Sunday, December 4, 2011

C4K November Summary

C4K #11
Rexon’s dad took a trip to china and he added pictures from Chinese shoe factories and the people who work there along with information about the people. They are getting more holidays off and the average age of the worker is 30 and they live in the dormitories which provide food and health benefits for the workers.

Comment:
Rexon,

I am a student from the University of South Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Stranges EDM 310 class. I have never been to China but I hope to go one day. I find their culture fascinating and would love to experience it firsthand. This was a very interesting post. I know a lot of our clothing and garments come from overseas but I have never seen the actual factories they are made in. I really enjoyed all of the pictures that were included too. Thank you for such an insightful post.

C4K #10
Mrs. Yollis’ class blog is incredible. She allows her students to demonstrate their creativity by posting videos and projects they have done. Mrs. Yollis really tries to get her students families involved in their school work and blogging. I hope to be able to influence my students in the many positive ways she has done.



Mrs. Yollis is a teacher in Los Angeles, California where she teachers third grade. She has traveled all over the world and allows her students to explore and interact with people and students from all over the world through technology in her classroom. She attended the Google Geo Teachers Institute at the Google home office where she was able to learn more interesting things about how to use technology in her school. She has made a huge impact on the students she teaches, she has allowed them to explore the globe through their classroom computers. She is such an inspiring educator, I hope to be like her once I become a teacher.

Blog Post # 14

In this video the narrator discusses the top 10 tips for using technology in the classroom. He says the first tip would be to stream videos in collaboration with your lessons. The second tip was to incorporate music into your classroom because teenagers love music. I really think this is a great idea it can also allow the students to feel more comfortable with the teacher. He then suggested that teachers use teleconferencing tools such as skype to interview people. In my class this would potentially include scientists. Most of the students would probably never have another opportunity to do this.
His next tip was to create your own interactive exercises for students. This is a tip that I will without a doubt implement in my classroom. He suggested that teachers learn how to use their interactive white boards more effectively and to create podcasts to excite the students about your lessons. Facebook and other social networks can also be used in the classroom because there are areas where you can have closed groups that would be only for your students. The narrator also wants teachers to take advantage of the tools the internet has and encourages classroom blogs and wiki’s. With our advanced technology oriented society, most students will also have some sort of cell phone, even an Iphone in many cases. He suggests we take advantage of the tools these high tech phones have as well. The last and final tip he shared on his video was to only use technology when it helped teachers to achieve their lesson objectives.

PLN Final Report

My personal learning network is a collaboration of the many things I have learned and found most helpful in EDM310. I know that I will continue using my PLN once I become a teacher and continue adding interesting and educational links. My PLN is going to contribute and help me to become the best high school science teacher that I can be.

Final Project

C4T #4

C4T #2
A head teacher writes..
In this sarcastic post the author uses pencils in place of computers and other technology. He writes about how his administrators want children to share a “pencil”, and four students to one pencil is just fine. After all, in their time they didn’t even have a pencil, the children should be happy with sharing one. The author then talks about wanting each student to have their own pencil and even be able to take it home with them. The administrators however, think this is an awful idea. They come up with excuses such as the students wouldn’t be able to focus in class and would use the pencils from non school related topics.
My comment:
I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I really enjoyed your blog. The idea that every student should have a pencil and even be able to take it home with them.. crazy. Great blog! Thanks again.
C4T #1
Double or quits:
Mr. Wheeler has set up two separate twitter accounts, @timbuckteeth account and @stevewheeler account. His first account is used for work and the second is used for fun and entertainment purposes. He is doing an experiment to see how people react and if they will unfollow one or both of his accounts. He is not tweeting the same thing on both accounts but he wants to see the reaction of followers on his more popular account @timbuckteeth compared with his new @stevewheeler account which has less followers.
My comment:
This was a very interesting blog Mr. Wheeler. I am relatively new to the twitter community but I am starting to get the hang of it. I think having two twitters could be a good thing. One of my friends has two facebooks, one for her friends and family and the other for coworkers and clients. I can understand the need or want to have two separate accounts. Thank you.