SKYPE ASSIGNMENT

SKYPE-

I use Skype to keep into contact with my friends who are away at different colleges around the U.S. I talk to my friend in between classes and at night, she is in Missouri and it is more convenient that calling her sometimes. We both had not used it before and learned about it through Facebook. Every time we get on we are still able to do our homework and talk. sometimes when she wants me to see something in her screen, she clicks a certain option for me to be able to see. I really thought that was interesting. I enjoy finding all kinda of different things that you are able to do. we also had figured out that we were able to chat while we skype. Sometimes there are problems with the lighting so we have to make sure we are both in a well lit area. We try to listen to music during the times of our chat but, we often have to cut it off because we cannot hear each other and the sound gets very distorted. I do enjoy all the times that we chat and the convince of Skype. If anyone would like to add me onto their list my Skype name is Trollie2808.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #9

ALEX (ALABAMA LEARNING EXCHANGE)-

ALEX is a website that will help teachers implement technology into their curriculum. This website offers information to anyone or any teacher who might need suggestions or help coming up with different lesson plans that involve technology for different subjects. This site offers lesson on subjects such as Math, English, Science, and Social Studies. Along with different lessons, they offer access to different podcast, access to personal learning networks and objectives for each lesson provided. A very interesting option that they offer, is that you can create an account that you can upload your lesson plans as well as get plans from other teachers as well. On this site you can search for the latest news and practices that are being used in classrooms in various places. I feel as though this would be a good website to use when i start teaching, to help give me more ideas as how to use technology in my lesson that i might be teaching that day.

ACCESS DISTANCE LEARNING-

This is a website that is for public high school students that live in Alabama and provides access to distant learning. This site offers online learning tools as well as other courses that are offered through distant learning. It is not only for students but it is also available for teachers to access lesson plans and other ideas through searching in the Alabama Statewide Database. This program was funded by 70 grants that were given to 70 different schools throughout Alabama. Over time since the program was first started, there has been a large increase in the enrollment of schools participating in this program, as well as a increase in the courses offered. This website offers a great explanation as to what all would be included in a Distant Learning Classroom. Some items that were listed were projectors/smart boards, cameras, wireless routers, and technical support. Theses are only a few common items but, there are many more. Overall this program is a big success, many students are very responsive and enjoy this new avenue of learning.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #8

RANDY PAUSCH'S LAST LECTURE-

Mr. Randy is a gentleman who is diagnosed with about 10 tumors in his liver and was told that he was only gonna live 3-6 months ago. He is very humorous about his sickness. He is in very good shape and seems to be healthier than the average person. This lecture is about what Mr. Randy's childhood dreams were, how he achieved them, enabling the dreams of others and the lesson learned as time went by. He says that the inspiration to dream should never be lost in the children we are educating. Sometimes the dreams that we do not accomplish, are the most important life lessons that learn from. A important lesson that Mr. Randy learned was that when nobody is talking to you anymore about what you are doing that is when they have given up on you. It is very good that people tell you about yourself or inquire about what you are doing and how well you are doing something, are just signs that someone does care about what you are doing.

Mr. Randy speaks of "Brick Walls", the walls are imaginary walls that are up to prevent us from getting our ultimate dream or aspiration. These imaginary walls are put up to separate the people who are really trying to pursue a dream and those who will give up at the moment when it begins to get hard. This is an example to show how much a certain person may want something. He explains that most of his dreams had many brick walls that he thought he could not get over yet, with hard work and determination he was able to either achieve the dream or learn from what wasn't achieved. Another good lesson that he had learned in his life was that, you should never set the bar for education and your dreams too low because it is not only doing you a disservice but, it is doing a disservice if you are a teacher and you set the bar too low for your students.

Another concept that Dr. Randy speaks of is that as a parent you should let your children explore their imaginary thoughts and feelings. Randy painted his room as a young child and his parents let him and did not get upset that he wanted to do so. Mr. Randy explains that this is a very important key to letting your child be creative and explore their intellect. When we let children feel free to do whatever in a n education setting, it goes along with not setting any limits or bars as to when the child should reach full capacity of education. Don't ever set limitations on what you are teaching and what you expect from your students.

I completely agree with lots of the different topics that Mr. Randy is speaking of. You should always keep trying when pursuing anything in life as well as never set any limitations as to what you are able to learn.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #7

DR. MILLER DISCUSSION ON WRITING WITH MULTIMEDIA

Dr. Miller is a teacher at Rutgers University, he is discussing how writing and reading has changed throughout the years and how technology is helping change this. He is letting us know that technology is bringing together previous writings and new technology to help students and teachers understand the material a little better. Dr. Miller is explaining how that many books, articles, and newspapers are all starting to use technology to get through to their readers. Many times on the Internet when you are looking for information, you are often presented with many different types of media that have the information that is needed. Many times there will be pictures, YouTube videos, links to other articles, and even sometimes you can find a podcast. Dr. Miller is letting us know that with the use if technology you can find information that might be changing instantly and will constantly be updated. Dr Miller shows how he and other teachers that he was collaborating with were able to make a presentation and a lesson through Google Docs and all teachers that were involved were able to add and change what they wanted. He makes a good point of when someone is using technology in the class they need to make it beautiful so that people will pay attention to it and really know that you are serious about whatever it may be that you are presenting. Dr. Miller finishes up by saying that we need to develop learning/ teaching strategies for implementing technology in a classroom setting.

THE NETWORKED STUDENT BY WENDY DREXLER-

This video was very interesting. I felt as though it was explaining our class. Miss Wendy explains how the teacher was needed because they are the ones who will teach the student how to use different tools to build their personal learning network and how to get more information on any subject if they are not fully understanding something. This video gave an excellent explanation as how to build your learning network from the very beginning with the first step as how to look up information on the web and to make sure that it is valid. The teacher is there to motivate and clear up any information or help that is needed from the students. With the motivation from the teacher the students can begin to use many different applications to help manage all the information they are collecting from all over the Internet. I tunes U is mentioned in this video for a while, i believe that it is an important tool that can be very helpful and that many people overlook. Many of the lectures that are on there can help you further understand a topic that you may be studying or that you just might have lots of interest in. You might find a lecture from a professor that might explain the material in a better way so that you understand a bit more. By the 21rst century student setting up their own blog, they are able to share their thoughts about any topic and others are able to comment and give feedback on whatever may be written. Overall I believe this video was done very well. I could hear the speaker very well and the drawings were very clear and easy to understand. I liked this video very much.

BLOG ASSIGNMENT #6

DR. CHRISTIE'S WEBPAGE

Dr. Alice Christie is a retired teacher who had taught for over 25 years. She has conducted research on gender differences in the uses of technology, scaffolding teachers as they integrate technology in their classrooms, and the use of electronic portfolios for assessment. She has created a website that could help someone apply these topics in their classrooms. Dr. Christie often gives many lectures or speaks at different conferences, on this webpage you are able to find information as to how you can attend or just get more information about the different events. Her webpage offers lots of information as to how to incorporate technology into your classroom and lesson plans. On her webpage she also shows you how to set-up a web page for your classroom and all other types of technology tools that you can use in your classroom such as how to do podcasts, instant messaging, and some work from her favorite hobby, which is photography. This can help you in your classroom with possibly connecting with other classrooms that are across the country and possibly across the world. This would be good for the students to understand how there are different people in the world yet we all have the same goal in the classroom, which is to get a good education and get ahead in the world.

I tunes University

I tunes university is very helpful to any student, not only college students. It seems from the label it would only be useful to a college students, but in fact it is available for students from kindergarten all the way to the university level. This site allows you to find a specific school and even a specific teacher if needed be, from that point after pod casts will be pulled up that will have different topics that you can listen to and will help you with your studies or anything you need to know for that class. You can also find out information about the university or school itself, such as where it is located, the school social life, athletics, and the faculty. To be able to use I tunes university you must set up an account with I tunes which only requires your email address and a password that you will need to remember. From that point you will be able to access I tunes and I tunes University. With the creation of I tunes University, students are able to use many different types of media to help them with their education.

Duke University

Duke University is among many schools that are using I phones and I pods to connect with the

students that attend their University. There is a Duke application for the I phone and I pod that is

actually run by students who attend Stanford University. This app has many different things that

you are able to do. For instance if you were interested in attending the university and wanted to know

more about the school, you can have the option of reading about the campus life-such as fun activites

going on around campus, classes offered, and an exact location as to where the classes are located.

This application is also good for a student who is attending the university currently, they can find information

such as professor's email adresses and phone numbers, what is on the menu for any meal in the cafeteria,

and even updates on athletics. The fact that there is a specific option to be linked with athletics is ideal

for those die hard Duke fans. This app will let you know of all times and locations to all games that will be played.

This goes for any sport not just one specific sport. This will also let you know the standings as to where

Duke lays and other statistics dealing with athletics at Duke University. I think more Universities should

do this because it will help with their recruitment of students to their university and help put the students who are

already attending.

For more information here is a link to an article:

http://www.mactropolis.com/software/iphone-apps/dukemobile-app-brings-duke-university-to-your-iphone/