Comments for Kids: 6

This week I commented on Michael's self-portrait that he posted in a blog post. I told him I enjoyed painting but wasn't as good at drawing portraits. I asked him if he enjoyed art outside of the classroom and whether or not this particular assignment was difficult for him.

Week 6: Dr. Christie, iTunes University, Duke iTunes

Dr. Christie
I chose to explore two different sections of Dr. Christie's site. The first section I browsed was titled "Google Earth." Dr. Christie had a very extensive description and layout for Google Earth and its functions. I am a Secondary Science major and this is probably why I was influenced to check out this section first. I have used Google Earth maybe two or three times in the past year- mainly for latitude and longitude assignments in Geography courses at USA. When I first discovered the contents and availability within the download, I was very excited to incorporate it into my classroom and teaching approaches.
Dr. Christie highlights the gadgets and gismos from the geographic web to points of interest. I personally enjoyed the videos she complied to illustrate the varieties of readily available information Google Earth has to offer. I personally would be happy teaching any subject of General Science, but have a bigger desire to teach Earth/Physical Science and/or Physical Geography and this is one tool I imagine to be quite resourceful in my classroom.

iTunes University
I really like the concept of iTunesU, in that I enjoy an audio recording of information because of two reasons. I don't seem to get much reading done if the source is only available online. My head aches and my vision seems to get progressively worse as the reading pile grows. Secondly, I can burn an audio podcast or in this case, track to a compact disc and pop it in the CD player on the way to and from school. This is convenient because I have a very verbal 3 year old at home.
I also like the Videocasts of class sessions at different Universities offered on iTunesU. My friend attends a community college and I think it would be neat to show him what taking a class at a major University would feel like compared to one at a CC. I know I will be using iTU as an alternative to Google, etc. I like the fresh ideas and new resources I will soon discover using iTU.

Duke on iTunes
I can only imagine how many dreams of attending Duke University are not attainable in today's economy. The University's site on iTunesU is ready to fulfill the hungry appetite for learning many young adults carry with them today. I noticed the personal and professional level the site achieves with its vast variety of educational tools from basketball players to graduate students. I am personally excited to expand my educational growth as I continue on down this "Intellectual Journey."

Comments for Kids: 5

This week I watched a video called 'Mac vs. PC" that was published on YouTube on "Cinema Owl's" channel. I think it's a little comical that so many people have made videos in response to this commercial and in a sense, most of them are just mocking it. Competition has been around since Darwin days and why people feel the need to waste time arguing about what kind of computer they use, is unclear to me. It was a funny video nonetheless.

Week 5: NPR, WIRED Story, What I've Learned This Year

The NPR News Blog
The first paragraph on the homepage of this site reminds the reader that what you read on Wikipedia cannot be trusted. I agree! I rarely use Wikipedia as a source of information and in most cases my professors have advised me to use anything but. It is entirely collaborative and anyone can edit any topic any forum. I enjoy reading different perspectives from around the world but there are many online social sites that provide the same opportunity without publishing misconceptions about historical facts.

What I've learned this Year
I loved this! He emphasized the importance of many things in his post but the first one I noticed was 'Communication.' Last semester, I learned that communication has to have a sender and a receiver (Thanks Ms. Danneker). I also liked the point he made about teachers being more focused on perfecting their lesson plans that it fails to teach a lesson at all. Part of the reason I want to become a teacher is for the students who don't have anyone at all that listens to him/her. Some children (guaranteed every teacher will have them in her class at one point in time) come from broken homes and estranged families and may need me to be more than a lady who writes on a chalkboard. Being a teacher is so much more than teaching 2+2=4. I really believe your heart has to be in it to be a teacher... I look forward to writing about what I learned each year as an educator.

Week 4: Langwitches & Judy Scharf's Podcast Collectiobn

Langwitches Blog: Pod casting with 3rd Grade
My initial reaction to the first paragraph on the Langwitches blog was, "Wow!" I don't know why I am still so surprised to hear about 3rd graders owning iPods, but I am. I suppose I am also a little intimidated with what the future holds in store for my three year old son. I can hardly afford to keep myself up with the latest gadgets, much less my child's technology expenses. Nevertheless, I was impressed with the assignment described on the homepage of this site. 3rd graders were researching different animals online using links provided by their teacher. They used Audacity to record their class podcast and learned how to record, pause, edit clips, move tracks, and import audio files. I sure as heck don't know how to do anything other than press record, stop, and play in Audacity so I must admit- I was slightly jealous of these 3rd graders and their knowledge on endangered animals in Florida! Who knew!

Judy Scharf's Podcast Collection
I found the link to a YouTube video on "How to make a Podcast using Audacity" to be one of the most helpful resources for myself personally. I particularly enjoy these kind of videos (on YouTube) to sort of guide me through the first step of downloading a program to actually applying myself by using the program. I am a visual learner so sometimes I find it difficult to teach myself by simply reading instructions written in the Syllabus. I plan on searching for more of the same type of videos on YouTube to help me throughout my Intellectual Journey in EDM 310.

Comments for Kids: 4

I read a poem titled "Campfire" by a sixth grader named Katie in Mrs. Goerand's sixth grade class. Katie did an excellent job creating a wonderful visualization of the perfect camping experience. She used "sizzle" adjectives that made me wish I was sitting by the campfire and thinking 'I'm right where I ought to be.' (That was her ending line in the poem.) Hopefully my comment gave Katie the praise and inspiration she needs to keep up the magnificent poetry!

Week 3 Assignments: Getting familiar with Podcasts

Prior to these assignments for our class, I had never listened to an audio podcast before. The name 'Podcast' sounds like something I would be intimidated by, but after listening to one of many by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger I was put at ease. However, I was a little confused about what the hype was all about concerning podcasts in general. Ben Hazzard used a lot of terms I was not familiar with at all and navigating through the different recordings was slightly challenging because I couldn't jump in half way through and say "Oh I know exactly what they are talking about." To be honest, I still have no idea what I was supposed to learn from these podcasts. I am hoping it was just to get our feet wet with an introduction to making podcasts.