Linz1212’s Weblog

Well, for our ECMP 355 class, we were asked to do a final project. I decided to do a video. I decided to do a how-to drawing video! I was showing how to do a quick sketch of Jessica Rabbit from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” I have always been interested in drawing. Before the video I was trying to use the advice I was using in class. I decided to draw on a board (with marker) instead of drawing with a pencil because it was easier to see it when it was recorded. I tried to put on as must lighting as I could in my room.  I was trying to describe what I was doing while I was drawing…which I usually don’t do haha so it was interesting. I noticed that a few things could be tweaked, so I received the advice of Rushton. He is involved with nextvista.org. I’m hoping the end result is positive and that other people find it useful. ^_^

For Dean,
Based on my classes and how busy I have been, I think I did a good job blogging to the students. When the students blogged to me, I would reply to them. When I had free time, I would go onto the students homepage and blog to them. I would vary my replies and give positive feedback to their work. By being a part of mentoring, I realized how big technology has become in the school. I am glad that I had this opportunity. The children seemed really excited knowing that someone was reading their material and replying to them.

Rating 10/10

For Dean,
I have left blog comments here and there on other people’s blog. I don’t usually talk to them a lot on the internet, but I see most of them all of the time out of this class experience. I usually talk to them in real life. If we are stuck on tech tasks we get in touch with one another and help each other out.  We even meet each other and talk things over. We are able to learn through each other. I have made posts based on conversations I have had with people in our class, school and the world. I am continually learning and expanding my ideas.  

Rating 14/15.

My future classroom will be a positive environment. I will incorporate technology in order to expand on my teaching strategies. Computers will be used in order to explain things that can not be shown on a chalk board. My students will be encouraged to use typing programs to better their typing skills. I can introduce new technology to the students, but I believe in using textbooks. I will probably allow cell phones into my class as long as they are turned off. If a cell phone disrupts a lesson, it will be taken away. My students will be aware of all possible sources of information (ex. library, internet, dictionary, and so forth).
http://smarterkidsbookco.com/SmartKidReading.jpg

I did a reflective podcast of my recent awareness of podcasting. Here it is. I did this through gabcast.com.

I went onto itunes and listened to the podcasts from “The Ellen Degeneres Show in a Minute”. I love the show as it is on TV, so I really enjoyed these podcasts. I didn’t find these podcasts as funny as watching the show, but to each their own. Ellen is hilarious. There are interviews, stories and interesting people. Some of the stories made me laugh. ^_^

I downloaded the TEDtalk podcasts. Our ECMP class looked at the site prior, but I find it very educational and beneficial. The TED conference hosts some of the world’s most fascinating people. These podcasts capture some of the most extraordinary presentations delivered from the TED stage. One of the podcasts I listened to was by David Keith called ”A surprising idea for “solving” climate change.” It was a good podcast and his humor made the podcast intriguing to listen to. I recommend watching some of the podcasts. If you don’t feel like listening to the podcast through itunes, you can access the website. www.ted.com

I revisited http://k12onlineconference.org/ and found a presentation called “We Like Our Blogging Buddies: The Write Stuff with Blogging Mentors.”Kathy Cassidy and Patrick Lewis joined forces to do a mentorship program. Patrick’s University of Regina students mentored Kathy’s grade 1/2 class. This video reminded me of my classes current situation. My university class is mentoring with other classes (that are different grade levels, ex. 7, 3, 4, and so forth). The children are excited about blogging. The students are happy to know that there is someone else reading their blog (the university students). By blogging or messaging back and forth, the children become more skilled in proper grammar. In the video, the teacher reviewed the student’s work and used it as research to see if the children were becoming more literate. The children were definitely getting better at writing proper sentences. The video talked about attitude and achievement being hand in hand with one another. Here it is.

The difference between this situation and our own is that we will not be meeting our blog buddies and they don’t really know what we look like. But, we do look forward to talking to our buddies and vice versa. It is a really good experience and I am glad that I had the opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life.

I went onto http://k12onlineconference.org and watched a 23 min video. It was about a superintendent being introduced to the internet and certain websites. He talks about getting involved with Web 2.0, flickr, Voicethread, and so on. He talks about his introduction to Web 2.0 (by MP3, presentations, messaging, and so forth). I didn’t really find this presentation very interesting or educational. Here it is. I believe that he is correct, in the sense that everyone will have to learn how to use the computer sooner or later. I honestly believe that some aspects of life have become to dependent on technology. Everyone expects information at their fingertips…right now!