Blog Post #13

"A Vision of Students Today"

I really liked this short video. It's short but it keeps your attention, and gets the point across. It shows a classroom with stadium seating, and on the walls and chairs they have messages written on them from students. The messages say how boring class is, and why are they sitting in a seat if they are learning their future profession. The board looks like an ant from the top seating, you can't even see the writing. The classes are so big and teachers barely even know the students' names. Students pay hundreds of dollars for books, that sometimes are barely used. Why not just save the trees and money and use eBooks? If we switched over to hybrid classes there wouldn't be such problem with attendance. Students use the computer for mostly all their work, so why not just get rid of the paper and pens?

I do like being taught in a classroom for certain subjects, but most material taught in school can be taught virtually, by teachers. There are so many benefits that can take place by switching over to hybrid classes. Students can always review lessons, by watching the videoed class lecture, attendance won't be required daily, it's better for our environment, students can learn in a more diverse way, and much more.

Progress Report on Project #16

My group picked option B for our project 16. We have met two times already to discuss what we are going to do. I am talking the most in our video. Laura is writing the script, and Hillary created a list of topics to discuss. We are meeting this week to finish our project. I am excited and looking forward to it!

Last C4T

 C4T #1
I had Will Deyamport, who is creator and administrator of "peoplegogy" . His post was about leadership. He discussed how school schools need to teach their students' how to be prepared for the future. I agree with him, we need to have our students' prepared for their future jobs. They need to focus more on bettering their technology skills instead of memorizing material for tests. Leadership teaches students how to move forward.


My comment: Hi! I am Rachel Beaugez. I attend the University of South Alabama, and I am currently in EDM 310. I loved your blog post. I agree with you 100%. I think schools need to focus more on bettering their students' future. We need to be more technology literate. It seems like paper and pens will no longer be needed in the future of education. They need to focus more on leadership.

C4T #2
My second C4T was the same teacher, Will Deyamport. His post was about race in education. He says the one thing that is missing from reforming public education is race. He talks about the problems in the community that affect education. Some of the problems are poverty, parenting, and the lack of choices for kids. On the comments they talked about how some people care what race their teachers are.

My Comment: Hello! I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in EDM 310 right now. I don't think it matters what race the teacher is, as long as they do their job right and treat all students equal. I grew up going to schools with mixed races, so I am used to all different races being my educator.

Blog Post #12

Nutrition is a blast!

This assignment will require you to do 3 steps. Just click on the on the links to get started. Good luck!

1.)  Make your own daily food "plan". It is optional, but highly recommended, to write down your results for your own use.

2.)  Complete a game of Nutrition "Sudoku". When you finish take a screen shot of your results.

3.) The last step is a web search. You must find what the new food groups are in the USDA food plate. List the website you collected your information from.

Example:

1.) "My Daily Food Plan"

2.)

3.) Website: www.enchantedlearning.com/food/foodplate/

The food groups in the new USDA food plate are:
Vegetables - carrots, celery, peas, spinach, onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, tomato, eggplant
Fruit - orange, apple, banana, pineapple, pear, plum, apricot, grapefruit, peach, cherry
Grains - rice, oatmeal, cereal, pasta, bread, bagel, waffle, pancake
Protein - fish, chicken, beef, pork, tofu, nuts, beans
Dairy - milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese

C4T #3

"Are We Declaring The Wrong War"
This blog post is by David Warlick, and was posted on October 15, 2012. He talks about a New York Times post that he read. It was about the war on regular books and e-readers. Dr.Warlick believes we should switch over to using mostly just technology. He made some good points in his post. Check it out.

My comment: Hi! I am Rachel. I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I think schools should use both paper and digital technology. Writing material down always helps me remember things. I couldn't imagine doing everything on a tablet for school. Great blog


"Since Twitter Was Unavailable"

I was assigned to the same teacher for this week too, David Warlick. His post is about a conference he went to in Kuala Lumpur. He named his post "Since Twitter Was Unavailable", because he didn't have good internet connection to tweet during the conference. His post discusses three different speakers that spoke at the conference. They talked about school in the future, attendance, and how school is today.One of the speakers thinks we shouldn't talk about school in the future. He put his tweets, that he wish he could have tweeted, during the conference in his post too. They were very good, and explained exactly what the speakers were talking about.

My comment: Hey! I am a student at the University of South Alabama, and I am in EDM 310. It sounds like you had a successful trip! I am sorry to hear about the poor internet connection, though. I think we should be talking about schools in the future. Education is changing so fast, and we need to be prepared. I can see school attendance being somewhat optional in the future, but not now. It seems like students will only be going to class a few days a week, and the rest by a computer at home. If students need additional help they can come to school on days not required. That is just my opinion. Great post!

Blog Post #11

Ms.Cassidy's Skype Interview

On this assignment we had to watch Dr.Strange's "interview" with Ms.Cassidy. She uses several different methods of technology in her classroom. Some of the technology she uses are Skype, ,make videos, blogs, class webpage, Nintendo DS, and she teaches her student's the safe way to use the internet. I think she is doing a great job, as a teacher, teaching her students ways to use technology in an educational way. I think the way she used Skype was awesome. She lets her student's Skype classrooms in other countries. Ms.Cassidy also talks about Wikis. Her student's write questions and other students can answer them from anywhere.

One of the techniques I would use as a teacher is blogging. I think blogging is a great way to teach children to state their own opinions, get used to typing, instead of writing on paper, and to interact with different students all around the world. I have learned how important blogging is to education, since I have been in EDM 310. I wish I got to use Blogger in elementary school. There could be a few problems when using blogging in the classroom. If my student's didn't follow the rules, I would take away their blogging privilege the next time we used it. But, there are so many benefits with integrating technology in the classroom. Students will be more prepared for the future, and will be learning in a fun way.

C4K Summaries for October

"Who is he/she? (XIII)"

My first C4K, in October, was a student, named Juan. He wrote a short post. The post was giving details about a basketball player, and he was trying to get his viewers to guess who it is. I don't really know much about different basketball players.

The comment I left: Hey Juan! I am Rachel. I am from Mississippi. I have no idea who this basketball player could be! I don't watch basketball that much. I have tried looking up some of the clues you gave me, and the only person I could find, that matched most of your descriptions, was Juan Carlos Navarro. I would be lucky if I got it right! :)


"Hello World"

My next C4K was written by Grace. This post had questions asking her favorite sport, person, song, movie, book, holiday, etc. She just had random things she liked on her post.

My comment: Hey Grace!! You have some great choices! I love the movie taken. It is one of my favorite movies I have ever seen. I can’t wait to see Taken 2. I listen to the song Springsteen all the time! It is such a good song. My favorite holiday is Christmas, also. I can’t believe only 2 more months till it’s here! Good post!

"Eyes on Ireland"

I really liked my third C4K. Ms. Vitulli andMrs.Santoli post to this blog. I have Ms.Vitulli right now, and she is a great teacher. She post pictures of what she saw, when she was strolling down Merrion road in Dublin. They were great pictures! It makes me want to visit Ireland one day.

My comment: Wow! You guys are so lucky to see such a beautiful place. I love the pictures. The soup sounds like it tasted great! Enjoy the rest of your trip. I hope to hear more about it, in class, when you return.

"Alberta, Alberta!"

My last C4K was by a student named Ashton. She created a posture like design of the natural resources in Alberta. She was very creative. She put colorful pictures, a youtube video, and animations. I thought it was very good.

My comment: This is an awesome post! I love the colors, pictures, and video. You did a very good job creating this post. Keep up the good work!

Special Blog Assignment

"A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind"

This article was very interesting It talks about education in the next 30 years. It explains how technology will take over the classrooms. Everything will be done over a computer, and all education will be free. Thrun, who created an online free online education company, says he can no longer teach in a regular classroom. He goes into detail about his vision of education in the future. He says, we will use video cameras, have computer designing and assembling courses, and use flipped classrooms. He wants to focus more on teaching students to learn new skills, instead of memorization. Thrun, calls grades "the failure of the education system". He thinks we should make sure students get the concept before moving on, and give them as much time as needed.

I like most of the points made in this article. I don't think we should take away grades. To me, grades show the teacher where the student stands. If a student doesn't get something, they either need a tutor, or stay after school with the teacher. I like, in the article, how Thrun said,"they aim to make online college education as cheap as a cellphone bill". If that really happens I would have wasted a lot of money, along with everyone else. I do hope to see college being that cheap in the future.

Project #14 Smartboard

Blog Post #10

"Adventures in Pencil Integration"  is a blog post by John Spencer. Below is the picture that is in his post. I think this is a humorous picture, it's like comparing a PC to a Mac. There really isn't any. The papermate is a PC. You can buy them for a cheaper rate, but they won't last long. The Ticonderogia is, of course, a Mac! It may be pricey, but it sure is worth it. I never knew much about Macs until EDM 310. After seeing how much better they are, I want one soon!

"Why Were Your Kids Playing Games?"

This is a short story about a teacher, Tom, and his principal, Mr.Brown. Tom is called into Mr.Brown's office for a talk. When Tom walks in he knows his boss isn't happy. Tom sits down and gets told that he has been playing games in his class instead of teaching. Tom jumps back quickly saying they weren't games, they were advanced simulations where students had to read different things, and reply to various students. Mr.Brown does not care what he says, it is still a game to him. Tom has kept up with technology, and was applying it to his classroom, which Mr.Brown knows nothing about.

I totally agree with Tom. I think he is doing the up to date teaching. His students have to state their own opinions to other students all over. It is a great way for students to interact. Mr.Brown needs to get educated on new technology.

"Pencil Quest"

This is a short story about John Spencer. He tells about a field trip he went on, and will always remember. His teacher called it the "Pencil Quest". The students had assigned routes they had to go to, and fill out questions about various sites. His teacher told him it's like a moving textbook. He said, he was so excited to start his adventure now looking back he's a little embarrassed.

Mr. Spencer shows how excited he was about a pencil. Now as a teacher, he says his students are excited about plogs, pen pal networks, and problem-based learning. Times sure have changed a lot. I hope when I become a teacher, students are required to blog. I like that they get to talk to people all over the world.


"Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?"

This post is by Scott McLeod. This "link"will tell you a little more about Scott. He addresses his post to parents, teachers, administrators, and board members. He talks about people who do not want technology integrated in schools.  He states many points showing how technology is great for education. Students don't have to waste paper, they can make videos, blogs, PLNs, twitter, and much more. Scott says people worry about cyber bullying, their student/kid watching porn videos, and predators online. Some people need to realize stuff like that can happen anywhere, not only on the internet. Students need technology in their schooling for their futures. Scott tells this story with a great sense of humor.

I agree 100% with Mr.McLeod. I think if schools provide the student with devices certain sites will be blocked. That should take care of people who freak out about the things I listed above. It is a great change for education. It will also keep student's attention, instead of listening to their boring teacher lecture.

Short Movie Project #11