Randie Pausch's Last Lecture

"Last Lecture"


Mr. Pausch's lecture had three main points "Really achieving your childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned." His speech has touched many more people than were in the stadium that day. The speech has gone out over the Internet, the TV and has been written about all over the nation and even around the world. The over all point I noticed in the speech was for a person to live life to the best of their ability.

He spoke about the importance of childhood dreams and their fulfillment. Even if a person does not accomplish their childhood dreams they can learn from them. Mr. Pausch mentioned one dream that was not fulfilled, his dream to play professional football. He said when he played football in school he learned several lessons from his coaches. One lesson was to not over look the basics and their importance. He learned how to accept criticism and learn from it.

The "brick wall" idea was mentioned several times. In essence he was saying when life gets rough and things do not turn out like you hoped, keep trying and never give up. Mr. Pausch said that difficulties come along to eliminate the people who do not want to reach their dreams bad enough.

He encouraged people to help others realize their dreams and encourage them to reach them. Mr. Pausch also encouraged people not to be afraid to try new things. They could turn out to be wonderful.

To View Randie Pausch's Last Lecture Click Here

Working With Blogs in the Classroom


Mr.Fisher who teaches in Canada and Mrs. Meeler who is a teacher in Atlanta are the main teachers featured in the " Blogs in the Classroom" article. Mrs.Meeler shares the positive effects the blog has had on her students' writing. She mentions in the article that her students work harder on their writing for their blogs since they know other students will be reading it. Mr. Fisher noticed the students feel they have more of a voice and can express their opinions on their blogs. He stresses that blogs are more than just a place teachers can have their student journal.They are an open window to learning.
The article also covers the wide variety of ways teachers can utilize blogs in the classroom. Blogs are indeed wonderful tools, but as the article suggests, teachers have to be conscious of the remarks left by other students. In the article the teachers shared some instances when they had to remove some remarks from the blogs.

Visit Working With Blogs

International Teachers blogs In The Classroom

"Wikis and Blogs for the Classroom" shares how Asian classrooms are using blogs and wikis. This article covers what wikis and blogs are, their uses in the classroom and precautions that should be taken if a school plans to use these tools in their classroom. In the article the writer states that one of the reasons for using blogs and wikis is because they can be created and maintained by the user.

A wiki is a website that can be used collectively by students. One student can write a story and others can add to it and edit it. There are many ways a teacher can utilize a wiki. They can post videos on the website and have the students write reviews,have collaborative student writings,and have essay writing practice for tests.

A blog is a website where the student can post writings and links. Visitors to the blog can read and post comments. Teachers can use blogs as a way to encourage discussions in the classrooms,or have students post journal entries.

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Blogs Help Parents Connect with Their Kids

In Needham, Massachusetts many Parents can view blogs set up by their children's teachers and keep up with the daily school activities. The blogs help the parents open up conversations with their children at home. One of the teachers in the article states that the more the parents see and understand what the teacher is trying to do in the classroom the more support the parents will provide. This article also addresses the need for teachers and students to use caution when posting on blogs. It stresses the importance of maintaining each students privacy. Some schools censor comments and only allow members to access the blogs. The Boston Globe published this article which was written by Dominic Chavez.




http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/09/07/teachers_take_bulletin_boards_online/

Blogging in The Classroom

Marisa L. Dudiak, right, and Catherine Poling

The first article I found was written by Jeffrey Selingo and published by The New York Times. In this article two teachers from Frederick County, Maryland share their success stories of blogging in the classroom. Mrs Dudiak who teaches second grade was the first to be featured in this article. She used the blogs as an online journal for her students. She said that blogging helped her quieter student express themselves and be more involved in the class. Mrs. Poling who teaches third grade said that online blogs were easier to grade and respond to than a hand written journals.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5090&en=33627811ca310596&ex=1250568000

About Access

Access is a program created by the Alabama Department of Education to provide better education opportunities for students. If a school in Alabama does not have a teacher for certain classes the students can be educated through Access. This program incorporates certified Alabama teachers from other schools through out Alabama to teach the students via the web.

The funding for Access was set up via Act #2005-173 which was passed by the Alabama Legislature. The initial goal was to have 12 pilot schools which would broadcast the classes. In order for the other schools to receive the information, 50% of Alabama's high schools would develop increased connectivity. The increase in connectivity would allow the connection to the IVC labs, which are web-based and interactive videoconferencing labs. Access will help provide a variety of better quality classes for the children of Alabama.

About Alex

Alex is an excellent website setup by the state of Alabama. The links offered on Alex are: Lesson Plans, Web Links, Professional Learning, Distance learning, Search and Help. This site is not only accessible to teachers but students and the general public as well.

My favorite link is the Lesson Plans link, since it will be helpful to me in my teaching career. Under the Lesson Plans link, Alex offers the user the option to write their own lesson plans or use plans written by other teachers. The user can set up their own personal area under Personal Workspace. There they can write, store and submit their own lesson plans. The link called Courses Study allows the user to click on the subject they teach and look at the learning requirements for that subject. The Professional Learning link provides an opportunity to visit the Alabama Department of Education Website, where the user can access all types of helpful information. Distance Learning is a link that opens the door to Access which is an amazing opportunity for students to receive a broader education over the web.