Addtional Assignment #3

Sir Ken Robinson: Changing Educational Paradigms

This is video was very well put together. By this, I mean that the video covered his issues with education on a level that everyone can understand. It was simple but it had very key point to his idea of changing the educational paradigm. His main point that I believe he is trying to make here is that education cannot go on the way it has been. It has to be diverse because not all kids are facing the same economic and cultural values on the same level. I do agree with this idea of changing education because it is not a one size fits all subject. I would like to think that all children have an equal opportunity to an education but they do not. As far as the video goes in general, I liked it because like I said before, it was put together in a way that everyone could understand it. We were asked what part of the film would we be in if it was ours and I have decided that I would not be in it at all. I do not like putting together videos so this doesn’t pertain to me.

Blog Post #10

An Open Letter To Educators


This is a great post! She hits the nail right on the head with everything she says! We are, indeed, using the same teaching methods that were used when school first began. Times have changed. Why haven't we? I have heard for years that we use "burp back" methods, yet nothing has been done about it. When will people stop talking and actually do it?! I think that this class does a great job at helping us to become more independent learners. 

I feel like I can relate with everything she says. When you sit in a class and just expect to be able to repeat everything the teacher says is so boring and terrible! I hope that one day this trend will be broken!

Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home

This was to tell us not to dwell on problems! Sometimes teachers focus so much on the negative side of things. I know that I had a teacher once and all she talked about were the bad grades in the class. There could have been 20 A's and 2 F's and her entire class period was focused on those two people who didn't do so well, while the rest of us were just sitting there listening to these poor kids being stricken in front of the class. I think the message is to remember the good that happens as well as the bad.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life 

The first question was 'What is my sentence?'. I think this means if people had to summarize you in one sentence what would it be? I think mine would be 'She is a great teacher that enjoyed what she did everyday of her life.' Well, I would hope that's how people would remember me by. I know that I will enjoy my job. I love working with any kids in any school type environment. 

The other question was 'Was I better today than i was yesterday?'. This is a question that I have been taught to ask myself since I was a young child. This is instilled in my brain. This is a self evaluation. Everyone can improve everyday. No one is perfect. I think that everyone needs to remember that. Especially teachers. Every once in a while we get satisfied. My favorite thing to say is 'Never be Satisfied'. You always demand more of yourself. If you demand more of yourself, your students will do the same.

Smartboard Project

Hailey Rascoe, Leigh Setser, and Leslie Ketchum

My Skype Video

Free online screencasting tool

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year
Mr. McClung gives some great advice in this post. In summary he says don't try to be perfect and always keep your students number one! This sounds so simple, but many teachers lose sight of this. They are so concerned trying to make the perfect lesson that they forget to make sure that their class is comprehending the material being taught. He also says that you can never stop learning and to not be afraid of technology. We have learned so much about this in our EDM class already this year. It is a very important subject, and I think that is why it keeps being brought up. Many teachers get satisfied with where they are at in their teaching methods. In my opinion, and important thing to remember is one teaching method may not work for every class or every student. You must remain flexible and willing to learn more.

Short Movie Project

Instructional Timeline

Blog Assigment #8

This Is How We Dream Part 1 & 2

Dr. Miller makes a great presentation with these videos. he starts out in the first one talking about how we can access everything on the internet now. He spoke about how he did an article on the shootings at Virginia Tech, and he never stepped foot in a library. He was also able to look up how each politician voted on a particular subject matter by using the internet. He is explaining to us how the internet has changed the way we write. There is not need for paper books anymore. Everything you need is on the internet. He also speaks about incremental and fundamental changes.

In part 2, Dr. Miller is talking about how this affects our work. He shows us several techniques that are available to us and stresses the importance of visuals. He says that he foresees a time where we will use such digital demonstrations for our writing rather than word processors.

I believe that he is correct. We should be interested in this attempt to proceed into the future. We need inspired teachers in order to teach this change. Everything is always changing and we should be motivated to be a leader in this revolution.

The Chipper Series

This video is trying to dramatize a student who is figuring out the ins and outs of edm. I love this video. Jamie Lynn always does a great job on her videos. Dr. Strange wasn't too shabby either. This is a great video for beginner students to watch because edm can be a lot to handle. I have had so many people warn me about it and tell me how horrible it is. In my experience, so far, I do not think it's that bad. My advice is have good time management skills. I think that is one of the morals to this video. You must also be willing to learn on your own. You cannot wait for someone to do it for you. This is a class of trial and error.

EDM310 For Dummies

This is such a funny video. I wish I had the creativity that they have. I love it! It really lightens the mood of the oh so talked about EDM310. It really puts a different spin on the whole class. It shows people that it doesn't have to be all gloomy. You can actually have fun and be creative with it.

I have no idea what I could do for a video. This is something that I will have to think about it in more detail. I would love to do something funny like these two videos. That is more my style. I would like to keep it interesting for my peers to watch.

Smartboards

I think Smartboards are a great idea! I found a few websites supporting them! Here are two of them: Link and Link The smart board is a great example of how technology just keeps getting better! A smart board is like a souped up overhead projector. It makes learning fun and interactive. This is a great way for children to enjoy what they are learning. You can project a computer screen with ease as well. There is no need to have to make transparencies anymore. I think that all teachers should join in with the trend!!!

Additional Assignment #2

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
Yes! I think that if you are willing and motivated you can teach yourself almost anything!
2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
Yes! Kids are naturally curious little beings. Children, also have more patience than your average adult.
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
The learner must be motivated to learn. If the child or adult is not motivated to learn, your are moat likely not going to get very much out of them.
4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
Computers and internet access play a huge role in this process. It allows people to have access to information they may not otherwise know or have access to.
5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
Motivation plays a huge role in learning. As a teacher, you should always want to keep your students motivated.
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
People often give up when they run across a problem or a question. We live in a generation where we want someone to do things for us when we run across a problem or a question. The child must be motivated to learn and to take the time to figure something out. For example, the little girl in the video taught herself to become the teacher. She helped others to learn something that even she did not initially understand.
7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
You must make the subject matter to be learned as interesting as possible. You also must give someone the freedom to learn on their own. Allow students to work together on computers and research questions and answers.
8. How are you motivated to learn?
I am motivated to learn because I am ready to graduate! Honestly, EDM310 has motivated me to learn because I know that the knowledge I gain from this class will help my students a lot one day. I want to be able to share my knowledge with them.
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?
Yes, I believe they can. However, it is not as effective as someone that is motivated to learn. A motivated student is more willing to do extra work and know the material in more detail. Whereas, a non-motivated student is more apt to try and memorize it simply for a grade.
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
Yes!! EDM310 is a prime example of teaching yourself. I rarely have time to come in the lab for assistance. Therefore, it is a lot of trial and error. This class has motivated me to explore things on the internet and my computer that I have never thought of or even heard or before.
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
I, personally, like to have a teacher present because you get their point of view on the material. If it is a lecture class you could always read the book and know what is going on, but by listening to the teacher you get more than just your own point of view.
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?
I think that it is amazing that he could go to another country and present a program that the children were not familiar with and allow them to learn how to work it on their own. That is amazing to me. The software was not even in their own language! I think that people in the U.S. need to watch this video. I think they will feel just silly afterward.
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
I think teachers should be inspired by this. They should discuss how to motivate their students. I think a lot of teachers forget the importance of keeping their students interested in the material being taught.

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Mr.Pausch is such an inspirational man. He opens the video by sharing a bit of personal history. He tells us that he is battling liver tumors. The doctors have not given him long to live at all. However, he requires no oooos and ahs or pity. He wants none of he such. He is at peace with his condition and proves it by doing some great push ups! This is the kind of person that is out to inspire folks. You cannot go around expecting things from people, such as pity. He had my attention from the get go.

His main objective is to share his testimony of some of the dreams he has accomplished and inspire others to do the same. So many times, we grow up and give up on our childhood dreams. Most of the time we don't even realize it or maybe we think it is just silly now. He shares some of his experiences such as experiencing zero gravity, working on an Alladin project with Disney, and meeting William Shatner. He stresses never giving up on your dreams.

Mr.Pausch is a truly extraordinary man. he has inspired me to continue with my dreams no matter how old I am. I hope I will never forget the lesson he has taught me through this video.

My PLN Progress Report

I love that we have to learn about PLNs. They are a wonderful tool for people of all ages to have. It is a great way to keep your websites and work organized on the computer. I love that I will be able to teach my children about this one day!

As you can see from my PLN, it is a little bare. Most of the websites I use are on there, however I will continue to add different websites as they become available to me!

Project 9a

C4T #2 Summary

My teacher goes by the name dragonsinger. She is a teacher and mother, along with many other things. She is also from New Zealand. Personally, I think this is the coolest thing ever. I love getting to converse with people all over the world!

Her first post was about the earthquake in Christchurch. She lived there for many years, and her kids were born there. She still has friends that live there, however. She felt the quake at her home even though it was a good long distance away from her.

Her next post was about the 10th Annual Ulearn Conference in which she attended. She has her summary of what went on that week up on her page. She seems to have had a very good time. I think one thing that we have in common is that she was very excited about her prizes and freebies. She was very excited about her free shirts, in which I would be too!!! She is a very interesting lady. You should check out her page!
Dragonsinger Blog

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student

This is a very creative video. It is an oversimplified approach in explaining how technology has and will seriously affect schooling one way or another. Any teacher who does not believe in technology should take a look at this video, and consider how this will affect everyone. Technology is here to stay.

I believe that this is a very empowering way to learn. You can only learn so much by sitting in a classroom listening to the narrow mindedness of a professor. Listening to a lecture you get one point of view, the teachers. By using blogs and student discussions students can share their own findings and opinions with each other. Therefore building their knowledge and comparing facts in order to form their own educated opinion of something. Burp back teaching methods can only take you so far in life.

I think that I will be prepared to teach a networked student. I do believe that students need the guidance of a teacher, however I love the idea of this technique. I will continue to learn about technology in order to better my students future. All teachers should be willing to learn continuously. You expect your students to.Why not you as well?

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment

I was very impressed with her work. Seeing a 7th grader be so successful with her online work really inspires me. I feel like I learned a lot from her video. She gave me some new ideas about my own PLN. I loved how she had everything she needed on one page. This helps so much with organizational skills and teaches kids how to be responsible. I think that kids will love the responsibility of this type of learning environment. I also believe that it will help kids to become more independent. We live in and environment today that is overcome with an external locus of control, nothing is their own fault.I believe that this will eventually cure this problem.

The Machine is Changing Us

This was a very interesting video. I love the way that he compared how language has changed so much over time. It really got me thinking. It also made me laugh! I use words all the time, and my mom always asks me what in the world I am talking about. Not only does our language change all of the time but so does our culture and our way of thinking and doing things.

Another good comment he made was that we never know who we are talking to when we are twittering or face-booking or any social networking site for that matter. I have thought about this before, but I don't think many people have. Some people are so irresponsible when talking and giving out information on the internet. I think that more people should take this into consideration. This will really make you consider what you put on the internet. You can always be Googled!!!

Summary Post C4K

I read the manifesto and About Me of an 8th grader at Noel High school. Her name was Blancap. In her About me she shared about her heritage. She comes from several different cultures. I think that this is wonderful because she gets to learn first hand, from her family, about each one of them. In her manifesto, she set very reasonable goals for herself this school year. She is determined to read several books and study more. My favorite goal that she set was to be a leader for her peers. At her age this is so hard for some children to do. I think that she is a very brave girl for wanting to be that positive role model for her fellow classmates.