C4T #1

Summary #1
In Mr. Spencer’s blog, Rebel Without a Clue, he addresses the outcome of a decision he made on using faulty equipment. The meeting with his colleagues questioned him to the highest extent as a professional, which at the end of the day made him feel terrible. Instead of not using the bad equipment he used it anyways. This small decision created a big problem for him. When it was ultimately too late Mr. Spencer realized that he should have addressed the principal about the equipment. Overall this blog was simply letting people know that we have to be conscious of all the decisions we make because that one decision, although it may seem appropriate at the time, may come back and haunt us. Educators should also make sure to look at the bigger picture, what’s best for the students, and not just them.

Comment #1
"The teaching profession isn't perfect and there will always be people to question your judgments. In my opinion, following the rules should be one of your main priorities. The only other thing you should always take into major consideration is the best interest of your students. Also, if the teaching environment doesn't seem to suit you, after trying to adjust over an extensive period of time, then maybe the best thing to do is find another place to teach if possible."

Summary #2
In this blog post,An Open Letter to @arneduncan #edpolicy, Mr. Spencer revealed a letter he wrote to Mr. Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education. In this letter he addresses that Mr. Duncan had followed him on twitter, but he thought it was all for the wrong reasons. Mr. Spencer felt he followed him simply because of the Connected Educator Month. If Mr. Duncan really wanted to connect then he should reach out to some of the fellow teachers affected by his education policies. Or he could engage into a sincere conversation with him by using twitter among other ways. Mr. Spencer then goes into detail on exactly what he felt should change in the policies of No Child Left Behind. Mr. Spencer made it clear that he wasn't in agreement with the way the secretary and president Obama went about continuing to use certain policies although they were failing. This letter was Mr. Spencer's way of reaching out to the secretary in a respectable way.

Comment #2
"Hello. I’m Demetrius Hamner, a student at the University of South Alabama. I have commented on your one of your blog post before, A Rebel Without a Clue. This week for my EDM310 assignment I had to comment on your most recent blog post. As a student I have always had to abide by many policies, even if I didn't agree with them. Addressing someone in a high up position wasn't encouraged, but if I was to do it then it always had to be in a respectable way. This letter, although very controversial, was a good example of this. No one wants to hear the truth when it comes to policies created by them. New education policies are created on a regular, but everyone seems to turn their head when it fails. This is because they aren't directly affected by it. We (teachers, students, and parents) are the ones directly affected, but have to go through so much to change it. Hopefully this letter will help Mr. Duncan see that things really do need to be changed."

Blog Post #3

The video, What is Peer Editing, and the slide show, Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, were very insightful. Every peer should make sure to follow these simple three steps: Compliments, Suggestions, and Corrections. Compliments are something that everyone likes to hear, but you should never overdue it. No one's work is ever perfect and it's okay to say it as long as it is in a positive way. Making suggestions and corrections help complete and effective peer review. I have learned that without taking all three of these steps a peer review is pointless. Anyone can say your work is good, but if your only hearing "the good" all the time about your paper then you will not realize the actual mistakes you have made. Realizing your mistakes is very important because mistakes are one of the best learning tools.

Peer reviews are something that I have always dreaded in school. Why? No one wants to be a "Mean Margaret" like in the video, Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes. Peer reviews cause a lot of pressure because no one likes to correct their peers. This is because most of the time the correction is stated in the wrong way. Staying positive is very much important. The last thing you want to do is make your peer feel bad about their writing. As a teacher it will be crucial that you know how to do this. Your students will be counting on you and helping point out mistakes will shape them into better writers, among other thing. Decisions will have to be made, but you will have to figure out the proper way to go about the situation depending on the mistake.
No one likes public humiliation, but some simple mistakes can be pointed out. In my recent C4C I decided that was the way to go. I chose this way because it seemed very much appropriate and I followed the steps from the videos to do so. As I continue in this class I am sure that pointing out mistakes will become difficult, but I will always follow the steps in stating it correctly. We are all adults so getting constructive peer reviews should not be a problem.

Blog Post #2

By: Demetrius Hamner, Michelle Detar, and Miriah Grantham
Professor Dancealot is an entertaining short movie about a professor that teaches but doesn't let the students interact in the classroom. This movie shows how a lot of professors work now days. This very much confused me because when teaching any class you should allow your students to put into action what was explained. We think it is impossible for a student to learn anything without actually attempting it on their own. How can someone learn something if they only hear how to do it? This is the kind of teaching that we as educators need to avoid. This teaching method, as we can see, is completely ineffective. When teaching your class, you should allow them to think for themselves and try things out so they can actually get a good grasp on it. This was a funny but sadly true movie on the downfalls of certain ways of teaching.

My Post

In the video, The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler, a lot of information is given on this particular “networked” student.This video, going into great detail on just how well connected this student is, amazes me on how well he uses all of his resources. Even though he doesn't have class as often. or a book, he utilizes the internet very well when completing his assignments. Connectivism, a theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social of many diverse connections and ties, is what his teacher goes by. Before watching this video I had never heard of this term, but in a way it put me in the mind of EDM310 since we are basically being taught in the same manner.
In my opinion, every student needs a teacher/professor at some point. Guidance is always needed, because, as a student, we are still learning. There is no way that we as students could completely do it ourselves. If we could learn everything on our own then what would be the point of us being in school? Exactly, there would be no point. The networked student’s teacher is there to be many things to her student: a learning architect, modeler, learning concierge, connected learning incubator, network sherpa, synthesizer, and change agent. All of which are very important.
Without the teacher/professor being there for the student, there would be no way that he could do it alone. Her guidance was the key to all of the success he had as a networked student. Being able to build his own trail with reliable information isn’t something he learned to do overnight, it took time. This was a very informative video, and it gave good insight on the many ways this student stayed connected. Over time he would be able to build his successful, making his teacher very proud.

Miriah's Post
The video, Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts, found on edutopia, is yet another video that has seemed to amaze me. So many teachers, and just people in general, underestimate how smart these students really are. Vicky Davis is a very inspiring teacher that allows the students to brainstorm and find the answers themselves. She unexpectedly throws out new terms to her class and expects them to find the definition themselves, which they successfully do. Three days into their internet project, her class was teaching her how to do things that she did not not how to do. The students really enjoyed the project, and they felt empowered when they used their own minds to find the answers. This inspired them to get involved with digi teen, which was an internet site where students all over the world would post blogs and videos and share them amongst each other. This is another example of how important technology is in a classroom. Like Mrs. Davis said, not every child can learn with a pencil and paper.

Michelle's Post
In this Prezi turned video, Teaching in the 21st Century, some questions are aroused to make us think about what it means to teach in this day and age. Right now, we have so much technology available to us and very few know how to actually use it. Students have endless amounts of resources at their fingertips. Without us, the teachers, how can they know what is useful or not? Teaching in the 21st century means having to be current with our knowledge on different ways to use technology as a teaching tool. It is up to us to teach them that sites like Wikipedia is unreliable when it comes to research, to show them how to properly utilize Google and all its functions, to teach them that Twitter and Facebook are not only their for entertainment, but can also be used for engaging educational purposes, and so much more. To teach in the 21st century, one must be technologically literate. Because of technology, future educators will have to know how to incorporate all forms of technology into their classroom. As technology changes and time progresses, so will teaching.

Blog Post Assignment #1

When children think of school what do usually they think of? Well it's usually a brick building with very little color on the inside or out. If I built a school it would be a very colorful, the colors of the rainbow. My school would put them in a daze and make them excited to come. My school would be brick; every brick would be a color of the rainbow. Also, the walking path would be a yellow brick road. My 21st Century classroom would be amazing. The door of my classroom would have a T.V in it playing the video of the week. Each week an informational video will play recaping each lesson. The video would be animated and it would not be boring. When you first walk in the first thing you will notice is the bright colors all over. In the front of the class would be a blue Smart Board because thats my favorite color. There would be at least four Mac computers in the class. The Mac's would be beside eachother in the back of the classroom. Also there would be a big colorful rug in the back for story time. In the middle of the class would be the students desk. They would grouped into fours with the childs name engraved into a yellow name plate. Each letter would be a different color of course and each group of desks would have an iPad for use throughout the day. Since I would be teaching the second grade this will be a helpful tool because children in that age group are eager to learn, but need a learning tool that would keep their attention. Also on the wall of the room would be pictures of each student and at least one of their favorite projects. My desk would be pink with a Mac computer. I would also have a big jar of candy to reward my students daily.
What should my students know?
Each student would know how to read at the appropriate second grade level. They would know how to multiply, add, and subtract three didgit numbers. I expect them to be able to write complete sentences with no problem. I would want all of my students to be criticle thinkers. I want them to challenge my answers.
What should my students be able to do?
Each student should know how to use a Mac and IPad. They will be able to type, to a certain extent. I would also want them to know how to navigate the internet without my help.
What would be my primary way of teaching my students what I want them to know and do?
Since being able to work with others is a very important part of learning my primary way of teaching would be putting my students in groups. I would give them directions of course, but mainly I would walk around observing to see if they can follow instructions. I would also be there to help the few that are struggling with the assignment. If grouping does not work I would change to teaching by class discussion this way I could call on each student to have a better insight on just how well they are learning.
What tools would I use in my classroom?
I would use my Smart Board daily, but I would also have the students use their IPads in groups. I would show infomational videos at least once a week, but mostly I would use the Smart Board. Classroom discussion questions, math problems, and notes would be easily written on the board and students would come up and help answer questions regularly.
What role will my students play in class?
Since my primary way of teaching would be by using groups my class learning environment would be very calm. Each student would be familiar with eachother therefore each student would play a role when it comes to learning. Each day I would ask one student to tell about the previous lesson. This way every student would have a time to help refresh everyones memory. I would also have a weekly classroom helper. This selected student would help any student that is struggling with an assignment. No student of mine would be scared to speak up in class. Every child would love to learn and be very open to other students helping or directing them.

This picture shows what the title modifiers accomplishes

Test Post Two

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My Test Post

This is my First Post. I clicked the HTML button which i should always do in EDM310. I am now a Blogger.