Final Reflection

Final Project With Jessica Rogers

My PLN!

I added a lot of new things to my PLN. Most of them were news and teaching aids. I found a great game site with fun games for students called Fun brains. As I stated most of my PLN is news based so when I give my kids current events I can give them several tool s to help. I also found one called Teacher tube. It has fun and interesting tools for teachers. I also added AVL to help with those difficult book issues we have sometimes. That is my PLN I built it to help me in my goal of being a teacher.

C4K Summary #'s 8-11

                                                                    





I have enjoyed reading all the blogs from this semester. These kids work really hard a deserve a big pat on the back for doing something I am doing at 22! They work so hard to get them right and love to hear our positive comments back. I had a problem with the website so the creator sent me to another child's I got to read history class blog. This was very interesting in the fact these kids knew so much more and I was pleased to see such work. My next child was a girl Named Rachel. I commented on her trip to Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges, SA. She talked about her trip and how they were staying till Mon and left on Fri so she got to miss school. I told her I loved to travel with my family and that I hoped she had a good time on her trip. My Next student was little girl named Ella. She got to take over her class and be teacher for the day and see just what it was like to be her teacher for the day. I told her I think that is an experience that every child needs and she did a really cool project to. My last child I did is what I wrote my blog #14 about! She is such bright student and will go fare just like all of my other kids. This is one thing I have enjoyed the most is reading their blogs and seeing what other kids in the nation and around the world do.

C4T#4

I had the pleasure of commenting on David Hopkin's Blog. He posted an interesting one on blogging which I jumped at the chance to comment on. He asked what the blogging world would be like or what type of blogger we would be in the future. I responded with I did not know weather I would be one of those crazy bloggers that blogged everything or just the important stuff my kids needed to know. I also pointed out I had never thought about blogging until I had to do it for this class and it made me think this would be such a wonderful way for my kids to keep up with what they missed. I also commented on a post he had made about Facebook and do we honestly pay attention as students to what we put up or how private our settings are. I know I have settings set super private where only my friends can see my information and stuff. This is not because I'm trying to hide anything but it is because I have had someone use this information for other reasons than they should be used. This made me think back to what Dr. Strage said to us our very first day of class " You will be Googled! What trail do you want to leave behind?" I want my trail to be spotless. I want my future employers to see what e dedicated worker I am and how hard I try to keep things in order. This post made me stop and think.

Post #14

I commented on Yasmine's Blog. The post I commented on was about her being allergic to corn products. She has noticed the unhealthy alternatives that are out on the market. Not only that it is so expensive for the other healthy alternatives that our out there. She had a wonderful Idea to write a letter to the first lady and ask for help. Not only that she wanted to know what other ways she could help bring awareness to this topic. I told her she could do a video with her class to bring awareness to this subject and put it on youtube and her blog. I also told her she could get her whole class to write letters to the first lady about the situation. This a wonderful young lady with bright ideas and she will go very fare in the future.

project #15

This is my children's story I did for my future kids!

AA #4

  


In the post "Sketchy Portraits: 8th Grade Identity and Pencils" Mr. Spencer compares an 8th grader to a pencil. This post helped me more than he will ever know because I am a nanny for four teenagers ranging in ages 15-12. One of them fits this post verbatim. He is searching for acceptance and approval all the time. One moment he is happy and like a child and the next he has the worst lash outs ever. As teachers we need to be able to respect thus change and be able to help them not fight with them during this time because that just makes everything worse. I have seen that first hand. I want my 14 year old to see me as his allie not the bad guy. In the other post "Just Teach Them To Solve for X" Mr. Spencer talks about the importance of teaching our kids about metaphors. We need to be able as teachers to turn on our kids mind and make them think. That is our job after all. The more we teach them about the world around them the better they will be. In the other post "He Just Likes the Class for the Pencils" he talks about the way teacher humiliate their kids to make them comply with what they want. This is not the way to handle discipline in the classroom. That just makes the child retaliate more and makes the learning environment even worse. In the last post "The Medium Shapes the Learning" he talks about when teachers approach a topic to make it fun but at the same time make it knowledgeable. We are reshaping education and teaching with all these new tools we have. We are given agreat oppertunity we just have to find the medium with all of these new things.

Blog # 13

I'm glad I got a chance to Explore a site I have herd so much about ALEX. I was told by a fellow student in one of my other education classes that it was a good website and had some wonderful tools. the one she used was the lesson plans get get ideas for our TAP project in EPY 355. One thing I have found interesting was the fact you could look at other podcast that other teachers have done. I went to the Podcast area of ALEX and look at Podcast that teachers have done for different subjects. I picked history. Then you hit enter and it takes you to a long list of Podcast. The one that caught my eye was the one on Christmas around the world since we are getting ready for the season. It was done by a second grade class in Vestavia. This was a very neat idea I will look into incorporating into my classroom. There was also a virtual tour of the battle ship. Just really neat ideas

One other neat feature this site has to offer is the Course of study spot. It comes up with all subjects and you pick the main title like Arts education. Then a list of topics came up and I picked the one for dance an the grade was K and it poped right up with Lesson plans and what they should learn. They also give you the choice of picking a level which I went back and did because I did not do it before which made the lesson plans a lot more specific and a lot better. So that is something you must not forget to do. This site makes teaching a lot easier and is well worth the visit. It is a great way for teachers in Alabama to share their work and be able to be connected to on another.

The ACCESS is a program I have dealt with personally. The high school I graduated from has an ACCESS lab and classes. My Bother was one of the first students to get to do this new program at my old high school. He would go to the lab and the teacher would be broadcast on a screen in the lab for the class. If not on the screen then he cloud pull up lectures online and all of his assignments were web based much like this class. He really enjoyed this class because it gave him the chance to learn from a different teacher in the state and not be forced to stay within the confines of our staff at Citronelle. He learned the hard way you could not get behind because if you did it was hard to catch up. This is a wonderful program and the website was very nice to and talked a lot about the new way teaching is going on.

My Smart Board Project

My Progress!

I decided to do a multimedia Product. I am going to write my own short children's story. The story is about a lion who befriends a monkey. At first they are an odd pare and fight all the time because they are so different but you will have to wait till the to find out if they stay friends or not. I have pieced out just a few picture for my story and I am going to get a friend to help me draw a few pictures. I have also written part of my story out already and plan to finish it tonight. I will be working alone due to the nature of it being a real big issue working with someone else. I plan on doing everything except getting some help on my drawings. I plan on doing everything other than that.

Summary of Google Docs form

I did my form on How much money we spend as college students eating out in a week. and her are my results:

12 responses
Summary
Sample Question 1:
How many times a week do you eat out?

1 time a week 2 17%
2 times a week 2 17%
3 or more 7 58%

Sample Question 2:How many days a week do you eat at home or at the Market?

Once 1 9%
twice 3 27%
Three or more 6 55%
Other 1 9%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Question 3:
Do you live on Campus or at home?

Home 10 83%
Campus 1 8%
Grove 1 8%
other 0 0%

Question 4:Do You Have a Budget for food?

Yes 5 42%
No 5 42%

Question 5:If No would you like to have one?

Yes 4 33%
No 4 33%

Question 6:If you live on campus do you have a meal plan?

Yes 1 11%
No 8 89%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Question 7:
If you live Off campus do you feel it is easier to eat out or cook at home?

At home 3 25%
Going out 7 58%

Question 8:How many times a month do you go to the store?

1 to 2 4 33%
3 to 4 5 42%
more 3 25%

Question 9:Do you like to cook?

yes 8 73%
no 3 27%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Question 10:
Do you think you spend a lot of money when you go ut to eat?

yes 8 67%
no 3 25%

Question 11:Do you think you eat healthy?

yes 3 27%
no 8 73%
People may select more than one checkbox, so percentages may add up to more than 100%.

Bolg # 12

I have noticed that we have not looked at ways to use music in our classrooms. I have found a video on how to do this. I want you to watch the video called Integrating Music In the Classroom.


1.I want you to tell me how you would use this skill in your classroom.
2. I want you to tell me how you think this will help your students.

When I watched this video one thing popped into my head how to use this in my classroom. I thought of the colors or I could even used them for math. There are so many other ways you could use music in the classroom they even said in the movie that music goes in patterns and that we learn in patterns so playing music while the kids are doing activities in the class could also be another option. It will help the kids retain more information we give them. One of my teachers did this when I was in school and I know it made me retain more of what I did and I think this will work with elementary students.

Teach Some One Project #14

I was thinking of all the things I could do for this project and the one thing I thought about was how to lace and tie a shoe. I work in my church nursery every Sunday so I tie a lot of shoes in a year. I decided to teach how to tie a shoe because it is a useful skill. There are just a few simple step and here they are


1: You take your string and pull it through the bottom hole. Pull it even so the strings match.
2. then you pull it straight through either hole on the side and make sure your string is still even.
3. Then you criss cross your strings all the way till you get to the slot on the tong.
4. when you get there you criss cross the sting through that slot.Then till you get to the top.
5. After that is done you pull your strings tight.
6.You tie the knot in the string
7. Make a bunny ear and run the bunny around the tree and through the hole.
8. You have a perfectly tied shoe. You can double not the strings if you wish.

Blog # 11

I loved the way Mrs. Cassidy's story started out.  She was given a challenge and went with it.  She has tough first graders how to do things that I am now learning at 21 years old.  She built her technology filled classroom from the ground up.  Those kids get to learn things that will help them in the future.  I do believe the kids were talking about our EDM class. Mrs.Cassidy even states that some of our students have commented on her students blog. Not only that but she talk about another 1st grade class in Gaston AL.   I loved in the video how the one student reminded the viewer that nice comments go along way and not nice comments hurt peoples feelings and make it much harder to want to blog.  I know I got a very negative comment when I first started and it made we not want to blog anymore, but thanks to some of my wonderful classmates that are great and supportive I have pressed on.  I think to a six year old having some one taking time out of there day to read there blogs is so cool to them. I think Mrs. Cassidy's ideas are great ones.  The one I plan to use in my class is the video the students seemed to have a great time doing them and it is a fun and creative way for my Students to express themselves.  One thing I might run into with this is the fact that I would still have to ask permission from the parents and the fact I would have to make a lesson based on the information.  Another thing is I would have to take time out to teach my students how to use the cameras.  These problems can be solved by sending home letters and just taking the time out of my day to explain things to my students.  I think Mrs. Cassidy has a good point when she says that we will have to learn new things every year to stay on top of the new teaching techniques.

C4T # 3

I was given Mr.Bedell's blog to comment on.  He has a very interesting blog and I enjoyed reading it.  My first comment was on a post about short stories.  I very much agree with what Mr. Bedell's says when he talks about when he says that Apple's new Mac store is just a way for them to make more money.  They really do not care about what affect  it has on education.  They are just out for themselves.  I also mentioned that I loved my PC and that even though I have noticed in this class that we use Apples a lot they are not better than my PC as I have heard from many people and Mr. Bedell's post.   He also talked about a fun and creative way to do stories was with video.  I loved this idea it brings back the creativity that we take from our kids, and at the same time it lets them have lots of fun.  They get to use what we teach them plus a wonderful and life long experience they will take with them.  I loved reading Mr. Bedell's blogs they were very helpful and have given me very good ideas and a wonderful insight to a new world.

C4K Summary #'s 3-7

I have had the privilege of reading some very cool student blogs.  As teachers we never actually stop to think that our kids might like some of the same things we like.  These kids are so talented and have worked really hard on their blogs.  One of my students was Daniel C.  his blog was through his math class.  They had done an activity with apples in there math class and he was assigned to write about the assignment.  I loved the idea and I think I will use it with my kids.  Daniel seemed to enjoy the activity.  One of my other students was Kristian B.  She wrote about her trying something new. Her mom made her take a Dance class and she said she enjoyed it.  I told her trying something new was always a good thing.  Keeps us on our toes. Another of my students was Aaron.  He was from Australia! I was supper excited about getting to comment on some from another country.  Aaron had ans awesome blog and loves Harry Potter which proves even though he is a world away the kids there love some of the same things we do here.  He wrote on Parent teacher night at his school. He talked about what he thought his teachers would tell his parents which is something most kids do not think about.  He was very honest. The next blog that I had to do was a student named Kevin from California.  The blog I chose to comment on was one where he wanted people to visit his blog.  He seemed very enthusiastic.  He loves working on his blog and has changed it a lot since my visit.  My Last student was Jessica and she did her blog on Sir. Francis Drake.  I thought this was a very interesting blog b/c he is some one that gets past over a lot and she like Kevin has changed her blog since my last visit.  I enjoyed reading their blogs and look forward to reading more.

AA # 3

One of the most important things in this post I feel is the way he talks about our educations system and how it is like.  The map is the most shocking part to me about the video.  This whole side of the world is plagued with ADHD or we have more cases of it here.  So I feel this should make people step back and look at what is wrong with this picture.  The one thing I have to disagree on would be the fact that ADD AND ADHD are not real.  I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in the 3rd grade and I have struggled ever since.  I took medication for a while, but I began to feel as if I was in a box and did not like the feeling it gave me.  It is hard for me to keep my attention on one thing for a long period of time and I am horrible at test.  I feel as if the children that have this are written off like we have a fake problem, but it is real.  Looking at what we are bing taught and what the speacker is talking about are close together.  We are learning new ways to make learning more fun not just sitting in a desk with nothing fun to do.  I think the disagreement comes from the fact that a lot of people believe that Add and ADHD are real.  You can watch a child and see that they are having those problems.  I think this was a really neat idea for a video and if I had to chose a job I would say sound because I love music and I think I would be really good at picking the right sounds and where they go.

Blog #10

As a college student we do not think a lot about what we pay for.  We know we go to school to get a proper education so we can make something of ourselves, but how many times to we step back and think about what we are taught.  In the Blog of Ms.Morgan Bayda she finds a video by Dan Brown called " An Open Letter to Educators" he talks about how education has changed over the years where it started out as something for only rich people to where anyone who could pay for it started.  Not only that he also talks about how there are "free" ways to learn other than sitting in a classroom.  She points out we are made to sit and not correspond with other students or our teachers.  Both show how college truly is today.  Most of the time students are passed up with no chance of getting help.
   When education started out is was only made available to the rich.  Over time it finally became open to those who would pay for it.  Well that is the way it is today.  If you are willing to pay the large amounts of money then you are granted an education.  Some college students struggle to make it through too the rising cost of school.  I fear that pretty soon schooling will go back to just the rich can afford it.  I know I go to school and work a job and both of my parents work and it takes all ewe have to make things work.  Sometimes I wonder if what I'm paying for is really worth it.  Dan has a good point when he talks about for education has evolved into the same pattern.
   Dan also makes a good point in the fact we are paying for education we could get off the internet.  Most of what we learn in a classroom we can get for free.  If there is one thing I will take away from this class is that there is so many free things for teachers online that we can not get anywhere else.  If you really think about what Dan says you will realize what we sit in a class for for an hour or more we can get the same info offline.  That is one of the things that many college kids do not think about.  I know until I watched this video and read the blog that I did not think about it.  This makes you step back and look at what you are truly paying for.
  One thing that stuck out in Morgan Bayda's blog is that she says we are never really  allowed as students to get help from other students in class or talk to our teachers or have something to say back to what they are saying.  We are tough to sit and not challenge what our teachers tell us even though they are wrong.   I know this class and my other education class are the only two that allow interaction in class and outside of class.  Our teachers actually encourage it.  Other than that I'm pretty much on my own.  Things need to change or school is going to be a thing of the past and where will that lead us? That is one scary thought to have.


In Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home! we look at how as teachers now a day we look at what is being done wrong instead of what is done right. So many times we are tough we are the problem, but does anyone ever try to find a solution.  How many times has a teacher told us what we are doing wrong , but does not offer advice for what we should do to get it right.  This to me is so frustrating when some one has the nerve to point out a problem , but will not help.  As teachers we should be there to offer solutions and help any way we can. Its our job to do that right? We are there to teach our kids and help when there is a problem.  This makes me think how many teachers actually go by this.  I want to be one that  helps my students to get better and when a problem come up make sure they have the right tools and so do I to fix the problem.

  What is my sentence?   Makes you stop and think about what your sentence really is.  To keep from having a book or a short essay (which I think my life up to this point has been ) is a hard thing.  One thing to make the rest of your life and to give you drive.  I wonder how many of the worlds greatest leaders or movie stars have a sentence? As a future teacher I believe it is so important for me to have a sentence to keep my eye on the prize of being the best I can be.  So what is my sentence? I want to be the one that teaches generations to reach for the start and never give up! I want to be the teacher that pushes her kids to do their best and do everything thing they have set out to do.  So what is your sentence?

My skype Interview

Blog #9

In the Blog "What I've Learned This Year" Mr. McClung has so many good points for new teachers in this blog. One of the most valuable points to me he made was as teacher we must be learners just like our kids. We have to learn as much as we can about the new information to make our children's lives easier as students. Another good point he had was that if we had a problem with a coworker you need to talk to them. That works in all walks of life. More problems come from not talking the problems out. Something that I think all teachers tend to miss sometimes is to listen to your students. This is so important because our students tend to know what works sometimes. Overall he had a wonderful blog post and some very useful tips for a new teacher. They are wonderful tips and I will most defiantly take them into consideration.

Short Movie

Time toast #2

Blog # 8

In this videos "This is How We Dream Part 1&2" The speacker has very good points. Most people my age are not able to write in multimedia. I know I am one of thoes people. I have learned to do more in this class than I knew before, but I don't think I know near enough as I should to be prepared. I have noticed most times though that most work is done on an apple computer. Something that plays in my mind is does apple make this process eassier or does my PC work just as well? Is this a particular thing I am going to have to worry about when I start teaching? These are just a few questions that poped in my head as I watched this.

I do belive that we as teachers are going to have to be able to do this. For one it will make learning alot more fun and interesting. We could even get our kids envolved in our project. That is a way we could teach the is by group participation. That way we are helping them too. They could help pick the topic, or they could even help do research. This way of writing will change how we will teach more and more over the years. As I have stated before I feel that with the technology we are given we are getting closer to not doing anything on paper.

I belive our students will learn how to do this with ease. most children today can do more on a computer that a grown person can.I know for a fact that the two kids I nanny can do way more on a computer than I can. Dylan the 14 year old can tell me what I am doing wrong and if their is something wrong with my computer he can tell me. I do not think we give our kids enough credit for what they know. Im our extra assignment the children learned how to do something in four mintes and had never seen a computer before. I belive our kids might even know this before we do.

One thing I think that would be very beneficial to do a video on is the fact that this class is really important. After my first day I thought that it was just a waste but looking at it half way through the semester I have learned so much. We do videos all the time about the end what about the middle? All of these videos are very helpful because they make you think about how really different this class is and the fact that procrastination is no the answer. Not only that life is not always easy. Chipper proved that with out drive and looking for easy ways out you wont get fare. In the end she went to the long road to make her life better.
In both the articals about Smart boards both of the authors feel that they are not useful. One author even goes so fare to say that they could find more efficient ways of doing things in his room than using a smart board. They both believe that it is a waste and that the money could be spent somewhere else in schools besides something else that the teacher stands in front of. Both don't have really positive things to say about them. Their are other options that are not as expensive and that are way more useful than Smart Boards.

AA#2

This is a wonderful video and I enjoyed it. Yes I do believe that if the learns are motivated enough they can teach themselves. My best friend did it in high school because she did not have a good math teacher and she tough herself to do the math. She preferred to do it that way she said she learned more. Just looking at the video the children we able to teach themselves to use the internet. He even gave an example of how a group of student recorded themselves singing and the they played it back all in four minutes. The conditions for people to teach themselves is if they want to know how to do it bad they will. I do not think it has to do with weather they are in a poor country or the richest if they want to know it bad enough they will learn the material. The computer and internet play a huge part in how the children will learn because this is the future of teaching in a classroom and in the world. I think the children being motivated to learn has a lot to do with what is going on because if they are not motived they would not learn this information like they do. Motivation is a huge part of any learning we do. One of the major ones is what will the children do with information? Not only that but where if ever will they have a place besides the computer in the wall to put this information to work? Some of these children can not afford to go to school. One way I know always works is give positive words or give the child some kind of insensitive to learn the information. When you do this you will see more a drive to learn. My motivation is that I'm making something better of my self and that I will use the information I learn to help others one day. Yes a person not motivated to learn can learn it just takes more of an effort and a struggle. Yes I have had to teach myself a lot in this class if not I would not know how to do a lot. A teacher plays a huge role in teaching. With out them we would not be able to strive for our best. They motivate us even if we do not want them to. They help us make more of ourselves and help us when we do not understand. The most important thing to me is that we do not give kids enough credit. They can learn so much without our help, but we as teachers are so blind to that. They have taught themselves to eat, put on cloths, and how to get to school. They are intelligent when we get them we as teachers just have to help them grow and enable them to be better students. One thing that sticks out is that one day we wont even have to meet in a classroom because they will be able to stream a live video to their computer somewhere. That is the biggest fear is that technology will advance so much we wont need schools anymore but the students will be able to attend school from the comfort of their homes. Which is the basic idea of the internet classes in college. I believe in my heart this is where technology is headed.

Time Toast

Summary of PLN Project #10

I have really come to like using Symbaloo. It makes things so easy to get to and it is a really quick way to search for something. One thing I have been looking into is a cool ways to make teaching more fun. One cool website I found was moshimonster.com. This is a really cool thing where the kids make monsters and they have fun games that grow with your kids as they get older. I also started a twitter account. One thing I have been interested in knowing is how entertainment affects our teaching and our everyday lives. I became a follower of E! and People magazine because to me these are two of the most used media sources. This makes life so much easier to have everything right where you need it and you can even make tabs back to the websites that contain information you need.

Blog #7

Even though this video was an hour long I was a wonderful one to watch. One of the main points he made in the video was that in some way everything we do is by teamwork. We never do it alone. Which is a very comforting thing to know. Another is that we should be able to let our creative juices flow. Without this our learning environment would be a boring place. A third was that things are not always easy but we have to do them anyway. Last but not least is accomplish everything you have set for yourself.
As I look at my everyday life it is not complete without the help of others. Sometimes that might be my best friends, my family, or even my teachers. We all share a bond to want to make it in life. Since I have moved away from home I have found your friends help you out more than you know. I know someday if it were not for my best friend slash roommate Andrew I would not be able to get a lot done. If it is just as simple as cooking or taking out the trash he does it without me asking. He even lets me talk out my frustrations which helps a lot! Do not be fooled by the fact that we get along because we do not sometimes. Just like any group it is going to have its flaws and we have to work through them to be better at what we do. This is with School, work ,relationships, or anything we cross in our day to day lives. Sometimes they push us to our limit to make us better. Just like he said his professor did when he was a Sophomore. We all need that reality check every once in awhile, or I know I do.
He talks about letting our creative juices flow. That is what he does with is kids. He lets his students be creative with limits, but when they do it they make some of the coolest stuff. The video he show of one of the Virtual worlds was really cool. He also though makes them be prepared for the worst. They have to have a backup plan if their system was to fail which them they have to be creative and use their heads to fish out the world. This keeps them thinking constantly but in a fun way. He says " learning with fun the hard way". Kind like this class in a way it is learning and some of it is hard but it is in a fun way.
Last he talks about following your dreams. This is something teachers today are not real supportive of. They tell you to do what you are going to make the most money and be successful with. I have always told my to kids that I nanny Ashely and Dylan that they can be whatever they want to be. Its not going to be easy but if they want it bad enough they will work for it and in the end they will be happy knowing they worked their hardest to get it. He followed his dreams and did whatever it took to make them happen. There were some wonderful stories behind them. I have given up my dream of being a music teacher but at the same time I still get to do part of my dream and that is to teach. I have had some wonderful educators in my life and I want to be one of those for some child out there.

Summary of C4T #2

I was assigned to read CONCRETE CLASSROOM by Michael Kaechele. I read " Art Prize" and "Sustained Silent Reading On-line" The first blog I posted on was "Sustained Silent Reading On-line". Just like Mr. Kaechele's class my middle school did the same thing during our homeroom everyday. I agreed that letting the children read what they wanted was a great idea and that included from the internet. I do think they need to read one selection of the teachers choice once a week and if the teacher makes it interesting enough they will not mined. The other was "Art Prize" and in this blog Mr. Kaechele talk's of taking his family to an art exhibition near his home. He stated that we should let our children's creativity follow and not try to stop it. I agree 100% with that. I believe the reason why I have done so well in this class is because I have been able to express my creativity in so many ways. Not only that I have been given a chance to express how I feel. The more we shut out our students talents the more they will not want to excel. I even had the pleasure of Mr. Kaechele to comment on one of my blog post. I was very excited to see that someone else took time out of their day to read my work. Made me feel like I had done something great. I know know why Dr. Strange has told us to remember we are leaving a trail. Anyone can look at our blogs at anytime and see just what we are up too.

Blog #6

The Networked Student
This video hit really close to home. It made me think about how much we really use the computer these days in school. It also made me think about what Doctor Strange is doing with us. This video gives a great look into the fact that we as teachers will be teaching this one day. Weather we realize it or not this is our future and we have to ask ourselves where we would be.
Until we look at how much a week we use a search engine or we have to do research on the internet we do not realize how much this technology connects us. We do not realize how many people possibly look at the same thing we do. We are all connected by this world we like to call the internet. We all can help each other out and make things a lot easier with sharing.
When I first started this class I was wondering why we did the majority of our work online. Well After watching this I now understand why Dr. Strange does the class the way he does. He makes us teach ourselves so that we will learn to use connections and not always depend on the teacher. Sometimes we have to depend on ourselves and find the information for ourselves and build life long connections on the way. Makes us better students.
As teachers we will have to teach our kids the same thing. How to be independent but at the same time we have to help them. We have to give those little tips to make our kids think about what they have to do to make those connections. So they like us will be able to make those important decisions and be able to make those much needed connections with the outside world. The next generation will be completely done on the computer so we are going to have to help them navigate their way around this new world. The sad thing is most of them will be able to do more than we think.

In This 7th graders PLE She has a good point that as people we have th choice to do our work or look at the distractions. I know one of the first things I do is look at my email, then I go to the class blog, and then finally I go to mine. I check this stuff everyday to make sure I'm up to speed and I know what is going on. I even check it before I go to bed every night to make sure I don't miss anything. I will admit that I do procrastinate and take my time doing my work and sometimes I go to the wire with my work. She talks about doing a lot of things on Google docs like we do. I think ours are a lot more involved because we are learning how to do this for our kids but it is still very beneficial in the end.

In this last video it makes me look back at my childhood and how much has changed since I was young. When I was young a computer was something we only used at school and they were big and bulky. We used them for reading activities and other things. Now the "Machine" has changed so much. So much that even people that never thought they would use a computer are using it. He talks about about a 92 year old man singing about Youtube. It is used a social community and a way to be discovered if you have a talent. The way we used to say things and how they have changed due to media or the internet. We do live in a world of instant replay because everything we do now can be re seen on the internet. You miss your favorite show no worries You can watch it on many places online. The "Machine" has changed so much in our lives. How we talk and how we think.

Summary of Students Blog

I had the pleasure of reading john.bigbirds class blog.  In his About Me he let us in on the fact he loved sports and that he loves cars.  I even had the pleasure of my student looking at my blog and commenting on it.  It let me know what a great student he was that he would  looked at his blog everyday and checked those things.  On his Manifesto he stated that he wanted to be a better student and move forward in school .  Reading his made me think of my own.  I know I am a student that tends to procrastinate on things which is something I need to work on big time.  It also made me hope for the future and that I would have kids like him that would be driven to Take that initiative and make those promises.  I think if all students did this it would be a wonderful thing. It would make classroom life much easier for the student and the teacher.  It gives me an idea to do with my children when I get my own class.  I wish my student the best with the rest of his life and I hope he keeps on blogging. Doing this makes me reflect a lot on what I do during the week and makes me look toward the future.

My Podcast

Blog 5

The Benefits of Podcasting
There are several reasons why this is a wonderful option to have in the classroom. One is it gives the children a more interesting way to learn. It also gives the children a way to check their school work when they are sick, or for some reason they are not in class they can listen to what they missed and even get extra help. It also gives a fun and creative way for them to have family time. One girl talked about her parents and siblings listening to her podcast in the car on trips. The students can get involved and help each other as well.

Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog
In this radio broadcast the students gave an interesting new way to look a Roam. It gives the students a chance to talk about what they have learned about Roman History. This is a wonderful way that parents can see what their child is learning about. Something that amazed me was that these kids are in the 3rd grade and can do all this. I am a Junior in college and this will be my first time to ever do a Podcast. This teaches the kids how to communicate with each other. It teaches trust and it also teaches them to become more independent. They work on their own and together and in the end their is this wonderful podcast full of information. These kids gave a great example of how to work together so maybe that is something I can take away form it and put into my podcast. Not only that they flowed really well that is something that will be very useful.

Judy Scharf Podcast Collection
In this blog. Mrs. Scharf describes all the helpful ways that tell what a podcast is and many more things. She also gives you positive to the podcast in the classroom. I agree whit one she said and that is a way to get the parents involved in their kids education. It is a sad thing to think that most parents don't care enough about their kids to care about their education. My mother who has been an educator for over 30 years has told me time and again that if more parents cared we would have a lot more successful children. Parents next to teachers are the other people that help mold these kids into who they want to be. Without parent interaction there will not be very many kids succeed.

Blog #4

While reading the blog by Dr. McLeod I was shocked at first by what he was saying. As a read a little more I was finally understanding his point. He was saying that as teachers we should not have to teach our children what to do and what not to do on the internet. That should be the responsibility of the parents to do that. I believe that is 100% the truth. Teachers should not be held accountable for the things children look up on the internet. That is the parents job. Dr. McLeod is an Associate professor of Educaitonal Administration at Iowa State University. This is only one of his many blog that he writes. I must say this particular one started off With me getting a little angery but after I read the blog and thought on it I realized he had very good reasons for saying thoes things. Teachers get blame more time than they should for things children do online because we spend the most time with them. In all honesty maybe the child's parents should pay more attention to what they teach them.

In the video The iSchool Inishative the writer has a wonderful idea about school in the future. Most schools in the unites states are in the same problem as this school in Georgia. Teachers are being let go, classes are getting bigger, and the schools budgets are horrible with no money to spare. This is a growing problem. A problem that can be fixed with the use of technology. The idea that all students have these itouches is a wonderful idea. It is a quick and easy way to communicate something to the students when they are not in the classroom.

The only down side is that unless the schools provided these itouches some students will not be able to afford them. The schools would have to issue them and take them up at the end of every year to keep inventory. Another down side is that some teachers will still use paper. I am a nanny for two children that go to St. Paul's here in Mobile and even though both of them have a school issued laptop and some of their teachers till use paper. Not only that but the older teachers who do not know much about technology will not be able to handle doing putting everything on the itouch for their kids. So there are pluses to this and negatives.

In the video The Lost Generation a lot of what was said is true. Our Generation will be the generation that is more focused on the fact we are making money that we will be focused on all the negatives in life. I love the fact though that they reversed it at the end to put things in prospective that things could be changed. It is very true we hold our own futures and no one can change that we have to fight for what we want and make this world a better place.

I am a musician so I loved this last post we were given to watch. I think this is a very effective way to use the internet for teaching. None of these people ever met but they made one of the most beutiful thongs I have ever heard. After hearing them you would think they had been wroking on this one pieces for weeks. This just gives an edge to thefact the internet could be used to meet people from all over the world and teach children about other cultures and music. This has to be one of my favorite things we have had to watch so fare in this class.

Additional Assignment #1

After using both of these new search engines I feel they provide a much easier way to find information than just Google or Bing. They give a detailed description of what you are looking for. I looked up universities in the state of Alabama and it came up with every college plus some I did not need and there enrollment. Both seem to me that hey would be a lot easier ans a lot more helpful for younger children to use due to the fact it is a lot more simple. On WolframAlpha it even gives a map with the location of the schools. I did not know about either of these search engines until I was given this assignment. I Will use these more often due to the fact they are a lot simpler than what I normally use. I just believe this would be a lot easier for smaller children. I did like Google squared alot better it seemed much simpler and had more results and you could add to them to. After reading the stable boy and the iPad it truly made me think about how much I did not know. Several of my friends have iPhones and I still don't know how to use them. If a six year old illiterate boy could uses the iPad without problems I have defiantly fallen short of the bar in my technological learning.