Blog Post #11

See What These Kids Can Do.

I loved the introduction to the first video, the music that filled the background was on point. From the first few seconds of the video it was easy to see that these kids were talented and really enjoyed working on projects like these. The name of the show, Little Kids, Big Potentials was a very appropriate because these kids really wanted to accomplish their goals in life and school. The stuff they did really impressed me. I am learning how to use a blog for the first time in my life this semester and these kids are mastering them in the young grades of elementary. I enjoyed hearing them explain the rules and the fun times they had with showing their friends and families. I supported the techniques that were used in this skype and Little Kids Big Potentials videos. It allowed the students to really enjoy their class room sessions. They enjoyed everything that they were doing. They wanted to learn. They were excited that they were able to show off their work to all their peers. I would argue that this approach actually helped on the improvement of the projects. Because the students want to look good in front of their friends, they will do better quality work. I was a little surprised that more teachers had not caught on to this technique of utilizing the technology in the classroom. With time I would suggest that most teachers will start to incorporate as much use of blogs and the internet into their lesson plans. I enoyed all of these videos. Thank you.

Keith Tardibuono

Blog Post #10

I Am A Papermate

After looking at this cartoon and looking up the word Ticonderoga, I figured out that it was just a fort that was taken from the British by the Green Mountain Boys in 1775. Definition All I can really gather is that he is saying that the cheap stuff like paper and pens break easy and we need to replace that with the more expensive stuff? I am not really sure so I sent him a post asking him to explain. So when he responds to that I will add to this short paragraph.

Why are these Kids playing Games!?!?
Pencil Quest

In both of these blog post the teacher lays out conversational posts between himself and another ,teacher or student, and it always is interesting. While I was reading the first one about the strict principal, I was behind the teachers view the whole time. I would argue that the principal was overreacting when it came to the "no game policy" however, he is the boss and I think the teacher respects that. The principal wants him to just teach the class about memory skills in order that they may all do well on the rote memorization test. This teacher is teaching the students the skills needed to achieve a great status in life, instead of teaching them about just memorizing. In the end I believe the teacher is being a little bit of a "smart butt" when he quotes his solution, "My solution: we'll create an algorithm factory and integrate it into our Conflict-Oriented Reading and Writing Project (a.k.a. The Factory Game)"
In the second post, I get a chance to read about the class going on a scavenger/ and dealing with riddles. They are to use pencils to write down about what they find in order to move on to the next point. The whole project was a pre-thought out one that involved students going from station to station following a map and reading pages, followed by writing them. I like how the teacher incorporates pencil usage instead of the computers. If this teacher is anything like anything we have been studying I might argue that he is just doing this to teach the students about how easy and more fun the classroom would be with technology. I am not sure what this teachers approach is after reading a few of his blogs. I did however send him a post asking for some explanation.

Don't Teach None Of It

I really enjoyed McLeod's post. His sarcasm was on point in delivering his message to the readers around the world. His word choice and sentence structure really helped back up his message. He acts like he is supporting all of these views and then in the end he allows the reader to know that his class is actually doing all of this "evil" stuff and that they are going to be ahead in the world. For my last project I am writing a song/poem and one of the lines are,
"This group made a podcast, this one is recording a book trailer, my class is going to be ahead of the game with not a single failure." I can relate to both sides of his post as well. I know how it feels to not want kids to have the computers. However, I would argue that my reasons are different from the ones he names such as porn and tasteless stuff. I simply believe that when kids are that young they do not need to be shoved in front of a computer. They need to be out learning, exploring, and having fun with friends. Not in front of a computer. After reading all some of the comments left, I realized that not everyone really understood Mr. Mcleod's sarcasm. Some just supported his bashing of the internet, and other's thought it was cool how he was trying to "mislead" all the other teachers into making them not use computers so he could have a one up on them in the world. Regardless of what they all said in their post, Mr. Mcleod was professional in his writings and really showed a bunch of people the silliness in trying to restrict kids from computers in the classroom.
Thank you Mr. Mcleod
Thank you Mr. Spencer

C4T Final Summary

Diane Dahl: For the Love of Teaching 

Ms. Diane Dahl is very enthusiastic teacher who loves teaching very much. Based off of her blog posts I have read it is easy to see that she is a huge optimist. The two posts I chose to read are Positivity: An important component of brain based teaching and Metacognitive thinking skills for life and learning part one: Optimism. 

      Positivity: An Important Component of Brain-Based Teaching was the first post I read. This post dealt with how positivity is a must have for us as future educators move through our career. Diane says, "I begin the year by stressing the importance of optimism and positive thinking on the brain, and then continue teaching and modeling the other BrainSMART thinking for learning skills which include: optimism, listening, focus, understanding space, understanding time, systematic search, systematic planning, memory, comparisons, and courage. " When the students worked on these in class and had optimism to back them up as well as their teacher, great learning was able to occur. As a fourth grader, if the students can have positivity towards their schooling then they will continue on their path to success. Once the students learn how to be positive then they can also develop their skills on being positive to increase their optimism in the world. 

      The second post I read was called  Metacognitive Thinking Skills for Life and Learning Part One: Optimism. This was part one of here new series of thinking skills for life and learning. Diane's goal is to, "provide the reasoning, and practical implementation ideas for each strategy so that you can apply them in your classroom or individual teaching situation." Diane considers optimism to be the most important tool to an professional learning career. Optimism is the best way to start any day, if someone can wake up with the mindset that they will accomplish what they want that day, then odds are they just might. Ms. Diane goes on to talk about two distinct groups of students. One that believes that they will succeed and make good grades, and the other that is full of doubt. The group that is full of doubt has already taken themselves out of the game, while the positive group is on their way to success. If you don't think you can do something, you are never going to do it. The logic is easy. I enjoyed how she made a reference to the fact that some students believe their mind is unchangeable. They believe that they will either fail or pass, and their efforts have nothing to do with the outcome. Once students can master the belief that the mind can actually be altered and that it is all a matter of being positive then the students will learn and fight for success instead of accepting defeat. One of the best points she makes is in the end of her post when she says that we as teachers MUST model optimism.  Really Great Posts Ms. Diane. Thank you. 

Blog Post #9

All that was Learned

As McClung wrote his blog first blog post after teaching his first year I could really sense that he grew as a person and a teacher. He started out as an elementary teacher and even though it may be hard to believe, he didn't really have his stuff together. However, after reading his post I would ague that he started out as a good ambitious teacher, and became a great ambitious teacher. He stays ambitious, which makes him great. He used this blog to talk about several points that he felt that really stuck out in his career. Three that stuck out in my mind were "Communicate, Be Flexible, and Never Stop Learning." His first point on Communication was really informative and correct. Communication is everything in life, if you know how to talk, you can almost get anywhere you want to go. Take myself for example, I have talked my way through more situations I can't stand to count. Communication allows for an individual to seek out and learn social skills that will open up doors through life. I back communication skills one-hundred percent, which is one of my problems with the rise of technology. More and more kids are getting off the fields of sports and streets of play to go inside by their lonesome and play computer games. This can not be right for the world. With that taken into consideration, communication was a great opening point. Secondly, he spoke of "being flexible" which I also agree is a must in the classroom. I do agree that we are going to want to teach our own way, but with different situations come different methods that we need to formulate.We are going to have to be flexible in order to help our students learn to their own best potential. we also need to make sure we are flexible in the eyes of our bosses. In the job place it really is "their way or the highway." Lastly, "never stop learning" is a great piece of advice that I would argue needs to be remembered in the back of everyone's memory throughout life. Once we stop learning, we stop growing, which would then lead us to stop seeking out information and thus kill all motivation. In conclusion, we should never stop learning.

The Third Year

After his first two years, I really felt that he matured as a teacher and developed his skills as an educator. Mr. McClung was facing many different changes in life. He was in his first school for two years during this section, with new kids and new classes to teach. He expresses in his post how he was nervous about his second year in the same school. Even though he felt more at home, not having to do the whole introduction year again, he was still ready to take on the new challenge. He wrote in one of his posts about making sure you always know who the boss is. He tells us that teachers can sometimes get caught up in the teaching process and the kids that they forget about what the "Man" is saying behind the scenes. "You can't get wrapped up in pleasing people." I feel that this was a quote that directly spoke to me, I have been accused many times of trying to please everyone. In his last section he speaks about not getting too comfortable. I agree that this is an excellent point. Although it would seem more desirable to get comfortable at a place and relax knowing that everything is alright, we must remember that there is always someone wanting your job and aiming to take it if we fail. We must always shoot to stun and astound the bosses in the workplace. Getting comfortable means slacking off a bit. We must not get so comfortable. Thank you Mr. McClung for the posts.

C4T summary THREE

Mr. Robbo

The teachers post I was assigned to read this week was Mr. Robbo (The P.E Geek). Growing up as an athlete in school I really was impressed and intrigued with his blog post ideas. They were all about new gadgets that would improve the P.E. world and overall help athletes improve as well. The first blog was about different apps for your iphone. There was one named Runwithme. Which when I told a fellow girl about, her instant reaction was "that is so awesome, and cute." I had to agree that this would be an excellent idea for couples or friends that live in different area codes. The other one had to deal with reaction skills. It was called Reactiontime and was invented to help athletes on their start time for runs such as the forty yard dash.The second post I thought was neat as well, however I don't believe people take into consideration how much all of this would actually cost. I don't think most people have the money for these apps and smart technology. I very much appreciated the posts though.

The P.E. Geek

Project #14 Smart Board

My Movie Project 11

Thought 1

If laptops came from the ground and we could lay on our stomachs in the sun.. this class and I would be friends :)

Project 12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #8

This is how WE dream

After listening to Mr. Millers videos, it would be my opinion that he really shared a love for writing. He dreamed about books and then later in his life he wrote his own. I feel that this video needed a little more emotion expressed from Mr. Miller in an effort to really show the love he has for his career. I talked about how all books and writing tools are being updated to e-books and smart boards. He even says at one time that we need to get rid of all of the pencils and just move on. This may be taking it too far, pencils are great. Pencils have been around for so long. Who wants this elaborate customized e-mail card when you could get a handwritten in pencil with eraser marks and an individualized singnature. I would definitely prefer the latter.
When he talks about the uses of the internet in terms of books getting online I really started paying attention. He makes fun at the fact that his book in on Amazon for 59 cents. I am very grateful for this, selling books online gets me so much more money than any of the bookstores and I sold all my books in a day :). It really is a great move in technology, turning books to e-books. However, if you read my Thought 1 on my blog, I still stand by the statement. I believe with the books being online there is much knowledge to gain and an easier way to gain that knowledge.
"We need more Pedogogies" or Professional teachers. I would have to argue that with the rise of technology and need for teachers is decreasing, it is becoming easier and easier to become that professional teacher. We have the interent for all of our daily needs and questions. Youtube is one of the resources we use all the time. Without youtube.. we would live, however, it would not be fun for a lot of people. Myself, I would be alright. Thank you Mr. Millers for your videos and dreams.


Carly

I would argue that Carly did an excellent job on this video. The music, the pictures, and the flow all just fell nicely with one another. She takes Dr. Stranges lesson to a hight point. Her lesson sound very elaborate and well thought out. She wants us to create a playlist of videos that describe us, or simply just explain who we are. Any student would really love doing this project, I am going to try and start one as soon as I get a spare second. I believe Carly and Mr. Miller both have simliar views on the books and writing becoming electronic. They both want to use the technology to the fullest.

EDM is Different
Part 1
Part 2

I can appreciate both of these students videos. My favorite part in each of these videos for me was the beginning. Chipper's was funny because she came in sarcastic and with full emotion. On the EDM for Dummies I thought the acting was exquisite. The main the idea for the for the first video fit the EDM is Different genre. Chipper illustrated the ideas that Edm 310 was not a normal class students could just breeze by, they would have to work. This thought, I had to learn the hard way. The second video dealt more with the how of passing EDM 310. They went through the many apps and help sections to help complete this class. My idea for a video would consist of a much similar set up to the second one. Show a few scenes of kids freaking out over the class and then perhaps show a easier more relaxed kid doing their work on a timely schedule. Thanks to all the students that made these videos.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video really down talks the way of the old school teaching methods. They feel that the lessons taught and the way in which they are taught are insufficient and sloppy. The video supports the new and advanced way of teaching that uses technology in the classroom and allows for easier access to information. We as a group need to learn how to change, and we can't be afraid to change in order to learn. With new advances all around us, we need to make sure we ready to master them. Let's stay ahead of the game.

The HUNT

I found a lot of interesting stuff on this web search, although, I still think I like the real scavenger hunt better. Looking with your fingers just isn't the same as going out and physically gathering information. However, I chose to use the website, Edmodo. This website is a mix between blogger, facebook, and twitter. On this website you can make friends, chat with other people, gain information, and put up your own thoughts for others to see. I could use this website as a professional in many of the same ways that we are using blogger today. It really is just another branch out to the rest of the world. EDMODO As for the tools, they all looked pretty useful. However, I liked the video ones the best. This Animoto was my favorite. It allowed a user to turn photos and videos into hollywood movies. The deal they give students and teachers is really great. I as an upcoming teacher really appreciate their consideration. The app I chose to use is called Prezi This was a really fun app that allowed me to make a presentation that was exciting to navigate and st stayed away from the basic slide to slide presentation. Check it out. My slide.

Blog Post #7

Why does the Networked Student even need a Teacher?! 

     I enjoyed watching the video, the way it was interpreted by little drawings being moved around seemed fun. But why does the networked student even need a teacher? To answer this question I would have to argue that he/she really doesn't. The way that all of these views are shaping depict a world without teachers and less real, physical friendships. The teachers they are referring to, look to me, like nothing more than experiences mentors that have professionally mastered the use of the internet. Why even give them the title as teacher? I do not want to "bump" their whole idea because I can easily see that it is a great one that really allows oneself to get connected with the world and earn a certain status that would never be able to be achieved without the use of internet. I can also see that if a student were to be able to conquer the art of being a Networked Student that he/she would have a one up on all the rest. However, I also would strongly argue that a student with persistence, motivation, and a good personality can accomplish all of this without touching a computer.
     When it asks the question, "what does the networked student even need a teacher?" the answer given includes reasons such as, "Learning Architect, Modeler, Learning Concierge, Network Sherpa, Change Agent, Synthesizer, and Connected Learning Incubator." This student is in a Contemporary Issues Class. I feel that their are other issues that would be talked about rather than going out and making connections in the world. I understand that all of these methods are helping him further his career and find out information, but we also have books and teachers for that.
     If I were to take a class called Contemporary Issues I would think we would be watching the news and trying to formulate our own opinions on matters. I understand the more knowledgeable you are the more backbone your own opinion holds but I would strongly argue that you need to use more social means, and not social means electronically, but social means like talking face to face. I agree that the networked student is a quality one to be, but I would back a student who feels that the internet is not needed to accomplish the goals in life and "change the world." Thank you for your post
-Keith Tardibuono

Her PLE

     I was pretty impressed with all that this seventh grader had done with her skills of the web. I would argue that her PLE is really outshining my PLN at the moment. I can see that we share many of the same content, but what she is doing with that content is really putting her ahead of the game, and myself. I really liked her interest in the bizarre animals she had on her blogs. I also like how she had all of her "apps" lined up neatly in order. I respect her project and will do my best to have one myself of such status. Great Job Miss.

Project # 10 Planning My Plan

My Start. 

Since this is my second go around in this class I am feeling confident that my support group will come a little easier. I have made plenty of friends since being at the University of South Alabama and through (some of) these friends I know I can depend on to help me through my education career. I in turn will do my best to help these fellow students. I know that having the physical friendships in similar fields is a great start to forming a PLN, however, I have learned over the past semester and a half that it is far from all that is needed. I kept up with my Twitter from last time I was included in this class and am using it more to my advantage this time. I have friends from work, family, and employees at the University all being followed on Tweet. I am still getting used to using it on a daily basis. Along with a Twitter the blogs that are created are a great tool to developing in this field. By using the C4T and C4C it is easy to see my peers thoughts and views on specific issues. I plan on incorporating my Blog and Twitter more and more into my lifestyle so that I may get better prepared for the road ahead of me. I have been blogging with my Uncle is a Principal at an elementary school in L.A. and through my blog he can keep tabs on me for future work. I am going to continue to grow and try and take on the new technology filled world ahead.

Alternate Wiki Project

C4T Summary TWO

Mr. Larry's Optimism.

"Optimism is not so much about being positive, as it is about being persistent and motivated" (Segerstorm).
Mr. Larry chose this quote to write about in his blog and it really caught my eye. Like I said on his blog, I would argue that positivitey really does have a lot to do with being optimistic. Having a positive attitude can change your world and is a needed attribute to living a full and content life. On the other hand, I agree that optimism is greatly effect by the persistent mindset and the motivated drive. If people are motivated enough they will change their lives, if people are persistent they will only improve, or move forward. Unless of course they are persistent in something like suicide which is really a move back, or super far forward rather. Nonetheless I think this was a great post.

Day Time 
My second read was on how the human race spends their day. In the post I was able to connect to a link that gave a quick survey on how an individual compared to the rest of the world in how they went through their day. I noticed at the end of the survey, I was well above average for the amount of time  I spent eating, but rather low on the average amount of sleep per night. I had fun with this post. I have also read a few random quotes throughout Mr. Larry's blog that caught my eye, videos that interested me, and pictures that "restored my faith in humanity"  (Pics!!). So for all these posts, Thank you Mr. Larry.

Project # 8 My Podcast

Blog Post #6

Randy  Randy Randy.

     I am sure that Randy will be missed by  family and friends, they should be very grateful they were given a man like him to be part of their lives. Although this was a rather long video, I must say that I did appreciate the thoughts and stories that came from Randy and his life. He first spoke on dreams. I love the fact that he helped out on the Aladdin ride at Disney world, I am a huge Disney fan and  got to go behind the scenes of the park  when I was a senior in high school.  I also share a dream like that which involves working at Disney for a summer. Along with that dream I too wanted to play a professional sport. My dream was soccer, however, I tore my knee  last year and  since the surgery I have never really felt the same. From this  particular dream I can understand what Randy meant when he said the dreams we don't make happen are the ones we learn the most from. As a teacher I want to help my students succeed in their own dreams. As a teacher I will do my absolute best to find out my students dreams and goals and push them in the right path to completing them.
    The sky is the limit. This is how I felt after hearing  Randy talk. He is  point on when he says to not allow the students to be limited. People want to  impress, I would strongly argue that it is one of the best motivators around. So as a teacher we can not set a bar for our students, we must set a goal and then aim to go  above and beyond. Kids will surprise even the most experienced and wise of teachers. When this event does occur, the smiles and joy it causes are great. "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will  land among the stars" -Brian Litrell
    I agree with Randy and his view on teaching the students through fun and exciting methods. Teach them without the feeling of HAVING to learn. In the classroom I may take the kids outside to the basketball court and discuss angles. The kids would love to be  out in the sun and playing ball, while secretly learning skills needed outside the classroom. If we can teach kids through having fun, the world just may turn out alright.

     When Randy says, "If your kids want to paint their room, let them" I smiled very big. My girlfriend and I painted our room the other year and  it turned out fantastical, and now we have a memory and evidence of that memory for a long time. We learn through experiences. These experiences are a major part of learning for our kids and future students. Stories from the past, adventures from our lives, and lessons learned can all make great learning material in the classroom. We must help our students grow and mature in the right way. This can easily be done by remembering our past and leaving a clear bright path for them to follow, or at least a neatly trimmed one. Thank You Randy for your life and beliefs.

Blog Post #5

The School Initiative

I must give props to this student for really knowing what he is talking about when dealing with technology and for doing his homework on the subject that he is powerpointing. I think all of these apps in the ischool would greatly increase the learning process and create a very easy setting for the students and teachers to learn. However, I can not buy into his argument. He is wanting to put all our students learning and teaching abilities/powers into the hands of technology. It's right here when you need it, technology makes it easier, you don't have to go out of the way. These are all true about the ischool, but humans as a race are already lazy and don't do anything for themselves. Pretty soon instead of people taking actual trips to the Bahama's they will see that it is just as entertaining to tour it digitally on the computer. People are loosing interest in the world around them and are becoming more and more focused on technology. I would definitely prefer my students to look up a term in the dictionary rather than on a phone, that is how I learned so I would argue they need to do the same. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the way kids have been learning throughout the years so why try to take away from the actual nature of learning and give it too computers.
I wish I could agree with Travis, but I think the only problems in the "schools" start with the household and the parents of the kids, or it is the fault of teachers that are not dedicated to their jobs. If parents would do a better job raising their kids, teachers did a better job at wanting to teach, then there would be no problems. I don't think that these instruments will help the problem. I am still not giving up on the whole integrating technology into the classroom idea, I just do not know which one of these blogposts are going to help change my mind.

The Beautiful Voices
I am so very glad Dr. Strange pointed out that I missed part of the assignment. I remember this video from last year and I am very excited I got to watch it again. I have been doing my classwork for the past hour and have had this on replay the whole time. This is another amazing talent that Eric Whitacre's
has done with the use of the technology. I love how he was able to bring voices from across the world and put them into a brilliant symphony. Thank you Eric Whiteacre's.

How we should teach?

This video said a lot and I enjoyed the star wars themed music in the background. Kevin Roberts, in my opinion believes that teachers need to be the "filter" for the information that our students are gaining. "Teachers are no longer the main source of information" Kevin says in his video, and I would have to argue that teachers have not been the main source of information really ever. Now this is not to say that I don't very much respect, appreciate, and admire my teachers throughout the years, however for the information Kevin talks about in his videos I would think that kids learn these "skills" throughout life through parents, friends, and experiences. I agree with Kevin when says we must help the students learn skills and I believe his resources such as facebook, ipods, laptops, and blogs are a key to developing the skill needed to survive in the world. As a teacher I will make sure that I provide my students with the skill to live a good life in this world, if they choose too listen. Thanks to Kevin Roberts for the video.

Flip the Classroom 
Flip the Classroom Dr. Lodge Version 

I have to say that I think this is a pretty great idea. I believe giving the students opportunities to learn the lessons outside the classroom is a very productive idea. When Katie says that she is only teaching the middle section of her class she is absolutely correct. I remember going the class and just looking at all the kids and what they were doing in class. Some would sleeping,  looking out the window, I  even remember playing cards and winning money in my ninth grade English class. (I was  part of the students who already knew the stuff ;). But with these ideas student could choose their own pace, within reason. Also, the teacher could focus on what the students are struggling on most or really want to learn. I really don't have an argument with this project/process. Thank you Katie and Dr. Lodge for your videos.

Project #9 Time Line

I still stand true to my sentence

Blog Post #4

1st Graders and their read-a-longs.

I choose the first link to check out first because it seemed reasonable. The story was about 1st graders making their very own reading book. Already have been in a 1st grade class, I really did not have much faith in this suggestion, however, I was eager to give it a shot to prove me wrong. I must admit that it proved me wrong beyond a shadow of a doubt. I was impressed that kids this young could be forming their own creative books. I thought it was interesting how excited they got about re-writing their papers. I would argue that after hearing themselves speak over the recording really fell a need to do better.

Podcasting With 1st Grade

I enjoyed this read quite a bit. The main reason for this is because I used to read The Magical Treehouse like it was the best book ever, I will read it too my sons one day. However, the fact that they got to record their voices really surprised me, because much like the first one, the kids were excitied. They also were acting like they have been doing it since the age of 2.

Listening Comprehension

I thought this was a cool section. I agree with all of the emphasis on putting emotion into your podcast. On this page the students were learning from the story Purim. They decided to take that and make a podcast and then put it on the class blog for the parents to see. I enjoyed how the teacher made sure to record all of the sentences out of order so that the students could put them back in order by editing them. I also listened to the podcast and just by the voices I was able to tell how enthusiastic about the project they all were.