EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

Now that all my blog assignments are complete, I would like to wish all my classmates good luck in the rest of their classes and future teaching careers. It has been fun learning about different ways that technology has affected the classrooms with you all. I hope that all of us can take what we have learned this semester and use to help us one day be better teachers. I hope that all of you had as much fun as I have had in this class, and that you will continue to have interesting and enjoyable classes. Thanks to all who have helped me and I hope all goes well for you in the future. The semester is now over and we made it, congratulations everyone and good luck.

ACCESS Project and What I Have Learned

ACCESS Project
For this class one of our assignments was to go and observe and access lab. A week ago I observed the one at Daphne High School. Daphne High has the web-based lab and the IVC lab. IVC is done through videoconferencing. I talked about the pros and cons with the installment of this program.
One problem that we discussed was the limited schedule of available courses. Daphne High is located in Baldwin County Alabama and the county board of education restricts the number of classes and the type of classes that the students can pick from, but the state board of education states that by next year all students must take an ACCESS class. Another problem is the state did not give the school enough computers for all their students, yet they just tell the schools to deal with it and fulfill the requirements. Another problem is with the scheduling of the classes. It is hard for two of the schools to have the same time period open for which to conduct an ACCESS lab. The instructor told me that in theory the program is a good one, but in practice there are several things that need to be improved upon and rethought. He said that once they can find more money and get all the above problems worked out that they program could quite possibly become more effective. I have talked with other instructors who feel the same, ACCESS could be very useful and a great program when all the problems and kinks are worked out.

What I Have Learned
This semester we went over many things in this class. We talked about and used Google in the classroom. We also learned about using databases and word processing. The main thing that i had not had experience with was pod casting and blogging. These two areas were the most interesting areas to me. The uses that they can possibly serve in the classroom are incredible. I especially enjoyed working with and learning about using them.
In this class I wish we could have learned a little more about Microsoft. Even though Google can and will be very useful, Microsoft is still what is worked with in most school and business settings. I wish we had discussed it in a little more detail so that we would be more knowledgeable about it in the future.
I thoroughly enjoyed this class. The people were great and we had a fun time learning the information that was taught to us. I hope that I can use what I have learned to benefit me in the future as a teacher.

e-contact

For this assignment we were supposed to contact a teacher electronically. I contacted two. I contacted Rachel Boyd who is teaching in New Zealand and Judy Smith who is teaching in McKenzie, AL. I sent Rachel an e-mail regarding her use of blogging in the classroom. I asked her why she implemented it and why I should use it in my classroom. She responded to my e-mail by sending me a reply. She said that she implemented it as a way for her students to express themselves and it became useful in helping them interact with others and learn about different things that could affect their lives. She said that implementing it in my class would allow for me to understand my students better from what they post. She also said that since anyone and everyone can read the blog that it will allow for the students to strive harder to only post what is true and written in an academically right way.
I contacted my Aunt Judy Smith through e-mail also and discussed with her the use of computers and blogging in her classroom. She told me that as a special education teacher blogs are rarely used for the students in her classroom, but that they are used for the teachers to exchange thoughts and opinions on how best to teach the special education students that they have in their rooms. She said that blogging among teachers can help all the teachers learn how different things that could be useful to them in the classroom. If teachers will communicate with one another to exchange ideas and techniques for the classroom, we all can learn something that will help make our classroom a better learning environment.

What I Learned About Blogs and the Classroom

I chose to read Keller Leathers' blog. Keller sits next to me in class and did an excellent job with her blog. She covered all her topics with enthusiasm and detail, and made excellent points. Her blog is informative and educational. She has created a great blog and has obviously learned much during her time in our micro computing class.
Blogging is an excellent tool that one can use to get things out on the web so that anyone can see. Most people think of blogging as something used by people to tell the whole world their about their lives and their beliefs. They are not likely to think of them as being useful to the classroom, I know I never would have before this class. But blogs can be used in the classroom, quite possibly they could be used successfully.
Blogs can be used as a type of online journal for students. A teacher can assign a journal project to his or her student so that they can work on their English skills and creativeness. Also a child will be more conscientious about what his or her work reads like if they know anyone and everyone in the world can read it. Blogs can also be useful in monitoring how the students in a class are treating one another. The tone of the writings can give insight to an existing problem between some of the students so that the teacher can fix them.
Blogs tell about a person while at the same time allowing that person to share information with others. They can be very useful in education if used. The teachers and the students could have a real enjoyable time using it to learn. I am glad that we learned about it in class, and I hope to use it with my future classes.

The Duke University Podcast on 9/11

We all remember 9/11. It is a day that will forever be etched in our minds as Americans. The pod cast that we listened to this week was a documentary by Duke University on the emotions surrounding that day as felt by Americans from all over. The people talking in this pod cast expressed to the listener how they felt upon hearing and watching the attacks. They also told how it still impacts them to this day. For many of us it made us feel vulnerable when before America was untouchable.
I know for me it was a trying time. I felt as many of these people did and still do. I was scared of what could possibly happen at any time and place to this country. It also brought to life for me the world view of America and its citizens. This event is one that will always be etched into my mind and the minds of many others. This pod cast was a very educational one because it gave insight into many viewpoints expressed by others other than myself. It was very enlightening.

EDM 310 pod casts

This weeks blog assignment was to listen to the four posted pod casts. We were to critique our own pod cast along with the others. First let me say we all did a great job. For our first time doing a pod cast we all presented well informed information.
The first pod cast i will discuss is my own. I worked with Bridget Thompson-Hall and Angela Minish. We presented our information on ACCESS in a well ordered though slightly over worded format. We effectively answered the questions that we were asked to answer. We did not sound perfect but for our first pod cast I believe we did pretty good.
The next pod cast I listened to was Kimberly Pierce, Ashley Corley and Brooke Busby. This pod cast was on blogging in education. This group explained what a blog was and how it was first used. They explained that blogging was free and very useful. The only suggestion that I would make would be that they not sound so rehearsed. Overall, I think they did a great job.
Racheal Beaty, Keller Leathers, and Joye Wiggins did their pod cast on their blogging experiences. They explained what blogging ment to them and how blogs could be used in education. Overall they did a great job. They had a few stutters in their pod cast but they did real well in not letting them slow down or inhibit their presentation.
The last pod cast I listened to was done by Danielle Tasker, Stephanie Ellis, and Jalisa Mobley. They discussed how facebook could be useful in education. They were well prepaired to talk about their topic. They explained how facebook worked and how it got started. They also explained how it was mainly a social network. The only thing that I noticed was that they did not sound very enthused about their topic. They could have shown just a little bit more enthusiasm about their topic. Overall they did a great job also.

Mathematics in Education

This past week our pod cast assignment was to listen to Judy Chandler's take on mathematics and education. This pod cast relates to me because my major is secondary math education. She states that teachers do not embrace technology and use it effectively in the classroom. She says that technology is necessary to enhancing mathematics and teaching it effectively. She believes that students need more than just a textbook to learn math.
This was an interesting pod cast to listen to seeing as it relates to my major. I totally agree with what she says throughout the podcast. But math is not the only subject in which technology could enhance the class and increase learning in. Technology could be useful in all subjects if allowed. Teachers need to embrace technology and use it for the good of their students.

"Fixed" mindsets vs. "Growth" mindsets

"Growth" mindsets vs. "Fixed" mindsets, is a podcast provided by the Stanford News Series. This podcast is a video cast that talks about whether or not growth mindsets are better than fixed mindsets. The lady talking to the viewers tells of a research project in which researchers groomed the growth mindset into half the subjects and a fixed mindset into the other half. She tells how the students with the growth mindset performed better and learned more compared to their fixed counterparts. The ones with the growth mindset wanted to learn and expand their intelligence while the ones with the fixed mindset had no motivation to learn.
One agrees with the result of this research. Students who want to learn will do better than students who feel that they have a fixed intelligence and cannot learn more. One believes that teachers should strive to instill a growth mindset into their students. Teachers should want to teach all that they can to their students and have them motivated to learn more. Instilling a growth mindset is definitely the way to go.

The Solor System Presented for K-5 Students

The solar system is a complex, yet wonderful system. It is beautiful to look at and full of wonder and majesty. I discovered this podcast while searching i-tunes for educational podcast clips. This clip is a video clip showing a sped up version of the eclipse. It is a great educational tool showing the students the sheer beauty of an eclipse. Clips like this are very educational and fun for young students. They allow for the students to get an interactive and interesting view of educational topics.

The Edible Schoolyard AND A Night in the Global Village

The Edible Schoolyard podcast is a podcast about an outdoor classroom in Berkly, California. Students spend time everyday growing a garden and eating the organic food that they produce. They even learn to cook some of the foods. Teachers take students into this outdoor classroom everyday and incorporate it into the teaching of math, science, and social studies. They use the growing of the garden to explain how to deal with everyday life situations to the students. Several schools in Alabama have these types of outdoor classrooms for their students. Excel High School has show calves that are kept in pens at the school for the agricultural students to work with. As a participant of this class one can say that the outdoor classrooms are fun and educational for the students.
A Night in the Global Village, is a podcast that was designed to help students learn what it feels like to walk in others shoes. The kids who participate in this program are to experience the living conditions of Thailand, Zimbabwe, Urban, Guatemala, and Appalachian refugee camps. This podcast was cool because it talked of how others could experience the way people not as fortunate as them live. This is important for students to know. Understanding of others is how we learn to get along and help each other grow as societies. Students also need to learn of others less fortunate in order to appreciate what they have and not take their freedoms and privileges for granted.

Podcasts and Education

Pod casts are online conversations that can be access anywhere in the world on i-tunes as long as their is an internet connection. It is a way for people to put their ideas into the open for the world to see and make judgments on. These can be helpful in education in getting students to do research in order to correctly answer a question and place their opinions on the web for the world to see. This week I listened to four educational pod casts.
Kid Cast #56 was the first one that I listened to. The subject was questions make the world go round. The speaker talks about how a pod cast projects will teach students how to properly do research on a topic and to have an intelligent conversation about the topic that they did the research on. He says that teachers who assign a class a question to which their are multiple answer will be able to put together an excellent pod cast in which their students discuss a subject with intelligence. He talks about how this tool can be very valuable to teachers if used and enhance the learning opportunities for students.
The next one I listened to was Smart Board Lesson number 146. This pod cast is one that discusses clouds and their formations, the stars and saints. The hosts of this pod cast, Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger, talk to about interactive white boards and how to do use them. They tell about different websites that are educational and define words that are relevant to the pod cast topic. Joan talked about word clouds and what they were for. She discussed how a website called wordil could help kids in language or writing classes. They discuss how that open comunication can be problematic if not monitored because any one who wants to cant post things. They also talk about the water cycle and its affects showing how this technology is important in spreading through technological advances. They discuss the use of technology in class and bounce around from subject to subject.
Next I visited Ed Tech Talk and listend to episode number twelve. This episode discusses how the parents need to be used as partners. Their are several different people broadcasting on different subjects that deal with the use of technology outside the classroom at home for homework and the posting of class information that could help the student succeed in the classroom. They also talk about internet accessibility at school and at the home. One of them talk about whether or not restriction of sites in schools should be done. He also discusses how online publishing could be beneficial. They talk about internet safety and how digital media does put someone out there for the world to see. They discuss how kids need to know how to parole their own digital citizenship. A lady states that kids who have problems on the the internet do tend to have the same proplems in real life. The norm is that who you are in person is who you are online. They talk about how the parent should be involved along with the teachers in the usage of tecchnology in education. The schools do not need to have their hands tied behind their back when it comes to allowing technology to be used and digital publishing to be used. They talk about how the internet can be a stage for intellectuals to display their work as a football player's stage is the football field. They roundout talking about how some classes used cell phones as an educational tool, and how the internet allows all to communicate with well educated peers.
The last one I listened to was This Week In Photography. The host was talking with Andrew Darlo from the Imaging Buffet. He is a photo journalist that publishes the afformentioned magazine. The host talks with him about his love of photography and sharing that love with others. They discuss how he prints his pictures and what types of printers he uses to print with. They discuss how new technologies are making better dies and pigments for printing and how dies and pigments affect prints. He also discusses how to decide what inks to buy and how that the further up the printer scale you go the better your prints will be. They finish out the conversation talking about the different quality printers for priniting pictures.

Can Teachers Afford to be Technologically illiterate

Is it alright for the teachers of the twenty-first century to be technologically illiterate? Karl Fisch is a teacher and technology expert. His blog talks about whether or not it is alright to be technologically illiterate and be a teacher. He expresses his views on technology in the classroom, and how any teacher who is not technologically literate should look for other employment.
One tends to agree with Mr. Fisch. Technology is growing exponentially and students are going to need to be able to use it upon entering the work force. Computers and computing software are now found in most businesses across the country and those that do not have will more than likely have it soon. Students who do not know about computers and computing technologies that the average workforce uses regularly will find themselves left behind others in line for job oportunitites. A teacher must be able to use that technology in order to ensure that no student is left behind in the work-force.

Did You Know

Did You Know is a video published on blog spot and you tube that was created by Karl Fisch. It is a video that gives the viewer stats on how technology is growing exponentially. This video shows how new technology is going to and already affecting all people. With the growth and implementation of technology we as humans are having more and more of a need to know how to use it. Technological advancements are being implemented in every aspect of our lives. Educators need to be technologically literate and able to ensure that the children of the twentey-first century are technologically ready to enter the work force. One thinks that this video is an eye opener that many all need to see so that all can understand how technology is becoming a major part of our lives.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch gave his last lecture at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. Randy Pausch was an extremely smart man who took technology in the class room to a higher level. He gave his last lecture on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon. This lecture focusses on three points: early childhood dreams, This lecture also gives insight into his teaching methods and how he applied them to his classes.
Randy Pausch always wanted to get more out of his students. A mentor told him to never tell his students that their work is good enough. He told Randy to push for more out of his students. Randy was always to tell them that they did good but could do better. This method in the classroom is valid. Students need to to learn to never settle for what is good enogh, but to always strive to do better. One agrees with this idea and wishes that more teachers would push for more quality work out of their students.
Randy Pausch also wanted to incorporate fun in learning. He wanted his students to have fun and learn at the same time. Often times students are not having fun and end up frustrated. Once frustrated they want to jus survive or give up. Students having fun will participate and retain more information than a student who is not having fun or participating. Pausch gave his class five projects to do in small groups. This was their assignment for the whole semester. His students not only learned about virtual technology but were able to apply it and use it in their project. One likes the way that Pausch stears away from the book and incorporates fun hands on learning.
These two methods described above are excellent methods that grab the students and allow them to learn and absorb information through methods that work for them and achieve a goal for the group as a whole. One believes that fun hands on work should be done in more of the classrooms as a method of teaching the students. Students who get bored or just can not get it without hands on activity are at a severe disadvantage compared to their fellow students who can just get it from lecture and memorization. Randy Pausch was an excellent speaker who made great strides in incorporating technology and classroom. His speach was very moving and lets the viewer know that they would have been truly blessed if they had been able to have him as a teacher.

International Blogs

Internationally blogs are also used in education. Teachers and students over seas use them for the same reasons education leaders are wanting teachers in Alabama to use them. Students need a free way to communicate with their teachers outside of class hours and blogs help them to do just that. Some of the international blogs also allow resources for students that they might otherwise not have access to, and allows them to learn about the rest of the world through students of a particular country.
http://www.iteachnet.org/webzine/?q=blog is a blog for teachers around the globe to exchange ideas and post job availabilities for all other teachers to see. The ideas posted on this site help teachers to better their lessons and have fresh ideas for their students. The job listings allow for teachers who would like to experience life and teaching in another country to apply for jobs in the country they would like to live in.
http://www.internationalstudent.com/blogs-forums/ is a blog for students who plan to study internationally. On this blog students are able to talk about their home countries with others, and discuss other countries with student from a particular country. This site also opens up opportunities for students to travel to other countries to study. This site offers resources for students all over the world to use and learn with, and contains study centers for them to participate in.

Blogs in the Classroom

Blogs are great tools for teachers and students to communicate with one another to communicate with one another outside of school hours. They allow teachers to update assignments after school hours are over, and administrators to communicate with their students. They also alow the students to aske questions of their teachers and oter school officials whenever necessary.
http://www.thehighschoolblog.com/ is a blog site for high school students. It is set up to help them choose the right subjects and colleges for the continuous education. Students who visit this site are looking to further their education in the college or university that best fits them.
http://blogs.timesunion.com/albanyhigh/ is a blog for Albany High School in Albany, Georgia. The writers of this blog tell of the different activities and learning opportunities provided by their school. The goal of this blog is for students to see how great a school Albany is and transfer there to graduate with a high school diploma. The students tell of there experiences in the school and what they feel is going on in the school.
http://www.21classes.com/ is a blogging site especially for teachers who want to set up clasroom blogs with their students. Many different schools across teh United States use this site to do blog communication with their students. These blogs allow children to ask questions after school hours and be able to contact their teachers whenever necessary.

ACCESS

The Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students (ACCESS) is a program designed to allow students to access advance diploma courses that they may not otherwise have access to. It is supposed to put the students in this state on equal ground to be properly taught what needs to be taught to them before they graduate. ACCESS will also provide duel enrollment courses for students who would like to earn college credits while still in high school. Students will also be provided with access to remediation and supplemental courses to ensure that all students receive a quality education. The use of the multimedia tools provided for this program will ensure that the students are technology ready to enter the workforce. ACCESS will also provide teachers with use of these multimedia tools to enhance a students learning ability.
The goal of the state of Alabama is to ensure that by 2010 all classrooms in the state are 21st century ready. The state will be able to closer monitor teachers in order to ensure that they are doing their jobs through the multimedia resources provided by the ACCESS program. The state will also be able to monitor the progress of the students enrolled in an ACCESS class to ensure that they are making progress and learning on their proper level. This is an excellent program designed to improve the educational opportunities of all students. For more information go to the ACCESS website, http://www.accessdl.state.al.us/.

Alabama Educational Programs

Since the enactment of No Child Left Behind by President George W. Bush, the individual states in America have been enacting several different educational programs for their students and teachers. Alabama has implemented two such programs. They are the Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) and the Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS).
ALEX is a multimedia program where teachers can research every aspect of teaching their field. They can submit lesson plans for others to review, and review other lesson plans provided for ideas as to how to better the plan they already have. The site also contains access to other educational websites for its students, teachers, and administrators.
ACCESS is a multimedia program that allows teachers to teach students not located in their classroom. With ACCESS a wide variety of classes can be taught through the internet and through a television that allows the teacher to communicate with the student much as a news anchor communicates with a reporter who is live on location. This allows students to take advance courses that their high school might not have an on campus teacher for. Though this program is not provided in all schools, one does pray that it one day will be.
Both of these programs are excellent steps in insuring that students are providing that a student receives a quality education regardless of where they live. This is very important because many of Alabama's brightest students are going unnoticed because of the school district they live in.

About me

My name is Susan Smith and I was born on January 24, 1989 in Montgomery, AL. I am from Excel, AL. My parents are divorced and I lived there with my mother and stepfather who grow cotton and raise cattle. My father lives in McKenzie, AL and raises horses and chickens. I love to read and listen to all sorts of music. I enjoy participating in water sports on the river and riding horses. I am at South to earn my degree in secondary math education. I have been tutoring math for about three years now and enjoy every minute of it. I hope to be one of those teachers that can help the student learn math instead of leaving class scared of it.

Google Presentations

Google presentations and Google searches next week. Then we will put together presentations. I have no clue as to what exactly I would like to do my presentation on. Hopefully after the subject is discussed in class I will pick a topic to do the presentation on and then attempt to make it as interesting as possible

WELCOME!!

Welcome to my blog.