Post #6

Noticing Randy Pausch's Last Lecture video was a little over an hour long I was thinking what could this man possibly have to say for an hour, it is probably going to be so boring. I was completely wrong; it didn’t even feel like an hour I was so engaged in this video. In this video he talks about inspiration to dream and how he made all his goals come true. Dr. Pausch did some amazing things in his lifetime and he touched many lives working towards his goals. He speaks about many things we need to hear to get motivated and push ourselves harder.

Brick walls are there for a reason they push you to work harder for your goal and show your dedication. When you have someone telling you that you cannot do something work harder at it and prove them wrong. You will not get everything you want but when you work hard enough for it others see that and they help you achieve your goal. Students who stay in on the weekend to read and work more than required usually end up with a better grade because they push themselves. Teachers who stay late after class or up late at night working on projects, lectures, or extra assignments usually love what they are doing more helping to educate kids. When we reach a point where we think we can’t go any further keep trying. When you’re at a stop sign you don’t stay there forever you pause and keep moving forward.

Where does complaining really get you? No where if anything it pushes you further from what you planed to achieve. Pausch explains that at times we can complain but when you have said it once push yourself to work harder. Cherish feedback that you receive both positive and negative. “When you start screwing up and nobody says anything to you that’s when they have given up on you,” stated Pausch’s little league football coach. I find that quote completely true we should always help people become the best they can be. When a student does not understand how to multiply the teacher doesn’t give up no matter how frustrated she may get, she works with them longer and tries different ways of explaining it.

When you screw up sometimes the hardest thing to do is apologize. We should apologize more often nobody is perfect and we need the help of others to survive. When you meet somebody you don’t like give them time to impress you, we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Think of your co-workers or your classmates, you judge them how you think they are by the way they look. Everyone has bad days but we should look for the positive in everyone, it makes you feel better when you know you can go in with a positive attitude.

Pausch found that when you don’t give students a bar for them to meet they exceed the expectations. This was one of my favorite things he talked about and I completely agree. By saying, “That was good but I know you can do better” we work harder for that strong positive feedback. When you are given it on your first task you try less and less because you already did your best. It is weird how our brain works and how we crave for that positive assurance. We all have room to improve ourselves and I know after watching this video I have tried to follow his ways of teaching. During this video I laughed and I cried. It is amazing how the little things in life are the ones we remember and cherish forever. I strongly encourage everyone to watch this video. Think about the way you say things and the tone in your voice it’s a small thing but it makes a huge difference. I really did enjoy watching this video and I hope that you take the time to watch it as well. Trust me it did not seem like an hour at all.

Project # 9a

Blog Post #5

Who is Scott McLeod? He is a creator, and is expanding our education of how we teach. Dr. McLeod put issues into a new perspective that creates you to think about what he is really trying to say. He is also an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. Founding Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). He has received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work. One of his blog post,"Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff" was an extremely sarcastic post about why children shouldn't use technology (computers) in school. Dr. McLeod is very intelligent and continues to further our education about technology and how it's helping our students learn.

• Travis Allen made a video when he was seventeen ISchool Initiative about how technology should belong in school and all of its advantages. He named this project ISchool. His thoughts about ISchool are students will no longer need books, paper, and even pens. Allen explains some of the Apps that the IPad already has for school use. Some include U.S. Constitution, World Wiki, Chemical Touch, USA Presidents, Star Walk and basics such as calendar and calculator. These Apps are very interesting and give students a ton of information that would not fit into books. The Internet has so much information that would not be accessible threw a book. With technology and YouTube we can visualize and understand things better. I agree with the cost of school being outrageous Allen stated that today the cost of one student is $600; the cost of one student in ISchool would be $150. The financial problem that the schools are facing today is very troubling. I have mixed feelings about all future education being taught strictly by technology. What if the service is slow and you cannot connect to the Internet? How would you then teach your class? I do like the use of technology it really enhances the learning but I don’t want to solidly rely on technology.

I watched Lux Aurumqueand what we can do with technology is absolutely astonishing. This video is made up of 185 people who have never met singing Lux Aurumque. The way Eric Whitacres collaborated this video is just amazing. It’s a mixture of art and technology. In today’s world we cannot do anything without the assistance of Internet. Our life literally revolves around technology, without it we feel empty and disconnected. I myself live on my phone it has become my security blanket. This video right away gave me chills, the music the people and the way it all fell perfectly together. It takes art, learning and every subject to a whole new level. I feel overwhelmed by all the new technology and how it all works. Are children in the future going to experience playing outside or will it be taught? I do love the assistance of technology but again I do not think we should solidly rely on it.

• Kevin Roberts Teaching 21st Century Studentsvideo makes you think about the future generation. Technology offers a lot of great tools and sources. We are using a lot more technology in the classroom than ever before. Roberts explains that that teacher’s are no longer the source of information but the filter. This ten minute video has some good points but it seems to last forever. If this video were shown in a classroom students would drift off after five minutes. He is expressing that we will no longer be teachers and educators but helping students find how to learn. I do not like that way of teaching. I know we will forever use technology but we should keep it as a tool not as the teacher. Soon students will stay at home and teach themselves by Google. I want to become a teacher to teach students to see them understand it and help them create new ideas. We can do so much with technology I am afraid that too much might be a bad thing. Whatever we do now to change the way we teach and learn the upcoming generation will not know any difference. Just like the way we were taught using a white board and books, today’s students use SmartBoards and Google. The main goal is for students to excel their learning and keep creating.

• The Reading Rocketwebsite has a lot of great reading resources for students, parents, teachers, and principals. It has lots of great ideas for teachers to use in the classroom. Parents can also visit the site and find activities to do at home with their children. I really liked this website and found so many great ideas that I can use in the classroom. One of the activities I found very useful for a classroom is Shared Reading. First you discuss what you think the book is about and students can write down questions or comments they think it’s about. As you read the book aloud students throughout the book can make predictions about what’s going to happen. When you finish you can have the students individually rewrite the story using their own comments and answers to the question. I really like this idea; students have to use their listing and comprehension skills. If students have questions or didn’t understand a part in the book independent reading would be a great idea.

Another great resource I found Semantic Gradients helps with vocabulary. This deepens students’ understanding of words and enhances their vocabulary. Select a specific vocabulary word for the week. Students can create a list of similar words throughout the week in other subjects. At the end of the week you can arrange the words in a ladder and write beside it what the similar word means. This lets students think about what words really mean. Giving students the opportunity to find new words and for them to discover what they mean helps them understand words better. Kids love feeling smart and how they can teach others.

I strongly recommend this website for all students, teachers, and parents. You can always improve your reading skills. Check it out for great reading activities.

Blog Post #4

We are learning how to podcast and these are some links that will help myself and others podcast.

Judy Scharf link gave me a lot of information on how to set up my podcast and also how I can use it in a classroom. A podcast is a mix between "broadcast" and "IPod." It is like talking on the radio, you can use it from any computer or MP3 player. This website gives easy step-by-step instructions how to create and submit your podcast. She includes handouts given to her students to make sure they understand how to complete a podcast. This website has a ton of great information about podcasting. I encourage everyone to check it out. It makes learning enjoyable.

I next read Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast . A project that this teacher created enhances the children's understanding with the words. She recorded her students out of order as they read a story. She later used the SmartBoard for them to edit the story to play in the right order. Hearing the sentence over and over helped the students recognize the words and understand what they mean. I never thought about this but this would be great with any age group.

The final podcast I read was, Podcasting with First Grade. This podcast was very similar to the Flat Stanley I read above. This teacher, names are not provided, used podcast with a class of first grader's which used their, listening, speaking, comprehension, and technology skills. They read a story and recorded there questions for each chapter. Giving children the chance to hear themselves boost their knowledge of what they actually sound like. I think using podcast in a class room is a great idea. Like this teacher observed, "Shy and quiet students were coming out of their shell." While using podcast they can edit their sentences and always re-record. I will defiantly use podcast in my classroom.

Project # 6

Project # 5

Blog Post # 3

1.

For this weeks post my first assignment was to watch and read presentations about peer editing. These are the links; Paige Ellis' Blog , What is Peer Editing? , Peer Edit Perfection Tutorial , Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes . All of these links are very helpful for explaining how you should and should't peer review. Always give complements, nobody likes to be put down.

2.

Watching Technology in Special Education showed me that technology really is making a huge difference in our world. In this video we see how computers have help the way these students learn. Some have problems speaking, writing, and reading a computer can help with some of these things. The teachers who teach children with disabilities do an amazing job!

Technology is a wonderful tool! With any class you have to know what the struggles are in your class. Every child acts and learns differently. I cannot explain how I would use computers in my class because I need to understand them first. Overall I would use it in a way to embrace the learning and lots of pictures and colors.

How the IPad Works with Academics for Autism is such an amazing video. Braden is in 3rd grade with autism and he uses the IPad for more than playing games. The iPad is like todays LeapFrog. Braden can count shapes and see and hear the number at the same time. He also uses the iPad for writing. His parents can write a word and he can write it below just like on paper. The disadvantage with paper sometimes is you scratch words out and the paper begins to look messy. With the iPad you can simply click on the eraser and you have a clean sheet. In the video Braden demonstrates how to use the following apps; Toddler Counting, My First Words, and Kids Writing Pad.

For my classroom I would use the Word Wizard app. This app will let children hear the sounds of letters and words with text to speech capabilities. You can also make spelling test on this app which I think would be wonderful to use in a classroom. Some of the apps can be expensive but this one is only three dollars!

3.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count changes every second and the numbers keep increasing! It's amazing how many people every second are expanding their use of technology. On this site you can view the options of social, mobile, games, and heritage use of technology. It also gives you timeline of now, +1day, +1 week, +1 month, +1 year. Literally every second some use of technology is increasing. Is this a good or bad thing? We spend hundreds of hours viewing pointless websites that doesn't have any contribution to our life. We simply waist time when we could be doing other things to make us motivated.

Technology will no doubt be a main source for not only mine but any classroom. I have said many times that technology should be used as a tool and I still firmly believe that. The booming of technology is just starting and I am excited and nerves to see what new things will be created. It will be hard for students to grasp the concept of the old world. Life before technology was invented. In history will we still teach students about Indians or anything before the 1900's? This is a question I will have an answer too when I begin to teach. We are creating history every day, what will be created tomorrow?

4.

In the video, Vision of Students Today students of Kansas State University show us facts about how we spend our time and money. Two of them stood out to me 18% of my teachers know my name and I have an average class size of 115. Will class sizes increase? In college I have found out that it is completely different from high school. From elementary to high school the teachers are there for you. They give specific assignments and pretty much give you everything you just have to do the actual work. In college you don't go to the same classes Monday-Friday you make your schedule for what's best for you and it's up to you to go to class or not. You no longer have someone holding your hand guiding you the way. Students have a hard time adjusting to these changes.

Why should students spend hundreds of dollars on books that we don't even use? I have spent over $800 in the two years I have been a student and while they do offer buybacks it's a ripoff. They come out with new editions that cannot be sold back and then what do you do with the book? When you do sell them back they do not give you much at all.

With a computer you have an enormous amount of distractions. It is hard staying on task when you can simply open a new window and not do your work. How can we fix this problem? It will probably be fixed by will power. Technology is extremely helpful but it is so hard to determine if it's good or bad.