Skype Interview Project #12

My Skype interview with Christina Sobolewski.

I uploaded it to YouTube however it still says that it is processing even though I uploaded it over an hour ago. So, I posted the link for it for YouTube as well as the link screentoaster gave me.

Capture your screen in seconds

Short Movie Project 11

Blog Assignment 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung

Mr, McClung's post is something all aspiring teachers need to read. I haven't thought much about the things I am going to face when I actually do become a teacher. This post made me think. I think the most important information I took away from this post is to be flexible and to never stop learning. I don't want to get carried away in planning the perfect lesson and neglect the real reason I am teaching that perfect lesson, which is for my students to learn. Mr McClung said that "we have to remember that we are performing in front of a crowd the struggles remembering what they brought for lunch that day," which is so true. If our students are learning and having fun learning then we are teaching a perfect lesson whether it is the one we planned on teaching or not.

I also enjoyed the section titled never stop learning. Why would anyone want to stop learning? If we were to stop learning today then ten years from now we would still be living in two thousand and ten while the rest of the world had moved on. There is so much information out there, so many things that we can learn not only to better ourselves but to pass along to our students and inspire them. If our students see us putting forth effort to learn something, and going after something we want to more about then they will more than likely be motivated to do the same.

Mr. McClung  discussed a number of things he learned in his first year of teaching: How to Read the Crowd, Be Flexible, Communicate, Be Reasonable, Don't Be Afraid of Technology, Listen to Your Students, and Lastly...Never Stop Learning. Each title had a bit of information on what he had learned about that topic during his first year of teaching. As I mentioned before, it's a great post for all aspiring teachers to read, as well as current teachers. I definitely feel more prepared for my first year.

Blog Assignment 8

Before watching the "This Is How We Dream" series I had little education on writing with technology. It was all definitely new to me and I found it interesting. He gave interesting ways to create documents and videos. He also showed how to share those documents and videos. It was interesting to see the different ways technology will be used in the future.
I feel that there a lot of people, including teachers who do not know how to do this. As a future teacher I am interested in learning to write in multimedia because I feel that it is something I will need in my career in the future. I think it would be a good tool to get students involved in classroom activities and projects and it would also give them the chance to learn more about technology and writing in multimedia.

The Chipper Series and EDM310 For Dummies
Both of the videos were very entertaining. I think the creator did an excellent job of getting a point across while keeping the audience entertained. I think it would be great to do a video on the relevance of this class. Sometimes I read my assignments and I think why do I need this? When am I ever going to use it? But, then I watch the videos or read the articles and I see how beneficial what I am learning will be to me in my future career.

Smart boards

I must admit that I wasn't familiar with smartboards before this assignment. I did have to do some research to find out exactly what they are. While they are interesting and a compliment to the classroom I agree with Michael Staton and Bill Ferriter, they are expensive and aren't really changing much in the classroom. Bill said that he could put together the same lessons he put together using the smartboard by using the computer stations he already has as well as free online tools. I also like the quote he added by Sylvia Martinez, “You can’t buy change. It’s a process, not a purchase. The right shopping list won’t change education.”
One of the blogs that I found that is in favor of smart boards can be found here.
The other one here.
Both of these blogs discuss the ways in which smart boards can be used as well as how easy and affective they are as well as strategies that can be used when teaching with a smart board.

Timetoast Project 9b

  The History of Pugfest

My pug Daisy Mae whom I would love to take to Pugfest one day.

Timetoast Project 9a

Blog Assignment 7

Randy Pausch's last lecture was not what I was expecting at all. His lecture was very different than what you would be expecting to hear from a professor. His lecture was on childhood dreams and achieving those dreams. Although not conventional, he taught an important lesson. He started by telling the audience some of his own childhood dreams.
 
Throughout this lecture Randy discusses how he achieved his own childhood dreams. I thought it was phenomenal the way he went after his dreams. He described one by one his childhood dreams and how he managed to achieve them. Playing in the NFL was the one dream that he didn't achieve, but I loved what he said about that, "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."
Randy wanted his students to be excited about achieving their dreams as well. He wanted them to realize that they could make their dreams come true. He introduced new ways of teaching by using more technology than books as well as having students learn teamwork and work in groups. He is very big on teamwork, which I think is a great thing, no one wants to feel alone. Randy was surprised by the results he got from his students when using these techniques. He even had parents coming to class on the nights the students presented their work, which was a first for Randy.
 I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I will admit that when I saw it was an hour long lecture I wasn't thrilled, but, time flew when I was watching it and I found it very interesting. I guess I should be a bit more open minded. I love Randy's ideas and the fact that he wants to encourage people to go after their dreams. So many of us see our dreams as impossible and I think Randy reminded me that they're not impossible and as he says the brick walls aren't put there to stop us.

PLN

A PLN is a personal learning network. I feel that I have made a lot of progress so far in this class and definitely built my PLN by posting blogs as well as leaving comments on others blogs. I have also learned quite a lot in this class. Coming in to EDM310 I wasn't very computer literate but I feel like I have progressed quite a bit. I learned a lot about google, many features that I never knew existed. For one, Google Squared. I love using Google Squared and it is something that I will continue using.

Additional Assignment #2

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
I definitely think that if learners are motivated they can teach themselves. If there is something you really want to learn and have you have motivation to learn that then you're gonna do it.
2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
Of course, and Sugata Mitra totally proved that in this video.
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
Technology greatly improves children as well as adult's ability to teach themselves, but honestly I believe that where there is a will there is a way. Motivation is truly the only thing needed to learn.

4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
Computers and internet make teaching ourselves easier because there is endless information to be found on the internet. There is google, as well as podcasts and many other wys to find information as well as instructions for almost anything.

5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
Motivation plays the biggest role. If a person is not motivated he or she is not going to learn very much because they have no interest. It is human nature to not put forth much effort in things we are not interested in, we all do it.
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
Well to learn you must ask questions. So giving a child a question, or multiple questions and having them figure out definitely makes them have to be deep thinkers and find ways to solve the problem, therefore gaining knowledge in the process of looking up information to solve the problems.
7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
Well I am currently a preschool teacher and most four year olds aren't terribly interested in learning. When we first started working on the sounds of the letters, I read a book to them and asked them wouldn't it be cool if you read this book? They all said yes, and we talked about how great it would be to read books and signs and menus and all kind of things. The fact that I was excited and I made what appeared to be boring schoolwork exciting to them, they were motivated to learn.
8. How are you motivated to learn?
Well being a college student I have plenty of motivation to learn. I have to work full time and go to school full time as well, that is my main source of motivation. I am always exhausted and never have time to do anything. I want to learn my material so I can pass my classes and graduate.
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?
I honestly don't believe that they can. They may pick up a few tidbits here and there but they more than likely will not retain it.
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
Well I teach myself daily. When I go into work I face twelve four year olds. The situations that arise with those kids are things I haven't faced. I have to teach myself how to keep their attention and how to keep my classroom calm when I have a wild child running around. And then there are times when I've had kids talk about personal situations at home or a couple of times I've had kids get hurt, those were new things to me and I had to teach myself how to handle those situations. I also teach myself a lot in EDM310. Most of the things I do for this class are things I have never done and most of the time never even heard of.
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
I have this one teacher who always gives us interesting handouts. He teaches a rather boring subject but I haven't gotten anything less than an A in his class because of his handouts. He makes it interesting.
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?
Children can teach themselves. That is the main thing I am taking away from this video. They need some sort of instruction and some encouragement but they are much more capable of learning and teaching themselves than most people realize.
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
As an inspiring teacher I think I will definitely look into doing a lot of group projects. I also think that maybe we should look at maybe stepping away a bit, giving the children some space to learn on their own. Maybe not always giving step by step instructions but having them find things on their own.

Additional Assignment #1

I honestly forgot all about this assignment until I saw AA #2 and I realized that I never did #1. Better late than never (I hope).
Before this assignment I had never heard of Google Squared or WolframAlpha. After searching a few different things I was found that both are great. Google Squared was much better than the regular Google. It gave specific details and information on what I was searching for. I also really liked that I could add columns to find exactly what I needed, which is a fantastic tool for students and professionals. I know I will definitely use it in the future.
I also enjoyed using WolframAlpha. I liked that the information was straight to the point and it cut out a lot of searching time. I was able to type something in and go straight to what I was looking for without having to click a lot of links. WolframAlpha is also an excellent search engine for students as well as professionals.

I reviewed my blog post containing my response to the "Did You Know?" video

Well I still the feel the same, a little freaked that things are moving so fast. But, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised by those statistics because the countries that are world leaders such as China and India have a much greater population than the USA.

Summary of C4K 3 and 4

For C4K number 3 I was assigned to read a student named Pesi's blog. His post was about playing rippa rugby. In the post he talked about what it was like to play another intermediate school's team that he described as pretty good. He also said he would like to play them again. He mentioned that he is in grade six and he got to play with grade seven students that which he didn't think was very cool at first because he was the only grade six student but he said he had fun anyway. He also said he would never forget that day because it was so incredible. I told Pesi that it sounded like he had a fantastic time and wished him good luck in his future games.


My C4K number assignment was to read the blog of an eleven year old student in grade six from Australia. In this post he was describing his trip to Canberra. He gave great detail about the places he visited, as well as their schedule for the trip, he even described the bus drivers. He mentioned the things he and his friends thought about while on the bus, even what they ate on the way home, which happened to be McDonalds. It was impressive for an eleven year old. My comment to this student was that he described this trip so well that I felt like I had been there, I also mentioned that I too love McDOnald's nuggets.

C4T # 2 Assignment

I was assigned to read Ira David Socol's blog called SpEdChange. The first post I read was about the dbate going on about the changes that need to be made in education. He stated that conversation about education has been hijacked by a small group of people whose interests may not coincide with the needs of our students. The group of people was made up of celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. Mr. was asking people to "Blog For Reform". He wanted the people who want real reform to all blog on November 22, 2010 about the changes they think need to be made in education. In the comment I left for Mr. Socol I introduced myself and let him know I was reading and commenting on his blog as as assignment. I also wrote that it is disturbing that celebrities could possibly have a louder voice in the education debate that teachers. I find that upsetting because classroom teachers know first hand what changes need to be made.

The second post I read had an assembly of opinions from Ira. He also included a few videos. The first part of his blog was about Atticus Finch from "To Kill A Mockingbird". He discussed the reasons he feels like Atticus was chosen as the greatest hero in American film history. He said that people like Atticus helped others to look at the world in a different way. In the second part of his post he discussed why he believes that schools should avoid the "hypothesis" idea entirely. He says that hypothesis in schools often means guess or desired outcome. He says that the best thing to teach students is to see differently. He stated invention comes from new ways of seeing. The third part of his blog post was also about new ways of seeing. One thing he mentioned in this part of the post was that teachers should be prohibited from asking questions they already know the answer to. That way the teachers have to perceive learning from the learner's perspective. He also stated that we don't need is structures which end up as prisons for the mind. My comment to Mr. Ira was that I loved his idea of thinking differently and that most adults have become too structured to be creative and we need to bring up a generation that can think outside of the box.

Blog Assignment 6

The Networked Student

The networked student video reminded me of my EDM310 class. What this student is doing is basically what my classmates and I are doing in this class. I think the networked student is more responsible as well as more prepared for the future. Learning responsibility is critical for college students because soon there won't be a teacher guiding us, we will be graduating and interviewing for jobs. Employers want responsible employees.
The networked student does still need a teacher. Yes the assignments are provided and they have internet resources but they still need teachers to guide them and give them the basic information they need as well as to answer questions. Also, as future teachers we need to be prepared to be teachers of networked students. We have to accept that things are changing and the way we were taught in school is not going to be the same way we are teaching. Teachers of networked students need to make sure they make themselves totally available for their students because like I said, students have the internet but we still have questions and need guidance.

I definitely feel like a networked student because of this class, before I couldn't say that. Although I do still prefer going to my classes, I think that the future is moving more towards all students being networked students. It would significantly cut down on paper use which would be great for the environment. I know this class had made me be more responsible because my assignments are provided and it is up to me to get them done. My teacher as well as assistants are available to me if I need them. All in all I think that networked students are the students of the future and that teachers will still be needed, just in new ways.

PLN's

In this video I saw a seventh grader navigate and make use of the internet better than I can. That definitely made me realize that I need to get all that I can out of this class because I'm not as familiar with technology as I need to be. I am going to be teaching students, albeit elementary not middle school like this young lady but I still need to know all that I can in order to prepare my students for the life ahead of them. This girl's PLE is very similar to my PLN in EDM310. The assignments are given to us and it is up to us to be responsible and get them done without our teacher standing in front of us telling us what to do.
 
The Machine is Changing Us

Mr. Wesch elaborated on quite a lot in this video. His main focus though, seemed to to YouTube. I think that YouTube has definitely affected our lives socially. You can find almost anything on YouTube. Some people use it to try to get famous, some to just simply put their opinion out there for others to watch. I think that YouTube has made people more open, people say and do things on their videos that they probably wouldn't normally do because most of the people watching they will never meet. The way that we act and the conversations we have and the things that we do have all definitely been affected by the media, so yes, the machine is changing us.

Summary of C4K 1 and 2

I was assigned to read and comment on Cendy G.'s blog. She is a student at Noel Elementary. I read her "It's All About Me" post and her "My Learning Manifesto" post. I was inspired by her manifesto. In this post a couple of things she promised was to keep a positive attitude in class and to try to succeed in every subject. I left her a comment letting her know that she inspired me to have a better attitude about some of my classes that I'm not totally thrilled with.

In her about me post she did an excellent job of letting her audience know who she is. I definitely felt like I knew her after reading that post. She was very descriptive and gave a lot of important information about her as well as her family. My comment to her was basically that she did excellent and that it is great to see a student who puts her education first. I have actually revisited Cendy's blog to read her recent posts.