Blog Post #5

The iSchool Initiative

Travis Allen made some great points about The iSchool initiative and how schools should use the iPod touch to assist in teaching. One was all of the educational apps that teachers can use. I never realized how many educational apps there were until this video. Travis Allen also talks about all the money and trees that students can save with this program by going green.  He says that students could save up to $450, because on average, parents spend around $600 and with this program they would spend around $150.

I think this initiative is a great idea for teachers and students. The seventeen year old has made a difference by traveling the country and embracing mobile learning. With this program, I think students would look forward to getting on their iPod touch for school. It was a great point he made when he said the internet would block non-educational sites so students would not be able to browse all over the web. This video was a really good way of describing the pros of using the iSchool format when teaching.

Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir

This video is absolutely amazing. These people are from all over the world and have never met before, but they have made a wonderful work of art. Eric Whitacre is a genius. I cannot even imagine how long this took him to put together. This video gives you a look at what else you can do with technology. Who would have thought you could have so many people on one video from all over the world?

Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts

This video is very educational and something I believe all educators should watch. The video says that teachers are not the source of knowledge anymore, the internet is. It says that the teachers are the filter. I agree that teachers should show students ways to use the internet as a reliable source for information.  It also wants the educators to inform the students about the non-reliable websites. This was a great video.

Flipping the Classroom

I think flipping your classroom is a good idea for all teachers. I agree with Dr. McCammon in the video Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ -Flipping the Classroom that there is too much lecture in the classroom and students are not engaging. The teachers post there videos on-line for students to watch before class to have some knowledge about what the will go over in class. Students can work ahead or review material they do not understand. This is a brilliant idea for teachers and students.

Project # 6

C4T #1

An analogy about my bike computer, a GPS tracking app on my phone, assessment, school, and learning.

For The past two weeks I have read Russ Goerend`s blog posts`. In his first blog he talked about an analogy about his bike computer, a GPS tracking app on his phone, assessment, school, and learning. It was a very interesting post. He talked about how he can sync his bike computer to his computer and see the statistics of his bike ride. The comment I left Mr. Goerend was this blog post was very interesting to me. I did not know you could put a device on your bike and then sync it to your computer. It was cool to see you use an analogy about your bike and make it educational. That is a great idea to try to incorporate students’ hobbies into school projects.

Expanded tweets: Storytelling in all genres

In the next post Russ Goerend talks about storytelling in all genres. His post talks about how you have to story tell and are more descriptive in your writings. In his post he talks about how he gave his students` a topic What is the best fruit? Explain your choice using the chart. He explains how students think the reader knows what they are talking about and how they go strait to the point. He explains how everyone does not know what "because" means. He talks about asking yourself the 5 W`s while you are writing which are Who is the narrator? What are they doing? When is this taking place? Where are they? Why am I being told this? He talked about how you write the story is what makes it powerful, worth reading, and worth writing. I posted that I thought this was a very interesting post because I have a problem with just going straight to the point and not being descriptive. I agree you have to story tell in every genre.

Blog Post #4

Langwitches- Podcasting with 1st Grade 

In Ms. Tolisano`s class her students create podcasts for the books they read. This was a great post to read because these first graders are learning at an early age how to use a computer for more than just games. These students make their own audiobooks and give a hardcopy to their peers so they can read along with the tape. This is a great idea for teachers.

This is a good activity for students because it has emphasis on different areas such as hearing, seeing, comprehension, and technology. The students also enjoyed the activity because they were excited to record their voices and hear themselves.

The Benefits of Podcasting by Joe Dale

Podcasting is a way for teachers to interact with students outside of the classroom. This also allows parents to see what their children are doing in school. Since we are in the millennial period, podcasting is a good way for students to put technology to better use. Podcasting allows creativity and innovation. Students enjoy podcasting and like teaching others. This would also allow students who miss class to watch the podcast to see what they missed that day. The video by Joe Dale was very informative and taught me a lot about the benefits of podcasting. This is an awesome tool for teachers to use.

Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting by Langwitches

In this blog second graders record a story and make a podcast. This post is a lesson about the students learning and comprehending Hebrew. The students had to record what they learned about the story of Purim in Hebrew. The students worked together in creating the podcast. This would be something that I will use when teaching my students.

Wordle

Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

In the video What is Peer Editing? and the slideshow Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial it gives you the definition of peer editing and instructions on how to correctly edit your peers’ assignments. The video teaches viewers the 3 important steps to take while editing a paper and they are giving compliments, making suggestions, and making corrections. The video emphasizes on staying positive.

The video Writing Peer Review Top Ten Mistakes is a great video for all ages, because I believe anyone can relate to the different labels of peer editing. The videos and slide were all helpful in their own ways. The videos definitely taught me how to peer edit better. Peer editing can be tough, but after watching the videos and viewing the slide I believe I will do a better job.

Technology in Special Education 

A. In this video it teaches how difficult life could be without technology, and how technology benefits students with disabilities. It was interesting to see the differences of how hard school was for the students without technology compared to how simple it was with technology. This was a very inspiring video to watch, because not all teachers would have taken the time to teach their students how to use a laptop. It is amazing to see what Lacey Cook is doing with technology in her classroom. It is also great to see how the students are impacted, because they are more interested and want to learn.

Technology has changed a lot of teachers teaching strategies to make lectures more interesting. I think this is a great idea to incorporate into school systems. This was a great video and I would use technology in a special education classroom to make learning fun for students with disabilities and incorporate them with other students.

How the iPad works with Academics for Autism

B.In this video, Braden, a young child with autism learns how to count, read, and write with the help of Apple Apps. The apps in this video were great learning tools for children, especially children with autism. I never realized how many apps there are for people to use for their children to teach them in almost any subject. These apps would be great for students from ages 4-6.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students` Digital Smarts
Watching how Vicki Davis teaches her classroom makes me wish I had a teacher that emphasized technology in the classroom at a young age. She has a great teaching strategy. She wants her students` to be self-taught, and she talks about how her students teach her things and that’s what she wants. This was an amazing video to watch and see how teachers are incorporating technology in the classroom and students can interact with students all over the globe. Technology needs to be taught to students` to broaden their knowledge.

Blog Post #1

About Me

Hi my name is Ashley Snow and I am a Junior at the University of South Alabama. I am from the small town of Mc Intosh AL. I was born in Tahlequah OK, where my mother is originally from. I have three siblings, two younger brothers, Ajay and Christian, and an older sister, Daisy . My parents are Connie and Rhonda Snow. Before attending the University of South Alabama I went to Faulkner State Community College and I received an associate’s degree in Physical Education. I was a member of Phi Theta Kappa and the volleyball team.

I have wanted to be a physical education teacher since I was little. In high school I was always a teacher’s aide for my dad. My dad is the reason why I want to go into Physical Education. He has been teaching for 20 years, and has been an inspiration to me. I just love the environment of being able to teach children ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

Randy Pausch on Time Management

After watching this video I realized my time management skills are horrible. Time management can be difficult. In this video Randy Pausch talks about how the society is more focused on money than time. He says if you plan out your day that will help with time management.

Blog Post #2

1. Did you know? 3.0

This video was a great video to watch because it was educational. It`s crazy that India is so big and that their 25% of people with high IQ`s out numbers the whole United States population. Another eye-opener is that in 2025 China will have the most English-speaking people. Another ironic point that was made was how many people use Google and YouTube a minute.

In the future I know I will be like other adults and have to ask people how you use the new computer. In today`s society children know how to use technology better than adults. I think the United States should put more emphasis on education and less on TV programs that have no benefit in their future.

2. Mr. Winkle Wakes

This video ,Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman, is very interesting. I could not imagine waking up 100 years from now. Technology changes every day and this video teaches us as educators that we should keep our students up to date with technology. This video explains how technology has changed, but the teaching of education is still the same. In the video it shows how Mr. Winkle went to the school and the computer has dust on it which meant the students were not even using it. Schools are supposed to teach students how to use computers and get them ready for the future, but after thinking about it they are not.

In the video Mr. Winkle Wakes talks about how the hospital had so many machines keeping people alive. This technology advancement has helped so many people who are sick and who cannot breathe, for example my dad had to be put on a ventilator and if he was a born a hundred years ago they did not have the technology for a machine to breathe for him. Technology is great and I am so thankful for it. Being in college you do not have the chance to go home all the time so now you can go on the computer or phone and facetime or Skype family members.

3. Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity by TEDS

Mr. Robinson Talks about how important education is to people. I also agree with him when he explains how teachers are supposed to be educating their student on how to use technology and within five years it will change. I also believe creativity is as important in education as literacy. Sir Ken Robinson says people have been educated to be good workers and not to be creative thinkers. I agree with this because the society is too focused on education and not with what unique ideas people have.

 Education has come a long ways from a few years ago. I can remember people being able to get a job with a GED and now people are required, in most fields, to have at least an associate’s degree. Education is stressed in most fields, but education should not be stressed on as much because some students cannot handle college and want to go straight to work after high school. This was a very interesting and humorous video.

4. A Vision for 21st Century Learning by TEDS

Today`s generation is a lot different than many before due to technology. In the past, children were accustomed to playing outside all the time unlike today's children that stay inside and play video games. It would be a great invention for something that makes children more active. We are getting there slowly. In the videos with the technology they had it seem like learning is so much fun because they are able to be a part of doing something other than sitting down and having to just listen to the teacher talk.

5. Glass, schools, and the future

Watching all these videos has taught me a lot and also more ways on how I want to teach. Like in the video with Mr. Winkle waking up 100 years later would be like living on another planet, because nothing would be the same as you remembered it. Technology would be at a place that I cannot even imagine in this day and age.

In the video about the glass tablets seemed unreal. In that video they said they had all the tools to make them know which was also ironic to know what people can do with technology. How they used these in the classroom would be a great addition to schools.