Blog Post #10

An Open Letter to Educators

Dan Brown and Morgan Bayda make very good points here. I understand what they are saying, but I'm not sure I can fully relate. Our school system is designed for a different time, it just hasn't quite caught up yet. Dan Brown said that almost all information is now free. Then what's the point i going to class? I am afraid that when people to actually realize the Internet almost holds all of the answers, they result will be the same as Dan Brown's, people will begin to drop out or quit school. It really doesn't make sense though, why do we pay to go to class when everything is right at our finger tips? The answer: we need to know how to find it. Morgan Bayda said that she often felt cheated in her college classes. She said there was very little, if no communication at all. She said the classes were either too big or too small for the proper communication to take place. I fully understand where she is coming from. I personally have had the same problems.

An Open Letter To Educators

Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home

This is both humorous and serious at the same time. Taking pencils home lowers test scores??? Come On! On a serious note, the focus was not just solely put on the problem, it was placed on the solution. I really enjoyed this, I think that children can learn by doing anything. Even if it is just playing hang-man.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
What's my sentence? Was I better today than yesterday? These two questions are short, but have huge answers and valuable meaning.

MY SENTENCE: She can do anything she puts her mind to.

Two questions that can change your life

Project #12

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year

This blog is about a new teacher in Noel, Missouri, Mr McClung. He is telling everything he has learned since he began teaching. He starts off with "How to Read a Crowd". He says that he was so worried about how he was being assessed from the supervisors, that he made his lectures teacher-centered and not student centered. He said that the most important aspect of teaching is checking for student comprehension. That's very true. What's the point of teaching when the students don't understand?

He goes on to say that every professor tries to make the perfect lesson. He says the lesson you teach is never the one you plan. I read an article for another class I am currently taking that said you can never put a time limit on good teaching. You will never know what the lesson will really be like, the only objective is to make sure the students understand the material. If the lesson doesn't go exactly as planned, just work with it. It will all most likely work itself out in the end.

He then says communication is the best medicine. It is the best way to resolve any issue anywhere, whether it be in a classroom, at work, at home, etc. Although communication sounds "easy", it is probably one of the most difficult skills to develop. Having a good relationship with fellow teachers and students all depend on communication. Without that, we're just a bunch of strangers to each other.

Another issue he addressed was teachers have high expectations for their students. Some reach them, others don't. He says some teachers really loose touch and forget that, like themselves, the children are not perfect. The job of the teacher is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again. If a student is constantly being told they aren't doing something right, they will eventually quit trying. Everyone needs encouragement every now and then.

He eventually gets to the part about technology. I'm sure this was Dr. Strange's part. He says technology is our friend and is essential to living in our microwave society today. Teachers do not need to be afraid to use computers. The only damage they can do by using a computer, is learning. If you start at the bottom, you can only go up. So it's just like Mr. McClung says, "...jump in head first, the water feels fine. :)"

Teachers need to take interests in their students lives. A teacher that does not know anything about their students, will have no communication with them, and eventually no relationship with them. So yes, it's that important.

Last, but most definitely no least, he says teachers should never stop learning. Teachers work in a learning environment so why not learn as much as you can?

If you would like to view this blog, just click on the link below :)

Mr. McClung

Project #11

Timetoast 9B

Blog Post #8

This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

Richard Miller grew up surrounded by books. Books were a passion that he had. He knew he wanted to work with them one day...he did. He wrote a book that is now on Amazon.com sold for fifty nine cents a copy. He always dreamed of working with hard copy books, but is now working with books that are actually online. He says that our workspace is our desktop. We can research the riches of the world as they are stored on the web. Not just what is around us.
He talks about all of the different resources online and how each one can be used for different reasons. These documents are freely available and are always there. Its not like a library, check out a book and its just not there, but anyone can use it anytime. He ends his speech by saying, "we can do it, we should do it". No doubt, we should.
He also said that there are a lot of things that are not only in books anymore but also on the web. He called these changes incremental changes, not fundamental changes.
"Ideas don't belong to us individually, but they belong to us as a culture". I agree with that very much. Everyone will have the same opinion if we all have the same problems. It is true when he says that we as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely, but that isn't just for educators. Mostly educators, but others as well.
In the future, students will learn to compose with digital composing materials that are just now being taught and learned. It will not just need to be just a "black and white" article, it need color, needs to attract people's attention, needs to make people want to read it. Different dreams/ideas should be shown through these online documents.
I believe that I will be prepared to use these types of online learning materials in the classroom. I want to be able to get my students attention and keep it. I believe that using technology this way will enable that.

If you would like to view these two videos, just click on the link below.
This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

EDM 310 for Dummies and The Chipper Series.
Edm 310 for Dummies...you could definitely make money off of that book! I would actually like to be a part of a video like this. They look like they were having fun, and it was actually informative. Some very good points were made,and I believe that these video could actually help people who need it. Basically in both of these videos, they are telling all students to work hard and get things done on time, it's actually possible.

Critiques of Smartboards

Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards.
Why Smart Boards are a Dumb Initiative.


These two articles were different and the same.
Smart boards can be a good thing in the classroom if a teacher can use it correctly. Otherwise, its just a lot of money hanging on the wall. Teachers need to learn how to work Smartboards. If they can teach a lesson from a smart board, it will be 95% more interesting than a regular white board. Otherwise, you might as well be using a chalk board. In the first article, Sylvia Martinez says, "You can't buy change. It's a process, not a purchase." I couldn't agree more with this. This quote ended this article perfectly proving a point. If you would like to look at either of these articles, they are both listed below.
Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards

Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative

Timetoast 9A

First Progress Report.: PLN

Symbaloo.com I use symbaloo as my PLN to keep up with all of these different things.
It also keeps me VERY organized.
google.com I use Google to find information.
facebook.com I use facebook to communicate with the U.S.A Diamond Girls along with other people.
dictionary.com I use this when writing papers, etc.
pandora.com. This is free music. I use it when I run.
bbvacompass.com I use this to check my bank account.
USA web page I use this to check emails, grades, and school updates.
gmail.com I use gmail to check messages from EDM 310 and classes.
blogspot.com I use blogspot for EDM 310.
~This is everything I have so far, I am sure I will be adding more as the semester continues.~

Summary Post C4T Teacher #2

Wm Chamberlain's blog post was very neat. I had never heard of team teaching until I read this. He explains how he teaches a lesson and then has someone else tell him how he could teach even better with greater impact on the students. I love how he is willing to take advice from other people. I personally have met a lot of professors that would be thoroughly offended if someone told them what they were doing was not perfect. I really like that about Mr. Chamberlain. If you would like to see Wm Chamberlain's blog, just click on the link!
Wm Chamberlain

Blog Post #7

This speech was given by Randy Pausch. He began his speech by telling everyone all of the childhood dreams he had. He let us know, that everyone has these kinds of dreams, we just seem to eventually ignore them. We grow up, and forget what used to be really important to us. Randy Pausch was not one of these people. He saw things differently. He knew what he was capable of and went for it.
After the extreme introduction introduction of all of his dreams, he went on to tell us how he became successful. He never gave up those dreams. After that, this question arose, "How can I enable the childhood dreams of others?". After asking himself the question, he then began his journey.
He went through many different jobs, and eventually ended up being a professor. This job made him realize he could now really help people like he had always dreamed of doing. He realized students needed to be taught differently. They needed to know their capabilities and how to learn different abilities through other things that caught their interest. Through technology and group work. This kind of work study allowed his students to succeed even more, surprising him. The impact he made on that school, with the project he assigned, was unbelievable. That could have never been done without the help of technology. Not just out of text books.
At the end of his speech, Randy Pausch had reminded me of what I really wanted when I was growing up. I really wanted to be a school teacher. I feel like I am, in a way following my dream. I can only hope to be the kind of professor Randy Pausch is. He has done remarkable things for people. I would love for someone to be able to say that about me.
If you would like to watch the speech given by Randy Pausch, just click on the link below. Randy Pausch's Speech

Additional Assignment #2

How Kids Teach Themselves
1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
Yes, uneducated children, who had never seen a computer before taught themselves how to browse and record music, then play the music the made back.

2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
Yes, children will learn to do what they want to do. They taught themselves how to record and play music within four hours.

3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
Children can learn to do anything on their own if they really want to. No matter who or where they were. They just simply have to have the motivation.

4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
Computers and internet give the children something to have fun with. It’s not just a book and pencil and studying. It’s more hands on.

5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
The children will be motivated if they are having fun. If the children have interest, then education happens. Interest brings motivation which eventually brings education.

6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
If there is a question, there has to be a solution. How do you find a solution? Trial and Error.


7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
Catch their interest. Give them something that has their attention and they can have fun with. Even if it’s just a simple Disney game on the internet.

8. How are you motivated to learn?
Just like a child, it has to catch my attention. I have to have a little bit of interest in the assignment to want to complete it correctly.
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn, learn?
They can, but they won’t enjoy it. It will be shoved down there throat, then “burped back” on a test and forgotten after.

10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
Yes, every time I do homework, I have to teach myself the methods, or at least practice the new methods I learned in class. When? I teach myself all the time in this class. Why? It’s an online class. I don’t want to fail, personally. That is the greatest motivation, but I also really do want to be able to teach my children in my future classroom in a fun way. Not just with books and pencils.

11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
Math class for example, I have to have someone literally get up in front of me, and work problems out in order for me to understand it. I can’t just look in a math book at pictures and diagrams and understand what is going on. I require a teacher n very few classes, but for others, I teach myself more often through homework and studying.

12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?
Any child can learn when motivated. It doesn’t matter how educated he or she is, they just have to have the proper motivation and interest in the subject area.

13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
Aspiring teachers need to learn how to catch the interest of their students. They need to learn how to make the curriculum interesting. Once again, trial and error. Figure out what works best for each student.

If you would like to view the video I am answering these questions about, just click on the link below!
The Child-Driven Education