Blog Post #2 Redone

Did you know: John H. Strange

In the assigned video, I believe Dr. John Strange is describing the over-popularity and the engrossing nature of technology. Overall the message is saying that we as instructors need to be ready to teach the upcoming technology monsters, that are currently breeding in the world today. The video effectively provides statistics on the growth of computers and cell phones per household. This growth will continue to flourish in the coming years. Is this good, or bad?

 When I was in middle school, I did not have, "My", phone, neither did my parents, we had one house-phone that was a land-line. Now almost everyone over the age of seven has a cell phone. 11,453,577 text messages per minute sent world wide! That equals almost 200,000 texts a second. Are you kidding me? The growth rate of this technology has reached a point of insanity as well. When I bought my laptop, it was one of the best around. six-months later, it was ancient and way out of date. In a society as down as ours is, who can afford to keep up with that kind of development? Granted on a positive note, they have companies now that let you trade in your old technology for the newer model. In which case, I wouldn't mind forking out the extra money for the better products. If there is a better way to stay up to date in the world, I certainly need it. Ultimately, technological growth is the staple that is driving our world forward.

Mr. Winkle Wakes: Mathew Needleman

Mr Winkle is a good example showing that the older generations are getting more and more out of touch with the way people learn. As powerful as technology seemed to previous generations, It is more advanced now than any of them could have known. In the classrooms today there are educational videos and power point presentations. Back then, the primary resource of a teacher was chalk and a black board. Honestly, kids today are too ADD to stay focused on a teacher for a whole class period. We as teachers have to make class more interesting for the students. If they are bored, they will never learn. 

            In my opinion, a more, “Hands-on”, education is correct way to keep a student interested. The only projects I remember from high school are the ones where we got to perform the task we were learning. For example, my 10^th grade year, instead of reading Julius Caesar and testing on it, we read it, and then acted it out. My group had togas and red paint, with glowing swords. As silly as it sounds, I loved it. Or in a science class, where the students build a catapult, a geometry class where they build a triangle bridge. This is the type of thing that will interest a child, and keep them enchanted. 

The Importance of Creativity

            Let me begin my post by saying, Sir Ken Robinson’s lecture was a joy to hear. He made valid points about our world’s declining creativity. He kept his topic interesting with humor, but he made sure we knew his message. He told jokes, and wasn't worried about staying serious the whole time. He is a prime example of how creativity and individual personalities make life more enjoyable. We have been told to color inside the lines our entire lives. Why? There is no rule book for coloring. We were taught that very young, that if it was not perfect, it was ugly, or wrong. What kind of life are we being set up for? Like he mentioned, the current school system is focusing on the right side of our brains and that is it. I believe to be, "well rounded"; we are going to need a lot more than math and science.  I find it interesting that when a college says they are well rounded, they mean they make an English major take and art class and a math class. That does not make well rounded people. It makes frustrated college students. Someone who is well rounded is able to adapt to their situation. I honestly think without creativity that would be impossible. EDM310 allows us to embrace out creativity with projects like the book trailer as well as our podcasts and silly group names. (Go Justice League!)

Pinterest in the Classroom
             I will be honest; I have had a pinterest for at least a year now. It is awesome for anything from Do-it-yourself projects to learning how to braid your hair, and making a colorful rainbow shot display. How on EARTH could this tool be useful in a serious classroom? Well there are plenty of ways according to Edudemic.com. Teachers like, "Cool Cat Vicki", are posting boards that are all about helping other teachers with creative ideas for lessons, and of course decorating their classroom. There are also lots of pins on new websites and resources that could be effective in the classroom. I am actually really impressed with the way they use this site for good. Normally I turn to pinterest for procrastinating my life away. In fact this assignment was very dangerous for me, I was almost lost in my pin boards.

Project #2: Wordle

Blog Post #1

My name is Heather Perrin and I am 20 years-old. I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama. I moved to Foley, Alabama with my family when I was six-years-old. We moved down here for my dad's job, and we stayed for the sweet tea. I have 2 older siblings, one brother, and one sister. I am also blessed enough to still have both of my parents, as well as my black lab puppy named Mo.
       I am double majoring in Secondary Education and English. I hope to teach in high school. I am a third year member of the Jaguar Marching Band Color Guard, and I marched all four years of high school. I currently have two jobs in Retail at Skechers and Van Heusen, in the Tanger Outlet mall. I've been at Skechers for two and a half years. In exciting news, I just got a promotion offer to be an assistant manager at Skechers. I also teach color guard at Mary G. Montgomery High School. I have just completed my first season there and I still really enjoy it. I have been teaching at my old high school for two and a half years. 


My Future Classroom:
      I hope to teach Secondary Education, with a focus in English.
      As I walk into my classroom each morning, I will turn on my computer, and my Smartboard. I'll use it to write the daily objectives, and write notes on for the students. Instead of my students taking notes and doodling on paper, I will share my notes (from the Smartboard) with them with Google Docs. I will also share assignments, and open up a discussion forum on a social network such as facebook. Something that all my students will have, and they will check often. This way they can effectively work together to complete assignments.
      My goal as a teacher is to give my students skills. So with my assignments, I will make sure the class understands WHY they are doing the work, as well as what skill they are going to (or supposed to) learn from their classwork. So they will understand that diagramming sentences helps them to better learn, and separate the parts of speech. That type of exercise is to help them understand writing sentences.
    My students will walk into class and sit down at their desk, which will consist of a Macbook. Since they will receive the recapped notes from Google Drive, they will listen to my short and concise lesson, and immediately begin their assignment. They will learn to blog, and will upload all of their writing assignments to their own blogger. This will let me, classmates, and everyone else edit their work and offer suggestions to the students.
         With the tools and processes mentioned above, I believe my classroom will help to better teach my subject. I can prepare my students for the next level.


Randy Pausch on Time Management
         Pausch says that Americans in general are really bad with time management, and I agree. I know I am personally terrible with my time. My favorite thing he said was, "If you have to eat a frog, don't spend too much time looking at it first." Basically I procrastinate and that has gotten me into trouble with school work. Dr. Pausch sets up good ways to proactively adjust my time management skills.

Test Post #1

Test Post #1.