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!