My EDM310 Blog Assignment are Now Complete

I have enjoyed learning about all of you this semester and wish you all the best of luck with your future!

What Have I Learned This Semester?

I have learned some neat things in this class. I love the things we learned about Picasa. The web albums have really been a great tool for sharing pictures with family who do not live near. I also thought it was interesting to learn how to make a website using Google page creator. The trifold brochure was fun to do and will be very useful in the future. It was also interesting to learn all of the great, free tools that Google has to offer.
Many of the things we learned in this class were interesting and I can see how you could use them in a elementary classroom if the privacy issues were not as they are. I do not feel like we learned enough about Microsoft. I was under the impression that we would be learning that software since it is what our public school system uses. Unfortunately I feel like we barely touched on the software and only spent four to five days out of the entire semester going over all of the many functions it offers. I do not feel like I am proficient in the Microsoft software and am disappointed that we did not cover it more thoroughly.

The blog I was supposed to evaluate was just a title and no blog. It had a link to the author. My birthday month is June so I looked at the education week link, but there was no blog!

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. This virtual encyclopedia can be altered by anyone who uses it which in my opinion makes this source of information very unreliable. A Cal-tech grad named Virgil Griffith has created a program that can trace the IP address of the computer used to edit the information on wikipedia. This program cannot tell you which person at the IP address made the edits, but it can tell you what company's computer was used to make the edits. Many, many companies have altered information about their company. Not just businesses, but political parties, celebrities, etc.. They can just go in and delete or change any unflattering information about them at any time.
I do not see myself using this source of information for anything except for maybe entertainment. When I need information I like to know that my information is correct and this source just can not provide that security. I really do not even see why someone would even create a source of information like this that could have been a great resource and the allow people to be able to change that information into anything the please. I mean who would not change public information that made them look bad if they could? I find this source to be a waste of time and I think that it is awesome that someone came up with a program that lets the general public know who is trying to hide the truth!

itunes university is a great tool for HIGHER LEARNING institutes. You can go to the itunes university website by clicking http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/. When you get to this site you can click the itunes store and download audio and video text from your professors. There is some information you can download without having to be a student at that particular university. There are about 250 universities that have available information for their students.
I can see where this would be a very valuable tool for colleges. You could study anywhere anytime! But, even the itunes website states that this technology was designed for higher learning institutes. I do not know of anyone in this class that is going to be a college educator. Due to this fact and the reasons I stated in my previous post I do not see how this would pertain to elementary or secondary education majors. It is unrealistic to think that this would even be a possibility to use this technology in our public school system. The privacy laws for children would not allow any of the things we have learned this semester and frankly I would really like to learn how to complete the tasks that are going to be expected of us by Mobile Co. schools like making lesson plans, etc. All of this just does not make us any more prepared to be public school teachers.

A cultual revolution

My opinion has not changed. As wonderful as technology is children should still be taught the importance of reading and writing. They need to know how to be creative and entertain themselves when there is no access to technology ( like maybe a power outage after a hurricane). Nothing will ever replace books in my opinion or the way you can just sit down and relax and go to some far off place in a book. A little harder to do sitting in front of a computer.

ipods at Duke

Duke University's ipod program has recieved praise, awards, and criticism. The program has been active since 2004. The first year there were a small number of students and teachers who recieved ipods for aid in the teaching and learning experience.The first year was a big success. Now Duke has incorporated this technology into many of it's classes and gives undergraduate students an ipod if they are enrolled in a class requiring one. They also can be rented from the school and they provide training to the teachers and the students.
What are they using these ipods for? Well, lots of things. They use them for a information and communication source for the college; much like our school uses its internet web site and email system. Students can hear class lectures and even get lecture questions for the next days lecture. There are class exercises available as well as news program and other information sources that are related to the courses. Some instructors have even provided pictures to aid the students in lab testing. The things they have done with their ipods are amazing and I can only imagine how helpful this technology would be for the students.
I think that ipods in education is a great idea as a teaching/learning aid especially for colleges. For elementary it would be useful to communicate homework and give the students access to material related to subjects being taught or even incorporating photos. Unfortunately due to restiricted funding in Mobile County and lack of parenting in the majority of homes I do not think it is realistic to think this would be a possibility any time in the near future. Children are not being taught responsibility and their parents are not interested enough alot of the time for a student to keep up with an ipod or utilize its features. The schools in our area do not even have soap in the bathrooms half the time and the PTO provides paper and copiers so I do not see them providing ipods to their students. I think it would be wiser to spend the time and money to teach teachers how to do lesson plans and utilize the technological system that is already in place in our county.

friends forever

This is my son Colbey and his best friend Blake. They have been friends for almost 5 years. They were on their kindergarten feild trip to the zoo in Gulf Shores. They were in the same class in Kindergarten.





This is my daughter Aryn and her best friend Kinsey. They have been friends for almost 5 years also. Kinsey's brother is Blake from the picture above. The girls met when they had the same teacher in first grade. The boys had the same teacher together in Kindergarten.

mom's birthday

This picture is of my mom and kids. We were at Cici's Pizza for her birthday. She loves there cinnamon struessel desert ( youhave to request it because they do not make it any more). She can eat a whole on by herself.

Build-A-Bear Party

This is my daughter Aryn at her 9th birthday party at Build-A-Bear across the bay at the Eastern Shore Center. We had a great time! I think it is one of my favorite parties.

Colbey's bicycle

This is Colbey on his bicycle he got for his 6th birthday. This picture was taken at his pool party! Of course, that was in July and I think he has only tried riding it 2 or 3 times. I think it scares him for some reason.

Picasa

Cinderella and the Prince






Belle

Seymour Papert

Seymour Papert is recognized world wide for being one of the leading minds in technology. He has done research with legendary people like Jean Piaget. While people in the 60's thought his ideas were crazy he has created many ways for children to use technology to aid in there learning. Some of the frist computerized toys were created in his labs at MIT. He was instrumental in the creation of the LOGO program and is on the board for MaMaMedia Inc. and the LEGO Mindstorms product line, which I think is really cool because who doesn't love Legos and this is like cool futuristic legos, Wow! He is also the co-founder of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. He has also written many important articles, essays, and books. To learn more about Mr. Papert and his works click http://papert.org/ or http://web.media.mit.edu/~papert/ .

What is he doing now? Unfortunately in 2006 Mr. Papert was he was run down by a motorist in Hanoi on his way to give a speech. He suffered severe brain injuries and has had several surgeries. He has had several life threatening complications and while he is now recovering he is still hospitalized. He will require several intense and specialized therapies to recover. The amazing thing is that after all the contributiuons he has made to our society his insurance company still does not cover much of his medical expenses. There has been a fund established to help pay for his medical care so he will be able to make the best recovery possible. Minds like his don't happen every day, so I can see why the medical community would even consider not providing every opportunity to him because, like so many others, he just can't afford it. Rediculous! If you would like to learn more about his accident, recovery, and foundation just click http://www.microworlds.com/seymour-fund.html.

My picture in sepia

 

My picture in Black and white

 

International teachers using blogs

The first teacher that I found is a first grade teacher in Canada. I was really impressed with the things she was doing in her class. I have a first grader, so it was really neat to se how involved in this technology her first graders were. The can post their art work and writings and share them with family that do not live close by. They have blogging budies in other countries. They also do podcasts. I think it is a great way to get kids that are only 6 or 7 years old to think outside the box. Most kids this age would not even think about other people in other countries. I am sure it really helps them to get a sense of the bigger picture. You can veiw Mrs. Cassidy's site by clicking here.

The second teacher I found is an eigth grade Humanities teacher at the american embassy school in New Delhi, India. First you can see the difference in his teaching compared with the very laid back teaching styles here. He seems strictly business. As you can see the only picture he had was a simpson of himself. His students can get a general class description, reflection of the previous assignment, look at previous weeks, access their own blogs, get condensed lectures, take a class poll, and get assignments from his site. You can access his site by clicking here.

Article assignment

I agree and disagree with the author. I think that it is great that we can access information quicker and easier with the internet. It make research easier to sit at home and do it on my computer than to find a baby sitter, go to the library and research a paper there. Also I like that it makes our children more curious. It is so easy to obtain info about anything. When my kids have a question and I do not know the answer to we go to the computer and find it together. In that ascpect I think it is a wondeful tool for everyone. I can also see his point about the original form of literature disappearing. I could see where that could happen and it would be a great loss. I expect my kids to read everyday and both of them love to read and be read to. I also expect them to write well. I encourage them to write and one of my children would rather write than do just about anything else.
I learn better as a listener and watcher, some people just do! I think it depends on the person. I think you can make reading and writing enjoyable and maybe even a passion for some of your students if it is presented in the right way. I try to tell my children that reading and writing frees you. If you can read you can learn anything or do anything. If you can write you can create a whole world that is all your own. It will be the responsibility of the adults in todays world to instill the importance of written works in our youth. Nothing is better than setteling in for some peace and quite with your favorite book!

First we will review the methods for creating links. Our first link will be to
the fischbowl , a blog for technology training used at Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado
Here is a picture from Littleton High School

Teachers using blogs in the U.S.

The first teacher is Gordon Brune. He is a 5th grade math teacher at Mamaroneck Avenue school in N.Y.. Mr. Brune has a section for links that the kids can use from anything to researching to the latest scholastic news event. He has a list of names of all his students that you cacn click to get to their blog pages. He has pictures of his class and a map showing the different states and countries that his kids blog with. He also has a place fro his kids to post comment about anything they want and even leaves it open for his former students to post to as well. You can access his site by clicking Gordon Brune's class
The second teacher is Erik Langhorst. He is an 8th grade history teacher at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, Missouri. One of his blogs he uses almost like an online class. He posts questions about assigned reading materials and asks the kids to respond to the questions. He also asked for the kids to answer questions at the end of the school year to let him know what they thought about the online experience. His class blog has links kids can use to get extra info about the class topics. He also posts his weekly class letters and once a week he chooses a different student to post a blog about what the class has been doing that week. You can access his site by clicking Erik Langhorst's class

ACCESS

The ACCESS program is designed to give all high school students the opportunity to have equal education and advance their education via the internet. A student in any school can take a variety of classes; most are advanced classes that may not be offered in their home school. The student is in a classroom environment and is taught by another teacher at another school via the internet. The two classes are able to communicate and interact with each other and with the teacher live through video feeds.
This program also opens many opportunities to teachers as well. Teacher's are offered training if they are interested in becoming an instructor for ACCESS. They can widen their technological skills as well as gain more knowledge into the subjects they are teaching. Probably the best advantage for teachers is that you can reach students miles away and give them a better opportunity in life. These students are kids that may never have the chance to take classes like these and graduate more prepared for the world today.

Uses of ALEX

I thought the ALEX site was very useful. I think I would defintely use the help with developing lesson plans. I am sure as a new teacher your resposibilities can be overwhelming and this site could definitely be helpful in making a teacher feel more comfortable in thier duties. I also liked the professional learning. I think it will be great to learn helpful tips from people that have used them and been successfull with them. I think that it is great that it gives you grant information as well since some of our schools do not have alot of funding.
My favorite link was the Distance Learning. Iwas really excited about that. I have kids in the public school systenm and I know there are alot of things our kids do not get to learn that other kids in other states do. I think it has alot to do with a lack of funding. This gives you an opportunity to offer some of the advanced learning opportunities to our kids through the internet. I think it is a great way to give them a look outside thier own world and broaden thier horizons. I also think that kids ar eso into computers htese days and I think they would be very receptive to this type of learning. It could potentialy bring our school system more up to date!

ALEX

I thought the ALex web site was really cool. It offers a lot of usefull tools to educators as well as students. I can see where this site could be a very valuable tool for teachers, students and administrators alike. I also think it would be very usefull in helping new teachers feel more confident in making lesson plans and having the most up to date information.
The course of study link gives you an outline of what your benchmarks should be for each grade level and each quarter. It also has several lesson plans you can use for each subject and grade level. The web links link gives students, teahcers, and administrators links to help websites in every subject imaginable.The lesson plan link allows you to lok at other lesson plans from previous and current years and also offers an option for you to create your own lesson plan. The search link allows you t osearch ALEX's thinkfinity data base fro helpfull information.The personal workspace offers teachers a place to store lesson plans and other work. I did not login to that because it requires an account. The professional learning link offers developmental opportunities, learning tools, tells you things that work well for students and even covers special ed, library media, leadership development, training, grant opportunities,etc.. I thought the Distance learning link was the best. It offers teachers an opportunity top widen thier courses and course content by doing interactive web based courses.
I enjoyed looking at this website and will remember to use it when I am in a school!

Shift happens

WOW! Not only was I left with a feeling of disappointment, but also an almost fear. It is disappointing to know how far behind our country is and to be reminded of how low a priority education is here. It seems like the message was the same one that has been going around for years. Eventually we will all be replaced by computers. This is a sad thought. It leaves you wondering what you are supposed to have your children look forward to if the information they are being taught will be outdated before they even get to use it or that they may not be needed because a computer will be able to do it faster and better than they can.

Power Point.

Even though the break has been nice I am ready to get back and do our power points. I am excited about this assignment!

Holidays

I defintely enjoyed the holiday break. Hope everyone had a safe weekend!

homework

I am not sure what exactly we are supposed to be writing about since I had to leave before the complete assignment was given to pick my children up on time. I guess we are supposed to talk about what we think about these blogs. Personally I am not a big fan of displaying your information, pictures, and thoughts on the internet. There is probably more trash on these things than anything else. Call me old fashioned, but I never felt the need to share my life with a world full of strangers. I also do not allow my children to do things like myspace. I am sure it is wonderful for business purposes that I have yet to discover, but as for doing it just to do it I don't see the point.Sorry!

EDM 310

Yeah!! WE finally got started! I am excited about learning more about computers. This class should be fun!