Final Post Reflection

Course Reflection

This course has taught me a lot about technology and great ways I can use it in the classroom. I know how to blog, make instructional videos, record sound, create questionaires, use google docs, and so much more. The part I enjoyed the most about the class was getting to see all my peers work and blogs and work of teachers and students all around the world. Technology has opened so many doors for education we would be crazy not to utilize them. I think that my classroom will definitely benefit from me taking this course I have learned about so many tools that I can use to make my classroom fun and up to date with the world around us. Using things like blogging and learning to really use the smartboards are two of the things I will use the most!

I think that it is so important for teachers to use all the tools that are available and this class has definitely got me started in learning some of the tools that are out there. I have learned that you can learn a lot from working with other people and that when it comes to technology people will always surprise you and you will also surprise yourself. I learned that I still have a lot of learning to do and I'm excited to learn more. Teachers should always be life long learners and if you do not like to learn then you should not be a teacher. Overall I learned a lot and will take what I learned and use it in my classroom in the future.

Future EDM 310 students

Here are a few tips to help get through EDM 310! This class is a challenge. Be prepared to spend many hours on the computer, watch a lot of videos, do a lot of commenting, and a lot of blogging. Get all your assignments done on time because it is very hard to catch up!! Find good people to work with on the first day of class because having a good group of people to work with will be important!!! Coming to the lab helps even if it is not require and don't be afraid to ask questions.

This is a great class where you will learn a lot about technology. You will get to see student and teachers work from all over the world. Having this class will definitely give you great resources that you can take with you into the classroom. Worth the time and effort!!! Hope you do well!!

Final Project

http://marigee817.glogster.com/ginas-edm-310-educational-journey/"Please Click Here To See Full Glog

Teach Someone Project

Record your screencast online

Comments For Teachers 1-6

Comments For Teachers 1-3: At the Teacher's Desk

I really enjoyed reading this blog. It had a lot of great ideas and links to other great blogs. I really enjoyed reading the end of the year reflection the most. I think it is so great for newer teachers to share their experiences with those of us entering or already in education. I will definitely continue to follow this blog well after this assignment. That is what makes blog so great you can learn from people that have much more experience than you. Overall just a great blog with great resources.

hbhinton said...

Hi my name is Hillery,
I found your post really interesting. I think technology will definitely help our schools to survive as times get tougher. Online classes are being used more and more frequently throughout all school systems. I do not believe that it will be the answer to all of our problems and some schools will be repurposed again but I think it will help to improve the situation.
I am reading you post as part of an assignment for Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I will be doing a summary of my visit to your posts on June 30. You can see this by going to my blog:http://hintonhilleryedm310.blogspot.com/
The class also has a blog: http://edm310.blogspot.com/

June 9, 2010 9:54 PM

Wm Chamberlain said...

Hillary, thanks for the comment. I have never actually taken an online class. I suppose this is becoming more prevalent though. Not sure how I feel about them since I believe strongly that the teacher/student relationship is so important to the learning process.

June 16, 2010 9:47 AM

hbhinton said...

I really enjoy your post. Since I am on my way to becoming a teacher it is inspiring to read what you go through and have learned along the way. It makes me excited to become a teacher! Thanks for sharing! USA EDM 310 student

hbhinton said...

I think that schools can never be totally free. I do not think asking $30.00 is a lot for one year. Then the teacher can get the things the class will truly use in the class. There will always be those that will not be able to pay the fees but I think it is a good idea. USA EDM 310 student

July 21, 2010 5:29 PM

Comments For Teachers 4-6: Jenny's Learning Journey

This was also a great blog! She seems to really use a lot of technology. I love that she shares her experiences throughout the year. She post a lot of different videos and links that I also enjoy. I like that she puts things that she uses in her classroom on the blog and if the worked or did not work. Like the task board just from reading her blog I got a new idea and some do's and don'ts. How great is it to already get some insight before I ever enter the classroom!

hbhinton said...

Hi! I'm from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class. Wow this young lady is pretty amazing. I think that she makes wonderful points and it is important for adults to take kids seriously. I think we should learn from anyone who is willing to teach us and students love to teach adults new things. I really enjoyed your post and video! Thanks for sharing!

hbhinton said...

Hi! I'm from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 Class at the University of South Alabama! I really enjoyed reading about your task board. I think that this is a great idea. I also like that you included the things that you have found to work and not work with task boards that way other teachers can learn what might work for their own task boards. I am working on becoming a teacher and the task boards are definitely something I am going to keep in mind.

hbhinton said...

Hi! I'm from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class! I think it is so great that you share what you have gone through over the year. I think that as a student in education it is great to be able to learn from those already in education. From reading your post it seems that you have came a long way in technology in a short amount of time! I hope to to the same I definitely have a long way to go! Love your blog! thanks for sharing!

Comments For Kid 1-4

Comments For Kids One: Winter has Arrived in 2KM!

This class used a wordle and a poem to express what winter meant to them!!! They did a great job and came up with great responses. It was really great to see how much they used their class blog! My comment is below!

By: Hillery Hinton on July 10, 2010 at 1:39 am

Hi! I also attend the University of South Alabama and am majoring in elementary education! I enjoyed reading your blog! How creative your students are to come up with so many different endings to what winter is. I think that your classes use of technology is great! Thanks for sharing!

Comments For Kids Two: Pt England School

This class used their blog to post work and show everyone what they have done so far. The particular post I read was about Justin Biebier. The class seemed really interested in him and wrote about his life and how his career began. My comment is below.

hbhinton said...

Hi Mary! I'm a student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your post. You know a lot about Justin Biebier! Isn't it great how much technology can change our lives, without YouTube Justin might not have ever gotten his start! Keep up the good work!

July 10, 2010 3:46 AM

Comments For Kids Three: Watching The Grass Grow

The post I commented on Mr. McClung's class was their grass growing competition. They were growing grass and allowed to water the grass in anyway they want in order to get the best outcome. My comment is below.

Hillery Hinton Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 3:32 PM

Hi I am also from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 Class. I think this a great assignment. Making the grass growing into a competition is a great way to keep the students interested in the project. I am definitely excited to see if anyone changes how they water the grass. Great Idea! Thanks for sharing!

Comment For Kids Four: Mr. Wildeboer 9th grade Science Class

The video I watched used clay models to explain transition metals. It was a really creative way to share what the students learned. My comment is below.

Hillery Hinton

July 21st, 2010 at 7:59 pm

Hi! I’m also from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 Class. I was assigned to watch the video about transition metals! What a great way to review or teach transition metals. I think that any project that allows students to be creative and do something different is a great way to learn. I have been a student for a long time now and I think that I would really retain the information if I did a project like this project! Keep up the good work!!!

Summary of my Google form

I asked very general questions in my questionnaire. I learned that most of my classmates were education majors and everyone has a different reason for choosing the major. The amount of year everyone has attended USA was spread out pretty evenly. Almost everyone has taken at least one computer class before this one. I asked which class students liked the most so far in their college experience and I got many different answers. This shows how wide range of interest students have.

Then I got off of the general questions and asked more questions about technology like how often they used the Internet and what website everyone visited the most. Almost everyone used the Internet everyday and the most common site that everyone answered was facebook.com. This really makes me realize that everyone uses the Internet and how important social networking really is to everyone. I think that google forms are great ways to collect information and I will definitely use them again in the future.

Post 13

Alba Middle School Students

These students did a great job making videos. What a great way for students to express their feelings about the things going on around them. They not only get to use technology in a great way they get to really use it as an outlet to express themselves. It is so great to see a class use technology like this in the class.

I was really great to see the students interview people around the gulf coast and get their opinions on the oil spill. All the videos were great and really well done. I hope these students keep making videos and using technology and set an example for other classes.

Post 12

Mr. McClung Reflects on Year 2

I always learn a lot from Mr. McClung's post. I think that his reflections probably reflect what most newer teachers go through and it is nice to be able to read and learn from a new teacher. It is hard for me as a student to imagine what it is going to be like my first few years in the classroom but Mr. McClung gives a really good picture. I think that it is good to see him learn from his mistakes and also share his mistakes with everyone.

His post had a large part on adapting to whatever the situation might be and I think that for teachers that it is so important to do this. He had to do this because a lot of things changed from his first year to this second year but I think we have to do this all the time because even if we do not change grades or schools our students change from year to year. We have to change to fit whatever students we have at the times needs. I really liked all the points he made throughout the post. Always a great read!

fablab4teacher's Channel.

Here are the links to the three videos I watched:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS0slgM4ztY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_JTBb-6Iw4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_0Id8yeIVQ

This is such a great way for students to learn. I have always loved any type of hands on learning and this is such a great way for students to get to really build and manipulate the things they make on the computer. The students in these video really seem to be enjoying using the technology and were really proud of the things they have made. They get to have a good time and learn at the same time can't get much better than that.

In one video their was a member of administration and she discussed the use of the technology in the class. She said that the students in the school struggle in science and math so this program is perfect for helping with those skills. Also in on of the other video the boy using this program was only five! This shows that no matter what level you teach that we have endless possibilities.

My PLN

http://www.netvibes.com/hbhinton#Personal

My PLN is two tabs one for personal and one for school. My personal tab has all the things I need and links that I use often. My school is the same it has a lot of the sites we use for this class and those I use for others. I think that it is a work in progress but will grow as I continue to use technology.

Post 11

Ms. Cassidy

I really enjoyed watching what Ms. Cassidy's class could do with technology. This class proves to anyone with doubts that it does not matter what grade you teach that technology is useful and important. These students used blogs, wikis, and so much more, they can do things that some adults can not even use. Students love using technology it makes everything so much more interesting and fun. There is no reason why a classroom should be boring with all the technology we have to help change that.

I hope to use some of Ms. Cassidy's ideas and techniques. She has been really successful and a real advocate for technology. I think that classroom blogs are so beneficial, parents can see their students success and progress. Also the students made it clear how much they enjoyed the blogs and other tools. One thing that I never really thought that much about was comments. I mean we have to comment on everything and I learn from the feedback but I never thought about how much a first grader would enjoy getting a comment on their work! I learned a lot from Ms. Cassidy and hope to have a classroom that uses technology often.

Interview discussion

Post 10

PLN

This 7th grader's PLN was impressive. She did such a great job and was really using it for her class. I loved that as time went on she was finding things that she found interesting and added them to her network. This is such a great way to motivate students to want to learn and discover things about what they are learning. My PLN at this point is not quite as extensive as the one this student has created but she definitely gives anyone making one great ideas. I liked that she keeps her school and personal stuff somewhat separate. Such a great job.

Two Questions that can change your life

This was a short but great video. I loved the question of "Was I better today than yesterday?"

I agree that by asking ourselves this question everyday that we will be better. We need to make sure that we are getting better in life instead of going down or leveling out. We will never reach our peak if we do not know where it is. My sentence was harder to come up with than I thought it would be so it is in future tense, more of what I intend to accomplish. So for now anyways my sentences is, "I will become a great educator that helps to make a difference in my student's lives."

Smartboard Project

Post 9

Morgan Bayda and Dan Brown

My college experience has been a lot like these two students. They both have had teachers that do not know their names, had classes that lecture for hours, teachers that never use the book that is required, and overall just boring. While I have had these classes I have also had some great classes that encourage collaborative learning, made an effort to get to know me, and did more than just lecture. I agree that our systems are going to have to change with rest of the world but I do believe some educators understand and are moving in the right direction.

Both of these former students made very good points about education. I think that it is important for students to be inspired and motivated to want to continue to learn and the mark is being missed. I hate the classes that I have attended where the professor comes in and pretty much say they do not care if you show up it is your grade. I know that we are adults in college and there is a certain level of responsibility but who wants to attend a class where the professor does not even act like they want to be in the class. Overall I enjoyed reading and watching their comments.

ALEX

This is a great resource for teachers. It provides lesson plans, web links, course of study, and many other helpful tools. The lesson plans are great because it breaks them down into different grades and topics. This makes it user friendly for teachers to find any ideas they might need. The course of study is also broken down into grade and subject which makes them easy to find and use.

Anther great aspect of this site is that it has web links and a podcast gallery. So this is a great way for teachers to find extra information to incorporate into their lessons. Its just a great collaborative site for teachers to be able to share and find great resources.

Vocaroo Recording

Thirteen Original Colonies Timeline

Post 8

What I Have Learned This Year

This is such a great article for new teachers and for those of us aspiring to be teachers. I think that it is good for us to be able to read what other first year teachers go through. We can learn from others experiences and learn from them. He makes such great points about communication and listening to your students. I am not a teacher yet but I know from being a student that I have had a lot of teachers that I never had a relationship with and would have respected them more if they did try a little harder to listen to what me and my peer had to say.

Another part of the post that I found interesting was we he talked about being flexible. I know that I am going to have to learn this the hard way because I already like things to go a certain way. Overall I really enjoyed reading what this teacher had to say about his experience and am glad that he shared.