"What I've Learned This Year" By Mr. McClung

I enjoyed reading this post. This article was very insightful for aspiring teachers. In a lot of my classes we have been learning about ways to be an effective teacher. It would be nice to be able to teach every child according to their own needs. Unfortunately a huge educational reform will have to take place.
Mr. McClung listed several ways to help become an effective teacher. Collaboration is something I fell very strongly about. "Communication is the best medicine," Mr. McClung said. Also, getting to know each child individually is a necessity. It is the best way to engage your students interest. If you care, they care. Mr. McClung also said to never stop learning. One of the biggest ideas that I hope to pass on to my students is that learning is a process that never ends. This goes for everyone. As an educator, I feel that it is extremely important to continue educating yourself. A teacher can never have too many resources.

Is Wikipedia a trusted source of information?

Wikipedia is great for general knowledge. Sometimes when I have free time on my hands I just read a random article on Wikipedia or just pick a random topic and learn some new facts about it that I never knew before. The problem with Wikipedia arises when you get to articles like the abortion article, the stem cell research article, etc. In those type of articles, it's a battle of who can fit in the most bias for their side. Wiki style is alot like politics. ;)

Is it Okay to be a Tecnologically Illiterate Teacher?

I do not think it is okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher. Although i think it is extreme to say that a technologically illiterate teacher is equivalent to a teacher that can not read or write. Technology is very important. Not just in a learning aspect, but it is becoming the basis of society. I strongly believe students should be updated just as quickly as the technology itself. Most schools just do not have that kind of budget.
Like in our EDM 310 class, our computers can barely keep up because they are so outdated. Some people are still without computers in their own home. It is not like they are cut off from the rest of the world. So its kind of contradicting to teach students to rely on something so much. Some people are just more old fashioned i guess. I mean I feel like TV and Nintendo are brainwashing, much less bringing something like that and making it a necessity to learn. I think students' eagerness to learn is getting lost already. Maybe we should go back to blackboards and projectors. ;)

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It's Not About the Technology

I agree with Kelly Hines, "Techinology is not the first thing we need in our classrooms". I think one of the biggest problems that affects the way students learn is discipline. Teachers are not respected by the parents or studenst the way they used to be. I think it is a big part of the overall approach to teaching and learning. It helps both the student and teacher share the eagerness to learn. Without discipline students can not utilize the internet for its unlimited sources of information, but only for games and communication.
Discipline is something children learn at home. They bring it to the classroom, and teachers take over from there. Without the foundation of discipline there simply is no hope for educating our youth. Better learners will only come from a better mind set. Teachers must also share the mind set for better teaching.

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A Vision of Students Today

I just feel that our society has grown lazy. This is not the vision of students today, but the way our students think today. I have to relate to the textbook thing. I buy atleast four book every semester, and only use probably two of them. Then you have people like me who started out at a community college, which was easier than high school, and then transfer to South to have one class equivalent to three. It is more overwhelming when you have so many people in your class, and are nothing but a number to your professor. I think Internet communication can bring back a lot of the one on one learning. Only students can collaborate together rather that with their professor.
The Internet is a precious resource. If you utilize it the right way. Even more precious than that—the mind. We become more intelligent in college not because of what they teach us, but by how they allow us to expand our mind. That's what it's all about. Students, including myself, expect the information on the test to be handed to you. It is how it's always been for me. I am going to school to be a teacher, and this is what scares me about all the standardized testing.


This is a very good video. It is the way students think nowadays, and it shouldn't be that way.
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Health Myths Podcast

I like this podcast. You have someone asking questions, and someone answering. This is straight to the point. I love statistics. Mainly, because it is someone else's research. It is just interesting to hear the different myths, and their views on them.
This podcast was full-filling because it was interesting. It was short and straight to their point. There was not a lot of babble that confused you. I did not see a video on my computer, but maybe something was wrong. As far as the audio, it was very clear. It was almost like you were watching it (or hearing it) off of your t.v.


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Tech Literate Teacher

This blog was not easy to follow. Sure, they made some great points, but they just seemed unprepared for the conversation. Everyone just kind of rambled on. There was not any facts stated. They all stated opinions. Which is fine for a podcast i assume, but it just did not seem full-filling to me.
When i do my podcast I want to back my opinion up with facts. I will organize the points I will cross. They also started off very slow and boring and finally picked it up in the end. Nothing grasped my attention. I will use more of an attention getter to start my podcast.

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