Sunday, November 21, 2010

Additional Assignment #5

Tom Johnson's adventures in Pencil Integration:

pencilI am one of those students who did miss the point.  The main thing I am understanding is that metaphors is what makes his posts so interesting. Things like this I never understand because it is hard to just memorize facts and not understand what the concept is. Computers are there to help you but you need to think out side of the box.  I really enjoyed his teaching style and the way he gets his points across.  The way he uses his words is very impressive and challenges me to try some of the way he writes in my writings.  It is interesting to read his blogs when you understand the style of his writing.

Blog Post #13

alex

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)

This is a wonderful website for teachers!  The website is located at www.alex.state.al.us/index.php.  On the homepage there are eight boxes with links to other pages.  The first link is "course of study", here you are able to sort lesson plans by subject and class level.   Once you click on the appropriate topic you are allowed to view different lesson plan topics and also it will include a link to that lesson plan.    The second link is "web resources".  On this page you are able to view administrative, teacher, and student resources.  If you already have something in mind all you have to do is search for a web resource by filling in all the required fields and clicking on display results.  The third link is "lesson plans".  Here you are able to create a lesson plan or search for one.  The fourth link is "search".  This is a cool and helpful link because you can search the ALEX website or you can pick another choice like, Alabama Course of Study Content Standards.  The last four links on the website are "personal workshops"(where you can create your own account), "professional learning", "podcast treasury", and "alexville".  Alexville is a place where you can communicate with others and keep up on the latest information from ALEX.

ACCESS:
Access is a program that is available to all Alabama public high school students.  The website is http://accessdl.state.al.us/.  This site wants to improve student learning beyond the classroom.  This site is a wonderful site to help provide equal learning opportunities for all students. 

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Blog Post # 12

Watch the following short video and respond to why you think it is or is not important for schools to switch from chalk boards to SMARTboards.  Do you think it is fair that some students get to learn with it while other do not?  Do you think the children are going to be as technologically advanced as they need to be? 




smartboardThis is a very cute a funny video about chalkboards versus SMARTboards.  I am all for the SMARTboards and think they are awesome!  I have used a SMARTboard several times.  Once was to practice teaching a lesson in my Aunt's classroom and I also used it in my EDM310 and Art class.  The SMARTboard allows teachers to upload endless amounts of important information for their students.  They do not have to waste their time and class time by writing all these facts out on the board.  The SMARTboard allows the teacher to upload photos and formulas for their students to see.  Do you remember being in class and your teacher  trying to show you something by drawing it on the board but it does not do the picture justice?  I do not think SMARTboards are hurting us in anyway.  I think what is hurting us is that not all students can learn from a SMARTboard.  I do think that students who learn from a chalkboard are not as technologically advanced as students who learned from the SMARTboard.  I do not think it is fair and hopefully their will be funds to provide them in all classrooms one day.

Progress Report on Final Project

My final project is a webpage I created that can help future students in EDM310.  It can also help people set up blogging accounts and will provide links to helpful sites.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Form Results for Project # 6

What is the most common pet in Alabama?
CatdogNo ideaDogdogdogdogdogDogsdogDogDogdogsdog
Do you know the Alabama Laws on owning a pet?
yes214%
no1286%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Does your animal have to be spayed or neutered?
yes321%
no1179%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Is is best to spay or neuter you pet because?
Makes them more healthy00%
Keeps the population of animals being born to a minimun1393%
Make them happy00%
Option 417%
How many animals can one household own?
5536%
1017%
15214%
unlimited643%
Are rabies considered a license?
yes429%
no1071%
Do animals have to be vaccinated against rabies?
Only dogs over 3 months17%
Only cats over 3 months00%
No17%
Two of the above1286%
Do dogs have to wearr leashes in Alabama?
yes1179%
no321%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
For eacch dog contained outside, an owner should?
Protect animals from cold, warm, rainy, sunlight, and etc..17%
Leave out food and water17%
Nothing00%
Two of the above1286%
Do you need to have proof of rabies shots?
yes1393%
noe17%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
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Number of daily responses
Analysis:

I learned that only two people that took this survey said they knew the Alabama Laws on owning a pet.  All but three people said your animal has to be spayed or neutered.  All but one of those people said they knew why their pet needed to be spayed or neutered.  The reason they need to be spayed or neutered is because if they weren't they could become over populated.  Only three people did not know that animals needed to be kept on a leash.  More then half knew that rabies is not considered a license.  Two were wrong about if your pet has to be vaccinated against rabies.  I think it is important for everyone, not just pet owners,  to know the laws on owning a pet.  It will only help keep yourself, your community, and your animals safe.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Blog Post # 11

Skype Discussion with EDM310 and Ms. Cassidy:



Ms.  Cassidy seems like she is a wonderful teacher who is inspiring students to learn with technology.  She started a web page 10 years ago and then she starting blogging.  She was funded through the Federal Government and was allowed time to work on technology related things.  She says that technology is not going away.  It is here and will be here for many years to come.  Teachers need to embrace her ideas about teaching with technology.  Students are able to be more creative with their work and they are usually more proud of their work.  Her students get really excited when they get views or comments on a blog.  This is a great way for children to get positive feedback from other students and teachers.  I liked how she viewed Twitter.  I was mainly thinking of it as being a status update on what you are doing.  But like she said once you spend some time on it you can find out a lot of important and valuable information.  Students can tweet about certain topics in class and give each other links to different websites that may help them.  My favorite question from all the students was the one asked about how she protects her students on the internet.  She gave a great answer.  She said you are not just protecting them you are also protecting what they see.  It is important for teachers to guide their students so they can be safe while using the internet.  She tells them to not use their last name and to not post pictures of them.  Children are naive and they need to be taught the proper way to use the internet to better their education.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Summary Post C4K Comments 3-7

computer
C4K#3 I had Beth.  Beth had orientation at her school.  She was worried about not getting the teacher she wanted and about how hard the work was going to be,  I told her I remember having the same feelings.  I thought there was going to be a bunch more work but it really wasn't.  I told her it just takes a little time to get use it!

C4K #4 I had Sarah and the name of her post was "Bye Bye Figi."  Sarah went to Figi and the whole time they were there they were all sick with fevers.  She said she still had fun and enjoyed being at the pool.  She also said she misses one of her friends but now she has a blog so they can keep in touch.  Her next stop is Australia and she is very excited!

leapfishC4K #5 I had Caydan.  Cayden was learning how to post links to his blog.  The first time he tried he did not do it correctly but his teacher left him a comment explaining him how to do it.  Then he posted the links correctly.  He posted links he thought would be good for searching for information.  The three he listed were: http://www.wikipedia.org/, http://www.leapfish.com/, and http://www.wiki.answers.com/.  I think it is great his teacher is teaching them this.  Now they can post links for other classmates to see.


C4K #6 I had Jackson K.  Jackson asks in his blog if anyone else likes science fiction because that is his favorite book genre.   I told him I have not really read many science fiction books. I told him that I am more into bibliographies.  I think it is important for children to read and I am glad to hear that he has a favorite genre. 

C4K #7 I had Alina.  Alina is in grade 2 and she wrote about Grade 2 Activity Night.  Alina's post was very cute.  She had each sentence in a different color.  She showed that she was very creative.  She really enjoyed Activity Night.  They had pizza, magic tricks, danced, and watched a movie.  It was fun reading her blog about how much fun she had!

Summary Post C4T Teacher # 3

     I was assigned Dianne Krauss and her posts are on Daily Discoveries.  The first post I commented on was 10 Things to Do When You Only Have 5 Minutes Left in ClassTheApple.com.  There were many ideas that you can use to keep your student's busy but still keep them learning.  There was a fun game to do with your kids called, The toilet paper game.  The teacher tells the students to pick 1-5 pieces of toilet paper.  Then however many they picked is the number of facts the students tell on what they learned that day.  As you play you can throw the rules off a little bit to throw them off so they are not always picking 1 piece of toilet paper.
     Dianne also posted about a website called DigitialWish.  This website helps teachers to be able to get technology they need for their classroom.  Teacher's can make a wish list and post their stories.  People are allowed to donate them money so they are about to get what they need.  Also on this website you can find tons of different lesson plans.  I am going to be a Special Education teacher so I decided to view some of the special needs lessons to get an idea of what I may be teaching one day.  Great website and opportunities for teachers to get the technology they may have never got.

Blog Post # 10

An Open Letter To Educators By: Dan Brown

     After watching this video a girl named Morgan Bayda wrote about how she feels her University is cheating her out of her education.  She talks about how it is hard to stay awake during lectures and how she can barely focus.  She mentions how in class students only direct questions to the teacher and how we do not interact with other classmates.  Her computer class is the only class she is able to interact through various sites and other students.  Her class sounds similar to my EDM310 class.  I agree that learning needs to be expanded and changed to be more in tune with today's technology.
     In Dan Brown's video he is talking about how facts are free and we can find those facts on the internet.  We do not need to be in class listening to a teacher tell us facts to remember.  He asks the question, "What has education done to reinvent itself?" and his answer was "nothing."  How are we going to be ready for the future when we are not being prepared for it?  Dan dropped out of school because he said, "schooling was interfering with my education."  Although I would not drop out of school, I think what he is doing is a positive example of what people can do to help change our future and the way we learn.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home:

pencilHis post showed how he does not just focus on a problem, he solves it.  So many people are just caught up in the problem and they never think to come up with a solution to the problem.  Things are not going to change unless we do something about it.  As a teacher it is our role to make sure students are learning.  If some are not understanding the material, instead of just giving them a bad grade we need to find a way for them to understand the material.  We are not really doing our job if we do not do this.  How can we call ourselves teachers if we are not really teaching?



"Two Question's That Can Change Your Life" By: Daniel Pink

This video was very inspirational and really made me think.  The music and the way it was delivered sent a very strong message.  I started to think about how I live my own life and what I need to do to make myself a better person.  He asked the question, "Was I better today then yesterday."  This is a great question and I think we need to ask this question to our self everyday.  It can only make us a stronger and better person.  So what is my sentence?  My sentence is, "I will always be compassionate and caring about my students and how they learn."

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Short Movie Project#11

Skype Interview Recorded Project #12 with Ellie

SMARTboard Instructional Project #13

Blog Post #8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2





     Mr. Miller's presentation has many valid points and I really enjoyed how it was put together.  He is talking about how we can communicate instantly globally and this is so true.  I can get on my computer at home and talk with my sister in Texas.  All I have to do is click on Skype and then click on my sisters name.  Once she answers the call I am instantly connected with her and I can see and hear her.
     I liked how he said it is possible to collect from different experiences and collaborate them together.  His example of this was a video of a whale hunt.  He said this video shows a visual representation of what actually goes into a whale hunt.  He also showed a presentation on MLK.  In this presentation it showed a visual, sound, and print document.  All of these things were collaborated together and they all contained important information about MLK.
     He expresses that our future is our own ideas that belong to no one.  I like this because it is a great way for us to get our own ideas out into our culture.  He says it is a way to make sense of the world we live in.  Mr. Miller has taught me a lot of things from watching this video.  I hope and I am almost sure I will continue his ideas through college and even into my classroom.

The Chipper Series

     I really enjoyed watching this video.  It was funny, entertaining, and delivered a strong message.  They start the video with Chipper talking to Dr. Strange about how she feels procrastination has a different meaning.  That is doesn't mean getting your work done at the last minute.  It means getting the work done when you can even if its after the deadline.  This is not true.  Teachers set deadlines for reasons.  I know I am a little behind and it is extremely hard to catch up but I am definitely trying.  She also talks about how she wants to be taught by the teacher because teachers are supposed to teach students.  He is teaching us but just in a different way.  He gives us the instructions and then it is our job to learn from his resources and get our work done.  Graduating college does not come from not doing any work.  The only way to be successful is it do the assigned work that is needed for your major.  If you don't you may be coming back to school just like Chipper.

EDM 310 for Dummies

     This video really made me laugh!  Both of the girls were so funny.  The message I think they were trying to give to us is that even if we feel down about EDM and think it is to hard, we need to remember that all the material we need is in our lab manual.  There are many tutorials on how to create different accounts and we have teachers and lab assistants that will help us.  EDM is a class that will prepare us for the rest of our technological journey.  It is not here to hurt us.  It is here to prepare us for the field of work we are in.