Goodbye For Now!

Well, as odd as this feels for me, this is my last blog of the semester. This class has been a great asset to my education. I feel like I have learned quite a bit about technology and I have developed my own life plan for my teaching career. In this class I have learned how important it is to integrate technology into the learning process. The tools that Dr. Strange and Mr. Sullivan have shared with me are great tools that aren’t tough to use if you try to figure them out. I find myself wanting to learn more and more and I think young students will feel that way too. I hope that you have read my posts and learned some of my feelings and thoughts on technology in the classroom.

I hope to be starting a new blog for the rest of my college career and my teaching career and I hope that you will visit that blog as well! Whenever I do create this blog, I will share a link. For now, I must say goodbye. I’ve enjoyed this time with you, class! Talk to you soon.

The Final Blog Assignment

1.
The list of what I have learned:
1. Google Docs and Google itself- I always just thought of Google as a search engine and where I received email, but it is so much more than that! Google docs and all that Google has to offer is awesome. I love to explore iGoogle.
2. PLN’s- My Personal Learning Network is really cool and I enjoy going through it. I mostly use Twitter, but I enjoy the websites and links that I have discovered.
3. Google Earth- The Google Earth tour confused me at first, but once I figured it out it became a fun tool to use.
4. Screen Jelly- I love this website. Screen Jelly is so cool and a quick way to show people exactly how to perform a task online.
5. How I can use technology in the schools- I won’t keep going on a list because it would be too long. Podcasts, Twitter, Videocasts, Wikis, and so many more things were used to learn in this class. I enjoyed it and if there was an EDM 310 pt. 2 I would probably take it. I know there has to be things that I did not hear about in this class, but now I know how to find these things myself.

2.
I don’t think I know of anything else I would have wanted to learn in this class. I’m sure if I thought about it, I would figure something out. I would have loved to see more Skype sessions and create more things for the class, but I know that would take up more time that a lot of people don’t have. I think this class is great how it is.

3.
I don’t see anything as not useful. I think all of the tools are very useful! I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to use these tools because the tools can help make teaching a lot easier and more fun. I like the organization tools and tools that allow teachers to share what their students are doing with the world.

4.
I found this class to be exciting! I will admit, at first I was very overwhelmed. The list of things we had to do looked so large because I had no idea what the tools that we were going to use were. The only thing I knew before this class was Gmail and Skype. Once I told myself to just dive in and get started, I got into the projects and the learning experience. I found all these new tools exciting and fun and I found myself sharing my projects with my friends and family. I’m proud of the work I’ve done for this class!

5.
I think some of the videos and blogs we read were “intellectually challenging”. Not challenging as in difficult, but challenging as in they made me think harder than I normally would when I read blogs. I was actually forming my own opinions and ideas through these blogs and videos and that was cool to me.

6.
I was never bored in the class. I was always working on something so I was busy. I think the workload was a good one and the things we have been learning are things that we can use everyday. If students would take that seriously then they would not be bored at all.

7.
I think it would be cool to have a Mac workshop during the course, but I also know that not everyone has a Mac so that isn’t really possible. Workshops outside of class time are normally missed because of work or other responsibilities. I would have liked to learn more programs to use in the classroom. I really would have liked a Smart Board lesson too. Even though I have seen people use Smart Boards, I don’t know how to use one and that would be good to know. I don’t feel overworked in EDM 310. I did my work ahead of time most of the time and it helped me to stay on track.

8.
I think I’m Technologically Literate at the moment. I’m not great, but I think I’m good and I’m continuing to grow. The more I explore the web, the better things get. I will probably never be amazingly Technologically Literate, but I’m going to try my best. I would like to be a media specialist after teaching for a while, so I’m going to have to keep my technology knowledge up.

9.
I will continue to grow my PLN as I go through school and continue to learn and use new web tools. I want to keep a blog and continue to share my ideas and thoughts throughout my college and teaching career. I hope that I will be a good teacher and that I will be able to use as much technology as possible in my classroom. I want my students to be prepared for the future.

My Professional Blog

I'm beginning work on my professional blog. If you would like to visit, go to this link!

Project 15: Lauren and I Interview Mr. Sullivan

Project 8: Teaching Screenjelly.com and Google Earth

My Second PLN Report

Earlier during the semester I wrote about my PLN. My main use of my PLN is Twitter. I do not update my tweets often, but I do get on Twitter and read what other teachers have to say. I have had conversations on Direct Messages with other teachers from around the world which is very neat! I've enjoyed reading Mr. Needleman's tweets because he puts up a lot of great cartoons and articles. I have many websites that I consider a part of my PLN. I really enjoy using Education World and PE Central because they have been so useful to me during classes. I have a few teachers through the Semmes area that I would consider a part of my PLN. Mrs. Stephanie Estes created 4 Semmes Kids and I have been observing her for the past year. We e-chat often and I enjoy her ideas and the information she has given me. I will continue to grow my PLN over the next few years and maybe by the time I'm a teacher, I will be a part of someone else's PLN.

Substantive Presentation: Why Blogging in the Classroom is Useful

My Google Earth Presentation

In my Google Earth tour, I take you to some places that I like!
It starts in Vail, Colorado when you see the first screen and then it flies to Disney World, after that you'll see Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves! The last place is Atlantis in the Bahamas. I haven't actually been, but I would love to go.
Hope you enjoy!

April 25th Assignment

A 7th Grader's PLE
This video really surprised me. The 7th grader had an awesome Personal Learning Environment, why am I still having trouble developing mine? I have twitter, facebook, delicious, and a great website called The Educator's PLN that I like to use, but mine isn't set up quite as neatly as this girl's is. I'm going to check into Symbaloo because it looked like a great organization website. The screenflow was used very well. I also liked seeing her use of the website Evernote. You can save all types of text and it's a great website. Overall, her PLE definitely inspired me to keep growing my own PLE.

Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
The two questions asked in this video were written by Daniel Pink, author of 'Drive'. The first question was, "What is your sentence?" It gives a lot of examples of what famous people's sentences could have been and wants you to think of your own sentence. To be honest, I can't think of a sentence for myself right now. I think further along in my education I will be able to develop a better idea of my goals for my life. For right now I will say that my sentence would be, "She did the best she could to change students lives for the better." The second question Mr. Pink asks was, "Was I better today than yesterday?" I think this is a great question to ask yourself because it will make you strive to be your best each day. I worked really hard on projects yesterday and today I am just sitting at work, so I can't say that I'm better today that I was yesterday. Everyday is different I suppose! I think that every teacher should ask themselves these questions each day for inspiration.

My TimeToast Timeline

I really enjoyed making my Timetoast Timeline even though it took quite a while. It is a great timeline tool and I believe it is much more organized that the board timelines we make for other classes. I did my timeline on a hero of mine, Walt Disney. I hope you enjoy!

April 18th Assignment

Our assignment this week is to think of something from EDM 310 that we worked on and write thoughts and feelings about it. My favorite thing that I've done in this class has been commenting children from around the world on their blogs. I just think that it is awesome to have an influence on a child just by writing a short comment on every one of their blogs. Now I know we cannot get to every child's blog, but I think each child should have one person say something special about the work they have done on their blog. Not only does it encourage the child to blog more often, but it also encourages the child to work harder and learn more. I know when I get comments on my blog I feel encouraged and it makes me want to write more often. I even get excited when I see I have a new post on facebook as odd as that may seem. I know children feel the same way and they must get excited when they see a new post on their wall.

I think that when I leave this class, my main goal is going to be keeping up with other class blogs. I want a class blog for my classroom and I would love to have college students comment on the posts each week. How encouraging! I have created a Wordle describing my feelings towards children's blogs and I would love to know your feelings.

Comments4Kids Assignment (Week 14) and Vocaroo

I had a new way to comment on my Comments4Kids assignment this week. I was able to use Vocaroo which was such a cool audio recording tool. I commented on Ryland's Blog from Kathy Cassidy's class. They are just learning to read and write so I thought it would be neat to write Ryland a note and leave him something to listen to. He wrote about riding bikes with his family and his dog. I think he is doing a great job writing his words out and I am sure writing on the blog helps improve writing and spelling skills. If you would like to listen to my Vocaroo, here it is:



You can create your own by going toVocaroo's website.

Comments4Teachers Weeks 13 and 14

The past two weeks I have been reading Jason Schrage's blog, Connections. I really enjoyed all of the information and ideas he has posted on his blog. He uses Google Docs and Youtube videos a lot in his posts, but most every time he is the one who has created those tools. He has great links on his blog and shares many awesome strategies for teaching! There haven't been many updates lately, but I would really encourage you to check it out.

Week 13
Hi Jason,
My name is Amber Fleming and I am in the EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. (http://edm310.blogspot.com) I love the PD Presentation idea especially with the use of visual tweets. I have seen that program used in a local debate and I thought it was neat. I hope to develop some good ideas about PD's in the future and I would like to read other teachers' opinions. Your Google Docs slideshow was great as well.
I will be following this blog for my class and I would love if you would visit mine.
I hope you have a wonderful week,
Amber Fleming
http://flemingamberedm310.blogspot.com


Week 14
I really love science centers and think that the fact that high school students were able to help the younger children learn is awesome. That not only rewards the older students since they know they have helped a child learn, it gives the younger kids inspiration and someone to look up to. I think the young children experiencing the older teens helping out will influence those younger children to help out more in the future.
In Mobile, we have a science museum called the Exploreum and they have great exhibits and events. The children are able to go to classes there and local college and high school children can volunteer and work there. It amazes me that they were able to put on such a great event at the local elementary school. I think that is awesome and should be encouraged. I think the video of your son learning was awesome as well.
Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m a student at the University of South Alabama and I was required to read your blog for my EDM 310 blog. If you would like to drop by, you can visit:
http://flemingamberedm310.blogspot.com
Have a wonderful week,
Amber Fleming

April 11th Assignment

Don't Be a Zax and PS 22

It is very important for students to post work on their blogs every week. I think the beginning of a child's learning experience involves them learning to work on their own. At young ages they will need help, but as children get older they should learn to do things on their own. If children do not start doing work on their own at young ages, they will more than likely become Zax's at an older age. If you do not know what a Zax is, watch this video. A Zax is a person who does something one way and does not change. Children need to learn that yes, they can turn things in the old school way on paper, but some things should be posted online and in creative ways. Videos, pictures, drawings, and paragraphs are all fun ways for the children to share things in their blogs. Here are a few examples of things I've seen throughout this semester:

The PS 22 Video
This is a great example of a creative student post. The children's voices are inspiring! I think it was beautiful and I am so glad they shared it with the world.

Room 9 Blog
There are so many blogs from the Pt. England school in Auckland, New Zealand. I love all of the blogs, but I have been enjoying this one a lot. They have great videos and posts from each student and all of the students are learning great things through technology.

Kaia and Skyelar
I think this blog is so sweet. Their father runs and moderates the blog, but at a very early age Kaia is learning how blogs work and she helps create things for the blog. I love reading the posts for this website and I visit regularly.

Team One Blog
Team One is also from Pt. England, but they are younger students that don't use as many videos. They have pictures they have made online each week and they are all so sweet! You should definitely go look.

180 Days of Kindergarten
This is my favorite of all the websites I have commented on. Each day is made into a blog post and pictures and videos from the day are included. The kindergarteners have so much fun and I love to read about their day!

These are just a few things that students have done on blogs. Definitely check them out!

How I Use Skype

I've been using Skype for quite a long time, but I think it is the best video chatting program on the internet. Having my father overseas for a year was tough and Skype made it so much easier. All holidays were spent with the computer hooked up to Skype and we were able to feel closer because of the program. I have used it this semester to get in contact with family and friends that I do not get to see or talk to regularly. My cousins live in Tennessee and we talk weekly through Skype. I was also able to skype some of my friends from class for help with assignments! I liked the fact that my teachers were available to chat with as well. I was able to talk to different people and be in a class when I was sick in bed. It wasn't pretty, but it happened. I enjoy Skype very much and would tell anyone to use this program since it is so easy to learn.

My Survey Results

I sent out a survey last month about the use of technology in the classroom. Only 2 out of 63 people said that they do not think that technology should be used in the classroom. Most people are very interested in using technology in their classrooms. There were many different forms of technology that people said that they would use although some said they would only use a Smart Board. There were mixed feelings about children using blogs in the classroom. Most people said that children should use blogs, some of those said there should be limited access to the blog, and only 2 people said that children should not use blogs. A lot of people want to use the Smart Boards in the classroom. One third of the class feels ready to use a Smart Board, a large majority wants to use the Smart Board although they still have to figure it out, and the remaining people do not like Smart Boards. Most people have not decided if they would use podcasts for their classroom. The other part of the class is split in half between knowing they want to podcast in their classroom and knowing they do not want to podcast in their classroom. This survey was very eye opening for me and it was interesting to see into the minds of the future teachers.

Here is a link for my results if you are interested in reading them.
Click here!

Comments4Kids Assignment (Week 13)

I visited Pt. England's Room 14 Blog this week. I commented on Turuhira's blog! She wrote about roller blading and also had a video on her blog of the children roller blading. It looked like so much fun. I told Turuhira that I enjoyed roller blading as well and that roller blading is very good for you. It is awesome cardio excercise. I enjoyed the Pt. England Room 14 blog and would suggest for others to visit.

April 4th Assignment

Kaia and Mr. Chamberlain’s Class

If I was a parent, I would not have put pictures or sound bites of my child online for everyone to see. Reading Mr. Raisdana’s blog changed my mind a little bit and made me see his point of view. He was also a nervous parent after seeing how many people saw his daughter’s post and the fact that these people were in a different country and time zone. He saw the educational power of the response though and the good effects definitely outweigh the bad effects. This also helps me to realize that I am not the only overprotective person and I will have to show parents in my classroom the benefits of online learning. Kids should not suffer because of parents being too scared of new experiences. Parents and teachers should keep the children's information safe and still let the students experience online learning. This blog would be a great reference point for parents to know what is going on in early childhood online learning.

I watched Kaia’s photo essay and the video that Mr. Chamberlain’s class made for her. I thought it was great that Kaia could hear her comments instead of looking at a blob of words that she did not even recognize. I really liked the digital book version of the video since the sound came on every time the page turned. The class did a great job expressing their thoughts through comments and the video and it is awesome that they were able to make that connection from Missouri to Doha, Qatar. This is the thing I want to happen in my classroom. I want my students to experience other people and places through the internet and gain that learning experience. These videos and blogs were awesome to read and see and I will be using these as examples of a great web learning experience.

Comments4Teachers Weeks 10 and 12 (there was no week 11)

I visited the blog It's Elementary, My Dear Readers the past few weeks. It is written by Dan Carver and I really enjoyed his thoughts! He had not updated his blog in a few weeks, but he talks about things that are actually happening in education primarily in Iowa. Here are my comments and links to the blogs. I highly recommend reading them.


Week 10
As a college student studying to be a teacher, it scares me to think that I will be evaluated by a test that my students will take. I want to be a good teacher and know that my students have mastered the information I teach in the class, but sometimes tests are overwhelming and students can't make perfect scores on every test. I think it is unfair to evaluate teacher by test scores. Some students are not good test takers, especially if they have not had a review on all of the aspects included on the test. Teachers need a fair evaluation.
Thank you for your views and opinions on this blog! I will be following the blog for the next few weeks for my EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I would love if you would visit my blog. http://flemingamberedm310.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful week,

Amber Fleming

Week 12
People in the government really do need to be more informed about the ways of education if they are going to make good decisions about the schools. They should ask people on the front lines what is going on and what would help them in the classroom before making major decisions instead of making decisions only to make themselves look good. I enjoy your blogs and I thank you for your thoughts.
I'm putting my comments on my class blog for EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama and I would love for you to visit my blog.
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Amber Fleming
http://flemingedm310.blogspot.com

Comments4Kids Assignment (Week 12 there was no Week 11))

Today I visited the Pt. England 5 Year Old's blog. I enjoyed all of the pictures I saw. I commented on a child named Henry's blog. He drew a picture of his brother playing outside in the pretty sunshine. I thought Henry was a great artist and did a very good job on his blog. I hope to have students like Henry in my class one day.