Blog Assignment 8

This is How We Dream: Parts 1 and 2

Dr. Miller discusses the difference of incremental changes and fundamentally changes. Incremental changes are simply those things that we work with now on our desktops. We research and put together things stated on the web, solely of text.  Another change is the use of collaboration. Collaborative work makes it possible to produce works with text, images, and sound. Dr. Miller states this is an incremental change too.

In contrast, fundamental changes occur within the scopes of a digital environment. An example would be of how material changes before our eyes. Dr. Miller states, "Ideas do not belong to us individually, but they belong to us as a culture....We as educators must share ideas freely." Such a way is by using iTunes U. He sees a time when students will be using multimedia instead of word processing to compose.

These are great videos for future educators to see. They give a dose about the changes in technology and what lies in the future. Future educators, such as myself, need to become more aware of these fundamental changes, in order to become more prepared for teaching students in the age of multimedia.

I think that without keeping up, we would not be able to effectively teach students the necessary skills. Technology will never stop progressing. It is also important to know that multimedia can be fun. Why not utilize it?


Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12

Carly was a former student in EDM 310 in the Spring of 2011. In her 12th blog post, Carly makes an assignment for future educators, in which she assigns students to make a playlist consisting of various YouTube videos. (Check out her post for more information about her assignment.) In short, she wants us to symbolize our philosophy as a teacher. She combines various aspects that are important to an educator, such as creativity, program tutorials, and improvements in education. By expressing what it means to be a teacher combined in a single playlist, Carly is providing a great tool for other educators. At the end, other teachers can view her playlist and find what they need. They may even become inspired. Carly was able to combine types of material, such as YouTube videos, links, pictures, and text, to almost create multimedia.


EDM310 is Different

The Chipper Series

This series sets out to address the most common issues of students that keep them from success. It is based on a student named Chipper who makes some bad decisions. Her procrastination and bad work ethic lead to her downfall. After dropping out of school, she gets fired numerous times as a teacher and waitress due to her poor skills.

EDM310 for Dummies

This video presents student with the idea of not getting overwhelmed by the class. Instead, they should remain enthusiastic and open to the idea of learning. Tutorials of Blogger, Audacity, Skype, Delicious, Twitter, YouTube, and Google Docs will certainly help in this journey.

Videos for the Future

Other videos can be created similar to these to help students with EDM310. One I would suggest is based on peer critiquing. I have realized that peer editing can be so important when done properly. So, there should be a video made on the step-by-step process and the efficiency of peer editing. Another I would suggest is how to write a blog post. Many students still seem to struggle in putting in links, adding pictures, summarizing, and editing.


Learn to Change, Change to Learn

I think this video accurately attacks our current education system. I agree with all of the points made. Schools are like factories, where students are told to memorize and output information on a standardized test. But, how does this prepare students for their life? It simply doesn't. The only way to prepare them is through technology and the building of community learning. This will give them a sense of creativity, innovation, and teamwork, which is essentially what they will need in their future. In addition, it will teach them how to find, validate, analyze, synthesize, and communicate information. They will learn how to problem-solve with this information. Traditional schooling is ineffective since students are more stimulated outside of school through email, instant messaging, and social networking. Only if these tools are brought into our schools can we create a world of connectivity and learning.


Scavenger Hunt 2.0

1. photopeach.com: This is a great video tool, especially for educators. Some of its great features include that many student accounts can be created without the use of email addresses. You can organize projects with tags and publicly publish them. These videos can can be customized by your own soundtracks. Transitions effects can also be customized. Last, you can have unlimited videos with no limit on how many pictures per video. This tool puts together pictures, sound, and text to help the student in whichever way he or she learns best.

2. edmodo.com: This is a great networking tool for teachers, students, and parents. Teachers can post notes, alerts, assignments, quizzes, and polls. Groups can also be created. In addition, there is access to Google Docs, as well as a calendar and a gradebook. Teachers are able to send notifications and messages to parents. They have access to grades also. Last, teachers can communicate with other teachers.

3. polleverywhere.com