My EDM 310 Blog Assignments Are Now Complete

I've enjoyed being in class with all of you. I learned so much from my classmates. All of you are younger than me and many have a different perspective on things. I appreciated all your input and enjoyed seeing your work.
Also, thanks to Dr. Strange for all the help. We learned so much!

Good luck to you all in your future teaching careers. Remember to "Inspire" your students to achieve greatness.

Have a wonderful holiday!

What I Have Learned

EDM 310 has been an invaluable learning tool for me. I have gained so many new skills in this class and learned the many ways we can use technology in the classroom such as:

1) Blogs- learning to create and post to a blog. I definitely want to use blogs in my classroom.
2) Links and Pictures-learning to create links and upload and post pictures to the blog. This is going to be really helpful because before this class, I had no idea how to get my pictures from the digital camera to another source.
3) Alt Tags- how to put alt tags (modifiers and title tags) on my photos for sight impaired readers.
4) iTunes- how to download material from iTunes- especially the podcasts- and they're free! I liked listening to all of the podcasts and video casts-especially "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch.
5) Podcasts- I really didn't know what a podcast was before this class- and now I have participated in one. I would like to be able to create my own podcast in the classroom someday so this information is really helpful.
6) Google Tools- I didn't realize all the tools Google has available-and they're free- such as:
-Google Docs- which I can use for spreadsheets, word documents and presentations
- Google Blogger- a great way to create a blog for free
-iGoogle Page- I can put items on this page for my students to use- and all the Google gadgets available.
-Picasa- which I will use to edit and save photos

7) ACCESS- I probably would not have known as much about the ACCESS labs if we had not been required to visit one for our assignments. This is something I would like to be involved in someday.

8) ALEX- I didn't know this web site existed before now. This will be a resource I will go to again and again for lesson plan ideas.

Something that I would have liked to have learned in this class is how to create a web site. This is a project that I would probably be required to do when I start teaching as a resource for my students so I would like to know how to get started.

The most important thing I learned in this class though, is how much I like technology! Before this class, I never really used the computer for more than email and doing assignments in Word. There is so much more to explore! I am glad I got the opportunity to discover so many new things.

My Thoughts on Classroom Blogs

My experience this semester with creating and posting to my own blog has opened up a whole new world for me. Before I started this class, I was unaware of what a blog was let alone ever think about creating one myself. Now, my view has changed as it probably has for most of the students in our class.

Many of the individual blogs from our class are quite good and I wish I had time to read them all, but the classmate's blog that I picked to read was written by Stephanie Ellis. I really enjoyed perusing Stephanie's blog. She had some interesting posts with pictures to go along with them. I think the blogs that contain some sort of graphic image are more interesting to look at. The pictures also help to catch your attention. My favorite post of Stephanie's was the one she wrote on Randy Pausch. I think we were all moved after watching Randy's video. He accomplished so much in his short lifetime and inspired so many people (including us). Stephanie did a great job of expressing her feelings about the video. Like her, I am not sure if I am an Eeyore or a Tigger either. I think I am more of a Kanga, a born nurturer. That's why I want to be a teacher I guess. I really enjoyed Stephanie's blog. All of her posts seemed to be well thought out and organized (and up to date).

I think we both learned during this semester what a great asset blogging can be to a classroom. The blogs can serve as a reinforcer for information taught in the classroom along with a vehicle to post assignments in, links to websites and other blogs, student's work as well as a source for information and news for the parents as well as students. I also like the idea that, if you start the blog the first week of school, it can serve as an on-line portfolio of the students work for the entire school year. Teachers and parents, as well as students, can see how much the students work has improved over the course of the year. The best part is that blogs are free and easy to create using Google Blogger. You can also access them from any computer.

I found some really good blogs over the course of the semester that I would like to use as a model for my own classroom. One blog that I really liked was "Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog", which is a class of first graders in Moosejaw, Canada. The children have their own blogs which they post to each week (first graders blogging!). There are also videos of what the children are doing in class as a way to let the rest of the world (including parents and grandparents) into their classroom. What a great idea! This is the type of blog I would want to use in an elementary classroom.
Another great blog was created by a teacher in Connecticut called "Miller's 10th Grade English Blog". This blog is amazing! Mr. Miller teaches Advanced English at Branford High School. His blog contains everything a student would need such as class calendar, assignments, homework prompts and a link to a wiki, which the students also participate in. This is the type of blog that would be ideal for a middle or high school class. The students have everything they need right there at their fingertips while at the same time Mr. Miller is teaching them how to use the technology.

We also learned that blogs linked together can serve as a web page for the classroom as we did when we created our teaching tools blogs. Selected topics in the educational/technology realm can be linked together and with the click of the mouse we can go from blog post to blog post.

One drawback to using blogs for posting assignments, resources, etc. is that not all students would have computers or internet access at home. It is true that they could access the information at the library but this might become burdensome for a student or a parent. Also, many parents might not allow their children to use the internet at home (without supervision), feeling it is unsafe.

Also, creating a blog and keeping it up to date with current assignments does take a lot of time. It is something that you have to stay on top and update constantly. This might pose a time constraint for some teachers. The students might also feel that since the assignments and material will be available online, in a blog or web page, that they don't need to pay attention in class or take notes. This could lead to day dreaming or behavior problems.

I believe the plusses to classroom blogs far outweigh the minuses. Blogs and Wikis are something we can use in the classroom as a resource of information for our students along with a way to showcase their work. They are a way to introduce technology to our students while at the same time allowing them to give and get feedback about their work. This is definitely a tool I will be using in my future classroom.

EDM 310 Podcasts

My Thoughts on Our Podcasts

I listened to several of the EDM 310 class podcasts, but the four that I would like to make comments on are these:

1) Blogging and Education by Andrea Williams, LaShonda Pruitt, and Silas Smith
I thought this was a very informative podcast with a lot of personal opinions presented by the podcasters. I like how Andrea explained what blogging is and the three types of educational blogs you usually find on the web.
Silas had some really good comments to make about the blogs and his personal experiences since he works as a teacher's assistant at Gautier High School in Mississippi. Silas also seemed really relaxed during the whole discussion. He's a natural.
I would liked to have heard more of LaShonda's thoughts about blogging and her experiences with it. Also, they only made reference to one blog they visited during the conversation and it was a personal (independent) one. I would liked to have heard of some good educational blogs that they found that maybe future teachers could use for examples.
Overall, I thought this was an good instructional podcast.
To listen to this podcast, click here


2) ALEX and ACCESS: Alabama Distance Learning by Brooke Elder, Alison Davis, and Kellie Brooks
I liked how ALEX and ACCESS were explained in detail since many of our listeners may not be from Alabama so may not know about either program. They also told which schools in our area now have full ACCESS labs and which have partial labs. I would like to have known if any of them personally have visited one of the labs yet and what they thought. Also, the majority of the conversation was devoted to ACCESS. I wanted to know to more about ALEX and how they intend to use this program in their classrooms and how it could be beneficial to future teachers.
I thought the three students interacted well and it was a very informative podcast.
To listen to this podcast, click here



3) Facebook as an Educational Tool by Theola Hines and Larrica Smith.
I liked how Theola gave us some background information on Facebook and talked about her experiences using Facebook, since she is a member. I would have liked to have heard more about the comparisons between My Space and Facebook. What are the similarities and differences between the two? Theola did say that My Space had many more members than Facebook but since I am unfamiliar with both, I would like to know which would work best in an educational setting (advantages and disadvantages).
I thought it was interesting that Theola was able to convince Larrica during the conversation to switch from My Space to Facebook. Larrica was unfamiliar with Facebook before the conversation but now is willing to try it.
When Dr. Strange interjected, the conversation seemed to change direction from Facebook being used by high school and college students to perhaps younger students, like middle school or upper elementary. He asked the right questions to steer the conversation to a broader audience.
The students mentioned something about putting pictures of their students on Facebook as a way for the parents and other classes to see what they are doing in school. I am wondering about the liability issues with this. Would they need to get a waiver signed by the parents in order to post pictures in Facebook? This is something I would liked to have seen addressed. Also, I know there is an age limit, but as one student said, it is easy to get around. I am wondering what you do if the parents are opposed to letting their child have a Facebook account? Would this be something just used in the classroom or something the students could access at home?
Overall, I thought the two girls interacted really well and seemed to have a good rapport. This podcast was interesting to listen to.
To listen to this podcast, click here



4) Burp Back Education by Patricia Robbins, Maegan St. Amant, and Courtney Morris
This is the podcast that I participated in. I think we got the point across how each of us is definitely opposed to Burp Back education. Dr. Strange explained what Burp Back education is during the introduction so we each elaborated on it and cited our own personal experiences with it. I stressed how I like the idea of using application projects as a way to reinforce the information presented in class and also as a way to evaluate students. Maegan likes the student-led discussions in class because she feels that students can learn from each other. Courtney prefers the in-class activites like the classroom games to enhance learning. I really liked Courtney's fly swatter game idea.
I think we had a good rapport with each other but the podcast didn't flow as well as some of the later ones. I think after listening to some of the later podcasts, that maybe next time we would set it up more like a give and take conversation, where one person makes a point and the other two comment on it. Also, some of our comments were hard to hear so I guess next time we need to speak louder. Overall, I think we did pretty good, considering we were only the second podcast made. I think we are probably our own worst critic but I didn't like listening to my own podcast.
To listen to this podcast, click here

I thought all the podcasts were very good but some of them did sound like someone was reading from a script. I think more preparation was needed in the material presented. There was also, in many of the podcasts, instances of dead air (5-6 second pauses) seeming like the speakers ran out of things to say. Many of the speakers also seemed to be really uncomfortable in front of the microphone (myself included) though most did seem to relax towards the end of the discussion. I think if we could have rehearsed what we were going to say or had a trial run, some of that may have been eliminated but then the podcast might not have sounded as authentic. Overall, I think everyone did an excellent job, especially considering this was our first experience pocasting. Great job, class.

Duke University Center for Documentary Studies

The podcast from Duke University that I listened to was called, "Looking Back: 9/11 Across America" which contained interviews with people after the 9/11 attacks. Americans were asked what their reactions were when they heard the news or saw on television that the country had been attacked. Most of the people were in shock and couldn't believe what they were seeing was real. Some even thought it was a movie they were watching, not an actual news event. For others, the news of what happened wouldn't sink in until days later.

They were also asked what impact the 9/11 attacks has had on their lives. Many said their gut reaction was that the United States should get even with whoever did this and we were right to have gone to war with Afghanistan. Others called President Bush an idiot and think we shouldn't have done anything. One young women said she enlisted in the Navy and hoped her contributions would make a difference.

They also felt that the tragedy caused stereotyping of Muslim-Americans. Many people had said that if they even looked Muslim, they were discriminated against or given hateful glances or unkind gestures. One girl, who works in a hospital, was asked if she was Arabic (she was Cambodian). It was one of her patients and the women made her feel very uncomfortable.

One common thread in all the conversions is that people realized that they have taken their country for granted and that it took a tragedy like the 9/11 attacks for them to appreciate America and what she stands for. Some said they didn't even own a flag before this happened but now they fly their flag everyday. If anything good has come out of this tragedy, it is that the act has united our nation and instilled in many Americans new found patriotism.

I wouldn't use this particular podcast in a classroom because it contains some cursing, but I can see how podcasts of this type could be useful. It is important that children be made aware of what happened on September 11, 2001 so I would include a podcast of this type in a history lesson. I would focus on the fact that American was attacked but we survived. As a nation, we stood together and helped each other get through this, as we have when other tragedies have occurred.

One thing that bothered me about the podcast was how some of the interviewees referred to President Bush as an idiot. I feel this was disrespectful and sends the wrong message to our children. Like him or not, the office of the president should always be respected if not the man himself.

Click for tribute video

Electronic Contact Assignment

Mrs. Cassidy's class on Orange and Black Day

In order to find my electronic contact for this assignment, I emailed six different classes and teachers from different sources on the web with no responses. Then I decided to email the teacher of one of the classes I used for my international blog post and Volia! It worked! The teacher emailed me back the next day.

I first spoke with my contact, Mrs. Kathy Cassidy, through email but at her suggestion (she thought I should stretch myself), we had a conversation on Skype. I had never used Skype before but I installed it on my computer and we chatted that same night. It is similar to any other instant messenger like Google talk or Yahoo chat. We chatted for about 40 minutes about what I needed and what she is doing in her class using technology.

Mrs. Cassidy teaches a class of six year olds (first grade) in Moosejaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. I originally found Mrs. Cassidy's class blog while doing a Google search for international blogs and hers popped up. She has been using blogs in her class for about four years now. She told me that when she had been thinking for a while that she wanted to teach her class to blog. She set it up and one day told them, "Guess what? You get to blog". The children really seem to have taken to it. They type the blogs entries themselves and if needed, Mrs. Cassidy translates what they have written. Usually though, you can tell what they are trying to say. Each child in the class has his or her own blog and posts to it frequently (at least once a week). I like to visit the blog once in a while to see what they have written. In their last post, they told what they were going to be for Halloween. The children keep a keen eye on their blogs to see how many people read them and leave comments. Kathy said the children love an audience. They are just like the rest of us in that respect.

One thing that Mrs. Cassidy told me that was surprising is that in Canada, the school curriculum doesn't encourage reading and writing in the Kindergarten unless the children are "ready" for it, unlike the United States. Most of her children couldn't read or write when they entered her class but I think their blog posts are amazingly well written considering they are just learning how.

The best part of the blog assignment is that since the children are doing their own writing, by the end of the school year, they have an online writing portfolio. The teacher, student and parent can look at it and see how much the child has improved over the course of the year

Mrs. Cassidy also uses videos in her classroom not only for teaching but to show the rest of the world what her students are doing in class. The videos of what the children are learning are posted to the class blog. The blog is frequently visited by parents and grandparents so the families get to see what the children are doing in school. Some of the videos are posted to you tube. It it a great way to connect their classroom to the outside world. I told Mrs. Cassidy about the podcasts we were making for class and she said she used to do podcasting in her classes but found that people would rather watch a video than listen to a podcast. Besides, half the charm of the video is seeing the small children's expressions and gestures. Some of that would be lost on just an audio device.

Mrs. Cassidy has been teaching for 18 years so I consider her a pro. I asked her for some suggestions for resources for someone, like myself, who is new at using technology in the classroom. She said if she were just starting out teaching, she would make a website on a wiki. Wikispaces is always giving away free wikis without ads to educators. She said creating a wiki is just like editing a word document. You can make the wiki public, where anyone can add to it or you can choose to have it protected so that no one can edit it but you. I think to start out, I would choose to keep it under my control until I learned what I was doing.

I enjoyed chatting with Kathy and appreciated all her input. She gave me some great ideas to start off with. When I eventually get in the classroom, I would like to try some of her suggestions. She said the best way to learn to use the technology is not to be afraid to try new things. Her best suggestion to me was "You just have to jump in and do it".

Mrs. Cassidy also has a terrific webpage. Click the maple leaf to visit the class website.

Mathematics and Technology

A middle school classroom in Maine


I listened to the Mathematics and Technology podcasts on itunes from the Maine Department of Education, which was hosted by Judy Chandler, Math teacher and member of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. In the MLTI, each 7th and 8th grade middle school student and their teacher are provided with a laptop computer (Apple ibooks) for classroom instruction. The teachers attend workshops and classes to learn how to use the technology in the classroom Ms. Chandler's theory is that technology can be integrated into a math curriculum to enhance learning and improve critical thinking skills. Most of the teachers she has talked to though tend to just teach math out of the textbook which leads to either disconnection and disengagement of the students or they memorize meaningless procedures long enough to pass the test, then forget them (sounds like burp back education to me).

The use of technology to teach math in the classroom enhances student learning by: engaging the student, manipulative experiences with immediate feedback, exploring of math concepts, providing visual representatives, enhances communication and offers alternative ways to demonstrate learning. Ms. Chandler also stated that integrating technology into the math classroom offers a multisensory, collaborative learning environment (hands-on learning) which promotes greater understanding.

She also suggested we engage our students by asking questions. This would direct classroom discussions along with improving critical thinking skills. Ask them not only why is it so, but also what it is, where it came from, and how can it be? Use questions to summarize meaning. When students think hard they remember better and also learn how to think in the process.

I agree with Judy Chandler in the use of technology in the classroom. As a student who has always struggled with math, to have a resource where the material is represented in an alternative way besides just doing problems in a textbook may have made math concepts a little easier for me to grasp. I have had a few math classes where technology was used but it was mostly just a repeat of what was in the textbook for extra practice and quiz taking. Having a program to use where we can manipulate objects or some type of interactive program would have been a tremendous help.
Other podcasts like this one, where technology is integrated into the classroom as a tool, rather than an extra curricular activity, would be helpful to me as a teacher for ways to promote learning in my students.

I would like to use one of the programs she suggests in the classroom to help keep the students engaged and help them to remember the skills learned longer than after the exam. And if Alabama can someday, like Maine, provide each of our middle school students with laptop computers along with instructing our teachers on how to use the technology, then the possibilities for bringing technology into the classroom will be endless.

Ms. Chandler discussed a program on the podcast she has created called GeoGebra which is a combination of Algebra and Geometry. It can be found at the Maine's Actem noteshare website.

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset: Stanford University on iTunes

Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

After watching the podcast video interview of Dr. Carol Dweck on itunes, I can see a lot of the problems having a fixed mindset could create in a classroom. Dr. Dweck, a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, recently wrote a book entitled, "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" in which she explains her theory that in order to perform optimally, we need to learn from our mistakes. The belief that you can't improve stunts achievement. She states that people in a fixed mindset, often stagnate and don't try new things because they feel they will fail. They base their activities on whether their intelligence will be shown. Failure, they feel, will make them appear less intelligent. Failure, Dr. Dweck states, is where growth happens. The belief that you can overcome your mistakes will help you to grow and learn. You are building new neuron connections which leads to the ability to improve your intellectual skills.

I believe the fixed mindset can be created during the elementary years by well-meaning parents and teachers with the use of labels. Labels, even though positive, can be harmful because they may lead to a fixed mindset. Labeling a child as smart puts so much pressure on them to perform that they may give up because they feel they can't live up to the label. Because their intelligence has been praised rather than their effort, they are afraid of looking dumb in front of classmates. Praising a child for their intelligence rather than effort, saps their motivation. Instead, it is better to praise the effort they put in the work rather than how smart they are. An example of this could be: "Susie, I appreciate how hard you worked on this project" rather than saying, "You're such a good artist" or "You're so smart".

I think we all tend to put labels on people but this is something I want to make a conscious effort to try to avoid in the classroom. Once a child is labeled, it is so hard for him or her to overcome the labels. I think the labels also make us a little biased in our evaluation of the student, knowing ahead of time that the good student is going to hand it quality work so maybe we just expect it and the same goes for the underachieving child where we just expect them to hand in poor work so maybe they don't try as hard. We need to always have high expectations for our students and try to turn a fixed mindset in a child into a growth mindset by always encouraging them to go beyond their own expectations, out of their comfort zone, even if there is a chance they'll make mistakes and fail. Mistakes are what help us grow.

To view this video

electronic contact info

Anyone still looking for a teacher or class to contact for the assignment try:

Teacher Lingo blog

Another hint: Try emailing the teacher on the blog you found for either U.S. or international blog use from our blog assignment on Sept 4th and 8th. I did this and got a response.

Teacher's Domain Video Podcasts on itunes

Solar System view through infrared camera

Grades K-5

One of the video pod casts from WGBH (which is the Public Television station in Boston) that I found interesting was called "Infrared: More than the Eye Can See". In this video, Dr. Michelle Thaller, who is an astronomer, explains how infrared camera enable us to see light that isn't visible. In it, she explains that light you can see with the naked eye is called visible light, but another kind of light, infrared, you can only see with an infrared camera or goggles. Objects give off heat and that is what is shown on the infrared camera. Warm objects appear brighter on the infrared camera and cool objects appear darker. She showed us many examples of this in the video. Astronomers are using infrared to detect planets that give off their own heat but you are unable to see because they are not near a star that gives off light.

I watched two more videos in this age group, "Energy Flow in the Coral Reef" and "A Night in the Coral Reef". I loved both of these videos because I think children are always interested in learning more about underwater creatures. The Coral Reefs are located in tropical areas and near the surface of the water because they need the energy from the sun to survive. Some of the creatures living in the reefs are the Moray Eel and the Octopus. These two creatures are nocturnal, another fact I didn't know. They come out at night to hunt for prey and return to their caves during the day. Some of the other fish eat the coral to get at the small, small creatures that are living inside.

These videos reminded me so much of an IMAX movie I saw on a field trip last year to the National Naval Aviation Museum at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola with my son's third-grade class . It was called "Deep Sea" and was narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. In this film, you felt like you were really under the water and that's how I felt watching these videos.

Grades 6-8

I also watched a couple of videos in the 6th-8th grade age group that I found interesting. "What is a Planet" explained what characteristics a planet must have to be classified as such and why Pluto is no longer considered a planet. They also said in the video, there may actually be 10-12 planets total though some have not been classified yet.

I also watched ""Earth as a System" because I love physical geography and learning about biomes and atmospheric changes. In this video, different characteristics of the earth were used to explain why we have different climates in other parts of the world in addition to volcanoes, earthquakes, El Ninos, etc.

I found all of the videos from Teacher's Domain to be very educational. I would use these videos in a classroom to help with science and geography lessons. Some of the videos are very short and only cover the basics but they could be used to introduce a topic such as weather or astronomy to a class before the lesson was presented.

Another useful thing I discovered from the going to itunes to watch the video casts was the Teacher's Domain website. On this website, a teacher can download the videos, which also come with an attached essay explaining the information. The resources can be saved on your desktop or in a folder in which you can share them with other teachers. To use the resources on the website, you only have to register and registration is free. The topics covered on this website range from The Arts, Language Arts, and Mathematics to Social Studies and, of course, Science. This is definitely a website I will be using as a teacher when I get in the classroom.

My Visit to an ACCESS Lab

Today I paid a visit to the ACCESS lab at Mary G. Montgomery High School in Semmes. Another student from our class, Hannah Callais, accompanied me. We were greeted by Mr. Roger Rose who is in charge of the ACCESS program at MGM. He is currently teaching an online AP Psychology class using ACCESS. The ACCESS lab had about eight students in it, some from other high schools, doing online learning. They were studying different subjects such as Art History, AP Psychology, Literature and Statistics. While in the lab, the students are monitored by a program facilitator, Mrs. Brown, who keeps track of their progress.

Mr. Rose showed us around the lab and how the different equipment is used. He doesn't have an IVC (interactive video conferencing) class this term but he told us about it. Video is streamed from his classroom out to classes around the state of Alabama. He is allowed to have 29 students in each class but they can be from different locations. He can see the students and they can see him. Using this method, the instructor and students can interact live. Mr. Rose said this is almost as good as being in the classroom with one exception: he can't always tell if the students are "getting it" (understanding the material) because through the video stream you lose some gestures, non-verbal communication and nuances of being in the room with the students. Some students are also afraid to ask questions because they know they are on camera. Students are also able to take classes at MGM from instructors outside of the school using the IVC. It works both ways.

There's also other tools used for the IVS: Smartboard whiteboard and ELMO (not the furry, red monster). ELMO is a visual presenter that allows documents, three dimensional objects and text to be viewed on the IVC screen. Everything Mr. Rose does on the boards shows on the screen. It looks similar to an overhead projector. Wow, there's so much technology that I didn't even know existed!

We also met three of the other ACCESS lab teachers: Mrs. LeGrone, who teaches Chemistry, Mrs. Stroud, who teaches Physics and Ms. Hart, who teaches German. They are currently teaching the online ACCESS courses, but may be doing some of the IVC teaching next semester. It was felt by all three teachers that in theory, the ACCESS program is a wonderful concept but in actuality, there's some kinks in the mix. The lessons they use are prewritten and sometimes they don't have access to them until the first day of class (little time to plan). They use the lessons and power points that came with the software that was purchased with the program. The teachers would like a chance to create some of their own material but unfortunately that would be too time- consuming and expensive. Another drawback is the way the program was set up, not all students enter it on the first day or sometimes even the first week. Getting all the students coordinated when they are at different stages in the quarter is difficult.

The good news is that, hopefully, by the end of the school year, all the high schools in Alabama will have fully equipped ACCESS labs with teachers trained to run them. I envision, with the right training, this will be an incredible opportunity for our children to take classes they never dreamed they could such as Russian or Chinese, possibly taught by a teacher on the other side of the state. This is an excellent program to prepare our students for college. So many of the college classes now have web-based elements or are completely on-line. I believe this will give them an advantage in the future.

Mr. Rose also said that eventually, ACCESS labs would also be implemented in the middle schools in Alabama. Here's hoping that that may someday make their way to the elementary schools, perhaps available to the fourth and fifth graders who have mastered basic reading skills. This would also be a great program to implement into the PACE (gifted students) program as a way to keep these children challenged and motivated to seek out new experiences. I can't wait to see what is in store for us as teachers with all the new technological innovations. It's going to be quite a ride!

side note: Mr. Rose also stressed something of extreme importance: if we as pre-service teachers are not technologically savvy, we better get technologically savvy before we graduate. Many of the school districts are now requiring their teachers to have websites and virtual learning labs. It's not the wave of the future- it is the here and now. He said when we compete for the teaching jobs, the graduates with the technological skills would probably be the ones to get the jobs. He suggested we find software (some of it is free) to help us become more technology oriented. I guess it is true-you can never stop learning.

Visit Mr. Rose's, Mrs. Stroud's, and Mrs. LeGrone's websites for some great ideas.

Edutopia Videocasts

The Edible Schoolyard

I really like the idea behind "The Edible Schoolyard". Talk about hands on learning! The children at Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkley, California grow their food and cook it in a classroom kitchen. What a great way to teach the science of plant life cycle while at the same time, teach the students a life skill like cooking. They are also learning about vegetables and how to eat healthy.

The idea for the garden was the brainchild of a chef/author Alice Waters, after having a conversation with the school principal who was unhappy with the current lunch program. Many of the school's menu items just weren't nutritionally sound. She wanted a way for the students to learn how to eat healthy foods while at the same time teach them where food comes from (other than the grocery store). The students are learning about fruits and vegetables that they may not have otherwise been willing to try. The teachers say that after the students grow the food and prepare it, they are more willing to eat it and try new things. Maybe I should plant a garden in my backyard to get my kids to eat more vegetables!

A Night in the Global Village

This is another great program from Edutopia teaching students about world hunger. I like this video cast because they put the students in a situation that would be almost impossible to simulate in any classroom. The students are placed in a camp that is rigged to look like a village in an impoverished area. They are each assigned to a group and are given one of the supplies they will need to survive the night. One group will have the water supply, one the firewood, one some food, one the pots to cook in, etc. They have to work together with the other groups to make their meal for the night. They also have to sleep in huts and shacks with just a cot or a rug on the floor with no electricity or indoor plumbing.

This is a great way to teach students about how people in other parts of the world really live and what we take for granted. They learn that they just can't go to the refrigerator and take out a snack or a soft drink. They learn they have to work with others in the village just to survive.

My Take

Having a garden in the school yard would be an invaluable tool to teach students about the life cycle of plants and where most of our food comes from but it is not very feasible in most schools though. I would like my class to learn more about how plants grow and the different stages and also, be interested in trying new foods. Perhaps, we could plant some vegetables in the classroom in pots so they could get a little taste of what it's like to grow and nurture a living
thing.

The Global Village would be a great project for most students to experience but then again, it would also be hard to reenact in the classroom. I would like to teach my class about poverty and hunger. It is a hard concept for children to grasp when we live in a country where there is an abundance of food. They don't always understand that some children go to bed hungry every night. I would use the resources at Heifer International to show the students what other children are doing to help solve the hunger problem. Perhaps, we could get involved in a community project to help those in need such as Feed the Children or World Vision. I think community involvement is an essential part of the education process. I believe that Edutopia will be a great resource to me as a teacher to help students really get involved in their education and the world around them. Thanks, George Lucas for helping to provide ways to reach students beyond the traditional classroom setting.

The George Lucas Educational Foundation

Jellyfish

Waterfall

Waterfall at Victoria Fall in Victoria, Canada
Picture is from Dr. Strange's Canadian vacation.

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Podcasting

Listening to all the different podcast on itunes gave me some insight to some of the different ways podcasts are set up. The styles differed from a lecture style format with one person speaking such as on The Tenacious Teacher, to a group of people conversing about different subjects in education such as the podcast EdTechTalk Weekly.

The podcasts with the lecture style format were informative and easy to listen to because you didn't have to try to figure who was talking but you only heard one person's point of view. I enjoyed listening to KidCast but it was more in the format of a lesson. The lesson I listened to was impressive though. Dan Schmit presented an idea to help students think beyond the surface level and ask thoughtful questions. His idea was to use the question game where everyone has to converse using only questions. He applied this lesson towards Bloom's Taxonomy and how to help students achieve all levels of the pyramid.

Another podcast I really enjoyed (probably my favorite one) was Smartboard Lessons Podcast hosted by Ben and Joan, both award winning teachers from Canada. They have a back and forth type format conversing about the lesson being taught. In this episode, Joan presented a lesson on Clouds, Stars and Saints. she described how the Interactive Smart board lessons and slides enhance the learning process. She also talked about Wordle, a program you can use to make word clouds (I went to the website and tried it. It's a lot of fun). I was unfamiliar with the Smart boards so I went to Ben and Joan's website to learn more. There is a vast array of information available plus links to other websites to obtain lessons. I would be interested in obtaining more information about the use of interactive white boards in the classroom.

Although I liked the podcast featuring David Warlick (Connect to Learning), it was hard to hear some of what was being said due to background noise. Mr. Warlick was interviewing a librarian who had some great ideas for teen book reviews but due to the talking and music in the background, it was hard to focus on what was being said.

EdTechTalk Weekly was also a good podcast for a future educator to listen to. The podcast featured four speakers from four different geographical locations: Ohio, Prince Edward Island, New Jersey and New Hampshire. It was easy to listen to (quiet background) and was set up like a conversation. There were references to tools and helpful hints available on their websites (great for a visual learner like me). I think this will be the format we may want to use for the podcasts we will be doing in class since we will have three speakers. The only problem I could find with this podcast was sometimes I didn't know who was speaking. That could just be me though since this is my first experience listening to podcasts. This technology is all very new to me but it is definitely something I want to learn more about. One think I did like about this podcast though was getting all the different viewpoints.

The two Apple directed podcasts, MacBreak Weekly and This Week in Photography, were the podcasts I enjoyed the least. MacBreak started out with commercials and then went into stock market reports on Apple. I guess if you owned a MAC or Apple stock, you would find this podcast very interesting. This Week in Photography also featured commercials (I guess that keeps it free) but was more of a tool to be used for photographers. There is a lot of information available through this podcast on photography so it would be good for someone in that field or had photography for a hobby.

Overall, it was very enlightening listening to podcasts for the very first time, especially the education-based ones. The different formats add variety and are geared towards what the podcaster likes and different listening preferences. I feel like I have a better idea now how podcasting could be a useful tool to an educator. I would like my students to be able not only to know what podcasting is and how they can learn from listening to podcasts but also be able to teach them how to create their own. To be able to connect to classrooms, students, and teachers all over the world in this way is mind- boggling.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Wow, what an inspiration Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was! He accomplished so much and he was my age. He's an inspiration and what a great attitude he had even though he was dying (I loved the part where he did the push ups). I think it was his positive attitude towards his students and his sense of humor that impressed me the most. It is incredible how many of his childhood dreams he actually accomplished. Most people are lucky to attain one of the goals they set for themselves. I loved how he said he learned the most from the dream he didn't accomplish..playing in the NFL. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted".

He gave his students the freedom to accomplished even more that he imagined and they didn't let him down. The projects they worked on were incredible. He used criticism to inspire the students to push themselves beyond their self-prescribed limits and it worked! When they blew his mind with first assignment he had to find a way to raise the bar and they just kept performing and performing! It is a testament to Dr. Pausch as an instructor that the students are being promised jobs even before they enter the program...now that's something! He has the program set up so the students learn while also having fun. What a great way to motivate students.

Randy Pausch also gave us some great advice. My favorite tip of his was to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore. Do you want to enjoy life and have a postive attiude or be a gloomy gus? Randy Pausch was definitely a Tigger in a world full of Eeyores, a bright light in a dark room. I like the head fake concept. I think a lot of what children learn is indirectly. As a parent I also think that children learn more from what you do than what you say.

His second head-fake took me by surprise. The lecture could have been directed at any college class, any group of students or at a teacher's conference but it wasn't. The lecture, his last, was his legacy for his own children. I was really moved the way he accomplished so much and became so wise in his short lifetime.

I also think the head-fake is a great way to approach teaching. The students are learning indirectly- they think they are learning one thing when they are really learning something else. My favorite way to teach would be the methods he used where the students are having fun and don't realize they are learning....and working! This is something I want to try to do myself when I get in the classroom.

I also believe, like Dr. Pausch, in giving students some freedom to explore and discover what they are capable of. I love open-ended assignments where students are given choices and allowed (and encouraged) to think. When approaching learning in this way, the students will almost always surprise you. I loved how Randy Pausch's students blew him away but he couldn't let them know that. Always have high expectations for your students and help them reach beyond what they think they are capable of and they will accomplish more than they (or you) ever dreamed!

It's Not Just For Music Anymore

Using iPods for Educational Purposes

The popularity of iPods has now made its way into the classroom. Students in classrooms ranging from elementary school to college universities are using iPods to further their learning experiences. Duke University issued incoming freshmen in Fall 07 iPods with orientation material to enhance their college experience. This year, Duke is handing out uploaded iPods with class materials, lecture notes and supplements for specific classes such as music and foreign languages. The students are expected to retain the ipods for any future classes where an ipod is utilized. Students there will be able to use the iPod all the way through their senior year.


IPods are also being used in elementary classes. The itunes store also has six Sesame Street podcasts available such as "A is for Asthma" or "Talk, Listen and Connect" which is about separation from a parent. These are videos available for free download that teach younger children life lessons.
For the middle or high school student, Sparknotes are available from an online database. These contain summaries and analysis of literature such as "Tale of Two Cities" or "Wuthering Heights". For the student preparing for the SAT, a vocabulary list of words likely to be on the test is available for download.

My Take

There are so many tools available now to a teacher to use in the classroom that just weren't around when I was a student. There's also so much material that I, as a college student, can take advantage of. I think a teacher should try to become familiar with all the technology possible to enhance the learning process for his or her students. Computers are great but there is so much more you can use such as iPods. There are many educational videos and podcasts that can be downloaded to an iPod for students to use at home. Also, I think the iPod is a wonderful tool to use for those classes where listening is just as important to the learning process as reading such as a foreign language or a music class. I would like to be able to use an ipod in my classroom as a supplemental instructional aide to be used both inside the classroom (podcasts and videos) and also material for students to use outside of class. This would be used to reinforce or to elaborate on lessons presented in class. The videos and podcasts would also be a good way for students to see and hear what other students in other schools are doing.

Check out 100 ways to use your iPod to learn and study better at the Online Educational Database website.

My Presentation

Dr. Alice Christie's Website

Dr. Alice Christie

GPS and Geocaching

The part of Dr. Christie's website I enjoyed the most was the GPS and Geocaching Podcast. Dr. Christie introduced an activity she has created using a GPS (global positioning system) to locate caches that are hidden around the country. She has a website you can go to to locate coordinates for the cache you wish to find. You put coordinates in your GPS and locate the cache. The cache is usually a plastic or metal container filled with trinkets with some significance to the person who hid the cache. Once you find a cache, you read the logbook in the cache, take out one of the items in the cache and replace it with one of your own. Then you fill out the logbook stating the exchange you made and put the cache back in its hiding place.

I think this would be a great way to introduce a geography lesson to the class. In order to find the caches, you have to use directional clues such as latitudes, longitudes, and NSEW. This would be a good project for a field trip for a social studies class. We would have to go to the website to see where some caches are hidden near our school. We could then use a GPS to find the caches. We could then take something out of the cache and replace it with something from our school. Once of the students could fill out the log stating what we took and what we left behind.

It would also be a fun project to create our own cache and hide it somewhere. Each student in the class could bring something from home, an inexpensive item of significance to them to place in the cache. We could then hide the cache somewhere near our school and register our cache on the website. We could go back later to read the logbook to see who has found our cache.
This activity is a good lesson in using technology (the website and GPS) and also in social studies (find the coordinates of the caches).

The best part of Dr. Christie's website is she gives you ideas for lesson plans using a GPS and Geocaching. She also has a tie-in for a lesson in national parks. Since the caches have to be hidden on public land so anyone can go to them, a national park is a great place to hide a cache or to find one. Alabama has numerous national and state parks where caches can be hidden so this would be an awesome field trip experience for a middle or high school class.

Click here for the Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Website

WIKIPEDIA

NPR and WIRED Stories on Wikipedia

The articles on NPR and WIRED about Wikipedia are not really surprising. I think the majority of people know that the information on the Wikipedia is not reliable since anyone that wants to contribute to the site can do so. I found some of the comments by readers about the wikiscanner created by Virgil Griffith interesting. One poster claims that Wikipedia already has a system in place to track the contributors to the site long before Virgil Griffith thought of it. This poster claimed the article was propaganda. Even though they can track who is submitting and editing information, though it might slow down how much is posted to Wikipedia, it will not stop the fraudulent misuse of the site. It is easy to just use a computer that can't be traced back to a specific person or company.

It isn't surprising though that companies, such as Wal-Mart are submitting information to Wikipedia that makes them look good. But since anyone can contribute to Wikipedia along with the ability to edit someone else's submitted information, it will be a long time before we can trust Wikipedia to give us accurate information. Until the day when the submission of material on Wikipedia is more controlled, with a fact checking system in place, this online encyclopedia will remain an unreliable source for information.

Fischbowl: Best of 2007: July Blog

NECC Reflection #1: Where were the students?

Karl Fisch's best blog for July was about a conference he went to with some other teachers from his at the NECC (National Educational Computer Conference). The purpose of the conference was improving the computer use in the schools. Karl Fisch wondered where the children were. There were a few high school students that spoke but the majority of the participants were adults. He thought a conference involving the education of children should include more children.

He then toyed with the idea of bringing some of his students with him to the conference the following year in San Antonio but there are some liability and cost factors to consider. It costs each of the teachers attending about $800 so it would be very difficult to justify paying that for some students to attend. he also considered bringing some of his students to the 2010 conference which is in their hometown of Denver but that is two years away.

The teachers of Dr. Fisch's school, Arapahoe High School in Littleton, CO, want to include the children more in the planning and implementing of activities and lesson plans at their school. I agree with this whole-heartily. I think if the children have some say in the actives and lessons presented (while still sticking to the curriculum) they may have more interest in their school work. His goal is to include the children but in order to do this he needs to know what they think.

Karl Fisch's Best of 2007 Blog-September

Is it ok to be a technologically illiterate teacher?

This blog was the Edublog award winner for Most Influential Blog for 2007 and for a reason. Dr. Fisch brings up some very important issues and some great points. Teachers should be computer literate but I think to what extent? I agree that it is more than using a computer to enhance a lesson such as Internet research or power point presentations as one of the comments suggested. In many of the classrooms, the students know their way around a computer better than the teachers. How can we teach what we don't know? Maybe it's time for the teacher to go back to school. I think if we want to raise children and educate students to grow up to be successful adults, we need to give them every advantage possible. Technology is a way to bridge the gap between us and the rest of the world. Giving students a way to communicate with children and young adults in other schools, cities, states, and countries can only enhance their learning. They can find out first-hand what is being done in other schools and share with other students what they themselves are experiencing. It's like having a world-wide classroom.

I agree that to some of the older teachers, the idea of using technology in the classroom might be scary (computer phobia). I admit that when I went back to school after many years, tackling web-based assignments and using Internet tools was a bit intimidating. I learned though and am continuing to learn. This is an on-going process. The day we, as teachers, stop learning is the day we should stop teaching. We need to stay current, fresh, 21st century with our students. Where technology is concerned, there will always be something new and we as teachers owe it to our students to give them the best that we can.

New Handouts

Ms. Avertt has distributed some interesting articles on RSS Feeds and Podcasting. Click on the links or visit the class blog to read the articles.