CommentKids: My comment to MrsG Student Zebin K

I read Zebin K's blog and he talked about his interest in sports. He said that he liked football, tennis and baseball. I told him that I also like sports and that I liked to watch them on TV. I also mentioned that when I was younger I was the youngest of 3 brothers so I had to play if they need an extra person. Zebin K asked in his blog if we played soccer, volleyball or rugby because he has not played any of these sports. I told him that I played volleyball in middle school but soccer and rugby were too hard and dangerous for me. I didn't tell him but I am definitely too old to play either of those now.

PS 22 Landslide Video Post

First of all "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite songs so I enjoyed the video a lot. You can tell in the PS 22 Video really enjoyed themselves and that they were well prepared. By doing these videos and posting them on blogs the children can watch themselves and critique themselves. Also they gain a lot of self esteem and pride making the video. I watched the other videos PS 22 choir had posted and they were all great. The singers were not nervous, they were very relaxed. The production process also teaches the children how to create and how to use technology.






Mr Chamberlains class posted their Dear Kaia: Voicethread and Video on his blog. The voicethread was a great way to reach out and connect the classroom long distance. The students all participated in the video and gave it a personal touch. A post like that gives others ideas on how they too can reach out and enhance their classroom experience using technology. This too is a good tool for others to learn from by posting it to a blog.







Dr Stranges EDM posting of South Alabama student's podcasts is a great way for the class to work cooperatively. Often students do not like to work in groups , this gives students experience
researching a subject and creating a script to be taped. I know that I dreaded doing this project, but once we started talking and recording it wasn't that difficult. I have watched others class podcasts and I look forward to watching our podcasts. By watching the others podcasts you can learn what to do and what not to do.

I also liked what I saw on Mr Kaechele Technology class blog. His students are doing a lot of the same things we are doing in our EDM 310 class but they are 8th graders. They are way ahead of the game or should I say way ahead of me. They are using Google Reader, Google Documents, Skype and Flickr and podcasting. They are posting their videos on their classblog. The students are able to share what they are learning with others and learn at the same time. I think that these students are learning so much and are very fortunate to have this experience in school.

ALEX and ACCESS Usefulness to Teachers

I searched the ALEX site and found that it was full of information that teachers of all levels can use. The site provides teaching and learning tools that are great for a new teacher to look at to get ideas. The site also has links to websites that have been reviewed for content, readability and reliability. I think that this is great, it keeps you from going from website to website to just find out it's not what you are looking for. The site also offers professional development opportunities for teachers and school systems to sign up for, you can't learn enough when you are a teacher. This site also had podcasts for all subject areas that you can download and use in the classroom.

I also found that the site has The Alabama Course of Study for every grade level (k-12)and for every subject area. When you click on the grade and a subject it not only gives the standard but it gives you links and lesson plans for that standard. This is a great help for a new teacher who needs some ideas on how to go about teaching the standard. The standards also have a key that tell you what test the standard will be on, for example the SAT or ARMT. This too can be helpful to prepare your students for those high stakes test. Overall I feel that ALEX is a very useful tool for any teacher and especially for a new teacher who needs all the help they can to get started.

I also found ACCESS to be extremely helpful to a teacher. It has numerous resources, links that can be used in the classroom. The vision for ACCESS is "to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve achievement through distance learning." On this site the State of Alabama Department of Education is offering online courses to participating schools and school systems in a pilot program to test the effectiveness of distance learning. So far they are reporting that it is working out very well, they feel that the students need more contact with the teachers. I think it if about time that Alabama is providing an education that will prepare our students for the future in respect to the move toward technology.

On the site they also provide information about professional development through video conferencing which is great this keeps from having to travel. Video conferencing can also reach more teachers across the state. The teachers have lots of programs that they can use in the classroom to enhance learning by using technology. I did not realize that the Alabama was moving in this direction and I am glad to find this out. I hope that Mobile County schools get involved soon. I feel that both ALEX and ACCESS are beneficial to all teachers especially to a new teacher who may need a push in the right direction when it comes to integrating technology into the curriculum. Teachers nowadays need all the help they can get.

Comment4Kids: Jorhar's Woodtech Blog

I commented on Jorhar's 8th grade technology blog. Jorhar wrote in his blog that he loved to play video games. He also stated that if he could play video games all day that he would. Jorhar wrote that his favorite games was called "Devil May Cry" and he had a picture from the game on his blog. I commented on his blog that I also like to play video games and that I am not very good at them. I told him that I like to play the Wii. I suggested in my comment that he should apply what he has learned playing video games to other forms of technology.

My Personal Learning Network

As a prospective teacher I have learned that there are numerous resources that I can take advantage of . I have learned a lot in my education classes at USA and my professors have been very helpful when it comes to providing us with resources. In my EDM 310 class I have found that there are numerous resources on the Internet that I can use.

Facebook

I have been a member of Facebook for about 6 months. I worked as a paraprofessional for the Mobile County School System and I have become friends with several teacher and school staff. I was first introduced to Facebook by a Special Education teacher that I worked with at ER Dickson Elementary School. I am no longer employed with MCPSS so Facebook is a great way for me to stay in touch with my former coworkers at the school system and keep up with what is going on in the schools today. I have also become Facebook friends with several of my classmates and a few professors at USA. I feel that this is a good way to stay connected with people I meet and work with.

EdTech Talk

I was first introduced to EdTech Talk while reading one of my classmates blog. EdTech Talk posts podcast that have topics about the use of technology in the classroom. I have found these podcast very interesting, often they have guests teachers and administrators discussing various uses of technology in the classroom. This site gives many good ideas and a sounding board to educators who are interesting in integrating technology in children's education. This site allows for live participation in discussions. I feel that this site can and will be useful by giving me ideas on how to integrate video, audio to the curriculum. I am an elementary education student so I will need lots of good ideas on how to prepare my young students for the future. I am following this site on my personal blog so I can keep up with the topics they are discussing.

The Future of Education

This is a community of educators I found while I was googling for ideas on how to build a PLN. This website is a PLN for educators, you can create your own page after you join you can network with other educators that are members and discuss ideas and share information. I found that there are a lot of resources within this one site. Many experienced teachers post activities that they have found to be useful in the classroom. I have commented on blogs and I intend to keep in contact with the members when I need advice in the future. This site has blogs and links to resources on the Internet that experienced teachers have posted. I signed up as a member and subscribed to a RSS feed so I can keep updated.



At The Teacher's Desk

This is a blog that I learned about through Dr Strange, he suggested this blog site on our blog assignment sheet. So I decided to take a look at it and I agree with Dr Strange that this site is another good resource for educators. There are many contributors that we learned about through our blogging assignment like Mr Mc Clung an Mr Chamberlain. I am following this blog on my personal blog and I have found the topics to be useful. This site also gives many good ideas on how to integrate technology in the classroom, like using Skype for ESL students. The contributors are all educators who have experience that I can benefit from and I like the idea that I can contact them for advice or just to give my two cents.

Art Talk Wiki

This is a Wiki created by Dr. Paige Baggett who is an art professor here at the USA. This is a Wiki that Dr Baggett created for her students and educators to use to network. Dr Baggett has discussed in class the importance of making contacts and finding resources that can helpful to us as teachers. I love art and I feel that art is very important aspect of education that is often overlooked. Art is a wonderful world that children need to explore and this Wiki is a great source of idea that is useful in facilitating the integration of art in elementary school. I hope to keep in contact with Dr Baggett in the future and continue to make more contacts in art education.

Comments About Kaia and Her Father

At first I didn't know what to make of this until I read the blog written by Jabiz Raisdana-Kaia's father- in Quatar. I really didn't understand what this was all about. The whole scenario was started by Jabiz Raisdana-Kaia's father- he wanted to take his daughter outside to explore even though it was not a beautiful place to look at. Kaia's Dad is a teacher after reading Last Child in the Woods he felt that his daughter need to go outside and find beauty in the world that she lives in. So one day Kaia and her dad went outside and he let her take pictures with a digital camera in search of something beautiful. Kaia is a very beautiful 3yr old girl, she enjoyed the experience and enjoyed using a digital camera.

Once the pictures were taken, Kaia's dad decided to create to post the pictures on a his daughters blog. Mr Raisdana was concerned about putting his daughter on the Internet and expressed his concerns about exposing her to the world. There are several pictures of things that they found outside and pictures of Kaia taking the pictures. The album with her photographs also has her voice describing the pictures she took. A teacher from Missouri-Mr Chamberlain- contacted Mr Raisdana and they decided to Skype a conversation with the class about the pictures that Kaia took and why he posted her photos.

During the Skype Kaia's dad explained to the class that Kaia was only 3 and would not be able to read a blog or a letter from them. He suggested that they make a video that she could watch and tell her what they felt about her pictures. The video was very well done and sweet they all talked to Kaia and let her know how much they liked her pictures and how they felt about them.

I can see that this type of exchange can bring things that we read about to life. This can be used in the classroom to bring someone that is a world away to your classroom in real time. I think that it could be used to talk to authors about a book that they read. I can see high school using this a way to talk to experts in different fields and bring a subject to life. Skype can be used to make words on a piece of paper to life and make a student sit up and take notice. It is definitely much more enriching than just reading about a subject.

Comments4Kids Post

I looked at Mr Goerend's Classroom Blogs and he has some very creative students in his class. I read through the blogs and I commented on 6 posts. The first one I commented on was Brandon who wrote about having a National holiday to burp. I let him know that I was not a fan of burping but I give him credit for being original. Brett blogged about having an international holiday called Sumo Wrestler Day. Everyone walks around like a sumo wrestler, they put extra food in their bellybuttons when they are done eating. In my comment to Brett I told him that this too was very original and there are quite a few people who walk around like sumo wrestlers without trying to.

Matt blogged about a holiday that fits with Halloween, Laugh Like A Witch Day. He said that everyone is supposed to let out high pitched screeching laughs all day. I asked him if men are suppose to screech with a high pitch like a woman or do men screech differently. Emma blogged about a holiday I just had to comment on, National Spitting Day, everyone spits no matter where they are. Emma said in her blog that it is permitted to spit inside buildings it didn't matter where. In my comment to Emma I expressed that I would not like to participate or witness this holiday first hand. One of my favorite blogs was by Anna who blogged about National Act Like A Mime Day.One Act Like A Mime Day everyone must act everything and not talk, I told Anna in my comment to her that this is very creative and not an easy to do. It takes a lot of creativity to come up with ways to express what you want to say instead of talking. I commented on one more blog that didn't have a name on it. The blog was titled "How Embarrassment Turned Into An International Holiday." In this blog the author blogged that everyone must sprint instead of walk where they are going. I commented that this is a holiday that you have to train for because it will be hard to sprint for a whole day.I really got a lot of laughs from these blogs, Mr Goerend's students are very creative and have a lot of imagination.

Media Literacies Comments

I really liked New Media Literacies video it was to the point and it moved very fast. The video talked about all the things that a person living in our fast paced society needs to survive and to be a productive contributing member of society. the New Media Skills covered in the video that I agree with are;play, judgement, negotiation, appropriation, visualization trans media navigation and multitasking. The other ones I didn't really get a grasp of when I watched the video. I truly believe that using judgement and negotiating is something everyone need to be skillful at in order to get along and be harmonious. If we are going to share ideas and thoughts on the Internet we must be able to judge what we see and be able to negotiate with others to come to an understanding. I think all of these skills are necessary to be effective, multitasking is expected in all work environments.

A point that I found interesting is the idea that for years Media Literacy was controlled by a small group of producers. That is not the case anymore, we are all producers now thanks to the Internet.If you blog and post videos or anything else that can be viewed by others you are a producer. Trans media navigation is also important for today's world we all have to be able to find our way around the technology world or we will be left out. As a prospective teacher it is important for me to play and experience and experiment in order for me to learn. I believe that it is important for me to give my students the opportunity to play in order for them to learn so I must give them the time and opportunity so they will be able to be productive citizen.

I found a website called Project New Media Literacies that explains why it is important to be media literate and culturally literate. One the site it talked about MIT's research based initiative to research how to equip our youth with social skills and cultural competencies so that they will be able to participate in our growing media world. It also talked about how important it is today to bring awareness to the public about how important it is to be globally connected in a multicultural world.

Wendy Drexler's The Networked Students Comments

This little video The Networked Students was short and sweet but was packed with interesting information about organizing a Personal Learning Network(PLN). As I stated in my previous blog I find it difficult to sift through the information on the Internet to find what I really need. This video gave good ideas on how to go about it. I will use all of this information to create my own PLN for my EDM 310 class and for the future. There are so many tool that are useful on the Internet that you never have to step foot in a library or a classroom according to the video.

The video started of talking about a student that did have a book and didn't go to lecture. The student created their own PLN and used that as their curriculum with the guidance of a professor.The student never went to class they used the Internet for all the resources used to learn from. the student learns by making social connections and creating a virtual workbook of all the connections that they made about the subject they are learning about. The professors is there for guidance and feedback , the student is responsible for his own learning.

I don't know if I trust myself to find everything that I need to educate myself. In the video it suggests the use of iTunes U to find lectures, Google Scholar to find articles that are credible and find bookmarked sites that are relevant. Blogging is also mentioned as a way to share with others what they have found and to help others in their search for resources. I am working on my PLN now and I am going to try and use some of the ideas from this video. I see more an more how much is out there at all of our fingertips but if you don't know they are there it is useless.

Am I Ready to Write With Multimedia??

I think I am ready.I know how to type now when it comes to using all the technology available no I am not ready. It as a very difficult thing to do. On the two videos made by Richard Miller:This Is How We Dream he talked about how we do not have to step foot into a library anymore to research for papers, kids now go directly to the Internet. I remember looking into the Encyclopedia Britannica for information, that is unheard of now.When I was in high school way back in the 80's I took typing class (with a typewriter), this seems so ancient now. Children now are typing on computers using word processors, it is a very natural thing to do for the newer generations.

I am learning how to share my thoughts and ideas by blogging. I see that this is a way to share information globally. What is difficult sometimes is distinguishing what is fact and what is fiction. Often when I am searching for information I find myself sifting through so much garbage on the Internet to get what I need. I see so much blogging and I find it a little frustrating because it seems to be all opinion that is not really helpful when I need facts. After watching the video I understand the point that he makes about sharing ideas and thoughts by uniting humanities and the sciences.

Creating a documents on the web using text, images, audio and video has changed the way we communicate now. There was a time when you had to wait for the news to come on. Now all we have to do is log onto a computer, cell phone and we can access anything that is happening in the world. Sometimes we can watch something happening live and unedited. Technology is changing before our eyes and we have to try to keep up. Using audio and video makes it so appealing and makes us want to watch. Now you can get on the Internet and read almost any newspaper published and get more from the website than you would from the actual paper edition because they have videos , audio. Another thing appealing is the ability to respond instantly to something you read by emailing the newspaper editors with your comments. I am very overwhelmed at times and I get frustrated but I definitely see that the writing with multimedia a benefit.

Using iPods in Instruction

I googled using iPods in instruction and I found lots of sites and blogs that discussed the use of them at different universities. Duke University has been using them, they started by giving iPods to their incoming freshmen in 2004 to see if they would be a useful technology . The next year they only gave them to certain students depending on their major. Considering all that is available on iTunes U, the use of an iPod can be valuable in instruction. As I read about the way Dukes students used the iPods I realized that it would be a great asset to most student, not matter what their major.

They found that the use of iPods was very convenient and easy to use. The resources on iPods made it much more convenient than going to the library or the lab. The professors found that their was much more student engagement. Duke did find a problem or two one of which was obtaining licenses for materials. The students that were given the iPods were Engineering students, music and foreign language majors. They used the iPod for downloading music, recording interviews and tutoring sessions. I can see that this would be very convenient to carry instead of books or going to the library. Duke has developed models for introducing and merging computing into college campuses. They have expanded the courses that will use iPods in instruction. I wish the University of South Alabama would follow the model and give us all iPods, I would find a good use for it.

I never knew about iTunes University have you?

I didn't realize that iTunes offered this. I think its a great idea. Many universities are using it to post lectures and other educational tools for free.When I think of iTunes I just thought it was for downloading music and videos. I think that iTunes needs to let more people know that they have all this available. I can see professors and college students using more and more in the future. If you miss a lecture or if you need to review something it can be downloaded to an iPod or computer.

I believe it is also a good idea for those who have graduated they can use to keep up with whats new. I can see school systems using this in professional development and for conferences. There are quite a few universities that are participating in iTunes university, I am sure that the numbers will be growing. the iTunes University is a great way to reach as many students as possible. I think that it is a great way to enhance an online course by using both audio and video podcasts. If you want to learn more about iTunesU click here

Dr Christie's Google Earth Visual Tour Comments

I watched Dr Christie's Google Earth visual tour, it was interesting to see all the famous places that she included in her presentation. I was not able to identify many of them. I have some experience using Google Earth, I have used it to look at my house and my families homes. It is interesting to see all the details like my parents old car that they don't have anymore. These kinds of details give you an idea at how old the pictures are. In the virtual tour it did not really demonstrate how to use Google Earth, I was expecting the tour to have more information and a demonstration on how to use it.

I do see the point that Dr Christie is making in that it can be used as a tool in the classroom. Google Earth can be used to visit places in the classroom that students may never visit in person. I do like the way she presented it and spoke , this definitely can be useful and the students can create their own tour of places they are studying in class. It can also be used to show where they live or where they came from. If you have a student that is from another country they can use this in the class to show others where they are from. I believe there are countless ways Google Earth can be used in the classroom