*Special Assignment 1*

The definition of a metaphor is- "A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea;" e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels."(From Wikipedia) We use metaphors for a lot of different reasons. It is an important concept that we learned about in the fifth grade. Metaphors are useful because it helps understand the first part of the comment so you can better understand the literal meaning. In literature metaphors are a way to be creative, and it makes people think about the general idea. In stories metaphors are constantly being used to distinguish different aspects. We use metaphors in EDM310 in ways just like what was required of us in the post about Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home. It talks about pencils but the literal meaning is computers.

Blog Post #13

My Teacher is An App
Wall Street Journal

In this article By Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon- My Teacher is An App. they discuss online schools for grades K-12. Each year the amount of students who attend these virtual schools seem to increase. They state the many opinions of the idea of online schooling. Some have positives opinions while others are on the fence. They also raise up the suggestion that online schooling will save the schools a lot of money. This statement comes straight from the article. "In Georgia, state and local taxpayers spend $7,650 a year to educate the average student in a traditional public school. They spend nearly 60% less—$3,200 a year—to educate a student in the statewide online Georgia Cyber Academy, saving state and local tax dollars." They also talk about that teachers can handle more students when all students are all online. This would save more money for the states. Although virtual schools may save money, the disadvantages arise because of the test scores being lower. Some experts on this say that hybrid schooling would be the answer to increasing test scores, for the teacher and students can have actual interaction.

This article also talks about how this way of online schooling would be better for time management wise. The students can do their work all on their own time. They are not stuck in one room while others are standing over them telling them to do their work. This way students can balance the many different tasks they must fulfill in a timely manner based on their own schedule.


I think that the idea of virtual schooling is neat to a certain extent. I love the idea that all work can be done according to ones personal schedule. However, it just seem crazy to me to go completely to virtual schooling. Students learn form interacting with others, and listening to others opinions. The idea of students staying home and teaching themselves everything is odd to me. What will that mean for teachers? Are we really going to replace real teachers with the internet? Nonetheless, I am all for technology in the classroom, I think that it is an awesome idea. Technology is apart of all of us, so it would only make sense to incorporate it into learning. Virtual schools may seem the way to go but, it is not perfect. I really think what Rosie Lowndes says really sums up my opinion the most. "But basically letting a child educate himself, that's not going to be a good educational experience." The computer, she says, can't do it alone.

C4K Ms. Yollis Class Blog

Ms. Yollis class bolg is fabulous. Ms. Yollis is a third grade teacher in Los Angeles, California. She also tells us that she is a student herself recently receiving her masters degree. She loves to travel. The pictures she put up of swimming with turtles is for sure worth viewing. She has done an outstanding job creating a fun way for her students to learn. Her blog is full of fun and fascinating ways for the students to understand materials in a new way. Her Blog count is at 75,679, which is really awesome. She deserves the credit she gets. She really seems like she takes a lot of time doing this blog and making it spectacular. Her blog has won awards for 1st runner up 2010 EDU Blog Award for Best Class Blog. Her blog also won the Lifetime Achievement award. It seems that all of her hard work is paying off.

I viewed a video that she created called The Reading Round Up. In the video she pretends to be Sheriff Yollis. It was so cute! She reviews the terms and demonstrates the differences between fiction and non-fiction. I thought that this was a really creative and fun way for her students to learn. I think that this is far more entertaining than a teacher standing in front of the room writing the definitions on the marker board. Way to go Sheriff Yollis! Well done!

Skype Interview

In my Skype interview I interviewed a student, Alex Poothullil, who is majoring in electrical engineering here at South Alabama. He perviously obtained a job for a company called Dot USA. This company was all about integrating technology in classrooms. Alex had to teach the teachers everything there was to know about the Smart board to the teachers at his particular school he was assigned to. I thought this was really cool and super beneficial.

Report on Final Project

Our group, which consist of Patricia Radford, Kenesha Brown, and myself are going to do a how to video. We chose to demonstrate all of the kinds of technology we have learned about in EDM310. We will break down each means of tools by showing useful ways we will be able to use them in our future classrooms. We thought that this would be a useful and good idea for the Final project for it sums up everything we have learned in EDM310.

Blog Post #12

This week in EDM310, We will be focusing on the importance of working as a group. Teamwork is such a valuable asset that all teachers must learn to do well. When all teachers bring all their minds together they will not only be benefiting their school, but the most important thing the students. Watch this video on Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom (Mesquite Elementary School). Write two paragraphs on why you think that teamwork is important to you and your school. Also, write about what types of things will you do to contribute to your team to make a difference in your future school. Make sure you look over Writing a Quality Blog Post.


I think that teamwork is super important. Also, I think it is a necessity for all upcoming and current teachers to be apart of a team. When people work together as a team things go a lot smoother. All of the work is not focused on only one person. This gives everyone the opportunity to express their ideas, and for those ideas to only become better by adding one or two things to it. I think that when great minds all come together the outcome will only be that much better. I am all for teamwork. I really believe if teachers work as a team everyone will get along better, and the work they construct will be super.

After watching this video, I was really inspired. I thought that the things this school did as a group was really great. They all came together to improve the scores on the tests students had to take. It was really cool how all of the teachers cared so much, and it really showed when the test scores came up drastically. I would absolutely love to be apart of a team like this. They all seem to care about one thing, the students. When I am an educator I will try as hard as these ladies did to do the most I can for my students and school.

Also take a look at Principal Kappy Cannon Fosters Technology Innovation and Teamwork. Notice how they always use the word "We" This school is always trying to make things bigger and better for their school so there children will succeed. Discuss in two or more paragraphs what you have learned from watching this video. Did you find this video to be useful in your future classroom and also when you will be working with your colleagues. Make sure you look at Writing a Quality Blog Post.

The word "We" is well defined in this video. They all seem to give credit to everyone as a team. This school is a technology friendly school. They give their students the opportunity to experience the cool technologies for themselves. For, they video chat with classes across the world, and they converse different things they are learning about. I feel that the teachers "shared vision" is a neat aspect they rely on in their school. However, I love how the principal states that they could have all the bells and whistles but it all really boils down to the relationship between the students and teachers.

I thought that this video was very useful. They did a lot of things that I would love to try one day in my future class. I love how they are so eager to help the student learn with new technologies. It is so neat how they focus on students individuality. I also love the fact that the focus on preparing their students for the 21st century.

C4k Summary (October)

The first C4K Of the month I commented on Alex C's Blog. He is in Mrs. Gregory's 6th grade class. He is in her 6th period class. Alex made a post telling a little about himself. He stated that he plays baseball and that he really loves dogs. So, I commented on his post telling him that I thought his blog looked really nice. I told him of what a good job he was doing. I also told him how we have some common interest for I as well like baseball and dogs. I told him about my dog. I wished him luck with the 6th grade. On the same week we also had to chose a student from the random generator they had on their class blog. When I spun the wheel I landed on Walker. Walker made a post about a class called stem. Stem is a special class of elected few 6th grade students. It is a more advanced class. I told him that this was a cool thing that his school does. I also commented saying that I hope he continues to work hard and do well in school. And of course to have fun in 6th grade!

Another C4K that I was assigned to was on Marlene's Blog. She is in Ms.C's Grade 8 5th hour. I chose to comment on a post that she created called "Why I Write". Marlene made some really good points about why she choses to write. She says that writing helps her remember things that she has done in the past. It also is a way that she can express herself. I told Marlene that those reasons were wonderful reasons. I thought that she could be an inspiration for those who do not like to write. This was a good post that she made.

The next blog that I commented on was PJ's. He is a student in Room 9 at Pt England School. He constructed a video on Australia. He colored the pictures and incorporated them into his video. I thought that it was cool how he chose to pick the common Australian animals that most people are familiar with. I told him that he is doing a really god job and that I enjoyed checking out his blog.

Blog Post #11

Little Kids....Big Potential
By: Ms. Cassidy.

First I would like to start off by saying that I have had the privilege of following Ms. Cassidy on our C4T, and I loved her from the get go. She is truly inspiring from all of the wonderful and impressive things she is doing.

When watching Little Kids....Big Potential I was truly inspired yet again by Ms. Cassidy's work. She teaches first grade students each year by incorporating blogging, wikis, students nintendo ds, and even Skype. I would not of thought that students this young of an age could pick up this kind of technology and master it. They sure did though. Her students talk about the ways they use all these types of technology in their class. They all seem to really be having fun while learning, and that is so awesome to me. I thought that they got most use out of their blogs. They seem to really enjoy blogging. I really thought it was cool for the fact that they can work on it at school and also go home and work on it some more. They get encouraging and nice comments from people all over as well as their loved ones. It was really neat hearing first grade students talking about all the wonderful uses they are learning about in Ms. Cassidy's class.

I also watched the Skype video between Ms. Cassidy, Dr. Strange, and some EDM310 students. In this, she talked about how she first started incorporating technology in her class. She says that she started ten years ago when she was given five computers. She knew she had something good on her hands so she embraced it! I really love what she is doing and can only hope and try my best to be a truly inspiring and great teacher as Ms. Cassidy is.

Blog Post #10

Do You Teach or Do You Educate?

I watched this video "Do You Teach or Do You Educate?" I found this video to be quite inspiring. I really enjoyed it and I feel like I got a lot out of it. It really shows the difference between being a teacher and being an educator. They showed us the true definitions of them both in a powerful way. Being an educator is what I will strive to become. There is so much more meaning in being an educator than a teacher. I think that developing personal relationships with students would be a good start in becoming not just a teacher but an educator. I think that if students know that you are there for them throughout it all changes the meanings of all things. They will strive to become a better student and person. Students look up to their educators as a role model which just that makes you not just a teacher. Students will always be growing and looking for new answers not only about school but life as well. I think going the extra mile in every situation sets apart the teachers from the educators.

I know that when I first started thinking of becoming a teacher I knew I loved children, and I wanted to make a difference in each one of their lives. I also wanted to become a teacher for elementary students because I want to help them start off their lives with the basic skills they will need and use for the rest of their lives. If someone were to ask me now why I wanted to become a teacher my answer would be slightly different. Not only would I say a teacher is not what I strive to be but an educator is what I will become. This made me realize that my goal as becoming an educator only gets more important.

Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home

I was in a state of confusion about the pencils at first. I read and reread this post to figure out what was really going on. I read one persons comment about replacing the pencils with computers. This is when everything became clear to me and things started to make sense. Mr. Johnson did a fabulous job creating this post.

This post was very fascinating. I really like how Mr. Johnson stayed positive throughout this conversation. I think that reading this gave me a better idea on school, test taking, and computers in general. I thought it was really cool how Mr. Johnson is so encouraging on children learning from playing games and not worrying too much on how they misuse these important aspects. His attitude toward learning is so inspiring. I hope and will strive to keep and remain a positive mind frame throughout my educational career.

C4T #3 Summary

For the past two weeks I have been assigned to comment on the blog of Mr. Kevin McLaughlin for our C4T assignment. I thought that Mr. McLaughlin brought up some interesting topics that I found rather fascinating. He made me think in a way which was different than I normally think. So needless to say I am found of Mr. McLaughlin. The first post I read of his was called "Switching off the interactive white boards for good". While reading this he talked about how these interactive boards are becoming a thing of the past and useless for the classroom. He mainly says this because teachers have all the opportunities to use this board in their classes but chose not to. He even asked his students what they thought of the boards and the replies they came up with were disappointing to me. They said that they never get used and, they became bored waiting for a turn. I became very disappointed while reading this post. I told him how we recently touched on the basics on the smart board and how we talked highly of this board. I really like the smart board and find it very beneficial. However, I guess it has been out for awhile and better things have come out which is to be expected in todays time. I just still like the smart board and I have not given up on it.

The next post I commented on talked about keeping education alive. He used references about how the bridges in India grow from generation to generation. This is a lot like the education system which keeps growing and changing throughout generations. He suggests that it is time to destroy the bridge of education now and start all over from scratch. He says that if it is not done it will fall and he wants to be there when it does. I found this post to be cool for the way he wrote it in comparison to a bridge that grows from generation to generation. I feel like I disagree to an extent with starting all the way over from scratch. I feel like the education system does need to change with the times, but wiping it out all together seems kind of intense.

SmartBoard Instructional

Blog Post #9

Mr. Joe McClung. What I've Learned This Year.

May 27, 2009

This was Mr. McClung first year as an elementary teacher. He wrote in his blog, to tell all those who read, about the experiences he has had and all the useful things that he has learned in his first year of teaching. The very first thing we read on his post states "An important decision I made this year is: Stay Positive". I thought that was an awesome piece of advice he learned and started off to share with us.

He talks about how it is important to know how to read the crowd. He basically says that it is so important to always keep the students in mind. It is so easy to get caught up in trying to be the perfect teacher with the perfect lesson that you lose track of the most important thing the students. He says that we must always remember who we are trying to help, and why we do what we do.

Another part I thought that was interesting and important was to always listen to your students. He talks about how for some students you may be the only one who does listen to them. I think that this section in his post was so beneficial to me. Students look up to their teachers and they should never forget that. Teachers should always be willing to help their students with any problem they face. They should let the students know that they are always there to help. I think that anyone can simply learn new things by just listening to their students.

June 23, 2011
This was the most recent year Mr. McClung finished up. He has started many new and exciting tasks in his year three. He is now a head coach and is teaching computer applications. He says that many things have changed for him in his professional career, so there is plenty of new things he has learned.

One thing he talks about is getting excited about change. He talks about going to professional development sessions and how he really enjoys the new materials that are being thrown at them. He says that he likes to be optimistic and knowing that these new things will work. However, in this recent year he has begun to notice others who seem to care less about any of the new information that is being given to them. He notices that these people are very different from himself. He tells us readers to not let others get you down. He says that if your excited then be excited. I thought that this part in his post was important. There will always be other people who have different views as you do. They will disagree with the subject matter 100% while you agree with in 100%. Even now in school we encounter people are just are different from you. I felt that Mr. McClung taught me a very valuable lesson. A lesson that I will always remember. He taught me to never let others bring you down.

I really enjoyed reading about Mr. McClung's teaching experiences. He seems like he is doing a really good job being a teacher. I thought that the things he shared will become useful for me in years to come! Thank you Mr. McClung!

SmartBoard Project

Blog Post #8

This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2 By Richard Miller

This presentation that Mr. Miller sets up was interesting. He talks about how anything and everything can now be done on a computer. Who needs paper and pencils now a days? Is a question that is brought up. He touches on the subject of libraries, and how they are becoming more and more less needed. Anyone can find any information they wish simply via internet. Search engines such as google make surfing the web so easy and convenient. He tells us how he was asked to write an article on ,at the time, the upcoming one year mark since the tragic Virgina Tech incident. He says that throughout his whole article he never once stepped foot in a library. He found all of his information on the web.

At this point in time it seems as we are reaching the most advanced way of doing all things. I like the idea of writing in all multimedia. I think that it is very convenient. However, a few things have me concerned regarding this matter. I wonder if all things will be transferred to typing in multimedia will basic writing skills become obsolete? I find that writing is so beneficial for everyone no matter what the circumstance are. We will always need to handwrite. I like the whole thing about multimedia, but penmanship must not be left out no matter how convenient things may become.

Am I prepared to write with multimedia? I think that I am on the right path to fully being prepared in doing so. I know that I am currently learning the best way I can for the future of teaching education. Which includes all of the things that come along with that as well. I like the idea of it!



Carly Pugh Blog Post #12

I thought that Carly had a great idea. It showed that she really put in a lot of time to create this good project idea. It is a awesome way to think in a whole different way. It is even cooler to watch and find videos on youtube that support the way that you think personally. The whole idea was to create your own playlist of videos that you thought were inspiring and viewed things the same way as you do. She gives you a guideline of what type of videos to look for. Once you find the ones you enjoy save them and keeping adding more.

I found Carly's post to be very useful. The idea she had was really great. The links that she shared with us were really good videos. This project idea was well thought out and helpful. I think that it is very Dr. Strange worthy. Good Job Carly!

EDM310 Is Different

This video was a neat way to get a point across. The video shows that EDM310 can be very difficult and time consuming. It takes time and patience. It states how students will procrastinate making the work on themselves even more difficult. Deadlines are important and will always be a conductor in everything we do from here on out. The work we do in EDM310 is for our own beneficial learning. It all will prepare us to be great educators. We have to decide what we want to make out of this. We can make it hard on ourselves or easy. This videos showed me that when things get hard Dr. Strange will not turn us away no matter how crazy we sound. This shows me that he is here to help and teach us on our journey as educators.

In this video EDM310 for Dummies, it shows how these students are tired and confused. They are ready to give up and not ever look back. It talks about the many difficulties this course comes with. However, after introducing the EDM310 for Dummies book their attitudes are completely transformed. We have all the access to everything we need for this course. We have a guided instruction manual and a lot of lab assistance who are here to help. The easy thing to do would be freak out and go crazy. However, if we follow our guidelines we will be just as satisfied as the girls at the end of the video.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This was a good video. I was just really surprised to see that education was ranked so low. I mean I would of thought that education would of been one of the top rankings because it is so important to be educated in todays times. Like coal mining is really more important that educations? Really? The overall video relays the message on how things need to be changed in the classroom. The suggest the technology is the answer. We really do need to accept this useful tool and to use it to it's full advantage. Education should be one of the most important thing. Not the last.

Short Movie Project # 11

Project # 12

Project 9b

PLN Part 1

I think that having a PLN will be very useful. It seems like a really great way to stay organized and keep everything in order on one page. For my PLN I am currently working on mine using symbaloo. I have started developing my PLN to make things more efficient for myself. I look forward to continuing it to make it better. I watched the video A 7th Graders Personal Learning Environment. This gave me a better idea and she made things look really simple to navigate through.

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch's last lecture is very inspiring. In his last months of his life, due to cancer, he presents his last lecture. I cannot even image how hard living your life knowing that your time is running out would really be. However, he remains so positive of the cards that are being dealt to him. I really admire him so much for giving this lecture in his unfortunate circumstances. In this lecture he talks about his childhood dreams and the lessons he learned from being a professor.

He starts by listing his childhood dreams that has had an affect on his life. Each of his dreams taught me a whole different lesson. He talks about dreaming of being in the NFL and his love for football. He played football and one of his coaches taught Randy and myself a valuable lesson that has never left my mind. He said that if you are messing up and people stop correcting you then you know they have given up on you. So, it is so important to always keep trying and always be accepting of constructive criticism. Although he did not make it to the NFL he states this quote. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". Which I thought this was perfect because it just taught him more experience.

He also talks about his adventure he sets out in becoming an Imagineer at Disney Land. He says that when he visited as a child he knew he just didn't want to attend he wanted to create the things there. So as he grew older and received his PHD he applied and got turned down. Which brings up his inspiring theory of the brick wall. He states "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." This is so true and tells the lesson anyone can do anything depending on how much you want it. Randy did get to work at Disney, so that goes to show how determined he really is. He knows what he wants and he makes it happen. This is such a good quality to have and I yet again admire him for this.

While Randy Pausch was a professor he created a course called Building Virtual Worlds. The course used high technology such as what was used at Disney to create virtual worlds. This course immediately become a success. His whole idea was for students childhood dreams to become a reality. This course grew so much attention and was viewed by so many people from all over. It gave the students the excitement to put on the show to make those who viewed it excited. It created a bonding amongst the students that was really cool. This course only led to more and exciting things. He really went full force for the things he enjoyed.

Randy truly has done some amazing things in his life. This video has taught me so many valuable lessons just by him talking about his life lessons. We all have dreams, and it is so important to never forget the dreams we want to achieve and to have fun while doing so. He says that "loyalty is a two way street" that was something that stuck out to me. It is so true and something that I hadn't really thought about much before. The advice in his lecture he gives out is truly outstanding. This video of Randy's last lecture was inspiring and I enjoyed every minute of it. It really puts things into a new perspective. We should all live like we are dying. "It's not about achieving your dreams it's about leading your life."

C4T # 2

The teacher I was assigned to this go round was Ms. Kathy Cassidy. Her blog is called Primary Preoccupation (thoughts from a grade one teacher). I am really glad I got the opportunity to have Ms. Cassidy as the teacher I commented on. She is very nice, and made comments on the things I commented on her post. I really like the way she is creative and comes up with creative activities.

The first post I commented on was her post called Passion Based Learning. She is starting on an adventure to teach her students in passion based learning approach. She talks about how she usually is a risk taker, but this approach she was a bit nervous. She states that she will keep her readers filled in thorough out the year on how it goes. I commented on this saying that I thought it was a neat approach. Also that I admired the she was a risk taker and looks out for the betterment of her students.

The next post I chose to comment on was a post called Let Them Use Cake. This post is another reason why I like to read her blog so much. She created an activity for her students that was inspiring to me. They are on the unit of patterns, so she gave her students a card that said I wonder on it. They were to write on the card things they wondered about for making patterns. The next day she gave them the experience to create their wonders into learning. She brought in all sorts of things the listed on their wonder cards and let them test their wonders out. This was a very neat idea. I still will continue to visit Ms. Cassidy's blog!