Final Reflections

I can't believe that we have fit all of EDM 310 into this short summer semester. This has been a class where I have learned a lot about collaborating with people here and from anywhere in the world. We've done so much with technology and I know how important it will be in my career to always keep my knowledge of technology fresh. Not only have I been inspired to learn more about technology but I've also learned that, as teachers, we have to constantly be critiquing and criticizing ourselves so that we don't become complacent (Thanks, Martha!). EDM 310 has made me realize that I can be a good teacher if I put in the time and effort it takes to learn as much as you can. In the long run, my students will benefit from what I've gotten out of this class.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED IN EDM 310
Collaborating
My PLN has formed slowly but surely. A Personal Learning Network in an integral part of being an effective teacher. There are tons of examples out there of what others are doing in their classrooms, what works, what doesn't, and how you can improve your own lessons. There is no secret to being a good teacher. The teachers we consider "good" are sharing their experiences in their classrooms with the world. These teachers genuinely want kids everywhere to have great lessons to learn from.

One way people have been sharing their lessons and questions and problems is Twitter. I hope to become more and more involved on Twitter. Before this class I never thought of it as something you could use to learn from. However, now I know that you can find someone that can help you with anything. While I haven't experienced this myself, the countless reviews I've heard about using Twitter for your PLN have convinced me that one day, I will find myself using Twitter to answer any questions I may have when I become a teacher.

Finding Tools to Use in the Classroom
Teachers these days have so many resources to use in their classrooms. It's a shame that many aren't taking advantage of this just because they aren't aware of all the technology out there. I never imagined that there would be so many websites that would be helpful to educators and students. I want to be able to teach my class how to find anything they would ever need on the internet because I really believe that there will always be something or someone out there, willing to help.

I've gotten so many great tools from EDM 310 but I've also learned how to go about finding anything else I may ever need. I've learned that I should never let not knowing how to do something stop me from trying to figure it out. It will definitely be a challenge for me to push myself to be continuously finding new techniques to use in my class.

Being a Learner
In the end, being a teacher is really about being a learner. I realize you can't just say you're a learner and *poof* you become one. Being a learner is an everyday thing. In my head, I always compare being a doctor or a lawyer to being a teacher. This is why: when you are a doctor or a lawyer it's called a practice because you're never really finished learning everything you can. I think teaching is a practice too.

Since there is no requirement for teachers to be perpetual learners, we have to take it upon ourselves to make sure we can being the best teachers/learners that we can be. In doing so, we will be able to set an example for students and teach them how to be learners as well.

WHAT YOU SHOULD LEARN IN EDM 310


Go To Class
The reason it's so important to go to class in EDM 310 is not because it's required (because it isn't) or because it's fun everyday (it's only fun almost everyday). It's important to attend class because you actually learn things. I know we've all been in classes where you sit and listen and take notes and then you memorize everything and write it on the test. This class is not like that. This class is like a job where you go to work and learn how to do new things. You get to talk with the other students and help them or let them help you. You get to interact with the teachers and the "tutors" (Jamie Lynn and Anthony were great sources to learn from).

Do Your Work
I wish I could take this class again and again. I think every time I took it I would learn more. The more you put into your projects in EDM 310, the more you will get out of it. Like I said, we've all had class where you don't learn anything, and all you have to do it the bare minimum to pass. EDM 310 is an opportunity to learn as much as you possibly can that you WILL use when you are a teacher.

Don't Be Afraid
If you are afraid of failing or of asking questions or of not knowing what you are doing, you will not get everything you can out of EDM 310. A lot of things you don't know, no one else will know either. If you fail at something, that just means you get to try again.

Hindsight is 20/20
Not only did I learn a lot about technology and networking in EDM 310, but I also learned how to be a better teacher. If you take advantage of this class, I promise you will get so much out of it. Looking back, I wish I'd been able to take my own advice.

P.S. Dr. Strange, I hope you invite us back to see your future classes' final projects! I'm excited for your classes to be even more creative than our summer class was.

Teach Someone: SmartNotebook Interactives

Free online screen recorder

Final Project

Stephen and I created a wall on Wallwisher that students can post comments about EDM 310 on. To post a note, double click the wall and just start typing! There is no need to sign up for the site or anything. We wanted to use Wallwisher because it was something new and we thought it would be something no one else would use. Here is a link to the wall.

We also made a survey for our class and had a pretty good number of responses. (Thanks to everyone who completed the survey!) It was interesting to see what everyone liked about EDM 310.

Post 13

Alba Middle School Students' Video

The Mobile Press Register posted a video about Alba Middle School's students making a video. I really enjoy watching the process of students working together. I think that's one reason I want to be a teacher. Watching the videos of students collaborating makes me even more excited about teaching and doing things like this in my classroom.

Just Pray

The "Just Pray" video was very moving. I liked that the students went out and got clips of local people talking about the oil spill. I think for the students, making this video probably made them feel like they were doing something to raise awareness. Hopefully, they were able to continue to talk about the oil spill in their classroom and what they can do to help.

The Mean Oil Spill

This video of a spoof about the oil spill was great because it combined humor and concern for the Gulf. I liked that they personified the oil spill. Maybe they could relate that to literature in class and discuss how that is an effect that works in stories and poems a lot of times.

My comment to the students:

Hi, students! I'm also a student at USA. I loved your video! It's so neat that you've gotten recognition for doing this video and others! Watching this video made me want to take more of a part in helping with the oil spill. I think people don't think about how it will affect future generations so it's great that y'all have spoken up!

Comments for Kids 4 Update

I was really amazed that this video was made by some students. It made me realize that one of the coolest things about being a teacher is having students amaze you with what they can accomplish and create. These students made a wonderful, meaningful video and succeeded in getting it noticed. I'm terrified of giving blood and it made me want to go donate some just because of what a wonderful job they did with the video.

Post 12

Mr. McClung's Round Two

Mr. McClung's second year post was really great to read. It sounded like he had grown as a teacher and had some great advice to give again! I've been warned before that as a new teacher, you get shuffled around so you can't get too comfortable in your first year class.

He also mentions the survival mode. We learned about that in classroom management. I think it's great that he can admit he was there. In my classroom management class, everyone brushed it off like it wouldn't happen to them. Part of being a teacher is critiquing yourself when you need to. Even if it means admitting something you don't want to admit.

I think its great that Mr. McClung is able to review his whole year in a blog post. Even though some of what he says could be seen as common sense, its always good to review things like that. You have to constantly check yourself to make sure you are being the best you can be.

His posts have probably been so helpful to upcomming teachers. I know I'm going to reread his posts before and after my first year of teaching. However, nothing can compare to your own experience. I can't wait to start having my own experience with teaching!

ISTE Presentation

Wow! It makes me so excited to see kids that young collaborate and discuss what they are working on together! How great would it be if a teacher can get students to work like that in every subject?

The students looked so excited about constructing their shapes. I'm in Math 202 right now, geometry for elementary teachers. We are learning how to teach students all about shapes and 3D figures. If I had had a tool like this when I was learning geometry in school, it would have made a lot more sense to me. Fablab4teacher's YouTube channel was fun to look through. The videos that had students using the digital fabrication were really fun to watch.

The first video I watched after the ISTE Presentation wasImagine. Design. Create. Construct. The 3D feature that they are working on creating sounds so neat! There was another video of just the 3D fabricator working that I watched. I'm not sure what you could use it for but it was really cool!

I also watched Digital Fabrication through the eyes of a 5 year old boy which was really cute. I was surprised by how comfortable he seemed using the computer and even using the other machine that was new to him. Kids seem so fearless when they are using new things like that. They aren't afraid to mess up. That reminds of the pottery class that Martha was talking about on Tuesday. When given as many chance as needed people can create things that are above and beyond what they can do if they are afraid of messing up.

My Summary Response

Post 11

I think its great that Ms. Cassidy took an opportunity where she got something for her classroom and tried to learn everything she could about technology so that she could help her students. She seems like a really dedicated teacher. It was so awesome to see the six year olds using computer and talking about blogs and wikis.

Ms. Cassidy used her computers as a center and had her students collaborate and make projects and write in blogs. I liked how she used wikis to help her students find out what traditions and rituals are.

I'm glad she talked about the legal forms that she had to use so that the kids could be seen on the blogs. I've wondered about what measures teachers take to protect their students.

Her attitude about technology was great! I think she's right about the blogs and the fact that students get excited about writing if they have an audience. I liked that she set up a program for other students to comment on her students' blogs.

Comments for Kids 3 Update

Mr. McClung's class made salt dough and used it to make a topographical map of Arkansas. I loved this project. It was so messy and looked like lots of fun! I also really liked how he makes videos of his students working. I went back to watch some more of his class videos and was really impressed by how much the students seemed to like explain their projects on the video.

I asked Mr. McClung if he has ever tried using food coloring in the dough so the students could have different colors on their maps. Watching them do this project makes me want to try it at home. I saved his post so I can go back and read the instructions for how they made it. I think it would have been cool for them to make a video of how they made the dough too.

Post 10

Welcome to My PLE

This video by Wendy Drexler was really informative. My PLN is coming along slowly and I'm having a hard time figuring out where to keep all my information. The 7th grader in the video gave me lots of ideas. I think it is so neat that this student knows so much about networking and researching and reporting on her ideas.

One thing I really want to research and use is Evernote. It looks like a great place to keep track of all the information you get from websites. You can also use it later on to give credit to your sources. I am going to start using this website for every report I have to do. I love how you can access everything you find in one place and you don't have to keep track of everything. I think this would also be a great tool for the classroom in almost any grade.

Two Questions and My Sentence

I liked how short and to the point this video was. The second question, "Was I better today than yesterday?" made me think about what I'm am trying to do with my life right now. I am trying to graduate from college. As my classes continute to get harder, I hope I getting better everyday. I hope I am learning more and learning to try harder. I wish I felt like I was moving forward everyday. How great would it be if you could continue to improve in everything you did everyday? I think people don't just move in a straight line though. Sometimes I feel like I'm taking a step forward and then three steps back. It is a great goal to be able to move forward everyday.

To me, the main point of asking yourself that question everyday is to learn to evaluate yourself. That's what Dr. Strange asked us to do with the midterm. I believe the first step to improvement is HONESTLY evaluating what you need to improve.

It is so hard to think of a sentence. I feel like the reason I am having a hard time thinking of one is because I feel like my career sentence and my life sentence are two separate things. Maybe this isn't a good thing. My mom was recently helping her principal interview prospective teachers and one said that she didn't have a personal life. I understand that being a teacher isn't just a 9 to 5 job. You have to be invested in your students and in your work. However, I want to have a personal life. So, my career sentence is this: "I plan to help my students find and fulfill their sentences." My life sentence is this: "I am there to support my family and friends and live my life in a way I can be proud of."

Did I cheat by having two sentences?

Post 9

An Open Letter to Educators, Morgan Bayda's Response

I share Morgan Bayda's experience of sitting in a class and listening to a lecture. Its a shame that so many students have to pay to waste their time in classes like that. However, I'm not going to drop out of school just because I don't agree with the way some teachers go about teaching. Instead, I think its useful to think of class as only one part of your learning. It's up to the student to take his own education in his hands and take it as far as he wants to.

I'm not sure where I've heard this but someone told me that college degrees and becoming less and less relevant to getting a job. Obviously some jobs require college degrees but since more people have them now, you have to go beyond your degree to impress someone enough to get hired. I've said before that I believe a teacher's job is to encourage his or her students to want to learn. Students should want to expand their knowledge and they should be given the tools so that they will be able to do so.

ALEX and ACCESS

I've explored ALEX and ACCESS before. In fact, when I first learned about it, I suggested it to my mom who then used ALEX to help plan several lessons for her class. The ALEX website looks even more user friendly than the last time I visited it. From what I've seen the ALEX website seems so easy to use. I like how you can just check off what you need and for what grade and the site generates lessons for your room.

ALEX has such great tools for teachers. After you choose a lesson you can bookmark it or work on it in your own personal learning space. There are also links to grants, news about education, and links to more tools for the classroom. I also found the courses of study for Alabama. Right there you have easy access to what your students should be learning according to their grade.

ACCESS seems like the greatest idea for students who don't have classes they need or want available at their schools. ACCESS is just one more reason that teachers should be technologically literate. If there aren't teachers that can teach on ACCESS, these students couldn't use distance learning. Also, there should be teachers who can help students at their school.

The website's video on the main page had students talking about how they used ACCESS and how much it benefited them. I read through the FAQs and a lot of my questions about what ACCESS is and how it is used were answered. I wish I had had ACCESS in my high school. There might have been so many things I could have chosen from to take instead of classes like parenting and home design. Neither of which I feel like I use anything from now.

Smartboard Podcast

Smartboard Project

C4K 2 Update

Ms. McGeady's post about 2k Reading Day was great! I love reading so I want the students in my class to find books they love to read. This event was a great idea of how to incorporate reading in the classroom and make it fun. I wish there had been some more student input in the post. It would have been cool to see what the students thought about reading day and hear what their favorite parts were.

C4T Steven Anderson's Blog

Mr. Anderson's blog was very tech-filled. I enjoyed reading about his opinions on Twitter and social networking. He also included some great links and videos in his posts. His advice on social networking and PLNs was great for me to read!

6/30/10 Comment #1

Hi, Mr. Anderson. I was assigned to read your blog for a Dr. Strange's class at the University of South Alabama. You can find my reactions to your blog and others here.

I have not yet begun using Twitter so your post brings up some things I haven't considered before. I think the easiest part for me to grasp is the "you never know the person sitting next to you." Growing up in a world with computers, I was always told to be careful who I talk to on the internet. Now, in my class, we are asked to form PLNs and start professional relationships through the computer. Its a little confusing but I'm getting the hang of the idea.

I think PLNs and Twitter accounts and blogging are all ways to reach even further than before to learn more about being a teacher. I've already learned so much through the internet about teaching so I think all these things are definitely on the plus side. The only reason I can think that people would devalue any of these social networks is that they are scared. New things always scare people and it will probably take a while for tweeting and networking to become more accepted but I think when it does, we will all benefit enormously.

Thanks for posting this! -Tyler Tuveson

Comment #2

Tyler Tuveson [Moderator] 6 minutes ago
Mr. Anderson, I've finally given in to Twitter and the credit for that goes to you! Halfway through the video on this post, I went to Twitter, signed up, and wrote my first tweet. My micro-computing sciences class for education majors, at the University of South Alabama, has been trying to get me to sign up for Twitter since the beginning of June. It's not that I'm doubtful it will help, I just haven't been convinced enough that it is so great. I'm still pulling my PLN together and I have heard all the benefits people have experienced through their PLNs. So, I'm still exploring the best way to have a PLN and what ways I can benefit from it personally. I hope it can help me connect with other teachers and I think it will give me so many resources as a new teacher. We shall see what happens! Thanks for convincing me! -Tyler Tuveson

Post 8

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung

Mr. McClung's blog post "What I've Learned This Year" was great to read. I wish more teachers would write a review of their first years as teachers and give advice. As someone who (hopefully) will be teaching in a classroom in the next couple years, I'm open to any kind of advice that is out there.

Mr. McClung said a few things that I can already tell will be a problem for me when I am a teacher. Being flexible is the first one that I can identify with. In my life, I usually picture a way I want an event to go and then expect it to happen that way. I've learned that that is not what usually happens. This will be even more true when you have children involved in your plans.

In the fall, I hope to begin working a few days a week with Marietta Johnson's Organic School in Fairhope. I think this experience will benefit me so much, especially when it comes to being flexible. The organic school's whole philosophy of teaching is that you let the students explore what they want to learn. When I sat in on a couple classes last fall, it surprised me how much the students had discussion with each other and how eager they were to find out solutions to problems they created. Almost everything was led by the students and the teacher was just there to guide them. It was a really interesting experience and I can't wait to go back.

The last section of Mr. McClung's post said to "never stop learning." Teachers should always want to strive to become better teachers. This reminds me of a post I found through Twitter, A Plethora of Technology: The Graduation Speech we Should be Giving in September This post discussed what we should be telling students who are entering high school. In the end, don't teachers just want their students to want to learn? If my students are exploring their own questions and following up on lessons outside of class, I'll feel like I'm doing my job.

Post 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I've seen Randy Pausch's Last Lecture before but I enjoyed watching it again. He accomplished so many things and it seemed like he worked hard to achieve everything he did.

He said his talk was about achieving your childhood dreams. He achieved almost every one of them his dreams. Everything he did in life taught him a lesson which he shared with all of his students. I think that's an important part of being a teacher. No matter what you've accomplished, you should use that to help your students accomplish even more.

His "head-fake" way of learning was interesting and I think very true. People learn best when they don't realize they are learning. Those lessons stick with them longer than the learning in a classroom. I think working in groups is very beneficial, especially considering how bright his students were. Sometimes people that smart can't interact with others that well. He taught them to work in groups with different people.

He credits all the people he worked with with the great things he did but he deserves so much credit. He wasn't the smartest or most creative but he worked so hard which is a great lesson to anyone. Mr. Pausch talked about brick walls getting in the way and he said something that really impacted me. He said that brick walls are there to keep out people who don't really want it. If you want something bad enough you will figure out a way to get around the wall.

Instructional Timeline: United States Presidents for the Last 50 Years

C4K1 Update

Quasia's Volcano Animation was really cool! I hope I can find out how she made the animation. I can't believe third graders are working on things they can post on blogs and share with people across the world! This makes me wish I had be able to do something like that in elementary school or even in high school!

6/24/10: Quasia wrote back to me! It's so neat talking to a student in a different country! Yay, Comments for Kids!

Comments for Kids Summary

Working on the comments for kids from schools around the world was so much fun! I think its great that students from our class are helping encourage young students in their posting blogs and making videos. They are learning to use technology at such a young age and it's really cool that they'll be able to look back at what they did when they were so young. By then, hopefully, they'll be even more technologically literate.

My
6/22/10

Quasia's Volcano Animation

Hi, Quasia! I liked your animation about volcanoes a lot! It looks like fun to make an animation. Now that I've watched yours, I want to learn how to do one too.

From, Tyler

6/22/10

Ms. McGeady's Reading Day Post

Hi! My name is Tyler and I am a student at the University of South Alabama majoring in Elementary Education. I love reading books and going to the library.

I’m definitely going to use this idea in my classroom one day. I think making reading fun is something teachers should concentrate more on. It looks like the students in your class really enjoyed your 2KM Reading Day.

I also liked how you added activities that weren’t completely focused on reading. What were the student’s favorite parts of Reading Day?

July 7th, 2010 at 11:25 AM

Mr. McClung, I read your blog as an assignment for Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I really liked reading about your salt dough project. Thanks for including the instructions so I can do something like this with my class one day when I’m a teacher. Have you ever tried putting food coloring in the dough? It would probably be messier but the maps would look cool. Maybe the students could wear gloves so their hands wouldn’t be colored.

I also liked how you made videos of your students explaining what they were making. It was neat to hear John and Jake tell you about their project.

You can find my blog here .

Thanks for sharing! -Tyler Tuveson

7/15/10

Hi, Cinema Owls! I'm a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. This is a wonderful PSA. I love the message that you sent. Anyone you know could need blood at some point. Your video looks great and very professional. I hope the students involved have continued to make videos because they seem to be really great at it! Thanks for sharing this!

Personal Learning Network

Like I've said before my PLN is coming along slowly. I feel like once I start getting more responses from other educators I'll be more successful at making "meaningful connections." So far, the one thing I feel I've gained from my PLN is all the websites I've been exploring. Through Symbaloo I found a page with tons of education websites. Through those sites, I've read so much helpful stuff.

My main goal is to be able to find answers to my questions and to find more questions to ask. I love the way the whole teaching community works together from around the world. To me, this is what is so special about a PLN. The other great part is that it is always growing. Every time I sit down to look something up, I end up going a completely different direction but I always learn new things.

I'm following people on Twitter and on Blogger. Both these sites have been great. I think blogs are a wonderful way for educators to share what they are doing in their classrooms and how they are dealing with technology. For me, Twitter has been more helpful for quick solutions and updates. I don't know if I'll begin to use Twitter more once I start following more people but I think it is a great way to begin making connections.

Vocaroo

Blog 6

This is How We Dream

Richard Miller's presentation about using technology to write with multimedia was very interesting. One thing he said stuck out to me, "The limits and restrictions are largely ones we place on ourselves." To be fair, he did follow this up with the fact that he acknowledges some school do not have the resouces to get computers for their students to use. However, hopefully someday, every school will have the ability to teach their students how to use technology to collaborate and be creative.

There are a couple things that I think are so great about writing with multimedia. First of all, the way you can publish something instantly is really gratifying. Not only can you see what you wrote right away, but also, people can respond so much more quickly because they receive your thoughts instantaneously. This speeds up the whole process of collaborating. That is the second part I think is amazing. When you use the internet to collaborate, you get so many different ideas and your creativity can really be limitless.

Richard Miller used some great examples of how to write with multimedia in the classroom. As much as I love libraries, they are becoming less and less used as a place for books and more so a place for computers. If teachers can find a way to encourage their students to use technology to help them write reports or create projects and presentations, the generations in the future will be unstoppable.

The Networked Student

I can see how someone's first reaction may be that the teacher of a networked student has an easy time teaching because all the work is being done for him or her. However, once you finish this video by Wendy Drexler, you can see that the teacher of a networked student has a lot of work to do.

I think that as a teacher, you can tell your students that they need to have connections with people around the world, but to be an effective teacher, you have to show your students why this is beneficial to them. If your students can find something they want to learn more about, then this is a great way to do it. Guiding students in making their own personal learning networks is something that probably takes practive and patience on both the teacher's and the student's parts.

Wendy Drexler's blog is really interesting and she made me excited about starting a personal learning network so that I can teach my students how to network too. This video is the first thing that has gotten me excited about my PLN. It also made me rethink my opinion on the usefulness of Delicious. Now I can work on my PLN and feel like there is more of a purpose than an assignment for class.


Michael Welsch Video

I thought that Michael Welsch's video was so relevant to today and to where the future is leading. Everytime Mr. Welsch used an example from today, like American Idol or South Park, I thought, "Yeah! I know exactly what he is talking about!" I think knowing these things will help us as teachers. If we can look at ourselves and figure out why we have the attitudes we do, then maybe when we have students we can become better teachers.

As a side note, I want to add that I am constantly surprised by the numbers of how many videos are on YouTube or how much time we spend on the internet. You'd think after a while it wouldn't surprise me anymore.

Post 5

SMARTboards are Dumb vs. SMARTboards are Smart

The two articles I read about SMARTboards being a useless waste of technology and money surprised me. Of course, I've never taught in a classroom at all, so I don't know firsthand how helpful smartboards are but, I know teachers who use them and love them.

The critiques made some sense about there being other, cheaper ways of doing everything a smartboard does. Smartboards are very expensive and they take up a lot of room. I don't think these facts are enough to make smartboards completely evil.

I think if a teacher is not technologically literate, but is willing to use a smartboard, then the money is worth it. I think teachers are less intimidated by interactive boards and they may be more willing to use one in their classrooms. However, I can understand the argument that the teacher could do the same lessons on a regular whiteboard with an overhead projector. It seems like from what I read, in this review of the smartboard, the students enjoy using the smartboard more. That could be because it's something different from what they normally use, or because it really does help them learn lessons better than a normal whiteboard.

If a teacher can use the smartboard to his or her best ability and they continue to try to find new ways to teach with it, then I think it's worth the money spent. If a teacher only uses it as a replacement for a chalkboard, then I agree that smartboards are dumb.

This blog I found had a lot of helpful tips for using the smartboard.

EDM 310 for Dummies

This was a great video to watch. I wish the book were real!I liked their idea for the video and the way they presented it like an infomercial.



I like the approach of the commercial for any kind of how to succeed at South or in college. Right now, making an awareness video about the oil spill in the Gulf would actually be a good, helpful thing to do. Even if it didn't turn out very professional, I think it would be something that people would watch because it is an important issue right now.

The Giving Tree Video

My Personal Timeline

Post 4

Student Podcasts

It seems like a lot of preparation has to go into a podcast to make it good. The ones that seemed like they flowed the best were probably rehearsed. It was also funny how some of the kids were obviously reading from a script. It sounded better if there was a more conversational tone to the podcast.

I think the best podcasts I heard were the ones where people sounded comfortable talking but didn't speak too quickly or too softly. I imagine it would be hard to sound like you are at ease but have to remember to speak clearly at the same time.

Eagle's Nest

I liked the Eagle's Nest class radio. I loved how the teacher got the kids to research all of the things they used on their podcast and then they got to talk about it. The students seemed to really enjoy making the podcasts. I would love to use this technique in my classroom.

I couldn't believe that it was third graders who made these podcasts! I hope when they get older they'll be able to go back and listen to their third grade selves. I wonder how much the teacher helped them right their scripts. Or how much help they needed with the actual podcasts. When I was in sixth grade my science class made a news show and each student had a job, like director, or camera guy. It would be cool if every student got a chance to try something different so they can learn about all the different jobs.

Practical Principals

I thought the practical principal's podcasts was really great. It seemed really beneficial for other people to listen to but also it sounded like it started out as just being a great way to talk to another educator.

The two podcasters (is that what you call them?) seemed like they were very open to new technology. The podcast was really easy to listen to. It came off kind of as a radio show that was really relaxed and they didn't sound pressured for thing to say. It just sounded like they were having a conversation because they were!

The Education Podcast Network

I thought this website was a little hard to figure out. The first two I went to had the podcasts right there and you just had to click a button to hear a podcast. I ended up watching some video without sound because I couldn't figure out where I was going.

Once I figured out how to listen to a podcast, I liked it a lot. The guys were funny and sounded like they were having fun making the podcast. The podcast I listened to didn't have very good audio for the one guy. It sounded like the first guy had his microphone right next to him and the other guy was just in the background. I think it'd be important, when making a podcast, to make sure you can hear everyone.

Integrating ICT into the MFL classroom

This looked like a cool website that I will explore more later on. I wanted to watch the video about podcasting in the classroom but it wouldn't load for some reason.

The website looked like it could answer a lot of question I will probably have about podcasting now, and when I use it in my classroom. And I do plan on using it. It seems like such a good way to give students a reason to learn things and then put them to use. It also teaches them how to collaborate and they get to use technology!

Tyler's Travels Presentation

Screencasts and videos online

You can also find my presentation here.

Post 3

Scott McLeod

I was really amused by Scott McLeod's post Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please. I think the way it was written sparks something in the people who read it. I wish someone had said something like this to some of my teachers in high school.

I went to Scott McLeod's webpage and it is obvious he is really into anything that has to do with technology. I'd be curious to find out how much time he puts into managing all of his websites, videos, posts, and tweets. I think its interesting that he is the co-creator of the Did you Know? video. I'm also interested in finding out more about the Center of Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education, of which is he the director.

All of our assigned videos and posts have been about how we should use more technology in school more. When I first started reading this post, I thought it would be interesting to read a different opinion. Of course, halfway through it, I realized it was still the same side of the argument. I'd be interested in reading someone's blog really about how technology is not important in schools just to see how I would respond.

iSchool Initiative

Travis Allen's video about the iSchool has some great points about how a completely tech-savvy school could save schools and students lots of money. An iSchool would put everything at the fingertips of students, teachers, and parents.

I will be the first to admit that I can not wrap my mind around the iSchool initiative. It seems like there are a lot of pros but I can't imagine having everything in a school linked back to an iPod Touch or an iPad. I think just changing the way you access school assignments doesn't "fix" the nation's education problem. Maybe colleges would benefit from something like this more than high schools would. I don't think you can jump right into iSchool. If we can't even get teachers to teach more about technology, how are we supposed to get them to use iSchool? The video was interesting but a little overwhelming to me.

Lost Generation

I absolutely loved this video! The massive amount of work put into making this video is evident. Not only is the technique amazing but the message adds to it and pulls the whole video together.

I might sound like I'm gushing over this video but I was so impressed by the technique. When the writing started to reverse and the speaker started reading the lines backwards, I thought, "Wow! This is brilliant!"

Virtual Choir



Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir was really cool. At first I just thought it was good singing but then I realized what Jennifer Chamber's post said about the people having never met or performed together.

It looked like a lot of work went into editing this. I can't imagine ever being able to do something like that but it seems like a really cool thing to be able to do. If someone can create something like this, imagine what other things people can create on the internet together. I think that's the important part of what we should teach our students. Working together is a value that any teacher should instill in his or her students. Working together, on the internet, makes the possibilities seem limitless, if only you know how to use technology.

Comments for Teachers 1: Summary of Pagie Baggett's Blog

I loved reading Dr. Baggett's blog. Her posts were always interesting and led me to think about different issues in teaching. I plan to keep following it even thought the assignment is over.

Comment #1 6/9/10

Dr. Baggett,
I'm following your blog as an assignment for Dr. Strange's class I'll be summarizing my comments on your post at the end of June on my my blog
The video you posted brought up some good questions about how to motivate students. I think the best thing to do is to remember every student is different and will respond to different types of motivation.
I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts!

Tyler Tuveson

Comment #2 6/15/10

Hi, Dr. Baggett! You really have been posting a lot! Yay for you!

This research seems so crazy! I wonder why they keep trying the same thing over and over again if it's obviously not working. Like the article said, even if it does work, it won't be beneficial to our students in the long run because they are only learning to pass tests. I feel really sad and angry for these teachers that are having to be the guinea pigs for this research.

I understand that the goal of this is to encourage teachers to work harder and to reward teachers who do work hard at teaching but this is just not the answer.

I think if teachers were interested in money in the first place, they wouldn't have chosen teaching as a profession. So why try to, essentially, bribe them with their own salaries?

Comment #2b 6/15/10

One of my favorite parts of your class was when Mr. Trione came to visit! I hope you are able to continue having him come talk to classes. It was also really neat to see him talk to the first graders that came to hear him too!!

Your gift from Mr. Trione is so beautiful! I'm jealous!

Comment #3 6/22/10

Hi, Dr. Baggett!

Your post reminded me of a video we were assigned to watch and post about on creativity. The link to the video is here . My thoughts on the video are in my first post under The Importance of Creativity.

I've always loved taking art classes and while I don't feel completely uncreative, I think there is always room for more creativity. I agree that creative people are sometimes seen as unorganized and lacking discipline. However, I think this is a sad misconception.

I've heard teachers talk about the importance of creativity in the classroom. And I understand that some teachers may think that there isn't room for creativity in every subject. It may be hard to let your students be creative in math or social studies but, if they don't have the chance to express creativity, then how will they ever continue to become more creative?

Post 2

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
A Vision of Students Today showed a lot of insight into a college student's life. Primarily because the facts and statistics were created by college students. While I'm sure at least one person exists, I couldn't give you the name of a student who hasn't Facebooked or texted during a class or instead of working on classwork. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen a friend's Facebook status say something along the lines of, "I'm on Facebook but I really should be writing a paper." While the internet is an amazing tool for finding and learning new information, it is also a great tool for procrastination. I think part of what I was impacted by the most in this video, was the amount of hours/work done for school compared to non-school related work.
I'm interested in where the student's facts came from. I understand that they "surveyed themselves" but I would have liked more information about how that surveying worked. Its interesting to me that so many people collaborated on a Google Document and came up with these facts about students today.
My favorite part was where they added up the amount of time each day students spend doing something and it equals more than 24 hours a day. I have felt, on more than one occasion, that there needed to be more hours in the day to finish everything I needed to do.
The only thing I might add to the video was a better transition from talking about how students spend their time to statistics on student debt and not having jobs after graduation. The didn't say where those statistics came from. But, I do think it worked well as an ending to the video because it shows that we spend all this time in school and it doesn't seem to get us very far in the real world after graduation.
My biggest question is how are teachers supposed to prepare students for things the teachers themselves aren't prepared for? I hope this class will find a way to answer that. So far, most of the videos I've seen have been trying to convince me (and have done so successfully) that there is a problem in education today. Where are the videos that tell you how to fix it?

Kelly Hines Post
In Kelly Hines's post Its Not About the Technology she says that students don't need everything technological to learn what they need to in the 21st century. Immediately this made me feel better about not being technologically literate. While I still think it is immensely important to be tech-savvy to be a teacher, I think it is more important to being with the right attitude about teaching. You could take the most technologically literate teacher in the world and he or she may not be able to teach as well as a teacher who doesn't know how to use Skype or Twitter,but is willing to learn.
Just like Kelly Hines,I've heard teachers say that if they've taught it and the students don't understand it,its not the teacher's fault.Two years ago I had a math teacher who said since all of the students in our class didn't understand something,they should get outside help.I think it's a sign that if everyone in your class doesn't get what you're trying to teach them,the teacher is the one who is at fault. Just because you stand in front of a class and teach all day, doesn't mean your students have learned anything.
While I feel like EDM 310 is going to help me in ways I don't even understand yet,it would be nothing if I wasn't getting the same experience out of other education classes.

Karl Fisch Post

In Karl Fisch's post Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?, Fisch says that its not okay for anyone to act like they are proud of the fact that they "don't get computers." I wouldn't say I've ever heard anyone but proud of that fact but I have heard people sound content with it. I think the first problem is that teachers should never be content with, or proud of, not knowing something. No matter what the subject is, I believe people, teachers especially, should always strive to learn more.
I liked the part of the post where Fisch said, "In order to teach it, we have to do it." I think that's a good quote to remember about any subject we teach. Technology is just another subject that is becoming more and more important with each passing year. If teachers aren't willing to try to embrace it, maybe they should be reevaluated.

Gary's Social Media Count

I really find Gary's Social Media Count interesting! Even while I'm watching the numbers increase, its hard for me to fathom what it all means. At the rate these numbers grow, I can't even imagine what it will look like a year and a half from now, when I graduate. Basically this shows me, that keeping up with technology is almost a full-time job in itself. The students I teach will have been way more exposed to technology and computers. I want to be able to manage to teach them something new even when they think they know everything.

Post 1

Did You Know? Video

The first version of the Did You Know video that I saw was a different version than this one by Karl Fisch. Most of the information was the same but just like last time, the part that impacted me most was the rate at which technology is expected to grow in the next few years. The fact that said "the amount of technical information is doubling every two years" is hard to imagine. It seems like no one could ever truly be technologically literate without spending all day everyday learning everything there is to know about technology. The other fact about computers eventually being more intelligent than the human race is scary. If computers are capable of being more intelligent, how will we ever learn everything we're supposed to know about them?

I think the most important thing, as future teachers, that we have to do, is keep an open mind to technology. Maybe countries like China and India are passing Americans in intelligence are because they are more open to new technology. I agree that technologically literate means different things in different situations. I also think that while teachers may not always be technologically literate, they should be aware that there is always more to learn. If we have to teach our students to be prepared for technology that isn't even invented yet, shouldn't we be able to do the same thing?

Mr. Winkle Wakes Video

I thought the video Mr. Winkle Wakes made a good point. It was interesting to take the point of view of someone who has been asleep for 100 years. I think this showed that teachers and schools are not keeping up with technology the way they should. It makes me wonder where the people who work with advanced technology learned how to do their jobs.

Part of me feels like schools aren't given enough funds to keep up with technology so some of it isn't their fault. However, teachers should always try to find creative ways to expose their students to new things so that they'll at least be prepared for how to handle something new.

When I work on my computer, I just click around until I get where I want to be. When my dad is trying to help me, we get frustrated with each other because he wants to read everything and weigh each option to find the next step. I feel like he takes too long but he says this happens because when it comes to technology, my generation is fearless. I don't think that is entirely true but I am definitely more comfortable with technology than my parents are.

There is no way to teach students about something that hasn't been invented yet. Once again, I believe that the best thing a teacher can do, is prepare his or her students to be able to learn how to handle any new technology. The more comfortable the teacher is with learning new things, the better the students will feel about taking on technology that hasn't been invented yet!

The Importance of Creativity

"Creativity is as important, in education, as literacy." As soon as I heard this from Sir Ken Robinson in his talk about The Importance of Creativity I felt immediately like it is something I should keep in mind for the rest of my life. I love the idea that art and dance and music are all held with the same regard as math and science. Because really, shouldn't children who flourish in reading, writing, and arithmetic be thought of as just as capable as students who succeed in more creative areas of school.

I found this video very entertaining and also thought it was a wonderful argument for the fact that teachers should nurture students' creative inclinations instead of forcing them to fit into society's view of a "good student." Of course, this is always easier said than done. It takes a special kind of teacher to bring out the strengths in every student he or she comes across. For some kids, it is easy to succeed in math and art. For others, it isn't as easy to find a part of school they can do well in and enjoy.

The only thing I would have liked to see included in this presentation is a way to help teachers find a better way to help kids. I was completely convinced that Sir Ken Robinson was right about everything he said concerning creativity in schools but I need some tips on how to be that kind of teacher!

Harness Your Students' Digital Faults

I think Vicki Davis is an excellent example of a teacher I would consider technologically literate. Even though she doesn't know everything about technology, she is open to learning new things. Her classroom seemed like a place where students could easily have access to learning how to be comfortable with using new technology. I liked that she said her students actually taught her something new. She doesn't expect her students to know everything. She doesn't even expect herself to know everything. An effective teacher is one who can admit there is always more to learn.

The edutopia website seemed like it had some great tips on how to incorporate technology into everyday classroom activities. My mom is a teacher. So, every time I learn something new for a class, I share it with her in hopes of helping her to become a more technologically literate teacher. Plus, I want to see what works with her students and what doesn't. Its amazing what teachers can produce when they work together and share new teaching techniques with each other. Some of the things I've learned in my education classes that I've shared with my mom, she's turned around and shared with the teachers at her school. I hope that in having access to teachers around the world, we can open our minds to learning different ways to enable our students to be technologically literate as well.