Final Project

Our group did our final project on "Are You Smarter Than an EDM310 Student?"

Blog Post #14

I did my blog post on  Pseudoteaching: MIT Physics by Frank Noschese.  Even though I went through everything to try and get this assignment done, I finally accomplished it. This was a very interesting article.

What is Pseudoteaching?
A term inspired by Don Meyer's pseudotext, pseudoteaching find textbook problems that appear to relate to real world situations. Mr. Noschese and Mr. Burk define pseudoteaching as something you realize you are doing after you have attempted a lesson that looks as if it should result in student learning. upon further reflection, its realized that the lesson was flawed and involve minimal learning. Basically Pseudoteaching is looking good and feeling like things are being learned, but in reality little learning actually takes place.

Mr. Noschese goes on to give an example of pseudoteaching done in the physics lectures of Walter Lewins at MIT. It is explained how Mr. Lewins makes his lectures look like good teaching and he appears to be full of energy and enjoy teaching physics to his students. the problem is, his students are not really learning from the lectures that appear to be "Good teaching". Many of the students do not attend class and many are failing. Why should they attend Class? Mr. Lewins is doing all of the work, all of the lecturing, and lets not forget the lectures are available online for the students. So the students really have no reason to show up for class. As a solution to this problem of pseudoteaching, MIT created interactive learning such as, Technology Enhanced Active Learning, at their school. The idea is to get the students more involved in the lectures so that they will actually learn and not just be"Lectured too". Mr. Noschese believes high quality technology in not really needed a lot in the classroom in order to teach and students learn. He think more whiteboards will do the trick.

I really do not agree much with decreasing technology. I do not feel that the tools used in teaching will really change what the students learn. I think the way the teacher presents the lesson and involve the students makes the greater difference. Less talking and more student interaction!!!

                                 
My final thoughts about the PLN is very POSITIVE!!!! I really enjoyed using this resource and organizing all of my different websites onto symbaloo. I arranged my personal websites such as, Facebook, twitter, craigslist, and YouTube onto my PLN. I also arranged my class websites such as EDM310 blog and different teachers website on my PLN also.  I have introduced my PLN to my brother, who also find it a great organizer.

Final Video Reflection

C4T Summary

I was assigned to Mrs. Kathy Cassidy's blog. I really enjoyed reading her post entitled Learning: It's Easier Together and On Being Learners and Being Teachers. in the first blog post, she talks about how she allows her students to  record each other and watch each others videos, this was a learning experiment for her students to observe different things from their peers and see what their classmates are learning.

Her second post was about her students switching roles and being the teacher. They were able to use skype and share things that they knew with people who didn't know. They were asked a particular question and I was shocked to hear their answers. the question was Why do you skype with other people/classes? They students responded with 1)Because we learn 2) Because we get to meet new people 3)Because we help other people learn 4) Because we don't have to go to their town to talk. this was so amazing.

Blog Post # 13

Jose Picardo's video Top 10 Tips  Using Technology in the Classroom, was very educational. It gives really helpful technology tips that can be used in classrooms. The funny thing about this video is, this is the same video I chose to use  for by blog post #12 Teach somebody Something. How ironic?
Mr. Picardo's ten tips are:
1. Use Streaming Video
2.Use Music more often
3.Use teleconferencing tools- great for meetings with colleagues in other countries or states.
4.Create your own interactive exercises- this gives you the opportunity to share your interests.
5.Use your interactive whiteboard more efficiently.
6.Create your own podcast.-this is a great communication sharing tool
7.Start a blog or a wiki.
8.Use social networks- we can connect with people around the world with similar interest
9.Use internet tools.
10.Make the most of your pupil's gadgets.
Many of these tips we use in edm 310. I will definitely use the majority of them in my classroom. My students will have the advantage of actually learning the technology that they will use in their future jobs, along with connecting with others around the world.

Blog Post #12

Watch Top Ten tips for Using Technology in the Classroom. After watching the video, explain in your own words rather or not these are effective tips to use in your future classroom. Also explain how the tips in the video are similar to the technology you use in EDM310.




This was a great video!!! As seen in this video there were many things such as creating blogs and creating videos that we are already familiar with. This video is a great tool for future educators to use to gather ideas for their classroom.

Final Project Progress Report

My group members for the final project are Brad Goldman, Clemente Brooks, and Sherrelle Grimes. All I will really say is the project is going to be awesome. Are you smarter than an EDM 310 student?

Project #15 Book trailer

Book Trailer


The Book I decided on was called THE INVISIBLE ALLIGATOR. By Hayes Roberts.

Project #14

For this assignment we were asked by our teacher Dr. Strange to teach someone something. I decided to teach my cousins how to use Skype                                 

                    

                                                        

My  Complete Summary

I taught two of my cousins , both age 10, how to use Skype. Neither or the two children knew what Skype was nor its purpose. First I explained to them that with Skype, they could connect with other students, in their school or across the world and even with their teachers. I also explained to them that when they attend college, they will probably use Skype to connect with other teachers around the world.After explaining to them different purposes of Skype and how to use it the process of teaching them how to use it on their own began. I created a second Skype page to use for an example and asked them to follow along with creating theirs. They both created the accounts. they set up their user names, passwords, and put in most of their personal information. I then went on to show them how to Video chat, and allowed them to chat with each other form different rooms in the house. They called each other with video call ans they also communicated with IM messages. One of my cousins caught on fairly well and one had time keeping the call connected with out having fun playing around with the different features. After the wonderful tutorial I have found my Skype account ringing everyday because my wonderful cousins call to talk to me every night to show me their homework grades and just to conversate, since I only get to visit them once a month. I have also learned that each of them now calls me all by them self.  One of my cousins told me that they were able to call one of their friends on Skype to go over homework assignments that she needed help with. This was a fun Project.

Blog Post # 11

Little Kid....Big Potential and  the Skype interview between Dr. Strange and Mrs. Cassidy were very interesting videos. Mrs. Cassidy seems to be a very dedicated educator.  Her students really enjoy writing on their blogs and doing other things using technology in her class. She is doing an excellent job with teaching her students the benefits of using technology. The students are able to practice their writing skills through blogs and are able to comment back on their classmates blogs. This give them the opportunity  to express their own  personal opinions and enjoy technology at the same time. Not only are the students benefiting form the use of blog in Mrs. Cassidy's classroom, but the students parents and guardians can benefit as well. Parents can keep up with what their children are learning and they can also learn more from other educators around the world. This will give parents the opportunity to take part in his or her child's education. This can also help parents improve their child's learning. as a future educator, I will be sure to incorporate the use of blogs and  other technology in my classroom.

Project #13

Project #12 Skype Interview

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year

In this article, Mr. McClung talks about his first year as a teacher.  From his first year experience, he is basically summing up the "Do's" and "Don'ts" as a beginner teacher, in his article. He starts out explaining how one should be able to read his or her crowd.  He mention how he was so worried about  being assessed by his superiors, that he lost touch with his audience and the delivery of his lessons. I believe this to be a hard step to over come as a first year teacher. One may always worry about getting their lesson done on time, and meeting all the standard requirements. To solve this problem Mr. McClung feels that in order to be effective one must be able to let their audience drive their instructions. This way the students will feel more involved and  interested in learning. He also talks about how being flexible, reasonable and communicating will play a great part in ones teaching experience.

Mr. McClung goes on to discuss the things one should not do. He feels that a teacher should "Not be afraid of technology" and "Never Stop Learning." I absolutely agree with them both. Society is constantly changing and as a teacher we should stay caught up with it. In my opinion the world will be technology based one day and students should be taught the basics now. The use of technology will also give teachers more resources to explore so they will be more effective with their teaching methods and materials. Also, a teacher should always be willing to learn. As I stated before, society is constantly changing; therefore, there is much more to learn, constantly. Learning never stops.

Project # 7 Form Summary

Are You A BOOKworm?

I did my form on Books. I wanted to determine how often do students read books for entertainment. I was amazed to see that 5 out of the 7 people that responded, actually enjoy reading books for entertainment. This is amazing!!!! I myself enjoy reading books for entertainment. I personally prefer novel about drama or romance. According to my form, only 29% of my surveys enjoy romance novels. The majority, prefer drama and adventure novels. Also, I posted a statement that read, " In your opinion, explain how reading is related to a person;s intelligence. All seven responces, were worded differently, but stated the same thing. The responses stated, reading expands a person's vocabulary, and influences ones learning by gaining knowledge, and help with comprehension. I really enjoyed doing this assignment.

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream Part 1 and 2


 In the videos This is How We Dream Part 1 and Part 2, Richard E. Miller talks about how writing in the academy and in the culture has changed. He started off explaining how he was a person who basically lived by books. He grew up in a house filled with book, and he dreamed of a career that involved working with books. He states how the end results are still books, only difference is they are now virtual. He makes it clear that the way we work now is through our computers and not much with pencil and papers. To me this is great. It good now because, back with only pencil and paper we were limited to creativity. One could write words, draw a few pictures, color them and basically be done. Now with the use of technology, we can use the creativity god instilled in us. with this more modern term called technology, we can teach better, use more animation, gather more information and instant feedback from others with in a few minutes and even send out information we learn to others all around the world. In these video, Mr. Miller constantly compare the use of technology(computer) to the use of the library. With some similarities, there are many more beneficial differences. In my opinion, the library's only real use is to get access to a computer, realistically.


Blog Post # 12

Carly Pugh's blog post # 12 along with her playlist and many links were very creative and amazing. The links I followed on her page had some really great videos that I think will be something I use in my classroom in the future. This will give the students time to work with technology and learn something new while using their own imagination. The video that stood out the most to me was Think Different. Think different was about some familiar people who have had a great impact on the world today. Some of these people were, Martin Luther King Jr. Muhammad Ali, Nelson Mandela, and some others that I could not think of their names.  Many of these people stepped outside of the box, payed no attention to the rules, were trouble makers and did what they thought or knew was right. They did not care about criticism and what people thought of them, they wanted to make a difference. The video describe these people as having no respect for the status quo, and the round pegs in the square holds. They though differently from the average person and look where they are now. Famous,well know, and MADE A DIFFERENCE IN SOCIETY.


The Clipper Series/EDM 310 for Dummies


This video, The Clipper Series, was very funny, yet very eye opening. There are many students in school like Chipper, and I can honestly say I have found myself to be a "Chipper" on some occasions. "Procrastination"!!  Waitng to the last minute to do assignments is not a good idea. There are always issues to face such as: technological issues, emergencies and forgetting to do parts of the assignments. I pray to God, I never end up totally like Chipper. She has really missed the entire point of being in school, to learn and abide by certain rules. As a future teacher, I do not wish to have any students such as Chipper. Now lets discuss EDM 310 for Dummies. This video was amazing!!! I think I can put myself in the shoes of the actors in this video. I have realized, that with discipline, determination, and a little guidance, anyone can make it in EDM 310, and any other class also. The first step is, you have to discipline yourself, and MANAGE YOUR TIME wisely. If I had to come up with ideas for my own video, I would find a homeless person on the streets, who desire education but lacks resources. I will pay their tuition for EDM310 and give them a copy of EDM310 for dummies, for an entire semester. At the end of the semester, I would write a summary on how well the homeless person did in EDM 310, using the book and its resources for help. This idea will compare an average student with an homeless person, and determine how well anyone can actually learn.
JUST AN IDEA!!!!



Learn to Change, Change to Learn

Learn to Change, Change to Learn  was a very interesting video. One of the first statements that was made in the video was, "Education is ranked # 55, and thats below coal mining." REALLY??? This is horrible. The group of teachers who made their statements and short speeches, all had some interesting views. I personally find it true, realizing that kids do have a richer environment outside of school. The things they are familiar with such as texting and social networking are prohibited in many schools. To me this his not allowing their creative minds to exploring their own way of learning, nor give them a more realistic learning environment. Technology and Children are like peanut butter and jelly, these days. So why not incorporate more technology into schools and give the kids a more modern learning environment?

Podcast Group 9

Blog Post # 7

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture


I really enjoyed watching and listening to Randy Pausch's lecture. Its was very interesting to see him so happy and very out spoken the entire hour of his lecture. I say this because I was shock to be informed that he has cancer. He do not look sick, and he carry himself to be a normal healthy person. He seemed to be very energetic and demonstrated push ups on stage to prove to his audience, that living with cancer, he is in better shape than most of them. Mr. Pausch had my full undivided attention within these few minutes of his lecture. 


During his lecture, Mr. Pausch spoke of hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Project # 11 Short Movie

My Favorite Teacher

C4T Summary #2

I was assigned to See Mary teach.

My first assignment was on her blog post entitled I've Stared Grad School. She discussed how she recently stared grad school. She wanted to get her degree in something that she was really interested in instead of something that made sense to the degree she already have. So she decided to get her Master of Arts in Educational Technology. i though her post was so exciting!!!!

My response to her post was:

I am an EDM 310 student at the University of South Alabama, majoring in Elementary Education. I really enjoyed reading your post. I absolutely agree with your decision on getting a masters degree in an area of interest verses following the status quo. As you stated in your post, why not spend your money on a degree that you will actually enjoy. I do not plan on being an administrator, so I would like to look more into earning a Master of Arts in Educational Technology also. I have really grown to love technology and all that it has to offer. Good luck with your studies, I think you will do well.

In a second blog post Mary talked about how different places require a certain attire for teachers Many places expect teachers to dress "Professional" every single day. this definition of professional: is Paint Suits, Shirt and tie, Skirts and Heels Daily!!!! Some places on the other hand, are allowed to dress comfortable. This is my kind of style!!!

My response to her post was:

I really enjoyed reading your blog post, and I agree with your points made. I personally do not think attire plays a role of determining the level of respect a teacher receive. I think a teacher who demands respect will gain it regardless to their attire. A teacher will actually perform their job better if they are satisfied and comfortable while doing it, not walking around in painful shoes or a hot tie around their neck. I honestly see the purpose of administrators stressing the dress codes of teachers. the main focus should be on the students. Yea, of course their should be a limit to what a teacher wear, but it should not be limited to only “Professional attire”!!

Great Post!!!!!