Week 7 Blog : Due February 28, 2010

This is How We Dream: Part 1 & 2

Dr. Richard E. Miller created these videos to show exactly how technology can be used today. He had some very interesting ideas and examples. It was also pretty cool that the information Dr. Miller was presenting was being exemplified through the presentation itself. He was speaking about movies and motion images while these things were on the screen. It gave the viewer a first-hand look at the information. Mr. Miller made an obvious point that most people don't want to hear, myself included. Print is soon to be out of the picture. Books and libraries are no longer a necessity. This upsets me because I love reading books. To me, reading a book is not just about reading the content. The physical book makes it so much better. Maybe I'm one of few who feels this way anymore, but I hope books don't go out of style until way after my lifetime. This also brings another thought to my mind. If books go out of style, and everything is published on the computer, won't that be extra strain on our eyes when we read? I know that if I read a book in poor lighting my eyes start to hurt after a period of time. If I have to read a lengthy article on the computer, my eyes will begin burning. How should I be expected to read an entire book on the computer? These books online are not a thing of the future. They are everywhere in today's world. My concern is that eventually, instead of just printing a copy and putting one on the computer, the printed copy will become extinct.
One thing I found pretty cool on Dr. Miller's video was the motion picture within the body of the text. Call me a dork, but the first thought that came to my mind was the newspaper in Harry Potter. Any picture within the newspaper was moving. There was no such thing as a still image shot. This could make the reading more interesting, and it would break it up a little by placing a video to watch between two paragraphs. Also, more information could be presented, and it provides two different learning styles with an activity. Some people gain more information by reading the material, but some gain more by hearing someone else say it. Both of these learning styles would be exemplified within this document.
I particularly liked the statement Dr. Miller made about ideas belonging to us as a culture, not to us as individuals. We need to unite and share our ideas if we want to progress. I also really liked the emotional profiling that was introduced in this video. It would be cool to find out what the predominant emotions were in each city. This technology could also be used for so much more. I'm not sure that I'm prepared to teach about technology this extensively; however, through this class, I am learning more about what I need to know. One issue with learning this technology is that the classroom I will most likely be teaching in will be lucky to even have a SmartBoard. The finances are just not that readily available at this point in time. Does that mean it's a waste of time trying to become tech-savvy? No, it may not be long before this technology is more available and widespread.

The Networked Student

This video reminded me a great deal of what we are doing in EDM 310 this semester. Dr. Strange and Mr. Tashbin have been advising us to build a personal learning network. This personal learning network is the equivalent to the connectivity in this video. Through our personal learning network, we will encounter many different views on MANY different topics. As an education major, I am generally following teachers' blogs, but a personal learning network can be created for any subject. I'm not easily persuaded so I was always the student who questioned the textbook. The good thing about this is that you are not completely reliable on the textbook. In the past, I've encountered some fairly biased textbooks. I mean, humans write these books so it's hard to say that they are pure fact. This is not to say that nothing on the internet is biased, but by viewing different sources, you are more able to determine between fact and opinion.
My thoughts on teaching these students has not changed much since I've entered this classroom. I believe that I will be prepared to handle all of this technology, but I'm not so sure I could necessarily teach it to others. Once I've finished this class, I hope this view has changed. I want to have a technologically advanced classroom. It's hard for me to imagine, however, because I plan to teach kindergarten. I know that 5 years olds these days can use technology, but most of the examples I've seen in this class show 1st graders and above using the technology. I'll have to do some research to see what's going on in the kindergarten classroom.

Toward a New Future of Whatever

This video brought to mind many things I've never considered. I know media has a major impact on our lives, but I never focused on the extent of this impact. The media of today's world (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc) shapes our environment and our conversations. Different statements may be made depending on the type of media tool being used. In my own personal case, I would be more likely to say something through text than through video. While most social networking tools are not anonymous, my comfort level with videos makes me feel very vulnerable when using them. The point was made in this video that people are becoming more daring in what they say on these media tools because of the anonymity, as well as the distance. If you are negative in a comment to someone who lives across the world from your home, the chances of you running into this person and it becoming a problem are slim to none.
I also agree that today's society is much more focused on themselves. The words "I" and "me" are probably being used more now than ever. People are very focused on what they are doing and what they want from society. This can lead to narcissistic tendencies or self-consciousness. Both of these paths are equally likely. The example was made about American Idol. People audition for American Idol knowing that they will make it and go on the win the coveted title. This shows their narcissistic views. These views often lead to major disappointment. Taking the alternative path of self-consciousness, we see the not-so-great replay option. When people are posting videos on YouTube, they have so much to consider. They have to consider the content of their video. They also have to consider the huge audience that will see this video once it's placed on YouTube. They also have to get past the fact that they are not talking to an individual, but to a camera that will broadcast this video to many individuals. One other thing they have to consider is how they appear to themselves. Most people do not pay attention to detail when they are having a conversation because, unless they are being filmed, it cannot be replayed. The option of replaying something leads to the greatest self-consciousness and self awareness in my opinion. Self-consciousness seems to be the negative terminology, while self awareness puts a positive connotation to the meaning. Either way, people are paying more attention to the details of themselves.

Comments4Teachers Weeks 7-9

For this project, I was assigned to follow Caren Carrillo's blog. Her blog is titled: History, Education, Technology and Beyond. The first post I read by Mrs. Carrillo was entitled Action Plan to Fix Non-Examples. The titles really caught my attention. In my comment to this post, I stated that Mrs. Carrillo had very good methods for dealing with "Non-Examples" such as ELL or special needs students. I will use her information when dealing with these students in my classroom.

The second week of this assignment, I commented on a post entitled Test Taking Tips: Shortest Essay Ever. Mrs. Carrillo created a method of essay writing that involved the students making an outline of an essay instead of writing the entire thing. This gave her less essays to read (most of which included fluff to compensate for the student's lack of knowledge). It also guaranteed that students could not complete the assignment satisfactorily unless they had sufficient knowledge on the subject. They could fill the entire essay will eloquent language to make the teacher think they knew what they were talking about.

The final week of this assignment, I read a post by Mrs. Carrillo about asking questions. She made a very good point that some students feel embarrassed to ask questions when they don't understand something because they don't want to feel less intelligent. She proposed the idea that, as a teacher, instead of saying "Are there any questions?" we should say, "What questions do you have?" This lets the students know that we expect questions, and just because you ask questions doesn't mean you don't understand the material. I've really enjoyed this blog, and Mrs. Carrillo will be added to my personal learning network.

Comments4Kids Week 7

This week I commented on a "How To" essay. The essay I was assigned was written by Kasey. Kasey wrote the essay on how to dribble a basketball. It was a very informative essay, and I think Kasey really understood the assignment.

Week 6 Blog : Due February 21, 2010

Advice from Alice Christie

Dr. Christie had some very good ideas for teachers and students. She seems to be very aware of all the technology to which we have access. Her website helped me develop my own ideas. I especially enjoyed her information on Electronic Teacher Portfolios. I'm a very organized person, and any tool that helps me stay organized is my best friend. This portfolio seemed like such a good idea because it lays everything you need to know out in an orderly fashion. You can organize it any way you'd like which I think is important because not all people organize things in the same way. I'm not a big fan of templates. If I were to create an electronic portfolio as a teacher, I would probably have it divided by subjects. I would also be sure to clearly state which Alabama Course of Study objective each activity covered. This would assure me that I was covering everything that needed to be done. I also like the point she made about being a model for your students. If you have an electronic portfolio, your students will be more likely to create one of their own. As a student at South Alabama, I've already had experience creating an electronic portfolio.
Dr. Christie also had some very good ideas posted in her Web Design section. Most of the schools I've encountered today have their own website. Some even have separate websites by grade level or by teacher. I think this is a wonderful idea! If parents have access to computers (which more and more parents are getting), they have an excellent insight into their child's classroom. I would create my own website for my class. This would be a place to post the work the children have completed. It would also be a place where parents could contact me. Homework could be posted on this website. It would also have a blurb about me so parents and students could get to know me a little better before ever meeting me. I would continue to use the old fashioned methods of parent conferences, homework, etc because I know that not all parents will have access to the internet, but, for those who do, a website would be a very useful tool.

iTunesU

This new technology was a amazing invention. It's great for students and teachers! As a student, you can find almost anything you'd like to learn about posted somewhere in iTunesU. They have lessons on almost any subject. You can learn a new language through this program. It's also very easy to use. One perk about iTunesU is that, if you have a technologically-advanced teacher, he or she may post lectures. This is very beneficial if you missed a day of class and needed to catch up. Not only can you catch up on lectures, but you can do exploring of your own. Teachers are not the only people who submit things to iTunesU. Museums also do their fair share of postings. You can explore many places in the world just by logging on to iTunesU. There are videos and podcasts to check out as well. iTunesU is a great tool for students because it covers almost any subject imaginable.
As a teacher, iTunesU is also beneficial. I believe that if I were a college professor, I would post my lectures on iTunesU. I may not do this as an elementary teacher because it is VERY rare that elementary teachers actually lecture. As an elementary teacher, however, I would use iTunesU for educational videos to show my students. I think this would be the biggest use I would get from this program. Young children love to watch videos. This thing about videos with a younger crowd is that they don't always realize they are learning from them. This can be very useful in a restless classroom. You can learn almost everything you'd need to know about iTunesU at http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/

iPods in the Classroom

I found a wonderful website (http://www.pre-kpages.com/ipods/ )with many ideas for using an iPod in the early childhood classrooms. I'm interested in this aspect of the iPod because I plan to teach the younger students. Music is a large part of learning, and the iPod is the perfect place to store your educational music. It is small and portable. Speakers are easy to transport and fairly cheap. iPods allow you to organize your music in playlists. It's perfect! It's the perfect alternative to cassette and CD players. It can do everything those can do, plus more! You can still record yourself reading a book and have students listen to it at a particular center in class. Podcasts are another plus for iPods. You can create a podcast on any subject you wish to cover! If you want to have your students listen to an educational blurb about endangered animals, for example, than you can create a podcast. All they have to do is listen. It will be a nice change of pace for the students. These can also be sent home to parents to give them information they need to know.
Duke University did a study of the educational uses of iPods. They provided each student with an iPod at the beginning of the year. They took a survey at the end of the year to see exactly how teachers and students used the technology in learning. Most students used the recording feature the most. It was easy to record class lectures and listen to them again later. This created some concern from the professors because they feared class attendance would drop if the lectures would be available online later. Duke decided not to give each first-year student an iPod the next year. However, those students taking classes that used the iPod the most would still be provided with one. I think this is a step in the right direction. We just have to be sure that whatever happens with technology, the students are still learning.

The Technologically Literate Teacher

Dr. Strange has created a wonderful Wiki about a tech-literate teacher. My favorite part about this Wiki is that it's interactive. This promotes using technology to learn about technology. I'm not technologically literate at all. Before entering EDM 310 this spring semester, I truly believed that I was tech-literate. There is an entire world of technology of which I was unaware. Some things I was aware of, but I had no idea how to use them. This won't do me any good as a teacher. I will continue to use this Wiki in my teaching career.

Comments for Kids

This week, I watch a video by Mya about her trip to the Life Education Bus. She seemed to really enjoy her time there. Last week, I read a "Book Blurb" by Zakaria about the Boxcar Children series. These were some of my favorite books when I was younger. The first Comments 4 Kids that I did was for Room 227's Blog. They had a video called "Bag the Bags." It was very informative, and it's nice to see them doing their share to save our planet.

Week 5 Blog : Due February 14, 2010

Wikipedia

The controversy about Wikipedia is not a new one. When I was in high school, my teachers would go crazy if they found out we used Wikipedia as a source for an essay or research paper. It was always a little annoying to us as the students because Wikipedia was usually the source with the most information. It was also the first source on a Google search, and convenient. This WikiScanner that Griffith created may provide a service that was already possible, but it makes it much easier to do. After reading the NPR blog and comments, most people agreed that this wasn't a useful program because it was already possible to track edits on an entry. This may be the case, but, for me, this program makes tracking much easier. I have no idea how to trace edits on an article or find IP addresses. For someone like me, this program is very helpful.
The podcast and article about Wikipedia provided much of the same information as the blog. They both essentially said that, because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone from any computer, it is not a reliable source. This is very true. They gave multiple examples of people and companys who have changed information in an article that pertains to them. Many negative and controversial articles about companies are simply erased by said company. Political parties can change word choice to make their views heard. The WikiScanner would theoretically fix this problem by showing you who edited information on a particular article. However, WikiScanner is not foolproof. If a company wants to make changes to an article about them, they can make these changes from a personal computer or an internet cafe. The only way the changes would be traced back to the company is if they were made from a computer within the company's building.
Essentially, what these articles and blogs are saying is that Wikipedia can be edited, making information found on this free encyclopedia subject to personal opinions and such. WikiScanner is a start to fixing this problem, but it is not the final answer. I use Wikipedia for a source to look up quick facts about a random topic, but I would never rely on it for an important subject or research paper.

What I Have Learned This Year

Mr. McClung had some very useful advice for a first-year teacher. I believe that I am much like him in planning and expecting it to go exactly as I had planned. I like to think of myself as flexible, but, in all actuality, I am probably going to be upset the first time my activity does not go as smoothly as I had hoped. By reading this blog post, I know I am not alone which is one of the most comfortable feelings for me. I will also try to focus more on the students and their personalities when teaching. I want to get to know my students and build a strong teacher-student relationship with them. I remember my elementary school teachers very well, and I want my students to remember me as well. Of course, I want them to remember what they liked about me, not what they didn't. This just gives me a goal to get to know them and to present the information to them in a manner that benefits them best.
Another good point Mr. McClung made was to be reasonable. Kids in this day and age are more mature than they were years ago. I know that the kindergarten of today is the first grade of 10 years ago. I was talking to a current K-5 teacher and was a little surprised that her students no longer took naps. They are not able to do as many arts and crafts as they used to do. This teacher has been teaching K-5 for 25 years so she has seen the change first-hand. The point I am trying to make is that students are more mature now, and I believe because of this, teachers have raised their expectations for them. This is obviously necessary, but I believe some teachers expect way too much. While these kids can handle much more than I probably could at their age, they are still 5, and you have to keep that fact in mind when teaching and disciplining. Mr. McClung had some very insightful information for future teachers, and I really enjoyed reading it.

Comments4Kids

This week I was assigned to comment on Avoca School District 37 Blog. I commented on Zakaria's blog entitled "Book Blurb." He read one book in The Boxcar Children series. It seemed like he really enjoyed it. I loved this series as a child, and it's nice to see that children are still enjoying it!

Class Presentation

Week 4 Blog : Due February 7, 2010

Podcast Preparation

The first website I looked at was the www.curriki.org. It was pretty helpful because it has step by step instructions on how to create a podcast and what exactly should be included. It also had a pretty long list of topics so if anyone was interested in doing a podcast outside of the class and could not think of a topic, this is the place to go! It gave an example of how this person would grade a podcast which helps students better prepare their podcasts in class. If you know what the teacher is looking for, you should be able to include it. There were also a couple of examples given on this page. Examples are always helpful!
I thought the EPN (Education Podcasting Network) was really interesting. This could be very helpful for me as a future teacher. Educators have found that they can share their knowledge by podcasts. Others across the globe can gain this knowledge by listening. On the left-hand side of the homepage, there is a list of subjects. Each of these subjects has numerous posts by teachers with a large amount of information regarding that subject. Everything is very well organized so anything you need should be quite easy to find. I will definitely be keeping this website in mind for future reference.

Comments4Kids

This week I commented on Room 227's Class Blog. The post I was assigned was entitled "Bag the Bags." It was a great video with a wonderful message. I have a strong passion for the environment so this assignment was perfect for me! The students in Room 227 are doing their part to help bag the bags. What can you do to help?