Project # 8 September Group Podcast

LIGHTING THEIR FIRES BY RAFE ESQUITH

An Interview about The Fifth Inning

Blog Post # 10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga. Mr. Spencer's cartoon brought back memories. I knew right away that the titles were two types of pencils. I have used both types as a child and when I need a pencil now, I can probably find one in my home office. My initial thought was the cartoon was about pencils. I thought that strange since our class is on the uses of technology in our society. I began to read comments left about the cartoon and the light bulb went on. This cartoon was not about the pencils...but a metaphor for computers, how we use them and exactly what they are. Mr. Spencer explained it to be a mock of the "I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC" commercial. The Papermate is less costly than the Ticonderoga thus, the PC is less costly than the Mac. The old saying about "you get what you pay for" rings true in this case. The PC may not be the best PC in terms of performance and ease of use performing certain functions, but that does not mean it's a bad buy. The Mac on the other hand in my opinion is the "Mercedes Benz" of computers. I own a Toshiba and an iPad and I prefer to work on my Ipad because of its ease of operation. I can't do all of the activities I would like to on my iPad such as "green screen movies" so my next purchase will be a Mercedes Benz. I mean a Mac!

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? This post is pretty funny. The principal wanted to see Mr.Steven in his office. He had concerns about Mr. Steven's class playing games in his class. Mr. Steven's talked about the strategy of using advanced simulation as one of his teaching techniques and further expounded on how physicians use the simulation strategy to learn to operate. The principal was not happy with that explanation and reminded Mr. Steven that he needed to follow the state based methods of learning. The principal was obviously "old school" because he stressed Mr. Steven focusing on memorizing information so they can pass the test. He suggested Mr.Steven use another old school method of worksheets and algorithm information to help his students. Mr. Stevens found a solution... another game, called the "The Factory Game" including algorithm into a Conflict Oriented Reading and Writing Project. This was great solution to the problem and funny too. I'm sure the principal was still not a happy camper but the solution satisfied his request and Mr. Stevens kept the fun in the activity for his class. I don't know that as a first or second year teacher I would have the guts to challenge my principal the way Mr. Stevens did, but I would like to think that I would.

  Remember Pencil Quests? Mr. Stevens talks about one of his junior year teachers and the scavenger hunt ("Pencil Quest") she took them on. Instead of looking for different items, the students were looking for specific pages of materials to read. The students had a map with locations marked on it. The teacher said the quest was called a "moving textbook" and the students had to finish the quest. He remembered this activity because it was one that was different and more exciting than other assignments he had done while in school. He still uses the pencil quest activity in his classroom.

 One of our EDM 310 class projects a few weeks ago had a scavenger hunt activity where we went to different sites locating specific items. The pencil quest activity reminded me of our assignment. It was interesting and broke routine of reviewing videos and reading blogs for an assignment.

 Mr. Stevens was telling us not to throw away all of our pencils because they are still useful. The writing in books are still captivating for some people.  Some old techniques are still relevant and technology being all the rage now is not the end all to everything. Ibooks are still written words, maybe not written with a pencil, but still written .

  Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

The blog post by Scott McLeod called Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?looked strange to me as I opened the blog post. At first I thought my web page did not load correctly and so I reloaded it. I loaded the same way a second time. In this post the parents and teachers are asked to not teach their children to use computers, write on line or anything related. He digs at people who think the internet is bad and tells everyone not to teach their children because he is teaching his children and wants to see who will be more successful later in life. This post is full of snide remarks.

 Mr. McLeod mentions students taught the correct use of computers kills will have an advantage in life. He pokes fun at parents and school board members that believe the internet is evil. His thoughts on the subject really peaks my interest. The students should be taught internet skills. I've never had a class on using the internet and I am self taught. I am of the generation that did not grow up using computers, iphones,ebooks, etc. My young friends taught me to use Facebook, Skype, and Facetime. When you teach yourself sometimes you learn the wrong way and in this class, I have learned the right way to do some things I learned on my own as well as many new things. The material I have learned has many benefits to my professional life and to my personal life too.

 Scott is fervent about using technology in the classroom. He has received many awards centered around technology leadership as stated on his blog. He has a continuous challenge to introduce schools to technology in the classroom. His career has been focused on helping school integrate technology into the schools. Mr. McLeod is also a blogger.

Project # 9a TimeToast

My Journey

Project #9b TimeToast

NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE UNITED STATES

PROJECT # 10 Symbaloo First Progress Report

Project #10 First Progress Report

I am using Symbaloo as my personal PLN.  I have included social networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. These social network sites keep me current on all types of information. This PLN helps me to connect to people with the same interest as I have. I really like using The Learning Network because it covers so many topics.  There is a wealth of information on that website that would be useful to anyone interested in education.  You just have to choose which item to view first. 

My PLN is being updated continuously. I have created additional tabs for  travel, news, and educational information. My PLN will help me in my personal life as well as my professional life. I am enjoying using my PLN and my husband likes it so well he has created one on his laptop too.

Blog Post # 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. Joe McClung

The blog post  What I've Learned This Year (2008-2009), written by Joe McClung reflected on his first year of teaching.  Mr. McClung shared many of his first year experiences. He mentioned that teachers sometimes forget to check if their students are actually comprehending information and focus too much on how it is delivered. A student's comprehension of information should be priority for all teachers.

Mr. McClung stated  lessons don't always go the way you plan and that's okay. I believe lessons are planned to guide you while teaching. I also believe that as a guide, if you need to modify that guide based on the need or needs of the students, that's what you do. He also made the point that we should not be afraid to use technology in our classrooms and if we are not comfortable with computers we need to try anyway. I agree with that statement.  Teachers should be willing to try any and everything to reach their students. Our students today grow up with technology and would not be uncomfortable using it in the classroom. It's what they know!  Material presented using technology would motivate students showing little or no interest in class, but we'll never know if we don't try.

 Mr. McClung stated at the end of his post that we should never stop learning.  I certainly agree with that statement.  Learning does not have an age limit and I am living witness to that. I am probably the oldest student in my class and yes, it is a struggle sometimes to keep up and understand new information, but I try and I keep on trying because I am determined! Once I get it... I've got it and that's the attitude we must have when trying to reach all of our students.  Don't give up on them when they are trying and don't let them give up.  We are there to encourage learning and that should be our focus.


What I Learned This Year (2010-2011)

What I Learned This Year was Mr. McClung's third year blog entry.  Joe stated we should center our decisions around the student and not around pleasing other adults. He is simply saying it is okay to want to make adults happy, but our main focus is the student. I like pleasing people. It makes me feel good but that can cause situations where you neglect what's important for something that's really not important at all. I must always be alert so those situations don't occur. Teachers must also be aware of circumstances and situations that are not student centered and stay away from what or who causes that type of situation. Mr. McClung said he stayed away from faculty and other staff and he spent most of his time with his students. This made him an outsider but he was happy with himself as a teacher.

 He reminded us not to get too comfortable because teachers can get into a routine after they have been in a school for many years. I think routines make students stagnate and change keeps students growing.  Joe did not become one of the "boys" at school.  He remained the person he knew himself to be and it was not important what others thought about him. I want to keep my students interested in learning and encourage that inner drive to do so and that will require change...constant change. I don't like routine and I become bored with routine, so why would I think students are not bored with routine? As a teacher, I will make every effort to remember to always center my decisions around my students and to be passionate in my role as their teacher. Joe's personal reflections on his real world experiences have allowed me insight into what I should expect in the classroom and the school environment as a whole.

Blog Post # 8

This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

The videos This Is How We Dream Part 1 This Is How We Dream Part 2 are very good. The technology made them a little hard to follow. Richard Miller is brilliant and exciting. Mr. Miller discusses changes we work with today on our laptops.  We work in groups to produce Youtube products and that is another change in place today. The technological environment is ever changing and multimedia allows us to see these changes currently and the future changes also. We are kept abreast of what lies ahead through this type of technology. Technology that can tell which city is happiest in real time makes you think about how grand technology really is. I am more motivated than ever to learn even more technology because it is the way of the future and a major part of our lives. I will be prepared to use multimedia. I need to use it a lot more to become comfortable with it, but that will come in time. I really want to use the new tools in my classroom someday. Multimedia writing has so many benefits for teachers and our students. The students will learn as they grow up with new technology. We are able to do everything right away when using multimedia. There is no lag time and this is important. It allows for wise use of time in a society that moves really fast or does everything in a hurry. I enjoyed watching the video. Richard Miller has great ideas and after viewing this video , everyone should be aware of how our world is changing and how to prepare for it. The synthesizing of Science and Humanities is an idea I never thought about putting together and it is a good one. We need to do more thinking outside the box.

The Chipper Series
EDM 310 For Dummies

These videos were really fun to watch.The acting was good and the point made very clear. The over all message was EDM 310 is not meant to be big, bad, and scary. The class can be fun and there are many resources to help you. The Chipper Series is about reaching your goals no matter the obstacles before you. I would like to create a video about including art in science units in the classroom. Art inspires creativity and we need lots of creativity in our classrooms to engage students.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

The video Learn to Change, Change to Learn made great arguments that I agree with. All of the educators argue the classrooms are completely outdated. Students hate school because of boredom. If learning was fun children would not mind coming to school. A great way to make learning fun is to encourage creativity. Technology is already a major part of a student's life with phones,texting,Twitter,Facebook, video games, and watching YouTube, so why not use it in the classroom. As students ,the tools they already use would become more than just a social media ,and teachers would be able to assist more with problem solving.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

I used Polls.io to create this poll.

How many students use a form of technology at home?

0%

laptop computer

0%

iPad

0%

cell phone

0%

desktop computer

0 total votes

 My Space
There are many uses for social platforms in the classroom. Teachers are able to post bulletins for students, announcements and group meeting dates and times as a way for students to stay in touch with one another. Social platforms such as My Space empower students. Empowerment happens when students create interactive media like podcasts. This helps to encourage development within students. Web based calendars are another part of the social platform that can be a great way to help students gain some of the planning skills that educators often see lacking. Social platforms help to build communities around topics of interest. This in turn builds more interest and learning around the topics created by students. Other benefits include student participation and innovation.

Wikis

The video WEB 2.0 Tools for the Classroom is very informative and filled with uses for using the Wiki tool. I have never used this tool and did not know it existed until now. A Wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a web browser and internet access. Wiki can be used as a discussion medium, and mail system and a collaboration tool. Wikis are able to incorporate sounds, movies and pictures. They are a simple tool for creating multimedia presentations and simple digital stories.