Blog post #8

This Is How We Dream
In this two part video,"This Is How We Dream" by Richard Miller,he discusses how writing with multi-media will soon be the common thing to use like word processing is now. Not so long ago the common thing to use was books, pen, and paper to read and write. We still use them, but now we are using word processing programs to write and the internet to research information. Within a matter of seconds, information can be accessed on the internet, without having to step foot in a library.

When we go to the library, we can check out books. Once those books are checked out, they are no longer able to be read by another person until the books are returned. Reading documents on the internet makes it easier to share information. When a person is accessing the information on the internet, it can still be accessed by others at the same time. This is what Mr. Miller said is an incremental change.

A multi-media document can be composed collaboratively with video, text, and audio. I think this is an awesome way of teaching students because it teaches with three different learning styles. Instead of just reading information, students can hear it or watch a video to understand it. Students can learn not only history from a multi-media document, but they can be created to show current changes of information. For example, the presidential election can be shown on multi-media document and can show reactions of the voters when the election is over. The information can change right in front of you. I think that is an interesting way to use a multi-media document.

Dr. Richard Miller says, “Ideas don’t belong to us individually, they belong to us as a culture. We as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely.” This is such a true statement. I think that teachers should share helpful information with other teachers. When I become a teacher and find a new idea that will help me teach or my students learn, I will be glad to share it. He also said, “The only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves.” The possibilities of technology are limitless, we just have to be creative and try the new possibilities. Students will eventually compose in this collaborative way and not use word processors. This is fundamentally different. This idea has taken off very fast. There are people that are composing by using the web without the use of the alphabet. These concepts of working in this way are mindboggling. I’m excited about this new way of learning and processing. I will try my best to not limit myself in learning new ideas and stay on the leading edge of technology.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
In "Blog Post #12" by Carly Pugh, she makes a playlist of YouTube clips and pieces them together in her post. This is a great example of what Dr. Miller described about writing with multi-media. Carly added video clips in multiple sentences. These were of examples for her ideas or thoughts she wrote about. These video clips from YouTube totally brought her post together. Like writing with multi-media, Carly’s post is great for students who learn by different learning styles. Some students learn more by audio or video than just reading. This makes learning more interesting for them. I think she did an amazing job on this post!

“The Chipper Series”
In the video “The Chipper Series” I learned some valuable lessons about EDM310. Some of these lessons I already knew, but I learned about other concepts from watching this video. We don’t need to procrastinate like Chipper does in this video. We need to get our work done on time. The excuses that we use about why we procrastinate are always going to be around. They may change some, but there will always be something we can blame. If we change our habits now, then we have a chance at being better teachers. Teaching jobs are demanding in terms of time and effort and have deadlines much like EDM310. This class is like crash training in the teaching jobs we all want.

In the video Chipper says that she can predict the future, and that the future is present. From that, I understood that we don’t know exactly what tools (technology programs) we will use when we become teachers, so gather all the tools you can in this class. They will come in handy when we become teachers. We shouldn't waste time and money hoping for a chance to win the lottery. Getting an education will be a more sure way of getting a job.

Chipper mentions how her pilot school wasn't going well because the pilots couldn't get their licenses unless they actually flew the plane and not just completed the simulation. This made me think about how the programs that we use in EDM310 are the same ones we will use in our future classrooms. If we don’t understand and learn how to use them now, how will we expect to just walk in a classroom and figure them out? This is like a crash course on the leading edge of technology for the classroom. We will understand more if we do something rather than hearing about it and not trying it.

Even though this class seems overwhelming at times, Dr. Strange is giving us all the tools available to succeed in the future when we become teachers in the technologically advanced times we are living in today. All the excuses about why we can’t do something now will still be there when we become teachers and have to put in diligent hours of work. They may not be the same, but if they don’t change others will take their places. When we become teachers we will have to be in classrooms Monday-Friday and spend extra time at home to prepare for class. If we can’t do what we learn in EDM310 with the nine hours recommended, then will we be able to do what we need to do to teach a class? The habits concerning self-discipline we create to get our work done in a timely manner, meet deadlines, and do it right, will carry on throughout our careers as a teachers. If you quit like Chipper did in this video, then that is the pattern you will continue until you decide that what you were pursuing is what you wanted all along. You then have to make up for lost time. So fix it now and make time to continue with what you started.

This is a list of helpful ideas I learned from this video:

• Make punctuality a priority.

• Get as much out of school as you can.

• Don’t procrastinate and go to school when required and on time.

• Go above and beyond what is expected of you.

• You are training yourself for your future job.

EDM310 for Dummies
In the video "EDM310 for Dummies” I sometimes feel the same frustration demonstrated by the girls in the beginning of this video. They said they were going crazy and didn’t know much about the programs that were mentioned. Unlike them, I do know about some of the programs that we are learning, but did not have the desire to use them. I now understand the importance of these programs and I’m beginning to see the potential these tools have to enhance my future teaching ability.

I would like participate in, or create a video of how students in EDM310 feel when they receive comments on their blog post from Dr. Strange. We learn in peer editing to leave comments with encouragements and how to fix mistakes on our peer’s posts. When we receive comments from Dr. Strange they are not always encouraging. They simply point out our mistakes, and how to fix them. You can’t tell tone in text or e-mails. It sometime seems like he is being harsh, but in reality he may just be in a hurry. This sometimes can be discouraging. With this video I could assist others in understanding how his constructive criticism is beneficial.

"Learn to Change, Change to Learn"

In the video, “Learn to Change, Change to Learn” suggested by Christie Odom, many teachers from different backgrounds talked about how we need to change the way we teach to reach students.  Students are already using many types of technology for learning.  Most of these are banded from the schools.  Teachers need to be able to meet the students where they already have interests and use it for teaching purposes.  In this video, they said, “the U.S. Department of Commerce ranked education at the bottom of the list of I.T. intensiveness.”  This is even below coal mining.  I was shocked to hear that education was ranked number fifty-five out of fifty-five.  We need to change that.  Education should be more towards the top for sure.  

These teachers were talking about how we need to teach students by using technology. Standardize test are no longer preparing them for jobs they will have in the future. Students may be tested on their artist abilities, their creativity, and many other technology based abilities for jobs. Students will need to know how to find information, how to use it, and how to problem solve with the information they find.    They said this is a different style of learning than how we were raised.  Teachers also need to learn how to use these different programs and connect and share with other teachers.

"Scavenger Hunt 2.0"
In this scavenger hunt I found three tools I can use when I become a teacher on "Discovery Education 2.0 Web tools". I found a tool similar to Twitter/Facebook for teachers, parents and students called "Edmodo". I think this would be a great site to connect students with teachers and with parents. Most students already have a Facebook account. I could use this in my future class for the students to be able to connect with other classmates and me. If they needed help with a homework assignments they would be able to ask questions from home. I could ask random questions on this to possibly spark the students interests of what they would be learning for the next day. If parents had questions they could ask me on this site. Grades could also be accessed by parents and students. I think this is a great tool to use when I become a teacher.

The second tool I found on this scavenger hunt to use in my future classroom is "Slideshare". Their prices are kinda high, but teacher the pricing is 50% off. The silver plan for the education pricing is $114 a year. This isn't a bad price for this use of technology. If you want the next level, which is the gold level it's only $294. The platinum level is more expensive at $1494. I think that the silver level would be enough for a teacher to use this in his or her classroom.

The third and final tool I found on "Discovery Education 2.0 Web tools" was how to create a poll anywhere and at anytime. You can ask a variety of questions. This would be a great tool to use as a teacher to ask students questions and teach them about polls.

These are some interesting tools that I hope to use when I become a teacher. I think it will be useful and fun for the the students to use. With the tutorials they provide it makes it easy to learn how to use these programs. I'm glad I had an opportunity to experience this scavenger hunt.