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.