Blog Post #8

1. Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream

In part one of Richard Miller's video, This Is How We Dream, he talks about how writing in the academy has changed and how writing in culture has changed. We have the capability to communicate globally instantly. He states that this is the greatest change in communication in human history. Richard Miller talks about growing up in a time where writing was a solitary activity that took place amongst the companion of books. Books are print based documents that are solo-authored and usually found in libraries. Now, books are virtual. He talks about change that has happened over time. Where and how we work used to consist of pencil and paper. Now, we carry our laptops everywhere and work in word processing. Now, not only do we have the library to use, but we also have everything we need to know on the web to do our research.

Richard Miller also talks about how he was asked to write an article in response to the one year anniversary of the killings at Virginia Tech., and how he wrote the entire article without ever stepping foot into a library. He connected his own thoughts and reflections about the certainty that campus violence remains with us to the cultural and social commitments to violence that was recorded in government documents and in the voting patterns of presidential candidates that year. This article is in print and can also be found on the web. It is freely available and can not be removed. This gives us the possibilities to share knowledge infinitely. Another change is the ability we have to compose with film, images, and audio from the web. We now have the ability to create visual documents.

In part two of Richard Miller's video, he states that in a digital environment, we are confronted with new material. It changes before our own eyes and is updated instantly. It can be composed with education productions and even iTunesU. Not only can we look at and use this material, but we can go inside and see how it is put together. We can create and produce alternative versions and stories and distribute that information globally and freely. There are no limitations or restrictions with this material. He states that people are starting to realize that ideas do not belong to us individually, but as a culture. We as educators or future educators, must be in the business of sharing ideas freely.

Richard Miller states that he foresees a time when students will compose not with word processors, but will compose digitally. This idea is already in motion because there are people now composing with the web itself instead of using images. This is a way to push ideas into our culture. This is visual literacy and he and his team are working on a way to make this digital network available in our educational system.

After watching both videos, my reaction was wow!! The idea that my students will be possibly using this kind of multimedia in their everyday learning completely amazes me. Richard Miller definitely states a true fact when he says that we live in a moment in which this is the greatest change in communication in all of human history. The way we communicate with one another and communicate globally should show that we live in a world of endless possibilities. Communication is extremely important in our culture, so of course we are going to try to find new ways to improve it.

This idea of visual literacy and students composing digitally with this new multimedia seems amazing, but it does raise a few concerns for me. If students are able to manipulate the web in such a way, then are they actually learning anything? The use of pencil and paper has already been reduced drastically in schools today. If we eliminate paper and pencil completely, how do we know if the information being taught to the students will actually stick? For many students, information is more easily remembered when written down.

I think that we are becoming too dependent on technology. This multimedia is a prime example. I don't understand why we need this in our education system and why students need to compose this way. I don't understand how my students will actually retain any of the information being taught if they are constantly in front of a computer. I'm trying to have an open mind with the use of all this technology in my future classrooms, but I'm having a difficult time doing that. I just feel like what's the point in becoming a teacher if technology is doing almost all of the teaching for me!

2. Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12 Assignment

In Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12, her assignment is to create an assignment that she feels is a good enough idea that Dr. Strange himself should have assigned it. She stated that as future educators, we should all be thinking about our philosophies as teachers. In the assignment that she created, her instructions were to create a YouTube playlist with at least ten videos that:
1. Describe the kind of teacher you would like to be.
2. Show ways you can motivate your students.
3. Offer tips on classroom management.
4. Offer tutorials on programs you have learned about in this class that you would like to use (podcast, iPods, PLN's, ect.).
5. Are on topics related to your field of study.
6. Describe what a good teacher is and what a bad teacher is.
7. Ways to improve modern education as we know it.
8. Have been used in other blog posts from this semester.
9. Center around creativity.
10. Advocate challenging, motivating, encouraging, and supporting students (but still maintain professionalism).
Include at least five of these topics. Explain how these videos describe your teaching philosophy and relate to things you have learned in this class. What could you do with them in your teaching environment?

Carly then created her own playlist and followed the instructions she had given for her own assignment. She stated that good teachers teach by example. She described what each video meant to her teaching philosophy and how she could use them in her teaching environment. She stated that modern technology can assist in the education and growth of our youth, and that more is available out there other than videos. We need to use these available resources to keep the attention of our digital learners.

I thought that the assignment that Carly created was brilliant. It was extremely creative and you could definitely tell that she put a lot of thought and effort into it. Carly's post seemed like it was right on track to Dr. Miller's description of his hopes for writing with multimedia. She composed an assignment that was written in a blog post that contained several different digital videos. Each video assisted in the explanation of her teaching philosophies in a fun and interesting way that text would not. The videos were funny and kept the attention of her audience or digital learners. Carly's post is the perfect example of what it means to write with multimedia. She did an excellent job.

I read the comments on Carly's blog post in search of an explanation of why this was an assignment. I came to the conclusion that this was an assignment to help us see all the benefits EDM310 offers us on our journey to become educators. When we leave EDM310, we will have a better understanding of the different types of technology used in education and how to use each one to assist us so that we are the best teachers we can possibly be.

3. EDM310 is Different

The Chipper Series is a student produced video that demonstrates how hard life can be when you do not do what you are supposed to do. Chipper is a student in college and thought that she could turn in her work late, procrastinate, and just be taught so that she didn't have to learn, and would still pass college. With this thinking, college became very hard for her and she dropped out of school. She started her own college and was quickly shut down because she was letting her students choose when and how long they had to go to school. Chipper bounced around from job to job getting fired from each one. She had a change of heart and decided that she would go back to school. But this time, she would do her work right and on time.

The primary message in this video is that you will not be successful if you don't do what you are supposed to do and do your assignments on time. It is your responsibility to do your work in enough time that it will not be submitted late. You are in school to better yourself and be successful in the career that you have chosen. So do the right thing now!

In EDM310 for Dummies, another student produced video, two students are driven crazy due to EDM310. They do not understand twitter, skype, delicious, and google docs or how they are to be used. They purchase a book that saves their lives. EDM310 for Dummies has all the tutorials needed to explain everything in EDM310 and how it works. The students are now stress free and have a better understanding of their class.

The primary message in this video is that if you don't understand how to do something in your assignments, don't get stressed out. Just go buy the book and it will explain everything you need to know.

Since EDM310 has so many assignments that need to be completed every week, I would like to create a video demonstrating how to manage your time and assignments wisely. By completing at least one of your assignments due for the week every night, you won't have all your work piled up on you. Therefore, you will not have to rush to complete it all on time.

4. Learn to Change, Change to Learn

The video, Learn to Change, Change to Learn, was about the change that needs to take place in our education system. Teachers from all around made their own personal thoughts and opinions about today's education system. It was stated in the beginning that the U.S. Department of Commerce ranked fifty-five industry sectors on their level of intensiveness. Education was ranked number fifty-five. Someone said that children have a much more stimulating environment outside of school than they are inside school. Everyday they are texting, emailing, updating Facebook statuses, and making connections with other people all around the world. This isn't allowed in schools. Their main source of communication is being taken away. Educators need to realize the importance of technology and its use in the classrooms. Technology builds bridges that connects students to what is going on all around the world. It gives students the opportunity to expand their knowledge and better prepares them for not only college, but for life as well.

Right now a student's knowledge is based solely on standardized and state testing. Every student must be on the same standardized level. This is what teachers are told to teach. With this way of learning, genius and creativity goes right out the door. By having standardized and state testing, the only thing we are accomplishing is a student's memorization skills.

Many teachers aren't comfortable with technology because they do not know how to use it and apply it themselves. If teachers were given the tools needed to communicate with other teachers globally to exchange ideas and ask questions, they might view technology differently. With technology, 21st century learning is going to be based on what you can do with information. Do you know how to find information and do you know how to validate it? Do you know how to synthasize information, leverage information, and communicate it? Do you know how to collaborate information and problem solve with it? This is the 21st century of literacies that will soon be taught in all education systems around the world.

After watching this video, I am realizing that the more I learn about how technology can be used in education, the more I am realizing that there are actually a lot of positives about it. I completely agreed with a lot of what the teachers in the video were saying. I think that standardized testing needs to be changed or done away with completely. Why do we want every student to be on the exact same level? I understand the idea behind "No Child Left Behind." But a huge downfall of that idea is that we no longer have genius students who could possibly be the next Einstein. We no longer have creative or artistic students. Their talents and true capabilities are suppressed because their knowledge is on a standard level. This is where technology comes in and the importance of its use in education becomes acknowledged. There are so many different types of technology and so many different ways that it can be used, that it tests a students level of thinking in every way possible. Technology can reach into your mind and expose hidden talents and creativeness and show everyone what you are truly capable of.

The students of today are going to be our future leaders in this world. They are our future doctors, lawyers, educators, and politicians. Don't you think it's important for them to have the knowledge, understanding, and capabilities of technology so that they will be able to communicate globally in the future? This is why it is so important that students learn how to use technology and exchange information now. We live in a fast-paced world and technology changes everyday. Therefore, we need to teach students how to use technology properly and in a professional manner to better prepare them for the future.

5. Scavenger Hunt 2.0

Discovery Education's WEB 20.11 website had several different educational tools that can be used by teachers and students. I found three of them.

1. Create a comic using makebeliefscomix.com. This is my comic.

2. I found a video tool using Animoto. This video tool can be used by teachers, students, and classroom audiences. It is specifically designed to help bring your lessons to life. One of its many special features is that it automatically organizes a custom video for you. It does this by automatically analyzing your music, photos, and video clips. This leaves you plenty of free time to focus on the content and narratives of your video. I love this feature because organizing music, photos, and video clips in a video can be extremely time consuming. Therefore, you lose focus on the content and why it's important. With the use of this tool, that problem is solved.

3. By using the presentation tool Prezi, you can create presentations and slideshows. This program offers you a 30 day free trail. When your free trial ends, you must purchase this program if you wish to continue using it. Prezi offers a special price for students and teachers. It is $0 per year if you purchase Prezi EDU Enjoy. If you decided to purchase Prezi EDU PRO, it is $4.92 a month. That is significantly cheaper than the normal price of $13.25 a month. By being a student or teacher, you get a much better price.

C4T #2

The Nuts and Bolts of Flipping

Amanda Ooten, a science teacher, describes in her post how she makes her videos that her students watch on their own time in her flipped classroom. She states that the end goal in the idea, flipping the classroom, is to have more class time, one on one, with students to dig deeper into the material through activities, labs, and real-world problem solving. So what is exactly is a flipped classroom? A flipped class consists of videos, made by student's teachers, that have the next day's lecture on them. Students watch these videos at home so that there is less lecture time in class and more one on one with students and teachers. The videos are usually 10-15 minutes in length and include everything students need to know about each chapter. Tasks and assignments are assigned during the video that the students will discuss the next day in class. Assignments help the students become more involved with the material besides just reading and watching the videos.
Many different programs are used to create the videos such as Screenflow, Camtasia, Screenium, Jing, CamStudio, and iShowU. It usually takes a total of three hours per screencast for preparation, recording, and editing. Amanda states that the product is well worth the time and hopefully the videos can be used for many years.

Comment #1

I commented and said that I have read articles and watched videos about how to flip a classroom and what exactly that meant. After learning what it means to flip a classroom, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it in my future classrooms. I guess I feel that if the students are watching a video at home and in class, students have group activities, then what is my role as a teacher?
But after reading her post, I told her that flipping the classroom seems like a great idea. I now see the benefits and different opportunities students and teachers have when the classroom is flipped. I gave her a big thank you for helping me to see that this is a more efficient way of teaching and that by flipping your classroom, your students will learn more.

My Flipped Classroom, Part 2

After two months in her flipped classroom, Amanda Ooten wrote a reflection describing the impact this new way of learning had on her and her students. She said at first, her students were overwhelmed with this new concept. They were spending more time on their "at-home" assignments and videos and weren't fully understanding all the concepts that they needed to. They were asking more questions in class, therefore, Amanda was spending more time lecturing. She did some rethinking and flipped her classrooms only 50%. She realized that some concepts need direct instruction at such an advanced level of learning. Her students still watched videos and had "at-home" assignments, but there was also lecture time and in-class discussions. She felt that she was a better teacher because of the flip. She was finally teaching her class the way she wanted to instead of the way the College Board tells you to teach.

Comment #2

I commented and said that I was really glad that she did some rethinking and decided to flip her classroom only 50%. I told her that she was definitely right. Some concepts are difficult to understand at certain learning levels and need to be taught by direct instruction from the teacher. I gave her credit for acknowledging the fact that there needs to be a balance between the amount of lecture time needed and the amount of "at-home" assignments students need to complete. It seemed as though her students really enjoyed this way of learning and so did she. I then congratulated her on her success.

C4K September Summary

C4K #1

In C4K assignment #1, I commented on a teacher's class blog. Anthony Capps is a third grade teacher at Gulf Shores Elementary School. In his blog post, "The Buzz About Jobs," he discusses how his class has been studying the elements that make a successful community. They have also been discussing what makes a community member productive. As a class, they decided that productive community members work together, practice patience, encourage each other, help each other understand, follow directions, and lead each other. They also created a wordle using a list of jobs that the class thought was most important in their community. Some of these jobs were firemen, doctors, engineers, bank tellers, teachers, and repair men. There were several other jobs listed as well.

I commented and stated that I agreed with them on their thoughts about productive community members. When community members come together and work as a team, they can be extremely productive and accomplish many thoughts, ideas, and goals. I mentioned that I was going to school to be a teacher, which was one of the jobs that was listed. I stated that I thought that being a teacher is probably one of the most important jobs in a community, and that I couldn't wait to become a part of that.

C4K #2

In C4K assignment #2, I commented on Mason's blog, a student in Mrs. Krebs science class in Iowa. His blog post was entitled, "Finding Out About the Kentucky Coffee Tree." He talked about how he found a dichotomous key from Iowa State University. He stated that he learned that a Kentucky Coffee Tree had opposite leaves and not alternate leaves. Mason also included a link where he found his information from.

I commented and told Mason that I didn't know that trees had different types of leaves. I also told him that his link to Iowa's Trees was very informative and interesting. I gave him some positive feedback and told Mason that I enjoyed reading his blog post. I even asked him a question to give him a chance to respond back. I asked him if Kentucky Coffee Trees really did produce coffee beans.

Blog Post #7

The Networked Student

The Networked Student, created by Wendy Drexler, depicts an actual project completed by her own high school students. In her video, she tries to give parents, teachers, colleagues, and students a better understanding of how networked learning works.

The video starts off with a 21st century high school student studying American Psychology. He meets in class three days a week and two days online. There are no books and the teacher hardly ever lectures. She is a student of connectivism.

So what is connectivism? "Connectivism is a theory that presumes learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties." The student uses many different resources and communication tools to collect facts and create his/her own thoughts and reflections about his/her topic on a blog he/she creates. Tools such as google search, wikis, blogs, and rss makes it easier for students to connect with new contacts and to learn effectively with the ones he already knows. What a great way to integrate technology in the classrooms!

So the question is asked "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?"

According to Wendy Drexler's video, the following is a list of reasons why a networked student needs a teacher:
1. His teacher is the one that teaches him how to build these networks and take advantage of learning opportunities.
2. She offers guidance when he gets stuck.
3. She shows him how to communicate properly and ask respectively for help from the experts.
4. She shows him how to differentiate between good information and not so good information.
5. She shows him how to vent a resource.
6. She shows him how to turn a web search into a scavenger hunt, and to get excited when he finds that pearl of content.
7. She helps him organize those mountains of information.
8. In her heart, she hopes that when he leaves her class, he will maintain his learning network and use it to navigate his future and creatively solve the world's problems.

After watching the video, the same question, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?," popped into my mind. I understand that technology is extremely important in the classrooms because teachers need to be up to date on today's technology and how it is used. But why? The answer to that question is because we live in a fast-paced world that is in a state of constant change mainly due to the advancements of technology everyday.

As a future educator, I'm worried that one day teachers will become completely obsolete as a result of technology and will then be replaced and no longer needed. If you really sit and think about it, technology is already starting to take over. Schools now are starting to replace textbooks with ebooks. Students have a computerized tablet that they connect to the school's network and download the reading material that they need for that particular class. White boards and chalk boards are slowly being replaced with SMART boards. This SMART board is connected to a computer.

I have recently learned that teachers are no longer teaching students cursive handwriting. Cursive handwriting was such a big deal with teachers when I was in grade school. I remember hating my teachers in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade because all written work, which was just about everything we did, had to be written in cursive handwriting.

In schools today, even first and second graders are required to have flash drives so that their assignments done on the computer can be saved. This is already starting to eliminate the amount of actual writing, pencil to paper, that students do. When everything has to be typed and done on the computer, there is no need for actual writing. At this rate, schools will soon just omit learning how to write so that students will have more computer time.

I'm not bashing technology being used in classrooms nor am I saying that technology in education is a bad idea. There are several advantages and positive thoughts I have about integrating technology in the classrooms. But does anyone ever look at the negatives about this transformation in the education system? Everyone is different and processes information in a different way. Technology is not going to adhere to everyone's unique learning process. This is why we need excellent teachers so that no student is left behind.

So NO, I don't want to be a networked teacher. I want to be more involved than that with my students. After all, aren't teachers supposed to teach their students instead of sticking them in front of a computer and trying to make them learn something they don't know on their own?


2. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment(PLE)

In the video, a 7th grader demonstrated how she uses her Personal Learning Environment every day in her science class. She discusses how every morning she checks the science agenda to see what she will be doing in class that day. Sometimes she has a video to watch and sometimes it's just assignments that need to be completed. She created a blog in which she post assignments and writes her reflections about what she did in class that day. She says that she really enjoys this way of learning because she has so much freedom. She is able to choose when and how she completes her assignments. She says that everything is done online, so there aren't any books, and everything is neat and organized. She says that she loves networked learning.

This 7th grade student's PLE seems almost identical to my Personal Learning Environment for EDM 310. There are no books because everything is done online. I have to check to see what assignments and projects I have for that week. Sometimes there are videos that I have to watch and post my reflections in my blog for class. This class is definitely unlike any other that I've ever taken before. It's a completely different way of learning because you aren't sitting in front of your teacher everyday. As of right now, I think that I'm a little undecided on whether or not I like this networked learning. I guess I will just have to see how the rest of the semester goes.

Project #8 Group Podcast

Project #9a

Ashley Zaworski's Timeline

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch died July 25, 2008 of pancreatic cancer. Before he died, he gave his last lecture.His lecture was amazing and extremely inspirational. I was blown away and really wish that I had been there in person to hear it.

Randy Pausch talked about three different things in his last lecture. The first thing he talked about was his childhood dreams. Some of his dreams were being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, meeting Captain Kirk, and authoring an article in the World Book encyclepedia. He then described how he made all his childhood dreams come true.

Second thing he talked about was enabling the dreams of others. He stated that it wouldn't do any good if just his childhood dreams came true, he wanted to the childhood dreams of other's come true. He developed a program that did just that called The Dream Fullfillment Factory. This program was all about making people's childhood dreams a reality.

Randy Pausch was also involved in several other projects including Building Virtual Worlds, which was a course he designed in which students built virtual worlds. He was involved in the project Aladin at Walt Disney World which was a virtual world that took you on a magic carpet ride. He was also involved in the creation of Alice which is a novel way to teach computer programming.

He also talked about an idea called "head-fake." So what is "head-fake?" Randy said that the best way to teach someone is to make them think that they are learning about something else. He used this idea in Alice. Students thought they were building games when they were actually learning how to program. What a great idea and a creative way to teach.

The last thing he talked about was lessons he learned. He says help others, loyalty is a two-way street, don't complain, work harder. Some other important lessons Randy said that he learned was not to bail. He said "the best gold is at the bottom of the barrels of crap." He also said never give up. I think that these two lessons go hand in hand. Life is hard and when you are trying to make your dreams come true, it can get even harder. But if you never give up and you don't bail, you might surprise yourself in what you can accomplish.

Several of the things that he discussed in his lecture I would definitely use in my teachings. For example, I think that the whole "head-fake" idea is great. It's a way to make learning fun for your students without them even knowing that they are learning something. The lessons that Randy stated that he learned are definitely great morals that I would use in my teachings as well. I believe that teachers not only teach math, english, science, and history, but teachers are role models. Teachers also teach their students morals and how they should act as decent human beings in society and in life. Teachers teach their students the difference between right and wrong, what to do and what not to do.

In Randy Pausch's last lecture, the "head-fake" was about life. Being good at something makes you valuable. Apologize when you mess up. Give gratitude to people always. Find the best in everybody. And last but not least, brick walls are there to make us prove how badly we want something.

His last lecture was amazing. This was a man that was dying and still had such a positive outlook on life. I definitely encourage everyone to watch his lecture. I hope it inspires you like it inspired me!