My PLN

 

PLN
I have been think about my PLN for some time, however my father calls it a "sphere of influence." My PLN has actually be coming along for many years now, and I didn't even know it. A teacher of mine from high school that I stay in close contact with named Mrs. Sherlin. Mrs. Sherlin has been and will always be a guiding force through out my teaching career. A dear friend of mine, Erin Knowles, who has recently begun her teaching career, is also a great help at not only getting through the tough classes I am currently taking, but also preparing more the job hunt as well. I have also started following several of the mentors and teachers that e have learned about in the class on Twitter, such as: Travis Allen, Lagwitches, Gary Hayes, Scott McLeod, Michael Wesh, and Paige Ellis just to name a few. I am also following sites like Reading Rockets as I understand the importance of staying up to date with the types of information that only these sites can provide. My PLN will be an ongoing and integral part of my future.

Blog Post #8

This is how we dream

            These two videos touched on the theme of using more multimedia in our writings and composition to better get our point across. A common theme of this class is obviously using technology to better our teaching.  Dr. Miller has brought up the idea that even in our most basic of writing compositions, we can use technology to improve on our delivery of whatever idea we may be trying to get across.

            Dr. Miller makes an interesting point that there will be no more pencils, paper, or libraries but only laptops. While this is an exaggeration currently, it’s also most likely somewhat true of the future. Since our most simplistic of writing and composition tasks are now done on a computer rather than paper, wouldn't it make sense that we get the most out of our chosen means of communication? If we as a world are clearly making the transition every day to a more paperless world, I think it obvious that we would get more out of our composition with a little flair from adding film, images, or even sound.

            We also, have to think that our students in this technological age are going to be much more involved and interested in a presentation or paper that has these other forms of media inside them. Our students almost expect this level of media interaction in their other entire daily tasks, why wouldn't we make teaching that much more interesting, especially when the added effort is so nominal. We can add interaction to a simple voting map, and make it surprisingly interesting to people, we can definitely make teaching more interesting for our students by applying these ideas as well.

            In close, Dr. Miller had a great point in showing us the importance of using other media in our digital compositions. This is not something that we will have the choice of doing in the future but rather the norm I feel. I will definitely keep this in mind for all other assignments and classes in the future as well. Thank you.

Carly Pugh Assignment

As you can tell by my 11 YouTube videos, I am definitely working to attain my personal goal of becoming a PE teacher and coach. While PE is definitely a different type of classroom and learning environment, it has many of the same exact challenges as any other discipline taught in school. That being said I have found 11 videos to help guide me thru areas such as classroom management, podcasting, and others.

            Classroom Management, Staying Calm: a Classroom Management Plan and Miss Q’s Classroom Management Plan are the three videos I found most helpful in creating and realizing my own classroom management plan. They not only helped in the actual creation of the plan, but also stressing the importance of even having one. Having a plan is only part of the process; we still must adapt, follow, and change our plans when needed
.Miss Q’s Classroom Management Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4RzL7N1r7A

Staying Calm: A Classroom Management Plan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Fb39YlXLq4

Classroom Management- Dr. Adolph Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FEnkP-xv_o

            The Benefits of Breakfast PE Podcast was an interesting use of using podcasting, even in the physical education area, to get important information across. I plan on having my students do similar assignments whether it is on diet, exercise, or miscellaneous. This was very forward thinking as PE and podcasting are not probably associated with each other as much as they should be.

The Benefits of Breakfast PE Podcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnhzFymAPuo

            Podcasting in the Classroom is just a wonderful video that gives me more desire and motivation to use this form of media to motivate and educate my students in a different way. I will use this video as a refresher when I need motivation to come up with a new idea on how to get my students engaged and involved.

Podcasting in the Classroom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nW0WyJ8_ZM

            Join the Global Classroom Today and Leveraging the Virtual Classroom are fantastic videos that stress what kind of teacher I hope to be. I definitely want to open my students up to the rest of the world and show them that there are students just like them all over. I think it would be a great idea to show them students in other parts of the world maybe playing different games and sports in their PE classes than we do, and give those games and sports a try for ourselves. No matter what the field of education I end up in, I will make a very conscious effort to expose my students to the global classroom and other students for sure.
Leveraging the Virtual Classroom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuVakbMSPp4

Join the Global Classroom Today!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NegRGfGYOwQ&feature=g-vrec&context=G2e1dce1RVAAAAAAAABg

            School MUVE Physical Activity Program was a great example of thinking outside the box to get kids going. This teacher actually created something new to achieve her goal of getting these kids physically active. I definitely do not want to fall into the trap of always doing what’s been done, without looking for new and better ways to teach my students.

School MUVE Physical Activity Program

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxKrb_zZf7Q

            The Greatest PE Teacher was just a video that I like because it reminds me to always have fun. Students enjoy a teacher who enjoys teaching. By making sure that you are having fun and enjoying your teaching, I think that is almost a guarantee that you will be a better teacher as well. While we have to stay focused on our job of teaching, we can still have fun doing it.

The Greatest PE Teacher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuFWeYO_HLc

            These are just a few of the resources that I will refer to in my teaching career to make me a better educator. I hope you enjoy and get as much out of them as I did. Thank you.

Here are a few more as well..
Blogging in the Classroom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaTWqSjVK1E

Student Motivation in Physical Education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3-cvWa1VP0

EDM310 is Different

            The Chipper video and EDM310 for dummies videos were very entertaining and actually quite well made. I think it’s wonderful that we are learning to make movies like these for use later in life. Not only will our teaching benefit but our lives as well. We can make movies for rehearsal dinners, kids’ birthdays, or even events we may want to promote at school. The main message that I got from the Chipper video is that we need to do things the right way and for the right reasons to be successful. You have to have both of these attributes to truly get the most out this class, as well as our careers. The EDM310 for dummies movie just showed the sense of accomplishment that we get when we finally learn how to use these new tools that we are using in this class.

            As far as a video that I might like to participate in, I was thinking of making The Perfect EDM310 Educator video. This would be a video that shows the absolute perfect ideal for an EDM310 educator. The teacher would use all the forms of media we have learned about with their students as well as show how their PLN’s and PLE’s help her daily. She would also be very creative and interactive with her students and teach them to be creative and interactive as well. I think that would be a fun assignment since there is no such thing as a perfect teacher, so we could try our absolute best to create one. I guess I like the idea of trying to create the impossible.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

I absolutely agree with every point made in this video. As I have said before, technology is not an option, it is a standard. The school systems around the country are still fighting this for some archaic reason. We will have to submit to the fact that we MUST teach our children how to use these tools to better their lives. Our students already know how to do so much with technology, but for some reason we rebel against teaching those to do things that are productive and educational with these resources that they already use daily.  Only when we can embrace this new world of learning will we truly be able to say that we are doing the best we can to teach our students, but not until then.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

1.  I did actually choose to sign up for Edmondo. I chose Edmondo for many reasons. The first of which is its similarity to Facebook and its familiarity not only for myself but for my students and parents as well. With so many people already familiar with Facebook, why not make use of something that makes people feel familiar with it and that might actually increase their usage as well. I also like the interactivity of this site. I can have polls, ask questions to my students or parents, and publish assignments and announcements as well. We can create study groups and message boards for homework or projects. Their truly is not much of anything in the form of communication with parents and students that cannot be accomplished using Edmondo.

2.  I believe that they may have actually used Prezi to make their presentation. As I am already familiar with Prezi, the presentation looked very familiar from the beginning. The deal that they offer to teachers is wonderful....it’s FREE!! Well, there is one option for a free membership and one option for a premium membership that includes more storage space and a desktop software option.

3.My Comix

4.  WAX is high performance special effects video software. You can really do just about anything to videos with this, even make something 3D. I can take movies and add any kind a special effect for the most part using the existing footage. This software is simple enough for beginners, but also advanced enough for seasoned video editors.
5.Take my Poll

My Timeline

Group Elite Podcast

My Prezi!

Camille's Sidewalk Cafe on Prezi

Blog #7

 

The Networked Student.

    This video was interesting in the fact that it asked the question of why and how a teachers role in this new technology age is even going to be relevant. In previous assignments, we have explored many different ways in which technology and social media are going to help teachers reach their students better.  The question of why a teacher is relevant once a student becomes so connected is an interesting one, but I also believe an easy one to answer.

    First off, “the networked student” is taught to do things such as, validate sources for his PLN, post findings on social bookmarking sites, create his/her own blog, and even listen to podcasts from other professors around the globe. These are all wonderful things that I hope all of my students will be able to do. But as just as I take this class, it becomes extremely apparent: who is going to TEACH them to do these things? While students are becoming more tech and media savvy than ever before, someone has to teach them to do these things. Maybe its their friends, family, or even themselves who could teach a student to do these things, but shouldn't we, as educators, do everything we can to ensure that they at least are shown a method that might possibly be better, or safer, or even more productive? I sure hope so.

     At the end of this video we are shown several adjectives to describe the ideal teacher of this networked student. Theses ides include: learning architect, connected learning incubator, modeler, network sherpa, change agent, synthesizer, and learning concierge. All of these terms are wonderful, but the underlying truth beneath them as they are all the responsibility of today's educator for these students. Every student absolutely needs to learn how to make the most of these resources. Just as every student needs to make the most of these resources, every teacher needs to try and ensure that every student is shown a way in which to accomplish that goal.

    I personally have grown up extremely connected. I have been on Facebook since high school and can text with my eyes shut, but I didn't know how to make a blog or validate a source for my PLN until this class. I’m sure I could have figured out how to write a blog, but I may never have appreciated how important it is to have one, without a  TEACHER showing me another side to this. It's not that every student absolutely needs a teacher to show them how to do these things, then again I may be able to figure out open heart surgery, but wouldn't we all sleep better knowing that qualified teacher showed me how too?

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)

    This young student Wendy is a very bright, articulate, a well connected young lady, and I am extremely impressed. One thing that I wish she would have done is possibly given the teachers a little more credit for showing her how to do these things and how to use them, but oh well. As far as how her PLE compares to my PLN, I would hope to have something similar, yet more in depth than her. While she did have several links to Youtube videos, Facebook, and Skype. I did not see many personal connections in her PLE. As her teacher, I would encourage her to follow actual people and to learn and interact with them, whether through email, skype, blogging, twitter, or even actual face or phone time. All in all this young lady shows a lot of promise, and my hats off to her and the teachers that got her there. 

Blog #6

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving your Childhood Dreams

   This lecture is one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen in my entire life. For Dr. Pausch who lives life with such gusto and passion has truly made me look at everything I ever thought I knew in a different light. This assignment came at just the right time in my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to write about it in more ways than you will ever know. That being said, this blog post will be much longer than the 4 paragraphs you asked for as I don’t think that 4 paragraphs could begin to sum up some of the important messages Dr. Pausch has given.

    First, he talks about “how YOU can achieve your dreams or enable the dreams of others”. I think it is very clear that everyone wants to achieve their dreams whatever they may be, but helping others to achieve theirs is such a morenoble task in my opinion. Dr. Pausch has shown me that it’s never going to be too late to devote my life to helping others achieve theirs. When he made the statement “the brick walls are there to 

show us how badly we want something” and “brick walls keep out the ones who don’t want something bad 

enough,” he is telling us that no matter what our dream may be or the dream of someone else that we want to help them achieve, giving up is never, ever going to be an option. Just because something does not go our way, or we mess up with something, we cannot lose that guiding force in our self to continue with what we know is right for our own or someone else's life. That human spirit to keep on keeping on is what makes us great.

   Second, he made the statement that “experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you wanted.” This is such a magnificent way to make the point that just because something didn’t work out like you thought it would, doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from it as well as possibly attain it later on. “The best gift an educator can give is to make someone self-reflective” is a statement he also makes along this line of reasoning. I recently have learned more about myself than possibly any other time in my life, and just because I didn’t get what I wanted doesn’t mean that I can’t gain experience from it. Through self-reflection, we can always attain a better knowledge of ourselves, our goals, our mistakes, and how to go on forward in a better manner. Dr. Pausch certainly achieved many of his goals, but he said himself that he learned more from the ones he didn’t attain. I think as an educator or just as a person, self-reflection, is the most important way to grow and improve. Sometimes while admitting your mistakes is not fun, it is necessary in order to not make the same ones ever again.

   Thirdly, Dr. Pausch spoke of his friend and colleague, Jon Snoddy, when he said “wait, and people will suprise you”. I believe this statement speaks volumes about his personal outlook on life and what we should all strive to do as well. Our students and even friends may disappoint us for a period, but if we can just learn to wait, they will surprise us. He also makes the statement of “find the best in everybody, no matter how long it takes,” and then tells the story of his student who he had to “vouch” for despite the department thinking that it was a bad idea. He took a chance on the student who had messed up, and in the end that same student is carrying on his legacy to this day with the Alice project. I think we are sometimes too quick to see the bad in people and are unwilling to wait for the good. Dr. Pausch has definitely inspired me to keep looking for and at the good in all people, there are rare opportunities that I might miss, if I don't.

  Dr. Pausch made the statement that “we learn from our students”. This statement is so important, yet is such a possible over-looked attribute in today’s educators. Any educator who is not willing to learn from their students, I would say that person is heading towards failure faster than any student they didn’t listen to ever will. I think that statement also touches on his previous statement about self-reflection. We all need to strive to learn and grow from any and all experiences, no matter where they come from. The worst thing I think we can do as teachers is just sit back and decide that everything is black and white. Some things are grey and some situations seem illogical, but make total sense. Sometimes we learn things we never wanted to, but we need to always strive to use that to our advantage.

   One of the key things I took from this is Dr. Paunch’s optimism on humanity and how we should strive to live. He said that “it’s not about how to achieve your dreams; it’s about how to live your life. Live your life the right way and your dreams will come true”. He also makes the statement that “when you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening”. I think that these are very profound statements in their simplicity. Even if you have not gotten a result that you might have wanted, just TRY and live your life better and better every day, and good things will happen to you. While I have recently learned a whole lot about myself, I know I feel better knowing that for all the wrongs I have committed, that doesn't have to define my life in the future. I can always become a better and better person if I just hold on to those dreams and do the little steps every day to making those a reality. We are not perfect people, but with effort we can become better every day. This is a message that we should always hold on to and believe in and teach our students.

    It is amazing that Dr. Pausch has managed to keep this beautiful, kind, forgiving, optimistic, outlook on life despite all the hardships that he was going through. He wrote a book on living while he was dying. This man has all the reason in the world to be angry and sad, but instead he is finding love in his work and life that others might not ever be able to understand. When other people may tell him to give up, he keeps going with what he believes in, that is truly inspiring. Dr. Pausch will definitely be missed by all, and I personally plan on trying to live my life in a more Pausch-like way.

Blog Post #5

Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please? 

This was a wonderfully creative way of getting the point across, in that technology and social media are not going away and we need to embrace that. While reading the blog it is very apparent that the University of Kentucky has a found a real creative gem to get their views on technology across to the masses. When a great creative mind like George Lucas uses Dr. Mcleods opinions, you know you are reading someone who should be listened too. I completely agree with his argument, the children whose parents and teachers are actively teaching their children and students how to properly use these different forms of media and communication, are going to have a massive leg up on their competition in the future. Not since the Industrial revolution has a shift become so prevalent in the way things get done. I sincerely would like to think that parents and teachers agree on the benefits of technology and social media being promising tools, but unfortunately not all do. And for the children and students of the nonbelievers, I genuinely feel pity as they will definitely be at a loss when the time comes to further their lives and careers.

Travis Allen Blogs 

This was a wonderful couple of blogs; by what I’m sure is a force to be reckoned with in educational technology. Travis Allen has put into work what so many have been thinking and so many more need to start thinking about. We have talked several times about how technology and social media are the future for our children, but Mr. Allen has actually laid out a plan to implement those goals on schools starting today. The fact that he has taken his initiative and created a work force of 25 students to get the word out, shows how much he believes in what he's doing.

The one thing I do find curious is that his entire premises is based on Apple apps and OS platforms. While I personally love Apple products, to base a concept as great as this around one company’s product line is maybe a little concerning. Who is he proposing pick up the tab on this idea? Also, can his idea not be combined with maybe say every child using a laptop and programs rather than an iTouch, not even an iPad? I wish Mr. Allen all the luck in the world, as I think his general concept is wonderful. I do also hope that the specifics make his idea as easy to implement and maintain as it sounds.

 Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir 

This is a wonderfully creative and beautiful piece of art. While the creativity and beauty lies within each of the singers, technology has offered us this unique way of putting it all together. The music itself is beautiful and cannot be denied, but being able to put it together in this way shows us that technology is opening up more creative ways of making art, and the limits are possibly endless.

 I don't know how Mr. Whitacre came up with this concept, but his execution is wonderful. This also, opens our minds to the fact that the entire world is easily connected to one another like never before.

Teaching in the 21st Century 

This is definitely a thought provoking video. Students are going to be learning these things on the internet and how to teach themselves whether we like it or not; so I think our job should be to consider actively teaching them to use these tools the right way. This new generation of students has grown up with a second nature to technology, and they are going to learn to use Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Chat Rooms no matter what, as that is what they are taught from friends and alike. We, as teachers, need to consider not only teaching them facts, but also teaching them how to deduce properly and search out their own answers, using the tools at their disposal. Teaching has long been considered a way of delivering facts and figures to our students, but since we cannot ever teach them everything that they now have access too, maybe we should consider teaching them how to use and access these things more efficiently and safely. The job of a teacher is changing; we are no longer the end of what they will learn, only the beginning. The inherent egos of the past that teachers are always right is completely wrong, now as a student can find out whatever they want with a few clicks of a mouse. I think that we should make a conscious effort to nurture that ability and embrace this new found level of knowledge that they can gain whether they are in classroom or not. Wouldn't it be easier and more rewarding for a student, if instead of telling them our opinions of Einstein’s theory of relativity, if we simply taught them how to find and deduce their own opinions of it by simply clicking and seeing what others all over the world have written on the subject?

 Reading Rockets 

First off, I completely agree with Mr. Capps, I have never seen a resource sight so well thought out before. This site addresses parents, teachers, principals, and even librarians. I did not see who funds this site, but I sincerely hope that the funding continues. Reading Rockets is a one stop shop on how to address most issues that students, parents and teachers alike have to deal with. The amount of material in this site could take months to sift through, but it is easily laid out to find what you're looking for.

I am also blown away by the amount of free resources in the form of books, podcast, videos, and even shows that are available here. This site certainly embraces the modern technological revolution that is taking place in teaching our students. There was a list of informative blogs from several different authors with which to learn. My favorite part of this site had to be the Technology section. Not only will this technology section be helping me for the remainder of this class, I will definitely be using this resource as I move further into my teaching career and beyond. You can definitely tell that the creators of this site simply care about giving the most informative information and resources to all, with no egos to hinder them.  I am thoroughly impressed and will be bookmarking this site immediately.

Blog Post #4

Podcasting with First Grade 

   This blog was very interesting in that these young 6 year old first graders became so involved and attentive in a less than standard teaching method, that the method should possibly be rethought about being non standard. I found it extremely motivating that the children were excited to know that other teachers and students around the world enjoyed what these kids did so much that it inspired the children to take more pride in what they were doing. Giving children confidence and pride in what they do is possibly the most important thing that we, as teachers, can ever hope to give our students. If it can start at such a young age, then that is even more amazing. I really can’t believe the impact that this project had on these young minds; it is just a wonderful thing. I also think that as far as my own personal podcast is concerned the most important thing that I learned is that I need to be completely open to any and all ideas, no matter where/who they come from.

Flat Stanley Podcast 

I chose to do this podcast because I know about Flat Stanley, and I wanted to see what these kids actually made a podcast about. It’s fantastic that they were able to take a traditional school project and bring it up to date with the times. This project really brought out their creativity, which actually came naturally to them. The idea of doing the podcast made something already somewhat interesting to do, and made it even better. The children were excited and proud of the stories they came up with. For my own podcast, this makes me feel that you cannot ever forget to let your simplistic creative juices loose, no matter how simple, or silly they might seem. 

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom 

   This was a wonderfully well made presentation on the benefits of using podcasts in today’s classroom. Podcasting and Video casting are excellent ways to reach out to this new generation of students, and also fantastic instruments for the parents and teachers themselves. This form of media allows for the students to relate, the parents to stay informed, and the teachers to continually improve the content of what their students are learning. This presentation hit on all the right topics, and I am thoroughly impressed with everyone who took part in this video. The benefits of podcasting and video casting are impossible to argue against and I think we are just scrapping the top of what lies in the future. I also am inspired for my own podcast to not only make as creative as some of the others, but this shows that making sure anything you put together is well made and paramount. Something can be entertaining, without informing, and then you're not really teaching.