Summary post C4T Teacher #3.

Jerrid w. Kruse

Mr. Kruse's post was about a process by Dan Meyer and his "3 Acts" that he has been following for quite some time now. Mr. Kruse thinks the reason Dan Meyer has so many followers is because his ideas are worth paying attention to. Mr. Kruse decided to focus on figuring out what makes "3 Acts" so effective. He concluded that the video helps make the problem more understandable and relatable to the students, which Kruse calls the "Developmental Learning Theory". Act 2, in Kruse's opinion, is the Act in which teachers struggle with the most because it cannot be planned for which forces teachers to react to student thinking. Kruse suggests that we need to encourage students to apply their thinking to new situations, which is where Act 3 takes over. Students are asked to apply their abstract knowledge to a new concrete situation. This was a very thorough and interesting post for me to read because I liked his correlations between the 3 Acts and the developmental learning theory as well as the Learning Cycle.

March C4K Summary Post

Grace B.

Grace's blog was about a dance she had just learned in school called Samoan Sasa Dancing. Grace mentioned that she was one of the tallest girls in her class which I can highly relate to because I am 5ft 10in and was always one of the tallest girls in my class as well. Grace was very nervous about their dance performance but ended up having a lot of fun. Grace shows her innocence in her blog by stating that it embarrassed her to have a guy as her dance partner. I enjoyed reading Grace's blog because I thought it was very well written and she seems to be a very outgoing and happy 12 year old. The last thing Grace mentioned was that today was her birthday; Happy Birthday Grace! :)

Project 14

C4T

Dianne Krause
Dianne created a post, Diane's post, in which she included links to her favorite sites and a slideshow that she created using PhotoSnack. However, I could never actually access the slideshow or her photos. I don't know if her links just didn't work or if it was something wrong with my laptop but I asked her about it when I commented on her post to ensure that her links were in fact working. PhotoSnack seemed like a great site for creating slideshows for networks like Facebook and I will definitely look into this.

Dianne also created a post on podcasting. She stated that when she first thought of podcasting she immediately thought it would be complicated, expensive, and just plain technical. However, after researching it and becoming familiar with podcasts, she soon learned just how easy and cheap it actually is. I commented on her post and told her what I had learned about podcasting in EDM310 so far, including that podcasting allows interaction outside the classroom, parental involvement, higher level thinking, and promotes creativity and innovation, etc.

C4K Summary for February

Cesar
Cesar wrote a story about a trip he took to a lake with his father, step-mother, and step-sister. In the story, Cesar made it very clear that he wasn't exactly fond of his step-mother or step-sister, therefore he wasn't very excited about going on the trip. Cesar makes a comment to his step-sister (in the story) encouraging her to committ suicide. This comment concerned me so when I commented on his post, I asked if there was any truth to his story or if he just made it up for fun.

Eldridg
Eldridg wrote a post on South Africa about where it is located, how long it is, the languages that are spoken there, and what types of animals live there. She had some grammatical errors but seemed to know a good bit about South Africa. When I commented on Eldridg's post, I told her I enjoyed reading it because I wasn't aware that there were so many different languages spoken in South Africa and I also asked her if she had ever been there.

5P4MG
This student's post was a poem he/she had written about teachers. There were some spelling errors but the poem was creative. I commented on this post and said that I enjoy poetry and write poems myself as well. The most recent poem I have written was one about my grandfather, who recently passed, and I read it at his funeral.

Blog Post 7

"The Networked Student" by Wendy Drexler

After watching The Networked Student, I wouldn't say that I am necessarily prepared to be the teacher of networked students but I do know that I like to push myself and I am not afraid of a challenge. I think teaching a networked student would be good for me because it would broaden my horizons in the teaching field and open up my eyes to the ever growing technologically advanced world. Sometimes it's good to step out of your comfort zone and be willing to take a chance.

As teachers, our goals should include pushing ourselves, setting limits, and once those limits are reached, set new ones. I am not positive that I would like the student-oriented teaching style verse the teacher-led, traditional style. This would definitely be something that would take some getting used to for me since I am more old-fashioned in my ways.

However, I am a strong advocate for more concrete, hands-on interation for learning rather than the standard "busy work". I believe that students learn more when they are physically involved and testing theories in real experiences rather than reading material, memorizing it, and spitting it back out, better known as the "burp back method" by Dr. Strange. It is a bit intimidating but never-the-less, I am excited and anxious to take on "networked students" and also see what they can teach ME because we all know that we learn from our students.

I like the idea of PLN's because it is a personalized way of learning and you can design it the way that best suits you. I am a very organized person so I particularly like how easy the categories are to find and how everything you need can all be accessed within one click of a button. Also, I'd like to note that this was a very well-spoken 7th grader!

Blog Post 6

Randy Pausch. Wow, what an inspiration! I thoroughly enjoyed watching his "lecture", Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. However, it wasn't necessarily a lecture in my opinion, it was rather enjoyable and I must say, a very fast hour. I thought it was interesting how he said he got more out of NOT accomplishing one of his dreams (to be in the NFL) than he got out of accomplishing all the others on his list. I think what he was trying to say here was that he was taught true discipline which can be a very strong foundation to form and live by. This, in my opinion, could be viewed as what Randy calls a "head-fake", or better known as a type of distraction or making someone think they are learning something other than what is intended. In this case, Randy thought he was learning how to play football but instead he was learning how to become a better person by developing characteristics such as discipline, team work, communication, courage, loyalty, etc.

Randy mentions numerous valid and interesting points in his "lecture" but one of them in particular stood out to me and that was when he was saying if someone stops giving you advice altogether or stops offering help then they have already given up on you. Which is a very bad thing! You always want critics in your life because there is always room for improvement but only if you know and are aware of what you are doing wrong or need to improve. Criticism is a great thing that many people take to the heart or take the wrong way which defeats the purpose of the initial critique; to make you a better person. Criticism is about to become a very big part of my life as I enter the candidacy program and begin student teaching. However, in all honesty, I would love as many critiques as I can receive because I know that they are only going to enhance my abilities and knowledge necessary to become a future educator for our children. I want to be the best that I can be so that I can offer the best to our children and, in return, form THEM into the best that THEY can be. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". This statement speaks for itself and is pretty self-explanatory but is better known as "a lesson learned". The majority of people learn from past "experiences" or, where you went wrong, because you can take away something from that, learn from it, and move on. Mistakes are unfortunately often perceived as a bad thing but what people don't realize is that we all learn from mistakes and they only make us better and who we are as individuals today.

What determines where you will end up is how much motivation you have and how much effort you are willing to put in to make it to the top. This is where the "brick walls" come into play. Whenever these brick walls stop us dead in our tracks, we have to find any way that we can to get back up and fight to push through it to make it to the other side. This teaches us to never give up and never back down because once you DO achieve your goal you will feel like you are on top of the world and will immediately want to set another goal to accomplish. I will use this sense of motivation in our ever struggling economy. It is near impossible to find/keep jobs today and I will have to have the motivation to keep fighting for a teaching job no matter what it takes.

Another technique Randy mentions is allowing time to recognize the good in people rather than just always pointing out the bad. No one person is ALL bad. There is good in everyone, we just have to take the time to find it and see it. I will definitely use this in my classroom and with my future students. I want to try my hardest not to form initial opinions on my students and really focus on finding the good in them and what their interests, talents, goals, and dreams are.

I also strongly believe in "giving credit where credit is due" as Randy suggests. When someone does something good we should take the time to recognize it and applaud them for doing so because this only makes them feel good about what they have done and will make them want to do more of it. Encouragement goes a long way and is contagious so we should pass it on and pay it forward.

I have a 3 year old daughter so when Randy was talking about taking the time to enjoy the little things in life like letting our kids paint their own room, this really hit home with me. I have always been a strong advocate of noticing and enjoying the little things in life rather than the things that can be bought so this concept was very important to me. Life is truly just too short, as Randy sadly proves, so it's important that we live each day to the fullest and if our kids want to do something harmless like painting their own rooms, let them do it.

"Sell something worthwhile, like Education". What great advice. In today's society we seem to be losing all sense of innocence, imagination, and youth and it's a complete shame. I look forward and am anxious to become a teacher so I can offer something fresh and bring back imagination and creativity to children. Children are MUCH too advanced these days and exposed to things we could never dream of being exposed to when we were kids and this will only continue to get worse. I also strongly believe that we learn from our students so it's important to listen to THEM as well.

Last but not least, Randy points out that the best of the gold is always at the bottom of the barrel so it's important that we dig our way to the top, or in this case, the bottom. We have to push through the hard times in life to get what we want and never look back. Do the right thing and good things will follow, take feedback to heart, and always admitt when you're wrong. Randy Pausch, a true inspiration!

Blog Post 5

Scott Mcleod
Scott Mcleod is one of the nation's leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. He is an Associate Professor of Education Leadership at the University of Kentucky and is the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). He has also received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work.

I agree with everything in Scott Mcleod's post up until he said "I don't want them creating, sharing, thinking, learning". Technology can be an AMAZING learning tool IF used with proper precautions and necessary adult supervision. There are countless things that can happen including child pornography, attempted kidnappings, cyber-bullying, child predators preying on your children, ect which lead us to have our doubts about the internet. However, if children are properly monitored (which can't be stressed enough), technology can not only enhance but exceede your child's learning capacities beyond belief.

The iSchool Initiative
I strongly disagree with this revolution!!! Technology should absolutely be incorporated within our school system but should NOT completely take it over. Students should still use textbooks, have to hand-write assignments, and complete homework/exercises out of books just like we have been doing from generation to generation. If everything changes to technology base, how are kids supposed to learn to write/enhance handwriting/penmanship skills? Also keeping in mind that we can't rely on technology to work 100% of the time. There are things that do go wrong with technology such as gliches in the system, power outages, internet servers go down, and even cases of lost/stolen devices such as iPads, iTouch, iPhones, laptops, or whatever is being used. Whereas, pen and paper will always be there and are 100% guaranteed!

Virtual Choir

I think Roberts went by a theory such as: "In order to know, you must ask/learn first", and always asked himself "And just who do we learn from"? Our teachers. So don't feel quite so hopeless yet. Without even realizing it, we use techniques and tools every day that our childhood teachers taught and embedded into our brains, like HOW to think, the process of thinking, how to become creative and put our imaginations to use, evaluate/analyze information we have been given, and then APPLY that to what we need to do to get our answers. "The tools provide temptation, but they are not the source of negative behavior". WE, as educators, have to become the source of inspiration for our students. Don't just teach the contents from a text book, go above and beyond because ultimately, that's what your students will remember.

Reading Rockets
I have a 3 year old daughter who will be entering the Pre-School Program next year and it just so happens this is the age group I am interested in teaching one day, therefore the category "Preschool Teachers" on the Reading Rockets Website stood out to me and became the one I most explored.

I found several great resources on reading that will be of much use to me in my classroom one day such as Toddling Toward Reading and the ABC's of Teaching Reading. The idea behind Toddling Toward Reading is that the best predictor of how children will do in school is how much they know before they get there. This program encourages you, as a parent, to be involved with your child through their toddler years and take the time to review with them letters, sounds, shapes, colors, and so on. Repetition is a key tool in child developmental learning.

With the ABC's of Teaching Reading, you learn that several concepts are incorporated into learning to read such as: print awareness, the sounds of speech and what sound each letter makes, phonemic awareness (letter placement), Phonics, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and writing. One of the most important techniques a teacher must posess is patience. Not all children learn and progress in the same way or at the same pace.

Blog Post 4

I learned several things about Podcasting after reading and listening to the videos provided. To begin, what IS Podcasting? The term Podcast is a cross between "broadcast" and "Ipod" and is a "radio-style" talk show. Podcasts allow information (of any criteria) to be shared with millions of people all over the world via internet. In order to create a Podcast you will need a microphone, a computer, and software that you may download for free.

Some tips to succeed in making your Podcast include: Familiarizing youself and becoming comfortable with the software, give students a variety of topics so they may choose the one that appeals to them, and provide examples of acceptable Podcasts just to name a few.

You can also connect your computer to a Smart Board in order to obtain easy access so that every thing you need to control can be done from the touch of a finger. You can also upload videos and/or audio and have it replayed back to you to ensure correctness.

There are many benefits of Podcasting in the classroom. They include but are not limited to: Allowing your students to interact OUTSIDE the classroom, project-based learning, higher-order thinking rather than lower-level (according to Bloom's Taxonomy), promotes creativity and innovation, and allows parental involvement to where parents can see what their kids are doing/learning.

I also liked the read-a-long interview scripts the teacher produced for her students to follow along. She incorporated specific sounds after a chapter ended and another one began in case students lost their place in the script. I would use this mechanism in my classroom one day particularly because I plan on teaching the younger ones as well and they always need certain reminders, such as this one, to give them a boost and further enhance their learning.

Wordle

Blog Post 3

" Technology in Special Education"-
Not all special needs children are the same or have the same disabilities, therefore they all have different and unique individual requirements needed to enhance their learning skills and allow them to learn the same content that all other kids are learning but in a specialized manner.  There are several tools out there made especially for special needs children which include, but are not limited to, books on tape (for the blind), IPod Touch, IPad, IPhones all have countless tools for special needs.  Students who have lost the ability to speak can use some of these tools and special computers with specific keypads and mouses with advanced technology to help them read, write, and even speak.  These specialized computers can help us, as educators, form and build personal relationships with these children that were not there before. Here is a link to Technology in Special Education  

There are also computers that have extreme magnified settings for children who have trouble seeing small print.  This program is called Zoomtechs.  Zoomtechs can also be used to help children who have a very hard time writing or takes them a considerable amount of time to write much more efficiently by typing or using a special keypad.  They can be used for students to point to the letters on these keyboards to help them form sentences to relay to people and teachers what they are trying to say, what they are feeling, and what they may need or want. 

Apple Education Apps-
The App I chose from Apple Education Apps is called The Articulation Station and it is designed especially for special needs students.  This App allows you to learn how to pronounce and practice the sounds in the English language with 6 engaging activities which include Word Level (Flashcard activity), Matching Game, Sentence Level (Rotating sentences), Unique Sentences, and Story Level (with level 1 and 2 stories for advancement).  This App has quick tips for teaching each sound, specific target words, in depth scoring and data tracking for each child/student for instant feedback, multiple users for group sessions, the ability to shuffle multiple sounds, and voice recording and playback feature for monitoring responses, just to name a few!

 This App would greatly help special needs students in a number of ways including repetition of letters, words, sounds, and pictures to be imbeded into their brains for gaining the knowledge they need to memorize and learn.  This App would be a great learning tool and would enhance and improve learning and best of all, its free! :)

"Gary Hayes Social Media Count"-
The astounding rate of rapidly changing social media counts in this video Social Media Count, is rather intimidating.  These rates will only continue to grow and in a few more years when I am hopefully teaching, will only be higher.  Technology is so advanced and our kids today learn how to do things beyond our imagination or that we even know existed. 

Some people may not realize it but these constantly growing social media counts could present a challenge for educators.  Almost all students have cell phones now so it has already created issues with texting during class.  Teachers have to take away cell phones during class but ultimately, they must be returned therefore this becomes a never ending challenge.  Not to mention if you are a computer teacher, you have to set restrictions and maybe even block major websites and networks altogether such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Youtube, etc to prevent class interruptions.  There will always be challenges in any profession but with the shockingly growing rates in technology, it appears these already difficult challenges will only escalate. 

"A Vision of Students Today"-
As many resources there are made available to us, it may shock you how many students don't take advantage of what is being offered.  We pay hundreds of dollars on textbooks each semester, yet many of us never even open them.  We pay thousands of dollars on tuition but choose to skip class.  We choose to go through classes only doing the bare minimum but then complain when we receive a poor grade. Here is a link to A Vision of Students Today  

The truth is we spend a considerable amount of time each day/night on our cell phones (talking/texting), online (emails/Facebook/Twitter/Youtube), watching TV, listening to music, playing video games, etc but very little time is left to dedicate towards our schoolwork.  All of the things we are required/expected to do on a daily basis forms us all into being multi-taskers wether we know it or choose to believe it.

Blog Post 2

"Did You Know? 3.0 A John Strange 2012 Version"-
It will never cease to amaze me how advanced technology has become.  And it's only growing!  The amount of children with cell phones these days is absolutely absurd to me, in my opinion.  I will never understand what 8 year old would need a cell phone?  Or even 10 year olds?  Parents should know where their kids are!  Bottom line.  This is where house phones come in handy.  If your child is at a friend's house and you need to contact them, simply call the land line, or even the parent's cell phone.  Why does your child need one? 

Childhood is increasingly losing its innocence and it is pure heartbreaking.  There are so many things that could happen that should make parents think twice about allowing their children to have their own cell phones and electronic devices at such young ages.  A child could receive a provocative or inappropriate text message (or picture!) from someone who has the wrong number, they could be bullied via threatening texts, they have internet access on nearly all cell phones now to where children can look up videos or just about anything they want to see or know about all without needing any parental consent, therefore half the time parents don't even know what their kids are looking or reading about.  By giving children cell phones and laptops, without proper restrictions, we are destroying childhood and innocence as we know it. Watch the video Did you know?  

"Mr. Winkle Wakes"-
Mr. Winkle Wakes taught me that now-a-days if you blink there has already been a new source of technology created or invented.  Technology never stops and is constantly growing and improving, however one thing always manages to stay the same, year after year and that is school.

 Education will always be around.  Students will always be learning and teachers will always be teaching.  We have to learn to appreciate Education, as it sets the standard for our futures.  Educators all over the world are under paid and taken for granted, when they are the ones influencing and enhancing the lives and minds of our students and children on a daily basis.

"Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity"-
Robinson said "Degrees aren't worth anything".  I strongly agree with this because sadly now-a-days it's almost as if once you graduate from college and have a degree, you STILL aren't guaranteed a job because of the way our economy is.  We are preached to all our lives and have it impounded in our heads the importance of going to college to have a brighter future, and now unfortunately all of that suddenly means nothing and has no worth.  I know more people who never went to college that have amazing, high-paying, steady jobs than I know people who have college degrees and are unemployed.  My sister-in-law graduated with a BS in Education, went back and received a Masters in Education, has been graduated for three years, and STILL has no teaching job.

According to Robinson, back then if you didn't have a job it's because you didn't want one (basically stating that if you applied for a job you were almost guaranteed to be hired).  These days it's near impossible to find a job no matter how bad you want it because of our poor economy.

I do agree that intelligence is diverse and that we all have different ways of thinking and learning, however I do not agree that we ALL have an interest in Education.  I also absolutely agree that women are indeed better at multi-tasking than men.  I strongly disagree with Robinson's opinion of the correlation between medication and creativity.  I was diagnosed with ADD when I was 13 and have been on medication ever since and have done SEVERAL creative things throughout my life.  However, maybe there are certain medications out there that can diminish the ability to have creative thoughts more so than others but I do not think ALL medications completely kill the ability to be creative.  I do agree that the gift of human imagination is an incredible thing and should never be wasted or taken for granted.  A mind is a wonderful thing to have and we should use it to our full advantage everyday because it is just that; a gift.  Our job, as educators, is to help children see their talents, abilities, and creative capacities for their future and encourage them to make something of it because ultimately, what good is a talent or gift if it is only going to be wasted? Watch the video The Importance of Creativity.

"A Vision for 21st Century Learning" -
In our generation today, whatever you want to see, read, or learn about is all made available to us from the click of a button.  Information ranging from cultures and countries all around the world, to the weather in the state of your choice, to pictures or interviews of well-known actors and singers, can all be accessed within seconds due to our ever-expanding technology and software programs offered.  I think it is an effective tool when children are using online learning games to gain knowledge on certain subject content and not even realize that they are in fact learning because they are enjoying it and having fun. 

However, I think the amount of video games and technology that is offered is also contributing majorly to childhood obesity at an alarmingly scary rate.  Childhood should be about playing outside, learning through self exploration and personal experiences, and maintaining happiness and innocence without having such easy access to view age inappropriate content all within the click of a button.  Technology is an amazingly wonderful thing, when used appropriately and effectively! Here is a link to A Vision for 21st Century Learning.

"Vicki Davis: Harness your students' digital smarts"-
I do agree that only certain children can learn when they are limited to only paper and pencil and not a wide variety of resources, including technology.  Not all students learn the same way.  We all have our own unique learning styles and techniques.

 I really like Davis' approach in Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts on focussing on her students' strengths and interests and how she correlates that into accomplishing curiculum.  I also agree that you have to first familiarize yourself and become comfortable with the software and technology you are using before you can further enhance your learning of certain programs.  Vicki makes her students "learn the language" of her class so that they are familiar with all of the terms she uses throughout her classes so that she doesn't have to take out valuable class time to explain what she is referring to.  Most of my college professors also use this teaching strategy , which proves to be very effective.  I also agree that when teachers think "I have to know everything before I can teach it" is the wrong way of thinking.  We are constantly growing, learning, and making ourselves better everyday so it is good to learn as you go.  You can always learn more.  Learning new things gives us empowerment and that sense of self satisfaction or achievement which only makes us want to learn and do more.  Our students often teach US things we don't even know.  Self exploration is sometimes the best teaching method of all because once a student discovers or learns something new on their own, they want to teach or show us in return which enhances self esteem and confidence levels which is extremely important in children and adolescents.  Digital technology allows us to learn and share information with people all over the world and brings us together to educate ourselves and work collaboratively.

Blog Assignment number 1.

My name is Ashton Counselman and I am 23 years old, have been married for three years, and have a two-year old daughter named Isabella.  I was born and raised in Mobile, Alabama and plan to have more children and continue rasing my family here.  I am majoring in Elementary Education and plan to become a Kindergarten teacher as my passion for children is extraordinary.  I have dreamed of becoming a teacher since I was a little girl and hope to one day have the privilege of influencing the lives of children on a daily basis.  My mother was a teacher all her life and has recently started tutoring children instead of teaching.  I began babysitting at the age of nine years old and never looked back.  Children bring joy to my heart and they are what I live for.

I went to Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette my first two years of school and transferred to the University of South Alabama this Spring.  I will be entering the Candidacy program next fall and am very eager to begin student teaching.  I cannot see myself doing anything else with my life other than teaching and look forward to the day I start.

I have two older brothers who mean the world to me and they both recently got married and I am happy to welcome two sister-in-laws to our family.  My family means everything to me and this is why I could never see myself living anywhere other than Mobile as I would be severely home sick.

Some of my hobbies, or things i enjoy doing include: spending time with family and friends, raising my daughter (she is my heart), playing sports (for fun), laying out, swimming, hunting, fishing, shooting skeet, four-wheeler riding, boating, going out to eat, going to the movies, listening to music, dancing, working out, shopping, traveling, holidays, going to the fair, Bayfest, Mardi Gras, following Alabama football, pretty much anything that involves being active.  I am a very outgoing, on-the-go type of girl and would rather be out doing something rather than sitting at home.

When I watched Randy Pausch on Time Management, I learned that we, as a society, are typically more interested in managing our money rather than our time.  I also learned that you are much more likely to succeede in life if you always have a plan, a goal, and that know you know WHY you will succeede and why you are going after this particular thing to accomplish in life.  Make sure you always have a goal in life so that you can have something to strive for and once you reach it, you will know what it feels like to experience satisfaction and achievement.  Don't worry so much about always doing things the right way, but DOING THE RIGHT THINGS.  Experience comes with time so things are going to happen over night.  If you always have a plan for yourself you have the opportunity to change that plan yet if you never make one, you will never have anything to revise or go by.  Last but not least, always make sure to have to-do-lists in life so you won't forget the most important things you need to accomplish or achieve.  It is also best to do the ugliest, or worst, thing on your list that you have to do FIRST so that there leaves no time for procrastination!