Blog Post #6

1.) Wendy Drexler's Video The Network Students 
   Wendy Drexler's video is about how a student in the 21st century can learn better, meaning that they are not bound everyday by textbooks and lectures, when they use all forms of technology properly. Here it shows a young high school student who is learning much more than in a traditional classroom setting because he is using different forms of communication, finding valuable research information and knowing how to share/comment to the world. He is shown that he had the tools to do these and more the whole time but that he did not know how to use them. This video is how the teacher in the 21st century will need to change and adapt to our continuing flow of information in order for their students to be ready for a world that no one even knows will look like in five years. Before, a teacher used books, field trips or pictures to teach and what they learn they could not share will those around them and this was the existent of their requirements. Now technology has condenses our world so small every person can share their thoughts or opinions on any subject and present this to the world for others to read it, comment or use in their own discussions. Teachers are not alone in their classrooms anymore because now they can be linked to others across the world or see a event happening in real time and use it in their classrooms to show that something as everyday as a cell phone can do wondrous things.

   The program shown in the video is much like the class set up in EDM 310 and I love that there are others who want to us this in their own schools. No one comes home from school and talks about how great their teaches' three hour long lecture on rocks was but instead they talk about how they talked to, who did what and the latest news. So why not combine this two and show how they can use what they already have to find answers. Where are the Monarch Butterflies today in their migration? Show how you can use maps and interviews to find them or even track them to see if they will be coming near you. How do I change a flat tire? Show how to find the company website for instructions, where to find the right tools and what you need to do after the tire is fixed. What would it mean if all of the people in South America were to learn English this year? Show accredited websites to compare the number of English speakers today, how much it would increase should this happen and what changes might happen as a result. Each of these can be used to show where to go to find the right information, comparing it or explore it further by first showing how to find this information. Teachers of the 21st century must understand that the hunger to know why is in every student but the skills to find the answers are what they need to learn. 

   At the very end the viewer is asked "why does the networked students even need a teacher?" and I was happy to see that our answers were the same: to teach. I did not know how to use Twitter, how to compare information from the internet or even how to correctly comment on another's blog until Professor Strange taught me. I knew how to use the computer and he showed me how to push those boundaries by learning new skills and sharpening old ones. When classes like the one shown in the video are made they must be run by someone who is willing to see where a student is, show where they need to be by the time they leave the classroom and the patience to explain again and again what they are doing. Our first day we were told to set up an e-mail address but there were those who did not know how to do it and they were helped. We then had to make a blog and even two months later we can look and see what we are doing wrong or can do differently but even after all of this the main goal of both this class and the video is being accomplished: we want to learn more and are using what we have gained from the class to do it. 

2.) My Reactions to A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

   I am very glad that this system of learning is being used in classrooms today because it helps to teach much more. Here you are in charged of not merely when to do an assignment but also how to do it and present it. In this short video I saw a student learn about time management, how to use the internet to find her answers, what she needs to do to correctly site her sources and how she wants to present these for peer review while still learning science. She also seemed very excited about how her class is set up because she said that it does not feel like she is doing homework but instead she is having fun. When compared to my own it shows that I need to expand it more and to find a similar way to organize my searches and findings. I also want to look into the Glogs so that I can have multiple blogs about different subjects at the same time. I believe that since she is using these skills so young she will continue to learn from them and by the time she keeps to college she will be ready because she will know where to go and what to do in order to succeed. 

Project #10

Finding the Right Tool

   After college I will be going for my masters as a Media Specialist and I hope that when I am finished I can work at the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library in Atlanta, Georgia. There are many different schools in the area that can use it for their classes and I want to help connect the students to the rest of their world by using Skype or Skype In the Classroom. I could go into the classrooms and either have a destruction time between the two classes where they can each ask questions to the other or maybe have a debate over a topic chosen ahead of time. I could set this up so that every week or every two weeks have the selected classes talk to each other and use it to help explain the different cultures, lifestyles and people in general by having them actually see it. And on some days just have them all talk to each other about their day, what field trips they have been on or what their favorite foods are and see if they all can become friends. I could even have each classmate chose one person from the other country's class and also write letters to them thus adding handwriting and communication to what they will learn. 

  When Skype first came out my family used it to talk to one another from several states away and when changes happened instead of talking about it we could show it. Recently we used it to show off a new house as well as the decorations in each of our homes. By seeing it we were able to connect to it even when what we were seeing was far away; I want these students to have this same feeling for others in the world. Too many times we hear about someone getting hurt or a natural disasters in another part of the world, say "Oh No!" and then go about their lives. With Skype I can show that the world is much smaller than they believe, that there are people who have the same loves and dreams that they have all around them and that they have the means to connect to them safely. That is the final part that I would also teach because while I know that not everyone will continue to write or use Skype I still want them to be safe. 

Blog #5

1.) Krissy Venosdale's post "If You Built a School"
  After reading several post by Mrs. Venosdale I learned that while she is a special education teacher who loves everything that is taught at Space Camp.  She is also a teacher who loves her children and would do anything to help them learn and grow. I loved her description of the school she would build if she had a "Willy Wonka" moment and if I was a parent I would do whatever it took to get my child in her school because of its main goals: for children to learn and grow as students and as a person. Too many times we have lost teacher who could have been great but turned to teaching what is needed for an exam only instead putting the passion to learn in their students. My favorite part of her school is a tie between the grade level system and the tree in the library. In her school if you could not read or write then you stayed with your teacher until you could because their education was more important than "getting" them to the next grade. There they would be ask "what don't you understand?" instead of "why don't you understand?". And the tree in the library brings back memories of bringing my books to my cousins' tree house, finding a corner and getting lose in a books' pages for hours. If I were a child again I would find as many books as I could and hind out in the tree until I could not keep my eyes open. By using what a child knows and sees if Mrs. Venosdale was to make this school it would be the greatest second home any student could ask to call their school.
  If I could build a school I would create a place where the students feel safe, where they are treated with respect and dignity, where being called "smart" was a compliment and where they can grow into the responsible, loving person they can be. I would make a gym large enough for the whole school to be in and each morning every student and teacher would run around, play and exercise before going to class. I would hold my teachers and students to a high standard and never make them feel that "okay" is good enough. Music would play in the halls and lunch room all day. I would make sure that everything that they could eat in the school I would eat myself; meaning no "bad" meals, drinks or snacks. Every May there would be a big trip for each grade as a reward for all of their hard work and it would be the students who choose where to go. I would have professors, engineers, doctors, DJ's, anyone who would come to meet with the students and talk about what they do every Friday. I would place awards like "Johnny Made His First B+" or "Mary Has Added a New Group Discussion Question For Her Class" on a board in the entrance of the school so that everyone can see that no matter how small the change they make in their lives that they are all winners. I never want a child to go home saying that they were board, that they did not learn anything today or worst that they did not care about school anymore. That is the one thing I never want to happen.

2.) My Reaction to: Jennifer Chamber's post "I think I have become a Blogger" and Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
  Other than "WOW!" and "I can't believe that this could happen" what else can there be said about this unique choir? This man, Eric Whitacre, has used the internet to create not only this breathtakingly beautiful and moving piece of music but he has also shown that even those separated by oceans or mountains can still make wonders. In the past unless you knew each other and could practice together you would work hard to put on a show but only be able to show a very, very small amount of people your work. This video proves that such a time is no more. We have become so connected into technology that after such a feet as this has been accomplished we can no longer say that we are limited or that we need to think small. I hope that this has inspired others in the world that even if you only have a small piece when paired with others you will create something bigger than anything before.
  I have only seen something similar to this done with only one person, Nick Pitera, and have included two of his videos from YouTube. Enjoy.



3.) My Reactions to: Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts
  I believe that Kevin Roberts thinks that to teach in the 21st century is to not see facts as the only aspect of learning but that now we must use every search engine and collection of statements, blogs or videos to engage students today. I agree when he stated that in the past you went to a teacher if you had a question but now with technology in every point of our lives a teacher must teach character, problem solving, how to use what you already know and what to do/where to go when you have a question. Fifty years ago a teacher used maps or news clippings to explain WWI&II but now a teacher can show videos of the war, testimonies of those who survived, plan field trips to visit museums dedicated to these wars and more because the world has become more connected and smaller than in any other time in history. He is saying that as teachers we can no longer spew facts at students and wonder why they do not understand the workings of the world. There is no more excuse to why a high school student going into college does not know how to use the internet for research, how to compare reliable facts and how to be professional. This information is out there but so many times the means of finding these answers are used to watch cartoons, make movies of their latest tricks or to find somewhere to eat. We are teachers who must show how computers, cellphones, blogs, podcast, etc. can be used to expand a students' understanding of the world by connecting them to the world.

4.) Flipped Classroom
  After watching the videos about flipping the classroom I was very surprised how such a changeling problem of teaching every students was solved with such a simple answer: give them the information first and then answer questions in the classroom. I liked how Ms. Munafo used her video Flipping the Classroom - 4th Grade STEM to explain the changes in the classrooms and the reason for these needed changes while using the same system of video learning that the students will be watching. It helped answer my own questions about the program and could be shown to her students as an example of what their class videos will be like. I do want to use this in my own classroom because I love math and reading which happen to be some of the hardest subjects to teach but with the help of FIZZ by Dr. Lodge McCammon I might be able to fix this issues before they start. In Dr. Lodge McCammon's video  Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipped the Classroom he brings light to the problems of past teachers where they spent 90% of the class time lecturing, only 10% of the time allowing the students to apply the lesson and where in both parts of class they were never engaged. By flipping the classroom it changes how, when and where a child learns which allows them to ask others questions, to look for these answers on their own or to see how the lesson is used in every day life. In Katie Gimbar's viedos Why I Flipped My Classroom and Flipped Classroom - FAQ she give first hand testimony that by making these changes those who were struggling were helped, those who were not challenged had the means to move ahead and those in middle were helped to push themselves forward. On my first day as a teacher I will not ask about my parking spot or my desk but instead I will begin to create my own "Flipped Classroom" and hit the ground running.

My Sentence Movie Project

Blog Post #4

Podcast Preparations
  The three resources that I chose to help me with my teams' podcast as well as any I do on my own are "Listening-Comprehension-Podcast", "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom" and "1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook".
  In the first titled "Listening-Comprehension-Podcast" I learned how to understand any language you have not only listen to it over and over but give a feeling, a reason for each word with your voice. We do this everyday on the phone, in person and even with text but when it is required that we stand before a group and speak it is as if we loose our soul. At first I thought that such a task as speaking into a microphone was easy until I tried it on my own and I was shocked to hear my voice because nothing was there. I had none of the excitement, wonder or, in one case, an evil laugh to my words. I did not like it. I now know that before my team and I begin to practice for our podcast that I need to practice on my own for a while first in order to bring life into the words. I do not want people to fall asleep while listen and I know that no one will act as if I was the most interesting person in the room but to merely have them listen will make all the difference.
  In the second called "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom" it shows that by using podcast in the classroom I can do more than simply have notes or study guides on hand for absent students but with reading, group discussions and projects too.What I liked most about this link was the reactions of the students. How many times have you heard a child ask to listen to the lecture from school instead of the radio while on a road trip? How many times has a child had this hunger for learning?  I saw that same look with the students in the last link titled "1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook". In the podcast they were really acting out what they saw in their minds and their voices helped to create that words thought I could not see them. With the help of these links and others I believe that my team and I will be able to complete our own podcast with pride and hopefully continue using this. I plan on creating a blog just for my nieces where I can use the podcast to record me reading their favorite books and they can listen to me as many times as they want. By the time I enter my own classroom I will be able to use podcast in every way for my students.

Project #5 Presentation

Project #3

My Comment to Martha Yim's "The Parents' View" Blog
Subject: Childhood Obesity and Recess
  In Mrs. Yim's blog she discuses the fact that while the number of obesity children and adults more and more schools are doing away with recess and many ideas as how to help fix these problems. She talks about an idea that she used on her own students to have snack time outside and, only after they are finished, they could use the rest of their time playing. Even though there were no balls, ropes or other equipment for them to use they simply played as children do and the aspect of her determination to make some form of good to come from their circumstances is inspirational. How many times has a teacher, when their own recess was taken, simply said "oh well", go back to lecturing and then wonder why her students are not doing well? We as future teachers need to be more like Mrs. Yim and not just set down and accept what has happened but instead use what we have to still help our students while we fight to bring it back.

  In my post in regards to her blog I stated that I fully agreed that by banning recess we are causing more harm than good for those who will in changed of our futures. I stated that simply having a good mind does a person no good if they are by healthy; ask any child, student or parent if they are capable of completing their work if their body is not working properly and they will say no. Though I did not have space to place it I also wanted to say that it is the same as if one puts a new engine in a demolished car: no matter what is on the inside you still need all part of the car to work together in order for it move. I also wrote how to teacher can except a child to sit still in a chair all day and listen to them lecture. As a season babysitter I know that when a child can go outside to play they can complete their work easier and become a happier person in general. At the end of my post I did ask her if it was possible for teachers to change the setup of the school day, to make P.E. mandatory and if she had any tips or thoughts on where a new teacher should start.



My Comment to Martha Yim's "The Parents' View" Blog
Subject: "To Deal or Not to Deal that is the question!" 
  In Mrs. Yim's blog she talked about her issues with public school and private school when she heard how horribly her friends' child was treated in school. Every parents wants their child to grow up happy and healthy but she shared her friends' concern when while her child was not allowed to change classes for good reasons a child that was a constant problem for the school was able to change class three times. She also said that her friend wanted her son to be able to stand up for himself but it did not seem that anyone other than his mother was trying to help him. She talked about how in high school she walked out of many of her classrooms and went to the principal when she realized that the teachers where not in fact teaching. She was not afraid of her teachers I believe that if more where like her, to be able to spot those that were not doing their job, then maybe there would be more teachers like Mrs. Yim who would have helped a child like her friends' son instead of acting like she did not care. She then asked if "do you think that it is good for children to experience all of the complications of school or to shelter them from this environment so that they can get the best education possible".

  In my post in regard to her blog I stated that I did not believe that exposing a child to all the horrors that come with school was the best way to prepare them for life. I have been in public school, private school and have also been home schooled but it was when I was home schooled that I learn the most. Many times my mom and I would go into Manhattan and she would use all that the city had to offer to teach me. With history museums, art shows, plays or even parks I was able to see, feel, taste and smell all parts of the subjects and was able to understand them on a new level. While searching on the internet I found that in every test possible those that home schooled out preformed those in public and private school in both the classroom and in the real world. I also found that those who had been home schooled demonstrated "healthy social, psychological, and emotional development, and success into adulthood" more so than those who were in public or private school. I loved it when I was home schooled and when I have my own children I will home school them too. There is no reason to place a child in a place where they will be bullied, told how to learn and only taught what the school board deems fit.

Special Blog Post #1

Many Students Misinterpreted the Data in Did You Know? 

   Part 1: Answer Questions Found In Blog

   What is the population of India?

      1.21 billion 

   What is the population of China?

      1.35 billion

   What is the population of the United States?

      309 million

   In the Did You Know? video one slide read that if you took the top 25% of Indian people with the highest IQ's they would outnumbers the ENTIRE population of the United States. This means that of the 1.21 billion people in India there are 302.5 million who have the highest IQ's. Another slide estimated that there are 18 million Chinese who now speak English and 300 million who are currently learning to speak English. It goes on to state that if the 300 million Chinese who are learning English accomplish this goal they and those who have already learned will outnumber the ENTIRE 309 million population of the United States. Of China's population only about 23.56% will speak English. In the final slide it stated an "If-Then" scenario about India and the United States: IF the best 25% of K-12 students are designated to be Honor Students THEN they would outnumber all of the K-12 students, both Honor and non, in the United States. This is a simple concept to state since India is at least four times the population of the United States. Before we begin to panic, question where we are in the world or become angry that other counties are learning English at a fast rate we need to look at all of the data. What is the point in stating your opinion when you do not have all the pieces?

   I believe that the objective of the Did You Know? videos is to get us thinking that the world is changing at a much faster rate than it ever has in the past. In recent history one could go weeks, months or even years before news from other lands or even within their own nation could reach them. No one knew why some people got sick and died while others seemed to be protected from the disease. We now live in a time in history that allows us to access more data on our smart phone that someone 100 years ago could have had access in a lifetime. We have information and technology literally at our fingertips. One could study all their life and only grasp a fraction of what the world today is offering. Now that we have been shown this we need to stand up and give our students the tools and skills they will need in order to weather what is to come because as distant as our parents' time seems to us that gap will continue to increase as the days pass. Did You Know? was meant to inform us of our world, get us thinking about it on a new scale and show us that the world we know will soon be a distant memory but most importantly it ask this one question: are you prepared?

   Part 2:

   I believe that Wolfram Alpha will be a great asset to my classroom because first it allows you to compare two similar or different items together to see their relation and, just like with Did You Know?, it will make my students think. As stated in the blog I did two different types of searches one about animals and humans and the other about life and death. The first search I looked to compared the number of known animal species at 1.396 million to the number of humans 28.894 million in the world. At first glace one might think that we are the dominating part of the world but then you missed an important piece. Read that again: the number of SPECIES, not the individual animals but the different types of species there are in the world, to the number of individual humans. That means that even if there were only twenty-one animals in each species that they would still outnumber humans and many have hundreds or thousands in their species. I would use this to show that while we may be able to walk, talk and build that we are not our numbers are some of the lowest on the planet. I would ask them how it made them feel to know that a simple ant on the sidewalk could outnumber their own family tree. I wonder what they would say and what would change in them. 

   In the second search I compared the average death rate of 154,995 per day to the average birth rate of 371,124 per day in the world. While there is only 0.0093 minutes between deaths it is even less for births at 0.0039 minutes. With these numbers there at least two babies being born before someone dies.  If these numbers are true, the world population is growing twice as fast. Think of the world as a computer with a limited capacity that allows it to hold X amount and people are the files. Everyday we are born we make a new file and when we die that file is deleted but when there are more files being created then deleted then the system is in trouble. If I was a high school teacher I would challenge my students to think of ways to fix this before the computer, or world, crashes. Trips to Mars? One child laws for all? No children until you are 35? I wonder what they would tell me and, if they found an idea that would help, would I have given them the skills needed to follow such a change at a new world?

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

   What Gary Hayes has done is at the very least extraordinary because he has gathered a wide number of everyday actions in Social, Mobile, Games and Heritage and tallied them by the second for any length of time. Before the count was created to tell someone that "lots of people" clicked likes and placed comments on Facebook you are simply stating an opinion that, while many will say it is true base on their family or friends' time spent on Facebook, at the end it is still seen as an opinion. Why? You could not prove exactly the number but now Gary Hayes has changed that and more. Now not only can you know the number of videos uploaded to YouTube versus ones watched on Netflicks but you know...you KNOW their numbers. No matter what you have been told in the past it is numbers that hold the most power in the world because they decide on what is selling, what is not, what people do the most on-line or how much money is made in virtual games. They decide who sinks or floats in the business world but that is only half of what we are seeing when we look at the "Count". It shows that while we now can do whatever we want now we can see how many times people around the world do it too. We know and that, while scary, is the second half for teachers.

   Think back when books were rare, treasured more than jewels or coin, and how the very thought of seeing one was the greatest high point in many lives. Move forward to when the printing press was invented and more people, even the common folk, could be given the written word. While many might have thought that its value would go down the world was given a taste at what was out there and they wanted more. Now come back to today where literature is seen in every form possible everyday whither we like it or not and books, a once sought for treasure, many see as a forced class assignment. It is too easy today to buy the short version, cliff-notes or other types of cheat sheets for any book so that one dose not have to read it and it saddens me. As a child I loved looking through the library for some new adventure to join in my dreams and that joy has never left but now many hate the thought of reading and if an adult does not like how can their student? I am very worried that the world I am heading for values books less than it does today. I can only hope that I can crack that media shell long enough to show them that learning must come in all forms, both old and new, or we will miss everything. 

Blog #3

What is Peer Editing?

   Editing...that one word causes my hands to sweat, my stomach to curl into knots and be bombarded with memories of past self editing. To add peers to the equation makes it worse. I always felt uncomfortable about showing others my writing and that black cloud became darker as I tried to rewrite when my paper was full of remarks like "I don't get this," "wrong word," or "I didn't like it." On the rare chance I found someone who could say, "this is what's wrong," or "I don't understand this part, could you explain it?" I began to improve because they told me exactly what I needed but I was still scared to edit another's work. My own sisters and mom tried to help my proofreading but I still felt stupid when I made a mistake. I kept thinking that if I cannot write then why should I edit another's paper? What authority did I have to tell them what can make it better when I cannot even write one sentence without three misspelled words and a fragment? I have never known solid rules of editing but now I finally have a stable, proven plan. After working the videos and the slide shows, I have a step-by-step map of what I need to do and say in order to help them in their writing by me spotting the mistakes so that both of our skills can improve. The slide show helped the most in explaining my course of action when editing, like how to properly word suggestions and the way I am to act when I am editing so I show them respect for their writing, which was the only part I already knew. In middle school, I remember a teacher told us that when we edited we were to act as if we are the other's guest and to treat both them and their paper as we would want them to treat us. I liked that in every link, even if one link talked less about one topic than the other links did, these authors made it clear that respect was key.

   After I was finished watching and reading all that was needed for this part of the blog, I received an e-mail alert that my blog had a new comment from Jessica Strickland. I was very impressed. She followed the rules of editing, told me what she liked and listed corrections that I had missed. What she did next actually made me almost cry because when she gave me suggestions on what I could improve on her words were so kind. At no time did she write, "you idiot, why did you use that word?" or "that opinion was stupid." Instead, she politely gave her own view on my comment and even gave her own story of when she too feel in love with reading. This was a perfect example of the manner in which I too need to write in my own comments and editing from now on. So far, only my sisters and mom have read my writing. So this blog is the first time I am letting others see my work and I did not think that those outside my family would like what I say. I am still scared but, though I my not be running to publish a post, there is definitely more speed in my steps. I remember a verse from bible school, right before I entered middle school. In Proverbs 27:17 it states that "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." It reminded me about what each link was stating, that in order for us to get better at editing and writing we must keep writing and editing and encouraging one another.

Assistive Technologies

   Even though I knew that there are those who cannot see or hear in everyday classrooms, I never really thought about what is needed to teach them simple subjects or how to even begin teaching them. I am very grateful for these videos because not only have they stated the issues that are present in today's classroom, from them not being able to participate in group projects to understanding the concept of numbers, but also what we are future teachers can use and do to help. With the Mountbatten video, they showcased a machine, think of it as an intelligent type writer, that creates each letter in braille as it is telling the student what they have typed. It addressed the issue that many blind students face in that they cannot write an essay, make list or notes in the classroom. If a teacher cannot read braille, then they do not know where the child stands academically. This remarkable technology will allow blind students to be more included into the class by being able to write essays and be a part of "peer group projects." The machine also translates the braille into written words on another computer screen so that the teacher can see their performance on paper and have proof of what they know and what they need to work on. While this machine helps for a child to spell and write for language, there is another in San Francisco that is hard at work with the most difficult subject for the blind: math.

    The in the video titled "Teaching Math to the Blind," University of San Francisco School of Bushiness and Professional Studies Professor Art Karshmer shows a new tablet and block system for teaching math. Basically, each small block, about the size of a quarter, has the number written visually and in braille on them with a bar-code under it and a tablet about the screen size of a large laptop. When the students want to place the number on the tablet, they scan the bar-code, which tells them aloud what number it is. When they place it on the tablet, not only will it state where it is but state the math problem they have created as well. Numerous times I have seen braille written on bathroom signs or a special section of the library full of braille books, but not once did I think about math having a form that students with visual impairments could utilize. I suppose, like so many, I assumed that the system of teaching was the same for a student be they blind or not. Professor Karshmer stated that math is two-dimensional and because this tablet physically shows them where the numbers need to be they begin to understand the subject and have a chance to go on to fields that need math, thus opening up knew doors for them. If I were to have a blind student in my class, I would like to use both of these great inventions but I would also like to use a more physical take on their learning as well. Bringing in items from nature, different shapes or even the plants and animals found in the books so that they can place what they have heard and read to a touch. I do not want them to be an outsider in my classroom and will do whatever it takes to show them the world around them and what lies beyond to give them the chance to chase their dreams no matter what. 

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

   Wow. After watching the "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" video, what else is there to say? After hearing about Mrs. Davis' fight and victory to not only get her students thinking and working on their own, but that she connected a small, rural community to the rest of the world, I feel inspired. How many of us, if the only available job was in the rural part of the south, would have taught for one year and then left saying that you were not going to be able to teach about the world with books alone? Or worse, stayed, saying that we did not care? Mrs. Davis did neither of these, but instead used what her students already knew about technology as her base for both her work and theirs. First, she gathered all that they knew, twitter, blogs, phones, etc. and explored those further by showing them how they need to gather information, where that information should come from and why they needed to look on their own instead of asking her. She wanted them to be free thinkers who, when faced with a problem, would work to find a solution. If they could not find it, she wanted them to be able to present what they needed to know so that both Mrs. Davis and they could learn. She even stated that she did not know how to use the Terraform system when they started and that she learned along side the students; she also stated that she was amazed at what they could do in any a few days. How many times did your own teacher say that?

   But, Mrs. Davis did not stop at showing them all the different ways the internet could be used; she also showed that by connecting their work to the internet, they would become better writers and thinks. Just as we were shown in the first section of "Peer Editing," we all need the advice from all walks of life and more than our own eyes to spot both our accomplishments and mistakes. If I were to write an essay stating that energy efficient light bulbs were not worth their high price and that they should be thrown out, I would only get the "peer editing" version of corrections from a small sample of people when I turn it in and nothing more. If I were instead to blog my essay online, then the whole world would be able to see it and give comments that would help me. What if I did not realize that I was basing my essay on one brand of light bulbs, which were deemed inefficient for saving energy? What if I was given a link to were I could see how much energy the light bulbs in my own house used? When I think of Mrs. Davis, I am reminded of my eldest sister who is a teacher because while she may not have done what Mrs. Davis did, both of these women loved their students and worked hard to help better their future. Every day my sister would come home with new stories about the day, ideas for projects and more than one night I was helping her collect and cut out what they would need for the next day. If something happened to her students, she would find a way to help them. In retrospect, I realize now that they looked after her when she was pregnant as if she was either their mom or sister. These are the kind of teachers we need to be: ones that love their children and who do whatever it takes to help and care for them. 

Blog #2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version 
  After watching both the original and Professor Stranges' version of "Did You Know?" I became very frightful that the world I am in now will be radically different once I enter the academic community. We all remember watching cartoons where they showed a future of robots, lasers and seeing computers in every place on earth. But, how many times did we really sit down and wonder "could this really happen in my own life time?" We are now at the moment where what we thought was make-believe is becoming a normal part of everyday life. What makes it worse is that our children in the United States may not be ready for what is coming. Both films stated the same facts: the sheer amount of technology available is staggering and the ease that we can obtain and share information is so great that what we are learning now will outdated before we can even teach it to others, let alone graduate. There has been a constant flow of knowledge that man has tried to further with each new discovery, language and action that now we have reached the end of this river and stand before a mighty ocean that we may never fully understand. And, it is this unknown that frightens me the most because if I see it I think "what a great adventure" but when I see children at its shore I wonder "are they ready or will they drown?".
  The last question that Professor Strange presented at the end of his own version was "are you ready to be an educator?" and honestly I do not know if I am ready. At the beginning of this, I kept thinking "I know how I'll teach this subject," or "I can't wait to help plan the book fairs around what they are learning that month." My mind swirls with ideas like guest speakers, small group projects, and science fair projects, but having been introduced to these videos, I just do not know if I am ready. It is one thing to be in charge of taking care of your niece or nephew, a friend's child or helping out at a day care, but to be in charge of teaching about thirty children for one-hundred-eighty days and be expected to get them ready for the next grade, for life in general, is terrifying. Today, I will be expected to learn and relearn material that will, before my students can even have the chance to use it, become obsolete and replaced with another system I am to learn and teach again and again and again. Thanks to that video, I wonder if I am even qualified to teach a single child. Part of me envies the teachers of two-hundred, one-hundred or even fifty years ago because what they taught did change over time but the changes were very small. But, I have hope because the children that they taught in the past have grown up to bring about these magnificent changes and advancements. I realize the job ahead of me is big, but I am always ready for a new challenge. And, I am not ashamed to say that I am looking forward to learning and teaching myself new information to keep myself current so I can help my students forge a path through this abundance of information at their fingertips. 

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman
  Mr. Winkle is like a modern-day version of the popular Rip Van Winkle. Instead of waking up to find all that he had known to be changed after the American Revolution, he awakes in our own time and wanders around to see its mysteries. First, he visits an office and is perplexed by the "strange sounds" that fill its rooms, the boxes that give you paper with images on them and screens that allow one to talk to another person on the other side of the world. Feeling confused and unwell by this on-slot of changes, he sought a hospital but soon became frightened by what he saw: men and women being kept alive by machines that breath for them and lasers being used in operations in ways that he never thought possible. Realizing that this place would not make him better, he wandered off again until he came across a children's school and went inside to see how much it too had changed. Hour after hour, he watched as a teacher stood in front of the room and lectured to the students who would then write notes, just as he did in school when he was their age; he did see a computer in the room but it was covered in dust and no one used it. Upon leaving, he stated that "it was comforting to know that even after one-hundred years that some things still remain the same." Here, the outside world never entered the classrooms and Mr. Winkle liked it. The video is very true and, when you think about the "Did You Know?" video, its very sad to think that in the span of one-hundred years every piece of life has changed except for the education system.
  I remember on my first day of college, after I had just been giving a laptop from my parents, having my first professor say that "all forms of technology were banned from his classroom." He said that education was different from technology and that in order for us to learn we did not need its "help" to distract us. For lack of better words, I thought that he was nuts. How can we, meaning both the professor and the students, be surrounded by technology everyday and then be told to cast them aside when it comes to education? From apps on where the local bus stations are to verbal translations so we can understand others of another language to cars built to protect both us and the environment, we have made technology a part of our lives. To continue to try to sever this connection is ludicrous. Instead of teachers and professors spending their time trying to separate 21st-century knowledge from 19th-century teaching systems, we need to use it to explain the world on a different scale or, just as in the reading assignment, we will lose our students and they will choose to not learn. While thinking about what to write, I kept asking myself what made me want to read, write and learn as a child, which followed me to adolescence and right away I knew the answer: it was because a teacher used what I liked to explain what we were learning and showed me that there was more outside my own world to discover. That is the type of teacher we need to be and the only way is to accept what was is not working any more and try to use what the students like - be it movies, games, books and even other subjects to show them the beauty of learning if we are to prepare them for the future. 

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
  Sir Ken Robinson is right on all parts -  the main goal of education when we were children was to get us ready for jobs in the real world and any things of free thought, be it music, dancing or singing, are seen as useless. We were told not to worry or put much effort into them since we would not have a future in such fields and that we needed to pick a more practical means to earn a living. I once had a friend named Jacob who was the best artist in the school, but in four short years he went from a bright artist in middle school to a common, everyday student in high school who worried more about grades and less about his passion. Using Ken Robinson's words, he was "educated out of creativity" and I believe that the world is worse because of it. The longer I was in school, the more and more I saw this happening just as Ken Robinson said: children were taught math and reading first, humanities second and the rest, meaning art, music, dance and drama, was pushed to the side. But I did my best to hold on to my love for the arts and, just like the young girl who told that the reason she won't sit still was that she was a dancer, I had others who told me to use what I loved in all that I did or it would not have meaning for me. But the best advice was from my mom and sisters, who everyday told me that even if others don't agree with the results I was to always do my best. 
 The best example I can share of this happened when I changed my major to Criminal Justice. Our first paper was to explain the concepts and theories of any part of the first chapter and I chose people who became vigilantes to either protect others or seek vengeance on their enemies. Most would have chosen a famous court case with lots of media attention or a book they had to read in high school and still had notes on them but I used comic books and videos games instead. I said that sometimes vigilantes were the "good guys" who could help others that the police could not get it, like Batman or Superman, and that while yes some take to such extremes that they are viewed as a villain, like the Red Mask, that we need them. They, like Assassins Creed, were needed to help clean up what the justice system could not stop on their own and to destroy them was to destroy the last hope some have for the world. When it came time for the papers to be returned, the professor stated that while many papers were very good  there was one, she did not say their name, that was the most unique in their examples and what they thought on the subject had heart. I began to be sick thinking that mine was none of the ones she talked about until I got my paper and saw her note that stated she loved how I used all types of example to back up my views, that none of them were from the same genre and that I did a very good job. Ken Robinson was right when he said that "if you're not prepare to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original." That day, I began my journey to somewhere that I would be happy with what I did and where I would use those same words of encouragement to show that we learn more from our mistakes than the world's victories. 

Pinterest: Using Available Resources
  Since the beginning of Pintrest, my sisters, aunts, cousins and my own mom have been a part of it and have used its pages to plan weddings, baby showers, share recipes and even help with ideas for their classrooms. Until we were told to truly investigate it and all that it has to offer, I never really thought that Pintrest had a place in the classroom. How could a place were my mom looks for dinner ideas and my sisters find ways to decorate their baby's room help with education? Now I know how wrong I was and that long after I have left this school I will be using this site to help my students. Of The 20 Best Pinterest Boards About Education Technology, I found four that I would use the most, not only for the ways that they use technology in their own classrooms, but how they present it to future teachers as well. The first is Patricia Brown. Her main focus is not only how to use the IPad in the classroom and its benefits with her own students, but videos of what she has done with her IPad and her top apps to use. My favorite was the animation app where she made a short video to teach about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The second is Debbie Fucoloro and her Pintrest page is perfect for beginning teachers who want to incorporate technology into the classroom. Here she gives tips on creating blogs, videos and how-to guides/guide lines for writing blogs and leaving comments which I have already begun to use.
  The third is Rachel Friedrich has the full collection of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Magic School Bus and Reading Rainbow to use in your classroom as well guides to using twitter, webcams and fun timers for the kids. My favorite was the rocket where its fuse grew shorter as time ran out until the clock reached 00:00:00, shot off into the sky and exploded with the words "You're Finished" shining on the screen as if it was a real firework. The fourth and final board I wish to use in my classroom is by Education World, mainly because he or she uses parts of the world that the kids like to show the science sides of it in a fun way. One link was about how Harry Potters' invisibility cloak now has become a reality with news of one very similar being tested. Also, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory have found a way to make water droplets to float in mid air. He even shows a download for the smart board called "music box" where dozens of colored dots dance around the screen and explained he or she uses it in the morning when the class is about to come so that they students rush quietly to the classroom and are quiet when it begins. 

Project # 2 - Wordle

My Thoughts of Thoughts 

Try to follow a thought, see it fight its way and listen to what its learn.

Blog Post #1

About Me
     My name is Cari Raymond and I am the youngest of three.My oldest sister is Rachel and the middle sister is Britney. Being an Army brat, I have recently lived in Satsuma, New York City and Newnan, GA over the short span of seven years. I came to The University of South Alabama as a transfer student from the University of West Georgia last fall. My dad decided that he will be retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Army this March. One aspect of me that most people don't know is that I have a "Bucket List" that I add to or alter every few weeks that holds the dreams I pray will one day come true. My parents have said that things like skydiving and owning a motorcycle will have to wait until I'm on my own insurance. Though I have never been able to actually write it down, I believe this year might be different. I love to draw, paint, cook, write children's stories and most of all, I still have that same joy to read as I did all throughout grade school. While others were content with learning only the minimum of what we needed to know, I wanted more. When others saw this quest for knowledge strange, I found my only haven to be the library. There, it wasn't strange to see me going from shelf to shelf collecting a book or two from every genre and finding a chair to hold my body, while my mind to flight beyond my own world. And though I didn't understand why I could get lost in words that could be anywhere between 2,000 years or one week old, I knew that I had a passion for reading. Wanting to know why and how something was in the past and how it has changed today drove my hunger.
     It wasn't until I was about eighteen years old my family and I discovered that I had a mental disorder called Asperger's Syndrome. Basically, those with Asperger's Syndrome have minds that are mainly wired for book smarts, facts and logic. While they may be very intelligent, they can't understand sarcasm, jokes, personal space, social cues or even when someone is getting angry. The most popular examples of these personalities are Dr.Temperance Brennan from "Bones" and Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory." I had to relearn how to talk to others, to plan my day, even being shown that when I thought I was laughing with my friends, in truth, I was being laughed at. I'm happy to say that these years have produced a more confident me than what I could have been had I not been diagnosed. College offered me a new challenge -what did I want to be when I grew up? Looking through research and comments about the work placements of those with Asperger's, I found myself  at one woman's comment that "she thought back at those who were kind to her and told her she was not strange before she learned of her disorder and chose to teach others about children and disorders so that they could have a better childhood than she did." I thought back to the library, about my teacher showing me a website of Media Specialists and what they do. I decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I want to show other children that same hunger for books that I still have so that they can have that same firm first step in their school days too.


My Future Classroom
     In my future 5th grade classroom, my teaching style will be a mixture of lecture, class discussion, hands-on assignments, presentations, field-trips and special guests. I am neither a simple person, nor do my tastes run in only one or two genres. Simply look at my music list, and you will find songs ranging from rock and country to opera and jazz. My classroom will reflect these traits. No one is able to learn a new task or lesson the same way twice and I am no exception. While I may be able to understand a new lesson by sitting and listening, I know that if I can ask questions, hold what we are learning in my hands and see its place in today's world, then the lesson gives new meaning that I will want to remember. Looking back at my past teachers, the ones that I can remember the best were those who told me exactly what they expected from me. That is the type of teacher I want to be for my own students: one that tries to show that they can be more and do more simply by following the rules and pushing yourself more than they did yesterday.
     On the syllabus, I will list what we will be learning each month and try to have at least one class discussion in the middle of a new lesson. If there are any questions they students want to ask or topics that they want to know more about, I can use those new ideas topics to create real world connections. I also plan to assign several projects throughout the year where each student will have an opportunity to present it to the class. One example of this idea might be to have the students bring in their favorite books and tell what they learned over the years from each. Another idea might be to allow them to come dressed up as their favorite historical figure and do a Q-and-A with the class. I never enjoyed school when all I was asked to do was memorize what to learn for an exam. I want to teach with a variety of different methods to prevent this from happening to others.
     My students will be asked to look around the room their first day, to touch the computers in the "Mini-Lab" and to sit in their "Reading Time" seats near the book section. I want them to see all the new settings they will be spending time in for the new school year and to be able to ask questions. When they are seated back in their desk, I will explain that what it means to be respectful of our classroom. I will explain that taking care of our classroom would look like returning books back to their spot on the shelves, picking up paper off the ground if they see it, or helping each other clean messes. Ultimately, I want to teach them responsibility and respect. I believe that if you teach a child to follow the rules in a classroom that they will begin to follow the rules in their own home, which instill responsibility long after they have graduated to the next grade.
     If at all possible, I will overlap different subjects together so that my students can see that even though they might not seem to have anything to do with each other, they can learn more because of their differences. For example, if we are learning about spiders, I can utilize the computer to have them research different kinds of spiders. Then, I could have them read Charlotte's Web and create graphic organizers. I could also take them to an exhibit where spiders are showcased and give them hands-on experience with biologists. I never want my students to go home and say that what they learned that day was boring, but that they had an adventure.

Dr. Pausch and Time Management
     The first time I heard anything about Dr. Pausch, my Mom told me about a book called "Last Lecture" and that I should read it. I was not able to read it until we moved to Newnan, GA and began to read what Dr. Pausch taught. I don't think I knew what its impact would be for my life. This professor, this husband and father who was slowly dying from a cancer that he could not win over, used the last time he would be able to teach from his classroom to show his students how to embrace life. I do not know if I would be able to look my students in the eye and talk to them about living a fulfilled life when mine was being cut so short. But, that is what Dr. Pausch did and many, many people, both in that classroom and around the world, are better for it.
     Watching Dr. Pausch's short clip from his famous "Last Lecture" left me laughing, crying and learning within its few minutes. Though he is gone, his works still help to bring new lessons that I have been trying to stride for in life. Though I have never be taught or heard an example of time management that involved eating a toad, let alone three, I understand what he means by starting with the most difficult task first. In my first semester of college, it was not unusual to find me on a Friday night making a list of what needed to be done. But, just because I made a lists did not mean that I accomplished those goals in an appropriate time frame. And, more times than not, my grade would reflect such a lack of effort. It took a great deal of time for me to begin a new pattern of time management. Thankfully with the help of my sisters, mom and several calendars, I have been able to change and place my steps in order to reach my goals. This journey, not the one called EDM 310, college or even a degree but life itself, can only be successful if we begin to see what the hardest parts are in our paths and take action.

Optional: Time Management Exercises and Lessons
     Any one who knows me, whether they are family or study group members, know that I have a very big problem with time management. I cannot count the nights my Mom has come into my room at midnight asking what I was doing and I would give her an excuse like, "I forgot to finish the assignment," or "Rachel is looking over the essay for tomorrow." Not to joke, but when you keep missing your "How to Use Time Wisely" meeting with your adviser, you know that you have a problem. I like how the author of the website was truthful of the reasons why people procrastinate. Though they did give clear ways to fix these problems, not once did they say "these people are lazy and stupid," but offered help instead. The main piece that I believe will help me the most is the part where you write out on calendars everything that is on the syllabus from the first day to the end of the semester and other parts of your life that are have already been planned such as trips or a set work scheduled. Then, begin to plan out when you can study, start projects and what you can do the night before to make the next day better. Many times I tried and failed and tried and failed again to make a calendar that I would stick to. Shortly after I created them, my work would begin to reflect the fact that I was not using the calendars that I had just created. I still have a fairly large planner at my work space and my Mom just showed me how to link up the calendar from Gmail to my smartphone so that I can keep track. So, maybe this year, I have a fighting chance against my procrastination. I can't wait to see how improving my time management skills is going to improve my GPA.

Test Post #1

Test Post #1