Goodbye For NOW!

Goodbye For NOW!!!!! I have enjoyed this class very much and look forward to using what I have learned in my teaching!!! Thanks Dr. Strange for EVERYTHING!!!!

Final Post!!!

1. This class has been my favorite class so far in my college career. I have learned so much from this class. To start off I have learned to blog. Blogging has now become a big part of my everyday life. I also hope to be showing my son's Kindergarten teacher how to use blogging next year in her class. Another thing that I learned or picked up from this class was skype. My husband travels a lot so I have used skype not only for class purposes but also for my husband to talk to and see our kids when he is out of town. One thing that I think will be the most useful for me is the use of google, google docs and google spreadsheets. Before this class I had no idea that there was a way to upload files and not only share them between people but be able to access them from ANY computer!! If I had to pick one thing that will benefit me the most in the future Google docs would be it! I have actually shared our presentation that we did on the SMART Board with my son's Kindergarten teacher as well as other teachers at the school using Google docs.

2. I can't think if anything else that I could have learned in this class that I didn't!

3. I will most certainly not be forgetting anything that I have learned in this class because this was , so far, the most interesting class I have taken.

4. When I think about what I was most "excited" about it would probably be two things. One would be actually learning and mastering iMovie and also my new MacBook Pro! The other thing would be The Google earth Tour because I thought I would NEVER figure it out but it the end I ended up showing the rest of the class how to do it!

5. Well other than the Google earth tour I think the rest of the class was fairly easy!

6. No for the first time I can say that I was NEVER bored in class. HOW REFRESHING!

7. First of all I was NOT overworked in this class. However, there is one thing that I would change! One thing that I might adjust a little bit is where to find the assignments. I was sometimes find myself forgetting to do things because I had to look at the syllabus, the class blog and my google docs. Not that it was too much but if I had to change something that would be it. Also, The only problem I think I ever had was that my teacher wasn't very knowledgeable about what we were supposed to be doing or actually about what Dr. Strange really wanted from us. So sometimes I felt that the other classes that Dr. Strange was actually teaching was getting more out of their class than we did.

8. I feel that I am 100% more technology literate than I was before this class! However, I am always finding more things that I didn't know!

9. I am going to try my best to keep up with what id going on in Dr. Strange's class and hopefully that will help me stay up with new technology!

April 25th Post

7th Grader
All I can say about this student's PLN is WOW!!! I thought I had a nice PLN until I saw hers!! I am certainly going to watch this video again to try and improve my PLN! I wonder if this teacher has assigned all of this or she has went above and beyond. This is yet another reason for teachers to be technologically literate. Kids these days know how to use so many tools that it would be a shame not to let them explore and find things that otherwise they might not.

2 Questions
What great questions to ponder.
1. My sentence? Well, I have been thinking about that since last night in class and the sentence that I have some up with -
"I have decided to be master of my own happiness ... Clean up the present, embrace the future and let go of the past."

2. Was I better today than yesterday? This is a question that really got me thinking about how short life is and how we take it for granted. I want to live my life to be the best and most fulfilling life it can be. With that said I have decided to do my best EVERYDAY to do at least one thing better than I did the day before. I think that life is only what you make of it and I want mine to be GREAT!

2nd Post on my PLN

When I first started this class I had no idea what a PLN was. I am proud to say that now I know. A PLN to me is my way of staying up to date with what's going on in the teaching world and also about the latest technology available to teachers. I watched a great video about PLN's. CLICK HERE TO WATCH

I have never used Skype before this class but now use it almost everyday as well as twitter and facebook!

I have really enjoyed working on my PLN! Since I've started I have bookmarked over 100 sites on delicious. I think that this will further my career by being able to continue to add to this as a grow a a teacher. One of our comments for kids assignments The Kindergarten Class has really inspired me to become the kind of teacher that really goes the extra mile for their students.

March 26th Post (Blog Post 10)

Saved as draft and forgot to publish!!

Morgan Bayda

I am reading this post as an assignment for my EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in Elementary Education and this is a very interesting piece as we battle this debate on a daily basis. It seems as if our school would already be on board with actually educating the students. We are being “schooled” to tell the truth. Well, not all classes, but most of mine now are just “burp back” classes. It is very true that when you are forced to memorize facts and burp them back, odds are you will forget them. The Educational Media class I am taking now has forced me to try, explore and research new things about new opportunities being offered to us. Yes, I do realize I said forced, because if I had not been obligated to take this course I probably would never had known. However, I am thankful now that I have become a more critical thinker. If I do not know the answer, I will find it for you. It has really opened my eyes to a new way of life. I can only dream that you can change the way we are all educated and the generations to come. I thoroughly enjoyed the post as well as the video. I am very thankful for people like you trying to change the way we teach, therefore changing the way we learn.

Project 14 "Interactive SMART Board Presentation"

We chose to do our presentation on "How to use the SMART Board". As a future teacher the SMART Board is a new a fun tool that we can use to make teaching fun! My son's Kindergarten class just got a SMART Board about a month ago so I was VERY interested in how he was going to use it at school. I actually used this presentation on my teaching project with his class.

Project 15 "Interview" Videocast

For my project I chose to interview my son's kindergarten teacher about technology. Her name is Cindy Bentley. She has been teaching Kindergarten for 30 years so I thought she would be a good candidate for this project. Here are the questions I asked her....

Hi, my name is Amy Stork and this is my interview for EDM310. Today I’m going to interview Mrs. Cindy Bentley and she is actually my son’s Kindergarten teacher at Nan Gray Davis.

Welcome Mrs. Bentley

First lets start out by you telling us a little about yourself and your teaching history.

Mrs.Bentley answers

Great so now let talk a little about Technology.

Do you think that it is important for today’s teachers to be technology literate?

Mrs. Bentley answers

Mrs. Bentley would you say that you are technology literate?

Mrs. Bentley answers

What are some ways that you use technology in your classroom?

Mrs. Bentley answers

In what ways do you think that the school could use technology more?

Mrs. Bentley answers

Do you think that students now days have an advantage or disadvantage over students 10 years ago because of all the technology available? What are the advantages/disadvantages you think they have?

Mrs. Bentley answers

Would you say that your students are technology literate?

Mrs. Bentley answers

Thank you for letting me come and interview you and for your time today Mrs. Bentley!!

Google Earth Project!!!

I have finally figured out how to do a google earth Tour and also how to paste it to my blog!! GO ME!!! This took me about 2 hours to figure out ow to do this that the actual google earth tour I'm afraid is not very long! However, I hope that you will be impressed that I actually got it on my page!!

My tour starts at my house. Next I travel to New York, NY to visit the Brooklyn Bridge. I then move onto Paris, France before returning back home!

Hope you enjoy it!

Project 8 "How To" Teach using the Smart Board

I decided to do my project 8 on How to teach using the Smart Board. My intended audience would be future teachers or current teachers who are new to the Smart Board. I found the Smart board so useful and interesting while we were doing our other project that I decided to go to my son's Kindergarten class and try some of the sites we found out on them! They LOVED it! I used technology by recording some of the lesson I taught them.

April18th Post

When thinking of something to write about for this week I could not think if anything else but the reason that this class even exists TECHNOLOGY! I found this very interesting movie on youtube. Watch it and see what you think is important to teach kids!




I believe that kids should have every advantage to learning! Learning should not just stop at books and paper it should NEVER stop! There is so much available to teach with that teachers In Mobile County aren't able to use because administrators are either scared of the danger or worried about what the kids will be doing on the internet. The benefit far out ways the risk of going on the internet to learn. Most of the kids nowadays have for more knowledge of technology tools than most teachers do. I think that it should be mandatory that teachers know how to and USE the technology that is available!!

Comments for Teachers wk 13 & 14

My Teacher to follow these weeks was Ann Carnevale.




I found this blog VERY helpful as a future teacher! I have bookmarked this site and will most certainly be using her tips! Here are my comments.

Amy Stork Says:
April 5th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Hi! My name is Amy Stork and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class. I have been assigned to follow your blog for the next 3 weeks. I really liked you information on the desktop bookmarks. I recently bought a MacBook Pro and am still learning all about it so thanks for the tip! Here is a link to Our class blog and also MY blog.

Thanks!
Amy Stork
http://edm310.blogspot.com/
http://storkamyedm310.blogspot.com/


Amy Stork Says:
April 16th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Hi again!
Let me start off by saying THANKS for posting all these great links! I have bookmarked your blog and will most certainly being referencing it when I become a teacher! These sites look like great ways to celebrate National Poetry Month!
Thanks Again,
Amy Stork

Comments for Teachers wk 10&12

I had issues with my teachers that i had to email Dr. Strange about which is why I am just now posting.



My teacher for weeks 10 and 12 was Tom Johnson. I found his blog to be very entertaining and enlightening. Here are my comments that I left!

HI! My name is Amy Stork and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I was assigned to follow your blog and post on three topics. I really think that it would be a great idea a phone in the classroom BUT, like you said the school would probably not let the students use them!! I think it is awful that there are endless possibilities out there for students to learn but schools are either too set in their ways or too afraid to let them use them! I look forward to reading more of your blog! You can find my blog at http://storkamyedm310.blogspot.com/


Hi!
Let me start by saying how much I enjoyed reading this post. Everything you argued for is something that is very important to me! If children cannot ENJOY learning then why should they keep doing it. Oh yes I know out of fear of the punishment they will receive or better yet the fear of not being rewarded. It has gotten ridiculous at how much time and effort is put into coming up with "rewards" for children to learn when all that really needs to happen is a LOVE OF LEARNING!

Comments for kids week 14

This week for my comments for kids I listened to this little girl read. It was recorded on Vocaroo so I left my comment on vocaroo as well.

TimeToast Timeline

April 4th Post

Let me just say that I was BLOWN away with the details on Kaia's blog! This is something that she will have for the rest of her life that documents her childhood. Her father is so dedicated and thoughtful to have started this. When I first read about this and how it kind of got picked up by Mr. C's class in Missouri and then went all over the earth I was amazed at how technology can connect people but also how kids can talk to people from other parts of the world. By talking to people from the very places that they learn about in school they are actually able to picture the places rather then just see pictures in a book. Also the blog by her mother is great for keeping 21st teachers connected and stay up to date!

Survey

I did a survey about when and how people go to school! Here are the results

SCHOOL SURVEY

April 11th Post

Oh, it is so important to publish your student's work to the web through blogs, podcasts, videos, or any other medium. I could list several examples and reasons why but I will list these videos instead. I will leave it up to you to view these and decide for yourself if it is worth the positive reinforcement provided from doing this. Be proud of your students and everything they achieve.

"Let There Be Peace On Earth"
These kids are SO amazing!! I found myself watching almost EVERY video they had on youtube! The teacher WOW! This is the kind of teachers that we need to encourage our kids and to change the world!!


An anthropological introduction to YouTube

and also Kaia's father documentation of her life

Dear Kaia

Comments for kids week 13

This week I had to comment on Samuela's favorite thing at camp
She made a short video of camp and put it to music. I thought she did a great job adding the music. This was my comment to her...

HI! My name is Amy Stork and am I student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM310 class. I loved your video! I think it was very creative of you to put it to music! I remember going to camp when I was younger and trying to stay up as long as we could! (we used to get in trouble too HAHA!) Can't wait to see more movies and KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Comments for kids week 12

This week I commented on a picture drawn by a 5 year old named Maurice. The picture is below.



He called it The Deep Blue Sea and said he likes to go underwater and see the fish. This is what I commented...

Hi Maurice,
My name is Amy Stork. I am in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I love your picture. I can not wait for summer to get here so we can go to the beach. My son Nicholas (who is 5) learned to swim underwater last summer so I can't wait to see if he remembers how! Can you swim underwater? Do you have beaches there? Can't wait to hear back from you and keep up the good work!

You Friend,
Amy Stork

March 9th Posts

Gov. Bob Riley launched The Alabama ACCESS Distance Learning Initiative on November 1, 2004 with a funding of $10.3. The central vision of Gov. Bob Riley's Task Force was to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through student improvement through distance learning opportunities. Over the next five years it will focus on a.Provide access to advanced diploma courses targeting foreign languages.
b.Provide access to additional course offerings.
c.Provide access to Advanced Placement or dual credit courses.
d.Provide access to remediation and supplemental resources.
e.Leverage existing resources and distance learning offerings.
f.Provide teachers with additional multimedia and technology tools to enhance instruction.
g.Utilize outside evaluation to periodically assess weaknesses and strengths of the program in order to make appropriate

Adjustments to the implementation of Year Two through Year Five objectives.
For example, if a student anywhere in the state wants to take Chinese and a Chinese teacher exists, technology will allow the student to take the course regardless of location. Under this plan Alabama public high school students will have access to the advanced diploma, remediation courses, and a wide array of elective options not available in any one school. This plan will bring 21st Century Classrooms into high schools in Alabama. The plan will also support teachers and principals by bringing professional development and additional technology resources directly to schools and into the classroom.

Comments for kids week 10

This week i had to comment on Gabby's blog on "Dijibouti"




Her class was do field day at school and they did it as though they were at the Oylmpics. Their class picked Dijibouti a place in South Africa.

This is what I wrote....

Hi Gabby!
My name is Amy Stork and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile,AL. I am in Dr.Strange's EDM310 class. I read your blog and I think that it's great that you guys are learning about other countries. I also think that it's great that you are using the internet so well. Keep up the good work!!

Comment for classmates week 9

I commented on Paula Casallo's post this is what I wrote:
Paula's Blog
Oh yes they sure do!!! My almost two year can operate my iPhone and my Mac almost as good as me LOL! It's amazing to me that children can grasp things so easily. That's one reason that I don't see how we as teachers would not use technology in our classrooms! GREAT VIDEO!

I also commented on Sherik Butler's post on Randy Pausch this is what I said:
Sherik's Blog
Sherik,
I LOVED Randy Pausch's lecture as well. It was so inspiring and bring up some good points. Especially about would you have the same life if all your dreams come true. I wonder what my life would be like ifI had finished school the FIRST time I started instead of putting it off to have my kids. This was just such a good lecture and I'm sure glad we had to watch it!!

Comments for kids week 6

I commented on "What fruit does Jason Like?"

Jason likes oranges!! It was a very short video but a good one!

Hi Jason,
My name is Amy Stork and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I really liked you video. I have a five year old son named Nicholas who LOVES oranges as well. Also you did a very good job at looking at the camera!! Keep up the good work Jason!

COmments for kids week 7

I COMMENTED ON CLIPPERS FOR CANER





This class has raised 1800.00 and are trying to raise $2000.00. If they get $3000.00 their teacher will shave his head too!

Hi! My name is Amy Stork from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I was very impressed to see how much money you guys have raised so far! It is very inspiring to me to see kids take this much interest in this cause! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!

Comments for kids week 9

COMMENTS FOR KIDS WEEK 9

I had to comment on day 116. THey went on a field trip and had a tornado drill. I love reading their posts!! This was my comment to them.

WOW! I can't wait for Nicholas, my son in Kindergarten, to go on his first field trip. It is April 8th, 2010. They are going to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Dauphin Island, AL to learn about MArine life. You should ask your teacher to google it and show you pictures of where they are going. I'm glad you did good on your tornado drill so you will know what to do in case there is a real tornado. I hope Daylin got the gum out of her hair ok!

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Amy Stork
University of South Alabama
EDM 310 Dr. Strange
http://storkamyedm310.blogspot.com/

March 7th Posts

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture




I don't even know where to begin to comment on this "Last Lecture" except to say that it brought me to tears several times. It was one of the most meaningful lectures that I have watched. Even though it was an hour long it didn't seem that way. They way he looks at life is really inspiring. I mean here is a man that was dying and still wanted to "have fun" everyday. The legacy that he leaves behind will be a great one.
He spoke many times about using a "head fake" to teach people something without them knowing that you are teaching it to them. I truly enjoyed this. I have done this several times with my children. People are always singing songs and seem to always know that words to them so what better way to teach someone something than to put it to music. I think this is a perfect example of a "head fake".
In the lecture he spoke of accomplishing your childhood dreams. This was so inspiring for me because my biggest dream as a child was to be a teacher. I would line all my dolls up and "teach" them everyday. So for me getting my teaching degree will be my biggest accomplishment.
I think that his children will someday look back on this lecture and books that he wrote and think WOW my dad was something special and I want to continue his legacy.

Comments for kids week 8

I commented on day 106 of this kindergarten class's blog. This day happened to be my birthday!! They reply every time I write them something.
Hi! My name is Amy Stork. I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. Day 106 in your class happened to be my birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I LOVE reading your class blog and seeing what you all are doing everyday. I have a son who is also in Kindergarten and I wish his class had something like this. By the way your book fair looks great! I hope you all got everything on your wish lists!! Keep up the good work!
Amy

Feb. 28th Post

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student
I really enjoyed this video. The drawings and different topics were very organized. I loved the voiceovers and how accurate the pictures were with what was being said. The name of the high school '21st Century High School' was GREAT. There is so much information that can be found without even using a textbook. The video discussed a lot of the things that I am learning in EDM 310 with doing research for my PLN and my blogging assignments. It was very nice to see how things like my PLN works out. When I first heard about mp3 players and iPods I thought they could only be used for music and video, but now I know that can be used as an educational tool as well. They can also be used to listen to lectures from any college or university and with different subject areas.

"Why does a networked student even need a teacher?"
I have thought about this question myself and have even wondered if in the future kids will still need teachers to be there. Students will always need a teacher to be there. Even in the future with all the different technologies, students will still need to know how to properly use those tools. Someone will need to be there to show them how it needs to be used. Although I am glad that there will still be teachers and I will still have a job, I am also glad that there will be easier ways for students to access their information for their classes. There is such a need for information to be on a website for kids that miss a class would be just a beginning.

"Are you prepared to be a teacher of a networked student?"
I will be prepared to be a teacher of a networked student. As I continue to learn about the different educational tools and found out what they do and how they can be used, I'm adding them to my list of materials that I would want to have for my students. I really hope I stay completely on top of every new piece of technology to help my students when I start teaching. I think that if I keep my PLN going and keep up with this class it will help me to achieve my goals.


My PLN!

For my PLN research I have been bookmarking sites and going to other people bookmarks in Diigo and Delicious. I have ben using Twitter, facebook and LikedIn. One of my favorite websites is The Educator's PLN it is very helpful. My friend Tiffany in class emails me when she finds something interesting. She has also shared her bookmarks with me. I think it is so interesting and useful that you can see what other people have bookmarked. I will definitely keep this going so that when I do start teaching that things that I bookmark will help me in my teaching.

Feb 21st Post!

Dr. Alice Christie's Web Site



Dr. Alice A. Christie, Arizona State University President’s Professor Emeritus, received her Ph.D. in Educational Technology and Language and Literacy from Arizona State University in 1995. She served in the College of Teacher Education and Leadership at Arizona State University from 1995 until her recent retirement. Prior to this, she taught for twenty-five years in K-12 schools.

I viewed Dr. Alice Christie's Video: We Are All Co-Learners under the educational technology link. I found this video very interesting that there were jr. interns working right along with regular interns. There was one intern that had been working with her since right after he was in eight grade. I think this is a wonderful way for students to teach kids but like was said on the video to also actually learn from the Jr. interns.

It is so important for teachers to listen and learn from there students so they can use whatever technology that is available and will interest the student to get them to learn. I think her website will be SO useful to me as a teacher because she has needless ideas about how to stimulate children's minds.

Educational Technology


iTunesU



iTunes U, part of the iTunes Store, is possibly the world’s greatest collection of free educational media available to students, teachers, and lifelong learners. With over 200,000 educational audio and video files available, iTunes U has quickly become the engine for the mobile learning movement. It puts the power of the iTunes Store in the hands of qualifying universities so they can distribute their educational media to their students or to the world.

I can't even begin to tell you how interesting iTunesU has become for me. I just can't stop watching the videos and listening to the podcasts. One of the ones I thought was interesting under K-12 Teachers TV about Literacy . This video was about literacy in Britain and how (like in the USA) we don't have enough time in the classroom to properly help kids with language and literacy problems because we have to focus so much on teaching kids to take the proper test they have to take. It is such a shame that kids these days are pushed so fast that sometimes kids are overlooked.


iPods for Duke University Students

As part of a university initiative to encourage creative uses of technology in education and campus life, Duke distributed 20GB Apple® iPod devices, each equipped with Belkin® Voice Recorders, to over 1600 entering first‐year students in August 2004.

Benefits of academic iPod use
• Convenience for both faculty and students of portable digital course content, and reduced dependence on physical materials
• Flexible location‐independent access to digital multimedia course materials, including reduced dependence on lab or library locations and hours
• Effective and easy‐to‐use tool for digital recording of interviews, field notes, small group discussions, and self‐recording of oral assignments
• Greater student engagement and interest in class discussions, labs, field research, and independent projects
• Enhanced support for individual learning preferences and needs

I think was a great idea and the data received proves that the current technology that students are already using would be helpful in their studies. So come on schools WAKE UP!!

SKYPE

I have really loved learning how to use Skype! It has been very helpful to me in EDM 310 especially. I have been able to Skype Dr. Strange, my classmates and my family. I have recently been using it to work on our podcast that we are doing. The members of my group and I are not able to meet that often to get stuff together so we Skype and it has been working out great!! I don't understand why everyone isn't using Skype for business meeting and school meeting because it saves so much time and is so useful when it comes to connecting people. I can see how it would be very useful in business. Rather than paying for airfare to fly someone down for a meeting they could just Skype in. I can't wait to see what else is out there that will make it so much easier to get n touch with people and save time.

My Wonderful Family!!

Feb. 14 Post

Here is my comments for kids post...

Hi! My name is Amy and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL USA. I really liked your story and I think if you keep it up you could be a really good writer one day! I think my favorite paragraph was the third one because you used very descriptive words that made me really be able to picture what you were saying. Good job and keep up the good work. I look forward to reading more!! If you would like to read my blog you can find it here
http://storkamyedm310.blogspot.com/
Amy Stork

I commented on Sharna's blog. I found this little story very interesting. She wrote about a spider and used a lot of very descriptive words. I think she will be a very good writer one day.

Here is the link to her blog: Sharna's Blog


WIKIPEDIA



I listened to and read all the information about Wikipedia and this is what I suspected for a long time. Wikipedia is the most unreliable source ever! The fact that anyone can change or post anything on there is just plain ridiculous. I do however like the fact that the college student came up with a way to track who was changing or posting things, but that doesn't change the fact that if someone wants to edit something written about them or their company they can't go to another computer and do it. I don't ever believe that Wikipedia should be aloud to be a source for anything.

"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung




At the Teacher's Desk

I was really glad that Dr. Strange had us read this blog! I enjoyed reading about his journey and experiences in teaching. In my comment to Mr. McClung I said, I am a student in Dr.Strange's EDM 310 class and this was an assigned reading in his class and I am very glad it was. I am not a teacher yet but I can only imagine being overly worried about trying to please and impress my superior and not the children. That very thing is something that I really haven't giving any thought to until now. Since the students are the real reason we are there then it only makes since to do our best to make sure that they have the best of us every day. I bookmarked your blog so that I can read it again when I do start teaching because I think it will help me be a better teacher to my students!
Thanks again, Amy Stork

You can contact me by twitter (nickash520) and my class blog is http://storkamyedm310.blogspot.com

Again this was very encouraging to me as a future teacher!!

Feb. 7 Posts

Comments for kids

I commented on a little boy named Jack's blog. He did a book review on "Diary of a WImpy Kid:Dog Days". He wasn't very detailed about it but I got what the book was about. I would have loved for him to be more descriptive but for the most art he did a good job.

PODCASTS

By looking over and listening to some of the podcasts it became very clear to me that podcasts were a very important part of education in the 21st century! I really like the fact that student were able to use podcasts and vodcasts to not only learn but to become more aware of their life and world. What really got me was that these students were not only using podcasts and vodcasts but they were also using Skype to interact with kids around the world which was really neat.
Another thing that I thought was interesting was that one classroom had a live feed of their kids on the computers. Once I become a teacher I would LOVE to use all the technology possible to enhance my students education. I think that podcasts and vodcasts allow students to record themselves and to document themselves about their schoolwork or really anything they choose. Also I really like the fact that a if a student is sick or has a doctor appointment the teacher can record their lessons and the student can listen to them at any time. I think that will help the student actually learn the material more than trying to memorize it and "burp" it back. So many kids these days have ipods and other devices that would make it possible for kids to listen to these podcasts or vodcasts from teachers that I say WHY NOT?
Amy Stork

Jan. 31 blog posts

Here's whats coming!

This video makes me think of my own almost two year old. From the time I got my iPhone which was about 6 moths ago she instantly figured out how to slide it and make it come on and how to go to the pictures and find pictures of herself. She even knows how to play videos and games. My son who is five is probably as technologically advanced as it gets. He can operate the computer better than any kid his age I know, he can download apps on my phone and play his DSi all by himself.

I think that children these days learn at such a young age about technology that not using it to teach is a waste! It just doesn't make any sense to me to have the all the resources that we have available to us and not use them or not want to use them.

MEDIA LITERACY! and LITTLE KIDS... BIG POTENTIAL!

This is what I think a classroom in 2010 should look like. Teachers using every available source of technology to teach the kids and kids actually using all the technology instead of a teacher just standing in front of a board, writing and expecting the kids to actually pay attention to whats going on.

These First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class are using blogs, wikis, web pages, and Skype to collaborate and learn while other teachers are still using JUST books and the dry erase board. Now I don't even have to tell you which set of kids is going get more out of their first grade year do I? It just seems unfair that classrooms around the world are so different. I think all teachers should have to use media and technology in their classrooms.

These kids are not just learning about technology but I think they are also learning about internet safety and courtesy. The part where the little boy said you should never say anything mean on a blog because you may hurt someone's feelings really meant that these kids were learning how to treat others online. These kids also had laptops and desktops and looked as if there were plenty of computers for the kids in class. That is so great because computers shouldn't just be used as a gaming station they should be used by all the kids for REAL learning!

I thought it was great how these kids were writing on their blogs and saying that they wanted to learn to write better so that their writing would be better on their blogs. Nowadays it is so hard to motivate kids to learn things and to work hard at something and these kids really sounded like they wanted to get better so their blogs would be better!! WOW! What an inspiration!!!

PODCASTS!

I watched the podcast on the smart board lessons first and I liked it because it was very informal and very real, but for the same reason it was kind of hard to follow because he was ordering coffee and talking to people during the show. Some of the stuff that he said like about DimDim being free he forgot to mention that it was only a trial period. For the most part though I thought that it was informative and would be very helpful for the classroom. I can't figure out though if he was on his cell phone making a podcast on he had his computer in the car with him.

Next I listened to this week in photography. This podcast was very different from the last one from the beginning. It started off my saying all the sponsors and it sounded very professional. There are multiple people on this one, there are guests and regular people on there. This one kind of reminded me of a radio station because it sounded like they were advertising things and talking about current topics rather than just giving information. Where i did think that the first was too informal this one was too much like a radio for me.

The next one I listened to was mac break weekly. It also started out with a professional voice doing advertisements. They were live at the iPad reveal. They were actually live and talking to a studio. They were using skype and twitter. This was more like the news and reporters i thought. By the way I watched this and WANT a iPad LOL! (just thought id throw that in)

Ed TechTalk sounded to me like a at home podcast. It wasn't as professional as the photography one. What I did find interesting about this podcast is that the lady being interviewed was teaching a hybrid class using lots of technology. She had a paperless classroom and an online blackboard which I thought was very neat!

David Warlick reminded me a lot of the smart board lessons because he was in a restaurant which crying children and dishes clinging in the background. It was VERY hard for me to listen to this and focus on what they were saying because of all the background noise. They did talk about bringing people in by skype which I LOVE!

The last one I listened to was KidCast. The KidCast one I listened to was where he was talking about whether to do a podcast or video. I found this podcast VERY helpful. He was very easy to listen to because there was no background noise and was very detailed when he was explaining something.

Amy Stork

Jan. 24 blog posts

1. Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I found this video to be very enlightening about how college students are alike and how teachers need to adapt to new teaching techniques. The part in the video talks about students being on Facebook during class is true because even I am guilty of doing that as well. I think that if teachers made class a little more interesting or more interactive then students would pay more attention in class.

This edm310 class is one of the more interesting classes that i have taken. I found my self not even looking at the clock the first night I was there! When I did look t the clock it was 8:15 and the class was over. I think that just goes to show that if teachers would adapt to the students way of life, which is the internet for most then I truly believe that students would LEARN the material and have an all around better college experience.

It's Not about the Technology

This is something that I totally agree with. My son's kindergarten class just got a smart board and his teacher was so excited about it. She learned all about it and uses it in her classroom everyday to enhance her teaching. While this a good situation, there are some teachers that have it in there classrooms that don't even use it or use it to strictly play games. Where I don't think that the smart boards are a waste of money I think that we should mandate teachers take technology classes every year to keep up to date with changing technologies.

Most kids in school in the 21st century will be far more advanced in technology than there teachers that are teaching them. I don't think that there is any way that teachers can continue to teach without using the newest technologies available and keep kids interested in learning.

"Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?"

I am so glad to be reading this. This is what I haven been thinking for quite some time now. I mean how can we as teachers except to continue to teach students in the same mean that it has been done for years now? While I understand that writing skills are important to learn I believe that typing and computer literacy skills are equally important.

Mr Fisch's statement that principles and head teachers should be held accountable for the teachers not being technologically literate could not be better stated if I said it myself. IF the people who are in charge are themselves not technologically literate and do not make it mandatory for their staff to be then what kind of message is that send =ing to the students who are in their classrooms? It's saying that the teachers and principles don't care enough about their students to learn every possible way to enrich their students educational career.

I for one do no think it is funny or acceptable for grown ups much less teachers to state that they "don't know anything about computers". I actually had two college professors last semester who stated several times "oh I don't know how to use my cell phone much less those computers!" I was appalled!! Why in the world these college professors would make themselves sound so non-educated to their students, who no doubt were probably not listening but on Facebook, is beyond me. People today say that they don't know how to use computers like it's something that will just go away and their not going to bother with it. It makes me so mad because it would take them less time to just sit and figure it out then to constantly refuse it. Technology will only get more advanced it's not going away!!

Gary Hayes Social Media Counts

This is very impressive. I think that some of the people who don't want to accept the internet or "don't know how to use it", should watch these numbers continue to rise. It might jumpstart them to get with the program. I think as a future teacher that it is my responsibility to stay up to date on everything that can help me be a better teacher.

I was pretty amazed at how many new internet users there were. I hope that it is people would are trying to learn all they can about new technologies and how it affects them.

Amy Stork

Jan. 17th Blogs

DID YOU KNOW

This video really made me realize that it has not been THAT long ago that the Internet has taken over our everyday lives. I was shocked by most of the numbers on the video. It also made me curious so I watched the rest of the videos on here like it and I really couldn't believe some of the stuff on there! The thing that I think I was most shocked at was the number of babies born while I was watching the video.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

This video is about Rip Van Winkle waking up after 100 years and learning that computers were in most places except for schools. He was very comfortable in the schools because he was not used to computers. I thought this video was very entertaining but also very true! I think that schools should be the first place that there is new technology so that kids can learn it early and begin to use it in there everyday life. While hospitals do need technology just think how much better and easier it would be to learn on that technology if you had been using it since you were 5.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

This video discusses the importance of children's creativity and how we need to adapt our teaching styles to them instead of trying to make all children college professors. Ken is so funny but makes makes a really good point. It makes such good sense not to kill a child creativity. The point about children giving things a chance without the fear of being wrong made me really think about my own 5 year old son and how he will just do things just to see what will happen and how I always try and make him sit down and think things through before doing them. I mean I know that is something that he has to learn I may do it a little differently after watching this. He was so true about women and multitasking and I never knew why until now!! I do have to say that this was one of the most interesting lectures I have listened to in a while. It touched close to home for me when he began to talk about Gillian Lynne as we just had my son tested for ADHD and his IQ is 137. I struggle with whether or not to put him on medicine and this really made me think harder about it.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

This video was about a teacher in rural Georgia that teaches a technology class. I was so impressed by this teacher and hope to inspire kids the way she is. Her class is really opening the door to all kids. Like she said in the video some kids have trouble when there is just paper. I strongly agree with that. In the case of some kids, like my son, there minds are moving so fast that is hard to get on paper what he is trying to say. I have found that using the computer and teaching him to type his words that he's a lot less frustrated.

by: Amy Stork