Final Reflection Post

This was one the most interesting classes I have ever had. I learned a lot about different kinds of websites and applications, and also the concept of a personal learning network. I experienced what making a blog is, and how to add links, pictures, and video. There were many challenges in this class, and I spent a lot of time trying to figure things out. I got to work in a group with two really cool people, and that was a lot of fun. I really like the project based learning structure. I think you learn so much more with this type of teaching method. The projects for this class were all really fun and interesting. I think this should be a two semester class, because there are so many things out there to learn. I had not thought about how I would use technology in the class room until this class. It totally woke me up from my technology slumber, and I got inspiration for what I wanted to do with technology in my classroom. This class has opened my eyes, and now I hope to incorporate as much technology as possible into my classroom. I think I will be a much more interesting and effective teacher because of the things I learned in this class. Beyond the actual physical things I learned in this class, the class sparked an interest and awareness inside me to use and learn about different technologies. I am very thankful I was able to take this class, and I am very thankful for the approach that Dr. Strange used to teach this class. Even though the actual class has ended, I feel as though the concept of the class will continue in my personal life, and has only just begun. Thank you Dr. Strange for making this a really great class.

Final Summative Project

The link to my glog on glogster that I did for our summative project.. My glog

Blog Post 12

Mr. McClung Reflects On Year Two.

I liked his post. He is learning and growing as a teacher, and he really cares about his students. I liked his advice about finding a school mom who knows the system. It is obvious that he is continuing to learn and adapt his teaching style. The students are all important, and not letting other problems affect you in the classroom was a great piece of advice.

Principle of least change
School 3-d Printer
Childrens Engineering Initiative

The above videos that I watched taught me that kids love doing hands on projects. The video Principle of Least Change talked about starting where teachers are comfortable and then make the least amount of change that will still enable them to think about new ideas and produce new behaviors. I did not know a 3-d printer like that existed for schools. Very interesting new technology. The school engineering initiative talked about integrating the stem disciplines, and teaching it in the elementary schools, where kids are still developing there team work skills.

CKC 4

I watched a video that was made by Jessie McFadyen. It was a very well made video, I was very impressed. Kids today are so smart. The video was about a dog that was digging up some worms. I thought the music matched the video very well also. Here is a link to his video. Digging For Worms

My PLN.

My PLN is currently on iGoogle. I have many things added to the page to help me learn and stay informed. Here is a list of the things I have added so far, U-Tube, date and time, weather, G mail, Yahoo mail, CNN.com, NY Times.com, recent news, calendar, Fox news, Google translate, Doppler radar, Spanish word a day, how to of the day, Google map search, BBC technology news, BBC world news, and a few other things of personal interest. I am also following Mr. McClung, Alana Carpenter, Dillion McRae's Professional blog, and At The Teachers Desk on blogger. And I am also following Anthony Capps and Dr. Strange on Twitter along with some other people I am interested in. My PLN is something that I will continue to work on and revise.

Google Forms/ BP Oil Spill

One of the interesting facts I thought was the large percentage of people that didn't know if we should look for alternatives to oil. Other than that the responses were what I expected. You can take a look for yourself by clicking on the picture. Thank you to the people who participated in the survey.

2nd Comment for Teacher/ c4t 6/ Assignment 13

My second teacher to follow was Paula White I enjoyed reading her posts. She seemed like a teacher who really cared about her students. She has a wisdom and special understanding of student needs. In one of her posts she talked about the need of students to have a friend and make a bond with someone, and how important that is. And how important it is to place gifted students properly so they can bond with someone in their class. I thought her posts were very informative and thoughtful.

Blog Post 11

Ms. Cassidy is a great example of how a teacher can use technology with young children. I would like to use pod casts and blogs in my classroom. I would also like to have the kids start developing there own PLN. The impediments I might encounter I think might be some security concerns since the children will be so young. I think screening comments before they are posted to my children's blogs would be a good idea. Would also need to make sure my kids understand what kind of personal information they should not post. I think the benefits of using technology in the classroom are priceless. The students begin learning at a young age what can be done with computers, and I think it really makes learning fun and interesting. I think if the kids are excited and having fun while they are learning, it will be something they will remember about my classroom forever.

C4K 3

The post I was assigned to was a post for their band of the week. Here is a link to it. Band of the week I did not find this band to be very good, in fact they were not something I would listen to, but I am sure they have their place in the world!

Blog Post 10.

A Seventh Graders PLE.

I really liked her video presentation, she did an excellent job. I also really liked how organized she was. I think her PLE was better than mine, although I am only in the beginning stages of developing mine, and really look forward to having some time to work on mine.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life.

I think it is an interesting idea. It is always good to examine oneself in order to progress, and learn from past mistakes. I am wondering if one sentence is to self limiting. So I will have to think of my sentence, and see how I feel about it. I think it is a very good idea to have a goal, or a direction in your life to follow. One sentence keeps coming to my mind when I think of my life, and whats important, so here is my sentence.

I want to stay relevant to the people in my family, and make a difference in their lives, and the lives of others.

Blog Post 9

An Open Letter To Educators, by Morgan Bayda

I enjoyed this post, and video. I think that many of my experiences have been the same, especially since I went to high School and college back in the eighties. Ive had teachers recently that do nothing more than regurgitate facts that I can easily read, and I have others that use technology to various degrees. I like what she said about making teaching relevant using a project based type of learning.
The video she had on her page was interesting. I just had a class that dealt with institutional learning, and the white power structure that set it up. The comment about education not changing was very interesting, and makes you wonder why change is happening so slowly. The one thought that really stood out to me was where Dan Brown said that facts were free in the information age, there was no longer a need to memorize facts. Basically implying that this type of learning is out dated and irrelevant. I think he is correct, we must change the way we learn in order to stay relevant in the world.

ALEX, Alabama Learning Exchange.

ALEX is a great site. I have actually already used this site in another class when I needed to look up some lesson plans. The site has a menu that you can click on to go to the areas you are interested in. There are seven choices, they are: courses of study, web links, lesson plans, search, personal workspace, professional learning, and podcast treasury.
I think this site will be very useful when I begin teaching. It has a wealth of information on all different kinds of subjects related to teaching. I can also share and store my own lesson plans. This site will be invaluable as a tool for researching, and learning about related school subjects.
The ACCESS program being developed in Alabama is really great, giving people in rural areas a chance to get the education they need. The program uses web based technology and video conferencing to bring a long distance learning experience to students.