Exploring Podcasts

I was not sure what to expect when we were assigned to listen to various podcasts and post a response. I had heard of podcasts, but that was the extent of my knowledge. The first podcast I listened to had me a little leery. The podcast was SMARTBoard Lessons--Teachers Connecting 11: Year End Ideas. (The host was Ben Hazzard, and his guest was Joan Badger.) The introductory music ran into the conversation and made it difficult to hear what was being said. The music lasted 2 plus minutes, a little long for an introduction. I hung in, however, and actually liked some of the ideas discussed between the Mr. Hazzard and Ms. Badger. One thing in particular involved using movie clips in Math class. The movies mentioned, such as Father of the Bride, had scenes that could be used in math class to teach concepts like multiples and factors. I never would have thought of an idea like that had I not listened to the podcast.

The second podcast I listened to was Kidcast #62, Some thoughts on Video Podcasting. I did not care for this podcast. The speaker was Dan Schmit. I say speaker because it seemed like I was listening to a lecture. And it was not a very good lecture at that. The content was not awful, the delivery, however, was. Mr. Schmit made some good points about the benefits of video casting, but his speech was so riddled with "uhm's" and smacking that it was hard to focus on the content.

I also listened to This Week in Photography: 104 Like Penguins, Feeding their Young. There were several people participating in the podcast. I'm not a photography buff, I only take family pictures, but I found their podcast to be quite interesting. They covered a variety of topics relating to photography ranging from accessories, to cameras, and even some benefits of copyrighting photographs. The information was given in a friendly, lively manner that made it enjoyable to listen to. If I were interested in pursuing photography, I could learn a lot from this type of podcast.

The last podcast I listened to was MacBreak Weekly: # 154Graceful Degradation. This podcast was also presented as a discussion. Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, and Alex Lindsay carried on a discussion of various electronic devices such as an iPhone, Kendal, and G1 (what ever that may be). I was actually quite lost in the discussion. This podcast is, in my opinion, for someone more tech advanced than myself. Even if I listened to their podcasts regularly, I don't think I would benefit from their information they share.

Vicki Davis

I am absolutely amazed at what these high school students can do! It's not because they are teenagers, it's because I always believed that it took 'super-smarts' to be able to do such amazing things with a computer. I think it's amazing that Ms. Davis has the students teach part of the class, and I love that she lets them teach her new material. All too often, we think children have nothing to teach us. Wrong.

Ms. Davis' students are working with other students all over the world to bring light to issues that affect their lives. Fantastic! They are able to learn new technology and utilize it. It appears that their creativity is indeed encouraged, and at the same time, they are learning how what we do connects to others around the world.

Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson points states his belief that "All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them pretty ruthlessly". I can see how he reached that conclusion. Because I'm a nontraditional student, my elementary school years were probably quite different from many of the students in Dr. Strange's class. I attended school in a small community (Gardendale) north of Birmingham. I can remember taking both art and music along with math, reading, and the other 'basics' the entire school year, not one semester of art and one semester of music. We were given ample opportunity to explore what our talents may be. We were taught how to play simple musical instruments, and I still remember the feeling of accomplishment when I played "Hot Cross Buns" on my small wooden recorder. Today's elementary school music class occurs once a week for only one semester per school year. Art is treated the same. When children are in the classroom, whether it be art or math, we expect them to sit still and keep quiet; and if they don't we medicate them so they will. We have taken the talent and creativity they have and told them to forget about it and do things our way.

I loved the story Sir Ken Robinson told of Gillian Lynne. It was a perfect example of how we try to put everyone into the same little box and expect them to learn the same way. People with children may be familiar with the Hannah Montana episode that addresses this point. Miley could not learn her science lesson until it was put to music. Once music was incorporated, she was able to successfully learn the bones of the body. Music is not just for fun. It can make learning fun, and in some cases possible, if we utilize it. We know that not everyone learns the same way, so why do we not choose alternative, artistic ways to educate.

Mr. Winke Wakes

Matthew Needleman puts a new spin on the classic Rip Van Winkle. He shows us that if you take a look around us, not much has been unchanged by technology. Businesses no longer rely on the single bookkeeper in a quiet office, they have multiple employees all over the world. Keep in mind that when televisions were first invented, most people could not afford one. Today, many families have 3 or more t.v.'s in their home. The first cell phone used weighed 30 ounces; today, they weigh somewhere around 3 ounces! And the medical field continues to advance daily.

The one area that has failed to change with the times is education. We still expect students to sit obediently and listen while we try to drill into them things that may or may not help them to succeed in life. We do not try new techniques, and we expect the students to be eager to learn in this boring environment. When will we wake up and realize that education should not be 'one size fits all'?

Did You Know?

Version 4.0 of "Did You Know is now out. The world around us continues to change. Things are continuing to move at an amazing speed. The future that we imagined as a child is more advanced, more technological than we could have imagined, and it continues to grow and change by the minute.

"Did You Know?" is a fast-paced, information-packed presentation designed to show how quickly the world around us is changing. The five-minute video is packed so full of information that I had to watch the presentation multiple times to be able to catch all of the statistics of the changes taking place around us.

If you examine the facts alone, they are amazing, even staggering; throw in the music and you have a dramatic presentation that almost overwhelmed me. Some of the information that was given did not surprise me. Most of the statistics,however, made me realize just how fast the world has changed in the last 10 years. I can only wonder: What's next?

Who I am

There are many things that describe me, but no one thing defines who I am.

Fifteen years ago I became a wife. Almost 13 years ago I became a mother. I now have two sons. They are 12 and 9 years old. When my youngest started kindergarten, I became a substitute teacher. After working as a sub for several weeks, I realized that I love being in the classroom. In January of 2006 I enrolled at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College where I could take online classes. On May 14, 2009 I graduated with with honors and received an Associates degree. I also celebrated my 15th weeding anniversary on that same date.

I have a very strong Christian faith that helps keep me going and gives me the strength to accomplish all I do. I am very active at my church, Tanner Williams Assembly of God.

In my spare time, what little I have, I love to be outdoors. My family and I camp, fish, and go biking as often as possible. I also love to garden.

If it is raining, I can curl up with a good book and be content for hours. Murder mysteries, Historical Fiction, and even a sappy love story can hold my attention.

This is but a brief glimpse into my life, so don't be surprised about anything new you learn.

Come on in!

Welcome to my world. I'm inviting you to see a small portion of what goes on in my head. I'm totally new to blogging, but here I go!