February 28th Blog Assignment

WRITING IN MEDIA

I really enjoyed the information in these videos. Richard Miller talk all about the different ways of publishing works and producing information world wide. For instance rather than just actual book libraries, virtual libraries! I think this is an awesome concept and I also think it could be successful. One reason I think this could be so successful is the fact of information sharing alone. Students and teachers alike would be able to share views, opinions, and helpful information on a global scale. Something like this could really advance education if available in my opinion. I also think that being able to interact on such a wide scale could make school more fun for kids and maybe even spark their interest in education.

Am I ready for this? I mean I really like to think that I am ready for such a challenge. I'll be the first to admit I don't know everything about this subject, but I am willing to learn! Thats why I think classes like EDM can be so effective for future teachers. It prepares us for what we will be working with once we get out into the real world. Which in my opinion is way better than just throwing us out there and expecting us to learn at the same time we are suppose to be teaching it!

As far as my students being able to do this, I think they will be able to! I plan to use all of my knowledge to help them learn the best they can and to their full potential. I plan to do this by knowing and learning all I can where I will be fully prepared for anything they might need help understanding. I also plan to teach my students through all means available to me both electronic or written. After all you are ripping the students off by not giving them full advantage of all material.

THE NETWORKED STUDENT

The video by Wendy Drexler, Im not sure if I totally agree or not. Maybe I am reading too far into it but it really made you think for a min what school is all about. Almost like what if technology takes away from what school is all about. Im all for technology being a big tool in learning but I also believe there still has to be a balance between student teacher learning and technology learning. I think the most effective method would be making technology and what school always has been coexist. It would benefit the children so much in my opinion!

I believe that teachers and students alike should be trained in this subject but I don't think that school should revolve completely around technology. I think the definition of a good teacher would have to be one who is well rounded in all areas of technology and non technological learning methods. A good teacher should be able to make both and every method work for them. Not all students learn the same way so having different methods would only benefit everyone!

A NEW FUTURE OF WHATEVER

Just another one of Mr. Wesch's videos thatI really loved! I completely agree with him on how the use of blogs and facebook and other social networkings could benefit learning. Another part that I really loved was when he talks about how much it means to present yourself and make first impressions. Really when you think about it first impressions and how you present yourself to someone can make you or break you. Its really scary to think about! I really hate the way I sound recorded on audio and I always think to myself gosh I'm going to sound like an idiot and everyone is going to hate listening to this. I guess its really something I am going to have to work on getting over. I just feel like I will get nervous and stutter or something! But its ok i'm learning!

Comments4Kids #4

WORM FARMS

For this weeks Comments4Kids I watched a video of children learning how to use worms to make soil more fertile for gardens. They are learning to do what is also called a "worm transfer". Their Vice Principal Mrs. Bleaken is the one helping and teaching them to do this. I really enjoyed watching this video! I also believe this is another great example of how technology can be use in the schools. What is also good about this is that it isn't only beneficial to the teachers or students but to both at the same time. The teachers by filming projects and experiments can learn what to do better and also can use the past videos for the future students. It can also help a teacher to look back and possible examine any other possibilities that could make experiments better in the years to come. I believe the students benefit from this in general as a hands on project. I think it is very important to have things for children to do rather than just making them listen. I think they would get such a better grasp on things if they actually had to work on it themselves!

February 21st Blog Assignment

DR. CHRISTIE

One of the sections I looked at on Dr. Christie's site was her section about integrating digital media. I think this is a wonderful idea and that teachers could get a lot of use out of it. Digital Media could be used in the classroom in many different ways. Pictures could be taken of a variety of projects to teach future students and give them examples. This could also be used for the teacher, if they wanted to remember a certain way they did or taught something. Filmed video or tapes on a camcorder could be taken for documentation and future learning. I just really believe that digital media could change and help things in a lot of ways.

Another thing I really enjoyed on Dr. Christie's website was her emphasis on internet safety. This is such a big deal and so very important. The internet is huge and can be accessed by anyone in the world that wants it. This is a VERY scary thought! Especially when we are talking about kids being on and using it constantly. Dr. Christie however gave many good example on how to make the internet a safer place for our children and how to be aware of what might be out there! Reading this was very helpful in my opinion.

ITUNES UNIVERSITY

Well on this subject I have to start off by saying this could be both helpful and hurtful. I however believe that if you use this the right way it can be very successful and helpful. The only bad thing that could come of using this is, if all lectures are done by podcast and class is just voluntary, who is to say a student will actually watch them? Ill be the first to admit if all my lectures were available online and I didn't have to go to class I probably wouldn't. Now I know not everyone would abuse this, but I would stand to say it would happen a lot! Another thing is if you are only watching podcast, and aren't actually having a class period how are you going to ask important questions that need to be answered right away and you can't wait for and e-mail response? You would be so stuck!

On the other hand I believe iTunes U could be very helpful if used the right way. By this I mean if a teacher were to do all their lectures by way of podcast, the teacher could also hold a class period once or however many times a week just for questions and further explanation. Or maybe in a college setting make one day a week no class for watching podcast and the second period a week be mandatory but focused on building off what the students already watched and answering any questions they might have.

IPODS IN THE SCHOOLS Dukes iPod Article

I found this very interesting. I think that students and teachers could both greatly benefit from the use of ipods in the classroom. Students could use and listen to the podcast to make sure they didn't miss anything in class or just to refresh their memory. Something that you first think of is how can schools afford this. This is tough but I believe it is possible. I mean think about how many kids already have or have access to an iPod. If i were going to do this in my schools and needed to cut dow on expenses you could simply have available ipods for student who might not have one, and for the students that do have one or access to one could just use their own. Though I really believe there would be more to work out than just that, I do believe it could be useful and beneficial!

Comments4Kids #3

On this comments4kids I read a post by a student named Brennan. He was talking about the plays him and his classmates were working on. After the class was split into groups and worked on the plays they had to perform them in front of the other half of the class! It sounded like so much fun and even reminded me of some of the plays I use to be in when I was younger! I remember the excitement and practices to make everything perfect. I also love the idea of helping kids learn literature through getting them to cat it out. I think it is a very effective way of teaching because instead of just reading a story the child actually gets to interact as the character and experience what they went through. I believe this gives them a better look at what happened in the stories!

February 14th Blog Assignment

WIKIPEDIA

Wikipedia << Link to Wikipedias website.

I actually like wikipedia. Although I know it isn't a good source to use for stating facts, I think it is otherwise pretty useful and accurate. I also find it very interesting that just anyone can change it. I honestly had no idea until freshmen year when I cited wikipedia in a paper and got major points taken off! Wikipedia actually kind of reminds me of a blog site where everyone in the world puts their posts. I mean really there is no telling what some people might put on there. I have never really used wikipedia much but I have heard a lot about it. I think though it might nit be very reliable all the time its still a pretty good source for personal use. If I need something a little more factual i'd probably just google it.

MR. MCCLUNG'S FIRST YEAR

I really loved this post! I have always imagined how it will be my first day alone in my own classroom. There are so many things that go running through my head like what if this and what if that. Although i'm sure my first year will be a blast I'm sure it will also have some interesting moments too! That's why you gotta love kids, and everything that comes along with being a teacher! Post like this one really help future teachers. Its kind of just a reminder to laugh and go with the flow because you never know what will happen!

Comments4Kids #2

BABYSITTERS CLUB!

The post I read was by a little girl named Maya. In her post she was blurbing about a book she was reading in "The BabySitters Club" series. She talked about how this was a really good mystery book and she goes on to tell about what takes place with some of the characters. I really enjoyed reading this post because I remember when I was younger I loved reading the babysitters club books! It brings back fond memories and I think it is really cool that kids these days are still reading the same stuff we use too!

All About Me!

February 7th Blog Assignment

100 WAYS TO USE YOUR IPOD TO LEARN AND STUDY BETTER

Wow... This post was so crazy! Just about everyone has and ipod they use regularly it really makes you think about what a difference it could make if everyone used it in at least 1 of the 100 ways listed. I personally have been an ipod owner for years and I have never even entertained the thought of trying to use it for school and studying. When I think about the technology available to kids these days compared to when I was in elementary school it absolutely amazes me. If using something like an ipod were available for me when I was that young I honestly believe it would have helped more. Im sure anyone even any kids these days would agree that listening to a podcast or reading passages on the web and then doing an assignment on them is way better than having to just read, write, and do book work.

Another thing I liked about this post is that you know exactly what to do. Even if I were a new ipod owner and didn't really know what I was doing, its good to know there are post out there like this one. I feel like just from doing this assignment that if I ever needed help in studying or understanding something I could just come back to this post and see how to do it. I really enjoyed looking over all the different tools available. I feel like this post or this topic in general should be pushed in schools these days.

Comments4Kids

INSULATORS V.S. CONDUCTORS

The video I watched was a video of Mr. McClungs class. The Video was of two boys in the class doing an experiment and documenting it via podcast. I absolutely loved this video! Not only were the kids so funny, but it was just nice to see children having fun in school again. I really loved Mr. McClungs way of using technology in his classroom and he really seemed to know how to make the technology work for him and the kids advantage. You can tell the children were learning something from this and at the same time still being kids! I myself feel like I have learned something about how I would like to use technology in my classroom when I am a teacher!