Blog Post #10

An Open Letter To Educators

I know exactly what Morgan Bayda is talking about when she tells us about finding it hard to stay awake in some classes. I face this challenge every week. Teachers stand in front of the room and read straight off of their power point, or right of the book. I find it so frustrating because I am paying big bucks for my education that I could receive at home. I loved the video by Dan Brown and his point that he quit school because he feels that he is being cheated out of his education. When I experience this in the class room it just reminds me of the kind of teacher that I do not want to be. I will strive to encourage creativity in the class room. We have to make that step towards changing so our future generations are not left behind.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

Way too often teachers focus on themselves and not the students. I had a teacher in fifth grade who genuinely cared about his students. We had so many interactive activities and he talked to us like we were actual humans. He is one of the reasons why I chose to become a teacher. My main focus will be my students and what is best for their education, and their future.

Blog Post # 9

"What I've Learned This Year"

This blog was written by Mr, McClung, a first year teacher in Noel, Missouri. He tells us that at first he was focused on what others thought about his teaching and put the students on the back burner. He states that the lessons were not student centered and he would get upset when they did not go the way he planned. In reality, we should let the audience drive our instruction. Things won't always go the way you planned. Some students need further instruction or may just need it explained in a whole different way.
He tells us that communication is the most important aspect of teaching. We must learn who the children are who we are teaching. This may be an extra step but it is one worth taking. He also tells us that we should not be afraid of technology. He said that you can not expect to master all the skills when you first learn them. This is something that I have learned first hand being a student it EDM 310.
Life is all about learning. We should always being willing to learn for the sake of our sanity, our students, and our future generations.

c4k Summary Post

I have gotten the opportunity to comment on many interesting students post. I had a fifth grader tell me to never take my life for granted because we never realize how amazing it is till it is gone. I also got to comment on a video from Melville Intermediate School. On Thursdays they get to pick an activity and do it besides normal class room work. I can see this being a wonderful tool to education that we should consider.

Video

Smart Board Lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF-tP1vbBds

Blog Post # 8

This Is How We Dream

This video is by Richard E. Miller, a professor at Rutgers University. He always dreamed of a career that involved working with books. Now he works with books but no in just one library. He can explore the greatest riches of the world on the web all from his computer. He can receive as much information as he wants with no limits. He makes the point that all this information is available to everyone, and unlike a book you do not have to check it out and take it from someone else.
He has an idea of a new kind of writing, multimedia writing. With this kind of writing you can incorporate videos and images, not just text. This enhances your learning experience. It is visual literacy. I think this will make learning easier and more interesting. Instead of just reading the text you will actually get to see the relevance in it. For example, when the earth quake in Haiti happened would you rather just read about it or see video and images? When you actually see what is going on you can get the full effect.
To make this kind of learning possible Miller said we will need inspiring teachers. I am ready to be an inspiring teacher. I want my children to know that there is more to learning than just what the school requires. I will strive to enable my kids to learn to write with multimedia. This way they can share ideas freely and use their creativity to make a difference in this world.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 For Dummies

I think that the primary message of these two videos is that even though EDM may seem overwhelming and frustrating at first you can't give up. Everything we learn is crucial and we need to take in as much as possible. I think it would be fun to make a video of kids in a class room learning the traditional way and then kids learning using technology. Just to show the differences would be great!

Learn To Change, Change To Learn 

A point made in this video that I really liked was technology is really not a choice. There will be some who love it and some who hate it but no matter what your feelings are towards it you have to embrace it. If you don't you are doing nothing but hurting yourself because you are missing out on learning. Technology is the direction our education is going and if we sit back and choose not to like it we will be left behind.

The Secret Powers Of Time 

Time can either stress you out or make you chill. In this video it talks about how people value time all around the world. In recent years studies have shown that we have gotten busier and busier. The reason why we are so busy is because we are very future driven. We work hard because we look forward to what the future results of it will be. What this video made me think about is how I do not want to take time for granted. I refuse to get so caught up in the future that I do not live for the moment. Every second is precious so we should treat every second with our families, our education, and our friends like it is the last one.


Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

David Pink tells us about different studies done all around the world by psychologist, professors, economist, and more. There is no doubt that money is the motive but I think that people are more motivated to work when they are thought of than just a working horse. I think we could use this in the class room by showing the children they have more to them than just a brain that needs to soak in information. They will be motivated by getting to show their creativity. We should strive to find other motivators besides money.

Project #11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybag1CfmvOc

PLN Project #10

To be completely honest, the first day of this class I was scared to death. I knew that my technology skills were no where near what they needed to be. As time has progressed I have slowly gotten more comfortable with it. I have learned how to Blog, and have actually come to enjoy it. When this class is over I plan to still keep an active blog. Blogging is definitely a tool I will use in the classroom. I have also learned how to use Google Docs and share information with as many people as I want. I made a Youtube account and can now put videos on the web to share with other people. I made a Twitter account so now I can stay in touch with educators, and other important people in the world. The is no doubt that my PLN has done a 180 since the first day of class. I think that I just needed to be taken out of my comfort zone, and given the ability to feel free to learn. I will take all of these tools and information with me for the rest of my life. They will benefit me as a teacher, and help me help others with their learning experience.

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams


This lecture by Randy Pausch is truly inspiring. He encourages us to chase our child hood dreams as he has done himself. He had ten tumors in his liver and was only given a few more months to live. He starts the lecture off by giving us a few of his childhood dreams, and as the speech progresses he tells us how he accomplished all of them. Pausch helped enable child hood dreams of others by being a professor. He was said to be a great sales man, so he wanted to sale something worth while, like education. I hope I can do the same when I become a teacher. Let children know that there is so much more to education than just what is inside these four walls, and in the text books.

One of the main points he made that stuck out to me in his lecture was brick walls are there for a reason. What he meant by this is when you try to accomplish something but an obstacle is in your way , don't be discouraged. That obstacle was put there so that people who do not want to accomplish that dream as bad as you do are turned away. You then have to work even harder, face that obstacle, and beat it.

Another point he made was we need to always have fun. He told us that even though he is dying he is still having a great time. This is a thought we should live by every day. There is no point in living life unhappy. Every situation you face in life you should face it with optimism. You never know when your last day on earth could be so live it like it is tomorrow. I have had way too many young friends pass way unexpectedly for me to now live life to the fullest.

This video has inspired me to make a list if things that I want to accomplish. I will set out to accomplish these dreams and not give up till I do. When he closes this lectures he dedicates it to his three children and leaves the crowd emotional as well as all of the viewers. Not only has he accomplished all his dreams he has set fire to others. I will never forget the points made by this man, and I will strive to live by them daily.