Blog Post 4

1. This post, Don't Teach Your Kid This Stuff. Please?, by Scott McLeod was funny to me. I love sarcasm. I immediately picked up on it. He goes on and on about the uses of technology and how we should keep “our” children from using it. He states that we shouldn’t teach them to read or write online. He tries to portray all of this as evil that our kids won’t be safe.
At the end of his poetic rant, he states that he’s letting his kids do all of these things. He then poses the question of who will have a leg up in a decade. It’s obvious that if we hinder our children, his children will surely have a leg up. This was quite obvious to me. I enjoyed it.
Who is Scott McLeod? He is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He also is the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He has received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National School Boards Association. So I would say that he is an advocate for the use of technology.


2. The points being made by Travis in his video, The iSchool Initiative, are some that should be considered. I like the idea of an iSchool. I can see the benefits in this. Travis suggests that this will save our school systems about $600 per student. That is a lot of money. He argues that it will save some of our natural resources, and I agree.
I’m assuming that the school system will provide the students with this tool. In doing that, they are setting themselves up for future costs. Students will inevitably lose this device or damage it. Therein lies another problem. Who will then pay for the damages? These devices will be a lot more expensive to replace.
All in all, I think this is a great idea, but it can never replace a human being. It should only be used as a tool and not a replacement.

3. This video, You Can't Be My Teacher, couldn’t have put it any simpler. I love the look that this kid gives us. He is absolutely correct. We will be teaching digital natives. We need to be equipped to teach these children. He said that it is our job to prepare them for the world that they are living in.
If we want our students to be successful, then we need to be willing to continue to learn ourselves so that we can bring this to them. Using Facebook and Twitter are great avenues for us to stay up to par with ever-changing technology. If I am to be his teacher, then I cannot depend on a textbook alone.


4. Wow! I couldn’t believe my eyes or my ears. This video, Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir, is incredible! To be able to collaborate all of these people and to create one choir just amazes me. I thoroughly enjoyed this. This is only a glimpse of what technology can do. This is a beautiful use of technology.
I’m speechless, really. This collaboration shows the artistic uses of technology as well. It takes an artist to be able to put something like this together. To see people all over the world willing to come together for one goal is inspiring.


5. The positions expressed in this presentation, Teaching in the 21st Century, allowed me to think of how I will use these tools in my classroom. To think that only using a textbook and not showing students how to use the innovative tools that are available to them would be an injustice to them. As he stated, if we are not current with technology, then our way of teaching is obsolete. I love that he stated that we are no longer the main source for knowledge, but that we are the filter.
In order for us to show students how to use these tools, we must be able to use them ourselves. Students have access to information about anything, anytime, and anywhere. It is our job to be able to show them the easiest way to search for things that they are curious about. In doing this, I think that we would be much better teachers in allowing our students more avenues to research. By doing this, we would engage our students in the topic and also allow them to be more involved in the teaching process. We all know that we have so much that we can learn from each other.

Project 5 - Google Presentation

Blog Post 3

1.    Michael Wesch:  A Vision of Students Today

       In viewing the video, A Vision of Students Today, it appeared to me that this is a one-sided depiction of the view of a student today. It seemed that it only included young students that may have just graduated high school. This doesn’t reflect my life and my college experience at all. My experiences are different than what is portrayed in this video. 

It only gave you the point of view of being in the classroom. I am actually enrolled in a few web-based classes this semester. I would have included that point of view, as well. Not all students of today are living this life of Facebook for 2 hours a day or listening to music 2 ½ hours a day. I am a wife and mother of four; I work full-time and am taking online classes. If you are going to do a virtual ethnography, then it should encompass the vision of all students, not your stereotypical students. All in all, I really enjoyed the clip. This clip prompts me to ask, are younger students of today falling prey to all of the updated technology which in turn distracts them from their studies?

2.   “It’s Not About the Technology” by Kelly Hines

Kelly Hines hit the nail on the head in her blog post, It's Not About the Technology. She is absolutely correct in say that teachers of today should be willing to learn. She stated that teachers today are given countless technological tools to use, but they end up being just a waste of money. The reason is, teachers are afraid of change. I myself find this to be true.  I see this everyday while I’m at work.  I’m not knocking the teachers that I work with, but there are some “old school” teachers that have been there that are only using their SMART boards as projectors.  I actually had a professor here at South use it for nothing more than a projector.  I was quite discouraged to see this.  I thought to myself, “Here I am here to learn, when in all actuality, I could teach this guy a thing or two.”

All in all, I absolutely agree that teachers today need to be willing to learn and to take advantage of all the tools and resources made available to them. Our children deserve nothing but the best. In essence, it is not always about the technology, but with the combination of a teachable teacher and technology, our students will be best-served with top-notch education.

3.   Karl Fisch:  Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

The lesson and honesty in Is it okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?, is something that all teachers should take note of. I have never thought of this matter in the way that Mr. Fisch put it.  In stating that today’s teachers that are technologically illiterate are equivalent to the teachers from 30 years ago not being able to read, opened my eyes. I feel challenged by this. This is definitely a different way to look at this.

As a personal example, my sister is a technology teacher at a local elementary school. She has been trying to get me to use Google Docs for two years now. I was reluctant to do it because I thought that I didn’t need it. You’ve heard of the saying, “Ignorance is bliss”? Well, I am realizing now that by our ignorance, it is our students that are being shortchanged in this mindset. They deserve the best, and we as educators carry the burden of giving them the best. Shame on us if we are not willing to keep up with the times to ensure our students have every opportunity to achieve goals set before them.

4.   Gary Hayes Social Media Count

To be honest, Gary Hayes' Social Media Count was a shocker. It’s as if we are at the stock exchange watching numbers run wild. I’m really not surprised by this though.  Technology is ever-changing and is becoming more accessible to more and more people every day.  

It also makes me think that what I may consider up-to-date technology will soon enough be outdated. The thing about technology is, people are always trying to make things smaller, faster, and quicker and less time consuming.  This is happening as I type.  More and more items are being sold, uploaded, downloaded and installed, than I can even fathom.  It seems overwhelming, but to me it just solidifies the importance of our willingness to learn and stay in the know.

Blog Post 2

1.  Did you know?  3.0 


   In watching the video Did You Know? 3.0, I was intrigued by the tone that the video came across in.  To me, it had a get on board or get left behind message to it.  A lot of the facts that were presented were interesting.  I particularly was excited to see that 1 in 8 couples met online.  My husband and I met online.  For a long time, we were looked upon as strange, or people would say, “They’ll never make it.” Well, it’s been ten years now.  Nowadays, it’s more and more common that you meet a couple that did meet on the internet.

   According to Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, technology is moving fast. If the United States wants to keep up with the rest of the world, we need to step it up.  I find all of this information about the USA to be disappointing.  I was under the assumption that our country was ahead of the game.  I see that I am wrong.  Technology is ever increasing and we need to be willing and mindful that we need to keep up.

2.  Mr. Winkle Wakes

   As I watched Mr. Winkle Wakes, I took it to be comical.  It was hard to really take this serious.  But after I viewed it, it became clear to me that Mathew Neeleman was trying to convey to us that if we become stagnant, go through the motions, or just sleep through life, we will be left behind this ever-changing, fast-paced world we live in.  Mr. Winkle did just that.  He slept through life and became unaware of things changing around him.     

   When Mr. Winkle woke up, he noticed a strange object and machinery that he had never seen before.  He was afraid of it, like some of the educators that we have today.  He tried to flee all of it.  What he soon realized was that it was everywhere.  He found himself to be in a classroom, and being there comforted him in his time of confusion.  Being in a classroom was the one thing, to Mr. Winkle, that remained the same.  But he did notice that “thing” was still following him.

   I believe the moral of this story is that we need to be willing to change and not be afraid to try new things.

3.  Sir Ken Robinson:  The Importance of Creativity

           

   Sir Ken Robinson brought many valid points in this video, Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity.  As he was speaking to fellow educators, he challenged them to consider the intelligence of children.  He explained how, over time, we as educators have squandered the creativity aspect that all children are born with.  It’s as if we have them turn this part of themselves off to conform to what public education considers as being a cookie cutter student. 

   He presented many good examples of famous people, including William Shakespeare and Gillian Lynne, and how they were not persuaded to turn off their creativity.  Robinson encourages us to tap into our students’ creative side and not discourage them.

   This snip from his video conference really made me think about how I talk to my own children and the ways that I try to limit them in certain things.  I hope to take his advice and do a better job in my home and in my classroom to allow these children to be creative.

4.  Celia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson

   Cecelia Gault interviewed Sir Ken Robinson in this video Cecelia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson.  She interviewed him after one of his conferences about studies abroad.  He explained to her that students in other countries with fewer resources are further ahead in the education process.  He believes that that the students in Finland are doing this because of their use of technology and by having a shorter school day.This may contribute to the lower dropout rate and the fact that there are no failing schools.

   Again, Robinson pushed the fact that creativity plays an important role in education.  He talks to Cecelia about the three myths of creativity.  This leads me to consider the “Cecelia’s” in my classroom.  I need to be careful to not discourage a child if they are a little wiggly or if they want to turn their worksheet over to draw a picture after they have completed their work.  There is a lot to consider in terms of letting a child be creative. 

5.  Vicki Davis:  Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

  Vicki Davis is an inspiration.  In watching her video Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, I was able to see the way that she allowed her students to be involved in the teaching process.  She made an important point when she said that to be an effective educator, we must also be willing to learn ourselves.  She allows her students to work together and collaborate with other students across the globe.

   In doing this, she empowered her classroom by trusting them with these tasks.  Students in this day and time thrive in technology.  If we try to limit them, then we are only setting ourselves up to lose our students. We must be willing to keep up with them and always be in search of new ideas.  Vicki Davis made this clear in her video and it is something that I will always remember when I have a classroom of my own.

C4T 1

In looking at William Chamberlain’s Blog, I was encouraged to see that he is willing to use different methods to bring his reading and vocabulary scores up. He took into account that his students were bored with the typical routine. He offered them a choice of which activity they wanted to participate in, which I find interesting. He let them choose whether they wanted to use flashcards with a partner, draw pictures of what they thought the word meant, look up synonyms and antonyms to create a word web, or just simply write the definitions. He used the website Visuwords for the students to reference to create their word web. He also has an ELL student that he didn’t push to the side. He downloaded the information onto his iPod for her to listen to.
He stated that these methods were highly effective in bringing their scores up. By having the students truly understand the meaning of a word will ensure success on a reading test. They have to have to know what the word means before they can ever understand a story. Mr. Chamberlain is doing his best to offer many activities for the students to participate in to maximize their learning potential.
One suggestion that I made to Mr. Chamerlain was that he should try to have the students use these activities as a center time rather than always letting them choose. His students may not know what method works for them best. If it were my daughter, she would choose to work with a partner every time, using the flashcards, because she is a social butterfly. This may not be the most beneficial choice for her. We need to always consider that although we are trying to get our students more engaged, they need to be exposed to all of the methods before they have a clear understanding of what will work best for them.

Example of a word web.

Project 2 Wordle

Blog Post 1

Hi, everyone! My name is Deana Nunn. I am a 34 year-old wife and mother of four. I live in Wilmer, Alabama. I have been married to my wonderful husband, Thomas, for 10 years now. We actually met on the internet! He lived in Talladega, Alabama and I was in Mobile. He moved down here to marry me. We have 2 girls and 2 boys. Their ages range from 6 to 13. Needless to say, they keep us very busy. We are heavily involved in extra-curricular activities. Both of our girls are on the volleyball team at their middle school. They also play softball. Our two boys play baseball and football at Semmes Community Park. We are also very active in our church.

I graduated from Faulkner State Community College in 1998 with an Associate's Degree in Court Reporting. I was there on a volleyball scholarship. I worked as a court reporter for about two years and then decided to stay home with my children. That is one decision in my life that I am certain was the right one. When my youngest turned two, I went back to work. I currently work at Allentown Elementary School where I am a Special Ed. Paraprofessional. It is a challenging, yet fulfilling, job. I welcome challenge. That is why I am attempting this course this summer while my kids run free through my house.

I am currently enrolled here at South in the Secondary English/Language Arts program. I am hoping to one day teach at a local high school. While working with elementary students is rewarding, I feel that I am called to work with older students. I have always had an interest in these subjects. I feel that with my experience and education, I will be able to be a positive influence on future students.

I would consider myself to be "tech savvy", but there is always so much more to learn. I look forward to this semester as we embark on this adventure together.

Here is a picture of my four beautiful babies!

Practice Post

This is a test.