About Me

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I am 24 years old and a student at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in English and Secondary Education. I am currently expecting my first child, due August 10, 2010. I started this blog for my EDM 310 class and I hope you all enjoy reading my posts!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

PLN

Update on PLN

To be completely honest, I really wasn't sure where to begin with the Personal Learning Network. So after looking around for a while I found some networks worth joining. So far I've signed up for Twitter, I'm currently following Liveclass20. I've also joined a group on Facebook called High School English Teachers. The group is literally a bunch of high school English teachers sharing ideas with each other. I think these groups will greatly help me out as I continue to learn.

Comments4Kids week 7

Coral Reefs

This week I commented on Terry's blog post about coral reefs. Terry is a part of Mr. Crosby's 4th grade class. Terry shared what is important about coral reefs. He let us know that they need algae to survive, and that all types of fish live in them. I actually was able to learn something from this post. Terry told us that there are different types of reefs. I had no idea what an atoll was until I read his blog. You should definitely check out what these kids are doing!

Blog post for 2/28

This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

Richard Miller shows us in this video just how much things have changed. Information used to be found and discovered in books. Reading used to be a solitary event. These days you don't have to go to the library to do research. Everything is at your fingertips on the world wide web. Information can be found within minutes of logging on. One example he used was the past election. Voters could log on and see how the votes were stacking up. No need to wait for a television update.

Mr. Miller's second video shows us the ever changing information on the internet. The information found on the web changes everyday. New information about topics are uploaded to the internet on a daily basis. He mentions the use of iTunes University. Tons of college students have downloaded lectures using this tool. He also says that he realizes that availability of these assets are not possible all over the world, but he definitely sees a time when that will change.

Overall I really enjoyed watching these videos. Mr. Miller has an interesting view on what's going on with technology now, and what could be to come. Technology is gaining ground all over the place, especially in education. I don't know exactly how I'll be able to incorporate technology in my teaching, as far as the availability in my school, but I hope that I will get the opportunity to inspire my students by using the technology I'm learning about right now.

The Networked Student

This video shows us the importance of a PLN, Personal Learning Network. It shows that by connecting with other people and organizations that you can learn just as much as you would in a normal class setting. Networked students are allowed to explore things on their own and find networks that benefit them most. Students, including myself, often get tired and worn out by sitting and listening to a teacher lecture for and hour. A lot of information is often lost travelling from teacher to student. Where as with a student learning on his/her own, they are completely responsible for the information they retain.

When asked, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" I actually had to go back to the video. The teacher is needed to guide and direct students in the right direction. The teacher also shows the student how to build the network, how to communicate properly and how to differentiate between useful information and propaganda. Without the teacher, I'm sure the student wouldn't even know where to begin.

I'm really not sure if I'm ready to teach networked students. I'm more of a hands on, old fashioned type of teacher. I have to admit I'm a little intimidated by the concept of the networked student. However I am eager to learn how to become a networked student myself and to learn how to teach other networked students.

Toward A New Future of Whatever

This video is so great! Michael Wesch is able to show us the difference in generations. He starts off by talking about the MTV generation. Then he went on to talk about the invention of the word "whatever". In the 60's the main phrase was "I don't care. Whatever (you think)." Then in the 90's it became "Whatever (I don't care what you think)". I say the word "whatever" quite a few times a day. When he started talking about this, I had to start thinking of which meaning of the word I was using.

He goes on to talk about YouTube. He shares with us that everyday there are 1 billion videos uploaded to the site everyday. I have used YouTube to look up funny videos on occasion, and now to look up videos for school. I have never been the type to spend all my time on a site like that. He showed tons of funny clips showing us the type of videos on YouTube and what people might use it for. Tons of people have used the site for political videos, or just to be heard.

At the end of his video, he is again talking about the word "whatever". In the future, he wants the phrase to be, "I care. Let's do whatever it takes...by whatever means necessary." I hope that we get there one day.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Comments4Kids Week 6

Comments4Kids

This week I watched a video about Casey. He is one of the students in year 7 at Point England School. Casey shared his goals for the upcoming year. He wants to become a better student and to work on his writing so people can understand him. I think these are very reasonable goals and I wish him the best of luck with them!

Blog Assignment for 2/21

Alice Christie

Alice Christie created a website to help educators with what she has learned over her forty years of teaching. This website is full of information for future teachers as well as current teachers. There are many different links to information that could be very helpful to teachers.

The link to her publications is what I would use the most. It would benefit me as a teacher greatly. These help to integrate technology into teaching as well as get a sense of how to teach a certain subject. I would suggest this site to all teachers and future teachers out there


iTunes University

Can iTunes U help teachers? Actually yes! I am studying to be a high school English teacher. My students will likely be 14 to 18 years old. Kids that age are in love with the technology we have available. You can't walk in the mall without seeing dozens of kids that age playing or surfing the web with their iPhones, or iPods. Why not use those devices to help you teach?

I think that iTunes U can definitely help me as a teacher. Colleges across the country have used this to educate their students. Students learn more effectively when they are enjoying what they're doing. So I think that adding this technological advancement to my curriculum would benefit myself and my students.


iPods

Thought iPods were made just to listen to music? Think again! Duke University held an experiment to see exactly what students were using their iPods for. All of the incoming freshman were given brand new iPods free of charge. Their use of the iPods were documented. Many of the students actually used them for academic purposes. Some people downloaded a calender feature to keep track of class times and exams. Some even used the alarm clock feature to wake up for class.

With technology becoming more and more prevalent, it's not unusual that students would use something made for entertainment as a study tool. Almost every college student owns an iPod. So with that being said, how many of them will be using their iPods for more than just listening to music?? I would imagine that more than half would get the most out of their purchase.


Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Comments4Kids Week 5

Picasso

This week I commented on Jordan's Picasso painting. In his art class they have been learning about monochrome paintings. Jordan's painting was so impressive! The web site is amazing, you can scroll through all of the kids artwork. I suggest you visit this site and check out what these kids have been up to!

Lauren's Trip Around the Sun

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Blog Assignment for 2/14

Wikipedia

I know that most Internet users go to Wikipedia for a lot of information. However, is that information always accurate?? According to the posts I've read and the podcast I've listened to, the answer is no. The NPR blog on Wikipedia plus the podcast on the same site both tell us that this site can not be trusted for accurate information. Anyone, anywhere can edit or alter any article found on Wikipedia. That's kinda worrisome if you ask me. I hate to think that the information I look up on a trusted site is false.

Virgil Griffith, a graduate student from CalTech invented a way to trace the edits on Wikipedia. Apparently the people editing the site aren't just your average people. Even congressman have made changes to articles on this website. With Virgil's creation you can find out exactly who edited what article, and what exactly they edited. Isn't that a handy tool?! This way we can see who is tampering with the website. I don't believe that as of right now Wikipedia can be a trusted site. Maybe in the future people wont feel as comfortable altering articles since they can be traced. If Mr.Griffith's creation hinders people from making edits to articles, I think that Wikipedia may be able to be trusted sometime in the future.


What I've Learned This Year

Mr. Mcclung, an elementary school teacher, wrote a blog post about what he learned his first year of teaching. He writes about plenty of important topics concerning new teachers and teachers to be. One of those topics is how to read your students. As teachers we can't just teach the way we want, we have to make sure our students can understand what we are trying to teach them. He also talks about being reasonable. All of our students will not be straight A students. Some will not do as well as others and we should expect them to, and shouldn't punish them for it. These are just a few of the things Mr. Mcclung has learned.

I am so glad I was assigned to read his blog. It has helped me to realize that even though I'll be nervous and apprehensive about teaching, that through it all I will learn right along with my students. The only difference in my case is that I am going to be teaching high school students. I have actually learned something from this post. I know what to expect when I start teaching. The lessons he's learned can teach us all.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Comments4Kids

Comments4Kids

For my comments4kids assignment this week I reviewed a blog by Danilo S from the Avoca School District. This particular post was a book review. The post was very short, sweet and to the point. Danilo wrote about the parts of the book he liked. Overall I thought he made a great review. Its very refreshing to see students using technology to build communication and writing skills.

To Podcast or not to Podcast?

Langwitches


Almost everything in the country today is run by technology. We owe a lot of our success to it. Still some people are afraid to change and adapt to the technological world they find themselves in. The main question people are trying to answer is, "Is teaching with technology helping students learn more effectively, or is it a waste of time?"

I recently read a blog about such a topic. A lot of parents apparently think that podcasting is a waste of valuable learning time. The main point of this blog was to remind parents why they podcast. Podcasting teaches such things as collaboration skills, writing skills, speaking skills, story telling skills and many other valuable things our students need.

I believe that podcasting can be an amazing teaching tool. I am looking forward to creating my own podcast in the coming weeks. It's more rewarding to know all of the skills that can be improved by podcasting. There are certain things that even I need to improve on.

As always, thanks for reading!

Here is the link to the blog about podcasting.