Final Blog Post/ Final Thoughts of EDM310

PROJECT 13 COLLABORATION

Team B.A.J.A. did a number of collaborations during the semester, but especially on the final project. We used a number of the technology learned in EDM 310 to help us. One, was email. We continually emailed one another to set up times for meeting. Ashley Snow and I exchanged cell phone numbers and constantly called and text one another ideas about specific projects. Jessie, was always available for anything needed. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he spent his days in the lab, which was very convenient for our team. We Skype one another, so even though we were two different places we were able to work together on the same thing. Lastly, we used the Google drive to create folders where the team and I could instantly communicate and in some cases we could correct one another's sentence structure. The course was amazing and informative.

Final Project TEAM B.A.J.A.

Project 15

Final PLN Opinion

Since I have been using Symbaloo as my personal learning environment my experience with the internet has been easier and better. I do not have to waste as much time typing and searching for websites. I onlt have to type it into my Google Search bar on my Symbaloo page. I can also save the page that was so easy to find so I will never have to find it again by making it as one of my buttons on my Symbaloo page as well. This is the perfect short cut for projects, homework,research and resources.

Blog Post #13

A Vision of Students Today

A Vision of Students Today is a great great attention grabber that shows the real true life of college students. I think the message that the Kansas State University student are trying to portray is that school system is using a lot of unnecessary learning tools that college students do not use. So why are we still having to dish out money and bury ourselves in even more dept than necessary?

I think the students and production team who has brought this issue to surface is awesome. A lot of my college is payed for by Financial Aid loans and grants. I can not afford to pay for text book that are never open. I have a family and a job. So, a lot of my spare time should not be used reading material that does not pertain to my future or my current status. I also feel as if the message that KSU wanted to portray is that technology has helped socially, educationally, and economically.We should save time and money by making the educational system solely technological. I can not say if this would be a good or bad thing. However it will make my college dept deplete tremendously and easier to get through.

C4K for November

Week 12 This week I had a little girl named Goldie F, an 8th grader from Iowa. She blogged about moving to a new area, with a new school, and new friends. It all seemed very scary to her at first and it was obvious from her behavior she described. She had an attitude with her mom and was very grouchy during her trip to her new home. Once the family was settled and school was in, the little girl had no problem fitting right in. I informed her on my comment to her that new places with new people take a little time to get used to, but it soon gets better after a little attitude adjusting. Week 13 This week I had the pleasure of reading another one of Goldie F's blogs. This week I read of a three way love triangle between a mother, the father, and a friend that plays both sides of the fence. Which can be dangerous on the 3rd party's behalf. Trinity is a mother and Shane is the father. I was not told the third party's name, but I know she talks bad about the mother to the father and talks bad about the father to the mother. There is a possibility that Shane is not the father and the unknown "friend" tells him because he/she likes him. Goldie's story is a story of scheming. It was interesting and can be a life lesson to others. I also had the pleasure of commenting on Marie Antoinette's blog as well. She showed great appreciation to the veterans for their service. I think this was an excellent gesture being that Veteran's Day just pasted. Week 14 I commented on a young student's blog that created a story of a deep sea diver named Tom. Tom went looking for treasure, when he encountered an octopus with the same desire for the treasure as he. Tom fought off the octopus and came out triumphant. When came back to surface he shared his findings with his friends. I commented on the story and told her how I liked her story and how brave Tom was. I thought it was nice that he shared his treasure with his friends and asked does she share like Tom does.

C4T Summary and Comment

Week 13
Student Tech Team: Student Leadership in Action This week I was assigned to comment on Kim Confino's blog on her formation of a Student Tech Team. The main focus of the team is student leadership. With this program students are able to share their expertise with others. With tutorial videos the students can continue to help students become more efficient and effective with technology. Also students learn about blogging, connected learning communities which has a positive impact on the growth, reputation, and skills set of the team. With supportive and helpful parents, Mrs Confino's leadership program has proved, so far, to be successful; and students have to opportunity to teach the teachers. They help teachers understand why they use technology the way they do and help teachers become more efficient and effective with what they do on their laptops.

I commented on Kim's blog and let her know that I thought her leadership program is an excellent idea that teaches students leadership, responsibility, and prepare them for furthering their education. I agree with her reasoning for coming up with the student program.

Last week I was assigned to comment on a teacher's blog who thought it would be a fun, exciting, and interesting thing to do to mix the harder subjects with the easier subjects. For example, Math would be a topic in Physical Education. I thought this was a good idea because it gives students a chance to take their least favorite subject and turn it into one of their favorites! I informed this particular teacher that I would like to learn more about the idea. Being that I absolutely hate Math, I thought this was something that I could use in my classroom with other subjects. Great Idea!!

Blog Post #11

First Graders in Mrs. Cassidy's Class

The video on Mrs. Cassidy's first grade class was amazing. These kids are doing the exact same thing that we as college students are doing. Skype, Wiki, Blogging, etc. are all things that EDM 310 are doing. I would have loved to already have been knowledgeable on the subject, but technology was not as big as it is now. The kids in Mrs. Cassidy's classroom are fun and excited about learning and that is what learning is all about.
I could not get the skype video of Mrs. Cassidy to load so I was not able to experience or see what she had to say.I would have loved to sit and listen to her experiences.

C4T Summary and Comment

My C4T last week and this week was Kelly Hines. In her post last week she presented bloggers with the idea of combining the subject of Math and Literature in order to create a easier method for students to learn. I personally thought it was a wonderful idea. I did not particularly understand how that would work, but it seems like a different yet unique way of educating the youth. Math is a hard subject so to combine that with a subject that I personally prefer seems like a great idea.
This week Mrs. Hines' post gave insight to a great way to celebrate and share your joy of the holidays. By sending out holiday exchange cards with the ones you love and care for the most. The holiday exchange cards also allows the class to talk and share with other classrooms via skype. I think this is a great way to spread the holiday cheer with peers. Technology has came such a long way that it only makes it easier to spread the good word. Thank you to Mrs. Kelly Hines and Jen.

C4K Summaries for October

Week 7 This week I commented on Autumn's Blog. She a student in the 9th grade that enjoys her "Quality of Life". She has a couple of concerns about the school's hallway traffic in between classes, but other than the minor problems, she is enjoying meeting new friends and raising her grades. She gives her definition of quality of life, which I feel is excellent wording for that bundle of words. Week 8 This week I commented on CourtneyAnn's blog on the presidential debate. She had a very solid and accurate statements about both parties. I like her post because it is unbiased. She states the point that each debater argues. Although only one came across as making sense. However, I do look forward to reading her next blog on the debate. Mainly because she pays attention to detail. In her blog she talks about body language, tone and settings. Week 9 This week I was assigned to Bradley's post. He gave a very detailed description of his stay at his Uncle Mike's house in Missouri. He and is friends/cousins played dodge ball. He seem as if he enjoyed himself. Bradley is a good writer. Week 10 This week I am assigned to comment on a 2nd grader's blog from Birmingham, AL. The name was not given, just the letter "M" so I chose Marshall's Blog. She gave key in site and descriptions of a black widow. I thought it was interesting and healthy for her to know about possible dangerous insects so if she/he ever encounter one, they are able to protect themselves.

Project #14 Smart Board Presentation

Project #11

Blog Post #10

John T. Spencer Comic Strip

The saying "A picture says a thousand words" is so true when it comes to this particular  comic strip. In my opinion, this picture is telling its viewers that cheap is not always the best deal. I personally, always choose quality over quantity. With economy as bad as it is, cheap seems to be the best way. When in actuality the cheap product breaks easily and the buyer ends up spending more money on the same exact thing they just bought.

Buying the more expensive products might not always be going through your mind or in your budget, but it proves to be more durable, made of better materials, and can possibly give you a better outcome.  So stop being so cheap!!

Why Were Your Kids Playing Games??

I get the idea that the writer of <a href="http://pencilintegration.blogspot.com/2011/12/why-were-your-kids-playing-games.html">Why Were Your Kids Playing Games</a> is trying to make. Not all of your co-workers or bosses will be on board with your teaching methods. Although, games are a part of the student's everyday lives and when education is converted into a game it could possibly help them with there lessons it is still a sort of distraction. Life is not a game, so be creative in your efforts to teach your students.

Mr. McLeod's Blog Post

Let me start by saying I totally agree with Mr. McLeod. I think all of this technology stuff is too much. Its a detraction from the real education of society. Technology only makes learning a game and life is not a game. I have stated in my blog post before that I am a fan of the old ways of learning. Paper, pen, textbooks, libraries, etc, and I see that I am not the only one in favor. Mr. McLeod made the comment of traditional learning vs. modern learning and he wants to see who is going to be ahead in the end. Well, I personally believe the people who can function and maintain after a power outage will lead the society. 

Book Trailer Project #12

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is the idea place that makes the web more accessible for its users. I am new to the whole ordeal and I am loving the experience. With Symbaloo I am able to quickly organized my personal settings and by just clicking on a tile, I immediately start using a website. I am able to add/delete by dragging and dropping tiles; and with the center box, I can directly search through Google.

Blog Assignment #9

Mr. McClung's Blog

This week we were assigned to read the blog post of an amazing teacher with very valid and useful points.He is a 4th year teacher that is very dedicated to his job and inspiring. I chose to read At the Teacher's Desk and What I Have Learned This Year. Each blog reflected his third and fourth year teaching which turned out to be very informative and helpful. I believe we, as teachers, learn more from our students than they learn from us but it seems as if Mr. McClung did not. He was so wrapped in trying to please his co-workers/"peers" that he neglected the real reasons he became a teacher. I know that we sometimes put ourselves in situations to feel like that, but he shows us in his blog that through his students he found happiness in who he really as a person.
Mr. McClung also mentioned that you can not expect others to be excited about new ideas and that is true. Everyone is not in the teaching profession for the right reasons and that sometimes can spoil it for others who are. One rotten apple does not always have to spoil the others. If you separate the apples the bad apple can only rot by itself. I think we take others opinion sometimes to help fuel our own decision making, but we do not always have to. Its called an opinion for a reason. Do not be afraid of being an outsider. Odd is what gets you noticed in my opinion. People, students in this case, are always looking for a mentor; someone to look up to other than their parents. Why not be that mentor?
Never get too comfortable and that seems to be a reoccurring them in both blogs. This indicated to me that this could be a major problem that all teachers either have already faced, still facing, or will face. It kind of gives me the heads up and keeps me on my toes. Always have something new and innovating for the children in order to keep their brains active and attentive. It is so easy to lose them.

Blog Assignment #8

This is How We Dream Part 1&2
To answer the question of weather or not I am prepared to write with multimedia, no. All of this technology scares me to be honest. It puts me in the mind frame of the movie IRobot. Weird, I know. But, Richard Miller seems to think different. In the video This is How We Dream he presents the idea of multimedia as a perfect way for kids to learn visual literacy. He starts off with addressing the particular ways that writing in the academy and writing in the culture has changed and that is one thing that I would have to agree with him on. Certain technology with the help of the internet has made communicating instant and global. How we write, where we work, how we research, and how we publish is so much different than before. Everything is done with the click of a button.
Williams goes on to talk about the incremental changes. For example, most 21st century classrooms does not use pen, paper, or books; but desk tops instead. It is now possible to collaborate not just with text but with the web. People are able to work on projects for school or even have study sessions from home using their web cam. It is now possible to create visual and sound documents such as the one he made himself on the great Martin Luther King Jr. He even informed viewers on how the government is able to keep up with voting records through using technology.
One thing that I did think was pretty cool was the visual representation of the whale hunting. I think this is a great way for others to learn about nature and with the right resources and equipment, people could actually learn and get to experience the outdoors for themselves. Williams made a perfect statement that I also agreed with. He said "Ideas do not to be used individually but culturally and as educators we must be prepared to share our ideas." We as teachers are at the front of pushing ideas into our culture and we should not be afraid nor selfish when we have ideas. They could possibly change society.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
I totally agree with Carly Pugh in her effort to bring change and inspire aspiring teachers. I really enjoyed her enthusiasm in her blog and hope that the same excitement come to viewers when they read my blog. She seems like she is a very smart individual with a lot going for herself. It also seems as if the A.D.D. helps her move forward rather than hold her back. I do see why reading/watching her BlogPost#12 was assigned. It gives us soon-to-be teachers a chance to come up with an assignment for our students. Practice makes perfect. We must be prepared because we are no longer looking out for our own education, we have a whole generations to look after and educate.

EDM310 is Different
I like the videos that were assigned to us by Dr, Strange. Mainly because it is something that anyone who has ever taken this class can relate to. It is frustrating at times but college is not made for students to fly in and out of. With that said, my idea for my video that I would like to create. My video is going to be of a high school graduate who is indecisive on weather or not she wants to go to college. She falls asleep on the high school graduation exam and dreams that she is working at McDonald's, living pay check to pay check, hanging with the wrong crowd, barely making it through life, and she feels behind because all of her high school friends are living life to the fullest while she works to pay bills. She wake up and understands how important college is. She knows it is tough but she decides to sticks through the tough time that a college student encounters. It pays off in the end and the student is able to live better and has a happy ending.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
The arguments presented in this video are really good arguments. The world has changed and the educators have to keep up with it or else the youth will get bored with learning. I think it is a wonderful idea to take their entertainment and put a twist on it. To make it where they are social networking, gossiping, and finding what they are interested in at the same time as learning. Although it may have its flaws, they are minor compared to the major impact this has on the education system.

Scavenger Hunt
I love the WEB 2.0 site. This seems like it will make a teacher's job easier. It provides lesson plans and ideas for each subject. The tool that teems to be most like Twitter/Facebook is the community tool Edmodo.com. It allows students to only communicate with their peers and teachers. Filtering out all others who are not social networking for education purposes. This is an excellent idea and will allow me, as a teacher, to post class notes for those who were absent, leave notifications to my students and their parents, along with a variety of other things.
The tool most likely used to create the video we were assigned is PhotoPeach.com. Its an ideal tool for creating slideshows and presentations that makes your classroom lecture a lot more bearable. It also gives teachers a chance to give quizzes in the same fun environment. Although to visit the website is free, the feature that Photo Peach offer is not but the prices are certainly reasonable. For a classroom with one teacher and fifty students the cost is only $9! Cheap, I know. The website offers more than just that deal, it offers a lot more deals for larger classrooms.

Create Comix

Video Tool
One of the video tools that I have never used is Animoto.com. This is a cool, neat feature that Web 2.0 offer as an additive for educators. Some of its features consist of choosing any image from any social network such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc and adding your own words to tell your story. Another cool feature is accessible uploading of your own personal music and video in order to create a memorable attraction for your viewers.

Create Polls

Blog Assignment #7

The Network Student

The Network Student is an excellent approach to get students to understand the future of technology in the educational society. It gives students a chance to better their education and higher their learning by building their own personal learning skills. I am assuming, from the video presented, that students will be basically teaching themselves with only a little help from the instructor.
My reaction to this video is a little curious. Mainly because I am in favor of old-school teaching methods. I like the students looking to the teacher for their concerns and questions; although the teacher does not have all of the answers, in my opinion, it gives the teacher a sense of importance and keeps the teacher on his/her toes. The video presented the idea of connectivism. This is a theory that presume that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties. However, this raises the concern of students being distracted by social networking. Not that it could not be controlled, but it is an issue.
Connectivism only raises a few concerns when it comes to education, but it seems as if it will help more than harm it. Connectivism makes blogging, Googling, Wikispace, etc. a learning experience. It presents a wide range of connects and presents a new learning opportunity with every informational source. To answer the question of "Why do the network student need his teacher?", she/he is used again as a "filter". Teachers are going to help the students get connected with the world. The teacher is the incubator; the core to the learning apple.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
In this video we see how/why students these days are more interested in learning the harder subjects such as math and science. For example, we are introduced to a 7th grader who finds that learning with her own PLE, she is able to experience fun, independence,and responsibility while enlarging her knowledge and exercising her brain. This is a good experience and a skill that can be utilized throughout her life. I see a lot of similarities when it comes to her PLE and my PLN. We both are able to connect to others with different or same opinions as our own and we get to learn and do our work. By the end of the video, the narrator reassured the viewers of the question that was asked earlier. Will technology distract students from learning? The answer is no. Technology enlarges the students resources and only helps the learning process.

Blog Assignment #6

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

As a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Randy Pausch has done numerous lectures to help college students improve their learning methods and achieve their dreams. In front of a packed McConomy Auditorium, Pausch shares his own experiences in order to help/motivate his own students and their family. The "Last Lecture" was a humorous, yet serious discussion that not only had me laughing, but had me rethinking my route to success.

He starts his lecture by stating some of his own childhood dreams. Some of which he accomplished. For example, he dreamed of working for Disney. Although, when offered the job he turned it down, he had an excellent experience to share with others. I have had childhood dreams of my own, despite the fact that they changed every year as a child. I started off as wanting to teach. I then changed to a lawyer, a councilor, a judge, a photographer, an interior decorator, a wedding planner, and so on and so on. However, education and the youth has always stuck with me. Pausch gave his audience members a lengthy laugh with his other dreams of winning teddy bears, being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, etc. All of which he achieved.

Pausch makes the statement that "Brick walls are there for a reason: It is there for us to prove to ourselves of how bad we really want something." I think this was an optimistic way of looking at situations people encounter that has just come to a stand-still. I have had this feeling before and it is not a good feeling; but knowing that they are there for a reason and inspires motivation helps me look at the glass half full, instead of half empty. Randy also states that we as imperfect people must learn the fundamentals first. Without laying the foundation a plan will fall to pieces. I totally agree. Another thing that stood out to me that Pausch stated is "Experience" is what you get when you did not get what you want. I have heard this is his earlier lectures, but it inspires me every time.

Enabling dreams of others was a substantial subject of Randy's. His point was to inspire others and help them reach their own goals. Rather it is a child or an adult. As aspiring teachers we need to know how to encourage and feed their ambitious spirit. This in turn will be forever changing. Implementing fundamentals and hard work towards our students, our babies, will only lead to positive effects. Randy Pausch's lecture taught me that we learn from our students, to never give up, and made ask myself "How can I enable others dreams??" My answer: by sharing my experiences, my knowledge, and my dreams.

Team B.A.J.A PodCast

Team B.A.J.A Part 1

Team B.A.J.A Part 2

TimeToast Timeline Project #9

Project #6

Blog Assignment #4

Podcasting

Podcasting is a fun and exciting way of learning. It allows students to learn more productively. When I first read Listening, Comprehension, Podcasting I thought, "That is so true!" I did not realize how much we learn words just by hearing and repeating them for understanding. Langwitches made the statement that, "It gives the learners the opportunity to see their voices, read the sounds, manipulate the sequence of sentences, sounds can be deleted, edited, emphasized and re-arranged similar than a word processing program can do this with the written word." Those words answered my question of "Why do students need this?". I think it is excellent that students are learning and even writing other languages such as Hebrew. That is mind blowing. It is amazing the thing that this generation of students are learning to do with technology.
When I read Flat Stanley Podcast I realized just how convenient it is for students to go and read another country's literature. Kids who are just starting their educational journey can record, listen, stop, pause, and play themselves while listening to their peers across the country. I am beyond shocked and it kind of makes me want to go back to grade school and start all over. Langwitches did give us a link that list a number of benefits of podcasting in classrooms that I thought was very useful for up and coming teachers. One of the benefits that stood out to me was the fact that kids spend more than 10,000 hours talking on the phone and playing video games, and has spent more than 20,000 hours watching t.v. So, podcasting is just an innovative way to educate them in a form this generation is used to. I think podcasting is fun and only helps students with their studies. One way is kids are able to record lectures and play them back as a review or study method. Cool right?

Blog Assignment #5

iSchool Initiative

Okay, this is so crazy to me. Mainly because I did not think our technology would ever be this advanced. It is really mind boggling. I think Travis' iSchool idea is exciting, fun, and brilliant. It is mobile learning at its best; this can be the solution to the educational system problems of budget cuts, larger classes, and teacher layoffs. Travis makes the argument that iSchool can and will take the place of books, printer, papers, and even #2 pencils.
Apps such as Email, Star Walk, Formulae, Recorder, and Scientific Calculators are all helpful applications that are energy efficient and resourceful tools that are easy for all teachers, parents, ans students. The iHomework application will able all students to communicate with massive texts and even allows students to save their work in a mobile device. The ischool argument allows all of its users to keep up with classes, assignments, grades, lunch menus, and allows its users to make agendas for themselves. It gives the students a sense of responsibility, it gives the teacher a sense of organization, and it gives parents security in their children's education.
Parents are able to monitor their kids with the apps that iSchool offer. The mobile learning idea is lockable to schools, so only those in the school system have access in the educational system and allows kids to personalize their iTouch so their style can shine through the uniformed clothing. This idea saves the education system at least $600 per student. I really love that this creates a positive impact on the environment and involves corporations, business professionals, and Apple iTouch producers.

Virtual Choir

My reaction to Virtual Choir is just like "WOW!" Their voices are amazing and its so beautiful. The fact that all of these people are on their PC, at home, and in different countries just proves to its viewers that technology advances are coming and it will be slapping the none believers in the face! Smart move!

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts views education in the 21st century as a challenge to the youth and to the future teachers. He makes the statement that "Teachers are no longer the source, we are the filters." This is so true. We as aspiring teachers/ already teachers no longer have to answer the questions of "Who wrote this?", or "Why is this?" Every student question that is asked in the classroom can be found with on click of a button. Teaching will no longer be the method of teaching others common knowledge. It is about creativity, evaluation, and applying ones self. Students will not slide by doing the bare minimum anymore. They will actually have to learn how to paraphrase, reflect, subscribe, comment, tag, post, search, upload, link, network, and a lot more. I feel that this will teach our future generation responsibility, reliability, and integrity, while at the same time creating professionalism for the world. However, I do feel as if this will be a huge change and a major challenge for the those who are having trouble keeping up with their education now.

Flipping the Classroom

Flipping the Classroom is basically a method of teaching that reverses the usual classroom attention span. Normally, a teacher would spend 75% of the class time teaching a lesson and 30% exercising that lesson. Well flipping the classroom turns that around. With the help of technology, teachers can spend only 30% of the time teaching and 70% excercising. This is an excellent approach to the common classroom problem of different levels in one class. Teachers can not teach different lessons in a classroom that is on three different levels. By combining the flipping the classroom method and technology allows the impossible and that is the problems stated above. I would most defiantly use this method in my class because it has proved to be effective for the teacher in the video.

Project #5 Presentation

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing
The videos and powerpoint on Peer Editing is an excellent example for aspiring teachers. It gives us an example of how to grade our classmates' paper without being so mean or straight forward and lets admit, some of us are too straight forward. Well I know I can at times.
The video also gives students/aspiring teachers a solid Technology in Special Education. This brought a happiness that I could not explain. I think that the job of special educationn teachers are hard, mainly because of their student's handicap. I think techonolgy in our classrooms are very smart ideas that not only helps the teachers spread information fast, but help students communicate as well.
Not everyone is technology literate. Technology in the schools gives people the opportunity to become literate in the field. For example, I, myself, am learning how to tweet,blog,set up clickable links, etc. Never would I imagine doing these types things and I probably would not be if technology was not entered into classrooms. Now, lets imagine how hard it is for people with special needs. I admire special education teachers. May God bless them all.

Apple's Education Apps
I would like to thank you for this video Dr. Strange for How the iPad works with Academics for Autism I think its excellent that Brandon is learning Math and Reading through technology in a home environment, and in a fun and creative way. If it was up to me to choose a method of teching with an Apple app, I would choose the app that teaches students how to read.
This is a way that students can hear the world and see it at the same time. It is a faster way for the students to learn through visual and audio skills. Just like Brandon, alot of kids suffer with autism. So, for him to listen and repeat while looking at the material made his brain work in a way unimaginable. Great work APPLE!!!!

Edutopia
The video Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts was interesting. I am very "old fashion". I like the paper/pen method of teaching. However, the creators of this video gives plenty of insight as to why technology has been added into the education system. One,alot of students learn in alot of different ways; and as a teacher I have to be open and knowledgable of those ways. Its nice to have different methods of teaching other than the lecture method.
The teacher thats in this video made it her business to say that you, as a teacher, can learn at the same time as the student, but I beg to differ because I feel as if that would be a hinder to the students. For example, if students have questions to how or why something works a certain you would not be able to answerthe questions. I think this is an incovenience to the students. However, the technology does seem to connect the students to the entire world which can be a bit FUN!!

Project #2

Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know??
The information given in this video Did You Know?? is amazing. Never, would I have thought that India had these kind of statistics. This really encourages me to stay on my toes. The fact that only 25% of their natives is smarter than the whole United States makes me wonder if the U.S. is really the world's leader??
The video also sheds light on the huge technology epidemic and coming from a background of little to no technology knowledge really has me worried. Yet, I believe in myself and my dream of becoming a teacher, so this video only pushes me to reach that dream. I appreciate Dr. Strange's efforts in releasing great teachers into the world! Two thumbs up.


Mr. Winkle Wakes
Okay, I have to start by saying that I most definitely feel like Mr. Winkle! This is a great video Mr.Winkle Wakes for the older technology illiterate student like myself. It gives a comedic example of how we feel. Technology and life as we know it changes everyday. So waking up a hundred years from now would be an eye opener.
However, this video does have a lesson for its viewers. That lesson is that no matter how much our surroundings and methods seems to change, one thing that has remained the same since its been started is the school or place of education. There will always to the teacher and the student whom is being taught by the teacher. Now that, I can deal with rather it be now or a hundred years from now!


Ken Robinson

Ken Robinson is a very important video that should be viewed by all aspiring teachers. It encourages educators to educate their students by using the students own creative thought process. Ken Robinson, a creativity expert, makes the point that teachers should encourage the imagination and creativeness is students at a young age. An idea I would have to agree with.
So many teachers and school facilities rejects a child's creativeness, which in turn, subjects the children to one way of thinking and viewing the world. I believe that is the reason God gave every person their own set of eyes and mind. So each individual can see and intemperate the world, their views, and their experiences for themselves. Ken is an amazing speaker and I would one day like to be present for one of his lectures.


A Day of Glass
The ideasA Day of Glass presents to its viewers are unbelievable, yet it holds the possibility of one day becoming true. There is no way with all of the recent technological advances that our world could not be the way executed in this video. Seeing this gets me excited about learning, teaching, and future experiences.
It's a leap of faith but it's a leap that could lead the world into a whole new world. Future educators and students should take the chances being offered by the amazing people behind the genius ideas that help inform/educate our future society. Look out India!

Blog Assignment #1

My Life


Telling you my life story would be a long drawn out discussion so giving bloggers a synopsis would be a lot easier. My name is Ardriana Marshall, but my family tends to call me Ardri for short. I am 22 years old and I am a December baby. My astrological sign is Sagittarius so my personality traits are a bit outspoken, spontaneous, and very independent. I am the middle of two siblings, a brother and sister to whom all raised by a single parent. I am very family oriented, and teaching is a passion of mine.

Before attending the University of South Alabama I studied Secondary/English Education at Alabama State University for four years. I have taken a lot of loses, but I've gained a lot as well over the years. I have never been in any serious trouble but the minor trouble I have been in has taught me to value my beliefs in God, my life, and my education. My future plans after college is to settle down, have some babies, and one day open a community center for the inner city youth.

Randy Pausch Video on Time Management


I have never heard of Randy Pausch, nor have I watched any of his videos. However after watching his assigned video on time management I learned a few things on goals, priority, and planning. In doing those three things I must ask myself the question why? Something that I do not normally do. Usually I do it and ask myself that question afterwards. I guess it is just one of my personality traits mentions earlier. I also learned that good judgement come from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement. In other words you learn from your mistakes. Paucsh also executed the planning idea into my head. It is very important to plan ahead because if u don't your planning to fail. Lastly, is making a check list, which is very helpful and can in turn result in success this semester.

Penn State Time Management


Penn State gave excellent recommendations as well to managing your time. One thing that was well stated, and something I could possibly work on myself, is procrastination. Its a terrible habit of mines to wait to the last minute to do work. Although I feel as if I work better under pressure, there are several disasters waiting to happen when it comes to waiting til the last minute. I think something that will help me with this bad habit is always make out a to-do list and set the due dates of my assignments a day ahead of the assigned due dates. That way if anything goes wrong I will have time to right them. :)

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