EDM Final Project

Blog Post #14 (Special Assignment)

 

I definitely missed the metaphor example in that post. I guess I completely overlooked it! Most of the time I catch things like that right off but I guess not this time. Maybe I just read too much into it and decided to take the post seriously. Now I understand after Dr. Strange pointed it out! 
In the future I want to use metaphors as a learning tool in my own classroom. I want to teach them what a metaphor is and how to use them in everyday conversation. I intend to incorporate them into my lessons and use metaphors in my everyday teaching! I want my students to become comfortable with using metaphors.

Today, we use metaphors to exaggerate things all the time. We do this in most cases to tell a story. For example telling someone that it is "raining cats and dogs" really doesn't mean it is literally raining cats and dogs. It means it is simply a downpour outside! Metaphors can be so much fun if you know how to interpreter them.

I am hoping next time I come across a metaphor like in the last post I can read it like it was meant to be read. I don't want to be the girl who thinks gullible is written on the ceiling!!

April C4K Summary Post

This month I had the privalege of reading and commenting on a few excellent student blogs! I was impressed with the talent the students aquired when it came to using technology.

The first student blog I was assingned was neat! Mr. McClungs had one of his students post about a famous Irish Punk Rock Band. Which I found to be so awesome! I actually downloaded their music after reading this kid's blog! It was cool to see a young student have an interest in different music.

The next student blog was actually Mrs. Yollis' 3rd grade class blog in California. Her students seem so great to be around. The students were able to post what they were learning along with projects they had worked on. I really enjoyed this blog! It was so great to see so many students activily using technology at such a young age!

My last blog I was assingned was Adia's babble blog where students were able to create basically a chat room and talk about random things they found interesting. Adia is one of Ms. Yollis' students and she seemed like quite the character. I had a good time getting to know her by reading her babble blog!

Blog Post #13

ALEX was an interesting new website to explore. ALEX stands for the Alabama Learning Exchange and was actually a very impressive site! I found some excellent tools that I know will be very useful as a teacher. The homepage has 8 tabs on it. The first tab is the Alabama Course of Study which includes all of the standards in the Alabama Course of Study. Having such quick access to the course of study can be very important as a teacher. The second tab is Lesson Plans which will take you directly to the lesson plans that are already made for you! This could be so handy if needed! The third button is the Search button where you can search the entire site of ALEX which is awesome. The next tab I couldn't access. It was Personal Workplace and you had to have an account with them. The next tab was Professional Learning. This had everything from info about Special Education to Library Media to School Improvement. The seventh tab was the Podcast Treasury. This tab seemed as if it could be used by many teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom. You could choose a content area and then search different podcasts for that area. The last tab was ALEXville. The clickable icon is a globe with surrounding houses called ALEXville. That tab contained all of the information you could ever dream of.

I loved exploring this site. As a future teacher, you can count on me using it! I will probably recommend this site to every future teacher I work with. I want everyone I work with to know about this site and the unlimited access we as teachers really could have. Classrooms all over Alabama could benefit from this if used correctly. 

Progress Report on Final Project

I am excited to say that for my final project I will be working with Mary Ashley York and Miles Bubbet. We will be describing our attitude toward the EDM 310 class. We will be looking at ourselves and trying to discover how to inform future students of this class. We want to explain how we feel technology is advancing. So far our project has many great ideas and I feel as if we are ready to hit the ground running at our next meeting!

Blog Post #12

Read  A light bulb moment, a post by Dina Tillman. And watch this video  The Fun Theory.com . Tell me who Dina Tillman is? What is the Fun Theory website? What does it do? Where was it published?

Write two-three paragraphs on what you thought about the post. Describe your reaction on both the blog post and video.

USA "First Gift" Video Contest Project #15

Special Assignmet

Special Assignment

  

1. After reading the many posts from Mr. McClung, I have grown very fond of his teaching. He is extreamly organized and super excited about teaching his students. Not only does he get excited about teaching, Mr. McClung strives to the best of his ability to make sure his students learn the material too. I love how his blog is set up so that all his classes can go to the appropriate tab for the appropriate class.

2. Mr. McClung seems to have very effective methods of teaching. Especially when he says "class" the class responds with "yes" and also in the same tone of how he says class. This helps with listening and making sure the students are paying attention. I love that method because it keeps the students focused and alert. He also seems extremely excited to teach. I think staying positive and being excited makes all the difference.

3. I like his rules because he has so few. It should definately be a rule of thumb that with the less rules you have, the more affective your teaching can be. In a classroom setting where time is limited and the students are in surplus, the teacher will not have time to work with each individual student and give him or her each individual instructions. This is why following directions quickly is vital. Every student must be on their toes and watching out for one another while getting their own work done. 

4. The first item under "Everyone Needs" was a day planner. Knowing when and what assingments need to be turned in can make all the difference in a school classroom. For example, I love our checklists in EDM 310. They help me stay organized and know when and what exactly needs to be turned in before the week is over. 

5. For each day that your homework is late, it results in loss of a letter grade. I think this is more than fair especially since you know ahead of time that it is due and when. This is similar to Dr. Strange's way of grading as well. The loss of letter grade is what he uses to grade his assignments with as well. I think it is a fair and effective strategy.

6. I love that the blog is for students and parents both. This cuts out paper in the classroom much like in EDM 310. Parents can also see what's happening in the school and forgotten notes and flyers won't be a problem. The students learn to find things for themselves as well and better equips them in this area.

7. My first link I went to was 

8. I love the internet safety tips. They seem like they are excellently thought through and effective to a classroom setting. 

10. I think a classroom would be a wonderful reason to keep a blog. I feel as if it wasn't assinged to me I would create great things on my own if I had more time to work with my blog. I spend so much time on my EDM blog already it would be sad to see that time end. When I look at Mr. McClung's blog, it is so organized but also full of fun stuff and links and projects his students did and I love it.

11. Mr. McClung's blog is extremely easy to navigate around and so simply set up. I think any parent with accessability can log onto this webiste and easily find things and posts from their child.The search box at the top is also a great tool if they were looking for their particular child on the blog. I love that there is no privacy so the parents can see their child's work.

12. Mr. McClung has one of the greatest class blog's I've seen. He obviouslly seems so enthused about learning and he has such a fire for teaching his students the correct and safe way to use technology and the internet. Hemakes me want to do the same with my classroom!

13. He has so much posted on his blog of his students work. It isn't just a post once a month on an update of the class. In just March his blog had 23 posts. That is crazy!  Thank you Dr Strange for sharing this special assignment!

Project #14 How to Bernie

Blog Post #11

The youtube video we were assigned about Ms. Cassidy's Class was great! Who knew that first graders could blog and write books? That is amazing! Her students seem to love it! I thought it was so cool that they use Nintendo DS's to practice writing. I believe that these students are already a step ahead of the technology world at such a young age. . Technology is obviously changing constantly. It only makes sense that students and the classroom need to keep up with it. This class in particular has helped encourage my feelings toward technology. I'm glad I took this class or else I am sure I wouldn't have a job for very long! The techniques that Ms. Cassidy suggested to use in a classroom included in everyday things in the classroom.  She loves to use Twitter and PLN's which I think is awesome. I also think Twitter is such a cool tool to use. I know that I find myself on Twitter almost more than Facebook these days. Ms. Cassidy didn't hit any major bumps in the road with anyone that tried to stop her from doing this with her class. She didn't always have support, but at least no one tried to shoot her ideas and techniques down. I know that is a huge risk when I have a classroom on my own. 

Ms. Cassidy had the best safety percaustions. I loved that she made a point to never use the student's last name on the blog. I think that is excellent advice. She also makes sure the students know what to not write on the blog, which is also an excellent point! I think that her students do follow her rules because they are easy and simple. They are really there for their own protection! 

Summary Post C4T

Will Richardson is a very well educated man that seems to know what's up when it comes to his students. In his post about valuing change, he talked about how he believes that today's schools are not valuing the technology change and accepting the classroom for what it is becoming. He is right on the money here! I mean, seriously, when are schools going to realize that we need to step up to the plate as teachers and accept the direction in which our future in techology is going. Mr. Richardson had a very wise thought process in his post that was easy and exciting to read because I felt as if he definately knew and meant what he said! It was such an excellent thought and post!!


http://weblogg-ed.com/2011/valuing-change/


Justin Tarte- "I just Wanna Be a Kid"

Justin is a high school teacher with little experience around young children. His post inspired me. He explained an incident where he was sitting on his porch and happened to watch a group of children in his neighborhood that developed a pick up game of soccer. They quickly formed two teams without argument and words. He explained how simple children see the world today and how they tend to live in the moment. I agree, it is so neat how younger children don't take life for granted. They live thier life in every moment like it was the best one they've had. If we could all have the mindset of a child, I believe the world might work a little smoother. I am thankful that I was able to reflect on my own life and how I should live each day. Soemtimes we seem to forget what is most important in our lives. So my challenge to each of you is to not take granted of today or any day for that matter!

http://justintarte.blogspot.com/2011/04/kids-got-it-all-figured-out.html#idc-container

Blog Post #10

Blog Assignment 10

1. An Open Letter to Educators
This was a post by Morgan Bayda, when reading it I felt relieved that there are others that feel cheated through school like Ido. I always feel as if I am just wasting my time in college. Besides my few education classes EDM 310 is the only class that I have actually learned anything useful for life. Too many schools have lowered their standards of education. Although they say that teaching in a classroom is the only way to learn, I have to disagree. To me, learning is hands-on, not in the books. The faster I read things, the quicker I forget them if they are not applied. Morgan and I had a very similar experience, there is no doubt about that! I feel as if we are just wasting time and money and this has got to change.  In Dan Brown's video, he made such a valid point.


2. Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

This post by Tom Johnson was so awesome! I loved the deep message it brought up, I actually had to think. We shouldn't smother the students' creativity anymore than standardized testing and the school institutions already do. Standardize testing weighs way too much in the school system today. Why cant't the students need . If the students still are applying skills through that then there is no problem with that. We need to definitely let students know how to be creative. "Taking their pencils away" is no solution to this problem. We need to let them "take their pencils home". Children can be so creative if we just allow them to! This was such a great post!

Skype Project

I chose to interview my Mother who is such an inspiration to why I want to be a teacher!

Summary Post C4K March

During the month of March we have had to read and comment on two different children's post. The first comment for kids was about Room 17 in Pt England. The students are required to keep their own personal blog in the classroom. They use the blog like a journal and the teacher requires them to write about what they did over the weekend, what they are learning in class, and about other students in the classroom. I thought this was so neat that the students were able to keep a blog like this. And I was impressed that the teacher kept each student's blog on the class website.

The second comment for kids I did was about ways to prevent bullying in and around the school campus. Matthew was a boy in the classroom I was assigned to. His great idea was to install video cameras in the school hallways. He also thought teachers and hall monitors should pay more attention to what was going on and be aware of the surroundings. Another idea the students had was to be aware for each other and report things when they see them. These studetns had excellent ideas on ways to prevent bullying. I enjoyed reading their thoughts!

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year
By: Mr. McClung

Mr. McClung gave so much excellent advice in this post of his. I think he made me think about evaluating my own life and the way I look at thing. I loved it when he talked about being flexible. I felt like I could relate so much to it. As a teacher we will probably never have a lesson that turns out the exact way as we had planned. I think teachers should take a lesson in improv so they know how to react in certain situations and go with the flow. I also like how Mr. McClung talked about on technology and how it is our friend not our enemy. So many teachers back away at the word technology! I was extremely skeptical of technology before this class even. This class has helped me realize how technology is really not that scary and if we slowly take the time to understand it, technology could be our best friend! I love learning about technology and everything it has to offer! This post by Mr. McClung was so great. I want to read more post on him for sure! Teachers and Schools could learn so much from his teaching about teaching!

Puppet Project for EDU 301

Smart Board Presentation

This was our Smart Board presentation. I thought it went very well and I am excited to read your comments!

Blog Post #8

Dr. Miller in this video made me understand how "old school" paper books in the classrooms really are! There is so much that is possible to do online now or at your computer without ever opening a textbook or newspaper. Dr. Miller wrote an article on the one year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and he didn't have to even touch a book or newspaper for information. All that we could ever need is right in front f us! I believe all teachers need this knowledge. Teachers nowadays are trying to keep up with this ever-changing technology and that's not an easy thing to do. I think it is important for the teachers of today and the future teachers to learn this. I want to be educated on this so that I will be able to teach my classroom this. Int less than 5 years our future could be looking at no more books and all technology!
Teaching this would require someone who is up to date on all of this to come in and maybe teach a workshop or two to a few different schools at a time to just get a general knowledge of the available technology and media out there. Then from there, the workshops could become more specific to subject matter and schools. This could be so effective!
In The Chipper Series and EDM 310 For Dummies, it definitely got my wheels cranking for some ideas that I could use. The videos were great and informative even though they were silly. I think that I would like to keep along the lines of this. As silly as they were, they kept my attention and the messages in each were very clear. I think that is one of the most effective ways of teaching. I am not sure of what the video would be about yet if I were to make one, but the formatting would be along the silly lines for sure.



In the video Learn to Change, Change to Learn, it was sad to see how many people do not even value education and technology. Technology changes everyday even and we shouldn't be so blind in the classrooms. I think the classroom needs to mold with the new advanced technology as it constantly changes.  We as future teachers shouldnt be left behind in the classrooms. We need to apply standards if we are to have standardized testing in the classroom like they stated in this video. Students don't need to just memorize facts, they need to know what to do with it, how to apply it!  This video was great! And I know I will use the information to help benefit my future classroom!



The Secret Powers of Time by Philip Zambardo was a video that shed light on the situation of how fast our sociey reacts to things. Everything is down by the second and not the minute. I can blame myself for getting angry at my computer for being slow. This video was awesome! That part was one part that particularly jumped out at me because I am guilty of doing that very thing all the time. We should absolutely take technology as far as we possibly can, but I do think that there is a point that it eventually comes to that we need to take a step back and just take a deep breath. I know I will try to!



In the last video, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, shows us how we will do anything if we have an incentive. People will do anything for the right reward. Money is a huge motivator. If we take money out of the equation so that the workers can focus on the work.We are extremely purpose-driven. . Money is the center of most things for most people. This can get dangerous in my opinion. No wonder the economy is so down. We can make the change! We can stop doing a good job for money and we can start doing a good job just because that's the right thing to do! We are so purpose-driven. I think everyone needs to work on this and change!

Video Project

PLN

For my PLN I used Symbaloo. It was way less complicated and some what more efficient one of the two choices. I have only 19 tiles as of now, but it has been fun organizing and sorting through them! I think this is a very useful thing to have! . This seems to help me eliminate the use of tabs! I am glad this was an assignment for us to do. This helps expand learning and networking to a whole new level. I am constantly learning new things about this! I am constantly amazed at the tools such as Symbaloo that are available! To view my PLN you may click on the link below

http://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAACHha7oQAA42Agaq9yA==