My EDM310 Blog Assignments are NOW COMPLETE

I am excited about this being the last one. I have learned a lot in this course that will help in the future. I have learned to type a little faster than before. I have truly learned how to paraphrase a lot better. I enjoyed doing the podcasts, presentations, and making Dr. Strange laugh. I have learned more than I could contain. I will use everything that I have learned in the future. Thanks Dr. Strange!!

ACCESS lab visited

I visited an ACCESS lab with Amelia Perkins, Myrenda Howze, and Larrica Smith at Davidson High School. We were taken on a tour by Mary Claire(?). At the time of our visit a class was in session so we weren't able to explore the lab hands on. Our tour guide told us basically everything that we had already read and blogged about. She encouraged us to look into getting a job teaching an ACCESS class. The tour lasted all of ten minutes. It probably could have been longer if there wasn't a class already in session.

Teacher from another state

The teacher that I contacted from another state was actually my aunt. Ms. Vera Hines is a biology teacher at John McDonough #35 High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has been teaching for over twenty years. She Has been using technology in the classroom for almost ten years. She makes all of her students sign up for emails using it with professional email addresses so that they can put them on their resumes. She emails them important information that they will need, such as: due dates, special science events for extra credit, announcements, etc. Thirty percent of her assignments technologically based. She even gives them at home tests that must be completed on the computer and submitted at a certain time. She calls it preparing them for college and the real world.

+ > -

This class has been very helpful to me. It further showed how much I am computer illiterate. I have slowly learned somethings over this semester on how to work with and incorporate technology into education. This blogging thing had me a little confused at first, but now I got a hang on things. I have enjoyed displaying my thoughts and ideas about the different subjects we were told to write about.

I did have a hard time with adding the pictures and then making it visible or audio for a blind person. I don't even know if I did that correctly or not. I did enjoy being able to view the other classmates blogs and being able to compare their thoughts and ideas.

As a future teacher, I just may continue with the blogging for my students and their parents.

The Blogs of Other Classmates

I decided to write about two classmates and their blogs. The two that I have I chosen to review have both helped me through this blogging thing more than they will ever know it. They both have contributed tremendous thoughts, ideas, and opinions that are sure to keep you interested in what they are blogging about. They both were detailed in their blogs. They seemed to have enjoyed these assignments. When I did not know where to begin, all I had to do was look at their blogs to get started. They were consistent and always on time with posting their blogs. They never missed a beat. It is because of them that I was able to catchup on my blogs. Thank you Jennifer Harris for making your blogs so detailed. Thank you Myrenda Howze for making your blogs understandable. I would not have gotten through this without you guys!!

Duke University

The South in Black and White was a podcast where professors are encouraging students at the university to take a class to learn more about the history of the south. The course will incorporate views from speakers of both European and African descent. They will each share their views and feelings on the life struggles that people had to and are still going through in the south. They want students to be able to look into the past to make their future better.

As a teacher, I am going to have to continue to be open-minded and accepting to all my students to show them that we are all family no matter our race, gender, or social status.

EDM310 Podcasts

I have enjoyed listening to the podcasts of the other future teachers as well as the one I was a part of. I must say that after listening to my own, it did not sound as bad as I thought it did. I strongly suggest that the next time I do little more research on my topic before I discuss it. I could have been a little enthused about my topic. I must say Larrica Smith did a swell job on the podcast. She kept the questions coming for me. Overall we completed our task even though it was just the two of us.



The next podcast I listened to was done by Danielle Tasker, Stephanie Ellis, and Jalisa Mobley. Their podcast was on the same subject as the one me and Larrica talked about, " Facebook as an educational tool". These young ladies did an excellent job going into depth about facebook and how it works. They gave wonderful examples on how it can be used as an educational tool. They pointed out things Larrica and I did not talk about. It is a good thing Dr. Strange had two sets of each podcasts so that everyone can get different views of each.



The third podcast I listened to was the discussion about Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. Daniel Griffin, Brandy Wimberly, and Amanda Bentley were the podcasters. The overall podcast was great. Daniel did well, but he needed to work on a few things. He needed to choose his words carefully, think before he spoke, and allow his fellow podcasters the opportunity to finish their statements before cutting them off and speaking over them.



The fourth podcast I listened to was a discussion on the subject of YouTube being an educational tool. The podcasters included Adrienne Lynch, Brian Stevens, and Joylyn Reese. They did an excellent job with answering the question. They all agree that YouTube can be used as an educational tool. The only thing that needed to be fixed were the long pauses in between the speakers. Their flow could have been a little more steady.



Every one of the podcasts I listened to were very insightful on the subjects. They gave great examples on the subject and how they can be helpful and incorporated into educational.

Incorporating subjects in Podcasts

Judy Chandler is a Technology Integration Specialist as well as a Mathematics teacher. She is also a Math Mentor trainer for the Maine Mentor training Initiatives. She strongly dislikes teaching math straight from the book. She encourages teachers to integrate technology into their teaching skills. Students have a high level of technological education at an early age. Students will grasp concepts of any subject better with technology.

Fixed OR Growth? You Choose!!

The pod cast that was viewed was about the research of what mindset was better, fixed or growth. Carol Dweck did some research on a class to see if students prosper and learn more with a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is when students only want to learn things in the way they have always learned it, so they can feel extra smart. A growth mindset is when students don't mind learning new things in a more challenging way. Students have the tendency to grasp more in a growth mindset.
Carol Dweck did her research with a class, where she divided the class in half. One-half of the class was taught using their fixed mindset. The other half of the class was taught using their growth mindset. Once the students returned back together after eight weeks, everyone noticed that the half of the class that were taught with their growth mindset had a tremendous advance in their study habits and schoolwork. the half with the fixed mindset, stayed about the same from where they started.
As a teacher, i would rather have my students learn with their growth mindset. They will be eager and excited to learn and try things in a more challenging way. As a student myself, i think i would have rather learned things in a more challenging way. It makes you even smarter!!

Video Podcasts!!

Booming Sands was a video podcast that was about some researchers doing some research on some sand dunes and the booms they release. The researchers discovered that when the sand dunes released their boom, they released some acoustic energy. The sand dunes also release the "G" note when they went BOOM. The video pod cast about the solar eclipse was really good as well. It gave a really wonderful explanation about how and why solar eclipses occur.
Both of these scientific based video pod casts, as well as those in other subjects, are great teaching tools for teachers. Students would love to watch educational videos that grabs and keeps their attention. Teachers would also appreciate the extended explanations as well!!

On the OUTSIDE learning IN!!

The Edible Schoolyard and A Night In a Global Village were video blogs that gives a different view on ways to teach students outside of the classroom.
The Edible Schoolyard incorporated household things with school work. They planted real food as well as prepared it to eat. Not only was it fun, it was a very good learning experience. It also gave them a sense of responsibility with tending to the gardens. They were really proud of their work.
A Night In a Global Village showed the students how other people live in different parts of the world that were less fortunate then they are. The kids got a chance to experience the "hardships" for one night. It really made an impression on them and gave them a different view on how to appreciate life. They also learned how to communicate better with others that weren't like them as well as extend out a helping hand to them.
I hope that when I become a teacher i am able to come up with creative ideas to incorporate with as many lessons as possible. i hope I am not a boring teacher that ends up in survival mode that is always burping back.

PODCAST

Pod casting/podcast are never ending conversations. Everyone was flowing and staying on topic as well keeping us attentive. Although, for the most part, they were all similar.
Kid casting was the most different, because it was the only one that had only one person speaking. All the other pod casts had multiple speakers. Smart board weekly was a pretty good podcast to hear. they allowed special guests to come on the show and discuss new and developing ideas.
This Week in Photography and Mac Break Weekly are good pod casts for people that are interested in furthering their knowledge in pictures and photography. Mac Break gives out advice on which cameras are the best and which ones to buy.
I am not sure i myself if I am ready to do my own podcast. I hope I am I can keep talking for the amount of time we are supposed to talk.

FLOWER FROM PICASA

 

Dr. Randy Pausch & His Last Lecture

Dr. Randy Pausch seemed to a wonderful man. He always focused on helping others fulfill their dreams, because when he helped others he was fulfilling his on dreams. He was one who enjoyed time with family, fulfilling dreams, and having fun (just like me).
Pausch had some wonderful ideas for education and teaching. He began a computer program called ALICE. It helped students learn computer programs that were hard and made them seem easy because they were fun and exciting. Randy didn't care too much for "book work". He felt as though students learned better with "hands on" activities. "Hands on" activities are much more fun than learning by the book. LEARNING SHOULD BE FUN!!
Dr. Randy Pausch also believed something that I too believe. We believe that students aren't just learning from teachers, but they are teaching the teachers as well!

IPODS & ITUNES

IPODS were given out to first time freshmen at Duke University. It was a good idea for them to do that. It helped them to remember important dates, freshman orientation, and it was one less Christmas gift the parents did not have to buy. It was a good way of incorporating new age technology into the school work.ipods
ITUNES are very beneficial to those students that aren't able to make to class for what ever reason they decide to be absent. They could use ITUNES to perhaps catch the lecture or lesson that they missed the day they were absent. It could also be used to help some students study and prepare for test. It can used during study sessions. It is a good way to improve grades and test scores.itunes

My Presentation

ALICE CHRISTIE

The Alice Christie site was very interesting. I saw a lot of things that can be useful for me when I begin teaching. One thing that I saw on her website that I already had plans on using was the rubric. When I was in school all my teachers used rubrics to grade all of our projects. They always handed them out the day they informed us about the project so that we will know what we will be graded on. It was very helpful. I enjoyed the virtual field trips as well

WIKI WIDE OPEN

I was already aware of Wikipedia and their easy access of changing information at your own discretion. I found out about it three years ago my first semester here at South. My English 101 teacher informed our class that it wouldn't be a wise thing to use wiki as a source for our paper, because of the freedom of being able to change information. That same day I went home and tried it. I didn't go all the way through with it because I was too scared. it is really easy to do. i recommend no one use that to gain any credible information.

ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS!!

The Fischbowl blog I took a peek at was about one hundred eighty days of school or sixty days wasted. I may have to agree with him on some things, such as time lost and wasted on absent days, standardized tests, and unnecessary drills. I think one day should be added back, because ACT testing are done on Saturdays. Some of those assemblies with guest speakers could be a time of instruction(depending on the topic of the guest speaker). Somethings aren't under human control, like hurricanes, tornadoes or other catastrophic storms. Those days aren't lost for long, because those days are usually made up at the end of the year. I think we are in school a little more than one hundred twenty days. It could be more like one hundred thirty days!!

TECHNOLOGY? WILL I BE ILLITERATE?

"If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read or write." Mr. Fisch may not have sounded nice to those teachers who are illiterate when it comes to computers when he quoted this. Although this statement is true, not many teachers are up for change. Technology is rapidly changing and hard to keep up with.
Even though I am a part of this new technological generation, I fear that I am technologically illiterate. This is due to not having teachers getting us prepared and motivating us for the change of times.Fischbowl

BLOGS ALL OVER THE WORLD

A middle school class from Auckland, New Zealand is one of many international schools that posts blogs. These students are able to blog about any and everything they want to share. They enjoy blogging about their families, games they play, school work, and any thing in which they participate.click here
A fifth grade class at an elementary school in Tauranga, New Zealand, as blogs internationally. Their blog displays things that they have learned for the day. There is also a cute little prayer titled "A Blogger's Prayer".click here

BLOGS IN GRADE SCHOOL!!

In Morganton, NC, a Salem Elementary School 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Putnam has set up a classroom blog. She created this blog to inform and update parents about what is going on in her class. She also list homework reminders, as well as acknowledge the students that perform exemplary in the class.
In Noel, MO, a Noel Elementary School 5th grade teacher, Mr. Chamberlain has also set up blog for his class. Just as Mrs. Putnam, Mr. Chamberlain posts things for his students and their parents. His classroom is viewed by international schools as well. If you would like to visit these sites for more information

click here
click here

did you know because i didn't

The video featured on the Fischbowl has shown me how advance other countries are more advance than the United States. Although the U.S. have the means to be the top country in the world, they are lacking in what should be the most important thing for the citizens. They would rather upgrade technology, than expanding their minds by learning things from other countries.

we all need ACCESS!!

Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students Statewide, or ACCESS, is a wonderful education tool for high school students and teachers. It allows students from the Alabama public schools to take part in higher learning course and other extra curricular activities that may not be offered in their schools.
students are also offered the oppurtunity to have video-conferences with certified teachers, as well as other students, from other high schools throughout the state of Alabama. ACCESS gives students a sense of responsibility for their learning.

ALABAMA LEARNING EXCHANGE

The Alabama Learning Exchange, or ALEX, was created to help serve as a reference or resource for teachers. ALEX provide teachers with the Alabama Course of Study, web links, lesson plans, as well as offer teachers the oppurtunity to share their lesson plans, ideas, and knowledge with other teachers.
ALEX will be extremely useful for up and coming teachers, such as myself. It will help me personally when I may have a tough time deciding how to prepare my lesson plan or which Course of Study should be met in my history or math lesson.

A little bit about Theola

Hello, my name Theola HInes. I am currently a junior majoring in Elementary Education. I am the youngest of of five kids from two beautiful parents. Some people usually call me the spoiled child, but that is not true. Anything I want I buy MYSELF without the help of my parents. One thing that will sure to help you to remember me is that I always try to wear something yellow. Look for the yellow, because my hair never stays same!!

my first post

hello everyone