My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are now Complete

To my fellow classmates,
I have enjoyed having this EDM class with you all. I am sure that we will be seeing each other again in or endeavors to become future educators. I feel as though we have learned a lot in this class that will help us all to better our teaching methods and provide our future students with a base of technology that will lead them to lead great and productive lives. Good luck to all of you! God Bless and congratulations!
Sincerely,
Johnie Aughtman


To Dr. Strange,
I thank you greatly for teaching me in EDM 310. You are a wonderful professor and you have a love and passion for technology that really shines through your teaching. I have learned a lot about technology in this class as well as a lot about myself! You have taught me many skills that will stay with me throughout my career as a future educator. Thank You for providing me with knowledge and helping me to become a better educator for my future students! God Bless You!
Sincerely,
Johnie Aughtman

Reflection on EDM 310

We have learned many things in the EDM 310 class. I have learned more about some things than others. I have learned that i can speak to the world by pod casting, I learned that I can express my thoughts through blogging. I have learned how to set up a blog and navigate its many features. I have learned how to create and use a spreadsheet and a database. I have learned about the many perks of itunes university and how i could use those in my future classes. My favorite thing that I discovered was google. I never knew that google offered documents, spreadsheets, PowerPoint's, homepages, and many more. I feel as though google is fabulous because it offers all of these things for free and virtually anyone has access to it all. I have learned about twitter and how and why people use it. I have also learned how to navigate foliotech in a more sufficient manner. All of these things has helped me find out who I am as a professional. These things will help me in my professional career in order to better myself and my future students. Most importantly, I have learned a lot about myself in general. I have learned not to fear technology. I have realized that technology is all about how you use it and being daring to try to use it. You have to explore technology to become familiar with it. I will no longer be scared to try new things when it comes to technology because I can familiarize myself with it and possibly master it which in return, makes me a better educator.

Special Examination - Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson speaks about those who are doing things they are good at and those who are doing what they love. He states, "being good at something is not a good enough reason to do it." He argues that adults feel comfortable doing things that they are competent in and only exploring their "comfort zone". He mentions that they do this in order to please other people's expectations. Then, there are those who do what they love, what resonates with them. this is where passion meets natural ability. Just because you are good at something does not mean you are meant to do that thing for a living. People have to find their element and in order to be in your element, you also have to love what it is that you do.

I agree completely with these views. I feel as though people should do what it is they love. They should not care about pleasing others because they should only aim to please themselves. People need to work for their own personal happiness, not the happiness of others. Is it fair that everyone else around you is happy but yourself?

Sir Ken Robinson goes on to bring in education and even tells a little short story/example of what it is he is speaking on. He says that he spoke to a guy who was a fireman and he had mentioned that he had ALWAYS wanted to be a firefighter. His teacher even told him that he was stupid to want to do this and that he would never amount to anything. Why? because we are force fed these ideas of what talent is or what people should strive to be in the world. Later in the example, Sir Ken Robinson goes on to state that the firefighter actually ended up saving the life of that teacher and his wife.

I as an aspiring teacher, will definitely incorporate the views in this lecture into the lives of my future students. I do not feel as though we as teachers should brainwash students as to what talent is or what a "good" job is. I feel as though we should encourage students to strive to follow their dreams and aspirations. I feel as though it is our duty to let our students dream big and to let them achieve those dreams, not just shoot them down. We as educators should inspire students and aide them along the way with whatever it is that THEY love and want to achieve in THEIR lives.

Twitter

Okay, I admit, I haven't been that focused on learning about Twitter. I have looked up a few things and even listened to a few comments on the radio regarding the social network, all for private uses though. I also admit that I haven't been that keen on trying to navigate or master Twitter itself. I have however, thought about ways that Twitter could be used in the classroom and both the negative and positive aspects of it.

First let me discuss what I have researched and been interested in finding out about Twitter. I have become curious about the limelight that Twitter has created around itself. I have come to find that Hollywood celebrities are majorly addicted and pro Twitter. I have become curious to find out which celebrities have Twitter accounts and how they use them to contact the outside world (the fan base). I have read about articles regarding the celebrity profiles as well as seen news segments and listened to radio conversations.

I myself have not become that interested in Twitter. I get kind of board just telling people what I am up to. I know that you don't have to just specifically answer that question, but I just need a little bit more of a personal touch and a little more freedom with what I want to say. I hate being restricted to a certain amount of characters and a certain amount of lead way when it comes to my own personal thoughts and creativity.

I have however thought of Twitter in the school systems both negatively and positively. I feel as though Twitter could be a great resource as sort of an online agenda. Assignments could be posted as well as changed and updated. Teachers could keep personal tabs and communications open and accessible with their students. They kind of get a look into what it is that their students might actually be doing.....studying, homework, eating dinner, at ball or dance practice.....

Negatively I feel as though not all students could have access to the computer at home, or that they would even check and access their Twitter accounts religiously. That could cause the lines of communication to become broken and let down. I feel as though teachers and students would have to feel comfortable using Twitter as their main source for assignments and communication.

In conclusion, I feel as though Twitter is just another social network. I feel as though it does limit the creative and thought provoking thoughts to which one can have and share. I feel as though their are both positive and negative affects that Twitter could create in the school systems, it is just how you administer them that makes all the difference.

Reviewing Podcasts

I just finished reviewing four pod casts including my own. I feel as though the class did a phenomenal job considering we had never even attempted to create a podcast before. Now, on with the critiques.....

I will start with my own podcast. I feel as though the conversation was kind of monotoned and overly rehearsed considering we barely even practiced. However, we did interview Dr. Harold Dodge and there is only so much you can achieve with an interview in a time limit kind of setting. Now, me being my own worst critic, I could not stand the fact that I stumbled over one of my words, it is bothering me as I speak!!!

Now for the first victim (lol). I listened to the podcast about facebook. I feel as though that group did an outstanding job. They were very entertaining and conversational. However, it got kind of hard to know who was saying what at some points in the conversations. I feel as though that might be due to the fact that their group was over the group limit of how many people were suppose to be in a group in the first place. I did hear moments where people in the group tended to talk over what other people were saying and it got a little confusing. All together though, they did entertain and discussed their topic quite affectively.

I also listened to the shift happens group. I feel as though they did a wonderful job as well. They discussed their topic well and kept the conversation going. The podcast did tend to go up and down in voice levels. At times, some things were hard to hear, especially from one particular group member. I feel as though they just needed to speak more clearly and loudly.

Lastly, I listened to the group that interviewed Dr. John Strange. I feel as though that group did a fantastic job in their podcast especially since they had to interview or talk to our class professor. I feel as though the topic of the podcast was a broad one and that the group discussion kind of drifted away from the assigned topic and started to focus on one particular part of the topic. I also feel as though two people dominated the conversation the whole time and that it was hard for the other group members to voice their opinions or even finish the interview questions that they had intended on asking due to the time limit at hand. Overall, they did a great job considering it was the first podcast they had ever been remotely involved in.

Blogging in the Classroom

By examining my own and another classmates blog, I have realized that blogging in the classroom can be a great teaching tool. It can have fantastic advantages for teachers and students. There are many things that blogs can be used for, a syllabus, a posting for classroom assignments, an update for classroom assignments, and instructional source for students, even a classroom away from the classroom for those students whom are not present. I will discuss all of these options in a little more detail.

First, a syllabus and posting for classroom assignments. The blogs could be used as an electronic or technological syllabus. Teachers could post class schedules, calendars, events, etc on the blog for all of the students or parents to view. The blog could also provide instructions for assignments and due dates. Students would also be able to post there questions about the assignments or events to each section of the class/teacher blog.

Second, an update for classroom assignments. Students will be able to follow all the assignments posted from the teacher. The teacher may make a change to the assignments or cancel, or even add assignments to the blog. Students would be able to become updated on these changes or cancellations by just checking the class/teacher blog.

Third, Teachers could provide instructional information on the class/teacher blog. Students will be able to view videos of how to complete tasks, research videos from other classes or teachers, and even make videos of their own to instruct the other fellow students. Teachers could post instructions for assignments step by step on the class/teacher blog for all students to see in case they did not understand, lost their hard copy of the assignment instructions, or even were absent. Which brings me to the fourth way blogging could be used.

Fourth, Students will be able to view the class/teacher blog, as well as the fellow students' blogs and basically find out what it is they missed in class in the case that they were absent. Students could look on the blogs and find out assignments that are due or were assigned. Instructions for the assignments would possible be available with even a video in some cases. Also, students could contribute to classroom discussions or questioning on the blog.

There are tons more ways that blogging could be used in the classroom but I feel that these were the most valuable and basic ways. Blogging in the classroom is a must in today's technology crazed world, especially when it comes to education.

Growth Mindset

I watched this video and was actually pleased to learn about the two studies. Two studies were performed on groups of students. One group took study skills classes and a motivational class on growth mindset. Another group took just strictly study skills. There was a significant difference. The students who took the motivational class along with the study skills, their grades rebounded tremendously. The group of students who just took the study skills classes, their grades continued to decline. Why? They just weren't motivated to put the skills into play.

Growth mindset is the mind set where you want to continue to learn. You realize that the more you learn, the more intelligent you become. People in this mindset walk around curious to learn. Those who do not feel this way, wall around wanting to feel smart. They are almost self conscious about wanting to look and be perceived as being smart. They just don't realize that you have to steadily learn to achieve intelligence. Growth mindset is vital. You can't keep up with the changing world around us if you are not willing to keep learning and growing in intelligence.

I feel as though this study was very important. I feel that as educators we need to motivate our students to have a growth mindset. If we don't motivate them, then why would they ever consider being excited to learn something new if they already go into the lesson feeling as if they couldn't possibly grasp the concepts. We have to motivate our students to continue to want to learn and be a part of the changing world. It relates to technology tremendously! When computers first came on the scene, no one knew how to use them. There were those of us who dove right in and were excited and willing to learn the new educational lessons of the computer. Then there were those who just felt as if they could not learn them. They were not motivated to.

Video Podcasts

I watched, A Night in the Coral Reef. The podcast video was about life in the coral reef at night. It was a very short video but gave tons of great information. It told about the ecosystem and how thousands of species reside in the reef like a city. It explained how the species protect themselves, feed themselves, and even what and how they eat. The video produced real life images of the reef and its many inhabitants.
I absolutely love the fact that these kinds of videos are able to be accessed from itunes. This is so helpful to the students' education and the teachers' resources for education. I like how the video was short and sweet but it also gave tons of useful information. It also was very interesting because it showed real life scenes from actual life.
I will use these kinds of videos almost daily when I teach. If I am hitting on a certain lesson or topic for example, I could very easily pull up one of these videos and show it to my students. The video was free and easy to access so therefore I could have my students watch these for certain assignments as well. These videos will be of great use to me.

the Edible Schoolyard and A Night in the Global Village

First I will discuss, The Edible Schoolyard. The Edible Schoolyard is an outdoor classroom where children harvest, plan, and even eat what it is they grow. It started out as a way to improve on the school lunch program but has involved into a major teaching tool. The students learn about harvesting, planting, cooking, and agriculture in general. They even learn all of the other subjects as well such as science, social studies, math, history, etc. The students are involved in their education and are able to become engaged. They are able to learn in a hands on and kinesthetic type of learning.

I feel that the edible schoolyard is a fantastic idea. It allows the students to become physical and engaged in all sorts of subjects. It offers a great reward system and sense of pride for the students. They are able to learn while working and in the end they are able to enjoy all of their hard work and gain of knowledge by feasting and cooking what it is they have harvested. I feel as though it is a great educational tool and idea in this day and age.

Now I will discuss, A Night in the Global Village. A Night in the Global Village is a program where children spend one night in the Global Village and focus on poverty and hunger. They learn and become emerged in the lifestyles of those less fortunate who live in poverty and hunger. The Village offers living conditions like that in Guatemala, Thailand, Zambia, as well as, Appalacia, and Refugee Camps. The students are seperated into these groups and must stay the night in these simulated types of areas. They are to speak to no one else in the same language and some are even to pretend that they are pregnant or disabled. The groups are provided with a bucket of resources, but no one is given everything that they need. They have to go to the other "village groups" and bargain for what it is they are lacking. The refugee camps however, are given nothing. The students have to cook their own food and do chores such as cutting and preparing wood for the next group.

I feel as though this program is outstanding. I love this idea. As a teacher it is one thing to teach your students about poverty and hunger and those who experience it on a daily basis. But, it is another thing to be able to have your students actually experience what it would be like to be one of those people. I feel as though EVERYONE should have an opportunity to experience how these people who suffer with hunger and poverty live. I feel that the world would be a better place if everyone was able to actually realize what others go through in their lives.

About iTunes University

Apple states that iTunes U, works for colleges, universities, and any other type of educational organization. Users become able to search or download educational content from iTunes University. This website is available if you click here. The iTunes University can access all of these from basically any type of media technology. There are over 100,000 educational audio files and video files from the Unites States' top universities, museums, and other educational organizations around the world. And that figure is rapidly growing on a daily basis. There is an instructional and educational video that tells about iTunes University and it is available for you if you just click here.

I feel that the iTunes University is a great tool for students and teachers. Basically anything you could want to learn about education wise is available at your fingertips. Pod casts, instructional videos, informational media, etc, all of it is made available to everyone. All you have to do as a teacher or a student is download it. You can even share it with a classroom or any other type of audience.....It is quick, easy, and educational.

Randy Pausch: Last Lecture

Randy Pausch's last lecture was entitled, "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams. I was a little apprehensive about watching this lecture because of the length and the fact that it was a lecture, but i became instantly interested. Randy Pausch is an amazing man, professor, educator, and creator. His expectations for his students, projects, co-workers, and life in general were set extremely high and always achieved.
There were a couple of quotes throughout Randy Pausch's presentation that connected with me and my philosophy in some way or form. The first quote was that "you can get more out of not achieving a dream than you can if you do achieve it." I agree with this in someways. It is not always the accomplishment of achieving a goal but rather the journey you travel when attempting to accomplish it. I feel that they experiences and hurdles that you come across can better educate someone rather than just the opportunity to say, "I accomplished this."
The second quote in Randy Pausch's lecture that really touched me was, "Wait long enough and people will surprise you." This particular quote was actually stated by a man named John Snoddy whom had worked with Randy Pausch, and this quote inspired Randy as well. I feel that this quote is absolutely true. If you just act patient with students or other people in general, even though your expectations for that persons life or work are not set very high, if you are patient they just might surprise you. Sometimes people need to be pushed to their limit before they begin to realize their potential in life. They need someone to be willing to be patient for them in order for them to thrive as students, coworkers, peers in general.
There are a ton of things that Randy Pausch said in his last lecture and their are a ton of points and concepts that he touched base on that have really touched me or made me think in a different light. I encourage everyone to watch this lecture....you can definately connect with professor Pausch right off the bat. He seemed like an inspirational, motivational, and intelligent man and I am lucky to have watched this video. If you would like to see this inspiration for yourself, just click here.

My Family Presentation

Here is my presentation about my family and the people who are very close and special to me! Let me know what you think!!

Fischbowl- Customer Service

I am so delighted to have been able to run across this particular blog. This whole scenario happens to me on a daily basis. I always have to call some company of some sort (especially with me working at a doctor's office and having to call insurance companies all day), and it seems like I spend more time talking to a machine or listening to annoying hold music more than an actual human being. It becomes so FRUSTRATING! I hate how everything these days that deals with customer service has to be somehow linked to a computer.

When did the idea to talk to a person over the phone become so ridiculous? When did hospitality and good phone manners just all of a sudden get thrown out of the window? I feel that a lot more people need to start taking notice of customer service and phone relations and start trying to change them. I have spend 5 hours on the phone talking to robots and people who seem not to have a clue what I am talking about and whom also don't try to even care about what my problem is. It is so aggravating and annoying that this suppose to be simple phone call in ones life has now become such an inconvenience. Please everyone check this out and tell me what you think...this particularly interests me due to the fact that it is basically the story of my life!! Please click here to see this video and read this blog on customer service.

Peers Podcasts

The first pod cast I listened to was from a group of girls last fall semester of 2008. The title was, The Last Lecture of Randy Pausch: It's time for talk: Conversations with future teachers. Two students by the names of Kelsy and Crystal were the personalities featured on this podcast and I do have some critiques. I feel that it sounded like the girls were reading directly off of a script and that the broadcast did not obtain a natural feel to it. I also feel that one of the girls could have practiced their lines a little more due to the fact that she was "tripping" over her words and pausing a lot!

On a positive note, I feel that the two girls picked a great topic that gave them a lot of information to work with. They had a lot to talk about or "read" about. They used their time fully and effectively in order to discuss the life and lecture of Randy Pausch, the late professor. For the first pod cast the girls were featured on, they did a pretty adequate job.

The second pod cast I listened to was, My Classes Here at South: How is Technology used in them. In this podcast, the two personalities were Jill and Matt. I felt that this podcast was very well done. I felt that the two students hit on a lot of different, good, and accurate information concerning their topic. They focused on online classes, clickers, blogs, and etc. They filled their time well with very useful information.

They started off a little nervous it seemed like but they both remained very conversational with each other. Especially when compared to the first pod cast I listened to. They worked well together and seemed to vibe off of each other. It didn't seem like they overly practiced or that they read off of a script, they just became comfortable with their topic and each other and went from their. I hope to model this behavior when conducting my own pod cast in class coming up in the near future.

Is it okay to be a technology illiterate teacher reveiw

I completely and 100 % agree with these statements. I feel as though all teachers should have some sort of knowledge of how to use technology and how to teach technology. As the blog stated, " teachers should have a basic level of technological capability." In this day and age, the whole entire world revolves around technology in some form or another. Just imagine what our students will be encountering in the future when it comes to technology or better yet, imagine what our students children will be encountering in the future when it comes to technology. I also agree that the " I am just not good with computers or the old generation is not good with computers excuses needs to be thrown to the fish. Like the post goes on to state, (in paraphrasing), "personal computers have been made available for over 30 years now. " Computers are no longer like foreigners in the country anymore or a brand new invention. People who are so called not good with computers still, need to learn them and learn them quick and stop using excuses.

The blog also goes on to state that in order to teach it we have to do it, and this is right too. If we as teachers don't understand technology and how it is used or how it works, how can we expect our students to? Especially when we (the illiterate technology teachers), are the ones struggling to teach it to them. I feel as though we as a teaching society need to step our game up and get with the program, literally. We need to become extremely accustomed to the new day and age of technology because if we don't, then "they", have the right to pass us up as future educators.

Podcasts

The first podcast I listened to was, Smart Board Lessons. Teachers from Naperville Central High School in Naperville, IL, discuss the benefits of using smart boards in the classroom. They list things such as, they are seamless, meaning they provide all types of multimedia pieces in only one piece of technology which in turn, provides the instructor and lesson with a lot of more time. Lesson archives are mentioned, stating that the smart boards provide memories of all lessons so that nothing is lost. That feature goes along with the next feature of being able to provide PDFs for students. If a student is absent then the instructor can PDF a lesson for a student so that they may still have access to the lesson that was taught. The smart boards also provide means of pod casting and classroom interaction with both the teacher and the students.

The next podcast I listened to was Kid cast. Dan Schmit hosted this sort of radio broadcast and discussed learning and teaching with pod casting. He talks about how he was shocked to discover that there were not as many student created pod casting content "out there" as he expected. He goes on to state that the content he did discover was mediocre and was just done for a project in which students were asked to create a podcast. He also provides his opinions and thoughts on technology and its applications.

The next podcast I exposed myself to was Mac break weekly. Alex Lindsey was one of the guests featured on this radio like production and he discussed computer companies such as Apple and the Apple phones. They provided news like commentary on their own opinions of certain technologies that are out in society today and what their dislikes and likes were.

Edtechtalk was another podcast I listened to and they discussed mainly Bill Gates recent presentation. Zen presentation was also discussed as well as 10 things you should know about face book privacy. In my opinion, the face book topic was a lot more well thought out and organized when broad casted over the podcast, because, when they discussed the Bill Gates presentation, it was more of their opinions and scatter brained thoughts.

I also listened to this week in photography podcast which was my least favorite. They talked about HDR pictures from what I could gather. The hosts on the show were saying things that were just way over my head and hard to grasp the concept of. I felt like they did not do well at relaying information to those listeners whom do not know what they were talking about. For example, it was more like doctors trying to talk to dogs, thinking that they were still talking to other doctors. They went on to discuss their personal opinions about HDR and photo rescue software.

Nelson Central School Blog in New Zealand

This blog takes place at Nelson Central School in New Zealand. The teachers use the blog to update the community on the activities and lessons the students have been taking part in. The students get to upload pictures and videos of their learning experiences on the blog to share with the community. The blog is also used for advertisement purposes. The teacher informs the community and parents of concerts, shows, or any other event that the school or students will be taking part in.To Visit Nelson Central School Blog, click here.

Blog In Auckland, New Zealand

This blog is all the way in Auckland, New Zealand. The school is called Meadowbank, and they use blogs as well as wikis in the classroom. The blog is used to show others what all the students have been working on and doing throughout the year. The blog shows videos of presentations and discussions. The students get to write their stories on the blog in order to share them with everyone else. To visit the blog in Auckland , New Zealand, click here.

Mr. Crosby's Sixth Grade Blog in the U.S.

Mr. Crosby is a sixth grade teacher who has his classroom use the idea and concept of a blog. The students use the blog to communicate back and forth with Mr. Crosby about assignments, homework, and classroom discussions. Mr. Crosby also uses his blog to show the world and other classrooms how they use ibooks and other technology in the classroom. The blog is strictly used for educational purposes and is barely graced with photographs.
Click Here to Visit Mr. Crosby's Class Blog Page.

Mrs. Perry's 4th grade blog

Mrs. Perry is a fourth grade teacher in the U.S and uses a classroom blog. Her students use the blog to comment on Mrs. Perry's assignments and their activities for the day. They use the blog for homework purposes....to share their ideas with one another and especially with Mrs. Perry...and to share their classroom events with society.

Click Here to visit Mrs. Perry's Classroom Blog.

My Reaction to Fischbowl Movie

Wow! That presentation was absolutely insane. It completely blew my mind. It made me think about all of the actual facts that were stated, such as, how many hours today's 21 year old kids have watched TV, played video game, or even talked on the telephone. I was majorly blown away by some of the facts that were discussed. Example, how 100 percent of that country spoke the English language and that 75 percent of 4 year old have already used a computer! Excuse me, that just crazy!!!
The only thing that I wish was different about the movie was that it would be set with new information. It was dated to 2006 and I wish we would have been able to see the information differences if the movie/presentation would of been set in the year of 2008. I feel that probably the information data that was given would of most likely increased within the past 2 years. I absolutely learned a lot from this presentation and I wish everyone everywhere, had a chance to be exposed to this knowledge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

ACCESS

ACCESS is known as, Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide. This program allows students in high school level to take courses online that otherwise they may not be offered to take at their school. It also allows students the opportunity to gain college credits while still at the high school level. Therefore; giving students the opportunity to "jump start" their paths on a college education.

ALEX

ALEX stands for The Alabama Learning Exchange and this is a website that is provided for teachers. I feel that ALEX is a great tool for teachers because it allows them to be able to get tips on teaching specific grades or subjects. It also provides teachers the opportunity to become familiar with lesson plans. Lesson plans are provided by grade and subject as well therefore; teachers are given examples to work with when planning their own lesson plans for their specific class. This website program is a great opportunity for first year teachers especially.

Blog Assignment 1....Hey yall!!

Hey my name is Johnie Alison Aughtman and I am from Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I Love to dance...I teach dance at Dance Revolution in Ocean Springs. My students range from ages 3 to 15 and I teach everything from ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz, pom, field, and hip hop! (hip hop is my favorite though). I Love kids, I love spending time with kids and teaching them and watching them grow and develop mentally. My major is elementary education and I plan to graduate in the year of 2010. I love to go to the beach!! The beach is my sanctuary. I am a true southern girl at heart but i have lived in basically every region of the U.S. , from the south to the west, east, and north. I am in a relationship with my one true love whom I one day hope to marry and his name is Brandon. I am a pretty down to earth person and I am extremely easy to get along with. If anyone ever needs anything I always try to lend a helping hand. God and I have a special relationship and I talk to him through my dancing. My parents are in the casino business and recently moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I am at the University of South Alabama because I have always wanted to go here and I was originally born in Mobile, Alabama so all of my family lives in Alabama with the exception of my parents. Thanks and bye y'all! P.S, I LOVE Hollywood and old movies and movie stars!!!!

Johnie Aughtman

Welcome to my blog page...My name is Johnie Aughtman and I hope you enjoy!!