Sunday, May 3, 2009
My EDM 310 Blog Assignments Are Now Complete
Thank you to everyone who was in the class with me! It was very enjoyable to come and see everyone. I would like to say that I really appreciate everyone's support the day of the podcasts when I came in from the long trip back from Arizona. It made class a lot easier for me when everyone was so sympathetic and understanding. I will miss this class and it was great getting to learn all these different tools with all of you! I wish everyone the best of luck in all of their future endeavors!
What I Have Learned
I honestly did not know what I would be getting into when I got into this class. I thought it was just a regular computer class where we dealt with word and excel and the basics. I had no idea that I would be blogging or twittering or anything of the sort.
I'm going to start by saying that I had no idea how many other ways google could be used. All I ever used it for was searching for things I did not know about. Now I have an IGoogle account and I love google documents. Having an Igoogle page and being able to pick what I want updates on and what topics I want to get updated on. As far as using them for education, I may not have my children use it seeing as I will be teaching special education but I will surely be using it for myself as far as using it to keep organized and stay updated on different learning tools.
Another tool I like and had NO idea about was the education podcasts that many universities put up with their lectures in it. Even if you do not go to the school you can pull them up and find different learning techniques as far as studying and different subjects go. The best part is that it is free, and we all know how broke college students are so it could be one of the most effective tools to use. I will definitely use this to learn new things about special education and different teaching tools and techniques. I believe it to be one of the most valuable resources both teachers and students alike have access to.
I also found blogging a very great tool for teaching and learning alike. It is a good way to keep people updated on things(including parents) and being able to share your ideas with people all over the world. I never thought I would ever blog and now I find it a very powerful tool.
The only thing I can say that I did not like was Twitter. I know it is becoming very popular in our world today but I really did not find it a good teaching or learning tool. There is not really all that much you can do with it besides put a few words up about how you feel about a few things.
As far as what I wanted to learn I did not really know what to expect so I can honestly say that I learned everything I wanted to. It was a great learning experienced and I'm glad that I learned about all these new tools.
I'm going to start by saying that I had no idea how many other ways google could be used. All I ever used it for was searching for things I did not know about. Now I have an IGoogle account and I love google documents. Having an Igoogle page and being able to pick what I want updates on and what topics I want to get updated on. As far as using them for education, I may not have my children use it seeing as I will be teaching special education but I will surely be using it for myself as far as using it to keep organized and stay updated on different learning tools.
Another tool I like and had NO idea about was the education podcasts that many universities put up with their lectures in it. Even if you do not go to the school you can pull them up and find different learning techniques as far as studying and different subjects go. The best part is that it is free, and we all know how broke college students are so it could be one of the most effective tools to use. I will definitely use this to learn new things about special education and different teaching tools and techniques. I believe it to be one of the most valuable resources both teachers and students alike have access to.
I also found blogging a very great tool for teaching and learning alike. It is a good way to keep people updated on things(including parents) and being able to share your ideas with people all over the world. I never thought I would ever blog and now I find it a very powerful tool.
The only thing I can say that I did not like was Twitter. I know it is becoming very popular in our world today but I really did not find it a good teaching or learning tool. There is not really all that much you can do with it besides put a few words up about how you feel about a few things.
As far as what I wanted to learn I did not really know what to expect so I can honestly say that I learned everything I wanted to. It was a great learning experienced and I'm glad that I learned about all these new tools.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I can honestly say I NEVER would have even attempted getting a twitter account if it was not for this class. At the very beginning I did not understand twitter or it's uses. I did not really go to too many outside sources I just really spent a lot of time exploring Twitter on my own. I found other people to be "followers" of, even ones that had to do with education. The difference between Twitter and say facebook or myspace is that twitter is much simpler. It is easier for adults to get involved and be able to keep in touch and discuss things over the internet. I followed as manyt people as I could find. I messaged a few on my own and regularly followed other people's tweets.
The only way I can truly see twitter as beeing beneficial to the classroom is the fact that teachers could keep in contact with parents in a very quick and easy manner. They could get updates from their teachers through Twitter so that if a child does not remember to tell their parents something, they can just look it up on twitter. Otherwise I really find it too easy to find people and it does not seem like the safest place for children to be. Yes the parents can control and watch what their children are doing, but I just find it too easy for others to find them so quickly. I'm not sure if I will keep using Twitter mainly because I have so many other things that I'm doing and I really do not feel like it has caught on with the people I spend most of my time with.
The only way I can truly see twitter as beeing beneficial to the classroom is the fact that teachers could keep in contact with parents in a very quick and easy manner. They could get updates from their teachers through Twitter so that if a child does not remember to tell their parents something, they can just look it up on twitter. Otherwise I really find it too easy to find people and it does not seem like the safest place for children to be. Yes the parents can control and watch what their children are doing, but I just find it too easy for others to find them so quickly. I'm not sure if I will keep using Twitter mainly because I have so many other things that I'm doing and I really do not feel like it has caught on with the people I spend most of my time with.
Podcasts
I listened to my podcast and three other podcasts. It was interesting to see how they all differ from each other and how different the organization was for each podcast. For ours, what I mainly have to say is that unfortunately we were not as prepared as possible because of some issues I had with traveling back from Arizona. Meghan and I had a hard time getting together to work on it and you could tell in the podcast. I loved Dr. Feldman, the teacher that we interviewed. He had a lot of insight as far as how much technology has advanced in the past twenty years and I know people will enjoy listening to that.
The first podcast I listened to besides Meghan's and mine was "Burp Back Education" by Lauren Roberts and Kimberly White. They had a lot of good conversation going on which helped to keep me interested. I like the questions that they asked Dr. Strange and how they described burp back education and gave ways to correct it. The only thing I would have to say about it was that it was just a little too long. I did lose interest after awhile because it went on for a longer time.
The next podcast I listened to was the discussion of Randy Pausch's Last Lecturei discussed by Sean Caballos, Chip Curtis and Heather Averette. The first thing I did happen to notice was the fact that there was a lot of background noise that had nothing to do with their discussion. Aside from that, I really enjoyed how they explained the lecture. They kept up a good conversation and you could tell that it was very well organized. They also did a very good job at using parts of his lecture and applying it to their lives to help people understand what he was talkin about in his lecture.
The last podcast I listened to was 3 Good Websites for Teaching Materials by Heather Klein, Kathleen Scrivner and Dominique Benward. Right at the beginning I thought that the nickname "DHK Today" that they came up with their podcast very creative and cute. They did a good job at finding websites that would be effective and not cost any money. The way they talked to each other kept you interested and they asked each other good questions so that listeners were sure to understand everything they were talking about.
The first podcast I listened to besides Meghan's and mine was "Burp Back Education" by Lauren Roberts and Kimberly White. They had a lot of good conversation going on which helped to keep me interested. I like the questions that they asked Dr. Strange and how they described burp back education and gave ways to correct it. The only thing I would have to say about it was that it was just a little too long. I did lose interest after awhile because it went on for a longer time.
The next podcast I listened to was the discussion of Randy Pausch's Last Lecturei discussed by Sean Caballos, Chip Curtis and Heather Averette. The first thing I did happen to notice was the fact that there was a lot of background noise that had nothing to do with their discussion. Aside from that, I really enjoyed how they explained the lecture. They kept up a good conversation and you could tell that it was very well organized. They also did a very good job at using parts of his lecture and applying it to their lives to help people understand what he was talkin about in his lecture.
The last podcast I listened to was 3 Good Websites for Teaching Materials by Heather Klein, Kathleen Scrivner and Dominique Benward. Right at the beginning I thought that the nickname "DHK Today" that they came up with their podcast very creative and cute. They did a good job at finding websites that would be effective and not cost any money. The way they talked to each other kept you interested and they asked each other good questions so that listeners were sure to understand everything they were talking about.
Blogs in the Classroom
I had heard of blogging many times before through commercials and conversations that other people have had. I can honestly say though that making any attempt to blog or get into the blogging world never crossed my mind until this class. I always thought that it was weird and it did not make any sense to me.
Since i have been in Dr.Strange's class, I have come to learn so much about the blogging world. It is such an easy way for people to be able to communicate online and express their opinions on different topics. you can collaborate with anyone you want and find people all over the world who share the same or opposing ideas as you.
As far as using it in a classroom I think it can be a good idea. You can get your students involved with technology seeing as it is becoming so much more prominant in our world today. You can also use it to discuss topics with other students and teachers everywhere so you can see how others are learning too. You can also possibly pick up different learning techniques from other people.
The only thing that I would have to say makes me wary is the fact that anyone can access the blogs. Parents would have to make sure that they know what their students are getting into. I would also recommend a little monitoring just to confirm that there are no creepy people trying to talk to their kids. Otherwise I think this is a very effective tool to use in the classroom!
Since i have been in Dr.Strange's class, I have come to learn so much about the blogging world. It is such an easy way for people to be able to communicate online and express their opinions on different topics. you can collaborate with anyone you want and find people all over the world who share the same or opposing ideas as you.
As far as using it in a classroom I think it can be a good idea. You can get your students involved with technology seeing as it is becoming so much more prominant in our world today. You can also use it to discuss topics with other students and teachers everywhere so you can see how others are learning too. You can also possibly pick up different learning techniques from other people.
The only thing that I would have to say makes me wary is the fact that anyone can access the blogs. Parents would have to make sure that they know what their students are getting into. I would also recommend a little monitoring just to confirm that there are no creepy people trying to talk to their kids. Otherwise I think this is a very effective tool to use in the classroom!
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Growth" vs "Fixed" Minds
In "Growth" vs "Fixed" minds by Stanford, two different groups of students go to two different seminars. One that just teaches straight study skills in college. The other went to a session that not only taught study skills, but also had a seminar in teaching about the growth of the mind. "Your brain is like a muscle", it needs to be exercised properly to get stronger.
At the end of the semester, the students who had "growth" seminar showed a significant increase in their grades. Even their teachers, who didn't know which students took these classes could figure out who did. A famous racecar driver even contacted the author of the book about this to see if it would help his performance in race.
As a teacher, I find this to be a very important technique for the classroom. Being a special education major i realize that this is a key factor in a child's progression. I think that special education students need to especially make sure they do not take too much of a break from their studying practices. Otherwise, like a regular muscle, the brain will slowly lose the strength it has gained and you will have to start over from scratch. I really liked this video and it really helped me to understand some ideas that I need to get started on as I become a teacher.
At the end of the semester, the students who had "growth" seminar showed a significant increase in their grades. Even their teachers, who didn't know which students took these classes could figure out who did. A famous racecar driver even contacted the author of the book about this to see if it would help his performance in race.
As a teacher, I find this to be a very important technique for the classroom. Being a special education major i realize that this is a key factor in a child's progression. I think that special education students need to especially make sure they do not take too much of a break from their studying practices. Otherwise, like a regular muscle, the brain will slowly lose the strength it has gained and you will have to start over from scratch. I really liked this video and it really helped me to understand some ideas that I need to get started on as I become a teacher.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wikipedia
We just had to read stories about Wikipedia and how non trustworthy they can be. Everyone has the ability to edit or change information on the site on any topic you wish. Personally I would not consider it a very reliable source. The only time I think it could be reliable is if the Wikipedia scanner shows an extremely recent time showing the information has been updated. I would not recommend using this on ANY major paper or project. However it is a quick and easy way to look up something if you are just looking casually.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture was very inspiring to me. As he begins his lecture he is very upbeat considering his condition and what he has to look forward to. Throughout his lecture, he talks about his childhood dreams, and the fundamentals that he learned as a child that helped him build his outlook on life. One thing I found interesting was how he said “we can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play them.”
Randy shares many of his childhood dreams and what he learned from them. I like how he talks about learning to work harder for the things you want most. This implies to me a lot since I am an athlete and I work hard on everything I do and it pays off. As we live our lives, we will come to some difficult things. Randy refers back to “brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.” Don’t let obstacles hold you down - keep finding ways to get better and never give up. As we become teachers we will see many students give up on things, and we need to step in and tell them to keep going and things will always get worse before they get better, so just keep fighting.
During his lecture, he points out what it takes to become successful. Never forget the people that help us along the way. We all need help to succeed in life. Learn to tell the truth, be honest, admit your mistakes and don’t be selfish. Learn to respect authority while always questioning it in your mind to learn why. As Randy was going through his life he said to always have fun. You need to be able to teach people to believe in you, build trust and confidence in your abilities. Listen to your critics – they are outside looking in. Hold your tongue and just work harder and don’t complain. Always be prepared. Everyone has a good side.
In conclusion, this lecture was mainly for his children because he might not be around to tell them what he wants as they are growing up and to live their dreams.
Be good at something – don’t waste your life, you never know what day could be your last.
Randy shares many of his childhood dreams and what he learned from them. I like how he talks about learning to work harder for the things you want most. This implies to me a lot since I am an athlete and I work hard on everything I do and it pays off. As we live our lives, we will come to some difficult things. Randy refers back to “brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.” Don’t let obstacles hold you down - keep finding ways to get better and never give up. As we become teachers we will see many students give up on things, and we need to step in and tell them to keep going and things will always get worse before they get better, so just keep fighting.
During his lecture, he points out what it takes to become successful. Never forget the people that help us along the way. We all need help to succeed in life. Learn to tell the truth, be honest, admit your mistakes and don’t be selfish. Learn to respect authority while always questioning it in your mind to learn why. As Randy was going through his life he said to always have fun. You need to be able to teach people to believe in you, build trust and confidence in your abilities. Listen to your critics – they are outside looking in. Hold your tongue and just work harder and don’t complain. Always be prepared. Everyone has a good side.
In conclusion, this lecture was mainly for his children because he might not be around to tell them what he wants as they are growing up and to live their dreams.
Be good at something – don’t waste your life, you never know what day could be your last.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Is it ok to be technologically Illiterate?
Teacher Karl Fisch wrote a blog: http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2007/09/is-it-okay-to-be-technologically.html. It was mainly about how he struggles with how far behind many teachers, and people in general seem to be with technology. It is a rapidly growing part of our world today and to not understand how even some of it works can keep you cut off from the world. He feels that there should be certain requirements for teachers, pricipals and the administration alike to know about technology. Because without their knowledge, how are students going to be able to advance in it themselves if their own teachers do not know it??
I completely agree with this idea. Our world is relying more and more on technological advances everyday. With this being the case, we can not really afford to have our educators and their administrators be illiterate on the subject. i think that they should have to know an exceptional amount about these things in order to even be considered as a teacher.
I completely agree with this idea. Our world is relying more and more on technological advances everyday. With this being the case, we can not really afford to have our educators and their administrators be illiterate on the subject. i think that they should have to know an exceptional amount about these things in order to even be considered as a teacher.
Friday, February 13, 2009
The Best of April 2007
The article I picked was the Honorable Mention for April 2007 titled "Hating High School Vacations".
The article talks a lot about how hard children in other countries are working in the classroom everyday. The parents want their children to excel at an extremely high level and are going to extreme lengths to make that happen. For example some are even required to study 8 hours a day durning vacations! Every child's numver one priority is books and studying.
The article also discussed it's concern for America and their academic process. The US did what it needed to do in the past to make sure students are excelling at the level they need to. Now though, it is not the case as much. Our country today has
far more distractions and reasons to keep kids away from books and classrooms. This is causing America to lag far behind the other countries in academics and may greatly hurt us in the future.
The article talks a lot about how hard children in other countries are working in the classroom everyday. The parents want their children to excel at an extremely high level and are going to extreme lengths to make that happen. For example some are even required to study 8 hours a day durning vacations! Every child's numver one priority is books and studying.
The article also discussed it's concern for America and their academic process. The US did what it needed to do in the past to make sure students are excelling at the level they need to. Now though, it is not the case as much. Our country today has
far more distractions and reasons to keep kids away from books and classrooms. This is causing America to lag far behind the other countries in academics and may greatly hurt us in the future.
Podcasts from the Fall
For our assignment this week we were told to listen to some students podcasts from last semester and to listen and critique them.
The first podcast I listened to was by Kelsey Volz and Crystal Powell. They had a discussion about the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. They did a great job a summarizing the lecture and Randy. They also explain different types of strategies the he used to teach and explained how they can be so affective in the classroom. One thing I will try to do differently in my podcasts is to be extremely prepared in what I am going to say. I know sometimes when talking about things you can get confused and get words jumbled up and I've always tried not to let that happen when i'm making a speech or anything like that.
The next podcast I listened to was by Joel Graham, Noelle Shipman and Kimberly Kelly. Their topic of discussion was youtube for educational purposes. What I liked about this was how they talked about all the different things you could learn from youtube instead of just using it for entertainment. They also explain how it can be beneficial to put things like lectures and projects for your class on there. Another good thing that they did was discuss the fact that while youtube can be an effective tool it does have some inapropriate things that people can put on there and kids may sometimes accidentally run into them so parents may need to pay attention to what their kids are trying to get on to. Overall I thought this was a very organized podcast and I guess the only thing I can say is my goal on my podcast is to do my best not to get tongue tied even though I know it can be difficult sometimes.
The first podcast I listened to was by Kelsey Volz and Crystal Powell. They had a discussion about the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. They did a great job a summarizing the lecture and Randy. They also explain different types of strategies the he used to teach and explained how they can be so affective in the classroom. One thing I will try to do differently in my podcasts is to be extremely prepared in what I am going to say. I know sometimes when talking about things you can get confused and get words jumbled up and I've always tried not to let that happen when i'm making a speech or anything like that.
The next podcast I listened to was by Joel Graham, Noelle Shipman and Kimberly Kelly. Their topic of discussion was youtube for educational purposes. What I liked about this was how they talked about all the different things you could learn from youtube instead of just using it for entertainment. They also explain how it can be beneficial to put things like lectures and projects for your class on there. Another good thing that they did was discuss the fact that while youtube can be an effective tool it does have some inapropriate things that people can put on there and kids may sometimes accidentally run into them so parents may need to pay attention to what their kids are trying to get on to. Overall I thought this was a very organized podcast and I guess the only thing I can say is my goal on my podcast is to do my best not to get tongue tied even though I know it can be difficult sometimes.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Carmack's Critters
Carmack's Critters is a first grade blog from Butlerville Elementary. It has posts about different events happening in the school. The kids can go online and be updated on everything going on with their school. It also helps the parents to know all the assignments they are suppose to help keep their kids prepared in class. Unfortunately there are really no pictures I can put on here from their blog. The blog is http://www.butlerville.net/1a/
AP Comparative Government
Here is a pictre from the blog
One of the blogs I found was a class blog for AP Comparative Government. It's an educational website used for students to go online and keep up with their government assignment. It has updated information about current international events. There are new regular posts and different blogs for different countries. To look at the blog go to http://apcg.edublogs.org/.
One of the blogs I found was a class blog for AP Comparative Government. It's an educational website used for students to go online and keep up with their government assignment. It has updated information about current international events. There are new regular posts and different blogs for different countries. To look at the blog go to http://apcg.edublogs.org/.
Fisch Bowl
First I have to say WOW! I knew that technology has rapidly advanced and change the way we live in our world but I did not know the extent of it! This video really did a good job at explaining how many things computers, phones, the internet, televisions etc. are used with youth these days.
This video really opened my eyes to how all forms of technology are almost an absolute necessity in the world these days. I'm going to be a special education teacher one day and i'm going to need to start thinking how i'm going to incorporate these things into my everyday classroom activities.
This video really opened my eyes to how all forms of technology are almost an absolute necessity in the world these days. I'm going to be a special education teacher one day and i'm going to need to start thinking how i'm going to incorporate these things into my everyday classroom activities.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
ACCESS
Access is a website that enables children to be able to do distance learning. They have courses where students can enroll and take classes online. This makes it much easier for students who may struggle going to class to just stay at home and get everything online.
With more and more students struggling to make it to class, the ACCESS program is a very good option for them. It makes it easier for them to just get their homework done online.
With more and more students struggling to make it to class, the ACCESS program is a very good option for them. It makes it easier for them to just get their homework done online.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
ALEX
Alex is a program geared toward helping teachers and students excel in education. It has a personal workspace area that people can sign up to get special access to work on whatever they need to as either a student, teacher or even an administrator. It opens up opportunities for people to expand their knowledge in a wide range of subjects taught in schools.
The division between students, teachers and administrators makes it that much more effective as an educational website. It is diverse enough to accomodate all levels of the education system. It even has distance learning which helps you to access things away from the classroom if your teacher needs something specific. It also helps you safely search the web for subject specific topics. Had I had something like this in high school it would have been a very beneficial tool for me in high school.
The division between students, teachers and administrators makes it that much more effective as an educational website. It is diverse enough to accomodate all levels of the education system. It even has distance learning which helps you to access things away from the classroom if your teacher needs something specific. It also helps you safely search the web for subject specific topics. Had I had something like this in high school it would have been a very beneficial tool for me in high school.
About Me
Hey guys!
My name is Shannon Smith and I am a sophomore here at South. I came to South from Katy, Texas on a softball scholarship and I am majoring in Special Education.
I haven't lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska and to this day it is still my favorite state that I have lived in and I am wanting to get back there to be with my Grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and cousins as soon as I can. After Alaska I moved to Las Vegas, NV, then to Katy, TX then Bakersfield,CA, then Katy, TX......AGAIN! and then out here to Mobile, AL. I know it seems like i've moved a lot and that is all thanks to the fact that my dad is in the oil business. I've hated it but at the same time it has made all the difference in teaching me how to learn to deal with many real life situations.
I love to travel and my goal one day is to go over to Norway, Sweden and Denmark because that is where a lot of my family originated from and i'm hoping to one day see my family heritage.
I always love to make new friends and I really like to consider myself and true and honest friend.
Have a great day!
-Shannon
My name is Shannon Smith and I am a sophomore here at South. I came to South from Katy, Texas on a softball scholarship and I am majoring in Special Education.
I haven't lived in Texas all my life. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska and to this day it is still my favorite state that I have lived in and I am wanting to get back there to be with my Grandparents and Aunts, Uncles and cousins as soon as I can. After Alaska I moved to Las Vegas, NV, then to Katy, TX then Bakersfield,CA, then Katy, TX......AGAIN! and then out here to Mobile, AL. I know it seems like i've moved a lot and that is all thanks to the fact that my dad is in the oil business. I've hated it but at the same time it has made all the difference in teaching me how to learn to deal with many real life situations.
I love to travel and my goal one day is to go over to Norway, Sweden and Denmark because that is where a lot of my family originated from and i'm hoping to one day see my family heritage.
I always love to make new friends and I really like to consider myself and true and honest friend.
Have a great day!
-Shannon
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
First day of class
So today is our first day of class for the second semester and i am writing a blog for the first time. I'm not too sure what to put but I guess starting off with beginning of my day is a good place to start.
I struggled to wake up this morning because I love to lay in my cozy warm bed when it's cold outside. It's such a comfy feeling. I got up and went through my normal routine. Then I was off to class. Of course I got a little confused and l0oked like a mouse in a maze trying to find my class. As many times as i've been in this building I was still as confused as ever!
And now i'm here listening to my teacher's first lecture and writing my first blog. Hope everyone has a great day!
I struggled to wake up this morning because I love to lay in my cozy warm bed when it's cold outside. It's such a comfy feeling. I got up and went through my normal routine. Then I was off to class. Of course I got a little confused and l0oked like a mouse in a maze trying to find my class. As many times as i've been in this building I was still as confused as ever!
And now i'm here listening to my teacher's first lecture and writing my first blog. Hope everyone has a great day!
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