Smartboard Presentation!

This Smartboard presentation was so fun! Not only because of my awesome partner Jessica Battles but also learning how innovative and interactive, interpretive and interesting the Smartboard can be. Now, I must admit we had our difficulties but once you get the hang of it, it's worth it. We created a form (aka "test") that goes with the Smartboard presentation that would be given to the class sometime after the actual presentation. It consists of the material we mentioned but is in test form and maybe asks it in a little bit different way. We created this for kindergarteners and had 10 questions concerning the information we presented. The presentation and the test are a collaborative project that go hand in hand with each other, as you would see in a real classroom setting. This project was not only fun because of my partner and fiddling with the Smartboard but also because it excited me for the future of when I am in an actual classroom with my real life students and get to teach for real!

PLN Progress Report 1

My Twitter

I am using Twitter as my PLN! I chose Twitter because it seemed the easiest for me to navigate, control and seek help when needed! It is very popular right now and 'everyone is using it' ; ) I can follow inspirational leaders and in turn follow people that they follow! For instance I found one of my classmates who helps me constantly and is very studious, and when she "follows" certain people, I "follow" that person too! It's a beautiful circle! I can also follow friends on twitter (and vice versa) and they can see my progress or what I've been up to lately. Hopefully I am inspiring my friends to follow leaders, educators, etc with using Twitter as a PLN. I got this idea from Allie and Anthony, both of whom I highly look up to. I wouldn't be able to make it through EDM without these two! Having a PLN is so useful and convenient and I didn't believe it until I started actually following through with and going through the motions of using Twitter and reaping it's benefits. When I watched all those videos (especially the one about the young student who has a PLN) I didn't fully grasp the concept. I am a physical learner, so until I physically "DO IT" on my own... I don't get it!

Blog Post 9

Mr. McClung's "what I've Learned This Year" really hit home with me. Unlike a lot of education majors that I am taking classes with, I have yet to Student teach so the only teaching experience I have is teaching dance and babysitting (not much to go by). So, with this, I often get discouraged because I feel inadequate at times and want to throw in the towel. But one part in his post made me feel better... It was the 2nd paragraph under "Be Flexible" and it basically said 'get over the perfectionism because that will never make it and don't beat yourself up over imperfect lessons or students, etc. All you can do is try your absolute best and "do it with a smile on your face." This is something that I always do and consider myself to be a pro at so after reading Mr. McClung's post, I believe I will make it through my first year of teaching with really hard work and a smile on my face. :D

Blog Post 8

"This is How we Dream" was a really cool concept of incremental change vs. fundamental change, and how one should not only consume the multimedia but also compose and produce the multimedia used, for the purpose of bettering the future of media and how it's used in the educational world. I like how he mentioned we should "share freely" the things we compose and create as to add to (and not just leave at a stand still) the information and availability of the tools that are out there. Thanks to this class, I believe I will be prepared to write with multimedia and teach my students how to do this as well!
When watching "EDM 310 for Dummies" and "The Chipper Series" I was inspired to possibly make a video of "what not to do's" for this class. I realize that's kind've what "Chipper" did but I was thinking more along the lines of listing out deliberately what-to-do's and what-not-to-do's that way "dummies" like me that need more self-explanitory techniques can see it more blantantly and deliberately as opposed to an "actress" who we know is brilliant and it's more relatable and obvious instead of just comical. And maybe this can be watched in the middle of the semester as opposed to the beginning that way they understand it more and know more about the topics, projects, and assignments, because when I watched "chipper" at the beginning of the semester I just thought it was a funny video and didn't take it seriously. I also didn't know the 1st thing about edm 310 and what it was entailed.
The "Learn to Change, Change to Learn" video was beautiful. The title alone is inspirational and moving and mad me think to myself, "I must 'change' in order to properly and effectively 'learn'!" Technology is not something that we can control because it will continue to grow and develop a new environment and we just have to go with it! It's about community and building relationships, not just about technology. It's about connectivity and easy access, not just about information and learning. It's so much more!!! I love and totally agree with the arguments made in this video! Thanks Christie Odom!
I LOVED "Secret Powers of Time" not only because of the amazing creativity and artistry, but also because of the fabulous points brought up in this video. It went a lot deeper than I thought it would and maybe even went over my head a bit, lol. I liked this video because it wasn't only about education and technology, but also about spending time with family, friends and even sleeping more! My favorite point brought up in this message was "understand your own time perspective and that of others." The other video "The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us," was just as cool! The concept of higher incentives lead to worse performance in the cognitive area. When a task gets more complicated, when it requires creative thinking, money as a reward did not work! I believe this, because rewards aren't necessarily how/what I work for (I'm probably one of a very few select group that is this way; I can't explain myself). These videos both explained the affect of growth in people's education and their drive for success in different ways. The 1st one was saying motivate with love, passion and family and the 2nd one was saying, motivate with free will and allow people to self-direct and self-control for healthier more positive outcomes! I totally agree and I believe I can master both of these techniques because I feel like I already live this way for the most part. Of course I'm far from perfect and will always be inclined to constructive criticism, change, growth and constant renewel of myself to better my students learning environment! Both of these videos also stressed the EXUBERANT IMPORTANCE of time and how everyone should strive for managing it properly. The saying "time is on your side" has never sounded so sweet to my ears! Hence the clock : )

Short Movie Project 11

C4T #2 summary

For C4T I got to comment on Mrs. Lisa Thumann's posts. The first one I chose was about google earth and everything that it has to offer for your students such as investigating earthquakes to historical voyages and events, real world math, "how-to" lessons and tons of learning tools and resources for geography, science and math. It was funny because someone had just mentioned google earth to me and was telling me all they knew about it and the next thing I know I'm assigned to a teacher whose 1st post was about google earth! Love it!
Next I commented on her "broken cookies contain fewer calories" post about how she had to meet her daughter's girl scout cookie quota in order for them to get their badges. I found great pleasure in reading this because she left a GREAT point at the end... "using social media can increase your reach!" And I totally concur with that statement!

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture was so inspiring! How amazing is it that he was so close to death and he's smiling and happy and laughing and energetic! Incredible! First of all he is an amazing speaker, no doubt about that. As opposed to being full of sorrow, it was a humorous and enjoyable lecture! Second, I learned so much from this one hour of my life, listening to this lecture because he brought up so many amazing points.
The first point that caught my attention was 'when you screw up and no one is telling you, that is not good.' This to me meant either no one cares enough to help you better yourself and/or you're too far past the point of help. Both, not comforting. He also stressed the importance of being specific, bringing something to the table, and the power of enthusiasm, all of which are such influential statements that truly can lead to positive change in a person or a situation.
He spoke a lot about "brick walls" stopping the "other" people who didn't want it bad enough and that's something I was glad was brought to my attention. I don't ever want the "brick wall" to stop me or my students. Patience shined through this man's lecture when he said "wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you! Another great point teacher's should run with. Our students aren't always going to learn something immediately but that doesn't mean they're incapable... just wait longer! Here are some more verbatim's I'll take with me to the classroom:
Choose to be a Tigger over an Eeyore, never lose my child-like wonder (hence why I chose elementary and special education), helping others and being loyal is a two-way street and never give up!
Even though I cried tears I tremendously enjoyed spending an hour of my life watching that lecture... Thanks Dr. Strange!