Final Reflection

My final Reflection!!

Project #13

For this blog post assignment we were required to tell about the numerous ways that we communicated to complete a smart board assignment. We used text messaging which was the easiest way to communicate! We just text or called each other to know what part we wanted to do! Skype was a little difficult for me to use! Too much to download to initially use it! I preferred using Tango on my phone! It was so much easier to use and! Almost everyone has smart phones now and using Tango is extremely easy! I also text my group members using a tool called voxer! It's free and we were able to chat send pics and voice messages! I was a little scared when I found out that this class was mainly online and we had to do work collectively! I am a stay at home mother so I have free time, but most people work and have extremely busy schedules and are unable to meet in person! Tango and voxer made that a whole lot easier! Also being able to send our blog post and videos through Google docs made the project so much easier! We found it easier to just set up an email account and everyone sent their information to it! We were able to easily transfer the information in-case someone was not able to come to the lab!

Podcast attempt #2

Blog Post #13

The Video by Bill Crosby was very interesting! The first thing that came to my mind was the fact that in every c4t that I have done this semester I was first required to identify myself. Every comment started like this..." My name is Jamie Cunningham and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I am pretty sure that the students in Mr. Crosby's class had to do something similar. I found it amazing that his students did not know what city they lived in. I know at the beginning of the video he stated that some of the students had moved a lot, but they should still know the current city and country that they live in. I am pretty sure that by requiring the children to add an introduction to there blogs would help them to learn it!! I also found what he did with his class extremely interesting. Children from around the world were able to see what the students accomplished with there balloons. It also gave the children the opportunity to teach someone else! The children seemed so amazed when there balloon went into the air! Another part of the video that I thought was amazing was when a new student was introduced into there class room. The little girl had leukemia and the teacher was told that she would not be able to be with the rest of the class because it would make her sick. With the use of technology it was possible for her to see the other students and participate with the class!! Awesome!

A Vision of Students Today

I loved the Video by Michael Wesch and his students. This short video pointed out a lot of great things. In the video it shows how the students spend a lot of time doing pointless assignments that will not help them later in life, help them find a job, or help solve any problems that the world is facing today. The assignments, papers, and stuff is pointless!!

On one of the papers that one of the students held up it stated that they only got 7 hours of sleep a night. One student stated that they read so many profiles a day! One thing that I noticed was that most students were using technology in class and about how many emails they will send. The papers that students are required to write are pointless. Who besides the teacher will read them?? Being able to express their views and what they have learned on blogs allows everyone in the world to see it. In the video there was writtin on the walls "if walls could talk" most people are doodling while the instructor is teaching. I am currently enrolled in a health and fitness course. I am not gonna name the instructor but, while I am in there I am almost always on my computer looking at other stuff because he just gets up and reads slide (something I can do at home). He then emails us the slides for study material. I see the class as pointless. Teachers write material on chalk boards and the students still have to read the material on there own time. This is not only a wast of the students time but also the teachers!!


How Will You Teach me in the 21st Century
I have no idea what grade I will be teaching so my thoughts on this assignment may be a little random. I included several grade levels in this post!
What I want my children to KNOW- I want my children to know that I am always available for them inside and outside of the classroom setting whether it be telephone, email, or text. they are always able to ask question without being ridiculed or put down regardless how stupid others may think the question is. I want them to know that they are able to express there opinions about the subject even if it's something that they don't like(just express your opinion in a nice way even if you don't like it it will hurt someone's feeling, but life isn't always nice so why set this fantasy up in our children's minds allow them to express there opinions in a nice way).
What I want my children to be able to do This depends on which grade I teach. If I am a pre-k teacher then of course I would not expect this but if I teach third grade then I would. In a third grade class I would expect them to know how to blog and how to successful find useful information on the internet. I would expect them to have a Facebook page with all of there classmates as friends and to use the page daily with questions or answers to classmates questions. I would expect them to come to class motivated to learn something new every day! I want them to participate in class discussions and put a full effort towards learning.
What I want them to have experienced I want them to experience having a teacher who really cares. I want them to be able to say that they learned something new in a different manner from other teachers. I want them to experience a fun and exciting way of learning rather than the traditional boring learning environment.
Reflection Melinda Krafts movie was made by taking a lot of pictures and putting them into a movie with music and text. If I were to create a movie like this. I would take pictures throughout the entire semester. Random pics, Pictures of there faces when I say certain things and pictures of them attempting to try new things. By the end of the semester I want them to have mastered the skills that I teach and take new pics of them having mastered the skills. I will put the pictures into a video. I wish I had pictures of my face from the first day of edm310 I was really lost! I still don't know everything but i'm sure my first day face was really nervous! And to see me now blogging and using Skype and Facebook I am amazed with technology. I still don't know everything and everyday I learn something new but, I am not as scared and I actually feel way more comfortable using technology. I want my students to be able to see this!! See how much they have progressed throughout the semester! See there failure and where they tried again.

The basic Technology tool kit for a teacher
The skills that are mentioned in this post are many of the skills that I have learned in EDM310. I can not say that I have mastered everything on here because I am still learning new things daily! Anyone in the Education field should constantly learn as well as be teaching! Technology will forever change and if something is created to make learning more engaging then we should use it! In the begining of her post she stated how the tools that teachers used were different colored pens. I thought that was funny because I am still experiencing that in college. (I hate the color red lol!!) Teachers will mark things that they feel are incorrect in red pen and if you do. I believe that teachers should know how to use everything on the list. They are not difficult things they are really very basic. Teachers should stay up to date with technology so that the students will stay engaged in learning.

While watching the post video Exemplar of students work with video I was amazed. When reading the post about it I noticed that the instructor stated that Carlton's teacher was trying to find a way for him to be engaged in learning. I am so happy that did this and allowed him to be creative in the video. He did an amazing job and other students will be able to see what he does in the garden at his school. I enjoyed the video and I think he did a great job.

Post by Jennifer Brokofsky actually made my mind race. A lot came to mind when reading this post. In the post she mentions how we are hindering our children from learning. 25 students are assigned to one teacher, books are limited, and the time is limited. Students have to wait for the teacher to finish helping another student until the teacher can get time to get to them. A couple things came to mind while reading this. In the post she mentioned books are limited. Things change daily. No only technology but also the material that is stated in books. I am enrolled in a Physical Fitness class and three or more times this semester the instructor has said "disregard that part it is incorrect please input the correct number for study purposes". Budget cuts are being made but nothing has really changed. You can easily change the text of a book in a computer with a simple delete, but in a book the entire book has to be reprinted which is expensive and a waste of paper. For college students it is a waste of money.
As Jennifer stated in her post, with the use of technology students will be able to access the information instantly without having to wait for a teacher or wait for a book to check out. I totally agree with this post about making out children STOP learning. If teachers would continue learning and learn the new information available through technology then it will provide more opportunities for the students.

C4t#4

Where am I

This Post by Stephen Anderson was very interesting. I enjoyed reading his post about his vacation that he takes every year for the past three years. He does not take any means of technology that will connect him with the rest of the world. He does not bring a cell phone, laptop, kindle or anything. He called it a techno cleanse. I commented on his blog My name is Jamie Cunningham and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. We have a class blog feel free to check it out here I really enjoyed reading your post. I went on vacation last week to Florida. Unfortunately I was unable to leave my phone and laptop at home. I had to do work for EDM310. You stated that the 7 days without your technology was tough. I can imagine so this would probably be difficult for anyone. Elementary children have cell phones and Facebook pages now! Everyone is getting addicted to technology. I plan on taking another vacation after this semester has finished. I am going to try this techno cleanse. I can't wait!!




This Stephen Anderson was very humorous. Please watch the video to understand the point that he is trying to make. In my opinion he made two very great points in this video. The first was that it takes a lot the be a great leader. The second was about how so much emphasis is placed on the leader, but without the followers the movement would not succeed. I enjoyed the video. In the video it explained how with just one guy dancing, everyone around him was looking at him like he was stupid. Other people wanted to join in but were afraid of looking stupid. What Anderson was trying to do was create an example for how leadership works. Without the first follower who other people would not have followed either. When the second person joined in, the leader welcomed him by doing a dance together. Things a great leader should always do is make your self easy to follow, don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself, and always welcome new people to follow you by showing them they are appreciated. In Anderson's post he wants people to evaluate there leadership skills and make sure they are being like the "Lone-Nut Leader". We can relate this to technology in the schools. Once a couple teachers start it then many others will join for the fear of not being in the "In Crowd" If one person starts the movement and a couple others follow... Soon the momentum will pick up and a movement will start!

Final PLN

This is my final PLN. I have added a couple of tiles like Wells Fargo bank, Skype and Google Drive. I have also added Delicious. I love using the prezi so I kept it I even used it for my project 15b. It is so easy to set up and looks so much more interesting than a traditional slide. I have Google maps. That is something that I use a lot. I have lived in the Mobile area all my life and still don't know my way around!!

Project 15b

Progress Report on Final Project

Creating an Ibook is a job!! Group 2 decided that we would get all of the information together first and then plug it into our ibook. We have all of our videos, blog post assignments, and pictures together and we have also came up with a theme. We still have to plug all the information in and finish our smartboard 15 project, which we plan on finishing tomorrow!!

Blog Post #12

Every assignment that we have completed this semester was about using technology inside the class room. I am concerned about physical fitness as well. So I decided to create an assignment that uses technology outdoors or for p.e majors.

1.)Watch the video Betty Ann Fish Google and the video Ipods and Ipads Motivate Students in a Fitness Circuit
Leave a comment about the video mark it edm310 and write a paragraph explaining how Technology can be used for Physical fitness classes.

2.) Visit this blog by Mr. Jarrod Robinson find a form of technology that Mr. Robinson discuss on his blog and tell how it could be useful for Physical Education Teachers.


My Response
My Change Of Heart!!
Before finding the video and the site I was under the impression that Technology has made many people lazy. I guess because every assignment that we have had for the course has shown technology being used inside of the classroom. I decided to do an assignment that shows the use of technology while being active. In the videos by Betty Ann Fish the sound quality of the children is not great ! I had to really listen to understand what the children were saying but the little girl stated that she loved using the ipod to learn how to do different exercise assignments rather than just seeing them on flash cards. The video proved that technology can also be used in Physical Education classes.The second video by her was about how Betty Fish uses iPods and Ipads with her students to show them the exercises that they will be doing. Some people would possibly argue that maybe the teacher should show them how to do it, but I must say the students seem really engaged in the iPods and learning how to exercise.

I found a lot of really interesting technology tools that could be used in physical education classes. One that I found was a health Gadget!! The post Must have Health Gadgets was really interesting. The scale with Wifi was awesome. I would love to own one of these!! The scale would also be useful in the physical fitness classroom setting because in the classes students have to know there weight and body mass index. With this scale you are able to tell all of that plus the % of body fat and lean muscle. This scale also has WiFi!! It sends your results directly to the computer or mobile phone. I think that is so easy!! Instead of having to measure each student and figure out their percentages. The scale will do it for you! Also for the children that are overweight the teachers can set goals and share this via email with the parents. This could help with obesity!!

Blog Post #11

Little kids.. Big Potential

I really enjoyed watching the video of Ms. Cassidy's first grade class. Watching this video made me feel like I am behind. This video was uploaded in 2010 and these students were blogging. I just recently started blogging in 2012. I think it was amazing that the students were able to write a sentence that the world is able to see. It made me realize that by just writting the one sentence it is preparing them for the future using a keyboard to type. Most jobs now require typing skills and basic computer skills even job applications are mostly online. I also found it interesting that they used their Nintendo ds as an educational form of technology in the classrooms. It helped the children to learn life skills such as caring! I also loved how the children stated that when commenting on someones blog that you should always say kind things. I'm sure when the students see a new comment on their blogs that there little faces just light up. It is amazing that the first grade students were using a smart-board. The title of this video explains it all. These little kids have big potential. The skills that they are learning are helping to prepare them for the future.

In the Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy she chatted with Dr. Strange about the importance of technology. She mentioned how she uses technology with her 1st graders. She did mention that she mainly uses different tools in the classroom and hardly used them in her personal time. She just recently opened a facebook page. She also mention that some of the teachers at her school want to learn to use technology in the class but others are stuck in there ways. I think that Ms. Cassidy's class will have an advantage because using technology is preparing them for the future. I really enjoyed the Skype interview

Blog Post #10

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This cartoon by John T. Spencer was found on his blog. This cartoon reminded me of the mac commercial that I used to have time to watch on television!! The commercials described how the macs were better than the p.c.




So I decided to do some online research on these two pencils and I found that everyone has personal choice. I found a teachers Blog that said that both paper mate and Ticonderoga were both expensive. She stated that Ticonderoga pencils are made of high quality wood so they sharpen better. She also stated that the paper-mate pencils go on sale right before school starts. As far as "value" she rated the paper mate better. I found another blog that stated that the Paper-mate warrior pencils were .05 cent more than the Ticonderoga pencils and that the papermate pencils did not perform as well. Find that blog here. Before being assigned to read Spencers blog, I had never heard of a Ticonderoga pencil. I'm thinking to myself "its just a pencil"!!
I guess he is comparing what the children are forced to use in schools since technology is not really present in most school systems.

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games
This Post by Mr. Spencer was about how the principal of his school was upset because Mr. Spencer had his children engaged in learning by playing a game. The principal felt that because the children were having fun that they were not learning. The post was really humorous because at the beginning Mr. Spencer asked the principle if he could shut the door and the principle responded that he had an "open door policy to keep up" too funny. The principle was confused from the beginning.

I read another post on Mr. Spencer blog it was titled Will We Fall Behind? it was very interesting. The title of this blog is Adventures in Pencil Integration. I feel that Mr. Spencer is not trying to dismiss the use of pencils, but that he is trying to integrate that use with the use of technology. This post was about a man name Mr. Brown who questioned the proposal to buy new pencils for every student. While reading the post Mr. Brown stated that he did not feel that it would be in the best option of the students and that his concerns had nothing to do with his own comfort level. I feel this post was actually talking about technology. Most schools do not use technology because the teachers are not familiar with how to use it. Many of the assignments that I have completed while taking EDM310 were all new to me. I have no problem learning new things. It has been exciting to me. Teachers need to humble themselves and realize that they do not know it all. Every opportunity that presents itself for them to learn something new should be taken.



In the post by Dr. Scott McLeod, he was telling someone not to teach their kids the things that he was already teaching his kids. The post was very humorous. It's like he wanted his child to be ahead of all the other children so he pointed out all the negatives in using technology to advance. So Dr. McLeod's children will more than likely have the leg up on the children who are not using technology. While reading the comments left on the blog some of the students seemed confused as if Dr. McLeod did not like technology. In fact he did cause at the end he stated that he allows his children to use it. Also some of the students were stating that certain things should be blocked and that children should be monitored while using the internet. I agree to a certain extent. Some parents will block things like Facebook and twitter, but these two sites can also be very helpful. When my babies get older I plan to allow them to have Facebook and twitter. I just believe that we should just monitor who their friends are. It's all about trust and I feel that if we cannot trust our children inside of our homes chatting on blogs or Facebook then how can we trust them having face to face conversations at school or at the movies. Trust Trust Trust! I knew the name Scott McLeod sounded familiar and I finally figured it out. Earlier in the semester we were required to watch an edited version of "did you know", Dr McLeod was the one who did the first video with Karl. I found this information on this site feel free to check it out. Dr. McLeod was also the founding director of CASTLE which helps school administrators learn about technology.

c4t#3

I recently read a post by Chad Segersten titled Classroom Leadership: Clear Directions/Expectations. The post can be very useful for teachers to help them to give clear directions to their students. I commented on his post and informed him that I am a college student and that everyone learns differently. Most teachers expect for students to just figure it out. Some students need an extra push and some are able to read the instructions and just do the work, but other students need for an instructor to describe how to do things! In the post he describes how valuable information will be wasted by students not having clear instructions. He gave tips for how to give clear instructions and two stood out to me.. They were... Do not Ramble, and do not be monotone. I find it easier to follow someone who uses excitement and is very into what they are doing! Loved the post !!

A Seven-Year-Old's Vision for School Reform

The second post that I read was A Seven-Year-Old's Vision for School Reform I found it very interesting. In this post John T. Spencer tells about how his 7 year old son wants to be able to go outside and make paper planes at school. He wants to have choices. I informed Mr. Spencer that I loved his son's idea of going outside during school. Every post that I have read while in EDM310 has been about technology in the classrooms. I love technology, but in a way it is making our children lazy. It would be great if the teachers could allow the children to use technology while outside! Maybe I will try to figure out an app for that when I get to the "create an app assignment". This post proves that regardless of age the children should still be able to voice their opinion and also that the teachers and parents should listen!

Blog post #9

What I've learned this year"
This blog post by Mr. Joe Mclung reflected on his first year of teaching school 2008-2009 school year at an elementary school. Mclung discussed several topics in his post. He described how most new teachers focus so much on the delivery of the information that they forget to see if the students are comprehending. He also mentions how teachers have to teach from a lesson plan and how that can be difficult. It is still possible to stick with the plan while also being flexible. He says that teachers should always listen to the students, and also to not forget to communicate. The last thing he mentioned was to Never stop Learning. He says that educators are working in a learning environment so to soak up as much as you can!! I enjoyed this post about his first year as an educator. I know that every persons experience is going to be different, but I think that this post will be helpful to new teachers. New teachers may be nervous and also inexperienced and this post could be used as helpful hints for new teachers.

"What I learned this year"

This second Post by Joe Mclung talked about his second year teaching. He talked about how everything changed because he was at a new school. This shocked me because this is something that I didn't really think about. Teachers can be moved to new schools until they get tenure. I am not sure if this is what happened to Mr Mclung. In this post he describes the school year and also gives tips to help make a teaching job easier. He mentions all the changes and the things that were new to him for the year. He says one thing that teachers have to be able to do is adapt. One year you may be teaching 5th graders and the next teaching 9th graders. You have to learn how to change your way of teaching. He also mentions to find a school mom which he describes as someone who has been at the school for a long time that will help you out! A useful tip that he gave was to not be afraid to make a fool of yourself to help your students learn. It reminded me of a time that I was in the 9th grade and my teacher came in a Victorian style dress to explain how they dressed during the Victorian period. Mclung mentioned that he "got the big head" after his first year of teaching and has now realized that he has to be humble. He has realized that he does not know everything. Great post! This is again something that will be very helpful to new and old teachers because there is always an opportunity to learn something new.