Goodbye!

Goodbye for now fellow EDM 310 classmates and see you later Dr. Strange!

Final Post-The End

1.) I learned Google Docs, Picasa, podcasts, how to make a movie, blogging, PLN, Twitter, about commenting, iTunes U, about accessibility, and html code, Google forms, Google Earth, ALEX, ACCESS, Delicious, Timetoast, Wordle, voice commenting, and technology literacy. All of which I had not heard of or used before. I think all will be useful in the classroom, and I hope I get the opportunity to use each tool I learned in this class in my classroom one day. The most important thing I learned was technology literacy. I did not know completely all that terminology entailed, and now I believe I do. I understand what it means and what it takes to be technology literate, and I think that will help me more than anything else I learned.

2.) I would have liked to learn how to use the SmartBoard and how to make animations.

3.) I do not believe there is anything in this class that I will try to forget and never use.

4.) No.

5.) I found the weekly blog posts somewhat intellectually challenging, only because it required me to turn my brain on and think every week. I had to figure what I wanted to say, what I thought on a subject, and how was I going to say it so my opinion was understood. It was like writing a short essay every week.

6.) I do not believe I was ever bored.

7.) I think more feedback is needed, grades on assignments would have been nice to be sure I was on the right track with what I was supposed to be learning and be able to do. I also think more instruction, guidance, and organization is needed.

8.) When this class started I considered myself relatively technology literate, but I had no idea. I was not really, and I feel that this class has improved my skills in regarding technology. I at least feel that I'm technology literate now.

9.) I would like to keep up with technology used in the classroom by following technology literate teacher's blogs, such as Shelly Terrell's blog and others. I'm also going to keep up with the teachers I am following on Twitter, and keep increasing my PLN and RSS feeds.

Personal Learning Network #2

My Personal Learning Network is basically the same as I stated in this Post. I have added my fellow classmates' blogs, and also the three blogs I commented on for my Comments4Teachers assignments. I have also added the blogs I commented on for the Comments4Kids assignments. My Personal Learning Network will never stop growing, it shall for ever be increasing and it will not end with this class.

Interview with a 6th Grade Teacher

I interviewed a 6th grade teacher about being technologically literate and using technology in the classroom.

Technology Literate Teacher vs. Technology Illiterate Teacher Podcast

Click Here to listen to the debate!

Substansive Presentation

April 25,2010

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment



Wow, this was impressive. This student is doing and learning things with technology that are quite grand. My personal learning environment is somewhat similiar yet, different. I use Evernote as well and it is very handy to organize and store information. Honestly, I think hers is more advanced than mine. But, mine is growing everyday. I also, like the program she's using to manage her PLE. I think it's amazing that a 7th grader knows, uses, and has a PLE! I feel like I have a lot of work to do as a teacher to meet today's students needs, but I'm up for the challenge.

2 Questions That Can Change Your Life

Click Here to watch "Two Questions That Can Change Your Life by Daniel Pink

What's my sentence? I don't know how much I can decide that. People will say what they want to say about you, no matter how hard you try sometime. You can influence to a certain extent what your sentence will be by being what you want people to think of you, but again people will say what they choose to say whether you like it or not. I hope my sentence will be something like this, "She taught me ________(fill in the blank)." I don't really care what it is, as long as it is something that I contributed to another person learning. Was I better today than yesterday? I think I actually ask myself that question all the time. Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. Hey, I am only human. I can only try my best to strive for better. As a teacher, if one was to ask themselves these 2 questions I feel a lot of great and creative ways of teaching could come from it. I've heard students feed off the personality and moods of the teacher. If the teacher is feeling motivated, driven, excited, better, wanting to fulfill the sentence they want to leave behind and be remembered for, what do you think the outcome will be? I expect great things.

Google Earth Tour

I did my Google Earth tour on famous spots in The Great Smoky Mountains.



The places include:
Cades Cove
The Great Smoky Mountains
Clingmans Dome
Oconaluftee
Cataloochee
Roaring Fork
Laurel Falls
Ramsey Cascades
Mingo Falls

April 18,2010

Select a topic.....I guess I choose blogging.

I think blogging can be very great. I personally am sick of it, but that's just me. I'll get over it and will continue to use it and have my students blog when I become a teacher. So many great connections can made, and there are so many people to learn from through reading blogs and leaving comments. Even though I'm tired of it, I'm glad I learned about it and about the world of students and teachers that also blog.


Why Blogging is important

Comments4Kids-Cael

Click Here to read Cael's blog post

This week I read a post by Cael, a 10 year old at Pt. England School in Room 16. She wrote about herself. What kind of foods she liked, her favorite subject, sports, and how she didn't like worms. I wrote her saying that I think it's great she's blogging and writing and how important that is. Good job Cael!

Teaching Project

I decided to do my project where we teach someone something use technology on Google Calendar. I used ScreenToaster. I taught my mother how to use it, I thought she would find it helpful because she's so super busy all the time between work and taking care of a family and herself for that matter. So my audience is directed to older people who don't use technology very often. The outcome I wanted was for her to see how easy Google Calendar is to use and how helpful it can be to maintain organization in a busy life, and ultimately my goal is for her to actually use it. The video is below, if you have troubling viewing it you can Click Here

Free online screen recorder

I also used ScreenToaster to teach me five year old niece how to open a browser and type in an html code for a website she wanted to go to. My three year old nephew wanted to learn too so you can mostly hear his voice talking. She did great and wanted to do it several times for several different URLs afterwards. You can Click Here if you have trouble viewing it.

Free online screencasting tool

Comments4Teachers-Paula White

I commented on a teacher's blog entitled Reflections of the TZSTeacher.

It was about how everything we need to know we learned in kindergarden, and she really backs up her case.

On April 11, 2010 I commented:

Hi my name is Jessica Purvis. I’m a student at the University of South Alabama studying to be an elementary/ special education teacher and I am taking Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class.
You can visit our Class blog and leave a comment if you’d like.

Wow, just wow! I really enjoyed reading this blog post. It’s given me a great deal of insight into what teaching is all about, and that only makes me feel inspired and excited. Do you think teaching is almost like parenting?

April 16, 2010
This week's post was about teaching students to be independent and do for themselves.
Click Here to read her post

I commented saying:

I’ve been really enjoying reading your blog these past two weeks. You have a lot of great things to say and advice to give to someone like me who is studying to become a teacher. I have a lot to learn. Thank you for sharing, it gives me a perspective on what to expect and how to approach directing a classroom. It all seems overwhelming because a teacher has to be so many things. I also want to say that I think teaching a child to be as independent as they should be given their age is one of the best things an adult can provide for a child. If their capable of doing it themselves, then let them. Learning to do for yourself at a young age is crucial to being able to do for yourself as an adult.

Comments4Kids-All About Jonita

Click Here to watch the animation!
This week I watched a short animation by a girl named Jonita. It was showing her home and then school. Very cute! I told her how I liked it and how creative and well done it was.

April 11, 2010

Dr. Seuss' "The Zax"
Click Here to watch this video

Another PS 22 Video


So why is it important for students to post their work to blogs?

Exhibit A is located above. These incredible students sang a beautiful song, made a video and then posted it on the Internet. Where Stevie Nicks herself watched this video and was moved to tears. These students were given the chance to have an audience that surpassed anything that could be provided by teachers and parents locally, and this experience will be remembered and probably affect these children for the rest of their lives.

Students posting their work to blogs or to YouTube is important because it gives students a massive audience. These audiences' feedback can boost self-confidence and give students pride in their work. I also feel that it can help students believe in themselves, believe that their something special and that their work is valued, that their valued to many. It also helps them with their writing and encourages writing, as well as helps them become familiar with technology.

3 Examples:

Kaia's Blog
Dear Kaia



Mrs. Cassidy's Blog
Click Here: Their learning how to read and write by blogging!

Little Kids...Big Potential

Mr Chamberlain's "Dear Kaia: Voicethread and Video"
Click Here to read the blog post.


This blog post was about how Mr. Chamberlain's class commented on Jabiz Raisdana's daughter, Kaia, blog. Kaia's father noticed all the comments he was getting from Mr. Chamberlain's class. They contacted another and decided to have a Skype session. Since Kaia was unable to read yet, Mr. Chamberlain's class made a voicethread for her. I think this is great how people have connected in such a way due to technology. It's an absolutely revolutionary thing that's happening in our world and in the teaching society. Teachers now can learn from each other and each other's experiences in ways that were impossible before, and that is definitely a positive.

"Dear Kaia"
Click Hereto read her blog.

This is about the third time I've read this blog post and it still never gets old to me. This is a little girl named Kaia's blog. This specific post was about how Kaia's father felt it was important that she stays and plays outside due to a book he read "Last Child in the Woods." He also wanted her to learn that things that may seem ugly can actually be beautiful, it's all in the eye of the beholder. So to teach her this, they took pictures of some things that Kaia felt was beautiful, things that ranged from garbage to sunsets. I think it's great what he's doing with his daughter, and she is going to be so prepared for a world that relies on technology.

Intrepid Teacher: "Singing Hearts"
Click Here to read this blog post.

This post was about the connections Jabiz Raisdana has made with other teachers and especially the connections he has made with Mr. Chamberlain and his class. He also wrote about how the online world can be scary and dangerous and he wrote about his fears associated with exposing his child to the online world. I don't think that the negatives outweigh the positives and that the connections that are being made are extremely powerful. With children like Kaia out there a teacher has so much more on their plate then ever before I believe to provide a learning environment conclusive with a 21st century student.

Comments4Kids-Ms. Glaze's Room 6 Class

This week I read or watched a post entitled "Ambury Farm" it was by Ms. Glaze's Room 6 class.
Click Here to read their class blog!

This was a great and very enjoyable blog post to watch. It was about a school trip their class took to a farm. During this trip, they demonstrated good manners such as, politely raising their hands and sitting quietly. They also ate a healthy lunch on their trip which I thought was great that healthy eating habits are being attempted to instill in the students. It's such a very important thing to learn. On the trip, they got to see and interact with various farm animals; they saw a sheep being shaved and got to feed one very silly goat.
I commented saying how I enjoyed watching their video and how they displayed very good manners and eating habits. I also said how I wished my teachers when I was in their grade would've had us make movies or made movies of us and displayed them on blogs where the limited amount of viewers is only limited to the amount of people who have internet access in the world. Good job Room 6!