Blog Assignment #7

The weaknesses I have when it comes to the ever evolving world of education are very obvious to me. It all starts and ends with technology. I had a large gap in between high school and college where I did not have to utilize any technology outside of entertainment purposes. With the rate at which technology becomes obsolete these days, I was left in the proverbial dust. I do, however, believe that I will be able to overcome this through initiative and self-improvement. My time in the military taught me how to adapt and overcome in situations where I was outmatched. I don't believe this to be any different. I will just have to take the opportunities put before me and get back on track.

How to Make An Audio QR Code

This was a very interesting tutorial in how to make QR Codes. It was really a simple process utilizing free websites. I would need to watch it a few more times and probably do 3 or 4 myself before feeling proficient, but it seems to be a fairly easy process to master.

iPad in the Reading Center

This is a really cool video about utilizing an iPad's recording function to help with Kindergarten students' reading. They record themselves reading and then listen to it back while following along in the book. The cool part is that it is interactive for the student. The 5 year olds are using the iPads and making a game out of reading. It's another way that technology is making learning fun. I think this just shows how we can use technology to interest the students into learning. The same type of interactive learning is taking place in the Poplet as a Center and Alabama Virtual Library videos. The students get to utilize the iPads to learn. Not only are they learning the subject matter, but they are learning how to use technology to their benefit. I have a 5 year old at home and he loves to do ANYTHING on our iPad. We have downloaded a few educational apps for him and he love it. This is the same thing. They are just as happy to be learning as they are to be playing Angry Birds.

Mrs. Shirley’s 1st Grade Class: How to use and build a Board in DE for a Project Based Lesson

This video blew my mind a little bit. The project the young girl did was extensive in its use of technology, yet ever so simple. Everything she needed was right there and she didn't even have to leave her seat to finish the project! I think this is a great illustration of how technology is making learning advance at a much faster rate. With all the information so readily available, it is easier to master a concept/subject and move on. Students at a much younger age are learning how to do research and complete projects faster.

Students Sharing Board Builder Videos: Part I and Part II

These are two videos of students sharing some of their virtual projects. It goes along the same lines as the Poplet and like videos above. Something that hit me while watching these and not the others was that the students get to show off their work. My mother has a box in the attic of all my old grade school projects, but these students can let anyone with the internet see their projects. Also, it gives the teacher an avenue to give good praise to students by publishing their projects on YouTube.

Using iMovie and AVL in Kindergarten

Having just completed my very first book trailer, I found this video enthralling. That book trailer took me hours! And these kids can make one and spend 90 minutes editing it. I think that this gives great credence to the "learned helplessness" theories out there. If we would just give our students the chance to knock our socks off, they just might do it. I marvel at the things that my 3 and 5 year olds can do when I leave them to their own intuition. Gone are the days of telling a young student what they can and can't learn in certain grades. We really have turned into supervisors of learning more than teachers of facts. And as the We All Become Learners video points out, sometimes the students will be teaching us how to use some of these things. Today's world of education requires us to stay learners for our entire careers.