Final Reflections of EDM 310

What can I say? EDM 310 has been an experience...a good one though. There were a lot of new things thrown at us sometimes. For me, it seemed over whelming at times. I didn't think of myself as technologically literate before this class began. But now I believe that I have learned a lot and can be called some what technologically literate (debatable still). Here is a list of some of the tools acquired:

Blogs- I have never blogged before taking this class. I wasn't a big fan of it when we first started. But it has grown on me.

Google Docs- Very useful. You can create power points, spreadsheets, surveys and more. Google stores everything for you so you don't have any organizational issues and you may access it on any computer. Also it allows for a number of collaborators that you can allow to edit these with you.

Picasa- I used this to shrink photos that were to large to fit in my blogs and presentations. But there is a lot more that can be done with this.

Podcasts- These are very useful. You can find podcasts on itunes. Just like music, you can add them to your ipod.

Youtube- Although there are a lot of funny videos on youtube. There is also a lot good information on youtube. Didn't really understand this until I entered this class.

PLN (Personal Learning Network)- This is a collection of sources where you can share ideas with other people via twitter, facebook, and blogging. Also you add frequently visited websites that help you gain better ideas for your teaching.

iTunes- This is where you can find music. But more relevant to this class you can find podcasts. You can also upload podcasts that you have made.

Comments4Kids- I have learned that posting a students work online can be very beneficial because it is putting their work in front of an audience. Also the positive feedback from comments can act as a powerful motivator.

Comments4Teachers- I have learned some much from visiting teachers' blogs. It is always good to get point of views from people with experience in the teaching field.

Google Earth- This is a useful tool. I have played around with it before but never used it for any practical purposes. You can use google earth to record tours around the globe and then use it in a presentation.

I don't think there is anything we didn't learn in EDM 310 that I wish I would have learned. At least I can not think of anything at the moment. We covered a lot in this class. There is nothing that I learned in this class that I wish I hadn't. I think everything will have a practical use sometime or another. This class excited me more about becoming a teacher because now I have more tools to instruct students and keep them interested in school. At times, I became bored watching the long videos but for the most part, they were interesting. If I could change this course I would only make it more concrete. Meaning, I wouldn't add in extra activities in the middle of the week. It would help students plan how they wanted to spend their time studying for EDM 310 and other classes. But it wasn't too bad I didn't feel overworked. If I had to quantify my technological literacy I would say, medium. But I feel I will maintain this literacy by using these tools in future classes and more importantly in my teaching career.


Personal Learning Network
My PLN has grown since the middle of the semester. I have added a blog. Paul McMahon's blog has helped a lot. It gives me a point of view from a math teacher in Asia. Also two more websites, Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) and ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide). ACCESS allows for distant learning which improves the equity of for all Alabama public high school students through interactive videoconferencing and web-based courses. ALEX is designed to share many types of educator materials.

Substantive Presentation

Teacher Interview

I did my interview with Jessica Bryant. She is a third grade teacher at Sun Valley Elementary in Birmingham, AL. She taught 6th grade before teaching the 3rd. We conducted the interview via phone and I recorded it using audicity. I would like to thank Jessica for her time. To listen to the interview click here

Personal Learning Environment

In the video, the young lady's personal learning environment(PLE) is pretty impressive. I like how all of her web tools and information are organized in one place. It makes it alot easier to do research and make a report. My PLE doesn't even compare to the one in the video. But I have only just started and it has already to grow and progress. As I make new connections, my PLE grows. This helps me out alot because when ideas are shared I gain new perspectives of many things.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life?

Two questions were posed to me through a video clip I was assigned to view. These were "What is your sentence?" and "Was I better today than I was yesterday?" Two good questions if you ask me. These two sentences act as a motivator for me. I think everybody wants to be better person. So the second of the two questions acts as catalyst to get people to progress everyday to strive to be better citizens of society and better human beings in general. While, that questions is meant for more a shortter period of time, the next one is meant for the long haul. I would want my sentence to be a good one. And I think if we can say yes the second question everyday, our senteces will be positive ones.

Google Earth Tour

This is a tour of places that I have been in the world.

Google Docs Form

Teaching Someone Technology

We were assigned to teach somebody how to use one of the tools that we have learned about in EDM 310. I ask my sister Amy if she would be willing to learn something new and she was happy to help me out. I taught her how to make a tour on google earth. First, I showed her what google earth was because she had never heard of it before. I showed her a few examples of tours and a few quick searches. She caught on quickly. Then we discussed the uses of a google earth tour and then what she was going make one about. She decided to make one of places she has been in the world. I step back and observed but offered help when solicited. Here is her tour.

Week 13 Post

There are many things about EDM 310 that I will take with me as I start teaching. I definitely utilize the tools and skills acquired, such as podcasts. I have always known what podcasts where but was never really into them. But this class has shown news ways that they can be useful. I already have some ideas that I think I will use them for. EDM 310 has also introduced me to blogging. I have never blogged before this class. For me, I wasn't fond of blogging in the beginning but now I see the benefits of it. It is a good way to share your thoughts had get feedback from others. It can also be a good self review. EDM 310 has been a good experience for me. These tools and skills I have acquired this semester will be very beneficial for me in my career.

Comment For Kids
This week I comment on a students post that shared her feeling about going to stay over night on a camping trip. She said she is a little scared but she will have to brave.

Publishing Student's Work on the Web

As I watched the Dr. Suess video about the "Zax", I thought that many people are like the Zax when approached with technology. Teachers are also like this. They teach in the same systematic ways that have been used for years. Times are changing and technology is becoming more and more dominate in our society. If we do not change also, the world go on without us, just like the the Zax.

The PS22 video was great. The student chorus did a rendition of the song "Landslide" This is a prime example of why students should have an audience for their body of work. They are very talented and because this video was posted on the web they were invited to play with Stevie Nicks. It also good to get their work to a bigger audience because they can learn from the feed back. Criticism (there isn't much) can help because they can learn from it and engage in civil educated conversations. The positive feedback can be a big motivator.

Comments for Kids
This week I commented on a students blog from Pt. England school. He wrote a very descriptive story about his kite.

Comments for Kids Week 12 (No Week 11)

This week I visited Pt. England's blog. I visited a students blog where she post a picture and said she was a good student for listening to her teacher.

Comments for Teachers 2

For this comments for teachers assignment, I am assigned to visit Paul McMahon's blog. Paul is a math teacher in the Asian region. I am always looking for advice from any teacher but this a good opportunity to gain knowledge from a fellow math teacher. Maybe learn how technology is specifically used in the classroom to teach math.

On my first visit to his blog, I saw that he has not posted since February of this this year. So I checked out some of his older posts. His works entails him trying to implement technology into classrooms that are still predominantly textbook and examination driven.

With my second and last visit to his blog, I found out that he now works full time for Mathletics. This is website which allows kids to learn and have fun math at the same time. Paul McMahon is a regional manager for the asain region. But this is another prime example of how technology is being used to break down classroom walls and bring kids together. Paul believes that math hooks teachers into using technology.

Long Distance Connection

"Dear Kaia" and "Singing Hearts"
This week we read three blog posts and they are all relative to each other. A man and his daughter, who live in Qatar, go outside one day and take pictures of their surroundings. The little girl posts a blog about her findings outside and creates a photo essay which she also posts in her blog. An eighth grade class in Missouri finds this blog and begins to comment on her blog. But they become more curious about the world that Jabiz Raisdana and his daughter live in, that Jabiz offered to skype the class in Missouri and answer questions.
This is a prime example of how technology breaks down the class room walls and expands them outside of their normal realm. The eighth grade class became curious and was able to skype a person person from that region. Instead of reading boring paragraph and paragraph, they were able to interact and have their questions answered personally.
The future is only going to see more and more of this happening in class rooms. I think it will eventually become the norm, which is awesome. Because these people took risks and allowed themselves to be open, they made connections that other wise would be impossible.

Vocaroo and Skype

This is a useful tool. It allows you to record voice messages them and send them as emails. Here is an example.

Skype is very useful tool as well. It allow people to have conversations and meetings using webcams. I use it all the time to keep in touch with family.