What were your favorite 2 assignments in this class and why?

My two favorite assignments were the movie and this blogging. I LOVE the movie because not only is it fun for my personal life and creativity but it is so easy to turn that into a very teacher friendly and classroom fun activity.  Blogging is a way to just write it out. I am a very wordy person and if no one wants to listen to me I can just type until my thoughts are gone. 

What are the top 3 technology tools you hope to use in your future classroom/position? (doesn't matter if they were addressed in this class; may include hardware or software)

1. Blogging: I believe with the way technology is taking over the world and paper is being recycled more, it would make more sense to have a blog site that I can attach movies and pictures and have my newsletter a weekly thing and parents can comment and give suggestions

2. The Movie: This is another VERY useful tool that I cannot wait to use with my class (in a year and a half) not only would I be able to make informational movies that can engage and spark curiosity in my students, but also have movies that the students create and I just put it together and but it on a website for everyone to view and enjoy

3. del.icio.us: This is such an amazing idea.  Take your bookmarks everywhere on any computer. Nothing more to say then your favorite most resourceful sites are just a click away. 

What piece of technology would you like to get better at, and what are the steps you can take to improve your skills?

imovie.  I really enjoy everything i have begun to learn in this program.  Apple is great with having in store consultations.  Its just a matter of arranging my schedule to call in an appointment and go to the mall!

DHMO

--Who wrote or produced the information?
By Tom Way

--What authority or special knowledge does the author have? If the site is credited to an organization, what do you know about that organization?
Besides presenting the information it does not seem that there is any special knowledge that they author has besides gathering all of his research and information into one site. The United States Environment Assessmnet Center and they support his fears.

--What bias or slant do you detect in the source? What does it say that indicates a bias?
This site seems to come off very bias even though it claims that it is unbiased.

--Should DHMO be banned? Why or why not?
no because we need. every human needs water.

Podcast

After listening to the podcast, I think that the children may have gotten something out of it but i believe that the digital story book was alot better becase they were able to visually express themselves and narrorate along with their pictures. But I know my opinion is tainted because I am a very visual learner and even though i am older, i still cannot sit and listen to podcast. I get distracted easily and I believe that for my elentary classroom my students would benefit from a different method of learning then using the podcast.

Digital Storytelling

My response to the 2 digital stories that we watched in class:

1. The first digital story about the rain forest i thought was amazing. Having the students involved in something so powerful not only gets their minds intrigued but having children like that send a message so big through voices so small really hits people. The pictures of what the students see when they think about that animal and having them narrate helps them read, learn, and apply the information. But most of all having the most innocent people on this Earth tell you that you are killing their really interesting and exotic creatures, makes adults sit back and listen more then they would is a peer was telling them the same thing.
2. The second digital story that we watched about family was very personalized and touching. This explained not only book definitions but personal experiences with a song that I am sure meant a great deal to the author that she was able to communicate in a short period of time. The way that is was done, like an old silent film, is classic. This was a very direct and simple way to communicate her thoughts and feelings. It was obvious that these pictures meant a lot to her and her family was her world. I hope that I can learn how to make this kind of video so I can make these not only for my class but also for my personal life.

Some educational applications of this form of communication are and how I could use them:

• From the first example, anything that is not taken too seriously in our society but is a very serious matter, can be re-introduced seriously by having a child talk about it.
• For the student, the fact that they have drawn a picture is a representation of physically what they know and have interpreted from their lesson.
• Having the students read the information not only works on their fluency but also their vocabulary.
• I would use a video like this to teach my class and have them share about topics like global warming and recycling.
• Last but not least from the first example, having the students apply and put the whole thing together, helps connect the dots in their mind. Since the teacher was able to post their class video on the website this enabled her students to share and be proud of their work keeping their positive influence and curiosity alive.
• From the second video I believe that the silent movie style would be more beneficial to an older audience with a higher cognitive development level. Because the younger students might loose interest and focus on a video like that and might not get the deeper meaning.
• I think that the older students could have a video like that to give them a more serious topic that is not as talked about, like STDs and teen pregnancy. Being an elementary education major I believe that I would be able to use that form of education to teach my students, in the 4th and 5th grade levels, about divorce, adoption, and the situations that they cannot control and show them that there are other people out there going through the same thing.

Visual Literacy Video

After watching the Visual Literacy Video where Martin Scorsese is being interviewed, he makes some very valid points.

• Before he even started being interviewed he talked about his own experience and it rang true to me how he expressed that he had curiosity in understanding what the photographer wanted him to see. So he researched the lenses and the angles to reiterate the point that curiosity is the natural urge for anyone to want to have a deeper understanding. The natural ability to want to learn which i believe is important throughout an teaching career.
• Then Scorsese began to discuss how emotions and ideas are expressed through visual examples. This I believe is another very strong point. Children at any age need to learn how to express themselves in a safe and clear way and showing them examples on how to express themselves is the beginning for them to learn what is appropriate.
• Scorsese's last point also coincides with his next one, how to understand and interpret pictures. This would not only be a profound suggestion for students to follow but also so they do not interpret pictures and ideas incorrectly. I also believe that this would help students understand about violence in movies and video games, that it should not be the first choice. That in most movies and video games, at least historic ones, killing was not the first option. That there is more back round and more democratic decisions that should be made before a physical intention is declared.
• I believe that is also the responsibility of the parents and the teachers to help mold, lead, and train the student's minds. Students need to be taught the stories behind movies. Like most of us did when we were in school, we read the book before we watched any part of the movie. My husband is a history teacher and after discussing Vietnam, he shows pieces from Forrest Gump and used the movie October Sky to show examples of the space race. I believe that when Scorsese stated that we need to teach the eye and the heart by asking questions and by doing this it trains the mind to think he made a very strong and pin point declaration. That by giving students back round stories and back round knowledge to violent or discouraging movies, that it opens their minds to what really happened and strike curiosity that will feed into their own desire for deeper knowledge.

I believe that this discussion relates to my future teaching of early childhood students because i believe that being a teacher of young minds, you already receive the students with a natural curiosity for the world and I am the one that gets to assist them and help train their minds to fulfill their natural curiosity and help them keep that consistent curiosity to learn about everything they possibly can.

The begining of 3401

I am Theresa. I am a student at the University of West Georgia and I am in the early childhood curriculum and if everything goes according to plan I will be an elementary teacher graduating December 2009. I am taking this class not only as a requirement but also to help become more organized and tech savvy to help my students better. I feel that this class would be more beneficial if i had not already had a computer class that has made me more familiar with the whole tech world. I believe that teachers need to know that technology should not be what teaches students. Technology is simply an aid to help teachers become better at relating with students and to help them stay engaged. I hope to become even more familiar with technical attributes that will help me become a better teacher through this class. My father is a VERY tech savvy guy and him being so has lead for me to be on the edge of technology right there with him. I believe my strengths are being able to adapt and quickly catch on with the constantly changing technology world. My weakness is not being able to afford this constantly changing world.