All Good Things.....

You know the saying: "All good things must come to an end". As this semester winds down, so does the EDM 310 Fall 2009 class blog. It has been a great journey, and I have enjoyed much of it. I'll never look at shoes again without thinking of Tresher, and I really want to go to Deals Gap, thanks to Brooke's presentation. I'm sure I'll see most of my classmates around campus in January, so have a great Christmas, and be safe.

Some Things I've Learned in EDM 310

There are so many things that I have learned in Dr. Strange's class, that I'm afraid I can't name them all...but I'll tell you as many as I can.
iTunesU--who knew you could find anything educational on iTunes--not I; until now.

YouTube--ok, so I've got ONE video on YouTube. More to come? We'll see.
Picasa--was already using that, but did learn how to resize pictures in it.
Blogs--Will I continue? Probably.
Wikis--Whatever.
Google Docs--Wonderful! No more worrying about flash drives falling apart. Yes, my flash drive fell apart with a half-finished project on it. Let your documents live in the clouds and retrieve them whenever you want.
Google spreadsheets--Fun, but not something I see myself using.
PLN--Promising
Twitter--We'll see
Comments4kids--Adorable. I loved doing this project. I loved commenting on the student's work.
Skype--love it! I love talking face to face--over the computer! And it's FREE!!!
Videocasts--I was not made for video.
Podcasts--I was not made for podcasts. I'm too Country!
Movie Maker-- I really enjoyed making the movie. This is something I know I will do again. If not for my students, then for my family. I really enjoyed the editing process, as well as the creative process.
MyTinyURL--I'm so glad Dr. Strange showed us this site. Great for adding links in blogs. Simple to use.
Wordle---LOVE ME SOME WORDLES! I know that's not correct grammatically, but I really do. :)

I can't think of anything I wanted to learn but did not. This class was so much more than I expected. I could have done without some of the Skype chats. Sorry, but the kids were more fun to chat with than the adults. I was absolutely excited about chatting with the Pt. England school. They were fantastic. I don't think Twitter should be required, but I'm glad I learned a little more about it.

Am I technologically literate now? Yes. Is there more I could learn? Yes. Will I continue to update my technological education? Yes. How? By keeping up my PLN, and following some of my new teacher heroes.

Did I miss anything? I hope not, but if I did, just let me know!

Happy Blogging!

Smart and Stupid Things Teachers Do

"I'm not one to freely use the word "stupid", but I have to agree with Doug Johnson when he created his list of 7 Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology. Some people, not just teachers, do some stupid things when it comes to technology. My two favorite mistakes he lists are #4 and #7. Number 4 states: "Thinking online communication is ever private". I'm amazed at the number of people who send cruel, rude e-mails and junk from work. Not to mention the ones that are of poor taste. E-mails are easily traced, and even when erased, they can still be retrieved. Number 7 talks about the staying power of technology. It reads: "Thinking technology in schools will go away". Technology will continue to grow and evolve, and the more we embrace it, the better teacher we will be.
Mr. Johnson did not just talk about the stupid. He also compiled a list of smart things teachers do. Seven Brilliant Things Teachers do with Technology lists great ways teachers have embraced and used technology. His #3 point, "Make conferencing real time", talks about the importance of keeping parents informed through e-mail, blogs, wikis , and telephone calls. As a parent, I constantly lose my son's weekly newsletter. If I could access it online, I would have one less thing to worry about.
Along with Mr. Johnson's lists, I reviewed 15 New Classroom Rules that Dr. Strange had posted. My favorite two rules were numbers 12 and 13. Number 12 states "Keep you hands to yourself, but share all your ideas and knowledge with others in your Personal Learning Network". I like this rule because it acknowledges the importance of learning from each other. Someone may have a truly fantastic idea, but may not realize the importance of it until they share it with someone else. Rule number 13 says students should "Be quiet in lines, hallways, and restrooms, unless you are at home and logged into your on line classroom, in which case you can dance and play music". (I would also add sing to that last bit.) Some people are more productive in a more relaxed, less structured atmosphere. I've taken more than 40 credit hours of classes on line, and absolutely love it. I'm so glad that online classes are not a thing of the future, they are here now, and won't go away.

My Personal Learning Network

At the moment, my Personal Learning Network (PLN) is very small, but I expect it will grow as time passes. I currently follow Mr. C, Mr. Lamshed, and the other teachers on At the Teacher's Desk, as well as the folks at Pt. England school New Zealand. I am also establishing contacts on Twitter. I currently follow Mr. C, Mr. McClung, Karl Fisch, and Dr. Strange. I will hopefully add many more to this list.

Thank You Mrs. Digman

One of the classes I am taking at South Alabama requires me to perform service hours for teachers at different schools. On Monday, November 9, I spent the day with Mrs. Digman and her class at Faith Academy . I was very nervous going in because I have only been in a public school setting and was not sure what to expect at a private school.
Well, I have to say it was one of the most rewarding days of my education adventure thus far. I had a FANTABULOUS time! I was completely taken in by Mrs. Digman and her 5th graders. They are a great group of students, all eager to learn. I was welcomed with open arms, and felt like I belonged there. I hated to see the time come for me to leave. I was there from 7:45 until 12:45, and the entire time was spent in hands-on learning. I was fortunate enough to be able to help the students make rockets, which they planned on launching on the following Friday. I hope they were a huge success!
Again, thank you Mrs. Digman, and also Mrs. Skelton, for letting me come into your class and be a Ram, if it was only for a day.

My Visit to The Teacher's Desk

"At the Teacher's Desk" is a blog maintained by...you guessed it, teachers. Ten teachers, to be exact. Boring you say? Think again. The collaborators are educators from at least three different countries, yes, countries. New Zealand, Australia, and USA.
The content is as varied as the individuals are, and the substance is great. You will find work by the students as well as thought-provoking posts by the collaborators. You could spend days exploring every nook and cranny, or as technical people call them, links. In fact, I challenge you to explore this blog. If you don't find something that sparks your interest, or causes to you pause and think, let me know. I would love to see an example of what you do find interesting and helpful.
I'm really impressed with the effort that goes into maintaining "At The Teacher's Desk", and would be thrilled to be part of an effort such as this. Who knows, in a couple of years I could start my own collaboration with another group of teachers. Anything is possible.
Can you tell I think collaborative blogs are a good idea? If you were not sure, let me say one more thing. With a collaborative blog, you have a support team that you can turn to for fresh ideas, a helping hand, or a sounding board whenever you need them. They may be a world away, but with the world wide web, they're only a mouse click away.

Project 11

Once again, Dr. Strange decided to challenge us to do something new. New to us, that is. The following is my answer to his challenge. It was something I had never done before, and had never really considered doing, until EDM310. I made a very simple video of my 9 year old son Mark Wesley reading one of his books. It was an easy process, once I learned how to do it. (I actually did not know that I had Window's Movie Maker on my computer, but that's another issue.) As with many first projects, it's not very good, but I did learn from it, so I guess that's what matters most.

Whatever, Dr. Wesch

How do Dr. Wesch's comments in his video fit my life in regards to me personally, as a college student, and as a future educator? That is the question Dr. Strange has asked us to address. Personally, I was an MTV watching teen, and can remember when 'whatever' meant 'I don't care". I remember how bad cable t.v. was for us, but we watched it anyway, and what do you know; we turned out okay, for the most part. :)
I never really realized people were so engrossed in YouTube. I've really just thought of it as a source for entertainment, and I use the word 'entertainment' very loosely. The thought that YouTube has/is a community boggles my mind. I wonder, do these people have lives?
In the end, I was glad I watched Dr. Wesch's video in its entirety. The challenge, or idea, that a new meaning for 'whatever' be developed inspired me. I love the idea of people not just saying "whatever it takes", but living "whatever it takes". I want to be a teacher that says...WHATEVER! (Applying the new meaning, of course.)

Why Blog?

Ok, let's face the fact that if it were not a requirement, many of us EDM310 students would never blog. Not that we would not want to or have not wanted to in the past; some of us were just too intimidated. Now that we do blog, well most of us; do we see the importance of it? I would have to say YES. I have found a few examples that, I hope, will convince you of the importance of blogging and posting student's work for others to see.

In New Zealand, Pt. England school posted videos of their students reading. The students were able to see themselves and know how well they are doing. They are also able to let others see what a great job they are doing. Click here to take a look at some fantastic reading going on. Need more?

Take a look at the blog and video here. These are great examples of why student's work should be posted to blogs. The wonderful rendition of Fleetwood Mac's song Landslide was too good to keep hidden. The children obviously enjoyed singing the song, and put their hearts and souls into delivering a powerful performance. Because their work was posted on a blog, Stevie Nicks herself saw them and invited them to perform with her!!! Amazing! Still need more evidence of why student's works should be posted on blogs?



Then take a look at Ms. Cassidy's class blog. She teaches a class of 6 year old students in Moose Jaw, Canada. There you will find pictures of the students and their work, class room artwork, and even videos of the students doing their work.
With families living so far apart, isn't it wonderful that student's accomplishments and hard work can be shared globally; just a mouse click away.

My Response to Anthony Capps' Post

It is evident in Anthony's post that he has a great vision for the future. I especially loved the statement: "Students must learn how to compose for today's audience. We as teacher's of tomorrow must be able to teach our students this visual literacy." It is essential that we enter the classroom knowing not only how to access the technological tools that are available; we must also know how to create new projects that will keep our students' attention and encourage an enthusiasm for learning. I believe Anthony is well on his way to doing that. Take a moment and read Anthony's Post, I think you'll appreciate it.