About Me

My photo
I am a junior at the University of South Alabama majoring in Elementary Education. I am also a wife and a mother to my beautiful 4 year old daughter. I am 2 and I live in bay Minette, Alabama. I look forward to being a teacher and I am very ready to graduate.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Not good-bye but see ya later!

EDM 310 has come to it's end! Boy am I glad!!!! I bit off a little more than I could chew this semester and I am very glad this is the final week! I am very thankful for the opportunity to continue learning and further my education, however for this semester, I'm glad this is it! :) So Good Luck to you Mr. Tashbin, I hope your future classes are as wonderful as class D was! :) To my class and classmates of the other classes Good luck to you all in your future endeavors. Good-bye to you also, Dr. Strange.

Final Blog

I am going to be perfectly honest about this blog. The instructions explicitly say to tell about your experiences. My first thought is that I really feel like this class was a "self teach" class. Yet we still had to come to class. I was looking forward to it because the students who took it semesters before said they learned a lot. I feel like what I did learn was from being repetitious or having no choice but to ask others and teach myself. Which was kind of a let down considering most of the criteria is much of what I want to incorporate in my future classroom. With that being said, I did learn about blogging, which I had never done before now. I learned how to communicate with other teachers and students all over the world through blogging. Not to mention, following blogs as part of my PLN. I will continue to blog and incorporate it into my own classroom one day. I did sign up for a wiki- space and participated a few time but I doubt I will continue doing so. The presentations were pretty much the same as doing a power point presentation except for the fact that it is stored in your google docs. The podcast, honestly I did not care for. I did like the Comments for Kids because it reminded you of how innocent children's mind's are and how much they are learning and how much they have to be proud of. However the Comments for Teachers, i could live without. The comments for classmates was a joke sometimes because more weeks than not, I had nothing to comment on. Many students did not complete their blog assignments on time in order for us to complete our comments for them. I did use iTunesU, because that was involved in our podcast topic. Google forms is a neat feature although many classmates didn't participate. Google Earth was very interesting to me and I am sure I will use it in my classroom. I am very excited to actually. There are so many things and ways to teach and use Google Earth in the classroom for any subject.
I am not really sure how and if this class changed me as a professional. I feel like most of what I learned was taught by me so it was the way I had to learn, not the many ways to teach it. I felt very rushed in this class and like I couldn't really get the point before we were on another project. It was scattered and I feel like all the teachers were not on the same page. I tried and did give it my all and I have spent a lot of time on my work for this class. I am thankful for what I did learn because it was more than i knew prior to the class. Am I a Technologically Literate student? Yes, I would say medium level. I've always been the type "if I don't know the answer, I will find it" so I feel like I will be okay and continue to teach myself through trial and error.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My Professional Blog

I have created a Professional Blog for my Career Path and to use for part of my PLN. I am going to continue learning and using it for networking and showing off my projects and work. Here is the link: http://gracefullyprofessional.blogspot.com/

How To Teach Tech


Comments for Kids week 14 -

My comments for kids this week was about a student named Unaloto. He is shown in a picture with his friend and neither of the two are wearing school uniforms. It is Mufti day. Many people will order sausage sizzles for lunch and they will have games and prizes.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

April 25th Blog assignment -

I am so impressed with this 7th graders PLE. And so jealous! This kid is not only extremely smart but extremely organized as well. This seems un-heard of for a middle school student, heck for any student with a busy schedule. Apparently this is what keeps her so organized, because it's all there together.

The two questions to ask yourself? What's your sentence? Did I do better today than I did yesterday? This really got me to thinking because I am not really sure what my sentence is. I know that I always try to strive to do better every day, so I am at ease with that question but I'm a little rattled about my sentence. This may take some time. I am very glad it was brought to my attention.

My sentence after MUCH thought and revision: I will always try to be the best person I am capable of being, accept the things I cannot change and view what I do have and not what I do not have. Live, love and prosper! :)

PLN Final Post

I have been following Morgan Bayada for my PLN and here are a few effective teaching skills I have been studying and hoping to incorporate them into my agenda as an educator.

Teaching and Instructing Skills:

♦ Teach all subject areas for grades K – 6 in both distinctive and integrative ways.

♦ Integrate Aboriginal content and perspectives across curricula

♦ Adapt planning, environment and instructional strategies to ensure success of students with varying abilities.

♦ Creatively apply Response to Intervention strategies to help students self-regulate.

♦ Select and develop appropriate tools for authentic assessment (ex. rubrics, video oral assessments, self- and peer-)

♦ Engage and communicate respectfully with students, parents and staff of diverse backgrounds (ex. School Community Council, parent-teacher interview process, meetings with parents and school counselor)

♦ Guide students through the process of inquiry learning for critical thinking (ex. hands-on science inquiry experiments)

♦ Initiate collaborative planning with Division staff, teachers and community: Science and Literacy Night (Greg Taylor, Regina Public), Aboriginal Innovators (Science Centre), Geometric Family Portrait Making (Parents), Story Telling and Drama Club (Community Coordinator), Hip Hop Club, Student Representative Council.

♦ Attend specifically to the personal identity of each child

She is as good as it gets. I have thoroughly enjoyed following her blogs and will continue to do so. Thank you Morgan Bayada for the experience to watch the best at work!

Skype


I LOVE to Skype. This is probably one of the best features ever for me and my family. My mother and sister live in Houston and I also have family in Baton Rouge, therefore, we make the best of it with Skype. We often use Skype to allow my daughter and my sisters kids to see each other and chat back and forth. To show the opposite person things if need be. I actually spend a lot of time on Skype. My daughter especially loves it because she can communicate with her Gigi and she is learning a lot about it. My Aunt is a teacher and we Skype a lot to talk about school stuff. I can probably say this is one of my favorite recently learned technology features. Best of all, it's free!

Substantive Presentation

Interview with Ingrid Welborn

I had an interview with another student from our class, Ingrid Welborn. We discussed different and new ways to incorporate technology in the classroom for elementary all the way through to high school, even college. A few ways can even be used outside of the classrooms. She mentioned the use of Google Earth to look up latitudes and longitudes in Geography and itunes in order to record podcast for assignments. We also talked about the timeline toast and its many uses, in and out of the classroom for a wide variety of age groups. We discussed Vocaroo and how I have been emailing reminders to myself as part of my PLN. I really enjoyed Vocaroo as well as my 4 year old daughter. A wide variety of many new ideas including blogging to incorporate in the classrooms to keep the students as well as the teachers up to date with technology.

Google Docs Form

I submitted my Google Docs form on information about Exercise. Asking the students if they exercise on a regular basis and if they eat healthy. If this was a way of life for them and if they did not do either one, why not? Money, lack of motivation or health reasons? Although, I did not get much feedback, what I did get back was mostly the answer of NO students do not exercise or eat healthy on a daily basis.

Vocaroo

Vocaroo: I really liked this feature because I could email myself reminders. I even played around a little with my daughter. Take a listen...






Powered by Vocaroo

This is what my family has been up to! WILD THINGS tee ball! My daughter after her 1st catch!

Our new puppy... CoCo Flower (my 4 year old daughter named her! :)

Google Earth Tour

Famous Battles of the World War II

Monday, April 26, 2010

Blogging about Blogging -

Assignment for April 18, 2010

When I first got into this class I used to ask myself "why are we blogging and why do we need to do the Comments for Kids"? Then I soon came to realize and see the impact that technology has on growing, learning students. The kids love it and it encourages them to learn and create more for us to be proud of. Same as the adult blogging, writing about an opinion you have and then to share it for feed back.

this is a blog from a Comments for Kids blog:

Annoying, Prickly Grass

The most unusual thing happened when room 12 went outside to do something...we just laid down on the grass to listen to the sounds of Point England. First we walked to the field and we had to lie down in the boiling sun, then we had to lie in the cool breezy shade. When I laid down on the annoying prickly grass, it felt like needles that were stuck to the field. Mrs. Barks told us to open our eyes and look at the clouds. Billowy clouds wee aimlessly floating in the sky with no care. After that we headed to the cool shade. I heard the annoying seagulls screeching out loud and I felt I was in the noisiest place in the world. And then I saw the tree branches swaying left to right, plus some of the other branches were dancing back to front. When we were finished, we walked back to class. I felt happy because I got to relax and because it was the time to finally be peaceful.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

ZAX & PS 22


April 11 post -

I think it is very rewarding for the students to see their work posted because they can be so proud and it encourages them to learn more. THe ZAX video also made its point about standing at a stand still. Get with the program.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

teacher 10 & 12

Comments for Teachers 10 & 12 -

Great job with the class projects and your passion for continued learning. It is very neat learning all of the new things we do to be creative in our own way. I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am just learning all of the wonderful things you are teaching your students. Keep it up! :)
http://edm310.blogspot.com
http://graceamber310.blogspot.com/
April 8, 2010 12:04 PM


Agreed - great guy, great movie.
I think there are limits to how much Hollywood can say about teachers - most imply that individual heroism is the optimal scenario - but Stand and Deliver is one of the best films about education.
http://edm310.blogspot.com
http://graceamber310.blogspot.com/
April 4, 2010
Kai -

I am so excited for Kai and her blog and her recent experience in the outdoors, even if it was outside of her house. This dedicated parent apparently started this blog as a way for her family to keep up with her life but it turned into so much more. It seems to be opening the eyes to many following her blog. She has a great journey ahead of her with things she learn in life, especially with a dedicated parent standing behind her. It just goes to show you how we can all remain to learn and to teach our students and children to be eager to learn. Don't turn your back on it just because it is "something new". That seems to happen often when people get in a rut and are not open to learn new and improved ways to do things. On another note, I am glad to see she is experiencing the great outdoors and not stuck behind a computer all the time. The best of both worlds is the better option I believe.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

morgan bayada

March 28, 2010 Morgan Bayada -

I am reading this post as an assignment for my EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in Elementary Education and this is a very interesting piece as we battle this debate on a daily basis. It seems as if our school would already be on board with actually educating the students. We are being “schooled” to tell the truth. Well, not all classes, but most of mine now are just “burp back” classes. It is very true that when you are forced to memorize facts and burp them back, odds are you will forget them. The Educational Media class I am taking now has forced me to try, explore and research new things about new opportunities being offered to us. Yes, I do realize I said forced, because if I had not been obligated to take this course I probably would never had known. However, I am thankful now that I have become a more critical thinker. If I do not know the answer, I will find it for you. It has really opened my eyes to a new way of life. I can only dream that you can change the way we are all educated and the generations to come. I thoroughly enjoyed the post as well as the video. I am very thankful for people like you trying to change the way we teach, therefore changing the way we learn.
Comments for kids week 10 -

This week the students wrote a fiction story. Here is Kristen's.


The Perfect Family
By Kirsten M.

It was 10:30. The lights just went out. We rush back to "the house" which is really just an old tool shed with broken windows, and half a door. The rest of the door is made of old sheets. We slip in and trip over blocks of wood, and I hear Arien squeal at the puncture of the wood. Kira and Karly are breathing in my ears. One on each side. Their hair is whipping in my face. So is my long, red, auburn hair. Ian is right on my tail helping Arien up. Ryan is silent, as usual, in the back of the crowd. Everything goes quiet. We're safe...for now.




Comments for Kids week 9 -

I read a blog from Waylon and it was about the NBA. It could not have came at a better time with March Madness going on. My husband and I are big basketball fans so I had a particular intrest in this one. Great post Waylon!

Comments for kids week 10 -

Macy got braces! Brace face, metal mouth as she called it! She talked about her experience at the orthodontist and described how she was a little scared at first but she knew it would be well worth it. I have also worn braces before so I reassured her it would be worth the wait. :)
Mrs. Cassidy -
I was not in the class that skyped Mrs. Cassidy, however, I did watch it. I was impressed with the conversation. It made me feel like I grew up in the dinosaur age. When I was that age, I barely knew what a computer was. She has been blogging for 5 years and has had a class web page for 10 years and teaching video cast for 2 years. This says a lot for her. The parents of her students really enjoyed the idea of how much the kids are learning. I am very motivated by this teacher.

Mrs. Kelly Hines -
The one thing that stood out in this video to me was the fact that Mrs. Hines says she chooses her lessons based on goals and objectives, not technology first. I am a firm believer in this pedagogy. Not many teachers work this way. Mrs. Hines is pretty much doing the same things that Mrs. Cassidy is so I don't want to sound redundant. But I am very motivated listening to both teachers and what they are able to do with their students and in the classroom.

Assignment for March 7, 2010
ALEX website -

I have used this website many times before this class. It is a very helpful website foe future teachers or teachers. It seems pretty easy to navigate in also. You can review lesson plans, podcast, ideas or basically find out almost any inoformation you need to regarding studetns and teachers.

You can search for nearly anything concerning teaching or learning. The website also gives you links to other helping sites to further your learning. It is a very resourceful tool and I am sure I will be using much much more of it.

ACCESS -

Short for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide. This website is for Alabama public high school students. It was built to provide equal learning opportunities for everyone. It allows students to complete online courses during semesters similar to those in college. They aim to improve students' achievements through this method of distance learning.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

March 28, 2010
"An Open Letter to Educators"
I am majoring in Elementary Education and this is a very interesting piece as we battle this debate on a daily basis. It seems as if our school would already be on board with actually educating the students. We are being “schooled” to tell the truth. Well, not all classes, but most of mine now are just “burp back” classes. It is very true that when you are forced to memorize facts and burp them back, odds are you will forget them. The Educational Media class I am taking now has forced me to try, explore and research new things about new opportunities being offered to us. Yes, I do realize I said forced, because if I had not been obligated to take this course I probably would never had known. However, I am thankful now that I have become a more critical thinker. If I do not know the answer, I will find it for you. It has really opened my eyes to a new way of life. I can only dream that you can change the way we are all educated and the generations to come. I thoroughly enjoyed the post as well as the video. I am very thankful for people like you trying to change the way we teach, therefore changing the way we learn.



PLN midterm -

For my PLN, Ive been following Morgan Bayada and Karl Fisch. I have most enjoyed Morgan Bayada. She is such an inspiration. She is a new teacher in Saskatchewan with Bachelor of Education with a specialization in Early Childhood Education. We have a lot of the same beliefs when it comes to students and teachers and their eager to continue learning.

Educational Technology -
I Believe…(Philosophy) by: Morgan Bayada

♦ I believe that effective use of educational technologies can:

• Help me to stay current and constantly learn within the field of education

• Provide an authentic, international audience for student writing and voice

• Bring experts into the classroom

• Engage students

• Open the door to alternative forms of assessment

• Create a learning environment that goes beyond the four walls of the classroom

• Promote collaboration and inquiry

• Help students become independent, intrinsically motivated, lifelong learners

• Take students from “knowledgeable to knowledge-able” (Michael Wesch)

http://morgbayda.wordpress.com/belief-statements-philosophy/educational-technology/

Monday, March 8, 2010

Randy Pausch - Last Lecture

Randy Pausch begins his last lecture by telling a little about himself and what he has been through. He has pancreatic cancer and has been told he will only live a few more months. In this lecture, he not only gives advice, but, more importantly, he gives inspiration. At the beginning of the lecture, he gives a list of quite a few of his childhood dreams. Throughout the first half of the lecture, he gives examples of how he accomplished each of these dreams. This man has managed to accomplish so much of what he wanted to do in life because he was persistent.and had much inspiration.

The part of his lecture about brick walls is neat. He basically tells us the brick walls are not there to keep us out. Instead, they are there to show us exactly how bad we want whatever it is they are keeping us from. If it is really important to us, we should do whatever it takes to break this wall down. This is true in so many instances--relationships, school, and careers. Anything is possible if we set our mind to it, and I truly believe God never shuts one door without opening another. We should fight for what we believe in and what we want if we truly believe in it with all our heart.

The middle was mainly about how he had accomplished many of his childhood dreams. Some that were far fetched. He inspires you to never give up on any dream you may have. To break through the brick wall and you shall achieve your goal. I have so much respect for this man and I have never even met him. He teaches you to take criticism well and use it to your advantage. To listen and learn from it to prevent making the same mistakes twice.

Overall, this guy is life changing. He is such a gentleman. I loved at the end he takes his wife's hand kisses her and bows with her. I love moments like that. He is an inspiration to all of us and we definately need more teachers like him to give aome oerserverance to those who are lost or who become lost as they grow up. So many children need a "pick me up" such as this type of thing and a motivational speech such as this one to keep them on their journey to dream. Child hood dreams do come true!
My comments for Kids this week was from a boy named Waylan. He had the rules about the National Basketball Association. Very interesting blog I must say, but probably because I AM A HUGE SPORTS FAN. So thank you Waylan! Great job!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

1st post for Comments for Teachers -

Concerning the salaries of teachers. The base pay for a teacher in Iowa is $48,000. The are number 26 in state rankings. He argues that the assistance from the government should not be involved with the schools. If so they should take words of wisdom from those who have stood on the front lines and actually know a thing or two about teaching and what truly goes on. Not someone who does not have a clue and has never been a teacher before.

I do, however think we need a little assistance from the government, just maybe after they have taken advice from those on the front lines. They are the ones that know what is going on and the ones doing the job. This is a bittersweet situation I guess. However, in Alabama I would be happy to receive that salary as opposed to our teachers now.


2nd post for Comments for Teachers -

This post was about a teacher from Arizona. This is her fifth year teaching and she is teaching computer classes to her students now. She mentions she has many hobbies other than playing on the computer. She enjoys being in the kitchen and hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. This makes me happy because a lot of teachers just sit behind the computer with no daily exercise. We always need exercise.


3rd post for Comments for Teachers -

Yes! I for one do not want to be unfairly graded either. I dont think the test scores should depend on the evaluation of the teacher. Like you mention, give me exactly what will be on the test and let me prepare them to the best of my ability. Then if I do not suceed, we need to change certain styles of teaching.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Assignments for 2.28.10
This Is How We Dream -
I was actually very impressed by this video. I seriously doubt I could do something similar without further training. This is where the problem comes in. Im wlling to bet their are middle school students who already know how to do this. Will we always be behind because of what we have not been taught?

As a future educator you will definitely have to be eager to continue your journey of learning, especially in the technology field. The students we will be teaching will continuously be learning the new and improved trends of technology.

I was way more interested in a video or presentation in this format. I'm sure anyone would be. It keeps your imagination longer. I'm really loving the whole creativity bit. It makes perfect sense, it is all about one being creative and it is "how we dream".


The Networked Student -
I can clearly see where this video is going. It is very innovative to our generation. The students could very well create PLN's for themselves and find out all the necessary information they need for their project. The teacher is always a great resource for many reasons.

I never want to think we do not need teachers because it scares me to think all the hard work I am doing right now in college may not even matter if that is the case. There has to be a way to use media as a plus without crushing the whole concept of school as we use to know it. Teachers are many peoples inspirations. When they touch your life, you never forget them.

The video was very neat, I will agree. But I am not one for subtracting the teachers out of our school experience. Or not so much as taking them completely out, but even the majority of the time is too much. Although, the teachers that hate their jobs, that may turn out to be beneficial to the students.


Michael Wesch -
Wow! This video was long but interesting. It had a lot of great facts. It seems so scary but true as to what we are becoming and how we are changing. I never realized certain things about myself and my social networking until I watched this video. We create the media is right. We talk about what we see from the media. He mentions the "whatever" quotes and how we as a whole distribute the term so lax. We need to change the slogan from " whatever, I don't care what you think" to the future slogan " Let's do whatever it takes, by whatever means necessary".


My Comments for Kids -
This week my student was blogging about how to make a best friend and the process and materials needed. The student was very informative and had a great "how to" format. She mentioned finding someone you can trust and feeling like you can talk to them about your problems at home or school. Also about finding someone you have a lot in common with. Cute post.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

My sister & wonderful mother came to visit from Houston!

My baby turned 4!

Wiki Spaces:

I had never heard of this before and it was very interesting. I like the fact that u can add your opinion to any conversation or topic. It brings very different opions to the subject. Nice!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

A Little About Me Presentation

Assigments for Feb 21, 2010
Dr. Christie - I hate I have to only pick two things to comment on because I find this website to be very resourceful to me as an individual as well as a future educator. I really like the web design because it allows anyone really, creative or not to become creative and to use their imagination. You can do things you may not have been able to do before computer times.

My favorite part is probably the photography gallery. You are being offered so much with this section because you can have the best of both worlds without even being a professional. You can take your own pictures of whatever you wish and then edit or create new things all with the touch of technology. You would then realize just how good you are or can be with the features offered. The generation now, for most of us, we love to take pictures so this is a great tool.

iTunes U - I love the idea of iTunes U. It is a very innovative way for students to stay in touch with their professors as well as other students. It also helps students catch up on missed assignments or lectures without feeling so lost.

I guess the only problem for me is having my education experience split up between paper classes and web based classes. I guess what I mean is that several teachers are still very old fashioned, and that is fine, but it gets to be a pain and very confusing when things are mixed up. I would personally rather it either or. It helps me stay organized. I would probably prefer the web based way but we have not completely arrived at that point yet.

Duke's use of ipods - WOW!!! From what I have read is that Duke University gives ipods to every freshman upon arrival at the college. Downloaded with the school songs and a student calendar and much needed student information to better the learning experience. To listen to recorded lectures or to watch podcast of lectures or presentations.

I think this is a great idea. Obviously it is working out because they are getting more to continue this style of learning. It helps the students stay on task and caught up. Not to mention, to stay with the times. If we started this everywhere just imagine what our younger generations would already know well before their college days. Im all for it!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

My take on Comments for Kids:
I think the kids are really enjoying feedback on their blog posts. Especially from people all over the world. I am sure it makes them eager to learn more about technology and want to blog even more. I'm very impressed that we are learning how to blog in college and there are elementary students already blogging all over the world. Wow! Goes to show you how far we have come and how far behind I may be. oops! :) I am learning everyday and it is actually very neat. I'm loving it!
February 14th assignments: <3
WIRED story- I can say I have used Wikipedia in the past but as I came to college, my professors were not to keen on the site. They have always told me that it was not very trustworthy and factual. I, personally would prefer to not make a fool out of myself by using information that was not factual. The point of research is to find and research facts right? I am not sure at all if the source will ever be fully trusted and recommended. They have a long way to go and factual individuals to stand by and have every post proved to be true. How would you do that to so many comments being posted?

"What I have Learned This Year"
by: Mr. McClung- I love this blog post. It made my heart sing. I am very excited to become a teacher but very scared at the same time. Mr. McClung basically expressed that we all have expectations of our students and to remember who our audience truly is. To understand that we will make plenty of mistakes and it IS okay. To realize we are not perfect and that is okay too. It really gave me a feeling of comfort to hear that because I am always stressing about being "the perfect teacher" and there is no such thing. So I have a new and improved outlook on becoming a new teacher.

To also remember when making out lesson plans that they are not made for the person reading them, but for our students. Also that the plans don't always go as planned. There again, it is okay, after all that is life. I love what he said about our students making mistakes... we are here to pick them up, dust them off and encourage them to try it again. So thank you to Mr. McClung, it was a magical blog. It made me feel much better for my future students.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

February 7th assignment:
Langwitches Blog- Good point about "It's Not About the Tools, It's About the Skills". Sometimes people do not realize how important technology is in teaching. I'm not crazy about podcasts, but they can be useful and very instructing. Creating a podcast can give a child the experience to collaborate, write as well as speak and practice presentation skills. Just the use of the technology skills in general. For education, they are a great learning tool. To watch and create. I am thankful that our schools are able to provide the resources in order for our students to have the opportunity to better their education experience.
Assignments for Jan 31, 2010:

Smart Board- I first thought that the smart boards were overrated and cost way to much money. My thoughts since using one have completely changed. I love them. The fact that the teacher doesn't even have to move back and forth and disturb the class. Not to mention, it saves time. So with that being said, I'm impressed. I definitely recommend it to anyone.

Kidcast- The narrator discusses different activity ideas. As a future educator need to understand not to be overwhelmed with an entire podcast. Instead a mini-series would e just as good. Just choose a special topic and stick with it in order to make it easier for all involved.

This Week in Photography- The podcast were pretty decent with the exception of Scott being so conceited. The overall content was informative. i have always carried an interest in photography. The audio is recently getting me more involved. it is very new to me so yes it will take some getting used to. The TWIP is very new to me also. I have never heard of it before and look forward to exploring it more. You definitely take your "practice makes perfect" motto into play here. I guess you have to do more podcast to better yourself of them or any new feature you are unveiling.

Ed Tech - I am kind of confused on the access young children and teenagers have to these social networking sites. It could be a very enriching thing or a very scary thing. It is all in how they use or abuse it and who is monitoring it. The schools say their computers are blocked from facebook, myspace and such sites but my stepson is on facebook a lot during school hours because I am able to see the time of the post. So with that being said? Who is or isn't monitoring the access of these sites to our younger generations.

Mac Break - I love the ipad. Yes true enough, it is a big iphone. Well, I happen to love the iphone. I would definitely be interested in one if the price were to drop a bit. I am a fan of Apple therefore I would be willing to try mostly any of their products.

1 year old using iphone - i was not really suprised at this video simply beacuse there are so many children who know how to do this. I think it is just a few times to watch the adult with it and they are getting it. It is a very redundant process and Apple has made it "just that simple". But yes it is scary and crazy what generations under us are learning and at the speed they are learning it. Cute video.

They are First graders. R u Ready? - I was very impressed by this video. However, not surprised. They are starting students on computers as soon as they can afford it these days. As I have mentioned before, my 3 year old daughter has a Compu-child class at her school. i think it is a great thing if that is what the world is coming to, and it is so here we are. The students in the video are awesome with the use of their technological skills. They know more than a lot of educators know. That however, may not be a good thing.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Assignments 5-8

A Vision of Students Today:

I would have to say I agree with this video. It is absolutely ridiculous of the money students spend to get a college degree. Half of the time we do not even use the books we buy. And if we do use them it is never enough for what you pay for them. I used to think the "classroom experience" was better and I would never want a web based class but I have recently changed my mind. After all, the classroom experiences have not been to good. To be honest, several of my teachers do not like their jobs or either they are not getting through to the students. I have paid for several courses where I did not really learn a thing.

And yes of course several students are texting and facebooking in class. They are bored. I would much rather a web based class where the instructor tells me what to do and when to turn it in and I will be ready to complete the task and receive my grade. It seems so much more stressful driving to class everyday and being rushed to drive across campus to your next class and it all be done in 10 to 15 minutes. It is like you cannot take a deep breath until you are done for the day... or week! I believe my stress level would be managed and a lot lower if i did not have the stress of a classroom.


Its not about the Technology:

I may be contradicting what I mentioned in the last opinion but here it goes... I totally agree that learning is not all about technology. I believe that a teacher must also be a learner, just as it says. But you must also be tech literate to survive in today's world being a teacher. Not saying you must imply all your tech-skills to your everyday curriculum, but to have that on the back burner in case you ever need it. And remain to stay up-dated on the newest tech trends.

On the flip side it very well could be considered to be all about technology to some teachers and students as well as others in the world. With that being said, you would basically have to teach your students everything you can about technology.


Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?:

I do know several teachers who do NOT really know much about computers and do not really care to learn. Many teachers have just been able to "get by" without having to know technology like the back of their hand. It seems like there will be a day when that will not cut it in the field anymore. My daughter is 3 years old and she takes a computer class at her school once a week. I have to pay for it but I do not have a problem with that because I never want to sell her short of what is all around her and will probably be the base of her learning. However, there are still some good teachers that are technologically illiterate. Not saying that is okay but what can we do about it?

It seems as if it will be mandatory before long that all teachers are required to be technologically literate. That would be a great idea considering they are teaching our children of the future.


Social Media Count:

I am actually scared to think of what it means for my career because it looks as if it would replace a face for a computer. That face could be mine. Therefore, I would be jobless. Which is a very frightening thought. But there should always be a face to go along with the computer to assist any students with problems or questions.

i was astonished as the count changed. it goes to show you we are becoming more and more dependent on technology. The world is being controlled by it because of it's convenience. Which I cannot say I blame them most of the time. Everyone stays so busy, it is the "immediate gratification" we are all in search for.
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Sunday, January 17, 2010

Assignments 1- 4

Amber Grace
divineamber1982@gmail.com
01/18/10


Mr. Winkle Wakes-

I agree with this story for the most part. Simply because when you walk in a hospital theses days, I;m sure it is nothing like it used to be. In fact, we know it isn't. These machines he is talking about may be an outrage and "too much" as some people say but, however, theses machines are saving lives everyday. Same way with a place of business, the corporate world is ALL about technology. That's where the money lies. Without being so up to date with technology, I'm not sure where a lot of people would be in their careers.

The school part I can relate to because other than computer class time or going to the lab, I personally have not seen where the students are sitting behind a computer throughout the course of the day. However, it may soon come to that. I have just recently been in the schools observing and for the most part I remember it that same way. Except maybe for the computer lab part. But I remember as a child learning on computers as well.


Did you know 3.0-

I was stunned to see the statistics. It seems as though I am very aware of the increase in technology, however, it seems so crazy that so many people all over the world rely on the Internet to stay connected. When the computer crashes or the systems are down everyone freaks out. It's like no one is trained for back up with pen and paper to carry out business...

I can't say much because I am a huge fan of the Internet. We just recently moved and we no longer have high speed Internet because it is not yet offered in our area and it feels like we are out of touch with the entire world! I feel like I live on another planet. We have dial up and it is so slow, its not even worth it... It all goes along with that "immediate gratification" of this generation. Same way with all the technology, the newest, fastest and best always gets the pick. And there is always something new coming out.

The Importance of Creativity-

I am sort of biased when it comes to this topic. Probably because my entire life I've enjoyed making crafts and always using my imagination and being crafty. I feel like that motivation is not around as much as it used to be. Children were encouraged to use their imaginations and be creative to come up with games to play, toys to play with and many more ideas. Now it seems as if everything is thought of for you. You just simply google it or look it up and poof there it is! No effort at all.

I learned in my Art class you are to encourage children to be wiley and use their imaginations. That giving a child a color page was wrong over a piece of blank paper so the child could be creative. I hope to encourage creativity in my classroom when I become an Educator.

Harvest your Students' Digital Smarts-

I liked this video for the most part. I am very excited to see students learning so much about technology and that they are staying current on everything in the cyber-world. I do believe that all teachers and students should remain to stay up to date with the times and technology, but also to learn to survive without it. Just in case they had to. It would also be a big help to occasionally step outside to get some fresh air and exercise. So many children are obese these days and a lot of the problem could be from the children never going outside to exercise and burn calories. Video games and the Internet is what the majority of students do for fun. Exercising only their hands. I think it is great that the teachers are training the students so well.