C4T #1 & 2

C4T #1

The first post I read by the blogger I was assigned to was about Social Networking. I love how she explained the purpose of Facebook and how it's supposed to be used. So many people use it for the wrong reasons and I'm glad that someone is trying to educate young people about the purpose of it. It connects people of all ages from all over the world and helps educate each other about ourselves and things to do in our area. It also connects educators from all over the world so they can get ideas and use each other's ideas as a resource and also share their own ideas so that the children can get the best education possible. Here is a link to her blog http://www.leekolbert.com/

This is the first comment I left:
Hello! My name is Sarah and I am currently in school to become a Second Grade Teacher. I think that Social Networking is such a fabulous tool that people of all ages can use to connect to the rest of the world. I have not only learned a lot from other people around me that I did not know before, but I've also learned a lot about the city I live in and things to do that I never would have had the oppurtunity to enjoy if it wasn't for Facebook. I can keep in touch with my best friend from middle school, my cousins that live 1200 miles away, and also friends that I have worked with at previous jobs that live across the country! I love how you have social networking explained here and I hope that I can teach the children in my classroom the importance of it as well. Here is a link to my blog :http://cleversarahedm310.blogspot.com/
and also the class blog:
http://edm310.blogspot.com/
In about 2 weeks, I will be posting a summary of the things I have read from your blog and commented on if you are interested.

The second post I read was about how there are no teachers in heaven because they are all in hell for the day at a PD meeting.

This is the second comment I left on 2/6/12:
I love this! And I hope that when I become a teacher I am part of the solution. I hope that I can show my students how to use technology and blogging as a way to collaborate and connect with others. Technology is such a great tool to use in classrooms and meetings.

C4T #2

The teacher I was assigned to was named Martha Yim and she wrote a blog about homeschooling. I think that homeschool is great for children who have developmental disorders and/or conduct disorders and whose parents are capable of homeschooling. But as far as the general population, I believe students need to be exposed to people of different races, social statuses, and religions in order to be a well rounded individual and to be successful in the modern day world.

This is the comment I left:
Hello my name is Sarah Clever and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. While homeschool is a great option, it doesn't allow the student to interact with people of different race and social classes like they would if they would have gone to public schools. This was from the National Center for Education Statistics website: "More White students were homeschooled than Black or Hispanic students or students from other racial/ethnic groups, and White students constituted the majority of homeschooled students (77 percent). White students (3.9 percent) had a higher homeschooling rate than Blacks (0.8 percent) and Hispanics (1.5 percent)." Also "In 2007, students in households earning between $25,001 and $75,000 per year had higher rates of homeschooling than their peers from families earning $25,000 or less a year." They also aren't exposed to people of other religions so when put in social situations in the future, such as at a job where they will have to interact with many different types of people, they may have a harder time adjusting whereas people who were exposed to this since they were young would have an easier time understanding others. "Parents give many different reasons for homeschooling their children. In 2007, the most common reason parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction (36 percent of students)." Here is a link to the website:
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=91

-Sarah Clever
EDM 310, University of South Alabama
http://cleversarahedm310.blogspot.com/

Blog Post 2

"Did You Know" Did You Know Strange Version

In this video, Dr. Strange has given us several things to think about. He states several statistics that make us aware of how much the world is advancing around us. I think the purpose of this video was to make us aware that people in India, China, and in our own country and becoming technically literate and are communicating with each other and learning and teaching each other through technology.

Becoming an educator in the modern world is very evolving. Not only do we have to keep up with the technology but we also have to be able to teach our students how to use it effectively so they can prosper when they leave our classrooms. I enjoyed the "Did You Know" video because it put things into perspective. Our world is constantly changing and growing and in order for our students to be successful we have to educate them and teach them how to use technology.

I think that EDM 310 is a crucial class in the education system because we must know what is going on in the technology world in order to be successful teaching our students. The "Did You Know" video should motivate each and every one of us to become aware of how fast things are changing and do our best to keep up with the technology so we can teach the children of the world how to better themselves with this amazing tool.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" Mr. Winkle Wakes

In this video, Mr. Winkle wakes up from a 100 year sleep. He notices all of these changes in buildings where people work that have sounds and machines that he had never seen before. He goes to the hospital and notices machines that keep people alive, lasers and xray equipment, and other machines that he never would have thought were even possible before he fell asleep. The only thing that remained the same were the schools. The teachers were still teaching and the students were still sitting at their desks and learning just like 100 years ago.

This video is very interesting because it helps make us aware that we have no idea what is to come for this world. We can't even begin to imagine the technological advances that will come not only in our lifetime, but after as well. We have to be prepared for these things if we want to educate others younger than us about our world.

Even though at the end of the video the school was still the same, in today's world teachers are using smart boards, projectors, and having children do activities online to help them learn. We have to be aware of this tools so we can use them while teaching the students in our own classrooms.

"The Importance of Creativity" Ken Robinson's The Importance of Creativity

In this video, Mr. Robinson stresses the fact that we have no idea what is to come in the future. He says that everyone is interested in education and learning because after all education takes us into the future that we will never be able to grasp. There is no way for us to know what the world will look like in the future so sometimes it can be hard to educate younger children about things we know nothing about. He believes that creativity in children is as important as literacy and we shouldn't kill creativity in schools by criticizing their mistakes. By the time children reach adulthood, they are so afraid of being wrong they dont ever come up with anything original. Mr. Robinson wants us to encourage students to continue to be creative and not be afraid to be wrong. He believes that the purpose of education has become to create university professors because when children are young, they are told to steer away from creative professions such as art and music because they are told they will never be able to get a job. They are then told to steer more towards Mathematics and Languages. He believes that this is what has lead to degrees not having meaning anymore. He tells a story about a child in the 1930s that had ADHD but back then that wasn't "invented" yet. Instead of putting her on medicine and telling her to calm down, the doctor said she was a dancer and needed to go to dance school so she did and became a millionaire by dancing ballet. I think that what he is trying to say by this lecture is that we, as educators, can nurture creativity by not undermining children's passions and let them be who they are and to help them make something of it.

I can relate to this because when I was young I passionately wanted to become a singer. I had solos in church and I was in the choir at school but I was constantly told that that was just a childhood dream and I needed to think of something more practical. To this day, I still sing and write music but perhaps if adults wouldn't have constantly told me I couldn't do it, maybe I would have been able to accomplish my dream.

"21st Century Learning" 21st Century Learning

This video shows how much education has changed. Technology is what we use to educate our children. We must know about these technological advances in order to teach the next generation. Global awareness and technology is crucial in the modern education system. In the video, it explains how we can go deeper into civilizations by using video gaming systems and 3d technology in order to teach children history and other subjects. I think that we should all be aware of the technology around us so we can better our classrooms and provide more interactive atmospheres for our students to learn in.

"Vicki Davis" Harness your Students

This video is from a teacher in Georgia and she explains how she teaches her classroom. She believes that every child can learn but they struggle when they have only pencil and paper because of the world around us. We need to be able to teach our children through technology and teach them to use the internet through blogging and teaching students to use the technology as a tool. The teacher in this video helped collaborate and create DigiTeen so that teachers and students can connect, blog, and share ideas.

I believe this is similar to what EDM 310 is trying to accomplish. Educators need to be able to connect with other educators around the world in order to keep up with technological advances and empower students to have a better and more well rounded classroom.

Project 2

Introduction

My name is Sarah Clever. I am 24 years old and I have lived here for 23 years. I was born in Pennsylvania but my parents moved here when I was one due to my father receiving employment at DuPont. My parents had 4 daughters and I am the oldest. My younger sister Emily graduated from the University of Auburn last year so WAR EAGLE!!! :) I originally went to South right out of Davidson Highschool and wanted to become a Dermatologist. At the time, I was young and didn't understand the importance of learning and education. I changed my major 3 different times (from Biology, to X-Ray, to Business), worked at Disney World for a semester, and finally went to work full time at RBC Bank as a teller. I worked full time for a year and a half and being out in the real world and understanding what that is like inspired me to go back to school and teach children. I bought a house in December of 2010 and I work full time as a Receptionist at the Aesthetic and Anti-Aging Medicine Center (formally known as Skin Perfection Med Spa). I take one class a semester so I can focus and I plan to get my degree slowly. My favorite teacher in the world was my second grade teacher and she has inspired me to share the love and dedication she had with other children of the world. For fun I love to work out and eat healthy. My boyfriend is a personal trainer and body builder we are at the gym most days of the week. We also like to drink wine, relax, and watch movies. I also write some poetry and songs on the side and my 14 year old little sister plays the piano while I sing, which I am very passionate about. I am very specific on how I like things done and I like things to be a certain way. I hate change and like everything to stay the same. I am very good at planning parties and organizing events so if you ever need some help, let me know. I love to laugh and have fun and I'm always looking for new friends. See y'all in class. :)

Time Management

I really liked Randy Pausch's ideas. When he said "failing to plan is planning to fail", it really hit home with me. He talks about making lists and doing the right things, not doing things right. It's more important to do the right things than to do the wrong things beautifully. I make a lot of lists now anyway so I really do believe in making lists to remind yourself of when and what needs to be done in your life. When I was younger, I struggled more with time management but as I have gotten older, I have learned a lot more and I am usually pretty good with it now.

Practice Post

Practice Post :)