Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream

Dr. Richard E. Miller is professor at Rutgers University that produced the This is How We Dream Parts 1 & 2 Series. I do not know what I really thought I expected from this video, but this video was not what I expected for sure! It was intriguing and intersting, but I had to watch if three times in order to get a better grasp on the material being presented. Dr. Miller was presenting while there were different images and screen shots going across the screen. This presentation by Dr. Miller is all about promoting the "writing with multi-media" effort. Dr. Miller made a very true point when he says that we do not use hardback books anymore, we use our technological devices.

We do not physically write things down anymore or publish many books. Even many of our textbooks can be bought and stored on our computers or other reading device (Kindles, tablets, and eBooks). It amazes me that a book from Carnegie University can be bought for $0.59 on Amazon. Some of the other incremental changes in technology that Dr. Miller pointed out were newspapers taking use of the internet to convey news and information or produce electronic copies of their newspaper. These incremental changes all build up to the world of multimedia that can be composed and produced.

The whole point is to teach students to produce multi-media, not just consume the world of technology. By using multimedia to produce we can view writing in real time, publish in real time, read, view, and comment all over the world all in real time. We are not waiting on publications or books any longer. Thousands of people can be viewing the same book, on the same website, at the same time all through the use of real time publication made possible by multimedia. It amazes me to sit back and look how far I have come even from the beginning of the semester. I never imagined to be writing multimedia or having the knowledge to before I began this semester, but now I picture teaching my students to write multimedia when I have my own classroom.

Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

Carly Pugh did a wonderful job on Blog Post #12. She was very thorough and in-depth creating her blog post and assignment. I really enjoyed looking through her YouTube channel and watching a few of the videos. I wasn't able to watch them all of the videos on the channel before preparing this blog post, but I have subscribed to her channel and plan to go back and watch more of her videos. I was able to visit all the links in her blog and she did a wonderful job, I believe she was pretty close to accomplishing what Dr. Miller was talking about in his videos. Videos are a wonderful tool to use in teaching, especially short video clips like YouTube. These videos can all be useful in the classroom. Technology can be used in a way that is either beneficial or detrimental to one's education. It is our job as teachers to show and direct students to use the technology they come in contact with in a useful manner. YouTube videos are a wonderful way to do that. Carly has now encouraged me to create my own YouTube Channel with videos that I find and I think will be useful later down the road. She did a wonderful job with this assignment!

EDM 310 is Different!

Both of videos, EDM for Dummies and The Chipper Series were both very interesting and entertaining. The students did a great job with making the videos. The EDM 310 for Dummies video was essentially a book trailer for a book EDM for Dummies. This book would be similar to the other books in the Books for Dummies Series. The idea of having such a book is a wonderful idea and I think it could help some students for sure. It would also be helpful for teachers and educators learning to blog and use similar programs as well. The book would not have to be limited to EDM students at South Alabama. The Chipper Series was a series about a student who simply did not want to put the time or effort into learning or college itself. Chipper wanted to take the easy way out of thing, including finding a career. She really did not want to have to work for it. EDM makes you work for your grade and your education. I really think this course instills in students to be lifelong learners that can teach themselves. We are not stuck repeating and memorizing facts for a test only to forget them five minutes later. You can take more than the information provided to you in EDM away from the course; you also leave having a better understanding on the real concept of learning.

The real problem most students have in EDM 310 is time management. The key to time management is also organization and many students lack these skills. These are especially important in college when you are juggling school, work, and extracurricular activities. In EDM 310, waiting until Sunday to start or look at the assignments for the week is never a good idea. I would create a video on time management. I would use a sleep-deprived student that is in jeopardy of loosing their job because they are always falling asleep at work. When the student’s boss asks him or her what is wrong, they explain that they have all this work to do and stay up late on Sundays to finish their EDM work. This video would go on to show the consequences of procrastinating on your work and not using time wisely. Not only do your grades fall, but other areas of your life are also affected.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

I have to say that if I had watched the video in the first week or two of EDM 310 I probably would have written a few paragraphs about how I disagreed with the post or I would have said you could only use the technology they reference in the older grades. But I watched the video this week and my outlook is completely different. I would have to say that I actually agree with a majority of the points and statements made in this video. The first fact that surprised me the most is the fact that the education sector is ranked number 55 in the United States, even below coal mining. That should really wake this country up to realize that education really is not valued. If we are at all concerned about the future of this country we need to value and invest more into the education system. This means to also be more open to teaching styles.

Students in the younger generation learn differently because of the environment they are growing up in. Instead of embracing and using what students enjoy to teach them and allow them to use them to learn, we ban them in schools and punish students if we see them. Instead of telling students that cell phones have no place in a school or that tablets aren’t allowed, why do we not show them how to use them for educational purposes. If we did this then our students would be more receptive to what we are trying to tell them. If you think about it, your favorite teacher in school was probably the teacher that embraced hands on learning and used the latest and greatest technology. If we want student’s to be receptive to use, then why not start embracing and incorporating technology into your teaching methods and styles. 

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

Edmodo is a social platform for teachers, parents, and students to use in the educational setting. It is very similar to Facebook, except created for educational usage. You can create follow categories and resources; as well as, create groups for your different classes. Edmodo recently had an article written up on Forbes website. In this article you can read more about the platform behind Edmodo. Edmodo would be a great resource to to use in the classroom. I like the concept of using this social platform because it would keep private and professional life separate. You could use Edmodo to communicate with parents and students about upcoming school and classroom events, projects, and activities. It would also be a place for others parents and students to communicate about classroom projects and other topics. This tool would connect with students because many students enjoy using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Edmodo would be a safe place for this to happen. You can use Edmodo through any Internet browser or apps for the Mobile phones. I created an account for Edmodo and am already enjoying exploring all the teaching resources that are available.

Animoto is a video and presentation creator. With the free or introductory package you can create 30 second short videos. Animoto gives educators a great deal, by allowing them to apply for the Plus Package for free to use. This is a great deal for teachers, because their education or classroom budgets from the school system is typically rather limited. This service allows teachers to use this resource without having to worry about taking up part of their classroom budget. This would be helpful to teachers in many ways.

Another neat tool that I found in the scavenger hunt was PollEverywhere.com. This tool allows you to create and respond to polls anywhere. You can use a mobile phone or computer to create and respond. I created my first poll questions using polleverywhere.com. I am asking the readers what they will be doing for summer break this year. You can respond by texting the corresponding answer code to the number at the top of the poll. Please respond to the poll with your answer of what you will be doing this summer. This tool is fun, easy, and simple to use. This would be a wonderful tool to use in the classroom with my students.

Discovery Education is a resourceful website that I will be able to use in many different ways when I began teaching. Discovery Education is something that every teacher should spend time exploring.

Thank you for holding on until the end of this very long blog post. There was so many great resources in this week's blog post assignment. I really could go on for hours and pages of writing about everything I learned this week. Although it took me a good length of time, it was well worth it in the end.