Twitter

In my EDM 310 class we have studied about Twitter. Twitter is a website that people can log on to and type what they are doing. Each person types to the answer to the question “What are you doing?”. I have viewed a video on twitter and it was very informational about how Twitter is use all around the world. One a person logs on to Twitter and inserts a message, the message is called a tweet. Tweets are added anytime someone wants to add to them. They may enter “I drinking coffee” or “I'm doing homework.

After viewing the video on Twitter, I decided that I did not like it. I think some of the information is to personal. Twitter can be used in the classroom. Teachers could use it to contact their students, parents, other teachers, or other members of faculty or administration staff. However, I do not think that is a good thing to use in the classroom. If students used it amongst themselves it would not be a bad and the same goes for teachers. I just would prefer to use some other ways of reaching out to my students.

Using Twitter as a teacher is completely different from using it as an individual. In the paragraph above I had already noted that I would not prefer the use of Twitter in the classroom. As an individual, I feel that Twitter is really to personal to me. I would not like to tell the world “I going to bed” or “I drinking coffee”. I think that people reading all of my personal information is not for me. I know that I only have to post the things that I want, but I just would prefer not to use it.

There are other people in this world that might have different views about Twitter, but I just do not think it is good for the classroom. I do like other websites and they could be used in the classroom, but only to a certain point. The teacher and their students need a relationship with each other, but they do not need to know absolutely everything about one another.

Ways to Improve Class Podcasts

I listened to three of our podcasts on iTunes in the It's time for Technology Talk: Conversations with Future Teachers. I chose three podcasts from my EDM 310 class with Mr. Sullivan. I will say that I listened to our podcasts, but I am going to keep the others to myself to keep from offending anyone. I really think that everyone did a really good job. I think that as first time podcasters, we all could improve. Not just that, there is always room to improve anything because nothing is ever perfect.

The podcasts were supposed to be at least ten minutes. I really think that ten minutes is to long, especially for beginners. Beginners tend to lose track of time and they try to ramble on until they make sure their time is up. I noticed a few of our groups were timing themselves to make sure they made the time mark. The podcasts could improve by being video podcasts, this could let the audience see the objects being referred to in our podcast. The audience could relate more to the podcast if they were done in this way.

Last but not lease, I think overall the students need to relax, slow down, take their time talking, and make more conversations. I think that a lot of the students were just really nervous during the recording. I know that because I was one of them. It might have been different if the students would have done a short practice podcast. Some of the students were talking so fast, it was really hard to understand what they were saying. Some other students, especially me, constantly said um, ah, and like. Most of the students could have improved if they would have just relaxed and not just read from their notes. Reading straight from their notes made the podcast seem like the students were not socializing or making conversation. It was more like reading a book then recording a conversation about our topics.

I am pretty sure if all of us redone our podcasts they would be much better. We would be more prepared and less nervous during the podcasts. There will probably be less ums, less reading, slower talking, and more conversations made. So listen out for our new and improved podcast in our teaching years.

Pluses and Minuses of a Blog

I guess I will start with the pluses. There are too many to count. I viewed April's blog to help me decide the pluses and minuses. Blogs is and can be very useful in the classroom. Blogs are worth the time that you would put in them, especially when you have readers reading them. Blogs can be used in the classroom for each subject or you could just do one class blog. Teachers could use blogs for anything that is accomplished in their classroom.

Teachers could use the blogs to post homework checklists. If a student forgot their homework sheet for class they could look up the teacher’s blog and find it. Students that might miss class due to being sick or maybe even having a doctor’s appointment could get their homework off the blog. The blog could also help the parents know what their child or children are supposed to be doing in class or at home. The teacher could posts reports on how her/his class is doing, could posts meeting that parents might need to attend, and the teacher could also posts positive comments about their students. Blogs are a great way to share class information and I am sure that I will have one for my classes.

Well what can I say? Something that sounds so good can also have minuses. Blogs are nice to use but can be too long to read. Readers can get bored reading line after line of information. Blogs contain a lot of information and after too much is added it can be hard to find a certain post. Teachers need to type their paragraphs short and to the point. This will help cut down 5 or 6 paragraphs to read to maybe 2 or 3. Blogs also time up a lot time. If a teacher thinks that no one is reading their blog, they may think it is useless to spend all their time on it. Blogs can be hard to access if the Internet is down. Students that do not have Internet at home would struggle with the blog information because they could not access.

I think overall that using a blog in the classroom is a good idea. It can spread information to all the students and parents involved within the classroom. Teachers could post announcements about cancellations on the blog, like ballgames or maybe PTA meetings. I think I could use a blog to reach my students and their parents.

Response to Growth vs. Fixed Minds

Through iTunes Universities can show the world what's going on! Stanford University has a video on iTunesU about children with growth and fixed mindsets. Carol Dweck is on the “Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets' discussing children and their mindsets. There was a study performed on students on their mindsets. Some of the students had a fixed mindset and they felt as if the cannot learn more than what they know now. But there is a better way to think, everyone has the ability to continue learning. This refers to the growth mindset. When students think the their minds can expand they are more apt to learn. If they think it is possible then they will try to accomplish it.


The study informed students that their mind could grow. The students were taught that they could learn constantly. The grades of the students learning the growth mindset improved. The teachers in the classrooms could tell the children were improving. They did not know which students were being taught that mindset, but could tell they were improving.


Having the growth mindsets allow us to understand that it is possible to learn even as you are getting older. Being a teacher for students, it is really important for to understand that we need to learn each day. Each student is different and they each need different attention. Seeing each one and learning about them is important. When you have a growth mindset it will be easier for you.