Final Blog

EDM310 with G. Tashbin has been a great experience. I want to go ahead and list 3 of my favorite experiences that I had throughout the EDM 310 process.

1. Blogging. I have to say that blogging was something that I could not see myself doing BEFORE this class. EDM 310 has opened my eyes to the powerful idea of blogging in the classroom. What better way to get your students interested in learning when you can have assignments online? Most adolescents are spending countless hours on the internet everyday, and I think adding online blogging and fun activities is a way to make that time useful.

2. Google Documents. I am an avid google user but to my surprise I never really used google for anything more than finding things online. With google docs, you can start a project or paper anywhere you have a computer and internet access. This program that google created is just amazing because its free for everyone and if you do not use google docs, you are seriously missing out.

3. Podcasting. This was definitely a first for me. I sort of felt like I was on a radio show telling everyone what I thought about using youtube for education. It was a cool experience and I think everyone needs to do this. Podcasting in groups makes the experience even better.


If I had to choose something to add to the EDM 310 experience I think there should be a couple more group activities. The podcast activity was alot of fun and I think other group activities would make this class more fun than it already is.


From learning how blogging works to recording podcasts, I have to say that I learned alot. I now see why this class is a requirement for everyone going into the education progran at the University of South Alabama. If anyone is on the fence on who to take for EDM 310 and Tashbin is one of the choices, you should go ahead and select this instructor as your own. This is a great course alone and it is made greater with the help of your instructor.

Intextication vs. Education

This article brings many memories of myself texting and other cell phone use during class. It is a problem that kids these days are so dependent on communicatiing via text message. I think it takes away from genuine social skills that are vital for developing when you are in a professional setting. Texting is getting alot easier due to unlimited texting plans and cheap cell phones. Then you have phones that are solely designed to enhance your texting experience. It's an addiction that is found in most schools nationwide. It's hard not to text your friends to see what they are thinking in the classroom across the hall when your in a traditional classroom setting. One solution (a costly one) would be to create a signal free campus which can be created through fortifying the structural layers of the school buildings. This way you can eliminate texting to an extent and at the same time, become the city's new bomb shelter.
On a completely different note, what if learning in school could embrace the act of texting? What if education was pushed forward in technology enough that with your interactive chalk board (smartboards) you can deliver a question on the board and have your students text the answer. Also, granted every student and teacher has a cell phone that texts, you could text your assignments to your students during, before, or after class. That would work the same way blogging would, except it would be a bit more mobile. However, even if education as we know it was advanced just enough to allow texting as a viable class to student communication tool, students would still find ways to stray away from the path of knowledge and dwindle on the thoughts of their classmates and their weekend plans.
This may seem like a stretched idea on such a limited budget in a school system, but it is just as reasonable as saying, cell phones should be done away with altogether. The bottom line is, the students need to put forth the effort to pay attention and want to learn. Parents need to put their foot down and make sure their kid is succeeding in school, even if it means disabling texting on their cell phone! How about that for a solution? Monitor your child's progress and use discipline when necessary.

Staying Positive

Mr. McClung's blog about teachers and educators staying positive is something that you should not take lightly. I think this way of thinking will help the minds of our young students to want to dream big and if they want it enough, they will achieve their dreams. It happens every day, year by year, and it always starts off being a seed planted into the minds of young ones. Now there is some confusion of what the media portrays as the "American Dream." But if a student wants to aspire to be a doctor or a CEO of a fortune 500 company, why is that a bad thing? If nobody had a dream to become these huge roles in our world, then we wouldn't have anyone fulfilling these roles today. There is nothing wrong with letting someone wish to become something that they think is ideal for them. What is wrong with letting them figure out whether or not their dream is really what is cut out for them? Teachers should stay positive and promote dreaming big to their students. Anyone can fulfill their dreams if they dedicate everything to achieving it. What kind of world would we live in if everyone knew what role they would play in life from the moment they were born?

Keeping Kids First

After reading these teachers' blogs, I would like to incorporate alot of these ideas when i become an educator. We all know that there are certain things that you just cant stray away from, like tests and books. I think one of the "brave" things i would like to incorporate in my classroom setting would be a kid's group teaching session. I think it would be helpful to allow your students to become the teacher for once, not only would the kids enjoy being the teacher, they will learn leadership and social skills that you can not learn from a book or a study guide. One of the things that I would love to recieve when I become an educator is to have my students that I have taught and watched grow up come back and visit their teacher. I know I have done this many times with my old teachers and it always makes their day. Also, last but not least, one thing that will make my school unique, I would like to incorporate critical thinking through physical fitness. Like interactive puzzle games that involve fitness but mostly brain power to complete. I have always found games like that the most fun because the reward for completing them makes you feel like you are on top of the world.

the 6 C's over the 3 R's

I have to say that the 3 R's of schooling is in desperate need to change! I think the 6 C's are a good start...although some of the C's were a little odd. Clouds? i mean...Clouds? I understand he is referring to the internet but thinking about the internet in the form of clouds is a bit odd, especially to someone thats not very net savvy. The other C's have pretty good relevance but its hard to beat the basic fundamentals of the "3 R's," even though only "reading" contains an "R." All in all i think the 6 C's are a step in the right direction when it comes to changing the way we percieve school.

Burping Back Knowledge

I agree with Dr. Strange about how he feels about "burp back" education. It is pointless most of the time to be required to memorize certain facts only to regurgitate it on the test. Learning involves more aspects of the mind other than memorization. I think it is much easier to learn and understand a concept and then apply it to a question or situation. When concepts and theories come into play, it is much more interesting and beneficial then sitting in a lecture taking notes on facts that are on a test.

International Schools using Blogs

The first blog that I found was the blog site for the Zurich International School located in Wadenswil, Switzerland. The main use of their school blog is to act as newsletters for the parents. There are many posts with updates on the different sports teams, community service projects and various current events. I think this is a great way to keep open the communication between parents and the school.


Zurich International School

The second school I found was The Green School in Bali, Indonesia. The Green School uses classroom blogs to give the students an opportunity to reflect and share what they have learned with others. This also gives the parents a chance to actively talk and read about what their child is doing in school. They have a blog for each grade level. The blog is very active and is very helpful for both parent and student.

The Green School

Blogs in schools in the U.S.

The first school that I found that uses blogs are the Goochland County Schools in Goochland, Virginia. They had their first taste of blogs in 2003 when certain teachers would create blogs as means of instruction for their students. Now the schools want to integrate the blogs into parent-teacher relations. They call it "Teacher Blog's 2.0." They are encouraging parents to use the blog system to keep up with what their kids are learning and use the blogs to communicate with the teacher.

Goochland County School blog


The second school I found that uses blogs is the Seattle Public school system. Judging on how the blog site looks and the material on it, this is not really an interactive student-teacher or teacher-parent blog. This blog focuses more on the current events, teacher opinions, and the issues that face the Seattle Public School system. However, this blog contains alot of information to the public such as, the school budget, the school board calendar, and enrollment projections, which could be useful if you were deciding which school to place your child in. They also have a teacher blog section that allows parents to view information about given teachers in seattle public schools. I see this blog as more of a business type blog rather than an educational hands on blog.



Seattle Public School Blogs

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface

The G-Drive is coming....

I wanna start off this post by saying that I am very skeptical of this new concept. The G-drive that google is trying to create is an internet based hard drive system that is aimed to eliminate the PC. Now don't get me wrong, I think it is very important to have internet based hard drives to backup your exsisting data. But to think that an internet based processing unit will elimnate the multipurpose uses of the PC? I find that hard to believe and here's 4 reasons why...
1. You still will need a PC for access. There's not much you can do to get around that fact, as of now.
2. The world as a whole is not WIFI, and until it is it's hard to see this working EVERYWHERE.
3. Storing every piece of your data on an internet server can be very risky. What happens when your data processing and storing facility for some reason is destroyed?
4. PC's do many things offline, they are multipurpose machines and are not called PERSONAL COMPUTERS for nothing. Replacing PC's with simple machines just to portal the internet puts limitations on how and where you can use your computer. What happens if their is a power outage and your laptop battery finally dies out???

Overall, I think the G-drive is a good idea and a great alternative to an external hard drive. But to say that it will bring the PC to its demise is a little over the top. The PC has not reached the end of its lifespan and if you think about it, this will make the more modern and powerful PC's even better.

Is Google Changing The Way We Think??

This was an interesting article about how dependent we are on modern technologies, such as the interenet, and search engines. The thought that Google is making us think differently or that Google is makins us stupid, works two ways. First, we now live in a world where information can be accessed in infinite ways and with infinite ease due to the internet. This technology is very beneficial to us, but at the same time, it is hard not to say that our methods of finding basic information using search engines (as compared to days of old)has made us lazy and dependent on the internet. The internet is one of the most amazing inventions man has ever made, and therefore we become increasingly dependent on it as the years go by. It would be hard to see this generation function without the internet, so in a sense, the internet has changed the way we think and more importantly, the way we live.

The ACCESS Program

Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) is very helpful for both student and teacher throughout the state of Alabama. ACCESS broadens the horizons for students giving them opportunities to research assignments found in other curricula besides their own high school's curriculum.

As a teacher, ACCESS can help find ways to motivate students to learn and also help you learn as an educator. The ACCESS program also gives teachers a way to reach out and educate other students through the web. The ACCESS program is an amazing resource for students to develop study skills, research abilities, and broadening your overall learning capacity. I just wish it was around when I was a kid.

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)

The Alabama learning exchange otherwise known as (ALEX)is an online database of lesson plans created by teachers for teachers and students. You can search through the lesson plans by subject to find the specific topic you are looking for. It is also a reliable place to start a course page to organize your class.

I think ALEX is a very powerful tool for teacher and student alike. It provides an alternative to textbooks and specific curriculum. ALEX sounds like it would be a very reliable resource for staying organized in a teaching environment. Also it would be a good way to keep my students aware of future lessons and prepare them for what is to come.

First Post

Welcome to my Blog. This is my first post....hope you like it.