconds to create it. I love it!!

Blog #7

In this quick video called, The Networked Student, the narrator gives an example of a student in the 21st century classroom and tells how his teacher "teaches". The teacher doesn't lecture often and the student learns from a network of other students, classmates, teachers, and resources. The narrator asks an important question, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" and the answer is she teaches him how to build his network and take advantage of opportunites. She helps when he gets stuck and shows him how to communicate, asks respectively for help, how to turn a websearch into a scavenger hunt, and gets excited, and organizes his mounds of information. The teacher hopes when he leaves he'll maintain his network and use it to navigate in his future. I really enjoyed the short video, it wasn't animated or anything fancy but it was very interesting! The narrator was clear, precise, and thorough. I believe everything he said was of importance and I agree with him. As the centuries progress so will our students and technology. The only thing constant is change so therefore, we as educators need to continue to change our styles so that they stay up-to-date.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

This video was done by a 7th grader on her personal learning environment. It's all on a computer and very well organized. I see she made her short cuts to her frequently used sites on a website called "Symbaloo", I actually want to test it out and see what mine would look like. This student did an excellent job showing how she maneuvers through her PLE and what each site does and why she uses it. She sounded very mature for a 7th grader! I'm very pleased to see our young students learning how to network and use different websites so well! I must admit her PLE is a lot more organized than mine, I feel ashamed to see such a young student so much more organized than I. She made it look so easy so now I'm going to clean mine up and get mine going like hers. I appreciate her uploading that video to YouTube for everyone to learn from! Thank you!

C4K Summary

Issa's Blog

During the month of September I commented on Issa's blog and Sarah's blog. Issa is a 5 year student at PT School in England. The post I commented on was her September 18, 2012 entry. She wrote about the last day playing basketball at school and she thought to herself, had she learned everything she could about basketball? Issa said they had gotten into groups and their first race they had she came in second place but the last game they played her group came in last. Her basketball teacher's name is Tai and she says they all screamed "Thank You!!!" as they ran inside.

Sarah's blog

For Sarah, I commented on her September 27, 2012 blog. Sarah is also a 5 year student at PT School in England. Sarah had posted about her family going to the ocean and how she almost got eaten by a shark! Her mother and her were standing in the water when they noticed a fin circling them! Thankfully her dad threw a dead bloody fish in the ocean for the shark to take and go away, which he did. Sarah said her dad saved their lives that day and even though it was really weird and scary she still had a cool day.

Both of the girls did a great job giving excellent details about their stories and it brought such a vivid image to the reader's mind.

Project #8 Podcast

Project #9a

Blog #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch, born in 1960 was told a month ago he has 3-6 months to live due to having 10 tumors in his liver. Dr. Pausch is a public speaker and in this video he gave a speech at Carnegie Mellon University about reaching childhood dreams. He began his speech talking about his life dreams he had and how he achieved them. Dr. Pausch said, "When you're screwing up and no body is saying anything to you anymore that means they gave up." I absolutely love that quote! That's exactly right, if someone is getting on to you to try and get you to do it right that means they still have faith in you.

His dreams ranged from small to large such as being in the NFL. He never did get to actually be in the NFL but he did practice, try, and put a lot of hard work into it. Dr. Pausch brings up 'brick walls' he says the brick walls aren't there to stop you from acheiving your goal but to show you how bad you really want it. Dr. Pausch has experienced incredible things throughout life such as make a virtual reality at a time in life when that was really expensive and technology hadn't advanced that far yet.

Once he had completed his childhood dreams he wanted to help others complete his dreams. Being a professor, he was able to begin helping his students enable their dreams. This speech you could read between the lines and understand what Dr. Pausch was trying to say with his stories.

We as educators, can help encourage our students to keep the drive for what they dream of doing. Teachers have a bond with their students that differs from any other bond. We encourage, shelter, advise, discipline, care, and better our students. It's like we're the mother duck and they are our ducklings. The brick walls Dr. Pausch mentions will arise in our students' lives and when they do we need to be there to tell them his famous quote. That brick wall isn't there to prevent you from reaching your goal it's to show you how bad you want it so you can try harder. Life is about experience and excitement, when I have my own classroom my students will definately know what those two words are!

Blog #5

The iSchool Initiative and Travis Allen's Zeitgeist Young Minds entry
At 17 years old, Travis Allen produced his idea of the iSchool for the world to see. This young man is dedicated to helping the world to see his side of the argument on America's education problem. Travis states how expensive it is per student for school supplies and how high the expenses are per each school. Also, he says his school's budget is being cut, teachers are being let go, and their classroom sizes are getting larger.
His proposed idea is to have public schools use the iSchool on iPod Touches. The iSchool would allow students' and schools' costs to drop dramatically. The iPod Touch already comes with classroom ready apps but other apps could be installed for use as school use as well. Basically, using the iTouch in place of all other resources such as books, paper, computers, and calculators. It's a universal way for teachers, students and parents to stay in touch and up to date on the current schedule. Travis Allen is pursuing the dream of revolutionizing education in America.
Travis has an amazing dream! I believe he is capable of doing whatever he sets his mind to. I personally think his idea is fantastic but I do have some questions regarding the iTouch such as 'What happens if a student loses or breaks it? Will they lose all their information they've stored on it?' The iTouch can only connect to the internet if there is wireless internet available. Therefore, this could potentially be a problem for a student to do homework if they do not have wireless internet at home or it goes down. Nevertheless, I agree with him on saving everyone money. Using technology on a daily basis helps the students grow with ever changing technology. Many local schools in my area are already using iPads and Macs in place of paper and books. If and when the student graduates high school they are allowed to keep the Mac/iPad, this helps keep the young adolescents working towards graduation.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
This video was absolutely astounding! The first 2 and a half minutes I kept thinking to myself 'is this real?!' It's unbelievable how these 185 people can come together to produce such a beautiful piece all while not being together to make it. It made me raise questions for the singers; such as 'Do they miss the experience of being able to come together in one room and practice?'

Teaching 21st Century Video
Kevin Roberts made the video to bring new topics to teachers' minds. His video was quite long but it got his point across. He brings to the table topics such as with new technology students are able to find any information they need on the internet whenever they want. So, why are there still teachers? Are teachers actually teaching students something they'll retain and use for a lifetime? Even with all the new resources people have to find information teachers will always be needed. I agree with him about teachers needing to change up their styles of teaching to incorporate life lessons. We as teachers should show our students new ways of searching for information online such as knowing how to use [brackets] in google to narrow searches.
An example Roberts gave was if your connecting flight is cancelled what should you do? and how will these things fit into Blooms Taxonomy? Simple answer, we teach our students more life scenarios then they can evaluate, apply, and execute what to do. I feel it's all about critical thinking, if we can teach them to critically think well they can use that skill for the rest of their life with any problem. Teachers don't need to fret about new technology, they just need to learn it, use it, and find ways to incorporate it into the classroom. Like the old saying goes, "If you can't beat it, join it."

Why I Flipped My Classroom
Katie Gimbar made a quick video explaining her reasons for flipping her classroom. Her classroom time was once spent mainly reteaching students the foundation needed for her class or reviewing material. Now, since the flip she spends the majority of her time actually teaching her lessons. Ms. Gimbar is a math teacher and I certainly can see the need for her to do this. Math is a difficult subject for many students therefore they need more time and there's students that just pick up on math quicker than average so they're bored. With Ms. Gimbar posting the lessons to be taught ahead of time her students that are having difficulty with math can have more time and can also go back and re-watch the videos. Those that were advanced can advance to another lesson. I remember being a high school student and this specific scenario was a daily thing for my class and my teacher. Now that I'm in college I can say my last 2 math classes were the same as well, with the exception of one teacher posting websites and some videos to help students. That one teacher of mine that posted those few videos did have more time on some days to spend teaching rather than reviewing.

Dr. Lodge McCammon FIZZ Video and Flipping the Classroom-4th Grade STEM
Dr. McCammon came up with the "Flipping the Classroom" videos that teachers produce for their students to watch at home before their classes. Flipping is a new approach for the 21st century learners. It allows the students to watch the class lessons before class, raise questions they may have to bring to class, and they can re-watch the videos again whenever they need a re-fresher. This allows the teacher more time to engage with the students in the class room and allows each student to work at their own pace.
Mrs. Munafo made the 4th grade STEM video. She explained to parents and others the need for the flipping and what it entails. Her explanations were the same as Dr. McCammon and Ms. Gimbar's. Mrs. Munafo stated she's currently using this for her math class and hopes to begin using it for other subjects as well. Like I've said earlier, math is a very difficult subject for many and I feel if a teacher was going to use this style it would definately benefit the math lessons. I most certainly would not be opposed to using it for any subject!

Project #6

Blog #4

Langwitches

Podcasting With First Grade
The teacher tells how she had her students do a podcast as if they were interviewing the characters of a book they were reading. The students seemed to have really enjoyed doing it and it improved their reading, public speaking, and confidence. Since the podcast is over the internet people from all over can hear these children and respond back to them. This testimony shows how podcasting with young children can further their experience with technology, allow children to come out of their shell and improve their reading skills.

Flat Stanley Podcast
These first graders read the book "Flat Stanley" and were inspired by the other first grade class' podcast. The students decided to make a podcast about each of them being a flat stanley and each one of them were from different locations throughout the world. They rented books from the library on their selected locations to learn about what the place was like. From there they told on the podcast what their location looked like, the noises it had and what kind of smells it had.

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting
These second graders made a podcast on another story they read. These second graders were the ones that had previously made a couple of podcasts in first grade, so they had plenty of experience with it. This time the purpose of the podcast was to help them use their comprehension, listening skills, speaking skills, critical and logical thinking skills, plus many more. Not only did these students use and empower those skills they also better their knowledge with the smartboard and other technology.
When I first began this class, I really had no knowledge on podcasts at all. It does surprise me a little bit to see this many teachers using all these different technology techniques to teach. I think it's wonderful and the children really seem to enjoy themselves. I wish when I was younger I could've gotten that headstart! I personally am all about creativeness and the arts and using these techniques really help bring out a student's creative side.

Project #5 Presentation

C4T #1

My assigned teacher's name is Heidi Siwak, she lives in Ontario and teaches 7th graders. Before a comment can be publicly seen on her blog she must approve it first.

On her September 4, 2012 post it was about setting a collaborative foundationin a classroom. She shared an experience she had with her students, she put her students in random groups and gave them a 'meaty' topic to discuss amongst themselves first and then with the whole class. Asking her students to do this she was able to help them better learn critical thinking skills, communication skills, and collaborative skills.

Afterwards Ms. Siwak saw how each of her students were engaged in their conversations. They each handled who would do what task of the group and many of the groups gave moral and skilled responses. I admired Ms. Siwak's creativity. She told her students they needed to look like a group, meaning they should gather around in a circle and not have stragglers. I had not thought of that before, she made a good point because it would be hard for all members of a group to collaborate together if some were not fully focused.

I wrote to her how I enjoyed reading her posts and how she has helped give me some ideas for when I begin teaching. Also, I mentioned how I really agreed with her last paragraph; as a child I loved when my teacher would ask us to write or discuss a touchy subject because we all were anxious to say our opinions on it. I was so excited to finally see that she approved my comment and also commented back to me saying it was nice to meet another EDM310 student and she was happy that her blog intrigued me so much.

On September 18th, Ms. Siwak posted another blog. This blog goes into the elememts of a thought. She made a very colorful hands-on bulletin board for her students to use. It's broken into 7 parts, 2 of which are labeled "purpose" and "assumptions". Ms. Siwak read to her students statements about a person, the statements gave assumptions that the person was bad and good. Examples were: "He smokes and drinks." "He was arrested for stealing." "He stole baby diapers and formula." "He has a girlfriend and a 1 year old child." One could see how those statements couldn't directly enable someone to tell what kind of person this was.

Ms. Siwak then asked her students to discuss assumptions they had about this person, of course this led to a rather rich discussion. She is trying to get her students to become more aware of their thinking. Making assumptions can be productive but making assumptions too quickly without deeply thinking them through can lead to the wrong conclusions.

I commented back telling her that once again I thought she did a great job coming up with a fun hands-on activity to intrigue her students to be involved in the exercise meanwhile they are un-noticingly learning. I don't recall being a young student and any of my teachers ever teaching me to make assumptions like she does. Many teachers teach just the main academic subjects but fail to teach their students life lessons. When I become an educator I will definately remember to help teach my students life lessons that will help them evolve into a critical thinker.

Click on her name to view her blog. heidisiwak

Blog #3

Thoughts on Peer Editing Tutorials

Dr. Strange gave us a list of videos and a slideshow to learn from. They are:What is Peer Editing?,Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. The video "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" was my absolute favorite!! It was adorable! It's a short quick video with young children acting out all different types of peer reviews. I thought it was hilarious! There were 2 children acting out each situation and they did an outstanding job on the lines they said.
"Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial" was a slideslow informing the readers on how to perform a great peer review and gave suggestions as to what to look for and say. I know I'll refer back to this again throughout the semester for ideas and tips.
Lastly, "What is Peer Editing?" was a video that said almost verbatim what the slideshow said. It was a good reference to use if you're an auditory learner but the video only showed one or two words at a time and could be hard to keep up with.

Technology in Special Education

This video was very touching. The teacher of a vocational class shows how each one of her students have different special needs and they use technology to help them learn. She gave a few different examples of how a special needs student would use certain technology to help with their specific need. Such as, one boy had trouble reading small print so his laptop had a program to magnify his text for him to be able to see it better. Technology such as laptops, iPads and iTouches help keep the student engaged while she is teaching the whole class. Many special needs students aren't able to communicate easily and these products help give them the voice to say what they need.

I really want to teach special needs students so videos and other references I can take advice and learn from would definately benefit me. When teaching these students I would do just as that teacher did and find any product or technology that would personally benefit my students. Not only am I trying to educate them about academics but I'm also helping them grow as a person and find what helps them with daily living needs when they aren't in a classroom.

How the iPad Works With Academics of Autism

The video shows a young boy with austism using his iPad to learn how to count, write, and say words. Autistic students have an exceptionally shorter attention span than students without it so having this iPad interact back with them keeps them engaged. I recommend Proloquo2go for anyone needing an app for a special needs child or adult. This app has many different phrases and items the person can pick from and then it will read aloud what they want to say. After watching the young boy with Austism use the iPad it made me interested on seeing more special needs children interact with iPads and the different apps they offer. I went on YouTube and watched other children interacting and realized how useful iPads really are!

Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts

I'm actually a follower with this @CoolCatTeacher on Twitter! This video is really cool. Ms. Vicki Davis teaches her students how to use technology to broaden their horizons. She has over 6,000 followers on her Twitter and just won blog of the year!! Ms. Davis is from a rural part of Georgia but her students are being educated world wide by their teacher's love for technology. She mentioned that teachers don't have to already know things in order to teach, the students can learn some stuff on their own and then teach it to the teacher. I've personally taught one or more of my teachers something over the course of time and I've seen other students teach also. This gives the students a feeling of self accomplishment when they learn something on their own!

Project #2

Blog #2

"Did you know? 3.0" -A John Strange 2012 Version
Watch video here
Dr. Strange made this video listing some interesting facts. The video was short but informative. He gave some insight to students' lives around the world. Dr. Strange's first fact he listed was "The 25% of the population of India with the highest IQs outnumbers the entire population in the United States." That made me begin to wonder how large is India really? and what makes them become so much smarter than our entire nation?
Towards the end of the video he began to mention technology facts about how many students have a computer and/or cell phone. Also, including how many students text. It's astonishing to see how much our nation has progressed technology wise. Technology would be a great tool to use in a classroom and not only to show powerpoints or watch a video. Now younger children are growing up using Ipads, tablets, cell phones, computers, and playing video games. It's as if it comes naturally installed in the younger generation.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Matthew Needleman
Watch video here
Matthew Needleman created this video to show how the world has constantly evolved with new technology. The character Mr. Winkle was a little old cartoon man that had awoken from a hundred year nap and saw the change in the world. The way the narrator spoke, slow and calmly sounded as if he was speaking for children to understand. I have a couple of different opinions about the video.
First off I do agree with what he said about the way the world has changed with the new technology. Our way of life has benefitted from it; we're able to save lives when several years ago in certain situations people would have died. Secondly, I disagree when the narrator said school has remained the same. That might be true in rural parts of the nation or impoverished areas that aren't able to keep abreast. As for most populated areas the schools have started incorporating computers, LCD projectors, smart boards, and Ipads into classroom settings.

"The Importance of Creativity" by Sir Ken Robinson
Watch video here
Sir Robinson's video was extraordinary! He speaks of how educators are suppose to prepare students for the future when we can't even predict what will happen in 5 years. That is so true! He is absolutely hilarious. I quote from him, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." that sentence means so much. As students are being brought up through school they are taught that being wrong is the worse thing in the world and they become scared to be wrong. We should teach our students that it is okay to be wrong as long as we find out the solution. Sir Robinson questions whether students are educated out of their creativity.
When he mentions that all schools teach the 4 main subjects but they have arts, music, and dance at the bottom of the totem pole. I could not agree more, when the school system has to make a budget cuts they always cut sports, art and music first! We all have bodies and want to dance and have an artistic side. There so many students graduating from college and many of them can't get a job because now you need a masters or a doctorate to get above the other competitor. There is an inflation of students with degrees.
Lastly, Sir Robinson shares a story about a famous choreographer who choreographed many famous shows on Broadway. When she was younger she couldn't sit still in school and would fidget. Her teachers spoke to her mother about her possibly having a learning disorder. Her mother took her to a doctor and the doctor said she's not sick she is a dancer. This is one of millions of examples that show school is not for everyone. Her mother put her in a dance school and she excelled! That little girl that someone would've put on medicine and told her to calm down is now a multi-millionaire! We as human beings need to take heed to Sir Robinson's lecture and notice if you have a talent to explore it and use it! Our job as educators is to educate our students about the world and help encourage them to find themselves and like Robinson said we may not see the future but they will and they need to be prepared for what is out there.

"A Day Made of Glass 2"
Watch video here
This video was really awesome. It displays the future with the possibility of most electronics made of glass. It looks similar to the Ipad, the glass was thin and touch screen. The school the girls went to had a solar pannelled roof, I find that very eco-friendly. In the morning when the young girl woke she was able to pick out her outfit on a built in wall computer made of glass. It's like something I've only seen in movies, I would be ecstatic if I had one. I'm sure one day in the far future our homes, cars, and the majority of our classrooms will look like that in the video. As a future teacher I think having that kind of easily accessible technology teach my students would really help further their ability to be technology savvy. The table and small glass Ipad tablets would motivate them to stay engaged, help children with visual disabilities as well as other disabilities. Also, some children learn hands-on while others are audible and visual learners this would condense all the learning differences together.

Opinion
These 4 videos were all completely different yet they all stem from one topic, education. I thoroughly enjoyed each video, the makers of each one did a fantastic job getting their point across. In order for one to have an opinion on each video they must watch it first. My favorite was Sir Robinson's, I admit when I first sat down to watch it the video just looked old and I thought it was going to be boring. I was proven wrong with his sense of humor and recommended it to family for them to enjoy it. To sum the videos up in this blog, Dr. Strange's facts about India's population with such high IQs have me researching and questioning how they have become so smart. I disagreed with Mr. Winkle's statement that school has stayed the same over the years and Sir Robinson had enlightened my night with humor and educated me that academic school is not for every student. I also agreed with him about the creative subjects are always taken away from the students first and we must ask our government "Why?" because everyone has a creative talent. Lastly, the glass video was awesome, it gives one an imagination about the future that we could only hope one day we become so advance as it has shown us.

Blog #1

About Me
Hi, I’m Stephanie Gomillion; I was born and raised here in Mobile, Alabama. I graduated from Baker High School and I am attending South Alabama because it’s home and even though the tuition has increased every semester it’s still cheaper than other colleges. I’m majoring in Elementary Education for many reasons. To name a few; I love children, teachers’ have a good work schedule and they get a nice break in the summer with decent retirement benefits, and I would really like to work with special needs, I have a special place in my heart for these children and I know it takes a dedicated person to help these children learn even basic tasks and skills.
I believe I’m really talented in the English subject, I enjoy writing and I’m a stickler for good grammar! I’m absolutely terrible at math; I always will be so I’d rather just stay away from it. I have two nephews that I’m really close to and one of them is in 2nd grade and I love helping him do his homework. Seeing him understand and grasp what it is he’s learning is an awesome feeling, he’s only 7 and already way much more efficient in math than I ever will be, that just astonishes me because he’s so young.
I have a dachshund/terrier mixed dog named Macy Elle and she is literally like my child. She is always the highlight of my day when I come home from work or school. Macy has clothes for just about every occasion and a toy box full of toys that sits in the living room just as a human child’s box would. We celebrate her birthday every year, she has a Christmas stocking that goes on the mantle and her Christmas presents are wrapped like everyone else’s too. Macy sleeps on a pillow, eats from glass plates, talks when she wants something, and is in family portraits. I don’t think she knows she’s a dog, so don’t tell her!
In my free time I usually spend it with my family, nephews, or my boyfriend, Taylor. Taylor and I love to take road trips! This summer we were able to Biloxi, New Orleans Audubon Zoo, Orange Beach, Ocala, Florida, Disney World, and Tampa.
Dr. Pausch’s Video on Time Management
I love to organize and make “to-do” lists but I have a bad habit of procrastination. In Dr. Pausch’s video he mentions do the ugly things first, I’ve heard that saying before as a child and knew what it meant but I found it very hard to do those first. From now until I graduate I know when making my to-do list to put those ugly things first and I need to reinforce myself to actually do those first.
Penn State Time Management
The 6 steps mentioned at the bottom of the page were very helpful to anyone with a time management problem. I use a planner to help me remember what I have due coming up and how much time I have available to work on that project. Most schools now either give out planners to students at a young age or make them available for sale. This is encouraging our students to start managing their time wisely and help them learn to be responsible.