C4T #3

For my C4T #3 posts I was assigned to comment on Matthew Tabor's "education for the aughts."

The first post I read was titled "The Education Community Can't Read or Researach". I would highly suggest going and reading this post by Mr. Tabor. It is so unique and there is a lot to this aritcle that I think would be beneficial for aspiring teachers to see!

This is the comment I left for Mr. Tabor:

Hi Mr. Tabor,
My name is Kristen Phelps and I’m currently in Dr. Stanges’ EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I’ve been assigned to comment on your blog! I have to say that this was one of the most interesting and straight forward posts that I’ve seen this semester. I have to admire how subtle yet blunt you are. We have done several projects this semester about how extremely important it is for us (as prospective teachers) to make sure that we do research and lead our students to credible sources. I find it interesting that so many teachers jumped on board with this topic with out doing SOME research first. I really enjoyed reading this post and all of its comments. Thanks for sharing!

The second post of Mr. Tabor's that I commented on was "Best Education Sites Maps College Web Design, Utility". In the post he talked about colleges using social networking and the internet in general for marketing to students. He included a website- "Best Education Sites". I would highly recommend checking this website out! It has a lot of cool stuff on it in regards to internet usage, what colleges have the most "followers" on Twitter, and things like that!

This is the comment I left for Mr. Tabor:

Hi Mr. Tabor,
My name is Kristen Phelps and I’m currently in Dr. Stanges’ EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I’ve been assigned to comment on your blog! Considering that I'm still in college, I understand this article oh, so well. It was only 3 years ago that I had the joy of being harassed via snail mail by colleges! :) I have noticed though, that colleges have really jumped on board with social networking through things such as Facebook, Twitter, and their own personal websites. Sometimes I feel like everywhere I turn I have a "Check us out on Facebook" sign staring me in the face! I checked out the "Best Education Sites" link from your post and I have to say that I thought it was REALLY interesting! I'm going to put a link to it on my blog for my classmates and hopefully my teacher to take a look at! I think they would all find it interesting as well. Thanks for sharing!

Blog Assignment #10

"Do you Teach or Do you Educate?"

I found this video to be very interesting. I think the question "Do you Teach or Do you Educate" is very, very good question that all educators should ask themselves. In order to be in this profession we need to be able to teach. But, maybe some people that already are or plan to go into the "teaching" profession don't always intend on educating.

Educating to me means that I will give whatever it is that I can give to my students to ensure that they LEARN and SUCCEED. In order to do this I'm sure this will take a lot of time. Probably a lot of the time it will take my personal time. Not the the designated school time from 7:45 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. I'm sure I will have to knock down some of my learning boundaries so that I can find new ways for children to learn. Educating to me also translates into caring. You truly have to love your students and want what's best for them. It means taking a personal interest in their lives. In order to educate I plan to give as much love, support, and time as I can possibly give to make sure that my students get the EDUCATION they deserve!

Tom Johnson's- "Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home"

I really enjoyed reading Mr. Johnson's post "Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home". Personally, I thought his writing style helped to make the post clear and fun to read. I believe that the point of Mr. Johnson's post was that so many teachers almost "give in" to the (ever scary) Standardized Testing monster and for-go the day to day reason for "teaching". Mr. Johnson didn't have Standardized tests in mind when he came up with his "pencil project". What he had in mind was something so much more than that.

Mr. Johnson was looking at the bigger picture (Not to say that Standardized test are not important). He was trying to find a way to help the kids (and parents) in his class look at pencils as TOOLS not TOYS. He said that he tried to keep his students busy with projects and assignments so that they could use the pencils but then he was questioned with "what if they play Hang Man with them?" I loved his response to this which was, "But if they choose to play Hang Man or go on the pen pal networks, I'm okay with it. There's probably some learning that's taking place that we don't realize." Yes, you heard it! Straight from the EDUCATORS mouth!

Blog Assignment #9

Mr. McClung's "What I Learned This Year (2009-10)" and "What I Learned This Year (2010-11)".

For this blog assignment I chose Mr. McClung's June 15th 2010 "What I Learned This Year (2009-10)" and his June 23, 2011 "What I Learned This Year (2010-11)" to read and write on. I think the concept of the "What I Learned This Year" posts is such a good idea. Not only because its a great way to self reflect but it can also help other teachers and prospective teachers out by giving them an idea of what to expect. I loved Mr. McChung's honesty in his posts. He wasn't afraid to admit when he was having a hard time with something.
It was clear to me that Mr. McClung grew a lot as a teacher from the "What I Learned This Year (2009-10)" to the "What I Learned This Year (2010-11)". Although, there were significant differences between both years. One being that in the 2009-10 school year he was a social studies/history teacher and in the 2010-11 school year he was a computer applications teacher. It was interesting to me that though teaching history/social studies and teaching computer applications, are two very different "subjects" Mr. McClung still had the same enthusiasm. Personally, I think that's what makes an amazing teacher. That no matter what subject you happen to teach, you need to be enthusiastic. If we as teachers don't act excited or interested in teaching a certain subject...how can we expect students to be excited about learning it?

Blog Assignment #8

"This is how we dream Part 1 and 2"

I thought the video by Dr. Miller was really interesting. I especially loved that it wasn't just a video of a man standing and talking into a camera. The whole time both of the videos were playing he had things up on the screen. He was showing what he was talking about, not just describing. I think the way he conducted the video shows greatly what exactly it was that he was trying to say. Which was that there are so many things going on constantly on the Internet. We as educators should take advantage of that!
Dr. Miller said, "Ideas don't belong to us individually but, they belong to us as a culture." He also said, "We as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely." Both of these statements really stuck with me. In the beginning of the video he talked about how people throw books, magazines,ect., out but you can't really throw something that's on the Internet away. There are so many ways to enhance both teaching and learning styles in the age that we are living in. Today, we don't have to learn by staring at a book. We can be watching, interacting, and conversing with people from around the world to learn.
I think writing with multimedia is amazing and I personally would love to be able to do so. As far students go I think that whether or not they would be able to write with multimedia or not will depend on their ages. But as far as middle and high school students go, I think that with the opportunity to do so they would be able to write with multimedia. I can only hope that they get the chance.

"Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12"

Carly's Blog Post #12 was truly amazing. I loved her writing style of mixing serious topics with little bits of humor. Carly and Dr. Millers ideas are scarily close in meaning. I agree that by using all the elements that are available to us we can only positively influence our students. By mixing unconditional and new tactics to get our students attentions we can influence them to look any and everywhere for information to inspire them to learn!

"The Chipper Series" and "EDM310 for Dummies"

I remember watching these videos at the beginning of the semester. At the time I was kind of scratching my head thinking, "what in the world?" but now they make a little more sense! Obviously "The Chipper Series" is sort of a "what not to do" in EDM310 or really in life, type of video! You can't blame others for your lack of doing! You also can't just make up your own rules and expect that everyone is going to jump on board and follow them! If you don't put in any effort, you're not going to get any results! I thought the "EDM310 for Dummies" vido was really funny. I have to admit that the first few weeks of class I felt like the girls in the beginning of the video did! I would have been thankful for a copy of EDM310 for Dummies! Thankfully after the girls put in some effort they ended up really enjoying EDM310 and understanding what it was really all about! I think that creating or participating in more of a "what not to do" in EDM310 would be fun and helpful to students in the future. In the video people could act out instances that would be less than ideal for getting their EDM310 work done. It could showcase people (not in their best efforts) doing their C4K's, C4C's, C4T's, Blog Assignments, the Checklist, and other parts of the class. This way it could really show people what not to do, while at the same time giving them an idea what the class really entails.

"Learn to Change, Change to Learn"

I think that the arguments in this video were absolutely valid. One of the speakers in the video said in regards to standardized testing, "the jobs that these kids in school will be having do not call for the kind of right answer, vending machine approach." I couldn't agree with him more. A lot of what is being taught in schools today is not going to be beneficial to the students once they step out of the schools doors. Most of the jobs that students in school today are going to have, have nothing to do with memorizing passages out of textbooks. Sitting in classrooms, staring at books is not going to help the youth of this nation/world grow into active members of the technological society we are currently living in. We need to wake up and realize that the information that can help our students learn might not be on paper, it might be on/through a screen.

Project #12 - Book Trailer

Project #10 - Personal Learning Network (PLN or PLE)

The progress of my PLN is exactly that, progress. I am slowly but surely gathering people and tools to better my educational experiences and sources. I'm doing this through Symbaloo and also Google Chrome Bookmarks. I'm following a couple of blogs of teachers, principals, and classmates that I find to be helpful and interesting. Such as The PrincipalsPage.com, MindShift-How we will learn., and Paige Ellis's Blog. I have a lot more THINGS on my PLN compared to people so my current focus is finding more people to add.

Blog Assignment #7

"Randy Pausch's Last Lecture"

This video/lecture was so inspiring. In the video Dr. Pausch talks about his childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and so much more! He also talks about "brick walls" which to him are "there for us to show how badly we want something". Brick walls are things that get in the way of our dreams. Dr. Pausch also says that, "brick walls are there to stop the people that don't want it badly enough." I found both of these comments to be refreshing and very motivational.

Dr. Pausch said, "Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly (or by "head fake"). In my opinion this couldn't be truer. When people are having fun and are really interested in something they soak up everything that surrounds that certain "thing". I think this was defiantly one of Dr. Pausch's teaching methods. Let the students have fun and they will learn in return.

I also think that Dr. Pausch had a similar motto to EDM310's "I Don't Know. Let's Find Out." He mentioned in the lecture that there's a good way and a bad way to say "I don't know". When you approach something you don't know with a positive attitude and with the willingness to actually find out what it is that you don't know, you are much more likely to find the answer. When you approach "I don't know" with negativity and frustration, most likely the road to the answer is going to be a bumpy one.

One comment Dr. Pausch made that I will certainly remember for a very long time was, "I, like Moses, get to see the promise land but I won't get to set foot in it. And that's OK because I can see it. And the vision is clear. Millions of kids having fun while learning something hard." This was just so eye opening to me. Dr. Pausch knew that he wouldn't be around to see all of the amazing things that his students and people everywhere would create or accomplish. And that was OK with him because he knew in his heart that it was going to happen, he knew the possibilities were there, the possibilities are HERE.

Project #11-Short Movie

Project #9b - Instructional Timetoast - The Making of The Statue of Liberty

C4T #2

For C4T #2, I commented on two different posts from Michael Smith's Principals Page - The Blog. I absolutely LOVE his blog! I spent hours looking at his posts and literally laughing out loud! I would highly recommend subscribing to Mr. Smith's blog and following him on Twitter.

The first post I commented on was "Kindergarten Kids Remind Me of Las Vegas". In this post Mr. Smith talks about how excited Kindergartners are to be at school. How they love to color, play, and count! Mr. Smith jokes that it's an unwritten practice that anytime an administrator is having a bad day, they head down to the Kindergarten classrooms. There's just something about their excitement and innocence that can make someone in the worst mood feel better!

This is the comment I left for Mr. Smith:

Hi Mr. Smith,
I am a student in Dr. Stranges’ EDM310 course at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to comment on your blog. I want you to know that I absolutely love your blog, I think you’re hilarious. I read several of your posts but I picked this post to comment on because I hope to teach Kindergarten. Like you said, there’s just something about Kindergartners and all their enthusiasm that warms my heart! Thank you for sharing! I will definitely be back to check out more of your posts!

Mr. Smith actually wrote me back and said:

Thanks for the comment.
My wife and I love South Alabama.
Good luck with your class and if there's ever anything I can do to help, please let me know.
Michael Smith

*This is actually the first response that I've gotten back from one of my C4T's so I was really excited about it!


The next post of Mr. Smith's that I commented on was titled "Unrealistically High Self-Esteem". In this post Mr. Smith talks about his daughter and how she really shows no desire to fit it with her classmates. One comment he made really stuck with me and made me smile, he said, "She prides herself of going down a path where she’s the only traveler." In the rest of his post Mr. Smith talks about how his daughter is at the age when most children (especially girls) just want to fit in. They want to be like everyone else. But she just doesn't care.

This is the comment I left for Mr. Smith:

Hi Mr. Smith,
I’m back! This is Kristen from Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama!
The fact that you call your daughter “Evil Spawn” literally made me “laugh out loud”. Take my advice: Be thankful she doesn’t care! This is coming from a girl who (not too long ago) went down “I Have To Be Like Everyone Else” Road and “What If I’m Not Like Everyone Else” Boulevard. They are awful, awkward, and scary streets! Unfortunately, I felt the pressure to be like everyone else. I would like to think that I didn’t always give in but sometimes I did. My younger sister on the other hand, “dances to the beat of her own drum” and I admire her so much for that. She simply “doesn’t care”. Even now that I’m older and don’t feel those pressures as much…I still wish that I had her carefree attitude! So again, BE THANKFUL! Hopefully (for you), she will have this attitude throughout her teenage years as well! If not, good luck!

Blog Assignment #6

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

I absolutely loved this video! I think the possibilities of being a networked student or teacher are endless and exciting! If students will enter these opportunities with open, determined minds I believe only good could come from this. As I watched this video and other ones that we have watched this semester, I can only help but think "what if?" What if I would have had these opportunities when I was in middle/high school? How would I have handled it?

I know that discipline would probably have been a problem for me. BUT in my opinion this somewhat answers the question, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" Discipline, Encouragement, and Direction! That's what the teacher is needed for! To help guide the networked student and encourage them to keep going. Like the video said, the teacher helps the student weed out bad information. The teacher shows the way when the student reaches a dead end and doesn't know where to turn. The teacher can show the networked student how to communicate properly and celebrate with them when they make amazing discoveries. I believe that I am ready to be a teacher to a networked student if or when the time comes. My goal as a teacher is to help students learn in the best way that I can. If that way happens to be mostly through a computer, that's fine with me!


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

I thought that the girl in the video did an amazing job! I can't believe that at the time of the video she was only in the 7th grade! There were actually a lot of similarities between our PLN's(PLE's). The major similarity was the way that things were organized. I have a lot of my things organized by line and top to bottom like she does. More than looking at just her PLN, I was amazed by how organized and efficient she was. I can only hope that the children I will be teaching will be as mature and organized as she seemed!

C4K - September Summary

In September I commented on 3 different students blog posts. I absolutely love getting to explore and comment on the "kids" blogs! I catch myself smiling every time I start to read one of their posts.

The first student I was assigned to was Moses. Moses is a Year 8 student at Point England School in Auckland, NZ. The post I commented on was about "Silly Sports". In his post Moses described how each of the classes at Point England were divided up and participated in like a P.E./set of obstacle courses. This was my comment to Moses:

Hi Moses!

My name is Kristen Phelps and I am also in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama, USA, like Gina above. We were both assigned to comment on your blog. I want to start out by saying that I love your blogs background and layout. It looks like you really put a lot of work into it!
I really enjoyed reading your "Silly Sports" post. I wish that they would have had such fun activities at my school when I was your age. I really liked how you started out your post by saying, "Squishy, muddy, sweaty, screaming. Those were my thoughts from yesterday. Silly sports! Who would of thought of that?" That was a great way to get your readers attention. I know it got mine! I also liked the way that you described the 3 legged race. I am 21 years old and I have never done a 3 legged race but, your post makes me want to try! Thanks for allowing us to look at your blog, I am truly impressed. Have a great week. I can't wait to see what you post next!

The next week I was assigned to Alyssa. Alyssa's post was titled "Places I'd Like To Go". In the post she listed a couple of different places she'd like to visit and why. This was my comment to
Alyssa:

Hi Alyssa!
My name is Kristen Phelps and I’m in Dr. Stranges’ EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. As part of my grade for his course I get to comment on your blog!
Those are some really awesome places that you picked! I have actually been to the beach, Disney World, and New York! I am very fortunate and actually live only about 15 minutes from the beach. It is so beautiful and something I hope you get to see one day. I actually got to go to Disney World for the first time a couple of years ago. Disney World is one of those places that no matter how old you are it is still so much fun! I actually just went to New York for the first time in June. It is a place that you have to see to believe! There are so many huge buildings and so many people everywhere! It was definitely the best trip I have ever been on! Hopefully, I’ll get to go back someday.
I’m sure if you study hard and keep focused that one day you will be able to visit all of these places and many more! Thank you so much for letting me read your post!

For my last student in September I was assigned to Kevin. Kevin is apart of the "St. Elmo's Explorers" who just recently, thanks to Ms. Lucy Buffet, were given some iPads to use in their classroom! I read and commented on Kevin's "Thank You" letter to Ms. Buffet. This was my comment:

Hi Kevin,

My name is Kristen and I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama and I was assigned to read YOUR letter to Lucy! It was so sweet of you to take the time to write Lucy a thank you letter and I'm sure she appreciated it! It looks to me like you and your classmates are really enjoying the iPads. I wish I would have had access to iPads when I was in school. I know you guys will have tons of fun with them! Keep up the great work!

Project #8 - Podcast

Project #9a - Individual Timetoast

Blog Assignment #5

Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please? by Scott McLeod

First, I did some research on Dr. McLeod and found out that he is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. As well as the Founding Director of CASTLE, the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. He was also the co-creator of the "Did You Know?" video series, one of which we viewed earlier in the semester. Also, Dr. McLeod has been named one of the National School Board Association’s "20 To Watch" and a Leader in Learning by the cable industry.

Personally, I loved Dr. McLeod's blog post. I read several of the responses to it and saw that a lot of people took his sarcasm offensively but honestly, I found it refreshing. On a daily basis I am surrounded by people (that I work with) that do not understand technology AT ALL. They see no need for "kids" to be on the Internet blogging, using social networking sites, or doing online school work. They think you should be sitting in a classroom with a chalkboard, a lecturing teacher, and writing with pen and paper until your hearts content. They can not grasp the fact that computers and the Internet can give people the chance to experience things that otherwise they would never get to experience. Dr. McLeod said, "...'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids...can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two...can you?" and I completely agree with him. Students who are exposed to all the things that the Internet has to offer will be better off in the long run. Being able to use computers and the Internet at school excites kids. My little brother is in 1st grade and absolutely loves when his class gets to go to the computer lab and use the computers. It gets his attention and encourages him to learn.


The iSchool Initiative by Travis Allen

Far beyond his time, Travis Allen was a 17 year old high school student in Fayetteville, Georgia when this video was made. With just this one video Travis launched an educational revolution. In the video Travis introduces his idea for the iSchool initiative. With budget cuts going on all around him, Travis realizes that our public school system is broken. He comes up with the idea that maybe technology could help save our schools some money.
Using Apple's iTouch as his base, Travis builds the schools of the future. The iTouch already has several applications built into it that students can use. For example: a calculator, Email, Formulae, World Wiki, Recorder, and Books. His idea is a school with no books, paper, or expensive copy machines, can equal savings up to 600 dollars a student. The price of an iSchool? Only 150 dollars.
Travis is absolutely amazing! The iSchool initiative is unlike anything I've ever seen before. Not only would the iSchool help save our schools money but it would also help our environment! Not to mention, that it would bring technology into our classrooms and help introduce students to the thousands of possibilities it has to offer!


Jennifer Chamber’s post and Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir video

This video was amazing! It's hard to believe that 185 people in 12 different countries could all be singing together simultaneously without ever physically being in the same room. This video is a perfect example of the unbelievable things that the Internet can help us achieve!


Teaching in the 21st Century by Kevin Robert

I think that Mr. Roberts believes in order to teach in the 21st Century you must engage your students and take risks. I loved that he addressed the topic that certain people believe technological devices are toys. Technological devices are not toys they are TOOLS. Tools that engage students to learn in different, more dynamic ways. In the video Mr. Roberts states, "entertainment is not the same an engagement" and I couldn't agree more. Like Mr. Roberts says in the video, entertainment is something that is short-lived. Engagement has long-term results and sticks with students. Entertainment doesn't require relevance but engagement does require the information to be meaningful and applicable. Another part of the video that I really enjoyed was when Mr. Roberts stated that, "Entertainment is using the creativity of others" but "Engagement is using the creativity of the participant". In order for us to be effective teachers in the 21st Century we are going to have to embrace technology and use it to its fullest potential. Information is everywhere, students don't need teachers to give them information straight out of a textbook anymore. Students need teachers to help them sort through the information and teach them why this information is relevant and important for them to know. I know its going to be hard for some teachers to put the chalk and textbooks down. But in order for students in today's society to learn traits that they're actually going to use later in life, teachers are going to have to use technology. End of story.

Blog Assignment #4

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale

I loved this video! Honestly, I was not very familiar with Podcasting until I watched the video. I think that Podcasting is beneficial to really everyone involved. The idea that parents can listen to the Podcast is wonderful. I think that it could help by having the parents understand exactly what their child is learning at that particular time. Also, it could help the parents understand what their child needs to study or work on in order to do well in class or on their next test. Something that could potentially be beneficial for parents and students is that you can access these from anywhere. For instance, the scene in the video where the student was out sick. I know that I would have loved to be able to look at a Vodcast or listen to a Podcast when I was out sick. We all know that life happens but with Pod or Vodcasting students can stay on task and not get behind. And students can listen to the Podcasts as many times as they like. That is one thing that is really appealing to me. I like to listen, watch, or re-read whatever it is that I'm doing just to make sure that I have a good grasp on it before I start the actual assignment. I'm sure a bunch of people do! All in all, I think this video did a great job of really showing what Podcasting is all about.


100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better

Wow! The title "100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better" says it all. This article is full of ways to help people use their i Pods to there fullest potential. There are so many things in the article that I had no idea you could do with an i Pod. "Soundwalk" is something that this article mentions and I am absolutely going to try it out. I recently took a trip to New York and one of my favorite parts was being able to listen to the audio tours at places like the Empire State Building. It's just such an awesome way to get a lot of information and for it to be clear. Also, it goes along with where you are in the tour so that you can stop and start it as you wish! The best part about "Soundwalk" though, is that you don't have to be in New York to hear about the Empire State Building you could be sitting in your own living room. I can see this as being such a useful tool when it comes to Podcasts. I am definitely going to bookmark this article for future references!


Judy Scharf Podcast Collection

This site is full of helpful hints on how to do a Podcast. Ms. Scharf starts off by explaining exactly what a Podcast is as well as the benefits of Podcasting. She also gives "Tips to Succeed", one of my favorites was #6 "Allow plenty of time to complete the project. Everything takes longer than you think it will!" which is so true! To go along with #6, Ms. Scharf put in a "Time Schedule for Creating a Podcast" which is broken down into "periods". There are also suggestions for Podcast topics. The list goes on and on! This site has tons of information on Podcasting. I will absolutely be going back to look at it when I have to do my own Podcast!

Project #6 - My Sentence Video

C4T #1

I was assigned to Audrey Watters Blog - Mind/Shift (How we will learn) for my first C4T. I read and commented on two of Audrey Watters posts including,"12 Ways To Be More Search Savvy" and "How Project Gutenberg Changed Literature."
"12 Ways To Be More Search Savvy" talked about Google and how it has made it possible for us to be able to search things easily and almost instantly. Mrs. Watters also went on to talk about the ways to be more efficient with your Google searches. Listing many tips on shortcuts and ways to get better search results using Google. I left Mrs. Watters the following comment:

Hello! I'm Kristen Phelps from the University of South Alabama. I'm taking EDM 310 with Dr. Strange and I was assigned to your blog! I was just having a conversation with a lady I work with on Friday about using Google. I was trying to explain to her how to look things up and made the comment that, I'm not sure how I looked things up before Google. So many times I ask my boyfriend for help with something and most times his answer to me is, Google it. I depend on Google a lot on my computer at work, I work for a Neurologist and there are tons of diagnosis's that I have to look up because I don't have a clue what they mean. I thought this was really informational and I will absolutely be using some of these tips!

The other post that I read and commented on was Mrs. Watters "How Project Gutenberg Changed Literature." This post was about the passing of Michael Hart the creator of Project Gutenberg, which dealt with the digitization of books for the public, or eBooks. He died at the young age of 64, which is truly a shame for someone who had a true grasp of the importance of technology and preserving the written past. For this post I left Mrs. Watters the following comment:

Hello! I'm Kristen Phelps from the University of South Alabama.
I'm taking EDM 310 with Dr. Strange and I was assigned to your blog! To be
honest I wasn't aware of Mr. Hart or Project
Gutenberg before I read this post. After reading this though, it is extremely
sad that such an influential man died so young. What
an intelligent man he was to have said, "twenty or 30 years from now, there’s going to be some gizmo that
kids carry around in their back pocket that has everything in it — including
our books, if they want.” He was defiantly a man that could think far beyond his time and see into the future of technology. I really enjoyed reading this article and learning about Mr. Hart and Project Gutenberg. Thank you for sharing.

Blog Assignment #3

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

I really enjoyed Kelly Hines' post, "It's Not About the Technology". She made some really valid points such as that "teachers must be learners" and "technology is useless without good teaching". I truly believe that sometimes teachers get complacent in their teaching patterns and styles. But as teachers I feel that it is our duty to be aware and up to date with all of the technology that is available to us. If not we could be doing our students a real injustice. If there are tool out there for our use to help us teach students in the best way for them, why would we not use them to our advantage? Though, in order for us to use these tools to our advantage we have to be learners. We have to be willing to learn technology to the best of our abilities or will not be able to give our students the tools they need to succeed in today's society.

Another point that Mrs. Hines made that I thought was really helpful is that for all the technology that we learn if we don't turn around and teach it just as well to our students, it becomes useless. We also need to realize that our students may not grasp the technology in the same way that we did so we might have to go about teaching it in a different way. Mrs. Hines said in her post that, "if a student has not learned, no matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done." and I don't think this could be any more true! We have to teach each child in a way that they can understand. Not just in the way that the majority of the class understands. So, I agree with Mrs. Hines it's not all about the technology, its about how we use it and teach it in return.


My comment that I sent to Kelly Hines:

I enjoyed your post for many reasons, one of them being your comment that "Teachers must be learners". This is so true and I truly believe that not all teachers see it this way. I have been in so many classrooms that the information being used to teach seems like it is years old! I actually had on teacher tell the class I taking, that the handout "goes along" with the old book but it'll be fine. I was astounded! Isn't our job as a teacher to teach our students the most current and up to date information we can? I think so.

Another part of your post that I found interesting was when you said, "if a student has not learned, no matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done." Very well said! I couldn't agree with you more. Our job as teachers is to figure out how we can relate to ALL of our students, not just the majority. And with all of the technology that is available to us, I feel that we should be able to relate to all of our students and help them learn whatever way is best for them. Like you said, we can do this by learning ourselves and using the technology that is becoming available to us so rapidly, to better the learning environment for all students.



Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher

I loved Mr. Fisch's post, specifically, his writing style I though it flowed wonderfully and was easy to understand. Mr. Fisch made some really valid points in his post and for some people they may have seemed pretty extreme. His main point, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." was extreme but in my opinion, very valid. It is getting (or some people may think it already has) to the point that if you are going to be a teacher, in which one of your main jobs is to prepare children for their futures, you need to be up to date with what the future holds. Obviously, the future holds the use of technology.

Another point of his that I really liked is when he was talking about people almost being "proud" of their technological illiteracy. Instead of trying to learn they automatically just say they aren't good at using technology or they just don't understand. Therefore if the parents or guardians and the teachers of children all feel this way, where is the child going to learn about technology? They won't! It is our job as adults, teachers, and role models to teach children in all the areas that can be beneficial to them in their futures, and the use of technology is one of them.


My comment I sent to Karl Fisch:

First, I want to thank you for bringing this subject to light. I feel that some teachers in today's society are trying to sweep this subject under the rug. Why? I'm not really sure. Maybe they don't want to give in to the pressures of society and technology. Your question, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." might be a little extreme but then again maybe not. I'm sure some people would completely agree that it is extreme but I personally can't decide. I defiantly think that if you are going to be a teacher today you need to be technologically literate. If you are not I think that you are doing an injustice to your students.

As far as people being "proud" of their technological illiteracy I can totally believe that. I have family members that are "proud" of it, constantly using the phrase, "You know I don't know how to work all that computer stuff." Or, "Will you just do it for me? You know I don't know how to work that stuff." And as rude as they may think that I am my answer is usually, "NO." I am not going to just do it for you. We all need to buy in to the fact that technology is here to stay and it is going to be a part of our lives. Thank you again for letting us read your post.




Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Gary Hayes's Social Media Count is amazing! I never really took the time to stop and think about exactly how much people use the Internet. Of course, I knew it was a lot but Mr. Hayes Media Count really puts it into perspective. From looking at how much is going on with each of the sites on the Social Media Count, it really makes you realize what a big part of our lives sites like Facebook, Google, and YouTube have become. It has become more of a way of life than just something that young people do for "fun" like I think so many people looked at it as in years past.

Its interesting to think about that whether we are on the computer using these site or not, people around the world are on them, updating them, uploading things to them and then when we log back on those things are there for us to see. There is so much information on all of these site and it makes me think, what did we do before them? We have become so used to the idea of everything being so instant. Being able to find out an answer to a question right now or talk to someone right this second its just funny to me to think about a world with out these things. I know that there have been a couple of times I have been without my computer or Internet and I have to admit I do feel a since of being cut of from the world!


My comment I sent to Gary Hayes:

Hello, my name is Kristen Phelps and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am currently in Dr. Stranges’s EDM 310 and a part of our assignment this week was to look at your post. I want to start out by saying that the Social Media Count is really truly amazing! It’s almost hard to fathom! I think this is such an awesome way of showing people just how much technology is becoming a staple in our lives. Thank you for doing this!
Kristen Phelps



Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I really enjoyed this video, I thought it was very informational and interesting to see all the different stats. I can only imagine what those stats are now, considering that the video was uploaded 3 years ago. The video had some of the same type of information as the video we watched last week but,it still shocks my every time to think about the amount of time we spend on the Internet in a day/week/month. Another fact that I find really interesting is that a lot of the jobs people will get once they are out of college or any type of school, don't even exist yet.

That goes right along with the argument that teachers need to be technologically literate. If we are preparing students for jobs that don't even exist, we need to be up to date on all of the latest technology to help them better their futures. Also in the beginning of the video it says that, if we learn by doing...what are we learning by sitting staring at a blackboard? Sure there are certain things that you can learn that way but, for the most part the world we live in is interactive. Therefore, students need to be interactive with the world and one another!

Google Presentation - Project #5