Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Blog Post 10
An Open Letter To Educators
Morgan Bayda does a great job of showing and explaining the video posted by Dan Brown. In his video, he explains why he dropped out of school. His reason was that “school is interfering with my education”. This didn’t make sense until I heard exactly what he was talking about. He talks about sitting in a lecture for two hours writing as quickly as you can while your professor flips through slides and allows you to talk to no one except the professor s themselves. I can relate to this in that most of my classes are this exact way. The teachers believe they are educating us by telling us to take notes about facts, learn them, and we will be tested. This is not educating us and will not help us in the real world. After I’ve taken my notes, memorized them, and was tested on them I have already forgotten what I memorized and in actuality nothing was learned. I can relate to Morgan Bayda in the way that all of her classes allowed no talking and discussing the “facts” with other students. Comparing that to this EDM 310 class, it is almost polar opposite. In this class we are encouraged to talk to other classmates and discuss our assignments, leave comments, and help each other out. This seems the same as the Ed computer classes Morgan Bayda took herself. Overall, I thought this post and video were well thought out and I completely agree with them.
Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
I liked this video a lot and I think those two questions can actually change my life. My sentence is “They are the reason I am furthering my education”. I really liked this video and I can now ask myself the second question every night of “Was I better today than yesterday?” My answer to this question will hopefully keep me motivated to continue my education and in the future help students to become educated. Maybe I can be the reason a student wants to further their education. Great things to think about.
Morgan Bayda does a great job of showing and explaining the video posted by Dan Brown. In his video, he explains why he dropped out of school. His reason was that “school is interfering with my education”. This didn’t make sense until I heard exactly what he was talking about. He talks about sitting in a lecture for two hours writing as quickly as you can while your professor flips through slides and allows you to talk to no one except the professor s themselves. I can relate to this in that most of my classes are this exact way. The teachers believe they are educating us by telling us to take notes about facts, learn them, and we will be tested. This is not educating us and will not help us in the real world. After I’ve taken my notes, memorized them, and was tested on them I have already forgotten what I memorized and in actuality nothing was learned. I can relate to Morgan Bayda in the way that all of her classes allowed no talking and discussing the “facts” with other students. Comparing that to this EDM 310 class, it is almost polar opposite. In this class we are encouraged to talk to other classmates and discuss our assignments, leave comments, and help each other out. This seems the same as the Ed computer classes Morgan Bayda took herself. Overall, I thought this post and video were well thought out and I completely agree with them.
Two Questions That Can Change Your Life
I liked this video a lot and I think those two questions can actually change my life. My sentence is “They are the reason I am furthering my education”. I really liked this video and I can now ask myself the second question every night of “Was I better today than yesterday?” My answer to this question will hopefully keep me motivated to continue my education and in the future help students to become educated. Maybe I can be the reason a student wants to further their education. Great things to think about.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Blog Post 9
“What I’ve Learned This Year” By: Mr. McClung
This post about Mr. McClung’s first year of teaching was really inspiring. I felt that everything he had to say made so much sense and his response to his own thoughts about teaching are extremely helpful. He starts off by saying that reading the crowd is one of the first things he has learned from being a teacher. Basically, we don’t need to focus on ourselves. Don’t worry about doing the lesson plan perfect because the superiors are watching. We need to focus on the students and make sure they are actually learning. He then talks about being flexible and being able to communicate. These two thoughts, in my opinion, are two of the most important ideas. Throughout high-school, I played sports and if it weren’t for my teachers being flexible and able to communicate with me I would’ve failed majority of my classes. I missed many classes due to away games and my teachers were always willing to work with me to keep me on top of my assignments. Being responsible was another thing Mr. McClung talked about. If a teacher isn’t responsible he or she really shouldn’t be teaching. Our job as educators is to never let the student get down on themselves for not doing well; this is being responsible. After responsibility comes technology. He says we shouldn’t be afraid of technology. I am so thankful to be taking this class because this class alone has taken me out of my comfort zone with technology and introduced me to so many amazing things. I agree that no one should be afraid of technology and everyone needs to realize it is here to make our lives so much easier if we would let it. Another great point brought up my Mr. McClung is to always listen to your students. This is so important because if the students realize you don’t care, why should they care? I had a few classes in high-school like this and to this day I regret not caring. I had teachers that would just give everyone As and I was ok with that because as long as the teacher didn’t care, I didn’t care. Finally he talks about how important it is to never quit learning. Once teachers accomplish their goal of becoming a teacher, many believe their learning process is over and it’s now time to teach. Wrong. Teachers should always be willing to learn while they teach. I really enjoyed what Mr. McClung had to say and I agree with him 100%.
This post about Mr. McClung’s first year of teaching was really inspiring. I felt that everything he had to say made so much sense and his response to his own thoughts about teaching are extremely helpful. He starts off by saying that reading the crowd is one of the first things he has learned from being a teacher. Basically, we don’t need to focus on ourselves. Don’t worry about doing the lesson plan perfect because the superiors are watching. We need to focus on the students and make sure they are actually learning. He then talks about being flexible and being able to communicate. These two thoughts, in my opinion, are two of the most important ideas. Throughout high-school, I played sports and if it weren’t for my teachers being flexible and able to communicate with me I would’ve failed majority of my classes. I missed many classes due to away games and my teachers were always willing to work with me to keep me on top of my assignments. Being responsible was another thing Mr. McClung talked about. If a teacher isn’t responsible he or she really shouldn’t be teaching. Our job as educators is to never let the student get down on themselves for not doing well; this is being responsible. After responsibility comes technology. He says we shouldn’t be afraid of technology. I am so thankful to be taking this class because this class alone has taken me out of my comfort zone with technology and introduced me to so many amazing things. I agree that no one should be afraid of technology and everyone needs to realize it is here to make our lives so much easier if we would let it. Another great point brought up my Mr. McClung is to always listen to your students. This is so important because if the students realize you don’t care, why should they care? I had a few classes in high-school like this and to this day I regret not caring. I had teachers that would just give everyone As and I was ok with that because as long as the teacher didn’t care, I didn’t care. Finally he talks about how important it is to never quit learning. Once teachers accomplish their goal of becoming a teacher, many believe their learning process is over and it’s now time to teach. Wrong. Teachers should always be willing to learn while they teach. I really enjoyed what Mr. McClung had to say and I agree with him 100%.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Blog Post 8
This Is How We Dream Part 1 and 2
In these two videos, Richard Miller explains how much things have changed when it comes to writing and researching. He describes our desktop as a workshop and we use Word Processing apps to write about our research. We no longer have to go to the library we can easily use the internet to find exactly what we are looking for.
While books in the library only have so many copies, the internet is full of different copies. We are now able to share our information and while 3 people could be looking at the same book in the library, millions can be looking online at the same book. Although the internet having these sources and information is so convenient and helpful, I hope the print copies will stay around. Internet is not always reliable and often crashes. In the case that a research paper is due in a week and my computer crashes I would go to the library.
I don’t think I am completely prepared to write with multimedia, but as I continue with my school and learn new things everyday about technology, I will be ready when the time is necessary. As an educator I must learn to do this because technology increases day to day and when I’m a teacher my students will already know what to do. I need to be able to do what they can do, but teach them and learn from them at the same time.
Chipper and EDM 310 for dummies
I thought both of these videos were well thought out and had extremely important points to them. The video about Chipper was pretty funny. The moral of it was that you have to always do your work and do it on time. You cannot rely on someone else to do it for you. If this is the case, you will never make it far in life. The EDM 310 video, I thought, was well produced as well as had a good point. The main idea was that this class is difficult and can make you go crazy if you do not know how to use the tools and websites. Once they learned how to use them they realized how beneficial this class will be for all classes. I haven’t had any great ideas for my video and after watching these two videos I feel I need to put much more thought into mine. I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet, but hopefully my video will be equally as great as theirs. This class really is so helpful for me in all my classes as well as life itself.
Smartboard critique
Michael Staton has given two interesting reason as to why he believes “Smartboards are A Dumb Initiative”. His first reason basically says that it doesn’t make anything more efficient or easier, but it makes it look better. As for his second reason, he says administrators just want to spend money and when asking for $200,000 for smartboards sounds better than saying they need the money to improve learning outcomes. He basically just says it’s a cop out when asking for money for technology. As for Bill Ferriter, he gives, in my opinion, more persuading reasons as to why he hates interactive white boards. The main reason I believe his reasons are more believable are because he experimented with a smartboard for a year. He goes on to say that even after time, they will become known as really expensive over head projectors. He also says that the idea of a perfect classroom would be to promote independent discovery and collaborative work so why are we spending so much money on tools that do not promote these two things. While I found it difficult searching for an argument to these approaches, one article titled “Using Smart Boards in K-12 Classroom”, gives both pros and cons to using smart boards. The main idea of the use of smart boards according to this article is that this world is becoming so technological and using smart boards for students helps them to become a part of the technology world. Introducing them to technology in the classroom is one way to help them in life. This article also says teachers need to decide for themselves if using a smart board would be helpful or not. I think this is the best thing because for some teachers smart boards might truly help them in a classroom while others, such as Michael Staton and Bill Ferriter, do not believe they are in any way helpful. I found this article very imformative: http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/reviews/9759.aspx
In these two videos, Richard Miller explains how much things have changed when it comes to writing and researching. He describes our desktop as a workshop and we use Word Processing apps to write about our research. We no longer have to go to the library we can easily use the internet to find exactly what we are looking for.
While books in the library only have so many copies, the internet is full of different copies. We are now able to share our information and while 3 people could be looking at the same book in the library, millions can be looking online at the same book. Although the internet having these sources and information is so convenient and helpful, I hope the print copies will stay around. Internet is not always reliable and often crashes. In the case that a research paper is due in a week and my computer crashes I would go to the library.
I don’t think I am completely prepared to write with multimedia, but as I continue with my school and learn new things everyday about technology, I will be ready when the time is necessary. As an educator I must learn to do this because technology increases day to day and when I’m a teacher my students will already know what to do. I need to be able to do what they can do, but teach them and learn from them at the same time.
Chipper and EDM 310 for dummies
I thought both of these videos were well thought out and had extremely important points to them. The video about Chipper was pretty funny. The moral of it was that you have to always do your work and do it on time. You cannot rely on someone else to do it for you. If this is the case, you will never make it far in life. The EDM 310 video, I thought, was well produced as well as had a good point. The main idea was that this class is difficult and can make you go crazy if you do not know how to use the tools and websites. Once they learned how to use them they realized how beneficial this class will be for all classes. I haven’t had any great ideas for my video and after watching these two videos I feel I need to put much more thought into mine. I haven’t decided what I’m doing yet, but hopefully my video will be equally as great as theirs. This class really is so helpful for me in all my classes as well as life itself.
Smartboard critique
Michael Staton has given two interesting reason as to why he believes “Smartboards are A Dumb Initiative”. His first reason basically says that it doesn’t make anything more efficient or easier, but it makes it look better. As for his second reason, he says administrators just want to spend money and when asking for $200,000 for smartboards sounds better than saying they need the money to improve learning outcomes. He basically just says it’s a cop out when asking for money for technology. As for Bill Ferriter, he gives, in my opinion, more persuading reasons as to why he hates interactive white boards. The main reason I believe his reasons are more believable are because he experimented with a smartboard for a year. He goes on to say that even after time, they will become known as really expensive over head projectors. He also says that the idea of a perfect classroom would be to promote independent discovery and collaborative work so why are we spending so much money on tools that do not promote these two things. While I found it difficult searching for an argument to these approaches, one article titled “Using Smart Boards in K-12 Classroom”, gives both pros and cons to using smart boards. The main idea of the use of smart boards according to this article is that this world is becoming so technological and using smart boards for students helps them to become a part of the technology world. Introducing them to technology in the classroom is one way to help them in life. This article also says teachers need to decide for themselves if using a smart board would be helpful or not. I think this is the best thing because for some teachers smart boards might truly help them in a classroom while others, such as Michael Staton and Bill Ferriter, do not believe they are in any way helpful. I found this article very imformative: http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/reviews/9759.aspx
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Additional Assignent #2
How Kids Teach Themselves
1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
8. How are you motivated to learn?
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
1. I do think learners can teach themselves if they’re motivated. We have had to teach ourselves a lot for this class, and when I’m motivated, it makes it that much easier.
2. I think motivated learners that are kids can teach themselves to a certain point.
3. They need to have technology. When they have a computer they can research and find answers through search engines.
4. They have a major part in this process. The learners, especially children, need to have the computer to teach themselves.
5. Motivation and desire play, in my opinion, the biggest role in this process. The child or learner needs to be completely motivated or they won’t be interested in learning.
6. The role of questions or problems play a major role as well. They make the learner think as well as answer in a timely matter.
7. Motivating someone to learn could be considered one of the most difficult experiences of being an educator. You have to change the way the kids are use to looking at it and make it interesting for them.
8. I am motivated by my teachers and peers. When the people around me are studying and wanting to learn as well as my teacher being excited about teaching makes me want to learn as well.
9. Anyone not motivated to learn can still learn, but it will make the process longer and more difficult.
10. I don’t always teach myself, but sometimes I have to. For this class I have had to teach myself a lot. Although we are given instructions there isn’t someone there showing us step by step. For other classes that I teach myself in, it’s only because the teacher isn’t doing a good job.
11. Teachers have always played a huge role in my learning process. If a teacher is excited and interesting as well as interacts with the class then it is so helpful and much easier to learn. This class has taught me how to teach myself with some instructions.
12. I think the most important idea from this video was when he asked the lady to teach the kids about science. Her response was she didn’t know how it how could she teach it. He told her to just act like a grandmother and admire what the kids were saying and doing. As she did this for 2 months the kids grades went up 20%. This is amazing and proves that repetition alone can improve the learning process.
13. I think teachers need to realize how much kids look up to them and want to “impress” them in the class room. For example, the teacher I was talking about in the above question would say to the students, “oh that’s cool”, “can you do that again for me?”. These statements and questions let the students know the teacher is interested in how they’re doing.
1. What do you think? If learners are motivated, can they teach themselves?
2. If those motivated learners are kids, can they teach themselves?
3. What conditions are necessary for kids to teach themselves? For anyone to teach him or herself?
4. What role do computers and internet access play in the process?
5. What role does motivation, a desire to learn?
6. What roles do a problem, a question or multiple problems or questions play in the process?
7. How do you motivate someone to learn?
8. How are you motivated to learn?
9. Can anyone who is not motivated to learn learn?
10. Do you teach yourself? When? Why?
11. What role does a teacher (either answer generally or use a specific example) play in your learning?
12. What is the most important idea, question or emotional response you take away with you as a result of watching this video?
13. What other questions or issues are raised by this video that should be considered and discussed by aspiring teachers?
1. I do think learners can teach themselves if they’re motivated. We have had to teach ourselves a lot for this class, and when I’m motivated, it makes it that much easier.
2. I think motivated learners that are kids can teach themselves to a certain point.
3. They need to have technology. When they have a computer they can research and find answers through search engines.
4. They have a major part in this process. The learners, especially children, need to have the computer to teach themselves.
5. Motivation and desire play, in my opinion, the biggest role in this process. The child or learner needs to be completely motivated or they won’t be interested in learning.
6. The role of questions or problems play a major role as well. They make the learner think as well as answer in a timely matter.
7. Motivating someone to learn could be considered one of the most difficult experiences of being an educator. You have to change the way the kids are use to looking at it and make it interesting for them.
8. I am motivated by my teachers and peers. When the people around me are studying and wanting to learn as well as my teacher being excited about teaching makes me want to learn as well.
9. Anyone not motivated to learn can still learn, but it will make the process longer and more difficult.
10. I don’t always teach myself, but sometimes I have to. For this class I have had to teach myself a lot. Although we are given instructions there isn’t someone there showing us step by step. For other classes that I teach myself in, it’s only because the teacher isn’t doing a good job.
11. Teachers have always played a huge role in my learning process. If a teacher is excited and interesting as well as interacts with the class then it is so helpful and much easier to learn. This class has taught me how to teach myself with some instructions.
12. I think the most important idea from this video was when he asked the lady to teach the kids about science. Her response was she didn’t know how it how could she teach it. He told her to just act like a grandmother and admire what the kids were saying and doing. As she did this for 2 months the kids grades went up 20%. This is amazing and proves that repetition alone can improve the learning process.
13. I think teachers need to realize how much kids look up to them and want to “impress” them in the class room. For example, the teacher I was talking about in the above question would say to the students, “oh that’s cool”, “can you do that again for me?”. These statements and questions let the students know the teacher is interested in how they’re doing.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Project 10: PLN progress report
For my PLN I've been playing around on Symbaloo. So far, mine is nothing like the 7th graders PLN, but I am working on it each week to perfect it. So far I have the originial favorites it started with such as twitter, apple, and youtube. I have added my personal blog, the EDM310 class blog, the manual and a few others. It is really helpful because I am constantly on the internet for this class and having these sites all on the same page saves me some time. I have found myself to be interested in things I've learned from in this class that I never thought I would be interested in. I think technology is great, but little did I know it was so useful and helpful for all ages, especially in the schooling systems. Once I have my PLN exactly how I want it I will post a link to show you.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Blog Post 7
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
To start off this video, Mr. Randy says why this is called the Last Lecture. He has been diagnosed with 10 tumors in his liver and only has 6 weeks to live. He is not in denial, but still living life exactly how he should. This lecture was not about cancer, not about things more important than your childhood dreams, and not about religion or spirituality. This lecture was about childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned—how to achieve these dreams…or was it? The idea of anything is possible is true according to Mr. Randy. His childhood dreams consisted of being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the World Encyclopedia, being captain Kirk, winning a stuffed animal, and being a Disney Imagineer.
His first childhood dream was accomplished. NASA had a ship called the Vomit Comet and his students were able to go. He thought he was going because he was the professor of these students, but later found out professors could not attend only local journalists. He turned in papers and was able to go as a journalist. His next dream as an NFL star was not accomplished. Although this was not accomplished he learned more from playing football than he did anything. I can relate to this because I played a lot of sports. He was 9 years old when he started playing and he was the smallest kid in the league. He was taught fundamentals as well as learning what caring was. He was constantly nagged on by the coach and later found out when they’re nagging they care, when they stop nagging, they stop caring. I find this to be true as well. All through sports my coaches would get mad at me and I would go home upset. My dad always told me as long as they are getting mad they still care and haven’t given up. When you learn something young enough it becomes a part of you. He had an important quote in his lecture that I find to be true myself; “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. Another important thing he learned from his experience of playing football was the “Head Fake”. This is when you think you’re doing something, but you’re actually learning something more important and better for you. His third dream came true as well. He wrote a virtual article for the World Encyclopedia. As for his fourth dream, he didn’t become Captain Kirk, but he did meet Captain Kirk. One major thing he learned from Captain Kirk was leadership. James T. Kirk wrote a book called Science of Star Trec and from that Mr. Randy was able to build a virtual lab. His fifth dream was to win stuffed animals from theme parks. He won a bunch of these animals and showed pictures to prove. With today’s technology and cynicism he had to actually bring the stuffed animals in person to really prove he had accomplished this dream. As for his final dream, he found out about Disney’s top secret virtual reality Imagineering about Aladin. He talked to Mr. Jon Snoody for 80 hours about Virtual Reality and convinced him he really knew what he was talking about. One thing he learned from Mr. Snoody was that when you give people a chance they will really impress you. I love this because it is so true. When you really hate someone and they do everything in the world to make you mad, one day, whether it is 5 or 10 years, they will impress you.
While everything was going right for Mr. Randy, there was one bad person to try and ruin it all. He was the Dean of the University of Virginia and he called him “Dean Wormer”. He basically told him he couldn’t do what he wanted and Mr. Randy took it to the Dean of Research. While the Dean of Research told Mr. Randy the same things, he said it very differently and with the way he answered Mr. Randy had hope again. Building this Virtual Reality of Aladin at Disney World changed him forever. He said he believes it’s about a one in 5 year chance of doing this and when asked if he would be a REAL Imagineer he said no. He went on with his career as a professor and started a course called Building Virtual Reality. This course consisted of 50 people, 4 people to a team, 5 projects which lasted 2 weeks, and new teams for every new project. He invited people from every department and the virtual reality’s these students created amazed him. He taught the course for 10 years. When he had to give it up he decided it needed to go to someone better then he was. He said when you love something so much pass it on to someone better than you.
He then talks about the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) and gives most of his credit to a man named Don. It required a 2 year masters, but was not like any other masters. There were no books and it was all projects. While the students were at internships, the companies guaranteed these students jobs from this school. The Alice project is then talked about and this is about millions of kids learning something hard while having fun; this is being a true educator.
As for the lesson learned of his lecture, many people he has to thank. First he talks about how great his parents were, full of life. His dad fought in WWII and won a bronze star for valor award, but no one knew, including his wife of 50 years, until his death. His mom was there for him through things like school. While he took the Theory Qualifier, he believes it was the second worse thing after chemo. He would come home and complain about this and his mother’s response was “we know how you feel, when your father was your age he was fighting the Germans”. His parents let him do things like paint his room and he suggested anyone who has kids who want to paint their room, let them. I can relate to this because 5th grade through high-school I painted my room about four different times. My parents knew it didn’t matter in the long run so what will it hurt? Others that helped him with lessons learned were his teachers, mentors, friends, and colleagues. Andy Van Dam, being one of his mentors, told him he never understood why people perceived him as arrogant and this wasn’t good because it would limit him on what he does. Mr. Andy talked him into going to grad school and becoming a teacher. He told him he was a great salesman and what’s better to sale then education? I think this is great because I myself am a great salesperson and I hope this will help with my career as an educator. While Mr. Randy was not accepted to Carnegie Mellon grad-school, he was basically giving up and going straight to work. He talked with Mr. Andy and with connections he was able to get in. He believes loyalty is a two way street as well as Karma.
This lecture overall was great words of wisdom with so many knowledgeable facts that will remain with me throughout my career as an educator. He makes sure to point out that you should always get a feedback loop and listen to it. Show gratitude and don’t complain just work harder. Always be good at something because that shows you’re valuable and find the best in everybody. Always be prepared for anything and the greatest part of this whole lecture was the “head fake”: lead your life. This was not about the three things he originally said, childhood dreams, enabling dreams of others, and lessons learned, it was about leading your life.
To start off this video, Mr. Randy says why this is called the Last Lecture. He has been diagnosed with 10 tumors in his liver and only has 6 weeks to live. He is not in denial, but still living life exactly how he should. This lecture was not about cancer, not about things more important than your childhood dreams, and not about religion or spirituality. This lecture was about childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned—how to achieve these dreams…or was it? The idea of anything is possible is true according to Mr. Randy. His childhood dreams consisted of being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, authoring an article in the World Encyclopedia, being captain Kirk, winning a stuffed animal, and being a Disney Imagineer.
His first childhood dream was accomplished. NASA had a ship called the Vomit Comet and his students were able to go. He thought he was going because he was the professor of these students, but later found out professors could not attend only local journalists. He turned in papers and was able to go as a journalist. His next dream as an NFL star was not accomplished. Although this was not accomplished he learned more from playing football than he did anything. I can relate to this because I played a lot of sports. He was 9 years old when he started playing and he was the smallest kid in the league. He was taught fundamentals as well as learning what caring was. He was constantly nagged on by the coach and later found out when they’re nagging they care, when they stop nagging, they stop caring. I find this to be true as well. All through sports my coaches would get mad at me and I would go home upset. My dad always told me as long as they are getting mad they still care and haven’t given up. When you learn something young enough it becomes a part of you. He had an important quote in his lecture that I find to be true myself; “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. Another important thing he learned from his experience of playing football was the “Head Fake”. This is when you think you’re doing something, but you’re actually learning something more important and better for you. His third dream came true as well. He wrote a virtual article for the World Encyclopedia. As for his fourth dream, he didn’t become Captain Kirk, but he did meet Captain Kirk. One major thing he learned from Captain Kirk was leadership. James T. Kirk wrote a book called Science of Star Trec and from that Mr. Randy was able to build a virtual lab. His fifth dream was to win stuffed animals from theme parks. He won a bunch of these animals and showed pictures to prove. With today’s technology and cynicism he had to actually bring the stuffed animals in person to really prove he had accomplished this dream. As for his final dream, he found out about Disney’s top secret virtual reality Imagineering about Aladin. He talked to Mr. Jon Snoody for 80 hours about Virtual Reality and convinced him he really knew what he was talking about. One thing he learned from Mr. Snoody was that when you give people a chance they will really impress you. I love this because it is so true. When you really hate someone and they do everything in the world to make you mad, one day, whether it is 5 or 10 years, they will impress you.
While everything was going right for Mr. Randy, there was one bad person to try and ruin it all. He was the Dean of the University of Virginia and he called him “Dean Wormer”. He basically told him he couldn’t do what he wanted and Mr. Randy took it to the Dean of Research. While the Dean of Research told Mr. Randy the same things, he said it very differently and with the way he answered Mr. Randy had hope again. Building this Virtual Reality of Aladin at Disney World changed him forever. He said he believes it’s about a one in 5 year chance of doing this and when asked if he would be a REAL Imagineer he said no. He went on with his career as a professor and started a course called Building Virtual Reality. This course consisted of 50 people, 4 people to a team, 5 projects which lasted 2 weeks, and new teams for every new project. He invited people from every department and the virtual reality’s these students created amazed him. He taught the course for 10 years. When he had to give it up he decided it needed to go to someone better then he was. He said when you love something so much pass it on to someone better than you.
He then talks about the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) and gives most of his credit to a man named Don. It required a 2 year masters, but was not like any other masters. There were no books and it was all projects. While the students were at internships, the companies guaranteed these students jobs from this school. The Alice project is then talked about and this is about millions of kids learning something hard while having fun; this is being a true educator.
As for the lesson learned of his lecture, many people he has to thank. First he talks about how great his parents were, full of life. His dad fought in WWII and won a bronze star for valor award, but no one knew, including his wife of 50 years, until his death. His mom was there for him through things like school. While he took the Theory Qualifier, he believes it was the second worse thing after chemo. He would come home and complain about this and his mother’s response was “we know how you feel, when your father was your age he was fighting the Germans”. His parents let him do things like paint his room and he suggested anyone who has kids who want to paint their room, let them. I can relate to this because 5th grade through high-school I painted my room about four different times. My parents knew it didn’t matter in the long run so what will it hurt? Others that helped him with lessons learned were his teachers, mentors, friends, and colleagues. Andy Van Dam, being one of his mentors, told him he never understood why people perceived him as arrogant and this wasn’t good because it would limit him on what he does. Mr. Andy talked him into going to grad school and becoming a teacher. He told him he was a great salesman and what’s better to sale then education? I think this is great because I myself am a great salesperson and I hope this will help with my career as an educator. While Mr. Randy was not accepted to Carnegie Mellon grad-school, he was basically giving up and going straight to work. He talked with Mr. Andy and with connections he was able to get in. He believes loyalty is a two way street as well as Karma.
This lecture overall was great words of wisdom with so many knowledgeable facts that will remain with me throughout my career as an educator. He makes sure to point out that you should always get a feedback loop and listen to it. Show gratitude and don’t complain just work harder. Always be good at something because that shows you’re valuable and find the best in everybody. Always be prepared for anything and the greatest part of this whole lecture was the “head fake”: lead your life. This was not about the three things he originally said, childhood dreams, enabling dreams of others, and lessons learned, it was about leading your life.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Summary for C4T 2
The first teacher I was assigned for C4T 2 wrote about students and blogging. Her title was Reflecting on the Value of Blogging. She and her class believe that blogging is a great way to express their thoughts and set goals. Her students are able to communicate their ideas and experiences just from knowing an audience is reading their blogs. They have realized the values of proof reading and editing their work before posting. I agree with what she has said because before this class I did not blog. Now that I am and know my future bosses will be reading what I have said I want to write things I will not be ashamed of in the near future. She says she and her class believe blogging has given them a real reason to write and I agree completely with that statement. I feel now that I’m not just writing for a class, I’m writing to express my thoughts and feelings about an issue and the world can see my opinion.
The second teacher I was assigned for C4T 2 is a different teacher than the first teacher I was assigned. Mr. Larry Ferlazzo is his name and the title of his blog post is The Best Sites For Images of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season). This post Mr. Ferlazzo basically just posted a list of sites that had information about the season of fall. What I found really interesting about this was he did not just post websites that had strictly written information. He posted sites with pictures and even songs on them. I think this is great because many people like me, are visual learners or learn better by listening. He also posts different geographical locations with pictures. I thought this blog post was really cool because I love the season of fall especially the colors.
The second teacher I was assigned for C4T 2 is a different teacher than the first teacher I was assigned. Mr. Larry Ferlazzo is his name and the title of his blog post is The Best Sites For Images of Fall Foliage (& For Teaching About The Season). This post Mr. Ferlazzo basically just posted a list of sites that had information about the season of fall. What I found really interesting about this was he did not just post websites that had strictly written information. He posted sites with pictures and even songs on them. I think this is great because many people like me, are visual learners or learn better by listening. He also posts different geographical locations with pictures. I thought this blog post was really cool because I love the season of fall especially the colors.
Monday, October 4, 2010
blog post 6
The networked student by: Wendy Drexler
I really enjoyed watching this video because it was extremely informative. The networked student is a student that in most cases does not have a text book and learns through the network he or she has created. This is much like our EDM 310 class because we only meet every so often and we have to create our own learning network.
A teacher is needed to steer the students through learning how to use the networking process. Our EDM310 class has labs every week that are helpful because the teachers can help to direct us. Although the teacher is there to direct us, we do it on our own. This forces us to learn things and we will then be able to teach our students these things.
A 7th grader’s personal learning environment
I was amazed at how organized this 7th grader’s Personal Learning Environment was. I thought I was pretty advanced in the 7th grade with technology, but I am quickly learning I was wrong. My PLN is not even close to this 7th graders PLE. Hers was much more advanced and organized. I was very impressed and hope I can one day be this technology literate as well as teach my students to be.
The Machine is Changing us by: Michael Wesch
I thought this video was quite intriguing. Mr. Wesch delivered his speech extremely well. As he introduced his concept of Media Ecology, it really got me thinking. This idea of Media Ecology is that the media are environments and they arbitrate conversations then conversations change who we are. We all look at the media for things about how to dress and what to say. Wesch’s comparison of his students in a classroom to people auditioning for American Idol shows how media impacts us. The students in the classroom were extremely bored while the American Idol contestants were excited. Therefore, the role of media controls our lives.
I think the media has a lot of impact on myself as well as fellow classmates. Most of my clothes I wear because movie stars have them and they are trendy. Mr. Wesch does a great job delivering his speech and being enthusiastic throughout.
I really enjoyed watching this video because it was extremely informative. The networked student is a student that in most cases does not have a text book and learns through the network he or she has created. This is much like our EDM 310 class because we only meet every so often and we have to create our own learning network.
A teacher is needed to steer the students through learning how to use the networking process. Our EDM310 class has labs every week that are helpful because the teachers can help to direct us. Although the teacher is there to direct us, we do it on our own. This forces us to learn things and we will then be able to teach our students these things.
A 7th grader’s personal learning environment
I was amazed at how organized this 7th grader’s Personal Learning Environment was. I thought I was pretty advanced in the 7th grade with technology, but I am quickly learning I was wrong. My PLN is not even close to this 7th graders PLE. Hers was much more advanced and organized. I was very impressed and hope I can one day be this technology literate as well as teach my students to be.
The Machine is Changing us by: Michael Wesch
I thought this video was quite intriguing. Mr. Wesch delivered his speech extremely well. As he introduced his concept of Media Ecology, it really got me thinking. This idea of Media Ecology is that the media are environments and they arbitrate conversations then conversations change who we are. We all look at the media for things about how to dress and what to say. Wesch’s comparison of his students in a classroom to people auditioning for American Idol shows how media impacts us. The students in the classroom were extremely bored while the American Idol contestants were excited. Therefore, the role of media controls our lives.
I think the media has a lot of impact on myself as well as fellow classmates. Most of my clothes I wear because movie stars have them and they are trendy. Mr. Wesch does a great job delivering his speech and being enthusiastic throughout.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Summary for C4K 1 and 2
C4K 1: The little girl I was assigned to for the C4K assignments is named Yessy. She is 14 years old and she is the oldest of four. She has two little sisters and a little brother. She describes herself as a nice girl, easy going and loves meeting new people. She said her biggest pet peeve was when people talked bad about people. She went on to tell many of her favorite things such as color, food, and animals. I loved how colorful she made her post and we seem to have many things in common. She seems like a pretty awesome girl and very mature.
C4K 2: I was assigned a different assignment for this.
The student I commented on is a student in a class similar to our EDM310 class. She is striving to be a Kindergarten teacher which is what I want to be. Her assignment was to think about technology for younger students and watch some videos. She went on to say she loved how interested the little girl in the video was in technology. I think it’s a great idea to start the technology at such a young age because for one, they are interested and two they will need it in the future so why not? This reminded me of the story we read about the 6 year old boy playing with the iPad without instructions. I think it’s awesome how easy technology is becoming for 5 and 6 year olds to use.
Another blog post I commented on was her post about using widgets and Skype. I haven’t worked much with widgets but I do use Skype a lot. I talk with my friends and my boyfriends who are off at different schools! I really enjoyed reading her thoughts and giving her mine as well.
C4K 2: I was assigned a different assignment for this.
The student I commented on is a student in a class similar to our EDM310 class. She is striving to be a Kindergarten teacher which is what I want to be. Her assignment was to think about technology for younger students and watch some videos. She went on to say she loved how interested the little girl in the video was in technology. I think it’s a great idea to start the technology at such a young age because for one, they are interested and two they will need it in the future so why not? This reminded me of the story we read about the 6 year old boy playing with the iPad without instructions. I think it’s awesome how easy technology is becoming for 5 and 6 year olds to use.
Another blog post I commented on was her post about using widgets and Skype. I haven’t worked much with widgets but I do use Skype a lot. I talk with my friends and my boyfriends who are off at different schools! I really enjoyed reading her thoughts and giving her mine as well.
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