Marie Allgood's EDM 310 Class Blog

Summary Post C4K #1 & #2

2010-10-01T18:30:00.003-05:00

My C4K assignment was ColbyC. He is in the eighth grade and seems to be a very interesting kid. He enjoys fishing, camping, and video games. Of course his parents want him to be a doctor. He really wants to work in the entertainment or military professions. While reading his learning manifesto I realized he would do great in this class. He divides time between his work, ask questions, organizes his work, and respects his teacher.

Podcast Project # 8

2010-09-30T11:20:00.000-05:00

The 3 Amigos Podcast about Three HIgh School Science Websites

Blog Assignment #5

2010-09-29T16:57:00.000-05:00

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

There are many benefits of podcasting in the classroom. This was a great blog to check out. I never put too much thought into what podcasting actually teaches the students. This makes for an effective way for the teacher and students to interact inside and outside of the classroom. If a student is absent this can help make sure that they do not get behind in their school work. The parents have a better advantage of seeing and hearing what their child has done in school lately also.
Students that are required to podcast have to be creative in their work. The students must use a higher order of thinking to complete their assignments. I think that podcasting can be a good thing for the students, teachers, and parents.

Langwitches

It takes a lot of skills to create a podcast. For students to work on a group podcast they must have collaboration skills. Students will learn and use communication, oral fluency, auditory, and technology skills. The students will learn and have to put into use many more skills as well.
I believe that podcasting is a valuable tool for the students to learn how to use. This class is the first class that I have ever had to have a blog. I didn’t even know how to create a blog or understand the purpose of one. I am amazed at the things students are learning in elementary school today. I am excited to have my own class with its own blog.

Judy Scharf Podcast Collection

This blog defined podcast as a broadcast and iPod. A podcast is radio style talk show that can include music. This is a very cheap tool that teachers can use in their classroom. It enables information to be shared with millions of people about any topic or subject. The blog gives you seven tips for a successful podcast. One tip that I like is letting the children pick their topic of interest. I believe if they are working on things they like then they will be more creative and put more time into it. I like the way the blog gives you a large list of ideas for podcast projects. I usually have a hard time coming up with the ideas.

Blog Assignment #4

2010-09-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

1. Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Dr. McLeod’s post was really funny and an eye opener to me. As a mother I have never been one that wanted my children in contact with cell phones or the internet. I was worried that they might see something that I didn’t think they should see. I see now that I should be teaching my children these things so that they will be able to survive in the new technology world.
Dr. Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa. He is recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues.

2. The iSchool Initiative
The student is telling us that his school district is having financial issues and he believes that he can help solve the problem. He says that a $150 itouch device would save every student $600 per year. He says that the student would not need to buy paper, pencils, textbooks, or any other such supplies. He talks about the different types of apps that are available. He says that the teacher and students can be available to each other at anytime.
I am not sure if I like this as an only way of school type of thing. Some people learn better with a book in their hand. I know that I do. I like to have hard copies of my supplies. I do not know how he plans to teach students how to write. I believe students should learn to write their names instead of just how to type.

3. The Lost Generation
I really liked the technique used here. She read the same words in one direction and then read it from the bottom up. I believe that we need to do something before people of this world think that their job is more important than their family.

4. Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir
Wow!! This is amazing. I think that it is awesome the way technology has grown. The performance must have taken a lot of practice and patience. I think that this is a wonderful thing to help bring different cultures together.

Blog Assignment # 3

2010-09-12T21:20:00.002-05:00

1. Micheal Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
I have recently started back to school, after an eight year leave, and I am lucky to say that I have only had one class with nearly two hundred students. It blew my mind the first day. I have been lucky with my other classes. Most of them have been in the education department and they seem to be more of a traditional class.
To make it a more accurate representation of my experience you could show people coming to class as tacky as possible and in their pajamas.

2.”It’s Not About the Technology” by Kelly Hines
Everyone is constantly talking about how we need to teach our children everything about technology or they will be left behind. I do not understand how we can prepare our students for the unknown.
We must keep up to date with all the trainings offered to teach us new ideas and ways of teaching. Some of the teachers of the past did not like to change their way of doing things but must realize it is beneficial. Technology is a waste of time and money if you are not willing to learn how to use it and then actually use it.

3.Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

4. Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Wow we must wake up every morning and see what happened while we were asleep that we could learn from. Things change every second in this world and we do not have time to waste. We must try to keep up with everything so that we can better educate our students. We should be willing to learn from our students and fellow workers.

Blog Assignment # 2

2010-09-08T19:36:00.002-05:00

1) Did You Know?
This presentation was a huge eye opener. I realize that things have changed over time but wow. Things are changing now faster than ever. When I was in high school we didn’t have to take computer classes like this one. I think that they should require more computer classes. I do not mean the typing classes either. It is scary to think that we are making computers that are smarter than we are.
I thought that it was fascinating the amount of babies being born around the world during the time of this short presentation. I did not realize we were such a small country compared to others.
2) Mr. Winkle Wakes
I could not imagine going to sleep for one hundred years and waking up in this world. If someone was to sleep for five years and wake up here they would be lost. In the world we live in today we cannot afford to lose one day. Mr. Winkle was not used to any of the technology that they were using in the offices today.
I am not sure that the schools are the same as he thinks. I have been out of high school for ten years now and I know that it has changed dramatically since I was there.
3) Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I really enjoyed this presentation. It was something that I haven’t ever thought about. I sit back now and think about the students that draw the little flowers and pictures all over their class work. They are being creative because that is natural for them and it is ok. I agree with the idea that all children have talents. We need to show each and every child that there is nothing wrong with being creative even if they do not get it right the first time.
I have always known that the arts have been at the bottom of the list in schools but never put any more thought into it. I do realize that students should be able to expand their creativity. Some children may turn out to be artist or musicians if we let them. As a teacher I plan to incorporate the arts in my classroom.
4) Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts
Wow this was amazing. I have never seen such amazing things happening in schools. I wish that I would have had the opportunity to take a class like this in high school. I believe that it would have prepared me more. I love the idea that the teacher uses new terms and make the students look them up to find their meaning.
I am interested in learning how to create educational blogs for my students to use. I have a child in eighth grade and I wish that they would teach them these things as well.

C4T #1

2010-09-07T10:24:00.002-05:00

1) The post That “Let’s Do More Mentality” by Aaron Eyler was talking about educators constantly wanting to do more in the classroom. They are not even checking to see if they are being successful in what they are doing to start with.
In my comment I stated that I agree with him that it is more important to focus on making what we are doing to be correct.
2) The post “Your Goals vs My Goals” was talking about teachers coming into a new school year with goals without even knowing about the students in the class. We should wait until the first day of school to work on goals as a class for the year.
In my comment I stated that each student should have personal goals to work for. This helps the students to become more independent and responsible.

Who I Am!

2010-08-26T09:14:00.000-05:00

My name is Shirley Marie Allgood. I prefer to be called Marie. I have lived in Lucedale, MS my entire life. I have been happily married for eight years to Doug Allgood. I have a wonderful twelve year old stepdaughter, Bailey, and two adventurous boys ages seven and three, Kase and Chase. Family is everything to me.

I enjoy being around children and love to see their faces when they learn something new. I chose to be a teacher so I can experience the rewards of helping children succeed.

I attended MGCCC right out of high school. I found my husband and stepdaughter soon after and decided to put school to the side. The year I was married my stepdaughter started kindergarten and I started working at her school as an assistant teacher (paraprofessional) in the first grade. I loved it. I worked there four years until I was expecting my second son. I have since been a stay at home mom. I decided last year to come back to school for my degree. I chose USA because it is close to my house. I am excited about being an elementary teacher and can not wait until I graduate.