Blog Post # 6

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

Connectivism is "the theory that presumes that learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties made possible through various tools of technology". The video demonstrated how important that theory is to 21st century learners. Ms. Drexler gives details on how a student is able to take control of their learning and make connections that will help them as their learning progresses. 

The question proposed is "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?". This question is pretty much answered in the video. While a networked student is an independent learner he or she still needs guidance from their teacher. The teacher helps the student build this network and take advantage of learning opportunities presented to them. A teacher is also there to help his or her student get excited and motivated about new information that they find. This process allows students to be in control of their own learning and effectively communicate with others.

Am I ready to be a networked teacher?, the answer to this question is currently no, although I plan to become a networked teacher in the future. I hope to teach kindergarten of first grade and definently believe in my students being hands on learners. Hands on learning enables students to think about what they are learning and apply what they have learned. My students may not understand connectivism, but they should be introduced to this type of learning and what it means to be a networked student. 

Blog Post # 4

Joe Dale -  Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

The video on Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom helped me to understand the importance of podcasting in the classroom. Podcasting opens a student's imagination and increases their thinking skills. Podcasting is a great form of technology to use when a student is ill and miss days of school. It creates a way for these students to gain access to information and lessons they missed by being absent. Parents also have access to this information and this allows parents and their children a chance to explore together, what the student has learned in class. 

Flat Stanley

I thought this podcast was a wonderful way this teacher let her students explore their imaginations and express their creativity. I loved the vivid detail and enthusiasm each student had as they read about their journeys. The students were allowed to choose any location they would like, then find information about that particular location and write their very own script. This project allowed students to go on a journey around the world right from their classroom. 

Special Blog Assignment # 1

WolframAlpha Search 

When I searched compare the populations of India, China and the United States, I found that the United States is ranked 3rd in the world with a population of 309 million people, India is ranked 2nd with a population of 1.21 billion people, and China is ranked 1st with a total population of 1.35 billion people. The search also provided the number of people per square mile for each country. The demographics from 2010 showed that India has 1058 people per square mile, China has 376 people per square mile, and the United States has 87.3 people per square mile. 

I then searched, compare the number of students in India, China, and the United States. From this search I discovered that India and China each have more primary students alone than the total number of primary and secondary students in the United States. India has the highest number of primary and secondary students with 143.3 million primary students and 107.7 million secondary students. China comes in second with 101 million primary students and 99.2 million secondary students. The United States comes in third with a 24.39 million primary students and 24.19 million students. 

Lastly I searched most spoken languages. I found that Mandarin ranks number 1 with 1.1 billion people speaking Mandarin. Mandarin originated and is most spoken in China, and 875 million people are native speakers. There are two countries that use Mandarin as an official language, China and Taiwan. The second most spoken language is English with 760 million people speaking English. English originated in the United Kingdom, but is most spoken in the United States. There are more than ten countries that use English as an official language. 

I believe that WolframAlpha could be a very useful tool in the classroom. I found the site to be very interesting and fascinating. The site takes no time to provide data. I think the site can be explored by the teacher and her students as a group. WolframAlpha can also be used as part of a learning center in a classroom. Students can work individually or with a partner to explore the site and write about what they found. 


Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Gary Hayes' Social Media Count tracks real-time stats of social networking sites. There are twenty different combinations that one can choose from will visiting the site. The Social Media Count consists of four categories: social, mobile, games and heritage, you may choose one of these along with a time frame, ranging from the present moment to over a year ago. The Social Media Count goes beyond social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, and youtube. By clicking on the Heritage tab, you will be able to view how much money is being made at the present time or how much money has been made in the past at the United States post office and from music track downloads and you are also able to view how many people have read a newspaper or been to an orchestra. 

I found it fascinating to watch the numbers increase at such a rapid rate. I could have never imagined those numbers being so high and the unbelievable rate at which they increased. I believe that as an educator, I should be up to date on technology and it's ever changing ways. However I also think that technology in the classrooms should be limited. While social media such as facebook and blogs can be useful tools for a teacher and his or her students when used in the proper way, they do not need to be consumed by it.  

Project # 2 Wordle

Blog Post # 1

About Me
Hi everyone, my name is Jasmine McCall. I was born in Mobile, Al and I currently reside in Semmes, Al. I am 24 years old and a junior at the University of South Alabama, where I am majoring in Elementary Education. I chose to attend South mainly because the university is close to my family. I have two wonderful loving parents and four siblings, one brother Hartford Jr. an electrical engineer and the father of my two nephews Xavier and Hartford III. I also have three sisters: Nikita, who is a sergeant in the army, Simone a photography major at the University of Montevallo, and Makayla whom is the mother of my beautiful two month old niece Kylee Rose. I chose to major in elementary education, because I have always had a passion for working with children. I want to be a role model and confidant for my future students. In my spare time I enjoy reading,doing latch and hook kits, and spending time with my wonderful niece. I have never been outside of Alabama, so I would love to experience and immerse myself in other cultures. In the future, I would love to travel to Barcelona, Catolonia, Spain.

My Future Classroom
My classroom will be a place where my students will feel comfortable expressing themselves and their creativity. I want my students to be motivated and have the ability to strive further in their quest for knowledge on their educational journey. One teaching method I plan on using would definitely be enthusiasm. My behavior will set the overall tone of the class, therefore I should model the same behavior I will expect from my students. Expressing my interest and excitement about what I am teaching will in turn have my students excited about what they are learning. I would also like to have learning centers and small groups set up in my classroom, this will provide my students a way to individually and cooperatively discuss and explore the concepts they have learned and to build effective communication skills.

Randy Pausch on Time Management
While watching the Randy Pausch video, I learned that "being successful doesn't make you manage your time well, but managing your time well makes successful". Having time management is great because if you manage your time correctly you can also have fun in life. I also learned that there three keys to time management: goals, priority, and planning. Mr.Pausch stated you must always have a plan, even though you may have to make changes to that plan. A plan is a great stepping stone. One should remember, when making a plan, he/she should break the plan down into smaller steps and start with the biggest, ugliest one first.In the video Mr.Pausch demonstrated another great way to manage time is to make a to do list. This particular To-Do list is known as the Covey four- quadrant to-do. When making to-do list.The first quadrant should be your due soon and important, and second should be important and due soon, the third should be not important and lastly your not important and not due soon quadrant.By creating this quadrant you will relieve the possibility of procrastination and also a huge amount of stress.

I learned that Mr. Randolph Frederick "Randy" Pausch was born on October 23,1960 in Baltimore,Maryland. He graduated from Oakland Mills High School which is located in Columbia. After graduating high school, Mr.Pausch went on to attend Brown University, where he received his bachelor's degree in computer science in May of 1982. Six years later,Mr.Pausch received his PH.D in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in August 1988.Later he became an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University and developed the Building Virtual Worlds course, which he taught for ten years. In 2007, he was inducted into the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), where he received two awards for his achievements in computing education. In 2008, Pausch succumbed to his pancreatic cancer. He was survived by his wife and three kids: Dylan, Logan, and Chloe.Another thing I learned was that he never let his cancer get the best of him. You would have never known of his struggle with cancer because, he seemed to always have a smile on his face.

Test Number 1

This is test number 1.