Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Blog Post # 9
I chose Mr. McClung’s first edition of “What I’ve Learned This Year” because I thought it would be most beneficial to me as a new teacher. This, of course, is in addition to the required and latest version.
What I’ve Learned This Year (08-09)
In this post, Mr. McClung reflects on his first year teaching. I found this to be an incredibly nifty post. He starts out by discussing the way he lost touch with his class as he taught as lesson. His post describes him being so worried about his assessment from superiors that he forgot lessons should be student centered. He urges us to be flexible because no lesson plan is perfect, and also reasonable because as teachers we can hold very high expectations of our students. He stresses that our job is about picking our students back up after they fail and encouraging them to try again.
Another piece of advice was communication. He discusses communication regarding the workplace, as well as students. They best way to handle conflict at work is to simply talk things out. With fellow teachers, administration, and students it is imperative that we communicate. This is how we build rapport, develop strong, lasting relationships, and earn the respect and trust of our students. He also advocates technology as a friend. He even says we need it to be able to live in “our microwave society of today.”
He ends his post by encouraging us to never stop learning.
I loved this post. This is extremely beneficial to me because I have not went through my first year of teaching yet. It gave me a good idea of some problems that I am likely to encounter. I agree with everything he has to say. All of his advice is very pragmatic, and something that I will surely look back on.
What I Learned This Year - Volume 4
In this post, Mr. McClung addresses only two themes. The first, “You Gotta Dance With Who You Came To Dance With”, describes becoming overly concerned with the way that his fellow teachers perceived him. He tells us that after much reflection he came to realize that the way his peers view him is not that important. He tells us that throughout his career he has always followed one rule (or question); are the kids having fun? This couldn’t be more true. It is the children that we are here for. While it is important that we are pleasing our superiors and meeting all requirements set forth, the kids should always be our main focus.
The next theme he discusses is “Challenge Yourself”. Mr. McClung talks about how he had gotten comfortable in the school and subject he taught, which made the amount of creativity put into his lessons decline. He admits that he began to depend on old lessons and was not teaching well. He states that if we get too comfortable as teachers, we become lazy and our lesson plans become awful, which in turn makes our students suffer.
I am always looking for something new to try. I am the type of person that loves to be challenged and stay busy. I can truly understand what it is that Mr. McClung is saying here. I have had so many teachers that used lesson plans from an incredibly long time ago. Even though we have to cover the same standards year after year, we do not have to do it the same way over and over. Lessons should be subverted as needed to fit the needs of our students. I also really appreciated how honest he was with his flaws and failures as a teacher. Very enlightening.
I enjoyed reading these posts so much that I read the other two versions, and even followed and saved his blog to my Symbaloo. I was very excited for him when he announced, through an update, that he has been offered and accepted a position as an assistant principal. I’m sure only good things will come from his career advancement.
What I’ve Learned This Year (08-09)
In this post, Mr. McClung reflects on his first year teaching. I found this to be an incredibly nifty post. He starts out by discussing the way he lost touch with his class as he taught as lesson. His post describes him being so worried about his assessment from superiors that he forgot lessons should be student centered. He urges us to be flexible because no lesson plan is perfect, and also reasonable because as teachers we can hold very high expectations of our students. He stresses that our job is about picking our students back up after they fail and encouraging them to try again.
Another piece of advice was communication. He discusses communication regarding the workplace, as well as students. They best way to handle conflict at work is to simply talk things out. With fellow teachers, administration, and students it is imperative that we communicate. This is how we build rapport, develop strong, lasting relationships, and earn the respect and trust of our students. He also advocates technology as a friend. He even says we need it to be able to live in “our microwave society of today.”
He ends his post by encouraging us to never stop learning.
I loved this post. This is extremely beneficial to me because I have not went through my first year of teaching yet. It gave me a good idea of some problems that I am likely to encounter. I agree with everything he has to say. All of his advice is very pragmatic, and something that I will surely look back on.
What I Learned This Year - Volume 4
In this post, Mr. McClung addresses only two themes. The first, “You Gotta Dance With Who You Came To Dance With”, describes becoming overly concerned with the way that his fellow teachers perceived him. He tells us that after much reflection he came to realize that the way his peers view him is not that important. He tells us that throughout his career he has always followed one rule (or question); are the kids having fun? This couldn’t be more true. It is the children that we are here for. While it is important that we are pleasing our superiors and meeting all requirements set forth, the kids should always be our main focus.
The next theme he discusses is “Challenge Yourself”. Mr. McClung talks about how he had gotten comfortable in the school and subject he taught, which made the amount of creativity put into his lessons decline. He admits that he began to depend on old lessons and was not teaching well. He states that if we get too comfortable as teachers, we become lazy and our lesson plans become awful, which in turn makes our students suffer.
I am always looking for something new to try. I am the type of person that loves to be challenged and stay busy. I can truly understand what it is that Mr. McClung is saying here. I have had so many teachers that used lesson plans from an incredibly long time ago. Even though we have to cover the same standards year after year, we do not have to do it the same way over and over. Lessons should be subverted as needed to fit the needs of our students. I also really appreciated how honest he was with his flaws and failures as a teacher. Very enlightening.
I enjoyed reading these posts so much that I read the other two versions, and even followed and saved his blog to my Symbaloo. I was very excited for him when he announced, through an update, that he has been offered and accepted a position as an assistant principal. I’m sure only good things will come from his career advancement.
Project #12 - Jumanji Book Trailer
This was such an awesome project! Anthony Capps definitely deserves a thank you for the tutorial video. It was incredibly nifty! I plan to make more of these in my (currently nonexistent) spare time.
The only thing I had problems with (thanks to Anthony) was the music. My book trailer was just over a minute long, but my source music was only 46 seconds. I ended up solving this problem with a method I used to use to make ringtones in iTunes. I'm not sure of other ways to do this, but this was effective for me, and quick. A tutorial handling this problem wouldn't be a bad idea at all.
The only thing I had problems with (thanks to Anthony) was the music. My book trailer was just over a minute long, but my source music was only 46 seconds. I ended up solving this problem with a method I used to use to make ringtones in iTunes. I'm not sure of other ways to do this, but this was effective for me, and quick. A tutorial handling this problem wouldn't be a bad idea at all.
Project #9: PLN
PLN Progress Report
I love the idea of having a personal learning network (PLN). I am using Symbaloo to manage my network. The student from the video we watched, A 7th Graders PLE, used the same thing. I have Symbaloo set as my homepage. By doing this, anything that I want to access is simply a click away.
My PLN is definitely a work in progress. I am constantly adding new tiles to my webmix. I have already added social media tiles like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. These I use for both personal and professional purposes. Pandora is strictly personal, but I have to have music in order to function, so there it is! I use Diigo as a bookmarking tool. I like this one because you can highlight certain parts of the pages and add your own side notes as well.
I especially like to add blogs. I, of course, have the class blog, but I’ve also added any blogs that have been assigned and a few I have found on my own. I’ve also added a few pages like StorySpinner. I’ll add a list of them later when I post my final summary. Some of them are quite nifty. StorySpinner randomly selects a starting phrase, a setting, and four words to include. This will be great for short story exercises.
I am really excited about all the new and beneficial things I’m finding. Symbaloo is an awesome way to manage everything. I can wait to further develop my PLN.
I love the idea of having a personal learning network (PLN). I am using Symbaloo to manage my network. The student from the video we watched, A 7th Graders PLE, used the same thing. I have Symbaloo set as my homepage. By doing this, anything that I want to access is simply a click away.
My PLN is definitely a work in progress. I am constantly adding new tiles to my webmix. I have already added social media tiles like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. These I use for both personal and professional purposes. Pandora is strictly personal, but I have to have music in order to function, so there it is! I use Diigo as a bookmarking tool. I like this one because you can highlight certain parts of the pages and add your own side notes as well.
I especially like to add blogs. I, of course, have the class blog, but I’ve also added any blogs that have been assigned and a few I have found on my own. I’ve also added a few pages like StorySpinner. I’ll add a list of them later when I post my final summary. Some of them are quite nifty. StorySpinner randomly selects a starting phrase, a setting, and four words to include. This will be great for short story exercises.
I am really excited about all the new and beneficial things I’m finding. Symbaloo is an awesome way to manage everything. I can wait to further develop my PLN.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Blog Post #8
This is How We Dream
In his two part video, This Is How We Dream, Dr. Miller describes how reading and writing has changed. We have moved from using paper and pens to using technology for virtual reading and writing. Miller is discussing the importance of creativity and collaboration., as well as how cheap and accessible books and information have become due to technology. In the second part of his video he describes visual representation and academic lectures that are available on the web. He also advocates openly and freely sharing ideas, while acknowledging the challenges in creating an educational system like the one he describes throughout his videos.
My favorite thing about the first part of his video is that he points how much we can do with a virtual workspace. We can research “the riches of the world as they are stored on the web.” We no longer are limited to local libraries. With the use of technology we can research sources from all over the world without ever leaving home, or having to make a special trip to the library. He goes on to describe the ways that we can use audio and images as well as text, and collaborate with others on projects. Because technology allows us to connect virtually over the web, we can collaborate with people all around the world.
In the second part, Miller says that we as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely. I couldn’t agree with him more. I love working on collaborative projects. When you have other people working with you, you have access to someone to bounce ideas around with. You can help one another improve aspects of the project.
Miller recognizes that there are many challenges to overcome if we are to create this type of educational system. He states openly that he can barely fathom the idea. Like Miller, I find this fascinating. Why wouldn’t we want to share and push ideas into our culture? It was amazing to see what people are already composing using the web itself. It is amazing that we can see the emotion of different geographical locations. I believe we are definitely well on our way to an exclusively technology based educational system.
Carly Pugh’s Blog Post #12
Carly’s post was absolutely amazing! Not only was the content significant but her writing style is fascinating. It’s unbelievably entertaining. Her assignment truly epitomizes Dr. Miller’s dream of writing with multimedia.
Had I been given this assignment in school, we would have pulled out a sheet of paper and numbered one through ten, answering each question in written form. Because Carly explicitly states that you should use videos to answer these questions, it takes pens and paper off the table, and replaces them with technology. Most of her assignment requires no text at all. Not only does this assignment make you think, it teaches research and technological skills, self-reflection, and planning among many others.
EDM310 for Dummies and The Chipper Video
“EDM 310 for Dummies” is a video that shows you how to be successful in EDM 310. The video starts out with two students who are going crazy because they are overwhelmed by this course. This video introduces the book, EDM 310 for Dummies, which features tutorials and information for all aspects of this class.
“The Chipper Series” was hilarious! I love satire! Chipper is lazy, unmotivated, and procrastinates way too much. This video points out that these are terrible habits and you should stay on top of classwork, meet all deadlines, and follow instructions. This video was really great because it really touches on the point that school is not a joke.
I think the primary message of the videos was that you should always do your best and seek help and guidance when you need it. With EDM310 in particular, help is always available. The only possible reason someone could have for failing this class is that they did not put forth the effort required to succeed. I think Dr. Strange and the EDM staff do an outstanding job of being there for students and helping with anything we need. Their knowledge is something that should definitely be taken advantage of.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Education ranked lowest in IT intensiveness? Below coal mining? What?!
This video was mainly about how we teach and how technology is important in the classroom. This is so true. Just as Dr. Miller points out that we are no longer restricted to libraries for research, the same goes for schools. This is not the only place that children can learn now.
The new 21st century set of literacies are described as what one can do with information; can you find it, validate it, synthesize it, leverage it, communicate it, collaborate with it, problem-solve with it?
One of the main problems presented in this video is that technology children are using to communicate via email, text, and instant messages, are either banned or is not being utilized. We are not reaching them on a level that they are a) comfortable with, or b) can easily relate too.
We need to focus on teaching them how to use technology to benefit them. It can be used for so much more than texting and funny cat videos.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
1. Edmodo is an amazing site. I’ve been ranting about it for a while now. I like to describe Edmodo as Facebook for teachers. Edmodo allows you to add “groups” which are basically virtual classrooms. Within these groups teachers can give assignments, quizzes, start discussions and even take polls.
There are quite a few reasons I like this site so much. The first being that this is a great way to get my students involved. It also a great way to turn your classroom into an environmentally friendly class. The main reason I like this so much is that it will allow my students access to me even when school is out. If they are at home doing an assignment, they will always be able to contact me through our virtual class.
2. I found MakeBeliefsComix in Related Links from Web 2.0. Here is my comic:
3. For creating a poll, I used PollEverywhere. You can respond to my poll here.
In his two part video, This Is How We Dream, Dr. Miller describes how reading and writing has changed. We have moved from using paper and pens to using technology for virtual reading and writing. Miller is discussing the importance of creativity and collaboration., as well as how cheap and accessible books and information have become due to technology. In the second part of his video he describes visual representation and academic lectures that are available on the web. He also advocates openly and freely sharing ideas, while acknowledging the challenges in creating an educational system like the one he describes throughout his videos.
My favorite thing about the first part of his video is that he points how much we can do with a virtual workspace. We can research “the riches of the world as they are stored on the web.” We no longer are limited to local libraries. With the use of technology we can research sources from all over the world without ever leaving home, or having to make a special trip to the library. He goes on to describe the ways that we can use audio and images as well as text, and collaborate with others on projects. Because technology allows us to connect virtually over the web, we can collaborate with people all around the world.
In the second part, Miller says that we as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely. I couldn’t agree with him more. I love working on collaborative projects. When you have other people working with you, you have access to someone to bounce ideas around with. You can help one another improve aspects of the project.
Miller recognizes that there are many challenges to overcome if we are to create this type of educational system. He states openly that he can barely fathom the idea. Like Miller, I find this fascinating. Why wouldn’t we want to share and push ideas into our culture? It was amazing to see what people are already composing using the web itself. It is amazing that we can see the emotion of different geographical locations. I believe we are definitely well on our way to an exclusively technology based educational system.
Carly Pugh’s Blog Post #12
Carly’s post was absolutely amazing! Not only was the content significant but her writing style is fascinating. It’s unbelievably entertaining. Her assignment truly epitomizes Dr. Miller’s dream of writing with multimedia.
Had I been given this assignment in school, we would have pulled out a sheet of paper and numbered one through ten, answering each question in written form. Because Carly explicitly states that you should use videos to answer these questions, it takes pens and paper off the table, and replaces them with technology. Most of her assignment requires no text at all. Not only does this assignment make you think, it teaches research and technological skills, self-reflection, and planning among many others.
EDM310 for Dummies and The Chipper Video
“EDM 310 for Dummies” is a video that shows you how to be successful in EDM 310. The video starts out with two students who are going crazy because they are overwhelmed by this course. This video introduces the book, EDM 310 for Dummies, which features tutorials and information for all aspects of this class.
“The Chipper Series” was hilarious! I love satire! Chipper is lazy, unmotivated, and procrastinates way too much. This video points out that these are terrible habits and you should stay on top of classwork, meet all deadlines, and follow instructions. This video was really great because it really touches on the point that school is not a joke.
I think the primary message of the videos was that you should always do your best and seek help and guidance when you need it. With EDM310 in particular, help is always available. The only possible reason someone could have for failing this class is that they did not put forth the effort required to succeed. I think Dr. Strange and the EDM staff do an outstanding job of being there for students and helping with anything we need. Their knowledge is something that should definitely be taken advantage of.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Education ranked lowest in IT intensiveness? Below coal mining? What?!
This video was mainly about how we teach and how technology is important in the classroom. This is so true. Just as Dr. Miller points out that we are no longer restricted to libraries for research, the same goes for schools. This is not the only place that children can learn now.
The new 21st century set of literacies are described as what one can do with information; can you find it, validate it, synthesize it, leverage it, communicate it, collaborate with it, problem-solve with it?
One of the main problems presented in this video is that technology children are using to communicate via email, text, and instant messages, are either banned or is not being utilized. We are not reaching them on a level that they are a) comfortable with, or b) can easily relate too.
We need to focus on teaching them how to use technology to benefit them. It can be used for so much more than texting and funny cat videos.
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
1. Edmodo is an amazing site. I’ve been ranting about it for a while now. I like to describe Edmodo as Facebook for teachers. Edmodo allows you to add “groups” which are basically virtual classrooms. Within these groups teachers can give assignments, quizzes, start discussions and even take polls.
There are quite a few reasons I like this site so much. The first being that this is a great way to get my students involved. It also a great way to turn your classroom into an environmentally friendly class. The main reason I like this so much is that it will allow my students access to me even when school is out. If they are at home doing an assignment, they will always be able to contact me through our virtual class.
2. I found MakeBeliefsComix in Related Links from Web 2.0. Here is my comic:
3. For creating a poll, I used PollEverywhere. You can respond to my poll here.
Friday, March 8, 2013
C4T #2
For this C4T assignment, I was given Mrs. Elvira Deyamport’s blog, Language Journeys. She is a Gifted Education teacher for grades 2-6. I highly suggest that you look over her blog. It contains a lot of excellent material.
Comment #1
My first comment was on her blog post, Telling Our Stories with Social Media. She starts out by sharing Diigo . Diigo is an amazing social bookmarking tool. She provides a very nifty link for a list of Diigo resources.
Mrs. Deyamport recently attend MECA, which is her state’s educational technology conference. She tells us about Eric Sheniger, who she describes as her social media hero. She continues to say that “he is the example of how school leaders can utilize social media to tell our stories and implement effective change within schools”. I have already bookmarked his web page.
Showcasing the work of her students is only part of what Mrs. Deyamport is trying to achieve. She also wants to show the world what is actually done in gifted education. When I commented, I introduced myself and thanked her for sharing Diigo. I told her that I found it very useful, and couldn’t wait to share it as well. Seriously, check out Diigo here. I also told her that I admired her approach and thought this was a good way to inspire a sense of pride and accomplishment. I ended my comment by asking if she had any other tool she could suggest. I am happy to say that Mrs. Deyamport replied to my comment almost immediately. She suggested I look into a site called Edmodo, and let me just say, wow! This will definitely be something I incorporate into my classroom. For the sake of space, I won’t go into detail, but this video is short, precise, and very informative. I’m not sure if this is something we will discover in EDM 310, but we should. I highly recommend it, on good recommendation.
Comment #2
My second comment was on Mrs. Deyamport’s post, Talking About College with Gifted Kids. In this blog, she describes the way she approach talking about college with her gifted students. She used three different projects to help them.
The first project she used was “text self-portraits”. The students were asked to draw a portrait of themselves using words that describe their personal qualities, aspirations, interests, talents, and career goals. She posted a picture of one that was incredible. Here is an example of what I mean.:
The second project she used was “Career Trees”. This is exactly like a “text self-portrait”, only the image used to display their message is a tree, or something other than their faces. She also posted a picture of one of these. Although not a very good one, here is an example:
The third project they worked on was podcasts. Her students created podcasts in the form of talk shows to help provide collegiate information. One of the podcasts was like radio show called The Do’s and Don’t’s of College, and the other provided more specific information for UAB college.
When I commented, I told Mrs. Deyamport that I loved this post, and enjoyed the podcasts so much that I had to share with everyone in my office. I told her that I really enjoy the things she posts on her blog and plan to do these projects with my students in the future. I mentioned that after I post this, my obligation to comment and follow her blog would be fulfilled, but that I plan to continue to follow anyway in hopes of taking advantage of anything I may find valuable from her blog.
Comment #1
My first comment was on her blog post, Telling Our Stories with Social Media. She starts out by sharing Diigo . Diigo is an amazing social bookmarking tool. She provides a very nifty link for a list of Diigo resources.
Mrs. Deyamport recently attend MECA, which is her state’s educational technology conference. She tells us about Eric Sheniger, who she describes as her social media hero. She continues to say that “he is the example of how school leaders can utilize social media to tell our stories and implement effective change within schools”. I have already bookmarked his web page.
Showcasing the work of her students is only part of what Mrs. Deyamport is trying to achieve. She also wants to show the world what is actually done in gifted education. When I commented, I introduced myself and thanked her for sharing Diigo. I told her that I found it very useful, and couldn’t wait to share it as well. Seriously, check out Diigo here. I also told her that I admired her approach and thought this was a good way to inspire a sense of pride and accomplishment. I ended my comment by asking if she had any other tool she could suggest. I am happy to say that Mrs. Deyamport replied to my comment almost immediately. She suggested I look into a site called Edmodo, and let me just say, wow! This will definitely be something I incorporate into my classroom. For the sake of space, I won’t go into detail, but this video is short, precise, and very informative. I’m not sure if this is something we will discover in EDM 310, but we should. I highly recommend it, on good recommendation.
Comment #2
My second comment was on Mrs. Deyamport’s post, Talking About College with Gifted Kids. In this blog, she describes the way she approach talking about college with her gifted students. She used three different projects to help them.
The first project she used was “text self-portraits”. The students were asked to draw a portrait of themselves using words that describe their personal qualities, aspirations, interests, talents, and career goals. She posted a picture of one that was incredible. Here is an example of what I mean.:
The second project she used was “Career Trees”. This is exactly like a “text self-portrait”, only the image used to display their message is a tree, or something other than their faces. She also posted a picture of one of these. Although not a very good one, here is an example:
The third project they worked on was podcasts. Her students created podcasts in the form of talk shows to help provide collegiate information. One of the podcasts was like radio show called The Do’s and Don’t’s of College, and the other provided more specific information for UAB college.
When I commented, I told Mrs. Deyamport that I loved this post, and enjoyed the podcasts so much that I had to share with everyone in my office. I told her that I really enjoy the things she posts on her blog and plan to do these projects with my students in the future. I mentioned that after I post this, my obligation to comment and follow her blog would be fulfilled, but that I plan to continue to follow anyway in hopes of taking advantage of anything I may find valuable from her blog.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Blog Post #7
There is so much to this lecture. An entire book has been derived from this lecture. I had to watch this lecture multiple times, but it was well worth it. I wanted to watch it again and again. Pausch’s last lecture was beyond inspirational and contains an extensive amount of advice on life, learning, and teaching. The overall positivity that Pausch advocates and exudes stood out to me. Bottom line, despite the odds, a positive outlook is essential to achieving anything.
“Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.” This meant a lot to me as an educator. All students have immense potential. Sometimes it may take longer to show, and some students may just need to be given the right tools. My students should always know that I would never give up on them; another of Pausch’s pieces of advice, never give up. Just as I shouldn’t give up on them, they shouldn’t give up on themselves. Dreams can be achieved if you work hard enough for them. “Brick walls are there to provide us with an opportunity to prove how badly we want something.” No matter what path we choose to take in life, there will always be obstacles. To get through these brick walls and achieve the things you want, you can’t give up.
Not all childhood dreams come true, and that’s okay. This is just as important to teach my students as not giving up on their dreams. Sometimes these are the best instances to gain experience. “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.” The things that we do not achieve are often replaced with adapted versions. In the lecture, Pausch shares his childhood dream of playing in the NFL. While that didn’t happen, he learned many things in the time that he did play football that helped him considerably in other aspects of his life.
Encouraging creativity, raising the bar, and pushing my students to do more are just a few things I plan to consider when educating my future students. There is just so much that I took from his lecture! Teaching the fundamentals and following it with fun, technology based projects will be a major method for me. I would also try to allow my students to see where they stand among others. I hope this will encourage them to try harder and do more. I want to provide them with substantive feedback, but I also want to recieve feedback from them. This will give me a chance to teach the importance of critics that Pausch emphasizes.
I will be able to provide my students with assignments that will allow them to be creative and still utilize fundamental rules of English. I would like to stray away from a traditional English class and give students a real chance to both realize and reach for their dreams. Writing can be an excellent way to self-reflect; something that Pausch felt was very important to teach.
Throughout his entire speech, Pausch focused on other people. He explicitly states “you can’t get there alone”. Networking is crucial. The way you deal with people is everything. Be loyal, show gratitude, cherish criticism, and talk to people in the right way. Word usage is key when communicating. There are many different ways to say the right thing and it’s all about the way you say it. This basically comes down to be a good person, a good friend. Always do the right thing. The relationships that you build will become a major stepping stone in the things you accomplish.
I could write incessantly about the ways Pausch’s lecture can be adapted into my teaching and personal life. His lessons apply to life, me, my students, everyone. I recently began reading the book, The Last Lecture, and I’m looking forward to finishing it. If you haven’t at least watched the lecture, you should. Pandy Pausch’s Last Lecture was amazingly inspirational, and definitely worth the hour and sixteen minutes.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
February's C4K Assignments
Week 1: Nick C.
Nick describes a photograph that he looked at. He said the flags in the picture was interesting and that he saw boats, the ocean, a fish chips sign, and a girl using a telescope. He also thinks that he saw a bird and its nest.
I told Nick that I liked the words he choose to help him describe what he saw. I asked him if he described a beach picture because he liked the beach. I also told him that he done a good job and to keep it up. He seems like he could use a bit extra help with his writing, but another teacher had already commented and suggested that he read aloud, so I only commented on the positives of his post. I wanted him to feel confident enough to keep writing and blogging.
Week 2: Lakereya
This was Lakereya’s first blog post. She told us a little about herself. She was born on 7/17/2004, and has one brother and three sisters, with another little sister on the way. She really hopes that everyone will enjoy her blog.
I told Lakereya that my name was Jeanette and I go to school at South Alabama. I asked her if she got along well with her siblings, and told her that I bet she was excited to meet the newest little sister she will have soon. I concluded by praising her writing skills, and telling her that I can’t wait to follow her blog throughout the semester. I also told her that I was very impressed and to keep up the good work.
Week 3: Kyan
Kyan’s blog post was a Google Presentation about himself. He likes video games, anime, Bruno Mars, and Lamborghini cars among other things.
I told Kyan that he done an amazing job and I was very impressed after I introduced myself. I told him that I was a fan of anime and video games as well. I asked him if he enjoyed using technology to do projects like his presentation. I explained that my favorite part about using technology was communicating and sharing with people all over the world. I encouraged him to keep up the good work.
Week 4: Harper
Harper’s blog post was about her mom. Harper says that her mom is so sweet and the best ever because she gives Harper kisses and tucks her in. They are about to move out of Grandma’s house and Harper will miss her vey much.
I told Harper hello, my name, and where I went to school. I told her that mom did sound very awesome and asked if she was excited about moving even though she would miss her grandmother. I told her that her blog was well-written and I was very impressed.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Blog Post #6
The Networked Student
There are amazing things that learners can do with technology and networking. Wendy Drexler’s video, The Networked Student, demonstrates this. There are innumerable ways in which to access information of all variety. Not only is the information readily available, most people are able to access it anywhere, at anytime.
Of course we need teachers. Just as the video states, there are many roles that a teacher will take on. We are the source that students will come to for help, guidance, and mediation. In a sense, it is our jobs to be the experts. By the time we have students of our own, we should have a well-rounded knowledge of beneficial tools for them to use. I do think that younger children should have more time with their instructors. There are many obstacles that will arise from adopting networked learning, but considering the benefits it really is worth it.
If I must answer the question of whether or not I am ready to be a networked teacher, I feel that I must answer truthfully. Currently, no, I am not. I am definitely ready to become one though. I have so much work and learning and just exploring in general to do. My knowledge of the things available is still very primitive. Obviously, this will change over time as I take more classes, study new things, and build my network. I am, however, quite confident that I will do very well for my future students. I think students deserve the very best of what we can offer them.
A 7th Grader’s PLE
My favorite thing about this video was when the student mentioned that by having freedom it inclined her to act responsibly. Awesome! She has obviously put a lot of work into developing her PLE. I was very impressed! Her PLE is ver similar to my PLN. I use Symbaloo as well. It really is a great tool.
I also have some of my personal things organized into my home webmix. I have set Symbaloo as my homepage so that everything I could possibly want to go to is right there at the tap of my finger. While I already have lots of things listed in Symbaloo, I am always searching for new things to add.
There are amazing things that learners can do with technology and networking. Wendy Drexler’s video, The Networked Student, demonstrates this. There are innumerable ways in which to access information of all variety. Not only is the information readily available, most people are able to access it anywhere, at anytime.
Of course we need teachers. Just as the video states, there are many roles that a teacher will take on. We are the source that students will come to for help, guidance, and mediation. In a sense, it is our jobs to be the experts. By the time we have students of our own, we should have a well-rounded knowledge of beneficial tools for them to use. I do think that younger children should have more time with their instructors. There are many obstacles that will arise from adopting networked learning, but considering the benefits it really is worth it.
If I must answer the question of whether or not I am ready to be a networked teacher, I feel that I must answer truthfully. Currently, no, I am not. I am definitely ready to become one though. I have so much work and learning and just exploring in general to do. My knowledge of the things available is still very primitive. Obviously, this will change over time as I take more classes, study new things, and build my network. I am, however, quite confident that I will do very well for my future students. I think students deserve the very best of what we can offer them.
A 7th Grader’s PLE
My favorite thing about this video was when the student mentioned that by having freedom it inclined her to act responsibly. Awesome! She has obviously put a lot of work into developing her PLE. I was very impressed! Her PLE is ver similar to my PLN. I use Symbaloo as well. It really is a great tool.
I also have some of my personal things organized into my home webmix. I have set Symbaloo as my homepage so that everything I could possibly want to go to is right there at the tap of my finger. While I already have lots of things listed in Symbaloo, I am always searching for new things to add.
Project #10: Finding The Right Tool
My current C4T assignment is Language Journeys, a blog by Elvira Deyamport. She recently suggested a few things to me and one of them was Edmodo. I have done a good bit of research on this tool and can’t wait to use it. I am not entirely positive that this will not be discussed in EDM 31. I have not yet heard about it from this class, and am very intrigued by it.
I plan to teach middle/high school English, so this will be a perfect way to integrate technology into my classroom. There are so many things you can do with Edmodo. One of my favorite things about Edmodo is that it can turn my classroom into a more environmentally friendly one. My students can turn in assignments electronically. I think that this is a good way to keep them excited about English class, and it will also take care of most of the organization for them. Everything will already have a proper place. I’m sure this will save me a few excuses of what happened to assignments. Besides these things, using this site will allow me to be readily available to my students even while they are at home working on individual assignments. The concepts behind using this is brilliant as well. Just by joining in discussions they are utilizing written communication skills, technological skills, interpersonal skills, etc. The list goes on and on.
There is so much to be discussed and shared about Edmodo, but for the sake of length I will simply refer you to some YouTube videos that I found extremely helpful. Jeffery Hollo created a tutorial video for teachers broken down into three parts. Here is the link for part one. Parts two and three will appear at the top of the right hand column of suggested videos. He does a very good job of explaining everything you need to know.
I plan to teach middle/high school English, so this will be a perfect way to integrate technology into my classroom. There are so many things you can do with Edmodo. One of my favorite things about Edmodo is that it can turn my classroom into a more environmentally friendly one. My students can turn in assignments electronically. I think that this is a good way to keep them excited about English class, and it will also take care of most of the organization for them. Everything will already have a proper place. I’m sure this will save me a few excuses of what happened to assignments. Besides these things, using this site will allow me to be readily available to my students even while they are at home working on individual assignments. The concepts behind using this is brilliant as well. Just by joining in discussions they are utilizing written communication skills, technological skills, interpersonal skills, etc. The list goes on and on.
There is so much to be discussed and shared about Edmodo, but for the sake of length I will simply refer you to some YouTube videos that I found extremely helpful. Jeffery Hollo created a tutorial video for teachers broken down into three parts. Here is the link for part one. Parts two and three will appear at the top of the right hand column of suggested videos. He does a very good job of explaining everything you need to know.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Blog Post #5
Who is Krissy Venosdale?
Krissy Venosdale has been teaching for the last ten years. She is currently a gifted education teacher. I want to say based on clues throughout some of her posts that she teaches in the St. Louis area. I think she has some excellent standards on what education means, and how one should go about educating. I would definitely suggest that you check out her blog here.
If I Built A School
If I built a school, the teaching styles would coincide with Ms. Venosdale’s ideas. Creativity, innovation, and collaboration would be a few of the things at the top of my list. I would also try to make the environment warm, inviting, and cozy. I would try to give the school a collegiate feel. Students will be able to choose their schedules. I would allow them more personal freedom outside of class to connect and discuss with friends over lunch or snacks. I think this will also help them develop more effective time management skills. I could go on and on and be very thorough. I could describe everything down to the color of paint in the hallways; however to compensate for time and length constrictions. I will leave it rather vague.
Virtual Choir
Wow! This was so awesome! Absolutely mind-blowing! Not only did it sound amazing, but this is truly an example of technology at its best. All of these people performed a very complex piece together completely over the internet. None of these people has met before in person, yet still managed to collaborate in order to create a stunning piece of work. While this was entirely about a virtual choir, the principle can be applied to almost anything. I think the most important thing is that this is a shared experience. You are a part of something bigger, as Mr. Whitacre says in his talk on TED. I think the world has a way of making us as individuals feel extremely small. With collaborative projects such as Mr. Whitacre’s virtual choir, people can feel as if they important, something bigger than just themselves.
Teaching In The 21st Century
I think Kevin Roberts touches some key issues. I can understand exactly where he is coming from. Times have changed. Students don’t need someone that will give them facts and dates. We are able to google anything, anytime, anywhere. We all, for the most part, have a device on our persons that allow us to access almost any knowledge in the world within a matter of moments.
I think for me, as an educator, this means I need to focus less on facts and information, and more on skills that come into play once the information has been accessed. Students need to be prepared to use technology, to harness creativity, to innovate, and think critically. They need to know what to do with the information. I think this all goes back to teaching our students to learn. If they are able to learn, to innovate, they will make use of the information that have their fingertips.
Flipped Classrooms
I think this is an amazing concept! It makes so much sense that I can’t believe we didn’t utilize this kind of system sooner. Lectures bore the mess out of me; they can be hard to follow, teachers sometimes speak too fast or too slowly, or even too monotonously. This system of educating allows students to watch lectures instead of wasting valuable class time trying to focus on what is being said. If all lectures are in video form, students are able to go back and watch them as they please. They can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. With this step being taken care of outside of the classroom, educators can step in and use their class time as an opportunity to make sure that everyone has grasped the concepts and are correctly applying them.
The increase in time for individual (or smaller group) instruction will be the most benefical, in my opinion. I have always went to class, sat through a lecture, told myself “yep I got it”, only to get home to start homework and realize that I have no clue what I’m doing. With a flipped classroom, lectures are readily available when I need them, and I will also have time with my teacher to make sure that I am not practicing something incorrectly.
I think this is an amazing system. I will definitely utilize these methods in my classroom. I am so thankful that this was an assignment!!
Krissy Venosdale has been teaching for the last ten years. She is currently a gifted education teacher. I want to say based on clues throughout some of her posts that she teaches in the St. Louis area. I think she has some excellent standards on what education means, and how one should go about educating. I would definitely suggest that you check out her blog here.
If I Built A School
If I built a school, the teaching styles would coincide with Ms. Venosdale’s ideas. Creativity, innovation, and collaboration would be a few of the things at the top of my list. I would also try to make the environment warm, inviting, and cozy. I would try to give the school a collegiate feel. Students will be able to choose their schedules. I would allow them more personal freedom outside of class to connect and discuss with friends over lunch or snacks. I think this will also help them develop more effective time management skills. I could go on and on and be very thorough. I could describe everything down to the color of paint in the hallways; however to compensate for time and length constrictions. I will leave it rather vague.
Virtual Choir
Wow! This was so awesome! Absolutely mind-blowing! Not only did it sound amazing, but this is truly an example of technology at its best. All of these people performed a very complex piece together completely over the internet. None of these people has met before in person, yet still managed to collaborate in order to create a stunning piece of work. While this was entirely about a virtual choir, the principle can be applied to almost anything. I think the most important thing is that this is a shared experience. You are a part of something bigger, as Mr. Whitacre says in his talk on TED. I think the world has a way of making us as individuals feel extremely small. With collaborative projects such as Mr. Whitacre’s virtual choir, people can feel as if they important, something bigger than just themselves.
Teaching In The 21st Century
I think Kevin Roberts touches some key issues. I can understand exactly where he is coming from. Times have changed. Students don’t need someone that will give them facts and dates. We are able to google anything, anytime, anywhere. We all, for the most part, have a device on our persons that allow us to access almost any knowledge in the world within a matter of moments.
I think for me, as an educator, this means I need to focus less on facts and information, and more on skills that come into play once the information has been accessed. Students need to be prepared to use technology, to harness creativity, to innovate, and think critically. They need to know what to do with the information. I think this all goes back to teaching our students to learn. If they are able to learn, to innovate, they will make use of the information that have their fingertips.
Flipped Classrooms
I think this is an amazing concept! It makes so much sense that I can’t believe we didn’t utilize this kind of system sooner. Lectures bore the mess out of me; they can be hard to follow, teachers sometimes speak too fast or too slowly, or even too monotonously. This system of educating allows students to watch lectures instead of wasting valuable class time trying to focus on what is being said. If all lectures are in video form, students are able to go back and watch them as they please. They can pause, rewind, fast forward, etc. With this step being taken care of outside of the classroom, educators can step in and use their class time as an opportunity to make sure that everyone has grasped the concepts and are correctly applying them.
The increase in time for individual (or smaller group) instruction will be the most benefical, in my opinion. I have always went to class, sat through a lecture, told myself “yep I got it”, only to get home to start homework and realize that I have no clue what I’m doing. With a flipped classroom, lectures are readily available when I need them, and I will also have time with my teacher to make sure that I am not practicing something incorrectly.
I think this is an amazing system. I will definitely utilize these methods in my classroom. I am so thankful that this was an assignment!!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
Blog Post #4
Langwitches Flat Stanley Podcast
The first graders at Langwitches read Flat Stanley and then decided to go on some flat adventures themselves. With the help of their parents, the students chose a location and wrote briefly about their flat adventure there. Each student then recorded their adventures, and was combined to make their Flat Stanley podcast.
Langwitches Listening-Comprehension Podcasting
In this blog, students record sentences from the Hebrew story Purim. After they finished recording their sentences in Garageband, they connected the computer to a smart board. This allowed the students to be able to use their fingers to drag the sound clips of their sentences into the proper order. The kids were able to have lots of fun with the project and experience a hands-on approach. They are also learning to use new technology, but the post strongly emphasizes that the lesson was not about the technology. The students learned speaking and listening skills, comprehension, and collaboration to name a few.
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
Joe Dale presents a video clip by Doug Saunders called Podcasting In The Classroom. The clip describes the benefits of using podcasts in the classroom. Some of these benefits include: ease of use, opportunities for distance learning, and promotes creativity and innovation. Mr. Dale also provides video tutorial links on how to podcast and how to do so using garageband.
Reactions/Comments/Thoughts
There is no doubt that podcasting is a very useful educational tool. Given that English is my subject of choice, podcasting will be a fun tool to get my future students interested in the literature we learn about. I definitely plan to incorporate podcasting into my classrooms due to its effectiveness and simplicity. Podcasting will give students a genuine sense of pride and accomplishment in their work. What I find most interesting about the use of podcasting, is that the students do not even realize that they are learning much more than just the story. I think, from the view of a first or second grade student, that this would be an incredibly fun project that would mask the “dreaded” learning behind it. Also, while it promotes proficiency with many types of technology, it also teaches very basic skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening. With the basics covered already, it even goes a step further to add comprehension and collaboration skills. These resources will definitely be helpful when it comes time to work on my podcast assignment. The main things I learned was that I needed to be sure to speak clearly and plan what I want to say in advance. I tend to be much more comfortable writing rather than speaking. Focusing on what I want to say and how to say it beforehand will help me to be more comfortable.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
C4T Blog Post #1
For my C4T, I was assigned Connected Principals. My first comment was on ”Be More Interested Than Interesting” posted by Chris Wejr. In his blog he states that he has spent too much time trying to be interesting online and too little on being interested offline. The main thing he wants to do is focus and actually do more. He tries to emphasize that you need to be interested in the things going on around you. I’m sure this includes everything that you are involved in online as well. The main point is exactly his title, be more interested than interesting. Although his personal focus was on doing offline, the general principle is outstanding.
When I commented on this post, outside of introducing myself, I applauded his resolution to be more interested. I agreed with him, and shared my passion for helping and being interested in others. I ended by thanking him and asking if he planned to do a follow-up blog later. I am interested to see what comes from his endeavors.
Comment #2
The second blog from Connected Principals that I commented on was ”The Heart of the Matter” posted by “dkerr”. I was unable to find the author’s full name. This post proposes that we lean towards trying to identify the cause of problems for “underachieving” students. It expresses how often teachers tell their students that they need to try harder or focus more. The post states that we should take a look at our programs, assessment expectations/practices, and the way we generally approach struggling students, and then begin to make changes. The author told us that he had recently read a book called Speaking of Boys by Michael Thompson. I plan to read this, and hope that I find it as amazing and enlightening as the author of this blog post.
When I commented, I introduced my self, and explained that because I am a student in the field of education that I was able to understand this post from the view of both student and teacher. I agreed with the changes the author suggested and commended their level of passion for helping their students and trying to get to “the heart of the matter”. I also told the author that I will be following the blog and, asked if they would be willing to write a follow-up blog.
Special Blog Assignment #1
I love WolframAlpha! I had no idea this even existed before being assigned this special blog. There are astounding amounts and types of information to be found. When I done the original comparison between populations of India, China, and America, I expected to find the populations and percentages. What I didn’t expect was the extent of information readily available. Not only is the population listed, but there are also population ratios, densities, growth rates, life expectancies, and even median ages. Better still, WolframAlpha offers visuals! As they say, seeing is believing. I couldn’t wait to get started on my other two required searches, and I’ve done multiple more since then.
Search #1
I may have had a bit too much fun with this assignment! Since I ended up doing so many different searches and the uses for WolframAlpha are almost endless, I had to choose which ones to write about in my blog. For my first one, I used WolframAlpha to help pay for dinner with friends. We forgot to ask the waitress to split the bill for us! I payed for everything on my card, but still needed to know how much my friends needed to reimburse me. I am not a math person, so this was extremely nifty! I did already know that WolframAlpha was capable of this from personal research. This is what I typed in as my search phrase: $93.27, 15% tip, 4 people. Directly below this paragraph is a screenshot of my search results. You can see that I found exactly what I wanted to know (amount per person, including tip), along with lots of other information as well.
Search #2
Jeanette doesn’t seem to be common name. I have never met anyone that shares my name. So, for my second search I entered: number of people named Jeanette. WolframAlpha provided me with the estimated number of people alive named Jeanette, the population fraction, expected rank (I assume to mean name popularity), and also the most common age of these people. It is so much fun to have such unlimited access to information. I took this a step further and added “vs Summer” to my search phrase. I’ve included another screenshot below. It gave me all the same information but compared the two side by side.
How Can We Use WolframAlpha?!
There are so many ways that WolframAlpha can be used. I done a good bit of snooping around this site. I found a WolframAlpha blog that has the specific category for education! How cool, right? You can visit that blog by clicking here. More specifically, I recommend that you consider reading this blog posted by Richard Clark. In this blog, Richard shares 10 more questions that kids can answer using WolframAlpha. I was especially fond of the way it could lay out mathematics. I wouldn’t really know where to start explaining the ways in which this can be beneficial to my students, or myself. I haven’t failed to find anything I’ve searched for yet. The possibilities are endless!
Technology And Educators
I have a lot of catching up and a lot of keeping up to do. The advancements in technology just since I was a child are mind blowing. EDM 310 has really opened my eyes! I think outside of “just doing my job”, I’ll have to continuously teach myself as well. I think this same principle needs to be instilled into our students. Be a life long learner. Research outside of the box. It has already been discussed that most jobs people will hold 10 years from now do not even yet exist. How do you prepare for something like that? I say feed your intelligence, explore, be creative. Learn to learn. I think as an educator it should be a priority to enhance adaptability. Of course students need to know all of the basic things you learn through school, but I do not think that it should be put far above creativity and innovation. It is with these, I believe, that students will excel most.
Search #1
I may have had a bit too much fun with this assignment! Since I ended up doing so many different searches and the uses for WolframAlpha are almost endless, I had to choose which ones to write about in my blog. For my first one, I used WolframAlpha to help pay for dinner with friends. We forgot to ask the waitress to split the bill for us! I payed for everything on my card, but still needed to know how much my friends needed to reimburse me. I am not a math person, so this was extremely nifty! I did already know that WolframAlpha was capable of this from personal research. This is what I typed in as my search phrase: $93.27, 15% tip, 4 people. Directly below this paragraph is a screenshot of my search results. You can see that I found exactly what I wanted to know (amount per person, including tip), along with lots of other information as well.
Jeanette doesn’t seem to be common name. I have never met anyone that shares my name. So, for my second search I entered: number of people named Jeanette. WolframAlpha provided me with the estimated number of people alive named Jeanette, the population fraction, expected rank (I assume to mean name popularity), and also the most common age of these people. It is so much fun to have such unlimited access to information. I took this a step further and added “vs Summer” to my search phrase. I’ve included another screenshot below. It gave me all the same information but compared the two side by side.
How Can We Use WolframAlpha?!
There are so many ways that WolframAlpha can be used. I done a good bit of snooping around this site. I found a WolframAlpha blog that has the specific category for education! How cool, right? You can visit that blog by clicking here. More specifically, I recommend that you consider reading this blog posted by Richard Clark. In this blog, Richard shares 10 more questions that kids can answer using WolframAlpha. I was especially fond of the way it could lay out mathematics. I wouldn’t really know where to start explaining the ways in which this can be beneficial to my students, or myself. I haven’t failed to find anything I’ve searched for yet. The possibilities are endless!
Technology And Educators
I have a lot of catching up and a lot of keeping up to do. The advancements in technology just since I was a child are mind blowing. EDM 310 has really opened my eyes! I think outside of “just doing my job”, I’ll have to continuously teach myself as well. I think this same principle needs to be instilled into our students. Be a life long learner. Research outside of the box. It has already been discussed that most jobs people will hold 10 years from now do not even yet exist. How do you prepare for something like that? I say feed your intelligence, explore, be creative. Learn to learn. I think as an educator it should be a priority to enhance adaptability. Of course students need to know all of the basic things you learn through school, but I do not think that it should be put far above creativity and innovation. It is with these, I believe, that students will excel most.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Blog Post #3
I think Paige’s suggestion for this assignment was a great idea. I have been wary about commenting on other’s blogs. I feel much more confident doing so now. Most of the things in the video, in my opinion, can be utilized with basic tact.
I worked as a photographer for a while when I was 19, and I had a manager that said the customer does not have to always be right, but they can be wrong with dignity. She basically meant that it is ok to correct others, but you need to do so in a tactful manner. This can definitely be applied to peer editing.
I tried to incorporate the instructions for peer editing when I completed my C4C assignment this week. It was difficult for me to criticize certain areas of my classmates blog. I think I managed to follow all steps well, and leave a quality comment without hurting any feelings. I would actually like to utilize this a bit more now. I’m always worried about whether or not my blog posts will be up to par. I think It’d help me to feel more confident about what I’ve written if someone else were to proof and give me feedback beforehand.
Assistive Technology
I think the mountbatten is incredible. My subject of choice is English, so this will definitely come in handy should I have a student that is blind. Communication is the key to everything. This piece of technology really opens lines to better communication. The best thing about it is that the student can work on an assignment individually and then still send a worded file to the teacher. Both student and teacher will be able to easily read it.
The VoiceOver software for iPad is a wonderful advancement. Obviously, as we seen in the video, there are some kinks in the software. I think once these bugs get fixed and the software is more finely tuned, it will be much more simple to use.
These advancements, among others, will help to students with sensory disabilities interact with their classmates. These students will be able to collaborate with other students much easier.
I have never been good at math even with sight. I am rather relieved that I won’t have to worry with teaching math. Especially to those who are blind. Professor Karshmer developed a personal workspace that allows the mathematical problems to be viewed in a non-linear way.
I definitely need to do more research on assistive technology. I think as an educator I wll already have a heavy work load. I need to work on being as prepared as I can be to help my students.
Harnessing Your Students' Digital Smarts
This video by Vicki Davis was amazing. She has found a way to meet curriculum standards while still adapting it to use technology. My favorite part of the whole video was the part where she talked about her students learning terraforming. She openly admitted that she had no experience with terraforming and learned with her students.
I think this is a great way to get them interested, make them feel accomplished, and build rapport. I think the idea of learning things with your students is an incredible concept. This would surely keep everything fun and intriguing for all parties. I am looking forward to utilizing many of her principles into my own classroom.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Blog Post #2
Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version
As I watched this video, my first reactions were that the beginning statistics were misleading. It shocked me to think that India would have more honor students than our entire student population together. It shocked me that there will be more people in China speaking English than the population of the United States. This is how I reasoned those two points: India and China both have a much larger population than America. That has to count for something right? Also, I recall from a business class my freshman year, it is extremely common for business people of different cultures to handle things in the English language. The example used in that class was that if a Japanese business man and a French business man were to do business, it would most likely be conducted in English. It is easier for people to have the same "back-up" language for communicative purposes. I think it is great that English is becoming a "universal" language. I think this is a great way to further lines of communication.
I was simply astonished at the information on technology use. I knew that technology had become a huge part of life for almost everyone, but I didn’t fully grasp the extent of use. This video was a real eye-opener. The last slide questioning my role as an educator was extremely effective in getting my thought process going.
I think that as an educator, I will really have my work cut out for me. While English is my subject of choice, I have come to recognize that there is much more to educating people than just developing a decent vocabulary and using good grammar. I hope that outside of basic English skills, I will be able to teach creativity, innovation, and most of all, an ability to learn. As we all know, just from the first week of EDM 310 with Dr. Strange, there is a major difference between being taught and learning.
If my students are creative, they will think outside of the box. They will be able to come up with newer and more effective ways to solve problems, or just make things run more efficiently. If they are innovative, they will be able to turn their thoughts into action, and if they are able to learn, they will gain useful knowledge from each mistake that they make. I won’t be around to teach them each new thing that they need to know, and I would like to be able to leave them in a better position to fend for themselves, so to speak.
Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman
Satire is one of my favorite types of comedy. I think this way a great way to portray the point that Mr. Needleman was trying to make. While technology has advanced in almost every aspect life. Schools seem to be getting left behind. While I think this is mainly a funding problem, teachers also need to be technologically literate.
Even if we were to buy all of the best equipment, it would not do much good if the teachers refused to use it. There are many adults that still do not use technology to its full potential. My mom, for example, still won’t learn how to send a text message, or even use a computer. It isn’t that she can’t learn to do it, she just doesn’t recognize the usefulness.
The bottom line is, in my opinion, that schools need to catch up. Our teaching styles and methods need to change and improve. Compared to other aspects of life, (most) schools are still stuck in a stone age. Our student population is the future of our society. We need to leave them as prepared as possible.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
“We are educating people out of their creative capacities.” This line really stuck with me. I have to agree with Ken Robinson. Creativity is absolutely essential. We have become scared to make mistakes, to learn. Most of us have lost a great deal of our creativity over the years.
I can remember a time when I had an answer for everything. Of course, most of these answers were wrong, but I was willing to take a chance and give it a guess. After being corrected repeatedly, and having my ideas and creativity shot down, I gave into just trying to be correct. Now if I don’t know the answer to something, I immediately go to Google and find out what I want to know. I no longer spend time pondering, or fabricating theories of my own to solve unanswered questions.
After watching this video, I realized how much I would loathe “educating the creativeness out of my students”. I still firmly believe that we, as educators, should nurture creativity. Not only with our students, but also with ourselves. I feel as if learning should be viewed as a lifelong process. If we are to expect people to enjoy learning, they need to be creative and able to have fun with it.
Pinterest in the Classroom
Pinterest really is an amazing resource for discovering new ideas, tools, and methods. I imagine I will use this site frequently for lesson plan ideas and extras. I generally looked through Pinterest and did find some things that may not be appropriate for classroom settings. If there was a way to control what my students viewed, I would let them use it constantly. I would hate for any students to view material that would cause concern.
In the classroom, I will use it as often as possible. There are really wonderful things to be seen. I would like to be able to use a projector system (or perhaps something newer) to let the class view the things I choose. This way I know they are getting useful and appropriate information.
As I watched this video, my first reactions were that the beginning statistics were misleading. It shocked me to think that India would have more honor students than our entire student population together. It shocked me that there will be more people in China speaking English than the population of the United States. This is how I reasoned those two points: India and China both have a much larger population than America. That has to count for something right? Also, I recall from a business class my freshman year, it is extremely common for business people of different cultures to handle things in the English language. The example used in that class was that if a Japanese business man and a French business man were to do business, it would most likely be conducted in English. It is easier for people to have the same "back-up" language for communicative purposes. I think it is great that English is becoming a "universal" language. I think this is a great way to further lines of communication.
I was simply astonished at the information on technology use. I knew that technology had become a huge part of life for almost everyone, but I didn’t fully grasp the extent of use. This video was a real eye-opener. The last slide questioning my role as an educator was extremely effective in getting my thought process going.
I think that as an educator, I will really have my work cut out for me. While English is my subject of choice, I have come to recognize that there is much more to educating people than just developing a decent vocabulary and using good grammar. I hope that outside of basic English skills, I will be able to teach creativity, innovation, and most of all, an ability to learn. As we all know, just from the first week of EDM 310 with Dr. Strange, there is a major difference between being taught and learning.
If my students are creative, they will think outside of the box. They will be able to come up with newer and more effective ways to solve problems, or just make things run more efficiently. If they are innovative, they will be able to turn their thoughts into action, and if they are able to learn, they will gain useful knowledge from each mistake that they make. I won’t be around to teach them each new thing that they need to know, and I would like to be able to leave them in a better position to fend for themselves, so to speak.
Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman
Satire is one of my favorite types of comedy. I think this way a great way to portray the point that Mr. Needleman was trying to make. While technology has advanced in almost every aspect life. Schools seem to be getting left behind. While I think this is mainly a funding problem, teachers also need to be technologically literate.
Even if we were to buy all of the best equipment, it would not do much good if the teachers refused to use it. There are many adults that still do not use technology to its full potential. My mom, for example, still won’t learn how to send a text message, or even use a computer. It isn’t that she can’t learn to do it, she just doesn’t recognize the usefulness.
The bottom line is, in my opinion, that schools need to catch up. Our teaching styles and methods need to change and improve. Compared to other aspects of life, (most) schools are still stuck in a stone age. Our student population is the future of our society. We need to leave them as prepared as possible.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
“We are educating people out of their creative capacities.” This line really stuck with me. I have to agree with Ken Robinson. Creativity is absolutely essential. We have become scared to make mistakes, to learn. Most of us have lost a great deal of our creativity over the years.
I can remember a time when I had an answer for everything. Of course, most of these answers were wrong, but I was willing to take a chance and give it a guess. After being corrected repeatedly, and having my ideas and creativity shot down, I gave into just trying to be correct. Now if I don’t know the answer to something, I immediately go to Google and find out what I want to know. I no longer spend time pondering, or fabricating theories of my own to solve unanswered questions.
After watching this video, I realized how much I would loathe “educating the creativeness out of my students”. I still firmly believe that we, as educators, should nurture creativity. Not only with our students, but also with ourselves. I feel as if learning should be viewed as a lifelong process. If we are to expect people to enjoy learning, they need to be creative and able to have fun with it.
Pinterest in the Classroom
Pinterest really is an amazing resource for discovering new ideas, tools, and methods. I imagine I will use this site frequently for lesson plan ideas and extras. I generally looked through Pinterest and did find some things that may not be appropriate for classroom settings. If there was a way to control what my students viewed, I would let them use it constantly. I would hate for any students to view material that would cause concern.
In the classroom, I will use it as often as possible. There are really wonderful things to be seen. I would like to be able to use a projector system (or perhaps something newer) to let the class view the things I choose. This way I know they are getting useful and appropriate information.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Friday, January 18, 2013
Blog Post #1
About Me
Obviously so, my name is Jeanette. I am 22 years old. I was born and raised in southern Mobile County. I come from a long line of military men and educators. Both of my grandparents were military as well as high school teachers. My father was also career military, and my mother was the greatest stay-at-home mom ever. I have an older brother. He is married to a very sweet woman, and has the two most beautiful little girls I have ever seen. I have always wanted to do some traveling, but I love living on the coast! I love to swim, and I could bask lazily in the sun for hours on end. As long as I’m outside doing something, I’m happy (especially if I have my camera in tow). I honestly believe that fishing is good for the soul. I tend to be more quiet and reserved during winter. I can’t say why really, but I’m sure it’s because I hate the cold so badly. I’m really not so bad when my social awkwardness isn’t kicking my butt.
I have always believed that it is a prime purpose in my life to do what I can to help and inspire others. I have always loved to learn new things. Being able to read, write, and use proper grammar came naturally to me. I do, of course, make mistakes from time to time, but overall I think my grammatical skills are worthy of being shared.
I chose to pursue a career in secondary English/Language Arts education. I chose this because I have a passion for literature, reading, and writing. I want to be able to say that I have inspired people to read and learn and enjoy traveling, even to sometimes unearthly places, from where they sit. Hopefully, I will even have a few creative souls cross my path that are able to materialize such vivid, imaginative worlds through words. The creative aspect of writing is definitely my favorite. I can not stand research papers on boring topics. I think all good writing is founded upon strong grammar skills, and a good sense of syntax.
Future Classroom
I plan to teach middle school English after I receive my degree. I have no plans to stop going to school myself. I plan to further my education even while I pursue my career as an educator. I would like to eventually teach creative writing on a high school, or even college level. I would really like to teach outside of the country as well. There is a big world out there that I’d like to take a bite of, and do some good along the way. As a friend of mine would say, “you have to spread the good ju-ju.”
I want to be able to relate to my students, build rapport with them, and enjoy the school year with them. My aim will be to get them as interested in my class as they possibly can be. I want them to be able to cut up a little and have fun, yet learn at the same time. I would like to incorporate technology as often as possible. I would try to turn paper/desk work into fun games as well. Instead of just reading down the list of correct answers, maybe try a different way of checking the class’ work together?
I really hope that I will have receptive students. I’m sure there will always be a few kids that will be challenging, but I view this as an opportunity to put forth my very best efforts. I will try to explain things in many different ways, as everyone learns differently. If I’m able to relate lessons to things that they already comprehend, it should be easier for them to grasp. I would like to do many activities that doesn’t involve the book, as much as just the lessons from the book. I really want to teach them why it is so important to be able to communicate effectively. I would hope that they would develop an appreciation for grammar and vocabulary, written or spoken.
I think it would be a fun exercise to find school-appropriate material from social media that contains poor grammar and let the students correct it. We could even go farther with the activity and let them choose different ways of saying the same thing. This could turn into a fun activity that will show the differences between every person's writing identity. This will help with grammar, syntax, and creativity. I know that there are many standards that must be met, but I plan to incorporate as many fun extras as possible.
Randy Pausch on Time Management
I had never heard of Randy Pausch before I watched this video. I really loved how he equated time with money. Growing up, my dad would always yell about, “Let’s get going girl! Time is money!”. That is not a concept I take lightly. I like how he pointed out that doing the right things were more important than doing the wrong things correctly. I can think of more than one time I was guilty of this
Time Management Tips
I don’t really have a problem with time management; however, I really liked the tip on Penn State’s page about having more than one planner or calendar. My planner always gets full and messy. I also liked the suggestion about using a pencil. It seems so silly not to have thought of that already. My plans tend to change a lot, so I am always making changes. Erasing pencil seems much more logical than crossing out ink.
Obviously so, my name is Jeanette. I am 22 years old. I was born and raised in southern Mobile County. I come from a long line of military men and educators. Both of my grandparents were military as well as high school teachers. My father was also career military, and my mother was the greatest stay-at-home mom ever. I have an older brother. He is married to a very sweet woman, and has the two most beautiful little girls I have ever seen. I have always wanted to do some traveling, but I love living on the coast! I love to swim, and I could bask lazily in the sun for hours on end. As long as I’m outside doing something, I’m happy (especially if I have my camera in tow). I honestly believe that fishing is good for the soul. I tend to be more quiet and reserved during winter. I can’t say why really, but I’m sure it’s because I hate the cold so badly. I’m really not so bad when my social awkwardness isn’t kicking my butt.
I have always believed that it is a prime purpose in my life to do what I can to help and inspire others. I have always loved to learn new things. Being able to read, write, and use proper grammar came naturally to me. I do, of course, make mistakes from time to time, but overall I think my grammatical skills are worthy of being shared.
I chose to pursue a career in secondary English/Language Arts education. I chose this because I have a passion for literature, reading, and writing. I want to be able to say that I have inspired people to read and learn and enjoy traveling, even to sometimes unearthly places, from where they sit. Hopefully, I will even have a few creative souls cross my path that are able to materialize such vivid, imaginative worlds through words. The creative aspect of writing is definitely my favorite. I can not stand research papers on boring topics. I think all good writing is founded upon strong grammar skills, and a good sense of syntax.
Future Classroom
I plan to teach middle school English after I receive my degree. I have no plans to stop going to school myself. I plan to further my education even while I pursue my career as an educator. I would like to eventually teach creative writing on a high school, or even college level. I would really like to teach outside of the country as well. There is a big world out there that I’d like to take a bite of, and do some good along the way. As a friend of mine would say, “you have to spread the good ju-ju.”
I want to be able to relate to my students, build rapport with them, and enjoy the school year with them. My aim will be to get them as interested in my class as they possibly can be. I want them to be able to cut up a little and have fun, yet learn at the same time. I would like to incorporate technology as often as possible. I would try to turn paper/desk work into fun games as well. Instead of just reading down the list of correct answers, maybe try a different way of checking the class’ work together?
I really hope that I will have receptive students. I’m sure there will always be a few kids that will be challenging, but I view this as an opportunity to put forth my very best efforts. I will try to explain things in many different ways, as everyone learns differently. If I’m able to relate lessons to things that they already comprehend, it should be easier for them to grasp. I would like to do many activities that doesn’t involve the book, as much as just the lessons from the book. I really want to teach them why it is so important to be able to communicate effectively. I would hope that they would develop an appreciation for grammar and vocabulary, written or spoken.
I think it would be a fun exercise to find school-appropriate material from social media that contains poor grammar and let the students correct it. We could even go farther with the activity and let them choose different ways of saying the same thing. This could turn into a fun activity that will show the differences between every person's writing identity. This will help with grammar, syntax, and creativity. I know that there are many standards that must be met, but I plan to incorporate as many fun extras as possible.
Randy Pausch on Time Management
I had never heard of Randy Pausch before I watched this video. I really loved how he equated time with money. Growing up, my dad would always yell about, “Let’s get going girl! Time is money!”. That is not a concept I take lightly. I like how he pointed out that doing the right things were more important than doing the wrong things correctly. I can think of more than one time I was guilty of this
Time Management Tips
I don’t really have a problem with time management; however, I really liked the tip on Penn State’s page about having more than one planner or calendar. My planner always gets full and messy. I also liked the suggestion about using a pencil. It seems so silly not to have thought of that already. My plans tend to change a lot, so I am always making changes. Erasing pencil seems much more logical than crossing out ink.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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