Project 9B--Snowboarding Timeline

Project 10--My PLN

I have always been very interested and acclimated with the different forms of technology. Before I started this class, I regularly used Twitter and I already had a Google account. However, this class has made me grow from a technology literate to technologically advance. I have learned how to properly use a hash tag, how to right a quality blog post, how to share documents with other people using Google, and how to create a podcast. I use my social networking sites for more than personal use; I use them for school-related topics, too.

I explored the world of Symbaloo, and I think it is so nifty! Even though it was listed in our project assignments, I noticed it when I watched A Seventh Graders Personal Learning Environment. Her screen was so organized and she had all of her school-related links on the bottom and her personal websites on the top. I liked the personal Internet desktop and I would like to have my students to use it, as well. I think it will help them stay organized and accomplish more in the classroom, or at home.

Blog Assignment 7

First off, I was very impressed with this video. It was very informative and creatively put together. I liked that everything was hand drawn and the cutout websites and graph. It takes a lot of practice to make sure all the props are where they need to be and on time with the narrator. So, kudos to Wendy Drexler!

Now, I think using social networking in the classroom is a great idea. They mention the use of blogs to obtain information. I know, personally, that I have learned so much in this class from reading other peoples blogs, and so does the student in this video. He mentioned that blogs are filled with more opinions than facts, and it helps students understand the topic more by starting discussions—I agree. I am, also, a big fan of audio books. I listen to my books while I’m driving. The use of the bookmarking sites is a convenient way for others to find/share information about the same topics.

He asks the question: Why does he even need a teacher? Well, he also answers that question. His teacher teaches him how to build this network and take advantage of this learning opportunity. She is there for guidance and to teach him how to ask experts, respectfully, for their opinions. She is also there to motivate, encourage, and be excited for him when he finds the right content.

I will definitely use these different tactics in my classroom. I feel like this is something the kids will get excited about, rather than just staring at a text book all day. Granted, I’ll be in the classroom everyday and will be “lecturing”, but I would like to use the Internet, blogs, and the bookmarking sites to change the “scenery” in my classroom.

C4T Summary

The teacher I was assigned to for this assignment was Jenny. The first post I commented on was about photography. She decided to pick up photography after reading a blog post from one of her friends. Her friend was just using his phone to go around the city a snap pictures. So, Jenny decided to do the same thing. She mentioned that moral of the story was “The happiest people don’t have everything, they just make the best of everything.” She posted her pictures on her blog. In my comment I told her that photography is so relaxing and how I found so much truth in her quote. She used her iPhone to take her pictures, so I related to that by saying most of my pictures come from my iPhone because it has such good quality.

Jenny didn’t update her blog since her photography post, so I commented on a later post. The post was titled “The Night I was Admitted to the Hospital”. She had a bleeding stomach ulcer and she rushed to the hospital. Her hospital roommate was a 93 year-old woman who thought she lost her wedding. The ring was on her finger the entire time. Apparently, the old lady was racist, too. She told her daughter that the “brown” nurse was rude to her. Jenny said I wonder what she would say about her “yellow” roommate playing angry birds. Jenny had a nice sense of humor, given the circumstances. I, of course, wished her good health and told her that I was also Asian, so the being yellow comment made me giggle.

Project 8--Podcast

Blog Assignment 6

Randy Pausch gave his last lecture on September 18, 2007. He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer on September 16, 2006 and was given three to six months of good health left. His last lecture was very upbeat and he was cracking jokes. I’m not sure I would able to act that way, knowing my time on Earth was limited. This just goes to show what a great, strong man Randy Pausch was. He mentioned the irony of this being his “last lecture”. He was at peace with his condition and chose to reach out and help individuals, one last time.

He walks into this auditorium to a standing ovation and responds with “make me earn it”. Well, Randy, you did. One of his jokes that I giggled at was when he addressed his disease with pancreatic cancer and says: “I’m still in better shape than most of you” and proceeds to do push-ups. He still had so much life in his final months. It was nice to see the pictures of him as a child, always with a smile on his face. In every image I googled of him, he was smiling. Even in this last lecture, he was smiling and laughing. He seemed very ambitious as a child by wanting to meet/ne Captain Kirk, play in the NFL, be in zero gravity, and becoming a Disney Imagineer. He accomplished several things he wanted to do or be as a child.

After he talked about his childhood dreams, he eased into enabling the dreams of others. He mentioned that there was no better job than enabling the childhood dreams of others. Tommy Burnette helped him realize that he could enable the dreams of others. He conducted an on-line class at Carnegie Mellon to teach others the same thing. He has helped so many people, and will continue doing so, even after his passing.

It is very rare to meet someone like Randy Pausch. Even though I do not know him personally, it’s not hard to distinguish what type of person he was. His last lecture video on YouTube has over fourteen million views, and that will continue to grow. I am very grateful this video was a requirement because it taught me how I can help others achieve their goal, as well as my own. His strength, courage, and giving nature is inspiring.

C4K Summary

C4K #1: My first child’s name I was assigned to was Cesar from Mr. C’s class. Cesar wrote a story about a vacation. This child has such a vivid imagination and he incorporated several visual details in his post. He talks about a path he takes while his parents were out on the boat. He found a picture of a dirt road in the woods and put it in the middle of his post so you could have a clearer idea of what he was visioning. He also added an audio clip of a thunderstorm. I complimented him on his creative imagination and how he added enough detail for me to picture everything he was saying. Oh, and he drew a really nice drawing using Paint that I really enjoyed.

C4K #2: My second child was 20Jlongest and he wrote about his dog, Digs. He is a golden retriever that, apparently, isn’t very calm and barks a lot. His post was short, but he basically talks about how Digs is his best friend and that he’s a rather gassy dog—which made me giggle. I tried to relate to him, so I told him about my dog and told him I have always wanted a golden retriever. Like I said, it was a short post, but the child loves his pup!

C4K #3: My third child’s name is Ashley and her blog was about skyping with a class from New Orleans, LA and the Mardi Gras culture. She talks about the Mardi Gras Mambo, Zulu coconuts, the meaning of Fat Tuesday, and what the Mardi Gras colors mean. She seemed tickled about the king cake and the plastic baby tradition. In my reply, I gave her a little more background information about Mardi Gras and how it originated in Mobile. I also mentioned that I attend school in Mobile. I didn’t know what the Mardi Gras colors represented, so I made sure to tell her she taught me something. I think it’s nice for student’s to know they teach us a good bit of the time.

C4K #4: This was my favorite post. The child I was assigned to this week was 5P5 and his blog was about drinking and driving. He mentions that drinking and driving can lead to accidents, hurting someone, or diseases. One particular statement of his that stood out to me was: “It’s also bad for children’s future because they might see what you are doing and want to do
that too.” If a child can see the repercussions of drinking and driving, why can’t we? I commented and told him that I really liked his post and, particularly, his statement on how ones actions can affect people, other than themselves. He commented back thanking me for commenting on his post. I didn’t realize that these kids really do enjoy when people pay attention to their blog. They think they’re just doing an assignment, but they’re impacting those who take the time to read.