Project #8 Team Confused Podcast

Blog Assignment 5

Scott McLeod
Dr. Scott McLeod is an educator at the University of Kentucky.  This week we had to read one of his blog posts titled Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?  This is a very sarcastic blog entry.  He criticizes the internet and all of the bad stuff that is out there like, sexting, cyberbulling, and porn.  Dr. McLeod wants educators to use technology as an asset to their classrooms.  I think that students need to be introduced to all the aspects of the internet, the good and bad.  Not allowing our students to be able to use the internet would be detrimental to their learning experience.  The internet can be a great learning tool if used correctly.

Travis Allen's iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen is the creator of the iSchool Initiative.  This is a collaboration of students who promote the use of electronics, such as the iTouch, to make education more efficient and less expensive.  In his short video, he outlines how useful these electronics can be in a classroom setting.  He shares how much money can be saved by using these as well.  Books, calculators, calendars, notes, periodic tables, and much more can all be used on an iTouch for students to use in the classroom.  Using these electronics allows easy access for teachers, students and even parents to communicate and stay updated on all of their work.

I think this is a fantastic idea, if it is funded by the schools.  Many families would not be able to afford the software needed to the iSchool Initiative to work.  If more and more schools are becoming aware of this technology, I don't see why it couldn't work.  Just because of the costs alone, I think the iSchool Initiative could really take over.

The Virtual Choir
Eric Whitacre conducts 185 people from around the globe in this "virtual choir," found here.  These people never had to meet together to perform this piece, which is absolutely beautiful.  All of this is possible through technology.  It's incredible how small the world tends to seem when you can use technology.  It was very neat to see the faces of these people from far and wide "come together" to sing in a choir.  Technology is so efficient in bringing things together and sharing information.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In this video, Kevin Roberts explains where he thinks education is headed.  He is worried that there are too many resources out there that the students would rather use that learning from a teacher.  With Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, Twitter, and many more there is becoming less of a need for a teacher.  Today's teacher is now more of a guide through all the facts.  They are the filter.

I feel that in today's society that the teacher needs to be more involved in the classroom.  That teaching needs to be a two-way street.  Not only do the students need to learn from the teacher, but the teacher needs to learn from the students.  With this being said, I need to be aware of the new technologies to be able to communicate better with my students and keep them interested.  There are so many ways to stay connected these days that this should not be too difficult.  I want to be a good role model for my students and I hope I can learn as much from them as they learn from me.

Reading Rockets

This website has an incredible amount of information about how to help those who struggle with reading.  For me, going into math education sometimes I think, "I'm not going to have to deal with students struggling to read."  I then think again.  This is not the case.  Surprisingly, math involves reading too.  A section on this site that I found helpful is the reading for English Language Learners (ELL).  After taking Education in a Diverse Society here at South Alabama, I realized how many students I will probably have whose first language is not English.  This site gives articles and videos on how to help those ELL's.

Even math students suffer from dyslexia

Thinking about an activity I did in some of my other education classes, dyslexia is a common learning disability that students may have.  Many students don't realize their disability until they grades are already failing.  This page on this site gives an impressive overview of dyslexia and some strategies teachers can use to help those students who suffer from this.  I found this site to be incredibly helpful!

Project #9a Timetoast

Blog Assignment 4

Langwiches Blog
Ms. Tolisano works with first grade students to create podcasts about books they have recently read.  The students love the idea of working on these projects.  Not only does it allow them to become familiar with that certain technology, but it teaches them many skills as well.  Instead of just reading the book, the students were creative with their voices by changing their speed and inflections throughout the podcast.

These first graders created their own script in a question/answer format that included the characters from the books they read.  They use skills such as changing their speaking voice, storytelling, fluency, and they are learning new technologies at the same time.  Her blog has many ideas that many teacher can take and use in their own classrooms.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
Joe Dale believes that podcasting should be used in classrooms today.  Today's students have never lived without technology and they tend to want to learn when technology is involved.  He thinks that allowing the students to make their own podcasts will let them to be creative and learn the material at the same time.

Podcasts are great for students who miss an extended amount of class due to illness and they are also good for refreshing the days lesson.  The parents can also be involved in the students lessons because they too can listen.  They enhance a lesson and even pictures or short videos can be shown during a podcast.  Two places where you can create podcasts is through GarageBand and Audacity.

Judy Scharf's Podcast Collection
Ms. Scharf gives a brief definition of what a podcast is.  She gives links to step by step instructions on how to create a podcast using Audacity.  There are several tips she gives on how to succeed in making a podcast.  It's very important to let the student chose their topic and to let them choose the people they wish to work with.  When the students enjoy what they are talking about and who they are working with the end result will be much better.  This blog is very helpful with a lot of suggestions on podcast topics.  There are grading sheets, rubrics, and examples of podcasts.  This will definitely be a blog that I bookmark to be able use in my future!

My Sentence Video

Blog Assignment 3

Technology in Special Educationn

iPads work great with children with Autism

I want to give a shout out to Ms. Cook for her desire to want to work with the special needs students.  I know for observing, that it is very challenging, but it can be very rewarding.  She uses a great amount of technology in her special education classroom.  Most of her students are non-verbal and if they don't have a computer it takes a long time for the teachers to be able to know what they are saying.  With the uses of a computer, those students are able to talk more efficiently.  It is easy for the teacher and most importantly it's easier for the students.

For the special needs students that I will have in my classroom one day, I hope to fully incorporate technology in my teaching.  I want the students to be able to fully understand the lessons and I want them to be able to communicate with me and the other students.  With their computers and gadgets, they will be able to be in the classroom and feel like they are a true part of the class.  Not only will it will allow them to communicate with me, but it will allow them to work in groups with the other students in the classroom.  Working with your peers is a huge part of the learning experience and before the age of computers and other technologies it was not very often that those special needs kids were able to work with their school aged peers.

Apps For Special Education
Since I am going to be a math teacher, I searched around on iTunes for awhile trying to find a neat math app for the iPad.  I came across an app called Math Easy HD.  This app teaches kids how to count from 0 to 20 and how to identify even and odd numbers.  There are animations that help them engage in the material and it helps them to have fun at the same time.  I think that using iPads for students with autism or any special needs is a great idea.

I really feel like this would help with learning.  Being able to have something hands on to use really helps students learn the material.  Like in the video we watched with the child with autism, his father said that he had never been more interested to learn.  When kids have fun while learning, they don't even realize they are actually learning! What a great way to get those students with special needs involved by using a technology that they will have fun with while still learning math at the same time!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
This absolutely blew my mind that I had to share it on my Facebook right away!  It is vital for us who want to be educators to be aware of how much technology is used every second of every day.  Seeing this makes me want to stay in the "loop" of technology.  I want to be up to date on the latest and greatest that is out there.  There is so much out there that I don't want to miss one minute of it.

For my professional career as a teacher, I want to be able to use these technologies in my classroom.  Just from looking over my kid's blog for our assignments in this class, I think it's a great idea for students to blog.  The sooner they become familiar with technology, the better.  It's scary to think that some of my students one day will be more skilled in these technologies than I am.  This shows me that I need to stay connected and updated!

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
In this video, Michael Wesch makes it clear that students today are more engaged in technology than they are sitting in a lecture hall.  They took a survey of the students about their uses of technology, their time spent doing homework and studying, and they surveyed on money issues as well.  Students lives are filled up so much that it adds up to more than a days time, but when you look at what it's filled with it's mostly things that can be classified as distractions.

Schools today need to look at the needs of the students and what will keep their attention.  When classrooms are averaging 115 students it is hard for the teachers to know the students and to teach in a hands on way.  Students are not engaging in lectures because they are bored and most likely not paying attention.  The chalkboard style of teaching is becoming a thing of the past.  Discussions need to be happening in the classroom to employ the students interactions.  Keeping discussions open and free will make the students feel more comfortable.

More technology needs to be added to the experience as well.  Hundreds of dollars are spent by each student on books that are rarely used, according to their research in the video, A Vision of Students Today.  Textbooks are becoming more readily available online and with the world of Google sharing documents throughout the world wide web is easy.  Incorporating just a few hints of technology will automatically catch the eyes of the students.

C4T Summary #1

In this blog post, Mr. Jo Fothergill is a teacher from New Zealand.  In this post, he discusses the idea of collaborating classrooms.  He doesn't just mean for projects every now and then, he means for every day lessons.  With technology the way it is today, there is a very good chance that the idea of collaborating classrooms is going to become more well known.  He, along with I, believe that we are stronger together and that when we work together everyone will learn a lot more.  I believe that the students shouldn't be the only ones learning in the classroom.  A successful classroom has the students learning, along with the teachers.  When teachers come together to collaborate, they will be learning along with the students.

In this blog post, Mr. Fothergill blogs about his recent experience at an educamp.  An educamp is a conference that teachers attend to be able to get in smaller groups with teachers from around the country or world.  Mr. Fothergill attended an educamp recently and he greatly benefited from the small group discussions he had.  I agreed with him.  I feel like when you sit in front of a person with thousands of others at a conference it will not be as valuable as if you were to have discussions with a small group.  Small group settings really tend allow you to share your ideas with others which you would not get to otherwise.  I hope one day to be able to attend an educamp!

Google Presentation

Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version

In the video Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version, many eye opening statistics are shown one right after another.  Dr. Strange made this video based on Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod.   Technology has changed so much over the years and it is could really cause conflict in the classroom.  I thought it was crazy to see the statistics about how advanced technology has become just in the past few years.

I watched Dr. Strange's video with a friend and both of us were saying during the video, "That's much higher now."  We were referring to the high school students who own a cell phone.  I even know some middle school students who carry around a cell phone.  This video made me realize how important it is to pay attention to the new technologies so I will be able to keep up with the younger generations that I will be teaching.


Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a short video about how a man awakens from sleep after 100 years.  He finds everything to be very different, except the school.  Mr. Winkle goes to an office and he sees all these crazy machines that he has never seen before.  When he goes to the hospital he sees x-ray machines and breathing machines that were keeping people alive.  Over the past 100 years the technology had changed so much that Mr. Winkle didn't know what anything was anymore, until he walked into the school.  Nothing had changed in the school.  The teachers lectured and the students took notes all day and the computers were never used. he felt comfortable because the school was how he remembered life 100 years ago.

I thought this video perfectly displayed how technology in most schools is not used to its fullest.  When you walk into an office building or a hospital, you see top of the line technology.  I understand that it's very important for those types of places to have top of the line technology, but what about the schools who are educating the next generation? I feel like the schools need to have the funding to be able to supply schools with things like computers, smart boards, and other new technologies.  These things are going to be vital in the upcoming generation because technology is expanding so rapidly.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Ken Robinson in The Importance of Creativity discusses the idea that schools today are stripping the students of their creativity.  He related creativity to being as important as literacy which I agree with.  I think that students need to have a creative mind to be able to express their feelings.  One of his mains points in the discussion was that students are scared to be wrong.  I know I have felt this way in the past.  If I felt like my answer was wrong, I wouldn't want to speak up.  Teachers are looking for the "right" answer, when in the end this is is robbing the child of their creative side.

Student's creativity should be incorporated in their leaning.  They should be able to express themselves whether it be through art, music, or dance.  If you don't allow them to be creative you "educated them out of creativity."  Robinson kept emphasizing how important it is to allow students to be creative and show that side of them and to not penalize them for being themselves.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning
In the video, A Vision for 21st Century Learning, they bring up the idea of fully merging the classroom with technology.  They say that classrooms today are too passive and that children are memorizing facts and reading textbooks and not really "learning" the information.  They want to bring to life a more hands on type of learning in the classroom by creating a type of video game that allows you to play your way through history.  I think this is a great idea because I feel like most students will enjoy doing this without even realize they are learning.  I also, on the other hand, feel like this could take away the real need of a teacher.  If the teacher hands their students a video game and tells them to play it where is the need for the teacher anymore?  I don't think technology should go as far as replacing a teacher because teachers have such an impact on so many students.

Vikki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
In the video, Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, a teacher in south Georgia is allowing her students to collaborate and learn about all the new technologies there are out there.  They use blogs, create avatars, use twitter, and they connect with the world.  Not only are the students learning, but their teacher is learning as well.  I think that is very important in the classroom when everyone is working together to learn.

For the most part, I agree with this video because to get by in this world you really need to understand technology and how to collaborate with others to solve problems.  I feel like students need to use the technology, but they still need to be learning all of their subjects like math, science, history, etc.  Just having knowledge in technology will not get you very far, but it would be very helpful.