Blog Post # 10

The picture above is a cartoon by John T. Spencer.
At first this cartoon confused me, I did not get the meaning at all. But then I went to Spencer's blog to read his comments on the cartoon and found out it is a mock of the PC MAC commercials. I thought to myself, "Duh" after finding that out. I thought it was interesting that he used pencils in this cartoon. I read some more of his blog and found that a lot of his posts are about pencils and technology. I think any computer, or pencil, is fine depending on the user. I love Apple products but I prefer a PC over a Mac any day because it's more affordable. Now if anyone wants to buy me a nice new Mac then I would gladly convert over!

The next blog post of Spencer's I read was Why Were Your Kids PLaying Games? I thought this was very interesting. This post consisted of dialogue between a principal and a teacher. The principal calls the teacher in his office and asks the teacher why his kids were playing games. The teacher tries to explain that that yes they were playing games, but they were learning in the process as well. Still, the principal does not agree with this and tells him not to do it again.
First off, it angers me to think that a principal of a school would have those types of opinions. As a principal, he or she should encourage educational games in the classroom, not ban them. Playing games in the classroom can help engage students and they, more than likely, enjoy learning more. I hope I never come across a principal who discourages something so important as engaging student learning. Children want to have fun, not have their nose stuck in a book for 7 hours 5 days a week.

The next post I read is called The Con Academy. This post is a dialogue between a teacher, principal, and some guest. The principal asks the teacher to meet a special guest and the teacher agrees. The principal suggests the teacher to flip his classroom. But what the principal is asking isn't technically flipping a classroom. The teacher is obviously a little peeved and is sarcastic with his remarks back to the principal and the guest.
These dialogues Spencer posts are quite funny. Though, if this were to actually happen I find it to be more of a tragedy. This principal Spencer keeps using in his dialogue is just plain ignorant. I began to read the comments below this post and found out that this was a meme for the Khan Academy. I began to read about this academy and realized it's just online worksheets for students to do. yes it's at the student's own pace, but as I child I HATED worksheets no matter if on paper or online. They also advertise it to be completely free, however you have to pay for training. I recommend everyone to read this particular post and read about the Khan Academy and form an opinion for yourself as well.

Next I read a few posts from Scott McLeod's blog Dangerously Irrelevant.
The first post I read is called Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please. WARNING: This poem is obviously sarcastic. McLeod adresses this post to teachers, parents, and administrators. He is almost begging everyone not to teach children to blog, use social media, make videos, or make a PLN because paper and pencil are going no where. He says to lock it down, block it out, and not to let kids use it because it's evil. Then at the end he says how he allows his children to use all of these tools. He asks how far ahead his children will be compared to those who do not allow their children to utilize these tools.
I think McLeod posted this to help those that are crazy, understand that the internet is a useful tool. Though I think it is important for everyone to understand that there are dangers out there on the web. I read a few of the comments left by other edm 310 students and I saw where someone said how children know more about technology than their parents do. Uhm, Scary! How are parents supposed to express to their children the dangers of the web if they don't even understand it themselves? Even my mother, who is a police officer, is a little technology illiterate. I will admit she is learning! But I would feel a lot safer if I knew that people who were in charge of protecting me knew how to handle more technology than I do. The point is, everyone should be encouraged to use and explore the internet and to utilize all of the wonderful tools. Just be cautious of all of the dangers. As far as who this man is, well, he is genius. Simple as that.

Blog Post #9

For this assignment I read two of Mr. Joe McClung's blog posts.

The first post I read was What I learned This Year 2012-2011. This particular year was a bunch of firsts for Mr. McClung. It was his first year teaching at the same school for more than a year, being head coach, and teaching a computer applications class. McClung talked a little about putting the students first instead of worrying about what others think of you and getting sidetracked from the students. He is a people pleaser and is always worried about pleasing the administration instead of his students. He also talked about not letting others ruin your excitement. McClung was always excited about the professional development sessions because he liked new ideas. He quickly found out that many others did not feel the same way. He said other teachers would sit in the back ad talk under their breath about not liking the new ideas and ignoring the whole session. Another point he hits on is not being afraid to be an outsider. McClung is never one to socialize with other teachers, instead he socializes with his students because they are what's most important. In his post, McClung also talks about not touching the keyboard. Which means not to do a students work for them. He says that when a student needs help, it can be easier for the teacher to just finish the work for them because it will turn out nicer. Though as teachers, we can not do this or else the students will not learn. The last thing he talks about in this post is about not allowing yourself to get comfortable. He pushes himself daily to move forward with his teaching. McClung says he does not want to get into a routine and become boring.

The next post of his I read was What I Learned This Year - Volume 4. In this blog post Mr. McClung reflects on his fourth year of teaching. He says he did not learn as much as he thought he did, though he shared two major points that stuck out to him.
The first was about not letting the approval of your peers affect you, something he also hit on in the previous post that I read. In the previous post he talked about how he never worried what others thought. Though in this post, he admits to letting the thoughts of his fellow co-workers bother him. He said it changed his mood completely and that it was not until the end of the year that he coped with it. McClung states that he has gotten to where he is in his career by following one rule. Are the kids having fun?
The next point he hits on in this post is about challenging yourself. He admits that this past year he has gotten comfortable and lazy because this was his third year in a row teaching the same subject at the same school. This was something he also talked about in the previous post that I read. In the previous post he talks about making sure that teachers do not get comfortable, however this year, he did. Luckily for him, he was offered to teach a new subject and a new grade level. McClung says that this opportunity coud not have come at a better time.

I really enjoyed this post just as I did with the other one that I read of his. I find it funny that the first post I read was him preaching about all of the things that we should not do as teachers such as letting your co-workers thoughts about you affect you, and not getting comfortable. Then in the last post I read, he admits to falling victim to both of those things. I think this is a great example that even teachers are not perfect and that we mess up from time to time. I'm glad that he realized his mistakes though, and is taking action to fix them. Mr. McClung's main interest is the students and making sure that they are enjoying his class. I really admire that about him because I feel that some teachers do not have the students in their best interest. I will strive to be like the teacher Mr. McClung is.

Project # 10- PLN

First Summary

I decided to go with the site Symbaloo. I made a page with all of the networks that I usually use and then I added some to use for this class. Then I found this awesome PLN that was already made with 24 useful links for teachers! I made sure to save that and add it to my homepage to use for future references. This whole PLN thing is very new to me so it's going to take time to develop it but I really like the layout and how everything is all on one page.

Book Trailer

Blog Post #8

Richard Miller: This is How we Dream

In Part one, Miller talks about how writing has been changed by the web. He grew up, like most of us, in a world of reading, writing, and publishing in print. Now things like that are all done in print, but are available on the web as well. Miller also discusses how to change teaching from reading and writing, to listening and watching. In one of his classes he taught he had students compose a print, sound, and visual document using materials available on the internet.
In Part two, Miller talks about how we, as educators, need to share our ideas with everyone via the internet. He talks about iTunes U and how you can listen to lectures from various college professors. Miller also tells us that by publishing on the web, people can have access to something faster. Instead of waiting 2 years for something to be edited and printed, we can see it almost immediately if posted on the internet. At the end, Miller stresses how we need to be inspired to move forward with technology and continue with this concept.
I thought these videos were fairly interesting. I will admit, it is sometimes hard and confusing using only technology to teach students. I am so used to reading and writing on print and only sometimes using the internet for things. However, I am prepared to continue learning about technology and how I can use it in the classroom to make learning more engaging for students. I realize this method is important and is taking over whether we like it or not. Thankfully getting help from professionals and fellow peers is easier than ever because I'm sure many of us will need all of the help we can get.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post # 12
Apparently we get to create our own blog post assignment in the future! Reading Carly's blog gave me so many ideas, I can hardly wait to get started on post # 12 now.

Carly Pugh is witty, motivated, and genius. Her blog post assignment that she created instructed us to create our own youtube playlist of videos about our philosophies as teachers. She gave 10 topics to chose from but only 5 was required. Some of those topics included: describe the kind of teacher you would like to be, tips on classroom management, describe what a good teacher is and what a bad teacher is, and ways to improve modern education. Not only did she go above and beyond with creating this assignment, she also did the assignment and created her own youtube playlist. I'm sharing it with everyone because a lot of these are so useful and I want to remember where I put all of these videos so that I can refer back to them in the future!
Carly Pugh's Youtube PLaylist

EDM 301 is Different
The video The Chipper Series , is about a college student at south named Chipper. She begins in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class and complains about his methods of teaching and never turns her work in on time. She decides to drop out of school and start her own pilot school. When that doesn't work out, she gets a job as a teacher but later gets fired for not showing up. Chipper continues trying out other jobs but ends up either quitting or getting fired because it is too much work for her. At the end, it finally hits Chipper that if she wants to succeed in life she has to do her work right and be on time. She decides to go back to South Alabama and finish her degree. All of her time was wasted when she could have already graduated and had a job if she would have taken responsibility and not give up.
The Video EDM for Dummies (obviously fake) featured students enrolled in EDM 310 that were driven crazy because they did not understand how to complete the assignments. Luckily, they purchased the book EDM for Dummies. This book had many tutorials for Skype, Blogger, Delicious, Twitter, and many more sites required for the class. At the end of the video the students were excited about doing their EDM assignments.
After seeing these videos, I am excited about making my own. I think making a video including tips on how to survive EDM would be good. I would also like to make a video that actually included tutorials of the essential tools needed for this class such as Blogger, Twitter, and Google Docs.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video is about learning to change schools to accommodate the 21st century student. The way students really remember and truly learn something is through technology. They respond to assignments better if technology is incorperated into the lesson in some way. Today, cell phones, computers, internet, and social media is the center of children's lives.
I completely agree with the arguments that are made in this video. As educators, we need to accept that and use it to not just ours, but the students benefit as well. As hard as it may be to learn new ways, it is our job to get over it because it is what is best for the future and for the students that we teach.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0
This activity was suggested by a former EDM student, Justin Commetti. Visit hisBlog Post # 12 and watch the video he has provided.
I created a comic with Make Believe Comix

Next I found a video tool called Animoto
This tool is easy as 1-2-3! You just choose photos you want to include in your video. Then choose some music that you want played in the back ground of your video. Finally, you can easily share your video in an email, through facebook, or on youtube! There are plenty of different video styles that you can choose such as: an autumn theme, a firework theme, and even a holiday theme. If you download the Pro version, it comes with many samples of music that you can use. This video tool is so simple, even a first time movie maker could use it.
Lastly, I found a great polling tool calledPoll Everywhere that allows you to text a code for your answer. The results are kept on the website under your profile. I encourage everyone to participate

Project 3- Comments for Teachers # 2

For this assignment I read Ms. Jennifer Brokofsky's blog. Her post was titled "Creating a Community of Mathematicians". It was about the month of September being a month of new beginnings and community building for teachers. She talked about building a community of mathematicians and gave a technique on how to do so in her classroom. Her idea was to constructing an anchor chart with students asking the question "What does a mathematician do?" She shared a list and picture of the anchor chart.
I left a comment agreeing with her statement she made about September being a month of new beginnings for teachers. I let her know that I loved the fact that she is taking on the task of involving the community full force. I ended by saying that it is vital to start off the new school year strong with a plan to succeed.

This particular post I commented on of Ms. Brokofky's blog was entitled "Inquiry in Mathematics". She talked about 4 important stages in the inquiry/problem solving process. The first stage is to understand the problem. If a student does not first understand what is being asked then they will fail to solve the problem correctly. The second stage is to make a plan. The student must think of a plan of attack to solve the problem. Some examples were given such as: using a model, drawing a picture, looking for a pattern, and working backwards. The third stage is to carry out the plan. Ms. Brokofsky quoted Nike and said "just do it". The final stage is to look back. The student must look over how he or she solved the problem to make sure it is right and it makes sense.
My comment to her was about expressing my love/hate relationship that I had with mathematics. I told her that my problem while in school was the first stage of understanding the problem that was being asked. I told her that I believed that the first and last stage in the problem solving process was the most important because you must understand the problem to attack it and you must check your answer to be sure you got it right.

Project 9b Prezi

The Three R's on Prezi

Project # 8

Blog Post # 7

Wendy Drexler's Networked Student

This video is about the concept of connectivism. This is a learning process that occurs online and through various networking sites. The student in this video is learning about American Phycology and uses the networking sites he learned about in class to find reliable learning sources. When he finds information, he can share it with other classmates in other networking sites.
The teacher in the video is not your everyday lecturing teacher. She is present to help guide the students in their online journey by helping them if they get stuck, differentiating between reliable and non-reliable sources, and shows how to communicate properly and respectfully to others over the internet. The teacher is also the one who presents the idea of connectivism and how to properly use this learning technique.
The internet is such a powerful tool for students in this day and age. I think it is vital that teachers incorporate the internet and various networking sites to students so that they can see that there are plenty of other ways to learn and to help strengthen the learning process. The student uses the internet to do everything for his class. He uses google scholar to find reliable resources, he posts those resources on to a bookmarking site to share with others, and he listens to various professors' lectures through iTunes. I think the concept of connectivism is something that every teacher can easily use in their classrooms.

Welcome to my PLE

This video is of a 7th grade science student's Personal Learning Environment. She has her page set up with all of her personal and school resources in one place. She uses all sorts of sites on the internet to do research, share her findings, and communicate with other peers or professionals. She is extremely knowledgeable about her PLE and it's obvious that she enjoys this way of learning. She has the freedom to do her work whenever and wherever and it helps her become responsible and a self learner.
My Personal Learning Network is nowhere near as in depth as hers is. I hope that one day mine is as organized and useful like the one in the video. These tools are wonderful for not only students, but more importantly the educators teaching the students. Working on my PLN to help make it more useful and engaging for me is something I need to work on.

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
I want to start this blog post off with my thoughts and reaction to this video first, rather than last. This man is like no other. Randy has cancer and I would have not known if he didn’t say something about it in the beginning of his lecture. He never once played the “pity” card and he joked about his sickness a few time as well. I do not know many people with cancer who joke about it. I thought he was an excellent speaker and what got me the most was towards the end of his lecture when he sang happy birthday for his wife and he ended the entire lecture by stating the lecture was not for the people attending, but for his kids.

I found his teaching methods he used at Carnegie Mellon University quite interesting. My personal favorite was the “head fake”. It is almost tricking a child to learn something else that they do not expect. The example Randy used in his lecture was football. Parents do not put their children in football to actually play the sport; they do it so the children can learn life lessons and skills. The child thinks he or she is learning football, but really, they are learning how to be a team player, how to communicate with others, how to work together, etc. I think this technique is brilliant and is used more often than people realize. Teachers can use this in the classroom multiple times. One idea that pops into my head is for a group project. The child thinks they are only learning what the project requires, but in reality, they are learning much more.

I also found his technique of not using books and only technology in his classroom extremely relevant to this class and the future. Students seem to learn more when learning from the teacher rather than the book. Students also have more fun learning this way as well. Book work can get repetitive and old quite fast, so staying away from that technique is best. Instead of finding busy work for students to do in a textbook, engage them with an activity that is both fun and educational.

One thing I noticed was that Randy’s entire class was based on projects. Projects are a fun way for students to learn which is why I think he based his class on this. He also mentioned it was another “head fake”. I’m not sure I would want to base my entire class on projects. Although, I will try to assign as many projects into my class to show that learning can be fun.

The last technique that stuck out to me was that he learned from his students. Randy did not know what to expect in the first few years of his teaching so he let the students take the reins with the projects that he assigned. He learned many things including ideas for projects for future students. I think everyone should open up to the idea of allowing the students to teach the teachers. I cannot wait to see all of the interesting things that my future students will teach me.

Time Toast Timeline

C4K Summary for Month September

Pehso was the name of the first child I was assigned. He is in the 5th grade and is in Miss Quano's Class. Pehso's post was a short video about Usain Bolt. I left a comment stating that I had really enjoyed the video and that I had no clue that Usain had won 6 gold Medals. I also let Pehso know that he did a wonderful job on creating his video.
For this week, I had a student named, Ana. She wrote a short story entitled Sunny Day. I was so impressed with her use of quotation marks for the dialogue! I made sure to tell her that and asked if the drawing included at the top of her post was something she drew herself.
For the last student, I left a comment on jacmor954's Blog. He is a 4th grade student in Hamburg, NY. His post was a short story about Titanium Guy and Dynamite Man. I left a comment stating that i like how he left the reader wanting more in the end and how I loved how he compared one of the characters to a roadrunner catching it's prey.