September 22, 2009
Response to Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was a great speaker, teacher, and such a brilliant man. After watching this video and knowing that he has died makes me look at my own life. He accomplished so much and even when he had 2 months to live he wasn't out traveling the world, he was teaching. His teaching methods were so hands on and friendly. He was the kind of teacher that everyone loved because he was excited about the subject he was teaching and it showed. He didn't teaching using the conventional methods, but he was innovative and made his own curriculum. I like how he talked about never giving up. He was saying that you should never give up on your dream and he spoke so eloquently I felt that I could do anything. People could listen to him and think he was just lucky. like who in real life is an imagineer?? Randy himself could have taken the first no as the answer, but he kept pursuing and it happened. Same with the zero gravity flight. Everyone told he that he couldn't go, but he didn't take no for an answer. He got a press pass and politely explanined that he was going on that plane, and it would benifit them both. Randy also says that there is a right way and a wrong way of saying the same thing. My mom and Randy are a lot alike. They both are very driven and graceful, but they get what they want. My mom has always taught me to say things in the nicest possible way. His boss gave him a flat-out no, when asked about the imagineer job. The other guy said that it sounded great and he was excited to see one of his best teachers excited about it, but he needed more information. Neither of them say yes, but the first man was just rude. Randy had a lot of wisdom to pass on and I think that he did a good job of it. He encourages group enteraction and learning rather than just lecturing. Teaching should be a process and a journey, and Randy acknolowges that. I am soooo jealous that he got to be an imagineer!!!! I have a few friends that work for Disney and they love it!!!!! I hope to oneday be a part of something like that!!! Thank you Randy for your inspiration and motivation! It seems like you lived an amazing life!
September 14, 2009
Response to "Is it okay to be a technically illiterate teacher" by Karl Fisch
"Headteachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account."
This blog was amazing. Karl Fisch is so right about everything he said. People, especially in education, should be ashamed if they are technology illiterate. That to me is the same as saying, "I am so set in my ways and stubborn, I have every opportunity at hand but I will just do things how I have always done them". Or, "I'm too lazy, I don't want to work for anything." I agree with the quote above from Mr. Fisch. Things won't change unless the people in authority say something must be done. I don't understand why some people are proud of their computer illiteracy. I also don't understand why computer classes aren't available at every school, but reading and math sure are. Technology is our future so if children don't have access to it does this mean they have no future?
This blog was amazing. Karl Fisch is so right about everything he said. People, especially in education, should be ashamed if they are technology illiterate. That to me is the same as saying, "I am so set in my ways and stubborn, I have every opportunity at hand but I will just do things how I have always done them". Or, "I'm too lazy, I don't want to work for anything." I agree with the quote above from Mr. Fisch. Things won't change unless the people in authority say something must be done. I don't understand why some people are proud of their computer illiteracy. I also don't understand why computer classes aren't available at every school, but reading and math sure are. Technology is our future so if children don't have access to it does this mean they have no future?
Response to "It's not about technology" by Kelly Hines
Mrs. Hines touched on some great points in her blog. She seems to really be knowledgeable about not only teaching, but learning too. She listed 4 facts that can help teachers to be successful in the ever evolving teaching field:
1. Teachers must be learners. She was saying that at the beginning every teacher has to pass the same tests and take the same classes, but decades down the road all of their experiences will be different. Teachers continue to evolve and learn what methods are most effective and they learn what doesn't work as well. Teachers must be learners to be effective, period. They must learn what new tools are available and learn how to use them. They have to keep up with what interests their students also.
2. Learning and Teaching are not the same thing. She was saying that if no learning is accomplished then no teaching has been done either. Teachers need not put students in a box and only expect certain things from them. Their ability to learn is limitless as long as they have a teacher that is willing to do some work.
3. Technology is useless without good teaching. She said that no matter how many thousands of dollars a school may spend on technology, if a teacher doesn't use it correctly or at all, then it's worthless. There are sooo many free tools a teacher can use in the classroom today, if their budget is limited. It's really up to the teacher to be creative and up to date on all of the technology available to them.
4. Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology. This means that as long as a teacher adapts his/her teaching to the students then they will be relevant. A teacher needs to be creative and receptive. Teachers can be modern without all of the modern conveniences. "Those teachers who know how to foster communication and collaboration within their classrooms and school buildings are equipping their students with the abilities to apply these core skills to more areas in their own lives."
1. Teachers must be learners. She was saying that at the beginning every teacher has to pass the same tests and take the same classes, but decades down the road all of their experiences will be different. Teachers continue to evolve and learn what methods are most effective and they learn what doesn't work as well. Teachers must be learners to be effective, period. They must learn what new tools are available and learn how to use them. They have to keep up with what interests their students also.
2. Learning and Teaching are not the same thing. She was saying that if no learning is accomplished then no teaching has been done either. Teachers need not put students in a box and only expect certain things from them. Their ability to learn is limitless as long as they have a teacher that is willing to do some work.
3. Technology is useless without good teaching. She said that no matter how many thousands of dollars a school may spend on technology, if a teacher doesn't use it correctly or at all, then it's worthless. There are sooo many free tools a teacher can use in the classroom today, if their budget is limited. It's really up to the teacher to be creative and up to date on all of the technology available to them.
4. Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology. This means that as long as a teacher adapts his/her teaching to the students then they will be relevant. A teacher needs to be creative and receptive. Teachers can be modern without all of the modern conveniences. "Those teachers who know how to foster communication and collaboration within their classrooms and school buildings are equipping their students with the abilities to apply these core skills to more areas in their own lives."
Response to- Michael Wesh: A Vision of Students Today
This movie seemed really homemade and it was hard to follow. I liked the concept of it and it caught my eye from the beginning, but it was the camera man didn't do a good job. The camera was never held straight or long enough to read some of the statistics. I like the message of the movie, just not how the footage was shot. Some of the words were written too small and others I just couldn't read. I liked how there were a lot of people involved in this movie. I think the music added a nice touch to it.
My college experience so far has been a little bit of everything. I have lived in dorms for a year, while I went to University of Mobile. Now I live alone and go to South Alabama. At UM all of my teachers knew my name and it was like a family. Everyone knew each other. At USA its totally different. I know one or two people in my classes, the teachers in my major know my name, but for the prerequisites there were like 200 people in my classes. I agree that I have spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks and never opened them. I think this video is great overall, they just need to work on the camera work.
My college experience so far has been a little bit of everything. I have lived in dorms for a year, while I went to University of Mobile. Now I live alone and go to South Alabama. At UM all of my teachers knew my name and it was like a family. Everyone knew each other. At USA its totally different. I know one or two people in my classes, the teachers in my major know my name, but for the prerequisites there were like 200 people in my classes. I agree that I have spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks and never opened them. I think this video is great overall, they just need to work on the camera work.
September 7, 2009
Response to Next Generation Learning
This video was so cool! I have never even seen that interactive whiteboard! I loved how even if students couldn't afford a laptop of their own, they could rent one from the school! I also liked that even when the kids were away on a field-trip the teacher kept the parents up to date on the kids via a blog. I know that if i was a parent I would love to see pictures of my child on the field-trip that very night! I liked how the kids could play the Wii and let off some steam between classes. I know I get fidgety during class and I'm 20! This video made a lot of great points and was very well-made. I am glad that they gave every child an equal opportunity, no matter their religion, social status, or even how shy they were. They make learning accessible to everyone! Go UK!
Reviewing Podcast Resources
I listened to the sound-clip from the NPR Ideastream first. I liked how short it was. I sounded really professional, probably because it was. I think they should have showed the picture that they were discussing on the website so that it could be viewed while listening to the commentary on it.
Second I listened to is the Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog (3rd Grade Podcasts). I loved this podcast!! It is so well done! I liked the background music and the little kids voices! This just shows me that anyone is capable of making a good podcast. I liked how there was a picture of the class above the sound bite. The children sound like they like what they are talking about and put a lot of emphasis into their words. I like how it was ordered kind of like the news! I love this podcast! When I am a teacher I want to have a podcast with my class!
Second I listened to is the Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog (3rd Grade Podcasts). I loved this podcast!! It is so well done! I liked the background music and the little kids voices! This just shows me that anyone is capable of making a good podcast. I liked how there was a picture of the class above the sound bite. The children sound like they like what they are talking about and put a lot of emphasis into their words. I like how it was ordered kind of like the news! I love this podcast! When I am a teacher I want to have a podcast with my class!
Response to last semester's videocast
I thought the opening credits looked nice. There was music in the background and it sounded clear. When the podcast started and the people introduced themselves, they didn't look at the camera. They also didn't speak very loud. I think they should have been seated at a smaller table so that the camera could zoom in a bit more. I think the people in the video cast make it more boring than it should be. I think Dr. Strange does a good job as the mediator. I like how clear the camera is and the microphone is good too, its just too far away for some of the people to be heard as well as the others. I don't like how the students look like they are reading from a script. They may not have been, but it appeared that way. In my podcast, if I do a videocast, I will not use a script, maybe just rehearse before we film. Are we going to be given a topic for our podcasts? If not, I want to do something interesting! (no offense) I thought that the lady named Kitty was a really good speaker. She had good comments to add to the discussion and she used her hands to talk. I don't like how long this video was. It was a little redundant and it took my computer like 15 minutes to load.
September 1, 2009
August 31, 2009
Podcast Response
I was kind of familiar with Podcasts and Video Podcasts even before listening to these podcasts. I subscribe to some surfing video podcasts, The Soups podcast, and few others that spark my interest. I don't know how some people don't use these or haven't even heard of them before! They are so cool! I like downloading them to my Ipod and listening to them when I am driving to my parents house across the bay. I didn't know how to search for specific podcasts. When I first started looking up the podcasts I was a little bit rusty, but then I caught on.
I listened to all of the recommended podcasts and gathered many ideas of what I liked and what I wanted to put on my own podcast. I liked the SMARTboard podcast the best. It was entertaining, had upbeat background music, and had clear microphones. I also liked the tone of voice that the main guy had. His voice was very smooth and overall I liked that podcast the best. It was also very easy to find. I had trouble finding some of the others, maybe they weren't as established as SMARTboard. In other podcasts, I liked how there were interviews and there were guys and girls on the podcast. I liked when they changed things up because I could see how listening to one person talk for an hour could get boring.
I got a lot of ideas I want to incorporated into my podcast and also some that I want to avoid. First off, I want to buy a really clear microphone! I listened to one podcast where their microphone made them sound like they were in a tunnel, I think it was the Ed Connect one. Anyway, I thought that it didn't sound professional and maybe like they made the podcast in a garage or something. I also didn't like silence in the background. I am going to try to put some music into mine. I didn't like how some of the podcasts were really long and rambled a bit. This made me want to turn it off or focus my attention somewhere else.
Overall, I really enjoyed the podcasts that Mr. Sullivan selected for us to listen to. I found out what I liked and what I didn't like and what I would do differently. I want to invest in a clear sounding microphone, do an interview, and definitely have more that one person on it. I am going to try to make it easy to find on itunes, and with a cool picture by the title.I am so glad that I learned a lot from listening to each of these podcasts!
I listened to all of the recommended podcasts and gathered many ideas of what I liked and what I wanted to put on my own podcast. I liked the SMARTboard podcast the best. It was entertaining, had upbeat background music, and had clear microphones. I also liked the tone of voice that the main guy had. His voice was very smooth and overall I liked that podcast the best. It was also very easy to find. I had trouble finding some of the others, maybe they weren't as established as SMARTboard. In other podcasts, I liked how there were interviews and there were guys and girls on the podcast. I liked when they changed things up because I could see how listening to one person talk for an hour could get boring.
I got a lot of ideas I want to incorporated into my podcast and also some that I want to avoid. First off, I want to buy a really clear microphone! I listened to one podcast where their microphone made them sound like they were in a tunnel, I think it was the Ed Connect one. Anyway, I thought that it didn't sound professional and maybe like they made the podcast in a garage or something. I also didn't like silence in the background. I am going to try to put some music into mine. I didn't like how some of the podcasts were really long and rambled a bit. This made me want to turn it off or focus my attention somewhere else.
Overall, I really enjoyed the podcasts that Mr. Sullivan selected for us to listen to. I found out what I liked and what I didn't like and what I would do differently. I want to invest in a clear sounding microphone, do an interview, and definitely have more that one person on it. I am going to try to make it easy to find on itunes, and with a cool picture by the title.I am so glad that I learned a lot from listening to each of these podcasts!
August 25, 2009
August 21, 2009
Response to Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
A couple things struck me about this video! Vicki Davis is a very effective teacher. She is so open-minded and knowledgeable about the things that are happening around the world by using technology. Although she isn't young enough to have grown up with computers, you wouldn't have known it by the way she acts. She is a very good teacher and you can tell the students learn a lot. She adapts what she teaches to whats going on in the world or what new technology has come out. My computer teacher in high school made us stick to learning word processing from a book the whole year and it was every one's least favorite class. These kids are learning how to learn and they are enjoying it! She is thinking about the future and where the jobs will be and equipping the kids for them. She doesn't stick to a manual that has been around for years, she evolves with technology.
Response to Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I have never heard of Sir Ken Robinson before this assignment and I was pleasantly surprised. All the things he said about creativity and how the arts should be just as important as math are what I personally believe in also. I like how he said that we view college professors as the job to reach for and it shouldn't be like that. They are just doing their job and being a part of the life cycle, like everyone else. That's just their gift, it's not every one's.
I have grown up going to private schools so I have always had art and music as part of my education. Because I have had access to these creative outlets I have discovered my own talent and passion for art. I hope to one day be an art teacher and help all kinds of children discover their talents just as my teachers have done for me.
My mom is an art teacher and I have been helping her teach summer camps for about 5 years. I also babysit a few times a week, but whenever I ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, its usually a ballerina or an artist. Children crave being able to be creative. I don't understand how educators can be alright with doing away with an art or music program. What if they took away a reading program? The parents would be furious and the state would go crazy! So if research has shown that creativity in schools help children at life then why do we put so little value on it.
I have grown up going to private schools so I have always had art and music as part of my education. Because I have had access to these creative outlets I have discovered my own talent and passion for art. I hope to one day be an art teacher and help all kinds of children discover their talents just as my teachers have done for me.
My mom is an art teacher and I have been helping her teach summer camps for about 5 years. I also babysit a few times a week, but whenever I ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, its usually a ballerina or an artist. Children crave being able to be creative. I don't understand how educators can be alright with doing away with an art or music program. What if they took away a reading program? The parents would be furious and the state would go crazy! So if research has shown that creativity in schools help children at life then why do we put so little value on it.
August 18, 2009
Response to "Did You Know? 3.0"
Wow. I loved this video. It really made me think about the future of the human population. I think it's absolutely insane that people are building computers that are smarter than their creators. Have they not watched 'Eagle Eye'? Technology has become so mainstream that people don't even question the long term effects of it on their mind and overall well being. Yeah it make life easier, but at what cost? Do we not realize what we are losing? Now that I think about it, everyone I know owns a cell phone, lap top, and an Ipod and it has just been in recent years that all of this technology has come about. If people have gone thousands of years without a supercomputer with a brain smarter than a human, why do we need one now? I would be happy with the bare minimum of technology, getting away from man's creation, and just enjoying the simplicity of life.
More About Me.
Like I said in my previous post, I am a junior at the University of South Alabama majoring in Elementary Education. I want to be an art teacher, but if I can't find that position after I graduate I want to be a first grade teacher. I originally was a Visual Arts major, concentrating in ceramics, but I recently changed.
I am from Fairhope Alabama, which is just across the bay. I chose to go to this university because it is close to my family and it isn't a very big school.
My interests include surfing, kayaking, watching my boyfriend skim board, making things on the pottery wheel, babysitting, cooking, wandering around Super Target, and doing my EDM310 homework.
I am from Fairhope Alabama, which is just across the bay. I chose to go to this university because it is close to my family and it isn't a very big school.
My interests include surfing, kayaking, watching my boyfriend skim board, making things on the pottery wheel, babysitting, cooking, wandering around Super Target, and doing my EDM310 homework.
Welcome to my EDM310 Blog!
Hi, my name is Julie Szteiter. I am a junior at the University of South Alabama and my major is Elementary Education. I chose this major because I love kids and couldn't imagine working in any other field.
I created this blog for my Microcomputing Systems class. I have had a personal blog in the past, but I haven't kept up with it because my life just isn't that interesting. Because this blog is for a class and will be graded, I will keep up with it and make posts regularly. Thanks for reading and check back often for updates!
I created this blog for my Microcomputing Systems class. I have had a personal blog in the past, but I haven't kept up with it because my life just isn't that interesting. Because this blog is for a class and will be graded, I will keep up with it and make posts regularly. Thanks for reading and check back often for updates!
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