Sunday, April 27, 2008
What I learned from EDM310
I have learned so much from Dr. Strange in my T/Thur. 9:30, EDM310 class. He has been by far my best professor this semester. I came to his class with little knowledge on using a computer and am leaving it feeling like I can navigate my way through well enough to keep up with new and current trends in computer technology. I especially liked the video tutorials he published for the class. They helped me so much! Even though Dr. Strange was very through in class, there were days when we covered too much for me to retain, so watching the videos at home were a wonderful learning tool. I fully intend to watch them in the future to continue my growth in modern computer technology. He was also a great teacher in using my mac notebook.
I Can't Believe I Won First Prize!
I was so excited that my photograph won first prize! I am still experimenting with my digital camera that one of my sons handed down to me. I was so pleased that my photograph caught Dr. Strange's eye, and he thought it was worthy of winning first place.
Can Wikipedia Be Trusted?
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that is used by many is somewhat controversial when it comes to the validity of its content. When Jimmy Wale, the founder of wikipedia started the online resource in 2001, he had the idea that it would be a wonderful source of knowledge for online viewers because the content would be added by professionals and specialists in each area, and it would be open for added information. For the most part, wikipedia seems like a reliable place to retrieve information on over one million subject areas, but the freedom to add to subject content has also created the ability to alter or delete subject data. This is where there are kinks in Wikipedia. The data that is being erased, altered or fabricated can be done by those that are not members, therefore questioning accuracy of the content.
Monday, March 31, 2008
I Tunes U for Educators
By going to http://www.apple.com, a teacher has access to a wealth of knowledge that they can share with their classrooms. After going to the site and accessing i tunes U, it is pretty self explanatory to navigate through to the educational domains. Once there, there are many options to choose from ranging from grade level, subject matter and objectives.
I went to the PBS option and chose WGBH teacher's domain where i found a variety of links to choose from that could be helpful to me as an educator. I chose the grade level k-5 and selected science as the topic I wanted to research. Some of my options were the solar system, Energy in the coral reef, Precipitation and Weather. I chose to preview a lesson on clouds.
I found the lesson to be brief yet informative and think that elementary students would find it very enjoyable way to be introduced to subject matter. The video lessons ranged from 1 to 4 minutes, so they are designed to be quick, and therefore, they lack the dread that can sometime come along with watching an educational film.
I am certain that I will take advantage of the resources i tunes offers to enhance my teaching and professional development once I get in the classroom. Until this lesson, I am embarrassed to say that I thought I tunes was only a music resource. I plan on using it for myself during the remainder of my academic studies.
I went to the PBS option and chose WGBH teacher's domain where i found a variety of links to choose from that could be helpful to me as an educator. I chose the grade level k-5 and selected science as the topic I wanted to research. Some of my options were the solar system, Energy in the coral reef, Precipitation and Weather. I chose to preview a lesson on clouds.
I found the lesson to be brief yet informative and think that elementary students would find it very enjoyable way to be introduced to subject matter. The video lessons ranged from 1 to 4 minutes, so they are designed to be quick, and therefore, they lack the dread that can sometime come along with watching an educational film.
I am certain that I will take advantage of the resources i tunes offers to enhance my teaching and professional development once I get in the classroom. Until this lesson, I am embarrassed to say that I thought I tunes was only a music resource. I plan on using it for myself during the remainder of my academic studies.
What is I Tunes University?
I tunes U delivers easy access to educational content from colleges, universities, and educationally focused organizations across the country. It is accessible to anyone with a computer. It keeps students engaged by offering audio and video material in a much more entertaining way than lectures and printed pages.
I tunes works by going to the website http://www.apple.com, and looking up subject matter individuals want or need. I tunes U can then be synced with ipods or iphones and listened to or watch at the persons leisure.
I tunes works by going to the website http://www.apple.com, and looking up subject matter individuals want or need. I tunes U can then be synced with ipods or iphones and listened to or watch at the persons leisure.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Why Use Podcasting?
Up until recently, the term podcasting was foreign to me, and then I found out it is a fairly common method of sending messages via the internet. Podcasting is the concept of downloading and streaming an online audio or video broadcast. It enables communication for personal, professional or educational purposes through a more proficient way. It allows one to save content digitally and replay it at their convienence, even when not online.
In the fall of 2004, Duke University issued all of their incoming freshman a new ipod with the idea that it would allow their students the opportunity to have access to learning in a non-traditional way. Having the flexibility to listen to lectures and take notes other than regularly scheduled class times gives the students added assurance in succeeding in school. Learning in this nature definately gives the student added marketability when it comes time to execute a career.
I think that more schools, businesses and individuals should look at the advantages of staying on top of the current technological trends and get involved early instead of being forced to learn what everyone else already knows. This class has opened my eyes into the amazing and exciting options we all have at the tip of our fingers.
In the fall of 2004, Duke University issued all of their incoming freshman a new ipod with the idea that it would allow their students the opportunity to have access to learning in a non-traditional way. Having the flexibility to listen to lectures and take notes other than regularly scheduled class times gives the students added assurance in succeeding in school. Learning in this nature definately gives the student added marketability when it comes time to execute a career.
I think that more schools, businesses and individuals should look at the advantages of staying on top of the current technological trends and get involved early instead of being forced to learn what everyone else already knows. This class has opened my eyes into the amazing and exciting options we all have at the tip of our fingers.
Where did quality customer service go?
In the best of Fischbowl May, 2007, a public school tech support employee addressed the topic of customer service and/or the lack of. He linked customer service to the field of education and brought up the concept that educators, administration, and students are either a customer or one in the position of power. Like customer service in any business, it can make either positive or negative impacts on the people who are obtaining the services, and we, as teachers need to access what kind of service we are providing.
The blog gave an example of poor customer service from a audio tapped conversation between a customer and a customer service representative. Listening to the dialog was familiar to frustrating situations I have encountered, but have come to accept as the norm for today's standards. Those of us that can remember quality customer service from either days gone by or from a recent, and pleasant encounter should do our part to give back that type of service to those of whom we interact. Word of mouth can go a long way in building a business, and when my future students talk about the service I provided to them, I hope that new customers come to me full of anticipation for a positive experience.
The blog gave an example of poor customer service from a audio tapped conversation between a customer and a customer service representative. Listening to the dialog was familiar to frustrating situations I have encountered, but have come to accept as the norm for today's standards. Those of us that can remember quality customer service from either days gone by or from a recent, and pleasant encounter should do our part to give back that type of service to those of whom we interact. Word of mouth can go a long way in building a business, and when my future students talk about the service I provided to them, I hope that new customers come to me full of anticipation for a positive experience.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Response to Fischbowl
In Response to Carl Fisch's post on the necessity of teachers being technologically literate, I fully agree. I, being one of the people he refers to that calls themselves "technologically naive," am not proud or comfortable with my lack of computer knowledge, and that is why I am trying my hardest to learn before I become an educator. He points out that there are certain standards that we all must adhere to in order to be successful, and if we haven't reached those standards, given a certain amount of time, we should be required to move on to something else.
The writer of this post didn't sugar coat his message. He essentially says to educators and those involved in the process of teaching others, "to either get with the program or get out! " Don't be part of the population that blames their ignorance on being naive, it just won't work in these modern days of communication.
The writer of this post didn't sugar coat his message. He essentially says to educators and those involved in the process of teaching others, "to either get with the program or get out! " Don't be part of the population that blames their ignorance on being naive, it just won't work in these modern days of communication.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Learn About The Lives of Japanese Elementary School Students
For this inner city Japanese school in Tokyo, reaching out to other Japanese kids overseas is a priority. Their website: www.tjf.or.jp/shogakusei has plenty of information to keep their peers updated on what they are missing in their great country. The school is grades 1-6 and has approx. 500 students, and operates on a trimester system. The 6th grade classrooms each have a website with a brief biography on their students and teacher. They all bring different interests and information to the site. I was impresses with their philosophy that they aim to cooperate with each other in everything that they do and that it is okay to make mistakes, school and friends are there to help correct them. They love corresponding with with foreign students through their blogs.
Small English School Incredibly Busy
Ambleside Primary School in Cumbria, England is very proud of their small school, and with good reason. Not only is it a beautiful building in a breathtakingly gorgeous area, but it is a very successful place in which the parents, teachers, students and community all play a part. The vast majority of the content on their web pages are made by the students. It was nice to see that the school encourages the arts as well as academics. They offer links to view their students art, poetry, music, classroom work, and projects. Their are direct links for students to obtain outside research, as well as an abundance of references for parents, such as: www.bbc.co.uk, and www.pin.org.uk. The school has international contact with other schools around the world, but has regular contact with a school in Africa and one in Australia. They share email, lesson ideas and jokes. The principles of each school has visited Ambleside Primary to extend their gratitude for reaching out to them. The school's website is www.amblesideprimary.com
Thursday, February 7, 2008
School of Excellence is High Tech
McDougle Elementary School in Chapel Hill, is a North Carolina school of excellence. It is a relatively new school, built in 1996 and is on the cutting edge of technological education. They have a computer network that has an ethernet 10/100 base -t backbone. Each classroom has six multi-media computers with supervised internet access. All classroom web pages and projects are governed by their web page policies and rules. They have a video network that consists of 4 DVD/VCR's for school wide viewing, cable tv, video bulletin board and a satellite dish. Their webpage http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us, has links for parents, teachers, administration, and the community which encourages all to be involved in preparing for life in a complex, global society.
Elementary School Bloggers in Oregon
Carus Elementary School in Oregon City, Oregon started out in 1969 as a small county school with ninety-one students in grades first through sixth, but like most communities it experienced a massive growth in the seventies and eighties. By the mid-nineties, Carus unified with three other local districts and now have a teaching and support staff of 515, and a student population of 5,500 in K-12. With the influx of population, it was necessary to keep up with the rest of the mainstream of America, which meant becoming technologically savvy. I was highly impressed by their website. Not only does have all the information one would want or need about the school and faculty, but it provides Internet search databases for teachers, administration, parents, and students. The school website is http://www.carus.canby.k12.or.us
Some of the search engines they provide are: http://www.linktonetTrekker, http://www.Novelist.com, and direct links to their local public libraries.
Monday, January 28, 2008
ACCESS
ACCESS is an educational program that stands for ALABAMA CONNECTING CLASSROOMS, EDUCATORS, AND STUDENTS STATEWIDE. The vision of this program is for Alabama to provide access to high quality instruction to improve student achievment through distance learning. The mission is to provide an infrastructure that delivers quality learning opportunities for all citizens, and the goal is to provide additional educational offerings for all Alabama public high school students.
Modern technology has evolved to the point that all students should have access to whatever educational needs and objectives they have or want, and the state of Alabama wants to be more competetive with other southern states that have more resources. Right now, Alabama ranks 14th out of the 16 southern states in offering A.P., and distance learning will provide top quality classroom courses and teachers via technology. Remedial resources will also be available to help enhance those students who need extra help. Outreach between other teachers and students through the internet and interactive video will provide boundless resources.
Students are not the only group of people who will benefit from ACCESS. Professionals, mentors, parents and, of course educators will all excel and grow as a community by being involved in the positive and empowering process of educational and intellectual growth.
Modern technology has evolved to the point that all students should have access to whatever educational needs and objectives they have or want, and the state of Alabama wants to be more competetive with other southern states that have more resources. Right now, Alabama ranks 14th out of the 16 southern states in offering A.P., and distance learning will provide top quality classroom courses and teachers via technology. Remedial resources will also be available to help enhance those students who need extra help. Outreach between other teachers and students through the internet and interactive video will provide boundless resources.
Students are not the only group of people who will benefit from ACCESS. Professionals, mentors, parents and, of course educators will all excel and grow as a community by being involved in the positive and empowering process of educational and intellectual growth.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
How I Will Utilize ALEX
Due to the unlimited amount of information on the internet, It is a wonderful time in history to be an inquisitive individual. As a 3rd year college student studying elementary education, I have come to depend on webites for information just as much as my textbooks. This is probably true for most students as well as the majority of the population of the United States. If not now, later for sure. In the field of education, learning is an ongoing process and The Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX), has made the process easily obtainable by being able to go to the website http://www.alex.state.al.us. and access areas of interest or concern. In researching this site, I felt immediate relief that their are such wonderful tools out there for new teachers. With another year of school and my student teaching still ahead of me, I have things yet to do and learn in order to run my own classroom, but even then I will need help and ALEX will definately be a source of support and knowledge for me. It is comforting knowing that lesson plans by successful and experienced teachers in whatever area needed are obtainable and when I have lesson plans that have been effective for me, I can upload them for others to try. If I don't find exactly what I am looking for, ALEX will provide other database searches and links to help me. As important as it is to stay abreast of current events, ALEX also keeps users informed of what is going on in the world, both in and outside of the classroom. I am quite certain I will be a frequent user of this informative website for Alabama educators.
ALEX OVERVIEW
Alabama provides its educators with a vast amount of important information on the web. One such site is
http://www.alex.state.al.us., belonging to Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX). On researching this site I found out that it is indeed a very helpful tool in many ways for successfully keeping teachers on the cutting edge of learning, obtaining and sharing knowledge with other educators.
Part of establishing an account with ALEX is to agree upon terms of a contract which states that the user will abide by basic rules of moral and lawful conduct while using this service. The site offers courses of study by grade level or keywords which allows the user access to their specific area of interest or concern. Web links, lesson plans, database searches and distance learning are some of the many highlights ALEX has to offer. This site is easily obtainable which will allow for efficiency which is essential for becoming a master in teaching.
http://www.alex.state.al.us., belonging to Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX). On researching this site I found out that it is indeed a very helpful tool in many ways for successfully keeping teachers on the cutting edge of learning, obtaining and sharing knowledge with other educators.
Part of establishing an account with ALEX is to agree upon terms of a contract which states that the user will abide by basic rules of moral and lawful conduct while using this service. The site offers courses of study by grade level or keywords which allows the user access to their specific area of interest or concern. Web links, lesson plans, database searches and distance learning are some of the many highlights ALEX has to offer. This site is easily obtainable which will allow for efficiency which is essential for becoming a master in teaching.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Movie Response
The movie on u tube was an eyeopener about the ever-changing world of technology in which we live. By far, americans are the most privledged people in the world by having the means and the access to global information and technology at their fingertips. Coutries such as India and China are growing in population at a larger pace than we are and are making huge strides in competing with the USA in areas of education and marketing. An example of their awareness to be included in the top escalon of competetors is the fact that most of their citizens learn the english language. It is amazing to know that through the screen of a computer we can communicate with other people throughout the world. In reality, other than the major competetive countries, many people don't have the opportunity to be involved in this exciting time of massive and progressive inventions. We really are lucky to be Americans.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
