Farewell......

Well it's that time of the year again; where everyone heads home for break. I enjoyed this class, and I hope everybody has a Merry Christmas!!!
Goodbye.. until next year.....

Podcast....

This podcast was made possible by Dillon Rogers, Autumn Wiggins, Kimberly Gilley, and me. It's called What If technology Lost It's Patience and Left Us?
The title pretty much explains it all.
Click here to watch our podcast.

Apples For Teachers-Project 11.

This project was made possible by Dillon Rogers, Autumn Wiggins, and me. We decided to do this project based on the idea that Iphones should be allowed in the classroom for educational purposes. The phone has several applications that could be very valuable for teachers to use.
Click here to watch our video.

Comment4Kids...

This project has been an eye opener of how kids are really getting into technology. Seeing children develop their blogs,and posting their projects was pretty cool. I enjoyed giving positive encouragement to all of these kids. You can tell that they work so hard on these assignments, and that they enjoy making the posts. A few examples that I have are Rising Stars Room 12&13, RBS 4th Grade Blog, and a fifth grade class blog.
The Rising Stars had a group of children who made a Gingerbread story. It was really cool how they narrated the animation.
I posted a comment on one of the boy's post on RBS. His post was about one of vacations to Wyoming, and how he went hunting. It was adorable.
The Fifth grade class blog was just getting started. This was the first time for the kids to start blogging.
Overall, this project was a lot of fun!

My PLN...

Well, let's just say my PLN is a work in progress. I'm new to a lot of this stuff so I haven't got a big list yet.However, I fully intend to continue building my network even after this class is over. One blog that I follow is At The Teacher's Desk. This is probably one of my favorite blogs. I think it's great that teachers can contribute their ideas or stories. It gives you a different point of view, and is helpful for all teachers. Another blog that I follow is Dear Kaia. She is the cutest little girl,and it's wonderful that her dad keeps up with her blog. Room 10 @ Pt. England school is another blog I follow. The kids posting their projects online is amazing. It makes me wish that we would have had something like that when I was a little kid. Mr. McClung's blog is also in my PLN. He seems like a pretty cool teacher who really cares about his students. I'm just going to keep on learning, and hopefully I will be able to add others to my PLN. All of this was possible due to the weekly assignments Dr. Strange gave us. I will definitely keep up with them,and find more that I want to join.

EDM Fall 2009 Semester

1.It's the end of the semester, and it's time to reflect on all I have learned. This has been a great course, and I think I have learned more in this class than any other.One thing I have learned is that blogging is great way to share ideas, and communicate with others. I didn't know anything about blogs before this class, and know I've found it to be an amazing tool. I feel like my professional blog will be useful in the future when I'm applying for a teaching position. Also, I think that I will have my students set up their own personal blogs because I know how much they can learn from having one. Wikis are pretty cool. I like that members of the wiki can add information to any topic. I'm not sure that I would use it though because it charges a fee. The presentations that we did in class were interesting. However, I'm not a big fan of talking about myself, Project 2, so I didn't really enjoy putting it together. I did enjoy hearing others give their presentations, and I feel that this will be useful in my classroom. It will help the students develop their public speaking skills.
Google Docs is amazing! I didn't realize how many ways you could use Google until this class. This will definitely be used in my classroom, and it I love that it is multifunctional. The Google spreadsheet and forms is another great tool to use in the class. Picasa is a great tool for pictures. I found this very useful when I was making my google presentation. The podcasts and videocasts were probably my favorite projects in the class. I really enjoyed getting to learn how to do those, and I was in a great group. I think these can be the most effective in the classroom because it's something that will get your attention.
Youtube was nothing new to me because I watch videos on it all the time. I think it's a great way to communicate with others because so many people watch Youtube.
I think my favorite post that I read was Mr. McClung's first year of teaching. It was very encouraging, and is helpful to all of those who are going into the teaching profession.
My PLN is still very small, but I have hope that it will continue to grow in the future. Twitter is really great, and I just created an account.
Comment4Kids is another thing that I enjoyed doing. It's great that these children are getting the opportunity to post their work online.
I use itunes all the time to download music, but I had never taken the time to look at itunes U. This is great for students who want to know what is going on in the classroom, and offers all kind of information. This is definitely the wave of the future. As far as accessibility issues; I do believe that some students just can't afford a computer/internet. That will definitely be a problem in the future if everything is placed on the computer. At this point, I'm not sure what the answer is.
We didn't cover much about Google Earth, but I do think that is great especially for a geography course. Delicious is kind of like a factoid site. It will have just about anything you ask for, and will organize the information.
Access and Alex will be something that I use for my classroom. It offers great activites and lesson plans. I also like how Access gives students the opportunity to take courses online. Foliotek wasn't very exciting. I understand why the state requires it, but it seems like they could come up with a better way. I'm glad Dr.Strange let us do it in class because it can be confusing sometimes.
Since I've taken this course; being technologically literate has become very important to me. I think the schools of the future will involve sitting at a computer, and taking your courses online. There will be fewer hours spent in the classroom. As far as my "intellectual trail", I think it's exciting that people can google you,and automatically see your blogs.

2. I learned a lot in this class, but I would like to learn more about Twitter and Picasa. Also, I wish that we had covered more on how to develop a PLN.

3. There's nothing that I would want to forget about in this class. All of it will help us be better teachers!

4. Yes, I think what made me really excited was seeing how Kaia's blog became such a big hit. It really showed me how many opportunities can open up when you use technology.

5.I thought making the podcast/project 11 was "intellectually challenging". It made us think outside of the box, and it wasn't something I had done before.

6. Some days were kind of boring. It was mainly because I don't like sitting in a chair for long periods of time. Maybe if we were moving around a bit more that would solve the problem. It would be really cool if this class became an online course.

7. I would change the amount of projects we do. This last month I felt like we were in warp speed trying to get everything done. It's not that I don't like the projects; it's just I wish we could have more time to focus on each one. I guess what I'm saying is compared to quantity vs. quality. I would rather have fewer projects so that I can put more time into making them better. That way I don't have to worry about rushing to get the next project done. Just my two cents(=.

8. I would say, at this point, that I have a good amount of knowledge about technology. I have definitely learned a lot!

9. I'm going to keep trying to build my PLN. Also, I will make sure that I keep up with all the new technology out there.
Click here to view the questions.

New Classroom Rules...

The Education Innovation website has offered some new rules to apply in the classroom. Here are my two favorites on the list.

1. "Leave your seat only when necessary, which should be often to go collaborate with others or demonstrate something to the class." -Education Innovation
I like this rule because it's important for students to work with each other. I think we learn so much more when we all put our minds together. It's so boring to just sit, and listen to lectures all the time. Projects/activities are more effective tools for learning then just memorizing a bunch of facts. Not only does it help students to learn the material, but it also helps develop social skills.

2. "Know what you're supposed to be learning, why, and what you will do with the knowledge." -Education Innovation
Students have a tendency to just study the material for a test, and then completely forget all the information after the course is over. Instead of doing the work just for a grade; actually go a step further to get all you can out of the class. It doesn't benefit you at all if you shove the material in a corner; never to be used again.

Click here to view the Education Innovation website.

Seven Stupid/Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology

Mr.Doug Johnson wrote a list of seven stupid mistakes, and seven smart ideas that are used in the classroom. Many of his points are valid, and very true. I picked two of what I thought to be the most important from each of the lists.

I'll start out with the Seven Stupid Mistakes...

1."Not supervising computer-using students." I picked this as one of the most important mistakes when dealing with technology because it's necessary for the teacher to keep up with what the students are doing online. Teachers can't assume that a filter/blocker will automatically keep students from viewing inappropriate content. I know when I was in high school that their were some students who knew how to hack into the system. It's very easy for students to get around the internet filters which can cause all kinds of problems. Teachers need to be aware of the student's activities on the internet.

2. "Thinking technology in schools will go away." I know some people wish this was true, but it's not. Whether you like it or not; technology is here to stay. There's no sense in trying to resist it because in the end it will only make things more difficult. Instead, try to view technology as your friend, and realize how useful it can be. Trying to shut technology out of the classroom is an injustice to our students.

Click here to view "Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make with Technology".

Seven Brilliant Things.....

1. "Accept the role of a co-learner." It's so important that teachers remain opened to learning new ideas. Even if you are not a teacher; you should never stop learning. There is not one person who knows it all. If you don't know something then use it as a chance for you and your students to find out that information.

2. "Empower kids with technology." Teach your students how to use technology. Such a simple statement seems to be so hard for some people. If the teachers aren't showing the students; then who will? It's gotten to a point that it's hard to function in the world without the knowledge of technology. You can't expect your students to succeed if you don't give them the proper tools to use.

Click here to view "Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology".

The Teacher's Desk

This blog allows teachers to contribute their experiences and opinions for everyone to see. It's really great how several of the teachers have posted about things going on in their classrooms or new ideas. This is the place to bring new ideas to the table, and a good way for teachers to communicate with each other.

One post that I noticed was from Mr.Chamberlain. He was explaining ways to get more people to view your website. One class didn't have to do homework if they got 2,500 viewers to look at their class blogs. I thought that it was great how he was giving the students advice on how to get people around the world interested in their blogs. He then proceeded to post that information on The Teacher's Desk. This is very useful information that anyone can keep in mind when blogging.

Another thing that caught my attention is the list of blogs from all the collaborators. It's really cool how interconnected all of these blogs are. It's like everybody knows each other. For example, I clicked on the 2BC class blog. On their blog it shows all the people they follow, and one of them was Mr. McClung's class blog. It's crazy how small the world has become.
Overall, it's great that this professional blog is set up so that everyone can contribute.

Click here to view the At The Teacher's Desk Blog.

Michael Wesch: "A New Future of Whatever."

Mr Wesch's comments about the youth today are completely true. I do come from a very "It's all about ME!" generation. I thought it was interesting how he talked about the different definitions of "whatever". To be honest,I've been guilty in the past of using "whatever" to describe my apathy towards things.I didn't realize how negative this was until I watched this video.

Another point he made was that people feel that the only way they can have a voice is through the media. He used the example of students in a classroom versus people standing in line auditioning for American Idol. The ones wanting to be on American idol were a lot more excited than those in the classroom. I think this is because students don't feel like their voice can be heard in the class. Where as, people believe that being on AI gives them the opportunity to be heard.

Using today's technology gives everyone an opportunity to have a voice. This seems to be missing in our schools which is why our students are not engaged. As a future teacher, I want my students to feel that their thoughts and ideas do matter. Hopefully, I can guide them in the direction of the last definition of "whatever"-"Let's do whatever it takes!"
Click here to view Mr. Wesch's video.

Anthony Capp's Post

This post just goes to show how things are changing so quickly.The world expects people to use creative ways of communicating through the use of technology. It is no longer good enough to just write your thoughts down on a piece of paper. Presentation is everything now. With this in mind, I agree that we need to be preparing our student's for this technological world. We are cheating our students if we do not prepare them. It will be our responsibility to guide them, and show them the way.
Click Here to view Anthony Capp's blog.

The Importance of Blogging....

One thing I've learned in this class is how important it is too share your thoughts, and work to the world. It allows people to communicate, and sometimes brings up opportunities that might not happen if we were not interactive on the Web. The PS22 Chorus, in New York City, experienced this as their group put up a video of them singing "Landslide" on YouTube. Guess who saw it? That's right....Stevie Nicks, one of the band members of Fleetwood Mac. She invited them to Madison Square Garden to perform with Fleetwood Mac. Isn't that amazing!!!???

So many doors open when you start developing your personal networks, and blogging website. For example, Room 18 Pt England School posted their podcast for a teaching position. Their teacher is on maternity leave so they decided to do a commercial calling for all teachers who would be interested in the position. This was a great way for the students to see first hand how networking can have such an awesome impact.Click Here to view Room 18 Pt England school's website.

Mr. McClung is another example of how blogging can be a learning experience for both the poster and the reader. It gives hope to students who are nervous about teaching, and for teachers who are stressing out over the classroom. Reading his experiences give some wisdom and incite for other teachers. Click here to view Mr. McClung's blog.

Another great example is Kaia's blog. Who would have guessed that this 3 year old child would have such an impact on the world??? So many people have visited her site and seen her pictures. It just goes to show another opportunity to learn from the ideas and work of others on the Web.Click Here to view Kaia's blog.

You never know what can happen when you allow technology into your life. You might just get invited to Madison Square Garden to perform with Fleetwood Mac like the PS22 choir did......

ACCESS: Distance Learning

The ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide) program began on November 1, 2004. This program was created by Gov. Bob Riley in order to give all Alabama students, who attended public high schools, an equal learning environment. It allows students to take courses over the web, and involves distance learning. Some public schools do not have access to the resources or teachers to provide certain classes; so this provides an opportunity for students to take classes online.

This is a great program for Alabama high school students. It gives them opportunities that they might not have especially if they live in a small, rural area. For example, if a student wants to take a foreign language, such as Chinese, then they can simply take it online. Location or lack of resources are not a factor. Any high school student can be involved in this program no matter what part of the state he/she is from. My only complaint is that I wish that this was opened to elementary/middle school students as well.
Click here to view the ACCESS website.

ALEX....

Alex.......Alabama Learning Exchange. This program has been developed by the Alabama Department of Education. It provides resources such as web material, lesson plans, and interactive activities. This collection of resources is open to teachers as well as the public. Teachers can use it to gather materials for the classroom. This program makes it possible for educational information and ideas to be shared in the state of Alabama.

To view ALEX's website Click here.

I think this is a great website that will be very useful for the classroom. As a teacher, I will be able to use this to create lesson plans, and plan activities. It even has educational podcasts that can be incorporated in class. It also provides parents an opportunity to view the resources on this website.

Kaia...

It is so amazing how this three year old has captured so many hearts. I think it is wonderful that Kaia's dad is allowing the world to see his daughter's photos. I'm sure he never dreamed how far this would reach others. Click here to view Kaia's blog.
This all started when Kaia's father,Jabiz Raisdana, uploaded pictures that she had taken up onto her blog. Mr. Chamberlain's class started commenting on her blog, and her dad took notice of this. In response, her dad skyped the class. His class ended up making a voice thread for Kaia so that she could hear feedback about her pictures.
It's so cool how not only is the father teaching her to value the beauty in everything, but he is allowing her to connect with the rest of the world.
I do realize after reading his blog, Intrepid Teacher, that he has some concerns about sharing his daughter with the world. I can definitely see why he would be on the cautious side. Unfortunately, there are are some weirdos on the internet who are dangerous. Overall, I think that the pro's outweigh the con's. Yes, there are some dangers, but think of all the good that has come out of this experience.
What's really cool about this is that I have a friend who works in Qatar. The pictures that Kaia took described the place so much better than words could. I'm so glad that her father took a chance, and allowed us to see a glimpse of Kaia's life.

New Media Literacies: NML Staff/Project

The New Media Literacy is a project started by MIT. Their Comparative Media Studies program is involved with putting this activity together. They focus on ways to prepare students for 21st century technology. This program wants to educate people on technology and provide information on how to participate with the media.
Click here to visit the NML website

In their video, they talk about how you need certain skills to be able to use technology successfully. I think it's important to possess all of the skills that they talk about. Some of these that I have include: judgment, negotiation, and multitasking. The only way to gain more skills is to continue learning all of the technology out there. Be open to new ideas, and never stop learning!

The Networked Student: Connectivisim

I thought this was a really cool way to show how students can use technology for learning. Students can take control over the learning process by researching, and accessing the tools through technology. It also gives them an opportunity to connect with others. Anyone can contribute new ideas, and information that will be useful to the world.

One point that the video made was the fact that the student didn't need a textbook. I can't tell you how many classes I've taken that wanted me to buy a book, and then we didn't even end up using it. That's so frustrating because the student loses so much money on textbooks. Most college students are not rich, and can not afford to buy things that are of no use. I was so grateful when Dr. Strange said that we didn't need a book for this course!!! Why waste money on textbooks when all the information you need can be found on the computer?

Click here to watch Ms. Drexler's video.

I want to be like the teacher on the video! Boring lectures and textbooks are not the answer for students. We need to be showing our students how to use the technology available so that they can function in the 21st century.

"This is how we dream"....

As I watched Mr. Miller's videos, it occurred to me that I rarely read books off the shelves anymore. Whenever I want to read or find something; I simply just use my computer. TaDa.....everything is right there within seconds. It's been a while since I went, and researched for information at the library.

Another issue that he brought up; is the fact that using this technology allows people to view resources at a faster rate. It takes years for books to be published. By the time a book is published the information is more than likely outdated, and doesn't apply anymore. Using technology allows ideas and information to infiltrate the world more quickly then waiting on a book.
Click here to watch Mr. Miller's videos.

Before this class, there is no way I would be ready to write with multimedia. By taking this course, I feel that it is possible for me to do so. I've learned a lot of useful ways to incorporate technology in the classroom. Of course this is a learning process; whatever I don't know I'm always willing to learn. I definitely think the students will be able to do this. They just need guidance, and someone willing to teach them.

Use of ipods in the classroom

About five years ago, Duke University decided to give an ipod to all incoming freshman. The students used it to record lectures, educational shows, etc. It's really cool because you can go back, and listen to a particular lecture when needed for studying. Some of the engineer majors used the ipods for learning about sound waves.
Click here for more info about Duke University using ipods in the classroom.

I think it's a great idea to use ipods in the classroom. It allows students to record discussions, and collaborate with others. If a student misses a class then he/she can easily pull the topics discussed in school that day up on the ipod.
Click here for an useful website about ipod use in the classroom.

iTunes University

The iTunes University is a great tool for finding podcasts/vodcasts in educational purposes. It allows students to download college lectures and other materials to their ipod. I think it's amazing how you can download all this information on iTunes, and then pull it back up whenever you need it. It's especially great if your on-the-go a lot so that you can just play it on your ipod or computer wherever your at. I've had iTunes for a long time, and never realized that this feature was available until I took this course.
Click here to find more information about iTunes University.

It's going to be interesting how iTunes University plays a role in the future. Does this mean that we won't even have to attend classes in 10, 20, 50 years? I recently heard that South Alabama is going to convert their whole master's program online. Everything you learn will be online through podcasts, blogging etc. It's crazy, technology is taking over the world!!!