Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year (2008-09)
Mr. Joe McClung
     The link above takes you to the website where Mr. McClung tells what his first year of teaching was like. Here, he explains what his first year of teaching has taught him. At the very top of the blog was Mr. McClung's decision to stay positive. I believe that this is a must for teachers, especially if you know that teaching is what you want to do. This is important because you cannot let things that go wrong steer you away from what you really want to do.
      Mr. McClung states that he learned "how to read the crowd" in his first year as a teacher. He explains how lesson plans must be student centered and teachers need to check for student comprehension. He feels that in order to be effective, you have to let your audience drive the instruction. I agree. He also stated that he learned to be flexible. I know that this is important for teaching because there are so many things that can happen that you simply did NOT plan for. My favorite part was when he said in BIG, HUGE text, " NO LESSON IS PERFECT.THE LESSON YOU TEACH AND THE ONE YOU PLAN ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT". I have heard this before and it is a very good line for new teachers to always remember. This is not to say that you shouldn't plan your lessons, but you should not beat yourself up over mistakes made. Mr. McClung also wrote about how he learned to be reasonable, to not be afraid of technology, to listen to his students, and to never stop learning; these are all very good things to remember.

What I've Learned This Year (2009-10)
Mr. Joe McClung
     This was Mr. McClung's second year teaching and again he inspires us with more knowledge on what he has learned in the 2009-2010 school year. These posts are an excellent source for new teachers. Not only do they give an overview of what we can expect, but gives us what has been experienced so that we may be able to adapt and may not have to experience these lessons for ourselves. Like the first year, Mr. McClung learned several things his second year teaching. My favorite lessons that he learned are below.


     The second year, Mr. McClung learned to adapt and to travel the path least traveled. This is not depending solely on "planned" lesson plans and this also goes hand in had with being flexible. So, I believe this is one of the most important lessons learned. He learned to find his school mom. Your school mom is that mother figure that you can depend on for help because they know the ins and outs of how the school operates. He mentions that if you handle yourself right and gain the respect of your school mom, she will do anything for you! Great! (note to self)
     

C4T #3

Cool Cat Teacher Blog
By Vicki Davis
Comment #1
     When I saw that I was given Vicki Davis as my teacher for C4T, I was excited! She was assigned to the class in an earlier blog post. Ms. Davis posted on Monday, June 25, 2012. The title was "We Need and Education Victory Garden". I was interested from the title alone. Her first lines read, "I'm convinced that politicians, actors, and businesses are in the business of education because education hasn't taken care of its business." Very interesting...
Ms. Davis expressed her concerns about how education just sits back and watches itself go down the drain. She is upset and says, that the reason education is not doing as well as it should be is because of our own state of mind. She believes that we should work together and together bring hope and change. Towards the end, she also emphasizes how much of a greater advantage the "plugged teacher" is compared to the "unplugged". By now, I am sure you understand that the "plugged" teacher is the one who uses PLN's and are networking online. She believes they are educated enough to make the difference.
I commented:Ms. Davis, I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Al. I am following your blog as an assignment for my education class; EDM310. I have watched other videos of you as well. I love how you express your concerns for education. Not only do you express your concern, but you also present a solution. I love how you refer to those teachers as "plugged and unplugged". I am so glad that I will be apart of the plugged!

TEACHER'S GARDEN

BY VICKI DAVIS

Comment#2

This blog was very inspiring. It told of the story of a teacher's garden. Of course, this was not a literal garden, but all of the rules still apply. There are always three rules to a garden. Rule number one, you harvest what you plant. Rule number two, your habits in the garden determine the quantity and quality of the harvest, better put, "Do you hoe or weed your garden daily?" The final rule is whatever you water, grows. Just like this garden, the same is true in a teacher's garden. For teachers, these rules must be remembered during summer vacations. The first two rules go along with you harvest what you plant. Rule number one, what you learn this summer, will come out in your teaching in the fall. Rule number two, what you plan and do now will determine how well you start.

Finally, take the time to unwind so that you are ready for the fall. This is like whatever you water grows because getting plenty of rest is like watering yourself so that you can flourish!!

I commented:

Ms. Davis, I love the idea of the teacher's garden. I am an elementary education major at the University of South Alabama. This will be very helpful for me when I begin to teach. I loved how the rules worked for a natural garden and the teacher's garden. I am going to share this with others. I would love for you to visit "My Blog".

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream
By Richard E. Miller

     Let me begin by saying Mr. Miller is no Dr. Pausch. This presentation was made up of two videos; part one and part two. If you have been keeping up, then you know exactly what I mean by this. If you don't, let's just say he is not as interesting. In part one, Mr. Miller stresses the fact that technology is rapidly taking over literacy. I think that he wants present and future educators to grasp hold of these technologies and take the many advantages that technology is offering.

     He made a point about how most of our hard copy books are now ebooks. Mr. Miller is absolutely right though. Do you know how many people have ipods, iphones, laptops, and cellphones. It is almost always easier to pick up your phone and read something really quick. People always have their phone. Since I have had my iphone, I find myself constantly googling things that I do not understand or just want to know more about.


     In part two, he is focused on using the new and advancing technologies to live your dreams! He believes that we need inspiring teachers and spaces that foster collaborative learning. He discusses how we are free to dream and should be sharing our thoughts through the internet with videos and images. He says, "There are people out there that believe that our ideas don not belong to us individually but as a culture." All of the videos now available can help teachers with lectures and students also. He is fascinated in the upcoming technological world that we are living in and believes that "this is our dream".




Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
     Carly is both amazing and inspiring! Oh what wonderful word choice she has! So how does she relate to Mr. Miller and his hopes for writing with multi-media? It is clear that Carly understands his hopes and it is obvious that she will definitely be exercising these tools as well. Carly's post actually made his lecture more understandable. After that, I think I actually get it now. Good job Carly!




The Chipper Series 
EDM310 for Dummies
     These videos were hilarious, but I wish that book "Edm310 for Dummies" was for real! I must admit, like the ladies in the YouTube video, I too have felt like this at one point or another. I have felt like I was going crazy especially in the beginning. As time has gone on, I have become less crazy because I know it is something that must be done. Now I just breathe in and out and tackle these assignments one at a time and mark them off my checklist. This may sound crazy, but for some reason the checklists takes away stress as well. When I see things turn green, it's like a little weight has lifted off of my shoulder. 

     For my own video, I would create an introduction video for this class. Introducing all of the different tools that will be used and explaining what each will be used for. I probably would also add a part 2; which would be a tutorial for some of the assignments that were a little more challenging than others. This will give them an over all idea of just how technologically literate or illiterate (haha) they are. I would also tell them how long these assignments may take and I could never forget to mention the fact that it is paperless. I think a video like this will help to mentally prepare you for this type of class. 


     Mental Preparation is not enough though! Procrastination is ones biggest enemy in this class. You definitely can not be a Chipper! Chipper was too much. Like most people, she wants the results of great work handed to her. This class is a fine example that once you put your mind to it, you can do great things. I am so proud of my blog, I show it off to all of my friends and family. The best part about sharing is that I can say, "I did this myself". That's the point of the class though because when you do it yourself, you know how to do it for real!


Learn to Change, Change to Learn
     This video is about opening doors for students that will better prepare them for college and life. The world around us has been taken over by technology and education needs to jump on the band wagon. There is so much more that can be done in the classroom when you add the technologies of today. I liked this video and agree with its message for education to embrace technology. Personally, I have learned so much from technology in this class. These tools are going to enhance my classroom by 100 percent. My journey in this class has taught me to "change to learn and learn to change."




     

Project #12 Movie Trailer

Project #11: A Short Movie

Project #9b: Prezi

I enjoyed creating this Prezi. I will definitely use this in my classroom.
Pictures were taken from google.com and videos were taken from You Tube!

The Four Seasons of the Year on Prezi

Project #10: PLN Post #1

I am using SYMBALOO for my PLN! I don't have all of the widgets I would like to use. I have just been playing around with it and putting widgets where they are most comfortable for me. I think that this is going to be a great addition to my life because I can bring everything that I have learned into one space. It is like a revolving portfolio! I really like this. It never has to stay the same; you can add and take away as needed. This is perfect for us because we are LIFE LONG LEARNERS!!!

C4T #2

Comment#1 Dean Shareski posted a blog on June 12th about what he calls the "lurkers".  He explained how he has a course much like EDM310 and that lurkers will not be successful. He describes the lurker as the quiet students  who usually do well on exams and papers. These students sit back and can not offer much to their other classmates. Dean wants his students to be able to show what they have learned. Like in edm310, it is simply not enough to just spill out information. Can you show others what you have learned?
I commented:
Hi! I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I have been given the link to your blog as an assignment. This class is much like yours. Lurkers will definitely not get very far in this classroom. We have created blogs and are not given exams either. You can visit mine at here Angyl White's Blog .  Since this class, I have come to realize that more and more teachers are leaning towards this form of classroom. As a future educator, I don't really know where I stand. I agree with the idea of technology in the classrooms, I just don't know if I want it to take the place of the "traditional" classroom.In relation to your post, I agree with William Chamberlain in saying that if you make it clear that lurking students will not be successful, then it is completely up to them to be successful in your class. In our case, this class is mandatory  so lurkers must put aside these ways to complete the course. Courses like ours teach students to have a voice, prove what you have learned and demonstrate it through writing. This is a great way to open the eyes of lurkers to a new way of learning.

Comment#2 I chose to read   Shareski 's post from June 11th. This blog was entitled, "Keeping the "Professionalism" in the Profession".  The post argued the importance of not using the word accountability and instead using responsibility. This post also argued the importance of keeping professionalism in the education field. A video was posted on the blog that told of an experiment that was done with 4th grade students. The teachers were given the same curriculum but different directions. One group were given directions that stated, "You are going to be held accountable for raising standards in your classroom." "Your success will be judged on the basis of how well your students do on a test given at the end." The other group of teachers were given these instructions; See if you can facilitate your students' understanding of this material." Needless to say, the first group's students did worse on the test. 

I commented:This was a great post that showed how important it is that we keep professionalism in the education field. Teachers are by nature professional and should be treated as such. When teachers feel micromanaged and are given instruction using words such as "accountability" they cannot perform effectively! They begin to be too concerned with data and cannot focus on the student.

Blog Post #7

The Networked Student
 By Wendy Drexler:

     This video is very important for the 21st century educator. It shows exactly what the classroom is turning into. The future classroom is full of blogs, online teachers and networking! It was interesting to see all of the wonderful things that a student can learn to do alone. The networked student is aloud to take control of their education.
     With all of the many ways that technology can be used, the networked student is able to experiment and for opinions of his/her own.  The networked student creates his/her own PLN with all of the things he/she has learned in class. The best part is, the teacher has not lectured this student. Instead, this student has spent his school days blogging and searching the internet much like we do in EDM310. This kind of learning empowers students to take control of their education.
     At the end of the video, the question was asked, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" So many great reasons were given. The networked student needs a teacher because she is the one who teaches how to build the network and take advantage of new opportunities. She offers guidance when the student gets stuck. She shows him how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts. The teacher teaches the student to be organized. There were many other things mentioned about the teacher of a networked student and I agree with them all. It is important that if a classroom is networked the teacher understand all of these responsibilities. 
     I believe that this idea may work with students over 5th grade, but my elementary students will definitely need a teacher to help them learn the basics!




A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
(PLE)

     A 7th grade student gives a YouTube tour of her Personal Learning Environment. She made organization look very easy. In the beginning of the year she took time out to learn how to navigate and research topics. She used a program called symbaloo and she had so many personal networks all organized. This student used the PLE for her Science class, but I understand that this will be good for any classroom or even office. It is a great way to stay organized! This video had me interested in creating my own PLN! I understand that this project is on the checklist of things to do. I have not yet started, but I can only hope mine will be as good as hers.


Special Assignment
Thomas Suarez: a 12 yr old app developer    
     This 12 yr old boy created an app! He walked the audience through his steps as if it was nothing. This proves that technology is not as hard as most people try to make it. We just need to dig into it and discover all of the possibilities for creations that it has for us. This video teaches that technology is all around us. It is very similar to the "networked student" and supports the idea that the 21st century is going to need to really be up to date in order to effectively teach his/her students.

Blog Post #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

 

     Raundy Pausch was a very inspiring lecturer.  During his last lecture he was close to dying and still was able to have a positive attitude about life.  This proved so much about his character. He began by saying, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." This is so true! Immediately, I learned a lesson for the classroom; it is important to approach life with positive implications.

     Randy gave so much information that could be used in the classroom. His ideas and perception about life is amazing! A great teacher would model his ideas. The lecture taught to lead by example in the classroom. If you want a certain behavior to be shown in your classroom, you must example that behavior. Randy spoke on how it was important to be enthusiastic in the class. He stated, "It is better to be a Tigger, then an Eyore!" This idea was supported in the beginning when he was telling about his childhood dreams. Everyone has childhood dreams and he showed how somehow he met all of his childhood dreams in some way or another. This is important because it is imperative that a teacher enables child hood dreams. That will be our job as educators! By critiquing our students we will be enabling their dreams.  Randy learned that when you screw up and no one tells you that you have, you are in a bad place because your loving critics have given up on you! We cannot give up on students.

     Mr. Pausch learned where to set the bar for students. He understood that no bar should be set but students should know that mediocrity is unacceptable. He came to this conclusion after his first assignment 

given to his students. These students gave him work that was well beyond his expectations. This is still a way to enable your students' dreams! By not setting a bar you teach your students that the sky is the limit!

      Mr. Pausch has taught so much, but it always goes back to enabling children's dreams.  He has great teaching methods that would help any teacher be most effective in the classroom. His main point is to show how important it is to let students dream! You do not set a bar. You allow them to go as far as you know they can go! You do give extra credit and you show the students the benefits they will receive from the extra assignment! Teachers must be honest and trust worthy. Your student has to believe in you! You must critique students. Like Rafe, I beleive that Randy believed failure is good! 

 The teacher must keep the enthusiasm in the classroom. The teacher must allow the student to dream and the teacher must enable the dream!

     

     

Project #8: Podcast

Project #9a: Time Toast

Blog Post #5

iSchool Initiative By: Travis Allen
     When Travis Allen was 17 he started his iSchool initiative.  He had concerns about the public schools because he noticed all of the negative changes in his own high school. He argued that his high school was experiencing massive budget cuts, teachers were being let go,and the classes were getting larger.  Travis believes that he has the solution for the education problem in America.  He states that, "The public education system is broken and needs to be changed." His solution, the iSchool.

     Travis pointed out great benefits to having the iSchool implemented. The iPhone has email, scientific calculator and even a calendar that could be used for attendance or important due dates for assignments.  There are other beneficial apps such as the Constitution, Presidents and WorldWiki applications.  This all sounds good and undoubtedly has wonderful benefits but I don't know if I would like to see the entire school system turn into an iSchool. What happens to those students who can not afford the iPhone or who really need that one on one time in a classroom setting with a teacher. Yes, a lot of the students of today have iPhones and Macs but there are still some who do not. I like Travis's thinking but I don't know if it will be a good idea for all students.


Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir
     This was absolutely amazing. It really proves to us the importance of technology. Look at all of the wonderful things that can be done with it. Mr. Whitacre led 185 singers as they song Lux Aurumque. The most unique thing about this choir is that these people were from all over the world and had never met.  This video is a must see and takes technology to the next level.




Teaching in the 21st Century
     Kevin Roberts poses the question, what does it mean to teach in the 21st century? New technologies are steadily taking over the classroom.  What are the roles of the teacher and students? This video says that teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge anymore, we are the filter.  As for students, they do not need to be entertained, but they need to be engaged.  From this video, I learned that entertainment is passive, short-lived, and doesn't require relevance. Engagement is active and requires learning.  Teaching in the 21st century means that we must teach our children to problem solve and think critically. We must teach our students skills and not only facts.




The Flipped Classroom

Dr Lodge McCammon's FIZZ

     Flipping the classroom is a different approach to teaching. It is a way to spend more time actually applying what has been taught and less time on the lecture. Katie Gimbar realized that after 5 years she had been spending 10% of her time doing the application and the rest of the time was lecture.  Flipping the classroom allows the teacher to make instructional videos so that children who needed more lecture time can watch at their own pace. On the other hand, students who grasps concepts faster could be applying what had been learned at their own pace.

     Dr. McCammon states that the flipped classroom is a way to combat inefficient, non-engaging lecturing classroom by allowing the students to watch a series of presentations at home that were created by their teachers.  This allows for students to work at their own pace. Students can listen to the teacher at home and the teacher can spend more time with application in the classroom. 

     

Blog Post #4

The Benefits of Podcasting

     I had never thought of podcasting in a classroom before, but this video has shown me so many benefits for the student and the teacher. Podcasting is a very effective way of interacting with students outside of the classroom. It is especially good for those modern day better known as "millenial" students.  It is a form of learning that these students are familiar with therefore it makes the material relevant to them. Students can access the higher order thinking skills in Bloom's taxonomy and it promotes creativity and innovation. It is especially good for absent students like Emily from the video.  Podcasting is a great tool! I will definitely try this in my classroom for absent students.

The Practical Principals

     This podcast was in the form of a radio talk show.  It was a great way for listeners to hear what principals were planning to do in their schools.  This keeps the teachers and principals connected. It was also a great way to understand what is going on in schools as far as improvement plans go. This podcast was a way to get inside of the principal's head and understand why these improvement plans are implemented. The radio version of the Podcast further shows how great technology is and all of the wonderful uses it has in education.

Podcast Collection

     Judy Scharf gave great insight on Podcasting. I learned that Podcast was really a mixture between ipod and broadcast. A podcast is a "radio-style" talk show. She explained how easy it was and gave the steps for a teacher to succeed.  The main thing is to make sure you take the time to learn the equipment that you are using. Judy listed a rubric for grading, a schedule for podcasting and tips and a website to use. 

     I have been given so much insight on podcasting and will definitely add it among the other technologies that I have read about. This class has definitely shown me what an important role the new technologies are playing in education. I had never looked at technology and education in any of these ways before.

Project #6: This is my Sentence

Project #5: Google Presentation

Blog Post #3

 Part 1:PEER EDITING

     The videos I watched on Peer editing were all very helpful.  They focused on the same ways to successfully edit your peers' comments.  The main idea that was constantly pushed was to stay positive!  I learned that their are 3 steps to peer editing.  The first step is compliments.  When peer editing you should make sure to compliment first.  The comment should be positive.  You should state what you like.  The next step is making suggestions.  Make suggestions about the peer's word choice, organization, topic and/or sentence structure. Thirdly, when peer editing, make corrections.  Remember to be positive and specific when making corrections!
     The video, "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" was very entertaining.  It was a funny way to show the mistakes that are made when peers edit other peer papers.  Just like in the previous videos, the greatest thing to remember is to stay positive.  Be sure not to be too loud when speaking with peers about their papers; this means whether it is giving a positive comment or making a suggestion. Don't be too picky or too general.  Never be a Picky Patty or Mean Margaret!
     I was assigned to Keilan Yancey for C4C assignment #2.  Keilan's blog was very informative and clear. The reader can tell that he took time to think about what should be said before posting. He took the time to thoroughly watch and understand what was important in each video. He had a few grammatical errors and sentence structure. I had already posted my comment before we watched the "Peer Editing" videos. After these videos, I am comfortable with offering public suggestions. I have decided on public suggestions because I have learned to stay positive and state things that I like as well. By offering suggestions publicly, other readers may use these suggestions as well!

Part 2:TECHNOLOGY IN SPECIAL EDUCATION

     This video shows that technology plays a huge role in the way that teachers interact with special education students.  I was unaware that these technologies were being used in these classrooms.  The technologies made the learning and teaching much easier on the student and the teacher.  The technologies make the special needs student more dependent and allows them to work at their own pace.  The st enjoy the students' seem to really enjoy these benefits.  One of the students even typed how much much easier it was for him to complete assignments on his laptop.  

     These technologies allow the special education opportunities that they would not normally have.  In my classroom, the ipod audio books would be a huge help.  It would allow for the special education student to complete silent reading and still be among his/her classmates. I had never thought of using technology in a special education classroom. After this video, I think the use of the new technologies may be more important in the special education class.

APPLE.EDUCATIONAPPS.COM

     

     In the app store, I found an app called "Intro to Letters".  This app will be great with working with special needs students, especially those who have a hard time with reading.  On this app, students learn to trace, read, write and record letter sounds, names based on the proven methodology of Montessori.  The application will be helpful because it will turn learning into a game.  To me, reading is the foundation for everything and I look forward to being able to use an application like this in my classroom.

     It would improve learning. It can be used during the actual lesson or as an incentive.  Students' love when they can finish their work early to use the technologies around the classroom. This application will keep the attention of the student and reinforce what has been learned.  It will be a great asset to my classroom!

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

by Vicki Davis

     Vicki Davis is a teacher in a rural city in Georgia.  She believes in using all of today's latest technologies to interact with and teach her students. She has her students connected with other students from all around the world and has given them new perspectives.  Vicki has the idea that every student can learn. By using technology it allows all of the students to be involved, learn and share and not only the ones who are good at test taking or writing well.

     I liked how she almost forced students to learn by introducing them to google and advising that they use it. This shows how important google is in the classroom. Students almost always rely on the teacher to show them everything. Vicki wants her students to learn how to learn things for themselves.  With the technology of today, students do not need to wait for the teacher to "teach" them everything!

     

     

     

C4T#1

Comment #1 I am following Ms. White's blog. She is a resource teacher and very interested in thinking outside of the box. She blogged about the importance of everyone (students and teachers) learning from each other. She does not settle for the traditional classroom but rather a more non traditional environment where the students have more control. I commented: It was very inspiring to see teachers like you who are actually interested in helping children develop to their full abilities. The little girl seems so delightful. I would love to teach and learn from her. She is an inspiration to me as well. After reading this, I now understand that we all (students and teachers) can learn from each other. It is important that we as teachers look at the big picture when approaching a learning environment. We need a plan and should understand that students’ prior knowledge is just as important as what we need for them to learn.

Comment#2 The title of this blog was "Listening is not Enough"! This blog was about how important it is to give your students a voice. Ms. White blogged about all of the students she has encountered who are concerned with problems all around the world. She gave 2 of her students notebooks in which they could discuss their concerns with her. The children were elated! I commented:The title of this blog was "Listening is not Enough"!

Blog Post #2

Did You Know?
     Did you know was an informative video on You Tube originally done by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod. Dr. John Strange created his own version in January 2012. I watched both versions. The author sincerely stated today's latest facts about knowledge, power, technology, population, social networks, jobs etc.. There were many facts presented from 4 years ago that are very much still relevant to today. This video showed how the world as a whole solely depends on today's latest technology! It showed exactly what technological world we are living in today compared to even the 90's. Additionally, facts were given about IQ levels and honor students showing how much more advanced India and China are when compared to the United States.
     As a future educator, this was an important video for me to see. It allowed for me to understand what an important role I will play for the future. The author of the original video used these words, "Educators are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet". These few statements are the best way to describe the importance of a future educator. This is why it is important to learn to be technological literate and stay updated because we will need to prepare our students for such a technological diverse world!

Mr. Winkle Awakes
     Although I am not sure of what the author intended for the message of the video to be, it was very interesting. This video was about how Mr. Winkle who slept for 100 years and when he woke up everything had changed. He visited an office and found printers, co workers skyping and people all around using the latest of technologies. He did not like the change and felt sick. Mr. Winkle went to the hospital and saw computers and breathing and x-ray machines. He only felt more sick and ran to a school. Here, everything was the same except there was a laptop there, but had definitely not been used.
     The school is where the author's message intent is a bit confusing. As the viewer, I have been trying to figure out whether or not the fact that school had not changed was a positive implication or negative. Positive, because many people may view it as a good thing that no matter what you can always be sure that the basics are being taught at school. Students are still being taught the foundations that will help them to succeed in the future. If you look a bit deeper though, it can be viewed as negative because how can schools remain the same when outside, the world is quickly changing? So, this video may serve as a wake up call to schools, that in order to teach real success to students, they need to teach them to survive inside of the world in which they are going to enter, a highly advanced technology filled world.

The Importance of Creativity


     Sir Ken Robinson expresses his idea of how important creativity is.  He shares that all children begin creative and seem to grow out of or rather are educated out of their creative capacity. He states, "Creativity is as important as literature and should be treated as such".  He explains that as children get older they are educated from the waist up to the head and then slightly to one side. Basically saying that everything is founded upon the grounds that you will never get a job doing anything you like. For example, music, art, dance is not valued. Robimson's idea is that we need to steer away from this way of thinking and form new theories for what we call intelligence.
     I agree with Ken Robinson.  Understanding that creativity is important will help me as a future educator. The story about the 4year old boys and the nativity scene really helped me to make the connection with how important fostering creativity is. He said, "If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original". That's being creative. I fully support his idea on changing the fundamentals of what we know now as education. This class alone has helped me to understand that what we learn today can very well be out dated in 5years so students will need to know how to rely on creativity and not knowledge.

Classroom Disruption


     As a student, I have mixed feelings about which class I would prefer.  I enjoyed everything about the non traditional classroom except the fact that the computers were sitting in front of each student during class. I believe the tradional setting without computers creates a better learning environment with less distraction. The teacher however, should include You Tube videos and ways to get in contact with him/her using the social networking sites that his/her students may use. Until now, most of my classes that I have taken have been like the traditonal classroom. It has become more technological diverse over the past few years with the Smart Boards coming into the classrooms. The differences in these two classrooms were the entire way that the lesson was presented. While one class was watching videos, the other was watching the teacher perform like a play! The teacher's presentation was also very differnt. One teacher's tone was very monotone, while the other's voice varied. The objectives in the classroom differ in that in the traditional, the studifyent may be expected to memorize or recite information, but in the non traditional classroom these students are probably expected to perform what has been taught.
     I want to teach so that students are excited about what they are learning and feel like they can relate to the material. This can certainly be done without having them sitting at a computer. I would love to use the Smart Board in my class.  To make my class even better, I will need to understand my students first! Then I will know what type of activities or technologies to add to the classroom. This class is the first step to giving my classroom that technology diverse atmosphere.

Project #2: Wordle