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.