Blog Assignment 9

"An important decision I made this year is stay positive". This thought, contained in the picture for Mr. McClung's blog post, is just one of the many things I learned while reading What I've Learned This Year. In this blog post, Mr. McClung talks about his learning experience during his first year of teaching. Mr. McClung seems to imply, that teaching is not everything we think it will be when we're still in college. Even though we learned a lot in college, we will continue to learn our first year and beyond. Mr. McClung discusses seven key points that new teachers should learn.

1. From their experiences in college, education majors may develop a mindset of impressing superiors and fellow teachers. This can cause first year teachers to forget that their audience isn't the latter, but a room full of children. Not only is their an age difference in the two audiences, but there is also a comprehension difference. Lessons needed to be designed for an audience of children. Teachers need to remember that their main goal is for the students to understand. We must build our lessons around the students. Also, they must play a big part in the lesson. Meaning, students should be able to tell their teachers if they need something explained again or slower.
2. Teachers can't be preoccupied with making everything perfect. It is very unlikely to have a perfect lesson that goes exactly the way a teacher has planned. Lesson plans can change because students need more explanation or practice. Another reason lesson plans can change is because of some mistake on the teacher's part. Teachers can't let themselves feel bad about any mistakes. They must smile, maybe even laugh at themselves, and then keep on going. 
3. Communication is key to any job, but especially teaching. Teachers should practice this important skill with their students and their fellow teachers. In regards to fellow teachers, communication shouldn't only be used when there is some form of conflict. Communication is an effective way of building great relationships with fellow teachers.
4. Teachers should have high expectations for their students, but they should never forget to be reasonable. Again, a teacher should be worried about their superiors or their fellow teachers. They should be concerned with their students. Teachers must remember that children aren't perfect and can make mistakes often. Some children will live up to the standards or expectations that teachers set, but for those that don't teachers should never falter to encourage them. 
5. Teachers shouldn't be afraid of new technology. They should embrace it as a technological tool for their classroom. To use it in the classroom, teachers must be willing to learn how to use this technology.
6. Besides communication, listening is another useful and effective skill. Listening strengthens respect and the student/teacher relationship. Listening to students shows that the teacher truly cares about the students' lives. 
7. Since teachers want their students to learn, they should be open to learning themselves. It's never too late to learn. If teachers let themselves learn, they could find something that is really beneficial for their students.

I could not get enough of this blog post. Like I told Mr. McClung, I'm keeping this blog post close to my heart forever. I will even read it the night before my first day of work. This post is so important and I think that every new teacher should read it. It sure helped me, so I know it would be extremely beneficial to others.
I think that all of the key points discussed in Mr. McClung's post can be connected. I feel like (if I hadn't read this post) before starting work I would feel that everything had to be perfect. That is a big problem I already have. I get so focused, ahead of time, on making everything perfect that I end up getting too swept up in things. This just creates a huge, cluttered mess that is far from perfect. I think a new teacher's focus should shift from perfection to educating students as best you can. I don't mean just taking a lax approach, as that sentence may make it sound. Teachers need to take their thirst for learning and transfer it to their students. I feel like I have said that so many times, so I'm sorry for the case of deja vu. I just feel strongly about it. My thoughts are becoming one cluttered mess in my mind, so to save readers from getting so lost I'm going to list my thoughts.

• Teachers can't focus on perfection. They have to focus on their students' comprehension of the material. 
• Growing up, we have always been told not to worry about what others think. I feel this applies to our future teaching careers. I am not saying disregard the thoughts of your principal or rudely ignore the opinions of fellow teachers. I mean don't build your teaching around the latter. Don't worry about impressing people of your age, worry about delivering this material in a way that your students fully understand it. I believe this thought of mine is a combination of first and second key point.
• Communication and listening gets you so far. Both of these life skills can fix conflict and built or strengthen important relationships in your future. When we start our teaching career, we will depend on our use of these skills to create united teaching staff that can overcome any conflict. We will also use these skills to develop a respecting and friendly student-teacher relationship. For some teachers, they want their students to fear them. This establishes the idea that the teacher has total power and shouldn't be disobeyed. This isn't the type of teacher I want to be. I want to have respect going from both ends. I respect my students and in turn they respect me. They will follow the rules not because of fear, but because they respect me and want to do the right thing. They won't only see me as their teacher or a person of authority, but someone who really cares about their life. I feel that effective use of communication and listening will establish the classroom I see in my dreams. Of course, I'm not picturing or focusing on perfection.
• Another thing I want to touch on is technology. Mr. McClung is right. We shouldn't fear technology! I feel EDM 310 has put on the right path to technological literacy. I don't want to become someone of an older generation who has no idea what is going on technology wise. I also don't want to be that person that fears learning about new technology. It's a fact: teachers should want to learn. This means we can't shy away from technology, like some do. This is hypocritical. EDM 310 has shown me the potential of the current technology for classrooms. I fully intend to use everything I can, but I can only imagine what new technology could be invented in the years ahead of me. I'm going to want to learn to use it, just as I want to learn to use the technology of today. All teachers should feel this way.

Overall, this was a very thought provoking post for me. I feel like I could write so much more about what I read. I'm going to keep the message in this post close to my heart for the rest of my life, especially as I prepare for my classroom.

C4K #4,5, and 6 Summary

C4K #4: Alexander
The fourth children's blog post I read was Alexander's post introducing himself. After reading it, I knew a few fun facts about him. His favorite dinner food is chicken and he likes to eat apples for lunch. He likes to play games and garden. I love his attitude on life. Reading his post, as well as the others, just reminds me why I want to work with children. I was pleasantly surprised to see him respond to my comment.

In my comment, I told Alexander that I liked to eat chicken for dinner, too. He had mentioned that he liked to make food, so I asked him what kind of food he liked to make. I told him that I liked to garden, like he did. I just wish I could make my plants live longer than they do. I told him maybe he could give me some good tips on how to make my garden survive longer.

C4K #5: Aneisha
I read all of Aneisha's blog posts and she seems to be a really great writer. Her descriptions paint vivid pictures of what she is writing about. In the post I read, she described her experience at a game she went to with her family during holiday. From what I read it seemed to be like touch football. I could be wrong though. After the game, her and her aunt ate peaches on the way home.

I told Aneisha that she wrote a great post and it sounded like she had a lot of fun. I wish I could have seen the game. I bet it would have been interesting and really fun to watch. She made the peaches sound so good. I told her that I like to eat peaches and other kinds of fruit. Her blog was so interesting and I'm sure as she continues to blog it will get even better!

C4K #6: Isiah
The topic of Isiah's blog post was very important and something that future teachers could possibly face: bullying. Isiah realized that bullying takes place in a lot of settings. He talked about how bad it was and some means to stopping or preventing it. He thinks that if someone witnesses bullying they should stop it or find an adult to stop it. He has such an optimistic view, one that I hope comes true. He believes that bullying will stop if everyone tries to stop it. I completely agree with him.

I told Isiah that his post was great and he has the right attitude on bullying. I agreed that bullying was wrong and hoped that he didn't have to deal with bullying. Like I said earlier, I agree with Isiah's idea of everyone stopping bullying.

Project 12: Skype Interview

The Importance of Google Docs

Before taking EDM 310, I didn't know anything about Google Docs. I'm so glad that it is the main thing we use in this class. I have learned how convenient and easy it is use for all aspects of my life, especially other classes. In my Math 201 class, each student must teach a mini lecture one day in the semester. Normally, I would make a presentation using the software on my MacBook Pro, but I didn't know if my teacher or I could convert it to a readable file for her computer. I didn't want anything to go wrong and I really wanted to play around with the Presentation feature on Google Docs again. I thought it would be cool to share my finished product. Some of the information isn't lengthy because I just put basic notes on the slides and then talked a majority of the time. The project was really fun and made me feel like a teacher. I got to choose worksheets and examples for the class. I think the presentation I made with Google Docs was a great accompaniment.

Updated Google Presentation

After posting my original presentation, I realized that there were a few spelling errors I missed and some of the facts presented had changed. It's funny how things change so quickly. Both my dad and I got a new job, so I changed the presentation to reflect that and any spelling changes. So without further ado, here is my updated Google Presentation.

Blog Assignment 8

This is How We Dream Part 1 and 2
This was a really great video. I loved the visual accompaniments. For me, this put everything that Richard Miller was saying into perspective. Miller's thoughts, presented in this video were thought inspiring. I saw the change in our workspace that he presented in the beginning of the video. You grow up with books, any publications or contributions you make to society will be books. Libraries and paper were our confined workplace. We could only work where we have the materials to do so. This has all changed with the invention of things such as Google Docs, where you're workplace is wherever you are. The one restriction is you need a computer. In this age, I don't think you need to worry much about computer shortages. Like Miller stated, "Now, our workplace is the desktop". He later stated, "We don't have to step one foot in the library".
The title of the video confused me at first. "This is How We Dream?" That was my exact thought process. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a video with a psychological aspect, which wouldn't have exactly fit the class. These dreams, that Miller is presenting, are the openminded people of society's dreams for our technological future. We already see such great changes being made with the new technological tools presented to us. Even with these, we haven't seen technology's full potential in our classroom. I agree with Miller when he says we don't have the proper resources to do what he sees in our future. We can't do what we will be able to do, after becoming more openminded, in the future. This thought is blowing my mind and I can't possibly put what I'm thinking into a sentence that makes sense. Please forgive me if you can't follow what I'm saying. The resources we need are inspirational teachers and places to foster our creativity. As future teachers, we need to become these inspirational teachers that Miller says we need to be.
I have to say that at this second I am not ready to write with multimedia. I am somewhat prepared, but there are so many technological tools that I haven't been introduced to or learned how to use. I think once I get done with EDM 310, I will be closer to the goal that Miller has established in my heart, but the rest is up to me to find. I have to want this, I do want this. My yearn for this future he speaks of will reach my students, then they will be able to do incredible things. This is my promise.

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies
When class first started, I watched these videos. They were so cute, yet so true. It was also kind of eye opening. At the beginning of the class, I said I would never become Chipper, but I'm starting to see that if I don't fix what I've done I will become her. Although, I wouldn't do what she ends up doing. EDM310 for Dummies was funny and I think if that book was to become real, it would help a lot of people.
As for video ideas, I think it would be cool to make updated versions of these videos. We could also make more videos that show how to master this class and what could happen to you if you don't perform like your supposed to do. For example, we could do a video of that school scenario Dr. Strange talked about on the first day of class.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
It is very beneficial to watch this video. I'm so glad that Christie Odom suggested it. It raises such great arguments for us, future teachers. I was a little surprised to see that education ranked 55th in the US Department of Commerce's study. I say "a little" because we see that classrooms are basic "pen and paper" learning environments. Only in the recent past have we seen a slight change. After being in this class for a while, the fact that education ranked so low isn't much of a surprise. The "little" surprise comes from the fact that we are below such things as coal mining.
As I was watching the video, I made a list of all of the statements that stood out to me. Without looking at the list, I remember three things:

• "A turned off device is a turned off child."
• We need to connect students to opportunities.
• Learning isn't just memorizing.

For the last two points, I don't remember the exact quotes, but the message stood out to me. The speakers in the video recognize that technology is a big part of student's lives now. We learn best with technology, so forcing us to turn off the things that could help us sets restrictions that shut us down. This turns students off to learning. Another point is connecting students to opportunities. Teachers can't just set restrictions by prohibiting the use of technology. Restrictions are set for students because they are restricted to the classroom. To fight this restriction, teachers need to take students outside of the classroom for field experience. They also need to open doors for students. For example, a student is particularly knowledgeable in science and interested in engineering. A teacher could find someone for  the student to talk to. The last point should have stuck out to everyone in EDM310. Learning is not "burp back". It's also not memorizing. After hearing that point, I heard Dr. Strange's voice in my head. My mind traveled back in time to his presentation of "burp back" teaching, probably because I was volunteered for the demonstration.

The Secret Powers of Time and Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates You
Both of these videos were very interesting and aesthetically pleasing. I enjoyed the little whiteboard cartoons being drawn on the screen as the lecture was playing. They helped hammer the points into my mind. I also showed the videos to other people, who really enjoyed them.

The Secret Powers of Time is a lecture by Philip Zambardo. He talks about six time zones. At first, I thought he was going to say the time zones, that we all know. Really, he was talking about the two past, present, and future time zones.

• Past Positive
• Past Negative
• Present Hedonistic
• Present Fatalist
• Future Oriented
• Future Transcendent

Past Positive and Negative are the easiest to time zones to define. A person either is nostalgic, Past Positive, or regretful and happy with the past, Past Negative. A lot of people are classified as Present Hedonistic. These people are interested in immediate pleasure and avoiding pain. People classified as Present Fatalistic believe that their future already has a fate. There is no need to plan. Usually, they believe that their future is fated for the worst. Future Oriented people are planners and goal makers. While, people classified as Future Transcendent believe true life begins after death.

 The title of Dan Pink's video was very true. The results of the experiment presented were surprising, at least to me. When challenges require mechanical skill to be completed, rewards such as money make people perform better. When challenges require cognitive skills, money doesn't work. We can picture this scenario in a classroom, replacing money with another incentive comparable to money. When teachers challenge students to use cognitive skills, we need to step aside and let them command what is done. They need to be in charge. Teachers give the instruction, the raw knowledge needed to perform, but then step aside to let the students take the wheel.

Project 13: SmartBoard Instruction

This is the video of our for the Smartboard Project. I think we did a really great job. We worked well together and helped each other master the technology needed for this project. I'm so proud of our final product and I enjoyed the time we spent preparing for this project. With the experiences we had, I think we are really prepared to use the Smartboard in our classrooms.

After looking over the results of the survey, this is what we found.

• Our presentation was rated 9.2 out of 10 when it came to being helpful.
• Our audience enjoyed seeing how we put the SmartBoard into action with our material. They also enjoyed the subject matter of our project.
• Our audience members felt that they had learned something new and/or useful by the end of the presentation.
• The SmartBoard was rated 9 out of 10 for usefulness in their future classroom.