EDM310 Blog Experience

I must admit that I have had very little to do with blogs until this class. I have read some blogs before but never had a blog myself. My experience with blogging is that it is great for someone else but I have little time for it. I am too busy to spend time blogging. Blogging reminds me of writing a journal and I was never into that either. Because of this class though, I was forced to see other blogs that I would never have seen before and I learned things I didn't know. It isn't that I don't "get out", it is just not something for me. I explore the internet I use technology, but writing a blog is not for me.

I have learned a lot in this class using blogs. I am not sure that the subjects were something that I would have chosen. Blogs are a good way of having a lot of information stored from all around the world by using links and gadgets that are easily accessed. It affords the opportunity to communicate with others over long distances that would otherwise be impossible. There are, I agree, a world of possibilities and discoveries and yes blogging is a good way of sharing this information. So, for those who enjoy blogging then I say go for it.

I read Brett Kittrell's blog and I found it to be interesting and he seemed to enjoy making the posts from the sound of his entries. His blog is well constructed, organized and full of information. The photos that he used were good and his blog was almost up to date. I know that he has spent a lot of time on his work. I appreciate the time it takes to construct such a blog. Maybe he has blogged before and maybe he likes it.

Blogs are used in some of the classes that I have observed in but not many. Mostly, what I see are tutorial websites and test preparation websites being used. I don't know if it is because of a lack of funding or the time that is needed for test preparation is more important but I just don't see that many in the classrooms I have seen so far. I might try it in my classes if there is enough interest and funding for the computers.

iTunesU

I viewed a documentary from Duke University covering HIV epidemic in South Africa. The title was Broken (HIV education film from South Africa), which was produced by MadaboutArt Productions. The short Documentary was a re-enactment of a father raping his daughter(Dolly) and the mother looking the other way when she was told by the brother that the rape had occurred. During this story it reflects the current attitudes of looking the other way in these crimes, which only propagates the spread of HIV and AIDS. The documentary was a public service type message and ends with a message from children to family to protect them because they are the future. It was very well done and I appreciated it.

ACCESS LAB

I went to Mary G. Montgomery to view their Access Lab. Mr. Rose was very kind and showed us a room filled with electronics from a cabinet filled with laptops and two plasma screens mounted on the wall. He told us about internet courses taught in that classroom and how his AP students have access to courses not taught in the school. This allows the students to become better prepared for college study. He showed us the ELMO they have in the class and VCS or video conferencing system in the classroom. There were two cameras and Mr. Rose had a condensing mike so that he could talk at a normal level and still be heard in classes being broadcast elsewhere. Mr. Rose controls everything from a master panel. This was very neat to see. I wish that I had had an opportunity to use a lab like this when I was in high school.

I hope as a teacher, I will have the opportunity to be a part of an access lab in the school where I will be teaching. It really does change the dynamics of the classroom. Students are no longer restricted to the curriculum offered at their school. Instead, they can reach out to other schools in other states and countries. Students can learn from classes taught anywhere in the world.

These labs are expensive but I don't what kind of price we can put on the educational advantage our children can have with a lab like this. We have to find the funding necessary to keep these labs working and running strong for the future.

EDM310 Class Podcast

The first podcast that I listened to was "Blogging and Teaching". This podcast was presented by Rachel Davis, Justin Tullis, and Myrenda Howze. The group as a whole had good information and interacted well with each other. Transitions were very smooth and everyone seemed relaxed. However, toward the end there seemed to be growing spaces of dead air between speakers. It sounded as if they had begun to run out of things to talk about and were trying to stretch what they had. The group spoke clearly and loudly enough, they could be well heard and it was pleasant to listen to.

The second podcast was "Can You Tube Be Used for Educational Purposes". The presenters were Adrienne Lynch, Joylyn Reese, and Brian Stevens. The group seemed to have researched their topic very well. It was very informative and they were able to show the pros and cons of You Tube. The only problem that I noticed was the transitions and they were a bit rough. Maybe they didn't have enough time together to coordinate their information for presentation. Toward the end the group began to fade a little and there was a little dead air in the broadcast, but it was great information.

The third podcast was "Reflections on The Lecture of Randy Pausch". The group was Brett Kittrell, Jenny Mosely, Taylor Irvin, and Bree Smith. Once again, I felt that there was good information in the content of the presentation. Perhaps, they could speak a little louder and more clearly. Their presentation was very enthusiastic but the transitions were a little rough. There was good group participation.

The fourth podcast was the one I helped present called, "College of Education Classes and Technology Used in Them". The group members were Kathryn Bentley, Kerrie Owens, and Hanna Nolan. I think were prepared and had good information but, I don't think that we interacted as much as we could have as a group. The presentation was given like three individual speeches. I need to speak more loudly and clearer but, I don't like the sound of my voice and this didn't surprise me. Everyone else was loud enough and clear enough to be heard well. We needed to interact more as a group.

Electronic Contact

For my electronic contact assignment I found a teacher in Cairo, Georgia who teaches 12th grade Economics classes and tenth grade World History. His name is Justin Amaro and he teaches at Cairo High School. He uses the computer lab for his remedial graduation classes and uses a program called USAtestprep.com to help his students prepare for the graduation exam and he finds it to be very successful. In his Economics classes he uses the same program to help prepare his students for their End-Of-Course-Test. This is a state issued test for all economic students. He also uses an interactive program called InvestSmart that emulates a stock portfolio. Its website is investsmart.coe.uga.edu. Here, he creates a class and his students compete to see who can make the most (or lose the least) amount of money over the course of the semester through buying and selling stocks. He uses powerPoint in most of his lessons

He also teaches a remediation class for kids who have failed Prealgebra. The school uses a program called OdysseyWare for this. Here, students can practice problems and get immediate feedback. Mr. Amaro feels this program has too many loopholes that students can find and it is not very effective. However, the test preps are very effective and adds to the success rate of his students.

I asked Mr. Amaro about how these programs are funded and he said that they have money earmarked in the budget for them. The programs I talked about are easy to subscribe to and use. The test preps would be easy to implement in a school that doesn't have much established provided they have a computer lab with internet access. The kids in his class love the games and practice questions and practice tests that allow them to become comfortable with the tests. The tests are very representative of the actual tests.

I think that I could use programs that would allow for test simulation in my classroom to help students with test anxiety. The practice would help lower the anxiety for better performance during the real thing. Programs would also benefit my students that are not into traditional classroom settings and get bored easily.

Mathematics with Technology

I watched the podcasts and I could tell Judy Chandler was well versed in the use of technology in math courses. It is a way of engaging students with hand on applications. This is great because students are actively participating. Ms Chandler feels that technology use in math classes in important and can enhance the educational experience although some others would disagree. With a hands on technique students actually learn what they are doing and they don't just practice for a test. They retain what they learn so the education is not wasted.

Technology in math classes can offer an immediate response to the students work. In this way, students will know if they are doing it right before they commit it to memory. Students can have better resources for their math studies with the use of technology in their class. Ms. Chandler believes that technology should become a part of the curriculum and not just something to add on the side. The student will benefit from actually seeing how problems are worked and what the results are and while they try to apply the knowledge they get immediate feedback. They don't have to wait for manual tests to be graded and returned a week later when they have forgotten the concept.

I am finding the use of technology in the classroom more and more appealing as I learn about it myself. I am all for anything that will challenge a student no matter what their ability. Computers keep student's attention and engages them in their educational process. Most students don't enjoy sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture. It is hard to focus and become interested. But , by using technology the student once again takes an active part. The technology is out there and students need to incorporate it in as much of their education as possible and that's what I want to do in my classroom.

I know that there will be "old school" teachers out their that would not agree with me but, I think it is because of a fear of the unknown. They don't have experience with it and are intimidated by it. If they can get past their fear they will find an improvement in student's performances. I am all for making learning more interesting and fun. I don't want to be stuck and let the tech world paast me by without joining and learning.

Growth vs. Fixed

I visited the Stanford News website "Growth vs. Fixed", and I agree with their theory of growth mindset. The video was about two views on intelligence growth through continued education and learning and fixed intelligence. The growth view sees the mind as a muscle (which it is in my view) that needs exercise and challenges in order for it to grow and become stronger. The fixed mindset is depressing because there is no growth of intelligence, you are just stuck with what you have. Stanford held a workshop where the students were divided into two groups. One group was given the growth classes and taught how the brain can increase and grow through challenges and learning new things. They compared the growth to that of a baby learning new things. The other group was just given study skills without any motivation to grow through learning and making mistakes. At the end of the study teachers could tell which group their students belonged to because group one students improved dramatically and group two continued to have declining grades.

Even a race car coach could see the results and he wanted to apply this training to his drivers so that they could learn from their mistakes and become better drivers. It is obvious that they make mistakes during races but unless they see the mistakes and learn from them then they will continue to make the same mistakes. If they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again then they won't win. So this coach wanted the drivers to study the races, see their mistakes and improve their racing skills. Through their growth they increase the wins that they obtain.

This view of growth through education is an idea that I have always believed in or I wouldn't have returned to school to complete my degree. I believe that you will continue to learn throughout your lifetime if you let yourself. This is a view that I want to instill in my children when I teach. You won't stop learning just because you graduate unless you don't try. No, you won't always get it right the first time but you will get it and you will learn. This continued learning will add on to the person that my students will become and that is great. The world changes and you have to keep up with the changes or it will leave you behind. But, most important without continued learning what do you have to look forward to. Why are you here on earth? I want my students to be hungry to learn and stay hungry for knowledge the rest of their lives.

The Cigar Box Project

I found a sight that I found quite interesting. The students are from Calgary Science School and they started a year long project of discovering Canadian history through cigar boxes. They would collect the boxes and study the pictures on the box and research for what time period they we from. The class is led by history teacher Neil Stevenson. The website can be found here The students created five historical panels and three short documentaries. They were "Inspired by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa,Canada." There you will find an online exhibit of cigar boxes called "Canada in a Box".here The students had no experience with layout or design so the school brought in a graphic designer named Teak Sato, from the Alberta College of Art and Design, to give the students some basic lessons in layout and design. This was so interesting I loved the idea.

This is a great way to engage students creativity and give them hands on view to history, which I admit is a passion of mine. History can sometimes be boring to students but I can't see how a student would have time to be bored. Each student is concentrating on the pictures and wanting to find out where they came from and what the story is behind the picture that they are engaged in a hunt. Students can utilize technology and build skills while learning history. I know that I would have like such a project when I was in middle school or even high school. What a great idea and what terrific work.