Comments4Teachers

Week 7

Wow, this app gives real meaning to the one man band idea. I don't have an iPhone but the apps sure does make it tempting to getting one. I think the iPhone is just another wonderful tool out there for the convenience of man and not just for the apps. It is great for a student as well as a teacher.

I'm a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. I will be summarizing my visits to your blog on my blog on or before March 21st. I'm in Dr. Strange's edm 310 class and here is a link to my blog, orsoshereeedm310.blogspot.com
the link to the class blog is edm310.blogspot.com



Week 8

I also feel that podcasting is a great learning tool. I think that it could work effectively with all school and students of all grade levels. I feel that technology has come a long way over the years and has impacted our world for the better. Podcasting is just another wonderful tool to be used.

I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama



Week 9

It must be extremely rewarded to be recognized for your work. I hope to one day be able to impact the lives of others as you have. To be an effective educator is my goal.

I am a student at University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. You can visit my blog at orsoshereeedm310.blogspot.com. I visited your blog as an assignment for Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class.

Week 7 Homework

Dr. Richard E. Miller "This is how we dream part 1 & 2"

Dr. Miller makes the use of the technology seem so simple. Honestly, no I'm not prepared to write using multimedia but I'm am enthused about learning how to use the technology. I believe that my students will be able to do this because kids seem to be more technologically advanced. This is probably because technology is more advanced than it was when I was a kid.

I agree with using the web and technology as a new form of teaching. I think that in this new world we live in, we need to be open minded and have a dream to advance. As Dr. Miller suggested we should drive ideas to become a better society. We should dream of a future that is full of hope. We as educators need to dream of a more advanced way of teaching our students and to become technologically literate.

To know all the ways that we can use multimedia is amazing. I hope to learn everything possible with this technology. I think that the listening/watching method for someone like me is much more effective than the reading/writing method.



Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

While embarking upon my own PLN, I realize that there is a lot to learn and a lot that I was clueless about. This video is an eye opener and it really gets me to thinking that while I'm learning this information there are students already out there with there own PLN and many students learning at the same time as me. This really puts an urgency and an awareness to the importance of my education.

"Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" is a very good question. The video answers the question nicely but in order for a teacher to be able to teach a student how to build their network and take advantage of opportunities, the teacher must first have a network and take advantage of the opportunities his/herself.

I plan to become that teacher. The teacher who takes advantage of learning opportunities and applies them to my classroom. I am achieving the necessaries to be prepared for the networked student.



Dr. Micheal Wesch: Toward a New Future of Whatever


Are we really amusing ourselves to death? I would agree. I enjoyed this video, Dr. Wesch's concept is definitely accurate. I really loved his idea on working toward a new future for the word whatever. I think his study was outstanding. But aren't we all a little narcissistic? We live in an age where even the most modest of us feel a little sense of self importance sometimes, whether we show it or not. Maybe that is what drives us to amusement or to post videos on YouTube, to feel a sense of self worth. In the future as a student and an educator I plan to put this idea to work and use the whatever it takes by whatever means necessary method.



Comments4Kids Week 7

My comment this week was for an essay titled "Slumber Party" by a student named Becca M. in Mrs. Goerend's class. Becca gave some great advice about how to have a great slumber party.

Week 6 Homework

Dr. Alice Christie

I thought Dr. Christie's site to be very helpful, informative, and inspiring. I think what I took the most from was her Last Lecture. I thought the lecture was heart felt and motivational. I learned a lot from her experiences. From this lecture I'll take great advice. She was remembering and quoting what it was that she had learned from very important people in her life and I learned from her experiences not to take anything for granted that we can learn a great deal from others if we take the time to.

After reading this lecture, I plan to take things from the people in my life and learn as much as I can from them. As a student I learn from my professors. As an employee I learn from my colleagues I learn how to do my job correctly and from my family I learn love. I plan to be a life long learner and because of this I'm excited to become an educator.


i Tunes U

I learned about a site from another students blog that I follow,it was a wonderful site and I'm glad that I visited her blog. The site is http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/. There was all this helpful information for students and also for teachers. As a student, this is another way to learn. It provides course materials for colleges from all over the world. iTunesU is just another tool or another door to the life long education that we all seek to obtain. We hold the key in our hands and we should definitely take advantage. It's our key and our door all we have to do is put the key in and unlock the door to a whole new way of becoming learners.

For teachers, I'm sure once you get passed the fear of learning to use the technology, iTunesU is a helpful tool designed for your benefit. This site is something I would definitely use as a teacher. It would take away a lot of stress for the teacher as well as the student if there where anything that was ever missed this site could be the link. The educator can and should use this technology for his/her advantage.


iPods

I first visited http://cit.duke.edu/pdf/reports/ipod_initiative_04_05.pdf and read about the study that they did on the use of iPods in academics. They used this idea for several courses. The findings were beneficial they ranged from convenience to student engagement and interest. With most everything there are pros and cons. The problems ranged from difficulties in obtaining licenses to lack of knowledge of iPod functionality. I personally think that it can be beneficial. We have iTunesU so we should take advantage in every way we can.

I think that it's an awesome resource and technology should be generated into every classroom in every way possible. I found a site that the title read Transforming Teaching Through Technology. http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/212/37/ was an excellent site. The site is packed with links to other sites and is very useful. I think education is headed in the right direction and technology is just another great tool to help us achieve the goal of excellence.


Tech Literate Teacher

Dr. Strange is an awesome educator with a lot of perception on the subject. His Wiki is just another tool for his students to become life long learners and again we should take advantage of everything. We should act as though we have stumbled upon something that no one else is aware of. My post can be found in the discussions tab at the top.

Comments4Kids

In week four, I was assigned to comment on Room227's class blog. I found that it was very informative. I commented on the post titled Shrimptastic. It was a lesson about Brine Shrimp. I learned that Brine Shrimp are not Shrimp but they are are crustaceans and they start out the size of the period at the end of this sentence. These kids seemed very excited about their experiment.

In week five, I was assigned to comment on a post made by a 5th grade twin girl from Avoca West School in Illinois. Yesol wrote about a school visit from the author Ruth Spiro. Before I could comment I had to google her just to see who she was. Yesol talked about how she was from a family of bakers and how before the visit from Mrs. Spiro that she felt like an outcast. Now she knows how to make a simple bread and she doesn't feel like an outcast anymore.

In week six, I was assigned to comment on Room 10 @ PT England. My comment was for a boy named Daley. Daley created his very own Limerick poem, he recited it on a video and has it posted on the class blog. He's a brave boy and he done a wonderful job.

Presentation

Homework February 14, 2010

Wikipedia

Before this assignment, I was not familiar with NPR (National Public Radio). Now I'm more up to speed on NPR.

Wikipedia is a resource that I've used quite a bit in the past. I've always trusted this source. I was never aware that the facts on the site may or may not be truthful. Thanks to Mr. Virgil Griffith for creating the Wikipedia Scanner. Maybe this will help with some of falsehood that may be on Wikipedia. Although I feel that Wikipedia is awesome resource for general information, I will no longer take the information that I obtain from Wikipedia to be 100% facts without researching other sources.

I think that Wikipedia can still be used a source but not the only one. We shouldn't ever just use one source for any reason. We just know now to be cautious when using the information from Wikipedia and to know that some important facts may not still be there.

What I've learned this year.

I feel inspired and ready to teach after reading this blog. It's so true and all about the students. Mr. McClung is so helpful with his ideals about his first year teaching and will most likely be some of the same issues we will face our first year in the classroom. I plan to take his ideas and make them useful in my classroom. If we learn from other people's experiences it should help us with our experiences.

My favorite parts was when he said that we should be constant learners and not to be afraid of technology. He said to jump in head first. That's what most of us are doing now with EDM 310. I'm so grateful for this opportunity because without it I would have been a technological illiterate teacher who never used technology in my classroom. Now I see the importance and am looking forward to the future as an effective educator.

Homework February 7, 2010

More Podcasts

All the websites were informative but my favorite was Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog from the 3rd graders. I always find it amazing when children are technologically literate, even when it puts me to shame. These children are extremely intelligent and it seems that they are having a blast. Being technological literate places no limits on these students therefore giving them the confidence that it takes to succeed in life.

While visiting the other sites, I thought each one to be unique in their own way. Each one is educational and very helpful. Judy Scharf's podcast was probably the most instructive on podcasting and will help someone like me when it comes to creating a podcast. After reviewing this information I feel more confident and excited about making my own podcast.

Media Literacy in the First Grade.

Media Literacy

I think that Mrs. Cassidy is an awesome teacher and doing a wonderful job. Not only are these kids absolutely adorable but extremely smart as well. I just loved the two in the beginning when the little boy said that he was "media literate" and then at the end she said "oh I am too."

It is shocking and a little intimidating to know that these type of children will one day be in my class, they may be teaching it. I better step it up. We as educators need to make sure that we soak every bit of information that we can. We need to remember that these students are more advanced than we were at their age and it's a good thing. We need to be better teachers than we had, even if we had awesome teachers.



Little Kids...Big Potential

It's great that she won the award on this video but what's greater than the video is the fact that she's able to teach these kids in such an amazing way. I think she needs a great teacher award. I hope to be an effective teacher to the point that I could teach my students to be media literate, no matter their age or grade level.

The name of the video is a mouth-full. It's so true. Mrs. Cassidy is setting students up for success. I like how she has on her door, College Graduating Class of 2025. She is encouraging them and making the idea real for her students.

Wow is all I can say about the 1 year old child using the iphone. That was amazing because I can barely use the iphone. I think it's always amazing when children are technologically developed it makes for a very smart kid and my job as an educator more focusable.