My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

To my classmates:
I hope that each one of you learned as much as I did this semester. The world is changing every minute of every day and we as teachers need to try to keep up with it. I wish all of you luck in the future. Well so long for know, I hope that I will have the joy of having other classes with all of you. This is especially for my podcast recording crew, see you guys later, hopefully.
Gretta Dailey

EDM 310 Experience

When I began this class this semester, I thought I knew all about computers. I have had computers classes in the past, but the computer world is updated everyday. It is important to stay on top of things because if you don’t with computer and the internet you will be left in the dust. As the weeks past I continued to learn new stuff and it was unreal. I was very interested in it all.

When I had to create my blog, I had never seen or heard of one before. But after I got it created it was very interesting to maintain and keep it up to date. I had to use Google Docs to present a PowerPoint presentation. I have got to say I was very nervous, but I got it created and presented it well if I may say so myself. I did not know that Google offered free programs that resembles word, excel, and PowerPoint. It was very easy to use and it was great to be able to save my stuff on the web and not have to use a drive or disk. That is really convenient when you are on the internet and if you forgot to bring your saving device. I also had to view podcasts. I had never heard or listened to one of them before this class. I found them to be very helpful for classrooms. While recording our group podcast, I was really nervous, but I could see myself recording some of them for my classes. As for using Twitter, I really did not like it. I think it might be useful in the classroom room, but I think I will leave it out of mine. I think that constantly posting person information is just too personal. I guess you might could just post things needed for the classroom, like “Homework due tomorrow”, but it is supposed to answer the question “What are you doing?” I found other blogs that were done by teachers today and they were very interesting. They had posts quite frequently and they stayed on top of things. They had really nice posts and pictures on their blogs. I found them useful and they gave me great ideas for my own blog. iTunes was very useful for our class this semester. I had to download many things from iTunes. I did not know that you could download newsletters, podcasts, or video podcasts for free. That was very nice and simple to do. School programs for students were mention in the class. I was unaware that students have available ACCESS and ALEX. These are to help children in school to succeed and actually apply for classes that would give them college credit. This is really great for advance students that are on a high level and need more challenging classes. I also learned how to mark certain web pages with a program called Delicious. This will be really useful when I become a teacher. I could use it to mark certain sites so that I could access them quickly when I need them. Foliotek is used for teacher certification. I like how easy it is to access through ecompanion, but I have a hard time matching the standards with all the letters and numbers.

I think that I learned more in this class than I though possible. It was very interesting and I do not have anything that I can think of that needed to be added to the class. It seemed to cover a lot of information that I never knew existed. There is really nothing in the class that I would have preferred not to learn. I think every bit of it very information and I probably will use all of it. If there is one thing that I was not going use it would be Twitter.

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.

Grades 9-12 Podcats

The iTunes store is a very useful place. I downloaded two video podcasts for education from the iTunesU. The two podcasts that I chose to view were high school level, grades 9-12. The first podcast that I watched was Function of Sleep. The seconds podcast was Frozen Frogs. I found both podcasts very interesting, but I like the one about frogs the best.


The Function of Sleep podcast was a video about sleep. The researchers think that sleep and memory are connected . They believe that when people and animals sleep they are process things that went on that day. So they performed a test ran on a rats. The rat on the video was wearing a hat that had wires about the size of hair connected to its brain. They put the rat on a maze were he would find his way to the center and each time it would receive chocolate syrup. The rat continued to go round and round the maze. The researchers were viewing the activity of the rat's brain during the maze. After the maze, the view the function of the brain during the rat's sleep. The function of the brain was similar during the maze and during sleep. But during sleep the brain was functioning a lot faster than when it was in the maze. It was as if the rat was remembering certain images from earlier in the maze. Two different parts of the brain was functioning. The part of the brain for long term memory was functioning during the rat's sleep. The researchers think that this helps them to believe that people and animals are processing memory. But this is all speculation. I liked this podcast, but I was not very comfortable seeing the hat on the rat. The video announced that is was painless putting it on so that made me feel better about the animal.

The second podcast was Frozen Frogs. It was about North American Wood frogs during the winter. The camouflage themselves. When it gets cold at the first touch of an ice crystal, it sets off signals that pulls water from the center of the body. The frogs internal organs will be rapped in a puddle of water and then it turns to solid ice. The is no function of the frog's organs. No breathing. No kidney function. No heartbeat. The frog is completely frozen for a long period of time. The frog is not dead, but it is about as close as it could get. It feels like a rock. The blood sugar of the frog acts like an antifreeze until the spring time. The frogs begins to thaw and within a day the frog will come back to life. The inside starts first and then the outside follows. It all happens in the right order each year. I really liked this podcast. I like to learn about different animals and I found this kind of unbelievable. This was really good information about frogs. Do you know that this happened to frog?

Even though both of the podcasts I downloaded dwelt with Science, I think that video podcasts could be very useful in my Mathematics class. I think that podcasts would really help Math students. Each and every type of Math class could use podcasts, whether it be Geometry, Algebra, or Calculus.

I could post podcasts on many different things in my class. I could do different videos on how to solve problems, definitions of the words, theorems, different rules in Math, and many other things . My students could download the podcasts to help them while at home. They could provide their parents with information if they are trying to help their child. I think I will be willing to use podcast in my class. I think it would help my students especially if I was no available at that certain time.

The Edible Schoolyard and A Night in the Global Village

The Edible Schoolyard video was about students at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California learning how to succeed outside of the classroom. The students would garden the first period of school time. This program was actually created by a lady that wanted to improve school lunches in Berkeley. This helped the students learn about planting, harvesting, and eating. It also helped with subjects such as social studies, math, science, and even life. The teacher uses everything to teach the students. The teachers are trained to make the garden the center of their teaching. The students learned to cooperate to do projects together. The students would grow the food and cook the food and this made them want to eat the food. They learned to use concentration and they learned how to be generous. The benefit of growing the garden comes to the students senses. This is basics for students to learn, which students used to be taught at home, but they are not anymore. Not always the book smart students excel when it comes to hand-ons activities such as this. The students that struggle in the classroom may adapt better to this because it is something that they can achieve.

A Night in the Global Village is a video on students at Rocky Mountain School Expeditionary Learning in Perryville, Arkansas learning how to live as other countries. There were homemade villages created for the students to stay in. All the students voluntarily traded their privilege as Americans for the less fortunate. This program allows students to walk in others shoes. They learn about poverty, hunger, and development. The students were separated into groups and each group has an adult with them. The adult got to choose whether to act as an adult or act as a child. This helped the children to stand up. Each group is sent to a different homemade village. All of the groups received resources for their stay, except for the refugees. They received nothing at all and they could not speak to other groups. The students all received resources but not all the resources that they needed for survival. The students had to begin to cooperating with each other to provide each group everything needed. Students learned to work together. The students also had to do chores such as cutting wood and feeding the animals. Each student had choices to make to survive. This helps the children learn how other countries live and nothing beats living a lesson.

I think these were really great videos. Only if I could have done this during my school years. I think these kind of experiences need to be experienced by all students. I could use these podcasts as a teacher to show my students how developed our world is, especially the United States. This can help all students begin to learn about different cultures(and don't you know we need that) and help them learn how to survive in real life.

Teaching is a great responsibility. Teaching is not only in the classroom, it is also outside. The videos are great examples of this. Teachers can use these videos to publish to the world that our students are becoming educated through new technology. I think that this is great, but we really need to get all of our students involved so that they are not so far behind that they give up.

iTunes University Can Help

iTunes University can be really helpful for any student or teacher. iTunes University is available through iTunes. It is opened to universities to output information to it for their students.The students can sign in to the Internal iTunes U Site for their information from their teachers. The teachers have to right to assign user ID and passwords to access the Internal iTunes U Site. There is also an External iTunes U site that is accessible to all the iTunes visitors. This can help with finding students to attend in the future or maybe it can be used just to share the university's information and knowledge with the world. Many schools create both internal and external sites.

I think that I could use iTunes University as a student. This could keep me up to date with what's going on at other universities. It could help me to find out information to succeed in certain classes at South. I also think it could be a useful tool as a teacher. I could get ideals from universities to share with my students. This could help with activities and help me to access all of my students need. I could even get ideals on how to help the children with disabilities through iTunes University. I think iTunes University is and will be a very useful tool.

iPods and Teaching

Should teachers use iPods for instruction? I believe the answer is yes. After searching the web I have made that decision. I discovered a blog, Successful Teaching, which is used by a teacher in Greenville, South Carolina. In her blog she has a post about including iPods in her classroom. She noted “If we look a bit deeper, we can also conclude that this will have a positive change in the environment, as paper waste will be reduced because of this. In other words, the potential to learn with the iPod and the ability for it to be beneficial is absolutely astronomical”. I also found that Universities use iPods in teaching. Duke University is a university that uses iPods for its students. Duke is actually giving iPods to freshman students. The iPods will be preloaded for the freshman students with information about freshman-orientation information, an academic calendar, and the Duke fight songs.

I think iPods will be great for teachers to use in their classrooms. I do believe that iPods need to be limited to classroom material only. Using iPods in the classrooms could be interesting ans useful as a teacher.

Dr. Alice Christie

Alice Christie has created an awesome website. She has been in education over 30 years. The website is a lot larger than I expected and it really amazed me. She really knows how to reach everyone, including parents, children, and other educators. She has updated information on her site and it includes Education Technology. The Education Technology involves a section on Instant Messaging.

The Instant Messaging includes different subcategories and they include Lists of Internet Slang Terms, Instant Messaging Article, LeetSpeak, and Instant Messaging Abbreviations. This particular section interested me because the world is becoming more slang than ever. This will help students, parents, and other teacher explore the world of IM. Each subcategory has link underneath them that can be clicked on to learn more on the subject.

I think it would be great if I could create a site as Dr. Alice Christie has done. I think her site has inspired me and amazed me all at the same time. Creating a site like hers could lead me to be a better teacher.

Wikipedia Response

Wikipedia is basically an internet dictionary, or so I thought. It is the main website to pop up when you look up the definition to any word on the internet. I really trusted the Wikipedia until I read the articles “Who’s Been Messin’ with MY Wikipeia Entry?”, “Scanner Tracks Who’s Changing What on Wikipedia” and “See Who’s Editing Wikipedia – Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign”. I also listened to NPR Podcasts relating to changing Wikipedia. Anyone can change Wikipedia, who knew, not me. The articles stated that there have been changes to Wikipedia by companies that are not researching the facts. They list what they want and sometimes they also delete information that has already been posted. Sometimes large companies may delete information; some of the companies have been Wal-mart, Diebold, and even the FBI. This helps me conclude that Wikipedia is not a safe resource of information. Only some statements are untrue, but how can we tell which one.

Virgil Griffith, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, developed a Wikipedia scanner. The scanner helps to track the IP addresses of who has changed the Wikipedia definition. This allows you to know if it or they are reliable sources. We can begin to see by this that everything you count on, may not be as reliable as you think.

Response to Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

In watching Randy’s video he noted three things, childhood dreams, enabling childhood dreams of others, and lessons learned. This was a very interesting video to watch and learn about. I was not too thrilled about the time length but it flew by due to the interest I had in it. I will discuss his topics in the next three paragraphs.

The first thing he talked about was his childhood dreams. He set them at a young age and was determine to achieve all of them.

1. Being in Zero Gravity-achieved
2. Playing in NFL-never achieved, but he learned a lot from this goal
3. Being a Author in World Encyclopedia-achieved
4. Meeting Captain Kirk-achieved
5. Winning Stuff Animals-achieved
6. Being an Imagineer at Disney-achieved
He achieved all but one goal. That is great for him to have done so, but it took a lot of work and dedication of him to achieve the goals. He got to experience zero gravity in the Comet Vomit with a team he created. He learned a lot from playing football that “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. The encyclopedia did approve him as an author. He did get to meet Captain Kirk because he built a virtual reality center for Star Trek. He won lots of stuffed animals and even had pictures to prove it. He went through a hard time to actually become an imagineer at Disney, but he accomplished that goal as well. After he got to work on the Aladdin Virtual Reality, Disney wanted him to stay and he refused to work full-time, but he did help them for ten years.

The second thing he talked about was enabling the childhood dreams of others. He wanted it to be possible for others to achieve their dreams just as he did. He worked really hard to establish programs that would allow students to achieve their dreams. He created a course named Virtual Worlds. This allowed 50 student each semester to build their own virtual world and their work blew him away. The course was very popular and he had parents and other students coming to class to see what was going on. After creating that course, he created the Dream Fulfillment Factory. This allowed students to enter the Entertainment Technology Center. They could achieve a master’s degree with this program. It was referred to as Edutainment. It was video technology to teach the students and the students had written agreements to be hired before they graduated. He believed that this allowed the students to chase their dreams. Some of the students are the creators of popular video games and some movies.

The third thing he talked about was lessons learned. He looked at the roles of parents, mentors, and students. He learned from teachers, mentors, colleagues, and friends. He noted to respect authority but sometimes question it. He wants everyone to decide whether they are a Tigger or Eeyore. He noted that he is a Tigger. He noted to help others and loyalty is a two way street. Lessons he learned included never giving up, get people to help you, don’t bail, and brick walls are there to show your dedication. He also noted to do the right thing and good will come back, use feedback, show gratitude, don’t complain, just work hard, be prepared, and find the good in people.

Response to "180 Days"

When I returned to the "Best(?) of the Fischbowl 2007", I found a blog title named "180 Days". I guess being a math major numbers catch my eye. So I clicked on the link to find out that teachers/schools waste time during 180 days of the school year. Barry Bachenheimer showed the "Did you know?" video to his students and this prompted him to find out why there is not enough time to learn/teach about all of the new technology. He posted a presentation about wasted time and Karl Fisch decided that he agreed with Barry. Karl recreated Barry's power point presentation (with Barry's permission) that lists what schools do that waste time. The time that the teacher/school waste was counted in days. Some of the things that Karl said wasted days were tests, final exams, standardized testing, days before major vacations, and students and teachers being absent. There were many other things, but they didn't take up as much time. I agree with some, but the students have to tests and have to be out sometimes. He said that there are 60 of the 180 days wasted, but this is just estimates. I think at certain schools, there are probably more than 60 days wasted.

According to Karl the schools have 120 days to instruct. That really is not enough time to instruct all of the teachers and students how to use new technology. This presentation can help us to decide what to take out of school and what to add in. Meaning what would not hurt to remove and what could we fit in to teach the teachers and students about new technology. I think everyone should take this in and be thinking about it when we become teachers.

Click herefor Karl Fisch's power point presentation.

Barry's Video

Improvements to Podcasts

I watched "Blogging and Teaching" and "Possibilities for using Facebook in a Educational Setting". I downloaded them from itunes and they were both created by the students at University of South Alabama. I listened to these blogs to find ways to improve them and I will list the improvements in the next two paragraphs.

During the time I was listening to "Blogging and Teaching", I realized that the speakers was constantly saying um. I think that they should have tried to response without saying that repeatedly. I really think that they described the blog well, but I think they should have talked about creating I blog and where you could create one. This would help people that does not know what they are or how to create one.

On the second podcasts "Possibilities for Using Facebook in an Educational Setting", I noticed that the speakers were also repeating um. I think that they done a really good job, but they also needed to talk about how to go to Facebook and how to create it. They need to talked about when a teacher make a Facebook page, the teacher needs for it to only be about class and not to much personal information.

Tennessee Family Trip

Click here for my presentation!

Response to Karl Fisch "Is It Okay To A Technoligically Illiterate Teacher?"

As I was reading Karl Fisch's posts I began to realize he is right. Teachers now need to be able to use the technology that is floating around. He compared teachers that don't know how to use technology today to teachers that could not read and write thirty years ago. In his classes he had expectations in terms of behavior. There were seven of them on his list and they were kind of guidelines that teachers should be using. I agree with his thoughts of educators.

If this is the case who do we have teaching our students. I think that all students should have teachers that know how to use the technology creations of today. If the teachers lack education of such maybe they should return to school to learn about new technology. Teachers should not act like they do not need to learn this new stuff. Our students need to be able to use technology just as the teachers.

Podcasts

I enjoyed listening to the podcasts that I chose. I know that they were all about technology today. People are now coming up with things that just blow my mind, technology wise. I think that some people know enough about technology just to get by, but others know to much for their own good. I listened to following podcasts.

Smart Board Lessons-Teachers Connecting #3
At the beginning of the podcasts there are two speakers discussing why we should use smart boards in schools. This is for teachers connecting and discussing white and smart boards. The speakers were talking about links to sites that could be used in the classrooms. They also were conducting an interview with a man by the name of Danny. Danny was explaining to them what BETT is. BETT is the world's largest educational technology event that takes place in London. It also allows information from class to be posted and allows parents, students, and teachers to interact.

EdTechTalk.com-SEEDlings
This certain podcast was about a created site a man named Clive and his wife started. He decided that it would be nice if the teachers, students, or possibly even parents could create comics for each other. These comics can be view by anyone in the world or the teachers can set it up so that only their students can see it. This is really good for young students because they don't have to setup an email address to stay in contact with their teachers. Teachers can create their students a pass key to access their comic. There is a lesson bank also and it is where teachers share their comics amongst one another. The speaker ask Clive what would he do in the future. He replied that he would make an effort to spreading the word and add more to the website. He wants it to be truely global and multilingual. It already has 44 different languages for its creators.

Kidcast Podcast-Episode 1
This podcast was created by Dan Schmit. It talks about podcasting from the classroom. Podcasting is for administrators, teachers, or students. Tools that we have now are greater and through these podcasts we can reach the world. Podcasting allows students to become consumers and producers of information to see and value what the internet has to offer. This allows classrooms to be a 21st century learning space.

MacBreak Weekly-La-la-la-Leo Episode 126
On this certain podcast there are a group of people discussing information on Apple. Not an apple you eat but the company Apple. They were discussing some of the plans of Apple and some of their new releases. They also said the desktop computers are not doing well and the laptops are doing great. It not just Apple products but all desktops are at risk. The Apple iPhone tops the other phones that are compared to it. The group also discuss Google Earth and some say not to use it. Google Earth is a huge gadget and some suggest to change the name to Google Universe.

International Blog 2

I had a hard time trying to find international teacher blogs. I found this blog and thought it was just wonderful. The teacher name is Mr. Woody and he is from New Zealand. He named his blog Room5ian Rule! His blog was created for his 11 year old students. Mr. Woody believes that students should enjoy learning. His blog is laid out very nice and it is colorful. I bet the students enjoy looking at it as well as they like to listen to him. The students can also chat through Mr. Woody's blog.

International Blog 1

The first international blog I found was from Japan. It was created by a man named Daniel Kirk. Daniel is an English teacher in Japan. Daniel's blog title is EFL in Japan. It is about the politics, economics, education and environment of EFL in Japan. He has many blog posts and has been a blogger since 2003. His posts are in English and Japanese. If you click them it will show you the Japanese writing. He has resource category listed on the left side of his blog that you can click on to see where some of his information comes from.

U.S. Teacher Blog 2

I found another teacher in Texas using a blog. He titled his blog One crazy teacher to another... and uses his blog often. He is a second grade teacher in Texas and he has been for two years. He posts lots of very informational things that are going on. He has post about the "Biggest Loser", a teacher being slain, and a video on how we should all teach. It is located on You Tube and it is called Local Teacher Has Innovative Ways To Teach Calculus. He also has information about Texas's public education and ways he saved his school money. His blog is just full of useful information.

U.S. Teacher Blog 1

Through searching the web, I found a math teacher, Ms. Cookie, that is using a blog. Ms. Cookie's blog title is Math Teacher Mambo and she is from the great state of Texas. She has been a math teacher for 12 years and has had her blog for 4 years. Ms. Cookie has many posts a week. She mainly posts how her class going, but she does have a few posts that contain math notes. She has teaching blog links on her page that you can access. I like her site and it is informational. She has a four tier process:

1. I teach, you watch
2. I teach, you help
3. You do, I help
4. You do, I watch

Alt & Title Text

"Did you know?" Response

I consider the "Did you know?" video very informational. The world is changing everyday. The people are getting smarter and smarter. Even our children use computers, phones, ipods and other technology that is being created in the world today. The Internet has become our leader in the world. Anything that you ask on the Internet can be answered. It itself is a school or college that is teaching us everyday. The websites that are created are getting more detailed and users find themselves addicted to the Internet. It is like something that you just can't leave along. I guess that's why everything has improved so much.

I think the education systems should all watch this video. It will help them learn that all students in American, even the in the world, need an Internet connection. Everything is so advanced that you can't do it without the Internet. Just like going to college. Nearly everything we do in school has to be done through the Internet. So watch the "Did you know?" video to find out for yourself.

ACCESS Distance Learning

ACCESS Distance Learning (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide) was initiated by the Alabama Department of Education. ACCESS has e-teachers to teach the students the videoconferencing. It allows Alabama public high school students to access courses that are not available on campus. Students can sign up for a variety of courses. Some of the objectives of ACCESS are to provide advanced diploma courses, advanced placement or dual enrollment courses, and remediation and supplemental courses. There are also additional courses offered. Some of the courses will transfer as credit to the students college.The classes are web-based and have a video and audio. The students are able to see and hear their teachers on monitors. The students have available to them a videoconferencing labs. There are many labs throughout Alabama. There is even one in my county, which is Monroe County. About half of the schools that have ACCESS are funded but the State and the other half are funded by ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission). Students must be provided computers with internet connection to use the courses. Courses that are offered to the students are all taught during school hours. ACCESS is free to the Alabama public high schools.

I believe that ACCESS is a really good program for students. Students that need advanced courses that the school does not provide could really profit from ACCESS. I think it is great for students to be able to challenge theirselves through ACCESS.

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)

In my recent search of the Alabama Learning Exchange, or ALEX, I discovered it is a website to help teachers help their students succeed. It provides the teachers sample lesson plans and lessons plans from other teachers in the state. Teachers also can create a personal workspace to create their own lesson plans through the site. All teachers could use this site to plan for their classes. Whether it be drivers education, mathematics, or english. It has a very wide variety of courses that can be accessed. There are also links to access several Alabama Department of Education Program Websites. There is a distance learning option also. This takes you to the Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide, or ACCESS. I will post more about this in a later post.

I think the Alabama Learning Exchange website is very useful. I believe it could help me to plan for my mathematics courses that I plan to teach. I could create my own workspace and help others and they could help me plan for class. I look forward to able to use such a site.

About Me

My name is Gretta Dailey. I live in Goodway, Alabama. Goodway is located in Monroe County. I have a husband (Mike), a son (Deagan), and a stepson (Zane). Mike and I have been married for almost three years. Zane is Mike's son from a previous marriage, but I still love him as my own. Zane is 8 years old. Our son, Deagan, is 17 months old. He is the most wonderful person that could ever exist besides Jesus.

I graduated from J. U. Blacksher High School in May 2002. After graduating high school I enrolled in Alabama Southern Community College. I went for two years and graduated in May 2004. I then applied for the University of South Alabama. I really intended on attending the University of South Alabama, but I always thought of a way to backout.

I started working part-time at Peoples Exchange Bank of Monroe County in March 2004. After I graduated from Alabama Southern Community College, I started working full-time at the bank. I was a teller for a couple of years, then I was promoted to the bookkeeping department. I have worked in that department over two years and have really enjoyed it and my co-workers.

My interests include going to church, building a website, and my son. I attend the First Baptist Church of Goodway. I am a Sunday School teacher for the children from ages three to five. Oh what joy! I am happy to be the one teaching them about God and His world he created. I created the Monroe County Autism Advocates website for the Monroe County Autism Advocate support group. I am actually the groups website designer. I am not very good at creating the site, but i do know a little about autism. I have a nephew that has autism. Well the only other thing I have time for is Deagan. He is my favorite interest. It is pleasing to see him growing up and learning each day. I love to watch everything he does because he picks it up from everyone he is around. He has learned so much in the last 17 months. Oh, what do I have to look forward to?

I have determined my reason for being at South is my son, Deagan. I am going to college to obtain a degree in Secondary Education in Mathematics. I aim to work as long as I can at Peoples Exchange Bank. I love working there, but it is best for me if I go to college. I want to go to school with Deagan and get out with him each day. This will help me to spend as much time with Deagan as I can.

This is just parts of my life. I could spread it out a lot more but there's probably not enough space on this site.

Add a Picture

Here is a picture of a castle.

A Link to My University

Click HereTo go to the University of South Alabama website.

My First Post

This is my first post.