Blog Post #15 Final Reflection

Project 12 Book Trailer

blog post 7

Dr. Pausch does a great job on how he has lived his life and is motivating others to pay it forward. This video was humbling to me because Dr. Pausch had cancer but is so upbeat and enthusiastic about his life. When he videoed his last lecture, he was given a few short months to live. The topics discussed were his childhood dreams, how he enabled dreams of others, and lessons learned. I think the most fascinating part of this video was learning about his participation in theDisney Quest Interactive Theme Park in Disney World. One of his contributions to Disney Quest was the Pirates of the Caribbean3D ride.

Dr. Pausch has numerous quotes mentioned in this video. One of my favorites is "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things". This was noted in a lot of the dreams he talked about.
For example, he wanted to experience zero gravity and had the chance upon winning a competition to fly with his team but he was told that faculty members were not permitted to participate with the team members. He found a way to get around the "red tape" and was going as a journalist. He has determination to get the things he wants. Another quote that stood out was "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". This is exemplified by his dream of being in the NFL. Obviously he never was drafted as a professional football player but his coach pushed him hard and was always criticizing him. He learned from that, "when you are screwing up and nobody is saying anything to you anymore than that means they gave up". Dr. Pausch says, "your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care". The football dream is also acknowledged by the term "head fake or indirect learning", as Dr. Pausch refers. He says "we don't send our children out to learn football, we want them to learn about sportsmanship and teamwork as they play the sport". This was directly related to a major project he was involved in called "Alice". Students under his direction were learning to computer program without realizing it cause they were creating a game. What? Learning and having fun while doing it? Genius is what that is.
Dr. Pausch has touched so many lives that he has came in contact with. In the video of his last lecture, Tommy Burnett is one of his former students that he helped enable his dream of working on the next Star Wars movie. Dr. Pausch wants us to pay it forward. Always dream big and knock down those brick walls we encounter and have fun while learning. As a future educator, we want our students to learn while having fun too and it our job to encourage them to think outside the box. Dr. Pausch was such and encouragement to me to keep going and going for what you want in life. Because no matter what life puts in front of you or what sort of obstacles you have to go on you will achieve.

Project 11 Short Movie

My Final Report on My PLN

I love my PLN. I chose to use, Symbaloo. Over the past few months I have slowly built up my PLN and enjoy adding new website tiles to it often. I have made Symbaloo my homepage and all my favorite websites are available right in front of me. This class has definitely improved my computer skills and I have learned so much. I know I will continue to add to my PLN in the future and I love the freedom I have to change it to suit my preferences.

Final Project #16

C4K November

On Nov 6 C4K #10 I commented on Mr McClung's Class on Oct 26th in Berlin. The classes discussion on there social studies class was...the effects of the conference of Berlin that would ultimately decide what portions of Africa would belong to whom in Europe. In class we talked quite a bit about how the balanced relationship between Africa and Europe became so imbalanced over time. On Thursday we will discuss what happens next in the story of Africa after it was cut up and divided up.

My comment was...

Hi my name is Vicki Nelson I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I was reading your post on the conference of Berlin and the decisions that need to be made on Africa. I was wondering if you could elaborate a little bit about the imbalance that you were talking about Africa and Europe. I haven’t been keeping up with it and I wrought you could collaborate on it some. I will see if I can some back a check to see what happens after Africa was cut up and divided in to two.

On Nov 13 C4K #11 I commented on Mrs.Yollis' 365 Project 293 I Love Nuts! What she had written on her post was I really enjoy eating nuts like walnuts, almonds, and peanuts. When I cracked open this walnut, I was surprised to find my favorite shape...a heart!

Do you enjoy nuts?

How are walnuts harvested?

My comment was....

Dear Mrs. Yollis,

My name is Vicki Nelson and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I love nuts! My favorite kind of nut is almonds! I enjoyed the picture you took of the walnut. It is unbelievable that you actually cracked it open and it turned out looking like a heart. That is really unbelievable. You had asked the question, "How are walnuts harvested?" What I had found out was that you harvest walnuts in the early fall from September to October. Knock the hulls from the trees once the shells are full, or gather them off the ground as soon as they fall. Remove the hulls using gloves. Then rinse with water to remove tannin. Spread the shells in the sun to dry for two to three weeks. And that is the process on how to harvest walnuts. I really enjoyed your picture and have enjoyed looking over your blog. You have some wonderful children and I hope that I become a wonderful teacher like you one day in the future.

On Nov 16th C4K #12 I commented on Billy B W @ PT England School. On My Holiday Story post. And this is what he had to say..In the holidays I went to Coromandel and when I got there I went for a swim with my cousins. It was cold like an ice cube and when we got out me and my cousin were cold and I stall jumped in. We went to the creek and it was cold. When it was my cousin birthday it was cool.

And my comment was...

Billy my name is Vicki Nelson I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. That is in the United States. I see from your post that you are from New Zealand. And you and said in your post that during thst holidays that you went to Coromandel is that in New Zealand. Is the water always cold there or just some ties during the year. I have some property on the river and the part of the river that I live on it is cold all year long because it has springs that flow threw it. I like the picture that you drew it is very pretty. However I noticed that you had black clouds in the sky was that because it was fixing to rain is that why the water was cold. I am just trying to figure out the story to your picture. I have never been to New Zealand. But maybe one day I will be able too. I would love to go visit. I love to visit other states. Well it was nice talking to you. I will talk to you later.

C4T #4 Post #2

 On my first one I wrote on an article called Paper reinforcers by See Mary Teach. Where she talked
about where she is a procrastinator and that she has ADHD but never got diagnosed with it because back then they never diagnosed girls. She then goes on to say that she can cook and remember ever ingredient and knit a pair of sock from start to finish but to read a book and then have to do a presentation afterwards she then shut down. She then goes on to say that she started listening to a podcast called Back to Work with Merlin Mann & Dan Benjamin and she felt a connection with them because they were nerds and she felt like she was a nerd/geek. So she started listening to all of there podcasts. Then she says that she tell her student to write stories. And they can keep them or they can throw them away it is up to them because it is just they they are getting the practice of writing. They need to practice writing if they every want to overcome there fear of writing. She then Quotes her favorite "E M Forster who pondered "How do I know what I think until I see what I say?" She then says that you don't truly understand yourself until you get it down on paper and maybe there is a reason why you avoid doing that maybe there are things you aren't ready to understand.  Then she talks about her students and how you might make mistakes while you are teaching them but it is ok. But when students make mistakes it helps them grow. Her article was very interesting .

My comment to her was....

I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. And I really enjoyed reading your posted.  I understand that I am going to make mistakes and I will have to learn to deal with it and not go crazy.  As a teacher I want to learn the students and broaden there minds with knowledge. I understand that I may teach the wrong things but sometimes I might pick the right thing and hopefully it will work for them. And if it doesn't I will reteach it cause that is why we are here for. Right!!!! My first year teaching I pan to sit down with my students   

and get a feel for them and also find out what they want to learn that year. That may benefit them. I to understand that every school has rules and procedures but I also know that I should get to know the kids my first year and not have them scared of me the first year I teach. Building trust in the children is always good.    Thank you so much for letting me have the opportunity to read your post I enjoyed it. 

My next post was on an article called Shrugging off cynicism by See Mary Teach. And in this article she went to Paris with her mom and her partner. And she had an amazing,fun, frustrating, and exhausting time. The reason why she said all of that was because there was so much poverty in Paris and she just didn't like seeing in. She didn't want to buy anything for herself because she felt to ashamed that she had money and they didn't. She went on to say that when she was growing up that her mom worked two jobs to support them because her dad was out of work. And that her and her mom are very close.  That they walked all over the place in Paris and her mom never once complain about hr feet hurting or anything. She is very proud of her mom. And that she is learning from her mom and will continue to learn from her and her children that she teach. 

My comment to her was...

My comment

Hi my name is Vicki Nelson  I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I just wanted to tell you that I was very touch by your article that you had wrote.  I to am very close to my mother and she also work very hard when I was young. However she work 4 jobs to support us because my mother and father divorced and she was our only income.  And there was 6 of use kids but we all helped each other. I did all the cooking though. I guess that is why everyone likes for me to cook every holiday now. At lest they liked my cooking. But I to understand I don't like to see poverty either. I think there is so much out there that their shouldn't be poverty. I think that these people that are under these bridges can find jobs they are just plum to lazy to get out there and get one. It isn't that someone wont hire them they wont go find a job. If they would look for a job there wouldn't be so much poverty.  But I understand to that there are so sick people to and they can't get help. And they should. We were considered low income but you know what I am making something of myself. And I am not going to let my kids be considered low income because I know what I had to go thru and I don't want them to have to go thru the same thing. I want to teach my students that they should always stand high and believe in there self because if they believe in there self they will be something one day.

Blog Post 14

On the web page Technology and Education "Box of Trick" by Jose Picardo. Was a very interest page and elaborating. I was able to get a lot of interest information from his website. As I was looking down the long list of resources that he had available for use their were a couple that interest me the most. Well I say their a couple let me get started. First the Kerpoof-where the students could draw, listen to stories, create cartoons, and animation. Then Hot Potatoes- where it helps me make up quizzes,multiple choices questions, and crossword puzzles. And we have Quizlet-where it allows you to create and share flashcards on the whiteboard. And or course we all love the Wordle- an excellent source for text analysis. And I think that the older students would love to use the Time-toast-to create an interactive timeline on different current events or even on your own life. And another favorite is Yacapaca- another source where it helps you create quizzes,test,surveys,and e-portfolios.

But some of my favorites that I think that I could actually use in the special ed class room is the Story-bird- where you create short visual,digital stories which can can be shared and embedded into their blogs and wiki. And also the SwitchZoo- where you create animals and switch their parts. This program will play games, music, animal voices, poetry, stories, and you can also plan your lesson plans thru it. And another favorite that I didn't even know even existed is the Teachertube. I will probably use a lot incase I need help. Maybe I can type someone their and they will respond back in a hurry. I really liked Mr. Picardo's website because it gave me a lot of good information that I can use in my future teaching career.


I am also going to post his Top 10 Tips.
1. Use stream video.
2. Use music more often. (teenagers love music)
3. Use teleconferencing tools (Skype-you can interact with other schools/countries)
4. Create your own interactive exercises. (make your own exercises)
5. Use your interactive whiteboard more effectively.
6. Create your own podcast. (audacity)
7. Start a blog or a wiki. (a fantastic way to show pupils work and achievements)
8. Use social networks (But you have to watch closely using Facebook and make sure that you separate you personal one from your class one)
9. Use internet tools.
10. Make the most of your pupils gadgets.(because children love to come to school if they get to bring there IPod or their Nintendo DS).

I will most definitely remember all of these tips when I start teaching my first year because taking EDM310 has enlightened me to all of the new technology out their that I want to try it all. I want to start a blog in my class room so that all of my students can have the enjoyment of seeing other students from other countries. Thank you Dr Strange for teaching me all of the new technology that I didn't know before.

Special Assignment #1

I understood the metaphor that Tom Johnson used in his blog post. I had to read the post several times before understanding his meaning about the pencil but eventually I got it. I thought it was a very good idea to make the readers think and use clues to figure out the meaning.

Dictionary.com defines Metaphor:
1)a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”

I think that the reason why it fails sometimes is because the students don't read it carefully. When you read something and you don't understand it you need to keep reading it until you do understand it because the more that you read it you might get something out of it that you didn't hear the first time. And then there are some students that just read it one time and think that they know what they read and just write and they have know clue. You should always double check yourself no make what. When do Metaphors work work with college students. I think teachers assign them when they think that the students aren't doing what they are suppose to do and they are wanting to see how much they know. I think that more and more teachers should use metaphors because it really makes the students use the minds and think about what they are thinking about. Metaphors in the literature way can come in two ways in an linguistic or conceptual way. The linguistic metaphors are motivated by the conceptual metaphors and are realizations that appear in every day writings and spoken forms. Examples of the conceptual metaphors is (life is a journey), (linguistic) (we're on the right (wrong) track/path). But I also think that it is perfect for EDM310 because it make the student think just like this assignment made everyone think. Dr Strange I think that you should continue giving this assignment because it broadens students minds and teaches them a little more on metaphors.


Here are a few examples of some Metaphors:

1. I'm carrying the world on my shoulder.
2. I see a light at the end of the tunnel.
3. I think I'm cracking up.

Blog Post 13 Option 3

I choices option 3 to not use my media devices for 24 hours. I thought Oh what the heck that shouldn't be that hard at all, however it was harder than I thought. I pick Thursday November 17, 2011 the reason why I picked that day was because I figured I could keep myself occupied all day. Because that was the day of my oldest son's birthday. And I knew that we would be doing things for him and we would have family and friends over and I had to work that morning and the day should go by pretty fast. Let me just give you an over view of my day. I woke up that morning to the baby to the sitter and spoke to the sitter that morning and told her if there was any problems that she would need to call my husband because I would not have my phone on me that day and I explain to her what I was doing. She that that I was a little crazy she understood because it was for school. Then I arrived at school (or work) at 7:30 and I began my day. I left my phone at home that day so that I would have the urgency to get my phone out of my purse. And that day we were taking my class to the civic center to have a Thanksgiving dinner. Because I work with the Special Ed students and the Optimist Club puts on a dinner every years for all the Special Ed classes in this area.  So as you see I knew that I would be occupied in all that, that day. So I was man I have it made. But before we left to do that I also do the canteen for the entire school and I deposit all the money and I never thought about that, I could use a calculator. So instead I added up all of my money by hand and when I turned it in I told the lady at the front desk to just make sure that she double checks me that day because I didn't have a calculator. And once again I had to explain to her how come I didn't use it. She also thought that I was crazy but also understood but said she could never do it. So then it was time for us to leave for the dinner and all was good. We didn't return until almost 2:30 time enough to go home. I left school at 3:45 and headed out to pick up the baby. I was like ok the day is almost over. As I was headed home after getting the baby I normally call my oldest son to see if he is home yet, I remembered I couldn't so I just continued driving home. When I got home he wasn't there and I don't know where he is and my middle child isn't home yet either it is just me and the baby. By that time I am getting worried and I want to pick up the phone but  don't I just give it a little more time to see if he gets home because it is his birthday. Finally he comes in the door. So now we waited on his brother to get home and his dad and we head out the door for dinner with the family for his birthday. We get done with dinner kind of early so I kind of convince my husband to go see a movie so that we don't have to go home so early. And I don't have to wonder what I am going to do the rest of the night. So we went and watched Happy Feet 2,  I had to find something that the baby would watch and find interesting. When the movie was over we finally made it home and I did my normal routine, got the diaper bag ready for next day, took baby a bath, put baby to sleep, took shower, got my clothes, husbands clothes ready to ironed for next day, and fixed coffee. However this was the hardest thing I could ever do because I cant tell you how many times I wanted to pick up my phone and call someone, and how many times I wanted to get on Facebook and see what was going on, and get on my IPod and play my games. I always have my phone and my IPod by me at all times and it just felt really weird not having it. I felt empty. I really Didn't miss the TV because I don't really watch a lot of TV especially sense I have started school I don't watch much at all. But I don't know what I would do without my Phone and IPod. I think that it would be difficult for anyone to not use technology for 24 hour period  because it is so much a part of our lives. I felt so lost without my media and I know that they would. I actually think that students would feel the same exact way if not more because kids now days are more and more dependent on there phones then adults are. I really think that I would be worse for students then it would be for adults because of the age difference. However I did it and accomplished it!!!!!! It was a bit painful but it happened.  And I thought this was going to be the easiest one to do this week. I was so wrong.

Smartboard Part 2 Project #15

Skype Interview

Final Project Progress

I am in a group with Kelly Ficarelli and Sara Stewart. We have met through text, email, and in person trying to brainstorm with ideas for our final project. We came up with several good ideas but we have all decided to do a "how to" video with information regarding green screens. Since we actually wanted to learn the green screen. This gives us the opportunity to teach everyone and learn our self. So we will be making a "how to" video on green screens. Hopefully with a little help from Elizabeth.

C4K #10 Assignment Part 1

As I was visiting Mrs. Yollis 3rd Grade class I realized that she taught eleven girls and eleven boys that were very athletic and loved sports. But one of there favorite things they love to do it blog. Mrs. Yollis has been teaching for 25 years. Mrs. Yollis spent three summers teaching in Spain. And she loves to travel. She works a lot with a teacher in Australia named Kathleen Morris in some educational podcasting. When the time zone is right they Skype each other in the classroom in the children talk with each other. I love her website page because it lets the parents visit the page and play with the kids to see if the really understood that they learned that ay. I will most definitely try to have this in my class because I want my parents involved in the students progress. I like the way she has it all set up. I like the time zone of friends because that teaches the children the different times that the other students are in school and if the came talk to them on Skype. I love the video that she made about California because I have never been there and it tells me a little bit about it. I never knew about a Death Valley. I wish I could see the Golden Gate Bridge. I am want to thank her for all the wonderful educational blogging insights
I saved them for future references. Mrs. Yollis does a lot with her students you can tell from the blog and I am hoping that one day I turn out to be a great teacher like her.

Blog Post 12

I have to say that I love to work with children and I am currently working with Special Need students right now. I personally do not have an iPad, hopefully that will change very soon, but I spoke with several teachers that said they have iPads in their classrooms. And they think very highly of it because it's helpful with the children that have autism and other disabilities. This website gives 32 very good apps that will help an educator in their classroom. My blog post assignment is to pick four apps that you could use in you classroom and briefly explain how you could incorporate them into your classroom for Multi-Handicap students. The website is http://a4cwsn.com

1.Autism Shapes
This is Dr. Gary Brown’s Autism/DTT Shapes App. This app uses Discrete Trial Training (DTT) to help your child learn the basic shapes. DTT is the primary teaching method used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to teach numerous pre-academic and social skills to children with autism. This app can be used to help teach the basic shapes to children with autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), or any child who has trouble staying on task. It is fun to teach the children there shapes. Be creative we use play-do, blocks or anything we can find. We draw them some time and they cut them out and that is always good for them. But you also have to remember they almost always love to work on the Ipad. Because it talks to them and they can see the objects move.

2. Autism Colors –Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
Dr. Gary Brown’s Autism/DTT Color App uses Discrete Trial Training (DTT) to help your child learn the basic colors. DTT is the primary teaching method used in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to teach numerous pre-academic and social skills to children with autism. This app has a setup screen that allows you to enter the basic parameters such as correct and incorrect colors, timing settings and number and type of cards to display. After you select the basic settings and press start, the app simply displays multiple colored cards on the screen and verbally announces to your child the name of the correct color that should be touched. After your child has touched a color, the app gives positive verbal feedback to your child, letting them know if they pressed the correct or incorrect color. After ten questions/trials the app will display the number of correct answers received, and it will also write a log entry so that these results can be reviewed later. Coloring is good for children because sometimes it could tell you what sort of mood they are in that day. And some times it an calm them down. The IPad is good for this with children with Autism because they are constantly moving and at least they have to keep moving things around on the screen.

3. Practicing Pragmatics
They ask you a question... what if... A friend gives you a birthday present. What do you say?
Well with this colorful social skills App for the iPad®, has all 52 illustrated picture cards (plus audio of the text on each card) from the Practicing Pragmatics Fun Deck®. You would then select the card you want student to see, and have them answer social skill questions about Politeness, Solving Problems, Feelings, Giving Information, Requesting, Telephone Skills, and Staying on Topic. This is very important for special need students because some can speak and they should know there phone numbers and there addresses. Right now in our class we re teaching our kids there phone number and address and how to address an envelope. Also how to mail a letter. When to say please and thank you. When to speak and when not to speak. When to raise there hand and when not too. I also work with a young lady that is blind and she has a talker and when I ask her a question she will answer me yes or no.

4. Measurement HD
Mathomatix: Measurement
This is my favorite because it teaches them math it introduces them to basic concepts of measurements such as weight, volume and length. This learning apps is full is bright colors and cheerful graphics and fun activities that the kids are going to love.
This app comes with five activities that each teaches a measurement concept.
Crazy Clock: A friendly voice announces the time and all you do is to move the minute hand of a cute clock to set the correct time. Kids will get lots of practice learning to associate time with familiar activities in their day.
Scale Tale: This activity introduces kids to the concept of weight. An adorable one-eyed monster teaches kids this concept by holding two items and allowing them to guess which item is heavier or lighter. Is a pineapple heavier or lighter than a cup cake? Is a head of cabbage heavier or lighter than a strawberry? Familiar objects help kids learn the concept easily.
Fill Me Up: If you had to teach the concept of volume at home you are sure to have a mess all over the floor. Instead, Fill Me Up allows you to teach this concept through easy exercises such as filling pitchers with liquids or jars with cookies minus the mess.
Long and Short: Crayons, buses, park benches are all some of the familiar objects in a kid’s life. And these can be found in this activity as objects of comparison to learn the concept of length. This game presents two objects of different lengths. Simply tap on the one that is longer or shorter.
Action Months:This game introduces the basics of duration of time through a simple drag and drop activity to fill in the letters of the months. Special need students can practice the names of the months.
I personally love this one because my children in my class love working on all of these objects and I am hoping that one day my children in our class will receive an IPad of there own. So that they to will get the privileged to learn like all the other children.

Project 9b All About the Apple Computers from 1976-2008

Project 10 Personal Learning Network

Once I figured out how to use Symbaloo I never wanted to stop using  it. I learned how to make my own icon with the website of my choice, which is really helpful. I watched a few videos on other PLN's and it was interesting to me. I think it would be awesome for my future students to have PLN's to help them with their classwork. I will definitely be using my PLN for other classes now and in my future. Thank you for introducing me to these new ideas. They are going to be very helpful.                                

 

C4K Summary Post Oct

Semi Finals - All Blacks vs Australia was the first class that I commented on by Room 3 Point View School. It was a pretty cool looking picture on there web page cause they had different hair do's. And they were imitating the players. It was pretty cool. They had posted a comment that there was a game on that night against the All Blacks and the Rugby World Cup which was the toughest Australian team ever.

And then this is what I had commented....
My name is Vicki Nelson I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. You kids look awesome in those pictures. What are the All Blacks and what do they play is it a soccer game of some sort. I love the way you made your different hair do's. They looked Awesome. So can you tell me who ended up winning the All Blacks or the Australia's.

My next class I commented on was in two parts the first part was on a girl name Sydnie in Mrs. Gregory Class that loves Science and the topic of her blog was What makes Lightning Bugs. That day in science class they had discussed things they don’t know about. They had decided to look up what makes a lightning bug glow. And here is what they found out about the lightning bug. Lightning bugs are beetles that carry a special chemical inside of there abdomen. When the lightning bug breathes (oxygen) the air and chemical combine and make a light. That light is used to attract mates, when the male sees a female (lightning bug) the male flashes his light. After that the female flashes her light, this tells the male lightning bug where the female lightning bug is. Then they asked if we thought lightning bugs were interesting bug? Why or Why not?

My comment was...
Hi my name is Vicki Nelson I am in EDM310 in the University of South Alabama. And I was reading your story on what makes lightning bugs glow. And it was very interesting I didn’t know that about that lightning bugs. I do think that lightning bugs are interesting. I have property near the river and when it is dark out side my kids like to catch them. We like to put them in a little jar and see how long they will glow. Well it was really nice talking to you I will have to come back again and see what other kind of science stuff you come up with.

The second part to the was on a girl named Paige in Mrs Gregory Class that was talking about Teens Against Bullying. She wrote on her blog where they started a Group called (TAB)Teens Against Bullying. And that they meet every Tuesday. They talk about how they can prevent bullying. I believe they have different group because she is in a group called the crimson group. The following Tuesday they were going to have a contest to see who had the most members wear there group color. She also stated that TAB was a place where people could speak up for there self if someone is bullying them. She couldn't wait for the first meeting to come up.

My comment was...
My name is Vicki Nelson I am a student from the University of South Alabama. I am so proud that you all started Teens Against Bullying. Because bullying is so wrong. People’s feels get hurt when other people talk about them and it isn’t fun. There are some mean people in this world and they should be punished. So I am so happy that you are on the right side of it. Well it was nice talking to you. Keep up the good work.

The next student I commented on was a little girl named Karla in Mr C's Grade 8th 6th Hour and the name of her blog was called My Story. She started of by saying that there once was a girl named Yengshi and Alex. And in her story they decide to go to a spooky house. But they didn't know that the house was located in the cemetery. As they were walking threw the cemetery they felt something behind them when they turned around someone hit them in the face with a stick. The next morning they woke up and they were in a room that was dark. They got scared because they were tied up against poles after that day they were never found again!!!!

My comment to that was....
HI MY NAME IS VICKI NELSON I AM CURRENTLY GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA.AND YOUR STORY IS VERY INTERESTING. ARE YOU SCARED OF CEMETERIES. I WOULD NEVER GO THREW A CEMETERY IN THE DARK EVER CAUSE I AM SCARED OF THEM. I GUESS IT IS CAUSE I WATCHED ALL THOSE SCARY MOVIES WHEN I WAS YOUNG. WHEN YOU WROTE THIS STORY HAD YOU WATCHED A MOVIE OR JUST READ A SCARY BOOK. IS THAT WHAT BROUGHT IT TO YOUR ATTENTION. WELL IT WAS VERY NICE TALKING TO YOU. KEEP WRITING IT BRIGHTENS YOUR MIND.

My last student of the month I commented on was Zane from Rm 9 @ Pt England School and the name of his blog was called Zane's NZ Animation. Zane had drawn a picture of a picture of a landmark found in New Zealand. And we were suppose to guess what it was. He shared with us a little part of a video on what he knows about it. And we were suppose to leave a comment about something we know about it.

This was my comment....
Hi Zane , My name is Vicki Nelson and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I just wanted to tell you that I loved your drawing of the Cathedral Square. It was beautiful. I am so sorry that it got damaged by the earthquake. I hope that no one got hurt. I hate earthquakes. We don't have them where I live. I live near the Gulf of Mexico, however we do have hurricanes. and they are bad but we don't have them every year either. So that is a plus. I also noticed that you won in your cross country race. I am so happy for you keep up the good work. Well it was really nice talking to you I will checking in with you later and see if you have drawn anymore pictures.

Blog Post 11

After watching the videos about Ms. Cassidy's class being involved with technology, I am very motivated to do the same with my classroom. I loved seeing the different ways that technology was used in her classroom. Her students looked like they really enjoyed learning because they were able to do their work on the computer or the smart board. They mentioned in the video that they loved writing in there blogs because it helped them with their writing and sight words. I believe that it is very important for students to enjoy learning so they will never get bored or tired of doing the same thing every single day. Technology has so many different ways for you to learn and have fun at it. I can see myself having a class web page and allowing my future students to access it and play games or learn about material that will help them in my classroom. I love the fact that in Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy she mentioned that she uses her students' class blogs as a portfolio of their work. The children also mentioned that they loved self learning. They would get on books, work on there sight words,and also the alphabet. They said that they work with the wikis working with traditions and rituals to get all of there information. They even had fun learning the alphabet song they the Alabama group. And what kids wouldn't like to bring there Nintendo DS to school and not get in trouble as long as they could play it. I love the fact that parents can go on the student's blog at any time and see the progress that is being made by there children. I cannot agree more with Ms. Cassidy on the fact that technology will never go away. Like she said in the interview, we cannot teach the students with the same kind of materials that were used several years ago because so much has changed.

As a future teacher, I plan to incorporate technology everyday in my classroom. Like I said earlier, I plan to have a web page for my classroom where I will have links and games for the students to broaden there minds. I also plan to allow students to use the smart board as well. Students love being able to play with technology and they see it as a treat. If learning on the smart board motivates them to pay attention in class, I am all for it! Students that have ADD or ADHD I think this would be a great thing for them because as long as they are moving around and staying busy they are never bored. As Ms. Cassidy explained, safety on the internet is a very important matter. I will most definitely teach my students the importants' of staying safe on the internet. And never putting there picture nor there last name. I will also make sure that I send home a letter to every parent asking for their permission for their child's work to be posted on their blog. I will make sure that all of my students have blogs because I like the fact that colleges like us comment and put smiles and these children's faces. I also agree with Ms Cassidy that every teacher should know something about technology because it is our future. I have learned several different approaches to using technology in my classroom by watching the videos of Ms. Cassidy.

Blog Post 10

After watching the video Do you Teach or Do you Educate? I felt very inspired to educate rather than just teach. I loved the the words that were used in the video. An educator is someone who provides his or her students with instruction. Teachers often just teach the materials needed just to get through the day. In the video they define the word educate as to explain, encourage, give information, give instruction, and help them learn and understand. As a future educator, I plan to work with my students in the areas needed. I must guide them and mentor them instead of pushing them to another teacher. I believe that teachers/educators are much more than that because in some cases certain students do not have the right guidance at home as they should. Peter Brougham said it just right and I quote" Education makes a person easy to lead but difficult to drive, easy to govern but impossible to enslave." When you educate someone the right way and they will hold all the information all in but if you don't then they won't. Just know what you are doing and try and do it the right way because that is why we are all going to school for to lear the correct way to do it.

I really enjoyed reading the blog post, Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home! After reading through the other blog posts and after reading former EDM 310 students' blogs I came to the conclusion there was a war between the pencils and the computers. I find it funny that the man thought computers were lowing test scores. Some people don't exactly understand how helpful technology really is. Johnson goes on the explain that low-income areas believe that computers are used for fun and games rather than educational things because they were never taught how to use it. Johnson explains that he has met with the parents to teach them how to use the computers and when the students go home they have fun projects to keep them interested. I also believe that you should use computers but that you should also use pencils too. Never forget they were here first and they will always be here. Just because you have computers doesn't mean that you should put your pencil down. There are so many other things that you can do with it to that you can't do with a computer. Computers are our future however don't forget about pencils because what would you write with if there wasn't a computer their. You can't sign a check with a computer. You can't sign legal documents with a computer. I do believe that technology is very important to learn at a young age. Especially in today's society. And that some people of previous generations do not understand the importance of technology, like Gertrude, the School Curriculum Instructional Interventionist Academic Specialist. I think it is important for not only educators to understand technology but parents as well. Mr. Johnson's idea of having a program for the parents was and excellent one. As a future teacher I plan to incorporate technology in my everyday lesson plans.

Summary Post C4T Teacher #3

On October 21 I commented on The Parent's View, the first one I commented on was about Requirements, Requirements, Requirements. And the No Child Left Behind Act. Mrs. Martha explains how teachers are taken for granted. No one really realizes how much work teachers have to do and what guidelines they have to follow. She then goes on and talks about what the states requires of the teachers. All states have there own course of study which teachers have to follow and if they don't then they will get fired. Yes that is what she said they will get fired can you believe that. She then talks about a pacing system that is required that you have to follow. That doesn't really make since because you teach these kids the information so fast that they don't even have time to understand the information. Then she went on talking about Grants. When you receive a grant they to have requirement that you have to meet. With grants they come with a pacing guide and requirement, however may not meet state standards. So then the teacher has to figure out what is missing and fill in the blanks so that both the grant and state standards all met.
She then talks about classrooms that are all mixed up with special ed students and general ed student all in one class. And the state requires the teacher to get the test done by the deadline whether there is general ed or special ed in the class. So then she talks about how you should really thank your child's teacher every day because they really do a lot for your kids. Don't wait for teacher appreciation day do it just because.

This is what she quoted:
"Student teachers if you are not proactive and extremely organized go ahead and choose another career because this one is not for you."

This was my comment to her on Oct 21.

MY NAME IS VICKI NELSON I AM CURRENTLY GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA. I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU THANK YOU. YOU ARE SO RIGHT EVERY TEACHER DOES DESERVE TO BE PUT ON A PEDESTAL BECAUSE I KNOW I HAVE BEEN WORKING IN A SCHOOL SETTING FOR THE PAST 7 YEARS AND ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO DECIDED THAT I WANTED TO GO BACK AND GET A TEACHING DEGREE. SO I DO KNOW HOW HARD THEY WORK. AND HOW MUCH THEY DO. I THANK THEM EVERYDAY THAT I SEE THEM WHEN I SEE THEM AND WHEN I CAN BECAUSE WHEN I BECOME A TEACHER I WOULD LIKE THE SAME IN RETURN. SO AS YOU CAN TELL I CAN REALLY TELL WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. IF I COULD TALK TO EVERY PARENT OUT THERE I WOULD TOO. BECAUSE THEY SHOULD KNOW HOW HARD THE TEACHERS WORK FOR THERE KIDS. WELL IT WAS REALLY NICE TALKING TO YOU.

On Oct 30th I commente on another one of Martha's story's where she wrote about Charter Schools.
She was saying that is was the answer to our country's education problems? A little further down she wrote no not really. She said that a lot of people have been watching the "Waiting for Superman" documentary and I guess from that movie have come to that conclusion that Charter Schools were better. It should them that children that put their future only in Charter Schools was a high level view. In the video the only school that was viewed apparently was a Charter School and all the children in the video lived near it. Martha also told us from the documentary that not all Charter Schools are wonderful because in the video it told her that. She then say that we need to open our minds our children and families are simply seeking schools that will educate their children. MArtha explains that people are simple escaping a failing school and for others it is to get into a school that does not track them based on information and allows them the same opportunity for education as it does everyone in the school. She then goes on by saying that there are people out there that are looking for Charter Schools and thinking that they are good schools but in all reality all schools are the same. It is just like the lottery. You just have to pick and choice and hope that you pick the right one for your child. Just because one is expensive doesn't mean that it is the best one for you.

And this is where I commented on it on Oct 30th .


Hi Martha! I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr Strange's EDM310 class. I was assigned to your blog this week. And I was reading this it was very interesting to me because I have three boy of my own and there education is very important to me. Along with there safety. However where my kids go to school and it is a public school it isn't all that bad they have good teachers and it is very safe. My boys never get in to fights and never cause fights so I am not worried about that I know that them are going to get there education. One school my be more expensive then the other but I don't know about better then the other because we have good teachers every where. And hopefully more to come. I too agree that the definition to a good school is where the students and teachers work together.

My comment will be posted on my blog, if you would like to look at it. nelsonvickiedm310.blogspot.com

Blog Post #9

I really enjoyed reading the blog post What I've Learned This Year (09). Mr. Joe McClung explained in his post that he learned seven major things in his first year teaching.
1.) How to Read the Crowd-You have to be able to listen to the students in order to teach them.
2.) Be Flexible-When I read this part I realized that I am going to have to be very flexible with my students. And try not to lose my temper when things are going just right.
3.) Communicate-We should always communicate with our students it always works better that way.
4.) Be Reasonable-We should always encourage students never put them down.
5.) Don't be Afraid of Technology-Because technology is always there to help you.
6.) Listen to Your Students-It is always important to listen to your students because if you have the respect of your students then they have respect for you.
7.) Never Stop Learning-As the students are learning every day we also need to broaden our minds to more learning. Cause there are always more to learn and more to teach the kids.
I learned so much about being a "young and experienced teacher" from reading his post. During my first year of teaching I plan to follow Mr. McClung's words of advice to make me a better teacher.

Mr. McClung's second post What I Learned This Year (10) was about his second year of teaching in a new state and a new subject. He explained that he was defiantly out of his comfort zone but that teachers should adapt to their surroundings. He had to teach a whole new subject and curriculum and he had to adapt to his new school and subject. McClung decided that he had to find a way to make social studies interesting to the students. Because he really didn't know much about it so he did some research and figured out some different and exciting ways to teach it.  He goes on to explain that when someone first becomes a teacher they should find a "school momma" which is someone that has been there longer and could help you through the tough times. Joe McClung states that he learned to leave his ego at the door and that other teachers should too. Also, he explains to teachers not to lose sight of what really matters. That the longer you teach the more you learn yourself. The more new ideas you learn to teach the kids. He explains that every year will get easier because you will start learning new things and teaching new things.
Joe McClung's last post was What I learned This Year (11). This year has been the first year that he has taught at the same school for more than one year and it has brought more change into his life. He explains that he is a coach of the cross-country team and he is also the computer applications teacher. Once again, McClung goes through the things/lessons that he has learned throughout the year.
1.) Know Who Your Boss Is-We should always leave are personal live at home and be professional at school and make sure you keep the students first.
2.) Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are-Here he is trying to tell you that you need to be strong in your faith of education. And try not to let anyone talk you down or bring you down to where you think there could never be any changes because there can always be changes.
3.) Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider-He explains that you shouldn't worry about being an outsider. It is good to have a relationship with your students where they can trust you, rely on you, and depend on you. Every teacher should have a relationship with their students so that they can depend on them.
4.) Don't Touch the Keyboard- This telling us if we do the work for the students then they are not learning the skills and will then never master them.
5.) Don't get Comfortable-Never get comfortable in one place and don't start a routine. Because when you start a routine you end up doing the same thing every day at the same time every day. But the way that he said was you should join new clubs so that you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands. If you don't have spare time then you don't have time to do the same thing over and over again.                                                                                                                                                          
 I can honestly say that I enjoyed reading Joe McClung's blog posts. Like McClung, I plan to have an open mind and learn every single year that I am a teacher. I am excited to see the challenges that I face and the changes that will happen throughout my years as a teacher.

PROJECT #13 SMART BASICS BY CHARTRES CATHEDRALS

Blog Post 8

After watching This Is How We Dream Parts 1, I realize that the web is so much more helpful in finding information. Mr. Miller explains that all of his projects that he worked on were written with multi-media. He was able to quickly find information about our government rather than searching for it in a book or library. I believe that I am prepared to write in multi-media and that EDM 310 is helping me tremendously with it. If it wasn’t for this class I wouldn't know this much already.  Thank you so much Dr Strange.  I plan to teach my future students the importance of writing in multi-media because it will be their future also.

In the video This Is How We Dream Part 2, Mr. Miller discusses the different ways to write in multi-media. The information is updated instantly right before your eyes. Miller explains that there are people who make visual representation of a certain subject and how they collect the data to compose it. iTunes U is another wonderful thing that is available . Miller thinks that there will be a time that students will not only compose their information on word processor, but on "digital composing material". He explains that his publication was distributed through YouTube and within three months it was all over the web. If he would have just written and sent it off it wouldn't have come out until at least two years later. Miller states that this is a way to push ideas into our culture and we should all want to do that. He ends the video by talking about his dream to build a building into the building that he teaches in the building would bring together the best of the sciences and the best of the humanities.

I am willing to learn more about ways to write in multi-media and how to be better at it. As a teacher, that I hope I will be great at one day will be teaching my students how to be technologically advanced, I believe that it will be important to teach my students all about multi-media. I am eager to learn more about technology and what I can use in my classroom. This, I believe, will make me a better teacher.

Carly's Post

 I believe that Carly does an excellent job at writing her blog post she is a creative and smart young lady. I loved her videos.  I also think that her idea of an assignment was quite interesting but time consuming. It fits Mr. Miller's hopes of writing in multi-media because everything assigned is through multi-media. It let the students explore the media by using other "digital composing material". It is a wonderful idea because it makes you look internally at what you want and how you want to help those students who you will have in your classroom. 

The Chipper Series /EDM310 For DUMMIES

I enjoyed both of these videos.  The first The Chipper Series was very cute. Procrastination is what a lot of people’s problems. I know that it is know of mine. With kids and work homework all was comes last. But I sure am trying to change that. And I see in the video Chipper learned her lesson too. The second video EDM310 for DUMMIES some days I wish there was a book. Because there are nights where I wish I could just open a book and it could talk me threw the steps. So I really sympathize with that video. 

Learn to Change, Change to Learn.
I have to agree with the arguments made in this video because I feel that "schools are like technology deprived." I can remember when I was in elementary school we only got to go to the computer lab once a week. It was a little disappointing because we all loved it so much. I believe that schools should incorporate all types of technology in the schools, starting in elementary.  If the federal system would stop taking the schools money I know that we would be able to have technology in all the schools. Computers and other technologies are such a part of children's lives. A statement made on the video”when you shut off a computer/cell phone you essentially shut off that student". It made me think that this is really true cause every kid now days have a phone or computer. It is really sad isn't it? 

Project #7 C4K Summary. 1

In my first C4K I wrote to a little girl in Mr.Wolfe's Class named PA2011 she took a trip to Disney World and loved it and was talking about a talking trash can. I had told her that I had three little boys and they love going to Disney World too.I also asked her if there where any other rides there that she liked going on. She also responded back to me and said yes she did, however she did name any.

My second C4K I wrote to a little girl in Mr Wolfe's Class named CJ2011 she was talking about her little sister. How much she loved and cared for her. And how her sister wants to be a cheer leader just like her. I responded to her that I have two sisters my self and that I love them dearly that you always need your family. I also had read how she loves plants and I told her that I love plants too but I always kill them because I forget to water them . I had told her that I believed that her sister would be a great student as long as she followed in her long sisters footsteps. She wrote me back and she said that she hoped that her sister followed in her footsteps too. I also was read on her page and she wrote a post to the students of the University of South Alabama that she really loved all the kind words. And she was thanking us a lot. I wrote her back and told her that she was so very welcomed.


My third C4K I wrote to St Elmo's Elementary School. I told them that I was a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. And that  I so happy to so that Ms Lucy gave the students  the opportunity to explore with the IPads. It is a wonderful thing that the children are already exploring the internet, and are getting a head start on their careers in technology.

Then I wrote to Hunter and I told him I was a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. And that  I read his  post to Ms. Lucy and it was inspiring. I told him that he was such a lucky student to be able to have the chance to explore on the IPAD. And he told me that he loved going on exciting field trip. So I reiterated for him to continue the good work.

My Fourth C4K I wrote to EM she is a little girl that was talking about wanting to go to Japan. She had a teacher one time that was from Japan and she wants to go there now. She also wanted to learn how to sing and dance like the Japanese do. I wrote her and and tole her that I had never been to Japan but that I would love to go. I also told her that I lived in Foley Alabama near the Gulf of Mexico. I told her that the only place I had been out of state is Mexico. But that I would love to visit Japan . And that I have a sister that lives in Alaska and that I would love to go there to. I ask her if that would be one place she would like to go. She wrote me back and said that she would love to go to Alaska the it would be fun to build snow mans, and have snow ball fights.  Then she asked me what Alabama is like because she has never been here either.I wrote her back and told her that there was a lot of stuff to do here like shop, swim, go to the beach, the water parks, and anything that you could think of. Well that is my summary Dr Strange I hope that is what we wanted.

Blog Post #6

The video The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler explains that a student who attends 21st Century High School three days a week and online the other two days of the week. The student has no textbook and must research information on his topic of American Psychology. His teacher believes in connectivism which allows them to connect with other students through social media. Which is very helpful because when students self teach their self, they are getting ready to learning it.

The question "why does the networked student even need a teacher?" was asked at the end of the video. The video goes on to explain that the teacher is there to help the student build a network and explain how to use it. The teacher is also there for guidance when the student gets stuck and teaches the students how to communicate properly. You can learn to ask respectfully for help from experts, how to differentiate between good and bad, and vent a resource. Last but not least, the teacher explains to the students how to turn web search into a scavenger hunt.

As I was watching this video I began to think how very help teacher are when you need them. The video explained exactly why a networked student does need a teacher. For example, the student wouldn't know the proper rules for web searching if it wasn't for having a teacher on the side. I believe that there should be more classes like this in high school and even in middle schools. It would prepare students for future schooling and jobs. Because I know if it wasn't for Dr Strange and his peer helpers I wouldn't know what I was doing at all. I believe that I am ready to teach children about web search and show them the potential that they have.

Wendy also feels very confident that this will work as long as she has the help of other teachers and peer helpers. She understands that it is going to be a challenge but she knows it is going to work.

After watching the video, A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment,I believe that every school should allow the classes to be like the one in the this video. There are many pros and cons about having a class online. But more pros. It would teach students to be very organized and creative. Having a class online allows students to express their creativity more than doing busy book work. It also is helpful to have everything you need for the class right in their computer. I am very excited to learn more about technology and the way that I can use it in my classroom.

Project # 8 Podcast

Project 9a

Project #3 C4T #2 Summary

 World Trade Center and Pentagon Terrorist Attacks, 2009 Update

As I read this it makes me tear up, because it makes it all real all over again. It was just yesterday that the twin towers were here and now they are gone. And all the people that lost their lives. I am very sorry it wasn't very clear if you lost your brother in this. However if I would have received a letter like this from my brother two days after wards it would give me chills. I am scared every day that something like this is going to happen again. I hope that the president finally has all of this under control. However I really don't think so, because he hasn't really fixed anything for us, but make everything worse. But all in all I am very sorry if you lost your brother because this could have been prevented somehow I think.