Goodbye for Now

Professor Averitt and classmates, I enjoyed this class much more than I originally thought I would. And it was because of the teacher and the class environment. When we did our presentations, "All About Me", I think that broke the ice and put us at ease with one another. All of you were so friendly and extremely helpful. I thought we had a really great group and we had some fun while we learned.

Good luck to each of you next semester and I hope I run into you on campus. Who knows, maybe we will end of teaching together at the same school!!

Summary of EDM 310

I have learned so much this semester in EDM 310. Maintaining my classroom blog and making weekly posts opened my eyes about this great communication and teaching tool. I definitely plan to have my students maintain their own classroom blog! The presentations I did in class gave me more confidence when speaking in front of the class and talking about myself. I thought I knew everything about Word and Excel, but I was wrong. This course taught me even more, particularly how to enter grades in Excel. The podcast and videocast were pretty intimidating at first, but I felt empowered once I did them. I learned a lot about education and teaching with technology by reading all of the posts that were assigned by students and teachers in this country and around the globe. Creating my very own PLN helped me to understand how technology is used to teach students and educators alike. I will continue to use it.

I felt like I made a student's day when I did the Comments4Kids assignment. Their stories were so precious. The most exciting tool I learned about was iTunes U. There is a vast amount of information to download for personal or educational use. I hope it is available in middle and high schools when I begin to teach. The biggest challenge for me was adding html tag modifiers to my blog posts, but I eventually got it right and was quite proud of myself. The ACCESS and ALEX programs in Alabama are a valuable asset to students and teachers. I learned a great deal about these and look forward to using them in my professional career as an educator. When you submit your assignments to Foliotek, you see which ones correlate with the teaching standards of Alabama. I feel I am much more technologically literate than I was before I began this course. I would rate myself as "Good". The future of technology in our schools changes rapidly and as educators, we must stay abreast of the constant changes it brings. This course was enlightening to say the least!!

7 Stupid Mistakes and 7 Brilliant Things

Out of the 7 Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology, I chose the two, "Not Backing Up Data" and "Not Supervising Computer-using Students." It is important to always back up any data on your computer, especially at work. I used to work at various law firms, and the server was always backed up for protection. If your computer crashes, the information is all gone and there is no way to retrieve it. And when students are online they must be supervised! There is so much out there that their eyes should never see, and let's face it, kids are going to seek what is forbidden. I can't imagine a teacher not watching what their students are doing on the internet. Plus, you need to ensure that they are working and learning.

For "7 Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology", I chose "Use Kids Own Devices to Teach Them" and "Accept the Role of Co-Learner." Teachers can use their students iPods/MP3 players to create podcasts and download class lectures. They can also use students' laptops to encourage blogging during class time. By using their own technology gadgets, students will play a greater role in their learning future. Secondly, a teacher should readily admit they do not know the answer to a question. By doing this, it not only shows their intelligence, but also their self confidence to their students, which will eventually turn into respect. For New Classroom Rules, I feel "Using Polite Speech When Speaking" is very important. I like the way the old rules are turned around to fit our era now. In this new age of technology and communication, learning to speak politely when blogging or sending tweets. Just because a students is not speaking with their voice, does not mean they should abandon all etiquette rules. "Don't Talk to Your Neighbors" is a rule from the old days of school. But today it means, you can talk to your neighbor, if you have something to share with your classmates or need to collaborate for a project that is due. The classroom rules are changing along with the technology in teaching. We must change along with it.

At the Teacher's Desk

This collaborative, professional blog site, At the Teacher's Desk is very important for students and teachers because it allows them to connect through learning and sharing information, and also allows them to help others at the same time (Fundred Project). I watched this video on Mr. McClung's post. This project talks about the effects of lead in children which is found in the soil in New Orleans. An art project allows children to make fake one hundred dollar bills; hence the name, "Fundred". Students around the country are asked to design their own bill any way they want to in order to raise awareness about this deadly problem. I did not know about this issue until I read this post. Awesome!

I thought the post by William Chamberlain about tweeting teachers for help while he was filling in for a colleague was intriguing. This shows the power of social networking at its best. He immediately received tweets from teachers with help for the math lesson he had to teach. I believe all teachers should have their own PLN. The post about banning pencils and crayons was a little ridiculous. These tools have been in our schools for decades and do have learning value. Chalk can still be used, along with technology in the classroom. Yes, pencils can be used to injure someone, but so can a ballpoint pen, which was suggested. I think this idea is carrying it a bit too far.

The "Why I Blog" post by Mr. McClung is one to which I can definitely relate. I initially did not see the use of blogging, but as time went by, I realized you can build a network of educators to share ideas with and learn from. The statement, "School is much more than a 8-3 job" is true, and technology can be used inside and outside the classroom. Blogging is an awesome tool and I plan to use it after my EDM 310 course is over. The post by Mr. Chamberlain, "Something That Matters" really hit home for me. Why did someone feel compelled to write these words on a wall at Louisiana Tech? Perhaps they were not being fulfilled with their current direction in life. We do live in a culture that pushes our students and everyone else to get their degree and make as much money as possible. Doing something that actually matters is way down on the list of objectives. Dr. Strange left a comment that basically says, we should model that behavior. For example, Mr. Chamberlain's support of a school in Africa, and Mr. Lamshed's various cancer projects. Students will likely pay attention to our ACTIONS, instead of only our words, when imploring them to do something that matters.

Toward a New Future of Whatever - Michael Wesch

At the beginning of the video, Wesch says Neil Postman stated that we are “Amusing Ourselves to Death.” I believe this is a cathartic and interesting statement in Michael Wesch’s video. It seems we are asking the same questions in society today as in 1984; what should be done about the conflict in the Middle East, how do we solve inflation, deal with the CIA, NATO, etc.? It is sad to say that our cultural and political priorities have changed very little. On a personal level, I strongly feel these issues are vitally important to self growth and analysis, though I do not have a solution. I thought it was fascinating the way Wesch laid out the analogies of the term “Whatever” through the decades since the 1950s. The meaning has changed so much over the years to include a good deal of apathy within our youth. And our culture, such as MTV, The Simpsons and American Idol, has played a large part in this new attitude of cockiness and narcissism among our youth. But in reality it’s not narcissism, these kids are actually searching for identity and recognition. As educators, we must figure out how to help these students find their identity and self recognition so that they are able to become productive students, and later responsible adults.

These valuable insights from Michael Wesch delve inside the attitudes of our youth will allow future teachers to know exactly what they are up against and how to deal with these issues in the classroom. Wesch points out that we all use different mediums available to us, such as YouTube, Webcam, Twitter, and Facebook to shape our self awareness. We must overcome being nervous of talking into a camera, and this includes myself! In college, this EDM 310 class has helped me become more comfortable with myself on camera, with my peers, and in giving a presentation about myself. One great thing about YouTube is that it helps a person show aspects about themselves that they would not normally reveal in a conversation. It is an awesome technological tool with various purposes. The YouTube video of One Man, walking around with the sign, just wanting a hug from someone, anyone, brought tears to my eyes. It leads others to hold up a sign, “Free Hugs” and moves from one person to the next, globally, of people just hugging a random stranger. The world could use more of this type of behavior. It was so compelling to see the students with simple handwritten messages on the palm of their hands, like “United as one”, “Love one another”, “Hold me” and “We are all connected.” By creating this call to action video, these young people are courageously reaching out to millions of other people, and starting a movement, with just a few words. I’m not sure how we can use this to address the narcissistic disengagement. But he is right when talking about the debates of presidential candidates. Why don’t we give them each an hour to speak like the debate between Lincoln and Douglas? Wesch sums up his lecture brilliantly saying let’s change the attitude of the 1990s, “Whatever, I don’t care what you think” and look to the future and ask “I care. Let’s do whatever it takes – by whatever means necessary.”

If more educators would make this their mantra, I believe there would be more success in the classroom with students.

Comments4Kids 3

I left a comment for Morgan after reading the letter about her homecoming at her school in Iowa. Mrs. Goerend's Students. I was very impressed with her spelling and grammar and told her so. It's refreshing to read about students getting so excited about homecoming. It really brought back wonderful memories for me as well.

Comments4Kids 2

I visited Benden's Blog at Valley Wood Tech, and left him a comment. The video was pretty neat, showcasing their Lego Eraser project, removing marker from the smart board. I think it's great that these students are blogging away about their projects. Hopefully encouragement from all of us will motivate them even further.

Why It's Important for Students to Post Work

The video PS22Video of the children singing the Stevie Nicks song "Landslide" is absolutely precious. They seem to put their entire heart and soul into it. You can tell by watching that their singing truly comes from deep down inside themselves. And now they are going to Madison Square Garden in New York City to see Stevie! So wonderful things can happen when students post videos on YouTube. When students post their assignments on the web for the whole world to see, it allows a huge audience to view it, comment and praise them. This creates more confident students who are inspired and motivated to learn.

Another example is the use of blogs. Blogger.com I think blogs are a tremendous tool for teaching. It encourages independent writing and thinking, while allowing the student to connect with other students around the globe. Twitter can be used to contact people with similar academic interests, add helpful links for one another, and build a social network for students to use later. Facebook is one more example of why it is important for students to post their work on the web. Facebook enables them to stay connected, share ideas about projects and assignments. These are just a few of the examples of why it is important for students to post their work on the internet. It's the future.

ALEX and ACCESS

This website, ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange) has numerous resources available for the educator. It was developed by the Alabama State Department of Education. On the home page, there are six main categories listed; Courses of Study, Web Links, Lesson Plans, Personal Workspace, Professional Learning and Podcast Treasury. When you click on Courses of Study, it is divided into several subjects. Since I will be teaching history, I clicked on Social Studies. Within that menu, there are several topics pertaining to history. I chose “World History: 1500 to Present,” it lists each area that will be covered, and the grade in which it is taught. Each of these areas either has a lesson plan for you to view, or a web link pertaining to that particular lesson, or both. The Web Links menu has links available for teachers, administrators and students.

The Lesson Plan page allows you to create your own lesson plan by selecting the subject and grade you teach. Or you may search for one by title, author or school. This is a valuable tool in the education field. On the Personal Workspace page, you create an ALEX account, where you can store and submit teacher web pages and lesson plans. The Professional Learning page lists sites that provide educators with professional development opportunities, the latest news, the best practices as well as teaching and learning tools. There are also a few sites that enhance professional growth and communication. I believe ALEX will be extremely useful when I begin teaching. There is so much technology and information available and you can build your curriculum by using this site.

ACCESS is a long distance educational tool. It provides quality learning opportunities for students in ALL of the Alabama public high schools. The goal is to improve student achievement through distance learning opportunities by providing quality learning for all high school students. It consists of online courses using current technology such as interactive video conferencing and distance learning. The courses are free to students in grades 9-12 and they register for them through their high school counselor. They are held during normal school hours and follow the academic school calendar. Schools must provide each student with a school-based, reliable, internet-connected computer. Students are expected to participate in daily learning activities such as discussions, projects, labs, group work, writing workshops, and assessments.

The students work individually in a computer lab during their regular school day, and complete their assignments and send them to the teacher to be graded. The instructor, called an “e-teacher”, grades the assignments, checks emails and sends correspondence to students via the technology provided. The available core courses include reading, language, math, science and social studies or extensions of those like U.S. Government or Biology. It also offers electives such as ACT preparation, Creative Writing, Business Technology, Web Design, Health Education and Art History. The plan also provides a professional learning site called CAST (which stands for Connecting ACCESS Staff and Teachers). CAST enables the teachers and staff to work together and share their and ideas. It has learning tips, chat room for teacher and staff only, content specific blogs, teacher profiles, outside online training opportunities, and teacher-to-teacher sharing. I look forward to using ACCESS when I start teaching. It uses technology to enhance the students’ learning and gives teachers experience in their field.