My Final Reflection

C4K Summary

C4K November Summary

I posted on Riley D's blog post My First Loss. I really enjoyed reading this post because I could really relate to her post. She was an undefeated and she was beat on her 14th match. She was so upset, she didn’t want to talk to anyone and this loss really hit her hard. She quickly persevered and started to work that much harder. She competed in many wrestling duals and had great success. She ended up 18 and 4, which is pretty impressive. I really enjoyed reading her post because he taught me never to give up on what I want to do.

The next blog I commented on was Hannah's post called My Veteran. This blog was pretty awesome to read. She showed great enthusiasm and it was well written. She is very grateful and honored to be a part of a great family. Our country is made up of many courageous veterans and solders. I think it’s great that you think so highly of your grandfather. I loved reading this post.

The next blog Nelson's Navigators about the State Capitol was pretty informative. This was about a class that took a field trip to Montgomery, Alabama to see the State Capitol. The video provided several pictures of things inside the State Capitol. I really enjoyed seeing the pictures because I’ve never been inside the State Capitol. They also got to meet and greet with the Governor. It seemed like they really enjoyed meeting Governor. They also got to take pictures with him which was pretty cool for those young kids. This video was very funny and informative.

The last blog I commented on was Pondering Paige's post. It was about her last day in Dublin. She visited many different historic places throughout Dublin. She provided many pictures of the places she visited and made it easy to make a visual image of her trip. One of my favorite places she wrote about was the Treasury. The Treasury contains items from 15 centuries of Ireland. This post was really interesting and I would love to visit Dublin someday.

Project 13

Project 13-Skype Video

Project 13

Project 13-Interacting through technology

For Project 13, my group communicated through Skype and Google Docs. These are awesome tools to use. It is very difficult for our group to meet in person sometimes so by using Skype we could communicate from our couch. I have never really used Skype so this was very useful for me. Our group has done a pretty good job communicating. I have posted our group Skype conversation on my blog. We shared our Google docs with EDM310 Help and Dr.Strange.

My final PLN Report

My final PLN Report

This class has brought me a long way as far as what I know about technology. The only time I ever really used the internet was to check a score or get on Facebook. Throughout this semester I have found that there is much more to the internet other than just browsing useless information. I have found many useful ways to use the internet. I now use many tools and resources I had no prior knowledge of until this class. I have learned to use Twitter, iMovie, Skype, green screen and podcasts. These tools have become very important for me as a student. I also just learned how to use iBook and I really enjoyed this tool. I have definitely grown as a student because of these resources. Now that I have learned to use the internet, sky is the limit as far as my education. My PLN has improved tremendously and I am very fortunate to now know how to use the internet.

Project #15 Smart Board Lesson

Summary Post C4T #4

I was assigned to read and comment on Paige Baggett blog. The first post I commented on was about her last day in Dublin. She visted the Northside and Southside of Dublin and she had a very enthuastic bus driver who proivided very useful information. She visited a lot of pretty cool places. One of my favorite places she visted was The Guinness Brewery and Storehouse. This Brewery was founded in 1759 and still produces one of Ireland's natural drink. Ten million pints a day are brewed world-wide. I found this information pretty interesting and I learned a lot about this particular company. Something that I would really like to visit would be The National Museum of Ireland Archaeology This place seems pretty historical and I would love to see it.

The next post I commented on was titled Exceptional Art in College Education. This post was pretty awesome to read and observe. Students from EDU301 joined people from the Exceptional Foundation and learned about perseverance, character and art education. They also engaged in a pretty cool finger-paiting with a blind artist. I really enjoyed seeing how these kids interacted with these kids with disabilities. It was cool to see these kids laugh and enjoy these fun activities. I am fortunate to be taking a educational class dealing with kids with special needs and I really enjoy it. I have been able to interact with some of these kids and it is an life changing experience.

Blog Post #13

A Vision of Students Today

The video A Vision of Students Today was very informative. This video was well put together, from the music to the students participating and putting together. I really paid attention and was into this video. It provided some very truthful and honest opinions on how the classroom and college is today. This video was very realistic. In a document a question was asked and it was "What is it like being a student today?" There has been 200 students that have made 367 edits to this document. All of these students surveyed themselves and this help create the video that they put together.

This video stated some very true facts. The video really relates to what every college student goes through. I go through these difficulties every semester. I never use me of my books and it IS a waste of money. One student pointed out that the average amount of students in her class is a 115 students. That is ALOT of people. When I have that many people in my class I tend to zone out and I don't learn to my full potential. One student states that 18% percent of her teachers know her name. I just don't think a teacher can possibly connect and interact with that many students. In a class that large a teacher, realistically, is not going to know all their names or connect with them. There has been many instances were I get really bored with these lectures and start playing on my phone. The education world is getting advanced with technology and some classrooms are not using it to their advantage. I feel like students are getting effected by the old ways of teaching an it is hurting them in the long room.

Personally I feel like the resources and tools that are available in classroom should be available to students all the time. Overall the video got the message across without saying a word. Teachers need to understand that there are other ways to learn besides just lecturing. I really related well to this video.

After watching Brian Crosby's Back to the Future video I was in shock of how many kids really don't know what’s going on in the outside world. In his classroom he deals with students of poverty. This video was really eye opening for me. He says these kids are not connected with the outside world and haven't been since they were born. These kids have had a narrowed curriculum and don't have the experience in the outside world. He tries to help these kids out and get them connected with the outside world. He talks about how his students have the access to laptops and all of his kids have blogs which connects them to the outside world. Mr. Crosby challenges his kids to think outside of the box. One example is, he tells his kids to write stories and imagine they are balloons and to discuss their experience. By doing this they then are taught how post their blogs and post them on to YouTube. The kids are amazed that people actually look and comment on their blog post. They become exposed to the outside world because kids from all over the country begin to comment on their blog's. They really enjoyed learning how to use Google Maps. They learned to find the location and time of the air balloon falling. Kids began to see this across the world and wanted in on these projects as well. So these classes started to Skype and talk and interact about these projects. These tools allow these kids to interact globally and they are able to grasp what is actually going on. I think it is awesome that these kids get the opportunity to learn because of the technology provided to them. I found this video to be very motivating because it makes you realize that some kids aren’t has blessed as we have been. By this technology they are getting to experience the same education as every other kid around the US. It was cool to see these kids get so involved. These students are able to provide and allow other kids to learn what they are able to learn.

Progress on Final Project

Progress Report on Final Project

Our group is creating a IBook for our project. We have made pretty good progress as a group. We are all starting to collect information and putting it together as a group. We are starting to pick out our posts, taking pictures and film our videos. We plan on to meet this week to finish up our project.

Blog Post #12

My Blog Assignment :

Watch this video Education "Times are a changing". What did you get from this video? Do you think technology should take over classrooms and how do you think times are changing? How will you incorporate technology into your classroom? Think about what the video presents and write two or more paragraphs on the questions presented to you earlier following the requirements in Writing a Quality Blog Post.

The next task I would like you to do is to find a website that provides information on how to incorporate technology into the classroom correctly. Provide the benefits of incorporating technology in the Classroom and what you think about these benefits. Also provide the link of the website and a picture.

Me completing my Assignment!

I found the video Education "The Times are a Changing" pretty entertaining and helpful. It was a video that showed how classrooms operated back in the day and how technology started to gradually take over the classroom. It showed students using cell phones and computers in the classroom instead of using pen and paper. I also enjoyed how the music went along with the video and guided you along throughout the video. The video shows the use of tools throughout the classroom such as the Smart board.

Personally, I really think times are changing throughout classrooms in America. Growing up, I rarely used computers in the classroom; I always used pencil and paper. Now the more I see how times are really changing, I believe ALL teachers need to incorporate technology into their classrooms. There is so many ways to learn with the use of technology. There are so many resources and tools on a computer that provide a kid to learn easier. Kids would rather look at information on the computer rather than reading a boring book. I will most definitely incorporate technology into my classroom. I am an old school guy but I see how much technology has grown and how easy it is for kids to learn. There will definitely be computers in my classroom to help my kids learn easier. In the video it also shows the use of the Smart board, which is a great tool. I will use the smart board in my classroom because it engages the students into the classroom and makes it fun to learn.

The website I found was titled Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum?: The Reasons Are Many. This particular website provided many reasons why technology should be integrated into the classroom. This website states that “technology will help students acquire the skills they need to survive in a complex, highly technological knowledge-based economy." It states that putting technology in the classroom is more than just having a teacher teaching computer skills and software programs. Teachers need to use effective programs that enhance the learning process. It states that there are four key components of learning. These components are: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. The tools that technology provides are amazing. There are tools that allow student to visualize and understand the certain topic because it is hands own. It also allows the students to stay engaged on the topic.

I believe these benefits are huge for the progress of education. If I would have had some of these opportunities I would be much more advanced. The tools these kids get to use are very useful for their learning. When I become a teacher I am going to incorporate all of these resources and tools into my classroom.

C4K summary

I recently commented on Riley D's blog,My First Loss. I really enjoyed reading her post and I can really relate to her post. She lost a wrestling match and was very upset about it. She continued to work hard and persevre and she ended up winning her next match. She really taught me a valuable lesson because I get frustarted while playing baseball. I have learned that you can't let the past effect your future.

C4T November Summary

I am following Mike Prater and his blog Growth through Learning. Mike Prater is currently retired but he taught Math and Science in the Missouri school system. He has also served as assistant principal and he taught at the college level.

His first post was about how to Motivate Students to Learn without Rewards. I first introduced myself and let him know that I was a student in EDM 310. He provided some very helpful information. I informed him that I was all for his methods of motivating. That all kids are not going to be angels and say yes sir or no sir. By showing them attention and actually genuinely caring about them, I think you can get the best out of the student. I really enjoyed the part about challenging kids to the right extent. If you motivate and push the kid, the student will work hard and get rewarded.

The post I was assigned to this week was about Loving the Unloveable Student. He was given an Algebra class filled me 10th graders. His immediate thought was that these kids have already failed and why does he have to teach these kids? His assistant principal caught him complaining about it and gave him a wakeup call. So the next day of class he went in with the right approach. He chose to try to get the best out of these kids. So the next day in class he informed them, that they were getting a second chance. He found it very hard to communicate with kids and the parents. One day he called one of the students parent to inform that the kid had made a C on a very difficult test. The next day the kid came in crying and informed the teacher that his dad took him out for pizza because he had been doing well in the classroom. He goes on to say that particular class was one of his favorites. It wasn’t because he reached to all of them because he didn’t but he was able to change some of those kids’ lives. That is the ultimate reward.

I really enjoyed this post. I could really relate to him and feel how bad he wanted to change those kids’ lives. I took from it that you really can’t judge a book by its cover. There are so many kids out there that aren't given the time a day and ultimately they end up not reaching their potential. I am really going to try to be like that in my classroom. It is not going to bother me what kind of class I have, I am going to work hard and give those less fortunate kids every opportunity I can
possibly provide.

Blog Post #11

First Graders Ms. Cassidy’s Classroom

The Video Ms.Cassidy's Classroom was pretty entertaining. They are showing how they use technology in their classroom for learning. The kids seemed very eager and ready to learn. In the video, it shows how the kids use blogs in the classroom. They use these blogs to learn about different subjects. The kids also talk about how to use their webpage to learn. They demonstrate by pressing on pictures and learning about those pictures on that particular site. The webpages provides fun games and very fun ways to learn. It also shows the way those kids comment on posts and how other people can comment on their post. The people commenting give them their views and allow the kids to learn more in depth about the material. One of the kids talks about always being positive while commenting on someone’s blog post. I really liked this idea because I learn a lot better when I see other people views and ideas. They also create and share videos about what they learn in class. I also liked how they used Skype as well. They use this to learn from people across the world.

The Skype between Dr.Strange and Ms. Cassidy

The conversation Skype Conversation between Dr.Strange and Ms. Cassidy was very informative. I learned many ways how to use technology. I also learned if you really put you mind to it, you can accomplish many things. She talks about when she was a child how she never got the opportunity to use technology. Honestly, I wasn't exposed too much technology as a kid either. I think it really hurt me because now I am really just learning how to use the internet and engage in learning. She first states that she got involved in technology when she was given a few computers about ten years ago. The technology she uses in her classroom growing as technology develops.

She now uses technology in her class frequently. She uses Blogs for her students and their writing skills have improved. I think it’s really cool how her students interact with kids around the world and learn things that they would have never had the opportunity to learn without this technology. I really liked her approach as well. She adapted to her classroom and never made it too hard for them. She also gave great advice about to use technology where you are most interested. Personally, if I am interacted with something I really enjoy, I am going to learn more efficiently. One of my very points was that you have to find your students interests. If you have your students full attention and interest, that can go a long way.

She also introduced social media to her classroom. One Social media tool they use is Twitter. I think it’s awesome that they are already getting to use these tools. They are so many learning tools you can receive by using those tools. I just recently started using twitter and I absolutely love it. It provides many resources and I learn from it every day. I really like how she incorporates that in her classroom.

Personally, I really enjoyed listening to her Skype conversations. I learned so many things that I can incorporate in my future classroom. Hopefully, I am provided with the right technology because I will definitely put it to use. I have never had the opportunity to learn this much about technology and it has really opened up my eyes to the opportunities I can present my kids with.

Special Assignment

A World where grades are left behind

In this blog "A World where grades are left behind" by Mary Beth Marklein she talks how learning should be free and available to everyone. She goes on to say that no one is late for class and no one accepts failure.

He then talks about a red and blue pill. The red pill is for the teachers who like adventure and wonderland. The blue pill is for those teachers that like to lecture all day. He then talks about udacity being one of a rush of online start-ups he oversees. This tool could develop a catalog of free online sources. In one room the student can be creating special effects and videos. In the other room, they are creating courses that will help the students engage in their learning. He believes that would day students will learn straight from technology. He talks about students watching videos at night and doing the homework during the day. He also believes that grades are failure of the education system. He believes that grades should come to you rather than being forced upon.

I think his ideas were awesome. If everything wasn't so forced in the school system then maybe students would look forward to learning. Rather than dreading to take a test, students would look forward to it. He also talks about having to understand your students mind. Personally, I would much rather learn through technology or a game rather than a lecture.

Blog Post #10

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga

After looking and analyzing the cartoon "I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga", I gathered the ideas he was trying to get across to his viewers.

The biggest issue that the cartoon is representing is that pencils and paper are old ways of learning and we should adapt to the new ways of technology. The Papermate is saying that pencils are cheap and schools should use them but they don't really allow you to engage in the real world like technology does. Although pencils have been used for years and years, I think it's time to incorporate technology in the classroom. Technology makes it easier and more fun for the students to learn. Pencils and paper might be cheaper but it's not giving our students all the possible resources. The Ticonderoga in the cartoon supports technology in the classroom. I think it represents the modern day technology that helps out the classroom rather than the old school pencils and paper.

Mr.McLeod Blog Post

The first blog I read was "Why were your Kids Playing Games?". This blog post was quite entertaining and interesting. This particular post talks about a teacher playing games with his class. He was trying to allow the kids to learn in an engaging and productive way. The principal did not want him playing games in class. He wanted the kids memorizing the lessons in order to pass standardized tests. The principal was quite upset with what the teacher was incorporating in his classroom but the kids were actually learning! Personally, I am a more productive learner when I am involved and interacting. I think it is awesome when teachers interact with kids because they learn better rather than just memorizing facts. In a lot of cases, some kids just memorize what they have to for the test then they completely forget about it the next week. If you actually take the time to teach and interact with the kids, the chances of them remembering are much higher. I am looking forward to becoming a teacher because I am going to do all sorts of fun activities just so my kids can learn more efficiently.

The next blog post I read was, "Remember Pencil Quests?". This blog was pretty cool. It's crazy how just a pencil was getting these students excited. These kids had the opportunity to use multiple pages of textbooks to learn. They were so excited about where they were going and what pages they were going to get to explore. I think this all relates back to the internet. The Internet is so unpredictable, you never know what site you're going to land on and what information you're going to gather. I feel like with this post, Mr. Spencer is informing the audience that there is no limit to learning. I can't wait to incorporate these learning activities into my classroom.

Mr.Spencer's Blog Post

After reading, "About Me" I found out some valuable information about Mr.Spencer. Mr.Spencer is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He is known as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. He is also the Director of Innovation for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency 8 in Iowa. He was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? Mr.Spencer is a very accomplished and very interesting man.

I really enjoyed his blog called "Don't teach your kids this stuff, please?" . His post was very different and sarcastic to say the least. He talks about not letting kids use the internet because it will give them a leg up. It says that pens and pencils aren't going anywhere and that the internet will really ruin a kid. He touches on all of the negative points of the internet but there is a ton of positives as well. If the kids are taught how to use it by their instructors, there shouldn't be much harm. I think that kids should use the internet because it lets them know what is going on around them. I do think kids should have restrictions to what they do and what they look at on the internet. There is a lot of non educational things and bad information out there. The internet is a very useful tool and provides useful information to young kids. I do think there is negatives that go along with internet but there are a ton of positives as well. If students use it correctly then it will help them tremendously because if they don't they will fall behind.

Project #11 Green Movie

Project #14 Smart Board Part #1

Project #10

My PLN Progress

Personally, I believe that a person's PLN is very important to their education and success. Figuring out how to use the internet to your own advantage can go a long way. Throughout my time in EDM 310 my PLN has improved tremendously. I now know how to use social media to my advantage and how to use the internet to help me out as a student. I have learned many helpful tools by improving my PLN. I have learned to use Twitter, Youtube, Google Chrome,Symabaloo and a few others. One network I have grown to like is Symbaloo. I just recently started to use it and it provides so much great information and I have been using it pretty consistently. Being a History major, I am able to look to look at topics we review in class and get more familiar with them. I Also use Facebook quite often. My favorite so far is Twitter. I use Twitter daily, to see news articles and I use it as a resource to learn about whats going on in the social media world. I also am able to see comments for Dr. Strange and his assistants. Another amazing source is Google Docs which allows a classmate and I to communicate without really seeing each other. My Peer can help me without even meeting at the library or in the classroom. Also, with me playing baseball, I am always on the road and i'm not able to attend class all the time. Having A PLN, multiple sources and helpful tools makes it easier on me to complete a certain assignment. Everyday I am trying to improve my PLN because there is always something new I learn.

Project 12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #9

Version 4 Post

In this blog What I learned This Year I found very helpful to my teaching future. Dr.McClung wrote a reflective post about his class after his first year of teaching. He received great feedback and since he enjoyed it so throughly, he decided to write one after every school year. In this particular post he really concentrates on his fourth year as a teacher. He focuses on two problems throughout his blog post. The first part of the blog called You Gotta Dance With Who You Brought to the Dance he was trying to define himself as a teacher and impress his peers that surrounded him. In this particular year he was worried about what his peers thought about him, rather than having fun and doing it the way he knew how to teach. He begins to have anxiety because he does not know what his peers think about him. This affected him im his classroom. He goes on to say that he does not need to change the way he does things just because how his peers perceive him. This post is a vary valuable lesson to me because I sometimes care to much about what people think and I try to please everyone. It teaches me really to stick to my roots and be true to myself. When it comes down to it, its not about my peers, teaching is about influencing those young kids and making sure they are having fun with the lesson.

His next point is called Challenge Yourself. In this post he talks about getting to comfortable and complacent. He taught the same two subjects for three years and he began to find himself getting lazy and losing his creativity. He began to use old lesson plans and his classes started to get boring. This next year Mr.McClung is assigned two new classes, which are pre-AP civics and American Government. He is very estatic about this because he is able to make new lesson plans and increase his creativity. He learns from this that you can never become to comfortable because that is when you lose students interest. Then, they begin not to learn as much in your class. I think this post is right on point because teachers these days get real comfortable and the classes ultimately get boring. As a teacher I never want a boring class. This teaches me that I have to bring it every day with a plan and I have to come prepared. When I was in high school, I had some teachers who do the same thing over and over again. Realistically, I got tired of going so i never was really interested in learning. So this blog teaches me a valuable lesson to try to be the best teacher I can possibly be and to challenge myself and my students everyday.

What I have Learned this Year (2008-2009)

In the blog What I have learned this Year was quite intersting and very helpful knowledge. This teacher has completed his first year as a elementary teacher and shared some very valuable tips. First, he talks about how he was so consumed with impressing his superiors that he was losing contact with his audience. He thought it was all about HIM. He also talks about how some teachers don't make the students the center of attention and they worry to much about how they are doing while dealivering the lesson. He then talks about teachers being flexible. He said that he was trying to give the perfect lesson plan, rather than just relaxing and having fun with it. This next points was one of my favorites which is Communicating. He goes on to say that communication is the easiest way to solve any problem. Building relationship with your students is very important. The students must be able to communicate as well so they do not fall behind.

As a teacher never have too high of an expectation. He says that children are going to be children and as a teacher you can get your hopes up. If expectations are too high then these students are set up for disappoinment and failure. Mr.McClung's says that if they do fail it is our job to pick them up and make sure they stay after it. Another point he touches on, is that teachers can not be afraid of technology. Technology is a very helpful tool. He also touches on Listening to your students. Another big point he touched on was to actually listen to your students. In order to gain respect you have to give it as well. Last but not least, he says you have to open to learn more as a teacher. Some teachers refuse to learn and they end up not becoming the best possible teacher they could be. He goes on to say that we live in a learning environment so why not soak it all in.

I thought this blog was very helpful and very easy to follow along with. He provided many great points that impact a classroom. As a future teacher I am going to incorporate those ideas in my classroom. He touches on many great points but there were a few that I really enjoyed. He talks about not caring what your superiors think because all you should care about as a teacher is thhe kids. The kids should be the only people a teacher should worry about. I also enjoyed the part about communication. To me communication is the key to success. For example, I play baseball at the University and since we are gone a lot, so I tend to miss a good bit of school. If i was not to communicate with the teacher my grade would suffer. Overall, I think Mr.McClung did a outstanding job with this blog. He really opened my eyes to some new ways to approach teaching.

C4T #2 Summary

The blog Thumann Resources were both pretty interesting. The first blog I read was about how she was being able to post many blogs lately and how bad of a blogger she was. She provided a few websites that she has been working on recently.
The next post I read was Edcamp for newbies. She goes to a class that she was very prepared for and ended up informing these students about this process.

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream

The video This How We Dream Part 1 and 2 Dr. Richard Miller gave a presentation titled “The Way we teach now”. Being part of EDM 310, I have learned how to use the internet and enjoy using technology. Prior to the 21st century students used textbooks, lectures and literature to learn in school. Now ways of learning have changed. Teachers start to incorporate technology in the classroom. Personally growing up, I used pens, paper, and books to learn my assignments. Now students learn concepts through internet, social networking, e-books and much more. Personally, I think students should use pencils and books but combine it with technology as well.

Now people can communicate instantly and globally. Students and teachers collaborate together and they are able to visualize instantly by producing works with print, images, and film. He puts together a video that have all these things in this one video. He does this because it improves student’s memory and provides excitement. These techniques make works on the internet live forever. He also talks about how you can learn things without even stepping foot in the classroom. For example, He says he wrote a piece of work on the one year anniversary on the shooting at Virginia Tech. He states he was able to provide information without even stepping foot in a library.

I am all for technology, to improve education. Technology has improved my learning tremendously. Without technology I would be without a huge source of technology. Being able to use twitter, Facebook, You Tube, blogging and google chrome has expanded my learning beyond belief. I don’t know what I would do without technology. Personally, being a baseball player and traveling all the time, technology has help me keep up with my classes. By knowing this now, I will definitely incorporate technology in my classroom.

Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

The video about Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12 was a video i really enjoyed and found quite intersting. She had a lot of great suggestions. I received a lot of very valuable tips that I would use in my class room in the future. This post was a post that she thought Dr.Strange should assigned to the class. I liked how she emphasizes the importance of visual assignments in the classroom. I think when students see things visibly they learn it better than being lectured. She also provided some information with writing in Multimedia. I loved her belief in technology and I hope one day I can be that excited about technology in my classroom.
The Chipper Series

The two video on The Chipper series and the video EDM 310 for Dummies were two pretty cool videos. It talks about procrastination and Chipper happens to be that student. For a teacher, communicating with the students would cause less confusion and lessen the chance of procrastination. Students make excuses why they can’t do it, instead of just getting the assigned assignment done. It talks about staying on top of things which ultimately leads to success. Not procrastinating makes life so much easier. When a student does not procrastinate in EDM 310 and does there work throughly without rush, you actually enjoy doing the work. As a student I lose focused and carried away. This video teaches a student that it is important to stay on track and that the teachers is there to help you. This video shows that with a little bit of hard work you can accomplish many things.
The video EDM 310 for dummies is about two students that are very frustrated with their EDM 310 class. It provides information on how to get an A in EDM 310. It just show that if we pay attention and use all of the tools presented to us that the class should not be overwhelming at all. If we could get our work done without rushing, then the class will be fairly easier.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video was pretty interesting and helpful. These days all kids have some sort of technology. Whether it is a IPad or a smartphone. Most kids do not use them for educational purposes. I think that kids need to learn to use technology in the classroom to further their education. The video also says that this technology also provides the kids with a great learning environment. When I become a educator im going to try to teach kids how to use technology to their benefit.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

The Scavenger Hunt assignment was pretty cool. It provided many tools that you can use to your benefit.

I used the Social Network Google Docs. This one of my favorite social Network's because you can communicate with a teacher without even being in the classroom. A teacher can add or comment on your post and can view it through your very own account. If i ever deals with upper level students I am going to incorporate this in my classroom.

I made my own comic by Make Belief Comix. This a great activity for young kids and i really enjoyed it. I think this is a great tool.

I also explored for education, this is an ideal tool for creating videos and presentations. Animoto helps teachers to enhance their digital classrooms and bring lessons to life. This wonderful website allows for free membership, this is amazing because it offers so much for a teacher who is trying to expand and enhance their lessons. Through one of the features, Spotlight, one can give specific images added prominence and screen time in videos. Animoto also analyzes music, photos and video clips and orchestrates a custom video leaving you free to focus on the content and narrative of your video.

Project #8 Group Podcast

Blog Post #7

The video The Networked Student showed me many ways on how students can use the internet. This video was very helpful because it shows how to use the internet for learning. Honestly,I feel like this class is very similar to EDM 310 because it makes you use the internet for your class instead of being lectured by a teacher. All teachers these days use a different way to learn;some use more technology and some like to interact, lecture and use powerpoints. I think its great to have kids use technology and learn how to use the computer and being able to do stuff own there own. When i become a educator, ill have to adapt to my enviroment and decide which teaching way is the most productive.

The video is all about the student doing his class online. He meets in class every now and then and uses the teacher as a resource. The teacher uses Connectivism which allows students to use tools and resources on the internet. He really just finds information from many different sources. He reads other students blogs and comments on them to learn more about the topic. He networks with these students to try to learn as much as possible. They also uses Ipods and Ipads to listen to podcast from some of the great professors around the country. Even though he is not in the classroom being lectured and taking notes he is still able to retain information.

The big question is why does a "Networked Student need a teacher?" The teacher is really just a tool and resource for these students. From my experience in networked classes , I would not have any clue what to do if the teacher was not there as a guide. They lay the foundation and let you learn and take care of the rest on your own. They provide information if you ever get stuck and just make it a lot easier.

The video Welcome to my PLE was very interesting on how much this seventh grader is getting accomplished by the internet. She shows us how she uses her page and the tools she uses. She uses Google Docs, Peer editing and Skype. My PLN is similar to her PLN because we use the same networking tools. My PLN is improving because I am learning how to use these resources and tools the internet provides.

C4K Summary of September

The blog I posted a comment on Apostrophes was written by Mrs.Kathleen Morris. Her blog was about apostrophes. I felt like it was a very informative blog. It provided plenty information about apostrophes. I loved the examples it gave which makes it easy for people to understand apostrophes. It showed how to use them on the keyboard and provided examples of how to use and not use apostrophes.

The next blog post Krebs' Class Blog was Tree Identification in Science. In this blog it gave information and a few students posted saying what they learned. I enjoyed seeing the young kids posts and how much they learned. I think it is great that these kids are understanding how to learn at such a young age. Overall, I think this Blog was pretty informative and interesting.

Project 9a Timetoast

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

After watching Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, I think this video is pretty inspirational. I think he is an awesome influence and role model toward future teachers. Although his video was an hour long, I thoroughly enjoyed watching all sixty minutes of it. The first half of his video was big on following your dreams. I love this part of the video because my whole life I been told to follow my dreams and not to let anyone tell you that you can’t do. By following my dreams, it has taught me hard work and perseverance which he talks about as well. I thought the part about the “brick walls” was pretty inspiring. He says that there are going to be “brick walls” while trying to reach your dream that you have to overcome. Some people come by an obstacle and just give up but he talks about when you get knocked down by these “brick walls” to get back up and to continue to preserve.

Another exceptional technique he talked about was to always have a good support system. I thought this was great advice because there is no way I would be the person I am today without the people that loved me. First off, my parents have always been there for me and taught me the rights and wrong of life. They have always been there for me through the thick and thin and I wouldn't be the same person without me. Being an athlete, there has been a lot of coaches who have been role models to me. Most of all one of my best friends, Philip Mcduffie, is one of my biggest role models. This kid has been through it all. He has gone through his family being bankrupt to not having a car to drive and not having hardly any money to eat. He just kept on having a positive attitude and keep his head up high and things are looking up for him. Also in the classroom, he showed me how to work hard and to keep your priorities straight because in the big picture, school is most important. He has showed me how to work hard and treat people the right way.

He also talked about having high expectations for his students in the classroom. He talks about not having expectations or a ceiling for his students in his classroom. He says that the students should do as much as they want to do and go above and beyond what they think they can do. You should never tell a child that they cannot reach a certain goal or dream. By putting an expectation on these kids, you limit them from thinking outside the box and reaching their potential. He also goes on to explain that having fun is very important. He thinks you should interact and have fun with your kids in the classroom. Personally, I never really enjoy just sitting in the classroom and listening to the teacher lecture. I would rather play a game or something to learn instead of taking notes.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching this video. I feel like it will help me become a better teacher in the future. I cannot wait to put these tools to good use and help my classroom be more successful. I would definitely suggest to all students who have not watched this video to do so because Randy is such an inspiring speaker. I feel like everyone should be required to watch this video because it helped realize that no matter what I should never give up on my dreams. I cannot wait to use these tools when I continue in this career.

My Sentence Video

Blog Post #5

The iSchool Initiative

In this by Travis Allen, talks about his solution to the school systems throughout America. He thinks the solution. In this video he talks about instead of using books, pencils,Paper and expensive printing machines that we should incorporate iTouch in Schools which provides apps that do all things that books,pencils and paper would do. As for taking notes, there is a note App on the iTouch which would allow them to get all the notes and with email available, they can email back and forth with the teacher. There are some pretty cool Apps such as Chemical Touch. This App shows the whole periodic table and displays information on any element. There is also a Iclassic which gives you access to all your texts books and you don't have to waste paper or any resources. The assignments act is pretty cool. It allows the student to see all his assignments and the teacher is able to see and respond to them right away.

After watching the video, I believe that this video was very informative. It provided great information on how schools should transition to this iTouchs. Having this technology with make it easier and less expensive on the student and parents. Another thing is that kids these days stay on there iphones and itouches anyways so I think students would enjoy doing classwork on their phone. Using more technology will also save so many natural resources by not using pencils and paper and other school supplies. Overall, I think this is a great idea to incorporate technology into the school systems.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Tour

The video Eric Whitacre's Virtual Tour was pretty aweasome. It is pretty cool how technology can produce voices like that. He was so outgoing towards these people he has never met and showed them how cool technology was. Personally, I think it was a amazing video because I have never really seen anything like it. These days technology has come such a long way its incredible and i think people should take advantage of it.

Why I flipped my classroom and Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ

After watching Why I Flipped my classroom and Dr.Lodge McCammons FIZZ I really came to like the idea of Flipping the classroom. She was completely right about how the variety of students in the classroom can change. There are students that are fast learners, some are slow learners and some are lower level students. Personally, I could see myself using this strategy. Now a days there are so many kids that never really get the lesson plans. In a classroom there are some many kids and different kind of learners and i want to be able to reach out to all of them. Letting the kids go on there computer and listen to the lesson plans over and over again will prepare them for the class and will help them be more active in that days lesson plan. For those fast learners, they can work ahead. When the kids are able to be in a group with the same leveled kids that makes it easier to learn. I feel like more classrooms should do this because i know i like learn better when the teacher is specific and more hands on.

Teaching in the 21st Century

After watching the videoTeaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts, he believes you have to understand concepts and provide facts,content, formulas and other things. He goes on to say that students can learn some anywhere, anytime, Anyplace. The importance of the web is huge in kids life today. He says that we need to incorporate the tools that the kids already know how to use to learning. As a educator, I will have to adapt to my students and give them the best chance to learn. My biggest thing is to get the students to interact and engage in the classroom and im going to do whatever i can to make that happen.

Presentation #5

Slidesow

Blog Assignment #4

1st Graders create there own Read-Along Audiobook

The video 1st Graders create there own Read-Along Audiobook was about first grade students creating a podcast on the book they read that day in class. The whole time throughout the podcast the teacher continued reading. By the time she was done reading the book she already had 10 scripts collected. Each student creating a podcast for different parts of the book. When they finished they listened to the podcast and followed along with it in the book. At the end of each chapter there is a distinct sound which lets the students know a new chapter is about to begin. Once the class was done with the book, the teacher had them write a few sentences about what they learned. The teacher loved it, she thought the students were so engaged and it really help them learn. I think this is a great way for kids to learn. Kids love to hear there and voice and when there doing something fun they are more into it, which makes them learn a little better.

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting

This Blog Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting talks about how to actually understand words and make it part of your vocabulary. It says that in order to internalize a word, you have to hear at least seventy times and not just hear it actually the context the word is embedded in. It also says that when learning a word you want to attach and feeling you can to that particular word so you can remember it vividly. I think the recording and editing a podcast is pretty cool. The particular gives the learner so many different options. They can hear their voices,read the sound, sounds can be deleted as well as edited. They had Second Graders trying to learn Hebrew so they had them create a podcast on the class blog so they could show their parents. The story they were reading was called Purim. The students loved recording these podcasts because they got hear their own voices and try to learn this language better. Using podcast allowed the students to record sounds, re-listen to them and then try to present the story. Personally, i think this a great tool for young kids to learn language. When they hear it and interact with all these tools they have it makes it so much easier to learn.

Podcasting with First Graders

This podcast Podcasting with First Graders was a little different than the first two I read. The teachers way of using the podcast was pretty interesting. Like all the other posts these students were so excited to learn because they got to hear their own voices. This teacher had her students come up with question and answers about the book they just read. She interviewed both the boys and girls. The students more so excited to record their question outside the classroom while the rest of the class continued to read the book. The interaction between the students seemed awesome. These podcast got the students to actually process what they read. I think using these podcast is a great idea for younger kids. It opens up a whole new way of learning for these kids and they love it.

C4T

The two post I have read from Lisa Thumann have been pretty fun to read. She provides very good information. In here first post, she visited a school and wanted to present the Edcamp. She talked about how when she first walked in the students really didnt care about what she was saying. They asked "Will I Learn anything?" or "Do you have any Handouts?" But she prepared very well and presented what she wanted to very well. She reviewed everything and gave them fun ways to learn these steps. She got some really good responses afterwards, thanking her for such a great presentation.

Blog Assignment 3

Peer Editing Tutorial

In the video,Peer Editing Tutorial,and the slide show Peer Editing SlideshowI feel like the video on Tutorial Peer Editing was very informative and helpful. I already knew how to peer edit but this made my knowledge of peer editing better. I also learned that there are three steps and that helps improving your peers paper. I found it very informative how you should always be positive when your critiquing someones work. I like that, because if someone peer reviewed my paper I would like that person to be positive as well. It also says, to always start of with positive comments and I love that idea. When someone puts all the hard work and time into a paper, they want to be told what they did right, not what they did wrong. Being positive encourages the writer to add things to their paper and make it the best paper possible. I also learned to give positive suggestions and when giving these suggestions be positive and specific. It is also very important to read through the whole paper or blog before you decide to make any corrections. So you have a complete understanding of the paper and not just a partial understanding.
In the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 mistakes, it was very helpful,because I find myself making these common mistakes while peer editing papers. One thing I got out of this video is that the person editing the paper should be more specific and not be broad. When people put things like this sentence "doesn't make sense", I feel like they should be more specific and actually tell them how to correct it. Another mistake people make while peer editing is rushing through the paper, instead of throughly reading the paper. Which ends up being no help to me ,because they did not put the time in to help me better my paper. Another mistake is when people get real defensive over people critiqing his or her paper. Instead of taking it in a negative manner, try to understand that they are just trying to help. I wish people could learn from these mistakes and become a better peer editor.

Technology in Special Education

The video Technology in Special Education shows how technology can effectively help kids with special needs. These kids with these special needs arent able to function and learn quite like kids that don't have special needs and technology gives these kids the oppurtunity to learn and interact with their surroundings. The video showed that a kid that cant talk or communicate, can communicate while typing on the computer instead of communicating while talking. For example, Chris liked tying his words out because it helped him communicate with the teacher. Technology helps them to have experience in the real world. Another way technology helps it when the kids listen to the assignment on their I-Touch and it helps them follow along with what their doing in their book. Some kids are auditory learners rather than visual learners. This means kids pick up on things better that they hear rather than what they see. With this technology I feel like like it would make the kids more eager to learn.

If I ran a classroom with kids containing special needs there are several things I would do to help these kids improve their learning. For example, if I assigned a book in class, I would play the book on tape so they could follow along better rather than just trying to read. I would also get these kids to type the things I was saying so they could better understand it. If they couldn't understand a word or sentence I was saying, i would get them to type it out.

How Ipads work for Academics with Autism

In the videoHow IPads work for Academics with Autism and after visiting the website Apple Education I picked the App Alphabyes, which I think would help kids with special needs tremendously. This App contains illustrations, sound effects and helpful hint options to help them learn their Alphabet. This will help kids learn words alot easier rather than just writing it down on paper. Rather than just being told they are wrong, this app will give them another try and continue to help them to learn these letters. This App gives a good visual effect and is a great learning tool for kids with disabilities.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

The video Harness Your Students Digital Smarts talks about technology can connect kids to the real world. This video shows that every kid can learn but everyone has a different way that they learn. Not every kid can learn by just lecture or pen and paper, some kids have to learn other ways and this video helps you realize that. She likes to teach kids how to use software and actually learn how to learn. It shows these kids how to learn and actually find ways to found out things by technology. Personally, I feel like this video is aweasome how technology can help these kids learn.

Assignment # 2 blog post

Mr. Wrinkle Wakes
You can check out this video at Mr. Wrinkle Wakes

The video Mr. Wrinkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman was quite interesting. There wasn’t much info provided in this video. Mr. Wrinkle woke up from a 100-year coma andcame to realize the world has changed. He saw people using computers, heard weird sounds and saw people talkingto each other thousands of miles away. He could not believe it. He saw people using oxygen masks and couldn’tbelieve these people were surviving because of these machines. He finally made his way to a school. He sat and watched the students take notesand listen to the teacher’s lectures for hours and he began to realize thatsome things haven’t changed even over 100 years.

The message I got from this videothat they need to improve technology in our school system. If we incorporated more technology in ourschools I feel like it would be easier for our kids to learn. For example, I feel like our industry isbooming because of the modern day technology and I feel like using moretechnology in schools would make it take off as well. Instead of the boring lectures and notetaking, I feel like as a school system, we need to make learning fun for thekids.

Did you Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version

You can check this video out at Did You Know?

I watched the video did you know? 3.0 - A JohnStrange 2012 Version by John Strange and I found it to be very interesting.This video provided me with information I had prior knowledge of. It was veryinteresting to see how illiterate our country is. For example, 25% of India’s population hasstronger IQs then our entire country combined. India is so much more knowledgeablethan our kids because they learn more as a little kid. The more you learn as a kid, the more youcomprehend. I also thought it was veryinteresting that twenty-five percent of the kindergarteners that are in the topof there class become the honor students as they grow older.

The facts this video displayed about the Internet and our technology were quite fascinating. It is incredible to me to see how reliant people are on technology these days and a lot of people don’t know how to do work hard anymore. Thevideo showed how much Americans use Google and YouTube and that blew my mind how much time people spend on the computer. Text messaging is definitely a newfad in our world today. People rely so much on texting and have really lost all social skills. I feel like textmessaging is destroying our youth in a way, because they don’t know how to havea conversation anymore. I have seen thisbecome a problem because I have seen someone instead of dealing with a problemwith another student they text their response to the problem and the issue onlybecomes bigger. This video provided a lot of valuable information.I was very familiar with some of these topicsbut I was aware of the numbers of these subjects.

Sir Ken Robinson – The Importanceof Creativity


This video can be viewed atThe Importance of Creativity

The video of the importance ofcreativity by Sir Ken Robinson talks about the creativity in schools. One ofthe main focuses was that creativity is very important in schools but it is notfocused on nearly as much as literacy. As a student, I believe that havingcreativity is very important. It separates you from other students and makesthe students think outside the box instead of just reading straight from thebook. The video wants kids to be outgoing in conversation during class andwants them to interact even if they don’t know the correct answer. He tells us that a big problem we are havingin schools is kids are being educated out of creativity and it is said that weare born artists but we are not able to express it because we are taught out ofcreative minds.

He also talks about his move toAmerica. He talks about how similar the educational programs are. He feels likeart and music should be required courses just as math is. I don’t know how muchI agree with this because math is a subject that has to be a required coursebecause its going to help the kids in the real world. This video really talksabout education just being so plain and simple and not being diverse at all. People around the world are not being able toget jobs when their getting out of college because they do not have a master orPhD and need to go to more school, so they are resorting to video games andgiving up. Personally, I feel like all schools should have a diverse learningsystem so the kids have an opportunity to have a brighter future.

A Day Made of Glass

You can check this video out at A Day Made of Glass

Watching all of these videos kind of out some things into perspective. I think technology is all fine and dandy but I feel like it hurts our youth at the same time. Technology helps the industry andeducation tremendously. I think there could be more in our school system tohelp our kids learn more efficiently. The glass video also opened up my eyes to the technology to come. I feel like when the time comes for that type of technology our world is going to be simpler and more efficient. On the other side of the argument I feel likeit hurts our country to.

To an extent, I feel like technology is crippling our society. Like I said in a previous blog, I feel like text messaging is ruining kids communication and social skills. It also makes everyone so lazy. People rely so much on technology to take care of everything and people forget how to work hard and figure it out on you own. I think people still need to maintain thosehard working handy skills.

This is a wordle about my life

Assignment 1 Blog

About me Jordan Patterson
My name is Jordan Patterson and I am a sophomore at the University of South Alabama. I am from Mobile, Alabama and I attended Baker High School. As a high school student athlete I played basketball, football and baseball. My interests as a person are; hanging out with friends, watching movies and playing sports. I have a family of six and we are very tight knit. I have two brothers that are older than I and a younger sister. The oldest brother, Justin, teaches Math and coaches Football at Saraland High School. My other brother Jarred, who is 23, is a manager at a restaurant in Hattiesburg. My youngest sister, Julianne, is attending Baker High School and plays volleyball. My family is really close and we do everything together. I am attending the University of South Alabama on a baseball scholarship. I grew up in Mobile my whole life, and I never really thought about attending the University. Attending South Alabama was a last second decision for me. My major is Education and secondary History. I think these major best suites me because I have played sports my whole life and I played three sports in high school. I enjoy being active and impacting younger lives. I also love to work with kids and love teaching the game of Baseball. I have several passions but the most important one is excelling in baseball. I have played baseball since I was four years old and I have grown to love the game of Baseball. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and family. Another passion of mine is going to beach fishing. Randy Pausch: Time Management Video
In this video By Randy Pausch I learned some interesting tips. I learned that it is more important to do the right thing rather than being focused on just completing the task. He also emphasized planning and having your priorities straight and actually having a plan. One thing I really got from this video is that good judgment comes from expertise and bad judgment comes from experience. The video also talks about how planning is done in different stages. He emphasizes to in order to be a good planner that you have to have one first. The video also states to do the hardest things first instead looking at the assignment and never accomplishing anything. I do not have any prior knowledge of Randy Pausch but I am interested in learning more about him.

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