At the Teacher's Desk

I absolutely love this website. While I was reading through this post I made note to put this in my favorites tab on my laptop and follow it on my professional blog. This will come in handy when I have a classroom of my own.

I enjoyed reading different post from different educators and technology "literate" people. One of my favorites was Mr. Chamberlain's post about controlling and commenting on blogs. It is so true that your blog should always be fresh and updated because that will attract readers to come back. I have several blogs that I follow and sometimes they don't regularly post to them, and it is quite annoying, especially when I am looking for something new on their page! This post was really helpful.

I could really tell that this blog kept up with other "new" updates because there was always something new. The post that the teacher sent out for help for a new website and teachers from all over the world that she had never even spoken to responded to help her out. This was so cool to me because as a teacher trying to be technology literate, sometimes the teacher next door will not have the answer. This was a neat idea that I know will come in handy.

Not only was their ideas but there is loads of information about the latest teacher news (i.e. pencils being banned), that can always intrigue a thought.

Like I said, I really enjoy this blog, and I will continue to follow it, and I will make this useful in my classroom - to learn from it, and hopefully to contribute to it one day!

Use Your Smart Board!

Below is a presentation that I did in class. Smart Boards are sweeping classrooms across America, and I did some research for different uses in the classroom! Click on the links, and play the games...and LEARN how to interact and use your smartboards!

A New Future of Whatever

I must say that when I first started watching this video and saw that it was 33 minutes long, I didn't think this possibly could be interesting - however, I was proven wrong. Mr. Wesch certainly captured my attention! I have never thought of media the way it was presented here. The first thing that caught my interest was when he said that "media mediates conversations." It took a few minutes for that to process in my head, but once it clicked, I certainly agreed. My mind first went to the headlines on popular home pages such as MSN, Fox News, etc. All of the celebrity scandals, or the latest gossip about Jon and Kate is the topic of conversation at my workplace. It's the perfect conversation starter - such as "did you hear on the news about _________?" When media changes, the conversation steers to such change. It's quite amazing if you think about it!

Secondly, I really like the point that he made about the future of whatever. The way people respond to media is quite astonishing. While watching the videos about the free hugs (still one of my favorites out of the whole semester), and the one about the make a stand with a statement on your hand video, I sat back and thought to myself, media really does mediate communication and conversation. If it weren't true, YouTube wouldn't have the response that it does on a daily basis.

I really enjoyed watching this video, and Mr. Wesch's creativity of putting together the visuals with his presentation really put it into a perspective that could be understood by everyone.

So, if media mediates conversation, then I am certainly convinced that media in a classroom can enhance learning

Putting Students Work Online

The video of the class singing "Landslide"
The importance of a class blog to me is very high. Most parents are at work all day long, and they can have access to their child's class blog to keep up with what they are learning and what is going on. One of my coworker's child goes to a private school, and every week she gets the school announcements as a recording online. I thought that was very neat because instead of her having to hunt her son down to get the latest calendar, she gets in in her inbox every Monday. Also, when an emergency happens or any new news, they notify her through a voice email. I know it is very comforting to her as a parent to know what is going on at her child's school.

When I have a classroom, I want to have a class blog for more than one reason. First, I want to have it for the parents to keep up with the students' work and assignments. Secondly, for the student. I plan to be in secondary education, so I think it could teach the child responsibility to have to look online for their assignments if they miss a day of class. That way they will know where it is, what it is, and they can submit it to me through email if they want.

I still cannot get over how amazing that video was. I know this had to make their parents proud!

ACCESS: Distant Learning???

ACCESS is a sight designed to provide distant learning to every student. The site is designed to give teachers an ability to attend online workshops to equip themselves with the knowledge of distant learning. The goal is to provide students with electives and other courses to take online through distant education.

This is a very neat program. However, while I was reading the 12 objectives that the plan wants to implement, I asked myself over and over again, "when will this actually happen?" I know right now they have courses that are web-enhanced in the public schools, and students do a majority of the work on-line in computer labs, but distant learning? Would they be required to come to school or would it be work outside of the classroom?

I know as a college student, online classes are not for me. I prefer coming to class and doing things hands on, rather than having to do it all at home. It seems as though it takes much more responsibility to keep up with everything at home rather than coming to class a few days a week. However, maybe this is a way to prepare high school students for college. If so, I think that would help tremendously.

I wonder if in the long run if this is a way to cut down on actual classrooms. I just can't help but wonder how that would turn out????

ALEX: A very INFORMATIVE site!

ALEX is a website designed for parents, teachers, and really anyone who needs to teach the subject at hand. It has wonderful resources all for free. They have lesson plans, teaching materials, ideas and so much more. It is a very helpful sight that I think every teacher should keep tabbed on their favorites toolbar to regularly visit.

I think it is very interesting how it is available to parents as well, so that they can get in on the action. Sometimes parents need a little bit of direction at home to help students get in the right direction. And for teachers, it is a very helpful sight to perhaps change up the lesson plans a little bit and to give the classroom a little extra spice!

I definitely want to use this tool, and I WILL be bookmarking it on my computer!

Dear Kaia:

While I was reading these different stories about this little girl, it brought a smile to my face! It is so neat to read about different ways parents incorporate technology with their children. That little girl was so little, and the pictures that she took were fantastic! The best part about it was that each picture meant so much to her for different reasons. Children love to play with technology, but something I have seen first hand is that a lot of parents feel they don't have the "time" to deal with the children's creations!

This was really neat that he let his little girl put her pictures up and then followed up to see what people had to say. I bet it fed lots of energy to the little girl to go out and continue to keep taking photos, and putting them up on her blog!

This shows that even as a teacher, technology can be incorporated into a classroom. It might take a little bit longer with the younger children, but they will take more appreciation in it, and be eager to learn and do more

Info on the NML Project

While researching the New Media Literacies, I found out that the staff of this program had a goal of equipping students to be educated to be literate in the multimedia world and to raise the understanding of it to other people. This is quite interesting, because without people willing to teach this kind of information, nobody would really know what to do to. Some of these things I have never even heard of, so had I not read about them on here, I would be completely clueless.

I think it is a good project that they are working on. I think that by teaching students, the New Media Literacies, project could spread worldwide. As they teach students, those students could teach other people. And the network would grow and increase in knowledge.

New Media Literacies

Watching the staff of the New Media Literaciesand their ideas of being connected in the media definitely got me thinking.

They all made some very good points, especially with the skills that they all shared. I do not necessarily think they are ALL necessary to be effective citizens, artists and workers. I think with a good few of them, it makes you a pretty rounded person, but they definitely aren't necessary.

I do use some of them, like negotiation, judgement (not a degrading kind), multitasking, visualization, appropiation, and collective intelligence. I think all of these things combined help to keep me focused and on task. Otherwise...there is just no telling! However, I don't think about these things all the time, its's kind of a natural thing that I operate in.

I guess if I thought about it more while working and putting things together, and put together some of the things that I do not really know about, I could be maybe more effective, but I don't really think it's REQUIRED for success in the media.

Why Does the Networked Student Need a Teacher?

21st Century Student? Is there a need for a teacher for a networked student? Am I prepared to be a networked teacher? Ms. Drexler provided a very interesting way of describing exactly what a networking student does.

I have to say that I do think that teachers will always be necessary. I do not think that lectures should be extinct, nor classroom time should be diminished. However, I do like the idea of the student learning research on a different level. I like the idea of teaching students to find valuable information on the web, versus trusting the first sight that you come across. "Digging Deeper" is a great way to teach students to be successful later on in life.

I do think there should be more to a teacher than teaching a student how to network. This is pretty much a personal opinion, but I enjoy having classroom lectures sometimes, and I enjoy discussions because they help me retain more information and understand it on a different level - especially if I could relate to it. I think taking those times in the classroom and applying it to research or networking could be beneficial.

This kind of relates back to the video that we watched a few weeks ago - textbooks are bought and not read, lots of money is paid for a class that students receive nothing from - but that does not mean that it should all be extinct. The method could change, but the principal could stay the same, in my opinion.

I am ready to be a teacher who teaches my students to dive in for information, and to keep diving after one little nugget. I want to teach them to succeed after the hour in the classroom that they have.

This is How We Dream Part 1 & 2

It is very clear that Richard Miller had a love for books. He loved to read, and for the rest of his life he wanted to work with books. However, he found out real quick that books are quickly going obsolete. When a book is no longer being published and it can be bought for fifty nine cents on Amazon, it is a sign that it's time to do something else.

What he did was find ways to use books and technology at the same time! Being able to do research without ever having to leave your home is so convenient, and the world is at your fingertips!

One thing that I found intriguing from what he said on Part 2 was that as we are learning, we should teach that ideas are not to be kept to the individual, but they are to be shared as a culture! Everyone can use them, everyone should benefit!

Not only can books so quickly be found online, but putting projects together has advanced greatly. From forming movies with still images, to using video as a part of a presentation, writing media is endless!

If books are quickly diminishing to virtual books, then it is equally important to teach students how to access this; otherwise they will have nothing to grow off of in the future!

Duke University's use of iPods

Not being afraid of technology is quite intriguing to me. So many times it is so easy to continue to do things the way that they have "always been done" in fear of failure.

Duke University has enhanced their teaching in the classroom with the use of iPods. Many students already are familiar with the use of iPods and laptops, and this just makes things more interesting to actually use an iPod in class.

Duke University has a quite interesting way of bringing technology into the hands of their students. In 2004, every new student received an iPod at the beginning of the year. It later moved into all undergraduate students enrolled in the university receiving iPods. This was a free service to the students, and when I read about this, I thought, "hmm, how cool would it be if South Alabama did that!" It wouldn't even necessarily have to be free, it could be included in the students' tuition package. It would be so beneficial especially if iTunes U is coming available to our campus very soon. It would make things much easier if the school provided them for the students rather than depending on the student to find the means of getting one themselves. And if the school provided them they would all meet the criteria, etc.

When I read about the different ways that things can be taught in a classroom, it just gets my mind a rollin' about how flexible and how much of a variety could actually change the whole course of a student's education!!!

Alice Christy's Information

This website was SO interesting! Alice Christie has TONS of information for teachers to use in the classroom. Stuff like this is so encouraging to me as a future educator because I honestly had no idea teachers took time to post stuff like this for other people! There is so many new ideas and so many creative things to use in the classroom, that a teacher should never be at a loss of ideas!

I found the photo essays to be quite interesting. I have never even heard of someone using photos to portray information. That actually seems quite fun and challenging all at the same time. I would like to do that in my classroom one day to see how creative my students can get.

Websites like this are quite helpful when it comes to introducing technology into the classroom at different levels!

iTunes University

Wow! I have never even heard of iTunes U until this semester. It is very interesting to know that students can access FREE videos and learning tools all on their iPod. As an educator, it could be helpful as well to use in the classroom as a teaching tool. What better way to get up-to-date information than on the internet - immediately! Gone are the days of checking out documentaries from the library. iTunes U is the place to go! And the fact that you can put it as an app on your iPhone is unremarkable

There are a lot of schools and universities enrolled in iTunes U. However, there are a lot that are not registered either. I wonder why? I have never heard of it, and even if South Alabama was registered, I would have no idea about it because none of our teachers use it at all. Just like everything else, I think that teachers and students could benefit greatly from internet sources in the classroom. It also allows the students to always have access to it as opposed to just being able to see something in the classroom. It could encourage students to learn further about the material and to think deeper.

Mr. McClung's Thoughts

I was very impressed with the thoughts that Mr. McClung shared with us. Sometimes while I am sitting in my education classes listening to the instructors tell us the things that we need to know to be a great teacher, it interests me so much that I think I can remember all of it and be the greatest teacher with absolutely no experience at all! Even when I talk to current teachers about how overwhelming it is and how challenging their jobs can be, something inside of me gets excited.

However, this summer I had to do some observation in some classrooms, and all of that excitement was stripped from me in an instant! The moment I walked in the school, I stopped and stood there for a second and thought "what have I gotten myself into?"

So reading this information was very helpful for more than one reason. I appreciate his thoughts so much because it is not from a teacher who has been in a classroom for 30 years. He is posting thoughts about his first year teaching, and that is fresh. One of his suggestions was to continue learning...looks like he is off to a great start!!!!

WIRED??

After reading these articles, it was VERY clear to me why my professors DISCOURAGE Widipedia for any source of research for class material. I do not understand why this is website that is advertised as an on-line encyclopedia is filled with information that could be edited by anyone. Without the scanner, it is impossible to know if what you are reading is true or false.

I don't think Wikipedia really can be trusted in any circumstance. If you have to do work to find out if information is correct, why not just go straight to the source anyway???

And I personally think it is ridiculous for anyone to change information and delete facts to confuse people from the truth.

Randy Pausch's Lecture

I have not been able to load this fully and watch it. For some reason I get to a certain spot and it will not go any further...every single time. I have been trying to watch this video for a week and it is still giving me problems! As soon as I can get it loaded and watch it, I will post my comments here.

Practice

A Walk in My Shoes

This is a presentation about myself that I had to do in class. You can check it out below if you would like!

Is it Okay to be a Technology Illiterate Teacher?

Is it okay? I honestly have mixed feelings about this. I believe that teachers need to be educated up to speed, and that some form of technology needs to be implemented in the classroom, but I can't help but throw the opinion out there that technology does not determine knowledge. As a prospective teacher, I plan to use the skills I am learning an continue to learn new skills as they come about to teach my students, but I can't agree with the opinion that if teachers do not to that, then they aren't effective teachers.

I do not think that the statement comparing tech illiterate teachers to someone who cannot read being the same thing. Sure, the class may be a lot more exciting if the teacher implemented technology, but if not, it doesn't mean the student won't learn. Some of the most knowledgeable professors here at South don't know a thing about computers, and will tell you that technology is important and encourage us to learn about it, but their opinion is that they are too far in to this to learn something different. I prefer a teacher who implements technology as little as Powerpoint because it opens up my mind to see what I'm hearing. Sometimes it makes it a little harder to learn their material without technology, but it can be done.

I want to be technology literate, and I want to move ahead of the speed of my students, and have my students teach me and for the learning process to continue, but if I chose not to, I would hope that my job wouldn't be in jeopardy because of someone else's definition of literate.

Who sets the standard? Is it okay to be tech ILLiterate, sure...as long as you are effective.