Monday, September 27, 2010

Summary on C4K #1

The student I commented on was from Mr. Chamberlain's class. His name is Austin and he has a good idea what it takes to be a good student. I do not think it is just because his father is also a teacher at his school. I am sure that helps, but he knows doing his work ahead of time is very important and that goofing off and not paying attention to his teacher is not the way to go. Of course, he can not wait to be in high school. I am not sure if that is because his dad will not be at his school anymore or just wanting that change. As long as he remembers his manifesto he will do just fine.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Blog #5

Podcast Collection

I really enjoyed reading the information about podcasts and am so happy it goes into as much detail as it does about podcast. I would recommend Dr. Strange to place this podcast first so future students will have a better idea what a podcast really is.

Curriki's blog

Eagles' Nest Radio

This podcast was so cute! All though you could not actually see the children's expressions you could tell they really enjoyed doing these radio shows or podcasts. It sounded like they were having fun and I believe they would remember the information they learned on there more than just reading a book.

Eagles' Nest Radio podcast

The benefits of podcasting in the classroom

This video was very insightful on different uses of podcasting. I liked how podcasts can help out when a child is sick and needs to take a test or just keep up with his work. Podcasting is a great technology to use to help your students and you do not have to worry about how you look. I plan on using podcast in my classroom (when I am a teacher), because I think it is great to get your students involved.

Joe Dale's video

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Blog #4

Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?

Dr. McLeod is an Associate Professor and Coordinator that studies technology leadership in education. I think is great how he uses reverse psychology. Telling parents to not teach their children about the internet and all the bad reasons to keep them from it. Then at the end to say he is planning on teaching his children.

I believe children need to know about computers and the internet. It is their future so way should we want to hold them back. We shouldn't, but so many do, because they do not want to learn. I say lets all learn together and give our children the best opportunity they have.

Here is a link to Dr. McLeod's post.

The iSchool Initiative

I think it is great that a senior is thinking of a way to make a difference with our school system. I do not want to take away schools all together, but I do believe the iSchool is another technological device that will help students and teachers.

This young man has done his homework and explains so many reasons why the iSchool needs to be considered. I like the idea that not only students and teachers have access to it and the email, but parents do as well. I also like how the websites that can be visited will be limited to what is actually needed for school.

If you would like to see more about Travis's iSchool video. Please follow the link.

The Lost Generation



I enjoyed this video so much I uploaded it to my blog. It is less than 2 minutes and I highly recommend everyone to watch it. She starts by saying what statistics say about her generation and it is mostly negative. She then says that this needs to be "reversed" and reads the exact same thing she just read but backwards and it has a positive saying about her generation. As I said before...I highly recommend everyone to take a minute out of your day to watch this video.

Virtual Choir

Just like Jennifer Chambers' I thought this video was mazing! Especially when I found out none of the singers ever met. Everything was done online. I do not know how he did it because I have always thought you need to practice, but he used technology to make it happen.


Here is a link if you would like to see Eric Whitacre's virtual choir video.

Friday, September 17, 2010

C4T #1

My first Comment for Teacher was on J. Spencer. His blog was interesting to me and I have added him to my PLN on symbaloo. The first post I commented on was "my litmus test". I loved his list of questions for candidates that he gives. The other post I commented on was "a teaser--my next book". I enjoyed reading about a teacher that is really stepping outside the box to relate to his students. I think it is great that his audience for his book are his students.

I highly recommend you to add J. Spencer blog to your PLN.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Additional Assignment #1

I have never heard of either one of these websites until now. I thought Google squared was really interesting. I liked the fact that I was able to type in Puerto Rico and find out the population in a matter of seconds.

I also thought Wolfram Alpha was really cool, but highly suggest using a Mac to do a screenshot.

pitcairn island map

I really enjoyed reading The Stable Boy and the iPad blog. I love the face that this illiterate 6-year old boy was able to figure out the iPad with no instructions. If he can...why can't we?

Blog #3

A Vision of Students Today
This video captured some of my college experience. I have only attended the University of South Alabama, but I have had about 4 classes that were in a room with more than one hundred and fifty students. The professors did know my name for one reason or another, but I am pretty sure they did not know every students' name.

Another thing I can relate to in this video is the purchasing of textbooks and not using them a lot if at all. I am lucky that I do not pay for my textbooks or my tuition, because of my scholarship. Although, I am lucky to have this scholarship, I still have to get financial aid to financially take care of myself and my children.

If you would like to see this video for yourself please follow this link. Michael Wesch's video.

It's Not About the Technology

I totally agree with several points Ms. Kelly Hines makes in her blog post. The main thing that stuck out to me was teachers needing to be learners as well. If teachers are not willing to learn how to reach their students how are they really going to be able to teach them. There are several ways to teach someone something with out just reading a book and answering questions. There are so many different technologies out there and our teachers need to learn about them so we can teach our students the future.

The other point that sticks out to me was that learning and teaching are not the same thing. Although, a teacher gets up and teaches a lesson does not mean the student understands it. Teachers need to make sure every student understands what was being taught. If every student does not understand what is being taught, they need to teach it a different way. That is what Ms. Hines was talking about and I totally agree with her.

If you would like to read her post please use this link. Kelly Hines's blog

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I happen to agree with Mr. Fisch on this post. The fact is teachers need to be technologically literate and that principals need to hold them responsible for this. I am not saying they need to know all there is to know about technology, but they do need to know some basic skills. They also need to be willing to learn from their students.

Although, we (teachers and future teachers) need to teach our students the basics. We also need to be willing to learn from them. Students know a lot about computers and everyone will benefit from learning from each other. If you would like to read Karl Fisch's blog. Please feel free to follow this link.

Gary's Social Media Count

I remember when I saw this last semester I was really shocked at how fast different sites were changing. In a matter of seconds the numbers were going up. As I watched it again, I am still just as shocked. I am not sure why, because I know technology is our future. It is just unreal to me.

If you would like to see Gary's media count. I highly recommend it!

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Blog #2

Did You Know?

This video has given me something to think about. Mainly, the fact that we are teaching children information that might not exist right now. It also shows how fast the internet/communication is expanding. There are so many new technologies being used that children need to learn how to use them.

There was a part in the video that also got me thinking. It was that "India has more honor kids than America has kids". I do not know about you, but I feel like America needs to do some changing to make those numbers change. The sad part is...will we do it?

If you would like to see Karl Fisch's video yourself please click on the link provided.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

This video is about a man that wakes up after 100 years and notices all the changes that have been made. He is unhappy with all the new technology. He does not understand what is going on. Until he goes to a school and finds everything the same as it was 100 years ago.

Is this the type of education we really want for our children? Do we want them to be doing and learning the same thing people did 100 years ago? I personally do not! One of my main reasons for wanting to be a teacher is because I feel like there needs to be a change in our classrooms. We need to teach children, but not necessarily like we were taught. Technology is out there! We need to not only use it, we need to teach it to our students. Why not expand our students minds and give them information that will help them in their future? Are you willing to make a change?

Here is a link to Mathew Needleman's video.

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

I agree with Sir Ken Robinson about schools killing creativity. I believe his best example of this was when he was talking about the dancer. Now a days if a student is not sitting still in their chair or not able to pay attention then they have AD/HD. Teachers and parents need to be careful to not miss diagnose this. Who knows we could be holding someone back from being a great performer.

He brought up another good point "...everywhere on the earth has academics as being more important than arts...". Why do we allow this? Arts is a great way to show someones creativity and express themselves in a different way. I believe most if not all students will learn and remember more if we teach them a different way than just reading and answering questions. This can be done in a song, a drama, a podcast, a video, through art projects. Your creativity can be endless. If you allow it to be. Will you? I know as a future teacher, I plan on using these methods more than what Dr. Strange calls "burp back education". I feel like these methods not only get the student involved, but also interested in what they are learning.

Here is a link to Sir Ken Robinson's video.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

I really like Ms. Vicki Davis's way of teaching. She has her students involved in blogging and looking up information by themselves. Showing them that she might not always have the answer, but together they can find out. She also admits that they teach her new things as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong with learning something from a student. Most teachers feel like they should always have the right answer, but I feel like it is better if you show your students that you to are always learning something new. This will help them to not feel bad later when they need help.

Another thing that she addressed and I have always believed is if your using "...only paper, only pencil, then only certain types of children will succeed". Is that really what we want for just certain types of children to succeed? I do not! I want ALL of my students to succeed so why set them up for failure? Why not change what we were taught and open the eyes of every student?

I highly recommend all teacher and future teachers to watch Vicki Davis's video for yourself and see what you can do to enhance your classroom and your students knowledge.