I listened to two podcasts from the EDM310 Fall class. Since I have yet to do my podcast, I don't want to be too critical about these ladies doing their assignments. I listened to Ashley, Brooke and Kimberly talk about "Blogs Used in Classrooms". I am sure these are wonderful ladies and I am sure they were nervous, but it sounded like they were reading something that they didn't write. It was a little boring and monotonous. I am aware that we barely know the person we are speaking with and it is difficult to have a fun upbeat conversation about blogs, but I needed some feeling in their voices. I was ready for it to be over. Sorry!
The next podcast I listened to was "Distant Learning in Alabama: Alex and ACCESS with Susan, Bridget and Angela. Maybe this topic was more interesting to me, but this podcast was short, to the point and not so boring. The first woman who spoke did have a difficult time pronouncing words. (At one point, she almost said a naughty word. Which was funny!)They had some important information that made me excited about going to a high school and checking ACCESS out. All three ladies seemed to make different points about these websites.
I hope when I do my podcast, I will sound a little more excited about my topic and I wish we could have some music. The professional podcasts were more entertaining because they just said what was on their minds, it didn't seem so scripted. And of course they are professionals! I will try to keep you awake during my podcast!!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Podcasts
I listened to all six of the podcasts in our assignment and I enjoyed most of them. They were informative and some were quite funny. The music added to the beginning gets you in the mood to hear what the podcasters have to say. The SmartBoard Lesson podcast was the most entertaining to me. The Kidcast and Connect Learning Podcasts had great feedback from experienced teachers. MacBreak Weekly and This Week in Photography had some of the same gentlemen and they had interesting conversations about their topics.
I really enjoyed the SmartBoard Lesson #147 with Ben and Joan. They are from different areas in Canada and they were not only funny, but interesting as well. The music in the beginning of their podcast was energetic. Their topic was, "Classrooms Collaborating in Literature, Writing, and Reading Strategies. The SmartBoard is used to allow the entire class to view a screen projected from the computer. The teachers can use the SmartBoard to teach new strategies and interact with the entire class.
The Kidcast #59 podcast Dan discussed pulling ipods into the classroom. After the students have listened to an activity, they can pause, turn to a neighbor and summarize what they have learned. This can give the students a chance to interact with each other in a postive, helpful way. This interaction gives the students an engaging activity that provides communitive lessons.
In Connect Learning with David Warick Episode 104:Conversations About the Purpose of Education, Warlick was at the Technology and Learning Diversity Conference. Warlick walked around the room and asked the teachers about the purpose of education. The majority of the teachers' answers were " learn to want to read". This was an interesting podcast to listen to. The audience was teachers from all over the United States.
After listening to the required podcasts, I am excited about using the technology available to teachers. In the school I currently work at, we are incorporating the SmartBoard in lessons. In one of the podcasts, social media is described as a media sharing site that has a sense of community and interpersonal action built around it. Teachers can use this media and bring a variety of knowledge to a classroom otherwise staring at a chalkboard. I enjoyed the podcasts and I look forward to podcasting myself.
I really enjoyed the SmartBoard Lesson #147 with Ben and Joan. They are from different areas in Canada and they were not only funny, but interesting as well. The music in the beginning of their podcast was energetic. Their topic was, "Classrooms Collaborating in Literature, Writing, and Reading Strategies. The SmartBoard is used to allow the entire class to view a screen projected from the computer. The teachers can use the SmartBoard to teach new strategies and interact with the entire class.
The Kidcast #59 podcast Dan discussed pulling ipods into the classroom. After the students have listened to an activity, they can pause, turn to a neighbor and summarize what they have learned. This can give the students a chance to interact with each other in a postive, helpful way. This interaction gives the students an engaging activity that provides communitive lessons.
In Connect Learning with David Warick Episode 104:Conversations About the Purpose of Education, Warlick was at the Technology and Learning Diversity Conference. Warlick walked around the room and asked the teachers about the purpose of education. The majority of the teachers' answers were " learn to want to read". This was an interesting podcast to listen to. The audience was teachers from all over the United States.
After listening to the required podcasts, I am excited about using the technology available to teachers. In the school I currently work at, we are incorporating the SmartBoard in lessons. In one of the podcasts, social media is described as a media sharing site that has a sense of community and interpersonal action built around it. Teachers can use this media and bring a variety of knowledge to a classroom otherwise staring at a chalkboard. I enjoyed the podcasts and I look forward to podcasting myself.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Randy Pausch Last Lecture
I have watched Randy Pausch Last Lecture many times and it inspires and motivates me more each time. Randy was a wonderful, brilliant man who gave so much to others in numerous ways. He taught at MIT and Carnegie Mellon and challenged his students to be the best that they could be. He went beyond achieving his childhood dreams and even enabled others in fulfilling their dreams.
Having worked hard to achieve his childhood dreams, Randy used his experiences in motivating his students to work just as hard. He believed in his students and their dreams. His pioneer course, Building Virtual Worlds, gave his students the opportunity to show Pausch how gifted and excited they were about their projects. He was "blown away" by their work and challenged them to go farther. Putting his students into groups, Pausch's course was all about bonding.
When Pausch moved to Carnegie Mellon he was part of The Dream Fulfillment Factory. This course consisted of artists and technologists working together making things. Through the hard work of Pausch and his colleague, ETC became a global phenomenon. They invented a novel way of teaching computer programming called "Alice". Pausch used peer feedback to help his students take critism and use it to their advantage.
Randy Pausch was an inspiration. His thought on life and education was, "Brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things". He ran into many walls and still fulfilled his childhood dreams. His respect for his family, friends and students inspired him to enable the dreams of others. My favorite bit of knowledge he shared was," Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". What a awesome thought and man!
Having worked hard to achieve his childhood dreams, Randy used his experiences in motivating his students to work just as hard. He believed in his students and their dreams. His pioneer course, Building Virtual Worlds, gave his students the opportunity to show Pausch how gifted and excited they were about their projects. He was "blown away" by their work and challenged them to go farther. Putting his students into groups, Pausch's course was all about bonding.
When Pausch moved to Carnegie Mellon he was part of The Dream Fulfillment Factory. This course consisted of artists and technologists working together making things. Through the hard work of Pausch and his colleague, ETC became a global phenomenon. They invented a novel way of teaching computer programming called "Alice". Pausch used peer feedback to help his students take critism and use it to their advantage.
Randy Pausch was an inspiration. His thought on life and education was, "Brick walls are there for a reason; they let us prove how badly we want things". He ran into many walls and still fulfilled his childhood dreams. His respect for his family, friends and students inspired him to enable the dreams of others. My favorite bit of knowledge he shared was," Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". What a awesome thought and man!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The next classroom blog I visited was the Jakarta, Indonesia class that corresponds with the fifth graders from New Zealand. Mrs. Jane's fifth grade class blog has an unusually, modern campus. Sinarmas World Academy is extraordinary. Each student has an inquiry site and their own blog site. The curriculum is outlined with helpful information. The teacher has very detailed assignments posted. The students even added a video game to their blog. They have words of wisdom and Bible verses like their peers in New Zealand. It was extremely interesting to view both classrooms' blogs.http://www.gr5swa.blogspot.com/
International Classroom Blogs
The first blog I found was a group of fifth grade students from Tauranga, New Zealand. These Kiwi students have posted books they have written and poems they have composed. They have pictures of field trips they have taken. The students post a word of the day and a verse. One of the classrooms they correspond with is in Indonesia. The teacher has a link with information for parents. They offer a list of useful site for help in all subjects. What an interesting site, to see what students are doing on the other side of the world!http://e3eclat.blogspot.com/
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Class of Ambrose
The fifth grade classes of Ambrose http://classofambrose.blogspot.com in Detroit , Michigan have an incredibly informational blog for students and parents. This blog has a detailed class calendar, public pictures and a class podcast. It contains many recommended links for parents and students. The Class Wiki link is a shared online whiteboard so students can do group research. The Wiki notebooks are; Math, Social Studies, Science, and Writing. Students have the availability of free typing games and help with studying for tests. Students can communicate with other students and share information that can be used in discussions in the classroom.
Mrs. Veldman's Classroom Blog
Mrs. Veldman's First Grade Classroom Blog, bveldman.edublogs.org, has day to day information for parents to be more involved in their childrens' education. Mrs. Veldman has an indepth weekly news blog that includes, Language Arts, Math, Science, a Writer's Workshop, an Events Calendar, and a Happy Birthday section. The teacher has included many pictures of the children and their work. Parents may leave comments for the teacher and other parents to read. This is an excellent way to communicate to the families and share daily experiences.
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