For future students I believe this class offers lots of different options for future teachers. It shows that there are resources out there that are easy to access. For me not all of what I learned will be used but I can say I learned somethings that I didn't know were out there for me to use. As technology becomes a bigger thing in everyday life knowing how to use it and apply it to day to day is a must.
Thanks
Shelley Graham
Thursday, July 23, 2009
What I have learned in EDM 310
Throughout my semester in EDM 310 I have learned about and used many different types of technology:
1. google spreedsheets
2. google documents
3. igoogle
4. blogger.com
5. ALEX
6. ACCESS
7. iTunes
8. Delicious
9. different websites I had to write about
To be completly honest not all of these will be things I use as a teacher. One of the many things we learned about that I really don't think I will use is delicious. However, spreedsheets and documents, and blogger.com are three things I will use as a teacher. These three things were very useful to me as a student and I feel they would greatly benifit me as a teacher. Podcasts were a neat experiance but unless I will be teaching higher elementary level classes I will probably not really use this. This class did help teach me about different places on the internet that I can go to use a resource to help me acheive as a teacher.
1. google spreedsheets
2. google documents
3. igoogle
4. blogger.com
5. ALEX
6. ACCESS
7. iTunes
8. Delicious
9. different websites I had to write about
To be completly honest not all of these will be things I use as a teacher. One of the many things we learned about that I really don't think I will use is delicious. However, spreedsheets and documents, and blogger.com are three things I will use as a teacher. These three things were very useful to me as a student and I feel they would greatly benifit me as a teacher. Podcasts were a neat experiance but unless I will be teaching higher elementary level classes I will probably not really use this. This class did help teach me about different places on the internet that I can go to use a resource to help me acheive as a teacher.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Alice Christie
I have taken a look at Dr. Alice Christie's website. I think one very useful thing that I could use as an educator would be the web design portion of the site. She has taken the time to explain what teachers should put on a website so that parents, students, and other teachers can benefit from it. As a teacher it is important to be able to communicate with students and parents outside of the classroom.
I also think having a website for me or my class would allow students to show their parents what we are learning in class. Being able to have a break down of how to make a website is a great help, without this list of things Dr. Christie gives I don't feel that if I made a web page it would have been as good.
I also think having a website for me or my class would allow students to show their parents what we are learning in class. Being able to have a break down of how to make a website is a great help, without this list of things Dr. Christie gives I don't feel that if I made a web page it would have been as good.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Google vs Microsoft
I don't know what to really think about Google trying to make an operating system that would compete against Microsoft. Microsoft is such a widely used operating systems I'm not sure many people would be willing to try something new right off. You normally think of google as a site you use to look up things. Microsoft has made so many advances in the past years and children of all ages use Microsoft for papers, or spread sheets. For students having google as an operating system could be good or bad.
If students teachers use Microsoft and the students use google then papers sent through the internet will not be compatible. I think in a way this will cause some problems as far as turning in assignments or getting everyone on the same system. At the same time though it can offer another option for teachers and students to use that may be better than what we have. It is really all going to depend on what Google's operating system looks like, and how easy it is to use, and even if it's more advanced.
If students teachers use Microsoft and the students use google then papers sent through the internet will not be compatible. I think in a way this will cause some problems as far as turning in assignments or getting everyone on the same system. At the same time though it can offer another option for teachers and students to use that may be better than what we have. It is really all going to depend on what Google's operating system looks like, and how easy it is to use, and even if it's more advanced.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
I just finished Randy Pausch's last lecture. He was an amazing man who was a professor for many years. Just by watching his video I learned a lot. To him learning was a fun and exciting thing to do. He tried in every way to make learning as fun as it could be. His main message in his lecture was reaching your childhood goals.
He started with his childhood goals. He went through and told about what he dreamed of doing as a child and how he accomplished all of his goals. One of his biggest points he stressed is that brick walls, or obstacles, are there to let you know how badly you want something. To him there was nothing you couldn't achieve, everything was possible. While watching and listening I thought how true is that, brick walls are just there to let you know how badly you want something. With this being part of his philosophy he pushed for all people to be able to achieve their dreams.
As a soon to be teacher I thought this was extremely important. Being able to support children and their dreams is a huge part of helping them achieve. Without having someone to believe in them they wont know how far they can go. He also was sure to stress that if a dream you have needs to be altered in order to make it true then that's fine. Not everything we want to happen will but he thought no matter what we should at least try.
For me I will use this lecture to help me be a better teacher for children. I will use his philosophy of never giving up, altering a dream if need be, and giving your all as a teacher. I will never give up on my children and in return will expect them to never give up. I will in every way support them in any dream they have, no matter what it may be, because only they know what they can accomplish. I will also give my all to these children everyday and in return expect the same from them.
He started with his childhood goals. He went through and told about what he dreamed of doing as a child and how he accomplished all of his goals. One of his biggest points he stressed is that brick walls, or obstacles, are there to let you know how badly you want something. To him there was nothing you couldn't achieve, everything was possible. While watching and listening I thought how true is that, brick walls are just there to let you know how badly you want something. With this being part of his philosophy he pushed for all people to be able to achieve their dreams.
As a soon to be teacher I thought this was extremely important. Being able to support children and their dreams is a huge part of helping them achieve. Without having someone to believe in them they wont know how far they can go. He also was sure to stress that if a dream you have needs to be altered in order to make it true then that's fine. Not everything we want to happen will but he thought no matter what we should at least try.
For me I will use this lecture to help me be a better teacher for children. I will use his philosophy of never giving up, altering a dream if need be, and giving your all as a teacher. I will never give up on my children and in return will expect them to never give up. I will in every way support them in any dream they have, no matter what it may be, because only they know what they can accomplish. I will also give my all to these children everyday and in return expect the same from them.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
The Fisch Bowl Movie
At first when watching this movie it gives different statistics about how much time is spent online, on cell phones, texting, watching TV, and etc.. I really started to think, wow, I fall into a lot of those categories, and it made me realize how much time revolves around technology. In a way I even feel as if some of the time using all this technology isn't really just a waste. Like right now, not only am I doing homework, but I'm also on facebook talking to people, and looking at pictures. So I'm doing something positive with my time, homework, and not so positive, facebook.
This movie was really pretty neat. I realize now that most of what I can do on a computer has been learned throughout school. Without that help I would be lost and not know much about what I was doing. The point of the video is to make people realize that technology is becoming more and more apart of everyday life and that we need to learn how to teach children to adapt. What we can teach them today about computers and technology will be very different by the time they get out and are able to use it in jobs. We need to be teaching how to adapt to change not just how to turn on the computer.
This movie was really pretty neat. I realize now that most of what I can do on a computer has been learned throughout school. Without that help I would be lost and not know much about what I was doing. The point of the video is to make people realize that technology is becoming more and more apart of everyday life and that we need to learn how to teach children to adapt. What we can teach them today about computers and technology will be very different by the time they get out and are able to use it in jobs. We need to be teaching how to adapt to change not just how to turn on the computer.
iTunes University
I went to this site click here about iTunes University. Looking through this site I got a pretty good idea of what iTunes University is all about. It is where different Universities put up links on iTunes to lectures, or things related to courses for students or even grade school teachers to use. To actually be able to access any of the lectures or videos you would actually have to go to itunes and download them.
As a future teacher this site would be a great resource. It would allow me to bring in outside resources from upstanding colleges to back up what my children are learning. It would also be able to give me ideas of different projects, maybe not as technical as theirs, to do with my classes. When a child asks when am I going to use this in class being able to show them that they will need it when they go to college would help reinforce them learning the material. I think itunes University has a lot of potential in helping future students and teachers.
As a future teacher this site would be a great resource. It would allow me to bring in outside resources from upstanding colleges to back up what my children are learning. It would also be able to give me ideas of different projects, maybe not as technical as theirs, to do with my classes. When a child asks when am I going to use this in class being able to show them that they will need it when they go to college would help reinforce them learning the material. I think itunes University has a lot of potential in helping future students and teachers.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
The best of the Fischbowl
In reading this post to the Fischbowl I can really see and understand where he is coming from. I agree that teachers should not be technology illiterate. Technology is such a major part of life especially now in 2009. If teachers don't know how to use technology then they can't teach the children. If children don't learn how to use technology then when they go out on their own for jobs and such what will happen to them? Today's society is based around technology. Whether it be computers, cell phones, i-pods, and etc.
The only argument I have is even if the teachers and school districts hold higher standards for technology what about the parents? If a child is learning how to use a computer for example, and goes home to do homework and the parents don't know how to help the child use the computer then they, in way, get set back. It comes down to change. People don't like change and technology is an always changing world.
The only argument I have is even if the teachers and school districts hold higher standards for technology what about the parents? If a child is learning how to use a computer for example, and goes home to do homework and the parents don't know how to help the child use the computer then they, in way, get set back. It comes down to change. People don't like change and technology is an always changing world.
Podcasts
I listened to two podcats previously done by students in Mr. Sullivan's EDM 310 class; Examining Dr.Strange's Thesis that Students Now are listener/watchers and not reader/writers. bw0610w, and Technology used in the classroom at the university of south alabama ss0216. It seems that everyone had their own version of how to do a podcast. One podcast I listened to had one person do most of the talking and asked the others in the group questions. This approach seemed to work but I think it would have been more effective if everyone would have contributed as much talking because everyone has their own point of view. In another podcast they introduced themselves and took turns talking. To me this seemed more effective because I was able to hear every ones opinion.
When my group does their podcasts we will alternate between talking and allow for everyone to have a chance at discussing the topic. Having one moderator seems to work pretty well. There will be one person to introduce what we will discuss and then we will introduce ourselves and begin the discussion. Listening to previous podcasts helps when it comes time to do your own because it gives you and idea of what makes a podcasts good.
When my group does their podcasts we will alternate between talking and allow for everyone to have a chance at discussing the topic. Having one moderator seems to work pretty well. There will be one person to introduce what we will discuss and then we will introduce ourselves and begin the discussion. Listening to previous podcasts helps when it comes time to do your own because it gives you and idea of what makes a podcasts good.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
International School using blogs
I found this blog from a teacher in Portugal. Since it is summer usually blogs end with the last of year projects. This teacher not only uses her blog for school but even during the summer. She allows for her students to get on during their summer and write her. So if they need help or to ask a question they are able to get in contact with their teacher. She even states that she checks everyday to see if there are any new messages. But she does also use the site for school, and to let students know about projects, and to post up things they have done. If you would like to visit her blog click here
Another blog posted by a teacher in Canada shows the different topics and even videos he showed in his class. He uses his blog to inform parents of what he teaches he students and even puts up links to educational sites the students may liek to view. Another thing he does is post up the childrens reaction to some of the topics discussed in class. If you would like to view his blog page click here
itunes
Not all the podcasts were designed the same. I listed to a few that sounded like a radio show with lots of talking that didn't pertain to much about school. One I listened to that I really liked discussed using ipods in the place of listing stations. A couple of arguments they used were to take something that was a challenge and turn it into a positive thing. Instead of fighting children to get them to leave ipods at home let them bring the ipod and listen to stories or something educational, that could of course be monitored.
Another podcast looked at the new technology that is available to this generation. I don't know if anyone has seen the computer table games at the new McDonald's, but in one of the podcast the host described these games. They are, for the most part, educational games with things like math, reading, and spelling, and gets the child interested in learning because today's generation loves video and computer games. Children do need physical activity and contact but we should be able incorporate some of the things they like into daily learning.
Each pocast seems to be set up different. Some take the radio sound. By this I mean they come off sounding like a radio talk show discussing different topics realted to school. Where as another does more interviews, which is where they had teachers call in and put their comments on the podcast. One was just a guy that sat talked about what he thought was important for children to learn and discussed different ways to get them to explore those ideas. Such as question about what they are learning.
It seems podcats don't really have a set way to go about the discussion on a topic. Although they all did start off stating who they were and what they were going to discuss. I guess the best type of podcast for one may not work for another. It's about figureing out how you want to sound when you play back the podcast. Do you want it to sound like a radio show? Do you want it to come off as a phone converstation? Or maybe a debate about something. Either way you chose to go there really isn't a wrong way as long you discuss the topic at hand in some detail.
Another podcast looked at the new technology that is available to this generation. I don't know if anyone has seen the computer table games at the new McDonald's, but in one of the podcast the host described these games. They are, for the most part, educational games with things like math, reading, and spelling, and gets the child interested in learning because today's generation loves video and computer games. Children do need physical activity and contact but we should be able incorporate some of the things they like into daily learning.
Each pocast seems to be set up different. Some take the radio sound. By this I mean they come off sounding like a radio talk show discussing different topics realted to school. Where as another does more interviews, which is where they had teachers call in and put their comments on the podcast. One was just a guy that sat talked about what he thought was important for children to learn and discussed different ways to get them to explore those ideas. Such as question about what they are learning.
It seems podcats don't really have a set way to go about the discussion on a topic. Although they all did start off stating who they were and what they were going to discuss. I guess the best type of podcast for one may not work for another. It's about figureing out how you want to sound when you play back the podcast. Do you want it to sound like a radio show? Do you want it to come off as a phone converstation? Or maybe a debate about something. Either way you chose to go there really isn't a wrong way as long you discuss the topic at hand in some detail.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
K-12 classroom blogs
I found a blog from Mrs.C's class at Noel Elementary School. She used blogs, in one way, to show what her class was learning. She also put up video from some of the students, discussing how they went about gathering information for a project. Also on her blogs are links to all kinds of things, like their school library. If you would like to visit Mrs.C's blog click here
I also found Mrs.Bradley's kindergarten blog. She does pretty much the same as the other. She put up mostly videos and pictures illustrating what the children were learning in her class. Also on the right side she posts up special calender, letters, and need to know things. If you would like to visit Mrs.Bradley's blogclick here
Thursday, June 4, 2009
ACCESS
Access is a program designed for teachers and students in high school to go to to take online studies. There are a few different tabs at the top, one for established teachers, one for students, one for parents, and one that lists the different courses available. Each tab will take you to different areas related to the topic. For instance the student tab will take to a page and allow you to download different programs that would help a student in math, or grammar.
This website would be of great assistance for teachers. It would allow teachers to help high school students with help from home on homework. It would also allow high school students to get a head start on college classes, without actually going to school because it could be done online. For parents, they can see what is needed on the high school graduation exams, because one tab leads to graduation exam standards.
This website would be of great assistance for teachers. It would allow teachers to help high school students with help from home on homework. It would also allow high school students to get a head start on college classes, without actually going to school because it could be done online. For parents, they can see what is needed on the high school graduation exams, because one tab leads to graduation exam standards.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
ALEX
ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. When you first open up this website, http://alex.state.al.us, you will be brought to a page with 8 boxes, all with different titles. The first one is called course of study this area allows you to view every subject taught in schools, the grade level, and what the child will learn in that class. The second box is called web links. In this area teachers will find that they can access even more helpful websites that are subject related. The third box is called lesson plans. Here teachers can see sample lesson plans or create one. The fourth box is search, allowing you to search for pretty much anything. The fifth box is called personal workplace, here you will need to create a password, and username to get in. The sixth box is called professional learning. Through this a teacher will learn tools that can be used and the latest news. The seventh box is called distance learning. Allowing you to connect to online classes to learn. The last box of course is search.
Through this website a teacher as access to many helpful tools. Whether it is other websites to help, or even help planning the daily classroom lesson plan. This site is one that every teacher needs to access. There is something for everyone not just the teachers. There are even things for the childrenn or parents. For example if the parent wanted to know what their child would be learning in math in the third grade, this site allows them to see that. ALEX is a very useful tool for teachers.
Through this website a teacher as access to many helpful tools. Whether it is other websites to help, or even help planning the daily classroom lesson plan. This site is one that every teacher needs to access. There is something for everyone not just the teachers. There are even things for the childrenn or parents. For example if the parent wanted to know what their child would be learning in math in the third grade, this site allows them to see that. ALEX is a very useful tool for teachers.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
All about Me
My name is Shelley Graham Edwards. I am 21 and was born in mobile alabama and have always lived here. In 2005 I graduated high school and started South majoring in marine biology. About 2 years ago I had a change in heart and decided that I would enjoy teaching more. On September 19, 2008 I married my husband, Talon Edwards, and then shortly after, in February I had my first daughter, Raylee. I have two brothers, one sister, and three nephews on my side and married into three brother in laws, three sister in laws, three more nephews, and my only niece out of them all. Most of the time I am not in school or at work I am with my husband and daughter. If it's football season you will catch us watching any Alabama footbal game, Roll Tide!!! All and all my life is pretty good, chaotic at times but deffinately fun!!!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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