Smartboard Project

The following video is Team Grammar's Smartboard Project video.

EDM 310 Blog Post 16

                      EDM 310 Final Reflection

EDM 310 Blog Post 5 Part 2

     There have been many assignments in this class that have really shown me what PLN's are all about.  By using the various tools I've been given I went from not having any idea what PLN's were, to having a better grasp and growing knowledge of them.  I've commented on my fellow classmates blogs, children all around the country and educators blogs alike and learned form each of them.  This knowledge is something that would not have been there for me to reach without PLN's.

     My PLN :

1.  My fellow classmates that are also enrolled in EDM 310 this semester have given me great points of view on constructive ideas in my work.

2.  My teachers and lab assistants have commented on my work throughout the course and given me guidance throughout the semester have helped me out tremendously.

3.  The various teachers and students who's blog post I have read and commented on throughout the semester has showed me what it means to teach in this day and age and what it means to be a student now.  This has been in my opinion the most powerful.

Throughout the course Blogger has been the most influential ways for me to access my PLN.  Blogger serves as the main hub for my classmates blogs and also for mine.  By using this valuable tool I am able to view and comment on my various classmates ideas on the multitude of assignments we have been given throughout the course.  I'm hoping to continue to build my PLN and hope it encompasses more ideas to help me grow.

EDM 310 Blog Post 13

For Literature / English majors, write a blog post concerning why you believe it is important for students today, who are in a constantly changing technological landscape, to know how to write proficiently and enhance their skills.

     I believe that it is important for students today to write proficiently for various reasons.  Although the landscape of the world is changing to a more technological society, writing skills are still crucial.  Teachers need to make it a priority to have their students know the importance of learning and developing writing skills.





     In the world that students are being brought up in today, which is shifting more and more to technology through the various forms of social media and other sources, it is still paramount that we instruct students how to write well.  When is the last time that we have taught students how to write and email correctly or fill out other forms associated with job applications? While it may seem to students that writing papers may be time consuming and pointless, it is a way to set students on the right path for writing.  People may use social media and find that it is okay for the usage of incorrect grammar and spelling, but this is only handicapping your writing ability.  I think that it is important for them to know that this way of writing is unacceptable and develops bad habits for the future.  Jobs can be won or lost in the way that someone writes and presents themselves.  It is crucial for them to be able to write eloquently and show themselves off.  Most applications are done online nowadays, and resumes are almost always typed out in print form.  Students need to be prepared so that they can speak with supervisors in a professional manner.  I think it is still a valuable skill to be taught to students how to read and write so they are able to express their ideas in an educated way.





     Writing is still important in the new age of technology.  Old practices are still being used today it is still greatly important for us as educators to instruct students on the correct way to write so they are able to do so in a real world situation.





   

C4K Summary: April

First Comment, Mrs. Lombard : Lauren S. "Basketball"

     Hey Lauren, my name is Boston Morgan and I am studying to become a teacher at the University of South Alabama.  Basketball is my favorite sport too.  While I am studying to be a teacher I also want to coach basketball.  I think that it is great that you like Russell Westbrook, he really is an incredible player that helps his team out a lot.  I'm glad that you're passionate about basketball and hope that you continue to have fun playing the game.

     In this post the student talked about their favorite sport.  I made a connection with what  she liked and encourage her to follower her passion.

Second Comment, Ms. Thomas : London

          Hey London, my name is Boston Morgan and I'm studying to become a teacher at the University of South Alabama.  I think you gave a fantastic definition and then an example of what kindness should be.  Speaking from experience I can tell you that it is always important to be kind and stand by those closest to you.  I think the way you explained it was wonderful.

     The student London was asked to comment on what she believed kindness to be.  I really thought she did a wonderful job of defining what she thought kindness was.  Then I wanted to remind her that it is always important is life to be kind to others.

Third Comment, Mrs. Lombard : Lauren S.

Hey Lauren, my name is Boston Morgan and I am studying to be a teacher at the University of South Alabama. I think that your idea of a food truck is great. You bring up some great points on why it would be a fun business to own. I especially like your idea of selling desserts too.

     In this post the students were asked to comment on what business they would open.  Lauren commented that she would like to have a food truck as her business.  I commented on what I liked about her post and her ideas when it came to her selected business.

EDM 310 Blog Post 12

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher? Select a few and
discuss how they may be useful to you.

     In the video Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children I found out that there are all types of technology available for me as a teacher.  The first key thing that you must do with any student that is impaired or not, you have to encourage them.  You have to push their boundaries and remove any sort of barriers that may be presented to them.  One thing that I noted from the video was just how many children are diagnosed with impairments.  The number of children that have vision or hearing impairments in Australia for example was informative for me.  What I took from this video in general was that all students need encouragement and that as teachers we are responsible for an enormous part of it.  There are all sorts of tools and devices that are available to nurture these students and further their learning.




     Before watching the video, I had never heard of a Mountbatten.  It allowed for feedback immediately while also producing the braille for the student.  It gives both audio and tactile feedback.  This type of machine would be perfect for a regular day classroom.  When the student types, the mimic converts it to print and projects that onto a screen.  It gives the student the ability to work with group projects and actively participate in group projects.   I think that this is a fantastic tool for any classroom.  This knocks down any barrier for blind students because they are now able to participate with their fellow students and teacher more than they previously have been able too.  This is definitely a wonderful tool.




     After watching the video iPad Usage for the Blind I had somewhat mixed feelings.  When I first watched the video I believed that the technology was very difficult in order to manage.  However I think that with a bit of time and effort it would give those with a vision impairment the ability to master this technology.  While I think that giving people with vision impairment the ability to and access to technologies is key in today's learning era, we must also make sure that they are able to use it correctly and efficiently.  Throughout this course I have seen that students of all ages are using and mastering technologies in classrooms.  The ability to give those who are blind the ability to also use these technologies will help them continue to learn and grow and keep them on par with their fellow classmates.  I would just want to make sure that they are able to master this technology so they are not at a disadvantage.





     Viewing these videos has helped me become more aware of the technologies that are available to me as a future educator.  I think that these technologies should be used and implemented as soon as possible.  The more we are able to invest in students the more we are able to help them learn and grow.  We need to encourage those with impairments to continue following their goals and guide them along the way.

   

C4T 3

John Spencer : Sometimes Quantity is Better than Quality

     This post spoke about how students you constantly attempt something and work on it in order to improve themselves.  By moving through the failures we are able to then make progress in our learning.  My comment pertained to this information.

     When I first saw the title of this blog post, I wasn't quite sure what to think.  After reading it however I must say I could not agree with you more.  I find that repetition can help with almost anything.  The idea that people will try something and become discouraged after they see failure resonated true to me.  Its not until after you push through the initial lapses do you really start to make progress.  You sometimes just have to sit and grind something out until you finally are able to understand it or see what must be done.  I think that this is  a lost art today, with most people simply wanting something to be handed to them or quit rather than work hard for something.



John Spencer : That's Not Why We Make Things

     This post pertained to the ideas of why we as humans create things and why project based learning is important today.  The post spoke about how this idea of learning is fading fast and that it is important.

     I think that you are spot on with your idea here.  Creating things with your own bare hands makes something much more valuable to you than other ways.  You have the right idea that the creative element of a project makes it that much more important to a student.  The joy of being able to make something that comes from yourself not only engages you more, but helps you to learn as well.  I think that learning today is focused to much on just teaching the material and then sending the students on to the next thing and not giving them the ability to really create.  I think that more teachers should encourage their students to be creative and to use project based learning.

EDM 310 Blog Post 11

What can we learn about teaching and learning from these teachers?

     From all the videos that I watched I learned a great deal not only about different ways of teaching students, but ways to make learning more engaging and exciting to all of them.  In this blog post I took information from some of the videos that I found and I expanded on them.  From these educators I learned new information and about new tools that I hope to one day master in order to become a better educator.

     In the first video I watched, by Brian Crosby he spoke about a few things that really caught my attention.  One of the first things that caught my attention was when he spoke about his students overall lack of knowledge about where they lived.  I thought that this was shocking.  I think that we as educators are not only tasked with teaching students, but to help take care of them and inform them more about the world that they live in.  After that I began to notice more positive things.   Brian used teaching methods that not only covered the required material, but engaged his students.  Through the usage of various scientific experiments and teaching methods Brian explained how he was able to have his students pay much more attention to the lessons he was teaching.  I think that even though his students were younger and had shorter attention spans, this method should be applicable to high school as well.  You only have a students attention for a short amount of time.  If you are able to do something that not only covers what is required by your school, but can generate ideas and thought in each student, then that can be a powerful tool.  This is a key problem that I fear as a future educator. The idea of having students not paying attention and not focusing on the material is a major issue.  With Brian's ideas I think that I will be more readily able to tackle this  dilemma.





     In the Blended Learning Cycle I learned from Mr. Paul Andersen about his take on the blended learning cycle through his tool called Q.U.I.V.E.R.S. Each letter stands for a part of the tool.  The first is Questions.  We have to have start with a "phenomenon that really gets there interest and attention."  The next part is Investigate.  You want you students to investigate what is going on and to observe and experiment with the phenomenon.  Then you use a Video.  The video allows for him to review with his students and to interact with each student more often.  Then there is Elaboration.   You really delve into explaining what is going on with you hook so that the class is able to learn about it.  After this there is Review.  You use this tool in order to prep your students for the final part you meet with them in small groups to prepare them for the Summary.  In summary you test them on what they know and proceed to move them back if they are unable to explain what is going on.  I think that this would be an incredibly effective tool to use in a classroom.  While it may take some time to tailor and perfect this method for my specific classroom, I believe this is a powerful and worthwhile tool.  I feel like teachers should always be looking for new methods in which to teach their students.  The idea of using technology through videos in one part was a wonderful idea in my mind.  The usage of technology through this sets students at their own pace.  They are ready to move on only when they are ready and their teacher also believes they are.  I took a lot away from the methods that Paul was speaking about.  Those methods are ones that I will be wanting to try in my future classroom as well.





     As a future educator I think that I can never learn to much from educators now.  There is no set way to learn and no set way to teach.  It is a constantly shifting field that you have to be willing to shift with.  Through these videos and throughout the course I've noticed the different methods that teachers have used and taken notes on all of them.  Technology is able to show me all of this and I think that it is a must to be used as a teacher and it would be foolish to not use this valuable tool.


   

EDM 310 Blog Post 10

     Once again after watching these videos about Ms. Cassidy's class I learned a multitude of new things.  It seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout EDM 310 that students of all ages have the ability to not only use technology in the classroom, but are able to use it effectively.  First of all this is a major thing that we have to learn as teachers.  We can't doubt a students ability to learn and apply themselves.  Now I will get into the questions for this blog post.

Which of her tehcniques might you use in your classroom?

     In the first video I watched, First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class, which was a compilation of the technological use throughout her classroom, I saw the usage of blog posts by the students.  This is not the first place that I have seen students using blogs.  Throughout the course we have had to comment on various students blog posts across the country.  This would definitely be a tool I would use in my classroom.  By using a blog post I believe that it will give each of my students the ability to put their work out in the open.  They can have fellow classmates read what they think and comment back to them.  This gives students who may not have as loud a voice in the classroom a chance to be heard and let me as a teacher read what they think.  Another reason this is a good tool is that it allows for students to voice their own opinions about a specific subject.  Giving a student a voice and power engages them more, and I've learned throughout this course and others that engagement is key.

What impediments would you encounter and how would you address them?

     Obviously there are a variety of challenges that this would bring up.  For one parents and the school board may have a problem with young students being on the internet and having the risks that go along with that.  There is often a fear when students are using technology and them being online, which is easily understandable.  In her interview with Dr. Strange, Ms. Cassidy commented that this was an issue for her when she first started out using this method, with her students names and pictures being online for people to see.  The way that she prevented any real danger from happening was by sending home a slip of paper home on the first day that they would "en devour to protect student identity".  She did this by posting first name but not last name, and not coupling students names with their pictures.  I think that this is a great method for preventing any sort of dangers for her students and allowing them to use technology effectively in the classroom.

What is the benefit from this approach?

     There are great benefits not only for students by using this method, but also for parents.  Ms. Cassidy comment to Dr. Strange that by doing this parents are able to "see there child's progress through the year and see it when it is convenient for them".    This will be wonderful because parents are now becoming more involved with their child's learning than they may have been if technology was not present.  Of course students are going to love the usage of technology in the classroom.  They are able to develop technological skills at an early age, which will help them down the road.  More importantly it will bring an element of excitement into the classroom that students may otherwise be missing out on.  Giving students technology will more actively engage them in their learning and ultimately create more excited learners.

C4K #2 Summary: March

First Student : Mrs. Maslowski, Period 8 Diego 

     While I agree with you that schools should focus more helping students develop ideas for their career.  You should think that the point of having students being exposed to such various types of information in high school is to help them find out what they really enjoy.  I agree with you that students drop out because of a lack of interest, but some do it because they simply don't care.  I think you have great ideas in your post and should work on developing the  ideas and also try to organize them.

     I thought that the student had great ideas in their post, but they just needed a way to voice it better.  With a little bit of help, I have no doubt that this student will have the ability to showcase their opinions and ideas better in the future.

Second Student : Mrs. Maslowski, Period 6 Kaylie

    Hello Kaylie, my name is Boston Morgan and I am studying to be a teacher at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed reading your blog post about being a freshmen in high school. I agree with you about procrastinating and that it can get you into some sticky situations. I like that you gave good advice, made note of the positive points and made the first year of high school seem much less scary. Just make sure you always keep up with school work throughout your career as a student!

     I thought that Kaylie gave good advice to upcoming freshmen in her post.  She pointed out the basics for anyone entering high school.  Overall I thought this was a quality post.

Third Student : Mrs. Maslowski, Period 2 Breanna

     Hello Breanna, my name is Boston Morgan and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama.  I am studying to become a teacher and for one of my classes I was asked to read your blog post and comment on it.  I must say you did a wonderful job here with your blog post.  The way you enlighten upcoming high school students is done well.  You make it a point to inform them to become active not only in their learning, but also in social activities as well.  I thought it was great that you mention that all they really need to do to become successful is apply themselves and not get mixed in with the wrong crowd.  You gave sound advice to any upcoming student and I think this blog post was excellent.

     Breanna's post for upcoming high school students was excellent.  She was able to organize the post and give great examples of how to succeed in high school.  She also used a variety of ways to explain her ideas, which I thought made the post even better.

EDM 310 Blog Post 9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning? 

     In the first article that I read, Seven Essentials For Project-Based Learning, I found that the points provided resonated well with me.  I can definitely relate to having done projects in the past as either busywork, or doing a project to showcase what I've learned and use particular skills.  I agree that all projects should be meaningful.  In the article it states that "A project is meaningful if it fulfills two criteria. First, students must perceive the work as personally meaningful, as a task that matters and that they want to do well. Second, a meaningful project fulfills an educational purpose."  We as young educators need to learn these ideas fast and be able to implement them into our classrooms.  Our projects must not only prove to teach the students something, but it should also be something that the students will care about and what to excel in.  The project should be as important to our students as it is to us.  The point I found of the seven to be vital was point number 3, student voice and choice.  If we really want to grasp out students and bring out their creativity we must give them the ability to chose when doing a project and allow for their voice to come out through the project.  This will allow the student to showcase their skills and be able to show their classmates and us how creative they really are.  I thought however that all the points provided in the article were a must for projects and if implicated properly would allow us to get the most out of project based learning.



     In the second video I watched, Project-Based Learning For Teachers, the first thing I took from this video was something mentioned in the previous article.  The idea of the "driving question".  "The question is deep and requires students to complete an end product to share their learning with others."  This has to be the entire basis of why we will be doing a project like this.  It should be honing our students skills to not just write down what we as educators say to them, but to question the world around them and generate their own thoughts.  By coupling this with the a project that involves an entire classroom we are able to have all our students interact with one another to share thoughts and ideas to create a positive learning environment.  This develops skills within each student and is just another great reason to use project based learning in the classroom, if you are able to implement it correctly.


     In the third video, PBL : What motivates students today, it was really eye opening to me.  The first student who said that what motivated him was being complemented by his educator when he has done well.  Just by letting your students know that they've done well is enough to motivate them to want to succeed.  I think that this aspect gets overlooked sometimes by teachers.  You have to be personable to your students and give them a pat on the back.  Encouragement can go a long way for people and continue to motivate them.  Another thing I noted was that many students, while seeming young, are already planning about their futures.  Many students in the video said that they knew that in order to be successful in their future careers they had to do well in school.  I think educators think children are too young to think about their futures.  We need to know that they aren't incompetent and they should be treated with respect and guided so they are able to pursue their dreams.



     In the fourth video, PBL : High School Math, from what I gathered from the teachers in the video was that the usage of PBLs had gone a long way to involve more and more students.  They faced challenges in certain courses because it was not as easy to generate ideas.  However once they figured out what to do they were able to more actively engage students.  Because I am going to become a future English teacher, I paid more attention when they spoke about not losing the study of literature in the process.  They had the students engage with the text in a different way, engage them as a writer themselves.  I took note on this and though that this would be helpful for me in the future.  I think that using PBLs in classes are great because of how the provide a voice to the student and can more actively engage them.



     In the final article I read, Two students solve the case of the watery ketchup by designing a new cap, I found how yet again project based learning is a great tool.  The first thing I noted was the teachers comments.  " I get to turn the kids loose, let them be creative and find innovative solutions to problems."  By doing this the students were able to find something that they could apply to the prompt.  Although skeptical of their idea, the teacher saw how much effort and research had been put into this idea and let the students run with it.  This interaction and faith in students was just wonderful.  This project had allowed two students to use their creative and use their ideas to create something truly wonderful.  This is why project based learning is so great.  It actively engages students because it gives them a voice and the ability to show off how truly creative they are, while learning at the same time.

EDM 310 Blog Post 8

What Can We Learn About Teaching And Learning From Randy Paush?

     In the Randy Pausch's last lecture, I learned a lot from the lecture that he gave.  One of the first things that I keyed in on was just his overall attitude when he was speaking.  He was speaking to them audience much like I would to a classroom.  It shows how much of an impact you can have on your audience just by simply creating a common ground.  I took notes on this as an educator.  The idea that having fun with a group shows to them not only that you are open to the room and able to speak, but also that you are human too, which  can definitely create a positive learning environment.  People are engaged and really interested in what you are saying to them.  Students can read your demeanor the moment you walk into a room and it is on us as educators to make sure they know we aren't cold blooded, we are human.





The next thing that I learned from this was there is a lot to take away from the way you speak to people.  Randy spoke back on when he was speaking to administrators and that the way they spoke defined the way that the conversation went. This is easily translatable to the classroom environment. You have to know how to speak to students in a classroom and also be able to talk to those who are your equals.  Nothing can shut down a student in a classroom faster than having a teacher give off a negative aura to them.  You have to know how to speak to them in a way that makes them feel comfortable with you.  Establishing this relationship with a student is paramount to further their learning.  We should all strive to establish a positive relationship with our students.







The last thing I really took from this lecture was the "You're either a Tigger or an Eeyore".  Like I've said earlier in this post, students can read the energy you are giving off.  From watching this video it isn't really hard to see what type of person that Randy is.  I think that we should all try to be a Tigger.  The energy that you bring into the classroom will translate to your students, whether it is positive and lively or its negative and lethargic.  It is something that you have to establish before you ever walk into the room.  You yourself have to decide whether or not you're going to bring a positive or negative attitude when you go through the door.  This goes beyond the classroom into your everyday life as well. People tend to follow those who are positive throughout their life. Randy gave off this attitude from the moment he began his lecture. I want to establish this attitude in my life so that my students are able to follow my attitude and become more engaged in their learning.  Randy's lecture has many points that we should all try to show in our everyday  lives.

Project 7, Part B : Movies as a Teacher

Parent Introduction
Student Introduction

EDM 310 Blog Post 7

     After watching the videos assigned to us for the following blog post I really found out a ton of valuable and interesting information that I had previously been unaware of.

1. Using iMovie and the Alabama Virtual Library in Kindergarten

     After watching this video I was truly blown away by the information presented first by Mrs. Michelle Bennett.  When she was discussing kindergarten students and their ability to put together book trailers using iMovie I was blown away.  I myself have struggled before using iMovie and then to find out that children from ages five to six are able to use it efficiently, it really was I opening.  I learned from her discussion that younger minds are becoming more and more technologically literate and are more capable than we have thought before. Then when Mrs. Elizabeth Davis commented on students being able to use Alabama Virtual Library in order to do safe research I found this to be even more true.  Not only are students able to learn how to use search engines safely, they are also going at it with a positive work like attitude.  This video showed me that young students are more capable than most think and they are wanting to tackle more advanced work with an eager mind.

2. We All Become Learners

     I learned from this video exactly what the title says and a bit more. Dr. Strange was quoted as saying "We all become learners and we all become teachers." and I found this to be the best way of describing this videos content. From the personal experience of Mrs. Bennett I can say for a fact that one is never at a point in which they cannot learn.  She would be able to find some new information from one of her younger students, she would be able to go along and pass this new information on to other students.  This reminded me of, and I believe they talked about these in the video, personal learning networks.  The idea behind these is that teachers can teach students, students are able to help one another learn the material and that teachers are able to learn something new from students.  I think the idea is that we are all never to old to learn something new and never to young to begin learning new things.

3. iPads In the Classroom

     I was skeptical to begin with when watching the video about iPads in the classroom.  I've always seen this as more of a distraction to student learning than a helpful tool.  Yet after watching this video my opinion has been changed a bit.  The main idea I took from the video was that the iPads created a form of engagement that had been lacking from school.  With the ability to provide one for every student and allow them to learn how to use them proficiently we are helping to develop much more active students.  They will grow up knowing how to use search engines effectively and how to be fluent with other technological devices.  I thought a huge thing is this video was the teacher discussing how her efficiency has increased due to the iPads.  If we are able to create better learners through the usage of iPads, then I for one am not against the idea of implementing them more and more.




4. Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in Education: iPad, Tablet, Computer, Listening Centers

     I found this video brought some interesting points about technological usage in learning that we have already discussed prior to this assignment. The idea about the ability of technology to remove obstacles however was a fresh new idea.  Often times impairments can hinder students and they may fall behind, but with the ability to change the classroom environment with technology, we are able to prevent this very thing. However what I took most from this video was the quote at the beginning. The quote " Teachers will not be replaced by technology, but teachers who do not use technology will be replaced by those who do." (Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach).  I believe this quote because the educational system is changing, shifting to a more technologically dynamic system and those teachers who are not willing to go with this are going to be replaced by a new wave of teachers.  That is why EDM 310 is so important, it is preparing us so that we are more prepared and can provide more for students.  


     From all these videos I realized that technology is becoming an important part of the educational system.  In order to be able to use technology effectively I am going to have to master much of what is provided in this course.  The whole idea behind this is to create technological skills to transfer into the classroom.  I think that by doing that and having hands on experience with all of this will begin to prepare me more and more for life as an educator.

C4K Summary 1

Comments for Student's Summary

1st Comment:

The first blog post that I was assigned to comment on was Fransico V's Blog.  In his blog post he talked about how much he liked winter weather.  I commented on this because I used to live in North Dakota and how I could relate to his liking for snow.  I liked his post because it reminded me of when I was younger and ran around having snowball fights.

2nd Comment: 

The second post that I read and commented on was about a young male student who talked about his youth league soccer team and how well they were doing.  I commented on it and talked about how I could relate to him through playing sports.  I always grew up playing sports, however I never played soccer.  Some of my best friends played soccer and I encouraged him to stay passionate about his sport and keep going.

3rd Comment :

The third and final blog I commented on was rather difficult.  The student that I was assigned to hadn't had any posts so I chose to comment on a different students.  In their post they discussed a short summary of what they had read in "The Maze Runner".  My comments pertained more to the parts in their post when they talked about relating to the main character.  I liked how the student was relating the characters that they were finding in their reading and I encouraged them to continue drawing connections in order to help their reading progress.

I know that the last two comments do not have links, I forgot to copy the link address for my summary.  I tried summarize what exactly I commented on the posts as closely as I could.

C4T 2

     For Comments for Teachers #2, I as assigned to the blog posts of John Spencer, who's topics encompassed many different aspects of a teachers life both in and out of the classroom.  John's blog (found here http://www.educationrethink.com) has offered a host of fresh new ideas to me that I believe are vital to a teacher, whether they are new or experienced.
     The first blog post of John's that I read and commented on was Why I enjoy Dressing Up For Work.  As you can imagine, the blog post discussed John's his personal belief about dressing up for work.  In his mind this is truly what makes someone an adult.  He remembers his father and how he would get ready with a suit and tie every morning and how John looked at that as maturity and adulthood.  When I commented on this post, I could definitely relate to John.  When I was growing up I can remember my father putting on is Air Force uniform and thinking that that uniform was what made him an adult.  It was all business.  I looked forward to when it would be my time to dawn my uniform and set a standard in younger minds.  I liked that John's feeling about dressing up, it helps to make you feel like an adult more so than other things and I can relate to that.  It really has no bearing on how well you teach, but its more of the ideas behind the suit that matter.






The next blog post of John's that I commented on was his Seven Surprising Things About Creativity.
When educating of course we are going to aspire to have our students be creative and with this blog post John discusses seven points about creativity that most people really don't think about.  After reading the ideas that he discussed in his post, it really shed some light on aspects of creativity that I had not previously thought about.  When I commented on I made points to talk about his seventh point, "Creativity isn't always fun."  I could relate to this because most people view a finished product and comment on how creative it is and how nice it looks, but most of the time people have no idea the agonizing amount of time you've spent in order to get to that point.  The other point that I liked was "'Consuming' is necessary for creating."  This idea encourages the idea that students must be exposed to all sorts of mediums in order to really get the creativity flowing.  I thought this blog post was insightful and found it to be a great resource as a future educator.



Overall I found John's blog posts to be very creative and helpful.

EDM 310 Blog Post 6

What do you learn from these conversations with Anthony Capps?

     One of the first notes I took from the interview with Anthony Capps was when he discussed what entails a good project.  He says, "the goal of a good project is one that has an authentic audience, has student interests, involves the community and most importantly, they are driven by content.." (Project Based Learning Part 1).  To often I think that in classrooms throughout all levels of education projects and view more as a chore than anything else. Your students should be genuinely interested in what they are doing, it shouldn't just be busy work.  By having work involve the community and allowing your students to be driven creates a connection that strengths the project.  I had never thought about the way a project should be done and after listening to Anthony I really enjoyed his take on projects.  He has working knowledge and hands on experience that I could really take some notes on.

     Prior to this assignment and watching the talks with Anthony I had never heard of iCurio, however after listening to the brief discussion between the two, I imagine that iCurio may be an excellent tool in order to help educate students.  The ability to "allow students to safely search websites that have been pulled and filtered for educational uses." (iCurio: Conversation with Anthony)  There is so much information out there on the internet that can be view us unreliable.  By using this type of technology we are not only able to have our students find information online, but the right information.  Anthony also explained how iCurio could be used to organize and maintain helpful information.  After the explanation I found that iCurio gives students the ability to use a search engine that will give them genuine information.  It is important now is this growing technological world that we can introduce this material as early as possible to allow students to become accustomed with technology.  I am interested in finding out more about iCurio.

     After viewing The Anthony - Strange Tips for Teachers video I learned a lot about the teaching profession.  There are two different points of views in this video.  The ideas of the more experienced teacher and the ideas from the much more wet behind the ears teacher provided excellent insight on the profession.  I liked Anthony's idea , which Dr. Strange summarized, that "It's hard work but fun at the same time if you let it be fun, it never ends and it is very rewarding." (The Anthony - Strange Tips for Teachers Part 1) Teaching is a profession in which you have to constantly adapt to new things, whether its new teaching standards, a new group of students you have to instruct or dealing with an ever changing technological landscape. I took from his idea that you have to embrace the volatile nature of the profession, you need to constantly learn what will work and what wont. You may have to try a new method, but you make your work your own and embrace it.  Teaching in my mind is a wonderful profession because you are able to impact so many people.  I think that the ability to help others learn and make it fun for them may be hard work, but it is a great reward.

My Sentence Videos

My Sentence Is...




Quotes from G.R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones"

My Passion Is...

EDM 310 Blog Post 5

What are Personal Learning Networks?

     Defined by Dr. Strange on his website (Dr. Strange's PLN Page)  as "people, places, organizations and activities which enable you to learn",  these networks are constantly changing while you are with them.  It is a large collaboration that does not belong to any one person; it is a joint effort.  In order to have it work and make it successful you have to be able to learn from it as much as you contribute to it.  It will change your ways of thinking, but you have to let it. I believe that it is said best when described as " a Personal Learning Network is the replacement for the classroom which no
longer works as it did in an earlier day and time. It is a revolutionary change in education!" (1, Dr. Strange's PLN Page).  They are a new way of educating ourselves by hearing others, who are more well rounded in a given subjects ideas. We can learn new things from people and they can learn new things from us.

How can they help you as a teacher?

     I think that a personal learning network would be a major help as a educator.  Because the world of education is constantly changing thanks to new age technology, for one person to believe they know the best ways to do everything is absurd.  By creating or joining a learning network, I would be able to see what others have done with their skills in order to create a learning environment or how they were able to use technology to help further their students educations.  Having the ability to go and find almost anything through the use of a learning network would be extraordinary.  I think it would help because you would be able to learn so much from people who have more experience in the field than you and they can help you to learn innovative ideas.  I think PLNs are wonderful to all educators looking to expand their borders.

How are they formed?

     The first thing that you have to if you're going to establish a PLN is to find an area that you personally are interested in.  Then you begin to identify sources like "people, places, organizations and activities through which you might learn." (2, Dr. Strange's PLN Page) You have to identify with different sources through social media websites or other things like blog posts. You have to be able to dig beneath the surface and draw information at depth.  You also need to interact with people on these sites in order to bring out even more information.  I think Dr. Strange said it best when he said " You are more detective than student. A LOT more like a detective!".  I think that this quote is perfect in describing the extra effort you must put in when using these networks.

How can you create your own PLN?

     If I were to create my own PLN first I would, as previously stated, have to find my field of interest.  Then I would create profiles on social media in order to follow the exact people who had the knowledge and ideas I was searching for.  Then I would begin to save all these ideas and put them on my social media.  I'd have to constantly update my information and look for new more influential ideas to keep it fresh.  I would also make it to where other people looking for my type of ideas would be able to readily find them throughout post, articles and social media.

Who will be the first addition to your PLN?

     The first people I would add to my PLN would have to depend on what my interest was in.  Considering I would be using this to find more about how to further my ability to educate my students it would have to be other educators.  They would be technologically literate and able to fluently use social media and tools like blog posts to show how they are able to further their students knowledge.  If I added them to my PLN I would have to ability to look at all their methods and the skills they use.  I think they would have to be the first people for me to follow, because I believe they would be the most helpful to me.


http://www.apa.org/Images/carousel-ptcc-network_tcm7-139679.jpg

Search Engines

WolframAlpha

After using the WolframAlpha search engine I found it to be quite a useful tool.  With it you have the ability to solve advanced calculations through use of a search bar.  You also have the ability to look up more information about an equation or theory as well.  All you have to do is type your formula or equation into the search bar and it will begin to do the calculating for you.  I think this is a great way to find help with difficult mathematical problems.

WolframAlpha Search Engine


Bing

Bing would be most useful for minding prevalent news information.  When you go to the cite it already has popular stories for you to click on.  If that is not what you are interested in then you can simply use the search bar to find what you are looking for.  This is a great alternative to Google and I've personally never used this source, I'm sure it would be helpful to those looking to find interesting and relevant news stories.

Bing


DuckDuckGo

The DuckDuckGo search engine was quite similar to Bing.  You simply go to it and you are then presented with a search bar.  You then type into the search bar whatever you are looking for and the website will pull up different web pages concerning the topic you searched.  Also it will bring up an example or definition if what you are searching for asks for this.  The engine also advertises that it is the "search engine that doesn't track you", so if you like that then this is certainly for you.  I think this is a useful engine that can bring up information you're looking for quite well.

DuckDuckGo


Dogpile

Dogpile is a search engine that combines multiple search engines.  All you have to do type in it's search bar whatever you want and it will bring you multiple pages across the web.  This is a good engine to use in order to find articles or websites with particular information, however it may not give you that quick hit of information that you would want from just a small search.    I'd recommend using this to find websites with particular information you're looking for though, because it pulls in a large amount from multiple search engines.

Dogpile


Yahoo!

Yahoo is both a search engine and also a main news source for people.  When you go to the page you see the typical search bar, but there is also a flood of news information.  This search engine is wonderful for looking up information and finding websites and also being able to see important news information without having to go buy a newspaper.  Either go search what you will in the search bar or simply browse the news as it cycles through on the page, Yahoo! is a wonderful search engine to use to gain information.

Yahoo!


Ixquick

Ixquick advertises itself as "the world's most private search engine".  Much like DuckDuckGo, if you're into the privacy of using a search engine then this engine will be for you.  It's a simple to use search engine.  All you need to do is type into the search bar whatever information you're looking for and you are given the best results from your search.  I would recommend this only if you're seeking to be private, because in my opinion there are better search engines for you to use.

Ixquick


Ask.com

Ask.com is quite a useful search engine.  You may think by the name that you must imply a question, but that is misleading.  Go to the site and type into the search bar whatever you are looking for and you will be given links to the best sources to find what you are looking for.  It also will give you a quick hit of information if you're question is easily answered.  I would recommend this search engine definitely.  It is quick and easy to use and provides reliable information every time and it also poses a question of the day, which is fun and gives the search engine a bit more life.

Ask.com


Aol Search

Aol Search is a quick and easy to use search engine.  When the page loads up you're presented with a search bar.   You just type in what you're searching for and it will bring up the most relevant pages and articles for what you're looking to find.   The search engine is also enhanced by Google.  I would recommend this if you're looking to find good information and articles.  It doesn't have as much liveliness as other pages, which may offer a fun question or pose news articles, but it is still a good information engine.

Aol Search



image provided by www.pauseweb.org

C4T 1

     For comments for teachers, the blog I was given was title "Quantum Progress".  In the first blog post I covered, "Best Class Ever - when I leave the room" for my teacher John Burke, he had posted a video of his students, who were filming themselves solving a problem.  The trick to this was that he was not in the room, he was away at a meeting.  He had given them a difficult question  The video showed how the students worked together and could learn by working together in a large collaboration.  The students seemed to flow as one, working together to think of ideas and challenge each other to solve the problem.  When Burke came back, an interesting shift occurred.  Students no longer spoke aloud and seemed more nervous. I think this was due to the teacher being in the room and the fear of being wrong in front of them creeping into their minds.  Burke was astounded by how well his students worked together on the problem when he was out of the room however.
     In the second post, "Back to blogging with my best class ever", Burke had videoed a discussion among his honors physics class.  The group worked together in an open discussion about what do to solve the particular problem.  Burke proceeds to join the discussion only to ask questions that further the thinking of his students.  They ask questions that are intelligent.  Even when Burke explains that they are wrong, they begin turning out new ideas and come to some interesting conclusions.  Burke comments on how this task is draining mentally to the students and how at the end he is doing a lot of the meaning.  He hopes that he will eventually have it where he turns more of the responsibility over to the students.
     My comments for both the blog posts were similar.  Burke's method of teaching in my mind is something that should be looked into further.  I commented on how the idea of students discussing with one another can lead to a further understanding of the material.  With a teacher present, their is the fear of absolutism, in a sense that if a student doesn't give the correct answer than they are completely wrong.  Because they are working with fellow classmates this fear isn't as prevalent as it would be if a teacher were in the room.  I also said how the blog showed that students have the ability to reach certain conclusions and answers on their own and with the help of a teacher's guiding hand, it can further deepen their understandings.  I believe that what Burke is onto with his open classroom discussions and teaching methods are wonderful ways of instructing students.

For a further look into Burke's blog follow this link.  https://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/

EDM 310 Blog Post 4

What Questions do we ask? How do we ask them?

     And important thing about being an educator in this day and age is to always expand your students knowledge by asking questions, but no just yes or no questions, ones that invoke response and debate. This can be difficult on new educators, who may have difficulty finding out which questions they should be asking.  In the video "Asking better questions in the classroom" by Joanne Chesley she says that educators do not ask questions that open "extended or thoughtful kinds of responses". First we have to be able to distinguish the two types of questions.  The first type of question is close-ended.  Close-ended questions are ones that can be answered with a simple yes or no.  You can imagine that these questions can hinder the ability of students to come out of their shells and truly interact with, because they can simply nod their head.  The other type of question is an open-ended question.  In these the teacher poses a question in a way that "leaves the form of the answer up to the person that is responding", as defined by Chesley.  By asking these questions we are to get more of a response and discussion out of our students.  By doing this we open up more pathways of communication and can have students learn more.  I feel like as an educator it is important to ask as many open-ended questions to my students as possible.  The worst thing in a classroom is the dreaded silence after a teacher poses a question.  It is important to learn how to ask these questions.  You have to pose them in a way that makes the students voice more of their ideas that anything.
     The way of formulating your questions can be difficult for you.  In the article "Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom".  The author Maryellen Weimer takes us through her process of developing better questions to ask for your students in the classroom.  Her first step is to prepare questions.  Often times educators enter a lesson with a variety of questions that they are going to discuss as the class progresses.  Weimer suggests that instead we formulate ideas.  She says we can "make it clearer, not just the wording, but clearer conceptually".  The idea is to plan out how you can make it easier for you students to understand the question and answer them in the best way.  The next step is to play with the questions.  In a classroom when teachers give the correct answer, students' minds immediately go on the the next question.  Playing with the question means "leaving it unanswered for a while and using some strategies that encourage students to think about it" as Weimer would define it. This continues to let the students formulate ideas and generate great ideas and further their thinking process.  The last step is to preserve good questions.  You may find in your teaching that their is always a question that gets a great response from your students time and time again.  These are the questions that should be saved in order to help out later students generate the same ideas.  By these methods teachers can better ask questions and increase their teaching ability.
     By reading on these ideas and theories I have learned how to better ask questions for my students.  I've learned the right way to ask questions.  After reading these articles and watching these videos I've made strides to increasing my teaching ability.

Joanne Chesley video : ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFMfEVdfDys)
Maryellen Weimer's "Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom"
(http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/three-ways-to-ask-better-questions-in-the-classroom/)

EDM 310 Blog Post 3

Outline :
A. Watch "What is Peer Editing"
B. View "Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial" slideshow
C.  Watch "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes"
D. 1. Answer questions about what I believe peer editing is.
     2. What I believe the best way to approach peer editing is.
     3. How I will go about peer editing for my fellow EDM 310 classmates.
     4. What I believe the importance of peer editing is.
     5. Reflection upon what I learned from the resources.



       Peer editing in its most basic form is simply having your work reviewed by your fellow students and having them give you feedback on what they think would help make it better.  I think that the best way to approach peer editing would be just like it is stated in "What is Peer Editing", "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" and in the "Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial" slideshow.  In these sources the spoke of the three simply steps to peer editing.  The steps include compliment, suggestions, corrections and each has its own importance to the process.  I think that this process should be universal in a sense.  Peer editing should be helpful and should take away from the pressure of having an instructor grade your work.  Your peers should be encouraging and compliment what they like about your work.  Then they should build off this with suggestions in order to make what you've done become more clear.  After this they should help to make corrections to what the author has done in the sense of grammar and spelling.  I find this the to be the best way of editing because it helps to build a bond with your fellow student while also helping to better your work.
     When I go about peer editing for EDM 310 I will stick to what I learned from the already mentioned sources. I would be as constructive as possible. The last thing that I would want to do is make a fellow peer feel as if I was attacking their work. This can lead to my fellow peers not wanting to actively participate in later peer editing.  I would make sure that suggestions that were made would help to clear up and strengthen the message sent by the author.  People don't like to have everything in their work knit picked.  The only corrections I would help make would be with grammar and any spelling that the author may have missed in their own revision.  I think that peer editing is important because it takes the stress away of having your teacher grade it.  The corrections feel less severe and it seems to be more personal because you have a stronger relationship with your peers.  This also helps you to have connections with fellow classmates.  Peer editing is a useful tool in the classroom because it helps to build positive relationships among students and help them better themselves through editing one another's work.  I grasped my ideas about peer editing from the numerous sources I was told to view before writing this blog post. They helped me to realize that you should take the criticism presented by your peers not to heart, they are only being constructive towards you and your work and when you are helping editing work you simply need to compliment, suggest and then correct.

EDM 310 Blog Post 2

Outline :
A. Watch Mr. Dancealot.
1) What is the central message of this video.
2) How does the author make the case for this conclusion.
3) Do you agree with his conclusion? Why or why not?

B. Watch Teaching in the 21st Century
1) What does Roberts think it means to teach in the 21st Century?
2) Create an outline of the argument made by Roberts, including the evidence and arguments made to support his thesis.
3) How do you feel about the way Roberts sees teaching changing?
4) If Roberts is correct, how will it affect you as an educator?

C. Watch The Networked Student.
1) Think about what you have heard and seen. Listen and watch very carefully when the question is asked "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" Write about your reaction to this video
following the requirements in Writing A Quality Blog Post

D. Watch the movie Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts
1) What is the thesis of Davis’ video.
2) What is your reaction to her argument?

E. Watch the movie John H. Strange, Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race?
1) Answer the question.
2) Be sure to include your position in that race.

F. Read Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom
1) What can you use in your teaching/coaching that is discussed in this video?
2) Answer the driving question and other questions.

       The central message of the Mr. Dancealot video is that just lecturing and now giving hands on experience to your students does not help them learn.  The students struggled because all the teacher did was show them power points and read notes rather than giving hands on training with them.  This conclusion is come to when at the end the two students are discussing that looking over the notes makes no sense and they did not understand what had been said in class.  I agree with the conclusion met by the students.  Teachers should be fully involved in their students learning processes.  More hands on teaching gives reinforcement and helps to make sure that students really understand the material you are teaching.

       In Teaching in the 21st Century the main idea of Robert's is that the younger generation of students are growing more and more technologically sound.  He described how students now are able to find information anywhere and at anytime.  He states that if teachers can only provide simple and basic information, such as facts, dates, research or theories, than we as educators are obsolete.  It is not enough now for educators to spit out information that students can simply check on their smart phones.  Now teachers must be more inclined to have students actively participate and to learn more hands on with the usage of technology not as a distraction, but as a vital resource for learning.  It stresses the importance of technology because it allows for students to create and express themselves through the usage of technology.  Educators have to be able to guide students on the right track and to prevent them from pirating or plagiarizing. Using the technology is to to entertain, it is meant to engage the students in the learning process.

Robert's Video Outline:
A. Teachers need to change their methods.
1) Educators are obsolete if all they do is recite material

B.  Students are able to find information on a virtually limitless scale.
1)  Students can find information anywhere at anytime.
2) Teacher are longer the main source of information.

C. Question whether or not the teaching of facts or skills is important.
1) Presses the questions of real world realities towards students.
2) Brings up the idea to analyze, apply, evaluate and create.

D. Shows the implications that are possible through technology.
1) Pose many questions and the solutions that can be answered through technology.
2) These questions have real world implications and help to improve students understanding.

E. How to monitor proper technology use.

F. Lessons must be relevant, challenging and engaging.
1) Provide meaningful and powerful engagement.

G.  No matter what, the question is to always ask what it means to teach.

       Robert sees teaching changing in that it is simply not enough for teachers to regurgitate information.  They must engage the students and that one of the best ways to do this is through technology.  Students should be engage and have meaning.  Educators should teach skills and pose importance questions.  They need to more involved in students learning and to help them develop skills.  Teachers are obsolete if they refuse to change with the times and to bring technology into their classrooms.

       This will effect me as an educator definitely.  After seeing the abundance of information presented in the video it makes sense to me that we need to bring technology into the forefront of classes.  I need to be engaging and to not just spit out information to my students.  Now children carry around tablets and iPhones and other sources that allow them availability to great sources of knowledge.  I will definitely implement the usage of technology as an educator.


       In The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler, I was blown away by the amount of networking performed by this student.  The main idea pointed out by the speaker that students can use the internet in vast ways, like when the student found information from UC Berkeley, was astounding.  He was speaking that a student can use the internet and learned skills of how to use technology and networking in order to progress his education even further.  Through this the student had broadened his horizons and had also created a network others could use in order to draw upon the same information.  I think that this was incredible.  The teacher was the main architect to this and provided a guiding hand, but allowed the student themselves to learn more by networking.  This engaged the student in a way that we have previously discussed.  I think that this teaching method may be against the teaching norm, but this is may prove to actually be a more effective way to educate.  I am all for the usage of network teaching through technology.

       After watching Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts the thesis of the argument was that students all have the same capacity to learn, however once you put a pencil or paper on the desks certain students ability to learn is diminished while others flourish.  I agree with the ideas presented by Vicki Davis.  The ability for students to learn and teach their fellow peers is effective.  After watching all these videos it has come apparent to me that the world of education has shifted dramatically towards technology and that using this has a great effect on students learning and becoming engage in their education.

       After watching Dr. Strange's video Who's Ahead In The Learning Race? I'd have to say that the younger children have a slight edge over the graduates and undergraduates.  I say this because being exposed to such technology at a young age makes them more apt to become successful with the technology.  Now the undergraduates and graduates seem to have difficulty with the technology because they have not been exposed to the technology at a younger age.  This may lead to learning down the road becoming more difficult for them while the elementary school children are already able to use all of this technology.  I believe that I am keeping up in the race.  I am good at using the technology up to this point, but I am not sure how well I will perform as the tasks become more and more difficult.

       From what I learned in reading Bringing the Locker Room Into The Classroom I found it rather interesting the ways in which the coaches could help the educators improve student learning.  The idea that in the beginning you set up the system for which you would like your students to participate sets the foundation for your learning method all year long.  The idea that the students aren't looking to simply answer the question present, but rather debate and use inquiry to create individual thoughts was interesting  The idea to set up a system and the allow your students and or players to present information and generate ideas is a great method for both coaching and teaching.

Test

Test

EDM 310 Blog Post 1

       I have heard many things about EDM 310.  I have heard mixed reviews about the course pertaining to the difficulty.  Some have told me that the course is hard while others say that as long as you put in the time and effort it is an enjoyable course.  My main concerns about the class would be pertaining to the projects.  I have never taken a project based course in college and EDM 310 will be my first course like this.  While I am excited by the idea it also makes me nervous because, like I previously said, I've never taken a course that was project based.  This course compared to others I've taken are rather different.  In all the classes that I have taken in college they have been lecture based, but in this course it will be more based off of interactions between myself and the rest of the class.  I think that the most difficult part of the course will be time management pertaining to projects. I feel like if you start to lose track of time and forget to do assignments in the class then you will quickly fall behind, which is my biggest fear.  I just plan to stay on top of it by making sure everyday I have prepared for the class and assignments.  Putting in the work won't be an issue for me.  Although I was a bit nervous about the course before we started, after reading the syllabus and hearing more about it I'm excited to really get into the bulk of the class and to start participating in all the activities.

EDM 310 Practice Blog Post

Outline
1. Describe in a few sentences basic information about myself.
2. Reasons for why I want to become an educator.
3. What I believe that an educator does in his or her practice.
4. Give a few examples of the things that I am thoroughly passionate about.

       Hello, my name is Boston Morgan.  I am from Navarre Florida, which is a town a few miles East of Pensacola.  I am a Secondary Education major here at South.  My father is in the Air Force and is currently stationed in Kansas, while my mother is still in Navarre.  I have an older brother named Jordan who goes to the University of Central Florida.  Being in a military family I have lived in multiple places including Alabama, Georgia, North Dakota and finally Florida.  I originally was going to attend South with a group of my friends, however I was the only one who enrolled here.  I liked the atmosphere at the University and it is also fairly close to home for me.  I'm mainly interested in sports and spend most of my time playing them or relaxing playing games.  I want to become an educator because throughout my learning experiences there were many teachers along the way who had a profound impact on my education.  Because they were passionate about their teachings it made it easier to learn and made the processing of learning in their respective courses fun.  My goal is to have the same impact on my future students and to make learning an enjoyable time for all of them.
       Educators in the 21st century are leaned on more heavily now there previously.  They are charged with instructing today's youth.  We live in a technologically advanced age nowadays and it is more prevalent now than ever that educators are able to use technology to their full effect.  They are expected to help students, educationally and in other ways, in order to shape them and prep them for the college experience.  Personally, I am passionate about many things.  I am an avid sports fan and I try to participate in as many intramural sports as possible.  Often times I'll find myself spending most of my afternoon at the rec center with my friends.  I also enjoy just hanging out with my friends at my apartment and playing various games, mainly Nintendo 64.  I just like to relax and have fun.  I'd like to become better at making deadlines because I am a huge procrastinator at times and it more often than not leads to some unnecessary stress.