"What I've Learned This Year'' by Mr. McClung

I really enjoyed this blog. Out of all the blogs we have read in this class, this one spoke to me the most. It helped me a lot because he explained everything that we are all about to go through our selves. No one knows what will happen in the classroom and when Mr. McClung said, "NO LESSON IS EVER PERFECT. THE LESSON YOU TEACH AND THE ONE YOU PLAN ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT" it really stuck with me. It's like when I'm with the 9 year olds I work with everyday, I try so hard to come up with ideas to help them and then when I explain it to them, something always goes wrong.

I also liked how no matter what topic he was talking about, his students' were always at the top of the list. As teachers, we do need to always keep our students' best interest on top because that is why we chose the career path we are in, we chose to become teachers so that we can make a difference. Well, if you don't have your students' best interest in mind, then how can you make a difference? I also liked how he said not to be afraid of technology. To be honest, I have been using computers for as long as I can remember and they still scare me! Thankfully with this semester, I am becoming a little less scared every week!

Some teachers have no idea how important it is to listen to your students. I had a teacher in high school who would listen to me and was always there for me whenever I needed to talk or just whenever. This woman is the reason I am in school to be a teacher. She had such a huge impact on my life that I want to someday return the favor and make a difference in someones life. I also agreed with Mr. McClung when he said that as teachers we must never stop learning. This is so true because if you just quit learning after you become a teacher, you're going to have some first grader show you up in class one day...how embarrassing!! I really enjoyed this blog and I feel like it will stick with me if not forever, then definitely until the last day of school of my first year!

Can you trust Wikipedia?

This topic was very interesting to me because I remember in high school when I would do research papers and my teachers would tell me that using Wikipedia was okay. Then when I became a senior, my teachers would say that we can use Wikipedia we just have to find another site with the same information. Then in college, every single one of my Professors told the class that we couldn't, under any circumstance, use Wikipedia. Now I understand why.

This is so weird and a little unnerving that anyone can go into WIkipedia and just change the information in it. I am now agreeing with everyone when they say that it is not a reliable source, it just happens to be the first source when you look something up in a search engine. I think it's completely shameful for someone to go in and change what Wikipedia says about something just because they don't like it or they want to enhance the image of the topic. As with the Wikipedia Scanner, I think it's a good idea to have because now you know when an entry in Wikipedia has been tampered with.

Randy Pausch Last Lecture

I really enjoyed this video. I liked how Randy Pausch didn't let his cancer get to him or affect his job and daily life. He doesn't pity himself nor does he want people to pity him which was awe-inspiring. It was nice to finally watch a video or podcast that was interesting and had humor in it. I also liked the whole theme of the video, achieving child hood dreams. While he is talking, you can't help but feel inspired by him. He really makes me want to think way back when on what my child hood dreams were and to take every action in making them come true.

Randy Pausch's first child hood dream was being in zero gravity. At first it seemed so exciting because his group of students put together a proposal and won which meant that they were able to go on the "Vomit Comit." At this point I was so excited for him until he found out that faculty members are not allowed on the ride. When he is talking about not being able to go, he has a slide that is shown that has a picture of a brick wall and says, "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." This quote is so inspirational and so true. Then he lets us know a loop whole in the rules; he is a local journalist. Therefore, he is able to fly with the students which made me happy!

His next dream was being a professional football player in the NFL. Even though he was not able to play in the NFL, I liked how he talked about his old coach. It was funny when he was talking about how on the first day of football practice the coach didn't bring any footballs. The coach had told them that they would be learning the fundamentals. This is probably one of the smartest things I have heard in a while because it is so true. Before you can perform any type of task you must know the fundamentals of it so that you know how to perform the task and there is no way you can perfect the task. I also like how he said that if you are doing something wrong and no one is telling you what you are doing wrong, then they have given up on you, this is something that all teachers must remember. Another quote I liked in this video is when he says "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

My favorite dream of his was wanting to be a Disney Imagineer. I like this child hood dream because this would be my dream. I am absolutely obsessed with Disney and I think that it would be so cool to be able to come up with these dreams. It was funny when he compared his family vacation to Disney Land and he compared it to the movie National Lampoons Vacation! I can definitely compare to this because that is how my family vacations were.

Over all, I really enjoyed this movie and it really inspired me. I especially enjoyed some of the quotes he mentioned which I have written above. After this movie, I feel like no matter what happens in my life and no matter what obstacles I go through, I have to keep pushing and always have faith.

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? by Karl Fisch

After reading Karl Fisch's blog about technologically illiterate teachers, I have to say that I somewhat agree with him. I somewhat agree with his 7 standards but he was a bit harsh on writing them. I definitely think he could have sent the same message without being so harsh and negative. I do not agree with his number 5 standard which says, "School inspectors who are technologically illiterate should be encouraged to find alternative employment." To me, this doesn't seem fair because anyone who is an inspector has probably been in the school system for a while and haven't learned the technologies of today. I think instead of encouraging alternative employment, maybe have a seminar where the least technological staff members can learn about the technologies of today.

I also do not agree with the number 2 standard which says, "People who do not meet the criterion of #1[ All educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability] should be embarrassed, not proud, to say so in public." Don't get me wrong, I agree with standard number 1 because I think every employee should have a basic understanding of technology. However, I do not agree with how he thinks that the people who are technologically illiterate need to be embarrassed. Take me for example, I am technologically illiterate but I do have a basic understanding and I am not embarrassed at all.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

After reading this article, I agree with Kelly Hines about several points. When she says that it really doesn't matter how much technology is brought into a classroom or how much a student uses, it really doesn't matter unless something is being taught. If there isn't anything being taught, then how will a student learn?

I also agreed with her first point about how teachers must be learners also. To be a teacher, you must be willing to learn new things because there are always new things going on that could make your classroom better and help you become a more effective teacher. "Teachers today must be perpetual learners who are invested in their professions. We must be up to date on current trends, research and tools. We must know what our students are doing and where they are coming from when they enter our classrooms." I agree the most on this direct quote from the article because I feel like it sums it all up and shows you that as a teacher, you really need to be a learner.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

After watching this video, it made me start to think about the four years I have spent at South. I absolutely agree with the message this video is sending. In almost all of my core classes, I had Professors who didn't even want to learn their students' names. Thankfully in all of my education classes, each Professor has learned my name. It is also true that almost all students that bring their laptop to class are doing something other than classwork. This video really has captured my college experience, at least with the first two and a half years.

The only thing I would change about this video is change the person doing the recording. I literally felt a little light headed from watching it because towards the end, he/she was going so fast that I could barely read what was written on the pieces of paper. I think I would add a different type of music that doesn't sound like sci fi and spooky

Langwitches Blog

In this blog, I have learned how much technology has grown and how important it is to incorporate it in your classroom. There's a post about a third grade class that was studying endangered animals of Florida. In this class, the students used technology to learn more about their assigned animal and were able to make a difference by the knowledge they gained from doing research and by doing a podcast. The students not only learned about their animals, but were also able to work on how to do research and everything that goes into making a podcast, which means that this third grade class is more technologically advanced than me!

I also liked the blog titled "Internet Safety Workshop for Parents." I think that this blog was a good idea because many people are afraid of the Internet because sometimes information does get into the wrong hands. I thought that it was knowledgeable of the teacher to write this blog. Parents do need to realize that technology is growing and that their children will be learning about it and using it in the classroom so I think it would be a good idea for the parents to learn about it. That way they can make sure their children are being safe and learning everything that they can.

Tech Literate Teacher

I really liked this videocast because it seemed so laid back and not so formal, this made it easier to follow. I liked how the environment was more of an at home feeling rather than an office. It seemed that the four women really knew what they were discussing and it shows how much you really can learn this semester. I also liked how they make it known that as a teacher, you will never stop learning and to be an effective teacher, you must be willing to learn especially since technology is growing at an alarming rate. I also liked how they were able to connect many podcasts into one conversation.

What I would change about this videocast would be an equal amount of time for each person to speak. I felt like one of the women tried to run the conversation and that she didn't really allow enough time for someone else to answer and give their opinions on what they were talking about. I also feel like the women looked out of place and extremely nervous. But they could look nervous and not really talking because they can't find a place to come in.