C4K Summary for February

C4K #1
For my first C4K assignment I was assigned to Ana. Ana is in Mr. Chamberlain's 8th grade class. Ana's teacher Mr. Chamberlain told Ana to create her own classroom and describe how she would run that classroom. Ana created a very festive classroom and said that she would allow every child to run around all day. At the end of the day Ana stated that she would ask her students to write a paper about what they learned. In the comment that I left for Ana I told her who I was and why I was leaving a comment on her blog. I congratulated her for the classroom that she created and I congratulated her for her "hands on" approach to teaching her class. I did add that organization was an important asset to learning.

C4K #2
For my second C4K assignment of the month I was assigned to Ben Frostestad's blog. The last assignment that Ben wrote about was his interests. He described briefly the things that he enjoys doing, and Ben really enjoys working on engines of all types. I encouraged Ben to pursue his interest and told him that he and I had similar interests. I told Ben that I am a student at the University of South Alabama , and I told him that I really enjoyed reading about his hobby. I also told him that I really enjoy making things. When I was younger I really enjoyed working on motor's just like he does now. I went on to tell him that I really enjoyed his blog post.


C4K #3
For my third C4K assignment of the month I was assigned to Madison's class blog. Madison is in Mrs. Garcia's fourth grade class. Madison wrote about her research that she did about Mardi Gras in New Orleans. I congratulated her on her extensive research and I told her that the knowledge she obtained through her research exceded the knowledge of a university student that is native to that culture. The next paragraph is my comment.

Hello Madison, my name is Keeley Bryan and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your class blog! I am from Mobile, Alabama which is the city where Mardi Gras originated. New Orleans is the city which holds the largest celebration for the holiday. I learned a great deal of information from your blog post, and your research is far more in-depth than the knowledge I have obtained about the event. This is something that you should be extremely proud of. Your research about Mardi Gras has provided you with more knowledge about the event than a university student that is native to the culture. Great job Madison! Feel free to check out my class blog.

C4K #4
For the last C4K assignment of the month I was assigned to a child who was given the nickname "Cookie". Cookie's blog post was aimed toward allowing children to have cellphones for emergency reasons. Cookie's main thesis centered on the idea that 797,530 kids get lost each year. Cookie included some excellent points and provided a well organized post. I told Cookie that allowing children to use a cellphone for emergencies is a great idea although, there access should be limited to emergencies. Here is the comment that I posted...

Dear Cookie, my name is Keeley Bryan and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your blog post. You brought out some extremely good points about children having cellphones. Children do get lost everyday and cellphones could be a way of rescue for those children. You brought out some great points in your post, but there are some negative points involved with allowing children to have cellphones. I personally do not believe that children should have access to smart phones, and I feel that a child's use of the phone should be limited. I feel that a child's access to the phone should be limited to emergency use as your research stated. You did a great job with your research and I benefited from viewing your blog. I am extremely impressed at the organization of your blog post.

Blog Post 6

This week in EDM 310 Dr. Strange asked us to watch Dr. Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. Dr. Pausch's lecture was extremely moving; especially when taking into account that Dr. Pausch died shortly after the making of the video with pancreatic cancer. With Dr. Pausch's love for life and high strung personality one would never expect the struggles that he endured. Dr. Pausch's lecture was titled, Achieving Your Childhood Dreams and rightly so because his lecture focused on the creative dreams of today's students.

There were three parts to Dr. Pausch's lecture: his own childhood dreams, enabling the childhood dreams of others, and lessons learned. One concept that comes up continually throughout the lecture was the concept of a brick wall that we always encounter while we pursue our passions. Dr. Pausch said that a brick wall was placed in our path in order to show us how badly we want things, and to reveal to us our dedication in achieving our goals. Dr. Pausch used the analogy of the brick wall to illustrate what happens as we pursue our childhood dreams.

Dr. Pausch's lecture did not appear to be a guide that enabled people to achieve their dreams, but rather an encouragement for people to chase after their dreams. Achieving the dream is not the ultimate end. The ultimate end is the amount of brick walls that we encounter and how we rise up from those discouraging moments. Dr. Pausch put it best by saying, "experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want". Childhood dreams are very important and they provide for creativity, but if our hope is built upon that one dream then discouragement will be the result.

The main point that I received from Randy Pausch's final lecture was not to achieve but rather to aspire! We teach children to aim for one certain goal but the goal is not the objective. The road that leads to the goal is the ultimate objective. I see the dreams of children as the key to their creativity and motivation, but what the child encounters along the way to their goal will ultimately benefit them. Dr. Pausch conveyed his teaching methods to be centered around allowing students to have fun while they learn the hardest material. Dr. Pausch was basically focused on utilizing technology or any media to provide an enjoyable learning experience that promotes creativity. I feel that with this method students are more self motivated and have a better opportunity to learn the material.

The part of Dr. Pausch's lecture that hit home for me was the part where he discussed the lessons learned from the lecture. Those who have the most influence on a child's life are those who spend the most time with the child. Dr. Pausch listed multiple people that he served under who had a great impact on his life. The two people that he claimed to have had the greatest impact on his life were his parents. He even ended the lecture by stating that his lecture was not for his listeners but rather for his children. I am a man of faith and through my faith in Christ I have learned the absolute importance of the family unit. The actions and reactions of a child's parents have the greatest influence on that child's life. The parents great influence comes with a great responsibility. It is up to the parent to promote the child's creativity, work ethic, knowledge, morals, ideology, and success in school and work.

I enjoyed watching Dr. Randy Pausch's motivating last lecture. I believe that we as future educators should realize that we are not looking for a job, but we are looking to be the leaders and role models of an entire generation that is the future of the world. Educators have the greatest obligation in America, and if parents and teachers do not promote creativity and enjoyable productive education then who will? It is our task to modivate, inspire, and mold the youth of this country. In the words of Dr. Randy Pausch "Its not about how to achieve your dreams, its about how to lead your life".

Project #9a timetoast

Blog Post 5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? by Dr. Scott McLeod

Dr. Scott McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa State University. I did enjoy reading his blog post Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?. Dr. McLeod's post was mildly sarcastic but indicated that teachers can use what ever teaching method that they would like, but a child who was taught by way of technology will excel while a student who was educated without technology will be at a future disadvantage. I agree and disagree with Dr. McLeod. Yes, technology is the future of America and a child must be educated on the skill that he or she will need to excel in the work force, but technology should be used sparingly in certain classes. I might stand alone in my opinion of education but technology must only be used when appropriate and not for the sake of totally consuming a student with technology. Classes should be offered with technology centered curriculum, and technology should be used in regular classrooms. I feel that the teacher should be able to decide on the amount of technology that he or she uses, but that teacher does not have the right to totally rob a student from technology if it would be beneficial in the classroom.

Travis Allen's Video's

I really enjoyed watching Travis Allen's two video's The ischool initiative and Travis Allen's ZeitgeistYoungMinds entry (Mobile Learning) iSchool Initiative. Both video's made some very valid points about the future of education. I was excited to see the potential of future education, and even more excited to know that this idea came form a 17 year old high school student. This is the dawn of a new era in the history of the world and I very easily foresee schools in the future eventually using this type of technology.

I do however see potential problems with incorporating this type of technology in the classroom. For one thing the method of education we are using now has been used for an extremely long time, and change very rarely comes easily or quickly. I will admit that schools are taking positive steps to incorporate technology in the classrooms, but I see it taking a few years before technology like this is used across the board. Attempts to incorporate technology such as the iPod touch has been attempted before and positives did result, but for the most part this type of technology has not been fully successful. That is not to say that it will not be successful in the future or that it is a bad idea, but rather an idea that will take a few years to be effective.

Jennifer Chamber’s post and Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir

Eric Witacre's Virtual Choir was an astonishing performance! I am currently employed as a music leader and it would come as no surprise to learn that I love music and very much appreciate this virtual choir's performance. I am aware of the benefits that technology provides for musicians, and I have nothing negative to say against the use of technology in music. I am a choir director at a church and could utilize this technology to record and layer myself on different instruments in order to create a sound track that my choir could sing along with. The only problem that I have with this technology is the price. The price is the only thing hindering me from taking full advantage of this new technology.

Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts

The video Teaching in the 21st Century was a well thought out video that provided some solid ideas concerning the future of education. Kevin Roberts main idea about the future of education was to place more responsibility on the student and less on the teacher. By doing this Kevin says that teachers become the filter for an unlimited world of information. One thing is for absolute certain, the future will be technologically centered and schools must incorporate technology in the classroom. For a school system to restrict the teaching of technologically in the classroom would be criminal, because the school is to prepare the student for success in the work force. I agree with Kevin and Dr. Strange that "burp back" education is a failure in the school system, and it places far too much emphasis on the teachers responsibility and far less on the students responsibility for learning. I do agree with Kevin but I also view teachers as a little more than just filters. Filtering information is an important and difficult task, but I believe that certain teachers have the gift of teaching in a way that students can easily understand apart from self learning. I am in support of the student being responsible for his or her own learning but I support this ideology within reason. I feel that education is best implicated with a combination of: lecture, discussion, and technology. Each one of these aspects are important and no one should be used any more or less than the other. It does excite me to see how technology is enhancing the learning experience.

Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a great website not only for teachers but for: parents, teachers, principles, and other professionals. This website has multiple tools to aid in a child's learning experience. One of the tools that I could use from Reading Rocket is the Jigsaw tool which helps children with reading comprehension. With the Jigsaw strategy students are broken up into different groups and given readings that all apply to the same topic. The groups of students have different parts to one story and they try to put the story together after each group reads their assignment. Tools such as this make reading enjoyable, and I would have no problem incorporating this strategy in my classroom.

There are far more strategies than jigsaw reading comprehension. Reading Rocket supplies educators with multiple tools for success in their classrooms. Another strategy that I learned from this website is Reciprocal Teaching. The main aim of this strategy is for students to run their own discussion by taking turns leading the discussion. Not only does Reciprocal Teaching aid in text comprehension, but it helps young students apply the text in a discussion. This tactic is extremely beneficial in my opinion. I find that Reciprocal Teaching actually places more incentive for the student to understand what they read and how to convey the main points to their classmates. Reading Rocket seems to be a fantastic teaching tool, and I would have no problem using it in the future.

Project #6

Blog Post 4

For Blog Post 4 I was required to watch three out of five videos on podcasting. This blog post assignment was intended to prepare the class for the podcast assignment that will be due in two weeks.

Judy Scharf's post about creating a Podcast was very interesting. I have always listened to podcasts but I have never created a podcast. The information that Ms.Scharf posted was very beneficial. The video that she added on her blog post, How to Create a Podcast was confusing for me but the video did explain to me things that I did not know about. Judy Scharf posted multiple things about creating a podcast and each post was extremely beneficial. The Things that Judy Scharf mentioned will help me when it comes to creating my podcast.

The next Blog that I visited concerning podcasting was Joe Dale's Blog. The first thing that I did when I visited his blog was wach the YouTube video Podcasting In The Classroom. This was a great ten minute video describing the generation we live in, and how technology can be used to aid in learning. The video stated that podcasting focuses on the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy and allows for creativity. I found it interesting that sick students would be able to utilize podcasting while they remain at home. I am a history major, and I really appreciated how the 6th grade Social Studies teacher had the students use podcast to act out interviews with historic figures. This could definitely be a tool that I can use in the future.

The last page I viewed was on bspcn.com. The article that I watched was 100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better. I had no idea about all of the different ways that a teacher could utilize an iPod in the class room. I have recently learned that an iPod does more that play music. Discovering all of this is eye opening for me.
The very First thing on the list of 100 was Spark Notes. Sparknotes is a tool that I have used before, and I particularly like Spark Notes because it allows students to comprehend information that could be hard to read in its original form. I also like number 16 on the count down which is "iPod Spanish to Go". I can see how a child could learn a language more fluently by listening to an audio recording. I can defiantly see myself using most of these tools in my future career. I would use them sparingly and I would definitely insure that they were not limiting the student.

Presentation Project #5

C4T #1

I was assigned to Dean Shareski's Blog for my EDM 310 C4T assignment. Here are two of Deans blog posts that I commented on.

C4T#1 Post#1

Should Teachers Own Their Learning

I commented first on Dean's post that was titled, Should Teachers Own Their Learning. The main emphasis of Dean's post was directed toward the idea that school districts and school administrators should trust teachers to direct there own PD. Dean made the case that teachers are constantly put under far too much stress, and have to deal with far too many issues that are not necessarily productive ways of allowing their students to freely learn. Students are slammed to a schedule and constantly forced to learn material that will be on a subject area test, and the students are never encouraged to LEARN freely.
In my comment on this post I ensured Dean Shareski that I agree with Him. I told him my reason for commenting on his blog and my aim to one day become an educator. I included the testimony of personal teachers that I come in contact with regularly and there experiences on this area. I added a link to my personal blog and informed him that I really enjoyed His blog post.Here is my comment...

Hello Dean, my name is Keeley Bryan. I am a student at the University of
South Alabama, and I am preparing to become a high school history
teacher. I came across your blog because of an assignment in my
EDM310 class at the University. I appreciate and agree with the
points that you made in this blog post. I believe that school
districts and school administrators should allow teachers to direct
their own PD. Friends of mine that are teachers attest to the fact
that school districts place way too much stress on teachers and do
not allow them to own their own learning. I gathered some great
information from your blog post and I look forward to reading more of
your blog posts. Feel free to check out my blog at this link

C4T#1 Post#2

Understanding the Digital Divide

Dean started this blog post by stating his love for writing, and how writing and blogging have become a critical part of his growth. In this post he goes on to describe the confrence FETC that he attended last week. He made the comment that over the years this conference has dwendled down in attendence. In previous years he has been in awe at the conference because of the emerging hardware and software that offered some new possibilities, but he went on to say that the most recent conferences were not enjoyable and did not benefit him in the areas that an education conference should. Dean went on to speak about the Educon conference in Philadelphia. Dean says that It's not a perfect conference but it serves the needs of many who are looking to connect deeply with people and ideas. Dean wanted to make it clear in his blog post that just because he found the format and style of Educon more to his liking doesn't mean that FETC conference doesn't have value. He stated also that his role of discovery needs to find more ways to reach diverse groups. Dean added that all of that was to say that the digital divide is vast. Dean went on to say “Somehow I need to prepare myself to address that and it begins with a more sympathetic attitude towards those just beginning to see that things could be different”.

My comment on Dean's blog post attested to the fact that I agreed with him concerning the goal of these technology centered education conferences, but I went on to add my opinion of education when it comes to technology. I went a little further into the subject than Dean did. Here is what I commented...

Like your last post that I commented on, concerning teachers owning their own learning, I completely enjoyed this blog post. I admire your passion to attend and uplift a conference that emphasize educators connecting deeply with people and ideas. Coming from a rural high school in Mississippi, I agree that there are schools that have minimum access to new technology that would aid in student learning. I personally feel that technology should be included into the class room within reason. I feel that there should be a balance between lecture, discussion, and technology. In my opinion there is not an adequate balance of all three aspects in the class room, and generally across America technology is the element lacking.

best,
Keeley Bryan

Here is a link to my blog

Blog Post 3

Part 1

For part one of this blog post assignment I was required to watch and read a series of things. The material looked at was: Paige Ellis' blog post 12, What is Peer Editing, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, and Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. All of this material centered around how to peer edit. When I comment on anything posted, I always find ways to encourage the person. If I contradict or correct my peer through a comment, I always do so in as kind and respectful of a way that I can.

Part 2

Technology in Special Education

The video Technology in Special Education really helped me to realize the new opportunities for children with disabilities. I can see how technology helped these children learn how to communicate more efficiently with their teacher and their classmates. Special education teachers have quite a task in teaching children with disabilities, and I can see technology helping them in their already difficult job.

Although their are multiple possibilities with technology in the classroom, their are also multiple draw backs. Educators should seek to find the least restrictive environment for children with disabilities. Technology could or could not be beneficial to certain children. Technology could hinder some children with attention disabilities, and with other children technology could benefit. My opinion is that educators should be aware of the child's learning ability and what helps and distracts that child's potential. Basically use technology wisely.

How the Ipad Works with Academics for Autism

After watching the YouTube video How the Ipad
works with Academics for Autism I realized that the Ipad can be a learning tool for children.I worry that certain applications will restrict children from thinking on their own, but for most children with disabilities these educational applications can be very beneficial. I could see using these applications for children with disabilities, but in regular education classes the use of applications shouldn't necessarily by excluded but included as needed.

In the Apple app store if found the Britannica Kids: Volcanoes App to be very beneficial to special education children. The volcano application seemed to be very interesting, and a great tool to capture and retain the attention of children. The use of the app should be limited but included when needed to study the function of and geographical location of Volcanoes.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

In this blog post I was directed to view Garys Social Media Count. This count is very astonishing and shows the technological inflation that is taking place. There are numerous people around the globe that know about the new technological era, but i'm sure that no one understands at what great rate this is occurring. I predict in the future the world will become united through these social networks. I can very easily foresee business' like the post office and news papers going out of business due to the new era of technology.

Technology will greatly affect my future, and not just my personal life but my life as an educator. I do not foresee technology prohibiting educators from lecture and discussion, but I do foresee technology being included in the future of education. Technology, as it applies to education, is not limited to resources alone. I can see educators using social networks like twitter, and google to aid in peer discussion as monitored by the instructor. I do not however, know how distractions on the internet will be prohibited and enforced, but the one thing I know is that education will incorporate technology in the future.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

Michael Wesch, the creator of the video A Vision of Students Today conveyed a very powerful message. I agree with some of the points that Michael made in his video, but I also disagree with certain aspects of his video. Students will be more responsive with pictures, video's, and different ways to communicate what they have learned. Students could be able to grasp a better understanding of material through technology.

With all of the positives centered around using technology in the classroom, and all of the benefits of incorporating technology, I do see certain problems that will occur when trying to incorporate technology. One problem that will arise is the distraction of the students. I feel that if a student is given access to the internet in a classroom then the students attention could be distracted form the lecture at hand. This leads me to a second problem that will arise. I feel that technology should be used in moderation when it comes to the core classes, and used more frequently when it comes to technology classes.