Blog Post #8

#1 In Richard Miller’s This is How We Dream Parts 1 & 2, he describes how we write is changing because of where we do the work, where we research the work and where we publish our work is so different in the age of technology as opposed to writing with pencil on paper and doing our research in a library. In order to keep our students loving to read and write, we must be willing to teach them to compose and read digitally. In order to do this, we must be willing to learn and do it ourselves.
I liked the way he presented this change incrementally at first and in the future it would be fundamentally different because you would not be just writing words but using the entire scope of the web to add value and beauty to the writing. The incremental changes leading up to this fundamental change involves freely sharing knowledge and collaborating with others with what they have learned. You begin to add visual images and sound and weave them together as you collect information. The finished product is much more than just the printed word.
“The end product is not technology itself”, he says, but what it makes possible.” It is a great way to make our ideas and dreams become visible. Although this may not be possible at the moment for many educators to do, it helps us see the need for creative teachers and resources to help us do it. This class has certainly challenged me to look at the options that are available to teachers and their students because of technology.

#2 Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh was a great idea that answered the question posed by Dr. Strange, “What should he have asked you to do that he did not during the course.” She responded with a wonderful post that gave the idea of creating playlists for other teachers to help in their particular field of teaching. She shared great at ideas for other English teachers to use the touch of their computer. She did a lot of research, especially on You-tube, and made it easier for others not to spend hours searching for information.            
          Her “6 Questions to Ask Each Day” I thought was a wonderful example of what Richard Miller was talking about. She didn’t just write out 6 questions and challenge you to answer them. She put the questions to music and paired the questions with pictures that gave an example of the question. This made it much more interesting and inspiring. Not only do the words inspire but the entire presentation.

#3The Chipper series and EDM310 for dummies. I really enjoyed these two videos. I think we all get a little overwhelmed with everything we have to do in EDM310. I really like point of what the videos messages were. As college students and future educators we are going to have to work to stay in touch and up to date with education and technology, it’s not going to be handed to us. This class, though tough at times, has really been fun and allows for so much personal creativity and views in all the project and assignments we have to do. As for creating a video that could be beneficial I would like to create something that shows how to create and set up your blog. Showing tutorials on how to set it up and enhance it with all the extra tools like adding pictures, music, video, and links.

#4 I agreed with everything that was said in Learn to Change, Change to Learn. These educators were confirming what we are learning in this class and that is the structured, rote memory classroom is a thing of the past. As one man pointed out, “Technology is no longer a choice; it is a must in 21st century education”. Technology not only provides a community system instead of a classroom system, it allows students to be creative and innovative. It allows students to reflect, research and connect with others. Today’s students are clearly more stimulated outside of the classroom instead of in one. Through the use of social networking, tweeting and googling, students can express themselves and be challenged to explore many possibilities than when they are at school. But most of these expressive activities are banned from the schools. This again leads back to one of the important roles of a good teacher and that is responsible use of the technology that is available. It was good to hear from teachers’ points of view instead of students. Most of these educators looked as if they were veteran teachers and I am glad to hear that they are willing to make a changed for the benefit of the students.

#5 Scavenger Hunt 2.0

1) Edmodo is a social networking site for schools. It is set up very similar to Facebook. The site has many features and tools allowing teachers and students to communicate easily. There are sections designated for assignments, quizzes, alerts, and a list of all your students. You can post class discussions, polls, connections to other sites, and updated feeds for in class use. The page can be exclusively for the teacher, faculty, or parents. This site is a very creative and useful site for teachers and students.

2) EDM310 Comic

3) Polls Everywhere


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