Blog Post #10

I'm a Papermate, I'm a Ticonderoga

In John T. Spencer's cartoon I'm a Papermate, I'm a Ticonderoga, I am a little confused as to what he is trying to state. I think he is trying to say that pencil and paper cost less but are not as affective, and that technology is very useful but expensive. The papermate looks like an old professor who uses pencil and paper only in his classroom. The Ticonderoga looks like a newly graduate coming to teach her class with technology and new ideas. Technology may be very expensive but I think it is the most useful thing to have.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games

Mr. Spencer uses a very unique approach in his writing. In a lot of his post on his blog, his post are written in dialogue. They represent him and his students talking about learning and education. I read a bunch of his post. Two of them stood out and really got my attention. The first on was Why Were Your Kids Playing Games? This post was about Mr. Spencer and his boss talking about him teaching his students with a game. His boss thought it was uncalled for to teach with games. I think that is a very good way to introduce a lesson, or make a point more clear. Some students need to see things hands on.

The next post I read from Mr. Spencer's blog was Remember Pencil Quests?. This post was a conversation between Mr. Spencer and a student. They were talking about a scavenger hunt, and moving text books. I like the thought of a moving text book. A moving text book is not just looking straight at the text, it's adding more eventful things with it.

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

In Scott Mcleod's Blog Post, he approaches blogging, twiiter, social networking, and other things associated with technology as the most awful things ever. In the end of his post, he says how he is using all of these things and he thinks everyone should. I am so with Mr. Mcleod on this. Not everything on the internet is bad, and not everything with social networking is bad either. Both can have its advantages and disadvantages. Kids will be kids on the internet. If they are monitored correctly nothing will happen. My students will use blogging, social media, and other aspects of todays society.

Project #11 Green Screen Movie

Project #14 SMARTBOARD Presentation Part 1

Blog Post #9

Mr. McClung's Third Year Reflection

In Mr. McClung's third year reflection there were a lot of firsts. It was his first time teaching at a school for two consecutive years. Also it was the first time to be a head coach, coach cross country, and to teach computer applications. In this reflection his first point is know who your boss is. He often finds himself getting caught up in who likes him and what people think of him. Teachers often get consumed in other things and forget that students are their primary focus. His next point is do not expect others to be as excited as you are about change. Mr. McClung says he is the geek in the corner coming up with new ideas, and actually using them. You have to enjoy the aspects of teaching and not let the others steer you in the wrong direction. The next point discussed is to not be afraid to be an outsider. He says that as a teacher you can not worry about what others think about you. You have to do what benefits your students and do what is best for them. The next point he discussed is do not touch the keyboard. He says that if you take over and do it for your students they will not try to do it themselves. They will not take it upon themselves to learn on their own. The next point is to not get comfortable. Mr. McClung says that if you get comfortable you will fall back as a teacher. When you get comfortable you start slacking and not doing your very best.

This reflection has really opened my eyes to being a teacher. I realized that teaching is not just a walk in the park. You have to actually try and do your very best. You can not always worry about what others think of you, you have to do what is best for your students. Mr. McClung made many great points in this reflection. He is learning new things each year, and he is not getting comfortable. He is trying his very best. This is exactly what I am going to do when I become a teacher.

Mr. McClung's Fourth Year Reflection

In Mr. McClung's fourth year reflection he learned many different things also. The first point he talks about is you dance with who you came to dance with. One thing he has struggled with this school year is coping with his peers. He worried so much about what his peers thought, or what he could do to please them. He finally realizes that teaching is not about that. Teaching is changing the lives of your students by helping them learn and be successful. The next point he covers is challenge yourself. He found himself using old lesson plans and becoming lazy. He started challenging himself to do better. His students became more eager, and so did he.

I think this reflection is really helpful as well. Its nice to have relationships with other teachers you work with. Do not worry about impressing them or anything else. They are in the same boat as you are. Also, do not become to comfortable with your everyday routine. Your lessons will result in this, and other things to follow. I plan to try and stay motivated to do my very best. I will challenge myself to do so.

Project #12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #8

Richard E. Miller Discusses Writing With Multi Media

In Richard Miller's video he discusses writing with multi media. There are many ways that teachers can use this in their classroom. Mr. Miller loves to read and write. When he first started doing some of his multi media writing, he would have three windows open on his computer. He would have one window for the internet, one window for documents, and another with the essay he is writing in. He explains that some books we read in the library or at home we get tired of and throw away. On the internet, in the virtual library books last forever. Technology also allows us to add pictures and links into our work. Any story or essay is a lot more interesting with pictures and animation.

In part II, he discusses how often technology changes. A webpage almost changes instantly. At one moment you can be looking at one thing, and after refreshing you see something completely different. He explains ITunesU and shows us how this works. I think this tool could be very helpful and useful to students. He thinks one day students will not be taught to write with old word processors but with digital composing processors. I think this is very possible, and a great idea!

I would love to use this in my classroom. Therefore, most math students do not use word processing technology much. I want my students to make the internet one of their key tools though. If I were teaching a subject like english, I would absolutely use multi media in writing. I think students would enjoy this method more, and be very eager to learn. I am almost positive that this will make help students improve.

Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

In Carly Pugh's blog post she crestes an assignment as if she is Dr. Strange. Her assignment is too create a playlist consisting of 10 songs on YouTube. The songs are going to be answers to questions on creativity, motivation, and other things. Dr. Miller also uses this method in his writing. When he writes, he uses videos and other resources to answer questions. Carly is using a playlist instead. The internet is a big factor in representing these questions that are being answered by songs and videos.

The Chipper Series and EDM for Dummies

The Chipper Series is a video of a girl and Dr. Strange discussing many topics and making videos in a series. Chipper does not want to learn, she wants to be taught. She thinks procrastination is a good thing. She eventually finds out, in EDM310 you have to learn on your own instead of being taught. The next video, EDM for Dummies is EDM310 students typical first week of class. Students are lost, and do not even know which way to turn. Eventually, the students learn how to use twitter, and blogger, and other tools. They use these tools to complete their work. Another great video that could be created to help students, is a survival video of EDM310. I think that would be a great idea.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

In this video, are people discussing the change that needs to happen to get students back on track with learning. Technology needs to be a part of the classroom to get students involved, and participating. Many teachers stick to the normal daily routine of reading, writing, lecture. There has to be some action in the classroom for it to be enjoyable. I hope my classroom is the place to be when I start my teaching career. Technology and computers will be components of my classroom.

Scavenger Hunt

1.) Edmodo is a social network for teachers that is similar to facebook and twitter. Teachers and students can create accounts to keep in touch with one another, and to follow different subjects. When I signed up I followed Math, because I will be teaching math. I think this site is a reliable source, and could be helpful to teachers, students, and parents.

2.) PhotoPeach is a tool that is udes to make slide shows with built in shows and quizzes. For educators this can be useful. Students can sign up for free, and submit their work under their teachers name. For teachers, the cost per month is $9 for 50 students and $125 for 150 students.

4.)Animoto is a vdeo tool almost like imovie. I think imovie has a lot more features. Animoto can stream many movies together to make one movie. You can also add sound and pictures if you choose.

C4T #2

Post #1

The teacher I was assigned to is Mrs. Krebs. She teaches junior high school, language arts, and science. Her post was about an activity she uses in her classroom called genius hour. Genius hour is where her students make up any kind of question or activity and presents it to the class. Mrs. Krebs tells the students she will not judge them and to use their creativity. After presenting it to the class, her students talk more about it on their blog. She left this post with two questions. Do students need specific learning goals in genius hour? Must students be able to explain why their project is worth learning?

I commented on this post and told Ms. Krebs that genius hour was a wonderful activity. It gets the students thinking, and having fun while learning. Students are able to be creative, and present to their fellow classmates and teacher. When presenting they are showing just how creative they truly are. I also told Mrs. Krebs that I would love to use this idea one day when I have my own classroom. I am very interested in Mrs. Kreb's Blog.

Post #2

The post I commented on this week was titled "Connected Learning: Thanks To My Neighbors". Mrs. Krebs posted about her PLN. She has decided this was her personal learning neighborhood. She thinks of her PLN as her personal learning neighborhood because everyone she has included in it has a special spot. She has many different people that can assist her with many different things. She has grown close to them like neighbors. The next topic she discussed was using technology and teaching. She says that technology has greatly improved the learning environment and she uses it when she teaches.

I commented on her post and explained that we have just started our own personal PLN. I hope one day my PLN is so advanced that it can become my personal learning neighborhood. I hope to gain many resources to add to my PLN. I also told Mrs. Krebs that I love the idea she uses technology in her classroom everyday. I hope one day every classroom is furnished with the technology it needs to help students succeed. Hopefully by the time I have my own classroom this will be available.

Project #9 PLN

1st Progress Report

When I started my PLN (personal learning environment) I was overwhelmed with all the options that were there to choose from. There are many resources available that can be added to your PLN. I started using Symbaloo, and it is very helpful. I organized facebook, twitter, blogger, and other social networks into one corner of the slate. Then, I organized all email accessories into one corner. I assorted google, the weather, and other informative things in another corner. Then, all of my resourceful contacts into the other corner. This Symbaloo application can be very helpful when everything seems to be all jumbled together. It is so simple to use, just click the little tile you want to use and it takes you directly where you need to be. I am looking forward to improving my PLN, and making it more useful to me.

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture



Dr. Pausch used many different teaching methods while teaching at Carnegie-Mellon. In his video Randy Pausch Last Lecture he discusses many of his techniques of teaching. One method he used was achieving your childhood dreams. Every child has dreams they want to achieve. Dr. Pausch has one dream he did more than achieve. It was Imagineering. He actually got to teach a class on this. His students loved this. They were assigned a project to create a virtual world. They completed this project within a few weeks. Dr. Pausch thought their work was absolutely great. He would have gave all of them A's if this took them all semester. He got advice from a fellow professor on what to do. This professor gave him very good advice. He told Dr. Pausch to tell his students their project was good but they could do better. This showed him just how great of work they could complete.

Another aspect Dr. Pausch used was brick walls. His theory was that brick walls were there for many reasons. The main reason being, they let us prove how badly we want things. He discovered this when he was graduating from Carnegie-Mellon. He wanted to work for Disney in Imagineering. Disney sent him back letters saying they did not have any open jobs available. This brick wall told Dr. Pausch to prove he really wanted this. He finally got the opportunity to work in Imagineering. He showed his bosses this was meant for him, was offered another job, and turned it down. He finally realized teaching was meant for him. He wanted to show students how to overcome brick walls that stand in their way. He did just this with his college students.

Dr. Pausch used another great method in his classroom, which was using technology. He did not like teaching from books. He wanted his students to teach themselves, and to learn from themselves. His students taught themselves a lot with technology. His students made virtual worlds on their own. They presented their work and did very well with this. They worked in groups, and all worked together. Group work is another method Dr. Pausch used. His students were assigned projects with their group, and they completed them and presented them, then moved on to the next assignment together. Technology and group work are great together.

The methods that Dr. Pausch used in his classroom will for sure be used in my classroom. My students will be assigned technological assignments, and will also have to work in groups to complete some of them. Achieving your childhood dreams is important also. I hope I can help my students in any way possible to achieve their dreams. For the most part, they will have to accomplish this on their own. Another thing I will help my students with is knocking down those brick walls that get in their way. I will teach my students that they have to prove how much they want something to achieve it. I can not wait to start helping my students!