Project 13

For my two groups we communicated through Facebook, emailing through Google, and text messaging. We discussed our ideas and the time that we would met up to work on our projects. Everyone shared their thoughts and opinions effectively.

Final Project

Final Reflection

Summary Post on C4T

The teacher that I was assigned to for my C4T's was the same teacher that I had for the month of March by the name of Mr. Fisch. I really enjoyed all of his posts and here is the link to his page as well as my comments: Mr. Fisch Blog

Blog Post #13

In this assignment, I was suppose to not use technology for 24 hours and it was so hard. Due to projects being due in this class and in my other classes, I could not do this assignment this past week so I decided to do it on Saturday. It was the most difficult thing to do. I, like many people, stay on my cellular phone whether it's talking on it, sending text messages, and especially using the internet. Staying off of Facebook and Twitter was not a problem and I guess that's why I thought this assignment would not be a problem, but I was sadly mistaken. Technology has become apart of our lives. Sad to say for me, it is a major necessity. Doing this assignment really made me appreciate the technology that we have available today. When we become so used to using a certain thing, we kind of get "too comfortable" with it and we really do not appreciate it until it is no longer in our possession. When my 24 hours was up with this assignment, I was practically kissing my phone with so much thankfulness! I use technology way more than what I actually thought. I truly believe that by the time I start teaching all of my second graders will more than likely have cell phones and probably another technical device that has not been created yet. Technology changes right before our eyes everyday, so I can only imagine what will be the "hottest" device to have when I become a teacher. The only thing that I know for certain, is that whatever technical device comes my way with my students, I will be ready for it.

Project #15, SmartBoard Instructions Part 2

Final Report on PLN

I really did not change anything on my PLN. I did not use it like I thought I would.

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts- Special Post # 12A

In my opinion, Schools do destroy the creativity students. I agree because just as Sir Ken Robinson stated in his video, it seems as if Art or other elective classes are not viewed as being important enough. True enough, Mathematics, English, Reading and other subjects are extremely important, but we also cannot forget about the elective subjects either. School is not only about educating students, but it is also an environment for students to show their creative side, weather its a group or an individual activity. How can schools ignore creativity in students? Think about Pablo Picasso and what an awesome artist he was. Before any of us think about ignoring a student's creative side, we need to think about the long-term damage that we might be doing. For all we know, we could have another Picasso in the making. I do believe that a curriculum can be developed to increase the curiosity of a student. My idea would be to actually have Art and other "electives" classes required. This would give the students their deserved time to spend on their creative side. I strongly agree that the teacher's actions can have a negative or positive affect on a student. Children are like sponges and they soak up whatever they see. That is why the teacher has to show that he or she is just as enthused about their students' creative side just as the students are. Children can easily detect how someone else (especially an adult) may feel. We must let our students know that we are here for them and that we will help them reach and successfully achieve any and every goal that their hearts' desire. What would help me become more creative is to really focus on what I want to be creative on and of course having a teacher who is just as passionate about my creativity as I am. I would also want to have to proper curriculum as a student to ensure my success in my creativity. For example, the proper amount of time in class, homework, field trips, and other ways to help make sure that my creative needs were being met. What would help me become more curious is having a teacher, once again, who makes it interesting. Its nothing no worse than having a teacher who shows that they are just teaching to receive a paycheck. A teacher who is really interested in what their students are thinking and how they are receiving the information would most definitely have me more curious than before.

Progress Report on Final Project

My group and I have communicated mainly through text messages in regards to our project. We have agreed on using the smart board for our project. We will meet sometime next week to further discuss any additional information pertaining to our project.

C4K For April

For my first C4K of the month of April, I was assigned to a student by the name of Shane for three weeks, and I really enjoyed his posts. Here are the links to Shane's posts and also my comments. Shane's Blog and Shane's Blog 2. For my last assigned C4K for this month, I was assigned to a student by the name of Faauiga. Faauiga did an awesome job, and here is the link to her post as well as my comment. Faauiga's Blog

Blog Post #12

1.) Watch Welcome to the Digital Generation. Express your thoughts on this video. How would you incorporate technology in your classroom? Write two or more paragraphs, following the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog.

2.) Watch Preparing Teachers for the Technology-Enriched Classroom. How would you prepare yourself to teach using today's technology? Follow the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog.

In Welcome to the Digital Generation, the teachers expressed how technology is more than a tool to use; instead, it is an essential part of everyday life. Think about it. We use technology even when we do not realize it. Taking pictures with our phones, sending text messages, and using Facebook along with other social networking sites. Today's technology has become a basic necessity. Technology today also gives students the ability to express their creativity. Being unique and different is very important to a student (at least in my opinion), and to be able to have the tools to create this "uniqueness" is important and fun. For example, the avatars. I would have never guessed that creating an avatar would be one of a class assignment. How neat is that? Learning should not be a boring, dragging experience for students. It is their education, and they should be enjoying every minute of it.
Since I like the whole avatar creation, that would be one of my technical tools for my class. I am familiar with creating an avatar, but I do not have it mastered. I believe that it would be very interesting for my students as well as myself to learn how to create an avatar at the same time.

The video Preparing Teachers for the Technology-Enriched Classroom really helped me in various ways. I say that because like many, I do not know everything about a computer or the latest technical tool. The Rutherford County School System in this video use what is called QTL; Quality Teaching and Learning which promotes 21st Century Learning. One of the teachers in this video explains how technology is intertwined with today's learning. The technology that's available today is most definitively an aid with teaching. Steven Yarbrough, who is a math teacher in Rutherford County, explains how he has a better understanding of technology than he did before through QTL. As I mentioned previously, I do not know everything that there is to know about every technical tool, but I want to know as much as possible to ensure the best education for my students. Instead of every student looking at the chalkboard, this new way of learning with technology gives them the ability to not only have their own sense of freedom while learning, but to also engage with one another. How I would prepare myself to teach with technology is to learn as much as I can on my own and while in my classroom. As I stated in my first video of this post, learning along with my students would be interesting and fun. I would put in time outside of class and just explore as much as possible through the internet and with other technical devices. I am not that good with an iPad either, so I would also explore that as well.

Blog Post #11

First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class and Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy

The video of Ms. Cassidy's class and her Skype interview was very enjoyable. In Ms. Cassidy's class video, the students demonstrated the different uses of blogging, Skype, and the do's and don'ts of blogging. One student mentioned how you should only say good things on someone's blog because you could hurt someone's feelings if you don't; I thought that was too cute. Also in Ms. Cassidy's video, I noticed that her class was interacting with another class while using Skype. Skype is new to me, but I am already seeing how helpful it is for classroom purposes. Not only Skype, but other useful technology tools. For instance, I would love to video everything my students have learned with technology just as Ms. Cassidy did. This will give my students the chance to show everyone what they have learned. Children love to have an audience, especially when they have worked very hard on something. Just as Ms. Cassidy stated, technology is not going away, so we might as well accept it and work with it. I noticed that she mentioned that some teachers feel as though they are not obligated to deal with today's technology in their classrooms. I totally disagree. Being an educator is not just a teaching process, but also a learning process. The educator and the students should be learning everyday collaboratively. In today's time especially, it is nearly impossible to teach children without technology. The technology that is available today helps so much in the classroom. For example, using Skype gives the students and/or the teacher the chance to interact to another class or another teacher on the computer. Also using the smart board, blogging, and the list just goes on and on.
Ms. Cassidy mentioned how blogging was a great way for not only her students to have an audience, but to also share what they have done with their peers. She said that it depends on the size of her class on how much they blog or not. I believe that I will have my students blogging no more than three times a week (at the most). I think they will enjoy it as much as I will.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?
I enjoyed this video so much that I uploaded it to my Facebook page! I found this video so inspiring for future educators who are really passionate about educating. Speaking for myself, it excites me knowing that each day I am getting closer and closer to my goal, my dream; and that is becoming an educator. Knowing that one day I will have the privilege to be apart of a child's academic success puts a smile not only on my face, but in my heart. I decided to become an education major because of the genuine love that I have for education and of course children. I strongly believe this is my calling and I am so excited about it. In my opinion, children deserve to have a teacher who is not only passionate about educating but also passionate about them. An educator should make sure that their class are receiving the proper guidance; just as the video pointed out. This video differentiated between teaching and educating, which are two completely different things. From my own perspective, I feel as though "teaching" is just doing your job, receiving a paycheck, and going home; but an EDUCATOR takes the time out for his/her own students, nourishes them with education, guides them, encourage them, all the things that were mentioned in the video. As future educators, it very important that we know what our role is in the classroom. We are not just there to receive a check and leave; the parents of our students have entrusted us to guide their children down the successful road and it is up to us to make sure they obtain as much knowledge as they can. Let us not let our students down. We have the privilege of being apart of their success; let us make sure we give them the best education ever!

Tom Johnson's "Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!
This blog by Mr. Johnson had a great message. The "problem" about students taking their pencils home was, according to an article read by the school's interventionist, was that students' standardized test scores were low. I loved the point that Mr. Johnson made concerning this matter. As I was reading, I stopped and thought about how pencils are used for drawing, playing games (Tic-Tac-Toe, for example), and other sources of entertainment that children use pencils for. Even though this was an analogy to prove a point, the message was pretty clear; focus on the solution instead of the issue. A simple game that a child plays can amazingly teach them something. The learning process continues, even outside of the classroom. That is the interpretation I got when Mr. Johnson stated "There's probably some learning that's taking place that we don't realize". It is amazing how the small simple things actually turn out to be the "brain-ticklers" as I call them.

Blog Post #9

Mr. McClung's What I Have Learned This Year 2008-09 and What I have Learned This Year 2009-10

After reading Mr McClung's first experiences as a teacher, I took in everything he said. In his 2008-09 school year post, he mentioned that no lesson plan will ever be perfect and to be completely honest, I believe that I will try to make a lesson plan as perfect as I can and mess up. One of my many flaws is that I try to be perfect in everything I do (which we all know is impossible). I'm excited so therefore I want my students to be excited. I know for sure that is one thing that I will need to remember once I start teaching. I just want my students to have the best learning experience possible.
Mr. McClung also mentioned how not to set the standards to high for your students. Speaking for myself, I can remember as a child how uncomfortable it was to work under pressure. There is nothing wrong for wanting the best for your students, but in my opinion and remembering personally how that felt, if you put a child under too much pressure they will panic. It is our jobs as teachers one day to make the learning process as comfortable as possible. I tend to mentally put myself in other people's situations often, so I believe that I will be good at not putting too much pressure on my students. As I mentioned earlier, I remember the uncomfortable feeling of pressure, so I will do my absolute best to make sure I am not doing the same to my students.
As I always mentioned, communication is the key to any and every relationship, including students and teachers. As educators, we have to listen to our students. Mr. McClung stated that in his post and I completely agree with him. Just because we (teachers) are in control of our classroom, does not mean that our students do not have a voice. The reason why we have this type of job is because of the students, so everything that they say is very important. We have to be able to understand them in order to help them succeed.
Mr. McClung's second blog post was also very helpful to me. As I mentioned earlier, I took everything in that he stated in his post. Out of everything that Mr. McClung mentioned in his second post, one helpful hint really stuck out to me and that was for teachers to leave the egos at the door. This is beyond true. I know that I am not a teacher just yet, but I believe that everything we do as educators is for our students; therefore, our main focus should be on the students. Our job is to help them in every way possible, so anything that has nothing to do with benefiting them should stay outside the classroom. Our students are our future and we have to make sure that they are prepared; educationally and mentally.

C4T#3 With Mr. Fisch

For my C4T assignments for the month of March, I was assigned to Mr. Fisch's blog. Below is the link to his blog and my first comment:



Mr. Fisch's Blog

Mr. Fisch,
Hello, my name is Angela Smith and I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama and allow me to say that this was exactly what I needed to read/watch! This blog post not only helped me but was also very factual about students being afraid of failure. Just as you mentioned Mr. Fisch, students have been taught to fear failure, when in reality the only way you are going to succeed higher than before is to know what you did wrong to correct it. I used to be that student; I always wanted to do it right the very first time and conquer it. Now, I appreciate those failures. I honestly believe I would not be the responsible person that I am today if it was not for the mistakes that I have made in the past. Whether it was something dealing with school or not, I am very grateful for my mistakes, and as a future educator I would want my students to know that as well.

For my second C4T assignment, I was assigned to the same teacher, Mr. Fisch. For some odd reason, my post for my second comment published to his first post (which I already completed). Since I was assigned to the same teacher, the link above is sufficient for my second comment. Below is my comment to Mr. Fisch post:


This was simply beautiful, and so true. We indeed need more people who are determined and courageous. I really admired what you stated towards the end, about how life is not all about money but trying to make the world anew. That is exactly how I feel about becoming a teacher. If I can encourage one child out of all the students that I will have in my classroom, I will then know that my mission was accomplished. Knowing that you were apart of a child's success is worth more than all the money in the world. Thank you for this beautiful post, Mr. Fisch.

C4K Summary for March

For the first C4K assignment for the month of March, I was assigned to two students by the names of Cheyenne and Leyla. Below is the link to their blog and also my comment:


Cheyenne and Leyla's Blog Post

For my second C4K assignment for the month of March, I was assigned to a student by the name of Tahibah. Below is the link to the student's blog, as well as my comment:


Tahibah's Blog Post


Hello, Tahibah!
My name is Angela Smith and I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. You did an awesome job on your story. I loved the in depth details that you gave about Ann in your story. From what I understood from your story, was that the spiders Ann dreamed about represented her friends becoming her enemies; wonderful metaphor, Tahibah! Keep up the great work!

Blog Post #8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream

The era that we are living in today requires the usage of technology. Not just for our personal purposes, but also for education. At the beginning of this video, Dr. Miller stated that we are living in the greatest time of communication (which is so true). Think about it. We have Facebook, Twitter, Skype, emails, and many other sources of communicating with one another. One source that Dr. Miller talks and demonstrates on is the usage of multimedia. Using multimedia enables the student to explore literature in such a magnificent, creative way by creating sound and visual documents.
I believe that I am ready to write with multimedia. As I was watching the video, I was amazed at the wonderful job Dr. Miller did with Dr. Martin Luther King's pictures and videos. Like any beginner at something new, I know that I will get used to using multimedia with constant usage of it.
I will make sure my students grab the concept of using multimedia. It will be my job to make sure that they gain as much information as possible. I also understand that for me to teach the usage of multimedia and for them to be confident while using it, that I must first try to master its concept.

Blog Post #12 Carly Pugh

Carly did an exceptional job on her blog post. As I read her post, I could see how passionate she was about doing this assignment. She put in time with this and I really enjoyed it. I absolutely love the creativeness she put into her playlist. It is obviously shown that she took her time with this assignment. Carly's assignment was the perfect example of what Dr. Miller was explaining about writing with multimedia. Carly demonstrated sound and visual documents by displaying a title before each video was shown. This type of assignment using multimedia can give the opportunity to create more than one video, and discussions of more than one topic. This can also help a teacher with the idea of creating lesson plans.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies

Allow me to start off by saying that the videos where hilarious and very entertaining. Naturally, I began taking notes in my head of how I wanted my videos to turn out. The sub-topics in "The Chipper Series" gave me some helpful ideas of how to create my movie. In my book trailer, I actually did create my own sub-topics. I also took note of how each cast member's name appeared before their picture. I applied that same technique in my book trailer. As I mentioned earlier, both videos were entertaining. Chipper really went through some tough life experiences before getting her priorities in order. In "EDM 310 For Dummies", the young ladies were going crazy at first, but I am glad both videos had happy endings! :)

Learn To Change, Change To Learn

Keith Krueger began this video by stating that education was ranked in the 55th place BELOW coal mining. Hearing that being said saddens me. As important as education is, it is placed at such a low ranking. Learning is beyond important and it is up to us, the future educators, to make a difference and to keep the interest of learning high. We have to provide the absolute best for our students. Just as one of the gentlemen in the video stated, technology is not a choice. It has become more of a necessity. It has emerge into a new way for communication in every possible way. School is not just a place where students have to be "glued" to their seats, or with a "bubble" in their mouths; being at school should give a student the opportunity to communicate effectively with their fellow peers. Obviously I would not recommend my students being disruptive, but I would give them that chance of interacting with one another. It is very vital for a child to learn how to communicate; they are going to be interacting with people for the rest of their lives.We have to connect them to many other fundamental resources. They will be better equipped for not only college, but life in general. It is impossible to memorize your way through life. You have to be able to find and figure certain situations out. Synthesizing and learning for yourself is what it is going to take to succeed.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

I really enjoyed this educational scavenger hunt, which is located here. I found myself searching through this website like a kid in a candy store! I was coming up with so many ideas that I could use in my classroom, I guess I got beside myself! The first thing I did in this scavenger hunt was signing up for a network called "Edmodo". The setup of the profile puts you in the mind of Facebook, except its a social platform for students and teachers. My grade book is available on this site as well as the ability to search for my fellow (future) colleagues. This will be great for my classroom because I'm able to post current assignments as well as quizzes.

Prezi is the tool or one of the tools that created this presentation here. The deal that is offered to teachers and students are really good and affordable. The "Edu Enjoy" is free (which is my favorite price for anything) and the "Edu Pro" is $59.00 per year. The "Edu Enjoy" package offers storage space (500 MB), privacy contents, creation of your personal logo, and premium support in less than 24 hours. The "Edu Pro" package offers just about the same as the "Edu Enjoy" except the storage space is bigger (2 GB) and the use of Prezi desktop for offline editing is available.

I could not decide between the two video tools, so I chose both the Animoto tool and the Gizmoz tool. The Animoto video really interested me because I can actually bring my lessons to life for my students. Animoto analyzes music, video clips, and pictures. This tool also make it very easy to share videos or download for presentations. Gizmoz amazed me because I instantly reflected back to one of the previous blog assignments, where the teacher allowed her students to create their own avatars. Not only would this be fun for the students, but it also gives them another way to learn and communicate with their fellow classmate; not o mention this site just looks like so much fun!

Project #11

Project #12

Project #14 Smart Board

Blog Post #7

The Networked Student

There are so many different ways to learn and this video shows that. Technology offers such a variety on how to learn and the tools to use to learn. In this video, the teacher has done just that. She teaches them how to interact with each other because learning involves social activity. The technical tools to use are not so much as important as the connections made by them between the students. The whole idea of learning this way is to take control of your learning and to build connections with others at the same time.
Since I am now familiar with PLN, it is better to establish that first before venturing into the learning process. Finding sourceful websites helps so much while learning. You can apply those helpful websites to your PLN which will help with assignments. Even though you can connect with your fellow classmates/peers, learning this way also offers the chance to connect with other professors, which is awesome. If there is a question that you have, you can simply ask one of the teachers that you connect with. Learning independently gives you a chance to explore different options via web or anywhere differentiating between good information or not good information.
The networked student needs a teacher because the teacher is the one who will help the students on how to build this type of network. The teacher will also show the students on how to take great advantage of the learning opportunities and offers guidance when the students get stuck. Showing how to communicate properly, organizing information, and showing how to turn a web search into a scavenger hunt are also other reasons on why the networked student needs a teacher. The main thing that a teacher hopes for is for his/her students to apply the information that has been taught to their daily routines.

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

The PLN that was created by this 7th grader was really good. She had her tiles that were associated with her school work arranged at the bottom, and non-school tiles arranged at the top. I have my tiles arranged by color. My school tiles and social networking tiles are together, according to color.

Project# 10

PLN is new to me, as it is to many people. After I got the idea of how to create and use it, PLN became helpful. Now since I know how to use PLN, I will apply its use as often as I can.

C4T#2 With Ms. Hadley

In my C4T assignment, I was assigned to Ms. Hadley and the title of her post that I commented on was "Blog Post # 100!". In this particular post, Ms. Hadley discusses how writing (basically blogging) was intimidating at first, but now enjoyable. She mentioned how it takes one day and one step at a time to master something. Ms. Hadley continued by stating that we never know what a child has faced before coming to class, which is very true. Despite whatever a student has faced before coming to class, a teacher must make sure that the environment for learning is fun. I agreed with her saying how it is not only the teacher's job to teach, but to also have communication with his/her students.

In the second post titled "Ungraded Classroom", this post was on the teaching of memorization. Like many of us, memorizing helped me many times in my classes. Ms. Hadley states that there are various of techniques of learning how to memorize, which is true. She states in the beginning of her post how students learning how to memorize also teaches them about themselves. This gives a student an opportunity to see what memorization method best fits them. I agreed with Ms. Hadley and stated how there are many ways for a student to learn anything. The look on a child's face when they have mastered something is priceless and that is what I cannot wait to see!

Project 9B

C4K Summary for February

Feb. 10, 2012

The student that I was assigned to was Hiwarau S. and he goes to Pt. England School were Mrs. Barks is his teacher. Hiwarau had a picture of himself on the first day back to school. I replied to his post that I hope he has a successful school year and to keep up the good work.

Feb. 18, 2012

I commented on Kalay's blog, and she is in Mrs. Yollis' class. Her blog was about her dog, Shari. I told her how much of a dog lover I am, and for her to keep up the good work with school.

Feb. 24, 2012

In this C4K assignment, I was assigned to a student by the name of Liz from Ms. Epple's class. Liz wrote a wonderful blog on good sportsmanship. She basically stated how good it is to have good sportsmanship and how it is important to cheer your fellow teammates on. She continued on saying how wrong it is to yell and scream at someone on the team if the team lost. I fully agreed with Liz. In my comment, I stated how right she was and how it is always good to have a positive attitude while being in teams. I went on by saying how important it is to show a good attitude especially if the team looses. You never know how someone may feel on the inside emotionally. Just showing a smile to someone can make all the difference in the world.

Blog Post #6

Randy Pauch's Last Lecture

Before I begin identifying the key elements in Dr. Pauch's lecture, I must begin by saying how positive he was by this being his last lecture. He automatically started off explaining his health problems and despite him knowing that he was not going to be here much longer, he still welcomed everyone to his lecture with his humor. Dr. Pauch's key elements that he started off in his lecture were the following:
*My childhood dreams
*Enabling the dreams of others
*Lessons learned; how you can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of someone else.
One of the many important statements that Dr. Pauch made was that enabling others to achieve their goals is more rewarding than enabling your own. Even though I have so much to learn, I can identify and agree with him on that statement. The fact of you knowing that you helped someone achieve something that was important to them is indeed rewarding in itself. Putting yourself aside to help others is always and will always be the good road to go upon. Especially in the education field. Teachers put themselves aside everyday to make sure their students' academic needs are met. We as future educators need to hold on to that and apply that in our classrooms that we will soon have.
Dr. Pauch mentioned a lesson that he learned while on the football team when he was younger, and he mentioned that his coach always seemed as if he was constantly always onto him. No matter how hard he tried, it just seemed like whatever he did was not enough. Dr. Pauch realized that was because his coach saw potential in him and wanted him to do his absolute best. The same thing happend to me, minus being on the football team. When I was younger, I did not understand why my teachers were always onto me, but now I understand. Just as Dr. Pauch mentioned, if someone sees you doing something wrong and they do not say anything to correct you, that is bad. It is not necessarily because the teacher or whomever is picking on you just because, but merely it is because they care and want you to be the best at everything you do. Children do not really understand, but as they become older and a little more wiser they will grow to understand.
One of the many quotes that Dr. Pauch stated was "Experience is what you get when you did not get what you wanted". If you think about it, this is so very true. I immediately took this statement and applied it to some of my past experiences. As I did this, I found myself agreeing with Dr. Pauch. We sometimes do things in place of other things, and even though we are experiencing some situations we do not want to, we end up appreciating it in the end. I loved the analogy that he used with the brick wall to things that we want. Dr. Pauch mentioned that the brick walls are there to stop those who do not want whatever it is that they are trying to get to bad enough. If your heart is truly set on something regardless of the obstacles that come along, you will conquer it. think about it; if our goals were "easy" to achieve, we would not appreciate them. If something is worth having, you have to fight for it.
Dr. Pauch goes back to his statement about enabling others' dreams. Being an educator is the perfect job for that. How wonderful and exciting is it to look in your students' faces knowing that you are apart of helping them succeed? I cannot wait to experience that! As future educators, that will be our job. We are here to help, encourage, and make sure our students know that the sky is the limit for them. Whatever their dreams and aspirations are it is up to us to help and make sure they reach them.
I can only imagine the wonderful feeling of helping my students have fun while learning a challenging lesson. Experiences like that are what stays with a student for a lifetime. As educators, it is our job to make learning as fun as possible, especially if the lesson is a bit challenging. Dr. Pauch continues to make other key points in his lecture and they are the following:
*Lessons learned
The roles of parents, mentors, and students
As stated by Andy van Dam, who was basically Dr. Pauch's first boss, I would like to think of myself when I become a teacher, of "selling something worthwhile as education". That phrase is stuck in my head! Yes a car, shoes, clothing and all of that is wonderful to have but education is something no one can take from you. Education is so priceless and so valuable. I am very proud to be apart of the education field and I cannot wait to start selling it to my students! Dr. Pauch compared having fun or not having fun to Tigger and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. I, myself, am an Tigger. Just like Dr. Pauch stated, I do not know how not to have fun. There should be enjoyment in everything we do, especially in education. Dr. Pauch made more key elements. They are:
*Never lose the child-like wonder
*Help others
*Loyalty is a two-way street
*Never give up (my favorite)
*Brick walls let us show our dedication
*Show gratitude
*Don't complain; just work harder
*Be good at something; it makes you valuable
*Find the best in everybody
*Be prepared
*You can't get there alone
*Tell the truth
*Be earnest
*Apologize when you've made a mistake
*Focus on others, not yourself
Dr. Pauch had "head fakes" through out his lecture. The head fake of this lecture was not, according to Dr. Pauch, how to achieve your dreams; it was about how to live a good life. If you do right, right will follow you, and your dreams will also. The second head fake that Dr. Pauch revealed that touched my heart, was that this lecture was not for us, but for his children. The main thing that I learned from this lecture was regardless of the situation at hand that you are facing, never allow that to defeat you. Dr. Pauch knew how bad his health condition was, but yet he continued to make jokes and enjoy each moment that he had. He is an inspiration, and I truly enjoyed watching his lecture. Life is what we make it; it is up to us to make the best out of it.

Project #8

Blog Post #5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Mr. McLeod made great points in this post about the dangers of technology with children. It is very sad how the same thing that can be used to help children perform better academically (technology) can be used for other non-childlike purposes. Even though the web, social networking and anything else dealing with the internet in technology can be used out of context, it also has its advantages, especially when it comes to improving a child academically. Due to this very reason is why it is so very important for us as future educators to guide our students and to teach them the correct way to use technology.

The iSchool Initiative
Travis Allen really caught my attention with this video. I have always said that technology changes everyday but I would have never thought of iSchool. There was literally an app for every subject. Not only were there apps for every subject, but also an app for simply taking notes for the student and taking attendance for the teacher!
The iSchool will give the student a chance to save his/her money. With every necessity of school in the palm of your hand, there would not be a need to buy expensive supplies such as a graphing calculator, books, globes, etc. The part of the video that really caught me by surprise, was the expenses that would be saved purchasing an iSchool. A student can save up to $600 and spend $150 on the iSchool. You would think the iSchool would be very expensive with all of its features, but surprisingly not. The iSchool has my vote!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
I was in complete amazement as I watched this video! I have never seen anything like this before! This video was absolutely breath taking and beautiful. How amazing is it that none of those people were in the same room, yet they all created such an awesome sound? "Wow!" was the first word that came to my mind. Once again, this video shows how technology can be used in so many different aspects.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In my opinion, what it means to teach to Kevin Robert is for students to ACTUALLY learn instead of using Google or Facebook for everything. True enough, those tools are very helpful but I have to agree with Kevin; learning is more than just reciting the information that is thrown to you. The information has to be embedded in you. There are certain lessons that I remember from Kindergarten and the reason for that is because my teacher instilled the lesson in my class. Of course we did not have all of the technological resources that are available now when I was in Kindergarten (or even middle school), but my point is that she taught us. There is a huge difference from teaching information versus throwing information. When a teacher teaches his/her class, they learn; when a teacher just gives information to the class, it is recited, not learned. That student has not gained anything from that "lesson". As a future educator, this video has shown me to actually teach (which I already knew) instead of just "giving" information out. My students will be depending on me to teach them and it is my job to make sure I do it correctly.

Reading Rockets
After doing some researching on this site, I absolutely adored the "Aesop's Quest" app. Since my heart is on teaching second grade, this app starts at the second grade level, which is awesome. This particular app allows students to remember certain parts of a story in order to complete the level that they are working on. At the end of the story, the student is awarded puzzle pieces. Once the student achieves this goal in the lesson, the next story begins and the student does the activity all over again. This app will be very beneficial for my class. I can easily put my class into groups and have a story assigned to each group. This would be so much fun!
The next app that I think would be great in my classroom, is the "Professor Garfield Fact or Opinion". Garfield has always made me laugh and I believe this would really catch my students attention. The Garfield app focuses on differentiating between facts and opinions. If a student answers a question on the app with a opinion instead of a fact, Garfield explains the difference and the child continues with the game.

Blog Post #4

The Benefits of Pod-casting in the Classroom
Pod-casting is an effective way to communicate with children outside of the old fashioned teaching in the classroom. With pod-casting, students can work together in groups or even individually. Podcast focuses on Bloom's Taxonomy which is evaluation, synthesis, analysis, application, understanding, and knowledge. This new effective way of learning gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their higher thinking skills in a fun, creative way. Since podcast involves videos, this allows students to visually show what it is that he/she has learned. Instead of explaining word for word, this allow students to have a visual aid in explaining their project or assignment. Even though pod-casting is great for students, it is also beneficial for parents as well. Due to the audio clip that podcast offers, this gives parents the opportunity listen to what has been taught to their child/children.

Judy Scharf What is a Podcast?
Ms. Scharf first explains what the term "podcast" means. She explains that it is between an ipod and a broadcast, making it a radio-style talk show. Ms. Scharf gives a few tips for teachers in succeeding with pod-casting with students. First, she mentions to give students a choice of topics. Children love to try new things on their own, so I completely agree with this tip. Next, is to allow other people (such as the principal, department of chairman, etc.) to come in and watch the presentations. Children enjoy having an audience, especially when it is something that they have really worked hard on.

Langwitches 1st Graders Create Own Read Along Blog

This particular blog shows how exciting pod-casting is to children. They were excited about recording their voices and took real interest in editing their podcast, also. As the lesson continued with using the podcast, the students became more and more comfortable. Their level of confidence increased, which is so very important. I believe that it is very important for a child to be confident in everything they do, especially in school. When your confidence is up, you can conquer more, especially when dealing with challenging situations.

My Sentence

Blog Post #3

Technology in Special Education
At the beginning of the this video, I liked how the old method of teaching was put in black and white, along with the cricket noise. Compared to the new methods of teaching with technology, the old teaching methods are history. Technology is growing more and more not only everyday but even in the same day. Students need something that is going to catch and keep their attention while learning. Near the beginning of the video there was a sign that read, "With out technology life can be difficult for teachers and students". That is so true. Technology not only makes it easier for students to learn, but also easier for teachers to teach it.
Children are just so unique to me. I loved how the student, Chris, was able to communicate with his teacher with his letters and with his computer. He was so excited. What if there were no computers for Chris to use to communicate? Or any other type of high tech source for our special students to learn with? When a child does not understand what the teacher is teaching, sometimes that child becomes agitated and discouraged. When the teacher gives his/her all in making the lesson interesting and fun, it makes it so much better for the student and teacher to connect. How Chris and the other students on the video communicated using their computers is why it is very important to keep up with the rapid growing technology of this world in education.

How The I-Pad Works With Academics for Autism


Braden was amazing with his I-Pad. He really understood how to work it and was doing an awesome job with his lessons his Dad was giving him. Not only was it fun for him, but also educational. Anything that makes noise will definitely catch a child's attention! I stated back in my previous blog of how good it is for children to have so much fun learning that they do not even realize that they are learning. Braden was doing a wonderful job comprehending everything on the I-Pad and all of his answers were right. Children with autism are so unique and precious and they too deserve a fun way of learning, also. I would have never imagined that an I-Pad could be so amazing helping children that have autism.
The app that I found that I believe would be helpful for my classroom is the English Language Arts. English is my favorite subject, and this app will help my students master English at all levels. From learning how to read, studying classic literature, and grammar skills.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count


One word describes this video; WOW! I knew that there were constant uploads in the social media, but I never would have thought that they were changing that rapidly in just a few seconds! This video really showed me just how much there will be to teach my class. Not to mention how much I will have to know in order to teach them. Activities that my students will do in my classroom have not even been invented yet. That is something to really think about. The technology that is not even here yet will have to be taught by us, the upcoming new teachers.

A Vision of Students Today


In this video, I loved the creativity of how the students did not say a word, but still made their points clear. One young lady held up a sign saying that there were 115 students in her class. How is she suppose to get the help that is needed with 114 other students? It is impossible for the professor to go around and assist each student that has questions or concerns. In my opinion, there has to be a connection with the student and teacher in order for the student to achieve his/her best in that particular class. True enough, a university will not spoon feed you all the information that you need, but everyone still needs a little help. Communication is the key in every relationship, even between a teacher and a student.
At the end of the video, one other student held up her sign saying that she did not create the problems of today and another student finished that sentence with her sign stating that they have become her problem. It is amazing how problems and issues that we did not create are now on us. That is why it is so important for us, especially as educators, to do what we can the best way possible. Everything we do falls back on the younger generation. Let us make sure we are doing everything we can for them.

C4T #1 With Ms. Gret Sandler

In my C4T assignment, I was assigned to Ms. Sandler and the first blog that I commented on was titled "Finding My Voice". As I began and continued to read her blog, I found that I too had the same issue with trying to figure out how to say or write what it is that I am feeling. In this particular blog of Ms. Sandler's, she is explaining how at one point she could never find the right words at the right time. She goes on and explains how she would have all of these words swimming around in her head, but for some reason she could not find the correct way to say it. We may know this to be called writer's block.
The more Ms. Sandler got into her teaching and technology, she learned about blogging. Once she started blogging, she said everything started coming out! She did not know exactly where these words were coming from, she was just ecstatic that they were finally coming out! It was nice reading Ms. Sandler's blog.
I responded by saying how awesome it was that she was able to rekindle her passion of writing. For I love to write, so I know how stuck she felt when she could not come up with something. I continued on with saying how new I am with blogging and that I hope to experience the amazement that comes with it. It is amazing to see/read the obstacles that people have overcome in reaching for their success.

The second blog that I commented on from Ms. Sandler was titled "Kids Motivating Other Kids to Blog!". I thought this blog of her students learning how to blog was precious. Ms. Sandler was able to post some of the comments from her students, and as I was reading their comments, you could hear the excitement coming from their voices. Ms. Sandler mentioned how of a treat is was for her to watch and listen to her students learn and teach each other at the same time. I fully agree with her. Seeing a child learn something new and seeing the excitement that comes after it is definitely heart warming. I mentioned in my summary that it sound as if they really enjoyed themselves, and that blogging is a wonderful way for them to receive positive feedback from their teacher as well as their peers.

Angelic Angela

Blog Post #2

Did You Know?
 I found this video very interesting and knowledgeable. I had no clue that India was so far ahead of us! I knew that the U.S. was a little far back in education, but I did not know it was that bad. The facts that were brought out in the video really woke me up on some things. For instance, it is embarrassing  for only the highest I.Q.'s in India, which is 25%, to  outnumber the ENTIRE population in the United States. If anything, this video really made me think about just how important my role as a teacher is. There is so much to absorb in this fast developing world and we as future educators need to make sure that we are prepared in handling teaching the correct information that our students need to know.
 Every minute, technology is changing. There are always new things to be taught and learned. For example, I had no idea that 1,097,220 videos were watched on YouTube in one minute,or that 1,393,519 searches were made on Google every minute. If YouTube, Google, and all the other websites receive that much action, imagine how it will be when we step into our classrooms to teach. There is a lot to take into consideration at this day and age when becoming an educator. I may not, nor will I ever have the answers to EVERYTHING, but I will gain as much knowledge as I possibly can for my students.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
This video had a good moral to it and yet entertaining. The message of the video makes you think. Even though a whole lot in the world has changed, the one thing that is the most important which is education has not. On the other hand, the way that a teacher teaches has. Technology is changing everyday and as an educator, the teacher should know how to teach; not just getting in front of a classroom and talking all day, but making it interesting and getting the children involved.
 One hundred years ago, there were no high tech computers or smart boards or anything of that nature, so the teacher had to teach with what he/she had that was appropriate for that time. Now, there are numerous of ways to teach the classroom. As technology changes in school, so should the way of teaching.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
 This video was very enjoyable. Mr. Robinson made some very good points of how schools do basically ignore the arts. Every subject is very important so that means each subject needs to be treated importantly. Each child may not like the same subjects as other children; there will be children who find English more interesting than Math, others find Math more interesting than English and the list goes on. By each child not liking the exact same thing, brings me to say that each child has his/her strengths and weaknesses in different subjects.
 One of many good points that Mr. Robinson made was that educators are suppose to prepare children for the future. The teacher does not know how the world will be or look like in five years, but imagine that the teacher has to prepare this younger generation for the many years that are ahead of us. That is a major responsibility on the teacher's hands. Bringing out the creativity in students is also apart of the many duties the teacher has to do. For how a child does his/her work or how they participate in the classroom starts with their creativity. One of the many interesting statements that Mr. Robinson said was that if "you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original", and that is so true. Some children are afraid to make mistakes because of how harsh some adults make it seem. Mistakes are going to be made because that is the way a person learns.
 I love how at the end of Mr. Robinson's lecture he told the story of Jillian Lynn. That was a perfect example of how each child is different and how everyone has a special, unique gift. Teachers need to keep that in mind. Just because a child may not learn or cooperate like another child, does not mean that they are less of anybody. Each child is very unique in his/her own way and Jillian Lynn is proof of that fact.

 A Vision for 21st Century Learning
 Just imagining that our world is changing every minute is amazing. How technology was a few years ago compared to now is completely different. The main argument that caught my attention in this video was the old way of learning versus the new way of learning. With technology being so wide spread more now than what it has ever been, it gives students an opportunity to learn at a faster paste. The new technology that's available now for learning should make it so much fun that the students will not even realize that they are learning.

 Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smart
What I enjoyed the most of this video was how Ms. Davis was teaching her students to learn. She made it possible to guide them into teaching themselves. I agree completely with what she said about how sometimes paper and pencil is not enough; how some, if not all students need more. When your sources are limited to how you can learn, it creates a challenge for some students.
 I liked what Ms. Davis refers to herself as; a "teacherprenuer". She mentioned that instead of giving her students a vocabulary list, she gives them the word and they have to look up the definition their selves. I love that. The only way anybody is going to learn is if they do their own work. I enjoyed watching her methods and I hope that I can apply them in my own classroom one day.

Reading "What is Time Management?" really gave me some helpful insight on how I can manage my time better. Some of the things I already knew, but I still found the information very helpful. Ever since I started college it seems like there is not enough time in the day. When I did the time management exercise, I still had 16 hours left in the week to study. I've always had a planner to help me remember when certain assignments are due and anything else dealing with school, but actually sitting down and focusing on how long each assignment will take has become a slight issue for me. I have always had the tendency to over study which of course is not good. Now that I know the extra time I have in the week, I should be more organized with my time.

At the beginning of Randy Pausch video lecture on "Time Management" he discusses the following:
1. How t set goals
2. How to avoid wasting time
3. How to deal with your boss but in this case, how to deal with your advisor
4. How to delicate to people
5. How to deal with stress
After pointing these factors out, Randy discusses how we are bad with dealing with time, but yet good with dealing with money. He also said another statement that I fully agreed with; how is it that we are bad with time when money and time goes together? Randy mentioned that Americans are poor when it comes to dealing with time management and that we are extravagant when dealing with money as a commodity. After discussing about money and time management, he displays the following on the board:
Goals, Priorities and Planning
1. Why am I doing this? What is the goal?
2. Why will I succeed?
3. What happens if I chose not to do it?
4. Doing things right versus doing the right things
5. 100 things to do in my life
From the topics stated above, Randy mentions that some people don't know why goals are made, nor do some people know how to set them. He states that its fine to change your plan, but make sure you have a plan FIRST before changing it. He mentioned that people focus too hard on doing things the right way rather than just doing the right thing. In order to know how to do something, you have to give your time to it. Just like Randy mentioned, experience comes with time, and experience is something you cannot fake. The next part he displays on the board is about planning. Here are the following:
1. Failing to plan is planning to fail
2. Plan each day, each week, each semester
3. You can always change your plan, but only once you have one
Next, Randy mentioned about having a "To Do" List. Here are the following:
1. Break things down into small steps.
2. Do the ugliest thing first
I've never listen to any of Randy Paush's lectures before, but this one gave very good pointers on planning and managing time. Whenever I have a list of things to do, I always do the least of my favorites first, and it makes it a whole lot easier to handle everything else knowing that the least favorite has already been handled. I really enjoyed it.

Blog #1

Hello, my name is Angela Smith and I am a junior majoring in elementary education. I am from Mobile and I've never lived anywhere else. I am the youngest of two girls, no brothers and my sister and myself are very close. I have a boyfriend whom I've been with for almost six years (since the eleventh grade) and he is in the National Guard. I attended Ben C. Rain High School and while I was there I became a member of the band becoming a majorette, graduating in 2008. After high school, I attended Bishop State Community College where I received my associate's degree in May of 2011. Both of my parents are college graduates and both were awarded scholarships. My sister is a real-estate agent, a certified surgical technician, and an assistant store manager at Walmart.

I chose to major in elementary education because of the love and passion I have for education. I love to learn, so therefore I want to be able to teach and show children just how important yet fun, learning is. I personally believe that its up to the teacher to make the learning process interesting and fun. True enough, there will be a child or two (possibly more) who will need that extra attention with their academics and that's okay; every child is different and everyone learns differently. I chose to attend The College of Education here at South after completing junior college because of the great things I heard from various people. I took it upon myself (and my adviser from my junior college) did some research, and enrolled. I've been attending South since last summer semester and I'm enjoying it so far.

practice post

my first post

practice post

my first post