Final Post: Final Thoughts Reflection

Coming into EDM310 I knew very little about what was out there for teachers in the wide world of technology. I knew the basic things, like SMART Boards, and blogging, but I was shocked to see how much more was used int he classroom. For example, I didn’t realize how many tools were dedicated to audio recording. Before this class I knew only of built-in, and external microphones. Also, it wasn’t until this class that I had taken so much advantage of YouTube. I have only watched funny videos, and music videos in the past when I was logged onto YouTube. Now, I know that I can use it for recording projects in the classroom, and after watching my number of views for my videos increase, I can be assured that videos I make as a teacher will be watched too.
Before this class, my blogs that I had created in the past were very boring and simple. Since this class, I have learned how to incorporate pictures, links, and RSS feeds. I had no clue what a RSS feed was before, and now I also know that there is a huge number of them available to me for educational use. I am also much more confident in trying to use technology in my future classroom than I was prior to taking this class. Most all of the programs we and other teachers have used offer tutorials on their sites, and everything can be broken down to step-by-step instructions for beginner use. The internet is no longer a dark vast place of unfamiliarity, but instead a well-lit grand adventure, waiting to be explored.
This class never had a dull moment, and I was absolutely never bored from it. The interaction with my instructors made this class fun for me, and it reassured me that team work is really not such a bad thing. Working with others is an area of work that I have often avoided in the past. Since taking EDM310, I have had a change of heart, and realize how crucial working as a team can be for a good outcome on a project. More than one idea can be spread around, and task can be divided up between group members. The work load is lightened, and less hangs over an individuals’ shoulders. I also learned more about my class peers by working in groups. Some people like to take charge in a group, even though it’s not required for them to, while others like to follow. Regardless of this fact, it seems to be that a more well-rounded and thought out product comes out of working in groups.
Now that I have taken EDM310, my brain is churning constantly concerning ways to use technology in my own classroom. I am a great supporter of the idea that keeping your students motivated about a subject is crucial to their success. After taking this class, I can be certain that using media in the classroom is a great way to keep motivation high, if it used correctly and productively. I will say that I don’t believe so much in games being played in the classroom, like the example we saw in one teacher’s video, who used Nintendo DS’ in her classroom, but I am agreeable to using fun, colorful programs that are intended to grab students’ attentions.
I am confident that after taking this class I can most definitely use technology in many ways throughout my teaching career. I have no fear about trying different forms of media in my classroom, and I am very enthusiastic about spreading the word to other teacher that I will work with. Taking this class has given me a chance to be a step ahead of most teachers that I will meet along the way. I feel like so many teachers in the country are afraid to use technology, but after seeing how successful it has been in places like Auckland, New Zealand, I am sure one day soon it will also be the fad in school all over the U.S.
Now, I can’t say that because of this class I am now a professional at using technology, but I do feel like I have gotten my feet very wet in the field. I want to continue to develop my PLN, and I hope to have my own Flip Cam very soon. I loved my video production class I took in high school, and I consider myself a highly creative person. With that being said, I hope to find more technology-based creative web sites, and I know that they exists, and that they are waiting for me! I hope that with the the knowledge I have gained from taking EDM310 that I can ensure success in my own students, and leave with them the positive attitude I have towards technology, in hopes that they will one day pass it on to their families, friends, and children.

Final Project

Final Project:

Teach Someone video

All about Snails:

Post 13

Alba Middle School Videos:

Mean Oil Spill:


This was a very well done video students! I loved the voice of the "Oil" character, and it is so awesome to see young students fighting the battle to stop this oil! I have lived in Mobile, Al all my life and have never faced such an incredible tragedy. Keep up your spirits children and let's go headstrong into the battle with prayer!

Just Pray:



sheilahaglerphotos's Channel:

I truly enjoyed watching some your students videos! It was so great to see how well they were able to work together to create such informative pieces of work. My favorite one was the trip to the USS Alabama. I have always enjoyed visiting that boat, so much that I believe I have toured it at least 6 times in my life, and was always jealous that my older brother got the chance to spend the night aboard the ship through Cub Scouts! Thank you for providing our class with some ideas that we as future teachers can use when we have class of our own.

C4T #6

iPad for Grown-ups: Reading Books

Thank you from Anna Dumas, in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at South Alabama! I really am glad you posted some information about the iPad book reading options because I myself am starting to look into purchasing an iPad. I just recently bought a new MacBook Pro but want something that is in between the size of my iPhone and laptop. I have really enjoyed reading your technology post, and will continue well after this course is over! Feel free again to check out my blog at dumasannamarieedm310.blogspot.com

Blog 12

Mr. McClungs Reflection:
I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class and I have really enjoyed reading your reflections on your past two years of teaching. I have really gained some great tips from reading your blog. I can honestly say that with your positive attitude toward teaching and bonding with your students, I have less fear of becoming a teacher myself. A new school is definitely hard to get used to, but you seem to run through your survival guide (that you have constructed yourself) fairly well. I hope you can continue to invent new ways to motivate your students to learn subjects that they may otherwise feel are unnecessary to their immediate lives.

Form Summary

Blog 11 Little Kids...Big Potential

Little Kids...Big Potential:


I was very surprised at how much technology Mrs. Cassidy exposed her first grade students to! However, at the same time it seems that they responded to it very well. I would consider using blogs, wikis, and Skype in my classroom too, but I think I would be a little weary about using the Nintendo DS as a learning tool. I feel like students can gain a large amount of knowledge working with other students and teachers over the internet, but I am not so much of a supporter of gaming devices in a classroom. I feel like gaming devices and cell phones are in the same category of being a distraction. Now, I might be wrong, because I'm sure many of the games on these devices that are geared for younger children do try to incorporate problem solving games, and there are some games that are even specifically geared to learning how to read, write, and spell, but I would rather see my students work with each other in the classroom setting, rather than independently, on a game consul. Further this is not to say that I would not consider games in the classroom, I would just rather see my students create their own games, or even use the internet and collaborate with others from different school to learn about games that other students have created. Some benefits of using technology with students as young as the ones in Mrs. Cassidy's class ensures at an early age that students will develop good, clear speaking skills and word prossing skills. It also is a great age for students to learn "netiquette", and how to be safe and productive, while at the same time learning while on the internet.

C4K #4 Alkali Metals Video

Alkali Metals:

Hi my name is Anna, and I'm in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed the Alkali Metals video, it was very informative. I feel like the clarity of the speakers could have turned out a little better if the sound of the video had been muted, then the speakers added their audio on top of the video. This was a technique I first learned when I was in a video production class back in high school. By muting the sound on the video then recording over it, sounds that were unwanted such as crackling and background noise was taken out. I really liked the creativity used in the character building of potassium, sodium, and lithium. I learned some things about these elements that I didn't already know, and will enjoy watching your other students' videos too. Please feel free to check out my blog at dumasannamarieedm310.blogspot.com.

SMART Board Lesson and Teacher Interview

SMART Board Lesson:



Teacher Interview:

C4T#5 and Blog 10

Blog 10:

My PLE:

This was really neat to learn about this 7th graders PLE. I didn't even know what a PLE was in 7th grade! She used Symbaloo, while I choose to use Portaportal, and I'm thinking that I like Symbaloo better. Symbaloo seems to be a little more organized and up to date. Seeing that even a seventh grader to use the internet in such a successful way makes me that much more eager to have a technologically savvy classroom of my own.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life:
What is my sentence? I'd say my sentence is "Listen to the fish and learn." This is from Job 12:8 in the Bible, but I think it says a whole lot about how we teach. Imagine the fish are your students, and you have to listen to them just as much as you listen to yourself to have a successful day in the classroom. I like the other question we are to ask ourselves daily because it goes with my theory about motivation. We must motivate our students to want to learn, but we must also motivate ourselves everyday to want to teach our students. Teaching is an infinite cycle of MOTIVATION! It's the most important thing to keep a classroom functioning. Without motivation students become bored, and we the teachers become frustrated and angry. I feel like it is a must to check yourself daily when you begin teaching and make sure that you are more motivating to your students than you were the day before.

C4T#5:
Your Keys to the City-Denver

It was neat reading about the city of Denver; I have passed through it before but never have been able to stop and check out the scenery. The Keys to the City idea was a very interesting idea to get people from all around the city to live out their feelings through these hand-painted pianos. When I first read the title of this post, I was thinking car keys, or even computer keys since I am currently enrolled in the EDM310 class at South Alabama. I hope that maybe one day I'll get the chance to experience the city of Denver in the same enjoyable fashion you did.

C4K#3 and Blog post 9

C4K #3: The Little Rock Central Crisis

I really enjoyed this post. Is was neat to see that other students are using the Timetoast time line program in the classroom for school projects. I see that they made a draft first as a guide (or as a display to have in the classroom, then published it to Timetoast. It is great to see media being used for all subjects such as history, english, art, and literature. I am with Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at South Alabama. Please feel free to check out my blog

Blog 9:
An Open Letter To Educators
My name is Anna Dumas and I am a student at the University of South Alabama taking part in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class. I have read your post as part of an assignment for this class. I really liked Dan’s thoughts on institutional education. It really is a place just for professors to blabber facts to students. I love the EDM310 class I’m in right now, because it is helping to learn about technology in a way that I can use it not just to make an A in this class, but to also help me make A’s in my other classes. Communication is 100% the key to learning and getting the best education possible. One person simply cannot obtain all sides of a story, idea, or theory, in any subject alone. We need to rely on each other, and be able to look at something at all angles to understand the facts more fully. Technology is at our fingertips, and I am certain that there is about to be a change in the way universities all over the world teach those boring facts that get fed to us, and its going to to happen sooner than we think, or more people like Dan are going to be dropping out of school for the reason that it is interfering with our education! I have felt the same way as Dan and Morgan about the way universities are trying to teach their students today. It seems like all of these professors use the internet and its technology for personal use, but they cannot figure out how to, or lack the want and know how, to use it in their classrooms. I believe it is the key to a students and our students' success in this day in age. Students need to be able to communicate to each other and they need to be able to discover new ways of learning the material needed to be successful in the future. With access to computer technology being so affordable (if not free) to students, there should be NO excuse for a student to not have access to technology.

ALEX:
ALEX is a website for all teachers to explore and find things for their classroom. ALEX stands for Alabama learning Exchange. This is a place where teachers from Alabama can log in and create lessons and publish them in the lesson plan library. This is also a good place to search for new ways to teach your students and find new ideas.

The ALEX website includes several different options on the homepage. There are 8 different links to explore. 1) Course of Study, 2) Web Links, 3) Lesson Plans, 4) Search, 5) Personal Workspace, 6) Professional Learning, 7) Podcast Treasury, and 8) ALEXville. The Course of Study link shows the Alabama courses of study for all grades and all subjects. The Web links are a place to find helpful websites that coincide with the courses of study you are working in. Lesson Plans is a link with great lesson plan ideas for different grades and all subject levels. The Search link lets you search within the ALEX website for lessons and resources. Also, The personal workspace is where you can log in your personal account with ALEX. The professional learning link is where you will find useful tools to get you started with ALEX, and to get you started in your teaching career if you are a bit nervous about creating lesson plans on your own. Podcast Treasury is another link where a huge collection of podcasts are posted from schools all over pertaining to certain subjects. The ALEXville link is available to let you know of upcoming updates and different activities that are coming up associated with ALEX. I think this website will be very helpful to me when I start teaching. I was able to be a teacher's aid back when I was a freshmen in college and I know I was scared then, just teaching a small science lesson, so I know I will be nervous at first when I have my very own students and classroom.

ACCESS: ACCESS is a great way for students to be able to take classes online, that they would not otherwise be able to take. The classes available on ACCESS are more affordable for students with low-income, and these classes are available wherever a computer can be found. The students in the video on the website seem to be very happy that there is a website such as this that allows them to be able to take classes that are not otherwise available for them. One students even took a class for extra help outside of the class he was already enrolled in at a school so that he could get extra help to have a better chance of passing his Exit exams for graduation. ACCESS sees like a great way for students to have a chance at continued learning, or to get ahead, or even caught up in their education if they do not otherwise have the chance to do so. It seems like this is a great way for students to be exposed to using technology for education.

Blog Post 8 and C4T #4

C4T #4: Google Block Party
Hi, my name is Anna Dumas, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama under professor Dr. Strange. I will be commenting on three of your posts over a week's time. The Google party seems like it was a bunch of fun, but what was the goal of it? I am uncertain as to what ISTE is and would be interested in hearing more about it, and how you will be using Google Earth and the new information balloon template in your lessons. Please feel free to take a look at my blog if you have time.

What I've Learned This Year: Hi, I'm Anna Dumas. I just read your post as an assignment in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. Thank you so much for sharing your 1st year teacher experience. It is so nice to hear that all first year teachers struggle, and that teaching students isn't easy peasy. Your topics of what you learned were great points to talk about because they are important for all teachers to work on. The best one, I think was to remember to continue to learn. I feel like students are more motivated to learn about a subject if the teacher shows them that they are willing to learn more about the subject than they might already know. Learning along with the students calms nerves, and shows the student that if the teacher can do it so can they. I plan on continuing to follow your blog so keep the information coming.
You can contact me on my class blog

Instructional Timetoast and Blog 7

Carnegie Mellon:

This video was well worth the watch! I have always been a huge fan of Disney World, and the Disney Imagineer, and animation studios. To hear how passionate Dr. Pausch was, and is, even in his last days of life, about learning in a way that is 100% fun was awesome. I agree with him that having fun while learning is the only way to do it so that what you learn sticks with you forever. Learning through having fun builds relationships, memories, and ensures a well-rounded education for students. If learning isn't fun for the student then the things we hear from them today like "Why do we have to learn this?", and "Why is this subject so important anyway, I'm bored!", will be very accurate, legit things for them to voice. Learning must be, must be fun or else it is pointless and a failed attempt to teach by the professor. I love the idea of the Alice Project software as a tool to help students of all ages to learn computer programming and java script. I'll admit, I hate having to learn about how computers' innards work in the traditional boring ways of reading websites, and Google searching, these ways are not fun for me. I would much rather the internet be set up in an almost imaginary world setting that was interactive and colorful and interesting. I say this, and I'm a college student but age has no boundaries for fun! Look at Dr. Pausch, he is in his last days of life, and the man is full of fun. His whole hour long speech was a fun roller coaster if you will. He started off with jokes, and interjected throughout his whole speech to keep the audiences attention. Throughout the whole lecture I kept my interest in what he was going to say next. Another thing he spoke about was to be encouraged when you hit a brick wall in your life. "Brick walls let us prove how badly we want things." This is such a great quote, and it is also such an incredible truth. When students and teachers alike hit brick walls in life, if they are really passionate about what they want when they hit said brick wall, then it is so very important to find a way around the wall if it is truly a goal in your life that you are dying to reach. Otherwise, the goal wasn't that important after all and you move on to other things. However, Dr. Pausch I feel thinks it is very important to look beyond brick walls in our lives and strive to the best that you can to achieve your goals. You never know how important your knowledge is going to be to another student or colleague, and if you don't have a positive, fun attitude toward what you are teaching, I believe it is fair to say that the student won't either.

Audacity recording:

C4T #3

Learn Central

I loved this helpful learning tool website! I was like an index for finding just what you need if you have a problem that is “how-to” related! It is great to know that there is one web-site dedicated to directed in me to the help tools I need for every learning problem. Each link listed on the site had such great ideas and solutions to every problem imaginable!

C4K #2

Kyan's Post
Kyan' Story about Room 7's Experiment on Volcanic Eruption! This was a very cute video of how the class did this experiment. Kyan did a very good job on explaining the steps of the project, but he was a little hard to hear, I believe he was a bit shy. For his age however, it was a very good effort at using the web to share the class' experience with the volcano experiment. I feel like that if someone Kyan's age can do something like a youtube video, I should be able to do it with just as much ease, and without fear!

Blog Post 6

This is How We Dream part 1 and 2: I enjoyed listening to Dr. Miller and what he had to say about the new direction of learning and working. I agree with his that it is so important that we embrace the technology that the internet has to offer, but at the same time I have to be honest and say that it scares me, and I'm sure others feel the same way.
Computers today are able to do so much more than many users never imagined was possible. I love using my computer and exploring the internet and it's innovative tools everyday, but I am also intimidated by the fact that my computer is definitely much smarter than me! I want to be able to use internet and media in my future classroom everyday if i can, but first I have to overcome my fear of the system. I have so many questions about computers that I don't know where to start, and I always fear that, in this growing age of technology , my students will know more than I will, and they will actually be the ones teaching me. I'm glad to be able to take a class such as EDM310 now so that I can get my feel wet before I enter the classroom so that I will be aware of what tools are available on the internet to use and share with my students.
This is How We Dream Part 2:


The Networked Student:


The facts in this video gave me chills all over! The Networked student seems to only need a teacher to oversee their work, but not to actually teach them the subject matter. The teacher of a networked student is there to teach the how to use the network part, not so much the actual lesson being taught. I can't say enough how amazing it is to see what a powerful tool the internet and computers have come to be! Though it scares me a bit to imagine that in as few as 5 years all my future students could come to solely rely on the internet as their teacher and just ask me for help on how to use it, I am still quite eager to become a teacher. I feel like as a teacher of the networked student I would be a tour guide for students entering the future of the planet. Though the internet would be the main source for scholarly knowledge, I would be the tour guide, if you will, to their success. That feeling is the most incredible feeling of all! I couldn't be more encourage, nor my confidence boosted more without the help of videos like this and a class offered to me such as EDM310. The fact that Mrs. Drexler is going to try this concept of learning with her students in the Fall is awesome I and hope that it goes exceptionally well. I believe that the internet and using media in the classroom is a great way to help get students motivated in today's world. Due to the fact that young people have so much easy access to computers when they are at home these days, it would be hard to believe that they would not want to have access to such an incredible tool while they were at school too, only to find out about how much more it has to offer educationally when they were in the classroom.

PLN

My current PLN is a very basic one that pretty much sums up my day-to-day life currently. I used Portaportal to help me categorize what I do daily and it allowed me to post the links to my most used websites to see it visually. It turns out that a PLN is like a personal mapping device so that the user can prioritize what they need to get done, or to use to see what they are currently getting done. For myself, I have websites such as Facebook, Blogger, South Alabama, and a few craft websites listed. I do my school work right now as what I would consider my full-time job, and then when I'm done with my work for the day I relax with a craft, baking a dish, or socialize with friends. So for me, my PLN includes my job, and my hobbies. I have also included Dr. Paige Baggett's blog in my PLN because she was a former instructor of mine, and because she was very influential to me. She has helped me in so many ways to build wonderful ideas of ways I can incorporate art into the everyday classroom. i love art so much, it is such a huge part of my life, and with what I have learned from her I am so much more eager to use art in my future classroom with students of any age! I plan on using my PLN more and more to map out the road of my educator career!

C4K #1

C4K #1 post:
I was assigned the blog of Leopold Primary School for my C4K post. The children of this Australian classroom are so adorable and eager to learn! I enjoyed watching the podcast they used to make their origami boxes, and even made one myself! Podcasting is a great tool for the classroom at any grade level, and these students were all able to work as a group to produce beautiful origami art boxes. It was very enjoyable to learn from students younger than me, and I learned a few tips on using podcast in the everyday class agenda. Who knew that I didn't have to be the teacher all the time, and I can simply implement a podcast for instruction on how to make an origami box if I myself do not know how to explain it to my students?!
2KM at Leopold Primary School

Vocaroo and Blog Post 5

Podcast comments (KPE of Auckland, New Zealand):

"No More Moas" by Duncan Scott I really enjoyed this podcast! I loved the added animation and photos of the students sharing the book. I learned what a Moa was and how they went extinct 500 years ago. I also remembered after watching the podcast that the Moa was featured on a TV show I watched this year called "Destination Truth" on the Syfy channel! It's such a small world, it really is. The students did a great job describing the book in a very clear way, that anyone could understand outside of New Zealand. Their accent is one that is very heavy, and is sometimes spoken in a way that is mumbled, making it one that can be hard to translate. This podcast was done very well, and the story shared was very interesting.

"How the Kumara came to Aotearoa"

This one was a bit harder to understand. I got that this book was also about a bird, but I really had to rely more on the pictures in this podcast. Again, I state that the animations are a big help, and I believe they would be a great way to help in motivating students to watch podcasts of all types.

"Duster" This was another well done podcast! The girls were better at annunciation, and therefore I was able to understand the podcast better. I believe it is very important for clarity of words when creating a podcast even if video is available in case there is a problem after publishing. If nothing works but the audio after publishing, a student listening would be able to clearly hear what is going on in the podcast. I really enjoyed the story of "Duster" and the pictures included were great!

"Getting Board" These kids have all produced such interesting and cool podcast! The photos are great because I feel like I know them after watching each one. I really enjoyed the images from David Hill's book "Getting Board" because they reminded me of the way Roald Dahl illustrates his books. This story was very cute and would be one that I would recommend to my students at this reading level.

"The Archway Arrow" This podcast was another one that was hard to understand without the pictures. It seems that the girls in the New Zealand 5 year class had a harder time enunciating in a way that the podcast came out clear enough for anyone to fully understand the broadcast. The pictures truly helped me to get the full timeline of events in the story. All of these podcast, however, were very fun to watch and would be a great way to encourage a class to read then share their book over a podcast!

Smartboards:
http://interactivewhiteboards.blogspot.com/ This was the blog I found that seemed to be pro-smartboards. I really have only heard good things about interactive white boards up until this assignment. I love that technology is being used in the classrooms, and I disagree with The Innovative Educator Blog because I feel like technology and spending money on it is what it is going to take to get our students to learn these days. It is very unfortunate, don't get me wrong, but it is what we as teachers have to face today. As technology moves forward growing more and more popular by the SECOND, even us teachers have to accept the newest gadgets. As far as I'm concerned I love the smartboards because they are a way to get students' attention. "hey kids look at this...isn't this neat?". The smartboard and Prometheus boards can do so much, and come with so much pre-loaded teacher friendly stuff that I only see it as a perk, and a great addition to any classroom. I also disagree with Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards. I feel very strongly that buying an interactive whiteboard is just as bad as going out and buying a whole schlew of computers for your classroom, only to then have to worry about regulating what students watch, wonder if you bought the right ones, and worry about how much money you spent! If a teacher just buys an interactive whiteboard, then the class can rely on the teacher to access the podcast, and class-oriented/appropriate websites and be worry-free. Now, also an interactive whiteboard is going to be like any other developing technological product; by this I mean they are going to have bugs, glitches, and won't be what every teacher wants it to be, until the newer model comes out. But, let's face it, technology develops in this way everywhere!! Look at the iPod, it started big and bulky, then went smaller, and again smaller, then bigger again, then skinny, then touch screen, and then finally turned into a PAD and/or a PHONE! Technology changes so fast that I feel like it is unfair to judge a product until either improvements are made to it (which seems like a sure thing to happen), or until another product is designed to replace it.

C4T comment: I'm hesitant to comment on this day's post, because I am some what uncertain as to what is the goal of the discoveries you post. I know that today's post was about a science web-site, but are these discoveries one's that you hope to have your students use, or ones that will be used by you? I did however enjoy the 25 apps to boost your productivity site. I'm always in need of help in that field. I do say I love that you share so many different websites in one day's post, it's nice to have a variety. Please be sure to check out my blog for my EDM310 class through the University of South Alabama on June 30th.

Chipper and Dummies: These movies were very fun to watch! Chipper made me laugh because I have sometimes felt the same way as she did since the beginning of the class, but I have pushed through it. EDM for Dummies was funny too, but honestly I have learned quite a large amount of information on my own; so much that it even surprised me! I am really enjoying the class, and if I were to make a movie I would want to do it about the positive side of the way this class is taught.

Short movie: Let's Dance Little Pookie/ Blog 4

TimeToast Timeline:


All about podcast:
Eagle Nest Radio I was very impressed with this podcast. I congratulate the 3rd grade class for speaking so clearly during their broadcast. I know when I have to record something for an audience I get very nervous (view my book reading above)! After listening to this broadcast it made creating a podcast seem much easier to me than before. When I heard the term or the first time, I thought a podcast was something that was only created by the professionals and it had to be okay-ed by Apple.
I really enjoyed listening to this 3rd grade class. They did a great job teaching about Ancient Rome using only words. I was easily able to create a picture in my head of the Colosseum, and the old aqueducts. Overall this podcast was done exceptionally well!

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom: Wow! I never realized that podcasting is a really great way of using higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid in the classroom. I just never thought of the connection. This video was really helpful in describing some of the many ways podcasting can be used in the classroom. Podcast are not only teacher friendly, but student friendly too.
I have stated before my concern for technology in the classroom dissolving the need for a school building all together, but I feel better about podcasting in/outside the classroom. In the video was the scenario of the girl missing school due to illness, but since her teacher broadcast his class lectures on itunes, she didn't fall behind from missing class. I also like knowing that podcasting is also very much parent friendly and accessible so that they can hear what their students are learning if they chose to.
100 ways to use your ipod: This site was almost overwhelmingly informative! I think I now know everything there is to know about podcast and more. It never did occur to me to use my smartphone (iphone) for things other than email, youtube, facebook, and of course the occasional phone call. Ever since I have started using iTunes I never once have investigated the world of podcasting. It is a very cool way of broadcasting information in a radio-clear format without the need for radio-wave (i.e FM and AM or a boom-box/stereo at all). New technology like podcasting really makes me feel old, but it is still very exciting and I'm very eager to use it in my future classroom!
The Education Podcast Network: This is the first podcast website I didn't really enjoy. However there were many many podcast available to listen too, some were not appropriate for classroom use, except for maybe at the college level. It is good to know though that there are websites like these dedicated to podcast of all sorts.
This website would be like a database of podcast, or like an encyclopedia of podcast. Its a good idea to have websites like these to make podcast easy to access outside of a program like iTunes. I truly have learned so much about podcasting through all these websites and feel educated enough with them to go ahead and create my own at anytime!

Life Presentation and Blog Post 3

The iSchool, however innovative it may seem, is also very hard to consider to replace everything in a school system. I understand saving paper and going green, that's all very awesome, but I don't think that the size of the system should be that of the iTouch. I know for me that it becomes very frustrating at times to have to zoom-in on my smartphone's screen, or even sometimes just get out my laptop to save my eyes from strain. I think a iPad-sized screen to a 8 1/2" x 11"-sized device that has this iSchool system installed would be taken too much better.
I am in agreement with Travis that the iSchool system is one that would benifit the WHOLE school, and that it is something that would maximize our use of technology. Something like the iSchool could possibly eliminate lockers, backpacks, and even classroom shelving, but at the same time I think that couldn't something like this also eliminate the need for the school building itself?! If the teacher had so much accessibility to her students, classes could potentially go soley internet-based, and the classroom would be a mythological place. This brings me to say that the iSchool is a very neat idea, however in Travis' description I feel like it would be a replacement for school, and I believe we need to be able to learn subjects in ways that are in conjunction with technology and not learn soley through technology. Technology is a tool for our students, but I'm not so sure it should be a replacement for school.

Lost Generation

AWESOME video! I feel like this is a neat use of poetry-like writing, and I really thought it was neat how it could be read in reverse. I hated hearing it at first because I feel like the statement is a truth about our developing world and upcoming generations, but it gave me chills that the piece could be read in reverse to give the listener peace, and a glimpse of hope. I must say that this video was very well done, and a great use of technology, however I didn't really feel like it had much to do with incorporating technology into the classroom.

Virtual Choir
Totally incredible! That performance was mind blowing, and how it was done, even more so amazing! Going against my previous statement about the iSchool, I think i would be alright with seeing music being taught using only technology. These people were able to work together over the web to produce a beautiful piece of music led by a conductor. I feel, however, that music is somewhat something that is more universal when it comes to learning how to preform it, and using it (i.e. singing). Now I know readers, you are probably thinking "you do know Anna, that not everyone can sing?", but I also feel like music is much more basic than say chemistry, or learning a foreign language. It seems to me that it wasn't too hard, for even such a large group such as in the video, to get together and sing in tune over the internet. I did enjoy seeing this use of the internet though, and would show it to students of my own as an example of how very fortunate we are to have such incredible technology to use.

Don't teach your kids this stuff:
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation's only center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). He has received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National School Boards Association. Dr. McLeod blogs regularly about technology leadership issues at dangerouslyirrelevant.org.

Dear Mr. McLeod,
I really enjoyed reading this post, but I have to disagree with it. Students need to know what technology is out there for their disposal. The classroom, I believe isn't going anywhere, it's simply getting a makeover that will be a tremendous improvement for students of future generations. Technology I hope will only encourage our students to want to do more!
I read your post for Dr. Strange's EDM310 class and hope that you will check out my blog along with other students' in my class.

Blog 2

A Vision of Students Today:

As I watched this video it reminded me of the "Did You Know" video from last week. It is sad to see that so many students are having to deal with problems they didn't create. As students we buy our textbooks every semester with the intentions that they will be read and used. It isn't far into the start of a semester that we then find out if that textbook will actually be used in the class or not. It seems to be that, by the video, that half of our purchased textbooks aren't used in the class, or they end up being useless to the individual's needs and interests.
This video also did a good job at informing people about how much we as technology users take technology for granted. I for example, just spent the amount of money it would take to purchase one PC and bought one Mac. My mom told me as we checked out that my purchase cost more than her dryer and washer, combined! The machine I bought is also much more intelligent than I'll ever be in my lifetime! My computer and all the technology I use everyday connects me to worlds I would otherwise probably never meet without its aid, yet at the same time (according to the video) the world still revolves quickly around us, and wars, riots, and falling/rising economies happen before our eyes. So the question here becomes "What can we do?" and I believe the only answer is to work with the technology we have before us to the best of our ability to continue to solve our world's issues. We have to join forces world-wide and use the resources we have to survive. Our classrooms need technology to keep students not only motivated, but also up to date on current events!

It's Not about the Technology:
I found this article to be very enlightening. I had never before thought about changing the way a teacher teaches their students on top of introducing new technology. Technology is not an effective tool if the students don't know how to use it towards or with the subject being taught. It really is and would be a waste of money for teachers to invest in computers and fancy internet-able white boards if the students don't know how to use them. It seems that technology will only be a benefit if students first are motivated to learn about a subject, then to learn about the technology available to further aid them in the subject.
Teachers too, will be learning as they teach about the corresponding technology available for school subjects, and that's GOOD! We as teachers need to learn with our students because it helps them to be motivated. Our students' future rests on how we are able to motivate them to learn not only the subjects but also the technology that makes the subject matter come to life. In the end it is imperative that our students have the knowledge to use the technology before money is spent on the technology!

Is it Okay To be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?:
This blog was very much an enjoyable read! I really liked the examples Karl Fisch used throughout his blog, such as "I can't imagine a parent saying "Oh, yeah, I never learned how to read" and being proud of it." This remark is so true. Technology is something that is knocking at our doorsteps, and it cannot go ignored. If we as humans don't use such an incredible tool that is so readily available to us, it will die out and will be lost and useless! If we ignore something so valuable technology then is a waste of money on a worldwide scale. Teachers should be encouraged that technology can aid in student's motivation to learn the subject matter that they need to succeed.


I think that according to this media clicker, technology is like a ticking-time-bomb! Technology is developing at a lightning fast speed, and again I mention how quickly we as teachers must jump on the technology band-wagon. It is imperative that we as teachers learn as much as we can about integrating technology into our lesson plans so that students can benefit from it as a very powerful learning tool.






C4T comment: Hello, again my name is Anna Dumas. I have been assigned to read for blog for 3 weeks and comment my thought for my EDM310 class with professor Dr. Strange and the University of South Alabama. I Really enjoyed exploring these websites. I actually had looked at the Bloom’s taxonomy website previously this year during an art class I took for elementary teachers! I really enjoyed the Vfolio website, because it was very new to me and we could all use some help when it comes to resumes. Knowing the right way to create a correctly done resume is a skill really known to very few people.
I also wanted to compliment you on how your blog is set up. It is very well organized, but fun and colorful at the same time. It is set up in a way that catches the readers eye and draws them in to explore the whole page. I look forward to reading more of your blogs, and be aware that I will be posting these comments in a post on my blog on June 30. Please feel free to explore my blog and our class’ blog which has a link on my blog page which i listed in the fill-in box. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge and thoughts.

Introduction Blog

http://www.wordle.net/
The text and design of the web site itself are Copyright © 2009 Jonathan Feinberg, and all rights are reserved.

Did You Know:

I was shocked by the information in this video! It is incredible to me how fast our planet's technology is growing. I was born in 1986 and can still remember my father bringing home one of the first Buick models with a key-less entry remote!
It seems to be that according to the video, if people do not jump on the technological "band wagon" then they will be lost, and left behind. I found it interesting that technology is moving forward at a rate that is faster than people can keep up with, and it will continue to move forward even if everyone isn't involved in the movement. I use the word movement because I feel like technology is quickly replacing traditional ways of living.
Mr. Winkle Wakes:

This video seems to be an anti-technology-in-schools clip. At the same time it goes back to what I said about the "Did You Know" video in that Mr. Winkle slept so long, and didn't pay attention to the developing technology around him that the new look of the world didn't sit well with him. In fact, Mr. Winkle was lost and confused when he woke; everything was a bit unsettling to him since technology had soared forward.
Again, I feel like if there is only a small portion of the population that chooses not to accept the developing technology, it will move forward anyway. It was only when Mr. Winkle went into the school without technology that he felt like things around him were normal. However it seems to me that the students in the classroom were bored without the integration of technology in their classroom. It seems like technology today is something that interest students and keeps them motivated.
Ken Robinson: "Creativity is as important as literacy." I agree with Ken's statement strongly, partially because I love art and seeing children create in their own way. I also have learned in some of my education classes so far that many students are more motivated to study a subject when arts and crafts of sorts are involved in the lesson.
Furthermore, I agree with Ken when he mentions that students are being taught away from creativity. In order to continue in art and creativity as a student goes through school one must continue to learn to develop their creative skills. Art skills builds on themselves just like subjects such as math, science, and history. It seems that schools seem to be less and less interested in integrating creativity in the classroom as students progress through the years because teachers feel that art is distracting or an activity done at a younger age. This is really upsetting to me because art is a wonderful way for students to express themselves and a great learning tool for many people who struggle with other means of learning such as through audio skills, or memorization.
Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts video: I really enjoyed listening to this teacher, because I got the impression that she is learning right along with her students. She said that she didn't know everything there was to to know about the software she uses or the terms she uses, but she encourages her classes to help each other out. During the class everyone in it is learning. It was nice to her that Mrs. Davis at one point said that her students taught her about terraforming.
It seems to be a trend that when the teacher is learning along side students in early stages of schooling, the students are much more motivated to be engaged in the subject being taught. When you add creativity and projects that use more supplies that just paper sudents tend to be even more excited about the topic of discussion. With so much technology available to our students and schools today it is upsetting to not see more of it used in our classrooms worldwide.