Project # 16

Blog Post # 13

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) is an educational web system that provides high-quality resources for Alabama educators, parents and students. ALEX provides courses of study, web resources and lesson plans. ALEX has the contents standards listed for the following courses of study: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Art Education, Career/Technical Education, Health Education, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, Physcial Education and Other Courses of Study. Therefore, Alabama educators have easy access to what they need in order to meet the requirements for each course that they teach. ALEX also has interesting podcasts and web links available for teachers to view. ALEX has been recieved rewards and recognition for being a high-quality resource for Alabama educators.

Based on th given facts, ALEX is a very beneficial site for anyone who plans to teach in the state of Alabama. This site has everything available for teacher to view in order to be a successful teacher. I plan on visiting this site regularly when I become a teacher.

Alabame Connecting Classros,Educators, & Students Statewide(ACCESS) is a program available for students that attend public high schools in Alabama. ACCESS' goal is to create equity through educational offerings for Alabama high school students. ACCESS offers information about regular and advanced placement courses, Alabama High School Graduation Exams and course offerings. ACCESS also provides resourses like test preparation materials and textbooks. ACCESS is also a very beneficial site for future Alabama Educators.

C4K Summary # 3

I was assigned the post entitled Irish Punk Rock on Mr. McClung's blog. In this post, he gives an interesting description of the Murpheys. He describes the Murpheys as an Irish American Celtic punk band that began in the basement of a friend's barbarshop. The Murpheys were formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The Murpeys are famous for their extensive touring, St. Patricks Day Weekend Shows, and paronage of the Bostn Red Sox, Celtics and Bruns. On March 1, 2011, they will be releasing their seventh album. I have never heard of the Murpheys before. From reading this description of the Murpheys, I would like to hear them one day.

From Mrs.Thompson's 6th and 7th grade class located in Room 13, I was assigned to a girl named Olivia. She has a very COOL BLOG! In the post that I commented on, she talks about her class doing a dance to a song entitled "Rock Me." Their class plans on doing the Jive for their dance. A woman named Marilyn is going assist them with their dance movements. For the dance, they wanted the girls to dance with the boys but they did not have enough boys. However, the girls had to dance with other girls. This dance sounds like a lot of fun! I am taking both Modern and Jazz Dancing this semester! I really enjoy both of them!

Mrs.Yollis'Blog was very enjoyable to read! Her blog is very interesting and well-costructed. I love it that she has the parents so involved in their children's education. I watched a video that Mrs. Yollis created entitled "How to Comment." In this video, she fully explains how to comment on her blog. She also explains how to comment and gives excellent examples of quality comments in the blog post entitled "Quality Commenting During Famiy Blogging Month." Mrs. Yollis has to approve your comment before it is published. Quality commenting is very important. I am going to take the advice that Mrs. Yollis gave about quality commenting into consideration.

From Mrs. Yollis' class, I was assigned to comment on Hannah's Blog. Both Hannah and Leila did a Wonderful Thing! They donated their 10 inch ponytails to Locks of Love. Locks of Love provides is an organization that provides free wigs to children in Canada that have a financial need. It was very genrous of both of them to donate their hair to support this organization. Both of these girls have a very good heart!

Final Project Progress Report

My group consists of me and Krista Edwards.

Here are our possiblities:
1. A video addressing the expectations of EDM 310.
2. "Plan Out Our First Class" video.
3. A movie addressing the importance of technology to parents.

We will be meeting in the next couple of days to finalize our decision.

Blog Post # 12

Assignment: Find an interesting video or link that reinforces what you have learned about technology.

Example:

I urge you to watch this video and think about all of the possibilities that they discuss technology can bring and relate them to how you plan on incorporating technology in your classroom. This video is a must see!

Project # 15

Special Assignment

Mr. McClung's World is such a great blog. By reading this blog, I have found out that Mr. McClung is a fun, interesting and self-motivated guy. I would say that Mr. McClung is the perfect example of a good educator. He adds fun and excitement to the classroom, and he also cares a lot about his students. I like all of the rules that he has listed. I think that all teachers should consider them.

The first item that he has listed under the "Everyone Needs" is a day planner. I believe that he has listed as the first item because he wants his students to stay organized and keep up with important assignment due dates. Dr. Fregeau suggests that all of her students get a planner the first week of her class and write down important due dates for papers and projects. I certainly found this idea very beneficial.

His penalties for being late are identical to Dr. Strange's. For Mr. McClung, being late results in reduction of a letter grade. If an assignment is not turned in after three days of the due date the student would would receive a failing grade. Dr.Strange also penalizes students for late work too. He has stressed to us to submit all of you work in ON TIME. This should push students to do their assignments way before the due date and not procrastinate.

I think that it is a wonderful idea for him consider using his blog as a daily newsletter and provide available resources for parents, students and teachers. This will be a great way for parents to stayed abreast of what is going with their children at school.

The first link that I looked at in depth is Homework Rules for the Whole Family. It gives suggestions on how parents can establish homework rules for their child, and it also has a homework personality quiz that students can complete. The second link that I looked at was Planning and Organizational Skills - Planners Help with Organizational Skills. It explains how planners can help improve a students to be more organized. Both of these links give very helpful advice to help students succeed academically.

All of the rules that he gave about Internet Safety are very good. I would not add or subtract anyone of them. From reading these rule, I learned that it is not safe to reveal my last name, address, phone number, or school name in chat rooms and on websites. I have my last name on my Facebook and My Blog, but I do not think that it is bad that I have my last name on them.

I was assigned to read Irish Punk Rock. In this post, he gave a very interesting description of the Murpheys. I have never heard of the Murpheys before. But, I would like to hear them one day.

Mr. McClung's blog is so interesting and cool. It is not like any blog that I have ever seen this semester. I wish that I could do a whole lot more with my blog. Mr. McClung has everything available on his blog for parents, students, and teachers to keep up with concerning his class. I think that this great to have. When you have a chance, you should definitely check it out! It Is Amazing!

Blog Post #11

There are no other words to describe First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class but simply amazing. It is so cool to see first graders having blogs, doing videos and using Skype. I thought that it was so cute when the little boy said, "Commenty by only saying nice stuff because you may hurt someone's feelings. I do agree! The Skype Interview with Ms. Cassiday was GREAT! She gave some very helpful advice. I think that is so wonderful that she exposing her students to technology at a young age. The advice that she gave about Twitter and Facebook was very good. Before I took EDM 310 I did not think that Twitter was a needy tool to have, but now I see the value of having Twitter. The suggestion that she made about students having a school Facebook is a wonderful idea. As a matter of fact, I am thinking about doing this when I become a teacher. I also like the idea of students having blogs. I also think that it is no more than right for parents to sign a form in order to allow their children to have blogs. Thanks Mrs. Cassidy for sharing such great ideas!

Project # 14

For the "Teach Someone Something" Project, I am teaching Mrs.Pamela Boykin how to change the design of her blog and the font of her blog title.

Blog Post # 10

An Open Letter to Educators was an excellent post! The video that Morgan had embeded into her blog with Dan Brown was Awesome! Dan Brown is a very interesting guy with a very open mind. He dropped out of school because his schooling was interfering with his education. He stated that in order to succeed in the planet of the 21st Century, a strong education for every human being isn't just important it is essential. I Strongly Agree! In this day and time, it is almost impossible to find a job without having an education. He also explained how valuable information is. Information from the internet is very valuable because it is free and convient. He used the internet rather than using texbooks because it is free. I would not do this because some subjects require you to have a textbook. He said, "If institutional education wants to survive in the information age it needs to do more than just adopt a few new tools. This is the truth. When he went to school, there were 40 to 200 kids in one class with just one professor. The professor did not bother to learn their student's names, encourage interaction, and they lectured using powerpoints. They were required to jot down the notes from the powerpoints, memorize what they jotted down, get tested on what they jotted down and receive a grade for what facts they memorized. A lot of this is going on today! In my opinion, this is a very Lazy Teacher! I enjoyed it when he said, "Institutions based solely on providing students with facts is not preparing them for the world." This Is RIGHT! You do not need to just learn things, but you also need to know how to apply them. Just learning facts will not get you anywhere. I learned a very important lesson from this video which is the I do not need to change, but I need to understand that the world is changing. The world is forever changing and it is important that we say abreast of these changes. I really enjoyed this video!!!

C4T # 3

I really enjoyed reading Edna's Blog Both of the post that I read contained some very helpful information for teachers. Anyone who has spare time should definately read her blog.

The first article that I read was entitled "Connecting the dots..." She asked "Does it sometimes feel as if there isn't space in your head for more ideas, programs, strategies and tools?" The answer to this question is simply "yes." There are so many teachers that have trouble making sense of what they are teaching. She met with a group of team members to discuss how they were going to connect the dots. In order to achieve this, they used mind maps. I like using mind maps. They make planning more easier. She also asked "Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the demands of teaching?" Many teacher would answer "yes" to this question. Teachers have to meet so many demands and requirements that it can be very stressful and overwhelming. I know that this may be me one day, but I am still looking forward to being a 21st Century Educator!

The second article was entitled "10 ways for teachers to save time..." This is a Must Read! Edna states that teachers never have enough time. This is so true! Teachers have to meet so many demands both in and out of the classroom. She explained 10 ways that teachers can manage their time wisely which include: not talking about how little time that you have, reducing meeting time, setting a timer, talking less in class, using Google Docs, using twitter, having small group discussions, setting up a class blog, managing your emails and prioritizing. All of these are very useful tips. I cannot suggest any better tips than these. I am going to take everyone of them into consideration when I teach.

Blog Post # 9

"What I've Learned This Year" was a wonderful post. Mr. McClung gave some very useful information for future teachers in this post. He shared how he learned so many things his first year of elementary school. Wow! Did he learn a lot of good things? While he was in college and doing his internship, he focused so much on how the audience was going to respond to the lessons that he taught. He saw that so many teachers focus more on teaching the lesson rather than making sure that their students understand it. I see so much of this today, and I think that doing it does not make them a successful teacher. Students need to not just learn the material that they are being taught. They also need to know how to apply it. He stresses that teachers can not plan a perfect lesson. This is very true! When it comes to planning a lesson, there are so many things that teachers have to consider. The way a teacher plans to teach a lesson may change completely. Teachers must be able to communicate and reason with their students. I liked it when he said, "Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fall, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." Teachers should treat their students with care and compassion and want the best for them. He also stresses that adults should not be afraid of technology. Technology is something that everyone should be familiar with. Technology is forever changing, and everyone is struggling to keep up with the changes. Before taking EDM 310, I was a little afraid of technology because I am not very familiar with it. Taking this course has eased my fear of technology, and it is helping me to become more technologically literate. He advices teachers to listen to what their students have to to say. I do agree! Sometimes students share some of the most interesting and unbelievable things. I loved it when he stated, "Never Stop Learning." It is never too late for anyone to learn something new. I love to learn, and I will continue to learn! By reading this post, I learned so many things that I need to do in order to be a successful 21st Century teacher. Anyone who wants to be a future teacher should definitely read this post. I Enjoyed Every Bit Of It!!!

C4K # 2

A student from PT. England School named Zion talked about her exciting camping trip. Her and her team packed their items in tents, went cooking kayaking, to Sqaush and Skateland. They made trifles out of spongecake, jam and peaches. This sounds good! I would love to have some! She said that he favorite part of the trip was when they went to Squash. Mr Barnes explained to the rules for Squash which include: serve the ball over the red line and allow your partner try to wack the ball after you wack it. She said the skateland was awesome. It sounds like this was a lot of fun!

A student named Tule from PT England School posted a graph of Room 22's favorite foods. Their favorite foods included: pizza, butter chicken, burger, curry and ku, taro and chopsury, fry bread, macho, sandwiches, jelly and nacho. Out of all of the foods, nacho was number one. Next in line were taro and chopsury and fry bread. I would have voted for nacho too simply because it is my favorite of all of the selected foods!

On last Friday, Melville Intermediate School hosted a Red and Black Mufti Day in order to raise money for victims of the Canterbury Earthquake. There were a lot of students that gave a donation of a dollar for this event. They raised a total of $1,176 and Chartwell Westfield gave the same amount of $1,176. They donated a grand total $2,352 to the Red Cross.

Project # 12

SmartBoard

Blog Post # 8

This is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2 were very amazing videos.  They both gave some very good information about incremental and fundamental change and the importance of multimedia.  I was in agreement with the speaker when he said,"As we work in this digital environment we see material changing in front of us.  It amazes me how technology is constantly changing day by day.  We as future educators must stay abreast with these changes.  I think that I am prepared to write multimedia. Taking this class has surely taught me a lot about the technology used in the education system.  My students will definitely know how to do this.

I really enjoyed watching EDM 310 for Dummies. This video was good but very amusing.  I thought that Jamie Lynn and Jennifer Chambers did an excellent job producing this video.  It was very funny, but they gave some very useful information about being a successful EDM 310 student."  By watching this video, I plan on creating a video for my students about my life journey and how to be successful in my class.  I loved everything about this video!

Learn to Change, Change to Learn was a pretty good video.  The people in this video gave some very useful comments.   I liked it when the lady said, "It is about producing a quality teacher.  This is the truth! In order for students to succeed in their education, they have to have a quality teacher.  The criteria for a quality teacher includes:  being patient, empathetic and caring.  I also liked it when it was said that "It is not about memorizing facts but being able to apply it.  This is what makes a good 21st Century teacher.

The Secret Powers of Time was a very interesting video.  The author explained the 6 time zones. Past positive relates to pleasure.  Past Negative relates to regret.  He described the south as being more past oriented and the north being more future oriented.  He also stresses the importance of making past oriented students more future oriented.  He states that children hate learning the traditional way because they want to be in control of something.  I have seen this so many times.  Children do not like to do things unless they are in charge.  I was in total agreement with him when he said, "Alcohol, drugs and sex are affecting future oriented students.  This is true.  In the world that we live in today there are so many children that are drinking under age, having children during their teenage years and high school students selling drugs. I think that this is a shame! I also agreed with him when he stated that "Children today are very different from us."  I see that children today act nothing like I did when I was in school.  So many of them do not care about doing any work. I think that there should be less of this.  I enjoyed watching this video!

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates You was interesting as well.   The author gave some very useful advice for teachers.   He stated, "If you reward something, you get more of the behavior that you want" and "If you punish something, you get less of the behavior that you want."  Very Much So!!  Children today are more apt to doing behaviors that result in rewards than those that result in punishment.  He discussed a study conducted at MLT of students that were given challenges.   Rewards were used as the incentive.   For this study, the larger the reward the worser the performance.  I thought that this was very Strange! He also discussed and gave a good illustration of  the 3 factors that lead to better performance and personal satisfaction which include autonomy, mastery and purpose.  I liked it when he said, "If we treat people like people, get past ideology, it would make the world a better place."  I very much so agree! If teacher treat students like they should be treated, they will will respect their teacher and others.

PLN

So far my PLN has been great.  My PLN gives me easy access to my google, twitter and facebook acount.   I think that my PLN is going to be a very useful tool!

Blog Post # 7

I really enjoyed watching Randy Raush's lecture on acheiving your childhood dreams.  Randy Raush gave some very good information in this video.  It touched my heart when he said that he was diagnosed with cancer.  It is so amazing to a man who had cancer to be so funny and have so much joy.

I liked the technique that the used.  He added fun to the lecture by being funny and showing pictures and videos relating to what he was lecturing on.   I really liked it when he talked about brick walls.  I totally agreed with him when he said, "Brick walls are there for a reason:  they let us prove how had we want things.  This is very true.  When a person tries to live way above their means, they have to run into a brick wall in order to see if this is what they want.

He had some very unusual but interesting dreams.  I classify his dreams of being Captain Kirk and winning stuffed animals as very strange.   His dream of being a Disney Imagineer was very interesting. I thought to myself who would have these childhood dreams.  Watching this video has made me realize that everyone has their own dream, and it is important for them to have fun while trying to acheive their dream. 

I thought that it was so nice of him to make sure that his wife had a nice birthday.  I was very moved when  he got the audience to sing "HAPPY BIRTDAY" to his wife and got her a cake.  This was a very touching part of this video.  I loved everything about this video!

C4T Summary # 2

On December 19, 2010, Joe Dale posted a very interesting blog post that had ICT links into languages.  I think that this is a wonderful tool for teachers to have.  These ICT links tool for enhancing language learning.  He was encouraging people to attend The MFL Show and Tell event. This event sounded very interesting.  I wish that I could have been a part of it.

On February 2, 2011, Joe Dale showed interesting videos of the ICT links into languages conference.  This event was a tremendous success.  Joe did such a good job at setting a positive mood for the conference.  He annouced at the end of the post that the MFL Flashmeeting Special on ILILC was going to be on March 28, 2011.  This event sounds like it is going to be a lot of fun! I wish that I could attend this event.

Project # 11