Mr. Hoover is a co-owner of a pharmaceutical compounding company out of Florence, Alabama.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Blog Assignment #9
What I've Learned This Year by Mr. McClung
Mr. McClung has taught me well in his reflection of his first year as a teacher. I can always appreciate someone who continues to learn regardless of how much they may know. Flexibility and being open minded are two things that I was able to relate to. Children do not always live to the expectations that we set for them, since we are adults we have to remember that they are still children and may not comprehend what we are trying to communicate. Building relationships with students as well as teachers can help us realize the things we need to work on with our lectures. We should always keep the ability to be learn in order to make sure that what we are attempted to explain is understood. His thoughts and ideas are some that I use and will continue to use. Feel free to check out the blog as I will post it below.
Mr. McClung's 1st Year
Mr. McClung has taught me well in his reflection of his first year as a teacher. I can always appreciate someone who continues to learn regardless of how much they may know. Flexibility and being open minded are two things that I was able to relate to. Children do not always live to the expectations that we set for them, since we are adults we have to remember that they are still children and may not comprehend what we are trying to communicate. Building relationships with students as well as teachers can help us realize the things we need to work on with our lectures. We should always keep the ability to be learn in order to make sure that what we are attempted to explain is understood. His thoughts and ideas are some that I use and will continue to use. Feel free to check out the blog as I will post it below.
Mr. McClung's 1st Year
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Summary Post C4K 4-6
I watched Jessica's animation today on her blog from classroom 18 at Pt. England School in New Zealand. I have never done an animation online before and I think this is great that the kids in this class get to something like this. In her animation she is on her way to her nanny's house and plays and falls down on her way there. Her animation is rather short and I suggested that she make a longer one next time since I thought she was good at it. I also think it is great she has done something I never imagined doing in grade 6. You can search Jessica's blog below if you would like to see her animations.
Jessica's Blog at Pt. England School
Today I have read Julietti's blog from Pt. England School in New Zealand. She enjoys math and kind of likes her communication technology course. She talks a little bit about her new class and that she is excited about meeting her new teacher and classmates. Once again I always enjoy reading kid's blogs since they inspire me to continue my hard work within my blog. The students from this school are doing the same things that I am, and I feel it is necessary for me to stay involved in their blogs. This will help me with future projects and lessons that I may teach. This will also help with the technology literate student and my confidence in teaching them since they may indeed know as much as I do on the subject.
Kennedy Options-CookingMelville Room 8
I had to pleasure of commenting on a classroom of 12 and 13 year olds from Melville Intermediate in New Zealand that was cooking for the day, as well as documenting their work. They all did a wonderful job following the directions and they learned how to cook as well as operate a camera. I commended them on their efforts because I would love to incorporate things like this into my classroom. They all seemed like they were having lots of fun doing their work which is always a pleasing sight.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Blog Assignment #8
Dr. Richard E. Miller's This is How We Dream
Part one of the video discusses Mr. Miller's use of the computer and its incremental changes. Books and libraries were very important at one time but changes into documentation on the internet have made it much easier to access documents at any time. He uses the internet for online discussions with colleagues while adding threads, which they all can see. I haven't used the internet as a way to visually connect with others yet, but in the future I most definitely will. I see the collaboration within this community on the web and I will certainly make an effort to do the same thing.
I hope to have this option available to me as I teach in the 21st century. It is a magnificent way to collaborate without leaving my home and teach not only to students but to anyone who comes across it. This idea becomes limitless and soon as it happens since anyone can watch or tune in.
I am taking a short break from the second video to mention the regular updates that can be viewed around the world instantly. ItunesU can be used to create lectures and updates; what a great tool to use to gather information and send ideas within minutes to world of education. I know things like this exist and watching this video has enhanced my thoughts on using this media regularly. This is a great way to teach and get learners involved and engaged without being in class. The limits of the documents we produce are endless with freedoms to edit and post ideas at any time.
By using the media available on the web, we can visually enhance the dreams that we have. Each idea or dream that is articulated here activates and involves the world and make dreamers and learners out of others. We must gather information and use what is available to us to intrigue the ones we wish to inform. Miller say's it best "How can we not use this?".
This is How We Dream
Chipper Series
EDM310 For Dummies
The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies are videos to get us involved in learning. They were produced to attract the learner in an amusing way to grasp attention. Videos are much like movies that we watch on television. If we like entertainment then we tend to stay focused on it and these videos gives us a much better way to learn. Instead of boring assignments we can watch Chipper do all of the wrong things and learn from her misfortunes. Or we can watch EDM 310 for dummies and laugh while learning. If we can make something fun it can be much more educational and memorable.
I am actually planning my own video similar to the ones I have watched here. I am going to use my video as a way to teach some fundamentals and skills of baseball. It will not be on the amusing side but it will be very educational to young athletes. I am going to try to figure out a way to incorporate education messages within the drills that will be portrayed by a young player. Athletics are very important but I want to send a message that education is more important. I would like to connect with student athletes on a different level to show them the importance of hard work in the class room as well as on the field of play. Without excellence in the classroom or internet based courses, sports can be taken away quickly. The two coincide with each other since no one wants to hire a lackluster athlete.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I have posted the video above to show the facts that we need to understand as teachers. Children are involved in web activity on a regular basis and we need to change how we teach them by using the internet. If they are engaged in blogging already, how can we find a way to teach them within this process? The websites available to us can be used as a teaching technique by integrated the websites that they already use. These connections are instrumental for their future in how they collect data and carry it for the rest of their lives. Virtual based teaching can help them learn without being at school. The internet can open up ideas for students and take their learning experience to the next level.
The Secret Powers of Time
This was a very difficult video to watch and I tried to grasp the idea he was trying to get across. He jumps from subject to subject which made it difficult for me to follow. I do, however, realize that we need to find a way to keep children from dropping out of school by keeping them interested. They are using video games and internet sites very often because they are having fun and are engaged. The classroom, on the other hand, can be very boring and seem like a waste of time for the child which does not help with the skills that they need to be achieving.
Time is very relevant to how we think; depending if we are looking for future results or dwelling on the past. Studies have been taken of certain countries and ethnic groups that show why some succeed while others do not. The people who work in the present to achieve the future tend to be harder workers than those who dwell on negatives from the past. We need to do something that will motivate kids to think on different terms so they can attain that future success. In my opinion, we need to change what we are doing at this time, as educators, to see that these kids have a better future than we do. The video is posted below and I suggest just listening first instead of watching the doodling which was very distracting. I think your ideas may be able to mesh better in this fashion.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
This video production is a lot better and easier to understand than the first. It pretty much stays with one subject and continues throughout. The theory is that people that get paid more money do better at work. But, in one instance as told from statistics, that people did not achieve their goals when higher cognitive thinking took place. The great idea was that people were mastering things that they did for free such as playing the guitar on the weekends just to get better at it. When people were allowed to do a project for free at a software company, they came up with unbelievable ideas that they did not get a cent for. So my take is that self motivation is much better than monetary motivation. What really motivates us can drive us to do extraordinary things. At the same time we can be doing something fun and creating the future ahead. What an awesome thought but I've been doing way too much stuff for free so I will see what I can do.
Part one of the video discusses Mr. Miller's use of the computer and its incremental changes. Books and libraries were very important at one time but changes into documentation on the internet have made it much easier to access documents at any time. He uses the internet for online discussions with colleagues while adding threads, which they all can see. I haven't used the internet as a way to visually connect with others yet, but in the future I most definitely will. I see the collaboration within this community on the web and I will certainly make an effort to do the same thing.
I hope to have this option available to me as I teach in the 21st century. It is a magnificent way to collaborate without leaving my home and teach not only to students but to anyone who comes across it. This idea becomes limitless and soon as it happens since anyone can watch or tune in.
I am taking a short break from the second video to mention the regular updates that can be viewed around the world instantly. ItunesU can be used to create lectures and updates; what a great tool to use to gather information and send ideas within minutes to world of education. I know things like this exist and watching this video has enhanced my thoughts on using this media regularly. This is a great way to teach and get learners involved and engaged without being in class. The limits of the documents we produce are endless with freedoms to edit and post ideas at any time.
By using the media available on the web, we can visually enhance the dreams that we have. Each idea or dream that is articulated here activates and involves the world and make dreamers and learners out of others. We must gather information and use what is available to us to intrigue the ones we wish to inform. Miller say's it best "How can we not use this?".
This is How We Dream
Chipper Series
EDM310 For Dummies
The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies are videos to get us involved in learning. They were produced to attract the learner in an amusing way to grasp attention. Videos are much like movies that we watch on television. If we like entertainment then we tend to stay focused on it and these videos gives us a much better way to learn. Instead of boring assignments we can watch Chipper do all of the wrong things and learn from her misfortunes. Or we can watch EDM 310 for dummies and laugh while learning. If we can make something fun it can be much more educational and memorable.
I am actually planning my own video similar to the ones I have watched here. I am going to use my video as a way to teach some fundamentals and skills of baseball. It will not be on the amusing side but it will be very educational to young athletes. I am going to try to figure out a way to incorporate education messages within the drills that will be portrayed by a young player. Athletics are very important but I want to send a message that education is more important. I would like to connect with student athletes on a different level to show them the importance of hard work in the class room as well as on the field of play. Without excellence in the classroom or internet based courses, sports can be taken away quickly. The two coincide with each other since no one wants to hire a lackluster athlete.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I have posted the video above to show the facts that we need to understand as teachers. Children are involved in web activity on a regular basis and we need to change how we teach them by using the internet. If they are engaged in blogging already, how can we find a way to teach them within this process? The websites available to us can be used as a teaching technique by integrated the websites that they already use. These connections are instrumental for their future in how they collect data and carry it for the rest of their lives. Virtual based teaching can help them learn without being at school. The internet can open up ideas for students and take their learning experience to the next level.
The Secret Powers of Time
This was a very difficult video to watch and I tried to grasp the idea he was trying to get across. He jumps from subject to subject which made it difficult for me to follow. I do, however, realize that we need to find a way to keep children from dropping out of school by keeping them interested. They are using video games and internet sites very often because they are having fun and are engaged. The classroom, on the other hand, can be very boring and seem like a waste of time for the child which does not help with the skills that they need to be achieving.
Time is very relevant to how we think; depending if we are looking for future results or dwelling on the past. Studies have been taken of certain countries and ethnic groups that show why some succeed while others do not. The people who work in the present to achieve the future tend to be harder workers than those who dwell on negatives from the past. We need to do something that will motivate kids to think on different terms so they can attain that future success. In my opinion, we need to change what we are doing at this time, as educators, to see that these kids have a better future than we do. The video is posted below and I suggest just listening first instead of watching the doodling which was very distracting. I think your ideas may be able to mesh better in this fashion.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
This video production is a lot better and easier to understand than the first. It pretty much stays with one subject and continues throughout. The theory is that people that get paid more money do better at work. But, in one instance as told from statistics, that people did not achieve their goals when higher cognitive thinking took place. The great idea was that people were mastering things that they did for free such as playing the guitar on the weekends just to get better at it. When people were allowed to do a project for free at a software company, they came up with unbelievable ideas that they did not get a cent for. So my take is that self motivation is much better than monetary motivation. What really motivates us can drive us to do extraordinary things. At the same time we can be doing something fun and creating the future ahead. What an awesome thought but I've been doing way too much stuff for free so I will see what I can do.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Project #13 Smartboard Instruction
Driving Lessons
By Ashleigh Skelton, Jennifer Hackney,
Kenneth Nelson, and Miranda Tidikis
Comments:
The Smartboard project worked out pretty good. The group did very well as each one of us used free time on three occasions to work on it. The two students who critiqued our lesson did exceptionally well on the exam that we posed. Each of them made 100 percent. Originally we had made a mistake on one of the answers which gave them a 90, but with a few corrections to our form and presentation that was corrected.
We actually got to watch Anthony Capps do a presentation on the smartboard which gave us a pretty good idea of how to use it. We had the basics at that point which helped us move forward in production. Stephen helped us with the new smartboard response tablets, I am not exactly sure what they are called but this will work. The students were able to take their exam from a hand held device which automatically entered in their grade when they were done. I thought this put us a step ahead of everyone else with the extra time that we spent doing it.
I would love to commend my group for a great job. Each member did an equal amount of work as well as an equal amount of time spent. We are not great speakers but we definitely got the point across and our students did great with the lesson as well. Overall, our use for the smartboard has expanded drastically over the past few weeks and should motivate us since we already have a solid foundation on smartboard use.
Fist Pounds For My Group
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Blog Assignment #7
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy is an amazing person and role model. His life took an abrupt turn for the worst when he was diagnosed with cancer. He did not allow his ailment to deter him from anything that he wanted to accomplish. As you can see from his lecture he is still in great shape and also a great speaker. Randy's childhood dreams were his main focus since he really never strayed from them. Although he never became an NFL player, it still taught him many lessons that he continued to use.
He certainly enjoys helping others and helps them to achieve their dreams regardless of their situation. Randy is able to relate his life to teaching others how to achieve their goals in life. His testimony alone has given me motivation to continue seeking my dreams. He teaches children and adults how to use computer programs and create virtual reality worlds as a way to show them anything is possible.
I particularly enjoyed and learned from his "head fake" maneuver where you give something fun to do although the project may be very difficult. What better way to teach something than assign something fun that can be very difficult. The rewards for something like this, on a regular basis, can be endless. If you do not watch his lectures, take it from me that this guy is a genius.
There are so many quotes that can be taken from Mr. Randy that you should just watch it. Having fun while achieving your childhood dreams and helping others do so are just a few of the marvelous things that he does. We should allow the child within us to drive us no matter where we stand in our life. There will always be brick walls in our path to our goals and they are there for a reason; to learn from the experience and figure out a way to apply it to our next try.
All 76 minutes of this video are worth it to watch. One thing that stands out the most for me, is to work hard. As a child, I was always taught to work hard and I would always achieve my goals. Nothing comes without a price and I always appreciate the many times my father had to kick me in my rear to get me to work harder. It will pay off, he always said! Hearing it again from Randy has pushed a button for me and it should for you as well. If you only watch 10 minutes of his final lecture it could change the way you view your life.
Randy is an amazing person and role model. His life took an abrupt turn for the worst when he was diagnosed with cancer. He did not allow his ailment to deter him from anything that he wanted to accomplish. As you can see from his lecture he is still in great shape and also a great speaker. Randy's childhood dreams were his main focus since he really never strayed from them. Although he never became an NFL player, it still taught him many lessons that he continued to use.
He certainly enjoys helping others and helps them to achieve their dreams regardless of their situation. Randy is able to relate his life to teaching others how to achieve their goals in life. His testimony alone has given me motivation to continue seeking my dreams. He teaches children and adults how to use computer programs and create virtual reality worlds as a way to show them anything is possible.
I particularly enjoyed and learned from his "head fake" maneuver where you give something fun to do although the project may be very difficult. What better way to teach something than assign something fun that can be very difficult. The rewards for something like this, on a regular basis, can be endless. If you do not watch his lectures, take it from me that this guy is a genius.
There are so many quotes that can be taken from Mr. Randy that you should just watch it. Having fun while achieving your childhood dreams and helping others do so are just a few of the marvelous things that he does. We should allow the child within us to drive us no matter where we stand in our life. There will always be brick walls in our path to our goals and they are there for a reason; to learn from the experience and figure out a way to apply it to our next try.
All 76 minutes of this video are worth it to watch. One thing that stands out the most for me, is to work hard. As a child, I was always taught to work hard and I would always achieve my goals. Nothing comes without a price and I always appreciate the many times my father had to kick me in my rear to get me to work harder. It will pay off, he always said! Hearing it again from Randy has pushed a button for me and it should for you as well. If you only watch 10 minutes of his final lecture it could change the way you view your life.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
1st Progress Report PLN Project #10
Here is a photo of my PLN. It is obviously not close to being complete. I don't ever expect it to be complete since I will add things to it as I explore the web. Symbaloo is the source for my personal learning network because of its easy to use tabs. This website is very very easy to use; all you have to do is click on an empty box and add the website to which you would like in the tabs area, give it a title and add a photo that makes it easy for you to locate.
I have already added some influential websites that I can easily access by clicking on one of the tiles and they include: EDM310 class blog, teachers love smart boards, my personal blog, gasbuddy, Pt. England School Blog, weather, and Yahoo. Since gas is on the rise, I recommend taking a look at gasbuddy.com to find the cheapest gas near you. The weather is always important to know especially for travel and to decide if you are taking a jacket or not.
Overall, symbaloo has made my life a lot easier and helped me cut down on time spent. Since the invention of computers we have been able to get things done in a much easier fashion than in the past. Symbaloo has been crucial in helping me get to websites without wasting time typing them all in. Usually, at the end of each post I leave a link to the page that I have discussed and I will do the same for this one. If you are interested in saving time and creating your network here is a link to Symbaloo.
SYMBALOOOO
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Summary Post C4T #2
Ms. Kathy Cassidy is the subject for the next few weeks. She has integrated a blog for her grade one students. In this blog, they post some of their assignments that will be recalled in the future. Instead of a parent-teacher conference, there is a student-teacher-parent conference in which the child recalls 3 of their best assignments. The student uses the whiteboard to discuss to their parents what they have accomplished and the focus is on what they have learned and a goal that they will set for upcoming projects. This is a great project to allow parents to see what their child has done and has set a level by which the parents can go by to get more out of their work. It gives each child a tremendous amount of confidence to present something out loud. This is a great example of what I would like to do and she has certainly inspired me today.
In the second post that I have commented on, Kathy is involved in a huge teaching project that will help students between grades one and ten. It was tough for her and others to come up with a project that would be relevant for all grades involved. They decided that they would use video as a way for students to self-reflect upon their work. This experiment included many other teachers and different schools and I have highly commended her for her work. She is inspiring many as she spends a lot of free time doing things for others. If you have a minute or two you can read her blog and see the amazing things that she is doing to raise the academic level of many. I will post her blog to mine so that you can easily click on the tab below.
Kathy's Blog
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