Comments for Kids 1

C4K #1:

My first assigned kids blog was a child named Anthony. Anthony's school is located on the West Coast of Canada in Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. He plays a wide variety of sports ranging from soccer to skiing. His favorite subject is math and he likes to spend his summer vacations traveling to Mexico with his family. He says one of his favorite things about winter is to build snowmen; if it snowed here, building snowmen would be my favorite too!
I read through his blog to get to know him and I read several of his posts. One of my favorite posts was his post about healthy eating habits. He stated that eating healthy was important to him because he plays sports. However, our assignment was to comment on the most recent post. Anthony's most recent post was his weekly joke. I was humored, but taken back, when I read his joke about passing gas. Not sure if it was appropriate for me to comment on this, I discussed it with the EDM310 staff who made a good point. This types of situations are going to come up in the classroom and it is a good idea to learn to handle them now. I told Anthony that I enjoyed his blog and that he was doing a great job. I, also, nicely pointed out that while some jokes really make us laugh, some jokes are more appropriate when not associated with school. When thinking about it, I would say I was lucky to be faced with such a situation early on.

C4K #2:

My second assigned kids blog was for a child named Vaifoa. Vaifo is in year four at Port England School in Auckland, NZ. His teacher's name is Miss King. His post was titled My Holiday. On Vaifoa's holiday, he went swimming, he went to KFC for dinner, and on Christmas day, he went with his mom and got a bike. He also had a picture embedded into his blog. In my response to Vaifoa's post, I complemented him on the creativity he used in his picture. I, also, told him that his holiday sounded like fun.

This is Vaifoa's Picture

C4K #3:

My third assigned blog belongs to a student named Jesiah. He is, also, at the Port England School in Auckland, NZ, and is in year six. His teacher's name is Mr Somerville. His post was about a cookie and how the cookie resembled earthquake's and the moon. He said that his cookie had craters like the moon and crevices like earthquake's. He also used the "tawny" to describe its color and stated that the cookie was spotted. What vocabulary for an elementary school student! I was impressed. In my response, I told him who I was and why I was commenting on his blog. I then agreed with him that the crevices in his cookie resembled the crevices that are sometimes left on the ground after earthquakes.

This is Jesiah's cookie.

Project 9b

Sources used for the information in this timeline are:

• www.imdb.com
• www.depthsofcinema.com
• www.welt.de
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.hepburntribute.com
• www.heritage.images.com
• www.blogs.timeslive.co.za
• www.audreyhepburn.com
• www.biography.com

Project 9a

Blog Assignment 5

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better 
By Valene


I have previously owned an iPod Touch and I now own an iPhone. Therefore, I have personally experienced the educational benefits of having such a device. I have downloaded study guides and audio summaries for several different classes and you can easily study on the go. There are so many different applications that can be downloaded and used to help teachers or students and it does not hurt that you can also have fun with these devices. Being able to purchase books for personal or educational use is easier and cheaper on these devices. You can get sparknotes, podcast help, and so much more!

The Education Podcast Network

WOW! This website has so much information on podcasts. You can spend just a few minutes on this website and learn so much about podcasting. You can find out what a podcast is, how to make one, and view podcasts made by students and classes. There are so many podcasts on this site for your viewing which can help you learn more in case you are wanting to do your own podcast. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone wanting to do a podcast but not knowing where to start. I have a feeling I will be coming back to this website for my own personal use.



The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
By Joe Dale

There are so many ways podcasting can be beneficial in a classroom, if used properly. Podcasting can make learning more fun for our students. As we all know by now, technology is an easy way to grasp a students attention because it plays such a big role in our lives today. Podcasting also allows students to be interactive with other students that are not in the same classroom. One of the biggest benefits I liked from this video was a child who is sick and unable to come to school. Instead of having to wait until they return to school to get their work, they can simply watch a podcast that explains the same material to them while they are at home. This will help prevent a child from getting too far behind while trying to feel better. Parents can also watch podcasts that explain instructions for assignments and know exactly how to help their child and know what their child is doing in the classroom. This video also provided helpful links about making podcasts.

Project 8 Podcast

Click here or the picture below to listen to our podcast about E-books in education.

This podcast was a collaborative effort by: Jenna Baxter, Woodie Holloway, Kristan Steele, and Kelsey Robinson.

Project 6- My Sentence

Blog Assignment 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
by Scott McLeod

     Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Education Administration program at Iowa State University. He is also the director of CASTLE (Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education.) He has received national awards for technology leadership work.
      In Mr. McLeod's post titled "Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?", he discusses various flaws to the technology that is commonly used today and says not to teach your kids these types of things. However, at the end he states that he is teaching his own kids these things. So the point is, technology, like anything, has its ups and downs but not allowing your children to use technology will, more than likely, harm them in the long run. With as fast as technology is advancing and with how much it is used in almost any work place, it is easy to say that technology is a necessity.
     Although technology is good in many ways, we cannot ignore the bad things. There is the risk of cyberbullying, inappropriate content, etc. However, the downs to technology can almost all be prevented by teaching children the proper ways to use the internet and enhancing privacy settings and parental controls. We cannot focus on just the good aspects or just the bad aspects and we cannot replace everything with technology.

The iSchool Initiative

     The iSchool Initiative is a video by a high school senior with an extraordinary idea. He could not be more right about schools having budget cuts, getting rid of teachers and making classes larger. Larger classes can save money for a school system but it provides less time for the students to get more individual time for extra help. Using an iTouch in the classroom can make a huge difference.
     Using the iTouch can save a ton of money for the parents and the school and it can make it easier for parents to help their student stay on top of their school work and due dates. Being able to use books on the iTouch rather than having to use textbooks has many pluses. You would not have to spend all the money on textbooks, it would be better for the environment, and less to have to carry around. Not having to buy graphing calculators, books, or nearly as much paper, can adjust the budget enough to possibly be able to have fewer budget cuts.

Lost Generation

     This video was, sadly, true. It is very sad to me that so often these days, family is not more important than work and family is put second, sometimes even third or fourth.  My experience working in a daycare I too often saw parents who cared more about their career than they did their own children and it broke my heart. As much as I know I will love my career as an educator, my family will always come first. I was raised that way by my mom; she was always there for me any time I needed her and I will do the same for my children.
     So I agree with her completely. You cannot assume that an entire generation is the same way and will live the same life. Anyone can change the world if they set their mind to it. Therefore, I, also, refuse to be part of the lost generation. Money does not make happiness and happiness does come from within. Family will always come first to me.


 


Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

     This video is the perfect example of how advanced technology is. It is truly astonishing that you can do something like this and not even be in the same room or the same country. Twelve different countries and 185 different people singing together but never having to leave home. Without technology, this would not have been possible at all.

Teaching in the 21st Century

     This video is full of valid information. Teaching in the twenty-first century is so different than it was years ago. Technology has come a long way and we are able to access it anywhere. At anytime, we can get the answers and all the facts that we need off of countless websites. The only problem is, how do we know which websites hold valid and truthfully information.  In the twenty-first century, this is where teachers come in. Teachers should be teaching skills, rather than facts. We know that students will find answers on the internet, so it is time that we show them the proper ways to go about getting them.
     We use the internet to get the answers we need so would it really be fair to tell our students they cannot? Absolutely not. It is time to accept that the internet is used to do just about anything and showing the students how to pick the correct websites and information is the next step.

Blog Assignment 3

A Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch is such a reality check about living the college life. I relate to almost all of the things brought up in this video. Spending hundreds of dollars, sometimes per book, on textbooks that are "required" for a class and yet, never opening them. I work everyday and at least twenty hours a week. In the video, they calculate the average amount of time students spend doing various things during the day and it adds up, exceeding the number of hours in a day. I am up by seven almost every morning and by the time I finish my necessary daily things, I realize it is already the early hours of the next day. I get a couple hours sleep and I am up doing it all over again. Needless to say, I do not obtain the recommended eight hours of sleep a night. When thinking about the amount of money we pour into our education and realizing that half of it has nothing to do with what we will do with our lives gives me a headache. Most of us will spend years trying to pay off our college debt after graduation.
     Technology is a requirement in college. It may be minimal, just having a computer to type up your papers or having access to a computer often enough to email teachers daily, but it almost forces you to buy laptops. So these laptops and computers that are basically a requirement, can, unfortunately, also be a distraction. I often see students using their laptop to do things that do not pertain to the class that they are in, therefore, not paying attention to the professor. This video was very much like my own personal college experiences.


It's Not about the Technology by Ms. Hines is so very true and I think every teacher should read it. Yes, technology is changing greatly and quickly, it is not just technology that needs to change. Teaching methods should change too. I agree with Ms. Hines that teachers should be learning too. Education is never ending, we are never done learning. So as teachers, we need to be continuing our education with up to date methods in order to give our students the best education they can receive. I could not agree more with Ms. Hines when she states if a child hasn't learned then no teaching has occured. This is so true. Not all children learn the same way so not all children are going to learn and grasp the material if it isn't taught in a variety of ways.
     All too often students find themselves in classrooms with teachers who have their mind dead set on one way to teach. They do not want to budge from their ways and learn the new ways. However, it is time that teachers adjust their ways to better teach their students. Ms. Hines makes a perfect example of this when she talks about putting technology in the hands of teachers who are not willing to use it. It is a waste of money for sure but it is more so pathetic. I think if teachers would rewind time and put themselves back in the desk as a student and then think, as a student, would I be able to learn from a teacher like me or should I change to better the education of my students? I think things would be a great deal different.


      In Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?, Karl Fisch states, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." He then asks if his statement is a bit extreme. I think not. His statement is very true and not too extreme at all. If we teach as technologically illiterate teachers then how prepared will our students be when they are done with school and if they are not prepared, then have we really taught them anything worthwhile (or even at all)?
     If there is technology available that can help to better educate children, teachers need to learn how to use it and then use it in their classroom to better the education that children receive. He makes a very good point that education is continual, not just for students, but instructors as well. It is necessary for a teacher to be able to teach their students the necessary skills and in order to do that, we must know them in the first place; without knowing these skills, we cannot teach children the things they need to know.


     Gary's Social Media post just goes to show exactly how fast things are changing. It truly is astonishing. As a teacher, I will have to keep up with the new technology in order to help my students learn. Not everything in the classroom should be technology, but this day and age it surely helps to keep the attention and eagerness of students.

Presentation Project 5

Comments for Teachers 1

I was assigned Royan Lee's "The Spicy Learning Blog" for my comments for teachers assignment. The first post I commented on was titled "I Heart Chart Paper and Sharpies". In his post, he discusses the different high-tech tools that can be used to do digital collaboration, mind mapping, and brainstorming. He talks about how easy it is to access these tools but that it is also good to use the "old fashioned" pen and paper. He makes a very true point that "When you get groups working with these tools, behavior is physical and social, a great combination for learning."

My response to this blog post was total agreement. I think it would be a blessing to be able to work in a school system that can afford to have technology incorporated and provided in the classroom. I also think that it is important to know how to do things without technology. Putting pen to paper to come up with ideas is a great way for students to interact with each other and not only technology.

The second post I commented on was titled "Conversation". In this post, Mr. Lee talks about the importance of conversation and how, "It makes learning extremely personalized yet collaborative, loud yet quiet."

I loved the "...loud yet quiet" part. Take a minute and let your mind wonder on what this could mean and the different ways "loud yet quiet" can be taken. I saw it as actual noise volumes but also as the size of your audience "hearing" what you say. A conversation face-to-face can be loud in volume, yet quiet in the sense of how many people are hearing you. However, a technological conversation, such as this, can be considered loud because it is viewable to people all over the world, so many people can "hear" what we have to say.