Gooddbye For Now!

I would like to take the time to say goodbye to all of my fellow classmates, Ms.Averitt, and Dr. Strange. Ms. Averitt I really appreciate all of your help and guidance this semester. I appreciate you being understanding with the less technology advanced students in the class :)! To my classmates good luck in the future! I know that each and everyone of you will make wonderful teachers! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

GOODLUCK & GOODBYE!

Kim Langham

Summary of EDM 310

I had a great time in EDM 310. I have to admit that on the first day of class I left there with a migraine. I had taken the same class about 9 years ago when I graduated. Oh how the times have changed. I was very overwhelmed at first and was not sure what to expect. I thought since I never heard of blogging that I was going to be in trouble. To my surprise I have done fine in the class and I have really learned a lot about the advancements in technology and how to incorporate them into my own classroom.

I have really come to enjoy blogging. I have had a great time with it in this class and have gained a lot of valuable knowledge through the use of blogging. I like how blogs connect you with other people and it can keep me current on teaching topics. I also enjoyed reading other people's blog post. I found a lot of the post to be very inspiring. Ms. Averitt showed our class how to use html tag modifiers on our pictures in our blogs. I was glad to learn how to do this so that a blind person using the computer will be able to receive the image information. All the presentations, vidoecast, and podcast for EDM were great. I am not one for public speaking, but Ms. Averitt made it really down to earth. The podcast assignment was the presentation that I enjoyed the most. My group was able to provide great websites to elementary school teachers. A lot of great topics were discussed during the presentations. Everyone did a great job and hopefully can now use podcast with their own students.

I am glad that Ms. Averitt went over Google Docs and Google spreadsheets. It had been a while since I have used these programs and I am glad I got a refresher course on these programs. I was able to learn different shortcuts and formulas for this software. During this semester in EDM I have learned a great deal about different resources available to teachers. Some examples of these resources are ACCESS, ALEX, iTunes, Google Earth and iTunes U. Before this class I never knew these things existed. ACCESS and ALEX offer a wide variety of information for educators. ALEX even has lesson plans grouped by grade level and subject along with the Alabama Course of Study. I have never been introduced to iTunes until this class. I am amazed at the educational material available on it and iTunesU. College students have a wonderful tool of iTunesU available to them. Google Earth is another amazing tool to use to incorporate technology into the classroom. Not only is google earth fun and excited it gets the students eager to learn!

Personal Learning Network was an assignment where we had to develop 5 people who we share similar interest in a subject. My topic of interest was how to incorporate technology into the classroom. I researched this topic with five individuals and developed my PLN. These five individuals were teachers of different grade levels and they shared different ways they use technology with their students. I learned so much from these teachers that I was excited to return to the classroom and try their suggestions. My personal learning network is something that I will definitely use again in the future.

Comments4Kids was another one of my favorite assignments. This assignment really touched my heart. As a parent and a teacher I was inspired by the works of the children. I love to give the students positive feedback on their hard work. I know as a teacher that a little encouragement goes a long way. In class I also developed a professional resume on my blog. This was really neat to have this available for employers to view. By doing this professional resume I was able to provide teaching tools that I thought were important in education. This assignment was a great way to present myself and teaching strategies as an educator.

I am very glad that I had the opportunity to take this class. I have learned so much from blogs to technological literacy that I feel that I am able to return to the teaching field with a better respect and understanding of current technology. I feel this class has helped me to become a better teacher and parent. What I have learned in this class I am now able to share with my own children at home and with students in the classroom. My confidence in technology has definitely grown over the semester. I feel Ms. Averitt did a great job in covering all the topics in class. She was very open and understanding to all the students. She was willing to learn along side of us with some of the topics, like twittering. That was a great example of how teachers must always continue to learn.

I can leave this class knowing that I am technologically literate. I am current on technology and I take what I have learned and adapt it into the classroom. I am confident that my students will be able to use technology incorporation with their studies. I appreciate the help and guidance that Ms. Averitt gave me. Like Randy Pausch I chose to be a TIGER". I hope to let this spirit shine through me to all of my students so that they will learn to enjoy their life and have fun doing it, especially with their education.

7 Stupid Mistakes & 7 Brillant Things Teachers Do!

In this weeks blog assignment I am suppose to view two list by Doug Johnson and a list of New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation. The list consist of 7 stupid mistakes and 7 brilliant things teachers do with technology. After viewing the lists I picked two from each list that I feel are important. On the list of 7 stupid mistakes teachers make I choose not supervising computer using students and believing that ones teaching styles need not change to take full advantage of technology. I feel that as a parent and teacher these are two important valid remarks. As teachers it is our job to protect our students at all times especially while they are on the computer. Someone should always oversee a students work on the computer. S econd teachers need to realize that they need to keep current on technology. I agree with Mr. Johnson about the changing roles of both teacher and student. He stated that students need to become the content expert and the role of the teacher needs to be the process expert. He or she needs to be the one asking questions and directing the students. I feel by doing this we are making students become more responsible for their learning. Let them be the explores with the aid of the teacher and technology.

In the next list of 7 brilliant things teachers do I chose Empowering kids with technology and to make conference real time. I feel these are two very important topics. Anything that helps children to learn and builds their confidence is great. I believe that technology does that for students, it empowers them and makes learning fun. I also feel that technology helps children excel in areas that they are good at. Making conference real time is an important topic for me as a parent. As a parent I want to know what is going on with my child at all times. Teachers are now able to have this instant communication through email, websites, blogs, telephone calls, and wikis. The use of these technology tools connect parents and teachers together as partners in their child's education.

The New Classroom Rules are a variety of list that are quite different than the previous two list. To me these rules are geared more towards high school and college students. These rules incorporate more technology like laptops, mobile phones, texting, twittering, and instant messaging. I choose bring required materials, including your laptop and cell phone everyday as one of my topics. Again I feel this is for older students. In today's universities a laptop is a must. It is used in a majority of courses. Having all your material ready for class is showing that you are a responsible student. My next choice was to use polite speech when speaking, blogging, texting, twittering, and instant messaging. This is very important because students do not realize what they put out there on facebook or blogs that can one day come back to haunt them. You never really know who your audience may be so you need to be very careful with your words.

At The Teachers Desk

I really enjoyed exploring this the website A The Teachers Desk. This is a great website to use as a resource for teachers. I found a lot of great information and blog post on this site. It is important to have collaborative professional blogs such as this one because you have a place to share and gain valuable information. It can be used as a sounding board to share ideas. I found some very interesting post while looking over this site. The first blog post I came across was Using Technology for Effective Communication. This post shared some great examples of how to use facebook, twitter feed, and Mobile phones to communicate with parents. In this post the writer expresses that teachers need to continue their learning. They need to be aware of current technology and use it as a learning tool.

I never thought of using facebook as a form of communication with parents, but this was a suggestion in this blog. The writer uses facebook solely for communication with parents. I thought that was a great idea. In another post titled It Is Imperative We Help Our Students Create a Positive Digital Portfolio we learn that not only do good actions show up on facebook or other tools of technology, but inappropriate behavior makes its way in also. Students do not even understand the consequences of their behavior until it is to late. I explained this to my own nephew who is in high school to be very careful about what he puts out on facebook. Universities are looking back over facebook to check student's out before admissions. Students need to be warned of this. As educators I believe that we need to help students create a personal work space that reflects what they have learned, but at the same time show their personality.

How Do I Know I Am Not Just Being Selfish is another blog post I read. I found this very interesting. I agree with the writer that sometimes it seems technology is being shoved down our throats all the time. As I have stated in other post I believe that technology is important, but it is not the answer for everything. Using Skype to Connect ESOL Students with Foreign Language Students was a very exciting post. I really enjoyed this post. I thought it was great to see Skype being used in schools. I thought the skype conference between Mrs. Baker's ESOL class and Mrs. Whitter's Spanish class was a great example of how far we have come with technology. It seemed like the students were having a great time. To me that is the goal, to get students interested and eager to learn with this use of technology. It is important for students to have fun while they learn. I feel that students get more out of their education if they have an active role in it.

Pencils and Crayons to be Banned in Schools was a funny post. It really made you think of the place of technology in the classroom. It seems like their will never be an easy resolution to this topic. Everyone has a different opinion on this subject. Technology bridges the gap between more traditional ways of teaching.

Dr. Wesch's Video

I thought the video by Dr. Wesch was very interesting. He made some valid points on where is our culture going with media. I did not grow up in the age of technology. When I first went to college in 1994 we were just being introduced and teachers were still using chalk boards. My senior year in high school I was taking a typing class. It is amazing how times have changed and how far we have come with technology. In his video Dr. Wesch gives a brief history of "whatever". I found this very amusing. He discusses how the phrase whatever has changed over the years. In the late 60's the phrase whatever holds an I don't care attitude. As we move in time to the early 1990's the MTV and Bart Simpson generation the phrase whatever became "meh". As time and meaning of phrases change so does technology. Like the history of "whatever" changes our views of technology differs compared to the generation we grew up in. We have to adapt to the changes and grow or stay stagment in the past.

The video discusses the attraction to you tube. This is something else that I am not familiar with. My 9 year old daughter probably knows more about it then myself. I personally do not know what all the hip is all about. I do not have the time to surf you tube for entertainment. I grew up in the times when you actually have to commicate with a person face to face. I agree with the video that when you use a web camera it is not very personal. You are not actually talking to a real person. In today's society it is easier for people to responded to others on facebook, blogs, or twitter. To me this is very impersonable and how can you connect with others on this level. I like to handle things face to face that was the way I grew up. Technology is a wonderful tool, but I do not feel it is a fix all solution. I personally will use technology as a learning tool, but also incoprate traditional teachings into my classroom. Technology in the classroom is a must. I think as educators we have to find a happy medium that will benefit everyone, student and teacher. Dr. Wesch's video can be found at the following link if you would like to view it.http://is.gd/3WVVZ

Comments4Kids #3

I commented on Jack G.'s blog post. Jack's blog post was for football fans and players. In his post he discussed different aspects of football. He explains how football is fun, but it is very challenging. Jack talks about how you have to work hard and do your best in the game. He explains what a play is. For those of you who are not familiar with football a play is where the running back goes and if he gets the ball or not. Jack finishes his blog by describing the different positions of football.

I thought Jack G. did a great job on his blog post. He went into great detail to describe the game of football. His respect for the sport shined through in his post. I commented to Jack that I loved his positive attitude. I also expressed at how great I thought it was that he talked about the challenges of the game and that you had to do your best. I told him that I admired that quality and to continue the great job he is doing! If you would like to read some of the student's blog posts you can find it at the following link Comments4Kids.

BLOGGING

I loved the video. I thought that it was very creative. I loved how the children got into the song. It looked like they were having a great time! This was a great example of using a blog to share students talents. I hope other students are encouraged by this video. This leads me to my assignment for this week. Why is it important for students to post their work on blogs? I have several reasons that I have learned about this semester to why it is important to post students work on blogs.

This semester was my first attempt at blogging. As the time has gone by and I have learned more about how it works, it has become very beneficial to me. The first reason that I think students should post their work on blogs is that it connects them with people like themselves. Since I am renewing my teaching certification by posting my work on my blog I am able to stay current/knowledgeable in my field of education. Through sharing my work with other educators I have gained some new information regarding teaching. Through my blog I have received great websites that can be used as teaching resources. An example of this would be my blog post on ALEX . After sharing what I learned about ALEX it is out there for all to see and use as a resource. By posting on my blogs I have learned to share my work, ask questions, locate instructions, and get resources. Through blogging I am able to stay current with events in the area of teaching. In my blog post I have also shared podcast on education topics. Again this is another example of using blog post to gain valuable information or resources.

Also by posting my work on my blog I am able to share what I think is important. I can share information, thoughts, or my achievements with others. I can express myself to others. A good example of this is with my Personal Learning Network. After I developed my PLN I shared it on my blog in hopes that anyone needing some information regarding teaching would find it helpful. Blogging is a wonderful way to share and receive information.

A third reason to post your work on blogs is to influence others. Another post I made was regarding Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture. I commented on his book in hopes to encourage others to live life to the fullest and to have fun while you are doing it. Life is so hectic now a days and I feel that any words on encouragement are inspiring. I felt that the purpose of Randy's book was for everyone to stop and relieve how precious life is. No matter your age, it is OK to dream. Dream and dream big! Live life to the fullest and make the most out of it. If sharing your thoughts on a blog post influences one person then it is well worth the effort. Another example of using my blog post to influence others would be my assignment for Comments 4kids. This is a great way to bring children's work to life. To encourage others to read their stories and respond. By sharing my work, hopefully I am able to encourage others to see the magic in our student's work. You can find some creative post at the following link http://woodtech.edublogs.org/. I hope you find them inspiring and are able to give them words of encouragement!

Comments4Kids #2

The blog post that I responded to was from a boy named Shawntae. In his blog he shared different things about himself. He likes to listen to hip hop and rap. His favorite color is green because it is the color of money and MSU. Shawntae wants to go to Michigan State University. There he wants to pursue a career in sports. One day he would like to be part of the NFL or NBA. Basketball is his favorite sport. On his blog he posted several pictures of the New Orleans Hornets basketball team.

Shawntea's favorite football team is the New Orleans Saints. Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets is his favorite basketball player. Shawntae's blog post was very colorful. He did a great job introducing himself. I told him that I was glad to see that he was interested in going to MSU and that I am sure he had a lot to offer that school. I shared with him to never give up on his dreams and to continue to work towards them. I also expressed my love for basketball and that I even coach my daughter's 3rd grade team. In closing I told Shawntae to keep up the good work he is doing! If you would like to read some of the children's blog post you can find it at the following link http://woodtech.edublogs.org/.

ACCESS

ACCESS is the acronym for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide. This program was designed to allow students to access advance diploma courses that they may not otherwise have access to. ACCESS allows students to take advanced placement (AP) classes. The goal as stated in the ACCESS website " is to create equity through additional educational offerings for all Alabama public high school students." There are several advantages to ACCESS. Some advantages are the instant expansion of course course offerings. Advanced diploma and advance level courses in areas such as foreign languages, electives, and high mathematics.

Every high school in the state of Alabama has an ACCESS lab. The program uses current technology to provide courses to students via the Internet and video conferencing. Students are offered supportive resources, such as interactive on-line chemistry labs. ACCESS opens up so many doors to students who would otherwise miss out. I am impressed with the website and all that Alabama has to offer to its students. I am glad to see that they care out the future of our students. ACCESS offers great learning opportunities for all!

ALEX

ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a project of the Alabama Department of Education. It is an online tool for teachers, parents, and students. It has a variety of free resources. You can find many different educational material such as lesson plans, web links, and interactive activities. All the material is connected to the Alabama Course of Study. The website is well organized and is easy to navigate through.

ALEX has a personal workspace for teachers. This allows teachers to store and submit lesson plans. There are also tons of web links categorized for teachers, administrators, and students. ALEX offers professional learning tools for educators, along with the latest news in education. I am glad to find out about ALEX. I think this is a valuable website that will help many new teachers. As a returning teacher, I am glad to have ALEX available to go to for guidance. Anyone interesting in ALEX can find more information about it at the following web link.http://alex.state.al.us/

DEAR KAIA

This weeks blog assignment is to read, listen, and watch several blog post regarding a little girl named Kaia. The first blog is tittled Dear Kaia: Voicethread and Video. In this blog post Mr. Chamberlain is doing is weekly blog on commentskids when something usual happened. Kaia's father contacted Mr. Chamberlain class about using a video/audio in their post since Kaia cannot read yet. Mr.Chamberlain's class Incorporated voice thread to their videos. Voice thread is new technology that lets you have a conversation around media. It allows you to upload PowerPoint files, picture file, movie files, and much more to voice thread programs. This is what Mr. C's class did. They used their thoughts and comments incorporated with pictures to share with Kaia. She is now able to see and hear Mr. C's class post. It is amazing how this tool can connect children of all ages. It is great to see where the future is headed. With tools like this the opportunities are endless.

Dear Kaia is the next blog I viewed. In this blog post Kaia and her father grab a camera to go exploring. He wants her to explore the world around her, to use her senses to see what she can find. She is given her own camera to capture what she sees. In the post there are a variety of pictures of Kaia exploring. Kaia's father down loads her pictures and incorporates voice thread into them. Kaia shares in her own words about the pictures she took. I thought this was a wonderful blog post. As a parent I felt it was very inspiring. I loved how her father let her express herself and then shared it for the world to see. She was very creative and I loved how she looks for the beauty in everything!

Singing Hearts was the last blog I viewed. In this blog twitter was used to connect a group of 8th graders in Missouri with a 3 year old girl in Qatar. In this blog Kaia's father was reading the book, The Last Child in the Woods. While reading this book her father started to ponder the time he and Kaia spent outside discovering nature. She wanted to explore her world even though it was a dry desert. The father discusses how beauty is in everything. Later they produced a photo essay of what she discovered. Kaia's father wanted everyone to know that learning extends outside the classroom walls. Kaia's blog became a documentation of her life and with the use of blogs she is now connecting with people around the world. All three blogs were very inspiring. I am glad to see that young children can share the use of technology. I believe that it is important to start children off early with the use of computers. I like the use of voice threading. I think it is new, fun, and exciting way to do reports. As an educator I agree with Kaia's father that learning does extend outside of the classroom walls and technology makes this possible. Kaia' story can be found at the following link http://is.gd/3WSsn. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did!

Comments4Kids Project 8

Comments4Kids

For this project I must participate in Comments4Kids by posting five comments on blog sites of kids throughout the world. My class was assigned to Mr. Goerend's classroom. I choose five different children, read their post blogs and then commented on their post. I really enjoyed this assignment. I t was exciting to see children using blogs in their classroom. I was amazed at how creative the children's blogs were. They really used their imagination in their writings.

The blog post that I read came from a boy named David. In his blog he shared information on holiday devoted only to playing football. This holiday was called International Football Day. It is celebrated on September 27. Five children started the 1st celebration just because of their love for the sport. School is out on this day and football games are played all over the country. The two teams left in the competition compete for the championship. Whoever wins the game receives money which is later donated to their own charity. I told David that I loved this post and that I was a football fan also, Roll Tide! I shared with him that I thought it was wonderful that they could have fun doing something, but at the same time help out a charity. He did a great job on this post.

Opps was the title of the next post I read. It was written by Zach. In this post Zach is at a party and accidentally spills his drink on another kid. The kid has pop all over him. That was when Zach and his friends got the idea for a new holiday. This holiday would be called International Act Like You have a Muscle Spasm! I thought this was a very interesting and fun post. Zach seemed to be having a great time when he wrote it. I shared with him how I loved his imagination. I told him to keep up the good work and to continue to have fun!

Alyssa is the author the post titled The Most Fishy Holiday of the Year. In her post she shares her experience visiting an aquarium. When she walked in she was overwhelmed by the odor. She actually could taste the smell of fish food. Fish, fish tanks, sea life, and people in blue outfits were everywhere. This is how Alyssa created her new holiday, The Most Fishy Holiday of the Year. Now it is celebrated with costumes and parades. I thought this was a great blog post. I expressed my love for the ocean and beach to Alyssa. I told her how I loved how she used her five senses to describe the experience. I encouraged her to continue the great work she is doing.

My First Plane Ride is the title of a post done by Grace. In this post Grace shares her story of her very first plane ride. She was going to San Diego, California. Grace was going with her family to visit her brother who was training to be a marine. She was looking forward to the trip, but she was a little nervous. She did not know what to expect. Her ears popped and her stomach got sick when the plane took off. The trip was long, but the ride was great. She is looking forward to her next plane ride. I told Grace of my first plane ride when I was 22 years old. I went from Alabama to Hawaii. I was scared and did not know what to expect. It ended up being a great experience also. I thanked Grace for sharing her story and encouraged her to continue the great job!

Olivia's blog post was the last that I read. In her blog she described the day she got her dog. It was December 19 when Olivia and her family were traveling to her Grandmother's house. When they arrived the puppy was waiting in a cardboard box. The puppy's name was Lucy and she was seven weeks old. This was a great beginning to the Christmas holiday for Olivia. I commented to Olivia that I just got a puppy a few months ago. His name is Marley and he is a Yellow Lab. I told her I enjoyed her blog post and that I thought it was very sweet.

I read more blog post then just these five children. I thought they were all great. I think it is wonderful that these children have this tool to help them be creative. They are did an excellent job using their imagination. I would encourage everyone to take the time to read and comment on some of these students work. They really do deserve the encouragement. The link to this website is http://www.mrgoerend.com/search/label/student%20writing.

My Personal Learning Network

My Personal Learning Network

Project six for my EDM 310 class is to develop a personal learning network. A personal learningnetwork would be defined as a collection of people whom you engage with and exchange information with. This is usually done online. I researched and contacted five individuals to part of my personal learning network. My topic of choice was technology within the classroom. I wanted to know how teachers used technology in their curriculum. I contacted these individuals and they shared great ways that they used technology in their lessons.

The first individual that I contacted was Sandy Scragg. She is a high school teacher in downtown Manhattan. She had some great ideas that she used with her high schools, but these ideas can be adaptive to different age groups. Ms. Scragg discussed with me that since she is a English teacher she has her students use google docs with google notebook. This was a fun and new way to use online note taking. Real world skills such as typing, listening, and classroom note taking can be fostered. Ms. Scragg's stated that when using these tools incorporated with lessons the knowledge is built from the students rather then just taking notes verbatim by the teacher. Ms. Scragg also discussed how she uses webcast in her classroom. She gave me some great websites to get you started on your own webcast and some for online note taking.

http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/05/28/7-apps-for-online-note-taking/

http://www.google.com/googlenotebook/tour1.html

http://www.digitalchalkie.com/2006/07/17/webcast-how-to

The next person on my personal learning network was Mrs. Tanya Travis. She is a fourth grade teacher in Dorchester County Public School in Maryland. Mrs. Travis gave me some fun and exciting activities I could use to incorporate technology. She has a class blog and she used it after they finished a unit on the water cycle. The students wrote about what it would be like to be a drop of water in the water cycle. The students used their blogs to share their stories. Mrs. Travis has incorporated voice thread into her students work. Each student is responding to a chapter book of their choice and respond to the book using technology. They use voice thread to share their work. The students love it and they are learning at the same time. I was excited about the ideas that Mrs. Travis shared me. It gave me some great ideas to share with my own class one day.

The third person on my personal learning network was Chris Gathers. He has been teaching Kindergarten for 30 years. The first thing he said was that children are never too young to be introduced to technology. He loves to use technology along side his curriculum. He begins each year by using Mouse practice. This teaches children to click and drag. Next he introduces his students to the program Kid Pix Studio Deluxe. This is a graphic art design program with several drawing and design tools. He uses this program to help his students master different skills. This program helps the students use their imaginations. Students use the tools: color, pencil, line, paint can and alphabet text along with their lessons. They learn to print and save their work. They also use the rubber stamps to make patterns. These skills are fun and help children gain confidence.

Ms. Linda Allen the fourth person in my personal learning network. She is a teacher also and she had some new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Her school has the use of alphasmarts. For those of you who are not familiar with alphasmarts it is a portable word processing keyboard. Ms. Allen had this wonderful idea of using this device on a field trip. Her class took a field trip to a science museum and they took notes on what they discovered so they could write a report. The teacher can then download the information to her computer and check what they did. How cool is that? Ms. Allen it has been a great tool because it has built excitement in her students for writing.

The last person in my network is Larry Lueck. He is a fourth grade teacher in Kansas. He uses the promethium board on a daily basis with his students. The promethium board allows him to show his class how to build an electromagnet, do math problems, view crystals up close and many other things. He uses it to quiz students on a lesson he has taught to assess how they are doing. Mr. Lueck also has a class blog and has his students produce podcast. He said that his students love all the different use of technology in his classroom. They come to school eager to learn and he loves his job more!

In conclusion with my personal learning network assignment I have learned a lot of valuable information. I now see the importance and value of having a personal learning network. I am grateful for the five people in my PLN for sharing their time and ideas with me. I am eager to return to the classroom and start to integrate technology with my own students. I have learned that no matter what grade level you teach, technology in the classroom is a MUST! I am glad I have my personal learning network as I begin my journey back into the classroom, it will be a great resource tool for me.

New Medial Literacies Projects

My assignment is to research what I can find out about new media literacies projects. I had a hard time researching this topic, but I did find an article written by Alice Robinson. She is an assistant Professor of English at Arizona State. She wrote an article for the Journal of Media Literacy discussing the framework of new media literacies. In Ms. Robinson's article she discusses about how hard it is to teach students to be critical thinkers, reader, and writers. Then try to get them to also be active producers of media content. The goal is to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media from music videos, web environments, to product placement in films, and to virtual displays in sports.

Media literacies projects seek to help educators develop professional techniques, ideas, and strategies for working with new media. Ms. Robinson shares her syllabus for her class and the involvement of media literacies. She wanted to give her students the opportunity to act as educators and design material for teaching new media literacy concepts. She wanted their work to represent the new ways of thinking about both interpreting and making media.

The article was very informative. I realize how important new media literacy is and that we all need to develop new media skills to function in a world of technology. It is our responsibility as teachers to guide our students with these tools that they will need to have for their future. The article that I read can be found at the following link http://alicerobison.org/2007/08/28/teaching-the-new-media-literacies/.

The New Media Literacies

My assignment is to watch the video The New Media Literacies and comment on what I think about it. First I need to explain what new media literacies is. It is a set of skills needed to deal with and function in current media environment. These skills are important because they help us not only be a consumer, but a producer of media. There are eleven skills necessary in this new world.

The skills are listed as followed.

1.Play: the capacity to experiment with one's surroundings as a form of problem-solving.

2.Performance:the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation & theory.

3.Simulation: the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real world processes.

4.Appropriation: the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content.

5.Multitasking: the ability to scan one's environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.

6.Distributed cognition: the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities.

7.Collective intelligence: the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal.

8.Judgement: the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources.

9.Transmedia navigation: the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities.

10.Networking: the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information.

11.Negotiation: the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

I do believe that these are 21st century skills that will be needed to be effective artists, citizens, & workers. I personally posses the skills of play, appropriation, multitasking, collective intelligence, and networking. I am sure with a little more research, studying, and practicing that I can acquire the rest of the skills.

The Networked Student

My blog assignment this week is to watch and comment on the video The Networked Student. This video was produced by Wendy Drexler. I found the video to be very informative. It was a short video, but it made you think about the direction in which teaching is going. Am I prepared to be a teacher of a networked student? At this time I am not sure of the answer to that question. The video starts with a student taking an American psychology course. There is no textbook and the teacher never lectures. She is a student of connectivism. She believes that learning occurs as part of a social network with many connections. Technology is used to make these connections.

Connectivism makes students take control of their learning and personal learning network. Students are to connect with others. The student is to develop a personal network on the subject of the American psyche. He uses different tools to develop his network. Goggle scholar is one tool used. He then shares bookmarks about this finds and creates a blog. By using the blog the student is able to post comments about his topic and also read what others have to say. He is building a knowledge base. The student uses his mp3 player to subscribe to Itunes U. There he is able to gain access to audio/visual podcast of this topic. Next he develops a wikispace where he shares his knowledge about what he has learned.

During this whole process the student is developing his personal network. The teacher is there for guidance. The teacher's job is to help students extract relevant information and to guide them in their journey of learning. The teacher's goal is to help the students maintain their learning network so that they can use it in the future. I think that making students take some control of their own learning is great. Students need to know that staying networked through twitter, blogs, learning circles, or friends gives you a arrange of information, but it also can give you support. If you would like to watch this education video you can find it at http://is.gd/2cgBb. This is a great video for new teachers to watch.

This Is How We Dream

My assignment this week is to watch and interrupt the video, This Is How We Dream. I had a hard time listening to the video, the guys voice drove me crazy. I did not find the video very interesting, but I do understand that technology is the future and we need to be prepared to write with media. The old school way of learning, pencil to paper, is out the door. We need to know how to incorporate media tools into our learning. This is going to be extremely important for students to have the knowledge of media tools and apply them into their work.

In the video the Richard Miller discusses some of the incremental changes of media. Work space is now defined as the desktop. We can research any topic anywhere. Long gone are the days of pencil paper writing or even using libraries. Our society has advanced from pencil to paper to laptops. Mr. Miller discusses how he wrote an article regarding the Virgina Tech killings. He wrote this article without stepping foot into a library. He used the web and his on thoughts to research the topic. He discussed how this article can be found both in print and a web based document.

Mr. Miller discusses how we need to compose with text, images, and film. We need to collaborate different techniques into our work and use visual and audio sound into are documents. Richard Miller elaborates on a project he did about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He composed his information from research on the web and information around campus that he collected. His use of different media tools made his presentation more visible. I believe that Mr.Miller wants everyone to expand their ideas into society, we need to be producers of multimedia. It is a must that we know how to write with multimedia. I am personally still learning to write with multimedia. All this new technology is new to me, but as a teacher I am willing to continue to learn. I feel that students in todays society are going to have to be able to write with multimedia if they want to succeed in the future.

iPods in Instruction

My assignment for this weeks blog is to discuss the use of ipods in classroom instruction. I read the article on Duke University's use of ipods. I found it to be very interesting. I think it was a great idea the university had. Duke University gave all its first year students in 2004 a free ipod to use as part of class instruction. The students use of technology in the classroom with the ipods was a success. Again it goes back to the term head fake. Get the students involve in something that they might not necessary like, but do it in a matter that they will have fun and learn at the same time. Like incorporating the ipod into classroom instruction. Teachers can show that the ipod is used for more things than just listening to music.

I have to say that as I did this assignment I was a little unsure of the use of ipods in instruction. My 8 year old daughter has an ipod and I had no idea of the different things available for her use other than music. I learned that ipods can be used with students who struggle with reading. Stories can be downloaded to the ipod then the student can listen to the audio while they read. This will also help with reading fluency. Movie maker on ipods can be used to create your own tutorial. Students can listen to podcast of a variety of subjects and give reports on them. Older students can download study guides. Educational games are available to use to reinforce classroom materials. Ipods can be used with Hooked on Phonics programs. There are endless possibilities to use ipods in instruction with the classroom and at home. I found the following website to be very useful and plan to use some of their ideas with my own children's ipods.

100 ways to use your ipod to learn and studybetter

iTunes University

My assignment for this blog is define how iTunes Univerisity might be helpful to teachers or students. As I am new to all this technology I had to do some research myself about iTunes University. iTunes U is free educational content. It offers a chance to view or download information to devices. You have access to course lectures, lab demos, audio books, and a whole lot more. The information available to both teachers or students from iTunes Univeristy is remarkable.

This is a great tool to have and use for students or teachers. Teachers can use iTunes to download class lectures, give an introduction to a class, or even post class notes. Science teachers can use it for demos for labs. Teachers can also post podcast/video cast for their class. Students can view universities, class lectures, academics at a university, or even alumni information. There are a variety of categories students can explore in iTunes Univeristy. The one thing I learned about it is that it makes learning available on the go. If you are like myself and are not familiar with iTunes University watch the video at the following sitehttp://is.gd/2c3RH. I hope you find this video helpful.

Dr. Christie's Site

I found Dr. Christi's site to be very helpful. There was a large number of different resources available for educators. I found the website easy to explore. Her introduction was very welcoming. I like how she stated that we are all co-learners. Students and adults must be willing to learn together. I strongly agree with her. We as educators must be willing to continue to learn in every aspect of education. As I was exploring the site I came across Google Earth. I was not familiar with this so I had to view the introduction site. I was amazed at this wonderful tool.

This is a great tool to incorporate into your lessons. I took a visual tour of Google Earth and how it works. I love how it brings learning alive. It makes learning fun and enjoyable. As a teacher I would definitely use this in science, history, and even math. I watched a lesson where a teacher used Google Earth to measure 3 ships between Spain & Africa at the tip of Gibraltar. The students used the ruler tool in Google Earth to measure and compare the 3 ships. How neat is that to actually locate, see, and measure the ships. Math is now much more interesting and fun. I can only image the fun a class would have using Google Earth in a science or history lesson. You can learn about geographic content, weather, or different countries in a new exciting way.

I think this is a great example of using a "head fake" as Randy Pausch would say. How wonderful it is to have this tool available to use as teachers. Learning is no longer boring pen and pencil work. Educators can use Google Earth in a variety of ways to make difficult subjects come to life. Students will still learn, but in a different way. I think the key factor is that we are incorporating technology with learning.

Elementary Teacher Websites

Here are the websites listed in our video podcast. I hope you find them helpful.

http://elementaryteacherresources.com
http://edhelper.com
http://education.com
http://starfall.com
http://funbrain.com

"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr.McClung

I thought this was a great article. It hit home for me because I had some of the same feelings my first year of teaching. I remember being scared to death. I felt like I had to be perfect all the time and that I had to know everything. I like how he starts his post,"An important decision I made this year is to stay positive." I wish I had that piece of advice my first year of teaching, but now that I am returning to the classroom after several years that will be my motto.



I like how Mr.McClung discusses that no lesson is ever perfect. Why do our college professors never tell us this valuable piece of information? Instead we struggle our 1st year to be perfect. I completely agree with him that the lessons you teach and the ones you plan are always different. I have experienced this in my own personal classroom . You have to learn how to adjust your plans, but in the long run they will work out fine. One of the most important facts that I learned my first year was that I do not have to be PERFECT. I had to cut myself some slack and realize that I am learning also. Another factor that Mr. McClung discusses is the role of communication. This is key to a great year. Not only is this important with the parents,but also with your peers. You need to know that you can turn to them for help. Everyone is their for the same purpose, the students.



Listening to your students is important. They need to know that you are paying attention to them, that they have your undivided attention. This helps you has a teacher build a trusting relationship with your students. Teacher's jobs are similar to the role of parents in a child's life. Just like at home no one is perfect, everyone wants to be listened to, and communication in the family is very important. All these qualities of a teacher and parent are key to a child's success in life. The most valuable piece of information that I could give teachers is to continue to learn. I totally agree with Mr.McClung when it comes to this subject. I am 33 years old, a mother of 3, a teacher, and I am learning something new each day. I try to view life as an adventure! Mr.McClung's post can be found at the following link http://is.gd/2c012.com

WIKIPEDIA

I have heard of wikipedia, but I was not sure exactly what it does. I had to do a little research myself. For those of you who are not technology literate, like myself, wikipedia is a free service that provides information on just about anything. It is basically an on-line encyclopedia. The controversy seems to be with the editing factor of wikipedia. I did not realize that anyone can alter wikipedia. When big companies like Wal-mart can doctor wages then it makes you wonder who else is changing things. You begin to doubt the accuracy of the information.

The question of whether Wikipedia can be a trusted source of information is still up for question. I do think you can still find valuable information on Wikipedia, but you need to be careful of the source. I think it is great that we have the tools to trace the source of the editing. If you are going to edit information then you better be ready to take the responsibility for it. I personally would use Wikipedia as a source of information, but I think it depends on the topic you are searching whether or not you would consider the source reliable.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

What a wonderful inspiring story. I really enjoyed Randy Pausch's lecture. For someone just diagnosed with terminal cancer to be so full of life and to have such a positive attitude is an amazing thing. This is a video that very one should see, it really puts life in focus. I love what Randy said, " We cannot change the cards we are dealt, but how we play them." What a wonderful way to view life. In his lecture Randy discusses his childhood dreams and how he accomplished them. Dreams like being Captain Kirk, playing football, and winning stuffed animals were a few of his dreams. As silly as some of them were, they were his dreams and he was going to some how accomplish them. I think as adults our childhood dreams fade away. We need to stop, refocus, and learn to dream again. As corny as this may sound I believe that if we keep dreaming then we will always have something to strive for. Teach your students to dream BIG! As teachers we need to remember what Randy said, "Never put a ceiling on what you can accomplish." What a powerful statement. Not only should teachers remember this, parents need to use this when raising their own children.

In his lecture Randy tells how everyone will hit a brick wall in their life time. A brick wall is there for a reason Randy said, they let us prove how badly we want things. How true is this in life. There have been many times in my personal life that I have hit brick walls and wanted to quit, but did not. Now as an adult I see how important that thinking is. We as teachers need to explain this concept to our students, that no matter how many brick walls you hit and there will be many that you just have to keep moving forward. Never quit and never stop dreaming.

Randy was a wonderful teacher. I found his way of teaching very inspiring. I loved the head fake theory. The head fake is football technique that is used to make your opponent believe you'll do one thing when you are really doing something else. Randy implemented this concept into his teaching lessons. Whats amazing is that to get your students to do something fun and interesting, while the whole time they are learning something. I think this is a great way to get children involved in school so that they REALLY enjoy it. They can learn while having fun too.

I thought it was a great idea when Randy talked about letting children paint their rooms. They are expressing themselves. This is a great lesson for myself that I need to remember with my own children. I loved how Randy took his college class on field trips. Even adults can have fun learning. I have learned a lot from Randy Pausch's Lecture and hope to bring his enthusiasm into my own classroom one day. Not only did I learn how to be a better teacher, but learned lessons on how to be a better person and just enjoy life. After watching the video it made me examine my own life and how I choose to live it. Like Randy I choose to be TIGGER!! You can view this wonderful video at the following link http://tinyurl.com/mvy4oq.

Is It OK to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I enjoyed reading the Karl Fisch post. I agree with many of his points and I understand that teachers are very busy. It is not ok for teachers to be technologically illiterate. As I a stated in an earlier post that I have know teachers who have taught for 30 years and they will tell you that they teach the "old school way". They have told me they do not like to use computers in their classrooms that much. I am not sure if it is that they are just set in their ways or if they are intimidated by the advancement in technology. I think that it is a combination of both not knowing how to use it or how to adapt it to their way of teaching. Either way I feel that these teachers are doing their students a HUGE injustice. They may have experience and be great teachers, but they are not giving their students the chance to learn with the aid of technology.



I believe that it comes back to the statement that teachers must continue to learn. It is not acceptable for teachers to be technologically illiterate at all. Teachers must continue to learn alongside their students. I also agree that no one should be proud of illiteracy. Everyone has the opportunity to learn, free use of computers at libraries, and schools have the tools available to take advantage of. We as educators have a responsibility to ourselves and our students to be Technologically Literate, it is a must in today's society.

It's Not About the Technology

I really enjoyed the article by Kelly Hines. I thought she did a great job on discussing how teaching is not all about the technology. I agree that technology is very important in today's society. It is a must for children to have the use and understanding of technology. I think as teachers we need to use technology as an aid for students. I do not believe that technology is the fix all for education.





I agree with Ms.Hines that teachers must be learners. They must be willing to learn alongside their students. That means as technology changes, we as teachers need to implement these changes into the classroom. I have known teachers that say they are old school. They teach like they were taught 20 or 30 years ago. I know that these teachers are very experienced and have adequate subject knowledge, but I think that they are holding their students back. These teachers do not like all the new technology. I actually think they are intimidated with the different technology devices available for teachers. I can understand this myself because when I started EDM 310 I had no clue what blogging or facebook was about. As I have continued to learn about it I am amazed at how much you are able to do and how you can bring these things to the classroom. The key to it is to be a continual learner and be excited and motivated along with your students.



I also agree that learning and teaching are not the same. Children learn in a variety of ways so teachers need to adapt their teaching styles to the student, not the student adapting to the teacher's teaching style. I love what Ms. Hines said in her article, "We must look at learning as the product of a successful day." This statement says it all! Technology is useless without good teaching. Teacher's have the tools at their hands to use, but they need the proper instruction on how to use them. Students today have to have some technology use and teachers need to use it as a tool to aid in the student's learning. A little use of technology is better than no technology at all. Partnership for 21st Century Skill was a interesting website that discussed how to teach with a little technology. The link to this website is http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php..

A VISION OF STUDENTS TODAY

I thought the movie was a little harsh, but I can relate to some of the comments. As I watched the movie I reflected on my own college experience. I attended a large university and had large numbers of students in my classes. The majority of the teachers did not know my name. I spent lots of money on textbooks that I did not use. I spent countless hours studying information that was never used in class, but this is what I had to do if I wanted to get my degree. I had to take the good with the bad in order to graduate. Fair or not there are some things in life that you just have to do to accomplish the goal, GRADUATE.

I am not saying that my college experience was bad, but I do agree that our teaching methods need to change. Nothing much has changed since I graduated in 2000. Some of the course requirements may have changed, but I feel the teaching methods have not advanced much. I do not believe one's college experience is all in the hands of the teachers. The student's need to take responsibility for their part. I have been in class and seen other students on facebook while the teacher is lecturing. This is very rude, but if you are going to do it then do not whine about the class. Not every class is going to be interesting, fun, or even going to help you out in the real world. The opportunity to learn is there. The students have to take advantage of it!

POST #3 Podcast

1. Vidoecast Review

My assignment was to view past videocast and give my opinion on improvements that I would take during my own podcast. I first viewed the videocast that Dr.Strange and his students did on The Technologically Literate Teacher. I thought they did a great job. The students seemed a little shy at first, but once the conversation started they opened up more. They did a good job introducing themselves and the purpose of the videocast. I liked how they did not waste time, they jumped right into the topic of discussion.

I do feel if you are going to do a videocast that anyone can see then it needs to be a little more formal. I think the host should have dressed professionally. If you are presenting yourself to the world along with your topic of discussion then you should dress the part of an educator. I also thought that some of the hosts did not have adequate knowledge of the topic. After viewing the videocast and several podcast I realized that your personality needs to shine through in the podcast. Your tone of voice is very important to your audience because you want to keep their attention. Having adequate information is a must. You just need to relax, have fun, and share your information.

2. How to Produce a Podcast

The second assignment was to view several websites about preparing a podcast and then describe what I learned. I viewed the langwitches website. I thought it was a great website. It had a lot of great ideas on it. I liked how the website goes through the basics of how to produce a podcast. I found this very helpful since I will be doing one in the near future. The website was so easy to follow that it broke the process up into steps that even Kindergarten students could do.

The website provided many links to help with the auto recording of the podcast. One site that I viewed and thought was helpful was http://www.how-to-podcast-tutorial.com/what-is-a-podcast.htm. This link had free downloads for audio editing software. This may come in handy when doing our class podcasts. I viewed the other sites, but found this one the most informative. It gives you a guideline to follow when producing your own podcast. Having correct adequate information on your topic and enthusiasm in your voice seemed to be the keys to podcasting!


3.Mr.Stephen Sullivan Power Point

My third assignment was to view Mr.Stephen Sullivan's power point presentation and give information on various tools used for alternative web browsing. I viewed to powerpoint presentation and thought that it is wonderful that people with hearing, visual, or cognitive impairments have these great tools to help them in their communication with the world. It is amazing how far in we have come. I did not realize the different software available to those with disabilities. This is a great resource for teachers to look at and improvise into their classroom if needed.

I thought that the software Zoom Text and Magic were incredible. This software enables people who have low vision or learning disabilities the opportunity to learn. The software enlarges part or all of the computer screen for the viewer. The screen reader software JAWS is available for those who are totally blind. This software reads all parts of the screen for the individual. The voice recognition software is what I thought was truly amazing. It is for those individuals with limited hand use and it lets them enter commands by speaking into a microphone. I think it is wonderful how technology has advanced. Every person with or without disabilities has the opportunity to learn and express themselves. These softwares give people that chance.

4. PLAGIARISM

I viewed the websites on plagiarism and found them to be very similar. They all defined plagiarism, how to detect it, and how to avoid it. I liked the Indiana University Writing Tutorial Service website to be very helpful. It was simple and easy to understand. It gave a simple definition of plagiarism to a complicated subject. The website gave different examples of plagiarism and how to identify it. I liked how the website gave examples on how to take notes and make it clear where you got your information. If it comes from a quote then mark a big Q next to it or write the source name by the information given. These are great tips to give to middle and high school students.


The basic understanding of these websites is to define plagiarism, how to avoid it, and follow the copyright & regulation rules. It is important for writers to always cite their sources. These websites also offer information of what has to be credited or documented, and list of things that do not need to be credited. As a teacher I think this is a great tool to share with your students. You can clearly define plagiarism for them, how to avoid it, & how to credit their sources. If you approach this complex subject in an understandable manner then I think the students would appreciate it more.