Final Post

Final Post

I have learned so much in this class. I am sad that it is coming to an end but it has changed me into a life long learner. I am excited about the future! :)

Final Report On PLN

My Symbaloo

Before I started this class I had no idea what a personal learning network was. Over these past few weeks my PLN has expanded and I have learned so much. I am actually kind of sad that this class is coming to an end. Although this class is coming to an end I know that my learning experience is not. Dr. Strange has taught us that every day should be about learning and that's exactly what I plan to do! :)

C4T Summary

Mrs. Karen Carrilo's Blog



Hi Mrs. Carrillo,
My name is Hailey Smith and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I absolutely love that you shared this with us! I think that the tree is such a great idea. Children need to be encouraged to learn and for them to be reminded of their dedications daily is a great tool. Maybe I should make myself something like this so I can be reminded why I work so hard in school. Thanks for the post!



Hello again Mrs. Carrillo,

You are so right about teachers influence the way students feel about school. I think it is awesome that you do not keep your mouth shut. That is a major problem with our education system these days, too many people do not voice their opinions. It is so upsetting that there are people out there as passionate as you but they are brought down all because they are not willing to conform. Just remember that nothing great was ever accomplished by someone who was silent.
I will strive to create an environment where my students will feel free to think. I will not expect them to just go through the motions. We must be the change that we want to see. Thank you so much for your post! I wish you the best!

Special Assignment

1. I am not really sure why I missed the metaphor in Tom Johnson's post. While I was reading the post I was thinking to myself, "is this guy being for real?" I think part of the reason why I didn't get it is because I am pretty gullible. You could tell me it is raining skittles and I might go outside and look. Now that I know it was a metaphor the post makes much more sense.
2. Since I read his post I have encountered many metaphors such as some of the following: "you're the apple of my eye, it's raining cats and dogs, you're a night owl." These are just a few metaphors I have encountered.
3. I think it is important for us to teach our students a clear understanding of metaphors. I will require my students to use metaphors in their assignments. You can tell a student something multiple times but they will not actually learn it until they do it.
4.I think metaphors are used to get a point across. Instead of my boyfriend telling me that he loves me, it is more convincing when he tells me I am the light of his life. It may be a corny metaphor, but it helps me realize how much I mean to him. Metaphors are a great tool that should be used as a resource to enhance our writing.

Project # 16

C4K Summary Post 7,8,9,10

10
Jaden
Jaden talks about a Clippers game that he went to. He gives strong detail about the game and how much fun he had. I told him I have never been to a Clippers game, but I am a very big Alabama football fan.

Blog Post # 13

Alabama Learning Exchange






In this post we were told to explore Alabama Learning Exchange website. On the home page it gives you eight different options to go to including the following: courses of study, web links, lesson plans, search, personal workplace, professional learning, podcast treasury, and Alexville. While exploring I searched for fifth grade, mathematics lesson plans. It brought up numerous different lesson plans that all seemed very interesting. I feel that this website will be extremely useful to me when I become a teacher. First year teachers have to get themselves and their lesson plans established and this website offers many resources to help guide you.

My favorite tab was probably the seventh tab, this tab was the Podcast Treasury. Podcast Treasury is for sure something that many teachers can use to incorporate technology in their classroom. You could choose a content area and then search different podcast for that area. I am sure this is something that will interest children and bring some excitement to the classroom. I am so glad EDM 310 shared this wonderful site with us future educators. It will for sure come in handy!

Book Trailer

Progress Report For Final Project

For the Final Project for this class, Skyle Ladart and I would like to make a video, perhaps using the Smart Board, to encourage future teachers to use technology in the classroom to promote a fun and creative learning environment. We are hoping a teacher will view the video and change their teaching practices for the better. School is about the children, and we need to start changing the way they are learning!

Smart Board Lesson

Smart Board Lesson

Blog Post # 12

If I had to make an assignment I think it would be to write a letter to the teachers of America.

Instructions: Write a letter to the teachers of America and tell them how you feel about the educational system and what needs to be done about it.

Dear teacher,

Your job is so important to this country. By the time you retire you will have had some effect on hundreds of growing minds. Wouldn't you like to be a positive influence on them? When I look back at teachers I have had the ones I cherish the most are the ones who actually challenged me to learn. With times changing as fast as they are we need to take a step back and see what needs to be done to keep up. If we don't our students will be severely left behind. Don't be afraid of creativity in the class room. Webster;s dictionary defines school as an organization that provides instruction. This does not mean sit your children down and make them do busy work. Actually teach them and show them that learning can be fun! A woman named Eartha Kitt stated she will continue learning all the time, and her tombstone will be her diploma. We should carry this exact same attitude. We must be the change that our world needs to see.

Sincerly,
A concerned future educator

Special Assignment - An In Depth Look at Mr. McClung's World

Mr. McClungs's World
Mr. McClung is an eighth grade teacher in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is his third year of teaching and he strongly supports technology in the class room. His blog is so interesting and very easy to follow. He has five rules in his class room: follow directions quickly, raise your hand when you want to speak, and when you want to leave your seat, make smart choices, and keep your dear teacher happy. I think these rules are fairly simple and should be easy for an eighth grader to follow.

The first item under things everyone needs is a daily planner. I completely agree with this. I would be so lost if I did not write my daily duties down even if it is something as simple as do your homework. Every day something is late in his class your grade drops a letter grade. His blog serves as a daily newsletter for parents, students, and teachers. This way they will always be informed on what is going on inside and outside the classroom.

Mr. McClung's blog is a great example for me to follow as an aspiring teacher. I will definitely create one for my students and parents to be able to follow. This is a great tool for the education system, communication is the most effective tool in learning. I am so happy that I got the opportunity to explore Mr. McClung's blog and learn from it.

Blog Post #11

Little Kids... Big Potential

This video makes me so excited! It shows a group of first graders blogging, using Skype, making videos, and using the internet for other great resources. When I was in first grade the most exciting things we got to do was hide a fake dog that would bark and then get to find it. Now these kids are talking to geologist on Skype and interacting with people all over the world. This excites me because hopefully they will be the change that education needs to have. Hopefully, there will be a generation that is excited about truly learning. I will be honored to help bring up that generation.

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.

Summary Post

I have been commenting on a young boy's blog named Kendall in Auckland, New Zealand. Kendall is a very deep person and he post a lot about how he feels and thinks. He wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up and he tells us that everyone should chase their dreams because you only have one life to live. A lot of people take their lives for granted and don’t realize how amazing it is until it is gone.
He asked the question, "what would happen if the world had no creative talent?" This really made me stop and think. The world would be so boring, and everyone would talk, dress, and think the same way. There would never be any advancement. It amazes me that I have thoughts in common with a student some where else in the world!

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler

This video hurt my brain even watching it. It kind of scared me to think that maybe one day there will be no real need for a teacher because of technology. I think that all this would be good incorporated in the class room but there is so much false information on the web that there needs to be more use of the teacher.
I am definitely not prepared to be a teacher of a networked student. I am not going to school for six years just so I can sit back and let the web teach my class. I am all for a student and their creativity but we also need to make sure they are getting the information that they need and that will benefit them in the future.

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment
I can see the pros and cons of a PLE in a seventh grade classroom. Like the young girl said, it gives you lots of freedom and you can go anywhere on the web. Unfortunately, I do not think there are very many seventh graders who can handle this responsibility. I think it would be great for the kids who had the will power to learn that way but I also think a lot of kids would get left behind.



In these two post Bill Ferritter and Mike Staton tell us why they think smart boards are unnecessary. They tell us that there are more cost effective ways that get the job done besides buying an expensive smart board. I found a web cite that focuses on why they feel smart

boards are a good thing.Article on smart boards
Personally, I feel anything that gets the students more involved is great for the class room.

Time Toast Timeline Project A

Blog Post # 5

I thoroughly enjoyed reading and watching these podcasts. I enjoyed listening to the Eagle Nest Radio podcasts. It amazes me how creative individuals can be when given the freedom. I learned the importance of "voice acting" in the Langwitches podcast. "Voice acting" engages the audience therefore enhancing your podcast. I also learned a lot from the Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom podcast. If we allow our students to use technology in the class room there is no limit on what they can do with it. The sky is literally the limit. Podcast are an effective way of interacting with children outside of the classroom. If there is ever a day that a child is sick they do not have to fall behind. All they have to do it access the internet and watch the podcast. Podcast also encourage education and make the child want to learn. Technology is something we are used to and incorporate in our every day life, so why not include this in education? Another great thing about podcast is parents can stay on top of everything going on in the class room.

My Sentence Movie

Project #5

 

 

 

 

 

Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?

Dr. Scott McLeoud is and associate professor the Educational Administration  program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. This is the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video, Did You Know? Shift Happens.

In his blog post "Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?" He sarcasticaly tells us to not let our kids do stuff like blog, twitter, and facebook. He says we should block it all from them because there is such things as "cyber-bulling" and "sexting". The truth is there are bad things everywhere and if we keep our self from them we are only neglecting ourselves. That is like saying you shouldn't go outside and exercise because you may get hit by a car.

The iSchool Initiative 
 This video is about a 17 year old high school student in Georgia. He believes he has a solution to America's education problem. Schools are taking budget cuts and teachers are loosing their jobs. He thinks that the class room should resort to buying ischools for the students. The ischools are just like iTouches. He showed many different apps that would be useful such as maps, calculators, and formulas. This would be more cost effective and better for our environment. 

I completely agree with this. The amount of paper schools use a year is entirely too much. If we would confine all of our lessons onto a little devices we would be doing the environment a lot of good. We would be saving money and saving trees. It would be unlimited access for the teacher, student, and parents at any time. My hopes are that one day this iSchool initiative will be reality.  

Lost Generation 
 Wow is all I have to say about this video. I watched it at least four times. This is really inspirational and amazing how she changed it all just by reading it backwards. It is easy to say that we are a lost generation because all we care about is money. Families and relationships get put on the back burner because of our jobs. Inner happiness is truly the most important. I will share this video with my friends and hope it inspires them as much as it did me. 

Eric Whiteacre's Virtual Choir
This way absolutely beautiful. To know that people all around the world, who have never met each other, can get together and perform something so amazing is mind blowing. It makes you wonder what else can be done with technology. I believe that there will be more interaction with the rest of the world in class rooms here in the near future. I believe this is very vital to our education. It is so important to know what is going on in the rest of the world and not only in your community.  

Teaching In the 21st Century
This video shows that teaching in the 21st century will be about much more than just giving student facts. Students can get any information that want at any time of the day. We no longer need the teacher to tell us when Columbus discover America. We have Google,  Wikipedia, Bing. All kinds of sources to give us information. What we need is someone to help us learn how to use this information. Teaching in the 21st century will be much more interactive and hands on. 

  

Blog Post 3

1.A Vision Of Students Today
The first scene of this video was a class room that looks very much like the ones here at South. It is almost like you want to fall asleep as soon as you walk into the doors. As each student held up a sign that represented their college experience, I was amazed at how much they were like mine. Many times I go into a crowded class room, pretend like I am listening, watch my clock, and then leave without learning anything.
Something that I would add to this video is how much we rely on our cell phones. When you enter a room, or get on the JagTran, take a look around. Every single person will have a cell phone in their hand. It serves us like a safety blanket. Instead of the student body being so reliable on out cell phone I feel that we should have to interact more. More group activities, like the ones we will be doing in EDM 310. This will help us in the future because no matter what happens around us, there will always be people.


2. "It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
This was a very interesting point by Kelly Hines. I agree that no matter how much technology we have it is absolutely useless if we do not know how to use it. How awful would it be to go into a class room with all kinds of technological tools but have no one to teach you how to use them?
Teachers have to want to be learners and not be stuck in their old ways. That is like teaching someone how to use a dial up phone in the 21st century. That information would be absolutely useless and a waste of time. Teachers need to take the time to educate in a manner that will make the students interested and teach information that will help their minds grow, not make them go to sleep.

3. Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
This post is very blunt. It states that if you do not know how to use technology you should be embarrassed. It compares not knowing how to use technology these days is like not knowing how to read and write. I was kind of overwhelmed with this post and it really made me take a step back and examine myself. I know that I am no where close to where I need to be with technology. I would hate to go into a class room and hinder my students learning because of my lack of ability.
Even though this post is harsh it makes me very thankful that I am taking this EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. I hope to learn as much as I can and apply it in my every day life so one day I can say that I am not technologically illiterate.

4. Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Wow, the numbers are astounding. Technology literally does make the world go round. This makes me realize that my career as a teacher will be largely based on updates. Updates with teachers, information, parents, students. The atmosphere will constantly be changing with just a click of a button.

Did You Know?
This video is all about how fast technology is advancing. Within just seconds advancements are happening all around the world. The ways we learned in school will be nothing like the way children will learn in the future. It is almost impossible to fathom where technology will be ten or even two years from now!
This video makes me think back on the musical stair video. Us Americans need to get with the program. Some of the facts were alarming about how other countries are advancing faster, and better than us. Instead of being typical, lazy Americans we need to jump start our learning.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

This video is about Rip Van Winkle, a story that we are all familiar with. When he woke from his 100 year slumber he found that there was now technology all around him. Rip felt threatened by all of this technology but he was comforted when he found that the class rooms were still using the same technology that he experienced.
This is a scary thought. I would hate to know that I will be using the same techniques to teach with that my grandfather's teachers did. Times change and so should our tools.

Creativity
Sir Ken Robinson hit on the subject of creativity and our lack of it. When you go to school you are pushed to learn the basic subjects such as math and science. Children don't go to school and learn subjects that they are interested in such as music, art, and dance. The reason being is we are told you will not be able to get a job with that. Who is to say what we will need to get a job in the near future. He tells us when he graduated from college with his degree he was guaranteed a job but now our diplomas are almost worthless.
We need out education to be more well rounded. Instead of deciding what our children learn we need to give them more freedom so they can show their creativity. Someone stated that we are all born with creativity but as we get older we grow out of it. We have such a fear of being wrong we do what is socially accepted. Instead of us doing what the system wants us to do we need to let out creativity come out and play and do what it wants to.

Scholastic Kids Blog: Can U.S. kids compete?
The article was written by a young girl named Cecilia. She tells us how European countries have higher test grades and fewer drop outs because of the higher education system. The article tells us that we should push for more creativity in the classroom. It also tells us that we should integrate more technology.
America needs to take a step back and evaluate our educational system. If we are supposedly the most powerful country in the nation we need to match our education to that same standard.

Harness Your Student’s Digital Smarts
This teacher has a great out look on technology. She feels that it is very important and that her children should know how to use all forms of technology. This class is very similar to our EDM 310 class. This class is more than just about learning it is also about doing.
She said that she wants to turn her class room upside down. I think this is something that should be done in more places than just her class room. We need to turn our daily routines upside down. You should always be willing to broaden your horizons and I believe that technology is a great way to do so.

SpeEdChange: A Middle School that Works

My time at Middle School was miserable. I walked away from that place learning absolutely nothing. There is so much more to education to then just sitting down and memorizing facts that we forget right after we take the test. Schools need to integrate fun learning. Information that they will actually use in the future.

Blog Assignment 1

My name is Hailey Jennele Smith. I was born in Richmond, Indiana but when I was six years old my parents got a divorce. Since my dad was originally from Indiana he stayed up there, and my mother came back to her home town, Mobile, Alabama. I chose to go to the University of South Alabama because I have a niece who is three years old and there is no way I could go off to college and leave her. Her father has nothing to do with her so I did not want to be another person who walks out of her life.
One of the reasons why I want to be a teacher is because I want to make a difference in children's lives. Not only with education, but with support. I want to really help children and equip them for their future to the best of my ability. I love helping people. I have always felt destined to be a teacher and in a few years I will fulfill my destiny.

practice post

Hailey Smith