My Sentence Project 6

Blog Post 5

The iPhone Initiative

In this video, Travis Allen argues that the iPhone initiative is the solution to the American education crisis. I agree in some aspects of his argument. In other aspects I feel that it is not.

The iPhone initiative would save money and time. It would be the most familiar method  to students being that they are millenial. ( People born after the year of 1980 and have never experienced life without technology or personal computers.) As a result of that, it would also probably be the most preferred method of learning by the students.These are all valid points.

On the other side of the argument, I would have to question the effectiveness of this method. I believe that all kids can learn! However, all kids are not the same! Many of them learn material in many different ways. Some of them may perform better using the iPhone initiative. Others may perform better with the traditional pencil and paper method. I think personally, we need to find a way to get on even ground. Technology similar to the iPhone initiative, I feel is necessary  in the classroom to a certain extent. Nevertheless, I do not think we should do away with all of the traditional methods and depend on it alone for educating.

 Virtual Choir

I was really impressed with the assembling of the virtual choir through technology. It was a very good use of the internet. I always had an idea that a performance similar to this one could be achieved through technology but I never knew how it was going to be done. As technology advances, I will be looking forward to seeing more performances similar to this one. I also plan to obtain more details about them by researching the production process.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Mr. Roberts feel that teaching in the 21st century revolves around technology. He is correct. What I confirmed from this video is that I need to be technology efficient. However, I still think some classes, courses, lessons, and etc. are taught better hands on. Examples include Physical Education, Health Education, Literature and etc. The reason I listed Physical education is because it is the education of, about, and through the physical. Videos that experts of physical fitness provide are beneficial but I think personally to start  to become physical fit or physical educated you have to have that hands on training or knowledge first hand. I feel the same way about Health Education . The only other suggestion I would like to make in reference to Health Education is that it is more of a personal process. The six components of Health : are Physical, Mental, Social, Spiritual, Emotional, and Environmental. I like the website journals that are provided through technology. (Some examples are myplate.gov and mypyramid.gov.) However, they only provide a certain amount of information. That brings me to Literature. Literature is the art of written work and can, in some circumstances, refer exclusively to published sources. It is also presented in many different ways. As a result, some of it requires interpretation methods and sometime an interpreter. Google, WikiPedia, Opposing viewpoint are all vital and beneficial technology resources. I enjoy using them! Nevertheless, you can only get a certain amount of information and sometime the information  is not reliable.The poetry side of Literature  also requires interpretation. People in general interpret or understand material in many different ways. For example, how I understand something may not be the same way someone else understand it. That is where the interpreter comes in. Can I use technology or the internet as a quality,reliable resource  to solve that problem?  There is where I stand in teaching in the 21st century.


Flipping the classroom

Flipping the classroom is defined, by Ms. Munafo, as an innovative approach to classroom instructing that allows direct instruction to take place at home. She explains in further detail how this approach leads to better preparation and saves time for applying learning skills. Ms. Katie Gimbar explains why she flipped her classroom in her video. She gave examples on how it has changed her approach in addressing her class. This approach if used correctly can lead to effective educating. I could see myself using this technique because it identifies the need of the student.

Project 5 Presentation

Blog Post 4

The Benefits of Podcasting in the classroom by Joe Dale introduce me to podcasting. I neither knew what podcasting consisted of nor did I ever experienced it as a learning tool. Only thing I heard about podcasting was that it was used for teaching in the classroom. In reference to the video, I was informed that podcasting is an effective way of interacting with students outside the traditional classroom setting. It is also defined as a "radio" broadcast that is put on the internet in a special format that can be downloaded to an ipod for "anytime-anyplace" listening.

Now I will discuss some benefits of podcasting that I learned from the video. The first benefit of podcasting is that it is a learning format that many students are familiar with. At this present time, students are millenial meaning they were born after 1980 and have never experience life without technology or personal computers. So, podcasting is the current students first preference of choice concerning a learning technique. The second benefit of podcasting is that it promotes creativity and innovation. There have been claims that traditional methods of teaching limit the student capability of being creative. So podcasting solves that problem. The third benefit of podcasting is that it prevents kids from missing assignments due to sickness, emergency, and etc. If a student is sick they can pick up missing assignments off the internet or if a teacher put assignment on the internet students can keep track of them without physically coming to class. The last benefit of podcasting that I will discuss is that it is a way parents can see and hear what their children are doing. Oftentimes when teachers have to communicate with parents and parents have to communicate with teachers, information concerning the child is sometimes inaccurate. By podcasting you are able to pull up the information right then and there. In conclusion,  I would like to give podcasting a new name: the multi-tool for educating. It serves many purposes and it is something the education profession is using to promote effective learning.

C4T #1

In Andrea Hernandez blog she expressed her enthusiasm about the Daily 5 plan. She provided a video of Stephanie, the fourth and fifth grade language art teacher, who is presenting and implementing the Daily 5 program. Hernandez stated her goal for this year is to coach and help support Stephanie in implementing the program.

The Daily 5 program is a research based method of structuring literacy instruction that promote independent reading and writing for elementary age students. I commented on her blog telling her that I was preparing to become an educator also, and that was my first time hearing about the Daily 5 Plan. I ask for information, details, and updates on the overall progress of the program. Last but not least, I stated that it will be very beneficial in the future for the education profession.

Blog Post 3

What is peer editing? 

In the peer-editing video I was informed thoroughly on the process of peer-editing. I was introduce to peer-editing in the six-grade, but I never really understood the process. At that time, I thought peer-editing was just grading one of your classmate papers or writing what you thought about it. Basically, what I mean is doing what you wanted to do regardless what guidelines required.

As I got older, I understood it a little bit better. I was re-introduce to it once in high school, ninth grade, and again in college in my freshmen year. I still did not know exactly what peer-editing was. What is peer-editing explains in a way to the extent anybody could understand it. I know now exactly what is peer-editing , working with some one your own age to help improve his/her writing. I know the three steps of peer-editing, 1. Complimenting, 2. Suggesting, 3. Correcting. Last but not least, I know the golden rules of peer-editing 1. Stay positive, 2. Be specific, 3. Complete all three steps. 

Technology in Special Education.

As I watched the video on Technology in Special Education I was amazed. First, I would like to congratulate        the first person who install technology in special education classrooms. I never thought that technology would have made it to the special ed. classroom at this present time. The first reason why is because of some of the severe disabilities that some of the kids have. I thought many educators would not have been willing to work with them with using technology. The other reason why is that I thought it would have got a negative reaction from the students when it was presented to them. My assumptions was wrong! I never would have expected to get this much excitement from both sides. The educators are excited as well as the students.

This new form of learning has been more interesting and more effective than the old traditional way of educating. Some of the students commented on the technology and explain how  it has made it easier for them to learn. The ones I think are benefiting the most are the visual learners and the non-verbal students. Reason why is that visual learners can see things better and the non-verbal students finally have a way to express themselves. Overall, it is empowering the students and I am looking forward to see the next level it will take the students in the future.

How the ipad works with Academics for Autism

The app I would probably use for my classroom would be the Alphabet App. I would use it for language development for non-verbal students and for the ones who are having trouble communicating. I have had that   experience personally. I can imagine what they are going through. For an example, how you want to express yourself but do not have the proper mechanics to perform that task. I think the alphabet app would be vital for scenarios similar to this one. It would help the student communicate, which would lead to efficient educating. It would also give the students a sense of acceptance without any sort of discouragement.

Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

In Vicki Davis Video I think she is making the learning environment comfortable for the students. I love her comment "every child can learn." I think she has found the way to do just that with the use of technology.

As she has made them comfortable in the learning environment and the overall learning process they have become willing to learn. They are maximizing their potential to the fullest extent. That is what educating should be about. Another observation that I got from the video is that she is taking them on an experience of a life time. Majority of the students are from the southern Georgia region. With the exception of the trip they had with her, they have probably not been out the state of Georgia. She have allowed them to learn and experience trends with different people throughout the world. That in itself is exciting and empowering for students and she did it all through intellectual technology.

wordle project

Blog Post 2

Did You Know


       As I watch the films on Did you know by Dr. Strange, Karl Fisch, and Scott Mcleod, I thought about some assumptions that people use to make. People use to assume that a certain group of people was smarter than another group of people. The films prove that some of them were wrong. They also prove that some of them were true. Now I would like to go into more detail about the films. All the assumptions that people made were made possible or originated through the evolvement of technology.

       Technology have made it easier for a certain group of people to learn another foreign culture. For an example, I read in the films that china will soon become the number one English speaking country. I know that there are a lot of chinese people who are citizens of the U.S., going back to their native people teaching English, but English is still not a language you learn in a short period of time. China is the number one country in advancing technology and they are putting it to use. There technology advances has made it possible for them to learn English firsthand through different technology tools. That is what made it possible for them to become the number one English speaking country. So with scenarios like this one people will assume that China is the smartest country in the world. Or they would assume that the U.S. is not smarter than China. Are they correct or uncorrect ? I do not know. However, Did you know provide statistical evidence pertaining to issues similar to this one by discussing technology advances and comparing them among countries. In conclusion, the information was real enlighten and made me think from a different point of view.

Mr. Winkle Wakes


       Mr. Winkle Wakes shows how technology has advanced rapidly in every other profession except education. It looks like it is reluctant to change. He takes a look in the class room and find that the students are still uninterested in the old educational process. In comparison to what he seen in the hospitals, I can conclude that he feel that technologies advances could be very beneficial to the profession of education. Also, that it is an urgent need. I agree one-hundred percent.

        Nevertheless, I think there has been some progress with classes similar to Edm 310. If the educators could install more of a process like Edm 310 we are on the verge of proven Mr. Winkle that education is also capable of changing.

Ken Robinson on Creativity

       Mr. Robinson makes a valid point that creativity has moved out of the schools. It was not necessarily a certain school he was referring to but more of the process. Many school districts and systems have adopted a one sided way of educating and has closed the gap for creativity.  That is what he is explaining in the video.

        Education as a whole is going to have to move away from the traditional way of doing things. He states that education is designed to take and prepare children for the future. He could have not been more correct. With the advancement of technology the traditional way is going to fail to do that as time progress. Also with advancing technology, creativity is going to be vital for the education process. It is not going to slow down anytime soon and the video of Mr. Robinson was his call for reformation for the educational process now.

In light of Mr. Winkles Wakes

       As I watched the glass film I thought about the changes technology going to have on society as whole. Eventually, we are going to reach that level, everything is going to be ran by glass and computers. It is going to be a limited need for human capability because computers will be able to do it all. The human will only have to be technology knowledgeable and efficient.

       The use of tablets in the classroom makes it even more important for educators to obtain these skills. No more books, paper supplies, or anything of that sort. This is what bring me to my main concern. Some people have been preparing and are accepting this type of change. Others have not acknowledge or even accepted that there is a change taking place. I was one of them until I heard about classes similar to Edm 310 and other new techniques that are being use to educate. Where will their place in society be?