Project #16

Project #13

I was in a group with one other person, so we found it easy to communicate, without using the phone or meeting in person. Google chat and video was the primary way we communicated with each other. Although we had a couple of schedule conflicts, we managed to pull it together. We haven't met yet to complete our final project, but we have already set a date to add the final touches on the project. Google chat and video are great tools to use and very user friendly.

Update: We finished our final project and scheduled to meet using Google chat. We didn't stray too far from using this because it was very efficient to meet with. Other than schedule conflicts, we are able to complete everything and meet on Google without a problem.

Blog Post #14

Final Reflection

Project #15

Instead of doing Math on the SmartBoard, we decided to use handwriting because it will benefit both the students and the teacher like using it for role. I hope you enjoy!

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post #12a

Dr. Strange asked us a series of questions to answer on a later date. In this assignment, I am going to answer these questions.

1. Do schools in the United States systematically destroy (or inhibit) the development of curiosity and/or creativity in students? If yes, why does that happen? If no, how do you counter the argument of Sir Ken Robinson that schools do undermine the development of creativity in students?

Answer:Yes, because some teachers do not believe in allowing their students to be creative. They believe in just zooming through the curriculum and "teaching" the students rather than "educate"!

2. Can a curriculum be developed that increases the curiosity of students? If so, what would be the key components of such a curriculum?

Answer: You could create a curriculum as such, all you need is time and materials to be creative like art projects and videos, podcasts, and ask questions or better yet, get your students to ask questions by giving them hints throughout a lesson and then allow them to try and figure it out while asking questions.

3. Can a curriculum be developed that increases the creativity of students? If so, what would be the key components of such a curriculum?

Answer: The same as curiosity. All teacher need to do it take the books away and give them arts and crafts materials and projects. They also need technology with videos, computers, knowledge of websites to help brighten that creativity. Students also need the freedom to creative assignments while having the right technology.

4. Can a teacher's actions increase the curiosity of students? If so, what would be those actions?

Answer: Yes, make lessons fun and exciting! Have them want to learn it and educate your students through their creativity! If you give students the freedom to be creative about an assignment, the curiosity will appear on its' own.

5. Can a teacher's actions increase the creativity of students? If so, what would be those actions?

Answer:Yes, students have to complete assignments and assignments that are fun and that allow them to be creative will increase their students ability to be creative and think on their own. Also, it is always a good time to learn something new!

6. What would help you become more creative? What role would teachers and/or schools have in that process?

Answer: The right tools and my own creativity for art and technology will help. EDM310 helped me in finding tools that will help. My teachers could help by allowing me to do assignments and allowing me to be creative with my assignments. Schools need to be behind every teacher and supply them with the right materials to be creative!

7. What would help you become more curious? What role would teachers and/or schools have in that process?

Answer: Doing exactly what Dr. Strange has done for this class, allow the students to be creative, explore new things, and give the basics of an assignments and force us students to figure out how to do the assignment and allow us to actually do the assignment ourselves because if it was just taught to us, we wouldn't remember; I know I wouldn't.

Final Report On PLN

My Symbaloo PLN!

My PLN

I have a home webmix with facebook,twitter, gmail, youtube, craigslist, ebay, etc. (personal things). For EDM310 webmix tab, I have blogger, Randy Pausch, Youtube, and the class blog. I then have EDU mentors/tools and that consists of a bunch of people on twitter, youtube, etc. and then I have picasa, dropbox, teacher guide to interactive games, google sketchup, ETV streamline, class.io, math game times and others. I also have have one webmix that is just EDU tools and that consists of delicious, teachertube, moodle, viocethread, skype, twitter, OC S.T.E.M., and more. Finally, I have a games/toys webmix of just games and a Food/recipes webmix with food network, recipes and such on it.

Blog Post #13

To start off, I have been without a cell phone for a little under a month now and it is very aggravating because if I need something or need to speak to someone while I am away from home, I can't. Also, if I break down or get into a wreck or some accident where I am injured, I cannot call 911 or anyone else because I have no cell phone. With that being said, I love watching T.V. and specific shows come on almost every night of the week. I also love to play games on facebook and check it every once in a while. I also like the convenience of email!

So, for this assignment, I went 24 hours without any of this(I picked a day that my shows were not on T.V.), no technology, and I found myself pulling weeds out of the flower beds, trimming hedges, cleaning house and much much more to occupy myself. I also hung out with a couple of friends later that evening since I couldn't watch T.V. and I called them from my house phone. It is hard to imagine how it was like before technology because even though this assignment allowed us to see how it is without technology, it is always surrounding us. Go to the store, you have to use technology to swipe your debit/credit card. Cashiers have to ring you up through the scanner and it pops up on the computer monitor. There is also technology in appliances now like the ice machine in your fridge. I used to wish I lived in the old days, but now that I see what it is like without technology and I see how technology makes our lives easier, I would not want to live before technology came around. I love technology!

C4T#4

C4T #11 - Free Technology for Teachers is a blog post by Richard Byrne. In his new post on Tuesday, April 10, 2012, Collaborative Writing Across Multiple Grade Levels, he describes how we went to Brad Wilcox's presentation on inspiring kids to have quality writing skills by allowing high school students fix elementary students writing errors. This will benefit both parties because high school students don't want to give wrong corrections and elementary students will be enthusiastic about someone else grading their work that they will work harder to not make mistakes. He also talks about Google docs and how great of a tool it is for virtually everyone! He even has a 40 page document showing step by step how to use Google docs and some of its tools within it. I commented that Dr. Strange made us use Google presentation and gave us a checklist that we could edit ourselves and much more involving Google docs! It is a great tool to have.

I just realized I have the same C4T as last month, but I already begun, so I will continue to use this assignment with newer posts. Plus, he has great websites and other tools we can use in the classroom and blogs about a different one every week.

C4T #12 - His post on April 24, 2012,Build Your Own Video Games on Sploder talks about what Sploder is and why it would be good for students to use. He discusses that Sploder is a website where you can create your very own video game. It has different elements you can use repeatedly throughout each scene of the game. There are only four templates you can use to begin the creation of your game. This will allow students to use logic and create sequence because they use this to create the game. I commented that I agree that this is a great tool for students to learn how to plan and organize what they are about to do and it helps them think ahead. Also, it helps students understand the use of technology and why it needs to be in the classroom. I also commented that students will be creative and have fun at the same time and they won't even know they are learning logic ans sequence.

Progress on Collaboration and Project #15

We are group Educators of the Future and we have been chatting through Google chat via email/video and mic. We have collaborated about projects #15 and so far we have decided to do a mathematics lesson for kindergartners. On the SMARTboard, we will use funbrain.com and it has all kinds of math arcade games for SMARTboards. There is a game called bumble numbers that kids can play that has three flowers with addition problems on them and the bee has to hit the cloud to blow the wind to catch the answers from the little flowers and put the correct number in the correct flower. There are other games as well we plan to use.

Blog Post #12

the assignment would be to create a lesson plan according to the Mobile County School System based on an individuals profession. This is not the same lesson as a SMARTboard lesson and should differ from the one an individual creates for the Smartboard project.

I am receiving a degree in PreK-6 Elementary Education and I hope to teach kindergarten. For an example, my lesson plan would be to create one based on science. I am going to do the seasons of the year; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

For all the seasons, I would create an art project the students did in class and it consists of pictures of the seasons or things in the season and they would have to create a background to match the pictures with.

For example, for Spring I would have blooms of flowers on every plant and a tree with fresh blooms and they would have to create a background to match the pictures of plants like adding a house, pretty green grass and what every else they choose to add. I will have cut outs of houses, dogs, cats, gardens, etc. and they would have to be creative and make what they think the season looks like.

For Winter I would add snow on everything like the top of the house and I would add a dog house with snow if the students wished to add a dog. It would be fun, creative, and educational. For Summer I would have beach balls and other accessories of the beach. Of course for Fall, I would make the students add leaves to a tree and make a pile underneath the tree or somewhere in the yard.

For this assignment, you must do the following:

1. Create a lesson plan based on one grade level you wish to teach when you become an educator.

2. Pick one lesson from the curriculum and create a lesson you would teach to your students.

3. Write what you would do for this lesson and find pictures you would use to help imagine this lesson plan.

4. Post it on your blog and tell how you would conduct your lesson along with the pictures.

Blog Post #11

Little Kids...Big Potential

The little kids in this video really do have big potential! Ms. Cassidy has done an outstanding job with incorporating technology into her classroom and her students are always being creative and they always seem to want to learn in her class. This is the type of classroom environment I will have when I become an educator. This is a prime example of what the education system needs to convert to because it keeps kids interested and they have fun while learning and they learn new things about technology as well as the subject material they are being educated about. This is exactly what I was talking about in one of my previous blog posts. I find it so fascinating that someone has accomplished this in the classroom! When they talk about Alabama, they are referring to elementary students from a school in Alabama, not EDM310 students. I'm glad that some classrooms have taken the initiative to have technology in their classroom and actually use it! I believe that sooner rather than later, there will be more and more technologically literate educators in the school system and really soon, the school system will have no choice but to convert to technology in the classroom. I can't wait to become an educator and hopefully help other educators move to this technology movement into the classroom!

Ms. Cassidy on Skype

I have to say, Ms Cassidy is very nice and very inspiring! I used to live in Virginia and it snowed almost every winter and it is very fun to play in. I do miss the snow now that I live in Alabama, but I was never a big fan of the cold anyways. So, Ms. Cassidy gave very clear answers to the questions and I did not know about not posting blogs or anything with the students last name to protect them. I was very glad that you did this Skype video with Ms. Cassidy because it answered a lot of questions I had. When I become an educator, I plan to have my students blog at least twice a week if not every day as a warm up exercise in the morning. I would of course have a class blog and a SMARTboard so my students can learn other things like handwriting, the alphabet, mathematics, reading, science, and history. Since I will probably teach second grade or under, I can teach my students things they will need to know for the next grade level. There is many improvements that technology can bring to the classroom if every teacher would become technologically literate. You have to know what to do before you send your students into the internet/technology world.

I would have to use more than one of her techniques, but if I had to choose one to use, I would use the video alphabet with other students around the world. I would pick a letter each week that we would learn vocabulary from and Skype with other classrooms one a day and allow the students to interact with other students about the letter of the week. I think it is very important to use all tools of the internet and technology because kids are more advanced in technology than the teachers these days, I have seen it first hand. If teachers do not get involved with technology soon, students are going to be teaching the teacher everything. I'm not saying that students teaching their instructor is a bad thing because it isn't, but teachers need to be prepared to teach their students the uses of technology and what to stay away from on the internet. There is always something we can learn from out students, but us as educators should be prepared to teach them more than they know about.

Blog Post #10

I want to start off by saying that I became an educator to educate, inspire, innovate, and much more than just teach. This video, Do You Teach or Do You Educate? has very few words, but they are truly inspiring as a future educator. When I become an educator here in the near future, I want to give my students more than they really would appreciate. What I mean by that is that I want to educate my students about things like morals and values, learning experiences they never thought could be possible. I also want to make every lesson intriguing to them and fun, that is why I plan to use a SMARTboard as much as possible and have arts and crafts projects. I am currently taking ARS 101-105 and it is not a requirement for my major. I took this class so I can be better at art and educate my students by giving them projects and being creative! I want my classroom to be a fun environment for them, but first and for most an educational environment where they can learn and be creative.

I truly want my students to grasp the concepts and if I give them creative projects to do or allow them to play SMARTboard games in any subject, they will be more likely to KNOW the material and not just memorize it. I was in Elementary before, we all have and we all know that doing something artsy and creative was more fun and easier to comprehend than reading text out of a book or just having it read to you. Act out the characters, allow your students to create radio stations and podcasts about a book. These lessons will take just as much time as any other lesson. The only difference is that students are being EDUCATED and not TAUGHT something. This video really did get me thinking about how I am going to create my lesson plans and how I am going to fulfill my duties as an educator. I truly feel more confident now about what I plan to do.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

I like Tom Johnson's blog because he is not hypocritical or misjudging about the argument. Gertrude read one research article on pencils and automatically assumed that students taking pencils home will lower test scores. How? I agree with Tom Johnson, even if they play hangman with the pencil and piece of paper, they are learning something and with this example, they could be learning vocabulary word because they have to think about what the word is and spell it out before you hang the stick figure. I found this post to be somewhat amusing and funny because he is sarcastic about why Gertrude would not want students to take pencils home like stabbing themselves in the scrotum or damage of property. He sets his argument up that way and creates a good one too!

His argument is that pencils have a bad reputation that they are just used for entertainment for students and not to do work. He continues to argue that even if students are using then to "entertain" like playing hangman, they are learning something in some kind of way. Also, he doesn't hold his students accountable for the pencils and paper, he tries to keep them on interesting projects. I believe his main point to his argument is that students used pencils to take that "drill-and-kill" bubble test to get the research and to take bubble tests in school too. Why can't students take pencils home to do work? It's not like the teacher is taking the test and they only learn in the classroom. Students learn at home as well as in the classroom so why retain their learning environment to just the classroom?

C4K for April

Scott's Blog

C4K #8 - Scott's blog post,Racism was this post about the actual word RACE. There is a lot of history behind this word and it actually created racism among whites, blacks, Hispanics, etc. He has a video from the American Archaeological Association that created the video to inform people about the word race and how we are not so different and that skin color is only skin deep. You shouldn't judge someone based on their skin color, it goes deeper than that. They have feelings, morals, values, expectations, and much more. On his blog as well, he has two website you can view to learn more about race and racism. I commented to Scott that I found his blog inspiring because he chose this topic to blog about. It was very detailed with a lot of background information that you could look at. I also talked about the fact that I did not know the actual word race began all this slavery and such, even though I did know about slavery for blacks, Chinese, Japanese, etc. I also said that the video was very informing and I actually learned a lot about the word race. This was a very good, informative blog post and I look forward to reading more of his blogs.

C4K #9 - His new post, Volleyball and Injury, he talks about how he strained a "tenant" (tendon) and the restrictions he has because it happened right before the season began. He switched to a less strenuous activity and joined a volleyball team. I commented that I believe it is tendon not tenant and that I bet it really hurts to strain one of those. He didn't say where it happened on his body or how so I asked him in my comment and I talked about how I'm sure it is very frustrating because from what I have read, he loves sports. I told him I used to play softball and baseball before that and that I am very active in my life as well and how it is a good thing to be very active.

C4K #10 - This week we had to comment on one of Ms. Cassidy's students blogs. They are first graders and I had to comment on haydn's blog about the hockey Wii game with the hockey stick Wii. He did not say much about it, but I stated that I have never owned a Wii, but I bet a hockey Wii is really fun! I also stated that it was nice that he got a Wii because they allow you to be very active and such.

SMARTboard Project #14

Blog Post #9

What I Learned This Year(2008-09)

This blog by Mr. McClung was written his first year teaching. I think him blogging about what he learned his first year is a very great idea because it allows other upcoming teachers to see and imagine what it is like their first year. I have always been intrigued by people doing things for the first time and he learned a lot his first year. He learned to stay positive number one. he also learned that lessons are never perfect! You always have to prepare for things, but if it doesn't work like you expected, change and don't beat yourself up over it; move on. Another critical tool I believe be learned is to never forget the real reason you decided to teach and that is the students comprehension of the material. Be reasonable and don't expect so much from your students. What I mean by that is when you set goals for your students, you set them up for disappointment. Instead, create activities and such that helps them learn and ask them and get them motivated to know what they have learned.

Also, Mr. McClung discusses communication in the workplace and with your students. I completely agree! Communication can go a lot further than sitting back and not saying anything. Students NEED feedback on what they are doing both right and wrong! Teachers communicating among each other also helps when you need help from another teacher or another teacher needs help from you! Everyone has something they need help with so why avoid it because you can't communicate?

When your in your classroom, there is always room for you to learn things. You always want to listen to your students too because you never know what you can learn from them as well! Listening to your students can also have a big impact on them! Students want you to listen to them, it gives them a closer relationship with their teacher. Mr. McClung really helped me and inspired me! I though I knew what to do when it came to being a teacher, but I realized real quick there is many underlying things lingering around that you need to know as a teacher to be a good teacher and always be positive.

C4T#3

I viewed Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne for my C4T#3.

In his post on Tuesday, March 20 called This is Cool! Albert Einstein's Library Online, which is everything and anything you want to know about Albert Einstein. The website is actually called Einstein Archives Online and has so much to offer to be used in a classroom. I commented on Mr. Byrne's post about how this website is very intriguing and how when I become a teacher and have a SMART board in my classroom, I would use this website to show students who Albert Einstein is and what he accomplished.

In this post on Tuesday, March 27 called A Gopher Guesses Your Number - A Math Game is about a mathematics game called Magic Gopher. Richard Byrne learned about it from Jen Deyenberg and the game is about students selecting two digit numbers, add the two digits together, subtract the new number from the original, then look up a number associated with the final number. The trick is that the gopher always "guesses" the correct final number symbol. This allows the students who play this game to challenge themselves trying to figure out how the gopher always gets it right. I commented that this would be a great problem solving game for students as well as the other links he had on his blog post. I also stated that it would be a good tool in the classroom for students to really challenge themselves with explaining how the gopher get the answer correct every time. It is a great tool and I would definitely use it in my classroom.

C4K for March

C4K#6 - Class 12's Blog I commented on My Poem by Klaudia, posted on February 24, 2012. Her poem was about her grandpa who had passed away. It was a sad poem with a little picture of a grandpa holding his granddaughter. I told her to remember the good times and cherish the memories of smiles and laughter. I also told her that her picture gave more character and sincerity to her poem.

C4K#7 - Scott's Blog For my first comment for the C4K challenge, I commented on Scott's blog titled, I am From and he begins by describing some views from Jonas. He then begins describing where he is from through his ancestors and where they came from. It is a very intriguing post and I commented to his post that I liked the way he incorporated his history to his present day life and how organized his post was. I also commented on how extraordinary and smooth his writing was, especially when he describes where he came from who he is from where he came from. He had a very interesting post on where he is from and I told him I look forward to reading more posts.

Project #11 Short Movie

Project #12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #8

This is how we Dream Part 1 & 2

Dr. Miller distinguishes between an incremental change and a fundamental change in technology. There are many ways you can be creative in the web and there are also many subjects and material you can research. You don't have to step foot in a library anymore, you just have to type related words to what you are looking for into Google or any search engine and find anything on that search. Creativity on the web is more than just expressing yourself or finding new things, it's creating new virtual buildings or inventing new ways to interact with the actual web. Finding new ways to create things that are interesting like taking polls from elections and making it motion through the past and present rates on a U.S. map.

There are many other attributes to the World Wide Web such as live feed streaming online about virtually anything! You can create videos, speak to someone across the world instantly and there is even virtual worlds you can connect to and create all different kinds of things. I would create a world that was a learning environment for my students and they would create their avatar, the learning environment like a game or a virtual classroom and then I would create the material they were to learn each day. My students would have to sign in every day for attendance, complete the lessons, and then interact their avatars with other classmates. I would have to learn more about these things, but this would be a start for me. Teaching and technology go hand in hand with each other and once people realize that this is beneficial for everyone and not be so scared about teachers losing their jobs (because they won't), then the whole world would be technologically literate, beginning at a young age.

Writing with multimedia will enhance to the full extent and teachers should know what it is and how to use this to their advantage. That way, students can learn this to its' full capabilities and be comfortable with it. There are so many things connected with writing with multimedia and as long as the teacher knows how to write with multimedia and use it with their students, then this will become an every day occurrence in the classroom.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12

Carly is right, your philosophy needs addressing and for the world to know your philosophies. In my opinion, this is a good way for future employers to know what kind of person you are and how you will withhold your responsibilities in the classroom. Her assignment is very unique and seemingly, very productive. She created an assignment that would benefit students not only in this class, but also in the future when employers look at what kind of person they are. It's also an assignment that gets students more comfortable with Youtube and how to organize videos that benefited them. She created a really good assignment!

The Chipper Series

EDM for DUMMIES

Well, its is hard to come up with something after the chipper series! I thought it was hilarious and the underlying message is to not do what chipper did because you could end up really messing up and it is not the right attitude to have. A video idea from me is one where I create a classroom where there is no technology allowed with an old-fashioned teacher that would not accept the technology world. It would be a high school environment and students would get in serious trouble for just having a cell phone. I would then have another classroom where there is a laptop in front of every student and they would have an online avatar with virtual worlds of learning and etc. I would go back and fourth between the classroom and the point of this video would be to show the importance of technology in the classroom.

The primary message from these two videos is to not procrastinate, turn work in late, settle for less than your potential and to always show up on time to a job. Also, you do your own work and learn it only by doing it yourself because if not, it's "burp-back education".

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

wow, this was a very compelling video about change in the classroom. These people really know what it means to have technology in the classroom and what to do with it. Their arguments made a very clear understanding of the role of teachers in a technology world, what students to already with social media and how ti can be incorporated into the classroom and how students will benefit from this not only int eh classroom, for college, but also for the future because the future is all about technology. Technology, or the internet, creates opportunities for students to expand their creativity and give them a place they want to attend instead of a place they would rather cut a finger off than going to. School needs to be more fun oriented and should make students want to come and want to learn about space, Albert Einstein, mathematics and much, much more. There is so many things students can research and teachers are there to help them know how to accredit it and expand beyond their minds and into the virtual world of technology.

Scavenger Hunt

Number 3. Create Your Comic!

Here is also a link to the comic. My Comic

Number 4. I have never used this!

SMART Board Revolution

This is a social media network about SMART Boards! People talk about things from the SMART Board to technology teaching! It has pictures and blog posts of students conquering theories of science and such through using the SMART Board and having meeting on there as well!

Number 5. Create Your Own Poll!

Create your own sms poll at Poll Everywhere

Project #9b Prezi

Education in the Future on Prezi

Progress #1 on PLN Project

I am using Symbaloo to create my PLN and this program is very easy to use once you go through the tutorial. I started by editing my webmix tabs and creating one for EDM310 class and everything I have used for this class has a tag. I have not finished gathering tags, but I have a few. I also created a webmix tab for social networks and people I know on those networks such as twitter, blogger, facebook, etc. Then I have a webmix for my tools that I find on the internet that will help me and my future students in the classroom. I haven't worked on that webmix just yet, but I have a few things I want to add to it already that I am going to add this evening.

Blog Post #7

Networked students

I always wondered what would happen to teacher and their role in education when technology intermingles with education and this video helped me understand. I understand that the teacher is the one who helps students build on their computer skills and learning ability. Teacher give students guidance when they are stuck. They also show their students how to research good information and helps them in learning the difference between a good source and a bad one. This really helped me understand my role when I become a teacher in the technology world.

Teachers help students understand why you use technology and how it helps them. They also help them through problems they have and learn the communication world in technology. Also, teachers allow students to understand how important communication is and how social networking is key to staying connected to people. This video clearly expressed the need for teachers in technological classrooms today.

PLE vs PLN

My PLN is completely different from the girls PLE in the video, Welcome to MY PLE!. For one, I have widgets and tags pertaining to my education first and them my personal stuff on a separate webmix. I organize mine by importance and use different colors to keep my tags separate from each other so I know what pertains to what.

PLE on youtube

C4T#2

Dr. Strange's Strange Thoughts

Dr. Strange briefly discussed how his students misunderstood the concept of sarcasm in Dr. McLeod's post Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? on blog post #5. He gives definitions of sarcasm and satire and discusses the disappointing percentage of people who did not understand, read only half, or just did not read it at all. I commented that I believe that some maybe only read half of the post and that may be why they misunderstood the concept Dr. McLeod was giving. I went on to discuss that those students who did not understand it that his post would definitely clarify this. Also, I commented that sarcasm is used a lot in today's society like comedians, movies, advertisements, and personal jokes. I went on to say that some people just do not understand sarcasm, but this post was self explainable, especially at the end when Dr. McLeod says he allows his kids to do this and end the post with the question of who you think will be ahead.


Dr. Strange discussed how lectures have become unsuccessful. He also discusses on lecture part 1 different ideas that can replace lectures and gives a list of people who have examples of ideas that can replace lectures. He goes into detail about how lectures are not effective and how they are not teaching the students. I commented about how I agree on how lectures are boring and I had only one professor who was exciting and I gave an example of what I would do if I was a history professor. I explained that I would give them three projects to do so they could reenact what they learned.

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lesson


This video is really inspiring and heartwarming. To me, Randy was a very inspiring person who touched a lot of people's lives. He gave a lot of advice that will stick with me for life. One of the first lessons is that fundamentals and hard work are keys to achieving your goals in life. The bar chart method of feedback for his students really gave them an edge because if you see yourself on the bottom of the graph, you want to stride to become a better group partner. Also, "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted" and that is because you have to work hard to get what you wanted and if it does not come, you gained experience in that particular task at hand. Then there is the "head fake", which is what you learn indirectly. Learning something indirectly means you have clear understanding of the subject and it is what people actually learn, not what you get taught directly.

"Brick walls are there to show you how bad you want something". I strongly believe in this statement because without obstacles or brick walls, you don't learn what to do and not to do. They are there to show your dedication to what you want to reach in life. There are also major points that he addresses that will help you in life and that is to share, have fun while working hard, and lead you life in the best way possible. Without these key points, you will probably not succeed in what you want to accomplish in life or you will dislike what you do for a living. I believe in having fun while working hard, it makes the task go a lot more smoothly and you won't get as aggravated with it. Also, if you have to hand something over like your leadership in a project or your position at a job, hand it over to someone better than you. When you do this, you know you are leaving your project or job in better hands instead of someone who is less qualified than you. When he was a professor in the ETC program, it was absolutely astounding what he accomplished and what his students gained in the program. What he allowed his students to do and create was amazing and when you see some of the examples he had on the screen, you knew his students were having fun while working hard in the class.

When you receive feedback, it means that someone does care about what you are doing. When they deny you that criticism, they have given up on you and that is never good because once someone gives up on you, you have done enough to keep their attention on you and what you are doing. When you receive feedback, you always listen to it because feedback is very important. No matter if it is good or bad, you listen because even if it is bad, you know where you are messing up. That is what you need to know the most because if you don't know when you are messing up, you don't know what to fix. If you screw up, apologize and fix it. Always apologize for things you did wrong and stride to not let it happen again. Also, you always want to find the best in everyone because everyone is not completely bad, it just takes more time to see the good in people who seem that way.

When you work hard, you don't complain. You just move forward and have as much fun as possible while doing it. Also, focus on others and not yourself all the time because helping other is another key point in life. When you help others achieve their goals, you are subliminally helping yourself achieve little goals you made for yourself and it makes you feel good while possibly learning something new yourself. Also, loyalty is a two way street and if you try and make it a one way street and ignore that fact, you will not succeed in many of Randy Pausch's key points of helping others. Admit when you are wrong and apologize for it, learning new lessons in life that pertain to you and others around you, and always listen to feedback.

Receiving help and giving help are always key factors in being loyal, especially in group work. If you don't do your part, no one will want to work with you and this pertains to the bar graph of feedback. When people see you are not loyal, they do not want to work with you. So, learn from your feedback, be loyal, and always admit when you are wrong and apologize for it. Also, once you are good at something, you become valuable, but always remember that you cannot get anywhere in life alone. You never want to lose the child like wonder and that is where your parents and teacher play a role in your life. There are always people willing to help you, so take their help and always be truthful to them and anyone else. Randy Pausch relates himself to Tigger and not an Eeyore and that is because he is so energetic and willing to help, while Eeyore is depressed and sees everything as a burden and never wants to help. I see myself as a Tigger also, what do you see yourself as, Tigger or Eeyore?

Project Podcast #9 New Year Toppers Group

C4K for February

C4K#1 - I had to comment on Mrs. Ripps class on Michael's post. He posted on lobster being his last meal he would choose. I commented on how he described the lobster and agreed on lobster being my last meal. It was a great description and a good story.

C4K#2 - I commented on Logan's blog and he talked about his friend named Eric (fictional story). He created a story about two Bis-Gib-Ab-Bird, which is a mixture between a bison, gibbons, crab, and a bird. He tells his story about magical water that allowed the mother bird and son bird to live forever. I commented that he was very creative when creating his story. He put so much enthusiasm into his story and that is what made it so interesting.

C4K#3 - I was assigned to comment on Pipi Ako on caterpillars. They displayed pictures of the metamorphosis stage and asked the question of what this stage is. I answered the question of metamorphosis and that I had to Google it. I commented on the fact that I liked the interaction with the question given and they have a caterpillar in their classroom to see the stages.

C4K#4 - I had to comment on Mr. Salsich's class blog building boats about the properties of matter. His class did an experiment on buoyancy and made a video on the whole experiment. They made boats out of certain materials and then set it in a tub of water and added marbles to see how much the boat could hold until it sank. I commented on the fact that they created a video for viewers to see the experiment and how I never got to do experiments like that when I was in school. Also, I stated that I hope to do experiments like this when I become a teacher and congratulations on the learning experience and I hope to see more.

Project #9a Timetoast

Blog Post #5

Don't teach your kids this stuff please

Scott McLeod's blog, dangerously irrelevant was more than I expected. At first, I thought he was old fashioned and against technology, but then I realized he was being sarcastic because he allows his kids to use technology. I also like how he ended his blog post with a question. It was fantastic and very interesting. Scott McLeod, I found out, is a very brilliant man. He was the co-creator of Did You Know? Also, he has exceeded in creating programs to enhance technology in education and is a well-known man. He has four separate blogs and recently wrote his first book. What's really amazing is that he is the founding director of UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). He has made a significant difference in the technology world and education. He is one astounding man who proves that anyone can put their mind to something and succeed in their goals and beliefs.

The iSchool initiative

ZeitgeistYoungMind's Entry

Travis Allen made a significant difference in how to solve financial and technological problems in the education system. He went out there and concluded that iSchool, with all its' applications, can give students and parents that interaction that has been yearned for and he is right! ISchool can benefit everyone and education. Just with the apps we already have, we could create iSchool right now! I did not even know there was this many apps available to people just off an iphone and it is a lot cheaper than what the education system is doing right now! We would not have cut back on staff, we save our natural resources, and we teach students how to use technology efficiently. When I first saw the video he did in high school, I asked myself about how students will prevent from using their ischool device at home and school for social networking and such and he answered that with limiting the access. This is a fantastic idea for education!

His organization will hopefully change all education systems to technology and this country will benefit financially and educationally. Travis Allen created something that is advisable to all education systems. It is just a great idea and since it is president's day, the 2012 presidential candidates should really start looking into this program and they would have my vote! This will fix so many problem! Unemployment, inflation, excess use of our natural resources, and the most important, education!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

I am astound! I never knew someone could do this on the internet, let alone on present-day technology! What he did was just more proof that we can do anything on technology and the internet. He shows us that anything is possible, even with technology and education.

Teaching 21at Century Students

Kevin Roberts sees education changing in a way that technology will suffice all needs of education. Already, students know how to use the internet and technology available, but what about researching ideas and who is going to limit and watch what students do in the internet in schools. Teachers will still have a job if technology intermingles with education because they are "filter" for the subject matter students see. His view seems to be for technology in education and it should be incorporated into the system, but also limit the amount of technology usage in the classroom. Teachers are filters of technology and they teach the students how to use the technology efficiently.

readingrockets

This website is not just about reading comprehension, it has everything from science to math terms that students can better understand. When I become an educator, tools on this website will come in handy like breaking down science terms to better understand them, using apps so students can understand words better and technology at the same time, use strategies in the classroom for comprehension, and using technology to create podcasts of books created by students. This website shows many ways of benefiting technology and comprehension of terms, reading, and strategies of such.

My Sentence

Blog Post #4

Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale.

Langwitches

Curriki podcasting collection

There is a lot more to podcasting than I thought. Before these videos/web pages, I did not know what a podcast even was! Now, I understand what a podcast is and how it benefits the school system and creativity in the classroom. In my podcast, I hope to incorporate the required reading material appropriately. I like the fact that you can add sounds into your podcast as well as music and such. I also learned that you can create stories and even have videos of homework assignments. I hope I am able to incorporate podcasting into my classroom because I believe it gives them more than creativity, it allows them to be less afraid of speaking in from of others as well as being able to work well with other students and get to know their classmates. I do agree though, that podcasting brings creativity back into the classroom and every school should begin going podcasting because it is a good way for students to be able to retrieve missed homework and classwork if they miss a day of school instead of having to wait till the next day and fall behind the rest of the class. It is also a great source for parents to know what their children are being taught and what goes on in the classroom. Before, I was a little nervous about this podcast, but now I am really excited to begin!

C4T#1

Quantum Press: John Burk

I am commenting on John Burke's blog More on AP From Harvard's Eric Mazur on January 27, 2012. In his blog post, he discusses the AP test and replies to Mazur when he relates Harvard students who do not take the Physics AP to others not in Harvard who do take the Physics AP with a score of 5. Burke believe that the majority of those who made a 5 on the AP were from Physics B, a class that runs through the material quickly. Also, he discusses how Harvard students with a 5 on the Physics AP are a bit overconfident and less like to ask for assistance. Grant Wiggins suggestion, "the fact that earning a 5 on AP physics shows some negative correlation with performance in a college physics course among Harvard students should be very sobering indeed" accumulates in Burke and he believes that taking a course that is based on the AP score is meaningless, and somewhat misinterpreted. He then moves on to relate this testing to the Cold War and the Soviet Union, comparing the AP's to useless nuclear weapons and the burned out students to the economic downfall of the Soviet Union. I responded in my comment that I agree with his stance and that every acceptance exam is difficult to all persons, even Harvard students. I went on to describe my personal experience with the ACT acceptance exam for colleges. Furthermore, I ended with the thought that almost every acceptance exam has a preparation class and even though some material on the exam was not covered, it is not the teacher/professor's fault. They covered the material handed to them that they think or hope will be on an exam not produced by themselves. Students are the responsible ones in college to acquire the material needed and study with the best intentions of succeeding.

I have to go back in time and comment on his blog on January 26 called, Following up on 1 hour of learning with my students. On this blog post, he discussed how his honor students responded to an essay presented to them about one hour learning ritual. His students were very interested in this versus student over-achieving debates and such on global warming and whatnot. he then discussed AP courses in relation to honor courses when thinking about college. AP courses are fast pace and how it doesn't really matter when trying to enter college. I responded to him that I took remedial classes and they actually helped me and when I was in high school, I took regular classes and ended in a 3.7 GPA and a 17 on the ACT and I still got into a great college. I then commented that colleges do not look for extra curricular activities, but GPA and ACT scores.

Presentation Project #5

Blog Post #3

Technology in Special Education

I think technology will increase in benefiting Special Education children because, like on the video, they can achieve their goals and succeed in their assignments with the assistance on technology. They are also more efficient with their assignments and faster. I spend my extra time in a Special Education classroom at E.T. Belsaw Mt. Vernon School and those kids recent recieved a SMART board and they LOVE to play educational games on it and be able to interact with the screen projected on the wall. Also, they have one autistic child who loves to draw! He is always drawing pictures for me of fast food restaurants and highways and such. With the smart board, he can draw and color pictures with educational meaning and facts. I have asked some of the students if they like to be on the computer and if they would rather type on a computer or write sentences and vocabulary and they would much rather type it on a computer, but some have trouble with the alphabet and typing. The SMART board helps them identify letters and complete words that the computer presents them. Now, these students can actually type in what they want to search in the search engine instead of me having to type it in for them.

These students have come a long way since they received their SMART board and this is just a small step to technology in the classrooms. They are already excited about what is next to come in technology. Students these days already know about iPads and iPhones and things like that as soon as they hit the shelves and they are intrigued by these new technologies that they are extremely excited about what the school has to offer with the SMART boards. Technology works well with Special Education classrooms, I have seen it and believe that more technology should be awarded to schools. The teacher I assist with, Mrs. Curow, she wrote a paper for the grant to get SMART boards in her room and one other room in the Elementary side of the school. She won and received them almost two years ago and it had made her classroom succeed even more and it educated them on a whole new level.

How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism

I saw an app called Math Bingo on Apples website. This educational game was created for kids to correctly get five bingo bugs in a row my adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing to get the right answer and they win bingo. This game will definitely keep kids learning Mathematics and having fun at the same time. Like I have said before, technology is advancing and the educational benefits do as well. Schools need to acquire these technologies into the classrooms and for homework. Think about it, you give your students a regular book assignment for homework in Math and they use paper and such to complete the homework. Well, if they could complete lessons online or levels in a game that is based on your lesson for the day, there is no grading paperwork. There is just checking what level each student is on because if they complete the level, they succeeded in that Math lesson for the day. Interesting isn't it? I thought so too. This new technology they have for kids to learn everything from Reading, Science, and History to Math and Writing.

Special needs children can benefit the most because it helps the speak, write and interact with their teacher and classmates as well as complete assignments more efficiently and accurately. Technology will become the new learning key to education and teachers will still have a job because students always need help and always have questions about things. Plus, someone has to be there to teach them how to use these technologies.

Social media Counts

WOW! I am astounded by the amount of data rolling in on those statistics and I had no idea that all these programs and downloads were accessible. It truly amazes me to see that there is that many people per second using this much technology. When it comes to educators, I question how much of this technology is being used now by them. Teaching is more than just lecturing students and giving homework assignments, it is about learning new technologies and advances themselves. I'm not even a educator yet and I have learned a lot more things are accessible to the world now.

Technology has come a long way since it was discovered and the education field is a little behind on its' advancement of technology and the usage of it in the classroom. Technology is meaningful in education and helpful. The Technology in Special Education video demonstrates how effective technology can be for students in the classroom. Every teacher should enhance their ability to be technologically literate. I now know what it means to be technologically literate as a teacher. It means that a teacher should understand how technology benefits their classroom and students and then acquire the technology to use in their classroom and with their students because those students will be adults in our working society and need to know at least the basics of now technology works. It is okay for students to teach the teacher, but the teacher needs to technologically literate.

A Vision of Students today

This video help me learn that technology is important in keeping kids focused on learning and engage them in activities that will benefit them int he future as well as today. I also watched a video that was not on the list called A Vision of K-12 Today on youtube.com by B. Nesbitt and I think this should be included into the assignment because it benefits elementary as well as secondary educators. I thin this video is more focused that the other because it is children and they are what we as teachers will educate and assist. The other video originally assigned opened my eyes to what students do on a computer and throughout their day. They spend most of their time on a technology device anyway, so why not make it educational and intrigue them to do their homework and assignments, at home or in the classroom. If anyone reads this particular post, check out that video, it is very interesting and only 4:09 minutes long.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0

Wow, it is quite amazing how china will be more English speakers than the United States and the reality of technology advancing far beyond what we know today. The thought that technology is going to take over basic learning abilities is somewhat alarming. In my opinion, this will decrease the number of honor students in America more and Americans will rely on computers or their technology devices instead of their brain. Today, the "Jetson" era on television is becoming a reality. Not only that, but computers will eventually be smarter than the average human being and that is even more alarming. Technology has come a long way since just the 1990's and continuing to grow every minute. Text messaging has become the mass media of relations between people as well as social networks like Facebook and Myspace. The interaction between humans has subdued to the Internet instead of face-to-face interaction. Already schools are adding computers to their classrooms to learn basic learning material and this generation of new-comers already know how to use I pods and try to tap on a magazine to flip a page. The newest generation already knows the technologies that our generation just learned existed.

These alarming features of our world are as real as ever. In my opinion, more and more people are relying on technology for everything; reading books, finding true love, teaching our children, and etc. The list goes on and on, but it is up to the consumer on whether they rely on these technologies and mass media networks to find these attributes to society. China will eventually become America due to their attributes to our society and the fact that most Chinese speak English already and the numbers keep climbing. Bermuda is number one largest broadcast network in the world and America is number nineteen. Social networking is the new way to interact among other people around the world, even finding family members across the oceans. As technology grows, mankind is becoming more and more dependent on these technologies to the point that people do not even have to leave their home to survive, just have an Internet connection and everything is just one click away. So, am I ready to be an educator? I am ready to teach our younger generations the basic learning abilities such as Math, Science, Reading, and History without the assistance of an online based program. I pursue the knowledge that is necessary to succeed in life and if technology becomes a necessity, then I must follow what is needed to be taught the next generation of scholars.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

This Video shows that the education profession is not up-to-date with technology, which is how is should be for the most part. Teachers need to know how to use computers, but not let them runt heir classroom and teach for them. Computers are very handy when it comes to taking roll and inserting grades because teachers are overwhelmed with paperwork needed to teach the children. Students need to learn how to read and write and know about the history of the world. Taking into consideration that computers and projectors help students picture what the world was like, teachers are still needed to distribute the necessities of human interaction and lecture on how to do things in the world like read and write and basic math skills to balance a checkbook.

Mr. Winkle Wakes is a video that shows how technology has advanced our societies and that the educational profession has not changed that much and that can be due to numerous attributions. Funding, the lack of knowledge to technology, among other things, but human beings need to know the basic learning skills of 2+2 and understanding how certain things work in the world. Technology helps make things easier like adding and creating a relationship and managing your bank account, but to understand those things, students need to know how they work and why a computer can do those things. Students need to acquire these abilities before they interact with a computer.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson is quite the funny character, but has a key point in education and creativity. I never thought of education blocking or stubbing creativity. Creativity is in everyone, but creativity is lost when education grows. He gave great examples of how we treat creative habits of twitching and unable to concentrate. Today, we would treat it as A.D.H.D. instead of stopping and thinking that possibly, the child is not focused of these basic subjects and instead, focused on a creative trait like dance, art, or music. True, students need to know the basic subjects, but to get them to actually learn it becomes difficult in each individual child because each child has a different method of learning and different creative thoughts. One child may have to be in motion while another sits still and concentrates hard on the subject at-hand.

This video gives educators a new perspective on how to teach their children and how individual they truly are. Students need creativity to learn the basics. Without the creativity senses in a child, they become a person that may see creativity and know it, but not contain it themselves. Education throughout the years practically eliminates creativity and if not, students seem to dissipate the idea or the actual action of creativity. In conclusion, education does kill creativity if teachers do not grasp that creativity at a young age and incorporate in into an aspect of learning.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

This video argues that mainly we should use video games as an additive to education for a better educational purpose for children. In my opinion, to a certain extent could this be beneficial for everyone, students and teachers. When education becomes that impacted by technology, there becomes this absence of human interaction. Teachers are more than just educators of math, science, and such, they are role models and teach not only the basic subjects, they teach children morals, values, and basic communication skills like how to talk to an adult and respect for others. Put them on a computer and they lose that sense of interaction and some may say the sense of reality. Video games are a big argument topic when they are still games. When they become an educational source in schools, they will be much controversy to parents and teachers. I would rather interact with students with the assistance of technology like creating other parts of the world on a computer and allow them to watch this educational video, but still have that teacher-student interaction of learning.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

The way Vicki David conducted her class is a prime example of how technology can improve education. In elementary education, this would not seem to work well because children at that age should use a method like video games, but to an extent. She was teaching her students to teach, speak in front of a crowd, and how to use technology. Her perspective in her class teaches these kids to be adequate learners and well as knowing what is around the world and what is at their fingertips. TO be able to create avatars and worlds on their own becomes extra knowledge they have for future jobs. Not only does she teach this, she gives knowledge of every aspect of technology and her students teach her things she did not know before. This becomes a great learning environment for students when they learn on their own like EDM310. I have learned that when something is "burp-back education", it truly does dissipates from your brain and forget what was taught. David's as well as Dr. Stranges' way of learning should become a new method of teaching.

I am taking Finite Math right now and my teacher teaches us what to do and then has a booklet that we complete. This is a better form of learning than others. When I was in DS082 Math, it was a computer-based program that was more confusing than helpful. Technology and math do not mix well when math is all computer based. I passed the class, but forgot a lot of the material. In certain subjects, like what Vicki David presented in her class, technology advances education, but in mathematics, it increases that "burp-back education".

My Wordle

Blog Post #1

All About Me!

My name is Melissa Mark, I am almost twenty years old and currently studying to become a preK-6 elementary teacher. I moved to Alabama about ten or eleven years ago from Virginia. I always wanted to go to college but my mother did not, so she rejected to help me get accepted into college. When I graduated from high school in December of 2009, I moved out and now live with a very gracious couple who helped me attend college and become a better person in life. The woman who helped me enroll in college is a special education teacher. Since I graduated in December, I had a lot of time and so I would ride up to her school with her everyday and help her with student activities. I would also volunteer during big events at the school such as the Fall Festival. When I am not in classes, you will find me at her school volunteering my time learning the environment and necessities to become a great teacher.

I chose to become an educator because it fascinated me and I love working with children, helping them in any way possible. Also, I love to know the aspects of teaching from cognitive learning to arts and crafts,so I decided to attend USA because it has a fantastic education department that goes in-depth with every little aspect of teaching. I am really excited about this class because this is my first education class and so far has intrigued me. This is my second year at South and I hope to continue through to my doctorate in education. For hobbies, I love to go riding on my boat and fishing; pretty much anything that involves being outside. I love to be creative and spending time creating new ideas for the classroom and also getting a better understanding of the learning aspects/teaching abilities of teachers. I have no kids of my own, but will in the future. I have a fiance', which we have been together for almost four years now and counting. I love to draw as well, but I do not have too much time to draw anything decent. :)That pretty much sums everything up about me. I look forward to spending the next semester in this class.

Randy Pausch on Time Management

When the video began, he discusses how he is battling pancreatic cancer and how time management is important to his life. He then discusses time managent in jobs and academic situations. I learned that time management is more than just getting an assignment done "on time". It is not wasting time in life, it is about overpowering big projects or a ton of paperwork just by starting small. Also, it is about always having a plan. Like Pausch said, "you can always go back and change it". You want to know where your time is being spent as well because then you can realize A, where you are wasting time and B, what you could be doing instead to succeed in class or at work. Always have dead time and try not to interrupt people as well as not allowing people to interrupt you. Interruptions cost a lot of time when their added up and Pausch shows ways to shorten those interruptions and sometimes prevent them. Time management is all based on how you spend your time, in which ways your time is being spent and if necessary, with who. Time management creates your day, success, economic status and your life. It is the most important aspect of anyones life in order to be really successful in life. Lastly, if you use technology, only use it if it benefits you timely and efficiently.

Practice Post

My first post.