"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Like in our EDM 310 class, our computers can barely keep up because they are so outdated.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. ;)

To visit this blog CLICK HERE

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.

To read this article CLICK HERE

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.
To watch this video click here

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.


To see this podcast on health myths click here

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.

To see this video click here

Picture Modifier

Podcasts

I feel that a podcast creates a more interesting way of learning and teaching. Different formats, like audio only, enhanced formatted podcasts, and a video podcasts feed into all students' learning styles. Whether it be the teachers lesson, or a student's project, you can record your own audio and post it on whatever footage you want to relate to it.
I agree with the Kidcast that this could really boost student's confidence, because instead of standing in front of the class on the spot, you can present something that you have already perfected. KUDOS!
A podcast is your creation, a high quality recorded audio file. It can be listened to anywhere like right from a web page (like My Yahoo) or from your computer using iTunes or other software, or from your iPod.
"Researchers at The Diffusion Group predicted this week that the U.S. podcast audience will climb from 840,000 last year to 56 million by 2010. By that time, three-quarters of all people who own portable digital music players will listen to podcasts, up from less than 15 percent last year, the digital entertainment research group said," Gilbert reports. What a very nice, new form, of digital entertainment!

My First Picture

My First Link

Click Here to visit my university's homepage.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis is an excellant, modren teacher. She keeps her students updated on different ways of communication. I am a little out dated myself, and internet communication is huge these days. Vicki learned the technology along with her students. She guides them while they teach themselves. Her students had the interest and motivation to learn. I can respect her perspective. It opens up a different comfort zone.
Alot of students, including myself, learn better when they are able to teach themselves. When you are not limited to pencil and paper you can customize your ways of teaching to practice each students strengths and interests. I hear there are computer classes (K-3 level) that can help prepare for these types of technology learning classes.


http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-teachers-vicki-davis

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson makes a very good point. Mainly stating, "As educators we need to rethink the fundamental principles in which we are educating our children." It is true that children are steered away from the things they love to do. They are pushed to only excell in the subjects that limit use of natural talents. Instead we find it more important to give students numerous facts to remember rather than inspiring more creativity.
Nurturing a child's creative side will only give them the courage to try a more hands on approach with things. I said this in my last blog, "Children spend all of their spare time watching reality tv and video games." This problem is not just within our educating systems, but also the way our children are being disciplined. I will also quote Picasso, "All children are born artists."


http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

2008 Latest Edition - Did You Know 3.0 - From Meeting in Rome this Year

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpEnFwiqdx8
This just goes along with how people are comming into our country and doing our work for less money. Only lets just make a device that puts all human beings to shame...for free and in less than 2 seconds. As far as the spill on technology, we might as well shut ourselves off from the rest of the world and work a little harder to be indispensable. I believe that if our nation relies anymore on technology than we do now, the next major disaster will follow not very long after that.
The scary part to me is that the next few generations of our nation are not prepared for these changes. I say that because so much of the youth of our nation are spending every bit of their spare time in front of reality tv and video games. People are comming from all over the world to utilize our educational sources and then going back to their own. Smarter countries, who are making more progress to educate people for the future, will be taking over ours. For that we can thank our "FREE country".
On another note, this is a bunch of random statistics that are put together through a marketing perspective it seems. Times change. People just have to keep up with the speed. Hopefully we wont end up like I ROBOT! ;)

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I am Lindsey Clausheide, an elementary Education major. I kind of fell into teaching when i had my son, Devin, who is one year old. Teaching is THE ideal career for a mother. My passion for teaching actually started when i began working at a nursery. I underestimated my patience, and love for kids. The kids actually took to me pretty well, and I began to see myself more in to my profession. I have recently started to enjoy reading. I am reading the Twilight series now and i LOVE it. I have also been trying to figure out the whole cooking thing. I am getting a little better, but still have a lot to learn on that. I love just hanging out with my friends and family, anything outdoorsy...beaching, boating, fun in the sun-period. Other than that I am a full time student, and a full time mother. I would like to introduce you all to my son Devin. Is he not the best looking boy ever?