Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version

First of all, I must say, no I did not know! That's incredible. I know that many people use Google, YouTube, and send SMS messages daily, but the fact that MILLIONS of people use them every second just blows my mind. That really goes to show how technologically dependent we have become. I don't know if I am anywhere near being prepared to be an educator. Sure, I know the basics of most subjects. However, I never considered that when the kids that I will teach graduate, the jobs available will be so much more advanced than they are now. I wonder how educators that don't have classes like these will accommodate? I need to learn as technology progresses so I will be able to adequately prepare my future students!

Secondly, you would think America, the strongest nation in the world right now, would be the smartest. The fact that we are a dwarf in comparison to India's intelligence is just ridiculous. Not to mention China will soon have more English-speaking people than the rest of the world! Well, why aren't more of us learning to speak Chinese, or even Spanish? We have so much technology, which increases by the minute, yet there are still millions of people who are so much smarter than us. That makes me question if we are really putting our resources to use. We can have all the knowledge and technology in the world, but it's only good to us if we all know how to use it! It can make us so much smarter, or just that much dumber...

Mr. Winkle Wakes

Wow, this video really left an impression on me. I was a bit confused as to what the video was about at first, and what exactly Mr. Winkle was trying to find. However, it turns out to be quite ironic. The one thing he found joy in was really the thing he should have been most disappointed to see. We put so much effort into technology and appearances, making everything appealing to the eye and to the working body. On the other hand, it leaves one to question: how much do we really care about education? We need to understand that the knowledge base of today's children is just as important, because they are the ones who will control the future!

Another disturbing thing is how true this video really is. Granted, there are some schools and classes, such as this one, which implement the use of technology. More often than not, however, a teacher standing up and lecturing all day while the students listen is the only form of learning. I've had several teachers myself that stood up and just talked all period, and honestly I didn't learn a thing. It's quite easy to memorize the material and regurgitate it onto a test. Until teachers start using more innovative technology and giving the students hands-on learning, today's kids won't be able to reach their full potential.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

I love some of the points Ken Robinson made in this video. I completely agree with his statement that we don't grow into creativity, but rather we grow out of it. It's true that schools basically train their students to fit the mold of whatever the fastest growing jobs are, rather than fitting the schooling to match the child's personality and needs. Our creativity is gradually taken away, and it turns us into the fearful individuals that he referred to. Honestly, it limits our full potential as human beings. When that confidence is taken away, it's hard to get back and some people won't make important life changing decisions, not because they aren't fully capable, but simply because they've been told so many times that they can't do something that they start to believe it.

I can also relate to his reference to stereotyping. Americans are so quick to point a finger and try to label people when they aren't exactly the same as everyone else. Personally, I believe a lot of that just has to do with not wanting to deal with those special kids. They'll label them with ADHD or some other learning disorder in a heartbeat rather than actually talking to the child and trying to figure out why he/she is acting that way. In the long run, that just leads to more problems. When that creative outlet is taken away, especially from kids who learn better actively, that pent up emotion has to come out somewhere, and many times that's where the behavioral issues begin. If we actually took the time to figure each child out, I think we would find that there is a lot more diversity than just the usual 9-5 job that most schools put their students on the path for.

In Light of Mr. Winkle Wakes...

The way teachers educate and how classroom learning is set up has got to change. Just lecturing isn't going to work forever. Technology is improving so quickly that eventually lectures and written tests aren't going to be able to give students the full benefit of education. Really, teachers who do that even today are missing out and so are their students!

Interactive learning is the new trend. Knowing how to effectively communicate with people in the outside world is key to being successful in any career path. Why not start learning those skills as early as possible? Knowledge is power and hands on learning allows students to get a better experience that they will actually remember past a test date.

Pinterest: Using Available Resources

I would definitely use Pinterest for lesson plans and sharing ideas. The website has a lot of great visuals that would be a neat way to spice up my lessons and make them a little more appealing to my students. Also, it's online so they could easily reference back to the pictures that I showed them in class. I'm always up for new ideas as well, and this would give me access to plenty of creative brains that could help me give better aids to my students, and hopefully return the favor to other teachers around the world.

Rachel Friedrich's Pinterest has to be my favorite. She's got resources for everything you can think of! Virtual learning, especially the videos like the Magic School Bus and Reading Rainbow is the very best way for kids to learn. The younger you are when you learn things, the better you remember them. These types of videos are fun and entertaining for kids to watch, but at the same time they contain valuable information which the students are getting to see in a way that they will be more likely to recall later on. Some of my first memories are the elementary school jingles that I was taught! Who says learning can't be fun?

Pinterest is going to give me some good ideas for cute projects and classroom artwork, especially if I end up being an elementary school teacher. I'm definitely going to use it to find some pictures that I can make and put on the walls of my class that will serve as simple reminders to help my students; such as cues to remember when trying to organize an outline for a paper. I'm also going to use it to provide my students with an outlet to post their pins to whatever assignment it is that I give them, and to provide them with useful links to educational tools that they can look at on their own time. Pinterest is going to help me a lot in the creativity department!

Project #2 - Wordle

Blog Assignment #1

About Me

My name is Samantha Wesson. I was born and raised in Anniston, Alabama, but my family relocated when I was about twelve to Ocean Springs, Mississippi because my dad found a new job and my parents had always dreamed of living closer to the beach. I have a wonderful family, which includes two loving parents who have always supported me in everything that I do, and a younger brother who is enjoying his freshman year at Southern Miss. I also have four cats, which may not seem that important to some, but they are an important part of our family and frankly they pretty much have the run of the house! My biggest interest is basketball: I live it, breathe it, and love being around it. Other than that, I'm a very laid back, friendly person who loves to spend time with friends and family. I'm always up for an adventure, but I'm just as content to hang out and watch a movie.

I started out going to college at a small, private school called Huntingdon in Montgomery, Alabama. Really my main reason for going there was so that I could have a chance to play basketball. I had a great freshman year there and made a lot of great memories and many friends, but I decided that after that year I no longer wanted to play sports anymore. Well, halfway through my sophomore year I decided that Huntingdon just wasn't what I thought it was without basketball, so I decided to transfer. I ended here at South Alabama because it's a bigger school with more things to do, as well as being closer to home and the beach! I am entering the field of education because I'd like to be a coach. I've always had a passion for basketball, as I mentioned before, and I don't want that to end, so I'd like to help the younger generation acquire the same love that I have for the sport. That pretty much sums it up!


My Future Classroom

I hope to be able to teach at the high school level, where my audience will probably consist of a group of bored teenagers, so I plan to make my teaching very interactive.  I've learned from personal experience that simply lecturing to students all day, every day will not teach them anything that they will actually remember past the test day.  For me, that means I have to stay current on technology so that I will be able to relate to them and give them usable advice.  No student wants a teacher that is stuck in the ancient times and won't even consider new and improved ways of learning and understanding that better meet the needs of the current generation.

My students are going to learn because they are going to do it themselves.  Instead of hearing me read a definition and copy it, we'll play jeopardy using those terms and whoever wins will get a free homework pass.  Of course the reward for finishing high school is a degree, but most kids want immediate gratitude; a reward they can see.  Playing educational games that keep their attention and offering rewards will hopefully make learning seem more beneficial to them.  I'm also going to make sure that they are very interactive with one another.  A classroom that's familiar and comfortable makes for a much better learning environment.

Hopefully, if the budget where I end up working allows, computers and Ipads can be a part of the learning process.  This will make it much easier for my students to visualize the concepts that I am trying to teach them.  Not only that, but by doing such projects as making a movie, they can illustrate what they've learned as well as adding a little personal flair to it.  To me, expression is very important.  Personally, I am ten times as likely to remember something after I hear it if I have a chance to do or illustrate it myself and get feedback from someone else.  Many teachers forget how important it is to interact with their students!

My classroom is going to be filled with work that my students have done.  I'm going to be like that kindergarten teacher that puts every single piece of artwork on the walls, or mom that always puts good grades on the fridge.  I remember when I was young and my projects would get put on the wall, and I liked it.  I feel that it's reinforcing to students to see that their work is important too, and not just getting thrown in the trash.  While the classroom won't look like their rooms at home, at least it will be able to have a little flair from all of them!

Randy Pausch

First of all, let me start off by saying that I have never heard of Dr. Pausch. However, he brings up some very good points. I like how he mentioned 'doing the ugliest things first'. I actually laughed at that part, because I've experienced that avoiding doing the hardest task will usually result in rushed or incompleted work, accompanied with a lot more stress than necessary. I also think his idea to question why a task should be done and what the consequences are if it is not completed is a good way to motivate and actually get things done.

He also mentioned that in order to complete a list of tasks, you actually have to HAVE a list of tasks.  Failing to plan really does mean that you're planning to fail.  I've had so many times that I needed to change plans in order to get something done, and then realized that there was something else I had to do which I had forgotten about.  It's really inconvenient when that happens, and the only way to remember everything and make time in our busy lives is to make a schedule of when it needs to be done.  Dr. Pausch has some great tips on time management that can lead to less stress and more productivity!

Test Post #1

Test Post #1