Smartboard Project 15

Progress Report on Final Project

My team (Jabawalkie) decided to make a video for future students of EDM 310. The scripts and slides are all in place. We are in the progress of filming the movie to complete the assignment. We have been communicating through Google docs and Google talk.

Blog Post 12

Blog Post 12 (Specialty Assignment)

This particular assignment required that the students create an assignment, pertaining to their specialty area, that should have been implemented in EDM 310. My specialty area is Health Education. Oftentimes, when I tell someone I attend the University of South Alabama and my major is Health Education I get some very interesting questions.

Examples

1. "Are you going to be a P.E. Teacher or something?"

2. "Is that some type of medical or doctor related profession?"

3. "What can you do with a Health Education degree?"

The assignment I created involves finding a technology based learning tool that presents information that helps the public to become more knowledgeable about the Health Education profession. The information should show or explain the contributions that Health Educators/Specialists make in society. The information should also show the type of work that Health Educators/Specialist do and where they can be found. I think this is a good project for Health Ed. majors because the questions I referred to I do not get them all from the average "John Doe" or "Jane Doe". I get some of them from highly educated professionals. I personally find that kind of disturbing because Health is all around us! View the You Tube video I found as an example.

   

    

Blog Post 11

Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy

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After watching Ms. Cassidy Skype interview, I concluded that she took a very open approach to using technology in the classroom. I think that type of approach is vital in getting and using technology in the classrooms.

The techniques that she uses in her classroom I would also use in my classroom. The information she shared about the use of the class blog really caught my attention. She says that blogs are good for improving writing skills. I agreed one-hundred percent! She also said it provides a better audiences for the students. In reference to the audience technique, I really saw the difference that the blog post made on the audience when I was assigned a C4K assignment. This particular C4K assignment involved a student who was taken a technology based comparative U.S. Government class in high school. I was amazed to see the types of comments she was getting from different people regarding certain political issues.

The other perspective that I agreed with Ms. Cassidy on was the starting point of technology. She answered Dr. Strange's question by saying you should start off with what you are interested in. Also, the efficiency and interest of the students should play a major role in where you start off with using technology in the classroom.

The last issue that I will discuss that Ms. Cassidy explained in her Skyping interview was how cheating affect technology. She stated that professors need to find better ways to present information so that specific issue could be avoided. She also clearly explained the difference between collaboration and cheating.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed watching her interview. It really opened my eyes to a lot of issues pertaining to technology in the classroom.

C4T #3

The teacher I was assigned was Bill Ferriter. He is a national board-certified teacher who teaches sixth -grade language arts and social studies in the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, North Carolina.The first post I commented on was "Are Current #ed. policies Turning Schools into Brain power Wastelands?" I responded by saying that was a very interesting topic he discussed in his post.

The second post I commented on was "How Gritty Are Today's Learners?" In the post, he examines the intensity and consistently level of today's learners. I commented by saying today's learners are less grittier than past generation learners.

C4K Summary (October)

Post number 3

The student I was assigned for post number 3 was Becca. Becca post described what she was seeing in the hallways of her school. At the end of her post, she ask the question "How do you think your quality of life would differ if you didn't go to this school?"

I commented on her post by responding to her question. I told her although I did not go to that specific school, I experienced certain situations that she described in her post. Also, I told her to stay encouraged and I was looking forward to hearing from her soon.

Post number 4

The student I was assigned for post number 4 was Courtneyanni. She commented on the first debate between the two presidential candidates. She explained how she saw Gov. Romney stay on the offensive side of the argument and forced Pres. Obama to be on the defensive side. As a result, she felt that Gov. Romney won the debate.

I started off by telling her that I wish I had a technology based government class in high school. In reference to her blog I gave her details of what I thought that contributed to the results of the debate. In conclusion, I told her to keep up the good work and to keep expressing her opinion, analysis, and etc.

Post number 5

The student I was assigned for post number 5 was Juan Ignacio Castro. His post involved describing a celebrity. He ask the question "Can you guess who I'm talking about?"

I responded by saying Will Smith. I think that was the most reasonable answers I could give at the time.

Post number 6

The student I was assigned for post number 6 was Brad. In his post, he described a character name Johnny in the book titled the Outsiders. He described Johnny as being a dynamic character.

 I responded by telling him I enjoyed reading his blog post, although I did not read the outsiders series.

Post number 7

The C4K assignment number 7 was a special edition assignment. We were assigned to a specific section of Dr. Vitulli and Dr. Santoli blog post. The direct link I was assigned to was "A Bit About Ireland." It was very informative.

I responded by telling them that the information they shared was very informative. I also commented by saying the detail about Ireland that caught my attention the most was the obesity rate.

Special Blog Assignment

A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind




In this USA Today article , A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind, Professor Sebestian Thrun explained and discussed the future of teaching and learning in the education profession. The type of teaching and learning he sees for the future involves using a high tech experiment he created called Udacity. The Udacity experiment was created to revolutionize education.

 In the USA Today article, Professor Thrun claimed that the Udacity method will be free and available to anyone who wants to learn. He also claimed in this type of learning students will no longer be tardy, and failure will not be an option. Other details of the method involves the removal of grades which has been "the failure of the education system", according to Professor Thrun. Also, better classroom capacity control will be accessible. In Professor Thrun words, "there will be no more one-size fits all."

I agree that it will revolutionize education and prepare students to use technology as a learning tool. As a result, it will better prepare students for jobs and careers in the future. Also, the world is becoming more technology centered and I think the students will benefit from the Udacity method.

On the other side of the argument, I do not know if all the students will be able to grasp that type of learning. Also, the resources that are required for this method will be expansive and the issues he referred to in his blog  will still remain. Whether in a traditional or technology based teaching method there is still going to be people not performing to their fullest potential, turning in assignments late and etc.

Nevertheless, I applaud his effort on creating the program. I really admired his creativity and I will like to see the experiment implemented to see the affect that it will have on the education profession.    

Blog Post 10

Adventures in Pencil Integration

I'm a Papermate. I'm a Ticonderoga




This particular image symbolizes many different issues in today's education process. You could look at it from many different perspectives. Nevertheless, the issue that I really think the image represents is the difference between the traditional learning process and the technology based learning process. The Papermate image represents the traditional "burp back" method of learning. This method cost less but does not get the job done. The Ticonderoga image represents the technology based learning method. It is the more expensive one out of the two. However, it is up to date and is preferred more by the students.


Why Were Your Kids Playing Games




First, I would like to start off by saying Mr. Spencer is a very creative writer and person. In his blog, Why Were Your Kids Playing Games, he gave a detail example on how the current education profession has overemphasized a systematic way of educating. In his post, the principal made a big deal about him bringing a more creative style of teaching to the classroom. The principal was so use to educating a certain way until he refused to accept or acknowledge a different teaching method. This problem still remains today.


I Banned Pencils Today




After I read Mr. Spencer blog ,Why Were Your Kids Playing Games, I was eager to read another one of his blog post. The blog post that caught my attention the most was, I Banned Pencils Today. I was very interested in finding out how he performed that task. In the beginning of his blog, he stated that he saw a need for all types of media in his classroom. However, one day in math class he banned the use of paper and pencil and ask the students to solve a math problem without it. The students struggled for a while until they relied on their brain! Each student answered the question and shared the information among themselves. This technique taught the students to realize the amount of power they had in their brain alone.



Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?




Dr.  Scott Mcleod is the founding director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (Castle). The nation 's only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. We were assigned to read his blog post Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
It was a sarcastic way of expressing his viewpoints on technology based instructional learning and exposing opposing views from opposition. After viewed his blog post, I agreed with him on some aspects of his argument. On the other side of his argument, I felt the people that he was referring to in his blog had valid points also.

I agreed with Dr. Mcleod in regard of technology based learning better preparing students for the future. However, there are still some flaws with it. Safety, content, and reliability are some issues I have with it.

In conclusion, I think there are some pro's and con's about his argument . Nevertheless, I was very impressed with his creative thinking and writing style.

Project 11