Blogging

I chose to read Marlena Marsh's blog. She and I seem to have a similar view of blogging and its pros and cons. Blogs can definitely be a useful tool for a teacher in his/her classroom. I have enjoyed learning the different uses for blogs and learning how to use them.


Blogs are not difficult for students to use and therefore offer an excellent opportunity for students to learn and utilize their technological skills. Writing skills and critical thinking skills can be sharpened by students using blogs in the classroom. Teachers can assign their students classroom blog journals. They can post questions for the students' blog response, or use a blog to post classroom information. These are a few of the pros of blogging.

Though blogging does have its pros it also has its cons. Parents and teachers often are concerned about the safety of the students who use blogs, because they are open to whomever wishes to read them. There is a solution to this problem. A password can be set up so that only the people who have the password can access the blogs. Others are concerned with cyber bulling, which often takes place between the students themselves. Teachers can discourage this by penalizing the students who take part in these unkind actions.

Over all I feel that blogs have a lot to offer our students. Blogs offer a good opportunity to broaden our students computer use and prepare them for a life filled with technological machines. I look forward to using them in my classroom to better prepare my students for their future.

Visit to ACCESS Lab

Keller, Crystal and I visited an ACCESS lab at Satsuma High School on November 17, 2008. Mrs. Jennifer Philips was the facilitator of the lab. She explained to us the difference between an ACCESS lab facilitator and an ACCESS teacher. Her job as an ACCESS facilitator intels keeping the students on task, emailing the teachers concerning the progress of the students and entering grades. The teacher of an ACCESS lab is responsible for teaching the class and grading the work turned in to him/her.



All students at the Satsuma High School are required to take at least one ACCESS class before graduating. ACCESS classes are offered in German, Latin, history, and creative writing. Ms Philips stated that the ACCESS classes are conducted much like a regular class. Students can do work they do not complete in class at home, but quizzes and test must be done in class. The ACCESS classes are designed for students to work at their on pace.



Each child is assigned a numbered computer and is expected to use it through out the semester. Ms Philips said that the students have done well staying disciplined and on course. If the students do not complete their class, it will be counted as a failure just like a regular class.


When working with languages the students hook up microphones to their computers. This allows the students to practice their language skills as the computer corrects them. When asked if the students like the ACCESS language classes, Ms Philips said that they seemed to like them and do well with them.

Korean Schools

SoYoung and I met last year. She has recently finished her work at the University of South Alabama and has gone home to Korea. I have been able to ask her some questions about the schools in Korea and have learned a lot of interesting things.

For elementary school age children the school schedule is a bit lighter, but they are still kept really busy. She said they study Taekwondo, music, English conversational skills, and arithmetic.

I asked SoYoung what the classroom schedules were like, and she said that Korean students go to school from 8:00am to 10:00pm Monday through Saturday. No wonder they are so smart! From what she said, it seems like they study most of the same things we do. She said that middle school and high school students have to study hard and prepare for college scholastic tests. Competition is high to get into a college, so it is important for them to study.

SoYoung told me she felt like the students got worn out with the long hours they had to put into school. In their free time Korean students study. All of their schools are private schools, and they are expensive. There is a lot of pressure for the students to do well. She said that the average family often can not afford to send their kids to school because of the cost.

"The South In Black and White"

The South In Black and White, 2006-10-26, is a pod cast which spoke about a southern culture class which is being offered at Hayti Heritage Center. Hayti Heritage Center is an old, black, southern church in North Carolina.

The class is going to feature southern story telling, spirituals, and blues. Some controversial topics will be discussed by the class. The purpose of this class is to unify the participants by helping them come to a better understanding of each other and what shaped their views. Race will be discussed. Goals to improve racial issues will be discussed and each member will learn about the other members. They will be encouraged to share their points of view and will be given an opportunity to see how their points of view has shaped them into who they are today.

The Duke Lacrosse burning of a cross was mentioned in this pod cast. It was mentioned that even this situation is an opportunity to encourage learning. As teachers we can use the disheartening things around us as another way to foster our student's learning. This cross burning could be used as an opening to a history class which may be studying southern history and the oppression of the our African American brothers and sisters. It could be used as a discussion topic or a writing assignment. The purpose of using this incident is to bring history closer for the students, to help them discover why people do things like that, what it symbolizes, and what we as a society need to work on to discourage such feelings.

!Caution! This May Not Be Appropriate For Kids

Protect Our Children!

I watched a disturbing podcast today called Broken (HIV Education Film From South Africa). Often people hear of horrible things that happen to children all over the world but never do anything to stop it. Is that how it should be?

While watching this podcast I thought about the children I hope to have, my future students and the children who are so special to me. I thought, what would I do if someone harmed the children I love?

This podcast was acted out by Children. It is a story of an innocent girl being rapped by her father. What happened in a few moments would leave the girl forever scarred.

What can parents do to protect their children? Parents can teach their children not to go places alone with people their family does not trust. Children need to be cautious and to look for signs of danger. Parents can put in place a certain phrase or word the child can say on the phone whenever they feel in danger, so the parent can take action. Parents should make sure to know the friends their kids hang out with. Parents should not be afraid to call their children and find out where they are and who they are with. Of course no parent wants to cause their children to live in fear, but it is important for parents to train their children to be aware of the people around them.

In cases where one parent is suspected of abusive behavior, the other parent should do everything possible to protect the child from being alone with that parent. The child
should be trained to alert a trusted parent anytime the other parent is behaving in an
inappropriate manner toward them.


After clicking on the link below, scroll down until you reach CDS on itunes. Click there.
Look for Broken (HIV Education Film From South Africa).
Click to view Broken

EDM 310's First Podcast Production and Its Critique

On October 16 the EDM 130 class produced our first pod casts. The class was grouped in groups of three. Each group was assigned a topic to research and present that night.

I was nervous about presenting the material in front of my class, but the thought of our first podcast being put on the web for anyone to hear was even more intimidating. My group, which discussed blogs and their usefulness in the classroom, was selected to go first. When we started our voices were a bit shaky, but as time went on we warmed up and became more at ease. Dr. Strange told us we did a good job for our first time but that I would need to learn to talk louder.

Our class produced about seven podcast in all that night. Some were longer than others, and each was unique in its own way. We could have improved our pod casts by shortening some of the presentations, adding more interesting information to some and rehearsing what we were going to say more. Over all, I think our class did well.

"Mathematices with Technology" and "Thinking Mathematically"

Mathematics with Technology and Thinking Mathematically were both presented by Judy Chanler, who is a technology integration specialist, a mathematics teacher and a math mentor/trainer. Ms. Chanler in the first podcast, Mathematics with Technology explains the importance of the use of technology in the classroom for a higher rate of student success. She encourages teachers not to be frightened by technology but to utilize it. Technology not only provides opportunities for students to learn in different ways but also peaks their interest to the subject through using popular technology. This technology program opens up math to its users by offering: engaging tools, example problems, offers enhanced communication, and collaboration.

Judy Chanler follows the first podcast with the sequel, Thinking Mathematically. In this podcast she discusses the tactics most textbooks use to present the material to the students. They present the material in lesson after lesson using only examples to help the students learn. Many students have trouble following this type of math learning method, though some succeed often times by memorizing the steps but not actually understanding the method. Ms Chanler addresses this problem by offering a solution,. The students must be taught to think mathematically. Learning to think mathematically is achieved by the teacher asking the students questions and providing technological visual aids. Ms Chanler says, " students learn to think mathematically, and they are learning when they explore, connect ideas, investigate, observe patterns, play what if, conjecture, argue, prove, model , reply and reflect."

I am not sure that this particular software will be useful to me because my major is in elementary education , but it sounds like it is very useful to teachers teaching algebra and geometry. The software that Ms. Chanler speaks so highly of is free and can be downloaded from Geogabra.org. Though I cannot use this particular software, I can incorporate mathematical thinking by utilizing the methods described above.

Listening to podcasts from experienced teachers who have incorporated new tools successfully into their classrooms encourages me as a beginning teacher to step out and look for ways to incorporate new tools in my future classroom. By using technology I have an avenue to stay abreast of new and effective ways to improve my effectiveness as a teacher and improve the learning of my students.