Blog Post 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please? By: Scott Mcleod

Dr. Scott Mcleod an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the Univerisity of Kentucky, has an intersting way of getting his point across. In his post "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please?, his message is not literally not to teach technology, it's very much the opposite. He acknowledges that there are dangers, such as predators linked to technology. But, we can't let our fear keep us from teaching our children how to use it as a tool. In an attempt to protect them from harm, we will actually be hurting them. The ones that have teachers and parents that support the learning of technology and all of its benefits will be the ones that will always be one step ahead on the road to success. It is our job to make sure that our students have a healthy balance when they leave our rooms. They must understand how to do things without technology, but they must also know how to use it when necessary.

Dr. Mcleod is responsible for founding the nation's only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). He is also one the nation's leading academic experts on k-12 school technology leadership issues.


The iSchool Initiative By: Travis Allen

Making the education system digital is a great idea. It sounds great to be paperless, not having to carry books, notebooks, or pencils. I just don't think that society is ready for a leap like this. There are always going to be families that do not have access to technology, what will these people do in a totally digital public school system? Would they be provided with the things they need to use this system to its full potential? Also, students would have no reason to learn how to do things without an app, or some sort of technological tool to do it for them. My fear is that in a setting like this the majority of students would leave my class, not knowing how to figure anything out on their own. If they have to have some kind of crutch to help them along, then I don't think that I have done my job. Going completely digital is not an option for total success. All of the apps that Allen mentions in his video, the presidential app, the periodic table, space exploration, etc. these are wonderful educational tools. Students should be encouraged to take advantage of these tools and use them to study. This is how technology paired with the traditional way of teaching can lead to ultimate success.

In, the short clip, "Zeitgeist Young Minds", Allen states that since his first video, he has formed a team that travels around showing educators how to take advantage of the iSchool Initiative. He says that they have had great success in teaching teachers how to prepare their students for the digital world the were born in.


Jennifer Chamber's Post and Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

WOW! That is amazing. I never would have thought it would be possible to take 185 people that have met, let them sing on a webcam, and put them together to form a choir. It is just unreal what technology can do.


Teaching in the 21st Century By: Kevin Roberts

YES! Teaching in this ever growing technological world does mean that we need to evaluate the traditional ways of teaching. Roberts hits the nail on the head so to speak. Teachers are not the main source of information anymore. If you are curious about something or have a question, you "Google" it. That's the mindset of most people these days. But, before you cut off your right toe because "Google" said so, we must remember not everything on the internet is a fact. This is the balance I feel is so necessary, Roberts calls teachers a filter. We know our students are going to use the internet whenever possible, they must know how to distinguish truth from fiction. It is also most important that they can apply what they have learned. Although the government may measure a teacher's success by her students scores on a standardized test. A teacher's success is truly in the ability of her students to apply what they have learned and incorporate it in their everyday life.

Technology provides students the ability to exercise their creativity through blogs, podcasting, programming, etc. They must be accountable for the information that they get from the internet. The video states the differences in engage and entertain, this was very interesting to me. While entertainment if for enjoyment, engagement is for learning. Entertainment is short-lived and engagement has long term results. While entertainment is an escape from problems, engagement is solving problems. Lets engage our students and pave the road for success for years to come!

Project #9

Blog Post 4

To be completely honest, I wasn't sure what a podcast was until about 20 minutes ago. I listened to Mrs. Edmison's awesome 3rd graders, on Eagle's Nest Radio Episode #3: "Roamin' with Ancient Romans". They were amazing, they spoke clearly and with great enthusiasm. The music that they played during the podcast was perfect. It made me feel like I was traveling through Rome. I don't think that we will incorporate music into our podcast this time. But, I would definitely like to try it out in the future.

In Joe Dale's post: "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom" I learned a tip that I will definitely use during my teaching career. To use podcasts as a tool to record lectures and posting them on a blog, will come in very handy when students are absent. They can hear the lecture first hand just as if they were in the classroom. One student states that she downloads the classroom podcasts from itunes, then her parents play them through the speakers in the car. What an awesome way to get involved with your child's education!

It's amazing how excited kids are about podcasting. They have fun listening and following along, or creating and learning? Either way seems to be a great approach to teaching in a technologically growing world.

The post Practical Principal by: Scott Elias and Melinda Miller, was great! This proves that technology gives us the ability to work side by side even if we are physically miles apart. How amazing is that? The two principals paired up after Elias was a guest on Miller's podcast in 2007. They have been recording the Practical Principal's podcast ever since. Teachers send in questions for them to answer and they give tips on how to successfully use technology in the classroom. The podcasts are powered by Feedburner and each one has its own topic. This is an awesome resource for teachers.

Once Upon a Time.......

Blog Post 3

2. "It's Not About the Technology" by: Kelly Hines

In Kelly Hines post, although many will disagree, she states that learning in the 21st century is not about the technology. Yes, times are changing rapidly and as teachers we have to look into the future at the kind of world our students will be entering. It is our job to teach them what they need to know to be successful in that environment. Is it possible to do that without technology? As educators we must make sure that we remember that our eagerness to learn cannot end at graduation. It is our responsibility to stay excited about learning and never become stagnant. While preparing our students for the future, Hines does not feel that technology is the first thing that needs to change. Although ipods, computers, wireless connectivity, netbooks, 1:1 initiatives, blogs, and podcasts are great tools the issue is deeper than that.

She has four basic objectives that must be met in order for our classrooms to move forward in the 21st century.
1. Teachers must be learners. You must do more than just go to mandatory workshops and meetings. Be creative and willing to explore, teach yourself something!
2. Learning and teaching are not the same thing. Remember that if your class did not learn anything from your lecture, then you have not taught anything.
3.Technology is useless without good teaching. You can fill a classroom with thousands of dollars worth of technology, and it's not going to make the students learn any better. The teacher has to be willing to learn and use the technology to its full potential in order for it to impact the students.
4.Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology. The core outcomes she lists are as follows:
1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes
2. Learning and Innovation Skills
* Creativity and Innovation
* Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
* Communication and Collaboration
3. Information, Media and Technology Skills
* Information Literacy
* Media Literacy
* ICT Literacy
4. Life and Career Skills
This theory is concluded with the basic thought that if teachers will develop their students creativity, give them problem solving and critical thinking skills, and keep the hunger to learn alive they will be more than ready for the future. Although if a teacher can do all of the above and can bring technology into the mix the possibilities are endless.

3. "Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" By: Karl Fisch

Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher? It seems that is a very popular question among the educational community. In Fisch's post you can feel his frustration with teachers who are not willing to learn and explore technology. The frustration worsens as he realizes that not only are they not willing to learn but they are proud of being technologically illiterate. He believes that not teaching today's children technology is equal to not teaching children 30 years ago to read and write.

I do agree that teaching technology is a must and that teachers should most certainly be willing to learn. I am not sure that I agree that it is impossible for a teacher to be successful without technology. I think there needs to be clarification as to what extent teachers need to use technology in their classrooms. I don't think that students have to know how to use youtube, blog, etc in order to learn. At some point they need to be taught how to use the internet as a tool but how much of that is the Math, or English teachers responsibility. I think that students should be required to attend a technology lab that teaches these skills. Teachers have plenty of requirements to meet in their specialized subject they shouldn't be forced to teach computer. This doesn't mean they shouldn't encourage the use of technology and be knowledgeable if a student has a question. In the event that a student has a question that they don't know the answer to they should help them trouble shoot and find the answer together.

4. "Social Media Counts" by: Gary Hayes

Wow! That post will blow your mind. Seeing the increases in the counts by the second really puts things into perspective. It is kind of scary knowing how many people right this second are on the computer posting on Facebook, Youtube, and other social networks. Hear me out, I am excited about learning and I think that everyone should know how to use these tools. That's the key though, to use them as tools. I think it is not only important to teach children how to use these sources to better their education but we also have to teach them that there is more to life than the internet! It scares me how much people are glued to there phones checking to see the latest update on Twitter, or Facebook. Not that the internet can't be used as a source of entertainment, but just in moderation. We can't forget to get out in the world and smell the roses. We have to also teach this generation to turn off the phones and computers and enjoy dinner with their families. I see it all of the time. Not only do we need to be technologically literate we also need to teach technological etiquette.

5. "A Vision of Students Today" by: Michael Wesch

In this video you can see how the use of technology has changed the way students think. Students won't read a book, but they will read an email. They won't write their notes but they will type them. They will bring their laptops to class but they will not be doing class work. As a student body we are studying and working towards jobs that may or may not exist when we graduate. This video confirms that the way to communicate to this generation is through technology. The challenge is learning how teach in way that will reach students growing in a technical world.

Project #3 C4T

For the past two weeks I have been following Joe Bower's Blog "For the love of learning". Mr. Bower, a resident of Alberta, Canada has been teaching for 10 years. He began his career teaching in a "traditional" middle school, using the conventional style of teaching that we all know so well. In 2004 he realized that this style of teaching was not for him. Not only was he miserable but he noticed that the students weren't very happy either. Knowing that there had to be a better way he started searching for less conventional ways to teach. Ways that would feed the hunger to learn and let children have fun in the process. He teaches his students that making mistakes is not always a punishable offense, making a mistake opens the door to learn. Don't we all learn something from our mistakes? Isn't the old saying, "hind site is 20/20"? He also believes and so do I, that teachers should not be the stern face at the front of the classroom tight lipped with no mercy. I think Mr. Bower says it best, "they should be safe and caring allies". He is no longer teaching in the "traditional" classroom, but can be found at a local hospital. In an unconventional setting where they assess children under the age of 18 that have a wide range of mental health related difficulties.

In Mr. Bower's "More on opting out of testing" post, on 09/03/11, he talks about ways that we can get rid of standardized testing. In reality, how can we base the success or failure of a student, teacher, or school on a standardized test? Why aren't teachers included in the debate on education reform and policy in the United States? He and many other teachers and researchers believe that making a stand and opting out of the testing process is our only option. Check out the article "Standardized tests: Time for a national opt-out" written by Shawn Johnson from Towson University, for more answers to these pressing questions.

Mr. Bower puts it this way:
"Most politician and policy makers have neither the know-how or courage to stand against standardized testing. I have little faith they will do anything different until the prevailing winds no longer blow in favor of these tests. Where the body goes, the shadow follows -- most politicians are shadows.
I believe with educators' know-how and the public's courage, together we can refuse our cooperation and no longer allow our children's education to be reduced to data for someone else's spreadsheet."

My comment on "More on Opting Out of Testing":
"My name is Lindsey Gipson and I am student at the University of South Alabama. I have been assigned to comment and summarize two of your blog posts. The summaries will be posted on my blog 09/10/11, here is a link to our class blog http://edm310.blogspot.com and my personal blog http://gipsonlindseyedm310.blogspot.com.
I couldn't agree more about standardized testing. These tests are ruining the education system. Teachers have to spend so much time preparing students for the tests that they can't really teach anymore. I think it would be awesome if everyone would come together and refuse cooperation. What a great notion!"

On 09/09/11 Mr. Bower posted, "Class size matters". I agree 100% that class size matters. Not even superman or wonderwoman can effectively teach a classroom of 25 to 30 children. Of course this is my opinion and after reading this post and the comments that other teachers left on this post, there are many other people with the same opinion. Although, as stated in his post, just having a smaller class size alone will not increase student learning, it is absolutely necessary. I leave you with an excellent quote by Donald Quinn that set the tone for Mr. Bower's post:

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." ~Donald Quinn

My comment on "Class Size Matters":
"I couldn't agree more. It is humanly impossible for a teacher (one individual) to properly educate a classroom crammed full of children. It's not fair to either party, everyone loses."

Everyone in the field of education and/or pursuing a degree in education should follow Joe Bower's Blog: "For the Love of Learning"!

Project #2 Wordle

Blog Assignment #2

1. Did you know?
By:Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod

The facts in this video really made me think. It obviously put into perspective the advances in technology and how fast things really are changing. It is unbelievable that in 2006 there were 2.7 billion Google searches a month and now there are 31 billion. It is also interesting that the top 10 jobs in 2010 didn't exist in 2004. Technology is replacing so many jobs today I can't imagine what jobs will be replaced within the next 10 years.

It not only made me think about the advances in technology. It confirmed to me that as a teacher I need to be technologically literate if not for me then for the benefit of my students. Times are changing and as teachers we need to keep up with times.

2. Mr. Winkle Wakes
By: Matthew Needleman

Mr. Winkle wakes up after being asleep for 100 years. I cannot imagine the surprise or shock rather of seeing the world after 100 years. I think that just seeing a television for the first time would be impressive, computers would blow your mind. The architecture and hospital technology would be unbelievable as well.

I like the way that he was comforted and felt at home when he found a school. Hearing the teacher lecture and seeing the kids sitting in the classroom made him feel safe. That reminds me that as a teacher you leave an impression that will last 100 years. It is up to you whether it is good or bad.

3. Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
By: Ken Robinson

I absolutely love Ken Robinson, I want to find some more of his videos as soon as I finish this assignment! I believe with all of my heart that the way that we are forced to educate these days really puts a choke on creativity. Teachers have so many guidelines on how to teach it's hard for them to be creative. Not to mention the students, they are constantly preparing for the next standardized test. Of course every grade level needs to set and meet certain goals so that the students will be ready for the next appropriate grade. It just seems like the testing is a little over the top these days. We judge a teacher and the school in which she teaches by the students' test scores. So of course each teacher is going to stop at nothing until every child has "memorized" what is going to be on that test! The problem with this is a lot of the time until every child in the class is ready for "the test" everything else gets pushed to the side. Unfortunately, creativity is one of these things put one the back burner.

Children with hyperactivity is another one of my soap box subjects. I know that ADHD exists, but I don't believe that heavily medicating a child is the answer. If they have this disorder then they are going to have it for the rest of their life. They need to learn how to function and learn without medication. I often wonder, is the medication for the benefit of the child or the adults around them? As teachers we should learn how to teach these children not suppress their creativity and turn them into zombies! The story that Dr. Robinson told about the choreographer who couldn't sit still, she was a dancer. She wasn't learning disabled, or a bad child. She just needed to move and that is how she was able to learn. The sad thing is that today in order to reach our "goals" it is nearly impossible to teach without suppressing these children to some extent.

4. Cecelia Gault's interview with Sir Ken Robinson
By: Cecelia Gault

Cecelia Gault's interview with Sir Ken Robinson brings about the same discussion on how important it is to feed creativity. In my classroom I will embrace creativity. I love people who are not afraid to be "different". I will encourage/challenge all of my students to be "different". In other words be themselves, when they come in my room there will be no "normal". They will learn that there is more that one way to skin a cat, and I want them to use the way they think is best. If they try their way and realize that it didn't work so well, then they can try something else. This is life, we can play it safe and all walk in the same direction because that's what everyone is doing. But, my goodness how boring would life be if someone didn't decide to cut through the woods every now and then. This is how we learn!

I agree with Sir Robinson that in order for this to work the education system is going to have to become more balanced between Science and Arts. Arts do not need to be pushed to the bottom of the list. Arts and Technology are just as important as the standard subjects. They all work together. Our children's future depends on this change!

5. Harness Your Students Digital Smarts
By: Vicki Davis

What an awesome way of teaching! Watching the high school students learn through experience and hearing what a success it has been is very encouraging to me. The format of Ms. Davis's classroom reminds me of the format of EDM 310. I have no doubt that this class is going to help me prepare for the technology I will encounter in my career. I wish that I had been given the opportunity in high school to take a class like that.

You can see by the looks on the students faces how much fun they are having. They will remember that experience and use those skills for the rest of their lives. The way that technology is growing, classes like this should become a mandatory part of curriculum.