Blog Post #6

The Networked Student by: Wendy Drexler

The Networked Student video was simple but informative. The video reminds the reader that we are living in a digital world. As future teachers, the video warns us that our new world will require us to teach differently than the way we learned. The video on the Networked Student allows you to have the world at your disposal but the beginning of the video was a bit intimidating.

At the beginning of the video, the Networked Student seem as though it would be for the college and high school learner. The video seems as though a person would have to be self-motivated to complete the project. Again, the front end of the video was intimidating. As I continued to watch the video, and watched it a second time, I realized the 21st Century Class will have to begin teaching the Network method at the earliest age possible. Although this video was meant for older learners, it can definitely be adjusted to any learner. We as future teachers have to change our way of teaching. The 21st Century teacher, according to this video, will have to allow their students to be independent learners with the teacher as the facilitator.

The Networked Student, or the 21st Century classroom will allow the student to control the classroom with help from students all around the world. The students will have all the resources the Internet has to offer. The teacher in this classroom will help the students organize, communicate properly, build networks and identify good and bad information. Most of all, the teacher will be the student's cheerleader.

The question asked, was am I ready to be a networked teacher? My answer is no, but I am trying to prepare myself to be one. I believe anyone in education or any other field should prepare for being a digital age citizen.

7th Graders Personal Learning Environment

The 7th graders Personal Learning Environment video was reassuring. She sounds like a teacher giving the presentation. After writing my post about Networked Students, I know now that we have to begin our students networking at an early age. I believe anyone learns more when you have to figure things out yourself. The student enjoyed the freedom of creating her own project and was proud of completing it. She has a strong understanding of Networking; this is seen in how confident she is in her presentation. Students are so much smarter than I was in high school. My little brother attends a high school in Baldwin County and they all have their own Mac Books. He will be so much more prepared for a class like this than I was. The student video still use the teacher as the facilitator. This is seen when the teacher advise the student to have her information be peer reviewed. This tells us that the teacher will continued to be a needed person in the classroom.

Blog Post #5

Krissy Vinosdale

If I Built a School

Ms. Vinosdale is a teacher who realize that a degree is a process of becoming a teacher; it does not make you a teacher. She is a teacher who seems to realize that a teacher does not just teach, but is a person who is always learning. Krissy believes that when you teach, improvements are not options but a requirements. I believe like Ms. Vinosdale, that I can learn from anyone. My parents have always taught me and my brother that we can even learn from bad people. They have always told us that learning what not to do is just as important as learning what to do. I also love the brain illustration of the regular brain and the brain on Edcamp. I never new what Edcamp was. I think our EDM 310 class have been preaching the Edcamp philosophy the entire semester so far. We have been learning to share ideas, collaborate with others and use the ideas of others (making sure we give them the credit).

After exploring Ms. Vinosdale's post on her blog, she is definitely a teacher I would love to have as a mentor. She shared many ideas on her blog such as: Teach out of the box, Teach everyday like it's your very last day because one day you'll be right and so many more great phrases. Most of all, I like the fact that she realizes a good teacher is always learning.

If given the opportunity to build a school, I would build it a whole lot different than the school I graduated from. With technology being on the cutting edge, MY school would be built around all the new technology out there. The first thing I will make sure my school has, is the very best security system in the world. After the Connecticut tragedy, safety will be my first priority. MY school will have computers in the hands of every student and employee. The teachers in my school are teachers who are willing to learn, teach and use technology. I will not have desk in any room, but tables instead. I think my classrooms will be more like a science lab room. This will enable students to collaborate and solve problems on their own. In the school I build, the teacher will be more of a facilitator than a dictator. My school will also be a place where students will be able to have time to collaborate and work on inventions that will make the world a better place. My school will also have a place where parents and the community will be able to learn technology skills too. The name of my school will be 'The School of the World', because in my school, we will have access classes that will reach the entire world. Oh, did I mention that at MY school, students will be able to learn any language they desire. They will need these language classes to collaborate with other students around the world.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

My reaction to internet use in this post is simply Wow! and How did they do that? I truly believe a person has to see the video for themselves to get the full effect. The video is conducted by Mr. Witacre and the choir comes from all around the world. This video is so amazing, that I had to ask myself, what can't technology do? I can see people sitting down asking themselves what can't we do with technology, listing things and then figuring out how to do it. The Virtual Choir is one of those technology greats that everyone will always listen to in amazement. Thanks for sharing Jennifer.

NPR Interview with Eric Whitacre

The interview with Mr. Whitacre explains the way the virtual choir was put together. The most unique fact is that the singers never meet, they are never in the same room with the other singers. In fact, they are from different parts of the world. Each singer sends Mr Whitacre their recordings and he puts the video together. Mr. Whitacr says that his singers come from Singapore, Massachusetts, Sweden, Texas and many other places. The thing I enjoyed most, was watching all the different backgrounds of the singers.

Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts (John Strange's Version

In the video Teaching in the 21st Century, Kevin Roberts thinks that students will be learning technology that requires teachers to change the way they are teaching. He believes teachers have to change their teaching styles. At first, the video makes you believe that Robers think teachers are not needed. After watching the video more, you realize that Robers understand the need of teachers in the classroom. The video points out that students are able to find out information on anything, anytime and anywhere. I too agree with this, I can Google anything and find out anything on the topic.

Mr. Roberts states that teachers have to be there to teach responsibility and integrity. They have to include the new technology into their lessons. Lessons have to be relevant, challenging and engaging. He ask the question, how do we manage lap tops, cell phones and iPods; he recommends we manage them like we handle paper, pen, pencil, books and notebooks.

Since the world is changing so rapidly with technology; we as future teachers will have to change our teaching styles. We will have to be teachers who are not afraid to step out there and try new ideas. As a future teacher, I agree with what Mr. Robers video points out. He was not at all putting teachers down, just stating the facts. Teachers will be facilitators and people who will be there to help students filter, validate, communicate and problem solve.

Yes, technology offers us many useful ways to make our lives easier and better. However, there is bad and good technology out there (just stated by Mr. Erci Whitacre. I believe teachers are the people who will help students understand the correct ways to use technology. As a future educator, if I don't adjust to the needs of our students today, I will probably be out of a job. I plan to train myself to be a teacher for the 21st Century classroom.

Flipping the Classroom

My reaction to this approach is that it seems to be an approach that will be able to help all students in the class. I do believe that some classrooms are so diverse that this approach will be very effective. The flipping approach will help the slow learner, as well as the student that is bored and requires more engaging work. I like the idea that students are learning at home and having more opportunity to engaging work at school. I do have a problem with students who do not have technology at home. I know the teachers on the video stated that they would be able to view the lesson the next day, but I still think this makes them stand out too much. I think for this to be the most effective, the schools will have to provide technology for the students to use at home. I do understand the purpose and I think it is a good approach to learning. I also believe there are bugs that have to be sorted out, such as technology at home, students who are not self motivated, students who have to take care of their siblings, etc... Even though I am majoring in physical education, I would use this approach in a classroom setting.

Project #5 Presentation

Project #2 Wordle

Blog Post 4

Langwitches Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting Post

The Purim Story

Wow! is my first reaction after listening to Langwitches Listening-Comprehension-Podcating Post. Children age seven and eight, told the Purim Story. The story was told by the entire class. The beginning of the story was in English and the second part in Hebrew. Even though I do not speak Hebrew, and only know one word (Shalom), the story stayed exciting even when I know longer understood the words. The children made the story flow from one language to another. I enjoyed the tone of the laugh, the party scene and the enthusiasm in the children's voice. No matter what the language, the listener is able to determine that Harmone (?) is a bad guy. The children told a wonderful story together.

The article points out many useful things that will help me with my podcast. After reading this article, and viewing the video, I will be sure to edit my podcast. Editing skills will be in fluency, which will help in how smooth my podcast sounds. The ability to re-listen and play with the mechanics of my podcast, will hopefully make my podcast presentation better.

The Flat Stanley Podcast

The Flat Stanley podcast was awesome! First, the teacher and students developed a storyline, which was to send each child to any location they chose. The teacher only had a few rules for the podcast. The children had to say their location, how they would get there and how they would get back home. They were also told to make their stories exciting by sound effects and excitement or tones used in their voices. The children were encouraged to used as many of the senses to help the listeners travel with them to their location. The podcast took the class all around the world and even to outter space.

One student took the class to London, England, where we went to the musical Les Miserable; the student even sang at the musical. Another student took the class to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where we learned to say 'Roll Tide'. We then went to otter space! On this trip, the students/listener experienced the blast off of a spacecraft; fantastic sound effects on this trip. We then came back to Earth and traveled to Israel and went to many places. I traveled to the North Pole, where I was chased by a Polar Bear. On our next trip, we traveled back in time to old Chicago. I traveled to several other interesting places with this group of students. The students did a wonderful job presenting this podcast; at times it really was as though we traveled to the locations in the podcast. What I will include in my podcast from viewing this podcast, is remembering to show excitement whenever possible in my podcdast; it makes the presentation more enjoyable. I will also include different sound effects; another item that will make my presentaion more exciting. Since this lesson/podcast took us to so many locations, I'm sure the search engine Wolfgram Alpha could have been used in this project. Therefore, I'm sure I will use Wolfram Alpha in my podcast for research.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

In this podcast, students are practicing project based learning. Students are encouraged to create a topic, research the topic and present their findings in a podcast. The teacher is there to help only if needed. Children work in groups, so they are able to collaborate with each other and be as creative as they want to be. By the use of technology, students are also able to collaborate with students all over the world. Within the research, students are encouraged to use their higher order thinking skills. One of the students in this presentation said that she enjoyed podcasting because it allows her to enjoy her lesson with her family. She stated that they even listen to her podcast on long car rides. As a future teacher, I will use podcasting to keep parents and students aware of what is going on in my class. I can see myself making my podcast and having it on my own created website. My podcast could be to inform parents and students of tests coming up, future meetings, field trips and rules I will have in my class. Podcasts can be used for many things. I think podcasts are definitely more creative than a regular teacher directed lesson and will keep a student's attention a lot better. Just seeing how students used podcasting in this lesson will help me to create a better podcast myself. This is a technique I will definitely use when I become a teacher.

Special Blog Post #1

Many Students Misinterpreed the Data in Did You Know?

When I did my Wolfram Alpha search on this topic, it asked me to compare the population of the following countries: United States, China and India. The results of this search shows that the U.S. has the smallest population of the other countries, India is smaller than China and China is the largest country of the three.

I also found that the life expectancy is longer in the United States, it being 78.1 years. China came in second highest with a life expectancy of 73.5 years and India came in third, with a life expectancy of 69.9 years. Population Density in 2012 had the United States 87.2 people per square mile, China with 376 people per square mile and India with 1,058 people per square mile. Comparing the population growth, shows the United States ranked 138th in the world, China ranked 154th in the world and India ranked 95th in the world. Long term population shows a steady increase most years for the three countries. However, in 1850, China went down and begin to increase again. India increased yearly but went down some in the early 1900s and the United States stayed at a steady incline.

When comparing Inda, China and the United States in a previous assignment, I may have misinterpreted what they wanted us to take from the data. The data first looks as though China and India are much smarter than the United States. After a closer look at the data, it shows something different to me; it does not show that they are smarter, just that they are MUCH LARGER countries than the United States. The size simply makes the data look different. I may not be able to explain it well, but I do understand it better.

My Second Wolfram Alpha Search

In my second search, I compared the population of Alabama and Florida. The information I found was that Florida's population is much larger than Alabama. Although I figured Florida did have a larger population, I did not realize it was 14.25 million people more. Alabama's population is 4.803 million and Florida has a population of 19.06 million according to Wolfram Alpha.

I also learned that the annual deaths in Alabama is 46,977 people per year and in Florida there are 170,060 people per year. After reading Many Students Misinterpreted the Data in Did You Know?, I realized that Florida has more deaths because it has more people. The point of the assignment to me was to take a closer look at the data. You have to look at all the data before making assumptions. The comparisons for Alabama deaths are relavent to the size of Alabama and so are the number of Florida's deaths.

My Third Wolfram Alpha Search

In my last search, I had a little fun. I compared my favorite NBA player with another player that some people think is better. I compared Kobe Bryant, my favorite player with Labron James. In the search, I found that Kobe is six years older than Labron. The search says that Kobe is a shooting guard and Labron is a forward. Even more data shows that Kobe has played professional ball for 17 years and Labron for only 10 years. Physical data shows that Kobe is 6'6" and weighs 205 lbs and Labron is 6'7" and weighs 249 lbs. There is lots of other stats related to games played, shots blocked, points per game, steals, etc... What the data shows me after a closer look is that Kobe is the top player over Labron, even though he is older. After observing weight, my guess is Labron eats more pork chops, that's why he is slower than Kobe.

The Question...Will my students and I use Wolfram Alpha?

The answer to this question is absolutely! First of all, people reading my blog may not even realize what Wolfram Alpha is, I sure did not know before this class. Wolfram Alpha to me, is a major up-grade on any search engine out there (Google, Bing, etc...) After going through the tutorial, I learned that they do not even like calling it a search engine,but rather a computational knowledge engine. The tutorial said that Wolfram Alpha was created by human experts and is able to give answers at the 'drop of a hat'. You are able to input more than just text on this engine; you are also able to put in math symbols and numbers.

To answer the question, I will definitely use this engine in my class. Again, I am majoring in Phyical Education, but I am sure I will have my students researching facts about famous athletes, exercises, weight, measurments, etc... I also see my students using it to compare differet countries and their role in physical education; especially during the Olympics. I typed in Kobe Bryant and it gave me all kind of information on him. As a teacher, I will use Wolfram Alpha when I create my lesson plans and teach lessons. Wolfram Alpha will not only help me a better teacher, but it will definitely help me look and sound smarter. The best thing about Wolfram Alpha, is that I will be teaching the most updated information to my students.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

The video Gary Hayes Social Media Count was overwelming; amost a little frightening. The rate the numbers were changing shows me that we are definitely out of the dark ages. As I watched the numbers change, I said that I was wathcing things take place all over the world; not just in Silverhill, Alabama, but all of the world. As each number changed, I realized that technology is the one thing that we have in common with people almost everywhere. As I watched the numbers,I imagined someone in Africa on Facebook or someone in Canada Tweeting and little old me, I was in Alabama Blogging. The count sort of made you think of technology, and how we take it for granted when we get on to use. As I watched The Count, I wondered more than anything, what was Mr. Hayes thinking when he created this? How did he even began? I even laughed and said to myself, this man is part robot. No offense Mr. Hayes, but this is some freaky stuff; very interesting though. My favorite part was pressing the tabs and watching the numbers change when you pressed the tabs +1 week, month, year.

What I learned in The Count is that we should probably encourage students to pursue a career in technology, or anything related to media. We as future teachers will need to include technology into as many lessons as possible; if we don't, we are going to be that teacher who is left behind. I think every teacher in the world must get on the digital technology bandwagon. If we don't our students will be far advanced than us in technology; which I'm sure some of them already are. Even though this class has taught me a lot in new technology so far, it has also made me realize that I will need many more classe in technology. I think we will have to be life-long learners in technology since it changes so much. The Count, is something that will make anyone just sit down and think about how the world is always changing.

Blog Post #3

Paige Ellis' Blog Assignment #12 (Summer 2011)
Paige Ellis' blog focus on Peer Editing. In her blog, she explains that using a peer editor is not an easy task and will take practice to become an effective peer editor. In her blog, she encourages us to perform several tasks: watch the video, What is Peer Editing, view the slideshow Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial and to watch the video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes.

Peer Editing
In the Peer Editing video, I learned the definition of peer editing. According to Paige Ellis, peer editing means making suggestions, comments and compliments to someone, preferrably your classmate's paper. I learned there are three steps that peer editors should follow: an editor should compliment the author on what is good about his/her work, an editor should make suggestions on how to make the author's work better and lastly, the editor should make corrections in punctuation, grammar, sentences and spelling. The video also taught me to stay positive and specific when editing my peer's work.

Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial
The Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial's slideshow was very similar to the Peer Editing video. The slideshow explaines the meaning of peer editing and also listed the three main things editors must do to be effective. The slideshow differs from the video in that it give an opportunity to view suggested compliments to use when editing peer work. The slideshow also allowed me to practice editing the proper way.

Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes
The video Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes, was about children sharing different types of poor editing. I learned a lot from this video. I learned that there are definitely 10 ways I should not edit a peer's paper. The video taught me that a person should not be too picky, mean, pushy, loud, too fast or too defensive. An editor should also stay on the topic, not be social with others when editing, should be specific and should care what is happening during editing. This video taught me what not to do when I edit one of my peer's work.

Classmates Critique
The classmate I critiqued had a good blog. The person definitely listened to the videos and read the assignment we had this week. Her blog was very easy to read, so it also had clarity. I did however find errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. I sent her an e-mail on things she should check over. I will respond my positive comments publicly(blog), this in turn may help other readers to look over their blogs to help make them better. I will respond to major errors privately, via e-mail. After completing this assignment, I learned more than anything that an editor should never offend the author. I would not want to embarrass a person, but I would want to make sure they corrected their errors. I think it is my duty as a peer editor to let the author know; this will help their work earn a better grade.

Assistive Technologies
The video points out how assistive technologies are tools that removes barriers, enhance learning, push boundaries, gives hope and challenges the way we think. This video will definitely help me as a new teacher. It will help me think about barriers my handicap students will encounter in their classrooms. The video helps me to understand that when I make lesson plans, I should consider the different students who make-up my classroom and the needs they may have. I should also be proactive to many barriers and try to have them down before the year begins. As soon as I get my class list, I plan on researching each of my students. This will be a major task, since I plan on becoming a physical education teacher and will have a large group of students each period or block. The assistive technology video shares many devices that will help tear down barriers for our blind and deaf students.

The video listed devices such as: text to speech device, text telephone device, talking calculators, note takers, sensory aids, speech to text devices, FM radios, iPhones, iPads, iPods, screen magnifiers and flip cameras. The video shares many useful ideas that I plan to use with my students.

The Mountbatten
The Mountbatten is a braille writer; a useful assistive technology device for the blind. It is a machine that provides immediate feedback for blind students. It provides audio and text feedback and is also compatible with computers. This form of assistive technology allows visually impaired students to participate in class discussions and projects, while receiving immediate feedback. As a physical education major, I'm sure I could use the Mountbatten in research projects. However, I think this assistive technology would be more effective in a regular classroom. The Mountbatten is a wonderful tool that helps break barriers for blind students. I feel it will also make me a stronger teacher by just understanding the tool and learning it myself.

Teaching Math to the Blind
The issue raised in this video is how we as educators can better teach our blind students to learn math. Mr. Art Karshmer developed an assistive technology device that allows blind students to better learn math from beginning math, all the way to early algebra. The problem with teaching math in braille, is that braille is in a written form; a blind student is not able to line the numbers up
. With Mr. Karshmer's assistive technology, which is made up of blocks with braille and visual numbers on them, blind students are able to line a math problem up on a grid that sends information to a computer. This is another wonderful assistive technology device that will further break barriers for our students.

iPad Usage for the Blind
The iPad has many usful tools for the handicap student. The thing I enjoyed most about this video was actually watching a blind person present and give demonstrations on an actual iPad. The iPad uses voice-over, so the blind students are able to use their sense of hearing to find needed information. Using this tool seems like it will be a hard tool to navigate. It could also be a challenge in the classroom by beings disruptive, but this is what ear-phones are for. When the skill of learning to use the iPad is learned, it will enable the blind learner to explore the world. As with any new technology, for the blind or sited person, it will be hard to learn. However, after a technology is learned, we wonder how we lived without it.

Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child is Learning on The iPad
This video allows the mom of a blind student to see how assistive technology is being used to help her child learn. Mom learned a lot in the short lesson given to her on the iPad. She will better understand the difference in the way she learns and her blind child learns. As a future teacher, I will try to give myself as much practice on assisive technology tools that I can. I need to practice these tools just like the mom on the video did. I think if we as future educators teach ourselves how to use these devices, we will be able to tear down many barriers encountered by our blind/deaf students. I also feel that some of the other assistive technology learned in this assignment, will be beneficial to not only our handicap students, but also to other struggling learners.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
The video Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts tells how a teacher, Ms. Vicki Davis has her students learning every form of technolgy available. Students from a rural part of Georgia are on the cutting edge of technology and sharing their knowledge with students all over the world. As seen in the video, Ms. Davis allows her students to lead class discussions and figure out their own solutions. She believes that students are each others best teachers and are also able to teach teachers. Ms. Davis focus her teaching on teaching students how to use new software, how to use Wiki, how to Blog and how to collaborate with their classmates and students around the world. Most of all, Ms. Davis wants her students to be great thinkers and students who are not afraid to try new tehnologies.

Ms. Davis developed two programs that allow her students to collaborate with students around the world. One program is called Digi-Teen. Digi-Teen allows students to research papers with help from the digital community. She also created the Flat Classroom Project. This program helps her students learn about trends in technology all over the world. Ms. Davis' goal is to empower her students through the use of technology. Although I may never be a teacher on the cutting edge like Ms. Davis, I hope to use technology to assist me in my teaching.