Blog Post 15- Final Reflection

Project 13

Collaboration for project 15 and project 16 my group, team jags used Google docs, texting, talking on the phone, practicing in person. We had a lot of fun with these projects. I hope to use this in my class someday.

Project 16

C4K April

Post 1
April 9, 2013

This post came from Travis E. He says I read the book sneetches by dr.Seuss.I learn that you should not test people by there looks.because that is very mean.what happen if you are skinny and and someone is fat you. You can make friends with the fat one.
Have you read the book called sneetches !

Hello Travis, my name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile Alabama and I got chose to comment on your blog. I have never read the book “Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss. But I do agree with you about judging people. You shouldn’t do that. Its very mean. We should be friends to everyone no matter what skin color, body weight, race or anything. Great post. Keep up the good work.

Chelsea Strong

April 18, 2013

This is Jackson's blog, and Jackson says:
Hi Bloggers,
I know I have already done a post on this but some more songs have came out on in the last couple of months. My favourite songs now are Gangnam Style by P.S.Y and Thrift Shop by Macklemore. Also a couple of bands I like are AC-DC and The Eagles. I also don’t mind some country music every now and then, my favourite country songs at the moment are Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith and Drinkin’ Beer and Wastin’ Bullets by Luke Bryan.

ME:
Hello Jackson my name is Chelsea Strong and I am in college at the University of South Alabama. I am taking a blogging class and I got picked to comment on your blog. This blog post caught my attention. It caught my attention because I love music. I have no clue what I would do without music. I love all the song you put in this blog too. I like country, rock in roll, oldies, christian, all types of music. Great post. Keep up the great work.
Chelsea Strong

Final Report on PLN

My PLN hasn't changed much. I added a few more things to it. As far as my personal liking's. I did add a few more educations apps to it.

C4T 4

April 14, 2013

August 10, 2012
Lisa Thurmann Blog Post
Yesterday, with the support of SGEI and Kean University, where I work, I hosted edcamp Common Core. The idea was to gather NJ educators to discuss a common theme.
Here’s what I heard from attendees in the morning before we shared opening remarks in the auditorium:
Why weren’t the sessions posted ahead of time?
Where are the experts?
I did not come prepared to talk.
I just came to listen.
Don’t you have any handouts for us?
Am I going to learn anything?

I was nervous for a bit in the morning before the session board filled. Thank goodness Ann Oro did such a good job at settling the nerves of some of the attendees and even got some of them to post sessions.
Once we all got into the auditorium I went over some basic notes on the facility and then reviewed the concepts behind an unconference. I also went over the schedule with them so that they could see what types of discussions were going to occur and possibly even add an idea of their own on the way up to the first sessions.

I ended with these rules for the day:
1. Listen. Everyone has something to contribute.
2. Participate. You have something to add to the conversation.
3. Think with your feet.
4. Have a good time.

My Comment:
Hello Lisa. My name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at The University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading this post. Although I am not a teacher yet I will take what you have mentioned not only in this post but others also. I want to know what you mean by "think with your feet?" Thanks for sharing! Chelsea Strong

May 17, 2012
April 28, 2013

Lisa Thurman blog post
Today I had the pleasure of presenting to a group of faculty/staff from Fairleigh Dickinson University in NJ. I promised them that I would post the slidedeck and resources while at Starbucks soaking up wifi in-between meetings. Unfortunately, I could not get to a Starbucks, but I was able to find a Panera and write the post. I had originally presented this information at WETech Symposium back in March. Using this blog post, I gathered stories from educators from around NJ regarding how they were using technology in their schools.
My Comment:
Hello my name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange EDM 310 class. Before I started this class I never knew technology had become this big in school. You have shared a ton of information in this post that i can use when i become a teacher. Thanks so much!

May 15, 2012
Lisa Thurman blog post

On May 2, 2012 Google hosted its first conference using Google Hangouts On Air. During the 8-hour conference, there were over 40 presentations on everything from robotics to 1:1 initiatives to using Google Apps in schools. The presenters all donated their time to try this new way to present, interact and archive professional development. I have supported this form of PD over the last few years as I truly appreciate the archiving so that educators can go back at any time and watch again. Other organizations have been practicing this for a couple of years including Classroom 2.0 Live and The Global Education Conference. Speaking of professional development. Did you read the article about the possible discontinuation of the 100 hours in NJ? I’m concerned about how the new standards for professional development are going to be determined in NJ. Though I strongly believe that teacher assessment should be driven by evaluations and student achievement gains, I also believe that there has to be a standardized directive from the administration on how much and what type of PD teachers should participate in. What are your thoughts and concerns on requiring professional development hours for educators? How should the hours be counted? Who should determine what type of sessions are attended?

My comment:
I agree with the comment above. Smart Boards are also great going along with ipads and powerbooks.

SmartBoard Project 15 Part 2

Post Progress Report on Final Project

For our group Introduction we will all be sitting in chairs, when giving advice to future EDM 310 students, current EDM 310 students, and outsiders that are trying to understand what EDM 310 is all about! We will explain why we are making this video, going into depth about why we encourage students to stick with the class, who it will be helping and how it will help future educators, and last wish those taking the class the best of luck! We have been using Google+, Google Doc and Google Doc Instant Message to discuss what we are all going to talk about. So far, so good. There are a couple of things that we need to come to an agreement on but for the most part everything is running along smoothly! Starting on Monday our group will be meeting at 2 pm so that we can start videoing ourselves for the project. However, this week we are working on finishing our project 15 so that way we will be on time with project 16 and will have it posted hopefully by next Thursday.

Blog Post 12

For this assignment go to Funbrain.com. This is a safe and fun educational website that can be used during school or at home by students. You need to go to this website and find at least two different games that you could use in your classroom to help reinforce lessons that have been taught. List these games and give a brief description of how they can be helpful in your classroom. At the bottom of this site, there is also a Teacher Resources link with some useful information. Check it out. Explore and have fun!

For my first game I picked Math Baseball. With this game you can choose addition, subtraction, division, or multiplication. You can also pick any level from easy to super brain. The student will be given a math problem and if they answer correctly, they will get a hit. FUNBRAIN will decide if the hit is a single, double, triple, or home run based on the difficulty of the problem. If the answer is wrong, they will get an out. The game is over after three outs. This game will help reinforce basic math skills that are being taught and you can pick the skill based on the grade level or lesson being taught.

The second game I picked was Spellaroo. Spellaroo is a spelling game that gives you a sentence with two or more words underlined, depending on the difficulty level. You have to click on the word that is misspelled. When you get twenty correct you move on to the next level. I think this would be a helpful game for any student that is having trouble with spelling.

Blog Post 11

Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy

Dr. Strange set up a Skype interview during one of his classes in the Spring of 2010. During the Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy, Dr. Strange asked her about using technology with her students and about how receptive and supportive her principles and co-workers were to the technology she was introducing to her students. Ms. Cassidy said that although not everyone had been completely supportive, no one has ever tried to stop her. Ms. Cassidy mentioned that not using technology handicaps your students and yourself.


When I first started this class (EDM310) I would have never imagined children blogging. Once I started exploring the world of blogging and technology my perspective began to change. I see it as a way to learn and interact with others from around the world. I have said from the beginning of my college journey that I wanted to teach first grade. I wondered if it would be possible for first graders to learn and benefit from the blogging world. Thanks to Ms. Cassidy I now have a new perspective on blogging in the first grade. I have definitely been inspired by what Ms. Cassidy is doing with her students. To sum up a comment from Ms. Cassidy in her interview with Dr. Strange, why write on paper for one to see when they can write on a blog for the world to see.

I'm sure I will encounter fellow teachers and principals along the way that may not be as open or perceptive to the idea of using a blog in the class room. I hope that I will have an opportunity to share with them some of the blogs and videos that we have seen this semester and possibly change their minds. I think most people are scared of things they don't know and Ms. Cassidy's class would be a perfect example to show how blogging and other technology can be useful in the classroom.

C4T 3

March 22, 2013

I wanted to share an activity called, The Marshmallow Challenge, that has been popularized by Tom Wujek’s Ted talk called, “Build a Tower, Build a Team.” After watching his presentation last summer, we performed this activity at a faculty meeting early in the year and I though it was a great way to have some fun and launch some great discussions. We have worked very hard over the past few years to build a collaborative culture and I knew that this challenge would lead to a great discussion about the power of teaming.
At the end of the day, I was not disappointed. The marshmallow challenge was a great way to reunite with colleagues after the summer break and the activity generated some great discussions about learning in our school. Here are some of the main points that faculty members brought up during our debriefing conversation.
- Manage your time – time is always a limiting factor and it is important that you are aware of the time that you have available to you and plan accordingly
- Team building – working with a team can be very complex but this challenge allowed for everyone to have their voices heard and play a role in a collaborative process
- It’s okay to take risks – this challenge reinforced that it is okay to think outside of the box when trying to accomplish something. The simple fact that no one had ever attempted anything like this previously meant that we were all immediately outside our comfort zones
- Learn from our mistakes – it is important to use prototypes when following a creative process. As teachers, this can be in the form of formative assessment. We constantly need to be monitoring our students learning and using that information to make our instructional decisions
- Set reachable goals – it is important to set goals that are attainable and measurable.
- Group size matters – although the activity calls for groups of 4, we completed the challenge in our departments which meant that our group size varied. It was discovered that the smaller groups seemed to be more successful with their towers than our larger groups.
- High stakes can lead to decreased performance on creative tasks – Tom Wujek outlines how the performance of groups in this challenge decreased when he introduced significant rewards. As our faculty continues to introduce more creative tasks in our classes, we need to ensure that we are setting our students up for success in their learning
- Fun – this was a fun, exciting activity and was a great way to kick off a new school year!

I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile Alabama. Although I am not a teacher yet but am going to school to be one this post spoke to me. This is a very helpful information. This will be on my agenda when I become a teacher.

April 7, 2013

Mark Hardeman says he loves the poem "Fire" by Judy Brown.

What makes a fire burn is space between the logs, a breathing space. Too much of a good thing, too many logs packed in too tight can douse the flames almost as surely as a pail of water would. So building fires requires attention to the spaces in between, as much as to the wood. When we are able to build open spaces in the same way we have learned to pile on the logs, then we can come to see how it is fuel, and absence of the fuel together, that make fire possible. We only need to lay a log lightly from time to time. A fire grows simply because the space is there, with openings in which the flame that knows just how it wants to burn can find its way.

Mr. Hardeman says:
I know that many people attend conferences to take advantage of the open spaces that are provided to connect with colleagues and share ideas. This is a wonderful opportunity and I always return to school refreshed, reinvigorated and inspired. I also know that these conferences are not the only way for me to share ideas with other educators who are seeking innovative and creative strategies for our schools. As David said this morning, it is the open spaces that can re-ignite our flame or passion for learning. How amazing is it to realize that we have access to tools that allow us to share spaces and keep that fire burning on a daily basis?

Mr. Hardeman, It was great reading your blog. I love the poem.

C4K March

March 3, 2103

His name is Lance and he says I express my self through working hard at everything i do. It dont matter where im at or what im doing i always try my hardest. If im on the field i do what ever it takes to win to help my team. I am a leader on the field, in school, and out of school. I work out hard as i can. I take pride in everything i do to.

Lance,
My name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. This is a great post. I admire you and am proud of you. People like you are hard to come by. I am also the type of person that I work hard at whatever I do. Great post! Keep up the good work!

March 5, 2013

Hello to start you off with my information I will say I am Abby NOT Ted, but I will be talking about what Ted said and also some other stuff. The basis of what he said is you can do anything if you work for it. This man built a wind turbine and he dropped out of school. Now I’m not saying drop out of school because that’s not the point. The point is even after he couldn't go to school he said I want to continue learning and that’s what he did. He read a lot of books and learned about wind turbines and math and stuff like that. He liked the idea of a wind turbine and wanted to make one himself so he used recycled materials. He used a tractor fan, shock absorbed, bicycle frame, PVC pipes, PVC blades after melting, and a bicycle generator. Everyone thought he was crazy even his mom. It ended up working. In fact he would have a line at his house to charge peoples mobile phones. He also installed some lights. Now think about how hard he worked. All it took was some perseverance. I think that Ted was succesfull with his first try. I think so because it helped him fix his next try. It also gave him a place to start. I think the important thing is that he tried his best with his first attempt and then worked to make it better. If I had the chance to fix something about my school I would improve our energy source. I think that we should look for a renewable energy source like Ted did. I might think about solar for Vermont or maybe wind for Williston. I really like that Ted took his situation and made it better and I think that we can do that too. I think we could make that change to solar and or wind.

Hello Abby. My name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to comment on your blog. I enjoyed reading your blog post. It very encouraging. This goes to show you that we all have dreams and we can achieve them if we just set our minds to it like Ted did. Keep up the great work. Good luck on achieving your dreams.
Chelsea Strong

March 28, 2013

Why does people celebrate Easter for? Easter is celebrated in many different ways. Greece loves to celebrate the honour Jesus blood. In other countries people use Easter eggs for romantic things, or the rebirth of Jesus. Also celebrating a new life. Chocolate is made out of eggs which is very yummmy! I love my chocolate Easter eggs!

Hello Turuhira, my name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama located in Mobile Alabama and in one of my classes I was selected to comment on your blog. Easter is one of my favorite holidays. Here in Alabama, Easter represents the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and three days later he arose from the dead. I agree with you on the chocolate eggs! I LOVE chocolate. Nice reading your blog. Keep up the great work!!

April 4, 2013

Hello,
My name is C.J. and I am 14 yrs old and in 8th grade. I have lived in Iowa, USA for my whole life. I enjoy doing hunting, fishing, football, and farming. My favorite subject in school is history or math. I spend my free time playing video games or going outside. When I get older I plan on becoming a farmer. I have a pet dog and his name is Jack. Do you have pets? What do you want to do when you get older?

Hello C.J. my name is Chelsea Strong and I go to the University of South Alabama in Mobile Alabama. I have lived in Mobile my whole life. I am studying Education at University of South Alabama. I enjoy spending time with my husband, fishing, going to the beach, and four wheeler riding. I spend most of my free time either working or doing homework. I also have one dog. He is a Husky. He is all white with one blue eye and one brown eye and his name is Rauca. When I grow up I want to be a Teacher. Nice reading your blog.
Chelsea Strong

Blog Post 10

1. I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga.



After looking at this cartoon from John T. Spencer's blog, Adventures in Pencil Integration, I was a little lost. I had no idea what it meant. So, I went to his blog and read the comments to see if I could find my answer. Sure enough, the last comment was from Mr. Spencer himself explaining that is was a mock of "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" commercials. Again, I was still lost. Thanks to DVR, I don't watch a lot of commercials. Luckily for me I went to YouTube and found this video of "I'm a Mac and I'm a PC" commercials. Now, finally I get it. I Guess I was having a PC kind of day (slow). The cartoon is comparing a PC to a papermate pencil, they are cheap, but if they are always breaking, what good are they? The cartoon is also comparing the Ticonderoga brand pencil to a Mac. It is a better quality and lasts longer. Personally, I prefer Ticonderoga pencils, and I'm beginning to strongly dislike my PC. I just wish a Mac was as affordable as a Ticonderoga pencil. Oh well, we can always dream!

2. Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?

John Spencer's post, Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?, is about a teacher that gets called into the principals office because he was caught playing games with his students in the classroom. The teacher tries to explain that they were not just playing a game, they were drawing, reading, and learning. The principal is only concerned with the students passing a memorization test and wants the teacher to focus on memorization skills.
Personally, I believe that students are more likely to actually learn material when they have hand on experiences. Playing learning games and participating in activities will increase the likelihood of students not only learning , but retaining the information. Often, information that is only memorized, goes into our short term memory and is soon forgotten.
After spending some time looking around John Spencer's blog, Adventures in Pencil Interrogation, I also decided to include his post entitled, Are Pencils Making Us Narcissistic? in my post. In this post, Tom's principal warns him that using pen pal networks may make the students narcissistic. Tom argues that, "self-centeredness is a social and psychological rather than a technological issue". Tom also suggests to his principal that they should get rid of the school mirrors if narcissism is a concern. The fact is, students need to be taught how to correctly use technology so that it is not all about them. They need to learn how to use technology in a manner that helps others and not just as a way to "toot their own horn" on social networks. John writes in the last sentence of his post, "The issue isn't the technology we use, but the tone of voice that matters". This is such a profound statement. People often fear technology, but the fact is, it doesn't matter what technology you are using, but the manner in which you choose to use it.

3. Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please!

Dr. Scott McLeod is one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. He is also serving as the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iowa. Dr McLeod has has received many national awards for his technology leadership work.
I completely agree with Dr. McLeod's position in his post entitled, Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?. If we are not teaching our kids this technology they will be left behind, because somewhere someone is teaching them this stuff. I mentioned in my comment to Dr. McLeod that cheating, bullying, and porn have been around long before technology and will continue to exist with or without it. We can not use these excuses to keep our children from advancing. We have to teach them how to use technology correctly so they can move forward with the rest of the world.

Project 14- Smart Board

Project 11- Short Movie

Book Trailer

Blog Post 9

What I have learned this year volume 4

Joe McClung began his teaching career in the fall of 2009. At the end of each year he writes a reflection post on his blog. He reflects on the lessons he has learned as a teacher. His end of the year reflection for 2011-2012 was different from the posts he had written in the previous years. Joe McClung's fourth end of the year reflection was entitled, What I Learned This Year Volume 4.
He begins by discussing how he struggled to define himself as a teacher. He worries about how his peers view him as an educator. After worrying for the majority of the school year over this matter, Mr. McClung finally comes to the realization that he can not be concerned with how his peers view him. The most important thing to consider is, are the students having fun, and are they learning.
I think it is human nature to worry about how our peers view us. No matter how hard we try, it is impossible to please everybody. As educators our worry should not be weather or not our fellow teachers like us. That doesn't define who we are or how well we are doing our job. What does matter is the kids; are they learning, are they enjoying what they are doing? If we can answer yes to those questions, then we should have no doubt weather or not we are doing a good job.
Next, Mr. McClung talks about challenging yourself. After three years of being at the same school and teaching the same subjects, he worries that he is loosing his creativity because he continues to revert to his old lesson plans. He goes on to say that this has taught him a lesson that when we become to comfortable, we can become lazy. Mr. McClung accepted an offer to teach a different subject and a different grade for the following school year.
I think it easy for us to get stuck in a monotonous routine. We can easily loose our creativity by repeating the same thing day after day and year after year. If we are board with the lessons we are presenting, how can we expect our students to stay engaged? If we don't get an opportunity to change grade levels like Mr. McClung, we must force ourselves to come up with new lessons so our students don't suffer.

What I have learned this year (2008-2009)

For the next part of this assignment I chose to read Joe McClung's first reflective blog post, What I've Learned This Year. Mr. McClung points out some interesting things that he learned in his first year of teaching. I think these are some important lessons to keep in mind when entering your first year of teaching. The First lesson was, How to read the crowd. Mr. McClung pointed out that he was so concerned with how his superiors saw him, that he wasn't focusing on how he was delivering his lessons to his students. The most important part of being an educator is getting through to your students. I think your superiors will respect you and see your abilities as long as you concentrate on the student and not worry about the way others are viewing you.
The next lesson he outlined was, be flexible. Mr. McClung admits that in the beginning of the school year he was concerned with presenting the "perfect" lesson. As a teacher you have to be in control, but you can not always control the way the lesson will go. Teaching is kind of like a play; it's a live performance, and while you may have a script, it's not always going to go the way you planned. And that's okay! We are learning too, and when something doesn't work, change it.
Third, communicate. It's important to build relationships with your coworker. Just as we are learning to collaborate in edm310, it's important to continue that practice when we enter the teaching field. We can learn new things from our fellow teachers as long as we open up the lines of communication.
The fourth lesson from Mr. McClung's post was, be reasonable. Teachers begin the year with high expectations for their students, and while it is important to have certain expectations from your students, you have to remember they are children. Keep your expectations responsible and when they fail to meet them, pick them up and help get them back on track.
Fifth, don't be afraid of technology. Technology shouldn't be something we fear. We should embrace it, use it, and learn from it. As a society we are often afraid of the unknown. Among adults, technology is one of those unknowns we tend to fear. It is important to remember that our students fear a world where technology doesn't exist. If we are using technology in our classroom, then we have created an environment that is friendly and familiar to our students.
Sixth, listen to your students. Mr. McClung gives an example of an answer he received from an end of the year survey he gave his students. When asked, "I know my teacher cares about me as a person when he", the student answered, " Listens to what I say". So many adults don't listen to what children say; they are really missing out too. Often children have significant things to say, and too many adults tune children out. Even if it's not very meaningful to us, it means something to them or they wouldn't say it. It's important for children to know somebody cares enough about them to listen to what they have to say.
Lastly, never stop learning. This could also possibly be the most important lesson. One thing that really stuck out to me that Mr. McClung said here was, "We work in a learning environment, so why not soak up as much as you can? We owe it to our students". We are educators and we should lead by example. Our students will be more open to continuing their learning experience if they see us continuing ours. We should never get to a point where we think we have learned all there is to know. We live in a world where technology and information is changing daily. There is always something new to learn or something we can expand on.

C4T 2

C4T #2

Dear Authors,
My school has one iPad in the library, along with several iPods for kids to check out. The iPad is reserved for teachers to use with their students, and we have the accessories so that it can be hooked up to an LCD projector (in all of our classrooms) or the computer.Here’s my issue. Our PTO gave us some funds to buy children’s books and apps for the iPad and iPods. However, to populate those and get teachers to begin to use them, and kids to want to check out the iPods for something other than games, the books on there need to be high quality and intriguing to both the readers and the instructors. I really want to use this tool to introduce teachers to some amazing books and new authors instead of the same ones we already know. I HAUNT book apps online for bargains for cheap books. I subscribe to every single online place I can find that offers kindle books at a discount from time to time. I have just spent several hours trying to find cheap e-books to put on this iPad for kids and teachers to discover and experience good books. I AM a bargain shopper.But very few of you have cheap books out there…and by cheap I mean $2 or $3 ones. I guarantee if you have just ONE of your really good books selling as cheap Kindle book, people will buy it, and more people will get to know you as an author! Ask Amazon to feature it in their daily Kindle deals. The majority of the books I currently have on our iPad are newer authors I am discovering and recommending…and that means some of my favorites are losing out. I would love for my teachers to be able to use some of the books I love and some of their favorites with an iPad, showing it on the LCD projector. If you haven’t seen a picture book done this way, you are missing a great new way to share picture books with kids! Please consider changing the price of at least one Kindle adaptation of a really good book you wrote to $2 or $3 so that people can discover you anew…I have to say if I have a bound copy of your book, I won’t pay full price for an e-book. But if I can share one of your books cheaply, my kids will go home and talk about it and then the parents may buy several of your books for the home iPad. We teachers would love your support of education in this way.
Sincerely,
Paula White

Paula, I am a student at the University of South Alabama in EDM310. I haven’t become a teacher yet so I cant really relate to you. Even though I haven’t become one yet I can Totally see where your coming from though. I, myself am a bargain shopper and do not want to pay 15 or 20 dollars for a book for me much less buying a kids book. In my class room I will encourage to read, read, read but i do not want to pay 20 dollars for a book that they might not even pick up. Thank for this great word!

March 8, 2013
This post was by Ira Socol and she talked about the "yeah but response":
The "yeah but" response sounds like this, "I know this teacher is a problem, but she's really nice and she's been here a long time." Or this, "I know I should learn that, but its just easier to do what I've always done." Or this, "You know, you're right but we can't make our teachers uncomfortable." Or this, "Well, we're really trying to work on this, and he is trying to change a little."

My response:
Hello my name is Chelsea Strong and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. Although I am not a teacher yet I completely understand everything you are talking about. When I was in high school I heard teachers talking all the time about non sense stuff. Thanks for this post is changed me.

Blog Post 8

1. This Is How We Dream
How We Dream Part 1, Richard E. Miller discuses the incremental changes in writing with multimedia. Mr. Miller stated that we are experiencing the greatest change in human communication, in human history. Mr. Miller is primarily talking about books and news articles, but the way we communicate on a daily basis has also changed drastically. I remember when leaving your house for the day meant not communicating with anyone that was not in the car with you. Now you can stay connected with the world all from a device that can fit in the palm of your hand.
Additionally, Mr. Miller discusses the ability to research right from the web. Before all of the advancements with the internet you could spend hours at the library looking up books and going through the pages searching for valuable information. Now, you can do all the research you need right from your own computer. Mr. Miller stated that a print document will eventually make its way to the trash, but a web document will be available forever. Within a matter of seconds anyone can find any information they need right from their own home. People can collaborate using networking, text, image, video, and sound. With all of these advancements, the way we read, write, and learn has changed drastically.



Part 2
Finally, in part 2 of This is How we Dream, Mr. Miller discusses the fundamental changes that are involved in writing with multimedia. Mr. Miller said, "ideas don't belong to us individually, but they belong to us as a culture". I thought this was a profound statement simply because, what good is an idea or knowledge if we keep it to ourselves and do not share it with the world. We, as educators are responsible for sharing our ideas and knowledge. Otherwise, we can not and will not grow. It's up to us to publish our ideas to the web so that it will be available to the world. We can easily compose with the web to produce different versions of information that already exists and make it appealing to a different audience.

2. Carly's Post
I think Carly's blog post 12 was exactly what Richard Miller was disusing in his video's This is How We Dream. Carly's assignment idea was to have her students create a YouTube play list that contained video's that would help and inspire them as teachers. Carly not only used text in her post, but she used video's to help get her message across. I think this is precisely what Mr. Miller had in mind when he disused the changes in communication. Carly did a fabulous job with her assignment and I think she has a very good understanding of how to mix text, image, video, and sound.

3. EDM 310 Videos
I loved The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies. The Chipper Series is a great example of what can happen in life if we try to take short cuts or find an easy way out. Chipper started off on the wrong foot by not keeping up with her assignments and she lost control once she got behind. EDM310 for Dummies is a great example of what it can feel like if you do not know what's going on and get behind. Everything can become overwhelming if you procrastinate and let everything pile up on you. The moral of these videos is, don't procrastinate and do your research so you will know what's going on. Additionally, if I had the opportunity to create or participate in a video for EDM310, I would probably want to make one on creating a podcast and utilizing the green screen. Now that I have done it, it doesn't seem so bad, but going into it I have to admit I was terrified.


4. Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I couldn't agree more with the points made in the video Learn to Change, Change to Learn. Schools and classrooms need to change the way they are teaching children. The video mentioned that students have a more stimulating environment outside of school. The reason for this is because many school systems have banned the use of networking and other technology in the classroom. Students today are not going to respond to the same methods that used to work ten years or even five years ago. Teachers also need to be equipped with the tools and connections to teach their students to make global connections. Teachers and students are still working within a system that is mostly concerned with standardized testing; when in fact,in the 21 century they need to be concerned with how to find information, how to validate it, communicate it, collaborate it, and problem solve with it. If students are not being stimulated in the class room they are going to tune out and they will be forever lost. We have to change the way students are being taught in the classroom.


5. Scavenger Hunt 2.0
This assignment was suggested by Justin Cometti in the fall semester of 2011 in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. Like mentioned previously in this post, he also had to come up with an assignment, like Carly's. Justin came up with the Scavenger Hunt 2.0 . In this assignment, we were given 5 things to look for, but were to only choose 3 assignments to do on our post. I first, located Edmodo.com . It is a website that is much like Twitter or Facebook, but for students and teachers to interact with one another. This is a great tool for the classroom. It is a space where students and teachers can communicate back and forth. It is especially useful for parents, too. The parents will be able to see some, if not most, of the work performed by their children online.
I created a poll at pollyeverywhere.com
What is your favorite holiday?
This poll is stopped and not accepting responses. If you created this poll, start the poll, then refresh this page.

PLN

I chose Symbaloo to create my PLN. I have added our EDM310 class blog along with my blog to my PLN. I think it will take an adjusting period to get used to using my PLN but I look forward to learning from it and I plan on adding more sites as I find them. I have included a screen shot of my PLN on Symbaloo.

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dream

After watching Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, I honestly wasn't sure exactly what the lesson in this video was. After pondering over it for a couple of days I still wasn't clear. I decided I needed to watch the video again. After watching the video for the second time I realized the whole video was a "head fake" but, not the "head fake" Randy Pausch mentions in the end. Randy Pausch describes a "head fake" as information we learn indirectly. We learn best when we don't even realize we are learning. I think the reason for this is because we are more open minded when we think we are being entertained and not educated. I hope I can adapt the "head fake" method in my classroom so my students will become educated while being entertained and engaged.
The next lesson I took away from the video was, perseverance. Randy Pausch said, "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things". All too often, when people hit a "brick wall" they call it quits and walk away from their dreams or goals. Some one with enough perseverance will find a way through any "brick wall". As educators it is our job to make sure all students succeed. Sometimes you may encounter a student that doesn't care, your "brick wall". Our job as educators is to find a way to get through to that student to make sure he/she never gives up. We have to help them develop perseverance.
Something else Randy Pausch mentioned was the importance of self reflection. I believe self reflection is important because, when we can look at ourselves and see the areas where we have grown and also see what we can improve on, then we can and will succeed. We need to teach our students took look at their work and see where they went wrong and how it could have been better. This will help them long after they graduate.
Here is some more advice from Randy Pausch that I felt was worth mentioning; learn from our students, have fun, never loose our child-like wonder, help others, and never give up. Randy Pausch wants us to believe that the "head fake" in his last lecture was, "How to lead your life". I think it was about the legacy of his life.

C4K Feb

C4K #3: Zion wrote in his blog today that In the holiday his cousin and him went to the park and they played rugby. His cousin brought his friend. His cousin got 3 tries . Then they went and played at the park and he played on the swings. Responded: Hello Zion my name is Chelsea Strong and I am in College at the University of South Alabama in Mobile Alabama. I enjoy Reading your blog post. You write very well! The Holidays are my favorite time of the year. I have never played rugby before. Sounds very interesting and I think I will try it out on day. I also love the park and swinging. I like to go really high. Keep up the good work!!

Podcast

"Teach Like Your Hair Is On Fire" BY: Rafe Esquith

Blog Post 6

The Networked Student
Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student was a very interesting video. The video was prepared by Wendy Drexler's high school students and was inspired by connectivism. Connectivism is based on learning thorough social networks of many diverse networks and ties. I love that students are learning from the internet because they can find more up to date information. Textbooks can very quickly become out of date and with the cost of textbooks I feel that most children are learning from material that is obsolete.
Learning in the 21st century is not the same as it used to be and teaching in the 21st century cannot stay the same either. The video mentioned that the tools are not as important as the connections made possible by them. You can have a classroom full of computers, but if no one knows how to use them properly they are useless. Sure, every child in the 21st century knows how to get online, but they need a teacher to show them how to use the web to research and take advantage of every opportunity available.
Furthermore, students need to be taught how to distinguish facts from idiocy when they are online. There are so many sites that appear to be fact, but often they are merrily an opinion and not always an educated one. The teacher's role is also to help the students when they get stuck. Learning in the 21st century allows the students more freedom to work on their own, but it is important for them to know the teacher is still there to help them and guide them when necessary.

A 7th Grader Personal Learning Environment
While watching A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN) I thought a lot about what we are doing in EDM310. It is very similar in the fact that we have a list of assignments and while we do not have the option not to do them, we choose when we do them (as long as it's before the due date). It was exciting to see how well organized and engaged this 7th grade student was. It was interesting to hear her say that even though she has the freedom to choose when and how to do her work she also feels the responsibility to get it done. I would presume that because she actually enjoys what she is doing, she is more inclined to do her work and take pride in what she has accomplished. However, I do think it takes a self-motivated individual to work and succeed in this type of environment.

My Sentence Video

Special Blog Assignment # 1

Did You Know?

Though the rhetoric of the video, Did You Know?, is deceiving, I did not misinterpret the information as meaning that the US was behind the other countries mentioned. Such a determination cannot be made with one sided figures. Numbers, like all rhetoric, can be manipulative and used to show one side of the table. We can gather nothing with percentages alone. Percentage of what? According to WolframAlpha the population of China is 1.35 billion, the population of India is 1.21 billion, and the population of the United States is 309 million.
Also 318 million people in China either know English or are learning to speak English. Assuming they all learn to do so 23.56% of China’s population would speak English. While the amount of English speakers in China may be more than the entire population of the United States, the percentage of English speaking Americans is higher than the percentage of English speakers in China. And while India may have more honors students than the United States, it is expected as they have three times the population.

Two WolframAlpha Searches

Compare Georgia to Alabama enrollment
Graduate or Professional School- GA:116740 AL:47758
Undergraduate School- GA:538310 AL:257789
Pre-k to 12th Grade- GA:1.962 Million AL:901184
TOTAL enrollment- GA:2.617 Millon AL:1.207 Million

Compare Georgia and Alabama Test Scores
These test scores pertain to SAT in math, writing, reading. GA:74% AL:7%
These test scores pertain to ACT in math, english, reading, science. GA:47% AL:81%

WolframAlpha offers students a resource of information regardning statistics, geography, media, genealogy, chemistry, and so on. The spectrum of information offered on this site seems to be endless. This site would be helpful to English students in gathering research for a variety of different types of papers. WolframAlpha can help students not only locate information and data but the site can also help students interpret and compare data.

Social Media:

Gary Hayes Social Media Chart is amazing to watch. It is astonishing that the numbers increase continuingly. It is incredible that Hayes has put all this information together into a chart that continuously updates the data. I was surprised to see that the amount of new android phones activated is more that the amount of iPhones sold. I would have guessed the numbers would be fairly close. According to this site, there are about 7 times as many new android phone activations as there are new iPhones sold in one minute. This chart proves that technology is steadily increasing. Not only is technology enhancing but it is also spreading throughout society at a steady rate. More and more people are using social networking sites and tools such as Blogger and Google. As a teacher, I will need to stay up-to-date on the resources available to me both inside and outside the classroom. Twitter, Pinterest, blogs and maybe facebook are a great way to stay informed of technology that is enhancing the classroom.

Blog Post 4

1. Langwitches 1st Graders Create Own Read Along Book

After reading Langwithes blog post about how her 1st graders created a read along book, I thought about how time consuming it must have been to get the students to say their lines and then edit it all together. Once I listened to the audio file, I was amazed at what a wonderful job these 1st graders did! I think it was a great way to get all the children involved in reading the book.
This could be a great way to do a podcast for our group project. I like the idea of having an interviewer ask the rest of the group their opinions about the book and the script could be on slides for the listener / reader to follow along.

2. The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale

I enjoyed reading and watching Joe Dale's post about podcasting. I found it to be very informative. I like the idea of using podcasting in the classroom because, not only does it give children who miss class the opportunity to go back and hear the lecture but, it also gives parents the opportunity to hear what goes on in the classroom. As a parent, my children often come home wanting help with homework; when I try to explain what they need to do I hear, "that's not the way the teacher said do it!" If a pod cast of the lecture was available, it would be easy for them to go back and listen to their teachers instructions again. Often times, the way I would do it, is not the way the teacher wants it done. Not that my way is wrong, it is just different. Joe Dale's video, Podcasting In The Classroom did a great job of explaining podcasting and why it is important.

3. Judy Scharf Collection

This was the most informative site for me. This post contained tips for a successful podcast and there were also downloadable handouts on creating and uploading a podcast. The YouTube video link How To Create A Podcast, using Audacity was also very informative. After everything I have read and watched, I think Audacity will be the best choice for me to use to make my podcast.

Presentation Project 5

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing
The videos gave me a different outlook on how to properly peer edit another classmate's blog. I was unaware that I should be leaving a detailed comment; including everything the peer did correctly and incorrectly. It is a great feeling to be praised on what you did right or what another person enjoyed about your post. In saying that, it is very important that you are positive throughout the entire post and assist the person on the correct help necessary.
The videos and slideshow provided for EDM 310 to watch are as followed: What is Peer Editing?, Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. Each one was extremely helpful in its own way. In all of the videos, each referred to editing on paper, not in a blog. So it makes it difficult to follow some of the tips like signs and signals for certain mistakes. My favorite video was Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. I thought it was very original and super cute; of course everything is cuter with children, though!

Assistive Technologies
Even though I knew that there are those who cannot see or hear in everyday classroom and there is a certain way to teach them, I never really knew how to teach them. I am very grateful for these videos because not only have they stated the issues that are present in today's classroom, from them not being able to participate in group projects to understanding the concept of numbers, but also what we are future teachers can use and do to help. With the Mountbatten video, they showcased a machine, think of it as an intelligent type writer, that creates each letter in braille as it is telling the student what they have typed. It addressed the issue that many blind students face in that they cannot write an essay, make list or notes in the classroom.
If a teacher cannot read braille, then they do not know where the child stands academically. This remarkable technology will allow blind students to be more included into the class by being able to write essays and be a part of "peer group projects." The machine also translates the braille into written words on another computer screen so that the teacher can see their performance on paper and have proof of what they know and what they need to work on. While this machine helps for a child to spell and write for language, there is another in San Francisco that is hard at work with the most difficult subject for the blind which is math.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis discusses in her video, Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, that students need to be self-taught and explore the virtual world for themselves. That way they get a sense of empowerment when they accomplish something or figure it out. They are most likely to remember that, versus when a teacher is just lecturing about it. I found it to be a pleasant surprise that I just began following Vicki's twitter today! I cannot wait to see what other great advice she has to give.
I personally wish I grew up in a classroom like Vicki Davis demonstrated in her video. It is so important for students to stay up-to-date with the increases in technology, and it is vital they learn to use it in the classroom. I would have especially loved creating the Avatar world she explained in her video. Allowing her students to have fun while learning was extremely important to her. As a future middle or high school special; education teacher, I want to do my best to capture the attention of students each day in my classroom. By standing at the front of the room lecturing with them taking notes with a pencil and paper on what I say is not the type of classroom environment I want to establish especially with SPED children.

Blog Post 2

Did You Know?

I was completely astonished after watching Did you Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version and the original version Did you Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott Mcleod. It was very disheartening to see how far behind the United States is compared to China and India. Both videos were full of interesting data. From the videos I learned that there are more honor students in India than there are students in the United States; and there are 18 million Chinese that speak English and if all the people in China that are currently "learners" of the English language actually learn it, by 2025 the Chinese will out number the amount of native English speakers in the rest of the world. The worst part of this information is that 93% of all 8-18 year olds had computers in their home 2 years ago and I am pretty sure that percentage is higher now. The video also stated that there are more than one million Google searches per minute. So, with all the technology and information we have at our finger tips, why is the United States so far behind? Did you know? I sure didn't.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman was about an old man that wakes up after sleeping for a hundred years. When he walks into an office building he sees many things he has never seen before like computer and printers. He observes people in video conferences with people from other parts of the world. Disturbed and feeling a little sick he goes to a hospital to find machines that are keeping people alive. He sees nurses and doctors looking at ex-rays of peoples bones. With the hospital not making him feel any better he travels to a school and finds that everything is just as he remembered it 100 years ago.
It is very disturbing that in most schools this is true. Children are being taught the same way they were taught a hundred years ago. This needs to change! Our children need to learn how to use the technology that exists today so they will be prepared to learn how to use new technologies that will exist in their future.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I really enjoyed watching Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity. Robinson addressed the lack of creativity that exists in the public school system. Not only in the United States, but around the world creativity is at the bottom of the list. Our school system doesn't allow children to use their creativity and as they grow up they lose all the natural creativity they were born with. For me the one thing Robinson said that really stuck with me was, "If your not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original."
The point being, if we do not allow kids to be creative they will grow up as adults and be scared to try new things and task. The education system I think needs to spend as much time on kids creativity as they do on all other subjects; such as math, science and language.

Pinterest

Pinterest is not like every other online tool. Pinterest is very different and very unique. Pinterest is not just grab a piece of paper and a pen website, it has a ton of stuff to do for all ages. The education part of Pinterest is very fun and creative. It has crafts and games and fun learn activites for all ages.

Like the picture says above; it gets students attention and keeps their attention, it will help you organize lesson plans, and is a inquiry based learning. If you have an IPhone or Android there is an app for Pinterest. Go check it out!

Wordle Project 2