My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

I have enjoyed this class and all of you tremendously. I will probably be seeing some of you in other classes. I would like to thank everyone who helped me. Have a happy holiday season.

Rosilyn

What I Learned

I learned a lot in this class. When I started I had only taken one computer class. That was more than ten years ago. So much has changed since then. I felt like I had been left behind. It really helped me to brush up on the skills I have and learn much more.

I really loved the blogging. I think that helped me the most. All of the different assignments helped me to see different ways of learning. It definitely helped me to become more familiar with the Internet. All of the Itunes assignments were of great use also. My daughters found it to be interesting as well.

I listened to several pod casts and there were interesting too. I think this will be of great help to me when I begin teaching. School has changed so much since I was there. I want to be ready to help move my students along. I feel this class has really put me on the road to do just that.

Electronic Interaction

For my electronic interaction project I interviewed Ms. Brenda J Fancher. She is a third grade teacher at East Park School in Moss Point, Mississippi. The school is in the Moss Point School District. Ms. Fancher was eager to discuss with me the things I should expect in the classroom.

She let me know right from the beginning that technology plays a great part of the educational process. Ms. Fancher said they rarely use paper, pencil or the blackboard in her classroom. You see,at East Park, Every classroom is equipped with a Promethean Board. They even have a handheld one that they teachers can walk around the classroom with while she is writing and it still shows up on the big Promethean Board in the front of the classroom.

This is very different from Daphne High School. As you remember in my ACCESS lab report, they only had the one in the lab. If other teachers wanted to use it, they would have to make an appointment at a time Mr. Roh was not teaching a class. Although, they are going to get portable ones to move from class to class, there's nothing like having your own.

Now, Ms. Fancher says her students are very interested in all the things they are learning. This is probably because they the students love to be on the computers anyway. Another reason could possibly be the programs. One program called "Study Island" is used along with the lesson they are being taught. The program gives worksheets and games for the students to play to help them understand the concepts that were taught. Ms. Fancher says that some of her students even use this program at home on their on computers.

There is another program she told me about. It's called "Fast Forword." This program is designed to help students with their reading and language arts skills. Each child gets an opportunity to go in and listen to the many different words on the program. They also have AR (Accelerated Reading) test that are given on the computer to help test the students on what they have learned and read.

This is possible because they have two computer labs with more than thirty computers in each. They also have about fifteen computers in the library. Another thing ms. Fancher said was the students could be tested on the Promethean Board. They have little devices she described as "egg shaped." They are called Activ Vote. The students can lock in on their answer to the question put up on the Promethean Board and it will grade them for her. It even gives the percentage of right answers per question.

The one thing I can walk away from this interview thinking is technology, technology, technology. It's everywhere! This interview has made me want to study even harder. I am also glad I took this course. I would not want to be left behind and locked out of this technological world we're living in.

http://www.mosspointschools.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=37&Itemid=64

Classmate's Blog

I chose Joye Wiggins' blog. She has some of the same concerns I do about Internet safety. I think we need to be very aware of what the students are doing on the computers. There should also be passwords set up for their safety.

There should be monitoring of the sites the students are visiting. With all of the cyber bullying, sexual predators and students making disturbing video to go the web teachers, as well as parents, should be very watchful. The disturbing video such as gang fights and suicides are evidence of improper use of the computer. These types of things can be prevented, hopefully , if we are much more aware of what the students are doing on the web.

Blogging

This has been very interesting to me. I never knew about blogging until I began taking this course. I have learned a lot. The blogging, podcasts, itunes and so forth have really help to enlighten me on the technological world. I rarely got on the computer before this unless it was to type a paper or get directions for a trip.

The blogging was very exciting. I got to see myself on the computer and show my kids as well. The podcasts were not as exciting. We only did it the one time. Hopefully when I have to do it again I will not be as nervous. The itunes were very interesting and educational. I really enjoyed the one I had to look at about The moon and the planets. I had to show it to my daughters.

I found out that schools are using computers a lot more in schools now and I will have to be well prepared to teach with it in the classroom. I feel this class has definitely given me the tools that I need to do just that.

Duke University

The first podcast I chose was "The South in Black and White." These gentlemen were talking about sitting down and discussing the past as well as the present. They would bring in singers, songwriters, musicians, and southern storytellers that would help them to tell the story of how things went on then and what is going on now. They were to discuss race relations in Durham, NC and abroad. The made mention of the Duke Lacrosse incident and also of the murder of Emmitt Till.


The other I chose was "The Black Panthers Legacy Panel Discussion." One of the people said, "The role of the Black Panther Party has been distorted by the media." They feel that the media has made the Party look like a bunch of black people who got together to go against the government and white people. They even talked about myths and misconceptions. One was that the media made up the Black Panther Party. That was not true.

The Black Panther Party was known for doing much charity work in the community such as delivering meals to the needy. They are an organization that accepts all races of people. The Rainbow Coalition was formed from this party. I chose these two because we are hearing about race a lot more now that Barak Obama is president elect. There are those who are not happy because of his African-American lineage. Prayerfully we will soon get over these racial barriers. They have no place in our society and definitely not in our classrooms.

iTunes/Duke University

ACCESS Assignment

I visited Daphne High School in Daphne, AL. Mr. Joseph Roh gave me the tour and explained things to me. He began by informing me of the purchase of the church building next door to the school. This is the building that houses the ACCESS lab and the auditorium. It will be used for other things as well.

Mr. Roh told me of the two types of classes that can be used to educate the students. One is the regular online class. The other is Interactive Video Conference (IVC). IVC is where cameras and microphones are used to connect the teacher to other students at other schools. The teacher can interact with a student at the other school just as if there were in the same room with them.

Mr. Roh said that the ACCESS lab can be used to help students study for the Graduation Exam. There is no actual teacher for this particular program. This one is done by the computer. The students are also taking foreign languages online. some of the students are learning Latin from A teacher in Uriah, AL. Mr. Roh is currently teaching a Chemistry class to students in Uriah, AL online as well.

There is also an alternative to summer school. If a student failed a class, they would have to attend summer school to make it up. There is now a program available after school that would allow them to make up the class online to keep them from failing a grade. This class would be paid for by the student's parents just like before. This would go to pay the teacher who facilitates the class.

This is all very different from when I was in school. There is so much more offered to students now thanks to all of the technological advancements. Governor Bob Riley has made it mandatory for each high school to have an ACCESS lab by 2009. Daphne High is already on the way. Each of their Students will be required to take an online class by next school term. This will greatly enrich every students'
education and better prepare them for the workforce.


http://www.daphnehs.com/

The Podcasts

Well, my group's podcast was unavailable. That's okay though, I can talk about the ones that were. They all were very interesting. I learned something from just about all of them.These were our first recordings and it was expected for us to make mistakes. We can learn from them and only get better so that we are able to teach our students what to do if and when we are called upon to do it with them.

Some of us sounded as if we were reading instead of engaging in a conversation. Some of us seemed to be as cool as cucumbers and sounded totally natural. I know I was extremely nervous so I was not one of the natural sounding ones. We could all probably read over our scripts a little more. If we remember more of it, when we are recording it may not sound like we are reading it as much.

All in all we did very well for our first try. Everyone really did their homework and got their information together. Everyone spoke loud and clear enough to be well understood by the audience. Next time we will know what to expect and probably won't be as nervous.

Mathematics and Technology

These podcast talk about the use of technology in mathematics. Judy Chandler talks about collaborative learning. This is to use computer technology as well as the text- book to help teach students about math. She gives several areas where the two together can help enhance the student's learning experience. A few are enhanced communication, alternative ways to demonstrate learning, and tools that help by visual presentation.

Chandler talks about how many students experience disengagement. They are uninterested in the "old way" of learning and they zone out. She also speaks of students memorizing the information just so they can pass the test. She suggests that the teacher should engage the students by making them feel they are scientists in the classroom. She encourages the teacher to ask the questions like, "why and how do we know this"? She feels this will get the students thinking.

I would definitely use this in my classroom. Mixing computer technology and math would definitely make a class that some find very difficult a little easier. Students are already using the computer and other electronic devices all of the time. This can take something they already love to help them understand something they will need the rest of their lives.

iTunesU/Maine Department of Education