Final Post..Makes me a little sad :(

I have slammed more information about the Internet and networking in my life in four months, than I have my entire life and I find that extremely disappointing. Why haven’t I covered any of this information in other classes? Or learned about this much technology at all? It may be true, if I would have known about it I would have researched them myself. At least some of them. So, now that I know they exist and the semester is coming to an end, it is my job to keep researching and learning about these amazing ways to navigate and network with people all over the world. Prior to this course I used Skype and Facebook on a regular basis. I knew there were more out there, but I did not think it would interest me. I see now that I am wrong. If possible, when I become a teacher, I would be more than willing to use much of what I have learned in my own classroom. My favorites are the given: blogs, presentations, Google Docs, podcasts, videocasts, Google Earth, YouTube, Twitter, iTunes, movie making, and comments4students and teachers. How awesome would it be if I could teach everything I have learned this semester in my class one day. Although I learned many new things in my EDM 310 class, I would have liked to have had more class meetings. I am very hands on and seem to retain knowledge better this way, thus leading me to the conclusion that I would want to meet in class more often to talk about and go over the new task or assignment. I found the class very exciting!! There is not anything from this class that I wish I had not learned. I am appreciative of everything that was presented to me. I am a huge fan of learning new projects, especially if I am good at it!! Although I am still new to everything we have learned, it excites me to use blogging in the future with my future students. I love the idea of having my own class blog and giving my students the freedom to work on their own. Once learning the task at hand, there was not many assignments that were difficult. There was never a time during this class when I was bored, except maybe during some of those hour long videos that did not keep my attention:). As far as being Technologically Literate…I definitely feel as if I have a ways to go. I know that I have learned quite a bit in this class, but I would like to be more secure in what I know in technology. I really love how the class is set up and have enjoyed Mr. Sullivan. He is a great professor and person, but one thing I would like to see a change in is how we get our answers. Because the course is new and there have been many changes, I feel many students felt mislead because they were receiving different answers. Maybe you(Dr. Strange) could get someone to help go through and answer all your emails from students so that they get an answer in a timely manner. That is probably the complaint that I heard the most. I know I will learn from my future students, however I plan to continue my technological journey to learn and explore for my own knowledge and teaching career. I am very excited for the future!!

Voicethread

"Interview" videocasts

Teach Someone Using Technology: Skype

Teach Someone Using Technology..Continued

I also wanted to include, I have been teaching my Grandmother who is eighty-four, how to Skype. She worries about some of her children because they are constantly traveling outside the United States. This includes my dad, who loves being able to Skype with her while he is away on business meetings or trips. I thought this would be a hard task because she has never used a computer, however, she has learned very well!! I have learned many things from her while teaching her to Skype. The entire experience has been very rewarding and it is good to see her smile!!

Google Earth Tour

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life

Very enlightening!! :) I believe it is always good to think about your future. Look at yourself from the outside looking in. What do people think of you? and what is your purpose? If your future is unclear this can actually become frustrating. Knowing that I am influencing someone is someway is a good thing. So, What is my sentence? and, Was I better today than yesterday? I really do not know. I find myself brainstorming about the future daily. Sometimes I wonder what my future holds and if I am going in the right direction. But, I do know this. Life is built up of chapters. I am determined to finish this chapter in my life before moving on to the next and yes, I do believe I am better today than yesterday. There are friends, instructors, boyfriends, girlfriends, parents and many others who are in your life for some reason. Each of these people play a role and it's up to you to change and be better with each day that comes.

PLE/PLN

WOW!! This young lady is in the seventh grade!! She is amazing! Her PLE is so great and I was able to learn a lot from her!! I agree, that this type of classroom gives you freedom to do what you need to do. This will help you realize what is most important and how you need to organize your time and assignments that are posted on your class blog. I agree that all assignments should be taken care of asap. If not, there is a big chance of falling behind or becoming unorganized. I am thankful for students like this who share their learning experiences with the public. It is very helpful!!

Substative Presentation: Why Blogging in Elementary School is Useful

FYI :)

Just wanted to share a few photos with everyone...My dad is currently in Haiti lending a helping hand...so keep him in your thoughts... :)

My Blog: Future Teachers/Technologically Literate

In my blog post for this week, I will tell you my thoughts and feelings on becoming a future teacher who is technologically literate and what I have learned from comments for kids. My thoughts and expectations of this course have changed drastically from the first night of class. When the semester first started, I knew I was familiar with technology, but that I wasn't a computer "wiz", however, I had no idea I was this far behind. After the first several assignments, I knew I would enjoy the class, but that it would be a challenge. I have been in complete "awh" of the technology teachers are using and how fast and young students are learning. I have mentioned in many of my blog post and comments that teachers must be open to learning from fellow teachers and their own students. This has been constant in my work because this is me!! Although I am learning technology in my EDM 310 class, I am sure that most of my learning will be from experience and when I am teaching in the class room. I am sure that some of the technology I have learned this semester will be used in my class room and I plan on taking advantage of that and helping my students become organized by blogging about class assignments and experiences. I am hoping that this semester is a staring point to my technological journey and that it will only grow and excel from now.

TimeToast Timeline

April 11: Three examples why it is important for students to post their work to blogs..

My first example is the PS22 chorus which consists of about fifty fifth-graders and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island and has students from all ethnic groups, social and economical backgrounds. The students are assigned to the chorus by auditions. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice. They perform throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. We were assigned to watch a video of the PS22 chorus for an assignment this week. These kids are so full of talent and energy!!! I watched several of their videos on YouTube and they are truly amazing kids!! The students are so heartfelt with every song they sing. It was a great idea to put their videos on YouTube! It has earned them national attention on news and radio programs. They are such an inspiration to many young students. This is a perfect example of why it is important to teach our students to blog!!


Another example that would help students learn and become more interested in blogging is http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dragonflytv-podcast-pbs-kids/id111037941. This is a program that is ran through iTunes. It shows a variety of lessons that the students have learned. The video that I watched was about Natural Science. The students explored the environment, performed many experiments, and asked their audience to join in with their class projects. These students were very smart and excited about learning and blogging about their lessons and projects.


The last example I found came from a different assignment and I love it. It is called "Teaching Kids to Manage their Digital Footprint - 140 Character Conference Panel Discussion" which is from the The Innovative Educator.The Innovative Teacher. I actually came across this website before noticing it is in one of our upcoming assignments. This website focuses on teaching kids how to manage their Digital Footprint, teaching us why social media curriculum is critical in schools, and why it is important that technology is being used and is going to be used more and more to enhance group discussions and projects through blogging. I am so surprised to see what so many teachers and schools around the world are doing with their classrooms and technology. Their are so many ways to involve your students in technology and I feel that blogging is one of the important, if not the most important, types of technology I have learned since starting this class.

April 11: Dr. Seuss - The Zax

Dr. Suess is the bomb!! This video is a great way to teach us a lesson with something as simple as a cartoon. This is exactly how people act when asks to change "their ways". Change is very difficult and I believe this Dr. Suess video is one of many different approaches we can use to help people see that change is necessary. As teachers we need to learn to stop being stubborn and to open our minds to new ideas. The education world is changing day by day and if we do not start exploring and learning new ways to teach our children we are going to fall behind.

Skype!!

I started "skyping" about six years ago when I moved away to college my first year!! I skyped my mom and dad almost every night before we went to bed. It was so much fun. haha!! Over the years, I continued using skype with friends who had also moved away and with new friends who I had met on vacations and trips. My skype name is samantha8285 and I currently have about eight friends that I keep in contact with on skype. We try to call each other several times a month to share stories and new information about our life. Whenever I was away at school, my favorite person to skype with was my next door neighbor Leann!! She is about ten years younger than I, but we are like sisters, have a lot in common and love to chat. Some examples of other friends on skype are: Juan, who lives in Puerto Rico and Margaret and Julie, who live in Florida. Here are a few crazy pictures of Leann. I caught her making faces on skype and took some pictures.


GOTCHYA!!

Comments4Kids Week 13

I watched Tui's video about her summer camp experience. Tui mentioned that she loves swimming, bringing her teachers coffee, washing dishes, and helping her partner in camp activities. I told Tui to keep up the good work while at camp and that I'm sure she is an amazing student and a great helper. Summer camps are usually a great opportunity for students to get away from home and experience a new environment. This will help the student learn to work with their peers and manage their time at camp.

My Survery: What's Your Fitness?

My survey is focused on an individuals fitness or how much exercise he/she gets each day. In the last year I have become very interested in exercising and fitness. I started working out everyday for my new years resolution :) Exercising definitely keeps me energized, motivated, and in better moods. I hope this encouraged you to get fit if you haven't started already:)!!

Fellow Classmate Survey Answers:
Click here

Comments4Kids Week 12

I watched Zane's first video explaining his experience at the Ambury Farm. In his video he talked about feeding the animals and how he would love to go again!! I commented on Zane's video and informed him that I also love animals and would love to go to the zoo or local animal farm again one day soon.

Comments4Kids Week 10

I commented on Sahil's blog on Percy Jackson and The Olympians! Sahil talked about the five book series: The Lightning Thief,The Sea of Monsters, The Titans Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. These books will make up movies that are in the works. I informed Sahil that I was very interested in watching the movie and I could hopefully read some of the books before I watch the movie:).

Comments4Kids Week 9

I commented on Mr. McClung's class blog about his students mapping out earthquakes. I informed Mr. McClung that this was very interesting and an awesome project for the students. This is a great experiment for the students to work together, learn more about our planet, and where earthquakes occur.

Comment4Kids Week 8

I commented on Kindergarten Days day 112. I informed the class that I felt taking the tornado drills seriously was very important because they can be useful one day. I thought some of the kids were humorous. Some of the words or phase they used reminded me of myself growing up. They are very smart and witty. I am convinced that this is a fun and exciting class to teach.

KAIA!!

I love Kaia's photo essay! It is so great to look for the little things in life like the sunset. I adored all the pictures and think it is awesome that she is learning all the little things in life, like the sunset. It is so great that her father is helping her explore the outdoors. I think it is great how close Kaia and her parents are in learning new technology. It is also so great that they are teaching her about photography and the outdoors. Each parent and educator should learn from parents like Kaia's in that they are encouraging and teaching their children or students how to use technology at an early age. I know it has taught me and I plan on using these techniques with my children and students in the future. I believe that Kaia and her parents will be a great team and that Kaia is going to keep learning and excelling in all she does.

Comment4Kids Week 7

I commented on Caitlin's essay. She gave her reasons on why she prefers dogs over cats. I stated that I enjoyed her essay and also why I preferred dogs over cats.

Mr. Chamberlain on his blog titled Dear Kaia: Voicethread and Video

I loved the voice threads! This is a great idea for kids who can not spell or read. I thought it was an amazing job of using technology in new and creative ways. I find that this type of blog/voice thread are very motivating and I am encouraged to use them in my own class in the future. These are great ideas and I enjoyed watching all the voice thread comments.

Comment4Kids Week 6

I commented on Afio Mai and welcome to Room 9 which consisted of a well known welcome song called, Nau mai, piki mai. The song was accompanied by a folk dance performed by the third grade class. I loved the video. The kids were excellent.

The Future of Education: Morgan Bayda and Dan Brown

I personally enjoyed Morgan Bayda’s post, An Open Letter to Educators. I agree with Morgan Bayda and Dan Brown about their thoughts on today's education and where it is going. I have had many classes like Dan Brown explained. Sitting in a large classroom going over facts that I did not remember after the semester. However, I believe it is better for our students to experience a classroom setting if it offers hands on activities or if the teacher is more involved with his/her students. From my experience, I find that when teachers and students interact together it is easier to remember the given facts. If the classroom is similar to that of Dan Brown then we need to encourage these teachers to learn and use more technology. It is our job as future teachers to know and learn new technology(even if we are learning from our students). With our wisdom we can teach our students and others teachers that are unaware.

Although I feel that is wasn't smart for Dan Brown to quit school, I really enjoyed his blog and felt he was very convincing as well as a good speaker. If Dan enjoys classes that involve technology and other computer software programs, he should investigate other schools or classes that offer these programs. I agree with Dan Brown about expensive textbooks. I have purchased textbooks in the past and did not use them. This class has made me realize that when I become a teacher, my students are going to be extremely advanced in technology. Although I have learned some different types of technology this semester, like Twitter and blogging, I know that my future students might be more technologically inclined than I and I need to open and willing to learn from them. :)

Comment4Kids Week 5

I commented on Iona's article "2012. What people believe" Her article was about the theories of the events that are expected in the year 2012. I informed her that I liked her article and not to worry for they are only theories.

Comment

Randy Pausch in Last Lecture

In Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, he goes into great detail about how your dreams should not only be specific but how you should go about achieving them and making them real in your life. I love the way Randy Pausch goes about lecturing. He is an amazing speaker and is very encouraging. One thing I loved about his lecture is how he spoke of his inspirations and the people that encouraged and inspired him along the way. This is very important in every one's life. It was great how Pausch was so positive through his entire speech after dealing with such life threatening illnesses. After all his downfalls he his still focusing on bettering other lives and influencing individuals to go and achieve their dreams.
It is so exciting to know there are still instructors giving lectures and encouraging words to our teachers and students. We need as much encouragement and motivation as possible. Every lesson we teach to our students will be a learning experience to ourselves. I love the term "brick walls" Pausch uses. Mr. Pausch states,"Brick walls are there for a reason...not to keep us out, but to let us prove how badly we want something." I definitely believe these brick walls are there to teach us lessons and show our students that you have to live and learn from our mistakes. Letting our students see that we have had struggles ourselves and didn't let the "brick wall" bring us down could help them with their struggles in school and everyday life with their peers and parents. It is my main concern to teach my students some type of strong foundation to keep them positive and wanting to learn.
I hope one day in my future career I can contribute to students and other facility members the way Mr. Pausch has done in his studies and teaching experiences. He is such an admiration in his everyday life and his career.

My PLN Report

The PLN idea is amazing!! I would never imagine we would encounter this type of learning in this class. Learning new ways to network is such an awesome experience and has taught me so many new ways to teach my class with technology. Teaching is looking better and better with each new topic that I learn. Whenever I feel like we have learned so many things about networking, there is something else you guys have in store for us. It is overwhelming in a sense, but how wonderful to be able to talk and learn from other students all over the world. We are learning some amazing tools to show our students in the future. I never imagined that learning could be so interesting and so much fun. I am sure that my future students will feel the same. The only things I would say were in my PLN when starting this class was Facebook. Now the list could possibly go on and on now that I am learning something new each day from the class blog and in the class room. When I become a teacher in the future, I hope that the networks in my PLN include: Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Podcasting, Skyping, and more. The use of all these networks will not only enhance the lives of my students, but will help me learn more from my students and teachers from other states and countries. I am also hoping that this list will grow and that I will become familiar and acquainted with more networking sites that will improve my teaching technology and my student’s outlook on the world.

A Day in the Life: Vacations

Dr. Alice Christie's Discoveries

Dr. Christie's entire website was so inspiring. There are so many ways teachers can use technology to better their teaching and their students' learning. I hope that in my future, I will be able or have the oppurtunity to enorperate some of these options in my teaching curriculum. This site provided so many resources for all teachers grades K-12. Any teacher or future educator could look up this site for information about effective technology to use their classroom. I think it would be an awesome idea to require teachers to learn and watch podcast like Dr. Christie's. As a future educator, I also think it would be a great idea to "buddy up" with a co-worker or a teacher who has been teaching for many years to watch these together. As a younger educator, I may know more about technology and they would have the experience of dealing with students.
Because technology is growing as such a fast pace this would be an amazing oppurnity to learn from each other and more about technology and using it in the classroom. It is also my duty to learn as much about technology as possible. I know that I will learn many things from my students, but I also want to have the upper hand so that I'm able to teach my students the effectiveness of this work and how it will help them succeed in the future as well as help develop their practical, critical, and computer learning skills. Using the kid-friendly technology and tools such as GPS and Google as mentioned on the site will be a fun and exciting learning experience.

ITUNES U

The ITunes University was great!! I think it’s a really great source of information for pod casting. I’m really surprised that I haven’t known anything about pod casting and blogging to this degree. I am really glad this class is required. Learning from these videos and articles is really going to enhance my classroom curriculum. I really like how many of the class information is offered on ITunes. There are many students who can’t afford these Universities, but have the option of learning about these classes through ITunes. There are many high profile colleges that are offering classes on ITunes like Duke, Yale, and Oxford. I also think it’s nice that some professors rather do this than have a lengthy class discussion. I’m sure many students who have went to class for many years would have chosen this feature. Even though a degree is not offered for these classes, it is still very interesting to listen in and learn what fellow students are learning at these different Universities. I believe that many more professors should look into doing this. They may get some great feedback from it.

Learning From Mr. Clung

Mr. Clung’s article has many important objectives about getting started as a teacher and in the education field. When I watch videos and read articles like this it really gets me excited about my first year of teaching. I know that my first year will not go exactly as planned, but that it will have many learning experiences. I’m sure that all the “fun stuff” that I expect to happen will not, but that is part of teaching. As a teacher, I know I will need to be flexible and ready for the unexpected. Being prepared for the worst or having to change my curriculum is part of the job. I also know that communication is very important. Knowing my students on a professional, but personal, level is going to help us learn from each other.

News of Wikipedia

Very Interesting!! I have always used Wikipedia as a source of information. I even have it as an application on my IPhone. Almost in every case I find myself using Wikipedia or Google for answers. If it’s something I see on television, information about an athletic figure, a project I need a source for, or an everyday question I need to know, I will pull up my Wikipedia. It seems strange how easy it is to change the information on this site. These are facts that we consider true and use in everyday life for answers. How will we ever know what the truth is on any site if it is this simple to change important facts. Now I see that any company, person, or brand can go in and change what they want about their name or site. If Wikipedia has something derogatory listed, this shows how easy it is to change these facts. So how will we ever know what the truth is? If this is happening on this site, will this continue to others? I am very intrigued by Mr. Griffin’s discovery! I hope that others like him keep looking out for these types of dangers.

Langwithces Blog

By watching and reviewing Langwitches blog, "It’s Not About the Tools. It’s About the Skills". I am learning more and more through each blog an idea for my podcast. In his blog I agree and feel that each person or in my case teacher should be fully aware of the subject at hand before going into a conversation. If the conversation is foreign to us, it may be wise to sit and listen so we can learn about the topic before speaking. Most of our parent/teachers meetings are going to be full of questions and we as teachers should be fully prepared to answer every question. Most parents will feel very uncomfortable in a conversation they are unfamiliar with. It would be wise to try and make them feel as comfortable as possible and to give them as much information so that they are able to interact in the conversation or question/answer session. Once the parent is connected with the conversation, I would hope they are interested in learning what their child is learning and accomplishing at school. Although I am intimidated by some larger words, I believe it would be a great opportunity for myself and my students to learn them each day and use them with the parents. Students that are able to blog in class and share what they are learning would be great for their parents. The child will be able to log in at home to show the parent their progress in the classroom. Before learning to blog in this class and the new blogs I have been watching, I was completely unaware of these resources. Blogging is going to be an amazing tool that I will use to teach in the future!

Learning To Podcast!!!

I believe podcasting is a great media tool for our educators and students of all ages. Educators can use a podcast for assignments, reminders, educational debates and small lectures, while students can use these podcast as instructional tools for upcoming assignments and events. These are just a few examples of how a podcast can be used in and out of the classroom. The podcast we were required to listen to were great! Although I plan on listening to many more, they all gave me great ideas for our upcoming podcast for our class assignment. Every podcast differed in many ways. They were all interesting and had great topics and host/co-hosts. My favorite was the EdTechTalk and This Week in Photography! I really liked how the guys in EdTechTalk used games to help students learn and relate to the specific subject they were trying to learn. Frederick Van Johnson, the host for This Week in Photography was great! He and co-hosts were witty and kept my attention. I also enjoyed SmartBoard Lessons and the KidCast podcast, which are great for kids and elementary school teachers. I am a little anxious and nervous about our podcast assignment coming up. The ladies and gentlemen I listened to today made it sound really easy. I am assuming we will be talking about technology in our schools and learning new ways to teach our children and students with technology. If so, that is great because these podcasts have taught me about what I can expect for our podcast coming up. Keeping the podcast running smoothly about our specific topic will probably be the hardest part. (considering I like to ramble. Ha). There were several times where I was a little bored and moved to the next pod cast, so I am hoping we have a lot to talk about. As long as the student or teacher can hear the host and co-host voices, I think it would be great to include music during our podcast.

The Social Media Count

The video of the Social Media Count is awesome and a little ridiculous. My next door neighbor is a sixteen year old student at a local High School. She is more than involved in these numbers increasing. She stays in front of the computer about six hours a day. Don't get me wrong, I think it is awesome that she is technologically literate and really knows her stuff...but!! What happened to kids getting outdoors and interacting with friends in person! I didn't have a cell phone until I was 17 so I was forced to call my friends and actually speak with them. My neighbor refuses to talk on the phone. She says that she rather text. That's fine because I'm a huge texter myself. Are my students going to be socially awkward because they are used to emails and text messaging. I really love the web and how it has grown and taught us so many wonderful ideas. I know whenever I'm a teacher one day that I will be open to learning and teaching all technology, but I hope we can teach our students to live outside the computer.

Learning Technology as a Teacher

In Karl Fisch's post, "Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" he goes in to great detail about encouraging teachers to become technologically literate. I felt this post was very enlightening. Teachers are going to be forced to find other jobs if they do not learn how to use computers and new technology. If teachers do not learn this and aren't prepared to teach it, then our students will be the ones suffering.
I think it is a great idea to encourage teachers to attend classes on new technology and software. Headteachers and Principles could make these classes a requirement for high school teachers and staff. As teachers and adults we can't talk negatively about our students who are technologically illiterate. It is the fault of their past teachers who were illiterate and did not teach them. In closing I agree with Fisch, "In order to teach it, we have to do it. How can we teach this to kids, how can we model it, if we aren’t literate ourselves?" This is so true and should posted in school hallways for all teachers to see!!

Teachers Willing to Learn

In Kelly W. Hines' article, "It's Not about the technology". She points out four key points that a teacher should recognize and be willing to teach in these new generations of learning. I loved each of these because I feel they are so true. Throughout my life there has always been a specific teacher that did not want to learn the new technology. He/She wanted to keep things as they were. By doing this I feel as though I missed out on learning experiences. There were other classrooms of my same grade level using these new concepts. As a teacher, I know that I will be willing to learn all these new concepts of teaching. Any teacher that wants to be successful has to apply their self to learn from their students and become extremely self motivated.
A teacher's life goal is for his/her students to LEARN the material. The dedication of teaching and encouraging your students to have a successful day will be my main concern. Teachers should encourage their fellow teachers to look forward to the new technology. To learning it and benefit from it. There are too many classrooms with computers going to waste. I agree with Hines in that these computers should be used for curriculum related development and learning new software. Not for games and word processor. I believe and hope that as the years go by and technology is becoming necessary, that each teacher/professor will step up and be willing to learn and teach with his/her students.

In a Student's Eyes

In Micheal Walsh's, "A Vision of Students Today", he starts out with a quote by Marshall McLuhan given in 1967. "Today's child is bewildered when he enters the 19th century environment that still characterizes the education establishment where information is scarce but ordered and structured by fragmented, classified patterns subjects, and schedules." In Walsh's video, he includes his Introduction to Cultural Anthropology students from the Spring of 2007 at Kansas State University. Each students writes down a fact about their time spent during an average day. The average classroom has 115 students, only 18% of teachers know their students name, I will read 8 books this year, I will read 2300 web pages and 1,281 facebook profiles, I will write 42 papers for class this year and over 500 emails, I spend two hours on my cell, two hours eating, three hours studying, I am a multi-tasker because I have to be, after college I will be $20,000 in debt, I facebook my friends during class, and when I graduate I will get a job that doesn't exist right now. These are some of the facts that were held up by the students. Walsh ends the video with a quote from Josiah F. Bumstead. "The inventor of this stuff deserves to be under the best contributor to learning and science. If not the greatest benefactor of all time".


I find it very interesting how Micheal Walsh and others, have taken the facts presented to show other students and professors know and learn the importance of technology. Although there are the down falls of technology, like the girl who wrote her friends on Facebook during class, which I find myself doing often, I do feel that technology is changing our world for the better day by day. As a student I know that I should find what is most important and make that my first priority. This is very hard considering I enjoy many things like the students in the video. Eating, listening to music, sleeping, watching television, and emails are just a few things that keep me occupied throughout the day. I am hoping that videos like this one, and computer class that I am taking will help my understand the importance of technology and the right way and time to use it.

Helping Your Students Become Digital

A Professor and IT Director, Vicki Davis, is a teacher in South Georgia. She teaches her students every type of technology so they can connect to the world with research and communication. Davis likes the CoolCatBlog, where over 6000 readers come together to learn. The CoolCatBlog won the edgy blog award for best teacher blog last year. She loves having computers and all types technology in her classroom rather than the standard pencil and paper work. She allows her students to form groups and teach the class. This helps the students to become empowered and more aware of the classroom. Davis motivates her students by using new software and new vocabulary so they can learn to look it themselves. Davis and Julie Lindsey created a global collaborative project called, Digi Team. This lets students around the world study digital citizenship by researching, writing, and blogging on two different portals. Digi Team post blogs on assigned topics, which lets students and teachers share and blog about their ideas. Davis and Julie also created the Flat Classroom Project. This helps students learn about trans technology by writing reports and posting blogs to other students around the world. In January 2009, Davis was able to take some students to the Middle East for the Flat Classroom Conference.

I admire everything Davis and Julie are doing for students and classrooms. The new software is an amazing opportunity for students to learn how to communicate and share with students around the world. This type of communication will bring the world together in many different ways. I feel this is an amazing opportunity for myself and other students to learn various languages and to speak better and more proper English. This gives me a chance to enhance my vocabulary and learn new software that I may encounter in the future at work or in a classroom setting. If these programs and new software are available for our students, this will open a whole new world to new jobs and higher learning.

Bring Back Creativity

In Sir Ken Robinson's "talk", he focuses on the importance of keeping creativity in schools and in a child's life until adulthood. Sir Robinson would like to see more human creativity develop in the future of our students, because our future is out students. Sir Ken Robinson believes that each teacher and parent should give more motivation to students and help them find their calling. Instead, he finds that most teachers are holding students back from their talents. Many of our exceptional students are being told they cannot follow their dreams. He states that we should let students take chances so they can be original. As adults we have lost this originality. Adults have become too scared and frightened to be different. The result in in this, is educating people out of the original capacity. A quote from Picasa says, "All children are born artist." Robinson points out that, we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. This is mostly cause by education. Sir Ken Robinson speaks about holding University Professors too high. We shouldn't allow professors to take all the credit in the Public School System. Robinson says that there are two predictions about education. He feels that it was invented to beat out industrialism, therefore a students subjects are going to be specifically for work related jobs. Math and Science would be the two main subjects out, leaving out music and art. The other reason is academic ability. Mainly highly educated students are left feeling uneducated or not valued, whenever these students are extremely smart, but in the wrong program at school. Robinson feels that if we see our students follow their creative capacity and see them for the hope they have this will help them make a better future for themselves and their own children. We as adults might not be here to see the future or show them the way.

Sir Ken Robinson's "talk", in my opinion, was amazing. I definitely agree that we should stop holding our children and students back from being creative and showing their originality's. I also believe that all kids have these talents. They just have to be given the chance to show what they are capable of. It is also true that creativity is as important as literacy. Each child should be given the opportunity to express themselves in a classroom setting. If it is dance or whatever the class may be, this will help the student find their way. I like what Sir Robinson said about taking chances. If we would give these students a chance to be creative and not be frightened, they may grow in to stronger adults. I would like to see University Professors take a different approach. There is a difference in intimidating students and teaching them valuable life skills. The last thing I will point out, is the shifting of education. I do believe education is changing moment by moment. We are the future teachers and have to make sure our students learn about themselves and become creative, intelligent future leaders.

Facts We Should Know

"Did You Know 3.0", is the 2008 latest edition from a meeting in Rome about the world's technology, population, and Internet changing at high speeds. Here is a list of some of the facts that were reported: There are many jobs that did not exist in 2004 that exist now, we are preparing students for jobs that do not exist, there are over 200 million people connected to MySpace, there are 694,000 songs downloaded illegally, the total number of text messages sent exceed the planets population, 31 million people log on to Google each year, and there is more information in the New York times that most people will see in over a year. Like mention above these are just a few facts that were shown on the video that most people should know about.

"Did You Know 3.0" is a great way to get much needed information out to the public. It is straight to the point which keeps it interesting. Having these facts available, keeps the public aware of what's going on in our world and country. I was very surprised by most all of the facts that were included in the video. I felt that the most interesting of all the facts, was the number of Google users. It is very true. Every time myself or any of my family members need an answer, we Google it. From recipes to health facts to sports information. It is all there for our information. But, where did we get these answers before Google? Has the world become solely dependant on the Internet? I am very glad this video was brought to the attention of our class. These types of videos will help change our country for the better.

Mr. Winkle

Mr. Winkle woke from a one hundred year slumber to find the world very different. He walked to a very tall building where he found many strange noises and machines. The noises were very loud. He did not understand how people were talking to one another on computers and telephones. He was very confused and this was making him feel sick. He found a hospital where he thought he would get cared for, but the x-ray machines and other appliances were making him feel worse. He left not knowing where to go. He walked and walked until he found a school. This was very familiar to him. Everything was the same, although there was a computer in the back that wasn't being used. All the children were sitting in rows and taking notes just like he had remembered. He was happy that some things never change.


I really enjoyed the story because it is true, that some things never change. Throughout time it seems as though the good things never change. The things that need to be put in a persons life the most will always be there. School and family are two good examples. School will always be somewhat the same. Students are there to learn and grow together. Family will always be there to teach and help an individual grow and understand life and who they want to become. So I really like the last line of this movie. That some things never change.

Getting Started in EDM 310

Hello everyone!! My name is Samantha Pate and I will be making blogs periodically throughout each week. In this class we will be learning how to blog, which I have never done before. I plan on this being a great learning experience and have hopes of sharing what I learn with my future students. Wish me luck!!