Report on Final Project

EDM 310 has been a very fun, exciting, adventure for me. In my final project my group members have decided that we are going to give the Pros and Cons of EDM 310. This will hopefully give the future students a guide to look at in terms of what to expect in this class. Even though the semester has come to an end, and I did a lot of stressing. I have learned new things that I plan to take with me in the education field. GOOD LUCK in EDM 310! :)

Final Project # 16

Blog assignment # 14

In this Blog
I really had to realize that there is so much more to the internet and all the free things that are available to current and future educators. The fact that the information added is all in alphabetical order. This is such a great way to make sure that the information that is entered is not repeated.

There are a huge number of sites I had no clue existed, and some that I did not know where free. This is a great tool to come back to in the future when I am placed in a classroom with little faces that are waiting for me to spark that inner creativity. I must say EDM 310 has introduced me to a whole new world of knowledge.

C4T 4

Teachernz
In the blog post People, people, people
Mr. Fawcett talks about his trip to a seminar and how he was excited to be there. He also mentioned that no one there was forced to be there that they were there on their own will. This made me happy because there are some teachers out in the education field to day that have no desire whatsoever to be going to seminars.
He filled the blog with the exciting thing that they talked about and the one thing was how Twitter can be used. (sound familiar?)

I once agian made a comment on yet a different post by Mr.Fawcett this one talks about the Education Reset. How the education system is so "messed up" and the things that are need to make it better is only making it worse. Mr. Fawcett believes (I agree) that education needs to crash, and there be a complete new build up. That the education system would be so much better.

Additional Post #1

1. Why did I miss the Metaphor?
To be honest I missed the metaphor because I was too busy trying to have the assignment done on time. There has even been times where I was having a bad day and once the assignment is thirty minutes from being due, I have an anxiety attack and its all about getting the assignment done. I then worry if what I have submitted will be Dr. Strange worthy.
2. Metaphors I have encountered
Birds of a feather flock together. Men are a dime a dozen. Practice what you preach. I will slap you into next week. We are in the last days. You aint nothing but a hound dog. Find you somebody to play with. It was love at first sight. I could see the fire in your eye. You light my soul on fire. love hurts. You made my heart skip a beat. I am the bomb. It was so quiet you could hear a mouse piss on cotton. I was on cloud nine. If I'm lying I'm flying. My car is hanging on by a thread.
3.Other things we can do as educators to help our students
One thing that we can do as educators is to always challenge our students to think outside the box. To be explores and not just little puppets that do as they are told. We have to give them the opportunity to mess up and then find ways to make the situation better.
4.Why do we use metaphors?
As Dr.strange said, We use metaphors to help us see things in a better light. Instead of saying you can get 12 men for ten cent. You make it more animated by saying, "men are a dime a dozen". It makes the saying that more comical. We also use metaphors to show emotions to show how good or bad we feel about someone or something.

Blog Post #13 E-media FAST!

media fast

First things first. I am sooo happy to finally be able to talk on the phone it is ridiculous. I first started this assignment with the mind set that I can do this with no problems... I was wrong. Within the first hour, I had ten missed calls, and my cell phone would not stop vibrating. I then decided that I would tell everyone that I communicate with on a regular that I would not be available for 24 hours. My moms response was "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR BLEEP MIND?" I could only laugh, because I talk to my mother everyday and she was not hearing that. My husband was another one that could not take the news. He has a very demanding job that keeps him from home a lot of hours and he calls and checks on us regularly. The fact of not knowing whether something is wrong or not would drive him insane. So I had to think of ways to have everyone satisfied. I thought I would go to my grandmothers house and stay so my husband would know we were okay, and let my grandmother tell my mother what I had to say to her. This plan also failed because I experienced an extreme headache. This was good for the assignment because there was no way I was talking to anybody, and no way I was watching television, nor listening to a radio.
I literally stayed in my bed and cried with my silent tears. Yes, the pain was that serious. I even considered going to the emergency room. When it was all said and done I slept for ten hours. When I woke up it was two in the morning. I then got something to eat, and got back in bed. Once morning light hit my bedroom, I felt a whole lot better,and only had a few hours to go. I cleaned my carpets, and did a little dusting.( I almost messed up because I normally listen to the radio while cleaning) As soon as three o'clock hit I was dialing everybody in my contact list.
I must say this was both a challenging assignment as well as a fun one. I do not want to ever have to do that again. I had e-mail messages galore. Missed calls like you wouldn't believe, and I am still checking my messages. :) To the future students of EDM310. Can you survive the fast?

SmartBoard Lesson Project #15

C4K summary (NOV)

MR.McClungs World
This site tell how Mr.McClung shows how his children were asked to create their very own Country with a style of government as well as economy. I especially enjoyed this because there was a map of the country Carollelea that has a place called Peanut Butter Fields. How I would love to visit there. :)

Mrs. Yollis class blog
In Mrs Yollis' class there was a student named Beverly who did not follow directions when the teacher said that the students could wear Halloween colors, but no costumes. Beverly was not paying attention and came to school as a PIRATE!

In this blog Mrs. Yollis asks that the reader gives a story on what really happened, and why Beverly was a pirate.

Pt England 6th Year
Turuhira a year 6 student in Pt England school talks about how it was really cold outside while she watched fireworks light up the sky.I only replied that she did a great job,and told her to keep up the good work. At first I was reading too fast and thought she was 6 years old. Either way it was a great descriptive post. :)

Blog Post #12

Watch the video Whole Brain Teaching Look at the different ways that Chris teaches this middle school class the basics. How could this work in your classroom? Give your perspective on The Whole Brain Teaching. Write using a quality blog post.

Chris Biffle gives this classroom a chance to learn how to use there entire brain. This technique is very interesting. I actually will use this to teach my daughter,a first grader, some of the activities that are required for homework. This should be used in all classrooms, just as Twitter. I really enjoyed this video and actually watched many more. You can teach the class the classroom rules and many math skills as well. One teacher on YouTube taught her class the way to learn how to do math by using "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" P=parentheses, E=exponent, M=multiply, D=divide, A=add, S=subtract. This is a great way to learn as well. *claps hands* TEACH!

C4K Summary (Oct)

Oct 9th
Student Angelo tells how you must be as fast as a race horse and eat health in order to be a great rugby player. Sorry i forgot to add the links here but there are some very great illustrations among these students.

Oct 16th
Khia made 2 animations about rugby players.She also used great sound effects of the crowd cheering. I must say that creativity with children really makes them stand out.

Oct 23rd
Kelsi's blog showed a picture of a beautiful snow white house. The picture was absolutely amazing. She also stated that the temperature there was -4 degrees. BRR I can feel the frost.

Oct 30th
Room 17 year 6 Pt. England School Australian football coaching
A student in Room 17 had some difficulties trying to learn a new skill, about how to play a sport. I just encouraged her to continue to work hard and she could achieve anything.

Blog assignment # 11

Ms. Cassidy

In this assignment Ms.Cassidy had a Skype interview with our very own Dr.Strange. She describes how she took 5 computers that had no programming, yet her class was blogging and learning new things, because she took the initiative to bring to the children the importance of being on line and what they can benefit from this use. I also appreciated the fact that the children's identity is being protected by using their first name only and not placing names with the actual student pictures.Some people had a serious issue with this type of information sharing via the internet due to them not having knowledge of how this is productive. Ms. Cassidy expresses that technology is not going anywhere and the world is constantly changing, and if the most modern technology is not being used we can be handicapping both the students of the next generation as well as ourselves.
Some of the techniques that Ms.Cassidy uses with her class is more than just blogging. She allows her class to use a tool that most, if not all have. The Nintendo DS. With this tool the children are learning to share information as well as have fun, which the children can appreciate because after all learning is suppose to be fun.
I have learned that there are numerous ways in which I can engage my class in the learning process.One is the SMART board, and blogging. I will most definitely remember that the Nintendo DS game system can be a tool for learning also.I now realize that being an educator is not just a job it is a lifestyle. HAPPY EDUCATING! :)

C4T-3 Summary Post

twitterlogo

For this assignment I had the pleasure of visiting Mr Ferriter's blog http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/ In this blog I made comments on two different posts. The first was Twitter in the classroom This blog post basically explains about the many ways that twitter can and should be used in the classroom for education. This new form of social media and the world will be left behind if we do not approach and use this wisely.

The next post was about Innovation Interview Questions.

animated question mark

There are some questions that Mr. Ferriter suggest should be asked in the interviews that are conducted for individuals that are aspiring to be teachers/educators. Things that really are more important than the basic questions that are asked like "Can you work under pressure?" Of course the answer is YES!, but if more questions that are suggested in this blog were asked the interviewee would have to actually "FEEL" a certain way about that topic. I loved this post. There were some very great questions that should be asked in order to ensure a great candidate for teaching our next generation.

B log assignment #10

Do You Teach? or Do You Educate?

What does it mean to teach? Teach is a verb and the definition is to explain how to do something, give instructions, cause one to learn or understand. There are many people in the education field that are just teachers and are not even interested in being an educator. Some are there just for the pay checks and this to me is the most horrible thing to imagine, especially when you have children in the school system.
Educators on the other hand are people who have passion about what they are doing. People who want to inspire, empower, give instructions in order to have the student be motivated to perform any task, whether it be mathematics, science or social skills. I am taking the initiative to say that I will be an EDUCATOR! WILL YOU?

Don't let them take the Pencil Home
http://pencilintegration.blogspot.com/2010/07/dont-let-them-take-pencils-home.html

pencils

I actually chuckled at this blog. Don't get me wrong, I genuinely enjoyed it, yet it was too funny how the belief that not taking home pencils would increase standardized test scores. Okay first things first. There are pencils everywhere and trust me when I say if there's a will there is a way. I also believe that pencils are not the problem. Children need to be stimulated and encouraged to do new and exciting things. One solution would be to make it fun to learn. Reading is great but is it enough to get those creative juices flowing in order to perform at the best possible level. Breakfast is important , Parenting is important, and self image is also important. Parents as well as educators should tell the students that they can be whatever they aspire to be that they are smart and can one day be the President of the United States. Call it reverse psychiatry, but if it works use it. I also would like to piggy back on one of the comments made on the post. So what if the student uses the pencil to play hang man, you have to be thinking of Words/Letters in order to get the puzzle. I know that is such a bad name for a game but, at least there is an education strategy. Now excuse me while I sharpen my pencils. :)

Blog assignment #9

At the Teacher’s Desk
http://attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-i-learned-this-year_15.html

The blog offered lots of information that I can use as an educator. Mr McClung gave his experience from his first year of teaching to his third. There were times when he expressed that he had fallen into the traditional aspects of teaching and would teach about things and give an assessment on things that had absolutely nothing to do with what he taught about or the information would not be to the depths that the tests were in.

He also talked about CONTROL. How educators have to be in control of everything that goes on in the classroom. He states that control is good, but there is a such thing as too much. In other words you have to be able to adapt to changes as they occur. There will be times that we as educators will have to put the “standards” down and teach freestyle. NEVER GET COMFORTABLE.

McClung says that we as educators need to teach our students how to perform tasks in the classroom rather than depend on the instructor to do it for them. This way they can take the full experience of the classroom. Much like Dr.Strange’s class. I totally agree with this, If there is ever a situation where I am not comfortable with an assignment, I can ask a lab assistant and they will help me with the issue, and not “Touch the Keyboard” as McClung puts it. This way the next time I come across the issue I will know how to resolve it on my own. If the assistant would have just “fixed” the problem I would have no idea on how to make it work, and in turn would have learned nothing. We cannot afford to be passive in teaching we have to be movers and shakers. We will have to be willing to make complete fools of ourselves if that’s what it takes to get the point across to the students. After all we are THE TEACHERS AT THE DESK!

teacher's desk

Project# 13 SMART board

Blog Assignment #8

how we dream picture

This is how we Dream Pt 1&2

In this video an educator by the name of Richard Miller talks about how technology will and have changed. He shows how efficient the Mac computer is as well as gives reasons why the world needs inspiring spaces. Mr. Miller says that if we as educators are put in a space that is inspiring then more creativity can come from us as individuals. Basically saying that boring four walls are not appealing enough for the creative juices that we all have to start flowing. He also makes the statement that ideas should not just be for self but should be shared collectively. So if there is something that one knows or wants to know, It should be shared so that that information can be researched and passed on to others.
This video was very informative about how the mac works and how you can have access to all kinds of information and documents with just a single click. How there are people working on ways to even see where people are the most happiest through blogs and information that is being shared on the internet.
This information should and will not stay a dream. It is only a matter of time before the classroom as we know it will be literally at the fingertips. This will be both scary and exciting. How will we as educators adjust when we are being taught to be traditional teachers with pen and paper? Education as we know it is changing as we speak. Looks like we better WAKE UP!

Carly's post

In Carly's Post about the six questions one should ask everyday was a very greatly detailed informative post. I enjoyed this and I can tell that she was truly inspired in this post. I love that fact that the information portion of the post was full of fun, yet still gave great points. The actual six questions were some truly deep questions. It actually made me sit back and think. "Am I ready for this task, Do I have the skills?" She made very valid points and this is something that all educators should look at and really look themselves in the mirror and say " Am I crazy enough to change the world?" People who are crazy enough to say this and act on it, probably WILL!

Chipper & EDM for Dummies
First let me say. POOR CHIPPER. This lady had the hardest time trying to get herself together. The funniest thing was the stuff about the future. Too FUNNY!
It seem to me that chipper's life wasn't so CHIPPER, but who am I to judge. In the end chipper realized that her ideas were not so solid without an educational background. In the end she went back to school and made an oath to do what is right. What she should have done in the beginning.
Edm for Dummies was very good as well the students came up with a book to help others learn how to navigate through the course.To be honest the book needs to be invented. HINT HINT!!
All in all the videos were very creative and actually gave me some ideas on how I could use these techniques in my very own movies in the course. I give it Two Thumbs Up.

Learn to Change/Change to Learn

Learning is suppose to be fun and engaging. In today's classroom there are so many rules that restrict the learning process. Today adults and children alike are blogging and emailing and instant messaging as ways of interacting and communicating with each other, yet the education programs punish children and in some cases teacher from using them in the classroom. We should be encouraging these forms of media to be used properly in schools. There is so much to be learned, but how can we find out new things if there is fear about how it will be used.
One comment that really stuck with me was that every turned off device is a turned off child. This is beyond true. If a child is not enjoying what they are doing then most likely they are not trying there very best at the task at hand but is merely finishing just be done with it. The material is only being BURPED back as Dr.Strange says.
Was as educators have to be willing to Learn as we teach and Change as we Learn.

Project # 10 MY PLN

Blog Assignment #7

Randy Pauschs Last Lecture : Achieving your childhood dreams

In this video Randy talked about ways to help achieve your childhood dreams. Before we get into that I wanted to talk about the fact that Randy showed the CT scans of his ten tumors and still wanted everyone to know that he was still having fun, that he did not want anyone to feel sorry for him, that in itself makes you look at the simple things we as students call hard and realize that this is just a test to get us where we need to be


Randy gave a lot of great ways or techniques if you will on how to achieve your dreams. One that I particularly like is "Don't complain just work HARDER",and when someone makes you mad or upset just give them some time and they will surprise you". These two mean so much to be because I have on many occasions always had a rebuttal when I am told that something I did was not standard. Instead of trying to get a word in, next time I will just make the next thing I have to do even better than before.

Randy helped students with Edutainment which is helping the first responders, This ETC that he was working with was so great that there were companies who had written letters saying that they were guaranteeing that they would hire students that were in the program. Randy's whole focus was always on others, he gave gratitude to people that helped him along the way as well as the many students that he taught as well. Randy states that you cannot get success alone, you have to have others to help you, that is why you must show dedication to something and people will see that you are passionate about it and be willing to learn and help you as well.
I have come to realize that teaching is not to better yourself, but to help others learn what you know. There will be times where we come to a brick wall, just remember what Dr. Pausch said "Brick wall as there to prove how badly we want something, and to stop those who don't want it". If you want it GO GET IT. Live life in a good way and karma will take care of the rest. I absolutely loved this lecture. VERY INSPIRING!!

C4T-2

This week I had the pleasure of looking into Becky Goerend's blog. http://mrsbmg.blogspot.com/

confused child

Mrs Goerend has a blog that focuses on the Common Core of the classroom and how it is not in a kid friendly text. The words are a bit much for fifth graders as well as parents. Children need to know exactly what is expected of them so that they can respond accordingly. The parents also need to know what is expected so that they can help prepare their child for the task at hand. Mrs Goerend came up with a way to help the children understand what the core expects the child to do by taking the words they knew the meaning of and writing it in their own words, then they were able to apply the concepts.
More teachers should look at what they expect of children and make sure it is in a language that can be understood.