Blog Assignment #15 Final Reflection

C4T #4

My teacher for our last C4T is Mr. Ira David Socol. I commented on his blog SpeEdChange. In the first post I commented on he was talking about why we read and write. He was explaining the impact that writing can have on people. There are kids who never have to write and never use their creative side. He also mentioned the importance of having kids read and write. Though Mr. Socol's post were rather lengthy I enjoyed reading them because he expressed himself clearly. I told him that I agree with him in that I think kids should be taught the importance of reading and writing even it they are not particularly fond of it.

The second time I commented on Mr. Socol's blog he was describing the libraries and how they are and should be. He explained that if the way libraries were now they will no longer have a purpose because you can get anything you need by means of the internet. He said that they need to upgrade in all areas to continue to be desirable to people, ecspecially the youth of today. I told Mr. Socol that I completely agreed with him. I love going to the library but the kids I have babysat hate the word library. Kids are stuck in what the movies say about libraries but honestly they are pretty much exactly like the movies. No talking, no eating or drinking, nothing fun and I think even in a library setting we can make going to the libraries enjoyable for kids. Mr. Socol ended his blog saying that if we didn't find a way to alter the way libraries were they would eventually diminish. That will be an extremely sad day when kids have never seen a library, let alone be in one.

Project #13

For project #13, my partner, Jeanette Kelley, and I stayed in contact through emails and texting. We also used a google doc to create and edit our scripts when we did not meet in person. We used these different forms of communication to set up meeting times as well as getting an idea of what our project would be about. Because we only had a two person group, we were able to effectively and efficiently complete our project together. We had no issues with meeting times or schedules which is much different than our first group project. W were organized to the best of our abilities through the use of these different but useful tools to collaborate together.

Project #16

Blog Assignment #13

Back To The Future
In Brian Crosby's video "Back To The Future" he showed how he got his kids interested in learning and being self taught. I think that he showed exactly how much technology can be used to get students interested in school. Mr. Crosby used experiments to keep his students engaged and I can relate to that. Who doesn't love to do experiments and learning by being hands on? I know I always loved going to science because we did at least one lab experiment every week. I think teachers need to realize what type of students they have and teach them accordingly. If they're not interested it is our job as educators to find a way to get them interested. I'm not saying that I will be able to get every student I have excited about math because I know that is not a realistic goal, but as a whole I should have more students that want to come to class than students who do not.
I personally loved the hot air balloon experiment by Mr. Crosby. I love that he was able to combine a few different classes into one experiment. I thought that the way he got his students to blog about the experiment was clever. A little bit of creative writing, science, english, and computer work all in one. I wish we could have done that experiment when I was in school because it was so different than anything I've seen done before. I believe even students not interested in school would have loved that experiment.

A Vision of Students Today
The video A Vision of Students Today expresses the thoughts and feelings about college by the average student. This video was extremely relatable to me and I'm sure almost every student in college now. For me, I related most with having to multitask because of all the things that need to be done. So many days I beg for time to slow down or for more hours so I can get everything done that needs to be done. Another statement that nearly every student can relate to was about being in debt after graduation. School is getting so expensive now that as we graduate we have so much debt that it's hard to enjoy any down time knowing you owe someone $20,000, for me at least.
On the other hand, I can honestly say I do not use a computer or my phone in class. I feel it is rude to be sitting in class and not listening to what they are saying. If I wanted to sit on my computer I just wouldn't go to class because no one is making me go other than myself. I think after I switched my major back to education I tried to become the student that I would want as a teacher.
All in all, I thought the video was impressive because it is obvious that students all over have the same feelings about school no matter where we are. Everything may not apply to every one, but I'm willing to bet that every student can relate to at least one thing off of the video.

Final PLN report

After first making my PLN I wasn't sure exactly how much I would use it. After a week or so I changed my PLN to my homepage so it pulled up everytime I opened the internet. I have all of the websites I use for EDM310 as well as some social networking sites. Not only am I extremely organized by using it, I can use it as a checklist as well to make sure I have checked everything I need to daily. I think as I am finsihing school and coming across websites that I view frequently I will continue to add them to my PLN. In my opinion, using a PLN could minimized the down time on the internet when we're suppose to be doing work because everything can be located in the same place.

Progress Report on Final Project

My partner, Jeanette Kelley, and I have chosen to do the 10-15 minute movie. We think the title of our project will be "Taking a tour through EDM310" or something along those lines. We will be recording our video on Tuesday afternoon. We will be using a SmartBoard the do our presentation of some of the basic skills future EDM310 will use throughout the course. We are hoping to give future students a head start in understanding what all will be expected of them. At the end of our video we are planning to finish with a tour to the computer lab, assuming we have will still be within our 15 minute time frame.

C4K for November

First Student
My first student's name was Adrianna. Her post was about a book she is reading, The One and Only Ivan. In her post, she express that Ivan, a gorilla, was mistreated and abuse but she doesn't think that happened in real life. She said that no gorilla should be treated the way Ivan was in the book. I told Adrianna that I agreed with her and no animal should have to deal with abuse. They are defenseless to the acts of humans. I also commented on her photo and asked if that was a picture of Ivan, I am waiting on a response.

Second Student
My second student was a 10th grade student at Baldwin County High School name Zach Adams. I'm not certain of the assignment, I'm waiting on an answer. However, he seems to have made a "FaKebook" page. It was interesting to see how easily you can create a fake social networking page. Hopefully I will get a response this week so I will know exactly what his assignment was.

Blog Assignment #12

Blog Assignment #12
1. Watch these two videos by Dan Meyer: Math class needs a makeover.
(until 11:38) and Real-Life Math. In two or more paragraphs, express your thoughts about what you can do to keep your students interested in learning math? How can you use what Meyer talked about in your classroom?


Dan Meyer
In Dan Meyer's video Math class needs a makeover., he explains the five symptoms that you are teaching math reasoning wrong. He says that students lack initiative and retention. One thing that I could relate to was that students do not self start. Too many times in high school we have been asked to read the chapter before the next class yet hardly anyone does. On the event we did read it the chances of the entire chapter making sense and remembering it are slim. We as teachers have to remember this and emphasize the major points and leave out the fluff. Students need to be involved in making the problems and they will staying interested. He says we should make the questions shorter and to the point, which I absolutely agree with. If I look at a word problem in math and it is 6 sentences long the thought of weeding through the extra stuff to pull out the important information becomes overwhelming. I don't think we need to make it overly simple but asking questions that are long and drawn out are pointless in my opinion.
In the second video,Real-Life Math, Meyer talks about making math irresistible to your students. He videos himself shooting basketball and turns it into real life math. If students can associate themselves with the problem they will be more apt to stay interested into the problem. I think making math into real life scenarios could be extremely beneficial. I would have loved to put together a project in school turning math into real life. Given we have the right equipment I would like to incorporate some real life math into my lesson plans and experiment to see if my students enjoy it as much as I think I would have.

Project #15

Blog Assignment #11

Mrs. Cassidy
I think it is amazing that Mrs. Cassidy has such young kids blogging and expanding their knowledge of the internet and technology. I think those kids are probably retaining so much more information because it is given to them in a way they are interested in. I believe it is time for some schools in Mobile County to change a little something in the way they are teaching to continue to keep the students interested. I know that kids are learning so much in preschool now that when they get to kindegarten they are bored with the material, because they already know it, and that is when they start to get in trouble.


In the skype interview with Mrs. Cassidy she describes how she keeps her students protected and safe even though they are using the internet. I think that is extremely important and the ways she goes about it is wonderful. If I was a parent, I would have some reservations about letting my 6 or 7 year old use the internet, however, I think that Mrs. Cassidy does a good job of making sure the kid's identities are not out in the open for everyone to see.
I think that, of the techniques used by Mrs. Cassidy, the class website or blog would be the most beneficial. I have decided that I will have one to post homework, accouncements, and any other useful information my students will need. I have enjoyed having our EDM310 class blog and Sakai because I can always keep up with all of my assignments and grades. I hope my students will find the blog as helpful as I have.

Special Blog Assignment

In USA TODAY's 30th anniversary celebration, Martin E. Kilmer interviewed some of the world's greatest visonaries about what they think the world of tomorrow. In the article "A World Where Grades Will be Left Behind, Sebastian Thrun described the type of schooling that be is in love with. One where there is no such thing as being late for class, grades are nonexistent, the word failure is unheard of, and the process of learning is as fun as playing a video game. Udacity, the new school, is basically free education, with the exception of some fees for programs and projects, and is completely accessible to any who can afford a cell phone bill every month.
Thrun says you can take either a blue pill or a red pill. By taking the blue pill, you're asking to continue the traditional style of learning, but by taking the red pill, if you're like him, you are welcomed into Wonderland. He even said that this type of teaching and learning is not trying to overcome the traditional schools and colleges, it is just giving student's who are not traditional learners another option.
I think that this style of school could benefit some students tremendously. I know plenty of people who have dropped out because they couldn't keep up with the pace, couldn't get to class on time, or simply couldn't afford school. I believe that has we continue to become more and more technologically advanced, we need to keep up with the pace in education as well. Every student learns differently, and if Udacity is the way they learn best, then I'm all for it.

C4K for October

First Student
My first student's name is Jordan. He described the quality of his life since moving to his new school Wapita in Canada. He said that he likes it at his new school because of the freedom he gets. He was reevaluating the changes from his previous school to his current school. Overall, Jordan enjoys his new school, despite feeling a little uncomfortable. I told Jordan to hang in there, anything new is going to be a little uncomfortable for a little while. I told him about my experience moving to a community college out of town and living with five people I didn't know at all. I then told him how much fun we all had when we got use to each other and are very close even to this day.

Second Student
My second student described the usage of ads on the internet. He also said how distracting they can be if you're trying to do research or a school project. He also put a blinking icon on his post to prove his point, and it worked exceptionally well. This student was introduced to pop up blockers through comments and was wondering if there was anywhere to search the web with no distractions. I told him that he did a good job making his point with the use of the icon. I also complimented his grammar and word usage.

Third Student
My third student uses the alias "EBchiefgamer" and is in Mrs. Middleton's class in Surrey, BC. This student's post was about his experience making a kite. He put designs all over it and said he flew it so high in the air he almost ran out of string. He enjoyed is so much he and some of his friends stayed after school and flew the kites more. They even played kites wars, unfortunately his kite broke and crashed into the ground. He fixed his kite and is as good as new. I told EBchiefgamer that I was glad he had so much fun with this assignment because when I was in fifth grade we had to make a kite also, but mine did not fly. I also suggested that he take a picture and put it on his blog so everyone could see what designs he chose to use.

Fourth Student
My fourth student's name is Lucy. Lucy is in the seventh grade in Mrs. Petersen's class. Lucy's blog was very heart warming. She wrote about family, not her family but family in general. She explained that you only get one and you should love them unconditionally. I found this extrememly inspiring that a girl of her age could give such a touching devotion on family seeing as almost every seventh grader I have known are in their "oh my goodness my family is terrible" stage. She backed up her blog with a scripture from the Bible. I told Lucy that her post was very inspiring and it was amazing that she could grasp the true concept of what family should mean so early in life. I continued to tell her after reading previous posts, I thought she was a phenomenal writing and wished her good luck in her gymnastics career.

Fifth Student
My fifth C4K was from Mrs. Vitulli and Mrs. Santoli . They uploaded a picture shot from the plane and the travel books they had on Ireland. They also said that they were going from Mobile to Atlanta and then to Ireland. I told them I thought it was awesome that they were going to Ireland. I also said to learn all they could learn but also have fun and make memories.

Sixth Student
My sixth student's name was Gia from Mr. Hadedorn's fifth grade class. Gia wrote about the sinking of the Titanic. She also posted a picture of the Titanic years after it has sat on the ocean's floor. I told Gia that I enjoyed learning new things about the events of the Titanic. I also complemented her on the picture she chose to use.

C4T #3

For my C4T for the next couple weeks I was assigned Miss Hadley, a middle school history teacher in Philadelphia. The first post I commented on was titled "Times Square to the Waterfall." She explained that when you are first entering the online world, (blogging, twitter, wiki, etc) you will feel was though you are the Naked Cowboy in New York. She further explained that you control what you put on the internet and you can put your ideas, any ideas, as you see them. She said the more you posted the less awkward, for lack of a better word, it would seem to put your ideas for everyone to see, creating a refreshing "waterfall feeling." I commented to her and told her that I was new into the blog and twitter world and it is a little out of my comfort zone to post my writings on the internet and that I wished the "waterfall feeling" would come soon. She replied almost immediately and told me to stick it and in time that would happen which was very comforting.

The second time I went back to Miss Hadley's blog she had not made a new post since the first time I commented, so I went to her earlier post. This post was the day after the National Day of Writing, which was to topic of her post. She explained that she had her Humanities class write for 40 minutes on a truth and stretch it until is become a lie, like the book Wild Girls by Pat Murphy. She said the students took a while to figure out what to write but once they figured it out, they didn't stop. She ended the post with a very powerful statement basically saying that the world is moving too fast and people are getting too caught up in it meaning they aren't taking time out of there day to listen to their creative side. I told Hadley that I was always the student taking the longest to decide a topic when I was in high school. I also said I agreed with her last statement about not stopping to pay attention to our minds and listen to our thoughts. I ended my comment asking Hadley if she thought the saying "If you don't use it, you lose it" applies here, I am still waiting on her response.

Project #11

Project #14

Blog Assignment #10

In John T. Spencer's comic he gave two descriptions on different types of pencils. He was comparing a cheap pencil to an expensive pencil. I think Spencer was saying you can take the cheap route and pay just as much replacing your supplies or you can just go ahead and pay a little more from the beginning and not have to replace your supplies as much, if at all. The way I viewed this comic is closely related to the saying, "It doesn't matter how many hours you put into it, what matters is what you put in the hours." No shortcuts.

Why were your kids playing?
In John T. Spencer post "Why were your kids playing?," he explains that his principal called him in his office because he had observed Mr. Spencer letting his kids play a game while they were in class. Spencer tried to explain that is was not just a game only meant for fun but also to reiterate what they were learning. As a student, I am a hands-on learner. If I can associate the lesson to a game or activity it sticks with me for much longer than just reading a chapter. I think there are plenty of students that learn the same way and we, as teachers, need to grab their attention in a way they can relate. At the end of Spencer's post he says he has found his solution to this problem he will integrate a game into what the principal is wanting him to do. A little bit of give and take has never hurt anyone.

Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?
In Scott McLeod's "Don't teach you kids this stuff. Please?" He is pleading with the audience to not teach their kids or students the different arts of technology. While reading the post, I wasn't exactly sure why we were assigned this because McLeod was contradicting everything we have been told this semester. When I read a little further, I began to catch the sarcasm in the post. I think it was very clever the way the was telling everyone not to teach their kids technology because of the dangers and their being "no need" to, all the while he is giving his kids the upper hand by teaching them to be technologically advanced. I would have to say I agree with the message made my McLeod. I think if we refuse to teach our kid's about the different uses of technology we are only holding them back. Nowadays there are so many jobs that you have to use a computer, and use it well. We cannot expect them to pick it up in a week and be prepared to use it in their adult life. We need to gradually bring them into the technological world, explain the pros and cons and the positives and negatives, and let them explore and learn at an early age to better themselves as an adult.

Project #12

Music: "You Were Born For This" By: Epic Action and Adventure Vo. 10

Project #10

For my first PLN report I included all the sites I use daily or every couple of days. I will continue to search for educational sites to add throughout the end of the semester.

Blog Assignment #9

Mr. McClung's "What I've Learned"

In Mr. McClung's fourth year reflection he realized two things needed to be changed. He came to understand that he was viewing his success by what his peers thought of him. However, he said that was not the scale he should be using, and he should be scaling his success by how much the students are enjoying his class. If the students look forward to going to his class and look forward to what he has to say than he is doing his job correctly and to the best of his abilities. I honestly think this is how we should view everything in our lives. We need to get our priorities in line and understand exactly who we are working for, the students. They should be the reason we get up and go to work.
The second thing he saw that was he was getting complacent with his teachings. He felt he was getting lazy and his lessons we sucking. He said we needed to challenge ourselves, in any way possible. He will be teaching a new subject at a higher grade this year. He feels as though this opportunity couldn't have come at a better time in his professional career. I think he is right in that we need to challenge ourselves. However, there will not always be a time that we can just move up a grade level or teach a new subject. If we feel we are getting lazy we need to find a way to get excited about teaching again.
In Mr. McClung's third year reflection, he has come up with five major objectives. These objectives include know who your boss is, don't expect others to be as excited about change as you are, don't be afraid to be an outsider, don't touch the keyboard, and don't get comfortable. One of the five that stuck out to me is don't be afraid to be an outsider. I love that. I think too many people focus on what others think of them and don't are not themselves. As a teacher, I want to be someone the students get excited about taking because I am not like every other teacher in the school. If I can get a few kids excited about taking math that normally are not, I think it would be great.
Another point that impacted me was to not expect other to be as excited about change as I was. Some people are very stuck in their ways and don't want anything to change. I think in order for younger generations to continue to improve academically we need to change things every so often to kept them interested and engaged in learning. I refuse to be someone that constantly shoots down other's ideas without even trying them. If I get excited about trying something different I will be excited in my classroom and hopefully that will transfer to into the way my students learn. Anything different will grab students attention, but our enthusiasm as teacher's being outside of the box will keep their attention so they are interested in what we have to say.

Blog Assignment #8

This Is How We Dream: Part 1 and Part 2
In "This is How We Dream:Part 1," Dr. Richard Miller makes an exceptional visual presentation! He begins by explaining how you can get all your information for a discussion strictly off the internet, without stepping foot in a library or using a pen or paper. Dr. Miller further explained the differences in fundmental and incremental changes. He told us that not only is the way we use internet changing but so is the way we write. Little do some of us realize, the advances with technology are making everyone a little bit greener.
In Part 2 of Dr. Miller's presentation, he explains the importance of using visual presentations. He says there may be a time that students use digital demonstrations rather than word processors. He also explains how people are not only using the internet but colaborating with it.
I think these two videos have only reiterated what we have been on the verge of learning all semester. Technology is taking over the world quickly. High school projects will not be the same, and the expanded knowledge of the internet can take the credit for that. I think that digital demonstrations in classes would help some students understand the subject better. I think if these presentations could be incorporated into every classes, they would help students tremendously. Everything is changing, why shouldn't the way teachers teach?

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
I think that Carly Pugh was dead on what Dr. Miller was trying to say. I think that the embedded video alone covers it all. The video posted got the point across without saying a word. If that is not what Dr. Miller meant by a digital demonstration, I would need to see what he was talking about. This video made you think and I believe that is what a good presentation is all about.

The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
I watched these two videos at the beginning of the course when they were first recommended. I think they are most helpful before you get into the class, I let out a little sigh of relief after watching EDM310 for Dummies. The video just explains that even if you do get stuck or confused there will always be someone to help you out. The Chipper Series was also helpful in that it proved shortcuts just won't cut it.
I think another video that would be helpful would be one about what all EDM students will cover, learn, and use in the classrooms. Some students are turned away from the class, so I've heard, after they hear about all the work they will have to do. I think if future students realized how beneficial this class will be for not only when they are teaching but also throughout the rest of their college careers.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video reminds me of a previous assigned video "Teaching in the 21 Century." I think the arguments made in this video are true. Students need to learn, not only to gather information, but to understand it. "No More Burp Back Classes" is what came to my mind when one man was explaining learning in terms of a vending machine. If a student can apply what they are reading or hearing they are not learning. One way or another, we as educators need to find an effective way to get our students to fully understand the information given to them so they can honestly call it knowledge.


WEB 2.0
www.polleverywhere.com


The video tool I liked the most was PhotoPeach. A teacher can either pay a small fee or use the free version for their students to create their own photo slideshows. The teacher can alter the student's profiles and the students cannot alter the teachers. Also, the student's projects will not be public until set to be public.


www.makebeliefcomix.com

C4T #2

My teacher this time was Mr. Frank Buck, "Get Organized." His post was about the saying, "That's the way we've always done it." He told a story of a little girl who traced back through her family tree as to why her mother cut off the edges of the ham before putting it in the oven. Come to find out, her great-grandmother cut the edges off because the ham did not fit on the pan. I told Mr. Buck I completely agreed with him. I do things just because my mom or grandparents do it, but I don't know if it is the efficient or not. I have some family tree research to do!

The second time I went to Dr. Buck's blog his latest post was titled "The Chicken and the Eagle Story." This post was actually a video, the video posted below, by Dr. Eldon Taylor. Dr. Taylor explained how you can become like the people you associate yourself with. For instance, in the video, the eagle lived in a chicken coup and started to act like a chicken rather than the beautiful eagle she was. As a male eagle spots her, he tries to explain to her that she is so much more than the chicken she pretends to be. I really related to this video. I thanked Dr. Buck for posting this video. It reiterated what my mom has been telling me since I was in high school. She told me to be careful who I befriend because they could bring me up and help me reach my potential or bring me down and I would never reach my goals. This video truly was inspiring, and if you haven't watched it, I suggest you do so.

Podcast Project #8

Blog Assignment #7

The Networked Student

Wendy Drexler's "The Networked Student" was truly an eye opener. I think that the video was very informative to say the least. I have never thought about how technology will take the place, in some aspects, of a teacher. I have had plenty of online classes since beginning college but none to the extent that I could call myself "a network student".
I think it is phenomenal that students are able to teach themselves in this format. I know I will feel extremely accomplished after passing this course! Honestly, I think more classes should begin converting to this method of teacher. Not only will it teach the student how to stay on top of their school work, it will also teach them responsibility, time managament, and possible boost their confidence knowing they did the majority of the course by themselves.
However the question is still there, why do the networked students need a teacher? Honestly I can say if I was told, "Here are your instructions for the course, see you in five months." I would be a nervous wreck! Even if I know what I'm doing, it is always good to know if I need help there is, depending on the time, someone to help me to understand the instructions further if needed. I don't think we can expect a student to understand how to navigate their way through the internet and give us the information we want if we do not teach them. I think there will always be a need for the teacher, even if it is not in the traditional sense. If I thought, at some point, there would be no need for teachers I wouldn't be in the education field.
I am interested in seeing how many classes evolve into this style teaching. I am open to learning more about the teaching styles while having networked students. I would also be interested in seeing if I could incorporate having networked students in some of my classes for certain lessons.

A 7th Grade Personal Learning Environment or PLN
This 7th grader is one heck of a student!! Her PLE was organized wonderfully and she could nagivate her way through it with ease. I think this idea could keep so many children in our school systems eager to learn. In this video, the girl explains the freedom she feels like she gets, and honestly I think some of the students I've encountered would like a little bit of freedom. My PLN and this girl's are fairly similar, especially now that I am in EDM310. I am using so many different websites and have so many different accounts that I don't think it would be a terrible idea if I got used the same website, symbaloo, and create my own. That will be on my to-do list!

Blog Assignment #6

Randy Pausch: Last Lecture Achieving Your Childhood Dream

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture on achieving your childhood dreams was not only informative but very inspiring. I would like to start off by saying I would suggest anyone who has not watched this video to watch it now. As well as other lectures made by Pausch. Honestly, I was not looking forward to sitting in front of a computer for over a hour but I felt like it was over as soon as it started. I could have watched another hour or more. He knows how to grab your attention immediately. He opened explaining his battle with liver disease and how that battle would be coming to an end soon. He hit three major points in his lecture including his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned.
His first point was of his personal childhood dreams. He had his childhood dreams listed, and I am jealous that I never wrote my dreams down as a kid. I know what my dreams and ambitions are now, but I wish I could remember my childhood dreams were other than wanting to playing every sport possible. Something Dr. Pausch referred to was a "brick wall" and he hit the nail on the head. I know throughout my teaching career I will be giving obstacles, whether it be parents, students, administrators, anything or anyone, I will have to remember the reason I chose to teach, to teach my students through the passion I have for the subject. I think that could possibly be one of the hardest things to remind yourself of when everything, as it seems at the time, is telling you to stop. Reminding myself that even though I have critics, maybe major ones, they are showing me how much they love me and what I do will be hard at times, but anything worth while is not easy, right?
Dr. Pausch's second point was to enable the dreams of others. I think that is one of the main jobs as an educator. We shouldn't focus on what they think they cannot do, rather believe in them and make them believe they can do it too. Something that stuck with me was when he said, "There are two ways to say I don't know," but I think it could go with any question. I absolutely believe you can do one of two things by the way you answer questions. If a child comes to me about something he or she is genuinely interested in and I answer with a rude remark or answer it could turn them off or away from their dream. However, if I make them believe I am completely on board with whatever it is that they what to do they will move full steam ahead on achieving it. I know as a kid, and even now, I don't go to someone with something important to just anyone; I go to someone who I value the opinion they give to me. If a student comes to me, I need to remember I'm not just some random person, I am important to them and so is my opinion and the way I present it to them.
Lastly, Dr. Pausch covered what he called "Lessons Learned." Specifically how to achieve our dreams or enable others to achieve their dreams. He listed many things you can do to achieve your own or enable. A few stuck out to me: don't bail, work hard, and don't complain. If I have told me softball team these three things once, I have a thousand times. I was surprised to see him list them even though they are pretty obvious. He also mentioned finding the best in people, even if it takes a long time for them to show it. I know this is difficult for everyone, including myself. Sometimes your personality just clashes with someone else's personality, but as an educator you cannot let that effect you. There may be some students will not be interested in what I'm saying or teaching but I cannot let that effect the way I treat or speak to them. I can't bail on them, I can't complain about them, but I can work as hard as I possibly can to grab their attention each and everyday. I think I have decided at the end of each year to let the students write anonymous suggestions to me so I can better myself each and every year, if I think I don't need to change anything I will be time to change my profession.
There are so many things from this lecture that I will write down in my "When I'm A Teacher" notebook to use. Dr. Randy Pausch had an amazing way with words and how he got his point across. He can keep people's attention like no one I've listened to before. I will remember this last point; Be prepared: "luck" is where preparation meets opportunity. He truly has inspired me in the videos I have watched of his lectures and will be forever grateful.

Rest in Peace, Dr. Randy Pausch.

Project 9a

C4K for September

First Student
My first student was from New Zealand. His name was Sebastian, he is in the fifth grade and in Mrs. King's class at Pt England School. In his post, he was describing a card game is father had showed him called 3 Up 3 Down. I told him that my friends and I played cards almost every weekend. We are always looking for new games to play and I told Sebastian we would try to play his game and if he knew any more to let me know.
Second Student
My second student, Vanessa, attends the same school as my first student, Pt England, however she is in the seventh grade. Vanessa's latest post was about her experience doing paralympic activities for class. She explained how they did all the activities as they regularly do and then the teacher put a spin on it. They orginially did some sprints then the teacher, Mr. Marks, made them tie one arm against their side and try it again. She said she was different running without her left arm but that she enjoyed the assignment. I told her it is alway strange to try different things but you can always find out what you're capable of.

My Sentence Video

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Blog Assignment #5

The iSchool Initiative

In the video The iSchool Initiative (Mobile Learning) and his follow up video Zeitgeist Young Minds by Travis Allen, he explains the pros of being completely technological in schools. I agree that using the hand held devices would help decrease budget cuts throughout the schools. I believe becoming more technologically advanced in classrooms would benefit some students, however, I am on the fence with the idea.
I see that there could be some major mishaps. Let's be honest, kid are clumsy and sometimes careless. What would happen if their device was broken, stolen, or even lost? Does the school have to replace the item or does the student. I can understand how it would save the schools money after the intial purchases for the school, but how much would it save if they had to replace 100 or more iTouches a semester? Some schools would be further in the hole than if they hadn't switched to full technological learning. I also think that it could be extremely beneficial in some classes. However, I can not imagine taking notes in math on my iPod. I have many questions that I would like to ask so I could choose to be on either side of the fence. I have read into some comments from Allen and he says he takes all of his notes on his iPad, so clearly it can be done. It would be interesting to go from a 35 pound backpack to a 1.5 pound backpack to say the least.

Jennifer Chamber's Post with Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir Video

I think this video is absolutely incredible! I have showed it to my family and they loved it too. I think it is amazing to see how much technology can bring people together in ways we have never thought about. I would like the see a "Virtual Choir: Behind the Scenes" personally and see exactly how much time, effort, and hard work was put into making this choir. This is an inspiring video.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In the video Teaching in the 21st Century: By Kevin Roberts, John Strange Version, is an eye opener. I have never realized how less students will be relying on a teacher for information. I have even caught myself doing the same thing and just never realized I do it until now. I do believe that teachers should be more focused on giving the students the applications on the assignments and not the broad information. Speaking for myself and others I'm sure, the information given to us is not near as valuable as being able to apply it to other problems. I can memorize the form to solving a dervative but if I cannot apply it to a problem on a test then the formula does me no good.
I do believe that Robert's is right, it may not be within years, but eventually he will be right. As an educator, I will focus more on helping my students to apply the problem rather than giving them information that can be found on the internet, or even if they simply read the book. We need to engage our students so they will look forward to learning.

Flipping the Classroom
I think that flipping the classroom is an excellent idea for some classes. However, I cannot expect a student to fully understand everything they watch immediately. I can honestly say, at one point of another, I have been a part of each section of Katie Gimbar's class divisions. The only section I would want to stay in is the "middle group" that is currently on task and following the discussion. As I said in the last section (Teaching in the 21st Century) I want to focus on the applications of problems. I like that she is able to seperate the kids and focus on their specific needs. I also think that Mrs. Munafo's video gave the parents a little bit of insight of how their children would be learning. I think this would be an exceptional way to teach, especially in a math setting. I can't say that I would be prepared to teach this way as a first or second year teacher but possibly by my fifth year I would like to give this idea a whirl. Another video you may what to watch is Dr. Lodge Cammon's FIZZ to further understand "flipping the classroom."

Blog Assignment #4

Views on Podcasts
I chose to read the blog post The Benefits of Pod-casting in the Classrom, 1st Graders Create Their Own Read Alongs, and my personal favorite as a kid Flat Stanley Podcast. I completely and totally agree with Joe Dale's views on the benefits of podcast in the classroom. When I was in high school my chemistry teacher created pod casts for us to watch if we were ever out of school or simply didn't understand what she said during class. I know it helped plenty of students throughout the semester and even after we graduated and had chemistry in college. I think the other two posts from Langwitches Blog really emphasized how pod casts could engage young students. I was never fond of reading when I was younger, however I think if I was able to record myself and reread the books or even my own work I would have liked reading so much more. The Flat Stanley project reminds me of when I was in the first grade and we did almost the same project except we didn't record anything. We just had to write a report. I think anything that involves technology engages students, especially the younger aged students, because they simply think they are "too cool for school" using equipment that the "big kids" use.
As far as what I can use in my podcast, the main thing that sticks out to me is one word, scripts. I think it would be much easier if we were to use a written script and practice using emotions to grab the attention of the audience. I don't think "making it as you go" will be an efficient way to making a quality podcast.

Project #5 Presentation