Sunday, January 26, 2014

Blog Assignment # 2

1. I believe that the central message of the youtube video titled "Professor Dancealot" is that in order for the students to truly learn, they must have some sort of interaction with the teacher. The professor had no interaction with his students, which caused many of the students to become lost with the material. He expected them to learn the steps of different forms of dances by showing the patterns on a powerpoint when he should have taught the students firsthand how to perform the moves. People are better learners with experience, such as rewriting facts over and over again in order to retain the material. Professor Dancealot's students could have been able to perform the dances for his video if he had merely showed them how to dance, especially without any podiums or tables blocking the views of all his students.
2. Kevin Roberts describes teaching in the 21st century as an innovative way for students to learn through multiple forms of technology. They can learn through texts, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, even podcasts, but teachers are the filter for this incoming information. They validate, synthesize, leverage, and communicate the information that students are easily able to find through various forms of technology. Teaching isn't about entertaining the students, but merely engaging the students to learn in a meaningful and applicable fashion that has long-term results. Engaging the students in the learning experience allows them to put forth their own creativity and actually enjoy learning. This gives me a new perspective on how teaching with these new forms of technology can actually promote the learning process. I will be able to teach my students by allowing them to teach themselves.
3. In Wendy Drexler's video called "The Networked Student," she explains that a teacher not only teaches in the field of expertise, but also helps students build social networks and take advantage of learning opportunities in order to seek help from experts, guide through information to determine which is fact or fiction, and to present resources. Mrs. Drexler made very sound arguments in why this is a reasonable and satisfying journey for students to experience, such as being able to sift through the internet and being able to determine the validity of information. I do not believe that all classes should be set up in such a manner. Some classes do need to have sit-down lectures where the professor teaches them solid information from a text book, but all students should take a class where they can acquire the skills that Mrs. Drexler is presenting in the video. It is an accessory that every student should have.
4. Vicki Davis explains in the video "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" that allowing students to interact with the world on a virtual level and experience and study the trends in information technology permits the students to stay globally connected. Mrs. Davis makes a sound argument that students acquire a better retention for knowledge when they experience it firsthand, and not when they take notes all day with a pen and paper.
5. Flipping the classroom consists of the teacher presenting the new information before class time so that the students can come to class prepared with prior knowledge and questions that he or she may have. The idea of flipping the classroom is completely new to me. It seems that a pretty enriching idea, allowing students to get a more in depth learning experience and creating a higher level of thinking. The only opposition I have is that it may give the student too much work to do at home with not enough time to do it. I think that I will try to connect this to some of my teachings, such as with group projects.
New Methods For Teaching

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Blog Assignment #1

I was dreading coming into this class. I had heard frightening recollections about the workload and the amount of time spent on completing these projects. I feared that it would be impossible to complete all of this work in the time allotted and that I would end up failing the course. Another concern I had about EDM310 was that my lack of technological competence would hold me back from being able to do my work. This class is completely different from all of the classes I have ever taken at South, and even in high school. Normally, the teachers just reiterate facts or equations for the students to memorize and eventually spit back out on a test, while EDM310 seems to provide students with the ability to learn how to complete these tasks all on their own. The hardest task I will have is whether or not I will be able to complete the projects we are assigned because I am not technologically literate. The only way I will be able to fix this problem is to seek help when I need it most. Lastly, I have no unanswered questions at the moment, so I hope to eventually complete this course and come out at the finish line with an 'A.'

Computers are so hard to use

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Practice Post

My name is CJ Conn and I was born in Orange, California. I moved to Mobile about 15 years ago to be near my grandparents. I graduated from Baker High School, so naturally my first college choice was South. South is a great school with an outstanding education program. My interests include watching movies, working, and hanging out with friends. My family is relatively normal, meaning that we bicker and argue, but somehow still love each other.

The idea of becoming a teacher never crossed my mind until my senior year of high school as I was deciding on what college to attend. There were so many options for majors, but I just couldn't decide what I wanted to be. Should I become a doctor or nurse? Go into foreign languages? Maybe do marine biology? Finally, one day it clicked: I should become a math teacher. It seemed so simple after this realization. I always excelled in math and even tutored some friends in high school. So, since I loved math and helping others, and this was just the major for me. After I graduate from South, I hope to be a high school level math teacher in the Mobile area and hope that I will teach calculus or pre-calculus to my future students.
Math is Fun
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New Test Post

New post for EDM 310

Tuesday, January 14, 2014