Blog Post 13

Engage in an E-Media Fast

E-Media surrounds our lives in almost every way. We have become a culture that depends on e-media and feels part of a bigger community because e-media keeps us connected to someone all day. My generation hears our parents tell us they remember when they only had a few channels on the television, had no computers, and the only telephone they had was a land line phone everyone in the house used. When I took on this challenge I only did it to see if I could handle the anxiety of needing to use some form of e-media.
DAY 1

I set on my e-media fast journey and I woke up about to turn on my television but I remembered I could not do it. I watch MSNBC every morning to see what is going on around the country and the world. I was about to go crazy because I love watching MSNBC to keep up on the current events of the day and especially the news on politics. I got dressed and managed to make it out the door without turning my television on. I made it to class and sat down then the biggest obstacle hit me, my phone vibrated telling me I had a text message. This was on a Monday so I only have one class and I have a lot of free time. I am used to waiting after class to check my phone but in the back of my mind I knew after class I could not see who may have text me. As I am riding the jagtran I get two more text messages. I caved under the anxiety of wanting to check so I checked my phone. But I did not use my laptop for the entire day. That was difficult for me also but I handled that much better than using my phone or television.

DAY 2
Day 2 was more difficult because I needed to use my laptop. I did most of my work but I just wanted to check Twitter, Facebook, and my e-mails. Social networking have become a big part of my life since middle school when I discover Myspace. This was on a Tuesday and Tuesday's are my busy days so television was no problem but I do have a Twitter and Facebook application on my phone. But I kept that under control. I conduct office hours because I am a Peer Leader for a Freshman Seminar class. I always take my laptop with me just in case I have a student come in for help or advice. Luckily none of my students came in that day. I had one more class to go to but luckily it was towards the end of the day and I was almost done with the challenge of the e-media fast. Once I got back to my room I was so tired I did not feel bored when I could not turn on my television. This was a day I had no texts or phone calls to make. I woke up the next morning at 9:00 and I left for class completing my e-media fast.

Doing this e-media fast was an ultimate challenge for myself. I did know how much I depended on e-media but I did not realize how much anxiety come with not being able to use e-media. I don't use camcorders, video cameras or similar items so those items were easy to not use. My students will come in my classroom using more technology than I used as a student because new technology is always being created to better suite younger people. I will try to incorporate the technology students use to stay connected to the world.

Skype Interview

Smart Board Instruction Part 2

Final Project Progress Report

Our final project group members are myself, Ramsey Willis, LeeAnn Bone, and Kashondra Rudolph. Our final project will consist of an activity that we will create using the green screen to travel to different parts of the world. We are very excited to see the outcome of this project.

Mrs. Yollis Class Blog

Mrs. Yollis Class Blog

Mrs. Yollis has a very impressive class blog, Mrs. Yollis Class Blog , for her students and others around the world to be a part. She has a part of the blog Meet Mrs. Yollis where you can learn a lot about the person behind this masterpiece of a blog. She loves to travel and she visited Hawaii. Mrs. Yollis posted videos and pictures of her snorkeling with turtles in Hawaii and the videos had facts about turtles so her class can learn. She prides herself on being a continuous learner and incorporating what she has learned into the classroom. She went to the Google
Geo Teachers Institute and she learned how to use Google Earth, Google Maps, and Google Sketchup. She had gotten a National Geographic Traveling Map and used this to teach her kids about Asia. Her class posted a video of the students teaching the various facts about Asia; this is the link to the video Mrs. Yollis's Class Visits Asia . Her class also visited North America and this is the video for it Visit to North America . Her incorporating her students in the class blog is a wonderful way to keep the students engaged in the classroom. But this is not the only way she gets them involved. She has a section on how to comment on her class blog. Mrs. Yollis posts a video on the way to leave comments because she enjoys the comments she receives from people around the world, How to leave a comment . Then she leaves a link on leaving a quality comment. Mrs. Yollis gives tips on how to put a quality comment together and she also uses her students. In a video the students tells the viewer how to leave a quality comment. This is a great way to teach her students how to leave a quality comment because they are giving instructions.

How to Compose a Quality Comment! from yourwonderfulteacher on Vimeo.

.She also uses her students in How to shoot great digital images . In this part of the class blog the students teach how to capture the best photos. The students give tips that are very informing for others to maximize the quality of their digital photos.
Mrs. Yollis class is popular globally because of her class blog. Her class visits Leopold Primary School in Australia and the two have become close friends. They skype each other and visit each other's blog. Here is a video of the students from Leopold Primary School singing Happy Birthday to Sarah in Mrs. Yollis's Class . Her class has thousands of followers around the world and you can see it on the ClustrMap for her class Mrs. Yollis ClustrMap . Mrs. Yollis Class Blog has won multiple awards in the EduBlog Awards like First Runner Up for Best Class Blog in 2010, Winner for Lifetime Achievement, and 2009 First Runner Up for Best Class Blog. Great Job Mrs. Yollis and students!

Blog Post 12

Integrating Technology in the Classroom (5:35)
In this assignment you will watch the video Integrating Technology in the Classroom by the Minnehaha Academy. Think about how they integrate the technology in the classroom. How can you use this technology to maximize the quality of education in your classroom? Write a two or more paragraphs following the requirements in Writing a Quality Blog Post .

C4K Summary Post (October)

I commented on Tori T blog, in Mrs. Gregory's 6th grade class, period 4. Her post is about Cystic Fibrosis. She started the post stating her friend Serenity has Cystic Fibrosis. She gave information about CF like: it's an inherited disease and it effects the mucus and sweat glands. I told her I personally do not know anyone with Cystic Fibrosis and I know more about CF than I ever did before. I also told her I was proud she put a link in her post so her readers can find more information on Cystic Fibrosis.
In the random name picker I was given Keyona in Mrs. Gregory's 6th grade class in period 4. Her post was on the benefits of laughing. She said, "Laughing lowers level of stress hormones and strangthens the immune system". She also stated six year olds laugh 300 times a day while adults laugh only 100 times a day. I commented saying I personally love to laugh and knowing these facts will about how laughing improves my health makes me appreciate laughing even more.

On October 23rd I commented on Jordi's blog from the Leopold Primary School in Victoria Australia. Her post was on athletics. She does track and field. Her events include: hurdles, 100 meter sprint, shot put, high jump, triple/long jump, 200 meter sprint, and 800 meter run. I introduced myself saying my name, where I am from, and the school I attend. Then I commented on her post saying, "Like you, I too enjoy athletics. I played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. Track is my favorite sport so we have something in common. I was a sprinter and I loved every minute of it. I like the video you posted of Zack and I believe if you work hard you can be just as fast as him one day".

I commented on Mrs. Barks Room 12 Year 4 class. The post was a video showing how beavers chew down trees to build a home. I commented saying, "Hello my name is Erwin Coleman from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, United States. I am a student is Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I find it innovative to get your students to make a video on how beavers chew down trees to make their home. Keep up the good work!"

Blog Post 11

Mrs. Cassidy is doing a great job using technology in the classroom. Her use of wikis, blogs, skype, and a webpage is enhancing the the quality of education for her students. There are a few things I would like to implement in my classroom and they are webpages, blogs, and skype. A webpage can be beneficial because the students can go on the teachers page to look up assignments. This can keep the students up to date on work the teacher has assigned and upcoming assignments. Blogs can be very big especially with me teaching Secondary History. With blogs I can give my students certain time periods or events in history and they can give their own opinions for quiz grades. Also other students will be required to comment on a student's post, voicing their opinion. My students will also be required to create a Timetoast after every time period we have covered in class. A great idea I have is grouping my students and they develop a group blog or webpage over time and at the end of the semester they will present their blog or webpage for a big project grade. They will get an important time in history for example: Colonial, WWI,WWII, or Civil Rights. They will be required to have a video, Timetoast, a report with credited resources, and their own opinion. This can be their own lesson plan for the rest of the class. Skype can be very big because the class can interview an expert on a topic of interest. Using skype will get students excited and they will build interest in history. Most students say history is boring when all they do is listen to a teacher talk for over an hour and do worksheets.

There will be speed bumps on the road to better educating my students using technology. One is many students, especially low-income students, do not have access to computers outside the school environment. This has plagued many teachers from innovating how they completely would want to innovate. If we can get better access to all students no matter what your family income is will change education forever. Another speed bump is teachers have to teach to prepare students for a standardized test. The public school curriculum does not give educators the autonomy to be more creative and they have a certain time period to cover only the topics that will be on test for the school to make AYP. To tackle the first problem it would have to take a shift in making computers easier for parents who are low-income to get computers in the home. But we can at least get more funding for every child to have a computer in the classroom; one computer for 25 students is not going to cut it. To tackle the second hurdle we as educators have to still use the technology to give students the opportunity to research for themselves. My lesson plan will have to revolve around the topics I am required to cover within a semester.
Mrs. Cassidy Skype Interview