Blog Assignment 13

ALEX
ALEX stands for Alabama learning exchange, and it is a great website for educators to explore and receive helpful information they can use in the classroom. There are several resources that teachers can use from all subjects and for all age groups from k-12. ALEX provides anything ranging from lesson plans, to web links for teachers, administrators, and students. Alex also provides great information through pod cast, which can be very useful in the classroom. In my opinion ALEX can be the most resourceful for new teachers that are looking to make lesson plans or to add to one already made. It is also very simple to use, a teacher can get ideas for a lesson plan by selecting grade and subject. Before this assignment I have never looked at a learning exchange website, but I see how they can come in handy and be very helpful. When I become a teacher I will most definitely put ALEX or other learning exchange websites to use!

ACCESS
ACCESS is a distance learning website that provides equal learning opportunities for the whole state of Alabama and is available for all of the public schools. I think this is a good website so the students can be aware of what is happening not only in their school but also in the schools around them. This website also provides information about what classes and what opportunities are available to them.

Progress Report on Final Project

For my final project I am in a group with Lola Salano and Ellie Irish-Jones, and we have decided to make a music video about EDM310. The song is going to be a rap about how EDM310 started of us and how it has turned around towards the end. We will be singing our rap to the beat of “I Love College,” by Asher Roth. I would describe more in detail, but I’d rather it be a surprise!

Blog Assignment 12

For my blog assignment watch the video by Kim Smith called “The Twitter Experiment.” After watching this video write a paragraph on your opinion on twitter and if you think it can be a useful educational tool in the classroom.



At first I was not a big fan of twitter and to be honest I still don’t know how to fully use it, but I am willing to try to learn how and make it more resourceful for educational purposes. I don’t think twitter is a bad idea for the classroom, and Kim Smith makes a good point in showing that it helps students express things they want to say but don’t get the chance to in a class full of ninety people. Twitter is also convenient for students who don’t always have access to a computer because they can tweet using their phone. After watching the video and playing around on twitter a little myself I do think it can be helpful in the classroom, especially if the students are interested in tweeting and can help their fellow classmates learn through them.

Results from project 6

Have you ever really thought about the food you are consuming in your daily diet? We as college students have a reputation of having a very poor diet that may catch up with us in the future, but are we really not eating as healthy as we should? This is a short survey to determine if college students eat as healthy as they should. Every now and then you should stop and ask yourself, are you eating to live or living to eat?

Project 14

Blog Assignment 11

Little Kids… Big potential

For starters Kathy Cassidy is an amazing teacher! I recently had to comment on her blog for my comments for teachers assignment and it literally blows my mind how her students learn in her classroom. These are first grade students that are learning through internet tools such as blogging, skype, twitter, wiki, and by making there own videos to share, FRIST GRADERS! Another great thing about Kathy is that she is trying to spread the word across to other teachers on how technology can and obviously is very useful in the classroom. Her videos really inspire me to become a teacher as great as she is.

Skype Interview

Watching the skype video was very interesting and there was a lot of great questions asked. It was pretty shocking to see that Ms. Cassidy started working with technology for her classroom ten years ago and that she did with only the help of a technology coordinator. I also find it amazing that she was pretty much a self motivator, no one forced technology into her classroom she chose to imply it herself. I love when she states that “ Technology is not going away it is here to stay!” If only all teachers would realize how true this is and the technology is only going to continue to advance. In my opinion every teacher and future educator should look into what Kathy Cassidy’s has to share, and maybe then everyone can realize how important of a role technology can play in a child’s education.

C4T Summary #3

In Kathy Cassidy’s first blog post that I commented on she explains the benefits of letting children make videos in the classroom!

“Hi Kathy,
I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. In his class we are
learning lots of great ways to enhance the use of technology in the classroom. I think making videos is an excellent way to get the students not only interested in learning, but also excited about it. I enjoyed watching the video your students have made and thanks for sharing!”

In this blog post by Kathy Cassidy, she shares her story about going to Denver Colorado and showing this presentation!

“Hi Kathy,
I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM310 class at the University of South Alabama. It’s really inspiring to know that you are spreading the benefits of technology being used in the classroom and how children are reacting to it. It’s quite amazing to see these children are using the same tools to learn as we are in my EDM310 class, such as twitter, skype, and having a their own blog. It’s shocking that I am just now learning how to put these things to great use and in your presentation elementary children are using them daily in the classroom. I loved seeing in your video that the children are actually using laptops and recording themselves with a flip camera to make their own videos for learning. Hopefully soon enough all teachers will using some sort of technology to enhance learning in their classrooms! Thank you so much for sharing!”