Post 5

Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

This was a great video to watch because we are indeed teaching millenials.  For all of those out there who do not know what a millenial is, is a anyone who was born after 1980.  Teaching the children of today is nothing like it use to be!  We are dealing with children who are technologically literate.  These children are more comfortable and familiar with learning via computers/iPods/presentations etc., opposed to a blackboard.  Podcasting has many advantages to it.  Students can listen and replay any part of a lecture or instructions, they can share the information with their parents, they can interact with students outside the classroom and the list really goes on and on.  As a future educator I would most definitely use podcasting within my classroom religiously.  Podcasting also promotes creativity and innovations as well

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to learn and Study Better

iPods are not just for listening to music! You can literally use your iPod for more than a hundred different things.  They are great tools for students because students can listen to audiobooks which are simply books on audio.  They also have something called iPod in the classroom which is a collection of lesson plans for teachers who want to use their iPod for classroom work and I would suggest some of you to take a look at that since we are studying to be future educators. The last thing that I thought would be very useful for students is the English tutor Telecampus which is where you can download test preps for your iPod to study for the TOEFL, GRE, GMAT and other test as well. 

EPN(Education Podcast Network)

The Education Podcast Network is an attempt to bring together the wide range of podcast programming which can be helpful to educators that are looking for content to teach with and explore issues of teaching and learning in the 21st century. 

C4K 1 & 2

Arianna Vazquez

Your manifesto has some excellent points. It is extremely important to have respect for your fellow classmates as well as your teachers. Having respect for others will in turn allow them to have respect for you. I believe that If you follow thru will your manifesto you will make good decisions and it will pay off in the end. Just remember that you must make-up your mind and do it.

Hello Ariana, my name is May. I have just read your post as part of an assignment for my EDM 310 class. I read that you are enjoy sports which is wonderful. However, your academics are just as important as your sports if not more. If you excel in sports and your academics you might just be able to be award a scholarship for college. The best advice I could give you is to just do the best you can do, and never give up no matter how hard things get. If you need help with your work don't procrastinate, get help!

Post 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?

This post was written by Scott McLeod.  This post was short, but a real eye opener.  I believe that everyone should be do their best to stay up-to-date with technology.  Sure, there are negative aspects to the internet, but Im postive that their are more positive than negative.  It is almost impossible to go through life without the internet or the help of a computer period.  I agree with Scott McLeod when he says, "cause I'm doing it with my kids, can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two can you?" 

So just who is Scott McLeod?  Well, Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor. Castle Director, Blogger generator, and a  Solution Builder who resides in Ames, Iowa.  He also made the video Did You Know 3.0 with Karl Fisch.

The iSchool Initiative

Travis Allen is a 17 year old High School student at Whitewater High in Fayetteville Georgia.  He believes that he has found a solution to Amercias education problem. His soultion is the iTouch. Honestly, I have to agree with him.  We of course we will always need teachers in our lives, but as far the budget cut this is cuts out having to buy books, globes, paper, pencils etc. Students and teachers will have everything in the palm of their hand instead of scattered all over the place.   

Lost Generation

I really enjoyed watching this video or I shoud say listening to this video.  You can look at life two ways and she just broke is down for everyone.  Todays society demands expects alot out of people.  However, I feel that family life is just as important as my career. I say this because money is a major nessity of life, but if you have money what is it without family?  If you have family, but no money then your just as unhappy with money and no family.  Money + Family=Happiness.  In my opinion, one is just as important as the other. 

   Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir- "Lux Aurumque"

Absolutely amazing!  I have never seen or heard of anything like this.  Its amazing that there are 185 people who got together over the internet and performed this piece of work.  These are people who have never met nor do they really know each other.  All they have is one thing in common and that was music.  185 people from 12 different countries with the same interest came together to make this happen.

Additional Assignment 1

Google Squared & Wolfram Alpha

I have heard of many different search engines but, never Google Squared or Wolfram Alpha.  I particularly  liked Google Squared because it gives an idea on how accurate the information that is.  I decided to look-up New Jersey, Mississippi and cats.  When I looked-up the NJ and MS it instantly gave me the name of the capitals, the largest cities within those states and provided who the governor of those states were.  When I looked up the cats it gave me an endless list of the different breed of cats along with a description of their color or colors.

Wolfram Alpha is also a great search engine to use. It gives the date when the word was first used in the english language, the origin of the word, narrower terms for all meanings,  border terms of all meanings and crossword puzzle clues.  I look at Wolfram Alpha more as a dictionary apposed to a search engine. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed learning about both of them.

When it comes to statistics i realize that they are pretty random.  Many people like to "back-up" certain things they say with a statistic.  I realize that every statistic can't be right so next time someone throws some number out, I will be sure to check that statistic out on my own with the new tools that I have had all along, but never knew about until now. Last, but not least a screen shot of the Pitcairn Island.

Project 5-My Presentation

C4T1

Comments 4 Teachers 1

On Sept 12th, I commented on a first grade teacher named Mrs. Cassidy's blog titled Primary Preoccupation if you wish to view it you may do so here Primary Preoccupation. Mrs. Cassidy feels that the design of a classroom reflects thinking and learning.  I must say that I agree with her 100%.  If first grade children aren't comfortable then they aren't going to take in as much information as they possibly can.  Instead they are going to figit with something or zone out into outterspace.  When children do this kind of things they aren't giving their full attention to the material that is being taught. Mrs.Cassidy wants students to be as independent as possible, she wants them to learn how to take responsiblity for the own learning, and she also wants them to learn from one another as well as from people outside the classroom. 
Personally I have never given too much thought on how to decorated a classroom until I read her post.  We all know that children have very short attention spans.  Therefore, we as teachers must find fun ways to keep their attention and one way of doing that is having different areas of the classroom that they can go to instead of just having them stand up and streching for a minute or so.  Mrs. Cassidy came up with putting a love seat in her classroom so that the children can curl up and read.  This was the coolest idea because its something you don't ever see, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.


On September 12, I commented on Mrs.Cassidy's post about "Using Videos to Capture Learning". This is a great way to for parents to see their students learning and its also great for the students to look back at a lesson. Using video in your classroom good for many reasons and I think that more teachers should do this if they aren't already. This is just another way to keep your students focused and interested in learning the material.

Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I watched this this video for my EDM310 class at the Univ. of South Alabama. This video is what puts my thoughts into words. I have e-mailed this video to both of my parents, because it's almost impossible to explain to people who are not in school what it's like these days to be a student. This is my life summed up in four minutes and forty five seconds. It was absolutely amazing.


"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines


First and foremost, I could not agree more with Kelly when she says"Technology is useless without good teaching." I feel that this holds true for any subject whether it be English, Math, or technology. Many educators do not see themselves as learners. Some teachers feel that are there to teach. They did not go through four years or more of college to be taught or as they might feel "insulted" by their students, but rather to teach their students. However, if these teachers would "really" listen to what some of their students are saying, then that's just more knowledge that they can pass down to their future students, or even friends and family. Lets face it, technology is growing faster than we can learn it.



Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?


I must say that Mr. Fisch post was rather extreme but true. Technology is no longer used just for fun, but as a part of everyday life. If you choose to be technologically illiterate you are only crippling yourself. However, if you choose to be technologically illiterate as a teacher you are crippling our future. I really appreciated the comment Mr. Fisch made on people being proud of their ignorance with technology. On all honesty, what kind of message does that send to people around them? It sends the message that it's acceptable not to care or bother learning today's world. Learning technology today is not any different than learning how to read, write, add and subtract. It's just part of life. How can we expect children to want to learn the world of technology if we as future teachers do not want to learn? Children will mock what they see, and if they see that we don't care then they aren't going to care either.



Gary Hayes Social Media Count


The unimaginable amount of people twitting, blogging, using face book and watching YouTube videos on a daily basis means that as a future teacher i will have to have a web enhanced classroom and stay current by any means possible. I am do to graduate in 2012 with a bachelors in Elementary Education, and at the rate technology is growing I know that I will have to work even harder to stay ahead of the game. I want to be the kind of teacher that is able to send students home to teach their parents. I feel that as a teacher if you are behind, then so is your classroom. That will do nothing more but make life harder for the student and their next teacher. Life isn't about catching up, but rather staying ahead.

Post 2

Mr. Winkle Wakes

I am watching this video for my EDM310 class at the Univ. of South Alabama. I thought this video was short and to the point. Although technology has come a long way there are still many schools and children that are as just behind as Mr. Winkle was when he woke from his 100 year sleep. Technology is growing faster than we can learn it. However, it seems to portray the need for schools to be just as technologically enhanced as a hospital or business office, which does not seem to be the case.

Did you Know 3.0

This video is another selection that I must watch for my EDM310 class at Univ. of South Alabama. This was a exceptional video to watch for future educators. It conveys a strong message that teachers are going to be expected to not only teach academic skills and lesson but also technology skills. This puts a bigger challenge on future educator than ever before. Not only are you going to be teaching your students, but also their parents. What children learn in school they bring home to teach their parents. Because lets face it, children are much or technologically fluent compared to most adults these days. The statistics were amazing!


Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

I watched this clip for my EDM 310 course at the Univ. of South Alabama. I have to say that I agree 100% that school takes away creativity. Creativity is what motivates young children to want to learn. Like Ken Robinson says, “Creativity is as important in education as literacy and we should treat is as the same status".


Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

These are the skills that children of today’s world should be and need to be learning. If more teachers would do what Vicki Davis has done, I think that more students would excel in school and at home. Many teachers take corrective criticism as an insult, when they should be enlighten that their student's are one step ahead of the program.