Final Posting-Goodbye

This is my last posting on my class blog. I am sad to see it end so quickly. Thank you Dr. Strange and to all of my classmates for making this class so much fun. I learned so much during this class. This is not the end for there is the internet with many possibilities of keeping in touch. Again thank you and I will miss everyone.


Goodbye,
Katherine

EDM 310 Class Summary

I suppose its all ready time for me to write a summary about what I have learned in this class. Where do I begin? I learned so much in this class that it's hard to remember everything. But, here it goes. What I learned the most are these tools which helped me become Technologically Literate:
I believe all teachers should have knowledge and understand of technological literacy. Everything you post or comment on is developing your "intellectual trail" in the world.
The most important thing that we learned that will help me as a teacher is learning how to create a PLN. A PLN is a useful tool to have even if your not going to be a teacher. It allows you to collaborate, ask questions, and share ideas with others. It gives you a chance to make new friends that you never would have.
Next would be the blogging that Dr. Strange assigned to us. The reading assignments opened my eyes to the new technology and teaching ideas out there. Blogging is a wonderful way to express what is on your mind. Comments4kids was the most rewarding experience in the class. I loved commenting to the kids from all over the world and I will probably keep it up when class is over. The Professional blog will help me to learn what kind of teacher I want to become.
Google tools was another interesting thing we learned in the class. I use igoogle everyday to see my gmail, google docs, and some websites I am following. I found that in google docs we can create forms, presentations, and documents and it will be stored in the clouds as Dr. Strange puts it. There is no use for a flash-drive in this age. All of these apps are useful when you become a teacher and they are easy to use. I was able to create a presentation and a form with no problem. To see the spreadsheet of responses from my form click here.
Delicious is a useful tool for bookmarking and having them whenever you need them on any computer. I find this very helpful since I can never remember the websites that I follow or interested in.

Here is a list of other things I learned during this class:
Foliotek
ACCESS
ALEX
Wikis
iTunes
iTunesU
Podcast/Videocast
Google Earth

You might find this hard to believe but I learned everything that I wanted to learn in this class. This was the best class I have ever had. In my other computer classes all we learned was Microsoft Office.

For me twitter isn't anything that I have to have or needed to learn. I honestly see no point in it sometimes. I don't see why so many people love it but that's just me.

What excited me in this class was being able to comment on kids posts. It was the most rewarding experience, especially when we learned about Kaia.

I found a few things difficult to master, but not "intellectually challenging." Creating a video for project 11 wasn't hard. When it came around to posting it it was another story. After awhile of trying to publish it to Youtube I had success. So now I know how to put videos on Youtube.

Honestly I did not find myself being bored in this class, which was the only class that I wasn't.

For this class I would not change anything. I liked it just the way it was. Dr. Strange did a great job teaching us the tools. He made wonderful videos and posted documents showing or telling how to do something, which were easy to understand.

Can anyone be truly Technologically Literate? If I had to choose at this moment I would say that I am to the extent of medium at the most.

I will maintain and improve my technological literacy between now and the time I graduate or start teaching by practice practice practice. I will stay up to date with the technological advances . I will keep researching and mastering new tools that will help me when I become a teacher.

One thing that Dr. Strange said in class will stay follow me, "A Mac is better than a PC."

Personal Learning Network-PLN

At the beginning of this semester I had to ask myself, What is a PLN? Well now that I know what it is, I believe that everyone should have one. I created my PLN in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class and I will always be working on it even after this class is over.

I began by setting up two separate blogs for two separate reasons. The first one I created was the Class Blog which was for responses to class assignments. The second one I created was the Professional Blog which is a used for a reflection on what I will bring to teaching. This one I will updating as I learn and grow.

I created a Twitter account where I follow 15 people who are:
1. kaiasays
2. laineymic
3. elearning30
4. teachers20
5. classroom 2.0
6. joedale
7. drjohnhadley
8. coolcatteacher
9. willrich45
10. NSCS
11. wmchamberlin
12. winetimejs
13. pvbagget
14. belindaflucker
15. DrJohnStrange
I am being followed by 4 people who are:
1. coolcatteacher
2. joedale
3. classroom2.0
4. laineymic
I plan on continuing to tweet and become better at it when this class is over. I found out that this is a useful tool to have.

I am using Delicious which is an online bookmarking database which allows you to open it from any computer so you will always have your bookmarks. This helps me keep all of my websites organized to make it easier to find stuff. I became a fan of Delicious in this class.
I actually had Skype before this class because I used it to talk with my boyfriend. To me Skype is more reliable than MSN.
To create your own PLN see Dr. Strange's Handout.
To see a video about why PLN is a valuable tool for educators click here.

New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation

Two rules that I think are most important are:
12. Keep your hands to yourself, but share all your ideas and knowledge with others in your Personal Learning Network.
I chose this one because its hard enough to pay attention when people aren't being touchy feely around you. This is a learning environment and a professional manner should be presented at all times. We need to share our ideas and knowledge with others to help them learn,
11. Complete all assignments neatly and on time, and submit on line or post to your blog or wiki, and share it with your followers on Twitter.
The point of assignments is to base whether you have learned from what was being taught. If you fail to turn work in on time or at all then you are marring the education system. A teacher can't base how you understand what is being taught unless they have something to go off of. 'Homework' and 'In class assignments' are the base to which teachers build off of.
I really like these two rules. This is the 21st century were technology is all around us. Sadly I don't think we know how to live without technology. So, we must adapt our lives around these new technologies everyday. To see the full list click here.

Doug Johnson's Seven Stupid Mistakes and Seven Brilliant Things Teachers do with Technology

After reading the list of the Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make with Technology, these two seemed the most important to me:
1. Not backing up data
The standard OS is built up around thousands of code that at any moment could glitch. Not having grades, papers, research, or even websites backed up could set a person back years.
5. Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology
This is a new world when compared to the times they started teacher. Books, libraries, and teachings are no longer the necessary when it comes to proper study. Researching a paragraph online rather than hunting down a book, then flipping through the pages takes mere minutes when compared to the latter.

After reading of the list of Seven Brilliant things Teachers do with Technology, these are the two I think are most important.
4. Put kids in touch with the world.
Lets face it, there is a real world out there that has more than a small town can offer. A child needs to realize that they are just part of a bigger picture, the scope of the world around them is mind boggling, but if prepared for the vastness that is society at a younger age the child can adapt. Probably even come to realize that the world needs fixing and it his their job to do so
3. Make conferencing real-time.
People need to be in the know, often times scheduled appointments just can't be made. If the teacher is more willing to keep in touch with students outside of class then a whole new level of respect appears. The child will slowly realize that the teacher really does care about their future and could start taking things more seriously.

Response to Anthony Capp's Post

In Mr. Miller's video he states "How has writing in our culture changed?" "We know have the capability of communicating instantly, globally." In essence he is describing the way in which students are able to create literature collaboratively through different continents at the same time due to shared document programs.

I can tell by Anthony's post Believing, Inventing, and Implementing Technological Pedagogies
he understood how important it is that we have the capability of communicating globally because we as teachers will have a better understanding of how we can teach our students visual literacy. As teachers we must know how to access technological tools so that we can encourage our students to strive for learning. I think Anthony's post will be beneficial for students around the world.

At the Teacher's Desk

At the Teacher's Desk is "Experiment and Professional Learning, Collaboration and sharing of ideas." This website answers technical questions as well as quick responses. By taking EDM 310 it has showed me what type of teacher I want to be and how I can incorporate technology into my classroom. The website shows a lot of post about technology in the classroom. This website is something that all teachers should be apart of. The people who run this site seem to be willing to help any technologically literate teacher prepare for their career.

Toward A New future of Whatever-Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch's speech made me think a lot about how students of my time see things. I believe he is right, everyone should want to be on the "I care and lets do whatever it takes by whatever means necessary" way of thinking. I am the type student that needs a differentiate yes or no but no maybe or whatever. I guess you could say I am a little OCD when it comes to doing the best I can with my school work as well as my attitude. One of my pet peeves is the word "whatever". I cannot stand it when someone says that to me. After hearing his speech I will think twice before I ever use that word.

Why Blog?

I think blogging is a good experience for all collage students to know. Blogging introduced collage students to podcasting and videocast. By blogging it is a great way for self expression. It is also educational, enlightening as well as, a great way for students to communicate with other students around the world.

The EDM 310 class was my first time to blog. It gave me the chance to talk with children all over the world. I really enjoy posting blogs to all the different children. I think that they looked forward every week for our responses to their blogs.

Over all blogging was exciting and the best way to help keep me technologically in tune with the ever changing world. I honestly never heard of blogging intill I took this class. But I must say I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here are some examples of why blogging can be beneficial. One example is a little girl named Kaia. I thought this one was an amazing story because of the way her father took time to post his daughter's work on a blog. Even though she is only 3 years old, she shares her story as well as pictures on her blog for anyone to view. A second example would be Mrs. Hines and her blog post on technology in the classroom. Mrs. Hines had a lot of comments and gave good advice and suggestions for future teachers and possibly students. A third example is Mr. McClung, he showed how blogging can be a learning experience for students. His blog can help those who are scared to teach and for teachers who are over whelmed with their classroom. By reading his experiences can give encouragement as well as good advice for teachers.

Dr. Strange wrote some post about why we should blog. Here is a list:
Your comment for kids is having an impact by Dorthy Burt in New Zealand
If you are not convinced about blogging and commenting read this
The Benefits of using blogs in the Classroom
Kaia and Room 10

Textbooks Cost and Unused- Project 11

Belinda and I created a video about the cost of textbooks that we don't even use. We interviewed 3 people from our EDM 310 class. This was my first time creating a video. Let's just say it was driving me crazy to figure it out and of course it turned out to be so easy in the end. I really enjoyed creating this video and I hope you enjoy watching it.

To see this video click here.

7th Comment4kids

I visited Mrs. Goerend's class blog. I had the chance to post a comment for Chase's post about Homecoming Week. He was telling Mrs. Goerend's class about the fun things they did Tuesday through Thursday. He said Friday was his favorite day because he got to see the band play down the halls. The game was a close call but in the fourth quarter with ten seconds left they scored and won by 3. Sounds like it was a great game and week for Chase.

Alex?

ALEX is a resource website created by the Alabama State Department of Education. It was designed to index and share different types of educational material and information through one stop resource for educators, parents, and students. Most of the resources are located and connected to the Alabama Courses of Study by National Board Certificated Teachers. For teachers it offers different materials needed for lesson plans, interactive activities, and web links.

Having a website of this nature will help all public education students keep up with each other on the educational basis. I look forward to having free access to ALEX as I know that I will need guidance in additional teaching methods, resources, lesson plans, and the best techniques to be able to instruct my students. The best thing about ALEX is that it is available to students, the public, and parents as well.

Access

The Alabama State funded program is called Alabama Connecting Classroom Educators and Students Statewide or ACCESS program. The purpose of this program is to guide every student to become successful through technology and distance learning. ACCESS gives the teachers the tools that they need by giving them the opportunity to participate in online workshops which connects with staff from ACCESS for support and advice.

This program gives students an opportunity to advance in numerous ways. It allows students access to other areas of learning at no cost to them. Some of the ways in which they are able to advance is by learning independently, become more literate, and more effective at written communication. This program gives them a choice of education in another form rather than a traditional classroom setting.

Dear Kaia

I was amazed that a 3 year old could understand so much about things being discarded and yet later those things could become beautiful. I think its wonderful that her father takes the time to teach her about the earth and ways of turning bad to good. Kaia took some beautiful pictures to go along with her picture essay. It is wonderful that a father wants to spend as much time as possible to educate his daughter not just by books but about the world itself. Kaia's father opened up a whole new world for her by creating a virtual home classroom. This allows her to document her adventures, concepts, and ideas to the world.

Win Chamberlin who teaches 8th grade students in Missouri involved his students with Kaia's blog. They were touched by the father and Kaia's involvement and showing her how to find beauty in her surroundings. I think that if more older students could see this video they would be inspired to try harder in finding beauty in their own surroundings.

If you would like more information you can visit these 3 sites:
Dear Kaia
Mr. Chamberlain on his blog titled Dear Kaia: Voicethread and Video
Intrepid Teacher: Singing Hearts

6th Assignment for Comments4kids

I visited Mr. Goerend's Classroom blog. I was given the chance to comment on Chandler, W.'s blog. This person's blog was titled Dance your heart out! He asked if we liked to dance and that we would get the chance to on February 23rd which is International dance like a dancer day. He was saying that we could dance everywhere and anytime that day. He thought it would be funny to see everyone dance.

5th Assignment for Comments4kids

I was given the assignment to post on Mrs. Hudson's 5th grade class. This was their first post so it was short. I left some encouragement and gave them a link to my class blog if they wanted to see it. I am glad that they are getting into blogging.

The New Media Literacies by the NML Staff

The new media literacies project is a research initiative based within MIT's Comparative Media Studies program. It explores how we can best equip young people with social skills and cultural competencies required to become full participates in an emergent media landscape and raise public understanding about what it means to be literate in a globally interconnected, multicultural world. Anyone can join and summit ideas, videos, or other type of work to a learning library.

Media is now incorporated some way in every persons life whether its by cell phone, mp3 player, or computer. I think these 21st century skills are needed to be effective artists, citizens, and workers. As workers in this time almost every job requires you to have some knowledge on media and how to work it.

These days we have to function differently then we did twenty years ago. The video mentions that the child has become the consumer and producer of media where years ago it was a small percentage of people contributing. We do need some skills in order to survive in this media technology driven world.

Richard Miller: This is How We Dream 1 and 2

I thought this video was both amazing as well as interesting. Mr. Miller made a good point, our teachers are not prepared for this type of teaching or learning. Yet, most of the things he talked about have already taken place. Our world is already in the time where we use electrics more than anything else. I believe that students of today will continue to learn more and more when it comes to technology.

When Mr. Miller talked about negropronte I was shocked! This got me thinking what the results will be for our future going in this direction. To think that there will be bots that can go around and gather information from around the world.

I believe I would be ready to write with multimedia. I also believe if the schools were more technologically centered then students will be ready for the future. This technology will help children learn, collaborate, and invent.

To watch This is How We Dream 1 and 2 click here.

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler

This video was created in the way with the artwork and how it changed during the video. The video also shows how and why students should be technologically literate. A student needs to build their personal learning network. After that, they can create a blog or start to comment on blogs from around the world.

I do agree with Wendy Drexler on why a networked student needs a teacher. The reasons are as follows: to have guidance when your stuck, show how to communicate properly, and ask for help from experts as well as to show how to differentiate between good information and propaganda. Like some, if i didn't have a teacher I wouldn't know where to begin. So it is good to have teachers that can point us in the right direction.

Mrs. Drexler talked about experimenting with a middle school class on social networks and I was amazed to hear of her results. I applaud her for having guts to push students forward. I think it would be good for students to learn this at an early age. As fast as technology is having an impact on schools as well as the world students need to learn as fast as they can.

To watch The Networked Student click here.

Alice Christie's GPS and Geocaching

Dr. Alice Christie's website is very informational and helpful for those who are studying to be educators. The GPS/Geocaching section was very interesting. I have never heard of this concept before. Oddly enough its really popular locally, nationally, and even internationally. Geocaching creates memories the students can cherish and remember. Dr. Christie brings up important points. She explains the importance of getting students involved in their education and focuses the integration of technology in the classrooms. The Geocaching allows students to understand how the global positioning system works while having fun doing so.

Dr. Christie brings up another good point, "Using these tools and activities give classroom teachers opportunities to instill in students a curiosity about geography, science, mathematics in the world in which they live." Geocaching can allow a teacher to put difficult concepts in a simple form for students to understand. Along with several interesting and helpful lessons, she has shown how to effectively incorporate technology into classrooms for all different areas of academics.

Using iPods in Instruction

An iPod is a device that has several unique features for stimulating educational opportunities. An iPod can take you to different sites, social interactivity, exchange data, communicate with other people, can gather data, can connect hand helds with other computers to create a shared environment, and can also provide an individuals path to gathering information. They are not considered a replacement for learning, but they are tools to aid in the learning process.

In 2004 Duke University provides students with iPods. The students were able to listen to lectures and podcast as well as record classroom lectures. It was noted that there was difficulty with file sharing and the students did not have the basic technological skills to work easily within the environment. I think that younger students are more technologically advance today than in previous years. I think this would be a great tool in the classroom.
Here are some sites you can visit to read more about it:
T4-iPods in Education
Duke Sees Growth in Classroom iPod Use

iTunes University

Many students are always searching for information and yet there are many devices and information that it makes it more accessible for anyone to gain a way in to different technologies. iTunes University can be an extremely beneficial teaching tool. Although, I don't think anyone outside of a university would benefit from it.

For those that chose to use it, I think that it is a more positive and useful resource and would benefit elementary and secondary classrooms. I think this tool can be useful if applied at a young age. If it is learned at a younger age it could follow them through to college. By using iTunes University it is easier to pull up more information like lectures, labs, and etc.
Some links to look at for more information:
Apple-Support-iTunes U
CNN Article-Welcome to the University of iTunes
Standford on iTunes
Yale University on iTunes

4th Assignment for Comments4kids

For this one I had the chance to visit Korero Pt England. The one I read was Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms? by Aidan and Cruz from room 15. They did there podcast on the book Why Do Dogs Sniff Bottoms? by by Dawn McMillan & Bert Signal. Aidan and Cruz discussed what the book was about but they wouldn't give us the answer. So I guess I need to read the book to find out.

3rd Assignment for Comments4kids

I got the assignment to visit Room 10 @ Morrinsville Intermediate School. The first blog I visited was T.G.F.U-Cricket Term 3/4. In this one they were explaining the new skills they were learning like bowling, revising their throwing and catching skills, batting, and cricket. Sounds like they were having a great time. The second one I visited was Shadow Love. While this person was sitting with friends he/she noticed some cool shadows. Since the person had a camera he/she took a picture of it. I thought that was a fascinating picture.

2nd Assignment for Comments4kids

I got the chance to visit another great blog, but this time it was a 4th grade class at the RBS 4th Grade Blog. I was assigned to read a blog about My Pet Dinosaur by SG in 4A. He was talking about if he had a pet dinosaur, he would give Ponytail his homework for a snack every day. And when his teacher asked for his homework he made up an excuses that he had to go to the hospital because his nose was bleeding and his father threw away his homework because he thought it was a bill. This child had a great imagination and it was a joy to read his work.

Mr. McClung: What I've learned this Year

I truely enjoyed reading about a first year teacher's experience. He made a lot of valid points which include being an effective teacher you have to let your students/audience direct what and how you teach. Another fact is that being flexible and not sweating the small stuff is a big key. By keeping lines of communications with good teachers open is important that it allows you the chance to have trade ideas. You should always encourage your students to do better the next time when they fail at something. The most important clue is to always listen to your students.

If teachers take the time to know their students well enough then teaching them will be rewarding. You should always learn how to read your students and how to provide for their needs. Last, don't set the bar to high for your students or you may be setting them up for failure, let the student set the bar themselves.

To see Mr. McClung: What I've learned this Year click here.

Is Wikipedia Trustworthy?

I think its a shame that Wikipedia cannot be a trusted source for information. Its hard for me to believe because I have used this site since grade school. I cannot believe that anyone can edit the information themselves. Only recently did I learn that Wikipedia could not be trusted.
The changes that are made to this site could be inadequate or misleading. Grade school students as well as college students relay on many sources for information. It is a shame that the articles found on this site are usually edited by representatives for companies or for politicians to give themselves a better image. Now that I know Wikipedia is bad it makes me wonder about the other resource sites.
Several links to take a look at are:
NPR blog on Wikipedia
NPR article on Wikipedia
Wired Story

Katherine's Presentation

Did You Know 4.0

The video Did You Know 4.0 surprised me with a lot of facts that I did not realize. At the same time, I am not surprised because everyday the world is changing with technology. It makes you wonder what the world would be like 25 years from now.

I wasn't that surprised about the cell phones as most teenagers text constantly. Now a days you can surf the web, download songs, watch and download videos. Even though one million books published each year most people would rather download their books to their cell phone and I'll bet by this time next year cell phones will be able to do even more. I also can not believe that 250 million people visit youtube and twitter but yet these sites weren't even around six years ago. Another thing that surprised me was that 2 million people have T.V.s in their bathrooms. I've been hearing that print circulation was going down, magazines are going out of business, and local papers are struggling to make ends meet.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch moto "Brick walls are there for a reason.....". Basically he is letting us know that the brick wall did not stand in his way from achieving his dreams. Even through his condition he was able to live his life with his head held high. It is people like him that make others strive for their dreams.

His speech was extremely motivating. He was upbeat and funny yet at the same time he liked to crack jokes. Even though he was dying he made it feel like he had made peace with that fact. He found that he could help other people fulfill their dreams by reliving some of the situations he had gone through.

I can relate to Mr. Pausch's speech about not letting brick walls stand in your way. I too have several disabilities that could have stopped my childhood dreams. I learned at the age of 6 that I could not let people or things stand in my way.

For Randy Pausch's Last Lecture click here.

Fisch: Is it Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I agree with Mr. Fisch about teachers who are not technologically illiterate. In the older days teachers could get by without being technologically illiterate. It is like he said in order to teach it we have to learn it. If a teacher doesn't understand what they are doing then how can they teach others.

By a teacher using technology it can enhance a students learning and challenge them in different ways. Technology is a way to advance a students aspects of life and other subject areas. Technology is forever changing our ways of life as well as career advancements. Most companies now a days wants an individual who has a broad knowledge of technical skills.

For Fisch's link to Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? click here.

1st Assignment for Comment4kids

I had the chance to visit Room 10 @ PT England School. There I listened to three wonderful stories. The first one was Hayley goes to the Auckland Zoo. Then I listened to Efilona's Weekend where she went to her sister's house and saw her grandmother. The last one was Shanika's Weekend where she talked about being on a trampoline. It was wonderful listening to what other people have to say.

It's Not About the Technology

I partially agree with Mrs. Hines. So many teachers lose their passion for teaching and the reason why they wanted to be a teacher. I think every teacher could learn different aspects from their students. Therefore, not only could a teacher be the teacher but the students could as well. It takes a teacher being creative and understanding to make a child want to learn because every child is different and learns differently. It is our job as the teacher to create ways of helping them learn and enjoy learning.

It is our job as teachers to find ways where children can explore and discover for themselves. Technology helps them achieve this and it also encourages them to learn new information that will allow them to advance in the world of technology we have today. Although technology helps the student to advance the teacher is what makes the difference. The teacher should use effective methods and be willing to make changes for certain groups of children so that they will benefit from it. If there is an effective teacher the student could look back and see the impact that they made on their life.

To read It's Not About the Technology click here.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This video is educational in the fact that we as college students pay money for a good career, yet the teaching methods do not seem to be any different from high school. Michael Wesch has a way of involving students into conversations of how colleges are today. Technology has taken over the classrooms and there is less teaching being performed by the teachers. Not only has technology taken over the classrooms, but has taken over our lives as well.

I agree wholeheartedly that facebook has changed the life of all students. What's even worse is that middle school and high school students have engrossed their lives into facebook as well. When it comes to facebook we seem to be more interested in it than we are with our class work. Technology needs to be more positive instead of negative. By being able to move around through technology it helps us more than we realize. As for social networking it makes us become more in tune towards our surroundings. I especially like the park when the young man held up a sign that read "I pay hundreds of dollars for books that are never used each semester."

For Michael Wesch's A Vision Of Students Today click here.

What I've learned about Podcasting

In watching Langwitches Blog-The Magic of Learning to understand how to make a podcast. One thing you need to do is to decide what theme and purpose you would want the podcast to have. Also you want to be sure to keep it fun as well as to choose a topic appropriate for the age level of the viewers.

I would need to know what age group I was addressing my podcast to, to insure that the material would interest them. You need to be sure that you sound excited and that you enjoy what you are talking about. I think the best way to make a podcast would be to allow viewers to see who was speaking to them.
Some other sites I visited that you might enjoy:
The Education Podcasting Network
Judy Scharf Podcast Collection
EDM 310 Class Podcasts from last semester

Improvements

Although, I have never done a podcast before, I feel that you would need a topic that would be interesting as well as informative. By making sure the topic that is chosen would be age appropriate for the audience that is viewing it. I don't really know how I can make a podcast, but it would need to be exciting and intriguing.

While making a podcast it needs to be appropriate and understandable to all students and viewers. If it is meant for younger children then it should be short and simple so they may understand it. If it is for an older age group it should still be short but with music or some kind of attention grabber to get them interested. By capturing the attention of the audience it can make them feel that they are active members in the discussion instead of passive listeners.
Here is an interesting link to look at:
EDM 310 Class Podcasts from last semester

Needleman's Video in the Classroom Introduction

Matthew Needleman wanted a way to encourage his students to read and write. He came up with an idea of using video editing as a way that would be appealing to the students. Some students do not enjoy reading and writing and it is those children that he wanted to inspire the most. By coming up with this idea it allows children to use their own imagination and allows them to tell their own stories. All students need to have something that excites them and makes them want to learn. I think his idea is great for children of all ages.
Link to what Mr. Needleman said when he skyped the class click here.

Podcast

This is sad to say but this was the first time I had ever heard of a podcast. I've never really used I tunes before this and I thought it was just for music. After I started looking into I tunes, I found there was more to it than just music. I realized how exciting it was to explore. Apparently, I am out of the loop when it comes to new technology.

Once I found out what a podcast was, I had a better understanding of it's purpose. Podcasting is a good idea because there are those who can not own a radio station or work at one and this is a way for anyone to have their own talk show. Podcasting can be for anyone for many reasons. To me this is an advancement to the idea of the radio. It is amazing how technology can connect us in so many ways.

While listening to these podcast it gave me a feel for how they are created and what they are about. I found out that podcast are so easy to obtain and that there are so many different podcast out there. The ones I listened to were like conversations or talk shows so they were fairly easy to get caught up in.

One of the podcast I found interesting was ConnectLearning episode 96 Blah, Blah, Blah by David Warlick. He starts off talking about that there are a wide range of court schools, Ada, k-12 with approximately 3,000 students and transient students which range from 14,000 to 15,000. Court community and day school covers 8 geo regions divided into 40 to 45 days with of the students only serving a couple of days. Podcasting and blogging makes students more alert and interested in different ways of learning. Kids don't think of it as technology, just a way of life. Students respond and allow other people to see what they are blogging. This is a way that they represent theirselves as an individual.

Another one I found interesting was Kidcast episode 3 Radio vs. Podcast by Dan Schmit. This one talks about how radio is an ancestor to podcast. Radio can only go so far and content hits the radio and then its gone. Podcast is a timeshift. You have flexibility to replay a podcast when you want to listen to them. Choices in radio stations are scarce in certain towns. Podcasting has 15,000 different podcast stations. Radio is governed by the FCC while Internet has no jurisdiction. There are many podcast coming from all areas of life. Education, financial podcast comes from peer stand point which feels like a place that we could all participate in. Participation with podcast allows flexibility as well as accessibility.

While listening to teaching with smartboards there are different podcast which show how to use a smartboard within a classroom. Different lessons are used to get students interested and more involved with the lessons through new technology. Normally students do not have the opportunity to have hands on experiences.

This week in photography has guests each week that are experts in photography. They explain how they set up their shoots and what they use for setups on their shoots. This covers the latest news in photography as well as the latest cameras that are being introduced. Different ideas in photography in normal conversations are part of their talk show.

After listening to these podcast I realized that they put a lot of thought into how they wanted their podcast to be. They were nicely organized and interesting to the audience. I got a better idea of the different kinds and styles of podcast . Their is so many podcast out there that everyone should find something that interest them. This will help me when we start doing our own podcast.

To listen to the podcasts that I mentioned you must first download iTunes. To do so click here.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

An interesting discussion, Ken Robinson does well at keeping people interested. There are many things that he goes over but it general his topics revolve around our current education system. The two major things that stick out are how we go about raising our future leaders and the controversial ADHD epidemic.

One interesting point he makes is how people are raised these days to not make mistakes who are being penalized for the simple errors so that later on the smallest problem can become a huge one. This starts at a very young age; teachers are constantly driven to make children perfect.

Going over the education system Mr. Robinson brings to light the flaws in creative design. Schools no longer offer the ability to learn about the common arts. Dancing, painting, and creative expression are rare in public schools. This is in part because we are being raised with the idea that we are only destined to work in a business environment.

A massive truth that most people don't realize is how Mr. Robinson talks about the inflation of our education system. Years ago having a college education was more than enough to land any job. Having a high school education allowed you to make a decent living. Yet, this day and age there are people who have a paid education but can't make a living. The demand for a higher means of education is slowly driving the work force down.

Another interesting topic Mr. Robinson covers is the controversial ADHD. Teachers as well as parents are too quick to judge what a child has. Thinking the cure all for a child's poor performance in school is a pill. Some people think that a child not able to focus is a child not ready for a real world. The reality is, you take away the freewill of a child, and what you have left is a drone of society. Creativity is something that is frowned upon the younger years of our lives.

To see Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity click here.

Vicki Davis: Harness your Students' Digital Smarts

This video was very informative. Vicky Davis has learned how to teach her students a way of learning from accessing resources from all over the world. She has also taught them that learning doesn't just come from books but it comes from someones hard work and dedication. She had learned how to adjust her teaching techniques to go along with each changing year. Students in her class use their own interest to help them achieve their learning capabilities. Vicky Davis not only inspired her students but was also taught different things by the students. She created a new world in the classroom for her students using technology.

During the course of the video I realized how EDM is interesting as well as informative. I didn't realize how much fun blogging would be. I think that if we taught children in ways they enjoyed then they would strive to do their best and could excel.

To see Vicki Davis: Harness your Student's Digital Smarts click here.

Did You Know 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes

Did You Know 3.0 made me realize what little I knew about the advances in technology . The facts were just amazing. Technology is ever growing compared with the fact that information is much more easily attainable than compared to when internet was rather new. A good example is that it took 50 years for to radio to reach 50 million buyers and it took only 3 years for the ipod. It's not because the radio didn't have the people to buy them, it's because the people did not have the means to buy them. Everything now is more accessible and better.

The basic idea of this video was how easy information can be gained. Without the internet this video would not even be possible? By the time someone got all the information together it would be wrong before it would be published. With all these new advances who knows what tomorrow will bring.



Mr. Winkle Wakes was an interesting video. The world that he awakes to is unfamiliar territory because so much has changed. He does not recognize anything from his world 100 years ago. It shows how much we relay on computers now and it makes us wonder how people lived without all this technology long ago.

The one thing that was odd to me was that computers were not being used in schools. You would think with all of our new technological advances that teachers would want to give the students a head start by teaching them early. I think this video could be an insight for teachers as to the best methods of teaching for students. Teaching methods could be more hands on with less lecturing so that students can understand better. Schools should be keeping up with the changing times.

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