Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Blog Post 10

In this cartoon, I believe that the point it is trying to make is that just because something cost less that it may not be the better choice. I would much rather pay extra for something that I know is going to last me a long time rather then saving money for something that isn't going to do me any justice. Just because the Papermate LOOKS like a better choice from judging it, doesn't mean it is. Don't always judge a book by its cover before you open it up and read the pages.
In Spencer's post, "Why Are Your Kids Playing Games" he talks about how he educated his students in a factory setting and that its more hands on for the students. The principal doesn't agree and sees it more as a game. The principal says that no matter what is being taught to the students, he does not want games in his school. Towards the end of the post the principal tells Spencer what needs to be taught and Spencer sees this more of a challenge. He is really rebellious and courageous. Most teachers would simply just agree and do it the way the principal tells them to but Spencer sees this as a challenge.
I also read 5 Reasons for Leaving the Pencil Confrence

Scott McLeod made some really valid points in his blog. I commented that it was a very interesting and witty post to read. With being in EDM310 I've learned that education through technology and the web is something our generation needs to get used to. Sure there are awful things that you can find on the internet but with that there are also amazing and educational things that we can learn from. Students need to be aware of what is on the web regardless if its good or bad. Making mistakes and seeing others make mistakes only helps us learn from what is right and what is wrong. Scott McLeod travels to many schools and loves to visit schools that "live on the cutting edge of deeper learning." Since he likes to visit schools that are into different learning styles maybe he should visit Dr. Strange's class?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Blog Post 9

In McClung's first blog post he talked about how its important to focus on the student and not yourself. That the student is the main priority and their comprehension is something big to worry about. Then he went on to say that being flexible and patient is important. Not always did his lesson plan scheduling work out the way he wanted but he had to make the best out of a worse situation. He also states that communication is good for every situation. That if there is an issue then its best to talk it out with the student rather than yelling or punishing them. He states that its best to help students when they are down and encourage them that they can do better rather than making it worse.
In the Volume 4 blog post he goes on to talk about what all he has learned in his years and that he wants this blog to be different than the others. Something that McClung learned was that he needed to always remember what his job was for. To educate and focus on the students. He got so caught up in wanting others to like him that it took away his focus on the main goal and changed his ways of teaching. He also learned that its easier to fall in routine than what he expected. He says that once your teaching becomes routine then its easy for not only you but for the students as well. Your teaching becomes lazy and the students classwork gets uninteresting for them. McClung was offered a higher teaching position and said that he was going to accept the offer. He wants to challenge and improve himself in this position as well as his students.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Blog Post 8

1. Richard Miller talked mostly about how writing needs to be expressed more creatively. He believes in multimedia writing and writing that is fundamentally different. I think that I could definitely use this in my future teachings. I plan to teach high school English so I definitely will have a lot of writing in my classroom. I want my students to feel comfortable in my classroom and with their peers. I don't want my students to feel judged or in a position to where they cant open up with their writing. I think that using multimedia writing like Dr. Miller can be a fun and different way to help my students with their creative writing. I think that creativity is crucial in a students success, especially with English. As a teacher I feel like its my job to not only help my students with their writing and creativity but also their success and confidence.

2. Carly Pugh's blog post was about how she was being lazy and behind on her work when suddenly she realized she could write about whatever she wanted for her last blog post. She got extremely excited and created a very interesting and fun blog post to read. I think she comes extremely close to Dr. Miller's hopes for writing with multimedia. Carly put forth a lot of effort in her post. I think that all of her approaches when she becomes a teacher are wonderful and creative.



3. In The Chipper Series it was about a girl in EDM310 with Dr. Strange who didn't like his way of teaching or assignments. She believed that he should teach her since she was paying to go to school there and be taught. Chipper decided to drop out of school and create her own school. When that failed Chipper got a job teaching but was fired because she never showed up for work. She worked at a few more places after but nothing ever worked out the way she wanted it to. In the end Chipper went back to school and eventually got her Masters degree.
The second video EDM for dummies was about students who were completely frustrated with the class and lost in their work. They felt like they were going crazy because it was so much work and they didn't know how to manage it all. After the students got the book EDM for Dummies the students felt a lot more comfortable with their classwork and blog.
I think that the primary message of these videos was to keep calm and get through this class. I know sometimes I feel extremely frustrated with the classwork and blog post but in the end I'm helping myself learn and teach myself the fundamentals of success in the classroom. Both videos were inspiring and fun to watch.

4. In the video Learn to Change, Change to Learn it talks about how work is changing and technology is advancing everyday. I think the video was telling us that technology has emerged learning from the usual lectures to something more creative. When watching this video it has taught me that when I become a teacher I should provide the best for my students. When technology is as advanced as what it is today then why shouldn't teachers welcome it in their classes? Just because teachers are using technology in their classes doesn't mean that its an excuse for them not to teach. I think students still need their teachers to help walk them through processes of learning but with the help of technology advancement in the classroom the success of our students could possibly be limitless.



5. (1.) When watching the Scavenger Hunt 2.0 video I thought about how creative it was. I think that Edmodo is a great social networking site for teachers. I would use it to connect with my students and their parents easier outside of the classroom. Edmodo is like a mix between Facebook and Pinterest. I could use this as a homework site, take home quiz site, basically anything I wanted my students to do outside of the classroom could be done here. It could also allow me to contact the parents easier as well.
(2.) Prezi is an awesome site for teachers and students. Teacher can use it for a more creative and fun way of teaching their students new information. Prezi is like a more advanced and creative Power Point. I think students could use Prezi to create presentations or group projects.
(3.) This is My Comic
(4.) A video tool that I have never used is Animoto is a pretty cool and creative video tool. You can add videos of your own or create videos. After you create your own video you can share it to Facebook or Twitter or your blog. I think this is a really interesting video tool for teachers and students to be able to use.
(5.) This is My Poll

C4T#2 Post #2

Wesley Fryer
This week I was assigned to Wesley Fryer's most recent blog post Moving at the Speed of Creativity. His post was basically a summary of Growing Nimble Thinkers for the Creative Economy by Deborah Morrison and Glenn Griffin, with some of his own notes about the post as well. There was a video with the post that I watched too. The post talked about how important creativity is in the classroom and educating students. I introduced myself and where I was from. I commented that I was a firm believer in how important creativity is for a students success. I also commented that I didn't think creativity was just about the "a-ha" moment but about failure as well. A main point that I made was that I don't believe creativity is a major help in success by  just succeeding but also by failure. I said that I thought failure was just as important as success. The reason behind me saying that was because I believe brick walls aren't there to keep us out but to test us to see how much we want to know what is on the other side. This post was very interesting and helped me to see just how important creativity is for success of our students.