Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)
 
Mr. Joe McClung discusses his first year of teaching as an elementary teacher in Noel, Missouri. He gives great advice for future educators throughout his post. He mentions how teachers should bring a lesson to their students. Some teachers are too focused with delivering a lesson, which results to teachers not checking with students to see if they comprehended the lesson given. Mr. McClung had to realize that students should be his main focus.

Secondly, McClung states that teachers must be flexible and reasonable with their students. There will be times that a lesson may not go as planned, which is okay. A quote I enjoyed by Mr. McClung, “When things go wrong, simply work with it and try to better the situation…and be sure to do it with a smile on your face!” He also mentions how teachers should not be afraid of technology. Some people are afraid of technology because they feel as if technology is too difficult to grasp. Technology in my opinion is very helpful and a resourceful tool. I think everyone can benefit from technology in some sort of way, as long as they give it a try.

Next, he states that teachers need to communicate and listen to their students. Communication is the best way to solve any situation. However, he mentions that communication is one of the hardest skills to develop. We need to learn how to communicate well with others now, in order to communicate strongly with future students and teachers.

Lastly, he mentions how educators should never stop learning. Teachers should have an open mind to new ideas and willing to try new things. Overall, teachers must be flexible, reasonable, and be able to communicate and listen to their students. Teachers should also learn about new technology and not distress from it, as well as, furthering their knowledge.

 

What I've Learned This Year Volume 4 (2011-12)

Mr. McClung discusses his fourth year of teaching, where he teaches social studies and Arkansas history to jr. high students. He mentions two things he has learned while teaching his students this past year: 

1. Being comfortable with his peers as an educator

2. To challenge yourself.

First, he states how he wasn’t comfortable with the way his peers viewed him as an educator. He felt like he wasn’t approved by his peers. However, he let go of what his peers thought and focused on his students. Since his students are the ones who really matter to him the most.

Secondly, he states how he challenged himself this year. He discussed how he got too adequate at using old lessons plans from the previous school year. Luckily, he was offered to teach a different grade level and a new subject starting next year. He accepted this new challenge and is currently teaching pre-AP civics and American government.

Overall, the message Mr. McClung is sending is that teachers should not get too relaxed with their lesson plans. Teachers should create something new from time to time and have fun with their students.

Project #10

My Personal Learning Network is composed of various sites, which I created on symbaloo. Some of the sites I have in my PLN are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Skype. My PLN is composed of social networking sites to sites where you can create projects, such as on timetoast.

Check out my PLN down below!

Project #12

C4T #2 Summary

Preparing For When Tragedy Strikes Close To Home

Summary:

Teacher Tom discusses what to do when a student is going through a difficult time. Tom states that parents usually give him an overview of the situation and how their child is coping with it. During a quiet period in class, Tom brings the student off to the side to check and see is he or she is doing okay.

Response: 

I was quite appealed by Teacher Tom. I told Tom that I thought it was wonderful that he checks on his students, when they are going through a tragic time. I think it is very important for teachers to check on their students because teachers impact their lives each day.

"A-A, B-B, C-C, A-A..."

Summary: 

Teacher Tom discusses how he teaches the alphabet with his students. He uses different colored building blocks to represent each letter of the alphabet. Some of his students tend to make “tall patterns” out of the blocks, instead of making alphabet patterns. One of his students, on the other hand, did follow his lesson of learning the alphabet. This student made the pattern “A-A, B-B, C-C,” until he reached to the letter F. Afterwards, the student then joined his classmates and made “tall patterns”.

Response:

I liked how Teacher Tom taught his students the alphabet by incorporating the use of building blocks. I thought it was a great way to approach students the alphabet but also have students learn colors too.

Blog Post #8

Richard E. Miller: This Is How We Dream Part 1 and 2

This is a two part video series by Richard Miller, a English professor at Rodgers University. He discusses “The Way We Teach Now” and how sharing knowledge is infinitely.

In Part:1, Richard discusses how we write and how we research now. Over twenty years ago, students would go to the library to check out books for their research paper, which would be a pain if there was only one copy of the book. Today, students can access library books online at any time anywhere, and does not need a library card to check them out. The way we write and how we research has dramatically changed over the years all through the development of technology. The technology that we have provides great information not only for students and teachers, but for everyone.

With technology, we can share each others ideas in a whole new light. Richard states in the video how he and his colleagues collaborate with each other through text message, film, and imagery. Back then, the way people would communicate is by meeting in person or by writing each other a letter. Today, we have cell phones that allow you to call, text, and even video chat with a friend or family member.

In Part: 2 , Richard discusses where we work and where we research. He mentions how students are able to access professors’ lectures from all over the world through iTunes U. Students who may want to listen to another professors lecture on the same topic that he or she is learning in class can do so by iTunes U. I think iTunes U is a neat tool for students that want to explore more on the subject being discussed in lecture and hear another perspective of that subject.

Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

Carly Pugh was a former student in EDM310. She was assigned to come up with a similar multi-media writing as Dr. Miller did. I thought she did a wonderful job explaining the different resources that students can go to. As Carly stated, not everyone is as passionate about reading as she is. However, there are other ways to get students involved in reading through a visual aspect. One of the videos that Carly mentioned that I liked was autobiographies. In this video, a student explains the proper procedure on how to write an autobiographical narrative.

Be sure to check out Carly’s blog post!
  
Why EDM310 is different?

The Chipper Series

This is video is about a student named Chipper. Chipper makes poor decisions while in college and comes to realize she needs to change in order to be successful. I thought this was a great video! It sends a great message not just for students in EDM310, but for all students and everyone in general. The main message of this video is to not quit when things seem too difficult. In order to be successful, you have to go through some hardship before you can reach the top.

EDM310 for Dummies

This video is about two students who are overwhelmed by EDM310. I found this video to be entertaining as well as educational. EDM310 can be overwhelming at times but as long as you have patience and determination, you can get through this class or any class. Overall, the message this video sends is to be positive, do not procrastinate, and to enjoy this learning experience in EDM310.


Be sure to check out these videos!  

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video discusses on how technology has changed and that we need to learn and change along with technology. In the video, it states how some schools still ban the use of cell phones while students are in school. I do not think all technology is a bad thing, such as the use of cell phones. I think there are some positive uses of technology that should be used in schools. Cell phones can be a distraction to some students, but there are other great tools out there students can use like the iPad. I think some schools, which if not a lot by now, should incorporate the use of technology. Since this generation not only has grown along with technology but will foresee the future of technology.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

For this assignment, I was asked to watch Discovery Education Web 2.0 for 2011 and go to Discovery Education's Web 20.1 site and find three tools:

1. A tool that is similar to Twitter and Facebook; that provides a social platform for teachers, parents, and students.
2. Find a tool to make-your-own comic strip. Create a comic.
3. Find a video tool that you have never used.

The first tool I found was edmodo. Edmodo is a similar tool like the social networking site, known as Facebook. However, edmodo allows teachers to connect with students in a educational social aspect. Teachers can post test dates, create a quiz, a poll, and make important status updates. Did I mention it was FREE? Edmodo is FREE for both teachers and students.

Second tool I found was makebeliefscomix. On this site, you can make multiple comics and share them with friends and family.

Here is the comic that I made:

The last tool I found was PhotoPeach. This tool allows you to add as many pictures as you please, for the video slide show that you create.  Next step, after adding pictures, is to make a title and add a song that is listed or finding a song off of YouTube. I found this tool to be one of my favorites of out the three because I think students can show their creativity and teachers can make this video slide show into an educational project.

Blog Post #7

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
 
This video is based on a true story about a student, who attends a 21st century high school, studying American Psychology.  He meets with his class in person three days a week, while the other two days are spent online.  He does not have a textbook for class, nor does his instructor lecture in class. Wendy Drexler, who is his instructor, is a proponent of connectivism.

 • Social Connectivism: A theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties.

This network is made possible through various tools of technology.

Why does the networked student even need a teacher? As stated in the video, a network teacher is the one who teaches students how to build their network and take advantage of electronic learning opportunities. A network teacher offers guidance when students get stuck and shows them how to communicate properly, especially when asking for assistance from experts. A network teacher also shows students how to differentiate good information from propaganda.

A network teacher wants their students to be well organized with all the amount of information students learn over the course period. They want their students to maintain their learning network and use it to help better their future, once students leave their class. The answer as to why do networked students need a teacher; students need a teacher to help guide them for the skills that they need in the 21st century.

I thought this was a very interesting video. It actually gave me a better understanding of the course that I am currently in, which is EDM310. As a college student, I am accustomed to having professors lecture in class and then state what page numbers to read and so on. EDM310 is not a lecture class or ‘read this page and take this test’ kind of course. EDM310 is somewhat similar to the video above.

I believe students still need teachers because students need guidance and need to be reassured at times. If we eliminate teachers, then who will be there to assist students? Even though students have access to multiple technology resources today, we do not know what technology resources will be out in the future. One quote from the video that I appreciated was: “It never hurts to ask!” Students should still ask questions when they are uncertain of something, even if they are in a network based course. Teachers should still be present as a resource for students, so that students can ask for help and have their questions answered.

Be sure to check out this video!

A 7th Grader Personal Learning Environment(or PLN)
 
This video is about a student who uses Symbaloo, which is a website that organizes your favorite websites or social networks. She uses Symbaloo as a learning tool in her 7th grade science class. She spends time finding information online, gathers this information, and places it on her page.

I found this video to be very informational. I was unaware of Symbaloo until now. I liked how this student was able to organize important information for her class, as well as, keeping up with other network sites. On my laptop, I have certain websites that are listed as my favorite but theses websites are in no particular order. However, with Symbaloo I can now organize my favorite websites and social networks. Symbaloo will defiantly be helpful for me and my future students.

Check out this video! You can also check out Symbaloo website here: Symbaloo Website

Project #8

Blog Post #6

 Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams 

Randy Pausch’s last lecture was astonishing! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Randy Pausch, he was a motivational speaker, professor at Carnegie Mellon University and a Disney Imagineer. He co-founded the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), which is a two-year master’s program in entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006, however, he did not let his diagnosis keep him from enjoying life. In this final speech of his, titled "Really Living Your Childhood Dreams" which was given in front of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007,  Randy doesn’t discuss cancer, religion, or his family and kids. He discussed achieving your childhood dreams and enabling the dreams of others.

First, Randy talks about his childhood dreams. He mentions how he wanted to be an NFL player, win stuffed animals, float in zero gravity, and to become a Disney Imagineer. Randy accomplished some of these dreams through perseverance and persistence. He said “Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want something.” I could not agree more with this quote! I believe if you want something bad enough, you will end up accomplishing that dream as long as you put forth the effort for it. Hard work does pay off in the long run. You may have to go through some obstacles but you will soon succeed.

Secondly, Randy talks about enabling the dreams of others. Every one of us has a dream about something that we like to achieve in life. For some it may be to graduate from college, for others it may be to climb Mt. Everest. I think we should respect each other’s dreams and wishes. Randy said, “When people give feedback, cherish it and use it.” We should not take all criticism to heart, but take criticism and use it to better ourselves. This knowledge will be beneficial for me once I begin teaching. I want to help my students succeed in life. I do not want my students to feel like they cannot accomplish their dreams. I want to push my students towards success, since they will become the leaders of the future.

Randy Pausch had such great advice throughout this video. One quote that really struck me is when he said, “Be good at something, it makes you valuable.” We each have our own special talents that make us unique. Therefore, we should use that talent and not let it go to waste. Overall, I have learned to never give up on my dreams or to dismiss my future students' dreams. I have also learned that perseverance is the key when it comes to success.

If you have an hour or so to spare, be sure to watch Randy Pausch’s last lecture video. It is time well spent!

TimeToast Timeline Project #9a

C4K Summary for September

 Frank

On Sept. 23, I commented on Frank's blog.  Frank is in the 5th grade at PT. England School, which is located in Auckland, New Zealand. Frank’s favorite thing to do while in school is to write. In Frank’s recent blog post, he discussed his sorrow for one of his former teachers, Mrs. Verry; who is retiring from teaching this year. He was saddened by the news of Mrs. Verry’s retirement but he understood why she was retiring.

Some of Frank’s classmates performed a special dance for Mrs. Verry during her retirement ceremony. I asked Frank what kind of dance his classmates performed, since I was uncertain of a Samoan dance. I told Frank that I like to play a dancing game called Just Dance on the Wii system. He did not respond back to my comment. However, I still thought it was neat that his classmates performed a dance for Mrs. Verry.

You can check out Frank’s blog up above!

Jade

On Sept. 30, I commented on Jade's blog.  Jade is an 8th grader in Mrs. Krebs class. She enjoys the outdoors and likes to go four-wheel riding. Jades recent blog post was about her personal belongings that she cherished as a child. She mentioned The Parent Trap as her favorite movie growing up. I told Jade that my favorite movie growing up was Beauty and the Beast.

I asked Jade out of the following items she claimed were her favorite, which was her most favorite item and why? Jade did respond back to my comment. She said her baby blanket was her most favorite, since she treasured it heavily as a young child.

You can check out Jade’s blog up above!