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

Blog Post 1

About Me!
Hello my name is Chelsea Strong. I am 20 years young and I am one if five children. I have one older sister and all the rest are younger than me. I am very much a family person. I have no clue what i would do with out my family. I have lived in Creola Alabama practically my whole life and I loved it there, it was so peaceful living in the woods! I have a wonderful mother that is raising everyone by herself that will do anything for us. You can only imagine how it is around our house, YES a circus! My dad passed away the summer of 2012 unexpected. He was perfectly fine to us. He had nothing wrong with him. He died of severe heart disease, which there are no signs or warnings for. The only way you find out you have it is if you have a heart attack. It was very devastating. I am a Rambo, if any of you all are familiar with the Rambos skating rinks that is my pawpaw and nana. They started all of them. So that does make me a rink rat.
I just recently got married on December 22, 2012 to a wonderful man! I love married life so far!
I have two jobs at the moment right now and they are at my church in the nursery taking care of little babies and tutoring a special needs child everyday at her home.
I graduated high school from Faith Academy. Most people say they hate it but i loved it. After graduating i attended Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minnette. There i majored in Elementary education, but i wanted to do special education and they didn't have that so that how i ended up here at USA! Here i am majoring in Secondary Special Education with a concentration in general science. I absolutely love kids with my whole heart and especially special needs children!

My Dream Job
I can only imagine that day when I get the call to come set up my very own classroom! It's coming :) My dream job is to be special education teacher. I want middle school, and I want the extremly server children. Coming into EDM 310 has opened so many doors for me. It has taught me already how much the eye has not seen and how much technology there is out there for children and adults to learn with. Don't get me wrong a pen and paper is still needed, but working with special needs children it needs to be mixed up a little. All special need children learn in a different way so I think an iPad or Mac or a computer in general will spice things up a little for them and it will help them learn and maybe remember things a little better.
As you walk into my dream classroom there will be no space on the walls! There will be different things to learn, differnt activities, different quotes and a lot of other things to cheer up the classroom. One thing I hate is when I walk into a classroom and it is so boring, no color on the walls or anything. To me it makes it less fun to learn.
Middle school children are my favorite. People tell me I a, crazy for wanting middle school children. The reason I want miss,e school is because middle school is when you are trying to find yourself. Elementary school everybody does stuff for you, high school you do everything on hour own, and middle school it's like your stuck. I think middle school is when they need us the most. I think I will have a lot to bring to the table for middle schoo and special needs children.
So now you know a little bit about me, what I want to teach, who I want to teach and what my visions are, and what age I want. I can't wait for that day I get to fill special needs children with the knowledge I have!!

Randy Pausch: Time Management
Randy speaks a lot of truth in not just being late with school work but everyday life. You have got to manage your time in anything you do or nothing will get done. Have been in EDM 310 before I did not take this video seriously, well not I am! Edm 310 is a prime example of managing your time wisely or otherwise you will fail.

Test Post Number One

Test post number one

Project 15: Final Reflection on EDM 310

Project 13

Collaboration Of Group
For our group we used SMS text, face to face, and calling each other on the phone. I felt it was better if we do it this way because it goes straight to them! Some people never get on Skype, they ever use Google docs. So I just thought it was much easier this way to communicate with each other.

Smart board Project 15

Blog Post 12

For this post we are supposed to create our own blog assignment, and I have chosen to make mine about an awesome website called Pinterest. Pinterest is a social media site but don't compare it to Twitter or Facebook because they are very different. Pinterest is so much better! There are all types of categories to search when you login. There is arts and crafts of course, creative food recipes, funny video clips and images, workout plans, wedding ideas, photography pointers, cool classroom decorations or fun lesson plans, tips and hints on cars and motorcycles, I could go on forever! The social part about comes in when you like or re-pin something because it shows up on the boards of your followers, kind of like sharing.
The assignment I have come up with could be used in the high school or middle school level in a computer or English class. I believe that it would be beneficial in a computer class because it's fun and keeps the students learning more about how to maneuver around the internet and more complex websites. A English class could also gain something from this blog assignment because each student must write in good grammar, use proper sentence structure, and use their creative writing skills. It would serve as good writing practice as well as typing practice, which could be great for each class.

Pinterest Assignment:

1) Create an account.

2) Pick 5 different categories that interest you, and re-pin 3 objects or ideas in each category. - For clarification: within each of the 5 categories you choose you should re-pin 3 things, therefore you will end up with 15 pins on your board.

3) Out of the 15 pins choose your favorite 5 and write a blog post explaining why you chose these particular pins. - Questions to think about: How or will this benefit me? Could I see myself actually doing this project? What about this pin attracts me? Is this pin something I could use later on in life? Does this motivate you to start a new hobby or activity? How or could this affect other people?

4) Use proper grammar, sentence structure, and good transition words. Must be 5 paragraphs including an intro, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. This is your chance to write about what you choose, so be bold, creative, and use your voice!

Project 11 Green Screen

Blog Post 11

Little Kids... Big Potential

The first graders in Mrs. Cassidy's class may be small, but they are full of potential. In the video Little Kids... Big Potential, we see just a bit of what these first graders are capable of. These young students are using blogs to learn how to write better and wikis to learn about traditions and rituals. They can watch videos online about the alphabet and Skype with other classrooms or even experts. They know how to access their class website to study math, reading, or other subjects. These kids may be small, but do not underestimate them

Skype Interview With Mrs. Cassidy

In the Skype interview with Mrs. Cassidy,Dr. Strange and the students of EDM310 address some important issues with Mrs. Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy is a first grade teacher in Canada that definitely believes in using technology in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy believes that we cannot teach with the same tools that worked twenty, ten, or even five years ago because the world has changed. Technology has so many incredible tools to offer our students. She states that, "you are handicapping your students by not taking advantage of the tools." Mrs. Cassidy believes that technology is not going away and that these days "kids and technology go hand in hand."
Mrs. Cassidy has great ideas of ways to use technology in the classroom. One thing that I really enjoyed was her classroom website. On this website the students can find many useful links. From this website they can go to different learning pages, they can play educational games, they can watch videos the teacher posted, and they can even find links to their blogs. I really like the idea of a classroom website because it can act as a guide for the kids. I also would like for my students to be able to blog as well. I think it is a great opportunity for them to see their progress throughout the year.

Although the administration at Mrs. Cassidy's school has never been super encouraging of her using technology, they have never been discouraging either. She does have great support from the technology coordinator though. One thing that I worry may be hindrance for teachers trying to incorporate technology in the classroom is the administration. Some can be really supportive, but it seems some administration is not quite on board yet. It may be a tough battle to get technology into some classrooms, but it is well worth the fight.

Special Assignment

A World Where Grades Will Be Lifted
This entire article is based around revolutionizing education. "A single class might enroll tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of students, but "there will be no more one-size-fits-all," Thrun says. "Education will respond to you." Grades will no longer exist. Sebastian Thrun describes grades as the "the failure of the education system". In this type of education system students will learn at their own pace and take as much time as they need to master a certain skill. Thrun taught an online artificial-intelligence class with over 160,000 students. The aim of this type of system is to make online education cheap, and as affordable as a cell phone bill. "Instruction will be free, but related services might involve a fee. Among those are certification and exams, which will be conducted separately from the learning process." Thrun explains that his aim is not to take over traditional education. He explains it with such that traditional education is to theater as online education is to film. Film did not end the theater. Film replicated theater into its own being and made it available for a wider audience, which is his aim for revolutionizing education.

One section of this article that I enjoyed reading about was a metaphor Professor Thrun discussed about choosing a blue pill or a red pill, in terms of education. If you choose the blue pill, you return to class and lecture to students but if you decide to take a gamble and choose the red pill, you see your class in a new light and make some changes to your class. Overall, this article has given me a new outlook on what the future holds for educators.

Blog Post 10

John T. Spencer's Cartoon

John Spencer forces observers to pause and compare the differences in a cost effective Papermate and a hip Ticonderoga pencil. The difference? A pencil, is a pencil. Each cartoon creation is one dimensional with no depth or inspiration to the imagination. You can attempt different techniques, but the outcome will be similar. Mr. Spencer is "drawing" attention to the limitations of inspiration and excitement when working with pencil and paper. Technology allows things to literally come to life before your eyes. It think I know which one I would rather learn from.

Why were your kids playing games?
A common problem addresses within Mr. Spencer's blog post is the fact that students are not being taught vital information in the appropriate ways. Instead of "burping back" information teachers need to realize the importance of thoroughly teaching students information from different perspectives. So that they are able to learn in their own style as well as internalize the information because they know more about it that the "right" answer or definition.
I particularly liked this post, he emphasis how people see things from different perspectives. One's definition of whats right or wrong is different from each individuals opinion on the topic being assessed. I think having an open mind to others opinions is vital to thrive in society. Not everyone sees things or thinks the same without having an open mind one may shut out something that could be beneficial to them. If information is not shared it is lost, if one does not have an open mind to others opinions that information that could have been obtained is also lost.

Don't teach your kids this stuff please?
In Scott McLeod blog post, he explains his point that teachers are not willing to open up and advance their lesson plans with technology in a sarcastic way. He explains how people are not willing to let their kids network and find new information because they are afraid of cyber bullying and predators. Even though other teachers are not prepared to challenge their students advancement, doesn't mean his not. I think teacher should be open and prepared for the changes that education makes. Without teachers having an open mind, students will not be prepared for their worldly challenge. It would be as if we were cheating them out of their education. I personally have to agree with McLeod's sarcasm because he basically explains how his students opportunities to be opening to something more has be open more widely. So, if other educators don't jump on the bandwagon and expand their students mind to the new profound world, their kids will be left behind.

Blog Post 9

What I have learned this year (2008-2009)

I wanted to read Mr.McClung's first year (2008-2009) and third year (2010-2011) to see if his attitude and teaching strategies have changed any.

When Mr. McClung first started out he was so worried and caught up in pleasing his superiors he lost touch with his audience. Mr. McClung felt like he was trying to control things way too much. I can see how this would happen on your first year as a teacher. He would beat himself up over activities that did not go well. He needed to get over that and I feel the same way. We are all human and not everything is always gonna go as planned.
He also states how communication is key. I strongly agree with him on this. Communication is the best way to learn, solve, and respond to an issue in the workplace. He also mentions "don't be afraid of technology." We as EDM students have learned how technology can help you as a teacher. Don't be afraid of it, it is our friend. Lastly, never stop learning. It is never to late to change something. Students deserve the best we can give them.

What I have learned this year (2010-2011)

KNOW WHO IS YOUR BOSS! :)
I really loved Mr. McClungs statement about we are here for the kids. Don't get caught up in any other drama at the school. Focus on what you are there for, the kids. Students should always be the primary focus. Even though administration is important you are there to serve and teach the kids. Mr. McClung is an optimist and tries to maintain a positive attitude when it comes to things such as change. I really think this is important. Change is not always a bad thing. Change is good. I hope I am just as optimistic as him. Mr. McClung states "don't be afraid to be an outsider". That is something that I am afraid of. I am not saying I want to be in others business and drama. I surely don't want that, I just want to feel welcomed and not have to worry about not fitting in. I think it is important to have good relationships with other co-workers. I really enjoyed reading his post and hope I have the same look on teaching as he does.

Blog Post 8

This is How We Dream
In the video This is How We Dream Part 1 Dr. Richard E Miller talks about "writing with media." He talks about how students, and other writers, can publish documents using a form of media and a written publication.
I think this is a great concept to use not only in classroom but in everyday life, even with very young kids. Kids today know so much about technology because they have a Iphone, Ipad and Ipod it amazes me everyday. In the video, Dr. Miller talks about a media publication he did, and if he would have printed the same information and had it published, it would take over two years for the information to be made public. With this type of media publication, the information is made public immediately.
He talks about two different types of changes that have come from technology: Incremental and fundamental change. Incremental being the change of notebooks and pencils to laptops. Everything that you use to communicate is on your laptop or smart phone. Fundamental is the advances of technology. He talks about ideas being shared and not becoming individual property. I really liked that, ideas should be passed on not kept to yourself.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post
Carly is a great writer and has a lot of tallent. I loved reading this post because you could just feel the excitement for this project through her words and the way she wrote it. I like the idea of having and understanding just what you want your teaching philosophy to be and how you want to teach. I love the inspirational videos that she found. She did a great job coming up with this idea. It really got me to thinking about just what I want to bring to the table as a teacher. I want to inspire my students in a positive way. She seemed to really understand just what EDM 310 can do to help us as future teachers.

EDM 310 is different

I watched both of these videos, The Chipper Series, and EDM310 for Dummies, at the beginning of the semester when Dr. Strange suggested them hoping that they would prepare myself for the class that I was about to endure. I was nervous/terrified/stressed/eager all together for the first 2 weeks. Needless to say, I was a complete wreck. Both of these videos are absolutely hilarious. The EDM310 for Dummies offered a great deal of relief. Obviously other students had made it out of this class alive, so I knew I could do it. I have felt just like these students. Ripping the keyboard out of the computer and throwing things have crossed my mind. After making it through the first half of this class, I am no longer a complete wreck because I have my own schedule and can do assignments at my own pace. I have learned that I was a huge procrastinator and I have learned what the term “time management” actually means. I wish I had taken this class as a freshman; I would probably have done better in some of my other classes.
The Chipper Series was also great. Chipper is a normal college student who thinks that teachers should plan around her schedule. After being fired from every job possible she decides to go back to school. I believe I would have given up and returned to school sooner than she did. I remember freshman year, even this past semester, thinking, “this teacher must think their class is the only class I am taking and that I do not have a personal life”. Yes, this class can be stressful if you get behind but it is also a wonderful class, in that, you learn much more than just the same ole “textbook material”; you acquire knowledge that will be useful for the rest of your life.
The video that I would make for future students is How to Use Collaboration. Collaboration is a major part for group projects in this class. In this video I would show a group for 4 students that included someone who was not a “team player”. The plot would show all of the students working together to make a podcast with the “outcast" member playing on the phone and not paying attention while the others worked hard on their project. I would show how to use Google Docs, texting, email, and twitter for meeting times and other important shared information. The “outcast” member would not pay attention to any of the information being sent to them, further omitting them from the important project. In the end, the student would learn how to use all of the advances suggested and learn how to be a “team player”.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

In the video learn to change, change to learn it showed experienced educators discussing how much education has changed. Whether we like to admit it, change in education is necessary. Children need to be taught more about technology and social media networks because that is all that is around them. If they are not taught how to use social media networks and technology at school, they will have to learn it elsewhere. Isn't the purpose of going to school to learn? Children should not have to learn elsewhere, technology and social media should be incorporated into school so they will be prepared for the "real world" when they complete school. One of the teachers on the video said that kids are getting a more stimulating experience outside of school than they are at school. This should not be the case, but unfortunately it is in so many circumstances. By bringing social media networks and other technology to school, children will learn so much more and have a stimulating experience inside of the classroom. When I become a teacher, I want my students to enjoy learning and I want to encourage them to be creative and have fun.

Scavenger Hunt
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