Blog Post 10

An Open Letter to Educators

I agree with Dan Brown that education is more than necessary, it’s essential for everyone. He then asks “what does it mean to receive an education?” This question literally made me pause. I decided to think about how I look at what education really means before hearing what he has to say. I decided that it means learning how to function and perform in society whether that is socially and/or in the work field.

What Dan Brown said was that institutional education is something that needs to adjust in order to fit today’s society. He says there are different classes which cause upper class people to have better information and more information than other lower class people. He also said that thanks to the internet, the literal price of information is decreasing.

I can definitely relate to him when he talks about having classes where your professors don’t even know your name and having books that I never even open. Although there is always a way to find help, having so many students in one class makes things a lot more difficult. The book situation is quite obvious, books are EXPENSIVE and if money is coming out of your own pocket on books that aren’t even used, that would be quite frustrating!

Another point I can relate to is the fact that in a majority of my classes, the professor gives you information, you memorize for the test, and then you forget it. This is like Dr. Strange’s despicable “burp back method”. Personally, I believe that the best way to learn is either be being put in a situation where you must apply knowledge. When I am put in certain situations , I feel that I am much more likely to retain the information.

 I love that in EDM, we aren’t tested on the “facts” we memorized. We are judged by applied knowledge. Dan Brown feels that providing students with facts isn’t preparing us for the “real world”. I would have to agree with that.

Dan Brown says that he dropped out of school because “school was interfering with his education”. I can definitely see how this could be true. If I was to base staying in school on his standards, I would only have 2 classes out of 5. The 3 classes I would drop are those classes where teachers simply provide facts and expect us to memorize them before we “burp them back” or are simply completely “over taught” where my teacher believes that “busy work” is the best way to learn. EDM is definitely one of the classes I would keep. It is a prime example of a class that I think other teachers should consider changing to.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life

The first question, “what’s my sentence?” is very difficult. I tend to be very wordy and always feel like I can write more, so I feel like I would be one to have more of a paragraph like Kennedy. His second question was “was I better today than yesterday?” I actually do ask myself this question a lot already. I have learned through athletics that this question is helpful in life as well. Personally I think that asking these questions are motivations for me. I’m the type of person who doesn’t like to leave unanswered questions and I like to answer questions in a positive way. Therefore, my sentence is “I give ALL I’ve got, every day and in everything I do, I live life to the fullest with NO regrets, and I WILL be a success and make a difference in the lives of children.”  

Additional Assignment #3

CHANGING EDUCATION PARADIGMS

What do you think is the most important thing Sir Ken Robinson says in this presentation?

The opening statement/question was most important in the presentation. Reality is, the economy is constantly changing and it’s hard to imagine what it will be like in twenty years, it’s hard to even anticipate what it will be like in five short years from now. As a teacher, it is our job to prepare our students for the future, but in reality, the exact future is unknown. What I took from this is that there is not just a standard way/curriculum to teach that stays the same every year, it might not even stay the same every week for that matter. This is important to me because I must know that anticipating change is essential in teaching. I guess you can just never really get “comfortable”, you just have to be willing to make adjustments.

Is there anything you disagree with in this presentation?
To an extent I disagree with the point about separating by age. I think that enough evidence has been researched and determined that when students begin school they are usually around the same maturity level at say, age 5, when the begin Kindergarten. Of course this is not ALWAYS true, but for the most part it is and usually it stays fairly even throughout their education career. There are definitely situations that sway this maturity, but for the most part it is true. In the presentation he points out that age shouldn’t be the factor it should be intelligence. I agree with this, BUT I also think that maturity should be a determining factor as well because a child with less maturity, but higher intelligence is not going to be as successful as they should be with “older kids”.

How congruent are Sir Ken Robinson's positions with those which you are being taught in the College of Education. In other words, where is there agreement? Where is there disagreement?
There is agreement that it is important to educate students on culture and establish cultural identity. He also says that having a degree doesn’t guarantee a job. In the past if you had a college or sometimes even a high school degree you were guaranteed a job, but now that is not a guarantee. Disagreement was in the last question partially. I believe that we are being taught to bring the lower level children up to the standards of the higher level which is not based on age.

What can you do to address the issues Sir Robinson raises?

One issue was like I said before, preparing for the “unknown future”. Also, in order to include cultures, I can make sure to share a variety of multicultural stories, holidays, and major events. Help prove that public education is beneficial. I can do this by simply caring about my job and students. I must also encourage parents and other teachers to support the education of the children completely.

Blog Post 9

“What I’ve Learned This Year”

The opening picture/quote helped me to know I would like this post. Staying positive is something I constantly must remind myself to do. Things aren’t always going to go your way, but if you stay positive, they eventually will work out for the best. The opening paragraph made me realize that not only would I like this post, but it would be very useful in my future as an elementary school teacher.

Mr. McClung writes this post following his first year of teaching. It describes the things he has learned after his first year of teaching.

First of all he expresses the need to put students first. Personally, I don’t believe that I am at all focused on myself. I realize that my main concern is my students, and that is one thing that makes me want to become a teacher. I have had teachers who have obviously not been in the field in the best interests of their students and it does nothing but hinder their learning experience. I believe that I can be the one to set a positive learning atmosphere that is focused on them.

Next is the need to be flexible. Things may not always go the way you have planned, but you can’t sulk over it. You have to realize that mistakes are going to happen but you can’t beat yourself up over it, some things simply can’t be controlled. When things don’t go the way you planned, make the best of the situation with a smile.

Another thing he tells us is the importance of communication. Communication is a difficult skill to develop but it is essential to communicate, especially with other teachers.

Another important thing to know is to set realistic goals. High expectations are reached sometimes, but then again, sometimes they aren’t and that leads to unnecessary disappointment.  “Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again.” This is very important for us to remember as well because no one is going to succeed every time.

Technology is essential. Technology is something that is a great asset to teaching and learning. It is important to know how to use it and use it in the classroom. Technology is out present and our future. It is rapidly growing every day and students definitely need to become very familiar with it.

It is also important to listen to your students. A child’s mind is amazing. You can learn so much from them about life as well as them as people. As a teacher you must know your students in order to meet their needs as a learner. Not only that, but you may truly be the only person they have to listen to them. His last point goes along with listening-NEVER stop learning. There is so much to know in life that it’s never too late to learn it.

I truly enjoyed reading this post because it was very interesting and related to what is in my near future. I know not every day is going to be perfect, but at least I know that it’s not really supposed to be!

Blog Post 8

Richard Miller: This is How We Dream
     We have the capability to communicate instantly around the world. We can get instant satisfaction using the internet. We now no longer have to take a step into a library. Using technology and the internet we can now see these books digitally that would be in a library as well as works that are strictly online. In this process of change, Mr. Miller believes in a fundamental and incremental change.
     Mr. Miller shows us the very complex yet useful concept of turning a reading and writing report into a document that is watched and listened to. This is a very neat concept to think about, we have the ability to put a full page of boring words into a presentation of videos, pictures and other things that we can interact with. Overall the things that we can and will be able to do are as endless as our imagination.
     I feel like I am becoming more prepared every day to write with multimedia. I am a firm believer that practice doesn’t make perfect, but it certainly prepares for the best outcome in the future. By using multimedia in my classes I think I am going to be pretty well prepared in the near future when I become a teacher.
     As far as my students knowing how to do this, I believe much of that is up to me. I will be teaching younger children (hopefully 1st grade), therefore it is important for me to set a good base of using multimedia. I realize there are certainly limits of how much a 1st grader can learn, but I so think that these children are capable of learning a good bit of things.


The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
     These two videos showed me that yes, there is a lot involved with this class however; it can be done by following a few guidelines. The steps or guidelines are not hard if you stay on top of your work, and they are things that are important in all classes and places of work.
     Do not procrastinate! This is a very important step in being a good student. Procrastinating will ultimately lead to poor and sloppy work and bad grades. If you do not procrastinate then you will leave yourself with more time to get other things done as well. It is also important to leave yourself extra time in case of error. For example, if your computer decides to crash the night before your assignment is due and you have not completed it yet, then might be very stressful and difficult to find a way to get the assignment done on time. On the other hand if you left yourself with time then this would not be such a dilemma.
    Being on time and going to every class is very important. As the video showed, failing can all start with not being on time or lack of attendance. In the video, Chipper’s habits of not going to class lead to her being fired from her teaching position, then when her potential "nanny" employer contacted her references they were not impressed and Chipper did not get the job.
     Personally I have always had softball to teach me the importance of attendance as well as being on time. I have always been taught the phrase “5 minutes early is 15 minutes late”. This has always allowed me to be places in plenty of time. I also had to be responsible with my grades and class attendance or there were serious consequences.
     So as we see if Chipper had just stayed with the program by doing her work on time as well as went to class excited to learn, she would have been much more successful. She wouldn’t have had to go through the pain of applying to so many jobs and not performing well them and then being fired. In the end she finally realized that it was much more beneficial to go to class and stay in class with the right mindset as well as to do all of her work. She realizes she would have been done with school a long time ago.
     I thought this video was great and funny! I think the EDM book would be VERY beneficial for me!! In the EDM for Dummies book, we see that everything we are being assigned to join and do are all for our benefit in the longrun. We will be able to communicate with a larger group of people through the social networking sites. We will be able to be more productive with our lives through Google documents and blogger. And by writing down what we have learned and keeping it organized and ready, we will not be procrastinators and will be able to stay on time and on track throughout the year. We must also take these information to be used in the future.

Podcast Project

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture:Achieving

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

I have actually watched this video before and it is just as amazing watching it the 2^nd time as it was the first. Dr. Pausch’s attitude towards his unfortunate situation is absolutely amazing!!! It’s hard to imagine being so positive when you are literally facing death in the near future. Instead of sitting around moping about what he is going through, he does the exact opposite by setting an example to others to have a positive outlook on life, no matter what the situation.

Some methods he used to keep attention was humor. I really enjoyed some of his witty comments. My personal outlook on life is “sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying”. I think this quote is so true because being sad and miserable only makes you feel worse. I personally know this because I have been through a lot of health problems in the past year and at this point doctors still continue to do tests and haven’t found the exact cause. Dr. Pausch’s humor method teaches that even someone who has it worse off than me can still be optimistic and laugh, then so can I.

The fact the he got down in the middle of his lecture and did pushups is amazing in itself. And like he said, he is in better shape than most of the people there. That situation in itself goes to show what a great teacher Dr. Pausch truly is. Without even being there, I can sense the amazement from his audience.

He also told stories that related to real life. Things he mentioned were things that many people have or will someday face. This is another instance where he did a fantastic job of gaining attention. The story about his football coach riding him was great for me to hear. I play softball for South, and there have definitely been instances where I have been rode by my coaches pretty hard. It’s always good to remind myself that “when you’re screwing up and nobody’s saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up”. I must always remember that the ones who tell me when I am wrong are the ones who truly care. I also loved his quote, “experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you want”. This is a quote that is so important to be remembered in any and every situation that might not be “ideal”.

 “The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough.” This quote was very inspirational because it too can be related to almost any situation. It goes to show that when you persevere through the tough and rough situations, you will be rewarded greatly in the end.    

I think that I could truly watch this video over and over. It is so inspirational and touching. I am a major quote-freak, so all of his “life quotes” were great to hear. I would advise anyone to watch this. Although it is long, it is definitely worth it for the lecture (and performances) you get.

Additional Assignment #2

HOW KIDS TEACH THEMSELVES

1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves? I believe that teaching yourself is very important in the learning process, whether you have a teacher or not. It is important to find a way to be motivated to learn because reality is, you will not always be spoon-fed information.

2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves? I believe that anyone can teach themselves. I’m not saying there shouldn’t or doesn’t need to be teachers too, but in my opinion, learning is not only knowing what someone teaches or tells you, sometimes you have to discover things on your own.

3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself? Determination, concentration, and focus. It is important to know what you want or need to learn. Next you must have concentration and focus to be able to fulfill the learning experience .

4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process? Computers and internet access are very important. You can find practically anything online and computers can be used to do many things. There are many connections available through the computer and internet as well.

5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn? Motivation is essential in anything in life. If you don’t want to learn something or don’t want to do something, then you probably won’t do it and if you do, you probably won’t be very successful at it.

6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process? All of these are things needed in order to know what you want to learn. For example, problems require solutions, and in order to find this solution you must first LEARN how to solve it and this requires motivation. Questions require answers and in order to find answers you must go through a learning process in order to understand the possible answers to the question and determine the correct answer.

7. How do you motivate someone to learn? It is hard to motivate someone to learn. I believe that much learning comes from within and through self-motivation. But as a teacher some ways I can motivate my students would be to provide rewards. Whether these rewards be bonus points, free time, or some type of “prize”, most of these are things children would enjoy having. Another way of motivation as shown in the video is the "grandmother method", which is simply encouragement.

8. How are you motivated to learn? Personally I am motivated because I want to graduate and get a teaching job. I know that those jobs are hard to come by, therefore I know my competition is high so that motivates me even more.

9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn? To an extent people who aren’t motivated can learn to learn. I believe they must first find some type of motivation though. If not, I don’t believe that the person will be a very successful learner.

10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why? There are definitely times that I must teach myself. When I am at home doing homework or a project for a class and I don’t know how to do something, I have no choice than to motivate myself to learn how to do it. Most likely I would use the internet to search on what direction I may need to go.

11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning? Teachers provide information that I can learn. It is my choice to decide whether or not I want to learn it.

12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video? I believe that these children are special because they want to learn. I don’t believe that teachers should be replaced by machines though. I think it is funny that the children would google their homework. I admit that I am guilty of doing this too, but I also think that it has actually TAUGHT me material and that I didn’t just use the information and forget it.

Project #10 PLN Progress

So far I have enjoyed creating my PLN using Symbaloo. Some links I have already added are Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. I put these because they represent not only my friends and family, but my teachers and classes as well. I also added links to AT&T email, Jaguar1 email, and Gmail. I use all 3 email accounts everyday to communicate assignments, messages, schedules, and many other things between friends, family, teachers, coaches, and classmates. Personally these accounts are something that I rely on heavily. I also added links to Wintzell's Oyster House, which is where I worked over the summer and continue to work occasionally on weekends. This is part of my PLN because I made money which has helped me get through this semester of college. I also learned a lot about people and the restaurant industry as well. The link I added to the South Alabama Softball website is because I attend South on a softball scholarship which pays for my books and tuition here at South. Not only that, but the things I have learned on and around the softball field are things that will stay with me throughout my entire life. I look forward to continue to add to my PLN because I know I have a long way to go.   

Here is a link to my PLN on Symbaloo http://www.symbaloo.com/mix/stephanie-dunaway

C4T #2 Summary

The first blog I read of Steven Anderson’s was “Feeling overwhelmed? Join the Club”. In this blog, he expressed how overwhelming it can be for new teachers to decide what tools are most useful in their own classroom. Technology has become much help to the learning and teaching processes over the years. It is important though, to know when and what to use. In my response to his post I said that it is important for teachers to not “do too much”. I think it is essential for teachers to feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible when in the classroom and therefore it is important that they are confident with the technology they use. Personally I will spend more time learning and becoming comfortable with 1 or 2 different tools and find out how much the benefit children. If they help promote learning then I will keep it, if not, I will begin using a new tool. I believe that “if it ain’t broke, done fix it”. Where most teachers find themselves in trouble and overwhelmed is usually when they feel pressured to use a tool that they don’t necessarily understand completely and aren’t truly prepared to use.

The second post that I commented called “Images We Can All Use” was a video about how to find Creative Commons photos on Flickr. I learned that it is important to choose photos that are labeled for reuse. In order to do this, you must go to advanced search to find the box to check “Creative Comments’. After clicking search, it only shows the pictures that are okay to use. This post and video is really helpful to anyone who reads/watches it!

Here is a link to his blog http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/

Timetoast Project #9a

Timeline

Blog Post 6

The Networked Student

This video was very interesting to me and I really enjoyed the end of it most. Because of this class I believe I have become a networked student more than ever. I have been introduced to have a high regard for researching through the internet and using technology to my advantage.

This video talks about connectivism, which is learning as the result of having a social network of diverse connections and ties. In EDM 310 we have definitely practiced connectivism by connecting with other students and professors. I know that although blogs are mostly based on opinion, there is still much to be learned by them. A reliable cite that is available for me to check facts would be through USA Online Library.

I enjoyed the part of the video talking about iPods being useful for more than just music, like audio and video podcasts. iTunesU has courses recorded by professors across the country. This allows access to the best professors and best colleges across the world. Most everyone I know has an iPod, so this is a very helpful piece of technology that is available by many.

Videos can be shared with other people and can help other students just as he has been assisted himself. Not only that, but new tools are being created everyday which will provide for better communication which in turn leads to more knowledge shared.

In response to the question on whether or not teachers are essential for a networked student, I strongly believe that they are. Teachers are important to provide instruction on how to build this very important network. They help to initially get started building the network as well as provide assistance with problems and questions. Teachers also help students to recognize good and bad information. Teachers also assist with organization of all of the information found. I don’t know how I would have ever gotten this far without assistance and I know that without further help I will not improve as much as I strive to.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

This student had a very neat and organized PLE. She was sure to keep her social networks separate from those for school. I think it is very impressive that a student as young as 7^th grade is so technology literate. It goes to show how much and how fast technology is expanding in our society. This definitely came in handy when she was creating her certification to handle animals in science class. Her entire PLE was very unique and educational. Things sure have changed since I was in 7^th grade!

The Machine is Changing Us

Mr. Wesch comments relate to me in the aspect that media does shape us. I believe that as media and the news change, conversations obviously change as well. At times it can also affect actions as well, for example because of crime. For example, last year when all of the emails and news were discussing the armed robberies on campus, I was VERY timid when it came to walking from my car to my dorm, locking doors, and answering doors. I would always have pepper spray in my hand when I walked anywhere. The media obviously changed my actions from being semi-careless to very aware of my surroundings.

Another affect of the media/televisions is that in order to fave a “voice” you must be on t.v., an example he gave was American Idol, which is one of the most followed shows. Another example is the use of words that come and go, for example “whatever”. Personally I say “whatever” all the time, so that kind of made me laugh.

I enjoyed the explanation about not really talking directly to a person when you are on facebook and other social networking cites. It is true, you are talking to a webcam or on a keyboard. You never really know who you are truly talking to. This can be dangerous sometimes, although I usually know “who” I am “talking” to, the point is, I am not really “talking” to “them”.