Blog Post 8

The first point the teacher brings up is interacting with the students and making it about them learning and not you looking good while presenting it. Mr. Mclung talked about how he was so worried about looking good in front of his superiors that he lost the true meaning of teaching, and that is to make sure the students are learning. After realizing this he made important changes in his approach of delivering a lesson and this has helped him in so many ways. I really liked the fact that he was humbled enough to realize something needed to be changed in his classrooms, and that he was not like 90 percent of teachers now a days who think that they do everything perfect, and refuse to believe otherwise.

I really liked how he realized that he was not going to always give the perfect lesson, but he did try his hardest to make sure whatever he said, he would have a smile on his face while doing it. I like this as well, because as a student, it is always nice to see the teacher smiling and actually enjoying what they are doing. The part about communication was awesome. I completely agree with the fact that good communication leads to better understanding. You can definitely tell that Mr. McLung is a very mature man. His remarks about not setting the goal to high and picking the kids spirits back up when they fail are priceless.

Comments for Kids 2

For my second group of students to follow I was assigned to Helen King and her year 5 students at Pt. England School. They have Art work, Hyperstudios, iMovies and stories that definitely keep your interest. Here is a link to their blog, http://pesking.blogspot.com/

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

I really liked how he started off by mentioning that anything was possible and that we did not need to lose sight of that. I also like the picture of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. I also thought it was neat how he put together a team and they won a trip to go on the Vomit Comet. He brought up a good point whenever he said to bring something to the table because that will always make you more welcomed. I completely agree with him in this situation, because I think that whenever you come prepared to deliver a message, people respond very well, but whenever you ramble on and on and everyone can tell that you just put something together real quick they more than likely will tune you out very fast.

It was pretty interesting how he brought up that one of his coaches in football told him the head coach was fussing at him a lot, but he pointed out that it was a good thing because that meant he had not given up on him. I really liked the quote that "Experience is what you get, when you didn't get what you wanted." I think that what he is saying here is work hard, and if you fail get up and try again. Life is never going to turn out exactly how we want it to, but that is what makes us stronger. When we as humans have to overcome adversity in our lives and we pull through it, it only makes us stronger individuals.

I liked the illustration of the brick wall. In this particular segment of the video I believe that he is telling us that whenever we run into a brick wall, we need to keep trying to go through it and not give up, because this is what separates the people who really want to achieve their goals, and those that just want to ease through it. Randy was a very unselfish man and I thought it was cool once he realized his childhood dreams could come true, he immediately tried to figure out ways he could make others childhood dreams come true.

I noticed that his building virtual worlds class was kind of like this class. There are many different students in this class that comes together and makes something and publishes it and then you get new teammates and do it again. The point he brought up about leaving something behind to someone else that you hold dearly to your life, is that you need to hand it over to someone that will do the same or even hold it more dearly to their live. What I believe he is saying is give your job to someone you know will respect what you have done with it and try and make it better than even you did.

Another similarity I noticed between his class and this class was where he said it was all project based. I really liked the project based class because it teaches you how to do stuff on you own instead of waiting on someone to tell you how to do it. His talk about he wants to make millions of kids have fun while learning something hard is awesome, I believe every teacher wants this but does not really know how to do it in their own way. This method of learning is definitely something that I hope to learn how to do one day. This video was pretty awesome, I must say when I seen it was an hour long I was really not wanting to watch, but I am so glad I did. Dr. Pausch legacy will definitely live on for a very long time, his teaching methods are one of a kind and I will definitely find other videos he has made to make my teaching decisions later on in my career.

My Instructional TimeToast on World War 1

Comments for Teachers

The first teacher that I was assigned to was Eric Langhorst. His website is, http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/. Over three weeks time I followed his blog and found some interesting things. The first post I commented on was the one where she used a Flip Camera to talk to another teacher about the Civil War.This post really caught my attention because I am planning on being an American History teacher, and being that I am from Alabama, the Civil War is one of my favorite topics to talk about. The second post I commented on was the one where he is taking a picture everyday of the year. I thought that this was really neat that someone would capture one moment in time that took their breath away everyday. The last couple of comments that I posted were on his blog post about Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday.

My PLN

My PLN is coming along slowly but surely. I have just now got a better understanding of what it is and look to improve on it in the upcoming weeks. I hope to find professors and or teachers that will respond to me.

Here is a link to one blog that I am currently following.http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/ Certain areas in this blog deal with Abraham Lincoln and also American History Teachers, and being that an American History Teacher is what I hope to be one day, I have found this blog very useful. I am also now following this blog http://ushistoryeducatorblog.blogspot.com/

Blog Post 6

This is how we Dream!

Richard Miller made a very good point in the beginning where he stated that we now mostly carry around our laptops to work with, instead of having a lot of pencils and paper. I thought it was neat when he said he did a project on Virginia Tech healing after it had been a year since the shooting, and he did the whole thing with out ever going to a library. It was interesting where he showed how you can document all of your experiences and then combine all of them into one document.

You can really tell that Dr. Miller took a lot of time with these videos. I thought that he did a very good job of explaining each segment and that he really enjoyed doing what he loves to do. The most interesting part to me was when he said that he believed people will start using digital aspects, rather than using word processors.

I liked how he said that we are at the very edge of finding new ways to push ideas out to the public and that we need to come together to get the information out there. Both of these videos were very interesting and the information included in them, is definitely something I hope to learn how to do.

The Networked Student

This video to start with gave me a little bit of information on how to start a Personal Learning Network. I had never heard of Google Scholar. Once I heard about what it can do, I will definitely be using it to find well written and peer reviewed articles on certain topics. He also helped me by showing me that the website Delicious is used to post articles on and save them that way I can go back and retrieve then information quickly.

He tells us that once you have found articles that give you valid information, you can look them up on a blog to get someone else's opinion on it. Once he has read over the blog, he will post his own opinion that way he and others can discuss them. After he does this, he subscribes to that blog by using Google Reader. This will tell him immediately when someone comments on the blog, that way he can go and read it.

This video shows how important it is to know what all networks can be. He answered the question about why this student would still need a teacher. The teacher will help him whenever he gets stuck on a certain problem. She shows him how to find answers from other experts as well, and hopes that when the student exits her class, that he will continue his PLN.

Michael Wesch

He brought up an interesting topic that is very true, and that is the fact that people now a days are too focused on themselves, He points out that this a very bad thing to show the young generation coming up because this will only get worst over time if we do not do something now. He brought up a good point whenever he said that we come to know ourselves through our relations with others. I firmly agree with the fact the you act like who you hang around, and I believe this is what he is trying to tell us here. I liked how he should the video of the two kids in the recliner and Charley biting his brothers finger, and then showing how so many people copied this act. I think here he is trying to tell us that people tend to respond much more efficient to positive and funny things rather than negativity. In the end I liked how he showed how the word WHATEVER went from "I do not care, whatever you think." To the 90's how it went to "Whatever I do not care what you think". To now he is hoping that we will say " Let's do Whatever it takes by any means to get this done.

Comments for Kids

The kids I am assigned to are in school at Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia.There are 22 students in 2KM and their teacher is Kathleen McGeady. They use a blog to share all the great things that they are learning and let you know what is happening in their class. Their classroom is really neat. They have a lot more computers in their classrooms than we do here. They have already started using the Smartboards and the Whiteboards. They are definitely an interesting group of kids and you should definitely go check it out if you get a chance. This is a link to their class blog http://2kmblog.globalstudent.org.au/.

Comments for Kids

The kids I am assigned to are in school at Leopold Primary School in Victoria, Australia.There are 22 students in 2KM and their teacher is Kathleen McGeady. They use a blog to share all the great things that they are learning and let you know what is happening in their class. Their classroom is really neat. They have a lot more computers in their classrooms than we do here. They have already started using the Smartboards and the Whiteboards. They are definitely an interesting group of kids and you should definitely go check it out if you get a chance. This is a link to their class blog http://2kmblog.globalstudent.org.au/.

Vocaroo

Blog Post 5

Comparing and Contrasting about the Good and Bad Aspect of Smart boards

I believe that Smart Boards can be very useful. The main thing I like about them is that they are a different way of delivering the lesson to the students, other than the teacher just standing up there saying take notes. They also are rather neat looking to me. I am a firm believer that a teacher can make any subject as interesting as they want to, and by using the smart board, I believe that this is an interesting tool to use.

Smart Boards can help a student to learn things more effectively by providing them with hands on knowledge. They create a learning environment for children of all types, concentrating on particular students learning styles. Smart Boards benefit the teachers because the notes that are written on the board can be saved every time, instead of the teacher having to rewrite notes.

There are a few bad things that come with Smart Boards also. One is they are very expensive. If one thing goes wrong with the Smart Board, it is very pricy to fix. Another bad thing about it is you always have to have a computer when using the Smart Board, which can be a hassel trying to carry everything around. The only way a Smart Board can not be a hassel is if every classroom is provided with a computer to hook the Smart Board to.

Here is a link that disagrees with the fact that Smart Boards are dumb,

http://www.waukeshaschools.com/WIT/SmartBoard/benefits.htm

Videos I would like to create would be videos such as, me showing my future students a video of me learning how to blog and the main benefits of blogging. Then it would be a video of showing them how to go out and find answers to questions, instead of the students just sitting back and waiting on someone who does know all the answers to tell them.

Blog Post 4

In the Eagles' Nest Radio and Class, I learned that the phrase, all roads lead to Rome, was actually a true statement. It was known that the romans were very good architects and engineers and every road that they built, eventually led to downtown Rome. I also learned that inside of the buildings they built, they would have fights. The men who fought in them were named Gladiators, and they would fight until the last man was standing.

On Langwitche's blog, It is not about the tools, it is about the Skills, I learned that parents today are still living in the past. They are continuing to think that they way they did things are still the right and only way to do things, but they are wrong.

In the podcasting video, I learned that podcasting is a way to communicate with students outside of the classroom. I also learned that a vodcast was a podcast with video. On the Practical Principals blog I learned that two random people met from a few hundred miles away by using skype, and now they talk and record their conversations and then post them online. In the section of Podcasts and more, I learned that podcasts became an official word in 2004 when they words iPod and broadcast were combined.

The Education Podcast Network,I really thought this web page was pretty neat because so many people can put so many different ideas onto one page. I thought it was pretty amazing that the Ace Kids were that young and were creating an introduction to a radio station. I really enjoyed browsing around on this site. I never knew that children who were not even thought of 10 years ago would know more than I do about computers now.

In the Curriki Pdocast Collection website, I learned that a podcast is a radio-style broadcast. I thought it was pretty knee how many different ways that you can download a podcast on your computer. I also love the fact that they show that podcast can be used for students who missed assignments. I also like the fact that it is available all day and everyday.

In the Eagles' Nest Radio blog I really liked the fact that the teacher was taking the time to teach her young students about the internet. In the world today we need to be more and more technologically advanced in order to keep up with everything. I believe until we start getting more teachers like the in the United States, we will continue to fall behind.

Another thing that I liked about this website, was not only this teacher's desire to teach her students, but her desire to show off her students to the world. Many teachers love teaching the kids but then want to give themselves all the credit for what the kids have done and accomplished. Sure, we all know that they do have a major impact, but if it was not for the determination of the student themselves to learn and obtain knowledge, then all the teaching done would be in vain.

After looking over Langwitches blog, I really liked how the teacher said that a teachers heart smiles whenever a student becomes interested in what she or he is teaching, and starts becoming creative with it. I believe this is so true, because as I said in my video of why I wanted to be a teacher, was because I loved to help a student accomplish something they never thought they could do and then seeing them smile about it will be priceless.

Why I Want to Be a Teacher

My TimeToast

This is a Time Line that I created on TimeToaster showing my immediate family and their birth dates, and a little bit of information on each of them.

Blog Post 4

Don't Teacher your kids this stuff please!

I really liked this article, he pretty much was telling the world that we need to start pushing technology in our schools. I completely agree with his statements he made in this post. Scott Mcloud is the Associate Professor of Educational Administration at Iowa Sate University. He was also the maker of the video Did You Know? that we had to watch and respond to.

The iSchool Initiative
I really enjoyed this video. He showed mainly how much money we could save. The main things that caught my attention was when he was showing how a school could have their lunch menu, their attendance records and many other things at one touch on a phone. He also showed how students could stay connected to their class and teacher's at the same time, all day and everyday.

I completely agree that we should start putting this system into our schools. I know from my own personal experience that there was many times that I needed to ask the teacher a question about an assignment, but could not get in touch with them until the next day, and unfortunately then it was too late. He made a great point talking about how much money we could save on paper,pencils and many more accessories that schools require students to have these days.

The Lost Generation
When I first watched this I was shocked at the things she was saying, but then I started realzing that it was explaining the exact world that we all livein. I really loved the technique she used in this video. Not only did she say that we need to reverse it, but when she read it backwards and that was showing the way it should be, it absolutely amazed me. Not only was this video inspiring, but it was very creative in how it was setup.


Eric Whitaker's Virtual Choir

This video showed me how many different ways and benfits the internet offers us now, compared to how it used to. It was amazing to see how over a hundred people put together little pieces of a song by using the internet and then the person who created the song made it sound like a masterpiece.

Blog Post 2

A Vision of Students Today

Well the first thing I would like to point out, is the fact that I believe ninety-nine percent of college students would agree with this video. Not only does this video tell the truth about how busy everyone's lives are, but it also shows why we do not succeed in school like we should. The video brings up an interesting point when it points out that everything we do in a days time, adds up to twenty-six and a half hours. Unfortunately, we all know that there are only twenty-four hours in a day, so therefore something has to give, and most of the time it is the school work that gets shoved to the side.

This video absolutely sums up my college experience. The only thing different was my freshman year I was a student-athlete at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Ms. It was very hard to mix and mingle my time on the baseball field and my time in the classroom together, in order to be able to succeed the way I wished to. The fact of me playing baseball and going to school at the same time would be the only thing I would change to make this video more relevant to me.

It's Not About the Technology!

This post was very interesting to me. While reading it, I became aware of no matter how much I teach children, if they have not learned anything, then nothing has been done. This post made me realize that unless we make sure that all of our teachers are becoming more technologically enhanced, we will never make any progress. If all we do is sit back and watch the world pass us by as teachers, then the percentage of kids that graduate a four year college will drop even more.

I do believe that no matter how much equipment that a teacher is given, unless it is used then all the money has gone to waste. I can remember how maybe thirty percent of my teachers in high school even knew how to use the Internet. This percentage needs to go up quickly or many teachers will be losing their jobs to new teachers that are computer smart. In the world today, I believe that teachers should learn from students and viceversa each and everyday.

Is It OKAY to Be Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

This post really opened up my eyes in the same was as the Mr.Winkle Wakes video. It showed me that being able to use computers efficiently is so demanding now a days, that it could possibly be the key to getting or not getting a job. One of the main things that got my attention was at the end where it said that we have to explore the internet world right along with our students everyday.

I do agree with the part that says schools whom turn out students that are just as technologically illiterate coming out, as they were going in, should be questioned. Each and everyday we are apart of something new in the technology world, and I believe unless something more is done in the classrooms of our middle and high schools, that the United States will continue to fall behind in the world of technology.

Gary's Social Media Count.

I believe that these numbers mean a lot. These number mean that I will have to know how to use the Internet efficiently. These numbers mean that while I am teaching, I will be dealing with a lot more distractions. These numbers mainly mean to me though that no matter what people are saying or what they think, the world is becoming so reliant on the internet that in a few years, it may be the only reliable resource used in schools.

Google Presentation

Blog Post 1

Did You Know?

This video really caught my attention, not only because it made me realize how much our economy and world has changed, it was also the shock of how quick technology is improving as I am typing this message. While I was watching this video I began to realize the importance of learning as much as I can about computers. The main segment of this video that scared me the most was the section about the computers. Computers currently are amazing to me and they perform more tasks than I thought they ever would. Upon realizing how much they can do, it is frightening to me to think that computers will be smarter than the human brain one day.

When I was watching this video it shocked me to see how many babies were born in the United States, compared to how many were born in China, Japan and other places. The reason why it startled me was because with all the kids and young teenagers there, compared to how many are here, you would think that our students would be smarter. The reason why I believe this is due to the simple fact that we should have better student to teacher ratio than other countries, which in turn should mean we should have kids with higher I.Q'S than many other countries, but we do not.


Mr.Winkle Wakes!

I thought this was a pretty neat video. At the beginning I was wandering what the point in this video was going to be, but i quickly figured it out. I believe this video was trying to show us that technology is changing so much, that we do not have time to SLEEP on it. In today's world we have to wake up our minds and our thoughts and put our thoughts into action. Without risks and failures you will never get better at anything.

I noticed how Mr. Winkle got confused about a lot of different things right off the bat, but he was still anxious to get help because this was all making him sick. I thought it was kind of neat though when he was in the midst of all the confusion and sickness, that he still found a place of peace. I believe firmly that no matter what, every human being will always have one place that they can go, or one person that they can talk to that will always give them peace. I really liked the part of the video that showed him smiling, because this to me showed that once we have all found a place that we are comfortable with, our minds seem to be more attracted to the goal in which we set for ourselves.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

I believe that the teacher in this video really enjoys her job and also loves the students. The way she talked about how she liked to show the kids what to do and then let them pretty much teach her what they had learned was pretty neat to me. Vikki makes the digital world an interesting one and I can see where students would relate to her teaching strategy very well. It was pretty neat to see how students at such a young age were able to catch on and remember what they had learned.

I liked the part where she pointed out that you do not have to know everything to be a teacher. I believe that no matter what, you will always be learning. I think that if we do not begin learning new technology each and every day though, that one day it will catch up with us whenever a student ask a question about computer that we do not know.

The Importance of Creativity

I liked how he started out telling everyone that he loved the fact that he had no idea how any of the things he was going to be telling them would play out. When he brought up the fact that education was to bring us into this future that we can not grasp, it made me realize how important education and creativity are. I liked the fact that he said creativity is just as important as literacy. One of the main quotes he used that I liked was when he said that if we are not prepared to be wrong then we will never come up with anything original. To me this is saying that too many people in this world today are just being followers and not leaders.

When he said that Shakespeare was at one time in someone's English class, this reminded me that no matter how much we know, there will always be something else to learn about each and everyday. He brought up an interesting topic that i did not know about, and it was the fact that there were no public education systems before the Industrial Age. The main thing I can say I took from this video was how much our creativity has blemished away, and if we do not bring it back then we will be in big trouble in the future.

My First Blog

Well this is my first official blog and as I am typing I still have no idea about a lot of the technology involved in this class. Ilike the thought of knowing many different new things about the internet but at the same time it gets rather intimidating. If anyone will be willing to meet up with me on Mondays in the labs I would greatly appreciate it and maybe we could improve our skills together. Good Luck to everyone.

My Wordle