Personal Learning Network

In my personal learning network I contacted several people on being a successful coach. The first person I contacted wasQuance Julian. Julian was an Olympic swimmer, but now she coaches the 12 and under age group of a swim team. She stresses that in order to be a successful coach, you need passion for the sport. In coaching technique is the key for success. After the technique is obtained then speed comes into play. Her most rewarding aspect of coaching is giving back to the sport that has given so much to her! The advice she gives to a future coach is to learn, be patient, and don't let the day to day get in the way of what is so great about this job. There will be ups and downs, just remember what brought you into this sport and why it is important to you. My next contact was Mark Forster. Forster has been a coach and recognizes the ways to be a successful coach. A good coach is clear of what they want to achieve and work on long term goals instead of short term. They find ways very early to distinguish themselves from the common herd. A good coach is confident in their own abilities. I have learned several interesting facts to being a good coach from both of my contacts. I believe they are true and are definitely goals I want to achieve when I become a coach.

Goodbye

I want to tell my EDM class goodbye! I enjoyed the class atmosphere. At times I did not understand what in world I was doing, thankfully my neighbors that sat next to me were right there to help me out! I'm surprised they didn't change seats a couple of weeks into the semester! I enjoyed Mr. Wakeman as a teacher. He is very patient and did not mind going back over something until we understand it. I hope everyone is successful in their future careers. I'm sure I will be seeing some in future classes!

Summary of Blogs

What I have learned this semester:

I learned how to make blogs, write posts, connect with people, and follow fellow students and teachers. My group and I gave Google Docs presentation orally in class. I know how to put together a slide show and present the material to the class.
I learned how to use Google Docs and Forms. I love this! It is not as good as word, but it is free. It is saved online so you can pull up your presentation from any location! I have learned quite a bit from the posts that I have read. I would say I have learned the most this semester from the posts that I have read. I loved hearing what other educated people have to say about the information I am interested in. I used this this semester to get in touch with people who are interested in physical education, just like me. I like Twitter! It is a good way for communication among people. Watching these little kid's videos and reading their blogs made me really want to do that in my class when I am a teacher! I use iTunes on a daily bases. For long car rides, iTunesU is a great learning tool! Keeps your mind active and you get to learn from different professors around the world! I created a professional blog to market myself and to display the values that I enforce as a teacher. I thought this assignment was very informative. It teaches other ways to make a resume other than using a piece of paper. The best thing is it stays on the web, so you can update it anytime you want! I always use data bases for sources when writing papers. A great resource! Skype is a free and easy way to stay connected with people from all over the world. ACCESS & ALEX are definitely resources I am going to use when I become a teacher. There are over 2000 lesson plan ideas on there!! I like Foliotec because it stores all the work that I have done and organizes it for when I am getting certified as a teacher. I came into this class very technological illiterate! But now, with the patience from Mr. Wakeman, I am very literate! I believe the future schools will all have SmartBoards and webcams and blogs. The students will develop PLN's and stay connected with the world around them. I guess if I had to rate myself in walking on the trail on knowledge, I would say that I am on a never ending trail. Life is full of learning experiences that help to turn you into the person you are!

I would have loved to have learn how to make a website! I am going to use most of the stuff I have used in this class, but I think I will stop writing blogs until I start teaching. This class excited me. I liked learning creative things that I can do in my future classroom and I especially liked the lecture videos that we had to blog about. They really made me think. This leads into the next question about "intellectually challenging" material in this course. I think the hardest part of this course was the reflecting in blogs part. I was bored in class because I can only sit at a computer for so long! It gets tiring after a while. I really learned a lot from this class! My favorite part of this course was vod casting!!!!!!!! I would say that I am Good technologically literate, but there of course is room for improvement. I am going to stay up-to-date with new technology and in the future, use it in my classroom!

Nov. 22 Post

7 Stupid Mistakes
7 Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology
New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation

In reading the three lists of information I found all the topics to be interesting. In the 7 Stupid Mistakes list I thought that not backing up your data was important and not supervising computer using students. I know the feeling first hand of not backing up your data. I am not proud to say that it has happened to me more than once. What is the most aggervating is when you are almost done with your paper and then you lose it! It is a very stupid, but easy mistake to make when you get caught up in doing an assignment. As a teacher you cannot turn children loose and not supervise what that are doing on the computer. Students will test you, and if there is a way for them to look at something they are not suppose to, they will find it.

In the 7 Brillant Things Teachers Do With Technology I felt that empowering kids with technology and being able to accept the role of a co-learner was important. Allowing students to become familiar with technology will help them throughout life. Technology is a piece of learning that is here to stay. The more the student uses technology, the better he or she will get. As a teacher I believe it is important to be a lifelong learner. There is always something new in the world to learn, so have an open mind. Teachers should allow the students to share what they know, because they can teach the teacher as well.

The List of New Classroom Rules was very different from what the rules were when I was in school. The first one caught my eye, "Come to class everyday, unless you would rather go online." If these rules fell into effect students would not have to leave there house. I don't know if that would be a good thing or a bad thing. If the student stayed motivated and did their work it would be fine. However, if the student has to have someone telling him or her what to do the whole time, I don't believe it would work too well. I felt that do not cheat, but remix, re-purpose, and sample other peoples' work and ideas and give them credit was important. You can learn so much from viewing others' blogs and posts. Using their ideas you can make an assingment into your own.

At The Teachers Desk

At The Teachers Desk is a blog space that can be helpful to teachers. It is a site that teachers blog and leave comments. I read several posts that can be helpful to a teacher.

The first post was how to get and keep more visitors on your site. It is very true that the longer you post the more views you are going to get. When you keep your blog address the same people who are familiar with you know how to find you. Posting regularly often will add more interest to viewers. Viewers do not want to search for your blog and it be the same post every time. So keeping it current will aid in attracting more viewers. When you make the title of your post what people search for in google you are more likely to receive views. When the search engine pulls it up of course people are going to click on it. Also, leaving comments on other people's blogs will get you more viewers. When people read your comments they are going to be more likely to view your blog and check it out.

After reading through other posts I realized that the site was about teachers communicating with teachers. Sharing ideas and interests, asking for suggestions, and showing examples on how technology can be helpful. Teachers need to be social networking experts. Having a social network is like having help on call. When a question is typed in people respond as soon as possible. Teachers need to be experts in creating paths from learners to knowledge. The ability to make connections with people through blogging, commenting on blogs, and twitter.

In today's society the digital portfolio kids are creating on the internet is a negative one. Children are posting the bad things that happen to them from day to day. This relays a message that young people are violent, aggressive, and dangerous. It is creating a negative stereotype that kids do not need to be linked to. For example, on facebook the digital trails students create come back to haunt them. They post comments such as getting drunk and what they got into last night. Students need to be able to create personal spaces that show their learning and themselves. A space that can be found by future employers and colleges or universities.

Post were also available that offered encouragement in using webcam. It pretty much stated if the students are asked to do it, then the teachers need to be able to as well. Teachers need to be able to get over the dislikes, fears, and phobias of being in front of the camera. The last post that I got into was if the students should be learning technology in the way that they are. Learning about blogs, to create media, and contacting people around the world is important in society. Technology plays a big role in the future. However, I do not think technology should replace books and traditional learning all together.

Toward a New Future of Whatever-Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch's video discussed the changes in conversation over the years. He used the word "whatever" to show how it has took different meanings from generation to generation. Societies conversations are picked up from what is heard on television and in the media. It is the conversations on television that help create our culture. The video focused on where the culture was going in this new generation. People today are known to have short attentions spans, they are materialistic, and they are not easily impressed. I agree with Mr. Wesch's definition of society today. The world today is always on the go moving at a fast pace. It seems to me that todays world is so focused on the dollar that the simple things are forgotten. The fact that it takes more to impress the average person is because of everything people are exposed to. In the old days people did not have internet where they could google anything they wanted. In the world today crime and murder are subjects that are always being talked about on the news. Society has molded into these definitions because of the way the world has changed over the years.

We come to know ourselves through the relations of others. The new media available creates different ways of knowing ourselves. For example, now we have youtube and webcams to view other people around the world. Through webcam you can even hold coversations while looking at them from your computer. You are able to watch other people without starring at them. Humanity is being created without fear or anxiety.

In my life I do recognize how change has taken place in my life from the way I communicate with others. I realize that when I am around a group of people I tend to pick up on their "sayings". For example, "I know right" is a common thing that a coworker says at work and I find myself using it in my conversations. The people you are around the most really do make an impact on you. I do not feel like I relate to all of the definitons of people today. I do feel like I move at a fast pace, but my family always makes time for one another. I do not care about material things. Life is too short to go around thinking about what you don't have. I thank God everyday for what he has blessed me with. I realize how truly blessed I am to have a healthy family. I do not feel like it takes much to impress me. I get excited over the little things in life. I hope as teacher that I can bring the joy that I experience from life into the classroom.

Why is it important for students to post blogs?

It is important for students to post their work to blogger for many reasons. Blogging is a growing technology that is becoming more and more popular. One reason it is important is the teacher can view the work as well as other students. People around the world have access to the blog. For example, Landslide was posted by a student in PS22's Chorus class. When Stevie Nicks heard the rendition of her song she was blown away. She invited the class to sing the song at Madison Square Garden for the Fleetwood Mac show. If the student had never posted the blog the class would have never experienced that once in a lifetime chance. Another example of the importance of posting is Dear Kaia. If Kaia's dad did not post the story online than students from around the world would not be writing on the importance of experiencing nature.



The importance of posting blogs is also a way to save paper. It cuts down on a lot of paper when the whole class is done on the internet. I think in the future more classes will go to using blogs to turn in assignments.



Another reason blogging is important is that you can add pictures and links to enhance the blog. It gives the viewer a referance as to what you are talking about.



Blogs are a useful tool in learning. Blogs open a wide learning network that can be established through viewing others blogs. Teachers who use blogs do not have to worry about keeping up with paperwork. They just turn on their internet and can pull the blogs right up. I believe the importance of using blogs will become more common in the future.

ACCESS

Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) was created by Governor Bob Riley and his task force on distance learning. The goal is to promote equal educational opportunities for all students. In order to meet the goal, classroom courses and teachers are provided through technology. Equal access will be provided through high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. It is really awesome because students can receive the highest quality education, no matter what school the student attends. The classes are taken online during regular school hours. The student is able to work at their own pace and has the opportunity to repeat a lesson if they are struggling. The student can take higher level classes that are not offered at all schools. It really gives the students who do not have the opportunity to take AP classes the equal chance at an education they deserve.

I think that ACCESS is a giant step to an equal education for every student. Technology is increasing so much it does not matter if you attend a lower class school. Every student is offered the same opportunity to take classes that interest them. I know this tool will be very useful in the classroom. It will be helpful to the student as well as the teacher. Providing an equal educational experience for every student will open doors for students in urban areas who do not experience AP classes in their school. I know ACCESS will be a huge site in the schools in the future.

ALEX

Alabama Learning Exchanges (ALEX) is a site that offers many benefits to teachers, administrators and students. It is an easy site to access because you do not have to search for the topics you need. All the information is available in one site. The site offers a course of study which is laid out by subject and grade level. All of Alabama's course standards are shown and can be used as a reference from this site. Web links are available which offer helpful sites for teachers, administrators and students. Teachers can access this site and create lesson plans or view lessons plans to use in the class. Professional learning provides development opportunities for teaching and learning tools. Educational podcasts are available for download to use in the class. ALEX was created by the Alabama department of education to provide quality for learning.

I think that ALEX is a great tool to use as a teacher. The site offers many references that can aid a teacher for the class. For example, the podcasts available could go right along with the lesson plan to help the student understand the lesson. The way the course of study was laid out will be very helpful in making sure that everything that needs to be taught is covered. The fact that it keeps you up to date with the latest news is awesome as well. This one website can be accessed to view many different subjects or topics that come to mind. It is a one stop site to use as a reference.

Dear Kaia

I enjoyed watching Kaia's photo essay and exploring the blogs. Jabiz Raisdana, Kaia's dad, believes that his daughter needs to be exposed to the outdoors. He felt guilty after he read the book, The Last Child in the Woods, because he did not feel he was allowing his daughter to explore nature. They simply went outside with their camaras and discovered the beauty of the outdoors. I thought it was creative how once they were finished they produced a photo essay. The fact that it was posted on the internet for family, but became viewed by many more amazed me. It shows how the internet works in society today.

I could not agree more with Mr. Raisdana on the importance of being outdoors. It never fails to amaze me how truly special God has made nature. There are so many things in nature that we take for granted and do not take time to acknowledge. A child can learn so much from being outdoors. I believe that children are spending too much time on video games and computers and not enough time outdoors. I know that society today is always on the go and there is just not enough time in the day. However, I truly believe that children are only young once and they need to be able to enjoy it. When I was a child I spent all my time outdoors, and still do. There is no other place I would rather be. The computer cannot give you the feeling of sitting in a tree stand and hearing the eight point buck that you've been wanting all season come strutting out right in front of you. The computer does not touch pulling in your first big fish and having the adrenaline pumping while he is fighting the line. Knowing that you set the hook and pulled him in feels amazing once you catch a glimpse of him! Nature is truly full of beauty and children should not be denied the chance to explore it.



I realize that technology has also made a positive effect in society as well. Without technology we would not be able to learn about different cultures around the world. The internet opens so many doors that allow us to learn in ways some never thought possible. Sometimes when I think about it the advancements seem overwhelming, but technology is the future and that is not changing. I believe there needs to be a line that seperates technology and the outdoors. The outdoors cannot and should not be replaced by technology. As a comment on a blog said,"There is so much to learn from the outdoors, it is a chance to view the extraordinary in the ordinary."

The New Media Literacies by the NML Staff

The New Media Literacies introduced a set of skills that everybody needs to use in society today. We are moving at a different pace in life due to technology. Forty years ago no one knew what a cell phone was, and today people can't live without them. Technology has changed tremendously over the past ten years. While I was in grade school we use to go to the library to find books to do our reports on. Now all one has to do is look up the topic on the internet and plenty of results will show. Society today is use to everything being at the push of a button. We are a fast-paced world, so we need the technology that can keep up with us.

Judgement, negotiation, appropriation, play, transmedia navigation, simulation, collective intelligence, performance, distributed cognition, visualization, and multitasking are the new media skills needed in the 21st century. These skills are useful in everyday life. I believe I possess some skills more so than others. Multitasking would be my best skill. I have always been good at multitasking. I think I get that trait from my mom, she has always been good at doing more than one thing at a time. The practice of these skills will allow me to become more familiar with them. I can relate to how these skills are useful in the world today.

The Networked Student

The Networked Student is all about using technology in his psychology class. His whole class revolves around using the computer. The teacher never lectures and there is no textbook required. The class is taught through connectivism, which is the theory that learning is part of a social network with diverse connections and ties. This process allows the student to have more control in the way they are learning. The student has the power to lead themselves in understanding the material.

The student uses google scholar to look up articles for his post. He finds an article that is worthy of a post and shares the article. He also views other blogs to learn about psychology that other people have posted. I thought it was neat that he can look up mp3's and podcasts that supported his learning and download them to his ipod. Now that they are on his ipod he can listen to the information anytime he wants. By gathering all this information, he is able to create a virtual textbook. Now, his knowledge can be shared with the rest of the world. So why does he even need a teacher? The teacher shows the student how to use the network. The teacher shows the student how to differentiate good and bad information. The student acquires skills for the 21st century.

I thought the networked student was an interesting video. However, I do not know how much I agree with what technology is coming to. I cannot imagine an eighth grader performing all of their work from the computer, and not even using a textbook. It seems to me that the computers are becoming the teachers. I do not believe that all students are going to be able to learn like the networked student. Some students need a teacher to explain and teach the information. I do not see how all students are going to be able to teach themselves on the computer. In my opinion not all students would enjoy this new form of teaching.

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream

Richard Miller:This Is How We Dream Part 1 discusses the capability of communicating globally. Working towards making incremental changes. He discusses going on a whole different level of collaborating from the computer. The computer is the world at our fingertips. Everything you want to know can be researched on the web. Research papers can now be written without stepping into a library. Collaboration can be used through network technology with text, image, and film. Technology makes it possible to combine experiences into a document. Educators around the world can communicate learning ideas without leaving their classroom.

Richard Miller:This Is How We Dream Part 2 discusses the digital environment we live in. He lectures on the idea that all writing should be done on the computer. This process allows the writing to be there forever. We need to be able to share our work so that ideas can be gained. Ideas don't belong to us individually, but as a culture. He discusses moving to a digital composing material instead of word processor. He believes that writing is changing. The goal is to articulate dreams and share with others. Idea driven documents are needed to show the world.

Eliminating writing on paper and moving to multimedia writing does not interest me. I have always liked being able to use pen and paper instead of the computer. I understand that the computer is everything one needs to complete a paper, but I do not feel I am ready for that step. Maybe over time if it comes into effect my views will change, but for right now I am not crazy about the idea. I do not feel that students will be able to write with multimedia at first, but with practice they will become adjusted to it. If you have to adjust to a standard as part of the curriculum it is human nature that you will.

The Use of iPods

I think iPod usage in the classroom is a great step in educating students. It is a way of learning that can be used anywhere. iPods are no longer just being used for music downloads, they have taken on a more complex role...aiding in education. This link is a great site in explaining how iPods are being used in the classroom. Duke University gave out free iPods to students who enroll in the classes that require them. iPods are being used to enhance classroom materials, lectures, and assignments.

iPods are an awesome way to help students learn materials. They can become study aids for students. They can be used as a review before an exam. Having all this information available right from your iPod is amazing. Being able to have the lectures on audio will allow students to be able to listen to their iPod while they are doing other things. Having the information available on the iPod is conventient because you can take it anywhere you go. Down the road textbooks could possibly be replaced by the iPod.

iTunesU

.iTunesU

This was the first time I have ever heard anything about iTunesU. I think it is an awesome tool that can be helpful to anyone who uses it. The information is coming straight from the universities, museums, PBS stations, and cultural institutions. You can also make audio and visual content available for download and subscription. It seems simple and easy to use.

I think iTunesU can be very helpful to teachers and students. For example, a teacher can download a lecture and if the student was absent or did not understand everything taught, the student can listen to it online. There is all kinds of educational information on this site. Educational resources are available free at hand. I thought the fact that you can get information about universities on there was pretty neat. iTunesU will become more known once the word gets out about all it has to offer.

Alice Christie: Rubric

Dr.Alice Christie Teaching Class

I chose to write my blog on the effectiveness of the rubric. I was first introduced to the rubric this semester in my Education in Diverse Society class. We had to make a rubric to take into the schools to use as a guideline for events we are looking for. At first I was not into the project, but once I started composing my rubric it started to make sense to me. A rubric is a chart that can guide students in completing a task. It contains a set of criteria and descriptions to evaluate student work.

A rubric can be very helpful in the classroom. They can be used to guide students in completion of an assignment. It can act as a set of guidelines that the teacher expects. They can be used as tools to develop the students' abilities. In the classroom, a rubric can also set a clear line for achievement levels. Rubrics are not used as much in the south, however, they are becoming more popular. I think that in the future the rubric will be a more commonly used tool for teachers.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Can Wikipedia be trusted? I have always used Wikipedia as a source in my reports for school. I never realized that it could be altered by any individual. However, when you use more than one source the facts should be the same from source to source. Wikipedia has one-hundred times the information of a regular encyclopedia, with 85-90 percent accuracy. Therefore, any information one needs can be found there. I think it is fine to use Wikipedia, just make sure to have other sources as well to make sure the facts are correct.

The Wikipedia Scanner will be a tool used to make Wikipedia more accurate. The fact that it can trace the comments and edits on Wikipedia entries back to their source IP address is really awesome. In the future, I think Wikipedia will become more accurate now that the scanner has come along. But for now I would not trust everything that you read on there because someone could have easily went in and changed parts to it.

CNN-Flood

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

I enjoyed listening to Randy Pausch's lecture. It was very long, but interesting. It amazed me at how he can talk about the fact that he does not know how long he has left to live, and be calm about it. He does not seem to let his diagnosis get him down. I can tell that Randy enjoys his job and his life. Randy is definitely a man who practices what he preaches. His lectures reflect on his life experiences.

The lecture focused on how to lead your life. His first point was on childhood dreams. Everyone has these dreams when we were young and the world seemed to be in the palm of our hands. When I was young I wanted nothing else than to be in the Olympics. I was very passionate about it. When anyone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up I replied," I'm going to be in the Olympics." The neat thing about his childhood dreams was that he actually fulfilled most of them. The dream of playing in the NFL was the one that he did not fulfill, but it got him where he is today. Football taught him fundamentals and experience for life.

His next point was about enabling childhood dreams of others. Throughout his life he has had a lot of positive effects on people. He started a class that allowed students to be creative while learning. Randy used video game technology to teach students different things. The class taught students about computer programming. When the students graduated they had companies that were ready to hire them straight out of college. By starting the program he helped open doors in students' lives.

His last point was on lessons learned. He talked of people who have helped him get where he is today. In order for someone to be successful, they need someone to encourage them. Everyone has potential in life to do great things. Living life is truly a learning experience. I have realized that not everything in life is fair. We all have to deal with experiences that we don't want to face. However, they make us stronger as a person. He also talked on being loyal and doing the right thing. That part of the lecture was very true. Finding the good and people and being honest is the best way to live your life. I really believe it will make you a happier person. The lecture was very enlightening. It made me appreciate my life. No one really knows how long they have to live, so we should live everyday to the fullest.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher

I enjoyed reading Karl's post. I like the way he spoke his mind on the way he felt. Technology is a major part of life in the society we live in. I understand that it is important to be technology literate, for the benefit of yourself and your students. The generations to come will use technology even more than we do. If we don't know how to teach it to them, then they will be behind. I never really thought of the assumption that not being technologically literate in society would be the same as not being able to read in the old days. At this point one can make it not being technologically literate, but it is getting harder as the world becomes technology dependent.

I am not great at all with computers, however I feel the more I am on them the more I pick up. I use to be scared I was going to mess the computer up when I got on it, not sure of what I was doing. I realize now that the computer is something you have to explore and try out to understand it. I do have an open mind about computers because I realize that being technologically literate will soon become a must. I would never expect my students to learn a task that I didn't understand. In conclusion, it really is important to understand the basics of technology and to have a passion to learn new things.