Circle K International is hosting a fundraiser tonight at Zaxby's on springhill from 5-9. PLEASE COME!!! Circle K is a volunteering organization and the money we earn tonight goes towards our service events. We plan to spend the majority of the profits on our Ronald McDonald House event.
PLEASE COME! WE CAN'T HELP OTHERS IF OTHERS DON'T HELP US!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Blog Post #6
The Networked Student
This video was interesting. I liked the technique such as how they clearly illustrated what a networked student was because before this video I did not know what that meant. Also, they used some creative artwork which helped illustrate their point. In some ways I think I am prepared to teach a networked student but in some ways I know I am not because I still have a lot to learn. But since entering this class I have had some good experience organizing and sifting through information which I can relay to my students. Also in this class, I have had some experience with the proper etiquette to use when talking to a professional which I can also teach to my students.
A 7th Grader’s Personal Learning Enviroment
I really enjoyed this video. I was very impressed that a 7th grader could accomplish this video. But, now I have a couple question’s for the EDM 310 staff: what is a glog exactly? It sound pretty cool where can I learn more information about a glog?, Are we going to make a glog for this class? How do you think this 7th graded made this video meaning what was her technique? How do publish a google doc for anyone to see? And lastly, do you know what “special notetaking program” that she is referring to? It sounds useful and I would like to use it in my PLN.
This 7th grader did a great job demonstrating what a PLE is and how to organize one. She organized her much like mine. I too used Symbaloo to organize my PLN. However, there were many things that she used to organize her PLE that I did not know about and now I am interested in learning more about it and applying it to my own PLN. Overall, this video was very impressive.
Critiques for Smartboards
Okay first off let me just say that I completely DISAGREE with the 2 blogs given to us by Dr.Strange who both have negative views on the use of smartboards. Smartboards are great inventions and should be made available to every teacher. But even though I do not agree with their views I can understand where they are coming from, they have some valid points. Such as, smartboards are a very expensive tool. However, they are worth the expense and I am not the only one that feels this way as seen on, Kevin Lane's blog. Mr. Lane does take into consideration that smartboards are expensive and it does take time to train but smartboards are a very useful tool.
C4K#1 Summary
My first experience with Comments4Kids was good. The first child’s blog I read was Rachel’s in Ms. Naugle math class. The week I was assigned to read Rachel’s blog was when her class was learning about fractions she said,”Fractions are awesome . They go against most rules of math like the bigger the number is the bigger the amount being represented is. But in fractions the bigger the number the smaller the thing it stands for,” I loved how enthusiastic she was about fractions and about learning in general and I encouraged her to keep up the enthusiasm. In honor of Rachel’s enthusiasm I have found this really cute video about fractions which you can view above. In the second week of C4K#1 I was assigned to Daniel who according to his post is a sports enthusiast, ”Sports Sports is the best thing to do. There are soccer, basketball, football, and a lot more! Sports are not a thing to just talk about… its something you can DO! Sports are the best thing to do!” In my comment I told him that I agreed that sports were great and I told him about my interest in tennis and watching college football. Finally, I told to keep posting all the good blog posts. In my final week of C4K#1 I was assigned to Juoan’s Blog, who happens to be a very impressive little girl. Juoan has had her own blog for 5 years, which is where I commented on since there was nothing much on her school blog other than a link to her blog. This blog was very impressive it had multiple videos which she created. Juoan will definitely be a force to reckon with when she is older. So far I have really enjoyed C4K and I look forward to more.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Blog Post # 5
Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog
The eagle nest radio was so cute! I loved the technique of this podcast like how the kids made the podcast sound like an entertainment news show and how there was music between the switch from speaker to speaker. Also, this podcast was very educational I learned some new information about ancient Rome that I never knew before and to me that’s what podcasting is suppose to be about, learning something new. I was very impressed at how professional the kids were they did not laugh or stumble on their words.
Overall I liked this podcast a lot it was both educational and cute. I hope I can apply this in my classroom someday in not only history but also other subject matter as well. I really like the idea of doing a weekly podcast with my students similar to this podcast radio style where we would do a different subject every week highlighting on what we were currently working on that week.
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
I enjoyed this podcast and it gave me an idea. I learned something new; I never knew I was a millennial. However even though I am consider a millennial I do not agree with their assumption I did not know what a podcast was before this class nor was it a familiar way of learning to me, in fact podcasting is all very new to me. In spite of this, I think podcast can have a place in the classroom. For instance, I know I already like making a book trailer and I know I am going to apply that to my classroom but now I really like the teacher’s idea of podcasting and how he made the book come to life. So, what I think I will do is first make a trailer for my students to get them excited about the book and then make a podcast to keep that enthusiasm.
Also, at the end of this podcast it gave a great website for tutorials for podcasting. The video tutorials for using Audacity on a PC on this cite were great you can find them at,http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/17-audacity-tutorial.htm. I provided the URL for the PC tutorials just because that’s what I have but by the way for all of you Mac owners out there they have tutorials on how to make a podcast using Garage Band too.
The Practical Principals
The podcast members were very over the top and melodramatic. This podcast was not very informative, I liked but I did not learn a lot. Mainly I felt like I was just listening to their life stories. However, I did like that Scott Elias was a principal who encouraged using technology in the classroom and required it to some extent. Personally since entering this class I really enjoyed blogging and this podcast gave me hope that one day maybe I will have a principal that endorses the use of technology in the classroom. Also, I did learn a few things such as; I did get to see the view of a school through principal’s eyes. In addition, I got to learn some responsibilities of a principal.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Blog Post #4
Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
This post was pretty funny. I know people who think that the internet is evil and it is only because they are misinformed. I am aware that there can be dangers when using the internet but they can be avoided. By the way, for those concerned parents out there they do have parental controls on computers now you can prevent your child from seeing all these evil things. Where as, there are disadvantages to the internet there are some great advantages and to not let students use the internet is not very sensible. Students can learn great things from the internet not to mention through social networking sites such as twitter students can learn how to work as a team and collaborate together. The internet should be used in the classroom there are so many benefits to its use.
Dr. Scott McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa State University. In addition, according to his webpage,http://scottmcleod.net/bio/,he is the director of "the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators." Also, we have already seen his work before he is one of the co-creators of the "Did You Know?" video which we previously viewed for another blog post.
The iSchool Initiative
First off let me just say I am so amazed that a high school senior grant could accomplish this and come up with such an innovative idea. This video is inspiring it gave me hope to what could be and what the students are capable of now.
I am completely a supporter for the iSchool Initiative. The only problem with the iSchool Initiative is the initial set-up fees. In order for this to work the schools must pay for the iTouch and the traditional textbook must be pushed aside. But, since the textbooks are used year after year and the iTouch per student is relatively expensive, this could be a serious financial burden. Also, a time will come when applications and the iTouch itself will need to be modify solely for educational use therefore the government will have to create contracts with the Apple Co. which could lead to even more financial issues. However, after the iSchool Initiative becomes common place I do believe that it could save money, not to mention make a remarkable impact to our carbon footprint. Even though the initial start up would be expensive, there is more advantages then disadvantages to the iSchool Initiative.
The Lost Generation
The techniques in this video are very neat. First, I liked the viewpoint of the wording. Second, I was absolutely amazed that when you read the “poem” the first way, how one normally would, then one could read the “poem” backwards and it still made since, it was neat. I look forward to learning how to use this technique and applying it to my future classroom.
I really liked this video, it was very realistic. Marriage used to be a sacred union but now divorce is more common place. We have become a society that places too much emphasis on our jobs and not enough emphasis on our families. We used to be a society who greatly cared about the environment and we have slowly drifted from this view but we are slowly moving back. These things really are happening and unless we start to make changes they will continue and will get worse. Hope is not lost we can change, it is not too late but we need to act now before it is too late.
Virtual Choir
This was an interesting use of the internet. At first I was not very sure how I could apply this to education but then it really got me thinking. Instead of a conductor there could be an educator and instead of a choir there could be students. This has the potential of becoming a purely virtual classroom. The classroom could literally become all virtual and the traditional lecture hall could become non-existent. Educators could teach to students from all cultures and from all locations. One student could be in his bedroom in Washington and another could be outside in Nigeria. All walks of life could be a part of this classroom. Students would still be getting a lecture but now they can freely expression their beliefs where as in a traditional classroom there (more often than not) is too much pressure to truly express beliefs. With students being more active throughout the discussion and with so many various cultures there is the potential for very diverse beliefs in discussion. I loved this idea I just hope it can really happen one day.
Teaching in the 21st Century
I believe there is some real truth to this video. As a teacher, we must teach our students to use the available technology the right way. Too many students today do not understand the meaning of plagiarism, and that it is only because no one has ever taught them. Students can easily find information and simply copy and paste it to their document and some teacher just accepted it. This must stop; teachers must not accept such documents. All teachers should use available programs such as turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. Students should start learning from early elementary school and on the real meaning of plagiarism. However, facts should not just be thrown out of the classroom. Facts should be discussed as a class so students can learn that everyone has different views and opinions on things and that it is okay.
This post was pretty funny. I know people who think that the internet is evil and it is only because they are misinformed. I am aware that there can be dangers when using the internet but they can be avoided. By the way, for those concerned parents out there they do have parental controls on computers now you can prevent your child from seeing all these evil things. Where as, there are disadvantages to the internet there are some great advantages and to not let students use the internet is not very sensible. Students can learn great things from the internet not to mention through social networking sites such as twitter students can learn how to work as a team and collaborate together. The internet should be used in the classroom there are so many benefits to its use.
Dr. Scott McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa State University. In addition, according to his webpage,http://scottmcleod.net/bio/,he is the director of "the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators." Also, we have already seen his work before he is one of the co-creators of the "Did You Know?" video which we previously viewed for another blog post.
The iSchool Initiative
First off let me just say I am so amazed that a high school senior grant could accomplish this and come up with such an innovative idea. This video is inspiring it gave me hope to what could be and what the students are capable of now.
I am completely a supporter for the iSchool Initiative. The only problem with the iSchool Initiative is the initial set-up fees. In order for this to work the schools must pay for the iTouch and the traditional textbook must be pushed aside. But, since the textbooks are used year after year and the iTouch per student is relatively expensive, this could be a serious financial burden. Also, a time will come when applications and the iTouch itself will need to be modify solely for educational use therefore the government will have to create contracts with the Apple Co. which could lead to even more financial issues. However, after the iSchool Initiative becomes common place I do believe that it could save money, not to mention make a remarkable impact to our carbon footprint. Even though the initial start up would be expensive, there is more advantages then disadvantages to the iSchool Initiative.
The Lost Generation
The techniques in this video are very neat. First, I liked the viewpoint of the wording. Second, I was absolutely amazed that when you read the “poem” the first way, how one normally would, then one could read the “poem” backwards and it still made since, it was neat. I look forward to learning how to use this technique and applying it to my future classroom.
I really liked this video, it was very realistic. Marriage used to be a sacred union but now divorce is more common place. We have become a society that places too much emphasis on our jobs and not enough emphasis on our families. We used to be a society who greatly cared about the environment and we have slowly drifted from this view but we are slowly moving back. These things really are happening and unless we start to make changes they will continue and will get worse. Hope is not lost we can change, it is not too late but we need to act now before it is too late.
Virtual Choir
This was an interesting use of the internet. At first I was not very sure how I could apply this to education but then it really got me thinking. Instead of a conductor there could be an educator and instead of a choir there could be students. This has the potential of becoming a purely virtual classroom. The classroom could literally become all virtual and the traditional lecture hall could become non-existent. Educators could teach to students from all cultures and from all locations. One student could be in his bedroom in Washington and another could be outside in Nigeria. All walks of life could be a part of this classroom. Students would still be getting a lecture but now they can freely expression their beliefs where as in a traditional classroom there (more often than not) is too much pressure to truly express beliefs. With students being more active throughout the discussion and with so many various cultures there is the potential for very diverse beliefs in discussion. I loved this idea I just hope it can really happen one day.
Teaching in the 21st Century
I believe there is some real truth to this video. As a teacher, we must teach our students to use the available technology the right way. Too many students today do not understand the meaning of plagiarism, and that it is only because no one has ever taught them. Students can easily find information and simply copy and paste it to their document and some teacher just accepted it. This must stop; teachers must not accept such documents. All teachers should use available programs such as turnitin.com to check for plagiarism. Students should start learning from early elementary school and on the real meaning of plagiarism. However, facts should not just be thrown out of the classroom. Facts should be discussed as a class so students can learn that everyone has different views and opinions on things and that it is okay.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Blog Post #3
Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
In some ways this video accurately describes my college experiences but in some ways it did not. For example, since entering college I have only had a handful of teachers who did not know my name. Also, I have only had two classes that had more than a 100 students in the class. Furthermore, I rarely ever bring my laptop to class and when I do I always am working on something that pertains to that class.
However, in some ways this does accurately describe my college experiences for instance, I cannot count how many times I have bought a textbook and never opened it. Also, I have been in many classes where somebody would pay for the class and only show up once or twice. In addition, as depressing as it is I too will be in at least $20,000 dollars in debt, if not more.
It’s Not About the Technology
I completely agree with this article teaching in the 21st century is not all about the technology. Using computers in a classroom is not necessarily going to help students excel. However, how a teacher uses technology does matter and could help students excel. If you give a teacher a smart board that does not know how to use it and does not care to learn then nothing much is going to happen and the technology is useless but if you give such technologies to a teacher who knows how to use it and is creative with it then there is multiple possibilities.
Moreover, I also agree that teachers need to be learners. In addition, it is very important that teachers keep up to date on trends, research, and tools. Also, we must really learn who are students are in order to become a successful teacher. Teaching in the 21st century is not about the technology it is about how one use’s it.
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
First let me just say that I loved this post, my favorite blog post assignment yet. I am in complete agreement Mr. Fisch’s standards. I especially like Mr. Fisch standard #6, “Schools, Universities and Teacher training courses who turn out students who are technologically illiterate should have their right to a licence and/or funding questioned.” Quite frankly I think it is absolutely preposterous that universities today are to turning out graduates, in general not just future educators, who are not technology literate. However I do think that it is particularly imperative for soon be teachers to be technologically literate, after all they are the people who will be teaching our children. In my opinion, every university should have to have some type of class to prepare students to be technologically literate in which ever field they choose. Such as, USA has EDM 310 for education majors.
Also, I liked Mr. Fisch’s standard #4, “Headteachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account.” However, I would like to add something to that not only should they feel blame for their staff being technologically illiterate they should also have to find training and/or classes to help their staff to become technologically literate. Furthermore, I too would like to know an answer to Mr.Fisch’s question,” How long does it take for someone to wake up to the fact that technology is part of life, not an add-on?” because I cannot begin to count all the people that I know that do not think of technology as a part of life but rather as, as Mr.Fisch said “an add-on.” Wake up people technology is a part of life and it is only going to become a bigger part of it as time and technology progress.
Gary Hayes’ Social Media Count
It is very alarming how fast the statistics are changing. I think this means various things to my career. First, the astounding number’s related to social-networking will eventually change how teachers professionally network. Teachers will soon all be using social networking sites, such as Facebook or Twitter, for not only entertainment but professional networking as well. Although, some teacher’s already are doing this, professionally networking on social-networking sites will become even more popular.
In addition, the number of iPads bought per second was very surprising. I do hope that one day not only will every teacher have an iPad but also every student. There are so many reason why students having iPads is beneficial. But, most importantly students could download smart board technology on their iPad and then use the technology as they would in class. Therefore, teachers could create smart board assignments then send them home for the students as homework. As a result, the students would be learning interactively, which will hopefully help them retain the information. Moreover, the number of minutes of calls on Skype was surprising as well. I also hope that one day students will be able to regularly use Skype in the classroom.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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