Sunday, January 25, 2015

Blog Assignment #2


     Teaching in the 21st century will be completely different than how teaching used to be. Instead of there being just pencils, notebooks, and textbooks there are now phones, computers, and iPads; that is not even considering the different apps and websites there are to help students learn. 


1.     In the video "Mr. Dancealot", the professor, Mr. Dancealot, is teaching his students different dances, but all through powerpoint. The central message of this video is that just because we may have the technology to help teach does not necessarily mean that is the only way to teach. By the end of this video the teacher proves so by having his students take their final exam by performing the dances on video. The students however do not know the dances since all they had to learn from was from notes, but not actually getting to practice the dance moves. Mr. Dancealot does make an excellent point on this though. It shows that students should be able to interact when needed in the classroom to help them learn things taught to them better. 

2.     Kevin Roberts explains in the video "Teaching in the 21st Century" what he thinks it means to teach now-a-days. Like many of other teachers, Roberts is seeing how technology has grown as an important tool to use in the classroom. We need to connect with students on their level of how they are learning. Roberts even says how students do not need to be entertained, but engaged in the classroom to help the students learn better.  

Outline
I. The way things used to be taught is out of date. 
    A. Students are learning on their own with technology.
         1. Twitter
         2. Google
         3. Cell phones
    B. With technology comes new teaching
         1. Teaching how to validate information
         2. Teaching how to properly use Google and other search engines
         3.  Help students communicate information learned
II. Should curriculum be focused on facts or skills?
    A. The teachers give the skills so the students can find the facts
         1. Remember
         2. Understand 
         3. Apply
         4. Analyze 
         5. Evaluate 
         6. Create
     B. There are so many ways students are creating which need skills
         1. Blogging 
         2. Podcasting
         3. Programming
     C. The other skills students need when obtaining information
         1. Plagiarism
         2. Slander
         3. Pirating
III.  How to properly bring technology into the classroom
     A.The tools used have to be 
         1. Challenging 
         2. Engaging 
         3. Relevant 
     B. How is entertainment and engagement not the same
         1. Entertainment is passive and enjoyment
         2. Engagement is active and learning
IV. Engagement starts with teachers
      A. Seeing what resources are out there 
      B. Start off small with the technology
      C. Collaborate with other people 
      D. Take a risk and see what happens when trying something else
     
     How Kevin Roberts sees teaching changing is spot on. Having him saying that technology is a temptation, but should be monitored like pencils and notebooks is a great way to connect the new teaching to the older. The way he is seeing the way everything is changing will only help future educators with their students. Even though some may not be very computer literate they can still learn easy things to help engage students in the classroom with technology. It will affect me as an educator since I am even learning new things as I go. It will affect my in the sense that everyday something new and different is being created in the technology filled that out does something else. 

3.    When I first read the question "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" before even watching the video "The Networked Student", I thought a lot of the same things the video mentions. Teachers are their to guide their students and have them thinking about different things that are going on in this world. Teachers are to teach the basic things the students would need to know to help them grow. Students will use their own skills and tools learned from the teachers to find the facts and answers to things. Teachers are as a guide and not the one who knows all.

4.     In Vicki Davis' video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" she makes the point that students learn better with technology. She even has a comment that teachers think they need to know everything they teach, but the don't. I love how she makes that statement because we do all pull from one another. I love how she uses all form of technology in her classroom because that is something that is needed in the classrooms today.




5.      The video title "Who's Ahead In the Learning Race?" really gets a person thinking.  Everybody who probably say well my learning class right? Well in this video if someone is in elementary school and thought they are ahead, then they are correct. Dr. Strange does a really interesting study here on elementary, undergraduate, and graduate students. Since kids are starting at such a young age learning about technology it would only make sense they are ahead. Younger students are being taught things that I myself am just learning which is neat, but at the same time weird since I now see myself as being behind on the learning race.

6.     Flipping the classroom is actually something I have never seen before. I actually learned a lot form the video "Flipping the Classroom". Some of my friends have studied lecture notes the night ahead, but it is not like we necessarily had to. Flipping the classroom would benefit not only the teachers, but also the students. Students will be getting the best knowledge they can get and possibly even learn more. Since classroom time would no longer be "wasted" it is an advantage on the students for growing their own knowledge on things. Flipping the classroom does seem useful since it would use everyone's time wisely, makes students better prepared for class, and not as boring for a student since they can be at home. 

7.     In "Bringing the Locker Room to the Classroom" I could use a way for having students teach their own classmates. Craig Owens says that students would see him as the one who would know all since most of the times all questions were directed towards him. In that sense I would not always have to necessarily give my student an answer, but instead work with a classmate as a "team" to find the right answer. 

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Blog Assignment #1


What about EDM310?

     Some of the things I have heard about EDM310 is that it is a class that is very time consuming and a lot of work load. One of the fears I have for this class is the fact that there is a good amount of work to do each week and most of it being online. One of the most difficult things for me in this course is possibly forgetting to do something and staying on track. The way for me to defeat this difficulty is to just write down everything I need to finish in my planner to stay on top of things. 
     EDM310 is similar to a computer course I took in high school in the way that it was all computer base. We learned how to use the Microsoft programs and how to create things in a model form. It is however much different from my other classes though since it is all computer base. Most of my other classes deal with taking notes, reading a book, and attending class everyday. 
     The one question I do have is how difficult is it to use Foliotek? 

Practice Blog #1



Outline

  • About my family and me
  • My hobbies and interests 
  • Why I want to enter the field of education
  • Description of a 21st teacher
  • My dream 
  • Picture about my passion 


      Hey there everyone! I am Caroline Mitchell and I am a sophomore here at the University of South Alabama. I was born and raised in Biloxi, Mississippi which is only about an hour away from here. I am a Secondary Education English major, but want to some day teach college. I am not the first of my family to attend college. My father is a Marine Biology major, but actually works for the Air Force. My mother is a history high school teacher, and is one of the people who helped me decided what I would want to do with my life. I also have a little sister who is in eighth grade, and as of right now also plans to go to college to be a teacher. I have one cat and one dog who are my life. I have had my cat for about two years and is named Mitzi. My dog just recently turned seven months old and is a lab mix named Lily.

     One of my favorite things to do is travel. I am pretty much the definition of a wanderlust. I plan to visit the whole United States, and would love to visit every country. I have been out of the country numerous of times and different places. I have been to the Bahamas, Mexico (twice), London, Paris, New York City, parts of Tennessee, Florida multiple times, different parts of Louisiana, and Texas. I am also always up for an adventure would probably explain why I love to travel and see new sights. I also love the outdoors- especially the beach. During the summer I actually work on an island which I take a boat to every morning in Biloxi.

     My goal is to become an English college professor because I love the deep thinking about writing that my professors has made me do so far. With college comes a whole bunch of different people, who have all grown up in different places with different backgrounds who have so many different perspectives on things. I also chose English because I like the idea of assigning papers and helping my students grow to be better writers. I would like to start off in high school though however to ease my way into the teaching world.

     The description of a 21st teacher is for sure someone who knows how to work with technology. Along with that a teacher who is willing to take in different ideas from all different sources whether it be people, the internet, or even news articles. Along with that a teacher is someone who also teaches things other than what is mandatory. Teachers should also teach life lessons and things we may see and deal with in our lifetime.

     One of my dreams is to teach English abroad in some country. Not only would I be seeing new sights, but I would be learning about a whole new culture.