Important Things A Teacher Must Know!

Out of these three list, the two I found to be most important were Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers make with Technology and Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology. I chose these because Mr. Johnson brings up some excellent points and some good food for thought. You can check these lists out Here. Mr. Johnson basically points out seven stupid things teachers do with the access of technology. I agreed with the one about not backing up your data the most! Probably because I have made this mistake before myself. Also, he is right about teachers really needing to watch their students when they are working on the computer because kids will be kids and they do not need to be exposed to things they shouldn't be looking at.I also agree with the seventh one, that it is foolish to think that technology will go away.
According to the seven brilliant things teachers do with technology, kids can better channel their inner creativity and I am a big believer in this. I think that the use of computers is a very brilliant resource and it can only benefit the students. I also agree with the positivity of it putting kids in touch with people of other backgrounds and learning styles. This exposes the students to new ways of looking and comprehending things.

My Personal Learning Network (PLN) Project 6

Goodness, I have absolutely learned so much in this class. My opinion about the importance of technology has changed tremendously! In this EDM class the most frequent form of technology I have used has been my blog! I have enjoyed posting my opinions of others' work's and also having them share their opinions with me! To be given the chance to communicate with people around the globe such as Mr. Dale, meet with a class of kids from Auckland, New Zealand, and meet a very smart little girl named Kaia and her father could not have been done without the use of technology advances. I am happy I got to share my thoughts with others about these experiences through my blog. When I become a teacher I would definitely like to incorporate the use of a class blog and I will continue to blog my opinions in the future. I encourage others to do the same. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to watch all of the great videos posted by Mr. Wesch and also to get to view the wonderful web page created by Dr. Alice Christie to name just a few. You can view all the wonderful videos and also my reactions to those videos Here! Your opinions and comments are always welcome!

Project 11 Presentation

My project 11 presentation was done with my classmate LaChandra Lett and we focused on the ever popular debate: Tech Literate Teachers vs. Non-Tech Literate Teachers. During this presentation we talked and reinforced the fact that our school and education systems are changing and that teachers need to be the first to recognize and adjust so that they and their students will benefit rather than fall behind. We put up a few background slides made on Google Documents Presentation and talked about each of the slides which were titled: Benefits of Tech Literate Teachers and Possible Reason Someone Might Not Be Willing to Update Technologically. We then discussed all aspects of why or why not a teachers would decide to become or not to become tech literate. I think we and the class found that there really is not going to be much of a choice for our teaching generation, we all need to face the fact that technology will be prevelant in our society and most likely in our classrooms.

At the Teacher's Desk

Wow, I found at the teachers desk to be an extremely useful source! Here teachers can share ideas and collaborate with each other. You can check it out for yourself Here!

This website is very useful and seems to be a good place to turn to for information, insight, or a helpful hint. The information is easily obtained and it really seems like they are truly there to help if you need assistance with anything, especially any technical assistance. All teachers should partake in this especially if they are not exactly tech savvy, because this sight really seems like it could help turn that around and benefit the teachers and the students.

I thought the part about the Banning Pencils and Crayons to be interesting...or a bit scary! :) All in all what I found at The Teacher's Desk was positive and something I will refer back to for sure!

Michael Wesch: Toward a New Future of Whatever

This video by Michael Wesch, once again, was very interesting to me and I could really relate to what he was saying. You can watch it HereHis idea, and what he says energizes him, is the idea of Media Ecology. This says that media mediates our conversations and I agree. Television and the way people speak on television directly influence our culture and even our everyday lives, at least mine anyway. MTV was a great example because this type of television definitely influenced my youth and many of my friends' youth. My college experience is similar to what he describes, I thought the brief history of whatever was funny and it was true although it took me a minute to really let all the meanings of the different time periods set in. He makes great points and good examples. I think everyone should give it a listen.

Why Is It So Important to Post Your Work?

Posting your work is so beneficial to everyone that is involved. I think that there is a lot of importance and a lot to be gained from posting your own work and having others post their work. I can give four great examples of what I am talking about:




The first is a site by Dr. Alice Christie. You can view this site Click Here. This site was extremely useful to me as I explored all she had to offer. She is respectable because she has been in the field of educating for forty years! Now, I personally need advice sometimes and this site is perfect. She really is able to communicate with all kinds of people from actual teachers to students who plan to become teachers just through the thoughts and words she has made available through her blog. It provided resources on educational technology, web design, photography, her research publications, and even gives workshops to meet your specific needs. This is definitely an awesome resource to have.



My second example is of a school from New York City with an awesome children's chorus. You can check this out Click Here. This chorus, PS22, actually re-did Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and made a video and posted it. Fleetwood Mac's tour manager Stevie Nick's caught wind of the video and actually invited the chorus to sing the song at their next show in Madison Square Garden! I found this to be so interesting and exciting! The power of blogging is unlimited and this is evident that everyone should be proud of their work and post it because you never know who is watching and where it may take you!



My third example is from the video by Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today. You can watch it yourself Here. In this video my eyes really opened to how students, I included, really are without really realizing the importance of it. I think many students just accept the way they are because of their age bracket and that they should just sit back and do nothing. In reality we really have a lot more say than we willingly acknowledge and I think we should all recognize this. One example from the video is the money wasted on text books. I think that students can influence a putting a stop to this tremendously. This video impacted me and I would have never seen it had Mr. Wesch not posted it and made it available to me.



And lastly, I really think Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was such a good assignment and blog to explore. This was truly my favorite assignment to watch. You can watch it Here He was a definite inspiration and his work definitely needed to be posted and heard around the world. The quotes here are so inspiring and can truly help if you need an extra boost of encouragement. This would not have been available to me halfway around the world and I would never have even known that Randy Pausch even existed if his work had not been posted. To me, it is very important to post your work because you never know who it is helping, inspiring, or benefiting.

Believing, Inventing, and Implementing Technological Pedagogies

I read the post by Anthony Capps and really respect his opinions on the subject. He really seems to know alot about this subject and his views on media production. You can check out more of what Mr. Capps has to say Click here

ALEX

The Alabama Learning exchange (ALEX) website, is very intriguing. The substantial amounts of information available to the classroom and to the teachers is absolutely remarkable! It is very simple to use and includes things such as classroom lesson plans and podcasting material. All you have to do is simply select which grade and which subject and lesson plan ideas are made available to you. This aids in benefiting the teacher as well as the students.

The site allows you to participate more actively with the Personal Workspace Option. Here you can set up an account and participate and interact more closely with the site. The ALEX site is genius for teachers and can be of tremendous help.

Dear Kaia

I really thought the blog post by Dr. Chamberlain was interesting and can really appreciate the passion and enthusiasm that my instructors have for what they teach. I plan to be just as passionate so my students will be involved also. The video on Kaia was so cute and such a great idea.Click here to see!

I thought it was so cool that Dr. Chamberlain took the video and made it into a voice thread! He also explains to listeners how they can create voice threads. The father of Kaia did have some concerns, which were understandable, because obviously this video is made available to everyone around the world. However, it is safe and this little girl has a very bright future ahead of her!