Social Networking

I have been thinking about facebook this week.  I love to look at it but I am not sure it is always healthy.  This week I saw where my niece had a little run-in with some friends.  They prank called her and said some mean things and taped it with a webcam.  They then put it on youtube and the facebook fight was on.  Kids, especially girls, can be mean.  I have been mean.  Katy has been mean.  However, when I was in school if you got in a fight with a friend you could make up easier.  I think it is harder when the problem has been made public for many to view.  It's also harder to tell a little white lie (which may be good).  If I say I can't do something with someone because I am sick and Katy puts her status as "out having lunch with Mom" I could be in trouble!  For example, this weekend I didn't tell anyone I was going to Tulsa but Katy put that as her status.  It wasn't a secret but I still offended someone because I didn't tell them I was going to be gone for the day.  To be fair, my Grandma is sick and I should have probably let someone know but I thought it would be OK if they just saw it on facebook.  Perhaps facebook has made me less considerate and more casual.  On the other hand I love to see what old friends have been doing.  I have gotten help in classes and connected with many teachers who have given me advice through facebook.  I can't decide if it is wonderful or not---maybe as with most things, it is fine in moderation!

PowerPoint

I loved looking at all the powerpoint presentations.  The people in class are so creative.  Me, not so much--that's why I am glad to see theirs.  Now I can steal  borrow their ideas.  Each one had something about it that made it my favorite!  Loved Roxie's!  Hers looked different from the others and had the activities that went with the story.  Katy and Jenifer had unique topics.  I love the colored animals on Jody's.  It was very eye-catching!  I thought Sandy's was wonderful.  It was interesting and she had the links to other educational sites and Kellie well...I have enjoyed every presentation I have ever seen her do in class and she introduced me to the "Quack, Quack, Moo" series last semester and I love it!  She is very creative.  I saw some of Sharon's when she was working on it and it was awesome too.  I am having such fun learning from everyone.  I even decided to "practice" and make a powerpoint presentation for my reflective teaching lesson tonight.  It was fun.  I have always thought of powerpoint as a business tool although I have never had to use it.  I am going to have to train my brain to look at tools in new ways so I will be able to use them effectively in my classroom.  It is exciting to be encouraged to be creative and thoughtful instead of just productive and cost-effective!  I think I will like using this side of my brain for a while!  Of course, I realize teaching will be somewhat different than being the student, but I am enjoying my time right now. 

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 was interesting.  Last night in Foundations I was able to tell another pre-service teacher about different audiovisual sites to use.  She was wondering where to find information that would reach different types of learners and be interesting.  I hope Mr. Chamberlain is going to teach this class again because she wants to take it from him.  Voki was my favorite site (besides Jib Jab)!  It was funny to hear Katy's voice speaking with an accent and coming from a hotdog!  However, I do see that it could be used for educational purposes too!  It might be more exciting to learn from a gingerbread man at Christmas or a turkey at Thanksgiving.  I think when kids are getting restless before a holiday break it might be a good tool to use.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Technology has Stolen My Baby

     I love technology.  I really do.  Because of the internet I am afforded the luxury of working at home.  I can look up research I need for my job.  I use several different tools on the internet to help me accomplish my tasks.  This has saved me gas, wear and tear on tires, the cost of "proper" work clothes and lunch expenses.  However, the internet has also taken from me.
     Picture it.  The year is 1998.  My little girl, my only child, my Baby receives a pink walkman and a Back Street Boys CD for Christmas.  She is in love.  She is enchanted with music.  Because she is only a little girl with no viable income I become her idol, the giver of music, a SUPERSTAR, if you will.  I too am enchanted by the look of joy in her little brown eyes.  I will do anything to make her happy.  I drive through sleet and snow into another time zone just to be the first in line for the new Britney CD.  I can find the "not yet released" Jessica Simpson CD on the bottom shelf in the back room of Sam Goody two days before anyone else can buy it.  I leap over racks in Hastings in a single bound to grab the last Inspector Gadget soundtrack from the hands of a crying little girl  victory from the jaws of defeat.  But then one day........the pink walkman is replaced by a little pink ipod.  We have both become obsolete.  Oh, she still needs my credit card but she no longer needs my skills.  Now she can get her music from the internet.  Believe me when I say---there is no need to drive through the sleet or bound over racks to get an itunes card.  It's just not necessary.
     Now as the Christmas shopping season is upon us once more, I think of the hours I have spent at Barnes and Noble, cafe mocha in hand, searching for the perfect picture book, tween romance, A & P coloring book, nursing and teaching books and the latest Tess Gerritson novel---and then I think of Katy's new Kindle and my heart breaks a little bit.
    
    

Sometimes you get MORE than you pay for

I had an epiphany last night.   When I signed up for Technology class I expected to benefit from the education, expertise and experiences of Mr. Chamberlain---and I have.  However, thanks to technology I have also benefitted from the education, expertise and experiences of Jennifer Scoggins (Mrs. Mimi), Ira Socol, Sir Ken Robinson and the other educators and particpants presenting Ted Talks.  I got really excited when I realized the richness of experience I am having in this class.  Then I started thinking, if I am this excited---what about an Elementary Student who got to chat with his favorite children's book author?  A class studying weather who could skpe with a meteorologist?  A High School Government class that could ask questions of their State Representatives?  The possibilities are endless!  WOW!  I think I am finally starting to get it!

Blogs aka my Favorites

I have been following some blogs for several years now but I didn't know it.  No, I don't have multiple personalities.  I didn't realize that was what they were.  I just thought they were cool websites that were updated regularly so I saved them to my favorites and checked them every day!  I'm hip and didn't even realize it.  Of course using the word "hip" probably negates any "hipness".  Naturally, I follow Katy's new BFF, the fabulous Mrs. Mimi.  I love her because not only is she an advocate for teachers and her "little friends" she is sarcastic and loves Barnes and Noble.  That's enough for me!  I follow the Book Aunt and Chicken Spaghetti because they read and write reviews of children's books.  I love all books but have gained a special love of children's books from my mother-in-law who is a retired kindergarten teacher.  I chose to post on the blog of Chicken Spaghetti about the demise of picture books.  I also follow the Pioneer Woman.  Her name is Ree Drummond and she has won several awards for her blog, has written a book and a cookbook, is a photographer, has four kids and Marlboro Man, her husband.  She was a city girl who married a rancher and her life is quite entertaining.  Finally, I follow Katy Wimer, probably out of a misguided sense of parental responsibility.   She might feel bad if she only had one follower so I try to lift her spirits by making her think I really care about what she has to say.  This technique also works very well with her father.  Perhaps there is a genetic component.

Whew!

I have a lot to do so I saved Poptropica to my favorites.  That way I feel like I have accomplished something.  I haven't played it yet but Hey! I will.  I have to do a take home test and write up a paper about the school board meeting too.  I also need to get started on my philosophy of education paper.  I won't be letting Mr. Chamberlain read that after his reaction to his wife's!  :)  I talked to another  pre-service teacher at the meeting about passion and my concerns about teaching.  She is also someone who is coming into this as a second career.  She thinks part of the reason I may not be passionate about it yet is because I am just starting and haven't been in a classroom.  I don't know the good or the bad about the way things work so I don't actually know which issues I will feel passionate about yet.  Right now I think I will get my AAT and then decide if I want to pursue this or something else.  It may help when I do my classroom observation next month.  I am going to observe Mrs. Kilby for a few hours too so that may give me another perspective.  I am also interested in Social Work and I looked that up at Crowder and may think about that too.  I have a few more general requirement classes to take and I think I will do that next semester.  That may give me time to re-evaluate.  I have to say that I love technology class.  I didn't know if I would.  No matter what I decide to do it has helped me learn about things I am going to need to know.  It has also given me a lot of things to think about and I am grateful for that also....and since Mr. Chamberlain FINALLY remembered to bring his kindle to class, I know what to put on my Christmas list! 

To Be or Not to Be

I have learned several things in this class.  From following Ira on twitter I have learned that my political instincts are still incredibly keen.  However, from our skype chat with Ira I learned that I shouldn't judge people on that alone.  From Mr. Chamberlain, Ira, Dave Eggers and all the other Ted talks I have learned that one of the main things necessary to be a good teacher is passion.  They have a passion for their subjects, a passion for education and a passion for children's rights.  Therein lies the problem.  I have a passion for language, reading, and a lot of times even writing.  I have a passion for my education. I have a passion for being the student.   I am not sure I have a passion for being the teacher.  It is hard to be 43 years old and STILL not know what I want to be when I grow up.  SIGH......

cooltoolsforschools=FUN

There were many interesting tools that I saw and I haven't looked at nearly all of them yet.  One I think would be great for a class writing assignment in Elementary School is called "Writing Fun".  The link re-directed  me to http://www.writingfun.com/writingfun2010.html.  It also has a tutorial with it.  The site explains different types of text such as narrative, explanation and persuasive.  When you click on a text type the site shows you what you need and leaves boxes to write in.  On a persuasive paper it shows "position" and then explains that this is what the paper is about and what you think about the topic.  The next box shows "arguments" or why people should be persuaded by your position.  The last box is for "summary" to strongly repeat your points or arguments.  I think this would be a great way for students to learn how to write different types of papers w/ fun guidance.  The site is extremely colorful and very engaging.  It also helps children learn how to write everyday texts like letters and e-mails.

ROM RAM and CD-W

It was kind of interesting to learn what ROM RAM, CD-W, DVD, CPU etc stood for.  Sometimes I hear the words and may even know what they mean but not the full definition.  I want to be able to tell my students what they mean if they are curious.  I am enjoying the class---still have a long way to go on the not being judgemental, keeping my opinions to myself thing but I will get there.  I liked the video.  It was amazing to see what the kids learned when they were left to their own devices.  If I saw something I had never seen I would be scared to try anything with it probably.  I think that is why kids are better able to be creative and inventive.  Not only are they more willing to try something new, they have not yet learned to be afraid of failure.  We can learn a lot from kids if we catch them before they learn what they are "supposed" to think, do and fear.

Ira Socol and Me

I am going to be totally honest. What I learned in class this week was about me.  You see, after I read Ira Socol's articles, including extra ones,  I didn't like him.  I had him pictured in my head as very political----and by political I mean raging liberal  wonderfully progressive.  I do not know why I formed this opinion and I do not know if it is correct but I learned something about myself.  I have become judgemental and narrow-minded in my "older but not old" age.  As soon as Ira started talking I was hooked!  His care for children and the things he cares about are amazing.  I only hope that, I can bring the passion to my class that he seems to.  So thank you, Ira Socol! The next time I hear an idea and automatically dismiss it or refuse to listen to new ideas I will think of you and what I would have missed out on if I had dismissed what you have to say.  Oh yeah and I LOVE widgets!

Chapter 3 Reflections

I especially like the Dynamic Instructional Design Model in chapter 3.  It is flexible and seems to include all the steps to make learning successful.  It started with "Know the Learners" which I think is one of the most important steps.  A teacher will need to be able to use available tools to effectively reach each student.  That is one reason that media is important in the classroom.  A video or an article on the internet can help teach or reinforce a lesson.  It is also important to get feedback to make sure the students are learning the information presented.  If they aren't learning, the lesson plan and presentation can be altered or replaced.  I also enjoyed week 3 because Mr. Chamberlain told us about Live Binder.  I looked at it and was very impressed with the binders that are there.  There are many specifically designed by teachers to help pre-service teachers.  They ranged from lesson plans to room decorating.  I loved it!  There is so much helpful infomation on the internet for student teachers.  I have found lesson plans, themes, resources, poems, experiments, songs and more.  It is very exciting that teachers are willing to share what works for them and encourage others to try their ideas.  It is not usually like that is the business world!  I also tried to use vocaroo but found that my computer doesn't have a built in microphone either!  Maybe we can figure out a way to do it in class or maybe there is a way I can do it on Katy's phone or laptop.

TED

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Chapter 2 Reflections

I enjoyed the second week of class.  I was thrilled to learn about "control/z."  I can use this now in my job and when writing papers for school.  I came home and told my husband about it.  I then ran upstairs to try it out on my computer.  As you probably know, it worked!  I also found the theory of multiple intelligences quite interesting.  I think it will be something I will remember when I become a teacher.  It will be great to see the potential in every student and not just judge them by "reading, writing and arithmetic."  I will (hopefully) be able to recognize the talents my students have and encourage them to excel in what they are naturally good at.  I hope that by doing that, it will encourage them to feel confident enough to try to succeed in all areas of their educational experience. 

Reflections on Chapter 1 and the first week of class

I really enjoyed the first class.  It was very interesting.  The textbook, not quite so much!  However, I did learn some interesting facts by reading the first chapter.  I was not aware that children were required to be technology literate by the time they finished eighth grade.  Now I know to make sure I teach ninth grade or up!  Just kidding---I want to teach elementary school.  The chapter did help me understand the need to be technologically prepared to teach.  I will need to learn everything I can to be able to prepare my students for high school, college and life.  Technology is such a big part of our society but many of us take it for granted.  I know enough to do my job and write my papers but not enough to feel confident in training others.  Our students must excel (ha ha) in technology in order to have all the advanatages they will need in college and the work force. I think this class will be very educational but also be fun.  Every teacher I have had at Crowder, especially from the education dept., has been so excited about their subject and helping people learn.  That is contagious and makes the learning process more exciting.  Mr. Chamberlain appears to be the same way and is quite informative.  I am hoping to take advantage of his knowledge while in class and save myself some "tech support" frustration!  Lol!  Hopefully, this week we will discuss "How to Set up your Wireless Router."   Maybe I should learn to cut and paste so I can add that to the class activity plan!  Till next week...