Matthew McGee's edm310 blog

Good Bye!

2010-04-30T13:29:00.003-05:00

This class was..... an experience to say the least. Some may regard it as a bad experience, some as a good experience, or some people may be indifferent. Regardless of where you stand on the subject, I hope everyone did well in this course and I hope to see you all in a class room soon!

"Take it easy"..... and I'll see ya next time.

Final Blog Assignment

2010-04-30T12:14:00.005-05:00

In EDM 310 I have learned how about so many new things, inlcuding:

Blogs- At first I did not even want to create a blog, but after doing so and seeing what blogging with other educators had to offer I enjoyed it. Creating and using a blog turned out to be simpler than I had imagined. Blogger is very user friendly and I have enjoyed using it and plan to use it more in the future.

Google Docs- Is amazing!! I would advise all college professors to use google docs the way Dr. Strange does. It allows me to be more organized with my assignments and I'm sure it is much easier on the instructor to send out an assignment, which he can update at anytime, to all of his or her students.

PLN's- PLN's can be very useful. I've developed tons of ideas and learned a lot from the teacher's blogs I was assigned to. I plan on keeping in touch with those educators and possibly creating my own class blog when I become a teacher.

Google Earth- Google Earth was so much fun! I think it would be very helpful for a geography or history teacher. I would like to work on incorporating it into an English class some how. Possibly use it to show where particular authors are form?

iTunesU- iTunesU is where college professors record and post podcasts of lectures for their students. This would be a very useful tool for me, if all my teachers would participate in it. There were issues with some college's where students wouldn't attend class and would just listen to the free podcast. These are tools to help you with your studies, not an excuse to skip class! I think that once students realize this and don't abuse the privilege, more college's will get on board with iTunesU.

YouTube- I knew how to use Youtube and even have an account of my own, but I just thought Youtube was used for fun and entertainment purposes. I was surprised to find out, through this class, how much educational information is on youtube.

Audacity- I had a lot of fun using Audacity. I had never used it or even heard of it before. Our first project with audacity actually took back seat to all the fun I was having mixing songs and stuff. I downloaded it specifically for that project, but once I started figuring out how to use it I found it hard to stop doing fun things with it and actually do my project. I got it done though...

We covered much more material than I listed above, but these are the things I actually did not know too much about before this class. Everything else we did I either already knew about or were familiar with it.

Honestly, I did not know what to expect from EDM 310. I had no hopes of what to learn or what not to learn because I was not aware of what the class might of had to offer. There is nothing this class has taught me that I wish to forget. Before entering this class I was neither excited or sceptical about any aspects of the class. I can say that when the class got rolling, and we were introduced to the types of materials we would be working with and the assignments we would be doing, I was very excited. I had never had a class like this one before. It was a great experience for me as a student and as a future educator.

At times I was bored with the weekly blog and comment assignments. If I were to change anything in this class it would be those assignments. I felt that after a month in the class I had proved that I knew how to blog and comment appropriately. I think I would have learned more and had more fun if we would have done those assignments only ever other week and spent more time on all the useful tools we experimenting with and using to do projects.

I would have liked to go more in depth with actually using the technology we were learning about vs. blogging about using the technology in a class room. I can't argue that talking about the use of technology in the class room is not important, but I believe that it would have been more beneficial to do more work using the tools rather than discussing them. Non the less, the class was very helpful and I enjoyed it.

I thought I was technology literate before this class. I was correct, to some extent. Yes, I knew how to use technology and could easily learn how to use new tools. What I did not know was the potential use of technology in the class room. I think that now I am even more technologically literate than before. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to say my technological literacy is an 8 or 9. Everyone can always learn something new at anytime or improve on what they already know.

I plan on maintaning my technolocial literacy by using what I've learned to benifit my school work in the future. I've learned so many useful tools I can use for research, presentations and things of that nature.

Substantive Presentation

2010-04-25T19:35:00.000-05:00

Week 15

2010-04-21T19:26:00.002-05:00

A 7th Graders PLE (or PLN)

This 7th grader seems a lot more organized than most of the students in our class. The things she is doing also seem more interesting. Grant it, this was for a science class, which (in my opinion) has a broader variety of topics than some classes. I think the tool she was using was called "symbaloo". I'm not 100% sure, I could only see half of the S in the word symbaloo because the video was cut on either side. Maybe it was just the program she used for her class that made it seem so organized and interesting.

Although I'm new to this, I believe I'm pretty well organized. I'm sure I could improve somewhere, but everyone should say the same thing. I agree that using the internet is much more organized and presentable than any paper work done in class. It's also great that students are free to explore any sources on the internet. This girl emails and even skypes scientists to get answers to her questions. That's taking research for projects to a whole new level.

Two Questions That Could Change Your Life- Daniel Pink

What is my sentence? I've never thought about my life in that way. The strange thing is, is that even tho that is a lot simpler than I ever thought it to be, it actually makes a lot of since. Maybe I've just been over analyzing things and not breaking it all down to simpler form. I've never asked myself if I was better today than yesterday either. When I figure out what I want my sentence to be I will let my readers know.

Week 14

2010-04-17T17:25:00.006-05:00

Blog assignment 14/project 8: Teaching Someone Using Technology

I've decided to combine the two because they are both relative to each other.

When I become a teacher I would like to experiment on what I mentioned in my post about Dr. Alice Christie. VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS!!! I would like to allow my students to get the most out of their field trips. I would like to have an end of the semester (or end of school year, which ever applies) project where my students would give a presentation of a field trip, or trips, and show what they learned.

Throughout the year I would have my students learn how to use a video camera, make short tutorial videos, use audio recorders, use digital cameras, upload videos and photos, and create small sample presentations to prepare them for the final project. I would grade them on participation only, until they do their final project. They would have the option of doing either a video project or a presentation (possibly using google docs) with pictures and audio. Audacity would probably be my audio recorder of choice for this project.

A good example I thought of is to have a few students collaborate on a presentation for....a field trip to the zoo. Have them take pictures of whatever animals they desire (minimum of about 10 animals) and describe; the environment the animal lives in, the types of foods they eat, life span, whether the animals discussed are social or non-social creatures, any interesting adaptations... Things of that sort. I will have only a basic foundation for what they should talk about, but encourage creativity.

I think it would be awsome to see a group of kids do this and take turns recording the audio to go along with their presentation and maybe add in some animal sounds in the audio to match which animal they are discussing at the time. The projects that are the best, I could use the follow year as a learning tool for new students. Show them the possible types of field trips we could take and the possibilities and examples of what they could do for their virtual field trip.

Google Earth Project

2010-04-14T18:57:00.009-05:00

Trip to get my Civic

Start: Pascagoula, Mississippi
Drive to Gulfport, Mississippi
Fly from Gulfport to Atlanta, Georgia
Fly from Atlanta to Tampa, Florida
Drive from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Florida
Meet with Mike, make sure my car runs good and all work is complete.
Drive from St. Petersburg to Mobile, Alamaba to rest
Then continue back home to Pascagoula, Mississippi
where the trip ends.

Comments for Teachers Week 13 and 14

2010-04-12T17:50:00.002-05:00

Lisa Thumann: What My Droid Does-Part 5
Everyone should check this out! And maybe someone could make a charitable donation to the "help Matt get a new phone fund". HA!

Here is my comment to Lisa's post:

I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama.

Great pitch! Im very interested in all the new cell phone technology, but since I am on what I like to call “the broke college student budget”, I try my best not to look into it too much because I would only upset myself. I am stuck with the average phone and basic utilities. I was assigned to comment on a few of your post for my class and when I saw this one I said, “oooo!”. The technology these new phones are coming out with is wonderful! Cell phones are becoming so useful and technilogically advanced that I think one day desk top computer will become obsolete, much like the vcr, and you won’t be able to find one even in Wal-Mart. Well, it was nice day dreaming about a new phone, but its back to the real world for me.

Also check out: Major updates to Google Doc's by Lisa Thumann

My comment:

I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama.
This is amazing! Dr. Strange uses Google Doc's religiously for our class. Almost every assignment we have is sent to us via Google Doc's. It is very useful and I am greatful that he uses this technology and is able to update it in real time rather than waiting for my next class to meet to hear about the update on any given assignment. Thank you for sharing this video.

Week 13

2010-04-08T14:59:00.005-05:00

The ZAX
The strange thing is....when I saw this as a child, I just thought it was a funny story. Really its telling everyone to stop being so stubborn, that the world will continue with or without you or your contributions. This can be directly applied to schools use of technology. The system will continue to grow even if a few schools stand idle and stubborn, stuck in their old ways. As I have gotten older I have realized that Dr. Seuss's stories hold a lot more depth than what I had originally thought as a child.

Why is it Important for Students to Share their Work??.

(above is a yellow ceramic piggy bank I made for my sis and nephew. It was on display at MGCCC Student Art Show spring sememster 2009) more pics of the art on display at the link, which takes you to Mr. Pool's facebook where he has pics of every piece, even one of my charcoal drawings. Feel free to explore!

I think it is very important for students to publish their work in some way. When discussing this topic with a friend she said that the internet is like a refrigerator. As a kid, when I did something I was proud of my mom would put it on the fridge for all to see, but now with access to the internet my work can be put up on the web for all to see. So with this as my fridge I posted a picture of one of my art pieces I have done. I think that just knowing people are looking at your work and even having some comment about it makes your confidence go up. Mr. C's class blog is an excellent example! The earlier children start sharing their work with the world, the more confident they will be in the future.

PLN Continued....

2010-04-08T13:33:00.006-05:00

Wm Chamberlin: Mr. C's Class Blog

At The Teachers Desk

Lisa Thumann- Thuman Resources: via RSS feed

Vocaroo

2010-04-03T18:56:00.004-05:00

When we were assigned to use Vocaroo I thought, "We already know how to use Audacity! Why are we learning about yet another audio recording tool?" But I found out that Vocaroo is much faster and simpler to use than Audacity. If I were to try this with Audacity I would first have to download the program, if I didnt already have it, then I would have to convert the recorded audio so that it could be played withouth the program Audacity. Vocaroo is an excellent tool!

Skype/Interview

2010-04-03T18:33:00.002-05:00

Skype

I have used Skype in the past, and recently, to communicate with my mom when she goes to California on business trips. When she is sent out there, finishing projects for the navy, she is normally there from 4 to 6 months at a time. So it is much cheaper and easier to communicate with her using Skype. My aunt, who is an elementary school teacher, also uses Skype to communicate with my mother when she is out of town.

Interview

I did my interview with my aunt Traci Brewton and told her about what all we have come in contact with in this class (meaning all the kids blog posts and video's and pictures) and asked her if she does any of these things in her class room at Nan Grey Davis elementary. Sad to say, they do not. In fact, the thought had never crossed her mind to introduce her students to blogging for educational purposes. After discussing everything I'm doing in my class room and the things she could be doing, she was eager to find out IF and when she could do anything similar in her class room.

Survey

2010-04-03T18:27:00.003-05:00

24responses
Summary See complete responses
Do you attend the University of South Alabama?
yes
24
100%
no
0
0%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
How do you feel about the price of tuition?
Way to much
11
46%
Reasonable
13
54%
Too cheap
0
0%
0
0%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Do you feel the Jag-Trans are necessary?
yes
20
83%
no
4
17%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
If you answered yes, please give a brief discription of how the Trans help you.
Less gas I have to pay for. I dont have to fight the traffic of students that drive and I don't have to fight for parking spots which could make me late for classI cannot park on campus because I Live at the grove so I need it to take to and from the grove and school.It gets me to and from UCOM for my Ed classes.It helps broke people with no ride and the blind dude with the doggets people where they need to goDont have to spend my moneydo not have to walk
Do you beleive most of the educators on camups are qualified to teach in their feild?
yes
22
92%
no
2
8%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
How many of your teachers are "power point" teachers? (meaning they use power point slides 90% of the time and basically read from book)
one
11
46%
two
7
29%
three
4
17%
all
2
8%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Do you feel that you are alloted enough time to get from one class to another?
yes
17
71%
no
7
29%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.
Number of daily responses
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Comments for Teachers Week 10 and 12

2010-03-30T00:26:00.002-05:00

At the Teacher's Desk is a blog where teachers collaborate and post things that they are important. Like the post How to Get (and Keep) More Visitors where Mr. C gives advice on how to increase your number of views. His advice is really simple:1. Hits add up 2. Post regularly 3. Use words in your title that are specific and that people often google 4. Comment on other blogs.

Another use of the blog is its a place where teachers can voice their concerns. Like the blog How do I know I am not just being selfish? Mr. C expresses his fears that he is just pushing technology on to others because he is interested. He feels that he is more excited about the technology than his students. The good thing about this blog is his fears don't just sit there.

Other teachers read his posts and tell him their opinion which can help him in his teaching. I think blogs like this are a good idea. Not only are the teachers sharing what they have found to be useful but they also create a support group. A teacher knows they are there and if they need help or advice on something they have a handful of teachers a click away.

Week 12

2010-03-29T13:55:00.004-05:00

Dear Kaia

Mr. Jabiz, a teacher in Qatar, simply posted the simple photo essay that his daughter, Kaia, made. It was basically her telling about what she took pictures of while walking outside with her father. From this simple post, they have gotten attention from around the world. Mr. Chamberlain was one of the first to comment on Kaia's blog.

I think this is a stroke of luck. Each thing that happened was by chance but it was a good thing. This little girl is growing up with the world at her fingers and probably doesn't even know it. She thinks it is just fun and games and gets to have new friends from everywhere. I hope she continues to post on her blog, making comments, and just having an opinion to share with the world.

I can use Mr. Jabiz's and Mr. Chamberlain's example and encourage students to (safely) put themselves out there and meet other students from around the world. They say that americans have problems with diversity but noone is really doing anything about it. Why not just allow them to talk with kids from different countries whos culture is so completely different from their own.

Week 10

2010-03-24T18:16:00.003-05:00

An Open Letter To Educators: by Dan Brown

I believe it is safe to asssume that almost every college student has had the same attitude and/or experiences as Morgan Bayda at one point in his or her college career. Universities charge entirely way too much money for information I can find for free online! I use my free resources for everyone of my classes! I can even use these resources to get ahead of my teachers lectures! So whats the point? If I can teach myself what I want to know, or what I have to know for a particular job field, whats the point in paying a University thousands of dollars just to sit through an agonizing class where a professor shovels facts down my throat? It's a very well known fact that most jobs out there will teach you what you need to know in order to do well at that particular job. All a college degree does is help get your foot in the door so that you can learn how to do the job you are hired to do. Realistically, college seems almost pointless. ALMOST...

Week 9

2010-03-14T17:57:00.004-05:00

ALEX and ACCESS

Alabama has a program called ACCESS distance learning. The purpose of this program is to make scarce resources available to any student in Alabama through technology. (example given was if a student wanted to learn Chinese but his school didn't offer it. He could use the online distance learning to take his Chinese course.) By all students having access to all the same resources and classes it evens the playing field and allows all students to get the best. This program not only gives students access to material they wouldnt otherwise get but it helps teachers also.

The Access program gave out 70 grants to highschools to bring in distance learning into the classroom. A distance learning classroom gets:Codec (A codec is technology for compressing and decompressing data),Cameras, Monitors and/or projectors, Interactive whiteboard (interactive, portable, wireless electronic boards), 25 tablet computers (minimum), Wireless port or router, Installation, on-site service, warranty, technical support, and equipment training and equipment manuals, Professional Development/ Specialized Training. The current goal of Access is to provide a distance learning classroom for every high school in Alabama.

Part of the ACCESS program is ALEX(Alabama Learning Exchange). ALEX is an online resource that allows teachers to store, share, or borrow lesson plans. One of the features is that when you submit a lesson plan it is put of for reviewing. Viewers can critique your lesson plan but can only grade it by the websites criteria. When they say something is wrong with your lesson plan they have to put a comment of why its not perfect and ways to make it better. Also on their website is links to a list of websites that the Department of Education thinks is important. ( websites that provide professional development opportunities, teaching and learning tools, latest news, or best practices)

To me, it seems like Alabama is trying to give students, as well as teachers, all the resources it can. Not only are they giving you ways to further your knowledge but they are making the classroom more technology centered. Making classrooms more technological will help Alabama produce more tech. literate students. There is no way to get around technology so merging it is the best thing. If you can't beat them, Join them.

Timeline Toast

2010-03-11T15:59:00.002-06:00

Honda Civic

Week 8

2010-03-07T21:33:00.002-06:00

Achieving Childhood Dreams

I watched Randy Pausch 's lecture called Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. Pausch is a computer programmer who talks about the importance of achieving your childhood dreams. He doesn't want you to just stop there, Pausch wants you to help others achieve their dreams as well.

Pausch began his lecture in an odd way by saying that he has liver cancer and is going to die, but also says for us not to feel sorry for him. He continues telling you about the child hood dreams he had, which include; playing in the NFL, playing in zero gravity, being Captain Kirk, and being a Disney Imagineer. The first section of his lecture is him describing to the audience how he achieved all his dreams. He ran into walls, but he says that walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things. If everything we wanted was just handed to us we wouldn't appreciate the things we do achieve. Now where's the fun in that?
The next part to Pausch's lecture was about how you can help others achieve their dreams. He told about when he first started his course called building virtual worlds. When the students turned in their first projects he was blown away and didn't know what to do next. He called his mentor and he told Pausch to just say that they can do better. Pausch said this was the best advice. That he couldn't put a bar for the students to reach because he didn't know how high they could go. If someone tells you that you can do better your more likely to try even harder and will do more than you ever thought possible.
The last part to Pausch's lecture was Lessons Learned. He went through and listed all the little things that are important. Some of these were: never lose the child like wonder, get people to help you, tell the truth, respect authority while questioning it, be earnest, apologize, focus on others, find the best in everyone no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it.
At first I thought this lecture was way too long, but in the end I'm glad i watched it. It is very inspirational. He was able to accomplish everything he wanted as well as paved the way for others to do the same. I hope I can say the same one day...

Week 7

2010-02-27T19:25:00.003-06:00

How we Dream Part 1 and 2:

The big step we have taken, as a society, in literature, with the use of technology is remarkable. No longer do students have to physically go to a library, track down the book they want and continue the scavenger hunt thumbing through hundreds of pages to find the information they desire.

Anyone at anytime can search the web and find what they want in less time than it takes to find information the traditional way. Not only are the web based documents faster and easier to access, they are also capable of containing more information than what can be found on the book shelves. These documents can contain historical information and present day thoughts and discussions about the topic.

There are accessible videos and blogging networks one can use to research and discuss a topic. Visual representation plays a huge role in the modern way of spreading ideas. "Ideas don't belong to us individually, but belong to us as a culture, and that we as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely."

The Networked Student: Wendy Drexler

Drexler's high school students did a YouTube video titled "Networked Student. This video is about students in the 21st century. In their presentation talk about the need of the students PLN's and not on text book and memorized knowledge. Honestly, why should we memorize facts when we can get the answer from the internet. The old days of searching libraries for books is over. If that were the case today, I could understand the need to memorize information.

Another question asked is, "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" Students can find out anything they want on their own. The teacher is no longer the source for information. Teachers these days are their for guidance only, if you look at it this way. The teachers lead them along and to encourage them find answers they don't know.

I think we will always need some form of a teacher. One could have all the infinite knowledge at their fingertips, but if they don't know how to get to the right sources, or even how to use what they have found, they are no better off than someone who doesn't have the information to begin with.

Toward a New Future of Whatever: Michael Wesch

AH! 1984 by George Orwell. I referenced this book in a blog and in a few comments. Amazing book! If you have not read it, do so! But I'm not talking to you.... I'm talking to this... Don't take it so personal. I actually enjoyed this video more than any other video I have watched so far. He references so many people and things that I am familiar with or can relate to. I laughed constantly! The video made me think, was entertaining and educational. Loved the Kurt Cobain/ Nirvana reference. I knew almost every clip, picture, video, whatever, that he referenced in his speech. There's a "whatever" in use right there. I recommend everyone who uses the internet or these new media devices, watch this video and pay attention! Maybe this comment isn't exactly what my teacher expects....maybe he wants me to discuss this video further..... WHATEVER just watch it.

PLN

2010-02-24T14:43:00.004-06:00

My PLN consists of information and ideas from the following sources that I am either following on blogs or submitted to:

Dr. Scott McLeod : Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University.

Karl Fisch : Director of Technology at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, USA.

Dr. John Hadley Strange

Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class Blog

Facebook

Comments for Kids!!

2010-02-24T14:37:00.018-06:00

Comments for Kids: brief description
Week 4 I did a post for Mr. McClung's class, where students discussed waves. http://jkmcclung.edublogs.org/

Week 5 I posted a comment on Matthew T's (a student) discussion of a book he read. http://avoca37.org/grade5/student-blogs/

Week 6 I attempted to post a comment on Amy's blog but the site was having difficulties.
http://teachers.saschina.org/jtoa/2010/02/02/5jt-news-2/

Week 7 I commented on a whole class that showed how to blend colors when doing art work. This post was by far the most enjoyable.
http://melvilleroom8.blogspot.com/

Week 8 I commented on Brian's "Questions" post where I informed him about Wikipedia and I also commented on his poem about Cheetah's.
http://mrsshetler.edublogs.org/about/

Week 9 I commented on Anita's video about her school.

http://spxroom6.blogspot.com/2009/03/anitas-media-work.html

Week 10 I commented on St. Pius Room 6 creations video where they did their own "pop idol".

http://spxroom6.blogspot.com/search/label/Poni

Week 12 I commented on Lomio-Lee's post. It said:

I like to play with Sean by the tree. By Lomio-Lee.

I liked that it ryhmed with the students name. The art is wonderful!

Week 13 I commented on Josephine's simile poem.

http://pesscribes.blogspot.com/2010/03/josephine.html

Week 14 I commented on Eleva's video titled "Eleva's Camp Thoughts"

Presentation

2010-02-24T14:25:00.001-06:00

Comments for Teachers (started week 6)

2010-02-23T13:16:00.008-06:00

Dr. Scott McLeod

dear parent

teacher

administrator

board member

don't teach your kids to read

for the Web

to scan

RSS

aggregate

synthesize

don't teach your kids to write

online

pen and paper aren't going anywhere

since when do kids need an audience?

no need to hyperlink

make videos

audio

Flash

no connecting, now

no social networking

or online chat

or comments

or PLNs

blogs and twitter?

how self-absorbed

what a bunch of crap

and definitely, absolutely, resolutely, no cell phones

block it all

lock it down

keep it out

it's evil, you know

there's bad stuff out there

gotta keep your children safe

don't you know collaboration is just another word for cheating?

don't you know how much junk is out there?

haven't you ever heard of sexting?

of cyberbullying?

a computer 24-7? no thanks

I don't want them

creating

sharing

thinking

learning

you know they're just going to look at porn

and hook up with predators

we can't trust them

don't do any of it, please

really

'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids

can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two

can you?

My Comment:

"Dont teach your kids this stuff. Please?" is a wonderfully written piece of work. The media's perception on technology is faulty in many ways. Yes, it can be used for mischievous purposes, but to deny your child the learning experiences technology has to offer is a crime. For those of you who think technology is ALL evil and refuse to allow your child to use these tools to better their education: They will eventually use technology.... It may be pushing the combo #6 button on their new McDonalds touch screen registers, even though I ordered a #4...but they will use technology.... And thats perfectly fine. Your child can serve my child his Big Mac with onions that he specifically said to take off.... I will not let my child suffer because of my ignorance!

Should Orange County (FL) Public Schools have a social media policy for educators?
[This is the text of an e-mail I just sent the 7 board members for the Orange County (FL) Public Schools.]
Dear OCPS School Board members,
Greetings from the freezing state of Iowa!
I read with interest the recent Orlando Sentinel article on educators, students, and social media. Before you forge ahead with any policies that target any specific technologies (whether they be cell phones, messaging formats, or online social media tools), I would encourage you to read my short blog post on this:
No Facebook for you!
The key point of the post is that tools and technologies both change and actually are irrelevant to the underlying issue of inappropriate teacher behavior. If you feel as a board that your existing policies are insufficient (and I would be surprised if what you need already isn't in place), I hope that at least you will not frame them in terms of specific technologies (per my reasoning in the blog post).
I would be happy to discuss this with some or all of you if so desired. All my best.

My Comment:

I am a student at the University of South Alabama.

It is true...these tools and technologies are irrelevant to the underlying issue of inappropriate teacher behavior. Students should not be denied the possible benifits of using these tools. The problem is with the teachers tho. Its not that every teacher has a secret agenda when communicating with students via facebook, or any other media device, the issue is how to use these tools properly. I will be entering the teaching world in a few years and I hope to see something positive come of all this. Thank you for you words Scott!

The Future of Print, Part 3

My Comment:

This video was amazing! Maybe todlers shouldn't use this. (agreeing with the post by Tina) They may just chew it up. Never the less, it is a great idea!

Week 6

2010-02-16T12:50:00.012-06:00

Dr. Christie’s site:

Dr. Christie speaks and conducts workshops nationally and internationally on how technology can enhance learning and teaching. She taught K-12 for 25 years then received her Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Language and Literacy from Arizona State University in 1995. By viewing her site, one can easily for the opinion that she is a very organized and successful individual.

I really enjoyed "Dr. Alice Christie's Discovering Art in a Web 2.0 World". Not only does she have pictures of art work on the internet for students to view, she also has podcasts done by students that recall their visit. The best part is that she has an interactive map that is very helpful. Her online lessons include the artists name, assistants names (if any), the location, materials used, description of art along with photos, and also explains how the arts displayed were funded.

I think something similar to this would be a great tool in the class room to allow students to engage in technology. For example: after taking students on a field trip have them help in writing up information that would be useful, like the items listed above. Have them blog about their visit, create pod casts (with or without video). Maybe even create a video post cast while conducting the field trip. Make it more educational rather than just a fun day out of class. Students can have fun and still continue learning.

iTunes University

iTunes university was launched less than two years ago and already has became so popular that students are skipping classes and downloading their lectures from iTunes. Some universities allow their lectures to be accessible by the entire public, but some only allow it to enrolled students.
Some professors have resorted to limiting downloads in order to encourage class attendance.

It has been said that new research suggests that university students that download a podcast lecture get higher exam results than students that actually attended the lecture. "Podcasted lectures offer students the chance to replay difficult parts of a lecture and therefore take better notes", says Dani McKinney, a psychologist at the State University of New York in Fredonia.

Using iPods in Instruction

iPods are capable of storing tons of audio and video files. Most kids and teenagers think of only music and music videos when they think of their iPod. Several universities, as well as some high schools, have began using iPods for instructional purposes. College professors are using iTunes university, a nationwide service that makes lectures and other materials available online.

Believe it or not, iPods are actually being used in some high schools where as most high school confiscate electronic devices when seen in the classroom. When are teachers and administrators going to stop confiscating learning tools? Some K-12 teachers and schools have started using the iPod to enhance their curriculum and support learning objectives in content areas such as science, math, reading, history, and foreign language.

My next door neighbor at the Grove actually uses his iPod to study. His room mate uses it to practice his German before tests. I have not had a German class since high school, but when I checked out the tutorials and quizzes on his iPod I was amazed at how well it helped me recall all I had been taught.

Duke University distributed 20GB iPods to over 1,600 first year students.The iPods were used in music and foreign language classes, but it was also applied to other courses. The results from this new teaching tool were very surprising. Dukes first year iPod experience can be found at this link.

Week 5

2010-02-11T12:11:00.006-06:00

Wikipedia Scanner

Wikipedia is a wonderful tool in my opinion. I often use it as a building block for some of my information when writing about certain topics, but follow up with a more credible source. Surprisingly, almost all the information I have researched on Wikipedia has been true when compared to other sources. Now with this new technology I'm eager to see who is changing information and what exactly they are changing.

Virgil Griffith's Wikipedia Scanner is amazing, but knowing information like that leads me to wonder. If these companies and big wig names are willing to change what we read about them, or what we know to be true, where will it stop? The first thought that popped into my mind when I read this article was the book by George Orwell called 1984.

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

I highly suggest anyone who wishes to be a teacher in the future read this post. Everyone who read this and commented on it seemed to enjoy it very much. Some say its an amazing post, even magic as one comment said. Most of the readers look forward to more posts and i do as well. I agree entirely that this post is a great self reflection.

I think that Karla B had one of the best comments supporting his post. In her comment on Sept. 24, 2009, Karla said "It's never easy when you start a new job, and when a person who was a lifelong student, makes the transition to "teacher" we all THINK we know how to do it, when in reality we can't possibly fully understand until we DO IT."

week 4

2010-02-04T16:54:00.003-06:00

Podcasts

I'm supposed to discuss what I've learned from one of many selected materials. I'm sorry, but I stumbled upon something more interesting I'd like to discuss. I did not learn anything from this, but I found it very interesting. Anyone who is assigned to comment on this post please go to
http://epnweb.org/index.php?openpod=16.
On the left side under SUBJECT SPECIFIC PODCASTS, click on English Language Arts. Go listen to a few of the Poems of the Week located under that catagory. At first I was wondering did this guy really post these? This is odd. Athough it was not the kind of poetry i was expecting, I couldn't stop listening to them. They caught my attention. I listened to about 8 of them. I'm not sure if I favor one over the rest, they are all equally strange, but wonderful, in my mind. 2nd opinion?

week 3

2010-01-28T13:30:00.006-06:00

Media Literacy/Little Kids... Big Potential

I'm in shock. These kids are amazing learners. I wasn't using the internet regularly until i was about 16. Before that i could get lost on the internet. It's a vast space of knowledge that can easily get a 1st grader confused and lost, but these students know enough to do what they need to do and stay on track.

The best part is they seem to enjoy it. I didn't learn how to blog until a few weeks ago and these children are already doing it! I feel as if I'm behind. How can i catch up to people who are already years ahead of me? Am i ready to teach children that already know more than me? I think so. I'm prepared to learn from my future students.

iPhone used by 1 Year Old Baby

Wow! This reminds me of my step brother's little boy Eli. My step brother Carl has an iPhone and is very much into technology. Eli loves to play with his daddy's iPhone. The technology is not hard to use once one learns how to use it. Starting at that young of an age will increase a child's learning ability. It stimulates the mind.

Pod casts

Some of the pod casts i listened to (randomly selected) were informative. Those were the main pod casts I took notes about. Although some were not so helpful, this assignment, as a whole, was very helpful. I thought we would just record some stuff and be done with it. Apparently I was wrong.

Before i get into my main point I would like to say that I find it very interesting that teachers are using tutorial style pod casts to teach and learn about technology and how to use it. This type of learning should be used more frequently in today's classrooms.

There is a lot more to creating a successful pod cast than just sitting down and recording a random topic. First, one must choose a topic he or she is interested in or the student is headed for what i believe to be absolute failure. Dan Schmit said that there are not as many student pod casts as he expected.

His pod cast, "The Medium is NOT the Message", was my favorite pod cast i heard. I would say it helped me the most. If i wouldn't have listened to it I would have been one of those students that does a pod cast simply just to create it because that was the assignment. I wouldn't have chosen a topic I was deeply interested in. I would have just picked one and said, "Well this will do".

In my pod cast i will try my best to stay away from lengthy introductions. I will get to the point on a topic I am highly interested in and take my presentation further than the technical pieces of the pod cast its self. I would like to hold an "extended academic conversation", as Schmit put it.

Week 2

2010-01-23T17:08:00.006-06:00

A Vision of Students Today: Michael Wesch

This video is amazing! It does a fabulous job depicting the life of a college student. The beginning of the video, where the camera is going around the room, showing writing on walls and chairs, is a rather interesting point of entry for the video. It made me ask, "Where are they going with this?" With that thought in my head, I was instantly hooked and had to watch the rest.
I was baffled at how this video made me feel as if every college student and I were the same person. Every one of us face the same problems. Honestly, I cannot add or take away any aspect of this video. It covered many issues I've recognized that I deal with and others that I deal with but did not yet recognize as an issue. This video is definitely and eye opener. I believe technology can save us. For those of you who disagree, I ask you this question, if technology cannot save us, what can?

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

"Huh? What the? Wait.... Really? Is there? Whoa!" Here are a few examples of what was running through my head. Before I could ask myself one question I would see the next line and how fast those numbers were growing. The main question i asked myself, after the initial shock passed, was "Can this be real?" Another question was, "With all this active cash flow, how is our economy so bad?"
No, this question is not off topic. With all this Internet accessibility, the job market for the future is vastly expanding. There can only be so many teachers per classroom and only so many per school. That is, with the old ideology of teacher and student. I have taken online classes, but i still met in a classroom with my instructor every now and then. What if the teacher and student never sits in the same class? Would it be possible to achieve the same quality education as the traditional method? I think so. Possibly even a better quality education. I believe that the new up and coming group of teachers will soon have almost infinite resources to obtain a job.

Week 1

2010-01-14T18:10:00.004-06:00

Did You Know 3.0: Karl Fisch

"If your one in a million in China...there are 1,300 people just like you." 1,300 people just like ME? Now that is scary! Why are so many Chinese learning English? Is it to bridge the gap between us or to make us as Americans feel insignificant? Based on the IQ statement it sure seems that way. Maybe more of us should take the initiative to learn another language and not be so stubborn. I believe they are smarter than us because we are lazier than them. Technology is expanding at an alarming rate. Dating sites were made for 30 year old men that needed to get out of their mothers basement and get a life that does not involve World of Warcraft. I think they are pointless. Get out and do something! Technology is amazing but it is making us lazy. I do not want to be around in 2049 to see what will happen with a computer that great. I love technology but too much is not a good thing. Are computers going to run everything in the world? Will everything be electronic? I hope not. I like my paper money, books, paintings, music, etc. I do not want everything i enjoy accessible by computer. I like reading real books and doing real drawings with my own hands, not on a computer. I hope technology does not affect the music industry more than it needs to. We have enough techno music, it sucks, we do not need anymore!

Mr. Winkle Wakes: Matthew Needleman

This video does a great job showing how much our society has grown and how abundant technology is. Technology can be a very strange thing, but it can be a very useful tool in almost all aspects of life. Businesses prosper because of their use of technology. Lives are saved thanks to our technological advances in the medical field. In my opinion this video is saying that technology is not being used in the classroom because the old conventional way of teaching is a lot more appealing and comfortable to most teachers. More teachers need to brake out of that mold of "old school" teaching, take advantage of the technology available to them and apply to their teachings.

The Importance of Creativity: Sir Ken Robinson

"If you are not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original." Had to quote this. I completely agreed with this section of the video. Children are very creative and are not afraid to just "have a go", as Robinson says. I think its safe to say that when people are creative, whether that person is inventing a revolutionary new product or writing a book, they connect with their inner child. They go back in time to those days where anything was possible and everything imaginable existed. If we fear failure we will never succeed, this is my opinion. This video does an amazing job with stating that our education system has evolved into a system which only allows children to do things "the right way". We are teaching our children a skewed systematic set of rules and regulations to abide by and not allowing them the freedom of imagination.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts: Vicki Davis

This video is an excellent example on how to use technology effectively in a class room. Not only does she show them how to use these programs, she also allows the students to teach her. The students showed her how to do something she had never done before. A good way to understand how to do something is to teach it to someone else. She allows her students to do things on their own and gives them the freedom to figure certain things out on their own. Some may think that her way of teaching may be lazy because she doesn't do it the old fashion way, but students should not be spoon fed the material they need to know. Her way of teaching and her teacher/student relationship shills are amazing. This is a woman that gets the job done.