Project #14 SmartBoard

Project #11

Blog Post #8

"This is How We Dream" Response

This is How We Dream, Part I

"It is possible to collect together the threads of experience
and weave them into a coherent document."
- Richard E. Miller

In Part I of this lecture by Rutger's University Professor Richard E. Miller, Dr. Miller describes what he terms "Incremental Changes" in writing both in academia and our culture as a whole.  Not only has our writing changed from paper to desktop, but the way in which we research has moved from the library to the web.  We now have instant access to the contents of libraries across the world at our fingertips.  Another "incremental change" highlighted by Dr. Miller involves how we share knowledge.  Articles and books no longer go out of print; they are "shared infinitely" through the web.  I found this to be a quite scary concept that many of the youth in America don't quite comprehend yet.  Once information is put on the web, it can be close to impossible to delete.  From a research standpoint, this is phenomenal.  However, young and immature students could post something to the web that may end up haunting them later.  The last "incremental change" discussed in the video is the move from simply print documents to "visual documents," documents that use sound, images, and video along with print.  This may be the most important incremental change.  He describes a collaborative project he was a part of about Martin Luther King, Jr.  The project not only included pictures, video, songs, and print, but also included input from many different scholars and lecturers. His comment about this project (seen as the caption for the picture above) has proven to be one of my favorite things he has said. As a future history teacher, it's exciting to be able to use primary sources, interviews, videos, songs, pictures, etc... in presentations to my students. There is no better way to bring History alive! So this last incremental change sums up the move from the lone writer with pencil and paper to the collaborative, visually-stimulating writing project of today.

This is How We Dream Part II 
In the second part of his lecture, Dr. Miller begins to talk about material and fundamental changes to writing.  He outlines tools such as iTunes U which have made a  big impact on the way educators communicate with their students. However, he wants the process to go beyond simple videos or podcasts into the concept of teaching visual literacy. When I heard the term "visual literacy," I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept.  He describes it as "composing using the web itself" with visual representations of the "Humanities."  He admits that presently educators do not have access to the tools or spaces they need to accurately teach visual literacy; yet, he imagines a world (even his own building) where composing a lecture or paper would not be one dimensional and where ideas can be easily shared and understood.
My reaction to Dr. Miller's concept is mixed. I agree with him that this type of learning environment does not quite exist in feasible terms at this point.  This has been a common theme with many of the ideas we have seen put forth through this course.  However,  someday perhaps we can jump the hurdle of lack of resources.  I also agree with Dr. Miller that a multi-dimensional media is a better way to present what he terms the "Humanities."  The generation of students that will face us when we graduate from USA are stimulus-driven, everyday technology users, and easily bored.  In order to stimulate an active interest, we must incorporate more than just a lecture or note taking. We must also challenge them more than just a five paragraph essay.  This new "visual literacy" makes me think back to my ideas on THE NETWORKED TEACHER, where the teacher becomes more of a mentor/guide. In order for me to be prepared to write with multimedia, I must educate myself, practice, and actively search for new and diverse resources and inspirations.  I think my students will definitely have the ability to write with multimedia, but I must equip them with the right tools and guidance.
My only fear with this transition would be that the art of writing would be lost.  I know Dr. Strange would disagree with me, but sometimes it makes me sad that books, real books with paper pages and leather bindings, are going the way of the dinosaur.  It also saddens me that the art of letter-writing has vanished.  I'm sure there are some kids out there that think "LOL" is in the dictionary.  I see the change and know that to be relevant I must also change. However, I do not want to transition to multimedia writing for the sake of using the technology available.  The academic integrity of the project must always be maintained. If a child leaves my classroom and doesn't know how to write (the old-fashioned way), what would be the point?

Carly Pugh's Blog Response
First and foremost, I must say that I enjoy Carly's laid-back, reader-friendly writing style.  Her post, in which she was to create an assignment that she thought should be incorporated into EDM310, proved just as enjoyable. Her idea was to create a youtube playlist of at least 10 videos that encompass above all your teaching philosophy and incorporate what you have learned in EDM310. Then you would write a blog post about said philosophy and your playlist.  What an appropriate post for teaching visual literacy! In the same way that Carly uses youtube in this post to convey her teaching philosophy, she could easily compile a youtube montage to teach future students.  This technology and idea crosses disciplinary lines. It could be used just as easily by a Math teacher or a History teacher.  Her post incorporates all the elements of a true visual document.  Thank you, Carly! This is one of those posts that I know will prove to be a valuable resource for us in the future! On that note, wouldn't that be a great assignment for my future History students... to compile a playlist of youtube videos describing themselves or an event??!??  Great idea!

Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies Reply and Video Idea

The primary message that I got from both of these blogs was that EDM310 is only as hard as you make it.  Procrastination and looking for the "easy answer" will not cut it in this class. Also, one of the keys to success in EDM310 is to use the resources and tutorials provided. It's amazing how easy it can be to answer your own questions using the tools provided by the blog, facebook, and instruction manuals.
If I were to make a video like one of these for EDM310, I would like to make a EDM310 survival guide in the style of Bear Grylls and his show Man Vs. Wild.  We could call it "Student vs. EDM310" complete with a thick-accented nature guide showing students how to "brave the wild" of the EDM310 blog and other resources! If we ever did a project like that, I would love to be involved!

Learn to Change, Change to Learn Response


In our current education system, most of the classrooms are teacher-centered and school-centered.  The proposition made in this video seems to be to reverse this, providing a student-centered environment where the venue moves from classroom to the community.  It would be technology-based and provide students with talented teachers regardless of their school zoning or district.  I think that the most important idea from this video came from the man who described the changes in the types of things being taught.  It again relates to the idea of the educator as a guide/mentor.  He said that students should be able to find, validate, synthesize, and collaborate with information.  They should also be able to use this validated, synthesized information to problem solve.  I agree with his assessment of moving from simple standards to actual concrete skills.  The problem I have with most ideas that we have been exposed to in EDM310 are problems of implementation.  I agree that a schools "without bricks and mortar" are completely possible... but are they practical?  It would be a slow transition from school to community, and I don't necessarily think that getting rid of the physical school would be a great idea. I think that what happens inside the building should change. I also think that students should have more hands-on learning experiences in the community.  The video also mentions the disparity in resources and innovation from within the school and outside of the school. Children are in a richer, more creative, and well-networked environment outside of most classrooms.  We have to find a way to integrate what they use in their daily lives (email, chat, video games, youtube, facebook, texting, Skype, etc...) into the classroom.  I think this class is brining education in our area a little closer to the school of the future outlined in this video.


Scavenger Hunt on Web 2.0

The first thing I found was how to make my own comic.  To view my Comic, click below:
My Comic
(The only problem I had with this site is that it doesn't have an "embed" option. You can either email your comic or print it out.)

The second tool I found was how to create poll anytime or anywhere.

Make your own poll voting question with Poll Everywhere

The third tool I found was a video tool I had never used before called Animoto.
This site takes your photos, videos, and music and turns it into a unique video using what they call "Cinematic Artificial Intelligence," which is supposed to make each video take on the style of the selected music and images.  Cinematic AI is also supposed to be like having a professional director and editor for your movie.  Movies can also be done in HD and look professional because there is no Animoto label in the video.  This site also provides a music gallery and a large style library that helps you set the tone of the video you are producing. It also looks like a good site to combine make a presentation or project like the one described in the "This is How We Dream" post above by using AnimotoEducation!

Book Trailer- Project #12

C4T #2

Grades 1 and 2 at Ancaster Meadow School

February 24, 2012 Post "Around the Watercycle"

The Ancaster Meadow School is an elementary school in Ontario, Canada. Ms. Aviva Dunsiger manages this particular blog for her first and second grade students.   In the first post that I commented on, the second grade students were working on a video project of a play called Around the Watercycle.  Each group of six students made props and divided the parts of the play among themselves.  They also assigned roles for who would do what including who would film.  After they created their film, they were to critique their performance and give themselves feedback.  Ms. Dunsiger also posted three of the projects and pictures of the students rehearsing and preparing for their performance.  This project worked on so many educational levels.  Not only were the students doing a Science project, but they were working on Reading, Drama, and what she calls "Creative Arts" or Media.  The comment I left on the blog praised the students for such creative work. I was honestly surprised by the level of professionalism displayed by such young students.  This was my comment and Mrs. Aviva's reply"

Jessica Bonner on February 26, 2012 at 3:10 pm said:

Hello! I am a student at the University of South Alabama, and I was assigned your blog for one of my classes. I have to say that I love this particular project and the way it combined so many different subjects areas. The students did a wonderful job on their videos! They also gave themselves good encouragement and feedback. My class is learning about education in media, and your project presents a perfect example of how technology provides students with a multitude of new and exciting learning experiences. Thank you for sharing this post and the videos!

adunsige on February 26, 2012 at 6:01 pm said:

• Thanks for your comment, Jessica! I’m glad that you enjoyed this post and this activity. I think it’s great when many expectations can be met with a single activity that is both engaging and a great learning opportunity too!

  Aviva

  
  

I share her sentiment about projects doing "double duty."

March 2, 2012 Post "Skype Literature Circle"
In this post, students are Skyping with a teacher candidate as a part of a Virtual Mentorship Program.  The teacher has assigned the book Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes for the students to read. Before they read the book, she asks them to make predictions about what will happen.  This whole discussion session is conducted over Skype. After the students read the book, they will have another Skype conversation with the teacher candidate about what they learned and how their predictions differed from what actually happened in the book.   Mrs. Dunsiger posted a video of the students Skyping; they looked so excited to be a part of the project and were obviously eager to dive into reading.  At the end of the post, Mrs. Dunsiger asked repliers to make their own predictions about what will happen and then tune in next week when they make another post about the results.  I put that the main character (Chrysanthemum) will turn into a flower of the same name at the end of the book. It was a far-fetched guess, but we'll see what happens!!  I also commented that this project proves how technology can open up new and exciting ways for students to learn and be excited about it!

Blog Post #7

The Networked Student Response
Why does the "networked student" need a teacher?  That is the central question at the end of this video by Wendy Drexler (@wendydrexler).  If students in modern times know and understand how to use technology to research, investigate, and learn for themselves, what is the role of a teacher in this type of student's life?  The video attempts to answer this question by reevaluating the traditional ideas of what part the teacher plays in the classroom.
 In the past (and even today), teachers were simply conveyors of knowledge.  They were the central figure in what Dr. Strange calls "Burp-back education."  They spoon-fed facts, instructions, information, and assignments to their students who in turn produced the exact response required by them.  This takes very little imagination or ingenuity on the student's part and allows the teacher to control every part of the process.  However, this traditional teacher would be completely irrelevant to the networked student, which is more likely to be the student we will encounter.  Thus, for these students the teacher takes on the role of "learning architect," "modeler,"  "learning concierge," "change agent," and "connected learning incubator."
As this class progresses, I see myself more in the role of the teacher described in the video. Instead of a transmitting facts and figures, I want to be able to teach my students how to optimally learn on their own.  In other words, I want to become a "learning architect" as the video describes. The "learning architect" creates a complex system and network that the students use as a resource to for learning.  In this case, it would involve teaching students about acceptable web resources and deciphering academic sources from non-academic.  Instead of completely controlling every aspect of the learning process, I would guide students through their own academic experience.  In essence, I would not be a teacher but a facilitator.

The teacher-facilitator would become a mentor that would put the emphasis on how to learn instead of merely what to learn.  Instead of feeding information, we could help with weeding through information.  To accomodate the networked student, we must become the networked teacher.  That's the basic idea I got from watching this video.  How are we to lead students to the appropriate sources if we don't know what they are?  How can we teach students to effectively communicate with other professionals through chat, blogs, email, etc... if we ourselves do not know "web etiquette," or don't stress the importance of professionalism to our students?  These types of students already have the skills and the savviness, what they need is someone to help them organize and examine information, connect to others who would be beneficial to their learning network, and shepherd them into a more rewarding experience.   It will be hard to be a teacher for these modern students; it gives the students more control.  Conversely, it will be more rewarding for both the student and the teacher.  The outcome will be students who graduate from "empty buckets" to independent thinkers through this mentoring relationship.
I don't think I am fully prepared to be a networked teacher yet.  I also don't think most of the school systems are prepared for this type of student/teacher relationship. Inevitably, the nature of teaching will change because the students will change.  I need to purpose in my heart to accomodate those changes in a way that will always be relevant to my students. Understanding the importance of relevancy is a huge part of being a good,networked teacher.

Project #10 First Post

This class has provided me with a great start for my PLN. Through this class I have discovered invaluable resources like Teachertube and Reading Rockets. I have also learned to count among my assets blogger, twitter, facebook, and schooltube. Through my blog assignments, I have been introduced to some great teacher blogs that I will continue to follow. I have also been inspired to look for other sites that are more specific to History teachers. I have found some great resources like Secrets of Great History Teachers. Also, in my EDF315 we were introduced to the Teaching Tolerance site that offers activities for a vast variety of subjects and age groups. The links to these sites are below. I'm sure my PLN will continue to grow, even after this class is over.

Project #9b

Acknowledgement: Famous Firsts in American Women's History

Blog Post #6

Dr. Pausch is a Spartan. 

Dr. Randy Pausch's last lecture on "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on the surface seems like a trip down memory lane for him. He outlines his childhood dreams and how he achieved, modified, or attempted to fulfill them throughout his life. However, underneath the entertaining and somewhat humorous anecdotes, Pausch is sharing his philosophy on teaching and learning.  As part of this presentation, he talks about "enabling the dreams of others."  What else are we supposed to do as educators but enable the dreams of our students?  Through his experience as an educator and a student, Pausch shares with the audience some of the ways that he enabled his own dream fulfillment and the dream fulfillment of his students.

First, and most importantly, the foundation for his teaching philosophy is "head fake" learning or indirect learning. He says, "The best way to teach someone something is to have them think they are learning something else."  I think that is what EDM310 is all about in a way.  This class is teaching us to use non-traditional tools not only to equip students with technological skills they formally did not possess but also to incorporate the curriculum in these exercises. For example, the video we watched about using video games as a tool for education. This is what Dr. Pausch did with Project Alice; he created a tool that educators use as a "head fake" for learning.  Students think they are writing a movie script but they are actually learning Java.  It's an ingenious concept.  Along with the concept of the "head fake" is learning something hard but having fun.  I only hope that I can effectively implement this attitude into my classroom.  

Secondly, he talks about freedom being the key to success in many of his projects, particularly the ETC (Entertainment Technology Center).  He says, "Inspiration and the permission to dream is HUGE."  I could not agree more.  I think the success of Pausch's programs shows that with a little imagination and a lot of academic freedom, students will always exceed your expectations. He talks about how surprised he was at his student's Virtual Reality projects, and he was given the advice to tell them they could do better. He gave them the freedom to do what they wanted to do, and the outcome was higher quality work.  When pushed harder with more leeway, students gave even better results.  I found this to be truly eye-opening. I have always thought I would be an advocate of a rigid and controlled subject study. However, I now realize that I too have probably underestimated the ingenuity and ability of my future students. I know that freedom in the classroom combined with indirect learning will produce the results I want for my students: learning and inspiration.

Third, I feel a huge part of his teaching philosophy includes feedback and evaluation, although he does not explicitly highlight this in his lecture. He does say that, "The best gift an educator can give is to get someone to be self-reflective."  He also talks about utilizing spreadsheets that quantify group members feedback about a particular student's agreeableness in a group setting.  I have learned from this class that not only getting feedback but giving myself feedback in a constructive way enhances the quality of my work.  I know that will also be the case with my future students. It is a challenge to get students (especially in middle school) to take an analytical look at their own work to evaluate its merits, but I think the effort will be well worth it. Self-evaluation is a tool that students can carry with them for the rest of their lives, academic and otherwise.  I also want my students to know that I care about them, and that sometimes includes showing them what they are doing wrong. 

Lastly, I wanted to include some other enlightening words of wisdom I gleaned from this video that I will incorporate in my own life and teaching philosophy.  The last three points he makes in his presentation are: 1) Choose whether you are going to be Tigger or Eeyore, 2) Never lose childlike wonder, and 3)Help others.  Basically he is saying to stay positive, inquisitive, and caring. As teachers I think that those three attributes can make for a great educational experience in your class.  He also talks about brick walls (obstacles) in our lives demonstrating how bad we want something.  If we give up the first brick wall we hit, we didn't really want it in the first place.  I must ask myself if I really want to achieve the goal of making a difference in the lives of my students, because I know I will hit many major "brick walls" on the way to that goal.  I will definitely remember this analogy when I get there. Thank you, Dr. Pausch.  Your legacy lives on. 

C4K Summary Post

C4K#1 Lakin's Blog

Lakin Jackson is a student from Noel, Mo in Mrs . C's eighth grade class. She has not posted on her blog since December 2011, however I looked over the posts from a few weeks before that and commented on her blog overall.  She has been nominated for a best student blog award, and most of the posts' content had to do with a creative writing project she was working on.  She was also doing a similar project to what we do called "Comments for Kids" where she commented on other student's work.  Her posts were articulate and self-reflecting. She also asked for a lot of feedback, which I gave in my post specifically about the first paragraph of her Creative Writing assignment.




C4K #2 Confessions of an AP Government Student- Hannah

As the title of her blog implies, Hannah is an AP Government student in Mr. Gwaltney's class at the Online School for Girls.  Hannah's post from February 8, 2012 was about her apprehension at joining this particular class.  As a senior, she felt that "senioritis" may distract her from such strenuous curriculum. However, Hannah then describes how much she enjoys the class discussions and gives a surprisingly unbiased look at her textbook.  This is the comment I left on her post:

Hello, Hannah! What a well-written, honest analysis of your AP U.S. Government and History class! As a future History teacher, I can appreciate students who accurately describe their true feelings toward course assignments and required material. It is obvious from your post that you are an open-minded and critical thinker, because you are able to question your own beliefs and listen to the views and opinions of others. This shows a lot of maturity and wisdom on your part. It is a hard thing to admit that you have changed your mind about an issue. I have enjoyed reading this and look forward to your future posts.Thanks!

She detailed about an assignment where she proposed repealing the 2nd Amendment. She said that after hearing other arguments, that she had changed her mind.  I very much enjoyed reading this blog, because I would LOVE to teach an American Government and History class some day. 

C4K #3 Mrs. Garcia's Class- Hayley's Blog

Hayley is a student in Mrs. Garcia's fourth grade class. On January 25, 2012 Hayley posted about a demonstration she did for her fellow classmates on how to make a paper star.  This post was very revealing about Hayley as a person and a student. She told about learning how to make the star when she and her family lived in the Philippines before they moved to Canada.  This is the post I left for her:

Hello, Hayley. 
My name is Jessica, and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I was given your blog as an assignment for one of my classes, and you have done a fabulous job! I enjoyed reading about your demonstration and how you were so helpful to your classmates. It was also nice learn a little about where you come from and your family from this post. Do you ever miss living in the Philippines? I know you said that your Mom and Dad really loved it there, but I was wondering how you felt about it. Thank you for sharing this post. 

I haven't received a response from Hayley about her feelings toward the Philippines yet, but I look forward to hearing from her.



C4K #4 Mr. Salsich's 3rd Grade Class Blog
Mr. Salsich's 3rd graders from Connecticut posted a blog February 26 about building boats.  In this science assignment, they were given certain materials such as sponges, straws, and tin foil to build a boat that would hold the maximum number of marbles while remaining afloat.  The children were divided into teams of two to build the boats. After the experiment, the students wrote about their experience and what they learned about buoyancy and boat building. The post included video of the experiments and their reflections.  First of all let me say, this blog is well-organized and interesting. I was impressed with Mr. Salsich and his students.  This is the comment I left on their post:

Hello, class!
I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. I am very impressed by this class’s ingenuity and resourcefulness in building their boats. What a great project! Every one did such a wonderful job, not just with their boats, but with understanding why some things worked and others didn’t. Learning how to self-evaluate is just as important as learning the concept at hand (i.e. buoyancy). Thank you for sharing your class project! I have enjoyed your other blog posts as well! Keep up the good work!

This project worked on so many levels: science, teamwork, writing (self-evaluations), and critical thinking. They did a great job! I encourage everyone to watch the videos of the experiments!

Project #8