Final Reflection

Final Group Project

Final PLN Report

My PLN has grown a lot since I first started and I now have 28 tiles on my symbaloo. Since I am a history major I have The History Channel, Conversations on History, and National Geographic History as tiles. I have SmartBoard Tech, University of South Alabama's website, blogger, and twitter as tiles to help me with my EDM 310 work. I also have different news networks, the Learning Network, and Youtube just for my own interest. My Symbaloo

C4T Summary Post 4

I commented on Brian Crosby's blog Learning is Messy. The post I commented on was Leaving Their Mark-Redux,Redux . Mr. Crosby talks about how using technology in the classroom has improved his students education. His classroom is a 1:1 laptop classroom. His class blogs, skype, and wiki's. They have interviewed experts and had special guest Grace Corrigan in his classroom. They blog on other student's blogs around the country and connect with classrooms using skype. I commented on his post, "Hello I am Erwin Coleman, a student at the University of South Alabama. I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. We do a lot of technology enhanced learning and I see the benefits of using technology to improve the quality of a student’s education. Every student having a computer to use in the classroom can keep the student’s connected with each other and do more research at an early age so it doesn’t become foreign by the time they reach high school or college. I am glad you inspire your students to become learners and I want to do the same thing when I am educating my students".

The second post I commented on Brian Crosby's blog Learning is Messy is Getting to Know You . He talks about how he makes his students sit with new students everyday for the first week of class. He said this teaches them about rejection and inclusion. I commented saying "I feel students should interact with different students and not just sit with the same peers everyday. When a student gets to meet new people they can grow as a person. I do believe a student should always have close friends they can always depend on but getting to at least know new people can teach students the networking skills they need for the future."

Blog Post 14

Jose Picardo Educational Blog and Tips

Jose Picardo gives very useful information on creating your own blog and maximizing the use of technology. His A-Z Internet Resources for Education had more resources than I thought could exist and there were a few I explored. One I looked at was BigHugeLabs. This is a website where you can create a motivational poster, magazine covers, movie posters,and more from pictures on your computer. Using this can bring creativity to your classroom and students can create their own magazine cover or poster for a project. Another I looked at was Kerpoof Studio . This is a website for younger children to make a movie, make a card, spell a picture, make a drawing, make a picture, and tell a story. I made my own Christmas Card using Kerpoof Studio.

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One of the last things I checked out was My Award Maker . This is a web service for creating your own awards to hand out to your students and awards are printable.

Top Ten Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom
Jose Picardo also made a video on his top ten tips for using technology.

Using these tips properly can enhance the quality of education and creativity in the classroom. Streaming video can be fun, especially when incorporating the students. When a student puts in the time to make a video on a particular topic the information stays with them longer. An interactive whiteboard can accommodate different learning styles and use a variety of resources for presentations. Podcasts are great because the students can listen to a lecture outside the classroom or listen to experts on a particular subject.

C4K Summary November

I commented on Avoia T' Blog from Point England School in Auckland, New Zealand. She did a video on the Monarch Butterfly's life cycle. I commented on the video saying, " Hello Avoia, I am Erwin Coleman, I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I liked you wanted to show a visual of the Monarch Butterfly life cycle. Many people are visual learners so this will help them understand the Monarch Butterfly. Keep up the good work!"

I had to comment on Mrs. Yollis Class Blog . They were playing to game Mancala and they wanted to know the rules to the game so I looked up the rules for the game and found the rules on http://www.moonglade.com/mancala/rules.shtml. I said, " I have never heard of Mancala but I did some research on the game. The object of the game is to capture more stones than the opponent. A player picks one of the stones with stones in it and distributes these stones counterclockwise. Distribution of stones wraps around the board, placing a stone in the player's mancala along the way, but not placing one in the opponent's mancala. If the last stone placed in a hole lands in your mancala, you get another turn. Otherwise it is your opponent's turn. The game is over when one player is out of stones, or when a player has more than half the stones in the game."

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

C4T Summary Post 3

I commented on Steve Miranda's post Information (from the archives and post was about students having more access to information than ever before. He said "five years from every high school kid will have access". He asked, "will schools still be giving multiple choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests that ask students to recall facts from memory?" Or will they help students decipher information and put it to great use? I commented saying,"Even though more students have more access now than ever before and it still rapidly growing, I think five years from now we will still have multiple-choice test be the basis for teaching. We evaluate a students performance based on test scores and not hands-on activities. Until we can get away from standardized test we can’t get into more hands-on learning."

The second post I commented on was Chris Rock (from the archives). In the post he first talks about how comedian Chris Rock tries out new jokes at a small comedy club with a notepad on stage. As Chris Rock tells his jokes the jokes fall flat and it is painful to watch. While on stage Chris Rock is learning because he is trying to connect with his audience. Steve Miranda says we are doing our kids a disservice by not letting them take risks. Teachers makes failure a bad thing when in reality it is the best way to learn. I commented by saying,"Schools do not teach students how to take risk. Chris Rock knew to be the best he had to take risk. Teachers scare students from being wrong at times but the most effective way to learn something is learn from your mistakes".
Steve Miranda's Blog

Blog Post 10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate

When becoming an education major it was a combination of a couple of factors that convinced me this is what I needed to pursue. My first factor was family influence. I am honest when I tell people that my family is not highly educated. Only a handful of the women in my family graduated from high school and I am only the second male in my family to graduate from high school. I was lucky to have a mom who graduated from high school and has her Associates Degree as a Registered Nurse. As I graduated high school and started college I thought about how different my family structure would be if they had a high school diploma and college degree. Most of my relative would not have to struggle for a stable job or go from house to house basically living as nomads in a modern society. They have to constantly depend on others because they do not have the proper education to depend on themselves. The second factor was the thought of so many other kids who is not lucky to have an educated parent. Like I said before I am lucky to have an educated mother but so many children do not have the opportunity to experience this. It is a duty of mines to be more than just a teacher in the classroom and that is where being an educator is the next step in my career. I want to change the world through education and expand my talents outside the classroom. Many students do not get to see a Black professional in the classroom or outside the classroom; I only had three black teachers and they were my best teachers. I want to be an administrator and change the educational gap because if we want to advance as a nation we need all students to be given the opportunity to receive a quality education. One of my ultimate goals is to open a school for lower-income students to receive that quality education.
There is a thin line between teaching and educating in my view. I believe teaching is giving the person the answers and they have no say in if they feel it is right or wrong. There is nothing wrong with that but there is no development in the process, well there is no process because there is one simple solution. As an educator you present multiple ways or directions to an answer. A couple of words I saw in the video above are guide and mentor. As a guide you give them the direction but it is still the students choice to explore and find their way. As a mentor you have the trust of your students. Gaining the trust of your students should be a main priority of an educator. Also in the video it showed the word empower. I will empower my students to hold themselves at a high standard at whatever they do in life. As soon as a student feels empowered they will exceed your expectations and as an educator you will know you did an honest days of work.

Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home

Tom Johnson uses a story to convey his message in this blog. Gertrude goes in Mr. Johnson's office, telling him she should stop letting his students take home pencils and paper. She said she saw a study that shows students who use pencils at home have lower standardized test scores. Tom was troubled by this and says standardized test does not measure authentic learning. He does realize students in lower income schools do see pencils as entertainment. He notices the problem but he wants a solution. So he talks to parents and students on the ways pencils can be used for learning. Gertrude wondered how does he know if they are using those skills at home and Tom says he does not hold them accountable. He tries to keep them interested in hoping they will continue the learning outside the classroom. He feels the child is learning no matter what they choose to do with the pencils.
I feel Mr. Johnson is letting the students be creative with pencils. He wants to embrace that creativity a student can have with pencils. He also takes it a step further by incorporating the parents in the learning process because he recognizes in many lower-income households the parents job does not require them to use a pencil. He wants the student and parents to learn together and have that autonomy to be creative together. Creativity is a measure of learning that needs to be embraced and not steered away from.

Smart Board Presentation

Blog Post 9

What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
When I saw this blog post assignment I was excited to read Mr. McClung's reflections on his first three years as a teacher. Being an aspiring educator I like reading or watching people talk about their early experiences as a teacher because all teachers feel the same way and go through the same things early in their career. It gives me confidence when teachers say early in their career they had difficult moments; I know we all want to be the perfect teacher when we first start and when we mess up it frustrates us.

The first post I read was the May 27, 2009 post of What I've Learned This Year . The first thing he learned this year was How to Read the Crowd. He was so worried about being criticized by his superiors he lost touch with his audience, which is the students. He believes teachers miss the most important part of teaching and this is making sure students are understanding the material. The second thing he learned this year was to Be Flexible. Mr. McClung felt he was trying to control things too much because he likes things a particular way. This is understandable, especially when you become an educator because teachers need structure in the classroom. He does not let mistakes stress him out anymore and when he does make a mistake he just tries to make the situation better. Another thing is Communication in the workplace. He experienced some drama with fellow colleagues but he says when you talk about the problem it resolves the issue faster. One the most important things up and coming teachers can learn is to Be Reasonable. Mr. McClung realizes at times educators set high expectations for their students and when the students do not reach it they can get frustrated with the students. There is nothing wrong with setting high expectations but do not crucify the students when they make a mistake. Students will make mistakes so we have to encourage them to strive harder and they can be successful. He also goes on to talk about technology and how it is very useful to educators, he talks about listening to students because students can help you become better teachers. Students are our consumers so when they speak teachers should listen. The last topic he talks about is Never Stop Learning. Teachers must know how to adapt and switch styles of teaching. Educators must grow just how we expect the students to grow.

The second post I read was at the end of his third year June 23, 2011 of What I've Learned This Year . I chose this one because I know the third year is critical for a teacher. The third year the teacher is qualified for tenure and they are considered "veterans" in the field. The first topic he talks about is Know Who Your Boss Is. He feels he gets consumed in trying to please his supervisor and that can take away focus on the students; Mr. McClung quoted, "Our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults". The second topic he talked about was Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are. He used Professional Development as an example. He said he has trouble understanding the people who never give new ideas a chance. Mr. McClung is the teacher who gets excited about new ideas being presented during Professional Development. He says do not let the pessimistic teachers detour you from implementing creative ideas to your classroom and school. A lot of educators are stuck in the traditional way of doing things and we as potential educators cannot be scared by those teachers. When we think of innovative ideas we need to at least try it out and not afraid of being different. That goes into the next thing he learned and that is Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider. He admits he does not fit in with the other adults in the building and he is perfectly okay with that, he enjoys it actually. I do not completely agree with wanting to be an outsider and not fit in with the adults. As educators we need to rely and learn from each other. One of the last things Mr. McClung learned is Don't Touch the Keyboard. This means when we are teaching a student something do not do all the work for them. When teachers do all the work for the student the student is not learning. The student needs to make mistakes because making mistakes is a never fail way to learn; Mr.McClung stated, "This means that our students will struggle a little bit in the front end but it will help them excel in the end game". The last thing Mr.McClung learned is Don't Get Comfortable. He feels teaching can become a routine career. Having a routine is not a bad thing but it can develop complacency in a teacher's work. Mr. McClung's way of not being one of those teachers are joining committees and doing Professional Development sessions.
I enjoyed reading Mr. McClung blog post on what he has learned his first three years of teaching. Like I said before it is great to read about a teacher's beginning of their career because we are going to be there soon. We can gain more confidence knowing we are not expected to be the best teacher when we first step in the classroom. I will take some of the things Mr. McClung learned and implement that in my life as a teacher. Whatever I learn as an educator I will make sure I share those experiences with future teachers.

Blog Post 8

Dr. Richard E. Miller Discusses Writing with Multimedia
Part 1
Dr. Richard E. Miller is a professor at Rutgers University in the English Department. He states we are in the greatest changes in our lives. We are able to communicate globally more now than ever before and he suggests we should take advantage of that opportunity. One of our changes is incremental instead of fundamental. Our work space is our desktop meaning we are constantly in connection with the world and we can research the world. Dr. Miller was asked to write about the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting and he did the all research without stepping foot into a library. Him doing research completely online would be unthinkable ten to fifteen years ago because we were still in the days of the library building and not virtual library. With all the social technology we can now collaborate on projects without even seeing your partner.
Part 2
Dr. Richard E. Miller discusses how the change of technology makes the information more readily accessible. He said, "Ideas belong to us as a culture", he is correct with this statement because when what you publish is not private. He says educators must be in the idea of exchanging information freely. We can produce alternate version of any document with the technology we possess. Dr. Miller believes the only restrictions we have are ones we put on ourselves.

I enjoyed Dr. Richard E. Miller's presentation because he made great points. Our work space is our desktop, we can do entire research without going into a library, and our ideas do belong to our culture. Even though he said we restrict ourselves, I am glad he realized the problem of access to the technology some people obtain but he does see a day when everyone will have it.I am not prepared to write with multimedia but it will be great to learn. Dr. Richard Miller Discusses Writing with Multimedia





Carly Pugh Blog Post
Carly Pugh did a great job on her blog post. By adding links while explaining what her classroom will be like gives the reader a visual of what will make her classroom different. Her own playlist showed diversity and creativity she has. She comes close to Dr. Miller's writing with multimedia because like I said before, she provides links to give a visual of what she is trying to convey.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This was a great video on how our schools need to accept the fact that our world is changing simultaneously with technology. Teachers continue to teach students the ways during the Industrial Revolution. Most students today would be prepared for the late 19th century but not for the 21st century. We have a great world for learning and conduct research but teachers do not teach in an environment that is healthy for research. The school system is based around standardized test scores and not the quality of learning for creativity. One man called this the "vending machine" approach. Our job market today is looking for employees who are well-rounded and who can think outside the box.

C4T Summary Post 2

I commented on the post "People, People, People" by Teachernz. This post was about about teachers and learners connected to discuss their careers and collaborate to make each other successful in the field of education. This event was held at Epsom Girls Grammar School.
I believe in educators and learners congregating together to improve the quality of education. The only way we can have creativity and innovation is if we put our heads together and think of new methods to teach and learn. I look forward to seeing your posts in the future.

Book Trailer

Project 11

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

Randy Pausch was born on October 23, 1960 in Baltimore, Maryland. He became a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also received his Ph.D. He learned he had pancreatic cancer in September of 2006 and was given three to six months of good health. Randy Pausch said he is not in denial and not depressed about his condition, "We cannot changed the cards we are dealt but how we play the hand".

Randy Pausch had many dreams, a couple are: playing in the NFL and being an Imagineer. He talks about the brick walls he had encountered in his life but says, "Brick walls let us prove how bad we want things". This makes a lot of sense because if I want to accomplish my dreams then I cannot let an obstacle keep me away from my goal. Dr. Pausch may not have become an NFL player but he learned valuable lessons from his experience in playing football as a child; those lessons are fundamentals and hardwork. Randy Pausch says, " Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you want". Even when you do not fully accomplish your dreams, you always take back with you the time you put in and the experience you gain. He and a colleague of his Don Marinelli created the Entertainment Technology Center for students to be incorporate art and technology. Dr. Pausch is also the founder of Alice, an interactive software that helps students learn computer programming.

Enable the Childhood Dreams of Others
Randy Pausch started a course Carnegie Mellon University titled Building Virtual Worlds. This was a Master's Degree Program and over a semester students worked in groups on several projects to create their own virtual world. Dr. Pausch always pushed the bar for his students, even when he was impressed by their work. His class used no books, it was project based, and he took his class on field trips. He focused on the hands on experience of learning and to work in groups. Every two weeks students received feedback. On thing I think is helpful in his teaching style is the "head fake". He explained the head fake is when someone is taught a deeper meaning while in disguise they are learning something simple. Randy Pausch always liked to have fun so he wanted his students to have fun while creating virtual worlds.

Lessons Learned

Randy Pausch learned many life lessons he passed on to his students. Andy von Dam, a mentor of Randy Pausch, told Dr. Pausch he is a great salesman and that he should sale the one thing that is worth selling and that is education. He believes in life you can either be Tigger or Eeyore, meaning you can have fun and enjoy life or you can be depressed about life's obstacles. Dr. Pausch values loyalty because you should never turn your back people. A person should never give up because persistence can take you far in life. I believe in never giving up because once you give up opportunity comes and you missed out in capitalizing. Dr. Randy Pausch died July 25, 2008 from pancreatic cancer but his legacy will forever live on because he has changed so many people's lives and was a true innovator of his time.

Project 10

I started on my PLN and my choice was Symbaloo. I feel Symbaloo is very simple to use and very organized. I chose 14 tiles so far and I plan to expand as times goes on.

C4K Summary Post

On September 15 I left a comment on Mr. Harris' Room 19 Class Blog. The topic was the Grey Lynn Festival in Auckland, New Zealand. The Grey Lynn Festival celebrates rugby and I did a little research and found out the Rugby World Cup will be in New Zealand this year. I told them rugby is not a popular sport in the United States but we do have a Rugby team at the University of South Alabama.

On September 22 I commented on St. Elmo Explorers Blog. They learned more about the interview process, research skills, and data-analysis skills. They will be using data about Argentina to create word problems. I said, "Using statistics of countries to use as math problems will give the children a chance to explore another country while do math and this is great for a students learning process. Also learning more about the interview process, videography, and professionalism, scholarliness, research skills, and data analysis skills is essential to have because it makes a student very well rounded."

On September 22 in Mr. Capps's class two students did a book interview and made a video for it. The book was on the legendary baseball player Satchel Page. I commented saying I love how they use a book interview to learn history on famous people. This will help them grasp the life of Satchel Page.

Blog Post 6

The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
The Networked Student will be a student of Connectivism, a theory that learning occurs as a social network of many diverse connections and ties. The student uses many tools to enhance his or her learning experience. The student must engineer his or her own personal learning network and learns how to use valid sites to use. He bookmarks his sites, then goes to others people's bookmarks to find valid sites, and they share the sites he or she has found. The student is able to go to other people's blogs to review post and comment to share their opinion. The Networked Student uses iTunes U to listen to podcast on courses recorded by professors from prestigious schools like Stanford and Yale. Also the student can use Skype to do interviews with experts on his subject area. The student uses his or her blog to connect to student and professionals. The student uses tools like Google Scholar and Delicious to use valid resources to develop their opinion and bookmark website to share with other students. Why does the network student even need a teacher? The teacher teaches him or her how to build the learning network, take advantage of the opportunities presented, guidance, and encouragement.
The Network Student reminds me of all of my classmates in EDM 310. Like Dr. Strange says, we are leaving an intellectual a trail.A trail of networks to other people so we can converse on different issues and present our opinions while leaving constructive criticism. All of these tools can shape a hands-on learning experience and encourages exploration. My opinion is students learn more when they have to search for the answer because the gratification is never forgotten. The idea of using a video interview of the direct source on a certain topic is a great experience for the class because this give them the opportunity to ask direct questions to an expert. We have to connect our students to the world because students do not need limited knowledge. Students in today's classroom are being taught with blinders on, meaning, the students are only being taught what is in front of them in a textbook and not being encouraged to use outside sources to find information. Students can learn a lot from each other using these networks and blogs to voice opinions to each other.

I will be prepared for a networked student because I want my student to explore for the answers they are seeking. I like to go on websites to help me study for tests because the textbook only tell you so little. I like to know more than what the textbook tells me so I want my future students to use valid websites to further their knowledge.This is the video to the Networked Student. Like I have always said, until we can get every child a computer in the classroom the networked student is theoretical and not yet practical.




Wendy Drexler will have some challenges in her experience with the networked student research she is doing. She has to find a teacher who is willing to invest in the time she is investing to make this a successful experience for both of them. If the teacher is not doing what is necessary on their end then the networked student will be disconnected. Both Wendy and the teacher must convince the students this will be a journey that will prepare them for the future and be overall enjoyable. The challenge with giving students a choice of topics is that the school curriculum in public schools are not based on student choice. Teachers must create his or her lesson plan around the standardized test students must pass. Also, Wendy may have a few students who are going to use this opportunity to do everything on the computer except concentrate on school related work but Wendy and more importantly the teacher must do whatever to monitor this behavior. You can go to Wendy Drexler's Blog

A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)



I think it is great for a student to start early how to use a Personal Learning Environment because this will put them at an advantage to their peers. After watching this video I went to the Symbaloo Website and I think it is very resourceful for a student and professional to use. Everything she needed was a click away on one of her tiles. Her PLN was packed with useful information and she could look at the teacher's agenda for the day to keep her ahead in the classroom. You can find out how to use Symbaloo with this Symbaloo Instruction.

Project 8 Podcast

Timetoast

Blog Post 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens).
Dr. McLeod sarcasm had me kind of confused the first time I read his post. We all know the dangers of having the ability to be connected to many people and websites. Pornography and predators are out there in the cyber-world. Students do get distracted with online chatting, twitter, facebook, and viewing blogs that have nothing to do with education. But we cannot let these things stray us away from learning the great benefits that come with being technology literate. For our students to even be considered for a job, let me take that back, for a career you need to be technology literate. We will be doing a disservice if we do not teach our students the basic skills on a computer. With the world rapidly changing as the technology changes, we need to prepare our students to have a fighting chance in a world surrounded with technology. This is not the United States it was 30 years ago. The manufacturing jobs are being outsourced so the top jobs need people who can work with computers and new technology. Technology is not the end all be all but it is so important people are starting to forget the times when we did not have it. Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff

The iSchool Initiative by Travis Allen



Travis Allen argument is schools should do away with the pen and paper way of teaching our students and that we should use modern technology like the iPod touch or iPad. He launched the iSchool Initiative to bring more innovation to school. He also says we can lower cost of providing materials to students because everything you need is in the iPad and iPod Touch from note taking to looking up formulas. He says this will cost an iSchool 150 dollars per student.
Travis Allen makes very good points and if his numbers are correct this will be a way of saving money in a time of recession. I know when I was in school I hated carrying all my textbooks and notebooks in one backpack. Studies have shown that carrying all you school books in one backpack can cause damage to your back, so why not give every student and iPad or iPod Touch. This will bring a new energy to students to learn and stay engaged with access to the internet for clarification on certain topics. Also the kids who do not have the means to buy their own iPod Touch will be motivated to come to school because they get to use modern technology.



Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
Watching this video all I can say is WOW! The internet has become so powerful over the past 30 years. Putting together a choir full of people who do not even know each other is impossible without the internet. Eric Whitacre is a pure genius with this great work of art. You can achieve so much through the world wide web.

Teaching in the 21st Century
Teaching is has changed significantly in the 21st century. Kevin Roberts thinks teaching in the 21st century means to engage your student and not just entertain. One way to keep your students engaged is to keep them active, not just with handouts or writing notes. Active engagement is using new methods your students have not done or enjoy. Encourage students to use the internet to explore the answers the questions or problems they do not understand. While we encourage them to explore, we should also teach them how to explore and find credible sources. The more we keep our students curious the more they will be engaged, that is active learning. This video should motivate educators to strive to do better everyday for our students. This will effect me as an educator because this video reinforces the conversation on innovation in the classroom. The more we innovate and inspire creativity our students will be at an advantage. We should move towards the top of bloom's taxonomy to evaluate, analyze, and apply. Focusing on the top half of bloom's taxonomy will prepare our students for college.

Blog Post 4

I listened and watched Eagle's Nest Radio & Class Blog, The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom, and The Education Podcasting Network. Creating podcast is a revolutionary way of teaching students. Students get bored of the teacher standing up just lecturing for over an hour while the students just sit and listen or do handouts. Podcast can be very refreshing for a student's way of learning. The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale made a good point about what if a child is sick; well they can go to the teacher's podcast to receive the information they missed during the day. One thing to challenge that is, what if a child who comes from a low-income home does not have access to a computer outside of school? How do we educate that child outside the classroom?
Students or classrooms can do their own podcast or vodcast by doing projects on certain topics. Me being a social studies teacher can very effectively use a podcast for projects. Inspiring teachers should at least be trained on using a podcast or vodcast in the classroom so they can an extra resource.

Benefits of Podcasting In The Classroom

The Education Podcast Network

This Is My Sentence

"You Thought You Knew, But You Have No Idea!"

Blog Post 3

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
My favorite section of Ms. Hines' post is the “Teachers must be Learners”. A lot of teachers forget they are in the classroom to learn also. Not just the subject but the students in their classroom. When a teacher can learn their students they can be better equipped to teach the students.
Also, I agree with her about technology is useless without good teaching. A teacher can demonstrate all day how to use a certain software but if the student is not engaged in the subject matter then why waste a computer or Smart Board. Kelly Hines: It's Not about the Technology

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
Mr. Karl Fisch makes some very interesting points in this blog post. I agree teachers should be technology literate, especially in the times we are in now. Many countries are developing so they are gaining more access to technology and using this technology to become more innovative. I also believe teachers should not be technology dependent to teach. Technology is not always the most reliable because computers can crashed, be hacked, or something unexpected can happen.
One quote that was very interesting was," If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write". This is very true, a few years ago people could get away with no knowing the basic skills of a computer but now to have the job you want more you must know how to use a computer proficiently.
Teachers do not need to be technology dependent. Technology is not the only way to educate students. Making the subject matter enjoyable and more than just a teacher lecturing is the best way to educate a student. Students really want to know, " Why does this matter to me?". Technology is one of the many tools to make teaching and learning interesting. Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
People are becoming more social every second. The internet makes it so easy to connect with people, businesses, and organizations. In the last one minute and twelve seconds over 700 blogs were published, 1.19 million items shared on Facebook, over 190 thousand tweets on Twitter, and over one-thousand people joined Google+.
As a teacher I can use these websites to connect my students. Also, my students will be able to ask me any question regarding school work or any resources they can use. I can use a blog to or podcast/videocast for my students to use as a resource. Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today (4:45)
This is a video made by Michael Wesch and 200 Kansas State University students giving you the outlook of students today on school; "how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime".
This video should open the eyes to school teachers, university presidents and professors. Students are becoming more pessimistic about college because they feel their degree will be useless or the financial burden is not worth it. Colleges should take their students on field trips according to major to certain businesses, schools, organizations, or countries. When students care more about a Facebook profile than a professor lecturing then there is a serious disconnect between professor and student. Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

Blog Post 2

Did You Know? 3.0
This video was very interesting with facts I do not think about on a daily basis. Everyone should watch this video to find out how much times have changed and technology is becoming important in day to day life. One fact that surprised me is when the video said "China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world". One fact that is troubling is twenty-five percent of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total population of the United States. That means we are not competing with India when it comes to educating our children.
The video started getting into the importance of technology during the second half of the video. It started off stating the top jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004. With the advancement of technology new jobs had to be created. Technology has also been a place for intimacy to develop with "1 out of 8 couples married in the United States last year met online". From 1984 to 2008 the number of internet devices went from 1,000 to 1,000,000. One last fact that ended the video well was during the duration of the video 694,000 songs were illegally downloaded. As the time goes on technology will increase and be more accessible than it is today. This is a link to the video Did You Know?3.0

Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes is a story of an old man who had waken after a 100 year sleep. He wakes up to an entirely different world than he last knew it. Mr. Winkle goes to a tall building, encounter busy people, hears strange sounds(phones ringing), pictures on paper coming out of machines (printer), and small screens with people talking to each other(computer). With Mr. Winkle becoming overwhelmed, he becomes sick and goes to the hospital. While in the hospital he sees machines helping people breath and pictures with people's bones showing. The only place that is familiar to him is a school with children looking bored and taking notes while the teacher talks all day.
This is a story trying to tell us how our times have changed dramatically since 100 years ago. People back then would not have ever imagined to have the tools or technology we have now. Another idea the video is portraying is that schools have not changed since 100 years ago. Mr. Winkle recognized the schools because even though technology has changed, the way we educate our students have not made that dramatic shift upwards. This video made a great point and should open people's eyes on our education system to reform for the better. This is a link to the video
Mr. Winkle Wakes

The Importance of Creativity
This video stars Sir Ken Robinson who is an author, speaker, and international advisor on education in the arts. He starts off saying "Education is to take us into the future we cannot grasp". He believes the arts can enhance children capabilities to innovate, capabilities they already have innate in them. Another great point he has made is we run our educational system where we stigmatize mistakes and educate creativity out of our students. He talks about the hierarchy in schools concerning subject matter with math and languages at the top, humanities in the middle, and the arts last; and also we focus on the mind and one side of the mind.
Sir Ken Robinson kept me intrigued in his speech on the arts. He used humor to keep the audience paying attention to the message and that message was the arts in very helpful in the development of a child. Dance, music, and visual arts plays a big part in innovation because it enhances creativity within a child. Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
Education in the United States has been a big topic in discussion. We are falling behind many countries and countries behind us are slowly catching up to us. Also, the arts needs to be more in the curriculum to broaden the capabilities in a student. Since I am concentrating in history I will make sure my students are getting a great education by being hands-on and visual, let them have major input in the discussion, and encouraging critical thinking.
Being hands-on and visual will make history enjoyable because the students get to see how certain situations in history was played out. Students love to be contribute to the discussion instead just hearing a teacher talk for over an hour and they can learn from each other this way. Critical thinking is a major part of history; seeing the underlying issues and problems will make them successful. Cecelia Gault Interviews Sir Ken Robinson
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Vicki Davis is an IT teacher at Westwood High School, a rural school in South Georgia. She is using technology to better educate her students, she uses wikis, blogs, podcast, and virtual worlds. Vicki Davis does not believe in standing in front of the class talking the entire time. She encourages the students to use the internet to find answers. Also, Ms. Davis focuses on teaching the students how to use new software so they will be comfortable; she says there have been times students taught her the different uses of a software and that is how she knows she is doing a great job at teaching.
Vicki Davis is doing a great job with her students because the students are taking the time to explore and willing to solve problems. If we could get computers in every classroom then more teachers could be like her. I would love to use blogs and video posts to educate my students on history. Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Project #2 Wordle

Blog Post #1

Hello my name is Erwin JaMarkus Coleman. I am 20 years old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama; my major interests are playing video games, watching interesting movies, playing sports, and Roll Tide football ( University of Alabama). I am convinced I am the biggest University of Alabama football at South Alabama. Attending South Alabama I still say Go Jags but Roll Tide will always be in my heart because being from Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama is like a religion to us (not literally).

I am the youngest of two brothers, both older than me by nine years, my mom just went back to school and finished her degree to be a Registered Nurse. My mom always stressed I be highly educated and be the best at whatever I do. I am only the second male to finish high school and attend college so my extended family is not highly educated. This is the main reason I chose education as a field. My passion in education is to make sure every child has the opportunity to receive a quality education; to me this is the civil rights issue of our time. I want to get my Master's degree on Public Administration to start a non-profit organization tackling the issues of education and also work for the government to give everyone the chance of social mobility upwards.
Another interesting thing about me is I am a Fall 2010 initiate of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Our motto is "First of All, Servants of All, and We Shall Transcend All" and aims are "Manly Deeds, Scholarship, and Love for All Mankind".
Watching Dr. Pausch video confirms what people have been telling me from day one in college about time management. He starts off saying, "Americans are bad with dealing with time as a commodity but are good with deal with money as a commodity". He made an interesting point when he said people waste time and equate time and money. When it come to prioritizing he suggested to ask yourself, "Why am I doing it?" Another topic he touched on is experience saying experience comes with time, there are no shortcuts to getting it, and you cannot fake experience. My favorite point he made is dealing with planning specifically when he said, "Failing to plan is planning to fail". Every student should take a course on time management or at least be required to go to a seminar on time management because in college it is probably the most important skill to have. This is the link to the video Randy Pausch on Time Management

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