Comments For Teachers

Mrs. Caren Carrillo recent post Preventing "Dumb" Homework is a post in which she includes a guideline to assigning homework. Mrs. Carrillo gives 6 points to help give meaningful homework. I commented on her post and told her what I appreciated about it. I think that it is neat how she takes family time and play time into consideration when assigning homework. I believe that she will receive respect from her students because she respects their time. I think that when you respect family time you also get the respect of parents. By making homework meaningful it makes students remain on top of it, and this is because they are not overwhelmed by it.

Blog Post #5

Don't teach your kids this stuff, please?
Scott McLeod gives a very intellectual take on teaching kids technology. I would almost call it sarcastic, but would hate for it to sound like an insult. I think his approach on this post is brilliant. The post captures your attention, and also demands you read it again. The post's structure is good, but what about the underlining meaning and who is Scott McLeod? Scott McLeod is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky, but McLeod might be more commonly know for being the founding director of UCEA The Center For The Advanced Study Of Technology Leadership In Education (CASTLE). So why exactly would an advocate for technology tell you not to teach your kids about it, this is where the sarcasm comes in. McLeod is trying to make a crucial point for the sake of kids, parents, educators and society as a whole. If you read anything about McLeod, you know he uses technology with his students, especially from his comment at the end of his post "'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids, can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two, can you?". So here is my conclusion on what McLeod is trying to say, Technology has bad parts of it, but so does a lot of things in this world. If we do not advance ourselves as educators in technology and teach our kids technology, THEY WILL GET LEFT BEHIND.
I support McLeod in teaching technology. I believe technology can support creativity, I believe that it is a helpful tool and that it builds life skills. I would hate to say that being technologically illiterate can be hurtful, but I honestly believe it can be. Most jobs now require some kind of experience with computers and or other technical uses. I believe apart of being a teacher is raising up students that become wholesome citizens. I believe teaching technology is a responsibility of a teacher. I hope to have leg up in a decade or two, along with Scott McLeod and Dr. Strange.

ISchool Is The New School

The iSchool initiative (Mobile Learning) is a video by Travis Allen. Travis was a senior in high school when he made this video. The video contains futuristic ideas for education. I was astounded by the video and also how advanced and organized it was. Travis did an excellent job presenting his idea, which has become successful. Schools are slowly switching over to a green classroom. In the glory of this video, I want to believe it would work flawless, however I see a side to it that is doubtful. I do not completely disregard the proposal, but consider the following.

Apple product's seem perfect, I love my Iphone4 and my family contains 5 people with Iphone's with no complaints. My nephew's think I'm cool, because my phone is cool. My point is that no matter how much I love my Iphone, it doesn't change that fact that I demolished the screen in one drop to the ground. I am an adult and have made the mistake. Children at a younger age are more likely to drop an Ipod, whether it was to the ground or in milk. My point being would this be to much of a responsibility to give young children. My other point is that technology can always have flaws, what are children suppose to do on test day when they can't get their I-pod on or they have "forgotten" to charge it. I do think it is a wondrous program if it can be successful with all grade levels. I feel that it defiantly deserves a chance, everything has bugs that need to be worked out. I believe in Travis and know he probably has solutions to these problems I have mention. I wish him and his team the best!

Virtual Bliss

Jennifer Chamber shared a video on her blog called Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'. What makes this video so special is that the 185 singers have never met and the whole performance was put together through the internet. I really enjoyed this video, I closed my eyes and could have thought I was in a large theater production. The performance was beautiful, but knowing that these people had never met and it was put together on the internet is enthusing. This video is a beautiful example of the wonderful things technology can do. I do not believe this takes a way from the beauty of performance in person, but yet amplifies it. This video will reach the homes of so many people and I hope they also find it as beautiful as me.


21st Century Teacher
Teaching In The 21st Century is a video by Kevin Roberts. This video is insightful for me as a future teacher. I want to be a technological literate teacher and this video answered several questions for me. Kevin Roberts believes that our job as teachers' is no longer to teach facts and information, but to filter the information that students are receiving. Since I began this class I have wondered in this world of "Words With Friends" and Facebook, how can you be a productive teacher and have successful students. Technology can be seen two ways, Entertaining and instructional. I really learned that is important to make projects engaging. If you engage students to learn they will respond well and also be productive. Roberts makes the point that when you are engaged by something you are likely to remember it and also to use it. Entertainment is something used to pass time not instruct.

It is also important to teach skills not facts. Technology gives us the ability to teach life skills and also show a variety of content. We have to be equipped to help children use technology to the best of their abilities. I learned from Roberts that it is important to be engaging, challenging and exciting when planning lessons. I learned that it is also important to teach responsibility, reliability and integrity to students. I plan to continue even after EDM310 to pursue ways to teach using technology. In better words, Google Chrome's new slogan is "The web is what you make of it." this is so true, as a teacher, I plan to make the best of it!

Project #9 Personal Timeline

Blog Post # 4

Podcasting The Future

This generation has been exposed to more than our grandfather's generation could have ever imagined. The generations to follow will only develop a even more reliance on technology. It is so important for teachers to not only educate themselves in technology but incorporate into their classrooms. On Langwitches Blog she talks about podcasting with her first graders. One point that she makes is that the children enjoyed recording and listening to their own voices. The children even attempted to get their "voice" just right. I think if you give children a task or responsibility to create something they will respond well to it. Podcasting is not only fun for students to do and a way for them to interact, but there are several other benefits like Joe Dale points out in "Integrating ICT into the MLF classroom". This generation is used to having access to computers, it makes most sense to integrate education into their access. Some of the benefits that Dale points out is that if a child is house stricken because of sickness, they can access the podcast of their class easy. Another point he makes is if a child has an issue comprehending something from the lesson, the podcast could be listened to repeatedly to help the student and or a parent could listen to it also. The parent could help the child and or follow along with what they are doing in class. "100 ways to use your Ipod to learn and better study" gives different ways it can be used along with podcasts to help you learn better. Podcasts overall are a wonderful invention. Podcasts can be helpful for all ages, and for all kinds of subjects.

My Sentence Video

Project #5

C4T Post

C4T #1
Caren Carrillo posted "motivating for testing" to her blog in April. She wrote about visiting Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles. While she was visiting there, she came across a dedication wall in one of the classrooms. The students put the names of parents and guardians on the wall, so they could be motivated to work hard. The children are reminded by the wall of the people which they make proud. I asked Mrs. Carrillo if she has incorporated anything like this into her classroom. Mrs. Carrillo responded and said that she used candy even in high school. She also lets her students choose which way they want to do an assignment. I really enjoyed reading this post and have incorporated this into some of my assignments this semester.
It is important to have a positive vibe in classrooms. I have, even in college responded well to a classroom and teacher who was welcoming. The vibe of the classroom is not the only important thinf though, it is so important to keep family are apart of it as well. Children need to be reminded of love ones even though they can not be with them every physical step of the way. I look forward to one day using incentives to help motivate my students.

C4T #2
This past week Caren Carrillo posted "Avoiding Teacher Burnout" to her blog. I absolutely loved this post. The post was a list a ways to avoid a teacher burnout. The post is extremely helpful, I can imagine it would work well in helping you avoid getting tired of your job. I know we are all in love with the idea of getting our own classroom and our own students, but the reality is that it is going to be hard. You think you will love every child and that they are all going to be heaven sent, when in reality we are going to deal with bully's that we cant control. As teachers our stomaches are going to hurt when we see a child get mistreated or neglected at home. There are going to be times as teachers that we come across parents that it is going to be hard to hold our tongues. All of these things along with the stress of school work and our personal life it is going to seem like to much to bare. I appreciate the post from Mrs. Carrillo and know I will reference it often. This post even got me thinking in a personal way too, Teaching is much like a relationship. As I have said, I am currently planning my wedding, it is completely overwhelming! when we first got engaged we were giddy with excitement. As we move closer to the wedding and as more people hurt my feelings and my sisters argue over bridal luncheons and showers and the decisions, oh the decisions, the stress has become unreal! We have to sit back and look at the reasons we are putting ourselves through this,because we are in love!! As a teacher, I think there are times that we will say "why did I get myself into this" and we will sit back and have to say I am doing this because I wanted to be a teacher and because I love children!

Blog Post # 3

Peer Editing:
I was excited to see that this assignment came from Paige Ellis. I have the joy of having Paige in my Diversity in Society course this semester. During my education, I have, like others, been asked to edit other classmate's papers. I just have never known, like Paige, the correct way to go about it. The slideshow "Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial" gives 3 useful and clear steps to follow when peer editing. Compliments, suggestions and corrections is the 3 steps to follow. The 3 steps are helpful, because they help you stay organized and focused on the purpose of peer editing. I like how in the video they say to stay positive. I have had people act like it was a competition when editing my paper. When peer editing, I would also keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion and creativity. It is important when peer editing to not criticize someone's imagination or originality.

Peer Editing is a adequate way to catch errors in a paper. When writing things sometimes we have in our head what we want to say and when we actually read it back, we read the way we are thinking it. When we let other people read over our papers, they catch things our eyes would not. When you are a student writing a paper, you spend an excessive amount of time focusing on it. When someone else edits it, the material is fresh and new to them. I like this assignment, and know that the tips will come in handy as i finish my college education and as I become a teacher.


It's Not About The Technology:

After reading "It's Not About The Technology" by Kelly Hines, I've come to the conclusion that my college degree is not the end of my education, but only the foundation of the things I will learn. Technology is continuously changing, so we as teachers must continue to learn. We need to better ourselves to ensure that we better the future, through our students. Technology is not the most important thing, but yet the most important thing is that we stay educated as teachers. We need to never stop learning.
Teachers have a tendency to stuck in their ways. We need to stay on top and take our students with us. The world has so much to offer and we need to give students the full advantage of it. So I have taken two things from this assignment. 1. We never stop learning 2. It is important to keep yourself, as a teacher, educated!

Is it okay that I can't read!?
I found "is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher?" by Karl Fisch to be very enlightening. I have never looked at technology in this way, especially from a teacher's aspect. I have found myself annoyed when walking into a class room which didn't use power-point but instead the good old chalk board. I know this is harsh, but I have felt the same frustration as Mr. Fisch before. I sat in a class room my sophomore year at South with fellow classmates for 45 minutes. The reason we sat there with nothing to do, is because my teacher didn't know how to turn the sound on and insisted on doing it herself. This teacher would not let anyone in the class try to help, when majority of us knew a quick solution to the problem. I have to say I completely agree with Fisch, We should begin to look at people like they are crazy when they do not how to use a computer in basic ways. Come on it's 2011 people, if you don't know how to use computers, you are going to get left behind. I have not started my career as a teacher, but I know every job I have had during college has involved a computer.
I would like to use my dad as an example. My dad has told me before that when he started his career as a CPA everything was done on paper, and took forever! He now updates his computer software yearly before he starts each tax season. My father's clients would think he was a joke if when they came in to get their taxes done he begin to do them on paper, no one would come to him. In this time and age no one wants to wait. Teaching and educations are not a joke, so why do we not look at people in education the way my father's clients would look at him, if he were technologically illiterate. Teaching is no joke and neither is being technologically illiterate, so YES I think we should be held to some kind of criteria.

At This Rate
As I sat here and watched the numbers of Gary's Social Media Count, I am amazed at how high the numbers are and also how fast they change. This count can mean many different things to a teacher. As a future teacher I think two different things, my first thought is how children are rapidly learning to use technology. It is important to stay on board and use every advantage of these social media outlets. My second thought is wow,this is a lot of information going out into the world that can never be taken back. I think as teachers it is important to teach children the proper way to use social media. I think it is important to become more familiar with social media, so as a teacher I will know what is going on in the media world. I need to know how to use them to my advantage and also to encourage students to use them in a educational way.

Blog Post #2

Creating more creativity

Ken Robinson's video "Schools kill creativity" is enlightening. In this video Robinson talks about how children do not learn to be creative, but yet learn to not be creative. As young children we are given a pen and paper to behave during church, a coloring page at the table in restaurant and we paint pictures to give to our parents on holidays. When and where do we lose creativity as a part of what we praise children for. In school, like Robinson points out math and english become most important and arts fall to the bottom. I have always been Complimented on being a well rounded young woman. Growing up my parents took me traveling, I also took sewing, painting, piano and violin classes. I grew up with parents who blessed me with these opportunities. I am aware that most children do not have the opportunity to embark on such creative outlets. This is where the public schools come in, arts needs to become important once again. Painting and dancing is not the only type of arts we have, we now have technology as an art outlet.

The schools need to make art apart of school work and make extra art activities available to k4-12th grade students. Art can be integrated in so many ways, teachers could implement it in math and english. Teachers could have students make a colorful chart of time tables or write poetry and draw a picture to go along with it. Students need to be using their hands and challenging their brains in a way that only an art can push it. Teachers need to become responsible for praising children once again for what they do, no matter a child's age. We need to remember that there is no wrong question and that children need to be encouraged to explore their minds and to not only cling to the test that we teach them. Teachers, however can not be held completely responsible. Parents need to also encourage their own children to explore their brains and this beautiful world.

The Video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" featuring Vicki Davis shows her powerful teaching techniques. In the video Davis shows how important technology is in her classroom and also how important it is in connecting the world to one another. One good techniques that Davis shares is that every teacher shouldn't try to know everything before they try to teach it. She feels like it empowers children when they learn things for themselves. This statement reminded me of growing up almost weekly my dad would bring a trivia question to table at dinner time. Whoever of me and my siblings figured the answer out felt this way exactly, empowered! Like I have said in my past post's, children like to be praised, and this trait is carried into adulthood, everyone likes to do a job well done. A part of feeling like you have done a good job is to learn about what you have accomplished. In my college experiences, lectures, tests and essays, I have always done better when teacher's give me guidance, but still give me room to learn things on my own and to be original.

Technology is a excellent area to give kids the opportunity to explore on their own. Teenagers are often technologically savvy with networks like facebook, twitter, Youtube and many other websites, why not teach them in a school setting a successful way of using these websites. Computers and internet make communication instant, with the ability to contact millions of people. It is so important to make use of the advantages of technology. My sister's mother-in-law lives in Slovakia, the only way she gets to see my nephews on a regular bases is Skype. Technology has so much to offer, so we need to make sure that students get the opportunity to learn as mush as they can about technology.

The video of Cecelia Gault interviewing Ken Robinson shows not only intelligence and maturity, it shows a special talent that she has. In the video of 13 year old Cecelia it is very apparent that she has a gift of speech. For Cecelia's age she is well spoken and portrays good posture and body language. There is something very important to take from this video, as teachers we need to recognize special talents and gifts that each child holds. The world is a glorious place in the way that it flows. Children are a big part of this world, they grow up to be adults and need a place to fit in. A way to approach teaching children is to take it on as a puzzle, each child is a important piece that needs help being molded and shaped for their special talents and gifts. We as teachers need to pull these talents out of children and encourage them to pursue them. Children spend many hours a day with children, we need to stay positive for children and help them flourish.


Did you know 3.0 is an eye opening video about how fast the rate of technology is changing. This video by far is one of the most impressive videos I have seen in a long time. The video itself was face pace, but I kept my eyes glued to it to catch each clip of information. The world as we know it has changed, communication is different, school is different and jobs are different. It is important that we become different also. We need to adjust ourselves so that we can keep up with the technology.

We have such opportunity because of technology. America seems minor when watching this video and to see the statistics of China and India. It is hard to think about ranking with China and India when their population blows us out of the water. As far as education goes in America compared to China and India we need to take some ideas. India is obviously doing something right. We need to educate on technology and well prepare our future teachers so that they can ensure quality workers as well in the this fast changing world.

Mr. Winkle Wakes is a video that talks on a level as if it is for children, but it is defiantly for adults. The video talks down to adults in a way, but is something America needs to hear. How sad is that everything in America is technologically advanced except for our schools. How can we expect the future workforce to be successful in technology if the first time they are exposed to it is in college or worse their first job. In the Video Mr. Winkle wakes up after years of being asleep and goes to offices and hospitals but is overwhelmed by how the technology has changed. A school is the only place he can find that has not CHANGED!

So what this is saying is that the school is sleeping, we are letting schools slip through our hands. Technology is just as important in our schools as it is in our jobs. We are letting school aged children down just as much as we are letting the future down, because these children are our future. We need to WAKE UP. My 2 year old nephew can use my I-phone to play games and my 7 year old nephew can go further and even send a text. Children are not the ones that are not capable of learning technology, we are not giving them the opportunity to advance themselves in it. Technology is fast pace and is always changing so the longer we wait to integrate it in our schools the longer we are hurting ourselves.