My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete.

I hope everyone has a great summer, whether you are having fun in the sun, or stuck taking classes. I wish everyone the best of luck in your teaching career!

EDM 310

I have learned a lot in this class. I learned about all the free sources that are available and will come in handy in my future as a teacher. I knew about blogger but had never tried it. I was also never a big google person and did not know about all it had to offer. I am glad I learned how to use presentation on google and how to make a webpage.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has always baffled me. It comes up with every search one does. At first I did not realize it was not accurate, until a year or so later. I even discovered wrong information on it. Wikipedia is not reliable and should never be used as a source, and definitely not for school work. I sometimes use Wikipedia and then triple check the facts and find another source. Some of the information has references that one can check. However, like I said it should never be used. Anyone can edit information and it can be false.

Still more I-Tunes

"Growth" vs. "Fixed" Minds

Fixed Minds believe that their basic intelligence is just a fixed trait. They are very concerned about how much they have, they will base their activities on whether it will make them look smart. Students with a growth mind set know that their minds are always developing.
As a teacher I would need to make sure students know that their mind is always growing. That you can never stop learning. With a growth mind set, children can make good grades, if they are in a fixed mind set their grades could decline. The children need to know that everyone makes mistakes. And that is okay and that we learn from our mistakes.

I-Tunes U & PBS

I chose to watch the Observe Clouds in the grades k-5 section. The video consist of watching clouds and at one point they sped up the tape. There wasn't much to the video I watched, however they also include and Educator's Guide. The guide provided a summary, discussion questions, background information, and helpful links. The best thing about this is that it is free.
I believe this will become a great resource in the classroom. I can hook it up and play a video for the whole class, or set it up as a center at a computer. I hope to give every child computer time, so I can easily set this up as an assignment, providing them with questions to answer.
There is another channel in Itunes U that I found to be very interesting. It is called Little Kids Rock. It is a nonprofit group that restores music education to public schools, and they do this free of charge. They have posted guitar lessons and drum lessons. They also have videos of kids playing that learned to play from their videos.

ITunes University

ITunes U

I have owned an I-pod and have been using Itunes for a year and a half, and I have never once heared about ITunes University. Itunes U gives students access to educational content 24/7 through their i-pods or i-phones. They can access the information while they are doing various activities such as working out at the gym.
Through ITunes U students can stay connected an listen to events. They can download all their course content to their computer and ipod. I think this is a great idea. Soon they days will be gone when students have to attend lectures. They will be able to download them right on to their hand held player. If you can't make it to class, you can easily download everything you missed. Technology is ever changing and it is just a matter of keeping up.

IPods

IPods are showing up in classes at Universities across the United States. Duke University was the first school to give IPods to their students and implement them in instruction. Duke started giving out Ipods in 2004. All incoming freshman received them at orientation. After that year, they were only given to students who enrolled in classes that would be using them. Students use the ipod for interviews, to record audio files, and podcasting. While some teachers don't find the use of Ipods, others are activly trying to incorporate them.
Chandler-Gilbert Community College, is also starting to use IPods. Through IPod use, administartors hope that students will engage in their classes. Students can download videos that they need to watch onto their IPods. I think the IPods are a good idea, so many are already using them. Since students use them in their everyday life, they are more likely to bring school work up on it.

November- Why Wireless?

Why Wireless, was a blog written by a teacher at a high school in Colorado. His principal had asked him to write an article for their newsletter eplaining why the school has decided to go wireless. In turn he posted his article in his blog. I think it is a great idea for high schools to go wireless and let students use their own personal computers. If kids can bring their own computers, then it opens up the school computers for students who don't have laptops. I think it is also a great idea because at most colleges students are now taking notes on their computer, so this gives the high school students extra practice.
I also agree that through this students can now access students in other schools. However, I do worry about the students using the internet for the wrong reason while at school. According to the blog the high school has "high expectations for our students, to educate them to behave ethically, responsibly and safely and then expect that they will do the right thing." I think going wireless will benefit the students in the long run and I don't think the parents or other teachers have anything to worry about. It will be good practice for the students, for their future.

Pictures with Modifiers in IMG Tag

FischBowl-September

I agree that every teacher should know something about technology. If a teacher knows nothing about the computer then they are holding back their students. Technology is never going away, and educators need to embrace it. They need to know what their students are learning about computer use and keep up. Technology can be a great teaching aid and if you can't use it then your students are missing out. One can not get by without the least bit understanding about computers.
So much is starting to be used. Gradebooks and even lesson plans are now being computer generated. No longer do teachers need to write in a gradebook and figure out averages and curve grades, all they have to do is enter it into the computer, and it does it for you. If a teacher can operate a computer and figure out a gradebook, they are missing out. Technology is a part of life and it is not acceptable for educators to not get a basic understanding. They need to use these materials in the classroom so that their students are getting the best education possible. If students don't get the oppurtunity to use the computer, they will one day also be missing out. One can not get by, if they can't use a computer properly.

International

Mr. Lietze in New Zealand keeps a class blog. His class includes 6 to 7 year olds. On his blog he post things the students have done. For example, they wrote a christmas story and he filmed the pages and you hear the students reading them. Parents can click on their childs name and find post involving them. He has pictures from a field trip and included comments from the kids on what they enjoyed. He also includes useful links for his parents to access. He had also posted a letter from a former student who has moved to the U.S. Click here to view Mr. Lietze's blog.

The next blog I could not locate the teacher's name, but it was a Year 2 class in Geneva, Switzerland. In her blog she includes experiments they have done in class with procedures and pictures. She also has a section where you can click on a students name and find the posts they are included in. She has write ups about other lessons they have done and the kids art work. To visit her page click here.

Schools that use Blogs

Mr. C's Fifth Grade Class at Noel Elementary School in Missouri keeps a blog. Not only does Mr. C have a blog but so does everyone in his class. He uses the blog to post vocabulary word and definitions. He also uses his blog to post graphs and other information that may be useful for his students. There was also a slide show of his students working on an experiment. He also post questions and the students must write there own blog and answer the question and then he picks the best response.
Here is a link to his site: Mr. C's Class Blog
Mrs. Sian of Larson Elementary in Harrison, Michigan keeps a blog about her kindergarten class. Parents can easily go on and find out what their kids have been up to. She has video taped her kids reading stories they have written and posted the video. She has also typed stories that they wrote and posted them. She also has a class schedule and calendar so parents can easily access the information. She post pictures of the students doing various activities. She has made her blog very useful. No long do parents have to wonder what their kids did in school, today. They even have a class dog named Lucy and has her picture posted!
Here is a link to her class blog: Mrs. Sian

Presentation

Picture Post

I took this picture at Walt Disney World in July 2007.

ACCESS

ACCESS is the Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students Statewide program. ACCESS gives high school students the opportunity to participate in class that may not be offered in their own school. Through ACCESS students will be able to take AP and duel enrollment classes. It will use two way audio and video to run classes. It will combine videoconferencing and Internet based instruction. Existing videoconference labs will be connected to the state network, this way course work and teachers can be shared.
ACCESS will allow students to interact with other students from other schools. Classes will be delivered by a qualified Alabama Certified teacher. E-Teachers are still going to need to be available to help students individually and they must be organized and prepared. Through lab simulations students can repeat experiments multiple times. The program is entirely online and students will participate in the courses at school during the school day. I think ACCESS is a great idea. Students going to schools that can't afford to offer a variety of classes can now expand their education.

How I would use ALEX

If I were going to teach in Alabama I would find ALEX very useful. As a new teacher it might be difficult to come up with lesson plans, since I never have had to do them. I could use ALEX to create my plans online and have them evaluated. If I was having a hard time trying to get the students to learn something I could go to ALEX and find ways that other teachers have taught it. ALEX doesn't just contain the main core subjects it also has other subjects areas. Since I am not very good when it comes to art, I may use the site to look up Art Education. I may have to teach art myself since most schools do not have an art teacher.
I would also use several of the other websites ALEX has listed under Web Links. Here I can go to websites to look up Bullentin Board ideas and more lesson plans. I can find theme units and worksheets. Finding worksheets is a plus if I have a child that needs a little more practice on something. Through these other websites I can find information from teachers all over the United States and not just in Alabama. Most importantly I would use ALEX to make sure I am keeping up with State Standards.
I find that ALEX is useful not only for new teachers but also teachers who have been teaching a while!

ALEX

I think ALEX is a great idea. Teachers from all over the state are able to share ideas through ALEX and it is also a resource for parents and students. Teachers are able to create their lesson plans online and save them to their own personal workspace. They can then submit them to be evaluated and they can share them with other teachers. Teachers can also use the Course of Study search to find ideas on how to teach a subject area. Once they choose a course of study they can then search the objectives they would like their students to learn. They can then find lessons and even links. They are also able to find resources for State Standards.
ALEX provides web links for other useful websites that cover items such as subjects areas and online project collaboration. ALEX also offers Distance Learning called ACCESS. Here students can take classes that may not be offered at their own school. These classes can be AP classes, electives, or others that are not offered to them. ACCESS uses videoconferencing, multimedia content, and two way audio and video. This is a way for students to enrich their learning.

Week 1: Shift Happens

I learned a lot while watching the video. For example I was not aware that in 2006 all college graduates in India spoke English. I know that technology is always changing and it is getting harder to keep up with everything. However, the sad thing is so many school are not able to prepare students. You can walk into several elementary schools and there will not be computers in the classrooms. There may not even be a computer lab. Some that do have computers, the computers are not up to date. It is good to know that they are trying to get laptops to third world countries, but we need to also try and get computers in schools in the United States.

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog!