Seventh Post

How we Dream Part 1 and 2:
Technology has come a long way and students have been able to keep up! As a student we no longer have to go down to the library when we have a research paper due to track down several books on a certain subject, and sit for hours thumbing through thousands of pages. Now at our convenience anyone can search the web to find tons of information on the subject needed in less time than the traditional way.
Not only is finding information on the internet faster and more convenient, but it's easier to access. Using the internet can contain more information because it includes other peoples ideas and facts of information, unlike a book has only one person's outlook. Plus the internet has present day information along with historical information about certain topics.
There are also other features to the internet that could be useful that the traditional library does not have. With the internet you can use features such as blogging networks, YouTube, itunes, and other visual representation that now play major roles in education. It was said that, "Ideas don't belong to us individually, but belong to us as a culture, and that we as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely."
The Networked Student: Wendy Drexler
Drexler's high school students did a YouTube video titled "Networked Student. This video is about students in the 21st century. In their presentation they talk about how the need of the students Personal Learning Network's are important, not on text book and memorized knowledge. Students have so many ways of researching information and finding answers what is the need to memorize facts. The traditional ways of searching libraries for books has almost came to an end. If they were no Alabama Virtual Library online then i would see the need to start memorizing everything i read.
Another question asked is, "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" Students now can find out anything they want on their own by using the internet or their PLN's. The teacher is no longer the source for information. Teachers now are their for guidance only, but i am a firm believer in guidance if it was not for that most students would not achieve most of their goals. The teachers lead them along and encourage them to find answers they don't know instead of simply being satisfied with not knowing.
I think we will always need some form of a teacher, so i believe we will not have to worry about jobs. One could have all the knowledge at their fingertips, but if they don't know how to obtain that information or use it to their advantage then they are no better off than someone who doesn't have the information to begin with. Like i said before all students need guidance without most students would not be where they are in life now.
Comment for Kids & Teachers
For my comments for kids i had to visit Melville Intermediate School class blog. I commented on their worm project where they had to start their own worm bed. The main purpose was to help the environment. It was really interesting to watch all those kids so excited and participating, but i also have to add i am not a worm person.
On my assignment for comments for teacher i had to look at the Intrepid Teacher's blog page which is very interesting because he talks about the University of South Alabama and Dr. Strange, so it made it more interesting for me because i was like i know that place and people!
My PLN
Well first on my PLN is Dr. John Strange i follow him on twitter. I also follow Belinda Fluker blogs because she has taken this course before and she seems to be extremely bright so i believe i can learn from her! On twitter i am following Stephen Sullivan, iGradebook, and Scott McLeod. I chose to follow Scott McLeod because i enjoyed his post on "Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?". I found iGradebook to be interesting for teachers and i would like to know more about it so i chose to follow it, and Stephen Sullivan is also apart of Edm310.

Presentation

Sixth Post

Dr. Christie's Site
On Dr. Christie's site the one thing that caught my eye was the tab labeled educational technology. This tab has a list of things teachers could use in there classrooms with there students or to better educate their students. It does not stop there. If you find a topic and are interested in it but do not really know what it is or how it works you can click on the word and it will take you to that site and you can research there to find out the information on the product. The one that i fell in love with is the instant messaging. You first go to a page where you then can be directed to more sites to get more in depth information or you can read her page of the basic meaning of instant messaging. At the bottom of this page she has a list of all the instant messaging abbreviations which i plan to print off for my mom and dad who have just picked up the habit of texting!
I would recommend this site to people who are already teaching and do not really know much about technology or do not know how to put it in with there teaching of education. This site is an over look of what I am learning in EDM310, and little extra which I plan to keep this page to refer back to when i become a teacher.
itunes U
This is the first time that i checked out itunes U and i think i'm hooked. As a student you always have this one teacher who is hard to understand or you just simply don't understand the material in the way he/she is teaching it. Well with itunes U a student can go look up another univeristy of interest with the same subject and topic of interest and absorb their information, and this could possibly help that student's grades. Another example is if a student had to miss a lecture then he/she could go search this site and find information that they missed in class.
Itunes U can also be helpful to a teacher. The teacher can record her lectures and students can watch/listen to the lecture at home if he/she did not completely absorb all the information during class time. This is a positive way to keep parents informed on what is going on in the classroom and what is being covered. Also i know that as the year progresses during the school year more and more students are absent and this is a good way for them to keep up to date, and the teacher does not have to stop class progress to go back over something that someone had missed previously.
Link to itunes U
ipods
OK first of all i have to say that i do not own an ipod and the only interaction i have with one is with my boy friend's ipod nano, so researching this topic was very interesting to me. I found a site that goes through everything with you step by step starting with the first time you plug it into your computer. Here is the link so that you can find out for yourself how this video on ipods is helpful.ipod instruction video After taking this class i do feel like i need to get more involved with technology, and saying that after i watched this video and with my birthday coming up i believe i will invest in me an ipod!
Comments for Kids
My assignment for comment for kids i had to look at Marc's blog page, and for a fifth grader is was amazing. His most recent post was on a school skit that he was a little upset that he did not get to be cast in, but he was instead the props and effect manager. On Marc's page he has video's you can watch and also podcasts you can listen to, it is very neat and organized and up to date with his school activities. I was very impressed with his blog page, and i even commented and told him that his more interesting than mine and for him to keep up the good work.

Fifth Post

Wikipedia
My thoughts on Wikipedia are the same as i have always been instructed; I believe Wikipedia is not a reliable source, and I do not see the significance in it when you have Google. If anyone can change the information on any topic giving on Wikipedia, why would a person even want to start their search there? In my opinion it is no better than a blog site, if one person does not like the information given they can easily change it to fit there opinion/facts and same goes with the next person who visits the same site, but in the end everyone can put in a say on the matter.
This is the first i have heard about the Wikipedia Scanner, but seriously what is the purpose of it? Yes, you do get to find out who made the alteration to the information, but what more can you do to the people other than point your finger and say "they did it." It is interesting to find out that big companies play a roll in the alterations and this might even make them lose their respect to some people. But i have to say that i am not one to search on Wikipedia, and if i ever did it would be hard to make me believe what i read and i would always have to back it up with more reliable searches.
Mr McClung's first year
I really enjoyed reading Mr. McClung's post. As a future educator i always dream of that first day on the job with my own classroom and all my new students, but with these notes i believe my first year will go better! I have this perfect picture in my head, but i know as well as everyone else it never plays out the way it does in your own head. This is some information i would print off and keep with me to read throughout the year, and probably add too with other advise from teacher friends.
Comment for Kids
For my comments for kids this week i had a boy that had to do a social studies project. He had to build something to represent his topic and then record his presentation as he gave it in class. I found this interesting because he put his presentation on his blog, and this is something he will always remember because it is a hands on experience. I explained to him that i was not into social studies and that i was more of a math girl, but i did remember this one time when i was in 7th grade my whole class made this huge cookie and took icing to draw all major rivers on it, and that i could mostly remember all those rivers and where they were on the cookie because it was a fun, hands-on learning experience.

Fourth Post

Mr. McClung's World:
This was assigned to me for my Comments for Kids week. Mr. McClung's post topic was "Lessons Learned". He fist begins talking about how they have received a large amount of snow in the Mid-West. I commented on how I was actually jealous because living in the south we really do not see snow! His second lesson talked about the "Air Mouse" which as i explained that i would have to go explore this to actually see what it was and how it would be useful, but Mr. McClung's believes that it is a must if you are a teacher. Now on the third and final lesson McClung talks about Facebook and how he involved his students and this expanded his classroom. He tells a short story of how he helped his students better understand a quiz by talking to them after school hours on facebook. I commented that facebook is a popular site and involving his students was a wonderful idea, and most likely these students took in more information over the net than they did in the classroom where they tend to tune out some subjects and begin to day dream.
More Podcasts:
I watched a few videos from Langwitchs Blog. The one that mainly stood out to me was Flat Stanley podcast by first graders. The reason it stood out to me was because I remember doing this assignment when I was in third grade. I also made a paper doll which I named "Flat Lisa" and sent it to some of my family out of state, who then took pictures with Flat Lisa and sent them back to me so I could then put a project together and present to my class. These kids were amazing telling their stories of becoming flat and being sent around the world! They expressed so much emotion that kept me interested in their podcast the entire time! I could not stop smiling while listening to this because I was shocked that these kids picked a place, researched it, and made up this exciting story of this wonderful place and their adventures. The teacher of these students explained that they need to use all 5 senses to tell their story: tell what they saw, how they felt, how it smelt, how it sounded, and if they tasted anything weird. This podcast was not just a few minutes long and did not include a few students; it took time to listen to every student's story of adventure in this elementary class. You can tell that each student really enjoyed this assignment, and just like me will remember it for the rest of his/her life. This is actually a podcast that I would love to save to my computer or something and play to my children for a bedtime story or on a rainy day it is that awesome! This podcast taught me how I also need to capture the interest of my future listeners of my podcast: to be energetic, and show my interest in the subject, and to make sure to explain to my listeners every detail so that they will also be interested and will be able to understand.