Final Post

Screenshot of my PLN

Final Report on PLN

In the final result on my PLN, I used the following websites as tiles: skype, youtube, gmail, googledocs, timetoast, twitter, and blogger.  I also put a link to the apple store especially for Dr. Strange.  I chose these websites because they are all major sites that were required in EDM 310 this semester.  We use gmail, googledocs, and blogger almost 100% of the time; the majority of our projects are to be put on youtube.  Skype, timetoast, and twitter are part of a few assignments as well.  

Also used in my PLN as tiles are the blogs of: Dr. Strange, Jamie Lynn Miller, Anthony Capps, Stephen Akins, Stephen Sullivan, Caitie Lord, and Cathy Soutullo.  I chose to put these into my PLN because all of the people listed above helped me in some form or fashion; I also chose to list these in my PLN so others could see how important blogging is, and how much a part of the future it is.

I also added my blog and the EDM 310 blog as tiles because I access those sites regularly.

I learned through creating  a PLN which sites are important and for what reason those particular sites are important.  I also found it important to vote for EDM 310 as the best use of a PLN!  I used symbaloo to create my PLN; I thought it was fairly simple to understand so I stuck with it.
http://www.symbaloo.com/

CAITIE AND KRYSTEN FINAL PROJECT

C4T Summary Post

Teacher 4, #1
 Kim Cofino blogged about the ways of sharing ideas in the world of education.  She talked about how higher-ended schools should help lower functioning schools, and show them new ways of doing things.  I commented that I can't have a strong opinion because I don't deal with those types of things yet.  I shared that I feel it's important for me to familiarize myself with things like that to help myself and others in the future.

Teacher 4, #2
Kim Cofino wrote a blog post about a conference/seminar that she attended.  She wrote 5 major points that she feels were most important from the seminar.  Mrs. Cofino realizes that teacher/parent communication is of the up-most importance, and that without it, no new ideas will prosper.

Mrs. Cofino also talks about the importance of creating an environment where everyone is comfortable with taking risks and making risky decisions.  This will be done with the thought that one may fail. 

Mrs. Cofino also talks about how we should all know that we aren't going to win everyone over with our new and risky ideas.  The older people aren't going to be as wanting as we are to develop new things. 

C4K Summary Post

C4K 10:  Maja wrote about a Skype interview conducted with 5th graders in Pennsylvania. Maja wrote about how they were both learning the 50 states and where they are located; she shared about a song they use to memorize it.  Maja also talked about how she thought it was interesting that they don't grow corn in Pennsylvania.   Maja learned that the students have to wear uniforms each day, they learn about God, and they start school at 8:30 and end at 2:30.  Maja is very observant!

I shared that I thought Skype was important because I am required to use it even at the college level.  I said that I was proud that Maja was so creative and observant.  I also told Maja that I use Skype to communicate with my family in Alaska.

C4K 11 (SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT YASMIN):  I was assigned to comment on Yasmin's first post on her blog.  Yasmin shared that she was upset and didn't understand why no one was commenting on her blogs.  She went on to say that she faithfully comments on others blogs, and would like to receive the same treatment.  I commented that I am assigned to comment on blogs every week; I then shared that I don't get a response every time I comment on a blog.  I suggested putting entertaining videos and pictures in her blog.  Then I told her to keep her head up, and keep trying!  I did gain an appreciation in this assignment for all of the great advice that other people have given Yasmin.  I realize that some were required to write, but they still did an amazing job giving Yasmin the feedback she wanted. 

Summary Kids Post 3-7

I was assigned to post on kids blogs that were all ages.  One child talked about a dream that she had had.  I commented that I often have funny dreams and don't always know what they mean.  Another student blogged about a book report that he did.  I commented that not only would he be writing book reports for a long time, but that he'd probably be blogging for a long time, too.

Another student blogged all about her family, and how close they were.  She had a large family!  I commented about how I wished sometimes that my family was bigger, but how I've learned that everything happens for a reason!  Another child blogged about an assignment she had.  The assignment was about finding family members to add to her family tree; it was quite interesting.  I also noticed that she had a really nicely-decorated profile.

I don't remember each and everything that each child said, but I remember the ones that stuck out the most in my mind.  I also remember the more important things that I said to the students. 

Blog Post 13

Once again, I am almost embarrassed to say that I've never heard of ALEX before until now!  I keep telling myself that this is what education is about and why I pay the big bucks to go to school!  


ALEX stands for "Alabama Learning Exchange".  It is a site made for teachers, parents, and students listing state testing requirements, lesson plans, resources, etc.  Not only does it list all of these helpful items, but it lists them in such a way that it's easy to find.  ALEX is a one-stop resource site.  It doesn't give one a thousand different links to click on; one gets all the information on one page.


ALEX is a product of the Alabama Department of Education in hopes to make it easier for students, parents, and teachers to view material and to help them along in their everyday endeavors.  Lesson plans made my other teachers are available so that one can see what materials any given teacher is using in his or her classroom.  There are also interactive activities that students and/or parents can do to help them better their knowledge of a given topic.  


The Alabama Learning Exchange website is wonderfully informative.  I definitely can see myself using this as a teacher, and hopefully someday as a parent.  As the writer of the homepage said him or herself, ALEX is a work in progress, and I can't wait to see how far it comes in the future!
http://alex.state.al.us/showpage.php?lnk=welcome

Project 15

Additional info. to Form Project

https://spreadsheets.google.com/gform?key=0Au_Gc5troAcfdG9HM0hKbURPbW1MdlhOZUZqSHJmb1E&hl=en&gridId=0#chart

Above is the link to a visual summary of the data I collected in my Form Project 

Form Project

I did a survey on driving laws; I was curious to see how many people actually followed driving laws.  The results really did surprise me a little. 

My analysis is that most people my age agree that 5 over the speed limit is still speeding!  Most people in my generation text while driving.  Only half of the people I surveyed say that they always wear their seatbelt.  100% of the people surveyed admit to talking on the phone while driving.  3 out of 4 have had some kind of ticket before; this means only 1 person has never received a ticket!  My conclusion is that we need to do more to educate people on following all driving laws, myself included.  I believe that more laws should be made, and the driving laws should be enforced! 

Progress Report on Final Project

My partner and I not only have class together, but we also work together.  This is to our advantage because we have plenty of time to talk about our final project and other things about class.  So far we have discussed in detail what we plan to do.  We know we want to make a movie summarizing all of the things we've learned in EDM 310.  We plan to spend the same amount of time on each thing instead of picking the ones we like only.  Everything is important! 


We also have started planning on when we are going to put this whole video together.  We know that the more prepared we are, the easier the video will be to make.  We're right on schedule!

Blog Post 12

http://www.jabizraisdana.com/blog/  
Blog Post Assignment 12:  Click on the link above.  Look around Mr. Raisdana's blog.  Comment on 2 of his recent blog posts.  Explain to him who you are, where your from, and your thoughts about his blog post.  Follow him on twitter. 

My reasoning:  I, as a suggestion from Mr. Anthony Capps, started following Mr. Raisdana on twitter.  He is my favorite person to read from on Twitter because he is interesting, real, and he has the most interesting blog posts ever.  I really look up to him and hope that I can be even the slightest bit like him one day.  I realize that Dr. Strange assigns us to comment on certain educators blog posts quite often, but this is different in the way that I asked you all to follow him on twitter, also. 

Blog Post 11

This video is a great way to show others (particularly older generations) just exactly how and why technology is important.  It shows me what to expect within the next couple of years (with a few changes, of course).  I like that
a child narrated the video; it made it more interesting believable.  The children had laptops in the classrooms.  They are blogging and creating webpages.  It's amazing!  It is almost embarrassing that I just got a blog! 

STRANGE/KASSIDY SKYPE VIDEO

This conversation is so interesting!!  I enjoyed learning about how long Mrs. Kassidy has been blogging and posting videos on the internet; it really amazes me that she's been blogging for a length of time, and I just learned about blogs!  I also found it interesting that the parents of her students are supportive of the students doing so much on the internet.  

What I really enjoyed hearing was her opinion of the thought that "We will not use technology as an Elementary Educator".  I loved her response and thought she answered the question well!!

Mrs. Kassidy said this : "Why would a student want to write on paper where only I could see it when they could write on the internet and tons of people could read it?"  I love this!!  She explains that to a 6 year old, it is so neat for someone to comment on what they say.  

Dr. Strange: "Should every teacher be technology literate"?
Mrs. Kassidy : "Absolutely."  

The quotes above really mean something to us, as future educators.  She explains that technology isn't going away, it's only growing.  This is so true, and we students need to prepare ourselves.  We cannot enter the education world with only being able to write in word and maybe work a spreadsheet.  I'm glad that this class is a requirement.  I think that we should all keep our blogging going, our twitter accounts going, our podcasts going, etc. 

I enjoyed this skype conversation so much; it really is a useful sight into the world of a teacher who knows the importance of education.  

Project 14

Krysten Malone PDF

Smartboard Presentation

Summary Post Teacher #3

The blog I posted on was titled " I'll Gladly Pay You Tuesday For Some Copy Paper Today" Mrs. Lee is talking about how teachers, more than any other profession, spend their own money on their classrooms. She is concerned; she also wonders why. Mrs. Lee has been in the education field for 26 years, and she has been spending her own money for that length of time.

She talks throughout the post about whether or not this is right and why it is acceptable. She also shares towards the end that her husband encourages her NOT to pay out of her own pocket for items that should be provided already for her classroom. He says that "nobody buys the cow when they can get the milk for free". Mrs. Lee struggles with this.

I thought this post was interesting because it is what I will probably will be doing in my future. I shared with her that I, too, have been spending money in my preschool classroom for years. I shared that I would rather have my children have the items they need to help understand the concepts than learning nothing because I couldn't fork out a few bucks for the good of education.

Additional Assignment 3

a.  To me, the most important thing that Sir Ken Robinson said was:  "Many brilliant people think they are not."  This just speaks volumes.  So many children (and adults) are truly brilliant and amazing people, who are capable of learning great multitudes, but they just THINK they can't.

b. I wouldn't say that I necessarily totally DISagre with Sir Ken Robinson, but I am motivated to do research on ADHD in the Eastern parts of our country.  I am interested in studying about whether or not medication is the answer and so on.  I am curious.

c.  Well, obviously we are all in college to earn a degree to make a living off of.  Sir Ken Robinson says that we aren't guaranteed jobs with degrees anymore.  I disagree.  Maybe at this point we aren't guaranteed jobs, but I believe they will come about again.  We are taught in EDM 310 about how doing things like they were done in the past (education, teaching in general, lack of technology, technology illiteracy, etc.) is no longer working; Sir Ken says the same thing.

d.  I can first earn my degree, get a JOB, be a successful educator with a purpose.  I can help my generation learn that they NEED technology, especially in the education field.  I can help raise standards- first for myself, then for my students, and my colleagues.  I can help others see how truly brilliant they are.

e.  I loved the presentation; it was SO NEAT!!  If I were to do this in a group, I would like to be the 'author' and/or the 'narrator'.   

Blog Post 10

http://morgbayda.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/an-open-letter-to-educators/


I liked this video; I know we aren't supposed to always talk about looks and sound, but I liked how Dan Brown spoke one sentence in one place in the room, but in the next breath he was in another part of the room.  It made it interesting, instead of him just sitting there talking.  He also had a nice tone, which is always helpful.  

Now on to the more important things.  I have never even considered dropping out of school.  In fact, I have often looked down on those who do choose to drop out of school.  I feel that getting an education is my only option.  Right now in America, I am not even guaranteed to collect Social Security or receive retirement benefits.  Thus why I think that I should get a degree in something that I love and pursue a career in it.  

I do halfway see where Mr. Brown is coming from.  He is fed up with the way "schooling" is affecting his education.  I understand.  But at the same time, should we really consider giving up on a goal or dream because it isn't going the way we want it to?  Maybe if lots of people were willing to take the risk, it would make more sense to me.   But as of right now, there isn't a whole lot in life that could make me quit school.  I could be getting married right now if  a degree wasn't important to me.  

My point:  Set goals and don't get deterred by the world!


http://techliterateteacher.blogspot.com/2010/03/two-questions-that-can-change-your-life.html

Once again, I liked this video and found it both useful and intriguing.  If this video was used more, it could change peoples' perspective on lots of things.  "What's my Sentence?"  My sentence is: "Think, Dream, Set Goals".   I realize that this may be cheesy; but it's what I live by.  When we think, we can have dreams for our lives.  And when we set goals, we can achieve our greatest dreams.  As you probably can already tell, I am a goal-setter.  I know what I want out of life, and I am bound and determined to get it.  

 

Skype Interview

Blog Post 9

http://attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com/2009/05/what-i-learned-this-year.html


"What I've Learned This Year" by Dr. McClung

I immensely like this post because of how real and honest it is. I really feel like this gives us, as students, an insight to what our first year of teaching will most likely be like.


Dr. McClung says to be flexible, be communicative, be reasonable, don't be afraid of technology, and listen to your students. Obviously all of these are extremely important to a teacher and to a student. Being flexible is important with children because kids will be kids! We shouldn't gripe at children and make them feel uncomfortable all because we cannot be flexible. Dr. McClung says that communication is important in the workplace, and that it is the best way to resolve problems with co-workers.

I feel like being reasonable is something that takes time and practice to learn. Being a reasonable teacher will make the education of students easier to accomplish. Dr. McClung also talks about how adults are so afraid of technology. After being in EDM 310 for a few months, I have come to agree with his statement. I myself have been some what afraid of technology in general. That isn't going to be possible in my generation any longer.

Listen to your students is probably what hit me the hardest in Dr. McClung's post. I liked how he inserted into the post where the child answers that he or she knows the teacher cares about him or her because "he listens to me". Wow! As a preschool teacher, I wonder how many of my children would say that about me! This has given me something to think about, and it's made me realize what I need to work on.

The last thing he said was to "never stop learning". I love this statement! I have always assumed that once I get my degree, that I will know everything. Oh but how quickly I have realized that is NOT the case. We will always learn something new everyday, especially in the world of educating young minds.

"Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." This is my all time favorite quote from the blog post. In closing, this has been one of the more enjoyable posts I have read. I feel like I can relate to it and can make myself better from it.

Blog Post 8

EDM for Dummies

The first minute of this video is exactly how I felt the first couple of days of EDM 310. I felt so overwhelmed and even a little CRAZY- although I never actually smashed any computers! But there really isn't an excuse for not becoming familiar with the class. Everything is written out step by step for us in the instruction manual. Dr. Srange are pretty much always available. I enjoyed the video! I like the fact that it's so simple, but yet it holds so much information in the short span of it. I really like and appreciate it!

http://gallery.me.com/jstrange/101120/Chipper%20-%20Medium.m4v?disposition=download

This was a really interesting video. I like how the common ways of thinking of lots of college students was played out so easily. I don't know about others, but I get caught up in the outside world at times and end up becoming a little lazy with my school work. We make all sorts of excuses for ourselves and come up with ridiculous scenarios with how to get out of doing work. I liked the whole thing and enjoyed it. I think it would be fun and rewarding to take part in a video something like this. It's definitely something to think about!

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-smartboards-are-dumb-initiative.html

I became really interested in this post when the author said: " Smartboards are an administrative cop out". Wow!! Someone who can say this openly is someone who probably very educated on the topic, and that is what made me start over from the beginning and read again. I also appreciated the fact that he slimmed his points down into two points; he cut straight to the chase.
I struggled a bit with this. I've decided that it is because I was under-informed about smart boards. I didn't realize the cons of them, only the pros. The pros are that they do look good in classrooms, and they are 'neat' gadgets. But does this neat gadget improve students' learning environment? Maybe they do, but do they improve the environment enough to pay THOUSANDS of dollars for? Not!


http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/01/27/tln_ferriter_whiteboards.html?tkn=Q[RFGmQux6XnMebDMl4nddRDutTae13KtmNE

The writer of this post seems to have 'beef' with smartboards because they cost so much money, but they don't promote collaborative work with students or critical thinking skills. He says that the whiteboards are neat, but they didn't make his job of teaching a required subject any easier. I don't really like that he listed that part as a reason- who said educating was easy? But, he did have another point that I liked. He wrote that if one was to ask a principal what the best classrooms looked like, he or she would say something like: " In the best classrooms, students are involved in creating knowledge together. They’re studying topics, designing experiments, collaborating with peers, and challenging one another’s preconceived notions. While the teacher is always present to guide and to facilitate, the students are empowered to discover and to grow independently.” I like this point, alot.


http://techliterateteacher.blogspot.com/2009/07/dr-richard-e-miller-discusses-writing.html
"This is How We Dream" Part 1 By Dr. Miller

He caught my attention within a minute when he started talking about how we use our laptops in place of pencil, paper, books, etc. This is so true! In the technology world, this is probably a good thing. He went on to talk about how we can learn anything we want within a few seconds and a few clicks on the internet. We can also collaborate on our computers now. We can all get together with a colleague or 2 and collaborate any kind of report using the technology today. And this is how we learn now. I really like videos that are made like this. What I mean is, the speaker is demonstrating what he is also saying.

"This is How We Dream" Part 2 By: Dr. Miller
Dr. Miller continues to talk about all of the things technology gives us, all of the opportunities are given to us from technology. We can compose music using itunes; we compose videos online. We can not only produce them, but we can go behind the scenes and see how things are done. We can then demonstrate that information anyway we want. He starts talking about how he understands that the resources we have here aren't available everywhere; but he sees it in the future.

Dr. Miller says that at the University he teaches at, he doesn't have the ability to teach this way because it has not yet been invented. He says that a "building that is united is better. The future can only be a bright one if it is realize through the shared labor of those who work in the humanities AND the sciences." Dr. Miller says that the goal is not technology in itself, but what technology has to offer.

Podcast

Get Your Own Free Hypster.com Playlist.

Additional Assignment 2

If I am honest with myself, I will say that before watching this video I thought that teachers were absolutely necessary in order for a child to learn.  Now I feel that an educator of some sort is necessary to some extent, but Ir realize that children who are less fortunate in other countries are teaching themselves.  I do not know if children in America will be motivated enough to teach themselves, therefore, I think educators are very necessary in America.

In order for one to teach one's self, I would say that some  sort of common knowledge of the subject is required.  If one doesn't know how to do simple math, how can one teach calculus?  But I also understand and respect that children are very intelligent, and when they are motivated, they can do really amazing things.  I'm not totally ruling out that children can teach themselves.  This whole concept makes me really excited to finish school and get into the world of education, so I can better answer these questions for myself.

Internet access plays a huge role in children teaching themselves to learn, in my opinion.  One can google ANYTHING.  As long as a child has the common knowledge of what a given site is saying, I would venture to say that, yes, a child can indeed teach themselves.

In my life, motivation is a huge role while learning.  If I were not motivated to turn my work in on time in EDM 310, I would totally be failing right now.  If a 2 year old in my preschool class isn't somewhat motivated to learn the colors, they won't learn it.  That much I have seen with my own eyes.  I think it is exciting when a child or any student really wants to learn, when he or she really craves knowledge about something.  I wish I had craved like that when I was younger!

I motivate others to learn by telling them how much they can do with the information that they learn!  Just think of all the things in life one can do with KNOWLEDGE.  I am not going to sit here and say that school is a piece of cake, because it isn't, but we in America have so many opportunities to further our education. What better way to better ourselves than this?

I am motivated to learn because I wasn't born an naturally book-smart kind of girl ( as you can probably tell, hehe).  I have to work harder than the average student to know things and to retain information.  I know my capabilities, I set goals, and I go for them!  I know that I can make something of myself, and I'm doing it. 

I would venture to say that someone who isn't motivated to learn could learn.  Obviously, he or she won't learn all that they are capable of; they won't learn to their full potential, but it's possible.  Everyone has some level of intellectual ability, so yes.

My 'concern' after watching this is that one day in my lifetime, paid educators won't be necessary.  We are always learning in this class about all the technology that's available, and it's only growing!  If children can teach themselves now using technology, what will it be like in 10 years? 20? 50?

Timetoast- Malone Family

Teacher 2 Summary Posts

The first post that I commented on was a post about a reading program designed to help children read at a better quality. The post went on to explain how students in some parts of America are being taught to read as quickly as they can, ignoring punctuation and pronouncement. A fellow classmate commented that she has seen this abuse of a great reading program go on in her experience in student teaching. I am embarrassed that a teacher would think that it is more important to read QUICKLY than it is to read CORRECTLY.

The second post that I commented on was about a 2nd grade student that was coloring on her paper during class. The teacher asked her when she had time to color on her paper; the student replied that she colored on her paper while the teacher was playing on the computer. This is both sad and embarrassing! The poster of the blog went on to say that we never know who is watching us, and that only our students know how we really are in the classroom. As I shared in my comment, this post really motivated me to always be my best self in front of everyone, because we never know who is watching us when.

Blog Post 7

I am being very honest when I say that I was not looking forward to watching a 1 hour and fifteen minute video. I hope this honesty doesn't get me in trouble. After the first 2 minutes, I was engulfed into the video. I am instructed to write four paragraphs on this speech; I decided to write about four or five quotes that I find interesting and important.

The first quote that I like is "Anything is possible and that is something we should not lose sight of." With the topic of the lecture being "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", I think this is a necessary quote to remember. Sometimes in our lives, I think that we write certain dreams off because we don't think of them as reachable. For example, I know of a young woman who has a great talent of singing, but she doesn't try to go after her dream of singing professionally because she doesn't think she will make it. She could be right, but she could also be wrong. We will never know what we are capable of if we don't try to achieve event he simplest of dreams.

Another quote that I thought was important is "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." I think this can mean something different to different people. But what it means to me is that not everything is simple and easy. There are always going to be brick walls in our paths that slow us down. But those brick walls prove to us how badly we want things by stopping us and challenging us to break through them. I think once we grasp this idea and the one I mentioned earlier, we will then be able to blast through the brick walls in our paths and better ourselves.

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted" is mentioned about half way through the lecture. We all need experience. Without it, it's hard to get even the simplest of jobs. However, experience often comes from a 'failure' of some sort. Those failures and short-comings is what teaches us. Through those experiences, we can learn what to do better next time, or how to change our ways of doing certain things.

The last quote that I thought was appealing to the topic is "Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly." I learn something everyday, without even trying to learn. Today I learned what a safety is in football. Last week I learned how to do a probability math problem in math class. But most of what we learn comes from something we weren't even concentrating on. This happens especially in the lives of children.

I respect this lecture video, and it being 1 hour and 15 minutes long didn't matter in the slightest.

Summary Kids Post 1 and 2

Serenity is the child I was assigned to learn about.  Serenity's first post was an assignment she had been given.  She was telling about a specific rock; she did an amazing job.  As I told her, I honestly got educated in just 1 paragraph by a young student; amazing!

The second post I commented on she told a little about herself.  She shared that she comes from a large family and that she isn't good at math.  I shared with her that I come from a small family- compared to hers.  I also shared that I am not good at math either, which is an understatement.

I enjoyed reading Serenity's posts. I think it's great that blog posts are being assigned starting at a younger age.

Blog post 6

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student


Wow!!  First off, I really liked the way the video was set up.  What I mean is the way the camera was focused on a white surface, and all that was done was someone was moving the pictures back and forth to demonstrate what the narrator was saying.  Something simple turned into something so wonderful.


What I personally got out of the video is the realization that students use so many other resources to do assignments, write papers, create blogs, and so on.  A student could simply google the information to learn how to do almost anything.  (Actually, I would venture to say that a student  could google the information to learn how to do ANY and EVERYTHING.)  So, why DOES a networked student need a teacher?

When I first thought of this question, I thought to myself; "Oh no, a networked student doesn't need a teacher".  But he or she does need a teacher!  Dr. Strange likes us to use the word "educators" instead of "teachers" and now I see why.  Educators are there for guidance, learning, discernment between good and bad information, and to help with communication.  I am well on my way to being an educator to a generation of amazing and very intelligent children.  It's exciting!






Once again, I am amazed that a 7th grader has done all of this!  When I was in 7th grade (which wasn't THAT long ago), I didn't know how to do ANY of this.  I am almost embarrassed that I am a junior in college and I just now heard of google docs, and this student who is much younger than I has been using  google docs.  Wow.

This is great, though.  She said at the end that she doesn't use paper or a pencil hardly ever.  I really think that this is the direction that our education in schools is going.  We all better get ready for the ride!




I actually liked this video, even though it was long.  I was interested because he compared classrooms to American Idol auditions.. literally.  It saddened me.  It showed how much excitement goes into bad singing, and how NO excitement goes into learning.  He talked about how the classroom is totally disengaged and what we can do to change it. 

He then started talking about the "MTV generation". He described that generation as having short attention spans and being materialistic.  Are all students described as this?

It really got interesting when he started talking about youtube.  The statistics alone on youtube are mouth dropping.  He insists that youtube isn't make up of only youngsters, there are oldies on youtube, too.. And then he played the "Charlie bit my finger" video, which is hilarious.  He really proved his point. 

All in all, I always enjoy his videos. He is an extremely intelligent man, and I know that his students learn so much from him.  He always speaks very well, and I hope that other people take the time to listen to him. 

Blog Post 5

"The Benefits of Podcasts in the Classroom" by Doug Saunders

This short video contained a good bit of information about podcasts. The first thing that jumped out at me was the statistics and numbers of children that use technology already. With the wii, ipods, iphones, and other technological items, children today already are ahead of most adults!

In addition to this, the video explained how podcasts deliver instruction that can be seen anywhere and at any time. Podcasts are a great way of interacting with students. Some children, believe it or not, do not learn best with someone right over them the whole time. Podcasts gives those particular students a way to learn from a distance.

Podcasts are simple to create and upload, so it is great for children in America today. Also Doug talks about how this is an interesting way for parents to see and hear just exactly what their children are learning in school each day.

Eagles Nest Radio Podcast

I automatically loved the background music from the very beginning! This is amazing; I'm so impressed. I like how each child says a paragraph or two each. This podcast really is extremely informational. Throughout the video, the music gets more intense, just as the information and the child's voices gets more intense. This is just another example of how awesome technology is. It also makes me wonder how different technology may be one I finally am able to be an educator myself. Hmm...

Podcast Collection

This site is pretty much a guide to podcasting. Anything a person needed to know is on this site. It starts out by defining what exactly a podcast is. It goes on to talk about how to make one and how to put one up. It explains how it is important to be familiar with items like 'audacity'.

After all of that is covered, it starts talking about how to instruct students to to a podcast. What topics are good topics? How should one direct students? All of these are important questions, and one can find the answers one this site.


After reading and watching these videos and blogs, I am more familiar with how to do a podcast and how NOT to do a podcast. In the future, I can surely see myself coming back for a review!

Additional Assignment 1

a. Using google squared, one can find out all sorts of information about pretty much anything.  As shown in Dr. Strange's youtube post, one can find the population of any given country.
b.  Using wolframalpha, one can do the same as in google squared, but one may get different numbers.  A person can use both of these sites and see if they get the same information; that would tell a person that the information was probably correct.

c & d: I am sad to say that I didn't know about google squared or worldramalpha before 20 minutes ago.
e. After re-reading my own comments to the "Did You Know" assignment, I still  agree with everything that I said.
f. To be honest, the word "statistics" makes me nervous, normally.  But after exploring and playing with these sites, I'm excited to find that I wasn't confused! It's a very useful tool to find out about things that are normally difficult to find information on.

Blog Post 4

http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/08/dont-teach-your-kids-this-stuff-please.html

 "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?" by Scott McLeod was actually very funny.  I gathered from the first line that he was being extremely sarcastic.  America has just come to a point where technology is the way to go.  There is no turning back.  I liked when he said that basically the technology-literate children were going to be a step up than the ones who aren't technology-literate.  I think his sarcasm is what draws people in, rather than just hearing someone go on and on about technology.  Short, sweet, and to the point- I like it.



This high school student from Georgia is obviously a very intelligent young man.  He is weighing the pros and cons of schools going all technology.  By going "all technology" the schools would do everything using the ipod extravaganzas.  He literally demonstrates how everything needed to be done in school can be done on an ipod.
The student explains that while the expenses needed for books, calculators, pencils, back packs, etc. can be very high, the cost of an ipod is only $150.  He uses a venn diagram to demonstrate just exactly how these savings take place.  The first thing I thought was that kids would be using the internet for other reasons other than school, but just as soon as I thought it- he explained how the websites would be supervised!
I think this is interesting, and we shall see if/when it happens.

"The Lost Generation"
At first, I was concerned that this was going to be a depressing video, but about half way through, it really turned around.  I wish that our ENTIRE generation thought that we could change the way our paths are taking us.  I don't think that my generation believes that we can change anything.  I liked the technique because it caught my attention.  It wasn't boring.  It was short, but powerful.  Nicely done!

http://techliterateteacher.blogspot.com/2010/05/eric-whitakers-virtual-choir-lux.html

Eric Whitaker -Virtual Choir

Wow!!! First of all, I love how it sounds when people are singing and it sounds like there are instruments playing, but there aren't!! I got even more excited when it was ALL done over the internet.  This guy went on the internet and pieced all this together; how cool is that! Very impressive and exciting!!

Summary Post Teacher #1

Mrs. Cofino has one of the most positive attitudes that I have seen while blogging.  She is very interesting, and I enjoyed reading her posts.  She had 7 core points in her post.  They were: build relationships, be approachable,  be available, be proactive, be positive, be appreciative, and build community. She wrote a paragraph on each of these topics, and did a wonderful job.  She pointed out that relationships and attitude are important among co-workers.  She thinks that being approachable to your fellow employees or to your boss helps the situation of working together and makes it easier.  She talked about how being positive and appreciative of others' work made people respect and like you more. As a teacher all of these things will be important to me.  I already feel that, as a preschool teacher, all of these things are important already,even though I am not someone's boss.

In the second blog post that I read, Mrs. Cofino was concerned about online classes.  She expressed concern that in classes where everything was online that students weren't getting the one-on-one that he or she needed.  I completely agree.  I expressed to her that I felt that in my previous online classes, my teacher didn't know me at all, and we didn't have any one to one contact.  I feel it is extremely important, especially in the lives of children and in Elementary Education. 

Blog Assignment 3

 "A Vision of Students Today" by Michael Welsh

Wow!! I liked this video! I totally feel that way.  I feel that we pay all this money to have professors (not all, of course) not even care to know our names.  I feel like we pay hundreds of dollars for school books, but yet in most of my classes, we're told to not even bring it to class.  I realize that we, as students ,will read more facebook posts than we do actual books. This is sad, but I still understand exactly the point of the video.

http://eduratireview.com/2009/04/its-not-about-technology.html/

This person has a very strong opinion, and I like that! The writer obviously cares strongly for this, and that says something.  I have been told alot lately that technology is all we need in classrooms, and after reading this, I'm beginning to question that.  Not that technology isn't needed, but that a teacher must have other tactics, too.

When the writer talks about how all teachers have a degree, every teacher achieved it differently.  Some teachers graduated college 30 years ago when there wasn't alot of technology, where as some teachers graduated last year and technology has changed even since then (which we learned from our previous blog assignment).

So, where I see where technology is needed, I can also see where one must have the ability to teach before one can dive in and expect us all to use brilliant technology.  I think it's necessary to still teach AND use technology all at the same time.

Latest Headlines 
"Is It Okay to Be a Technology Illiterate Teacher? by Karl Fisch

Wow! This writer feels very strongly about technology, and I am excited about that!  As I said in the paragraph before this, I realize that technology is important, but I know that not everyone does.  I have caught myself saying "Yeah, don't worry, I was never really good at math, either."  How embarrassing!!! I don't know that I would go so far as to say that a teacher who is technology illiterate should have his or her license removed.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that classes should be offered to him or her so that they have a change to better themselves.  As I've said before, some teachers graduated with technology WAS NOT as important as it is in 2010.

http://www.personalizemedia.com/garys-social-media-count/

Again, all I can say is WOW! I couldn't help but notice that the lowest number on the list was the number of ipads being sold. Anyway, this is just another way of showing us how FAST technology is forming and how quickly everyone is jumping on the band wagon.  It amazes me that just 5 years ago, cell phones had no where near the amount of technology involved as they do now.  I'm kind of scared to know what's the world is going to be like in 5 more years! We shall see.... 

Blog Post 2

"Did You Know" 3.0 by Karl Fisch

     This video is remarkable.  I enjoyed it; reading all of the statistics and future predictions about technology in America really made me look forward to my technological future even more!  The video is trying to show the viewer that times are changing.  Not only are they changing, they are changing RAPIDLY!  We all are trying just to keep up.
     An interesting statisitc that the Mr. Fisch uses is the statisitc that says that students trying to earn a 4 year technical degree will learn things in their first year that will change by their thired year.  We are privleged to be Americans.  Other countries have technology, also, though.  I enjoyed the video; I added it to my favorites on my computer!  It really made me excited about what's to come!

""Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Mathew Needleman


    Robinson      This video, even though it was long, was very educational and interesting.  Ken Robinson really has a heart for education and thinks that our schools in America squash children's creativity.  He talks about how people are scared to be wrong, and because of that, we are teaching our children in America to be petrified of being wrong.  He thinks that the purpose of educating minds is to eventually produce University Professors.  He isn't discrediting them, he just thinks that all teachers of edcuation are important.
     The video states that students don't do things that the like, such as music and art, because they think that they will never get a job out of it.  The things that children and students are good at is what they should do in their career.  If we aren't producing artists and musicians, we are losing our creativity.  He says that education is diverse abd dynamic; and I think he's right!






 "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" by Vicki Davis

    

This video is talking about a teacher who is teaching her students about technology.  The difference in her and every other teacher I know is that she undertands that she doesn't HAVE to know everything about everything before she can teach it. She understands that it's possible to learn together with your students while teaching!
     The students in the video were learning how to do a certain technological activity and then they were teaching their fellow classmates (and teacher) what they just learned.  This video just shows how far technology has come and where it's going in the future.  I wish that I had a class like the one in the video when I was in grade school.  There was a 14 year old girl in the video who was already blogging.  I didn't start blogging until exactly one week ago, today!

Wordle

Krysten Malone: Get to know me!

Hello, all! I'm a 20 year old junior here at South Alabama.  I attended MGCCC for my first 2 years, and I'm very excited about going to a University! I love life! I try to live it to the fullest without making bad decisions or making a full of myself.  I love my family and my boyfriend very much.  I've been dating a wonderful person for almost 5 years- hopefully he'll pop the question soon! (Don't worry, you'll hear about it when he does).
I've been working in child care for almost 4 years now; it's a very rewarding job.  I know that I am called to be a teacher because of the passion I feel for young lives.  I strive to make myself the best I can be.  I'm friendly, outgoing, I LOVE people!