Skye's Wiki

Visit My New Wiki!

I just made my own Wiki and I would love some feedback and comments! My Wiki is titled Books Are Fun!!! I listed many books I enjoy reading with my daughter. If you have any book suggestions for us or just want to comment please visit my page!

C4K Summary Post

C4K #1
Angles Are Fun!!!
I visited Mrs. Naugle's fourth grade Math class. The blog I commented on was about angles! It was titled "Angles are Fun!!!". The blog talked about acute, obtuse, and right angles. The right angle was the student's favorite! I commented that I love right angles too because they are easy. I also commented that a protractor really helps me with angles as well!

C4K#2
Episode 332
I visited a blog site from Pt. England School in Auckland, New Zealand! I viewed Episode 332, and it was amazing! Two boys, Joe and Kobe, made a podcast about a book they read. Kobe interviewed and Joe explained the book. They did such a wonderful job with the podcast, I was definitely inspired! I commented about the book, and how I want to read it so I can find out the ending (they left the end a mystery). The book had a great moral!

C4K#3
Mikaiah's Blog
I visited Mr. Chris Marks' class blog. His class is year 5 in Room 15. They are also from Pt. England School. There was a picture of Mikaiah and a link to his older blog posts. I looked through them and commented on his picture post. I told him I really enjoyed reading and watching his podcasts and posts! I also told him to keep up the great work!

Blog Assignment #6

The Networked Student
This video is a great way to inform future teachers about how students will learn. Children are on computer now more than they ever were, and the numbers are just getting larger. I think it is very important to be technologically literate for the sake of the students. Not only is it accessing higher learning, but as we saw with the iSchool video, technology is allowing us to cut out costs in the schools. I did not consider myself to be technologically literate before this class, but now I completely see the importance of it.
I feel like I am prepared to be a teacher of a networked student. I want to be on the same level as my students, and enlighten their intellectual journey. I want my students to learn by doing and not by me lecturing all day. I want my students to enjoy learning, and I think technology is a way to conquer this goal. Kids are already on the computer most of the day, why not give them the resources to learn while they are on it?
In this video, the student asked, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" This a a major issue being discussed by all teachers. As he showed, I think the answer is clear. Students will always need teachers! We need to be there to guide them, to offer support, to care, and to instill knowledge. Computers will never have emotions and passion like we do (I hope!). Technology is only a way to broaden our education and make it better, not to take over.
A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment(or PLN)
This student's video shows how many students are learning in today's classroom. Technology is such a big part of schools now, and it is hard to not include this into the classroom. This student spoke of many advantages of a PLE, including "being able to hold a pet in class" through her computer. Her PLE is very similar to my PLN. I use Google Docs and Presentation for many of my classroom assignments. Also, for my EDM310 class, many of my assignments are found online at our class blog. I love this idea, because it allows less time for lecture and more time for creative learning!
Bill Ferriter
Michael Staton
In these two posts, interactive white boards are the topic. These two individuals discuss why whiteboards are unnecessary. They make very good arguments about the cost, having teachers stand and lecture like always, and how there is not very many things you can do on it that you cannot do on a computer for free. I visited a blog that offered positive insights about whiteboards. The blog post discussed positive ways whiteboards can be used. One that caught my attention was that it allows the teacher to be able to walk around the room hands free. Another effective way is that students can use it to create projects and other activities. These two benefits are very important for classrooms today. We need to get students involved, not just taking notes! I think both arguments are logical, but I think it is great that schools are at least trying to take a step in the right direction.
The link to the blog post about positive outcome of whiteboards is:
What are some ways the interactive whiteboard can be used in the classroom?

Blog Assignment #5

I used the following pages to better understand podcasting and benefits of podcasting:
Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog
Langwitches
The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
I really enjoyed reading and watching these podcasts. I definitely feel like they have helped me improve my group's podcast for EDM310. I enjoyed listening to the Eagle Nest Radio podcasts. I love that their teacher is creative enough to incorporate this into her classroom. I learned the importance of "voice acting" in the Langwitches podcast. "Voice acting" engages the audience therefore enhancing your podcast. I think this idea is very important. I also learned a ton from the Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom podcast. I learned that encouraging students to create podcasts allows teachers to make assignments using technology students are already engaging in, allows the teacher to access high levels of Bloom's taxonomy (which is very important in schools today), allows teachers to interact with students outside of the classroom, etc. My favorite part is that this allows students to be creative in the classroom. I think everyone is creative and needs to be encouraged to show their creativity. There is not a better place to start than young and in the classroom!

Timetoast Timeline Project A

My Sentence

Blog Assignment #4

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

Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor from Ames, Iowa. I can honestly see both sides of this issue. I agree that technology is extremely important, and if we refuse to let our children use it they will be way behind everyone else. Technology is taking over, and it seem we do not have a choice but to embrace it. I also understand that parents do not want their children on a computer all day and that they may look up or do inappropriate things on a computer. There are ways to monitor your children and communication is very important as well. However, I do not want my child on a computer 24/7 because experiencing life is just as important.

The iSchool Initiative

The high school student who made this video made several wonderful points. He describes a school completely ran by the iTouch. There are tons of apps already available on the iTouch that can be used to run a classroom effectively. These apps include: calendar, presidents, constitution, email, etc. The iTouch would cost $150/per student, but would save $600/per student.

I absolutely love this video! I cannot believe a high school student could think of such an amazing idea! Not only does iSchool allow students to work with technology, but the school saves tons of money and goes green at the same time! This could help with so many problems the world faces today. If everyone committed to iSchool, we could really change education (and the world)for the better.

The Lost Generation

I really enjoyed this video! She read a passage that was hopeless, and then she read the same passage backwards and this made the message positive. I love this technique she used, I thought it was very cool! I think a lot of people are giving into the lost generation. Everyone must remember that even though technology is changing the world, true happiness comes from our family and loved ones. It also comes from doing things we enjoy while changing the world.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

Wow, I was truly amazed that this was possible! I guess it should not surprise me with the advancement of technology today. To think that all these people from different countries can come together and sing so beautiful is amazing. The music was very calming and I really enjoyed listening to it. If they Eric Whitacre can make this happen, think of all the things we could accomplish with technology!

Teaching in the 21st Century

To teach in the 21st century means to teach skills. Children can Google everything now and this means teachers are not needed. However, children need us to teach them skills and to be creative. I feel that teachers will always be needed because technology can only do so much. I think we need to use technology to our advantage. We need to teach students using different tools of technology. Creativity cannot be learned from a computer. As teachers, we need to teach our students on many different levels. I think teachers are needed more than technology!

Blog Assignment #3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This video definitely captured college experience. First of all, the room was very familiar, and I have sat in many rooms that have looked like that. The students in the video have a lot of opinions, but everyone in the room is quiet and sitting there bored. This accurately represents many classes I have been in on campus. I really liked the phrase about if the walls could speak. I would love to hear what the walls have seen!

College students are a lot like the video. Our days consist of more than 26 hours, but there is only 24 hours in a day! I am definitely a multi-tasker, I have to be. Everyone brings laptops to school, but it is true that people get on their favorite websites instead of doing class work. I have always had a person who skipped almost all semester as well. Don't they know they are paying to take these courses? If I could add something to this video it would be the extra work moms in college have as well. I would also add that teachers need to incorporate students interests in the course so more learning and less memorization can take place.


"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

I really enjoyed reading this post. I have never considered technology taking place to a teacher. I hear about computers taking over the classroom all of the time and how technology will be incorporated in all classrooms all over. It makes perfect sense that teachers are the most important tool to student learning, I just have never thought about technology needing teachers. Teachers are more important than technology!

I completely agree that teachers need to be learners. If we do not enjoy learning, why should we expect our students to? Also, if we do not teach creativity, our students will not have a chance in the future. Technology can work great with student learning, but it is the teacher's job to know how to incorporate technology productively. We cannot expect technology to do our job, we must work with technology to do a better job.


Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch's main idea was "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write". I agree with this statement. When literacy became a norm, then getting a job without literacy was unheard of, and the same is happening for technology. Technology is taking over whether we like it or not. I do not necessarily like this fact, but it is true and we must embrace it.

Kids today are growing up with advanced technology, and if we do not understand their culture, we cannot expect to educate them. I think many older people may find Mr. Fisch's words harsh because they did not grow up with this technology, but his words are true. Every job today is incorporating technology, and no one is going to hire you if you cannot work a computer. I know my parents hate all of this new technology, they are 65, but I keep telling them everything is on computers now and they have to learn!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

These occurrences are remarkable to see. It is easy to think about how many people are using technology, but to actually see the numbers is unreal. This means that, as a teacher, I must learn about and incorporate technology into my classroom to better facilitate student learning. If students love technology, they will love learning using technology as well.

C4T#1

Teacher: Eric Langhorst
Blog Site

Summary of Eric Langhorst's Post#1:
Eric Langhorst gave a presentation about building a PLN (Personal Learning Network). He discussed many different networks including: YouTube, Twitter, Google, Skype, Flickr, etc. He gave real life examples of how he incorporates these networks in his classroom. One example discussed how he used Google to make long distance phone calls from his classroom. Another example discussed how he uses Flickr to show relevant images to his History class. He stressed the importance of building a PLN.

Summary of My Comment#1:
I commented about how inspirational his presentation was to me. I just started to build my PLN recently, and I told him that I wanted to expand to many other networks. I also said that I found his real life examples very helpful, and that I will incorporate my PLN into the classroom as well.

Summary of Eric Langhorst's Post#2:
Eric Langhorst gives a presentation about parent involvement in the classroom. He discusses many ways to keep parents involved. He talks about sending out a weekly schedule, including homework, to all of the parents. He also says he emails parents his schedule. He keeps parents involved by asking them to speak to the class, sending them handouts, letting them know about fun stuff, etc. His presentation has a ton of valuable information that I think is very important.

Summary of My Comment #2:
I wrote that I thought his ideas about parent involvement were great. I agree with everything he presented. I also discussed how I think students benefit tremendously from this. I concluded saying that I will definitely practice these techniques in my own classroom.