My EDM 310 Assignments Are Now Complete

Well this is the end. It was a hard fought battle, Many struggles and trials, but we made it through. Just kidding about the hard fought, struggles, and trials part. I enjoyed this class a lot. It was nice meeting and talking to those of whom I met, to those of you I did not meet, I apologize. Thank you Dr. Strange for being the fellow male in the class. Thank you also for all of your help. Enjoy your trip!

Brett Kittrell

What I Have Learned in EDM 310

Like I said in my previous post, my view of blogging was definitely skewed, and this class corrected that for me. This my first experience using a blog. It was neat learning about the links, pictures, and changing the code to do certain things. I am definitely more savvy than I was before this class when it comes to the internet.

I really enjoyed learning about the iGoogle features. I think it is neat that you can set up your home page and put things on it that interest you. I must say that mine is full of sports information because that is my passion. I love the fact that you can use the "documents" and that it saves it on the server and that it does not take up room on your computer. I recently showed that feature to my brother and he used the power point portion to do a slide show that he had to present in class. It is neat that you don't even have to take your flash drive to class, you can just pull it up off the internet.

It was neat listening to and producing our own podcasts. I had never before listened to a podcast prior to this class. i think that is a great tool that can be used to share your knowledge or to gain knowledge by listening to other peoples topics. I enjoyed when we made ours, minus the part where my voice sounds kind of robot-ish.

I think the biggest thing I learned is to not overlook the possibilities of the most powerful tool in society, technology. We have become a society run by technology and there is no excuse not look into ways to teach using some form of it.

My Blogging Experience

Mt first thoughts on this class when I signed up for it, were that it was going to be like the computer classes that I took in high school. A class centered around Word, Excel, and Power Point. I was glad that it didn't because frankly I do not enjoy that stuff very much. The more stuff that we were taught in this class the more I realized the options that a teacher in a traditional class room setting would have to integrate all the technology out there into their curriculum.

When I found out we were going to be blogging I felt like a dork a little bit. My previous thoughts on blogs were ones that centered around someone with no life who had nothing better to do that to sit on a computer and type out all the problems in their life for the whole world to see. Luckily, my perception was quickly changed. The whole concept is great. it is a great way to communicate your ideas, thoughts, and opinions to the world or your target audience. I definitely learned how this can be a great asset to a teacher who wants to have an open communication line with the parents of their class.

The classmates blog that I chose to look is Taylor Irvin's. The reason I chose hers is that we are both Physical Education majors and will not be in a traditional classroom setting. I enjoyed reading her blogs, having the opportunity to get to Taylor better during this class, I noticed that she is very opinionated and she makes for a great read. She states her mind, what she likes and does not like about the topics we were given. She did a good job of incorporating pictures in her blogs. I know a lot of the stuff was new to me as it was to her. I can tell that it definitely opened her eyes to a lot of things to which she did not previously know. I think the topics were ones that challenged everyone to research.

Going forth in my teaching career, I will be interested in seeing whether or not I utilize blogs into my curriculum. I think that Taylor will agree with me me on the fact that to this point, I just do not know how I could utilize it. I think the upside to blogging for those who do use it, is that is a great way to keep people informed. One drawback is that it is on the internet and therefore there are alot of privacy issues. Those issues are ones that should not be taken lightly, especially when your blog contains information about your students, because lets face it, there are a lot of screwed up people in this world with sick minds. You have to be careful.

Duke University Center for Documentary Studies

This weeks podcast assignment was one done by Duke University. I have a strong emotion still towards the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, and so i chose to listen to "Looking Back: 9/11 Across America". The podcast contained interviews in which Americans were asked questions about events pertaining to that history changing day.



A few of the questions they were asked were what were their reactions when they either saw the attacks or heard about them and what impact the news had on them. The majority of the people interviewed were in shock. Some could not believe that what was being shown was actually real. When asked about the impact on their lives, most comments had to do with the war that followed. Some said we were right and others wrong, a debate that is still going on today.

Some felt the incident caused racism and stereotyping towards Muslims and other people of Middle Eastern decent. Some talked about the unity that came about after the events. Both of these assessments are very true of society following 9/11.

Many Americans lost their lives on that tragic day. Many Americans have the memories of where they were the exact moment that the planes hit. I still remember everything about that day and the events that followed. A lot f people don't think about the events of that very often anymore. We need to remember those who died that day and the men and women who have given their lives for our country.

Electronic Contact

For my electronic contact assignment I contacted a teacher named Jane Nicholls. She started teaching in Perth, Western Australia and eventually moved to Dudenin, New Zealand. Actually, she no longer teaches, but she now works for the New Zealand Ministry of Education. The branch within the Ministry she works for is Information and Communication Technology. Her duties are to help teachers facilitate technology into the class room.

Ms. Nicholls said that her interest in technology was peaked in 1999 when she found a computer in the back of the classroom that was not being used. The first way she used it her classroom of middle school students was using it in math lessons. From math lessons she took her exploration to using it to enhance the students love and enjoyment of reading.

She discovered podcasting and starting integrating that into her curriculum. She would have students write a story and then record it as a podcast. She said that this was a major success. After podcasting she began experimenting with movie making. She said the students made movies using still images, moving images, and handwritten images to tell their stories just like in the podcasts.

Ms. Nicholls said that she discovered a contest called Netguide WebChallenge. She got her kids to enter their stories into the contest through website design. In the third year of entering the contest one of her students won second place. The girl who won created a website about endangered wildlife in New Zealand. She said through the process from podcasts to website design her students became extraordinary story tellers of both fiction and non-fiction narratives.

She said that she stopped teaching in the classroom to help other teachers learn to use technology as well in their classrooms. She says that technology allows students to extend themselves in ways that they never could before. Ms. Nicholls said that technology amplifies a students voice. I really like one of her statements, "Remember technology amplifies! You want the product that technology amplifies to be a worthwhile product. That means the learning has to be the focus".

EDM310 Podcasts

1)"Burp Back Education"
This podcast was conducted by Patricia Robbins, Meghan St. Amant, and Courtney Morris. The topic of the podcast is very relevant to Academia today. They did a very good job of giving opinions and personal experiences. They included humor and some statistics. Considering they have never done this before they did a very good job. Some things they all could work on are talking louder, clearer, and a little slower. As a group, the transitioning between person to person was okay, but could definitely improve.


2)"Technology Use in University of South Alabama Classes"
The participants of this podcast were Mandy Sullivan, Lisa Burke, and Scarlett Moore. They did a wonderful job of giving specific examples of the ways they like technology use in the class and the types of technology they don't like. They did a good job of speaking loudly and clearly. One thing they could work on like the previous group is just the transitioning from one to another. Nothing they did wrong, just a lack of experience doing this. There really are not any glaring negatives to me about this group.


3)"Facebook As An Educational Tool"
They did a great job providing a background for the history of Facebook and the pros and cons of the site. One thing that is missing to me is emotion about the topic. It is a little mono toned to me. They all did great giving their opinions and the ways they use it to further their education. I liked how they contacted USA faculty to ask their opinions. Jalissa Mobley, Stephanie Ellis, and Danielle Tasker were the ones who did this podcast.


4)"Last Lecture of Randy Pausch"
This was my podcast group. The other members were Taylor Irvin, Bree Smith, and Jenny Mosely. First of all I sound like robot, my voice sounds ridiculously deep.
We did the worse job transitioning than anyone else. One person stopped so another stated talking. We weren't very organized with our thoughts as a group. We did have some content knowledge, we just did not pull it together well as a group. I think we could have done this a lot better if we had coordinated together some before we did it.

Math and Technology

The podcasts assigned this week were narrated by Judy Chandler. She is a math teacher and a member of the Maine Learning Teaching Initiative. She is a firm advocate of technology in the classroom. She comes across a lot teachers that think technology is an added bonus feature and is not necessary. A lot of teachers teach the book for the material that is going to be on the test, and those that feel like math and technology just do not go together. Ms. Chandler feels that teaching straight from the book leads to disengagement or disconnection by the students, or that that they memorize the information and formulas just long enough to take the test but fail to actually learn the material.

Ms. Chandler's feeling is that technology can be integrated into the math curriculum and that it can be very successful. She says that use of technology to teach math in the classroom enhances student learning by engaging the student, manipulative experiences with immediate feedback opportunities, exploring math concepts, providing visual representatives, enhances communication and that it also offers alternative ways to demonstrate learning. She also feels that asking questions is another important thing that helps engage students.

The ideas presented by Ms. Chandler are great. They are wonderful ideas that would be very succesful in getting students more involved and would help them learn better. I think it takes a special type of teacher that loves technology for all of her initiatives to work. Some teachers are more old school and do not want to take the time or make the effort to learn how to use technology even though it might benefit their students.

As for me and the field I am going into, I am still unsure of all the ways that technology could be integrated. There will be a lot of technology used in equipment and so forth, but I am not sure how it will relate to the actual learning process of my students. I feel that it can be very beneficial if used in the right ways, and that is why I am still in college, trying to learn those right ways.

ACCESS Lab Visit

One of the requirements for our class was to visit a school's ACCESS lab. There is a lab in every public high school in Alabama. The lab is used for distance learning classes. The school that I visited was Baker high school. I visited the lab with a friend and class mate, Bree Smith, The people there were very helpful and took time ti show us around and explain to us how everything worked and the uses that they have for it at Baker.

The whole concept of the lab is neat. To be able to take a class that is offered by a school 300 miles away is mind boggling. Students are able to see and hear the teacher and other students, and they are also able to communicate with the teacher and students in that classroom. The room at Baker had two huge flat screens, a condensing mic, two cameras, and a control station. We were told by the technology teacher that showed us around that the equipment was worth over $60,000.

There has to be at least one class taught in the room at least per semester to keep receiving funding. They said they do not fully utilize their lab due to lack of interest. They don't have many students interested in taking the classes. It is a shame because it is an awesome opportunity. I would like to see a schools lab that does utilize theirs fully.

"Growth vs. Fixed Minds"

The video cast we were assigned to listen to this week was call "Growth vs. Fixed". The video cast was produced by The Stanford Institute of Technology. The video cast is about a study conducted by Carol Dweck who is a Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Dweck was interested in mindset of learning, she said that some people base heir activities on whether their intelligence is going to be noticed or not, while others want to learn. The study was composed of of two groups of students. One group were taught study skills, and the other group were taught study skills and growth mindset lessons. None of the participants were aware that there were two groups and two different teachings.

The study showed that students who were taught study skills only did not show improvement. She said that they lacked the motivation to do well. On the other hand the growth mindset group showed significant improvements and were even noticed by their teachers. She also stated that growth mindset is related to dealing with mistakes, accepting them and moving on. Dweck had conversation with a well renowned raqcong coach named Ross Bentley about the growth mindset.

This video was neat. It was cool to see the professor talk about her study and what she found. I think this is a great tool for situations like that, as far as telling of studies and similar things. I wish they would have shown some statistics as far as how much difference they lessons actually made. I really like the versatility of these video casts as far as the many uses that they have in the world of academia.

Coral Reef Video Cast

Video casts are a new thing to me. I really have never explored all the features available through iTunes. It is amazing at the number of video casts that are available to watch. The types and topics are abundant. Of course, the educational ones are the ones that we have been looking at and they are great. These videos are of very good quality and information and would be suitable to be shown in the classroom as an educational tool.

The one that I watched was "Energy in the Coral Reef" by WGBH. It was really a good video cast. It was really similar to a documentary type film. It talked how the coral provided energy to the reef. The sun gives energy to the coral, the fish eat the coral and the food chain continues. The light energy provided form the sun is converted to chemical energy. The video did a great job of laying out the entire process pf how the reef gets energy. It was very detailed and fun to watch.

These video casts are pretty cool. They are short for the most part and very good. The broad base of topics makes these very useful to teachers. It gives the teachers one more resource to use in the classroom. It is always nice to have something else that backs up what you have taught.

I have never made a video cast, but I am left wondering how hard they would be to make. I know in the field I am going into that it would be pretty cool to make instructional videos and post them. It would be neat to show proper technique and form in different exercises and drills.

Edutopia Ideas

I never would have thought that a garden could be used for education. Apparently someone at Martin Luther King Middle School in Berkley, California, thought it could be and they were right. The idea is ingenious. The credit goes to Alice Waters, who was the chef at the school when she had the idea. Not only does the garden teach them about nature, but there are so many other things that are taught through the garden, for example mathematics. The educational opportunities abound with this program. Children learn healthy food, nutritional value, proper diet, portion sizes and so many other things that are lacking in today's society that has in part led to the high obesity rate in our country.

This is one of the coolest ideas that I have ever seen in the school system. I think it is a great idea. now personally, if you had told me that there was an "edible schoolyard" my thought would have been that it was located somewhere in the Southeast. I was surprised when they said that this was located in California. This is an area that needs to be emphasized more, as far as nutrition and food. Alabama has one of the highest rates of obesity in the United States, and personally I am not proud to say that I live in the state that has that label. I think if there was more of emphasis on the knowledge that can be learned through a program like this, there would be a decrease in the obesity rate in future generations. Fr the most part, kids dietary habits are learned from their parents and this school is doing something that has an impact on the future.



The Global Village is an experience offered through the Global Gateway Program. The global village is located on the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. The program is an experience that focuses on poverty and hunger. At the village there are different types of living conditions set up, for example, Guatemala, Thailand, Zimbabwe, a refuge camp and some others. The purpose of the village is to give people and students a real life look into the unfortunate situations that some people must live in. You often times hear something and it does not affect you majorly, but if you see it and feel it you grasp the reality and severity of the situation.

I think the purpose of the Global Village is brilliant. It gives students the opportunity to see what children their own age are going through in other countries. It shows them that those other kids are less fortunate and that every day is a struggle for survival in some cases. The kids get a hands on experience which is priceless. The more you actually do something yourself, the more you gain from the situation. The village brings the information that may be otherwise taught in a text book to life.

Podcasts

To be honest with you I had never really listened to a podcast before this assignment. It was neat to listen and see what they really are and the way in which they are presented. Of course, the topics we listened to are education related, but I can see how these are used by all different kinds of people for different uses.

The set up is much like a radio broadcast. They tell who they are and what they are going to be talking about. If there is more than one person talking they share their individual insight and opinion. They offer advice and even take phone calls during some podcasts. It is also neat that these people can collaborate ideas from hundred miles away. They are not required to be in the same place at the same time.

The SmartBoard Lesson podcast was one that interested me. It was moderated by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger. It started off with an intro and some background music. I must admit the music was a little cheesy. Mr. Hazzard came on and introduced himself and the topic in which they were going to be covering. After that he introduced his co host Ms. Badger and they chatted back and forth for a second. These two podcasters are from Canada and lives hours apart from each other. They seemed to mesh well and cover the topic thoroughly.

Listening to the podcasts was a good thing for me. It gave me a chance to see how they were done. The order of events, the style, the enthusiasm etc. With our assignment coming, this is going to help out a lot. It was also good to see how many different topics there are out there. There is a podcast for just about anything one could want!

Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

I had heard of the "Last Lecture" a couple of times from various friends for some time now. They all raved about how this powerful and intriguing lecture. After watching it for myself I agree with all of them. To be able to stand on front of 400 people and give a lecture about your life knowing that you will soon die is astonishing, and he did it with such poise and gracefulness. Randy Pausch suffered from pancreatic cancer. Randy Pausch lost his battle with cancer July 25, 2008.

The title of the lecture was "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". The first method I noticed in his lecture was organization. His thoughts were very organized and his slides reflected that. He did not just stand up at the podium and ramble about whatever came to his mind. The first part of his lecture was about his childhood dreams. He wanted to play in the NFL, be Captain Kurk, be an Disney Imagineer and a couple of other things as well. Pausch went through and told how he accomplished or at least attempted these dreams and the experiences that followed. He showed that no matter what yours dreams are, they are your dreams and you should try to accomplish them.

One thing that really stuck out to me about Pausch's teaching was when he started talking about his Masters class. He didn't give tests, quizzes or lectures. Heck, he didn't even make them buy a book. The first day of class he split the class up into teams. The teams were responsible for creating a virtual world. He talked about that at that point they weren't going to learn anything else from a book and that the best way to learn was to have hands on experience. The revealings of these turned into a big ordeal among other students. One thing that he said that really stood out to me. One of his group of students showed them their project early and he said that he was absolutely stunned. They exceeded his expectations immensely. Instead of sayin "wow, that is awesome", he said "good job, but I know you can do better". He didn't want to set a bar on their ability, he wanted to push that bar as high as it would go and that really stood out to me.

Randy Pauch's life was one of great impact. He influenced and challenged them all. He wanted them to do their best. He was a focused individual. He was someone that people looked to for help and advice. He was a positive man in the face of death. He was a great teacher. He was dedicated to his profession and to his students. The "Last Lecture" was definately worth the time to watch.

Education via iPod? People are Doing It

Apple has one the hottest items on the market, and it has been that way for a long time. Who thought that a simple mp3 player produced by Apple would turn into the phenomenon that it has turned into. Now a days it seems like everyone has an iPod. They are a really neat product. I do not think that anyone ever thought that an iPod would be used in the classroom, from elementary schools all the way to the college campus. In 2005, one of the premier academic institutions in the United States started experimenting with iPod's in the classroom. The Duke Digital Initiative is a program that has integrated the iPod into a useful tool for students. They pass them out to freshman, they contain orientation information and class information. There are also classes that use iPods. The thing that is crazy is that they give them out free to the students!!

Another interesting use of the iPod is from the Pearson Education company. The company is developing content like study guides, audio books, and audio notes. This is only for books that they produce of course. The new program will also offer podcasts done by teachers for their students. I think this will be an awesome tool for students of all ages. I personally think it will flourish in the high school classrooms. Technology is amazing and is constantly giving us ways to improve the educational process.

My Presentation

Dr. Alice Christie

After looking around Dr. Christie's site I was impressed with it. It is full of different ideas and ways to integrate technology into education. They were all very interesting and potentially useful. The one that really stood out to me was GPS and Geocaching. GPS stands for global positioning system. GPS receivers use satellites to triangulate one's position using latitude and longitude. Geocaching is and adventure game for those using a GPS. There are hidden containers all over the world called caches. After a geocache is found you sign the logbook and return it to its original location.
Now, this may not sound like a educational tool, but it is. There are so many aspects of a GPS and geocaching that is educational. It really appeals to me because you take the classroom to the outside world. You are able to learn and enjoy our wonderful planet at the same time. Dr. Christie's site is full of information on how to use these items to further educate people. It is amazing how much material she has on her site. You could spend a long, long time on one section. She has given educators all the rescources they need to integrate some of these ideas into her classroom.

Wikipedia

Since high school, I can remember my teachers telling me not to use Wikipedia. At first, I did not realize why. I looked into it and asked why. The answers I found were good enough to persuade me not to use as a reliable source. The information on Wikipedia is not credible. There is no verification of the information considering that anyone can post information. I use it to look stuff up if I am curious about something, mainly because if you type anything into a search, most likely the first thing that comes up is from Wikipedia.
I don't think that this will ever be a credible site. The only way it could be, is if they removed everything and started over which I highly doubt they will do. It is hard to look at something on there and say it is 100% accurate. So I do not think that it will ever be a reliable source of information.

Okay To Be Technologically Illiterate

In September 2007, Karl Fisch wrote a blog about teachers being technologically illiterate. He makes a valid point, one which we all know, that technology is very prevalent in today's educational process. His main problem is with teachers who are not up to date with technology. He brings up several options, such as standards to being fired for not being up to date. There should be certain requirements that need to be met in my opinion.
I have grown up with a computer and the internet. I can navigate my way around a computer somewhat easily. As i said earlier I do believe there needs to be certain standards for teachers, but how can you tell a 65 yr old middle school teacher if she can't do this or that she will lose her job. My belief is that if it is taught to new teachers that before too long, the ones that are not literate will be gone and you will have a generation of teachers that are technologically savvy.

International Classroom Blogs

The first international classroom blog I found is from New Zealand. The site belongs to Manaia Kindergarten in Mt. Manaia, New Zealand. There are thirty families in the class according to the blog. You can view the blog here. According to the blog, the class uses the blog to keep up with family, friends, and relatives from around the world. The blog has a lot of videos and stories. One of the posts on the blog is pictures from one of the students family trip to Mt. Fuji. The latest post on the blog is a video from where a students lamb, named Mary, followed the student to school.

The second international site does not belong to a particular classroom. The site is one where people post job openings internationally. The site is quite interesting, look for yourself. The site seems to have a lot of pertinent information. It shows opportunities, interview tips and overseas living tips.

Blogs Used by Teachers

Visit Here
The first blog i found is used by a Chicago, Illinois, kindergarten class. The class is taught by Miss Frandsen, I wish I could tell you more information about her but there was none on the blog, at least that I could find. This class started blogging this past January. From the look of the blog, they have had a blast doing it. The blog is full of pictures and videos of the class in the classroom and on field trips. The blog is also used to keep the parents up to date and involved in the things that are going on in their child's class. The blog also has useful links for the children and their parents.

The next blog I came about was a 3rd grade class in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The teacher of the class is Mr. Bob Greenberg. This is one flat out impressive blog. It is crazy how much stuff is on there. It has information about things they have been doing on class. It gives information about things they are doing in the future. It is full of videos and pictures. There are videos of the class doing activities and there is a poetry video. The teacher also has assignments posted on the blog. Each student has their own entry on the class blog. The blog gives information about the class and the countries that are represented in the class. Check it for yourself, click here.

"Did You Know"

This video is definitely eye opening to the technology advances our world has made. To comprehend how much we, as a world, rely on it is ridiculous. The number of people that use social networking sites like Myspace is crazy. To say that if it were a country it would be the eighth largest is crazy. The total revenue of E-bay was also jaw dropping! All the statistics about the English language were also interesting.
I think that if you look at the technology advances in society, you realize that it is also an important part of a students education. If all we teach is math and history, this next generation is going to suffer. Technology needs to be a more prominent issue in the educational system.

ACCESS

One of Alabama's recent technology initiatives is called ACCESS, which stands for Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide. According to the website, http://accessdl.state.al.us/, the program offers opportunities and options for public high school students in the areas of Advance Placement, electives, and other courses in which they might not otherwise have access to.
ACCESS is a free tool for students. It is offered at school during regular school hours. ACCESS also offers distance learning programs to students as well. The program allows students to take classes online and through video-conferencing. So a student can take an AP class from another high school that without ACCESS he would not be able to do.
I think that ACCESS is an awesome program. This offers students from smaller schools the opportunities to take the AP classes that they want and would otherwise not be able to take. It gives every student every opportunity to take the classes they want to via video-conference if another school offers that class.

ALEX

"ALEX" is an acronym for Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a web site designed and run by the Alabama Department of Education. It is a program created as a part of the states technology initiatives to aid teachers. According to ALEX's official website, http://alex.state.al.us, "Quality for Every Facet of Learning" is the slogan and commitment of the website.

The ALEX website offers teachers an opportunity to search other teachers and gain ideas. Teachers can create an account and have a person work space where teachers lesson plans and also save their own. The data base offers traditional subject areas and it also offers areas such as technology and driver education among other things. The website also has links to a countless number of links for not only teachers, but students and administrators as well. ALEX also offers professional learning and distance learning programs too.

I personally think that website is an excellent asset to teachers, administrators, and students. I think overall the ability for teachers to store their own lesson plans and also look through their peers lesson plans as well makes a greater asset to them than any one else. This website is a great idea by the Alabama Dept. of Education. I think technology is a tool that teachers should be able to greatly utilize and ALEX gives them one way to use modern technology for the benefit of them and their students.

An Intro To ME

My name is Brett Kittrell. I am 19 years old. I was born and raised in Phenix City, Alabama. I graduated from Glenwood High School in 2007. I lettered in varsity football for four years. Football was pretty much the only thing about high school I enjoyed. My life has changed a lot since I graduated high school. My brother was at South for 2 years before I got here. He is the one that exposed me to South and i fell in love with South. I am a Sophomore majoring in Physical Education with teacher certification. God has done a lot in my life since I have been here. Living every day to be more like Christ is what I strive to do. It is a daily struggle, but I try. I am the president of the OUTLAWS here at South. OUTLAWS is a organization that supports all the athletics here at the University of South Alabama. I am also actively involved with Campus Outreach. I LOVE watching and playing football. I am an Auburn Tigers football fan, although the Jaguars here at South come first.

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WELCOME!!

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