March 28, 2010

Well first I have to say that Dan seems like he should be voice personality. He needs his own radio show or something like that, or like he should narrate documentaries. Now that I've stated my opinion on what Dan's future career should be, I have to say I agree with him completely on the foundations of education and Universities always changing. I think that Universities and schools were a great foundation for or, "launching pad" for the way we learn today, but times are changing. We do live in a world where we don't have to memorize facts because we have those facts at our finger tips, we do however live in a world that is ever evolving and chaining and it's creativity that we are wanting. Its very discouraging to me that creative programs are being taken out of schools and our educational programs, when I firmly believe that allowing a student to be creative is what is going to make their learning flourish. Our educational systems need to change and put the creativity back in the classrooms, or the world will leave our educational systems behind.

I can completely relate to Morgan Bayda when she talks about getting cheated in school. I don't know how many hundreds, possibly even thousands of dollars I have spent on books, that I don't even open, or on classes that I don't have to attend because everything I need is online. I do go to my classes however, and sit through hours of pointless lectures, drinking coffee like it's going out of style, forcing myself to stay awake by taking notes, and I do is all because I am paying for it!!!! Education is a priceless gift, that costs so much money, but I agree that Universities are putting a hold on the true potential of their students. Take the University that this EDM 310 class is attending and the new merged curriculum that it is forcing it's education majors to partake in. I am shocked and really very appalled that it would even consider merging Elementary Education and Special Education into one. I feel that by doing this, the University is forcing students to practice what they are not passionate about. It is taking students whom have the love and drive to work with Reg Ed students, and marketing them into a field that they are not as passionate about, and the same goes with Special Education Majors. Why force a Special Education major into a classroom that is Reg Ed, when that's not where their hearts are. OK, yes I agree that teachers need to be better prepared to deal with inclusion in their classroom, but at the end of the day, by forcing two people to switch roles, we are doing a dis-service to the students we will be teaching. The University is taking away our choice as to what we want to learn, and forcing upon us a curriculum that we are not passionate about. This I feel ties hand in hand with taking creative learning out of the classroom. Our educational systems are so focused on teaching us to regurgitate facts that it is taking away from our abilities to be creative, to learn and teach, "out side the box." If it wasn't for creative minds we wouldn't have computers, or the internet, email, facebook, twitter, skype ect. Universities need to allow their students to learn in a creative way, what they want to learn, and support what we are wanting to do. They need to support and change with their students and the world, or we will be forced to leave them behind, and do it without the great, "launch pad."

March 14, 2010 ALEX & ACCESS

WOW! What a great resource these two sights are. These are both great tools to help educate teachers and students. I love how Alabama has tools like this for their teachers. I think that may favorite part of ALEX was how simple it was to navigate through. You can create lesson plans watch and share podcasts, communicate with teachers all over the state, to share and learn new ideas. Alex seems to be a great support site for teachers, while ACCESS seems to be a great resource for students and teachers, which is also great in my opinion. I love how it offers different courses, and supports the proper learning and preparation for these tests and courses. The fact that it allows all students all over the state of Alabama to participate in this distant learning is amazing. ACCESS gives teachers and students both a great way to expand their learning, and learn in different ways other then just the typical classroom setting which is something that I feel is very important in today's society, but is lacking in many classrooms. Not all students learn the same and both ACCESS and ALEX gives teacher and students a way of being creative when it comes too learning and teaching. Brainstorming ideas is a great way to "step out of the box," which is what good, successful teachers and students need to do.

Comment for Kids, St. Patrick's Day!!

The students blog that I commented on was on St. Patrick's Day, which is one of my favorite holidays, but for reasons that should not be said on a students blog. This student was inquiring what readers knew about St. Patrick's Day, which I thought was a great way to possibly gain information, or learn what stereotypical ideas people have about a holiday. I thought this was a great learning tool!

Comments for Kids Kindergarden Kids Day 117

I love this blog!!! I'm a follower of Kindergarden Kids, and I highly enjoy reading what they do throughout their day! I got a comment from the kindergardeners the other day and they were so excited that I had their caterpillar on my blog! I thought it was the cutest thing ever! I still think that this is one of the neatest ways to track what a kindergarden student does, it will be great for them to look back on! This is a blog that I will continue to follow, and I plan on creating on for my students when I start to teach.

EDM 310 Class Survey

Here is my class survey! If you haven't taken it, please do!! My survey was about the new merged curriculum that Elementary Education Majors and Special Education Majors are facing. I found that a lot of students are unaware of the changes being made, yet feel that as long as it doesn't affect them it's a good idea!
Merged Curriculum

March 7, 2010

Randy Pausch's Lecture

On my does this man know how to give a speech. He is phenomenal at what he does! I'm not going to lie, when I read that I had to watch an hour long video, I was not to excited about it. Especially because most lectures, in my experience, are boring, but not Randy Pausch! Giving speeches that are interesting is something that I feel is not done nearly enough. I think that dreams and aspirations are what makes the world turn, and MR. Pausch demonstrates this in an amazing way. Before I get into the details of what I enjoyed so much about this speech, I must applaud Mr. Pausch for the creativity, inspirations, and well delivered speech that he presented in this video, and how he gave so much credit to those that inspired him.

The first thing that really struck me when watching this video was when he started talking about his football coach, and how one day that the coach was on him constantly. Because of this, the coach was showing Randy Pausch how he cared about him and his success. I couldn't agree with this more! As a child, I always felt like I was being challenged, and most of the time, I felt it wasn't in a good, positive way. Looking back on it now that I'm older, I realize that the reason that I was being challenge, picked on, pushed, whatever you would like to call it, was not for any negative reasons, but instead it was because those people believed in me, and wanted me to succeed and whatever I attempted. They never gave up on me, and because of that I've been able to succeed at so many wonderful things in my life. I will always and forever be grateful to those who pushed me so hard. As a future teacher, I feel it is my job to inspire and push a student to reach for their dreams no matter how big or small they may seem to be. As a teacher, you become an advocate and a cheerleader for your students, and letting them know that they can do anything they set their minds too is a very important part of that role.

I love how Mr. Pausch didn't obtain all of his goals but he did end up learning more life long lessons from that then he did from succeeding at them all. This is something that I think more children should be exposed too. It's OK to fail, as long as you tried your best and you learned form it. I know some of my greatest life lessons have come from failure. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." Wow!!! How amazing is that quote, and its so true!

The next really profound piece of advice that Mr. Pausch said was, "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." Like any human, I get very saddened when something that I've been working towards isn't working out the way that I've planned. A lot of times I wonder if the brick walls are there to make me change the path I'm taking because I'm not supposed to be traveling in this particular direction. This has always been a set back for me, wondering if I'm doing the right thing, if I made the right decision. Well, thank goodness I'm extremely stubborn, because I always figure out a way around those brick walls, and usually learn the most when I'm trying to figure out how to hurdle them.

I think that the biggest lesson I learned from watching MR. Pausch's video is to have passion for what you do, believe in what your doing, and do it with pride. It was obvious to me that Mr. Pausch went through a lot of trials and tribulations, especially with his BVW course, but the team work, passion, and creativity that he created in those students and observers is amazing to me and very admirable. Mr. Pausch has an unbelievable outlook on life and education that is outstanding to me. You can tell that he has touched many peoples lives in a very positive way, and as a teacher that's what your number one goal should be. I hope as a teacher, I can make as big of an impact on the lives of the ones that I teach and Mr. Pausch has on the lives of those he has taught. This was a very inspirational vido, and I hopefully will take his outlook on teaching with me, into my classroom

PLN on Twitter

Well I think it's safe to say, that I have not been a big fan of twitter since day one, or should I say since I heard about what "twittering" did to a certian celebrity couples relationship. Never the less, I decided to give it a try when creating my PLN. My PLN is definetly a work in progress but is slowly coming along. My PLN is on teachers and technology. I feel like my PLN really started when I started the EDM 310 class. Using fellow classmates, Mr. Sullivan, and iTunesU for USA has been a great way to keep my PLN local. I've also became a follower of Mr. Warlick twitter page, whom is my comments for teacher, teacher. I also follow google, and what they are doing with technology, and tedtalks because they have so many good video's and links to use as a resource. I have also joined classroom 2.0, which I have not done a much with, but it will be a great resource for my PLN. I also follow Kindergarden Kids, which gives me great ideas on what to do with students.

Comments for Kids March 4, 2010

Oh my how cute this blog is. I love the idea of tracking what the kindergarden class is doing throughout their year. It's neat to see what goes on in the mind of a five year old! The bird houses and the ducks that they made were also so adorable! I love how creative these students are allowed to be!

A Blog You All Should Follow!!!

For those of you that do not know, our very own Mr. Sullivan has his own blog that is filled with amazing video's and information on the latest technology. I highly urge you all to check it out, especially if you are a Special Education Major!

Mr. Sullivan's Blog