Project 11

Blog Post 8

This is How We Dream

In This is How We Dream Part 1 and 2 Rick Miller makes fascinating points. He states that education is moving forward. We have so many resources at the disposal of our finger tips. Resources such as search engines, wikipedia, and newspapers on the web. He goes on to mention that it is just as important for people to produce multimedia as it is to use it. His main goal throughout this video was to help people better understand the incremental change in education compared to the original source of education.

One of the best remarks made , in my opinion, Miller said in this video was that he did an entire research without stepping foot in a library.We can access books, newspapers, and more through the internet. I also believe that composing and  producing material for the internet is just as important as using what is already there. Without composers we would have nothing to use.

I believe technology is advancing in ways unthought of five years ago. I believe that eventually teachers will only be present to guide and encourage students as they explore the world of technology. I also think that schools budgets should focus on technology in the classroom. This is going to be a big part of our future. A great way to prepare for the future is to let our future (the children) have access to it.

Carly Pugh's blog

In Carly's blog I came across many things to ponder. I really loved the playlist idea. Inspiration is the reason that everyone goes through with their dreams. This is a good way to actually sit back and think what kind of teacher will I be. I think Carly displayed a very good example of including mixed media into her post. At first it seemed to be a little much but, as I continued to read I became very interested in the videos posted. I began to think that maybe I should start exploring YouTube a little more to gain knowledge and explore the references available to me.

Chipper Series  

The Chipper Series was about procrastination and the ways it will affect you in EDM310 and in your own life. It goes to show through procrastination you will achieve nothing. In the series Chipper has some ups and downs. She ends up dropping out and going from one dead end job to the other. In the end Chipper finally goes back to school to better herself. As, a future educator procrastination could be non existent.

The moral to this video was very clear. Procrastination, especially in EDM310 and our future educator careers is totally unacceptable.  I really enjoyed the pilot comment. I mean who would want to fly in a plane with someone who has never flown before. I really enjoyed this video, it made me giggle.

EDM310 for Dummies                                                    

I think that EDM310 for Dummies would be a best- seller! After the first day of EDM310 I definitely would have bought the hard copy for the house, the paper copy for the car, and downloaded it to my Iphone for on the go emergencies! I think they did a wonderful job putting this video together. Now looking back on how terrified I was entering this class I have to giggle! I am glad I will leave this class  knowing what blogging is and how to use tools for personal and educational use. Two things that have really stuck with me that I will take with me into my career would be: 1) The illustrious " I don't know, Let's find out!"  and 2) Google Docs.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

In Learn to Change, Change to Learn I found it very interesting education was ranked last. I also am glad to see that people are beginning to realize education is soon going to be through technology. Internet was a big step for businesses, then consumers, now education. Let's embark on a journey that will leave a paperless trail. Let's begin tomorrows class with a lesson taught from across the world. Let us begin to understand different cultures, not through reading, but interacting with others. Let's better understand things halfway across the world by simply asking a native, face to face via Skype. Let's ask questions, let's venture, and let's begin a journey with a giant step that is weightless. I really enjoyed this video!It gave me new perspectives and appreciation for technology and education.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0


Comic Strip!

My fist poll!

Video by Animoto

Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

Making this "slideshow video" was fun! Animoto has different styles, text, and music that you can add making it very simple to create an amazing video ( way easier than Mac's and PC's ). This website, also available as an app, is easy and fun to use. The downfall to Animoto is that it is not free. You can make 30 second videos for free but, nothing longer. The good news is that it is affordable! You can check out the pricing and more on their website.

Book Trailer Project # 12

Project 14

PLN

Personal Learning Network

Developing my PLN was pretty simple. I actually have been doing it throughout this class and a few others without knowing! However I did not have an organization tool so I chose Symbaloo. I use Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Google, Google Docs, and blogger. I just recently set up a delicious account and I am soon going to look into Evernote and Glogster. I have many people I go to if I need help or consultation such as Dr.Strange, edm310 lab assistants, friends, and family.

Blog Post 7

The Networked Student 
By: Wendy Drexler 

In “The Networked Student” by Wendy Drexler I learned about connectivism. Connectivisim is the theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties which is made possible through various tools of technology. Connectivisim was developed by George Siemens and Stephen Downes to explain the effect that technology has had on how we live, communicate, and learn.


In this video you see how a student uses websites, bookmarking, Skype, wiki’s, iTunesU and more to build his personal learning network. Connectivism allows a student to have control of his or her learning experience and access to professors and students across the world. The teachers role in connectivisim may at first seem obsolete but, it may indeed be the most important factor. The teacher acts as a guide to students. Teachers must show the students how to communicate properly, validates sites, gives guidance when a student is stuck, and demonstrates how to properly ask for help from experts. In connectivism the teacher’s role is almost like a G.P.S. guiding the student through unfamiliar roads. As time goes on, and the roads become familiar, students are able to learn on their own without getting lost.

I think connectivisim is a fool proof theory. I also think that connectivism is slowly but surely growing and will soon take the place of the more traditional style teaching. I think this is a great thing! Students would no longer have to be bored into a textbook or lectured until they fall asleep. They will no longer have to come to school five days a week for 8 hours. I also believe that we as future educators must be prepared for this. Having knowledge of the tools available and the capability of fully functioning them should be a must and a want in this career as a future educator.

A Seventh Grader's Personal Learning Environment

In this video a seventh grade student walks you step by step through her PLE (Personal Learning Environment) . She did a wonderful job at creating and organizing her PLE. She separated work from play and went into detail with each item shown. I believe a lot of people can learn from this 7th grader organization is a key role in being successful.

I too have many things in my PLN. Mine mainly consists of social networking  things such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and blogger. However, I do have delicious, CNN,and YouTube. I am going to use this 7th graders idea to separate work from play. I am also going to check out glogster after viewing this video. It seems to have fun and creative things that could come in handy!

Project 9b Time Toast

C4T! #2

Around the Corner 

For this week’s comment for teachers I was assigned the blog Around the Corner  by Miguel Guhlin. The first post I commented on was called Opening Gambit - Creating, not Criticizing, Together . In this post Guhlin writes about when he presented a web- based system. He mentions at first he “felt like a fiesta piñata that everyone would get a whack at.” During the “whacking”, Guhlin found a solution that would almost instantly turn the situation around. He asked the people, whom he was presenting the design to, to turn to the person beside them and create together a design of what they would like to see. After asking the question and reviewing the designs it gave Guhlin and his team, which created the web-based design, a chance to really target what the people wanted to see.

I commented how this was a great way to use criticism in a constructive way. I liked the way Guhlin turned a “whacking session” into something that he and his team of web-based designers could flourish from. With Guhlin asking the people to design what they would like to see resulted in a no fail web-based design that was sure to get approved. I realized after reading this post it could have been easy for Guhlin to get discouraged and give up creating the web-based design for iHub but, Guhlin didn't. Guhlin simply thought of a way to best get results and an idea of what the people wanted to see.

The second post I read on Around the Corner was entitled Reflecting on You – Gauges for Your Blog or Website. In this post Guhlin simply explores gauges available to you. He mentions ClustrMaps, Stat Counter, Blogger Stats, and Feedjit. Guhlin goes on to describe each gauge and what they do. He also mentions his favorite things about each of them.

I thought that this was a good and informative post. I commented on how I had a ClustrMap on my blog but, before now I had no idea what the others were. I plan to soon get a Feedjit. A Feedjit is a tool that allows you to review which posts are most read for the day. Or as Guhlin puts it “to see what blog entries are popular and trending on a given day”. I believe that the above tools are wonderful with them you can develop more posts that your readers would like to see and you can review where your blog is being read.

Blog Post 6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture


Dr. Randy Pausch didn't hold back when it came to his teaching methods. "Last Lecture" is not only inspiring for someone who is planning on being a teacher but, for anyone who is around people! The energy he used during his lecture made me want to watch more. The passion he showed toward wanting his students to achieve every goal that they set is truly remarkable.

In his lecture he makes a comment about how you should never set the bar, this statement stuck with me more than some others. The idea of having a person stop when they get to a certain place in their life, when they think that is all that needed to be done, made me realize how often I stop once my goal is reached. He talks about how you shouldn't stop when one project is done you should make a good idea, great! It makes you wonder what else could have been accomplished if every time you finished something someone would have asked for a little more.

"Have them think they are learning something else", how true is that? Personally my best learning is done when I don't even realize I'm doing it! He mentions the term "head fake" a couple times. A great way to do this is to integrate subjects into one another. One that comes to mind is to have kids make shapes of states using their bodies to outline it. You could also have students form words using their bodies. I think a kids mind is best used when they aren't bored into a text book. More teachers should use the idea of integrating subjects to make sure they aren't preaching instead of teaching.

Enable, to make able; provide with means or power. In this video he said you should be an enabler. I think that if anyone has children, works with children, or if they are around them, they should be an enabler. How often do you settle for something other than your best? The way he made someone feel like they aren't just another student in a desk makes me want to be as active as I can be once I become a teacher. Seeing the impact he made not only in his personal life but his students life is very inspiring. To have watched one video and feel like I've walked away with a stronger work ethic makes me wonder if I could be a teacher like that. Would my future students think so highly of me? I think that his leadership is one of the greatest qualities that shines through in this video. I can honestly say I enjoyed watching this!

C4K summary for February

Comments for Kids Summary for February

Sara




My first comments for kids assignment was a girl named Sara. The blog post of hers that I commented on was entitled NH. In this post Sara commented on how much she loved her school and that she had been attending the same one for 6 years. Sara also talked about how kind everyone at her school was including her friends, teachers, and principal. At the end of her post she commented on how she is having a lot of fun during class and that she was currently working on a science fair project.

My comment to Sara included a brief summary of who I am. I also commented that one of my favorite subjects in school was science. I asked Sara what her science fair project was on and she responded with “seeing if temperature changes plant growth” I left my blog URL for Sara to visit if she would like. In a response comment to me Sara mentioned how she had checked my blog out. I think that it is amazing that Sara and I are able to communicate with each other via internet. Sara seems to have a lot of enthusiasm for learning. I also think that with someone like me, hours away, showing an interest in her blog will encourage her to continue blogging.

Jarrod

My second C4K (comments for kids) assignment was a young man by the name of Jarrod. Jarrod is a student at Leopold Primary school in Victoria, Australia. In the blog I commented on Jarrod wrote about his favorite things to collect, Trash Packs or Trashies. Thanks to a YouTube video embedded in his blog I learned that Trash Packs are small figurines of assorted things such as scummy squirrel and etc. In Jarrod’s post he asked two questions. “What do you collect?” and “What great things do you have in your collection?”  

My response to Jarrod was when I was younger I collected things such as stones. I started my collecting after a trip to the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee. I now collect jewelry with stones in them such as turquoise and amethyst.  In a response comment Jarrod told me that his cousin also collected stones. After reading more on Jarrod’s blog I learned that he was a finalist for “best student blog 2011” in edublog awards. Jarrod’s blog also consisted of many thorough and interesting posts. I noticed that a lot of Jarrod’s blogs had videos and YouTube videos that you could watch to better understand what he was writing. I think that in a few years Jarrod will be an even better blogger than he already is and that EDM 310 students could be assigned to his blog.  

Carla 


For my final C4K for the month of February I commented on Carla's blog. Carla is a seventh grader from California. On her blog I was able to check out her ePortfolio. Unfortunately I could not comment directly to her blog so I left my comment on the classroom's blog. The ePortfolio showcased Carla’s work in her computer class. She had neat things such as pivot animation and research such as who was Steve Jobs.


In one of her posts she said that “you can have fun without electronics.” I mentioned to her in my comment that this is true but, if we have the tools why not use them to do cool things such as her pivot animation. Carla also used things such as Excel and paint in her ePortfolio. One thing that I really liked was her Voki. I think that this is a wonderful idea because you can put your own voice on your blog through this gadget.  I really enjoyed reading Carla’s ePortfolio and hopes that she continues to do neat things such as Voki and pivot animation.

Project 8 Podcast