Blog Post #5

Stop Teaching Your Kids   

Scott McLeod has a Ph.D and is the Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. And co-creator of the  popular video series,  Did You Know? McLeod is recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school.


I think Dr. McLeod's  post is interesting and I agree will him on some parts. I believe that technology can sometimes be dangerous. Technology has it's pro's and con's buts that like everything else in life. All jobs now days require the use of technology. We do not need to shelter the children, but we do need to protect them. This would actually wind up hurting your children in the longrun because of how connected the world and it's people are to computers. We need to teach our children the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors on a computer. Computers are notoriously dangerous because of sexual predators and various types of perverts. Technology is not all bad.


iSchool 

The iSchool Initiative, created by Travis Allen as a high school senior. He was 17 when he first launched this video on Youtube. His idea could revolutionize the public school system as we know it. In this video, Travis is basically saying that schools would save more money if they stopped using old methods of teaching. He is stating that it could cut cost as much as $600.00 per students down to $150.00 per students. Students would have access to resources on there iSchool that give them virtual school books as well as helpful tools such as U.S. Constitution, World Wiki, and Star Walk.
    I was very impressed by this idea of the iSchool it could greatly benefit the educational world. There would be limitless opportunities to better reach out educationally and as a community. By using the iSchool they would cut down on cost of textbooks. In using the iSchool students with physical limitations would be able to interact more in a normal classroom. . They would not be the student with the special learning equipment instead they can customize their iSchool to better help them. It is a shame that the education system is the last to fully catch with the technology upgrades throughout America. Everything that is discussed in the classroom or in the textbooks can be found on the internet. With this technology the education system would be fully take advantage of all the usage of the internet.


Virtual Choir

I was thoroughly amazed with the ability to take 185 singers that had never met and put together a flawless performance that professionals should bow to. With the use of internet and technology  anything is possible to accomplish, the internet and technology gives us limitless opportunities.

21st Century Teaching
Kevin Roberts has a different view on teaching. He basically thinks that teachers should be guidance for children.  They should let the students figure things out on their own. "Teachers are not the main source of  knowledge, we are the filter." Why do we even need teachers?  Without teachers, students would not have the knowledge to go search for knowledge.  You can find out anything you want to know just by googling it. Technology is expanding everyday and there are many apps that can be used to learn  school materials online. . No one is born into this world with the knowledge of how to read, write, or use oral language. These skills are necessary prior to being able to use technology which means we still need to teach students by communicating in person.


Reading Rockets

The website Reading Rocket is very helpful. There are tools for teachers, parents, and principals. This website gives you tools to make better learners. I viewed the grocery store activity sheets and was amazed. Even for those that I do not have kids you can say you have seen how hard it is to keep a child occupied while grocery shopping but if you give them something to do that is fun as well as educational grocery shopping is no longer a chore. I spent over a vast amount of time on the website and still had not looked at all of the information and tools that were being almost spoon fed to you. Teachers can  provide retrieval practice for students. Games allow children to understand topics in a fun way.  By giving teacher-prepared handouts prior to class lectures, the students are able to learn the subject beforehand. We need to teach students to be active readers. Breaking down the subject in steps can help students to grasp the concept better.

Project #9a

Blog Post #4

PodClasses
Joe Dale shares information on how podcasting in the classroom can be beneficial to the students.

All the reasons for pod casting were very true and show how it makes sense for us to have them in classes.
The video starts out by stating the fact that we will be teaching a generation that has never known a life without personal computers and other technologies. The parents can see and hear what their child is learning/doing at school.  Then when a child is sick and go to school if the teacher uploads the lessons through podcast then the student will not be behind when they return. It would also be an creative way to present information instead of typing a paper. I've heard of podcasting before, but I never really knew what it was or what you could gain from it. I only wish that I had that kind of resource during my time of being in school.

1st Grade Podcast 

In Podcast With Frist Grade, her students read a textbook in the class. First, they read a chapter  once and then they discuss what happened on the chapter as they are reading. They record the process in which they questions about it for them and they answers it. She says that they were thrilled to record and later hear their piece of work. For this particular podcast the children wrote a pretend interview with characters in a book that they liked. The students came up with the questions and the characters' answers as well. Her teaching methods make her students get skills of literacy and technology. Basically, her students get skills of reading, speaking, listening, comprehension, performance, but also use media and technology tools well through her teaching. 

Podcast Collection 

The post Podcast Collection defines what a podcast is and its main uses. Itprovides a wealth of information and how-to's on her blog regarding podcasting.  There was also an awesome video on how to create a podcast. ideas for podcast projects, and suggestions for researching your topics. These are wonderful ideas about the integration of podcasts into classes. This information as a collection, will be effective in providing me great ideas in creating my Podcast. 

My Sentence Video

Blog Post #3

Technology in Special Ed Classrooms

Ms. Cook used advanced technology in her special education classroom. The students stated themselves that computers helped them to complete their work. Some of these students were unable to communicate with the teacher verbally, using computers helped them communicate. These kids are so excited and eager to learn with technology. Being a special education teacher is challenge, working with children who need extensive attention teaching them to read and write. With the use of laptops, Ms. Cook has empowered her children to learn and advance at a faster rate than before.

After watching this video, I realized how technology can be beneficial to everyone. Who knew that technology made that big of a difference to certain people. With the right resources, technologies, and attitude, these children can be taught and will achieve. Permitting children to play educational computer games allows them to get familiar with their new technology and learn.

Education Apps


I thought it would be hard to find an app for Special Education students. I found plenty. I did not know Apple has some many apps that teachers or parents can use to help their students. I chose the app SmartKids Picture Dictionary.  This app is used for younger kids learning the English language. With teaching elementary school special needs students will be falling behind the other students.

Gary Hayes Social Media Counter 

This really Opened my eyes to how big social networking sites have become. Websites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter are no long things to do to pass time. It has become a part of everyday life like breathing and eating. According to the counter over 2,000 items are shared on Facebook every second. Google even recognizes Facebook as a proper now. I typed Facebook lower case and my computer edited it and capitalized it. The social networking sites have become bigger and anyone has could ever imagine. My 75 year old grandfather has a Facebook account. That's how big it has gotten. 

Michael Wesch: A vision of Students Today

This video by Michael Wesch is enlightening to both teachers and students. I realized that we are not involved with our education in the classroom. Students are doing the minimum. We are not being pushed or motivated to perform the maximum work in classrooms. As teachers, not only are we grabbing the students attention, but we are getting them prepared for the technology they will have to use in there careers.

As the future educators of America we need to get out of this trend of putting information on a board and saying learn it. I was told once how you can expect something to grow and not change. So if we want school and education to grow we need to change out tactics to adapt with the times so we can have better more educated children and also keep up with the rest of the world. 

C4T

The teacher I had to comment on was Jenny. Her recent blog post where her thoughts, ideas and experiences dealing with google plus. From what I can tell she getting accustom to the social networks and its technology and everything that It can do. 


In the first post I commented she talked bout how google plus could be useful in the classroom. She mention how she was amazed that a bunch of people where video chatting using google plus talking bout there recent assignment. She said it reminder her of a time when she was in college and people would have to spend gas money and have the time to actually get together and do there work. Now they don’t even have to be in the same building to get together with there class mates. 


The then second post I commented was a post about her first experience with google plus. She wanted a way to get in contact with her family members and  some of her friends informed her about google plus. She decides to give it a shot, Now she loves it. She really like that you can divide the circles and you can post stuff to certain groups. 

Presentation Project #5

Blog Post #2

Did you know

In the Strange version of  "Did You Know?", I realized that the numbers and facts were compared to the students in previous EDM310 classes and high school students, such as cell phones and computers. I found the information about the other countries and how their education compares to the United States. The value of an education has grown and diminished at the same time. The growing economics in America basically demands that employees must have at least bachelors to make a decent living, only a few put an effort to achieve a college education. The successes having a college degree gets traded for joining the work force.

Mr. Winkle

This video is a great example of how the world changes suddenly. Mr. Winkle wakes after a hundred years and finds that technology has taken over.  He finds that people can now talk to and see one another over the computer. He visits the hospital to see a machine that takes x-rays. The point is the world in constantly changing and not many things will stay the same. Mr. Winkle would soon discover, some things do not always change. Education is one aspect of the world that still have many similarities as one hundred years ago. Most classrooms today still rely on the teacher-student learning setting. These classrooms require long lectures with notes being taken on paper and boredom from listening to a teacher talk on an on. I do not think any classrooms will continue to teach this way for long. I feel that the way education is being taught in classrooms have come up a little in technology but it is not yet on the same page as the world outside of the classrooms.


The Importance of Creativity

This presentation was very interesting it stated about the killing of creativeness of our children in schools. There is so much a child can offer if given the chance. Mr. Robinson also stated that kids need to focus more on important subjects such as Math, English, and Science. This may be true for some students however; some students are not gifted in those subjects.  Art should not be at the bottom, some kids are very creative in Art. The required subjects such as Math, and etc. are great to have however; some students will not be using the skills of Math in their profession. Kids are unique individuals with his/her own creativeness, let them explore their creativeness. Mr. Robinson also stated that we grow out of creativity rather than into it, which I think is not true because some kids are late bloomers when it comes to creativity.

A vision for 21st century learning

The style of education is prehistoric compared to the world around it. The American education system has made strides as but it has not been cultivated. People always say children are the future but no one acts like it. It is important that during the elementary years of education that the educators of America engage the children to show them that learning can be fun and interactive and entertaining. I never had a problem through elementary school I always made the honor roll. School was still very boring to me. I approached it like a job. I went a got my grades and moved on i never really felt engaged or interacted with to make the information come alive to me. So as a future educator I will present my information to my students so they can feel involved in school and not feel like they are punching a time clock.


Vicki Davis: Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts

Ms. Vicki Davis has a wonderful idea for her classroom. Ms. Davis class is in Camilla, Georgia with no technology in this town. However; She had an idea of bringing technology to the classroom by introducing the kids can communicate with kids in other countries. The kids really liked this new idea, they were eager to learn about this new technology. Some of the technology which was introduce to the class was cell phones and the webcam.