Assignment for January 31, 2010 (Week 3)

I viewed Kathy Cassidy's presentation, Media Literacy In the First Grade, for a course, EDM 310, at the University of South Alabama. I was impressed with the children's ability to understand blogging and navigate through the Internet to find their class blog. Kudos to Ms. Cassidy for including Character Education into her presentation. She is teaching the children at a very early age to be respectful in their comments when blogging. Teaching computer literacy is important, but teaching children to be respectful and kind to others is a life skill that all children should learn early in life. Am I ready for these children? I have 15 Kindergartners this year....I better be ready for them!

Wow! Letting your students use their in class....that is genius! I just wonder how the administration in Moose Jaw view this approach. I am pretty sure that my administrators and parents would frown upon this method. Maybe I should try it to see their reaction. No, I am not that brave!

In the video, ,IPhone Used by 1 yr old baby the parents are very proud of their child. I was not impressed. The child is precious and no doubt the pride and joy of the parents, but the whole idea was a bit much. I see Dr. Strange's point that teachers need to be ready for a technologically advanced generation of children. The whole concept of keeping up with our students' ability to use technology in the classroom is very important. I get it, but I would rather see that baby holding a board book of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? or Goodnight Moon.

I listened to the 6 suggested podcasts found in the Blog Assignments. Most of the topics were interesting although I was very happy to have access to the "player head". I have to say that I am a visual learner so I found the Teaching with SmartBoard Lesson on Pre-Algebra the most interesting. I am not a huge math fan, but the lesson was interesting to me because of the visual component. As a student, I see how this teacher can effectively reach her students who learn in many varied ways.


Dan Schmit in the KidCast podcast #62 brought up many logistical questions that may have been overlooked in the planning of webcasts, podcasts, etc. How does an entire class share one camera or one microphone? There are simple solutions, but you have to plan ahead. I found one discussion point that I think we have forgotten about in our EDM 310 class, Teacher Monitoring. Mr. Schmit used the term, "Gatekeeper". I'm not sure about the wording, but it got my attention. As we introduce technology to our students, we need to make sure we teach them how to use them appropriately. I am not referring to "the use of the equipment", but explaining the "risks" involved in the use of technology. Our students need to be taught what is acceptable or at least appropriate behavior when using technology. Gatekeeper is better than Cyber- Police!

Teachers Teaching Teachers podcast, although it was all audio, caught my attention with an interesting topic- Gaming. I realize that when you make a podcast, having a "catchy" title will peak someone's interest. As I was using the "player head" (yes, I've found a new toy), I found myself learning and "playing" at the same time while using technology. I teach Kindergartners so I realize the importance of my students "playing" while they are learning. I think offering the concept of older students "playing games" while learning through the use of technology should be more readily embarrassed. We are never to old to learn or to play. As teachers, we just need to have balance in our classrooms.

In the EdTalk podcast of Instructional Design Live the phrase of students building a teaching and learning community is great! Students take ownership of their learning because they are "owner's and creators of a product". I love that! The podcaster must choose words and phrases that catch the audiences attention. Capturing the attention of such a vast audience has to be very challenging. Creating a podcast and teaching in the classroom share many similarities. You must be creative in your approach and capture the attention of your audience, whether your audience is on the web or in the classroom.

Assignments for January 24, 2010 (Week 2)

Mr. Hayes' "little Flash app" is amazing! The number of times recorded for all of these various social media outlets is a bit frightening to me as a teacher. It presents the challenge to me as a teacher to start preparing my Kindergarten students to use keyboards, a mouse, etc. while engaging in age-appropriate technology material in my classroom. Technology is a powerful tool, however, I do see the negative aspects of these numbers. I have to stop and ask the question, "Is all the information being sent or received important or necessary?"

The number of children and teenagers who have unlimited use of text messaging on their cell phones today is shocking. The number of hours spent surfing You Tube is shocking. The number of students who defy school rules and regulations regarding cell phones, text messages, etc. is astronomical. How do you monitor the use of social media? It is moving so quickly how do you keep up? Social media outlets can offer our children and students technology that can be counterproductive to their lives and society, as well. Perhaps the first step is in educating our students on how to use these social media outlets for necessary communication, learning, and entertaining purposes.

I viewed Michael Wesch's movie, A Vision of Students Today, for EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I shared some of the same experiences as the students in the video, but my perspective is different now than it was in Spring 1988 when I earned my B.S. in Early Childhood Education at USA. One of the most profound topics that flashed in the movie was after calculating all the time spent studying, eating, going to class, etc. we needed 26.5 hours in the day. It is nice to see the old adage, there are not enough hours in the day, still holds true today. It is one of life's important lessons.

It is refreshing to see students take an active role in realizing that although "I did not create the problems, but they are my problems". We can take an active role in dealing with problems with poverty and job security or we can stand idly by and blame others for our problems. Poverty will not go away any time soon unfortunately. Learning to be charitable in today's world is a lesson that is a valuable lesson for everyone. I hope my students and my own children learn from my examples of being charitable.

I read, It's Not About the Technology, by Kelly Hines for EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. The article was short, but powerful in the message. I agree that as teachers we continue to learn with our children or we are obsolete, like the old computers that sit in some classrooms across our country. Our students are learning so much from using technology, teachers should be ready to meet the needs of children. I am a teacher and I realize that "learning and teaching are not the same thing". Our students come into our classroom with varied learning styles. It is truly an exhausting task to meet the learning needs of our students, but we must keep trying.

I attended an Open House for a private school in my area in January 2010. It was impressive to see the 21st century technology in each classroom. Our guide who was a teacher at the school, was unable to demonstrate the technology to the group of parents who attended. Why? Why? Why? Thank you for the bold statement, Technology is useless without good teaching. We expect our children to adapt to different ways of learning. Teachers must also learn to adapt to different ways of teaching and learning.

Mr. Fisch wrote in his post, Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." I wish every member of every state Board of Education would think about this statement. Board members across our country set guidelines for our students yearly or periodically (3-5 years). How about guidelines for teachers? Teachers become creatures of habit. Some teachers, and yes I have worked with quite a few from AL to CA, believe that if teaching methods worked for children 20 years ago, then they will work for today's students. School system guidelines protect these teachers (using tenure), but does it protect the students who are being taught by some of these teachers who are just counting days until retirement? You will hear some say, "I'm just too old to understand how this machine works".

We, as teachers, should be continually learning even from our students. Our students are growing up in a world today that demands technological literacy in order to succeed. Job security for the future may not be totally dependent upon technology, but teachers need to strive to ensure that our students are prepared. There will be occasions when technology will be the one tool needed and relied upon to complete a presentation, report, or means of communication necessary to ensure job security. I did not perceive Mr. Fisch's post as being harsh. I thought it restated the hard truth that all educators need to examine themselves and their teaching practices in order to help prepare students for the future.

Assignments for January 17, 2010 (Week 1)

After viewing the movie, Did You Know? , for my EDM 310 course at the University of South Alabama, I must admit that I did not know most of the staggering figures. A remarkable aspect of the movie to me was how readily available and quickly accessible the information was to the writers of the film on the Internet. To think that less than 20 years it would have taken someone years to calculate all of the figures presented, and by the time the findings were presented the information would have been incorrect. I did learn something that I did not know from watching the movie. I saw the word "exabytes" in the film, I didn't even know that was a word! I had to go and look it up.

"So what does it all mean?" is a very profound question. Knowing that my children will have so much information at their fingertips is impressive and a bit troubling. Although the information is readily available for today's children as they grow, are we prepared as teachers to help our students use the technology and the information for the betterment of society? I often wonder if libraries will become necessary. I am afraid my students will become so accustomed to googling information on the Internet that they will not even consider going to the library and looking at reference books to find beneficial information. Technology is a wonderful tool, but I have a fear of the unknown. What does it mean? I hope it means that we, as teachers, are able to help our students prepare for the unknown, their future.

After watching Mr. Winkie Wakes for my EDM 310 course at the Univ. of South Alabama, I had to laugh about the fact that in some ways schools have not changed in the past 100 years. It is nice to know my daughter, who aspires to become a teacher, will have job security. The animated content of the film helps lighten a serious concern that our schools are not keeping up with the technological advances needed in the real world. I haven't been asleep for 100 years and it is amazes me to the point of being ill, how quickly technology is evolving. I do feel safe and secure in my classroom just like Mr. Winkie.

Businesses and hospitals spends millions of dollars to stay technologically updated. Schools rely on too many outside sources of revenue to keep up with the every changing outside world. Like the teachers described in the movie, I do have my students' attention while they are sitting in neat little rows, but my Kindergartners are exposed to many facets of the world through literature and personal experiences that are provided to them from hands-on activities in the classroom. I can't imagine the changes that will occur in the next 100 years. Hopefully schools will still need teachers although they will not be in the same room as the students.

Ken Robinson Says School Kills Creativity was a very entertaining and enjoyable presentation. His background in education allows him to use examples of how schools, not just in America, but around the world can stifle a child's ability to learn by not being to express themselves creatively. Sadly, but true, the stress of performing well on a test is all consuming to some parents, teachers, and schools. My Kindergarten students in the private school where I teach must take an entrance exam and an exit exam. As teachers, we know that children learn in many different ways. Educators must use all of those modalities to reach students.

Mr. Robinson did not, however, address how we manage to incorporate every one's creativity in today's mainstream classroom. We are not to label our children because that could be considered discrimination or biased. Public school systems do not always offer magnet schools that focus on certain learning styles or interests. I believe Sir Robinson would be impressed with the quality of our magnet schools offered in Mobile County. I agree with Mr Robinson that "all children are born artists". Allowing my Kindergarten children to show their creative talents is easy when they are 5 and 6 years old, but it becomes increasingly difficult in the older grades. Teachers do not have the resources.

Vicki Davis is a true teaching pioneer. She deserves credit in admitting to her children that they have taught her many things. Children need to know that no matter your age, people are still learning whether you are 9 or 90! Teachers try to give students real life experiences in education. Research shows that children use those real life experiences to help them learn.

I was so intrigued by the school, I searched for more information on Westwood Schools. This is a private college preparatory school for grades K3-Grade 12. Do all the children in the school have access to the computer technology that is used in Ms. Davis' class? It would be much easier to harness your students' digital smarts if you have the funding. Money can provide many useful resources in education. This article would make a good comparison for private school vs. public school, but that would be another course.