I took a little bit of a different approach with my electronic interaction because it was rather difficult for me to get ANYONE to respond! So, with Ms. Averitt's advice, I contacted a college student, Tiffany Collins, through the social utility Facebook. She is a freshman at Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta, Georgia. I chose to contact Tiffany because she graduated from Murphy High School, just as I did, and I also thought it would be interesting to get a student's perspective on technology. The following is our conversation:
Me:
Hi Tiffany. My name is Elizabeth Ashley Corley. I am a junior at the University of South Alabama with a major in Secondary Education and English. In one of my current courses, Microcomputing Systems, we are to contact a teacher, or another student, from another county or even another state. I see that you reside in Georgia and attended Murphy High School as well, I graduated in 2004. It would be greatly appreciated if you could answer a few questions for me related to your experiences with technology in the classroom. Would you be so kind to help me? If so, simply write back and we will go from there. Thanks a million; take care.
Elizabeth A. Corley
Tiffany:
Hi Elizabeth.Yes I would be more than happy to help you what would like to know?
Me:
Ok, for starters what school or university do you attend and what year are you?
Tiffany:
I attend Georgia Perimeter College and I am a freshman.
Me:
What is your major and are you at all familiar with podcasts, blogs, or any form of technology used in the classroom?
Tiffany:
I major in Journalism/Creative Writing. I take the following classes: English, Biology, Spanish, and Humanities. I am familiar with podcasts and blogs however I don't use them in class. We do use computers and laptops for the majority of the time during my English and Spanish class. The computers provide us with electronic versions of text books, study guides, quizzes, and other useful tools that are necessary to most students. Also power points are becoming vary common when during lectures.
Me:
Oh, very interesting; the idea of using laptops in the classroom versus the common textbook, paper, and pencil sounds terrific! I hope that that will soon be a part of South's curriculum, too. I am more of a visual learner and most material doesn't stay in my mind for long if it is not interesting. So tools such as PowerPoints and websites really help me to retain information not only for the test but also long after. In my current class, we discussed burp-back education, which is education that is merely forgotten after it is used, such as forgetting information after you've taken a test. So, does supplemental technology such as your laptop, websites, and PowerPoints help you, as a student, learn better or does it help you in any way? What is your viewpoint of technology in the classroom as we roll into the year 2009; is it vital?
Tiffany:
Yes. Using technology in class helps me learn better in class because I am also a visual learner. I and so many other students find power points and personal laptops a great way to stay interested during class and saving work is always easy. I believe in 2009 itechnoogy will be vital because most of our everyday life consists of depending on technology and soon our education will also.
Me:
Well, Tiffany I thank you so much for helping me with my assignment. You should go to iTunes and download some educational podcasts, they are actually a very interesting way to learn on the go (ipods, etc.). Also, check out my student blog at corleyeedm310fall08.blogspot.com. Again, thanks and good luck on your future endeavors! Go technology!
Tiffany:
Your Welcome Elizabeth. I will definitely do so! Go Technology!
Just like me and many other students, Tiffany is already experiencing the technology shift first-hand. For many, this is a good thing as it can improve learning and makes a lot of things simplier such as tests, lectures, and turning in assignments.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete
Well fellow classmates, we have come to an end for this semester. If you all feel like I do, we got a lot out of this class that is definitely not burpback by a long shot. I enjoyed you all, and I hope you do well in your future endeavors. Hope to see you around sometimes...don't be a stranger!
Elizabeth "Ashley" Corley
Elizabeth "Ashley" Corley
I Love This Class!-What I learned in EDM 310
I can honestly say I enjoyed and gained a lot of knowledge from this EDM 310 class, and Ms. Averitt is a wonderful and helpful teacher, honestly! I have learned sooo many things I probably wouldn't have been exposed to as thoroughly as I was in this class. I learned what a podcast is, how to search for and download one, and even how to make one-well not technically, but I can say I did one! I learned what a blog is and how to maneuver them; I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will implement blogging in my future classroom. I learned about many wonderful tools available for teachers, parents, and students such as The Alabama Virtual Library, ACCESS, and ALEX.
These are things that I would have never learned on my own. Ms. Averitt did an exceptional job of exposing us to new things that are helpful, and maybe even vital, to our future careers as teachers. I really must say, I enjoyed this class, I learned a lot that is definitely not BurpBack! No, there is nothing I can think of that I would have wanted to learn; Big ups to Ms. Averitt!
These are things that I would have never learned on my own. Ms. Averitt did an exceptional job of exposing us to new things that are helpful, and maybe even vital, to our future careers as teachers. I really must say, I enjoyed this class, I learned a lot that is definitely not BurpBack! No, there is nothing I can think of that I would have wanted to learn; Big ups to Ms. Averitt!
Blogs Pluses and Minuses/Student Comparison
The person I will choose to compare and contrast with is fellow classmate Kimberly Pierce, simply because I experienced the most with her as we were group members (along with Brooke)and both did not know what a blog or podcast was before this class. We had heard and seen the word 'blog' several times before, but never actually new what it was until this class. It felt good to know that there was someone else that didn't know about this besides myself!
At first, the idea of blogging was a little different, but we found that it's actually not as difficult and scary as it seems. It's actually kind of fun! And as Kimberly researched the history of blogs for our podcast, she found that blogs have actually been around for quite some time; it was just new to us.
While piecing together our presentation, I found that blogs actually have many benefits. They help us, as teachers, to understand our students a little better through their writing-when they’re at home in a more comfortable setting familiar to them, their personality will just shine through their writing; They allow the students to engage with one another; They help the student to enjoy writing as a conversation and arouse their interest in learning; They allow the student to become a better writer through student and teacher critiques or comments; They help to encourage computer literacy. Blogs also help to keep the parents involved by giving them easy access to view their child’s workload and their work progress, as well as what the teacher is doing, what the teacher is teaching their child, and what the teacher expects of his/her students. Blogs also give the parent(s) an easy means to contact their child’s teacher and they can interact with other parents as well.
But just as their are many benefits of blogging, it has it's negatives to go along. There are many households that do not possess a computer or internet access, so the child will either have to go to a public library or wait until a school day. The internet can also be dangerous for children if their activity isn't monitored. But overall, the pluses outweigh the minuses.
Kimberly's blog can be viewed here.
ACCESS LAB EXPERIENCE
ACCESS, the acronym for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide, is, yet, another wonderful program offered to Alabama teachers, faculty, students, and their parents. ACCESS reaches out to students by offering the opportunity to take elective, Advanced Placement, and other on-line courses not offered in their school. Students may take a wide variety of classes ranging from chemistry, to psychology, to foreign languages. Students are even offered tools such as an interactive on-line chemistry lab. Through ACCESS, teachers and faculty are given the opportunity to infiltrate the use of technology and help many students across the state of Alabama by inviting their knowledge, expertise, and desire to help. Again, parents are not left out of the equation. They, too, have the ability to view the courses and course descriptions offered to their child/children along with a helpful guide.
I had the pleasure of visiting an up and running ACCESS lab at Mary G. Montgomery High School in Semmes, Alabama. Mr. Roger Rose, an ACCESS and Psychology instructor, walked me through the basics of the lab. Students sit at the tables with laptops in front of them. They stay in the lab for a certain amount of time just as they would in a regular block, or period, for a class. In all, there were 25 available laptops for the students. Mr. Rose showed me his 'special' laptop, the Kodak Hub, which has access to other ACCESS labs; it shows exactly what they are doing at that moment, and the classrooms and the instructors can interact as they can see and hear each other in real time on the flat screen televisions. Through this Kodak Hub, Mr. Rose, and other instructors, can teach other students enrolled in that particular class, such as if Mr. Rose is teaching psychology to his students at MGM, he can simultaneously teach students at Murphy high school and both the students at MGM and Murphy can see and hear each other through the laptop and televisions mounted onto the walls. Mr. Rose also presented an ELMO machine, which eliminates the usual dry erase board and markers or chalkboard and chalk. This ELMO machine/laptop allows the instructors to do work on it, kind of similar to a projector, as it is simultaneously shown on the flat screen television, which is extremely cool! Again, students from other school can also view this.
Mr. Rose also noted the extreme importance of being computer and technologically savvy in today's classrooms. Just as in this class, Mr. Rose, and fellow instructors, are implementing the use of podcasts into their regular classrooms as well as the ACCESS classroom. Mrs. LeGrone, a chemistry instructor, is the forerunner of the podcasts at MGM. She uploads all of her lectures into podcasts and also onto TeacherTube, which is just like youtube for teachers.
My visit to MGM's ACCESS lab was a very interesting and informative one. It is really amazing how students are able to receive a quality lecture without even physically being at the same place as the instructor and other students. They can talk to the instructor and other students, raise their hands, and participate in all class discussions and assignments while hundreds of miles away. ACCESS is wonderful as it offers the students classes they are interested in taking but are unable to at their school. Whoever thought of ACCESS hit the nail right on the head. It is truly wonderful and I will be sure to enlighten my future students and parents of this program.
Mr. Rose's website can be viewed here.
Mrs. LeGrone's website can be viewed here.
I had the pleasure of visiting an up and running ACCESS lab at Mary G. Montgomery High School in Semmes, Alabama. Mr. Roger Rose, an ACCESS and Psychology instructor, walked me through the basics of the lab. Students sit at the tables with laptops in front of them. They stay in the lab for a certain amount of time just as they would in a regular block, or period, for a class. In all, there were 25 available laptops for the students. Mr. Rose showed me his 'special' laptop, the Kodak Hub, which has access to other ACCESS labs; it shows exactly what they are doing at that moment, and the classrooms and the instructors can interact as they can see and hear each other in real time on the flat screen televisions. Through this Kodak Hub, Mr. Rose, and other instructors, can teach other students enrolled in that particular class, such as if Mr. Rose is teaching psychology to his students at MGM, he can simultaneously teach students at Murphy high school and both the students at MGM and Murphy can see and hear each other through the laptop and televisions mounted onto the walls. Mr. Rose also presented an ELMO machine, which eliminates the usual dry erase board and markers or chalkboard and chalk. This ELMO machine/laptop allows the instructors to do work on it, kind of similar to a projector, as it is simultaneously shown on the flat screen television, which is extremely cool! Again, students from other school can also view this.
Mr. Rose also noted the extreme importance of being computer and technologically savvy in today's classrooms. Just as in this class, Mr. Rose, and fellow instructors, are implementing the use of podcasts into their regular classrooms as well as the ACCESS classroom. Mrs. LeGrone, a chemistry instructor, is the forerunner of the podcasts at MGM. She uploads all of her lectures into podcasts and also onto TeacherTube, which is just like youtube for teachers.
My visit to MGM's ACCESS lab was a very interesting and informative one. It is really amazing how students are able to receive a quality lecture without even physically being at the same place as the instructor and other students. They can talk to the instructor and other students, raise their hands, and participate in all class discussions and assignments while hundreds of miles away. ACCESS is wonderful as it offers the students classes they are interested in taking but are unable to at their school. Whoever thought of ACCESS hit the nail right on the head. It is truly wonderful and I will be sure to enlighten my future students and parents of this program.
Mr. Rose's website can be viewed here.
Mrs. LeGrone's website can be viewed here.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
"Broken" Duke University/Center for Documentary Studies
I watched a podcast/video called "Broken," which is a HIV education film from South Africa. In the video, a little girl, Dolly, is raped by her intoxicated father. The brother comes in and catches what the father has done to his sister and tries to help her. The father then tried to beat the little boy. Later that evening, the mother arrives home from work and questions Dolly why she has not yet cooked dinner. The girl burst out crying, so the mother asks the brother why she is crying. He explains to her that the father raped her, but the mother simply tells the boy to stop lying and asks the father did he rape Dolly. Of course, the father response is, "No, that is a lie," and that is the end of that.
So many parents ignore signs that a child is being hurt. In this case, the mother is actually told what the father has done, but she thinks because he simply says he didn't do it that he is telling the truth, despite the little boy's claim and the girl crying. The mother is so concerned with staying with the father that she ignores what she is told. The father is so busy drinking alcohol that he cannot see how he is hurting his children. The message of the movie is the children are our future, stop hurting them.
So many parents ignore signs that a child is being hurt. In this case, the mother is actually told what the father has done, but she thinks because he simply says he didn't do it that he is telling the truth, despite the little boy's claim and the girl crying. The mother is so concerned with staying with the father that she ignores what she is told. The father is so busy drinking alcohol that he cannot see how he is hurting his children. The message of the movie is the children are our future, stop hurting them.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
EDM 310 Podcasts
In my EDM 310 class, I, and my fellow classmates, and two other group members had to put together a podcast and present it. Before this class, I, and probably many of my classmates, did not know what a podcast was. Before preparing to put our podcasts together, we were required to listen to some podcasts to get a feel of how to put one together. We were not perfect, but for our first times we actually did good.
My group members included me, Kim, and Brooke. We talked about the history of blogs, how we can implement them into the classroom, and interesting blogs. Our knowledge of the topic was thoroughly explained, we were all well prepared, and we talked clearly and intelligently. We could have been a bit more laid-back and conversational, but as a whole we did great!
Rachael, Keller, and Joye did an awsome job to me. I mean they did really good. They were knowledgeable and they were conversational. The word "um" was used too much, but they were very good!
Susan, Bridget, and Angela were also very in-depth with their information. Like us, they also could have been more conversational.
I believe that we all did well over all. We could have been more conversational, more natural, more comfortable with each other and our topics. We now have podcasts under our belts, and I'm sure if we had to do another one we would do better.
My group members included me, Kim, and Brooke. We talked about the history of blogs, how we can implement them into the classroom, and interesting blogs. Our knowledge of the topic was thoroughly explained, we were all well prepared, and we talked clearly and intelligently. We could have been a bit more laid-back and conversational, but as a whole we did great!
Rachael, Keller, and Joye did an awsome job to me. I mean they did really good. They were knowledgeable and they were conversational. The word "um" was used too much, but they were very good!
Susan, Bridget, and Angela were also very in-depth with their information. Like us, they also could have been more conversational.
I believe that we all did well over all. We could have been more conversational, more natural, more comfortable with each other and our topics. We now have podcasts under our belts, and I'm sure if we had to do another one we would do better.
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