Final Reflection

C4T Summary

This is a great blog to have on hand, he is constantly listing resources and explaining different technology tools. The first post that I commented on was a list of resources, in this I found a link on how to tweet effectively. This is one thing that I have struggled with all semester. It was great and helped me understand some things about Twitter. He has plenty of other resources available and I highly recommend checking this blog out.

The second post I commented on was about how to search things on the web, and how it has evolved in the last decade. It also informs you about the not so "right" things that are at the top of your search that pop up. This is something that can help kids learn that just because it's a top match to your search, it's not always what you're looking for!

PLN Final Report

I LOVE MY SYMBALOO! I have it as my homepage and it is awesome! After I figured out how to make the little tiles and even design them the way I want them to look, it was fun! I'm not even sure how many sites I have on there, but I'm constantly adding things I find to it. Most have come from pinterest. I believe this is a tool that I will use forever, and it's easy and fun to use :)

Blog Post #14

Jose Picardo's educational blog was very interesting and I feel that this site will be a great tool to use throughout my career. The tools that were provided in his Top Ten Tops for Using Technology in the classroom, were very helpful! I loved the tip on music, because it creates a way to connect with the students. Everyone loves music and you never know how much just one song can make a difference in the learning experience. This is also a great way to get to know your class and get an insight of what different students interests are.

I also really enjoyed the bit about creating your own interactive exercises. After our SMARTboard presentations this semester, it is imperative that we know how to use them effectively and know the tools and how they work. From the social media, podcasts, and blogs, these are all really great ways to not only communicate with your class but also to help them with homework and other assignments away from the classroom. I hope to use all of these tools in my own classroom one day! This is the future and I have this bookmarked so that I am able to go back for reference!

Final Project

Blog Post #13

E-Media Fast

I did it! I successfully went without my iPhone, iPad, tv, and computer for 24 hours. Was it easy? Absolutely not! The only thing that helped me was that I had plenty of activities to keep me busy. I chose to start it at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning so that I could check my e-mail and such before it started. I have two little girls that refuse to sleep in, so I'm always up around 6:30 (or earlier) on Saturday and Sunday mornings. We had their ballet class at 10:45 and then I had to be at a wedding at 2:00 and I didn't get home from that until around 9, and I was EXHAUSTED so I went straight to bed. I caught myself during the reception wanting my phone to take pictures and such but I didn't have possession of it, I left it at my parents house so that I would not be able to access it. I understand now, how hard it is for kids to come into a classroom with no technology and think they are in the dark ages. It is such a part of our everyday lives, and the children of today know nothing different. It was a weird feeling, and I'm glad it was only 24 hours because much more than that and I would have caved! The only other time I can remember being without communications was during Hurricane Katrina and my phone wasn't working for maybe 6 or 7 hours and I thought the world was ending!

Project #15

Progress Report on Final Project

Our group has met, and we've been communicating through text & Facebook. We have some ideas but nothing in concrete just yet! All we know is that it is going to be worth watching and very informational! I can't wait :)

Blog Post #12

The blog post assignment that I would choose for EDM310 would be to go on pinterest.com and explore all the educational resources and ideas that are being shared, comment on someone's post and share what you chose, why you chose it, and how it could help you in your own classroom.

Through pinterest, I stumbled upon a teacher's blog that has many great tools that I would like to use for my classroom. Please go check it out! http://teacheristatales.blogspot.com This is just one of the many blogs that I found while on pinterest.

Project #14

This is my Skype interview with Mr. Peter H. Reynolds, the author of "The Dot" and many other children's books.  It was a pleasure to speak with him and I hope I will have the opportunity to speak with him again in the future.

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy

I really enjoyed Ms. Cassidy's interview. I especially liked her approach with center time for blogging and using Skype to teach her class by collaborating with other children and students from afar. I think this gives kids a confidence and a way to think outside the box more so than what I did when I was in elementary school. I hate to say this, but this is very important in our region. The southeast is notorious for being behind, close minded, and stuck in the past, this kind of teaching would be most beneficial to be able to start a change for the better. This improves writing & reading skills, and at the same time gives meaningful insight to how cultures can differ in real time through Skype. That is moving! It is so much easier to teach something and learn from it, rather from a textbook, when you can see it! Just like when she showed the snow, that could have been a good example for a geography class for latitude and season changes to make kids understand where that is on the map and the climate that particular place has. The possibilities are endless! I am excited to teach and use these tools in my classroom, I want to make a difference and I think that blogging, podcasts, and Skype are going to be the ones I start off with. Depending upon my grade level, the first thing that will be taught is internet safety and where to go and not to go. Like Ms. Cassidy said, with older kids you would have to go into much more detail than with the little ones.

C4K October

Keira

I commented on this little girls blog, she is in the 2nd grade in Australia. Her post was about her favorite animal, the butterfly. She wanted to know in her comments what we thought of her blog, our favorite animal, and what kind of pet we have. I let her know that she did an awesome job on her post and to keep up the good work! I told her that my favorite animal is a parrot, because I think it's neat any time you can teach an animal to talk to you! I also told her that I have a dog named Lucy.

Lorenzo - Room 9

Lorenzo created an animation that portrayed the Australian outback and gave a few facts about the country, he also added music into the movie. I told him that enjoyed his animation and that he did a fantastic job on it! I also told him that I loved that he made the animals move around just like they do in the outback.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or do You Educate?

I became interested in being an educator after my children were born. It has been one of the things that I have really become passionate about because I can see the results in my kids. I feel extremely rewarded when I can see them learn and grow as little people and how fast it can happen with a clear goal.

I intend on educating by being a mentor and educating by example. Kids learn more and retain more knowledge when they can relate and see that is useful in everyday life. I can remember in high school, my peers were always complaining about math and how it was pointless and something they would never use. I think this is because they were not shown by the teacher how you DO use math everyday. It tends to stick in our brains and become a story that we may never forget, and it's all due to the style of educating our teacher is doing while in the classroom.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!

This was an awesome post with a clear message. Most people cannot think outside the box! This lady frantically comes in his classroom freaking out about kids taking pencils home and the effect it will have on standardized tests. Even after Mr. Johnson explains to her that it's ok, he has a solution by keeping the children engaged, she is still a non-believer. If there is one thing that bothers me, is pessimistic people that refuse to try to solve a problem first and then you may freak out if it becomes impossible. I hate to be defeated, it makes me crazy. In this case, even more so than others when dealing with a low income school is when you make these adjustments to try and make these kids learn. If it means they can take pencils home, then LET them! It's all up to the teacher as to the outcome of these types of situations!

Blog Post #9

At the Teacher's Desk

After reading Mr. McClung's post in May of 2009, I can honestly see myself doing exactly the same thing my first year. I will be the one that gets stressed out over a lesson not going as planned and nervous of what my superiors are thinking. It helps me to know that it's ok if lessons aren't carried out perfectly! I am going to bookmark this blog so that I can go back to it when I'm stressing and hopefully it will be able to calm me down. As far as what he said about technology and grown ups being afraid of it, I think I will be ok in that department. I have always felt comfortable with it and after taking this class, I have just been able to grow in that department.

Mr. McClung's second reflection in June of 2010 was a much different experience than that of his first year! He had all kinds of hurdles to get over. I'm kind of glad that I will not be certified to teach any higher than 6th grade. Teenagers are hard to deal with and at the same time there are those chosen ones that can make that grade worth teaching. I am not willing to take the chance though! I particularly liked in this post was about the conflicts he had going on with administration and co-workers. We have to remember it's not about the grown up conflicts going on behind the scenes, but the kids that are there to learn. I am glad he didn't take the advice that he received from his colleague and kept his students in mind to make the right decision.

Project #13

Project #11

Project #12

PLN Progress Report

I have created my symbaloo account and linked all of my accounts with it. I have to say this is pretty cool! I am still learning how to use it, but it does help with everything being on one screen when I open up safari!

Project 9b Instructional Timeline

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch The Last Lecture

First, I don't think that 4 paragraphs about this man is enough! He was a truly amazing person. I enjoyed this video for a number of reasons. I thought that the fact that he accomplished all but one of his childhood dreams was amazing, not many can say that they have done that. This gives hope to me that it's not entirely impossible to accomplish some of the things I have dreamed of even if they are a little silly! I liked that even though he didn't become an NFL player, that that was one of the most important training in life that he had. It taught him to be a team player, which we found was key to his success in his classes.

He had so many inspirational quotes throughout his lecture and my favorite one was that brick walls aren't there to keep us out, they are there to make us try harder to get what we want. The world would be a better place if there were more people like Mr. Pausch. He wanted to see his students succeed and kind of tricked them into learning while they were having fun. You could tell that he was so proud of his students and what they learned.

For someone who was terminally ill, he had a spirit about him like I have never seen. He introduced "Alice", his project and said that although he wouldn't be around to see the end he knew it would be a success. I believe it will too! His children are very blessed to have had a dad that was that extraordinary and I hope they will know that. He is and should be an inspiration to every teacher out there.

When I first opened this assignment, I was a little hesitant on watching an hour long lecture. However, after I started it I couldn't get enough. I watched it, then watched more videos about him and found a few more interviews that he did after he made this one. I came to wish I had actually known him after about 2 hours, and to me that is powerful! I will never forget this one.

Blog Post #6

The Networked Student

This video was interesting to me in that I did not realize how much students can take matters into their own hands in order to learn the material in their classes. We as teachers need to think like our students and be able to teach them as well as them teaching us. Kids now know all the new gadgets way before we do, for the most part. Before this class I thought I was pretty tech savvy, turns out not so much. I have all the gadgets, I just didn't know what to do with them.

The student in this video was definitely in the know on how to do what was necessary for him to learn in a way that he could connect to. I look forward to teaching with technology, because it is ever changing it will be hard to keep up with but well worth it.

A 7th Graders PLN

That 7th grader had AWESOME organizational skills, I can keep things in folders but this student had it all with a click! This video proves just how advanced technology can be a young age, and yet again I had no idea "symbaloo" even existed. It looked really neat but when I read some of the comments on the video, one person said that the program costs $500. Where would students get that kid of money for an organizational program?

Project #8

TimeToast Timeline

C4T#2

I had Tom Schimmer, who is a teacher in British Columbia in Canada. On the first post he was talking about a trip he took to an orphanage where he met a little girl named Anna. He said that Anna inspired him because she was filled with love and happiness. He basically said that she reminded him that happiness can not be bought, it's all how you see the world and people lose track of this most of the time. In my comment back, I told him that everyone does this, and when they do find happiness whether it be because they are debt free or whatever they forget to give it back. You have to give in order to receive, and also when you are full of joy and happiness your attitude reflects on others. Just like it did with Anna! Her happiness reminded Mr. Schimmer what it really means to be happy.

In the second post, he talked about the second week of school. He said to "Get em ready". What he was saying was that in order to boost confidence of the students, when they take the first assessment of the school year is over prepare them for it. Not by giving the answers or anything like that, just make sure that they will all do well. In my comment back, I said that this is an great idea. This could set the mood for some students that may have the expectations that they aren't going to do well because of the previous year, and ultimately change their whole outlook on things.

Blog Post #5

Who is Scott McLeod?

I thought his blogpost was very interesting just because it hit home with me as soon as I read it. I have a 4 year old that has the opportunity to learn in a program called wiz kids that teaches them about the computer. I declined to enroll her in it because I felt like she needed to be sheltered from the computer as long as possible. I have now changed my mind! I think as long as we educate the students on safety while using the internet, then it should be a very important part of our curriculum. It not only expands the horizons on what and how we teach, it is preparing them for almost every imaginable career out there. I get it now, and will be enrolling her next year!

Scott McLeod has been such an influential person in education, he is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky and also the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. With this said, he must know a little bit of what he is writing about!

The iSchool Initiative

I think Travis has an awesome idea! He is arguing that by using the iPod touch that it will help students, teachers, and parents work together and at the same time going green in the schools. What can be better than this? According to him, it will save $600 per student, that would likely make it possible for some teachers to keep their job.

I believe this is an excellent idea, but if implemented it would need a small test round first! The only downfall in the plan is that kids lose things. The iPod touch is extremely breakable and small, it could be lost or stolen and then what? The schools will not be able to keep replacing them for the students. This is a point that I would love for Travis to defend, other than that I think it's an great plan!

Eric Whitacres's Virtual Choir

This was an awesome video! The fact that they had these complete strangers sing in unison was amazing to me. This shows the power that the internet and technology can bring to us. There are endless possibilities to what we can do. All I can say is wow, and what are they going to think of next?

Teaching in the 21st Century

I understand that the way in which we teach is going to become more and more geared towards technology and I am completely fine with that and agree that it should be. The only problem I see with every student having iPods and such as the sole tools to manage homework among other things is that they are far more expensive than pens and pencils to break or get lost. With that said, kids really need to learn all the skills and vocabulary associated with technology. There were some words that flashed up that I have just learned since being in this class! That is very important for the correct use and safety of the internet. I really enjoyed this video!

Blog Post #4

Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog

I really enjoyed these kids' podcast. They were very well spoken and it seemed that they weren't just reading from a piece of paper. I also liked that they had corresponding background music that went along with whichever piece of information they were talking about. This is a great thing for kids to learn because it made them really learn about the Romans, rather than the teacher just reading them that portion out of a textbook and giving a test on it. You can tell by the picture above the podcast, that this was a really fun day at school for them!

Langwitches

Silvia Tolisano shows how she taught 1st graders make a storybook podcast, this is so great! I had know idea that these kind of technologies could be used so early! By giving these instructions, as a future elementary education teacher, I will definitely be using this as a tool in my classroom. It helped the kids with reading, language, and technology literacy. You can't ask for more than that, especially with that age group. I am also going to send a link to this website to my child's school, I don't know if they are already doing it but I will be passing it along anyway!

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

In this video, Mr. Dale explains the different benefits that podcasts have in the classroom. One of the benefits that stood out to me the most was that if a child was out sick, they could access the lectures from home. This is great because if you have a student with the flu, this could help them to not get behind in their classes. This would be especially helpful on a high school and even college level. I would really like to see this be incorporated into the online classes at our university. The vodcast would also be a good idea for online classes, because as a student you have no idea what your professor looks like, sounds like, or anything. It is very impersonal and sometimes that may be your only option to take a class.

Pratical Principles

I listened to the first podcast that was listed on the link. In this podcast, Scott and Melinda discussed a variety of topics. This was an example of how podcasts can help teachers and principals with real life problems that may be faced with. It was an hour long, and full of information and examples of different issues that happens in schools. One thing that I learned is that some teachers think they want to teach one grade and after getting into it, they find that is not the right fit for them.

100 Ways you can use your iPod to Learn and Study Better

Honestly, I had no idea that there were so many different tools that can be used on the iPod! This is amazing, the fact that you can learn ESL from your iPod is great! I learned a little bit about the ESL in my Education in a Diverse Society class over the summer, and this would be so helpful if you had a ESL student in your classroom. I also bookmarked the link on podcasting instructions. After reading the instructions, this will be extremely helpful in our upcoming project!

Project #6 My Sentence Video

C4T

I had Bryan Jackson for my C4T. He is located in Canada, and I commented on his blog post entitled "Canadian Conversations". In this blog Mr. Jackson explains that Canadians have a natural sense of survival due to the terrain of the country. He also describes the land as the "birthmarks of the very earth itself", he posted some of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. The pictures are giant rocks that look as old as the earth and huge mountains in the background next to a stream. My comment to him was that I have never met a Canadian until this semester and she is my instructor in one of my classes. I also said that I would love to visit Canada one day, but due to what I am used to I will definitely be visiting in the summer time.

The second post I commented on was "Why Doodling Matters", in this blog post he took an excerpt from Guilia Forsythe that says that doodling allows you to visualize what you think. Guilia also says that doodling can be a form of problem solving. In my comment on this subject I wrote back that this is absolutely true! I do this sometimes when I need to think about something and can't get it out right away. It is a way to get somewhat "trapped" information out in an alternate way. Of course sometimes, you yourself maybe the only person that can make sense of the doodling.

Google Presentation

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing:

When we are reading our peers work, we must remember not to be ugly when correcting them. It's called constructive criticism, nicely make helpful suggestions that will help your peers. We must remember that we are future educators and that our students will need this same help from us. When you are rude or make a snide comment it can quickly dishearten a person and could have a very negative impact on their learning. We all make mistakes, we are human! Sometimes when we write and even proofread our work something can be overlooked. I am terrible about run-on sentences and try to read over my work before hand but it is almost inevitable that one will slip by me. So let's all remember to make nice, helpful suggestions when we are peer editing! :)

Writing Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes

Peer editing can be good at times, bad in other situations. I actually had a similar problem recently at work; I was asked to correct mistakes from a co-worker/friend of mine of equal status, and it caused friction between the two of us. Even though I wasn't editing really, it was the same principal behind it. So I can definitely identify with some of the cons.

The person that is being edited must have an open mind to mistakes and ways in which they can improve. This is a lot harder for adults to take than children, in my opinion. Children it is all in the wording, if you make it sound like that was great but it can get even better when you do this....they take it as they still did a good job and will listen to suggestions.

It's Not about the Technology

Mrs. Hines made GREAT points in this post. She talked about the fact that technology is useless without an innovative teacher to use it effectively. This is so true. I have had a handful of teachers in the past year that have had that whiteboard sitting behind them and never turned it on. We basically memorized our material and burped it back out. I remember just a selective amount of knowledge from those classes. It would have taken just a little effort and knowledge about that whiteboard to make the class more interesting and had us more involved to retain the knowledge of that particular class.

In my classroom, I am going to use every resource I can to be an effective teacher! If one student learns better one way, that's when you make adjustments to accommodate that student. It's not by the book because every child is different, technology can help because there are so many different avenues that can be taken.

Technologically Illiterate?

After reading this blog, I completely agree with everything Mr. Fisch says. There is no excuse for a teacher not to be able to use a computer and the basic day to day programs. If they don't, they need to learn or find a new job. Kids today are going to need a teacher that can use technology, our world now works and relies greatly on it!

I also completely agree on the order of the times that he mentioned. It was acceptable in the first part of the 20th century to not be able to read and write, and at the beginning of the 21st century it was acceptable but getting harder to not be technologically literate. This is a strong message to educators, our kids in the classroom must have this knowledge in order to succeed when they are old enough to start college and step out into their careers.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

I am not going to lie, when I went to the link and the first thing I saw was that counter going crazy, my first thought was this is really important in a lot of peoples lives. The growth that social media has had is amazing, I wish I could have been the inventor of it! It grows and grows every second, every minute, every hour, of everyday! We as teachers need to use this to our advantage, however, we need to be cautious on how we use it. We have all seen how some teachers can get carried away and make some not so smart choices.

Social media can be extremely helpful in communicating with our parents, community, and colleagues. We can successfully involve parents that work and are unable to be involved as much as they want to be, we can share ideas and let the community in on different things that our class is contributing to within the community, and get new ideas from other educators from all over the world!

A vision of Students Today

My take on this video is that technology is a growing importance at every level of education. The textbooks really hit a nerve to me, teachers have infinite amounts of information that can fit into what their lesson plans and goals of the class are. Universities are doing better about using these tools, but I can tell you right now I spent $300 on a book that was never opened and was bought back for less than $100.

I also have problems with the amount of debt that occurs with college students, for some it will be 10 maybe upwards to 20 YEARS for them to get out of this! It is a problem, this means they step out into the real world and first off accrue more debt because their parents are done paying for insurance, living expenses, etc. Then they start a family, get into more debt and create a growing problem for their own children and it becomes a seriously vicious cycle.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod

That was quite an interesting video. As a future educator, this video definitely put into perspective the importance that technology has on our world. I also liked the question that it asked about to whom the questions were addressed prior to Google. I can only assume that was back in the "dark ages" when we had to go to the library and research the old fashioned way. That to me seems extremely out-dated, I am 30 years old and when I graduated from high school in 1999, cell phones were huge and it wasn't until the summer after graduation that texting started. With that said, we as future educators must be educated ourselves on the latest technical products and services, just because they can be important tools to help our kids learn more effectively and also as a bridge to connect with them. I also thought it was a little ironic that they used myspace as an example, that proves the point that these things can go out just as fast as they come in!

Another interesting aspect to this video, was that I did not realize that China was soon to be the number one english speaking country in world! This is big, and I have a feeling that internet probably has a huge influence on that. Another important fact that it showed was the time it took to reach a market target of 50 million people, the radio took 38 years, and the fast forward to the iPod and it only took 3 years! That is crazy! If these resources are used correctly and carefully, educators will be able to use them to their advantage in the classroom.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Mathew Needleman

This was a short video with a strong message. Mr. Winkle wakes up from a 100 year sleep and visits an office building where he finds computers and printers, and even gets introduced to a video conference. He then makes his way to a hospital where there are x-ray machines and machines that keep people alive by putting air in their lungs. Finally, he goes into a school and this is where he feels most comfortable because nothing has changed while he's been sleeping for 100 years.

I understand that the message it is trying to get across is that the school systems in America are falling behind the times, but it is not across the board! I have since found this out for other areas just by following people on twitter, the problem is funding. Schools must have the available funds in order to catch up! I know that in Mobile County all the classrooms now have smart boards, which is a huge step!

"The Importance of Creativity" by Sir Ken Robinson

This video really opened my eyes and made me reflect on education and even my education as a child. What he said is all very true, we are too quick to make judgements on children that aren't learning the "right" way. Just like the lady who is now a multi-millionaire for being one of the most famous choreographers ever to be. She couldn't sit still in school so she was sent off and her parents were told she may have a learning disability. All I can say is it's a good thing she was a child in the 1930's! If she had been a child in today's society, she would have been medicated and never shown her real talent of dancing.

I am currently studying to be an elementary teacher, so there are so many ways that I can incorporate the arts in my classroom in every subject. I plan on doing just that, where it is not everyone's strong talent, it still may be for some. We as educators, especially at the elementary level, cannot discourage creative thinking and when a child at age 5 says they want to be a ballerina when they grow up, tell them that is great! Not, well you can't get a job doing that, pick something else. We are quick to throw these kinds of careers to the side just because the industry is smaller, and it wouldn't be so small had we been discovering the talent all along.

Cecilia Gault

The interview that Cecilia did with Sir Ken Robinson was very good. I liked the responses that he gave her to what he thought intelligence is, that it is the ability to make sense of the world around you. I also agree completely with Mr. Robinson on the three myths of creativity. Just because you are deemed creative does not necessarily mean that it has to been done in the typical art fashion, it can be in any line of subjects.
I really enjoyed listening to Mr. Robinson and would like to listen to more that he has to say on this subject or any other ideas he may have for education. He is funny, in a dry kind of way, and very interesting with some great point of views that I have never thought of before. I do believe though that he is right on target in that the education systems suppress creativity and make our children grow out of it.

"Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"

WOW! Vicki Davis is amazing, she is setting these students up for so many different things they will be using as professionals when they get out of school. They will not only be comfortable with technology, but even with getting up in front of people to do presentations and not experiencing any anxiety. I also thought it was neat that the students were teaching her new things as well. She didn't go in knowing everything, she was learning right along with her students.

Also I thought that her accomplishment of having the best blog was an awesome achievement, especially given her geographic location! Sometimes as we know, the south is the last place that catches on to new trends. Her classroom reminded me a lot of our edm310 class, I hope that I am able to implement this kind of technology in my classroom!

Wordles are FUN!

Welcome to My Blog!

Hi! My name is Carrie Fairley, I am from Mobile and I attended St. Luke's from Kindergarten through 8th Grade and then went on to Theodore High School where I graduated in 1999.  I started at the University of South Alabama in the fall of 1999, I did not do so great because I was irresponsible and thought my social life was way more important than my classes!  In the spring of 2010 I decided to give it another shot since I have grown up a bit in the last 10 years!So here I am now married with 2 children, Addison who is 4 and Ainsley who is 2.  My kids are responsible for me choosing the education career path, before I had them I wasn't sure that teaching could ever be something that I could do.  To watch them learn and grow from things that myself or others teach them is amazing to me and I cannot wait to teach other children as well!