PLN Progress Report #1

For my personal learning network (PLN), I use Symbaloo to organize various websites and some tools that I would use to gather my sources for a project, research or to expand my network. Aside from Symbaloo, I use Delicious, Screenr, Youtube, Livestream, Skype, Twitter, Facebook, Google Chat, and Blogger.

I got in the habit of using Symbaloo. I added a lot more "buttons" that links to websites I can use to do research, help me with my English, access to University pages and etc. It's pretty neat because you can click on a box/button and it'll instantly go to the page that it's linked with. It allows for quick access. Within each button, you can set up a sub category. You can add an "education" button and it'll bring you to another page. In that page, you can add all your sources that relates to education. I have not gotten that far yet. Symbaloo isn't a software or program for your computer but a website that requires you to login. Some people may not like this but the benefit is that you can access your sources and tools from anywhere. You can organize it any way you like as well! Besides using Symbaloo for research and educational purposes, you can also add your social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. It's really personal! I have it set up as my first tab on my Google Chrome so it's always there!

A tool I use for my PLN is Skype. Skype is a great software/program to use in order to communicate with your group members, other educators, and even your family! Instead of physically meeting to discuss a project, you can save travel time and money by using Skype. You can also use it to set up interviews with educators around the world!! The neat thing is that you can have a video chat and an option to do screen sharing. In my opinion, screen sharing is one of the most amazing utility. When I first used screen share, it was free. I used it a couple of days ago and it wasn't free (odd) but it's definitely worth getting if you're working with people from far away. The first time I used it, I was teaching someone how to use Adobe Photoshop. Screen share came in handy because they watched what I was doing on my computer. It's visual learning and it helps. A couple of days ago I used Skype in order to meet with a team member for a group project. We did a video chat and a screen share. The neat thing about Skype is it's not just like a phone call. You are on your computer, talking to someone and having access to all the necessary documents and files you need. Another benefit with Skype is you get to have contact with anyone, anywhere. If I want to discuss a research idea with Professor from New York, I can do that without spending $400 on a round-trip ticket. Besides that, you can also have regular chats. It's a great program that allows you to connect with others. This connection can help you with your studies, research, projects, and etc. It's also a way for you to find assistance or help if needed.

While I was having my Skype session, I used Screenr to do a short recording. Screenr has a free option but the recording is limited to 5 minutes. Screenr allows you to record your screen and save it. You can use this as a tool to record a part of your research or something that may benefit others. You can post this video onto YouTube for others to see. Because it's public, you will get feedback or advice from others. By producing something that helps others, you are also helping yourself. That is one way of learning. Before I discovered Screenr, I used Livestream. I did not use it for educational purposes but it can be. It's also a screen recording program but the difference is you are broadcasting to the public as you are recording hence the name "LIVE-stream". You have the option to save it onto your computer and have it automatically published to your Livesteam website. In a way, this can help your learning and help you expand your learning network. Like in blogs, you can also ask questions in a video and you may get responses. During the broadcasting, you can chat with your viewers. As an educator, you can incorporate Livestream into an activity.

You can publish those saved videos onto Youtube. I use YouTube for my PLN because of the unlimited amount of sources you can gather that can help you with your teachings. You can find inspirational videos, tutorials, activities or lessons you can give to your students, advice from other educators and etc. You can find almost anything on YouTube that can help you. Besides that, you can post your own tutorials, activities, lessons and etc. that can help others. On YouTube, you can also make comments, suggestions or ask for advice. It's another way to contact people.

Another tool I use is Twitter. I have never used it and refused to before EDM310. Now I use it almost every day. It's not only a social networking website but a way for us to share our ideas, articles, and etc. to others. You can build your own network. I have added the educators from my C4T and others that my classmates suggested to me. From there, I added other educators that connected with them. As a result, they added me! We would share articles and ideas on Twitter back and forth. You can also find great sources for teaching because they are being posted by the educators you are following. I have been expanding my network and found many great websites. You also get news that is related to education.

I am slowly expanding my personal learning network on step at a time! I really enjoyed this project and discovering new tools that can help me as a future educator.

C4T Summary #2

Andrea Hernandez & EdTech Workshop
For my next C4T, I was assigned to Andrea Hernandez and her blog is called "EdTech Workshop". Andrea Hernandez labels herself as a "passionate educator" and is currently exploring the usage of blogs as a platform for personalized learning and documenting the changes & growth in each subject. She is currently a 21st century learning specialist and instructional coach at Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, facilitating online classes for Professional Learning Board and co-creating a conference called "EdJEWcon".

I commented on her post, "Where is the Authentic Audience?" and this heavily relates to what we are doing in our class. She talks about an authentic audience for bloggers. Students use to have the class and the teacher as their audience. The audience provides guidance, critique, feedback, opinions, conversations and etc. But in the blogging world, who and where is the audience? What does "authentic audience" mean? As bloggers, we need to write a quality post and need to keep the readers in mind. As teachers, they need to understand the concept and usage of blogs in a deep way. They also need to teach their students how to write a blog effectively with quality. The students should be taught how to write in a powerful manner, doing the assignment because it's more than an assignment and know how to create a conversation in a blog. There is also the question of are we writing for ourselves or for the audience? In some of her comments to other educators or commenters, she talks about how sometimes the comments she gets are not that insightful. Sometimes the audience doesn't understand the post and they might be commenting just because it's an assignment.

In all honesty, I went to comment and admitted that I might not have understood her post entirely. I was not sure if it's on my end or that face I was not taught how to comprehend other people's writing well enough. I also commented because it was an assignment. I tried to make it more than just an assignment. I learned something new in the end. In my comment, I told her about my experience and what we are doing in our EDM310 class that is related to what she was talking about. Our authentic audience is the class but I asked the question, "who will be our audience after the class the over?” In this class, we are learning how to be effective writers and Dr. Strange is an educator who is guiding us through the process of 21st century learning. Like how she claimed her tweeting with no replies was ironic, I have to agree with her. It's really different from getting valuable feedback in the physical world versus the web. In our class, we have C4C assignments but most students find it too mean to leave an honest critique. Most students end up with comments that won't help the student. This is not an authentic audience. If we were to do this as an in-class assignment where we exchanged papers to edit, we would actually gain the authentic critique we want. It's hard for us, bloggers, to gain an authentic audience. Blogging and commenting is not something many people will do. People also like to keep their opinions to themselves than use the time to write a long and effective comment. In the end, she replied to all of us claiming, "This is the power of authenticity", because in this one post she received more than 15 comments that are insightful. We were the examples of her authentic audience. I still think I may have misunderstood her post.

In the second post, "Creating a Target- A Work in Progress", Andrea Hernandez talks about the change in education and how educators have to accommodate to this change. A 21st century learner should receive a 21st century education. Change is inevitable. She and other educators are working together to create a structure to support their school's growth and change as the society/world changes around them. They summed their rubric into a one-page-summary. Below is a picture of that one-page-summary:

In my comment, I wrote "...Education has changed/shifted and I think we all need to be 21st century learners and educators, not the 19th. What you are doing is great because you are trying to cope with the change. Not many educators would do that. When there is a change in society, there will be a change in learning and education. When there is a change in education, educators need to re-define their purpose and tasks. The chart you provided is superb." I think it is very important that as time changes, we have to change with it. As a student of the modern era, it's difficult to learn things the old fashion way. Penmanship is thrown away, chalkboards are starting to disappear, and technology is making their advances into the classrooms. SMARTboards are being placed, we are allowed to use our laptops, do our research online and etc. Teachers/Educators have to change or re-define their purposes and tasks. Teachers need to change their roles in order to accommodate with the changes around them. Our way of learning is different than how it was 20 years ago. Like what Kevin Roberts says in his video "Teaching in the 21st Century", teachers are filters for their students. I think Andrea Hernandez has the right point. It's great that teachers/educators are putting in their efforts to improve teaching, learning and education rather than going against it.

At the end of my comment, I asked her a question. It's the same question I asked David Truss when I did my C4T with him. I asked her, "What advice would you give to a future educator? Or what would you like to impart to us future educators?" Instead of replying as a comment, she made a blog post answering this question! In her recent blog post, "So, You Want to Teach?", she gives future educators her advice! In her post, the usage of bullet points and images are highly effective. It makes the post have distinct qualities. At the end of her post she wrote, "Your craft is the art of learning. And learning is the art of living. Teaching is not easy. You might sometimes wish you worked at the car wash instead. But remember that you are touching lives." The beauty of teaching is that you are touching lives. It's not just touching but you are changing, influencing and helping as well. As an educator, you need to be passionate and dedicated in what you do. You have to be responsible, reflect on yourself, willing to learn more than what you know and etc. She points out that we need to take care of ourselves. To most people, it may sound selfish but it's true. Like she says, we are the energy of the classroom. We need to take care of ourselves before we take care of others. We need to be healthy in order to work. It's a wonderful post! I highly recommend future educators to read this post and her blog. It's very useful and it makes you think. Thank you Andrea Hernandez for giving us valuable advice.

Blog Assignment #8

How We Dream

In Richard Miller's videos, "This Is How We Dream Part 1 & 2", it makes you think about the advantages, the impacts of technology and how it changes society. Richard E. Miller is an English professor at Rutgers University. He believes that modern day technology is changing education and our privacy. In his video, he talks about how writing has changed in the academy and in culture. He believes that we are living in the greatest moments of change in history. He is talking about how technology is changing us. In the beginning of the video, he talks about his experience, time and effort he put into publishing a book. At the end of all the hard work, the book is being sold for less than a dollar. There is really no point in traditional publishing or having the need to go to a library anymore because of how technology transformed society.

We do not use paper and pencils anymore. Instead, we carry our laptops or use our computer as our work space. The web is like a limitless open-source compared to a library. Instead of publishing books, we can publish and share it on the web. It takes less time and work. He also speaks about his experience on using technology and the web to do his research on the VA massacre and other projects. He did not go to the library to gather sources. Instead, he used what was available and provided on the web. Instead of using paper, pens or pencil, he used a software such as word processor to type his work on his computer or laptop. The advantage of the web versus the library is that the information is limitless. You can gather more information from various sources than go to your local library to try to find a book or an article that can be related to the massacre. On the web, you can get access to the many sources and information that won't be in the library! Your sources and information from the library are limited.

Technology and the web also allow us to do collaborative work. People can put together a piece of work with the help of unlimited sources from the web and various software that can help stitch it together. A person can also use a software, such as Skype, to discuss ideas or problems with other people without having to physically meet. You can have a conference at any time of the day. Like the collaborative project he did on Martin Luther King Jr., he combined sources, used images, audio and then stitched it together to create an original video that can be shared to others. The ability to share our own work and sources adds on to the ones that already exist. This expands the amount of sources on the web.

I think Dr. Miller is right. Technology is changing us, our culture, education and society as a whole. It's a shame that he put so much effort in publishing a book and now it's worth less than a dollar. Because the book is also published online, people are more likely to read it online versus purchasing a physical book. Technology is also shifting us in a way that we don't really need paper and pencils anymore. Instead of writing our papers and going to the library to do our research, we rely on Microsoft Word and the web. We also do most of our work online. I think that this is a great change for society but on a personal level, I won't say it's an excellent change. I enjoy the constant updates and sources that are provided on the web. I also enjoy not having to spend more money on books, papers, pens, pencils and having to go to the library to save time to do something else. Even though I enjoy all of these, I won't call it an excellent change because we lose something for change. We always lose something. I personally enjoy writing than typing. I enjoy drawing traditionally than digitally. I enjoy reading a physical book than off the internet. I also learn more if I have to go through the longer process. I love technology but in terms of learning, I personally prefer to learn the traditional way. This doesn't mean I refuse to learn it the modern way. His video also reminded me about this class, EDM310. We are using technology to do collaborative projects, to communicate and to learn. We do not use paper and pencils. It's awesome to learn this way but it's something that I am learning to get accustomed to. I have never had a class like this or have to learn like I do in this class. On a person level, it's a different learning experience that will be beneficial in the future. On a society and educational level, I think this change is 100% beneficial.

Carly's Blog Post

Carly Pugh is a great writer and her post really got me thinking about how I want to teach, what kind of teacher I want to be and what tools do I want to use in my future classroom. She gave out an assignment where you have to create your own playlist on YouTube with videos that reflects on what kind of teacher you want to be, what you want to teach and etc. You can also add videos that can help you in your future classroom. This assignment is excellent because it urges you to use a tool that you may be unfamiliar with. Because you are using the tool, you are learning something new that can be beneficial in your learning and teaching. YouTube is also a place where you can gather and save information for later use. It also contains audio and videos. This assignment also gets you to watch many videos that you may come across while finding the one that can complete each of her questions. For example, she asks you to find a video of what a good teacher and a bad teacher is. If you search on YouTube, you may get many different types of videos. While watching these videos, you may learn something for yourself. You may learn something you never thought of! It's all part of a learning process. You are exposed to new information as you are searching on the web. This is a superb way of learning. You are not only completing the task but learning something new in the process. This is also a very creative way of learning too!

In a way, this is what Dr. Miller is referring to when he talks about writing with multi-media. In her writing, she implemented visual aid and video references. She also urges usage of media. At the end of her post, she included a video that reflected the point of her post. The usage of multi-media in writing can change the way a reader thinks and feels. It also gives them a visual understanding of what the point of the writing was. At first, she places an image of someone slacking. She was writing about how she was distracted and procrastinating. The image has a relationship with what she was writing. The video at the end of the post sums up her entire post. The music and images along with the questions really got me thinking about me being a future educator. It is hard to explain the feeling I got after reading the post and watching the video. It was beautiful.

Chipper & EDM for Dummies!

I loved these videos! In the "Chipper Series", it teaches us what not to be as a student, a learner, a future educator and an adult!! It is filled with sarcasm! I really enjoyed it and I found it funny because many students in the current semester are showing some of these "symptoms" such as procrastination, blaming the professor for not doing their job, using the excuse of life being too busy, claiming that they (the student) are not the problem and etc. Chipper avoids deadlines, have the wrong priorities, and thinks of excuses for her lack of responsibility. She gets fired from her jobs, fails at running her own school and etc. because she refused to learn the responsibilities and admit her faults. She fails to see where her problems are and learns it the hard way. Basically she wasted years and years of time. These are the things we should not do in life and in education. Especially as future educators, we have to be reasonable and responsible. We have to set our priorities straight and understand that there are deadlines! I understand people have their personal issues and events occur but it's our responsibility to inform our teacher or employer about this so they know. Like our assignments in EDM310, we have deadlines we have to meet! We signed up for this class and we should do what is necessary! I am guilty of procrastinating every week and I know it is wrong. I try to change it but it's a little hard. The point is that I admit to it whereas Chipper did not. I definitely need to stop procrastinating because it 's going to cost me. We also have to understand that time, patience and effort are important.

"EDM For Dummies" is hilarious too! A lot of the students act this way! I am laughing right now. Honestly, I don't understand how people have a problem with this class when Dr. Strange provides us all the instructions and we, as learners and future educators, should already know how to learn something new. We are adults and we did not come this far in life without learning the basics. We did not learn to walk on our own. Our parents guided us and we made the effort. It's similar to the class. Dr. Strange is guiding us and we need to put in the effort and try rather than ranting or complaining that the work is too hard. It's the same for new tools and softwares. If you don't understand something, search for a tutorial or read the instructions. This class is frustrating and the workload is more than normal but you get so much out of it! I think this class has more benefits than you think. I dislike the amount of work but I am learning a lot out of this class. I am learning about the many types of technological tools I can use in my future classroom, learning about how the technology can change our teaching and the change in education! I feel like I'm understanding the roles of a teacher even more.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn The video, Learn to Change, Change to Learn, relays a powerful message about today's change in education and how many educators do not accept this change. I think their arguments are valid. It's absurd that we are not allowed to use our hand held devices, laptops and other technology tools in the classroom. I understand that many teachers prefer the traditional ways of teaching and learning but times have changed. Today, we use technology to learn. I understand that there are teachers who worry about students who will be distracted in class because they are texting their friend or tweeting but not all students will do that! I think it's the teacher's responsibility to teach their students what to do and what not to do during class. I am not saying it's entirely the teacher's responsibility but they need to set the rules and let the students know their consequences. That doesn't mean they should take away or eliminate technology in a classroom. When there's a change, other things need to change with it. With the burst of technology, society changes. When society changes, people change. When people change, I think education should change to cope with the other changes. In several of my classrooms, my professors tell us that we cannot use any electronics or laptops in the classroom. I understand why but I think that's not good. Sometimes changes will happen and we cannot do anything to stop it. Our way of learning has changed, therefore schools should accommodate. We are in the 21st century and I think we, as students, deserve a 21st century education.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

1) Social Platform - Edmodo

This is very useful site that I would use in my future classroom because it's paperless, you can input grades, add assignments and etc. It's kind of like the University of South Alabama's SAKAI system. We can also add polls and create quizzes! I think this will make it easier for the teacher and the student. Because it's on the web, it's paperless! Paperless is always a good thing. On Edmodo, we can also include other teachers into the classroom to view their work and grades. It's a neat tool. Teachers and their students can also have a forum conversation. This is good because that means the students can ask questions before the class.

2) Presentation Tool - PREZI

Prezi offers two exclusive deal for students and teachers! We get to create out own logo than use Prezi, 500mb of storage space and we can secure our content for free! Because you can store your presentations, Prezi can act as a back-up device. The other deal is we get more storage space (2GB), offered better and faster support, and we get to use a Prezi desktop for us to work offline. This deal costs less than $5 a month! Honestly, this is a really cheap deal especially for 2GB worth of storage space. Prezi also allows you to share your content as you please. You can access your presentations anywhere.

2) Poll - Poll Everywhere

Blog Assignment #7

The Networked Student

Networked Student is a video produced by Wendy Drexler's high school students. It was inspired by CCK08, a "Connectivism" course offered by George Siemens and Stephen Downes back in 2008. It was quite interesting. It reminds me of our current EDM310 class because we don't have a textbook, usually have online assignments, required to "connect" with other educators and students and our professor is the "filter". The student has to do prior research by using valid websites, libraries and other great resources. There are many websites and software, such as "Delicious", that allows you to save websites/bookmark and share them throughout the network. Within these websites, you can also find links other people have shared too. These may be articles, news or blog posts. Most of them will allow you to comment and share your own insight with others. This creates a discussion and a social network. In order to learn, a student is required to create their own network with peers, students, and/or educators to gather the necessary information that is needed for the subject he or she is learning. Not only does this help the student learn but it can strengthen the learning process. In the end, you can create your own blog to share what you have learned and discuss the information you have gathered. A blog can be viewed by anyone, even your peers! It's a great tool to use and this is why we are blogging.

So this brings up the question: why does the networked student even need a teacher? What is the teacher's role? Even though the student is basically learning by creating their own network, the teacher has many roles. Teachers teach students how to build the network, offer guidance, shows them how to communicate properly & effectively, how to ask for help from experts in a respectful way, how to differentiate between good information from bad, how to turn a web search into a scavenger hunt, how to organize information and etc. The teacher serves as a filter for the students. They teach the skills that are necessary for the student to network effectively. In our class, Dr. Strange serves as the professional who is teaching us these skills. He provides us many documents with information and gives us blog assignments that can help us improve our writing skills, how we dissect information, how to respectfully comment on your peers or educator's blog, and etc. He also teaches us how to communicate properly in order to relay or understand information better.

I am an example of a networked student as well as my classmates in the EDM310 class. I think the video describes our roles, our classroom and our professor's role precisely. The video also shows us the effective uses of technology in a classroom. Many people think that it'll wipe the role of teachers or that they won't be needed anymore but that isn't true at all! I think a teacher is always necessary when it comes to learning. You need an experienced and knowledgeable professional to guide you through your learning. The teacher's role will change but they won't be entirely eliminated from the classroom. I hope they don't. I personally do not enjoy the 100% online courses. It is very convenient but I feel like I learn less without the instant feedback or guidance from my teacher. We can always e-mail or message through SAKAI but it's not as effective as meeting in person. It's also good to have a few classroom days so the students can network with each other. This is why I like EDM310. Even though it's heavily an online course, we do meet several times throughout the semester.

Personal Learning Environment / Network

In the video,"A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)", a 7th grader shows us her personal learning environment (PLE) and tells us what the uses are in her learning. It is pretty amazing. In a single page, she has all the information she gathered for her science class and her social networking tools. In our class, EDM310, we are required to build a personal learning network (PLN) that is very similar to hers. Developing your own personal learning network is really helpful for you and your learning process. In a PLE/PLN, you are allowed to use your own creativity to learn. I think the fact that it allows you to be creative in the way you want to learn makes learning much easier and likable. This gives the student the control and power over their own way of learning. Everyone learns in different ways. Like she stated, creating your own PLE/PLN to learn is fun and you actually have a lot of freedom. You also develop a sense of responsibility. I ended up using Symbaloo to manage my PLN. It seemed more organized to me. I also use"Delicious" and Google bookmark manager to store and organize various websites that will help me in my projects, research or studies. When I started my PLN, I was excited because it really helped me learn in an organized and helpful way! It's also very fun and easy to work with. I am glad that this was brought to our attention!

Project #8 - Podcast

Blog Assignment #6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

"Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" is one of the most inspirational, humorous, and hopeful video I have ever watched. Randy Pausch, full name Randolph Frederick Pausch, was a professor of computer science and human-computer interaction & design at Carnegie Mellon University. He is also the creator of a software called "Alice". In this video, he talks about how he achieved his childhood dreams by going through many obstacles whether it's good or bad. He also tells us how he achieved it, how we can achieve our own, how we can help enable other people's dream and what you can learn from it. It's not just a video on methods to how to achieve your dreams but how to lead your life. There are many advice I took from the "Last Lecture".

One of the advice he gave us is to not let brick walls stop you. Brick walls are to block the people who really don't want to be dedicated or show how badly they want to achieve something. Don't use brick walls as a way to stop you from what you believe, want to accomplish or achieve. Instead, use them as a chance to show the world how badly you want it. You should show your dedication. In a way, a brick wall can be seen as an "obstacle" in your life. You have to get through that obstacle and chase your dreams. I think this is important advice to teach your students. You should encourage your students and let them know that they have to be strong and firm about what they want. Along the way, there will be brick walls or obstacles but don't let that affect you. Find your way around the brick wall than to let it stop you. If you get rejected from your dream University, don't let that stop you. Keep trying and one day something good will come. Randy Pausch was rejected from Carnegie Mellon but he kept trying. He eventually got accepted.

Another big advice he gave us that he used during his time teaching at Carnegie Mellon is do not set the bar for your students. At 34:44 minutes of the video, he asked his "sensei" Andy on what to do about the students remarkable projects. Basically Andy told him that he should just go back in class and tell his students that they did well but can do better. The reason behind it is because since Randy didn't even know how high of a bar he should set, why even set one? Like Andy says, setting one without knowledge is a disservice to the students. Instead of setting a bar, just keep pushing them. I think this is important because once you set a bar, whether you know how high or not, you always want your students to keep going forward. My parents always did that with me. I come home with projects, papers and exams that I received 90's on. They were happy but not extremely. They said I can do better. At first I was mad but I am glad they did that. I pushed myself harder. I learned and achieved more than I would ever before. Once you let a student know that they have done the best they can do, most of them will just stop and won't continue discovering or put in the effort. This is not for all students. It happens most of the time.

From the many advice he gave, I think the best advice is to never give up. I have always lived by that even though many people have tried to get it across me that there are things that are just "impossible". Once upon a time, creating medicine to fight headaches was impossible. Once upon a time, landing on the moon was impossible. What do you know now? One day, we will be able to fly on our own. It is also important to never give up on your hopes and dreams. One day, if you believe in it and never give up, it will happen. I think this is extremely important for students. As they grow up and are learning new things, they will have people coming into their life telling them that they are foolish and had already set the bar for them. For example, your parents may tell you that you are not college material because they weren't or they just don't think you are. If you really want to college, believe it and don't give up. If you really want to grow up and be an astronaut, don't give up. As a future educator, it will be the most important thing I'll do. It's not for teaching's sake but to help my future students.

I can go on and on about the many advice he gave. I have a long list of advice I jotted down while watching the video. I can go on forever writing about it. For my future classroom, there is nothing I wouldn't use from this video. I'd want to help my students, push them to do better, give them feedback and teach them how to listen to it, teach them gratitude, loyalty, tell them to never give up, achieve their childhood dreams and many more. These are not things that a student should only learn for education but for their life. These are things that can be applied to your life. I will also teach them how to be positive no matter what. Randy Pausch was dying, suffering from cancer and had all sorts of problems but that did not stop him from anything he wanted to do. He can even do more push-ups than me! Having a positive attitude is also a key and I believe it will be for students as well.

I loved the video and feel really inspired. I really wish I would've known about him earlier in life. I would have loved to attend one of his speeches. I found myself tearing a bit, not because I pity him but because we lost a great person on Earth. We need more people like him. We need more people who are willing to help our future generation. We need people like him to teach others how to achieve your childhood dreams and to never give up. Even until he died, he was a positive and humorous guy. Like he asked, do you want to be the Tigger or the Eeyore? He was the Tigger and I think everyone should be. I understand that there are times in our life where it's a struggle. We have things that occur but don't let those stop you from your dreams. I have been through a serious case of depression before. It was for about 4-5 years. In the end, I pushed myself. I made a choice to go forward because I couldn't stand it anymore. I understand that not many people have that initial push. This is where I say that I am sad we lost a great man like him. He is a person who would give you that initial push. Randy was successful. Success doesn't come on its own. We build it on our own. We try and go forward. We go around all the brick walls that are in our way. We shouldn't complain about our problems. Instead of complaining, we should think of ways to fix it. We should never give up and never lose our childhood dreams or our vision. These are all the advice we should take and apply into our future classrooms, our own life, children and many others.

Project #9 - TimeToast

My TimeToast project is based on my life. I will use this as an example in my future K-6 classroom. Even though most people will do a timeline based on their life, I believe it is important to. It is a great way to make you realize how far you got in life, what accomplishments you have done, what you have experienced and know that you still have a lot of time ahead of you. Even for a young student, it will remind them of how far they have come along since birth. For them, they may add what happened in their life that was important to them. Like me, I added the birth of my brothers, my graduations, my dog, marriage and etc.

C4K Summary for September

For my first C4K assignment, I was assigned to Brandon, a 5th grade student from Room 13 at PT England School. His teacher is named Miss King. In his post, he wrote about what he learned from the basketball lessons taught by Mr. Thia and how sad he was. He learned the rules of basketball, how to dribble, shoot and run & dribble at the same time. He also learned how to double dribble, which is when you run and dribble with two hands. In the end, he was sad because that was the last basketball lesson. It sounded like he really enjoyed the basketball lessons! These basketball lessons were for Room 13, not just Brandon. Most of his classmates had fun and were sad as well.

In my comment, I told him that it will be alright and he will have basketball lessons again. I suggested that in the meantime he can teach others what he learned from Mr. Thia! Not many people, like me, know the rules of basketball, do the double dribble or even shoot correctly! In a way, what you learn can be helpful for others. I also said that he can continue practicing even if it's the last basketball lesson. He can still go play basketball with his family and friends.

For my second C4K assignment, I was assigned to Sierra, a 7th grade student from Mrs. Krebs class. She wrote about her upcoming "Homecoming Week". There are different special events and activities each day of the week. She did not say what happens on Monday. On Tuesday, it is "Monochromatic Day" and each class is assigned a color. Her class has to wear yellow on that day. On Wednesday it's "50 Nifty". Each person wears 50 of one thing. She chose to wear 50 cards! On Thursday it's "Herd Day". Their class will be dressing as baboons. On Friday it's "Spartan Fanatic day or Old School Day". They dress up as a Spartan or dress in an "Old School" style. I am not sure what is "Old School" style to them and she did not mention.

All of this sounds very interesting and fun. I know I never experienced something like this before during my Junior High School days! In my comment, I asked her what monochromatic meant just to see if she was taught it and if she remembered. I also told her my experiences from school. Instead of having "50-Nifty", we had "100-days-of-School". That is when we make something out of 100 of one thing. It could be 100 cheerio made into a necklace. She replied me with the definition of monochromatic and she said they have something similar to "100-days-of-School" too! For the "50-Nifty", she actually had all 50 cards in tact by the end of the day! She also said she had fun during "Homecoming Week"!

Blog Assignment #5

iSchool? Maybe.

The videos "The iSchool initiative (Mobile Learning)" and "Travis Allen's ZeitgeistYoungMinds entry (Mobile Learning) iSchool Initiative" by Travis Allen are very creative, interesting and thoughtful. When he made the video, he was a 17 year old high school student who had an idea in mind to help schools and students way of learning. He used YouTube to relay his ideas. When he was 18, he formed the iSchool Initiative. He is now a student of Kennesaw State University in Georgia, travelling the world with his team of 25 members to inspire schools into mobile learning and making a difference. In these videos, he talks about his ideas, what he hopes to change within schools and ways to help students learn better at a lower budget. Like the iTouch, which provides us many apps that help us interact and learn, he hoped to launch the iSchool. The iSchool Initiative is also to battle against the massive budget cuts all schools are facing. Ischool is a similar handheld device like the iTouch but for school use only. It will be built on Apple's iTouch platform. It will have applications to replace expensive graphing calculators, expensive college textbooks, printers, pencils, paper, and etc. There are also apps that allow students to travel the Universe with just a single tough. There is also an app that contains all the formulas a student would ever need. With all this in mind, for the sake of learning, the iSchool device is limited to school use only. This will prevent the worries of students browsing, texting or calling during class time. This is also helpful for teachers. They will get instant access to any class, set up due dates, assignments and etc. at anytime, anywhere. This is also a benefit for parents since they can monitor or look up their child's progress at the palm of their hands. It is really a creative and helpful idea to fight against budget cuts and the quality of student learning. This will also help our environment. Because it's paperless, we are going "green".

Even though it's creative and it seems helpful, there are just a few things that will take a negative impact. Because this is will remove the need of books, paper, printers, calculators and such, wouldn't it also remove jobs as well? Wouldn't this remove business such as Staples, Office Depot, printing companies, factories and etc.? Wouldn't this remove teachers from their jobs too? It sounds good for the schools part but wouldn't we have more people who will be unemployed? I don't think we can afford to "go green", fire people or shut down business at this time of the century. As a student, I would love iSchool but I really don't mind paying $100 for a textbook, $150 for a graphic calculator or doing things the traditional way. Yes, it is money out of my pocket but it is also money back into business. For businesses to run, people need to spend. Yes, textbooks are really high in price through our bookstore but have you asked why that is the case? Have you done research on it? Greed is not the answer. In a way, I feel like I am helping both me and the businesses associated. The production of iSchool may produce jobs but I don't think it'll be enough. The iSchool would also require everyone to learn the technology. The idea of iSchool would also kill the essence of many things such as physical interaction, face-to-face communication, motor skills and etc. Even now, what ever happened to penmanship? What ever happened to writing papers in proper English? We have students who are so reliant on technology to fix it. Let's give them those old manual typewriters. How many errors would they make? Sorry there is no backspace available or auto correct. We will become too reliant on this device to the point where we don't even know "how" to talk to one another or how we can live without it. Even today, there are people who believe it's the end of the world when they lose their smartphone. There are people who hang out but all they do is text each other instead of actually talking. Also, I would much rather an Engineer knows his formulas, chemicals, solutions and such with memory than by relying on a device that spits out answers. Yes, with iSchool it'll be much easier and quicker to access information but we will develop a reliance on it. What if the iSchool app fails or has an issue? Every electronic will have their issues. Is there a work around? What if teachers are then required to give a paper exam. Would students know how to solve a problem without the device? What if a student needs to do research, their device doesn't work and the library is shut down because of the awesome development of the device? What will they do then? Well, we would use another device or go on the internet but that is not the point. I am not saying that the iSchool is entirely a bad thing. I love technology and would prefer to spend less money but I think iSchool will have more of a negative impact than a positive one across the board. I personally prefer the traditional ways of learning. To counter school budget cuts and layoffs is not by producing a device to solve it but to stand against the one's making the cutting decisions. Even if we produce a device to counter the problems we have in schools, they can surely cut the amount of devices we can have in the school as well. They can also cut more teachers and staff. Let's say every school decides to go with the iSchool phenomenon, which means the government will have to borrow or print more money to get the parts or China to produce it. It's more national spending, less jobs for the U.S. because people who create books, pencils, calculators, run the labs, library and such will be laid off, less spending and consumption by our citizens and etc. The iSchool has the ability to counter the issues but would it really helpful in the long run on many accounts? That is the question. It may work, and I have to give Travis Allen credit for coming up with a brilliant idea. We need more people like him that wants to help solve the problems in schools one way or another.

Virtual Choir

After reading Jennifer Chamber’s post and watched Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, it is truly amazing how creative a person can be and learn how powerful technology can be!! Basically it is a video consisting 185 different people around the world who does not know each other at all yet they created an outstanding choir through the power of technology and the creativity of Eric Whitacre. Eric Whitacre is a famous American Grammy award-winning composer and conductor. He created the "Virtual Choir" project to bring together the many people around the world together. What he is doing is a beautiful and remarkable thing. Technology can bring people together to create something beautiful like this. Things such as national problems, stereotypes, prejudice, skin color, cultural differences and etc. were set aside. You can also think of it as uniting hearts across the globe to make a movement. Technology allows us to be who we are without the fear of what society thinks and allows us to create something extraordinary. They did not need to meet, practice together or anything like that. Each individual simply stayed who they are, believed in their capabilities regardless of what others might say, and weren't shy about it. It doesn't matter if they we are not "perfect", are “off-key" or not a singer. Each individual has their own talent and that talent can be used in anything. I think that was the message he wanted to send us. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are from, you make a difference and can make or be of something remarkable. Everyone is beautiful and talented in their own ways. Technology is used to show all of this. Technology is too powerful in many ways. This is showing us how we can be united together in a single voice of peace and not war. In fact, technology or the use of internet is how me and my husband got together. We never regretted a single moment and I would like to thank the existence of the internet that changed our lives. I also thank technology for it allowed Eric Whitacre create this beautiful voice and song of the world.

Teaching in the 21st Century?

The video, " Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Roberts (Dr. John Strange version)", really makes you think especially if you a future educator. The way we teach is going to change as more and more technology is integrated into the classrooms. I think Kevin Roberts wants us to know that what we teach and the teaching strategies will change but that doesn't mean it's the end of the teaching career. We will no longer be the main source for information but a filter. That may sound absurd but in a way, it's still teaching. The student can use Google, Wikipedia and other websites out there to get the information but someone has to teach them how to do it, how to search and understand which information is actually useful. We need to be the ones teaching them how to use that information effectively. He believes we will be the ones teaching the necessary skills a student needs. Even though teaching in the 21st century may be a change out of the traditional norm, it's going to happen and we need to go with the "flow". Our careers won't end but it'll surely be different.

I honestly don't know what to think about this. I know I have to accept this reality and see it as a positive change. I guess it can be a good thing. I personally don't mind it but I can see many people who are not going to be happy about it. I dislike knowing the idea that I will just be a "filter". In the end, we can still "teach", just not the factual information but the skills. That is still an important thing to teach people. We may lose the part where we are the main source but at least we still have something we can make a difference in. In reality, teaching is not just about teaching factual information and the skills too. Students need to be thought how to analyze, apply, observe, and dissect the information they obtain. They also need to be taught the morals, the rules, and etc. We are here to do that.

Flipping The Classroom

The videos, "Why I Flipped the Classroom" by Miss Katie, FAQ videos by Miss Katie and Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ - Flipping the Classroom" by Dr. Lodge, teaches you the ways you can "flip" or "change" the classroom into a "better" one. They are both teachers that found problems in their classrooms. The problems are not just in their own classrooms but many. Most will ask the question, how can I fix it? These two teachers suggested "flipping the classroom". Instead of wasting time with problems students may have such as not understanding the material, being too behind, too ahead and etc., and students are provided with information before the class starts. What this means is students will have the materials available to them before the class. If they have any questions, they can ask before class. This can help students catch up and ask questions out of class time. Also these materials can be re-watched or reviewed. This allows students who are behind to catch up with the rest of the class. "Flipping the classroom" allows students to learn at their own pace without interfering with actual class time. Because these are out of class time, there are more room to apply materials during class.

In Dr. Lodge's video, he started a "FIZZ" project. He says that there is too much lecture in the classroom, which is not engaging. He also says that telling the students to independently learn is also not engaging. Therefore he started the FIZZ project to help train educators to "flip" the classroom. Students are learning outside of the classroom through videos provided by their teachers whenever and however they want. This allows for students who are behind to catch up to. It is very similar to Miss Katie's "flipping the classroom". Instead of lecturing during class time, the teacher should act as a facilitator and have students apply their knowledge.

All of these are good ideas and ways change teaching and the classroom. Providing students videos, interactive ways of learning, information and such before the class starts is a positive thing. I really like the idea. There will be problems like students not watching the videos but that can be fixed. As a student, there are many classes that I've been in where 80% of the semester is the professor trying to cater to those who are behind. I feel like my time was wasted. It is fine to try to get students to catch up but please do not use the entire lecture time. I would like to learn something new, ways to apply the information and such. To fix this, I think we should have been giving the information and a forum where we can post our problems. Our problems can be answered by the professor or other students. This allows interaction between students. Even during this semester, there are some classes where I just sit there and practically do nothing because the professor focuses on getting the students behind to catch up. I only attend class because I'm required to. I think "flipping" the classroom is what we need to do.

My Sentence Video

Blog Assignment #4

Langwitches: 1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook

In Langwitches: 1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook", it is very interesting to know how 1st graders, or any student is intrigued by technology. Langwitches is a blog by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, a World Language teacher, Technology Integration Facilitator and 21st Century Learning Specialist. The first grade got to record their own podcast and write their own scripts. This promoted a new and fun learning experience! The podcast is a great way to promote teamwork as well! They were read chapter by chapter as they wrote the script and were taken out of the classroom to record them. A little booklet was made for other students to follow as the podcast played. It is also great that there is a special sound at the start of a new chapter to help those who are lost. As they listen to themselves, they are aware of their own voices and individuality. In the posted results, most of them wanted to re-record themselves and experimented with their voices to make it funny or intense! Giving students the opportunity to explore something new can create new learning experiences, give them a sense of self-awareness and go beyond what they think they could do. The podcast can also be a way to improve the students reading, writing, comprehension and listening skills!

The podcast is a great and fun way for students to learn! I am kind of excited for our own podcast project. I am sure I would want to re-record myself many, many times before I think it is "right"! I think we will all have fun with it like the 1st graders did. I am sure we will all be aware of how we really sound like. When we talk and hear ourselves, it's actually different from how we really sound when others hear us. It is an interesting discovery when I first heard myself in a recording. I will definitely apply this into my future classroom. I am sure all the students will have fun!

Podcasting With The First Grade

In Miss Silvia's blog post, Podcasting with the First Grade, she tells us how a podcast can be a fun and wonderful learning experience for elementary kids! After listening to the second graders podcast about animals, the first graders were interested in creating their own podcast! They were excited about gaining exposure and audience from the outside world, experimenting with their voices, using technology and stepping onto new learning platforms! They were also excited to place their podcast into "other people's computer and iPods". She read "Vacation under the Volcano" by Mary Pope Osborne from the Magic Tree House series and engaged in discussions with the students to come up with ideas on what to put in their podcast. They decided to create an interview between two characters of the book, Jack and Annie. The boys played Jack while the girls played Annie. A script was written for the students to follow. Each one of them had a chance at being recorded! While recording was in session, students that were not being recorded were reading or doing other classwork. What was amazing is that the students cooperated, behaved, and were patient and eager to learn more! They were also pointing out mistakes Miss Silvia had missed. There were a lot of engagement and interactions going on! This activity also allowed room for boundless creativity!

It is amazing how a podcast can help enhance a student's development, strengthen their abilities, improve their reading comprehension, expand their learning capabilities, and allow for creative and many more! This is definitely a superb activity to do with children of any grade level. A podcast can also teach them about current technology! It is always good to prepare students for the world especially in the technological world. We are always advancing in the modern world. It is a benefit that students learn about technology. This is a must-do activity in a future classroom! This can bring the entire classroom together. No one is left behind.

The Benefits of Podcasting in a Classroom

Joe Dale created an awesome post and video on the benefits of podcasting in a classroom. Joe Dale strives for technology in education, is an independent consultant for many organizations such as Microsoft, Skype the BBC, The Guardian and etc. He is also a host for various education forums, a speaker, game designer and a blogger. In his video, he shows us examples of how a podcast can be a benefit. A podcast can allow students who are sick or absent to catch up with the work without having to be in the classroom, record a lecture for reviewing instead of having the teacher speak again, or incorporate it into an activity. Because it's on the internet, anyone can access it at any time without having to bother people. You can learn at your own pace! This caters to the different ways a student learns. Like Joe Dale says, podcast allows creativity and innovation! In the video, we also learned about "vodcast", basically a podcast where the students can incorporate visuals for others. The activities that incorporate a podcast expands the use of technology, promotes team work, improve reading & writing skills, improves comprehension, is fun & interactive, and a new learning experience! The students are engaged and eager to learn. They can also experiment for themselves. Allowing students to take control and "teaching" others is also a good experience. Because they are having fun, it can be memorable! We always remember the good times in our life! A podcast can also show parents what their children are doing at school! This can also show parents that technology is not necessarily a "bad" thing.

It is important in this day in age that we all learn about most technology and how to apply it into our classrooms and our life. There are more benefits than we think. A podcast can help students study, gain interactive skills, and improve their way of learning. By bringing fun and innovative things into the classroom, it engages students! And because it's a recording, students can always go back to it for a review. A podcast is definitely worth implementing into a classroom. I cannot wait to work on our own podcast because we will be learning something fun and new. I also cannot wait to see what other classmate’s podcasts are like! Let the creativity flow!!

C4T Summary #1

For the C4T, I was assigned to Mr. David Truss, a Vice Principal with the Learning Innovations Network Coquitlam (in BC, Cananda) and with Coquitlam Open Learning & the new Inquiry Hub. His blog Pair-a-Dimes For your Thoughts is a place for many, many helpful advice and words of experience from him as an educator.

I commented on one of his post called "Pushing and Nudging with Andy Hargreaves"that consisted many, many great quotes about the quality of teaching and how we should teach our students! He was posting about a book called "The Fourth Way: The Inspiring Future for Educational Change" by Andy Hargreaves and how that book made him rethink about our education. Within the post, he provided many quotes and phrases from Andy and twitter. It wasn't a very long or a detailed post but the quotes alone can make you think. One quote that made me think the most is one said by Andy Hargreaves. He says "the most significant in-school factor that affects student achievement is the quality of teaching." Like I told David Truss in my comments, many people misunderstand what "quality teaching" really is. A teacher has to teach effectively, support their students, be a guide and role model and etc. There has to be a structure. Without structure, everything is hectic and unorganized! A teacher has to be committed and understand that students will need your help!

Even so, I asked him what he kind of suggestions and advice he would give to a new teacher since we are all hoping to be teachers one day! He replied with a strong and powerful answer! It really sparked me and I never even thought of it that way. He chose the right words to relay his message. He says that he would suggest new teachers to be fearless and "model what it means to be a lifelong learner". By this, he means that we should teach our student to be daring, to accept failure and learn how failure can become the best teacher. With failure, you make new learning experiences, learn new ways to approach a problem and make you wiser. This isn't just to teach the students for a school environment but for their entire life. It's like what most people say. Mistakes are our best teachers. We learn the most when we make mistakes. David Truss is absolutely right on that! I'm quite surprised he actually replied!

On my second C4T assignment, I had the pleasure to read and comment on one of his most recent post, Digital Literacy and Inquiry Hub. He talks about a new system that they are running for their students. It's basically an online hub where students use technology to learn. Even though they are starting this, most students do not have the require skills to use it. During one of his lessons, he had to teach the students the basic essentials before using technology to communicate with the outer world. He taught them how to control themselves and respect. He also did a toothpaste activity and read a story called "The Bad Temper" to explain how the toothpaste project was related. Basically the students emptied the toothpaste tubes and had to put all of it back into the tube with provided resources. The students were broken up into groups of four and had to figure it out. This required team work and patience. It was very interesting. The activity is not so much about the toothpaste but how the students behave towards each other as they get frustrated with the activity. It's a life lesson. This is a good learning experience and it is helpful especially before using technology to communicate online.

Project #5 - Google Presentation

Blog Assignment #3

Peer Editing

In the video, "What is Peer Editing?", and the slideshow, "Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial", I learned many ways to do effective peer editing and what peer editing really means. Peer editing is when you make suggestions, compliments, revision and improvements on a peer's writing or work. A peer is usually someone your own age. From the video and slideshow, I learned about the three important steps to peer editing.

In step one, you have to compliment and be positive. Being positive can influence the mood of the individual and not make it seem like editing is a bad thing. Like in the video, think about how you want to be peer edited. Do you want your peer editor to provide you mean comments or positive compliments along with what you need to edit? Along with compliments, you should provide what you think they did well in. I think this is a good thing because it gives the writer the feeling that their work is not entirely bad. In step two, you make suggestions. When making suggestions, you have to be specific. This also includes telling them how to improve their writing, see if they stayed on the main topic, see if they chose the correct vocabulary, if they are organized so there is a flow in the writing, and etc. The third and last step is making corrections. Corrections include checking for correct punctuation, grammar, sentence structure and spelling.

These are all important things to consider when peer editing or when writing your own paper! I usually have a lot of grammatical errors. I have trouble writing my papers but I am constantly trying and get reviewed. My husband and my mother-in-law are my peer editors. They both excel in English. Without thinking or even watching the video and slideshow, they do all of the steps! I would appreciate it if all my future peer editors follow these steps. It is important to always help and let your peer know what their mistakes are and how to fix it. Using a positive manner makes them feel better and not like they are being berated. Treat them how you would want to be treated. When you correct someone or make a suggestion, it is not always an easy thing to do. Some people may get offensive, defensive, not understanding or inconsiderate. As a peer editor and a writer, you have to be open minded and willing to accept other people's opinions.

Speaking about the different editors you might get, this leads to the other video, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. It's a funny video featuring a student of the 4th or 5th grade showing us the kind of peer reviews we shouldn't be conducting. You have situations where one peer may not be paying attention, being too picky, defensive, offensive, rude and insulting, pushy, easily distracted and/or provides little to no adequate suggestions. These are not the kind of qualities a peer should have when conducting a quality peer review! I enjoyed the video and the fact that they used young students to participate. Even though the video features young students, it doesn't mean it's only for young students. It's for us, adults, as well. We do the same thing and make the same mistakes. We need to understand what it takes to provide a quality peer review in order to help others and ourselves.

Technology in Special Education

Technology in Special Education by Lace Cook is an excellent video that shows us how effective technology can be in Special Education! It is amazing how technology can help students in Special Education learn, communicate and participate more than usual. The students don't feel limited and are eager to learn. In Lace Cook's classroom, students use technology to interact with each other, work on assignments quicker and make their life easier! For example, a student named Corbin was doing silent reading via an iPod audio book. Before he used this technology, he needed an assistant to read to him out in the hallway. This required him to be out of the classroom. By using the iPod audio book, he can stay in the classroom with his classmates and can be independent reading by himself! Technology helps students in special education communicate better too! Another student, Christopher Newman, benefited from this. Instead of having to point his finger at the alphabet sheet to spell a word to construct his sentence, which he had trouble with, he would use the laptop and click the letters as they appear. There is a visual and an audio that goes with each letter too. That is a major plus! This is a lot quicker in terms of communication.

By providing technology which can improve their life can also improve their future. Their life won't be as limited. This gives them a new kind of hope and goals. It doesn't only benefit them but also the teachers. Because more students are able to independently work, teachers can tend to more students than before. I would definitely use technology in a Special Education classroom. It's a way of helping them and changing lives.

How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism

"How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism" is a video of Braden, an 8-year-old boy with autism, who uses an iPad to do his homework with the help of his dad. On the iPad, there are several applications that can help Braden with his reading, writing and counting. In some ways, this works better than doing it on paper because the iPad interacts with you. There is an instant feedback. When Braden was asked by the iPad to count the numbers, he responded by pressing each shape that responds with a number for him to repeat. Because he is constantly being engaged, he is more interested and motivated to learn! A piece of paper won't do any of that. Besides the counting applications, there are writing applications that can enhance fine motor skills. It works the same way with paper and pencil but this is a way of going "green". Even though it works the same, the light and the way the pad looks gives a different feel than a piece of paper. Ipads or any other tablets with applications are excellent for children with special needs. Even though iPads are expensive, I think they are an investment in the long run. An investment not in terms of money but in terms of how many lives you will change.

An iPad application I came across that I will use in a Special Education classroom would be "Elmo Loves ABCs for Ipad". It is an interactive application that allows you to practice your ABCs. It teaches you how to identify the letters, sound it out, and write it. There is a tracing activity to help the student practice. There is music and art activities that go with it. All of these can enhance a students' motor skills, creativity, alphabets and communication. Especially with students in Special Education classrooms, this application promotes a fun-filled environment. There are visuals that come with each alphabet too. Rather than learning each alphabet on paper, they can learn it through the iPad and have fun while doing it by playing the little games and art activities it provides. I feel that it is important to enhance the ABCs because that is what people need to learn before they can read and write. Before an autistic student can construct a word or sentence, they need to understand the alphabets. Like in the previous video, Technology in Special Education by Lace Cook, some of her students needed to point out each letter to construct a word. If they did not know what each letter is, they wouldn't know how to construct the word they want to. it is truly amazing what applications can do for a person!

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

After watching the video, Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, it is great that people like students and educators are promoting worldwide interaction to create something that benefits everyone. No one is excluded, not even students who live in rural places in Georgia. In the video, educator and innovative teacher Vicki Davis explains to us what she tries to teach her students and what the students create with the power of technology. She doesn't throw definitions at her students but push them to be thinkers for themselves. She tries to get her students to be thinkers, do their own searches and teaches the students to use every kind of technology to connect them to the world! She tries to harness their abilities. She does not leave anyone out. She understands that everyone have their strength and weaknesses and different interests. She uses those to customize her classroom, that way everyone is included. Because of that, it promotes collaborations and teamwork.

It is like our class, EDM310. Instead of paper and pencils, we are going "green". Not all of us know or understand certain technology but this class will harness our digital smarts. We are constantly learning new things about technology, new ways to interact with the world, learning how to use new applications such as Blogger and Twitter, how to become thinkers, effective writers, learn how to apply technology in future classrooms and etc. I believe it is important that every student should know how to use technology effectively. Our world is getting more and more advanced. We should take advantage of it. We should all harness our digital smarts in a way that can benefit yourself and others! By doing that, we can connect ourselves to the world. No matter where you are, where you are from, urban or rural, you are always included and not limited just your environment. I am from New York City, moved to Mobile a year ago. I went from a big city to a small one but that doesn't limit me. I use all sorts of social technology to interact worldwide. I also learn a lot from it. I am constantly interacting with people throughout the nation, throughout Europe, Asia, Australia and etc through blogs, forums, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. I am also constantly connected through games just like the students in Vicki David's classroom! When you interact with people such as educators from around the world, you learn a lot more and can help more people.