Blog 13

NO TECHNOLOGY?

What is banned; any use of television, video records or players, computers, tablets, notepads or similar devicesVideo cameras, audio recorders or equipment, radios, iPods, iPads, iPhones (or any cell phone), telephones other than land line telephones.

I must be honest with you Dr. Strange. This type of fast was impossible for me! You never really consider just how much you are attached to things, until you are seperated from them; whether temporary or forever. My wife loves television(as I do), so I would have to stay over another persons house to escaped this. It takes computers to do my school work for this class as well as two other courses that I'm taking, so that was impossible. I run a christian radio station, so what could I do there?

I think I see your point. We really should look at where technology has brought us, and we should also value just how much we use it in our everyday lives. Most people can barely go one day with out it! I started to laugh at this project because it's like you saved the best for last. Trust me, if no other lesson that you have given demonstrated to need of technology, you can rest easy that this one did. I could not go but maybe a few hours and that was it, maybe three was doable. We need technology and technology needs us! Great blog assignment!

PLN Final Report

PLN FINAL REPORT

This is the final summary of my PLN! This picture is not a demo, it's the real project. I have so many connections in one place, and all of them are to help me in my future endeavors. I have things from teaching, coaching, shopping, speaking and even preaching! I so excited to that Dr. Strange recommended to create a PLN. The best part is that nothing is permanent, you can always make changes, add and delete. This is like a one stop shop for educators. I hope that others can view this PLN and even create ideas for there own. This is a amazing project and just another great example of the innovative technolgy of today!

Project #15

C4T NEW

C4T Summary




My C4T teacher of the month's name was Jabiz. He said that he is a, "Amateur writer, musician, photographer, filmmaker and all around provocateur, I am persistently preaching the gospel of sharing and open expression for students and teachers alike." 

Jabiz is this post called Support Esther in the Bay To Breakers, he spoke about help these lest fortunate African students, who struggled to receive education. It spoke about in this post how many Kenyans received violent treatment just for being smart. While us Americans have drop-out rates that are unbelievable! This really stirred my emotions because while they are fighting just to learn, we are barely fighting to teach our children, and keep them in school. Some, may disagree, but the proof is in the numbers and results, talk is cheap.


My reply: 

Hi Jabiz!

My name is Frederic Robinson and I attended the University of South Alabama. I’m in a class called EDM310 and I’m studying Physical Education.

I read about the Daraja program and was saddened and amazed all in one. I was sad that these children want to learn but can hardly find anyone to support them financially. I was glad and amazed when I read about Esther and her story of being rescued. She said in one post, ““Nothing is more important than my education,” Esther said. “I overcome difficulties because that is what we must do. For me to have a future, I focus on my education.” The thing that really convicts me the most is that we have children in America dropping out of school for no reason, while people in Kenya children are being molested and taken advantage of just because their smart students, and want education. So thank you guys for all your doing to make a difference in these childrens lives. I will surely keep them in prayer and consider on donationing soon.

2nd Post

My second review was a post by Jabiz called Launch Forth. This post was mainly about connection. Jabiz used a piece of peotry by Walt Whitman, who was a old-time poet, who wrote about social media, before it even existed! Go read this post(Launch Forth) for more details. 


I really loved this post because Jabiz talked about the loneliness that a person experiences without someone to connect to. Some say that's why people long for God, because they want a connection with a higher source. Jabiz, says that the internet is a great source for connecting the world together, in which I agree. I did say that social media is not a god to me, nor religion, but it does help connect the world together. So rather, I see it as a gift from God, that can be used for the good of mankind, or the moral destruction of many, it's our choice.


My Reply:


Hi Jabiz!
My name is Frederic Robinson and I attended the University of South Alabama. I’m in a class called EDM310 and I’m studying Physical Education. I wrote you last week.
I just read your post about Walt Whitman and Ze Frank. I watched the video by Ze Frank and was impressed. I'm currently doing a study on Walt Whitman for Literature class and I'm a christian artist, who sings rap. So I can appreciate both Frank and Whitman. Whitman for releasing life on paper and Frank for connecting to people. You also talked about connecting. We must all connect with someone, it's a part of life. The internet can be a great tool for connection if used properly. I don't beleive it to be a god or a source of religion but rather a tool allowed by God to connect the world and better our nations(if used properly). Thanks again for sharing your thoughts, they are always helpful!

C4K Summary

                                        C4K Summary

In my first C4K Andy wrote about his first blog. I must say that I was impressed. The reason is not because of the length of writing or the grammar or the eloquent words he chose, but rather that he was writing a blog at such a young age! As a little kid I never had a computer, all we had was the good old outdoors. But Andy is chatting with people all across the globe. I guess that is a good enough reason to be excited for our children's future. 


]My reply about his first blog was:

Hi Andy!

My name is Frederic Robinson and I attended the University of South Alabama. I’m in a class called EDM310 and I’m studying Physical Education.

I recently read your first blog post! You said that you love pumpkin pie; so is your favorite holiday Halloween? Mine is Christmas. Who is your favorite football team and player? I know this is your first blog but I hope that you post more so I can read them!

I will write about what I read on your blog on my personal blogin the near future, so please stop by from time to time. Overall, think you done a great job in writing about this blog for the first time and I look forward to reading more of your post in the future. Well, best of wishes and take care!

Fred-

My second C4K was about a first grader named Titan. The topic of his blog was Hiding Eggs at Easter. This was a fun blog to read because I just love easter and it's whole meaning, with Christ. I also love to see childrens face light up when receiving an easter basket or even egg hunting. My brother and sisters used to hunt for eggs for hours when we was children. I miss those good old innocent days. As you can see, Titan was successful if at nothing else, in drawing many of the older crowd backing to our younder days. Great post!

My reply to his post was:

Hi Titan!


My name is Frederic Robinson and I attended the University of South Alabama. I’m in a class called EDM310 and I’m studying Physical Education. 


I read your post about the Easter Bunny. Did you receive any easter eggs? My favorite holiday is Christmas, what is yours?


I will write about what I read on your blog on my personal blog in the near future, so please stop by from time to time. Please keep writing on your blog, take care! 

Blog Post#12

Can Technology Help to Produce Good Fitness?

Not all teachers will be in normal classrooms, some will mainly be in the gym. I'm speaking about teachers such as myself, a Physical Education major. This might not carry the same weight as Science or Math teachers, but believe me, it carries weight. Health is a very important topic, not only in schools, but also in everyday life. So this video Technology in The PE Classroom, will help us focus on the importance of not only a good mind, but a healthy body. This way, we can be smart teachers and educators, but also healthy ones. Go ahead and watch this video below.





Now that you have watched this video, what do you think was the most surprising? How can this video challenge the normal PE teacher to be different? Please spend 30 minutes or so writing your random thoughts of how this video has impacted your view of technology being used in Physical Education. Be sure to write a Qaulity Blog Post, and be sure to post your reply in the blog post.

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post #12A.

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post #12A.


Dr. Strange, I believe curiosity and creativity are the core values of our future for education. The reason I say this is because it was the curiosity of the children of yestreday that created the inventions of technology for today. It started in the mind of a child and eventually evolved into more. 

I do belive that teachers can play a huge part in supporting this system, but it will take a huge amount of self denial and a killing of pride. There are many teachers that are stuck in traditions of yesterday and refuse to conform to the technology of today. I can understand many of there arguments, because they have plenty of great reasons. The children can be exposed to porn, predators of children, identity theft and many more. Now, any realist can not ingore the validity of these arguements, but the question is this; should be reject such a movement for a few bad apples? Should we destroy cars because of a few recalls in production? Should we do away with cell phones because of drop calls? Maybe we should do away with education because of a few teachers that violated the rules? Sounds silly right? Well, that is the view of trying to stop children from being curious. 


We all should play a part in helping children to think. It is embedded in their DNA by God to be curious and creative. An attempt to stop a child from being creative is like a human trying to stop a train. It's impossible! But the school system is making a strong effort to suck the life of creativity from our kids, and in some cases, they have succeeded. Here is the good news, the life of curiosness and creativity is not fully dead, it just needs to be revived. So all teachers and educators need to put their minds together and think and agree on a way to revive our children. We should patiently and wisely break down uneffective school methods that is hindering our kids from thinking and daring to be different. Not all teachers will be on board at first, but just as all great movement, many will join in time. There is no exact answer in the open, but it dwells with the heart in minds of todays leaders. The reason I know, is because we(adults) used to possess this zeal also, before the system zapped it away! This is no attempt to bash the system, but rather a challenge to dare to explore the NEW.

Project 16 Progress Report

PROJECT 16 REPORT

Project 16 is a work in the making. Me and group F-JAM have been working diligently to come up with ideas to make this project a success. We don't have a complete idea of the route we are going to take, but we are certain that this project will be not only a success, but beneficial to all that reviews it. One of the biggest task is to make this project a innovative one, something that no one has thought of before. So get ready EDM, this one will be great!

Blog Post#11

This video Little Kids....Big Potential was really rich in showing the value of technology. Kathy Cassidy is a pioneer in my opinion becuase she was using computers in class when hardly anyone else was accepting it. There was video clips of her kids using blogs, Skype, webpages, and more! I love the clip were she has the children to say, "don't say mean stuff, it could hurt someones feelings." That is really important while using something new, we must teach our children the guidelines. Cassidy said that children and technology go hand and hand. She stated that, we as teachers "must change because the world has changed." I love her approach to dare to be different and innovative. Cassidy made a statement that we all piggy back from one another, she learned from others, and we learn from her, and others learn from us. It becomes a beautiful cycle of wisdom being shared from educator to educator.

I believe that her approach will be beneficial in my class because I plan to try new things. It's good to see someone lead the difficult path, which gives me motivation that I can as well. Now I'm sure this will come with many obstacles,(mainly from my teaching peers) because others are stuck in tradition, but if we just stick to the vision we have, eventually some(not all) will follow. So the way we handle impediments is sticking to what our goals is. Cassidy said we must keep up with technology, which means we must not only accept technology but we must keep up with it, and keep learning. Not all methods will work, but we must find what works for our style. The only way we will become the teachers of the future, is to leave the past and embrace the change.

Blog Post #10

Do you teach or do you Educate?


I'm so glad that I watched this video comparing on, Do you teach or do you Educate? The reason is because it's possible to get them confused. I do believe it's possible to do both, but the catch is, to know when your doing teaching or educating, or both. In my humble opinion, I trust that more 50% of schools staff don't know which they are operating in. Now this is not an attack on education, because I'm in the same field, which would mean I would be attacking myself. This is my point, we should target which method to use and when. Teaching is not all bad, because we should teach our kids good morals, how to speak, how to carry themselves in the public eye, and etc. But to educate, is to lead by example. Educating is to demonstrate what you just explained. My Pastor often says, "you can't teach what you don't know, and you can't lead where you don't go." So teaching is head knowledge, educating is walking out that knowledge.

My goal is to live out what I teach, through education. I will teach my students, but I will educate them twice as much. The video said that teaching is to inspire, enlighten, an advisor, guide, a person. These are what I plan to do with my students. As I monitor student productivity is classrooms to today, it is at an all time low, why? Because the classes are boring and full of lectures(teaching). Students want to participate more, and they should! We as adults teach kids to reject from being a know it all, but we never let them teach, so are we being a hypocrite? I will allow my students to play a part in class, and I will use their creative ideas to create games and activities for school functions. By doing this, teaching and educating will be both beneficial, especially having my student excited to be educated.

DON'T LET THEM TAKE PENCILS HOME

This was a very eye opening blog for me to review. Don't Let them take pencils home made me question the simple fact of taking a pencil home. I mean, kids like to draw or write poems, and many other cool things with pencils at home. So I wondered, what could really be the harm in such a thing? But the reality is in the numbers, lower test scores speaks very loud and clear. Maybe we need to move beyond the normal homework assignments. Children love to be creative and innovative, but how can they, if school work follows them home, with wearisome writing? I love the point that was made, about a "parent pencil program," which in return gets the parent and child involved in a fun way. Who knows, this method could even tear down walls of seperation between  the parent and child within the home.

I will surely keep this blog in mind, once my education class is started. I must think of ways to keep my children active at home, without a pencil, or maybe with pencil games. This post really just stirs my mind to be leary leaning toward familar ideas, and to be rather creative, or to allow my students to be creative. Many great ideas dwell within the mind of our children, let's dig them out!

Project#14

C4K Summary #2

C4K Summary

My first C4K was a very interesting one to review! In this class blog report, I learned a new invention called Ipadio. As you will learn from my reply, I wasn't very familar with this product. But I researched it on the wonderful web and found out more information about it. For starters, Ipadio takes any phone call and streams it live on the web. I listen to a live call between a student and teacher, when i visited the site. Now one might ask, what is the benefit of this product? Right? Well is school this could be really healthy for children. We must learn to find ways that will grab our childrens attention, while teaching them important values. So being able to record and stream live phones could have strong purpose. For example, if two business men where to discuss the importance of insuring your business, and young adults where thinking about becoming self employed, they could listen live without being on the conversation! Plus the called is recorded, so if you missed something, you could play it all back. That is just great to me! I'm sure there are many other reasons, but this a major benefit of this class blog.

My Reply:

Hi !

My name is Frederic Robinson and I attend the University of South Alabama. I’m in a class called EDM310 and I’m studying Physical Education.

I would love to know more about Ipadio! So is this like a live recording of a phone call? I had a little trouble understanding the conversation, so what was it about? This could be a tool useful in my future teaching endeavors.

I will write about what I read on your blog on my personal blog in the near future, so please stop by from time to time. Overall, I think this is a great post and I look forward to reading more of your blogs in the future. Well, best of wishes and take care!




My next weeks C4K was by Jeff S. He spoke about how he loved baseball and how Jackie Robinson was his favorite player. Me and Jeff had a small connection because my brother and Father's names are Jackie Robinson. I'm not a huge baseball fan, but I love sports, as Jeff does. Jeff seemed like a really smart kid. His grammar and writing was very impressive, with just a few mistakes, if any. Jeff spoke also about how sports was a type of stress reliever, in which I agree. I played organized basketball for over 7 years, so I have a bit of experience to that truth. When your mad, playing a sport can be a type of release of the pressure, while getting you in shape at the same time. Thank God for sports! So, overall this was a fun blog to review and I hope Jeff the best success in life!


My reply:
I too am a big fan of Sports and video games! I like basketball the most, my favorite player is Kobe Byrant and team, The Lakers. I noticed that you had a page on Jackie Robinson, could you believe that’s my Dad and brothers name. Their pretty cool people to be around. How about family life, how is that going. I also noticed that you said baseball helps your worries, do you care to share any of them?

C4T # 1 Again

C4T Summary #2

In my first C4T Dr. Strange spoke about lectures vs Technology. I really appreciated this post by Dr. Strange. One reason is because I have never been a big fan of lectures. I barely retain the information spoken and it can get really boring. Now, I do agree that if the speaker is gifted to speak, they can mantain your attention, for the most part. It's only when they get long winded and start to rample, is when they lose their listeners. I love when Daphane Koller said, "by using technology in the service of education, we can change the world in our lifetime.” This really inspired me because you want to see and reap at least some of the efforts that you put forth, on this side of life. 


Overall, I thought this was a timely and effective blog for EDM310. I'm being transformed into a better thinker through this class. It's teaching me to dare to be different, for the improvement of education. This should be the goal for every leader of education.




My Reply
This was a well thoughtout post Dr. Strange. I grew up on lectures, whether in church or even now, still in classrooms. If someone asked me, "are all lectures bad," I would definitely say no. I believe, in some areas you must lecture, like educating a child on what's right or wrong, or even sermons(in most cases). But you brought out some beautiful points in this post. For example, when Daphane Koller said, "by using technology in the service of education, we can change the world in our lifetime.” Technology is definitely needed in today's educational classes and more. It's faster and more reliable than most methods used today. Surley lectures can be boring, and like stated in your post, we don't retain but a small portion of what is spoken, but technology is fun and a nice learning tool, it is our future for education. Now, I'm sure there are many debaters of this idea, but with every great dream, their are a thousand opposers sent to kill it. But we must dreamimg on, and continue chasing our dreams, to see them come to past! Not later, but "in this lifetime," as Koller so sweetly put it.








My second C4T was in reply to Dr. Strange's post about, "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?" This post seemed to be controversial in a way to me. Theason is because Dr. Mcleod chose to use a new method to convey his point. Mcleod wrote a post about the things we should not let our children do. It was written in a strange method, but if you read unto the end, you can see his point clearly. Most leaders are afraid of what they don't understand, so they reject it. This seems to be the case in this blog post. Mcleod said, "really 'cause I'm doing all of it with my kids can't wait to see who has a leg up in a decade or two can you?" This was a question to convey, that technology, computers, and many teaching tools that we fear the most, is becoming our future in education. Dr. Strange really challenged us as students to look deeper into a post, before we pass judgement. The reason is because he wants us to grow into the students that he can see inside of us.

Hey Dr. Strange.

The challenges, twist, and turns of this course never ceases to amaze me! I really enjoyed the post, "Don't Teach Your Kids This stuff. Please?" The thing that really grabbed my attention was the irony of the post, and the sarcasm. Now, I must say that it was not my typical style of reading, but that was the point. Dr. Mcleod dared to try something new! I believe the whole outpour of concern about this post is because we as a people, become swiftly locked into traditional ways of learning. So as teachers we must be willing to engage into the "newness" of technology and teaching innovations, or we will soon become the tradtion.

ReplyDelete

Blog Post #9

 What I Learned This Year (2009-10) (2010-2011)










This post on What I learned This Year was very helpful to me. It was helpful because Mr. Mclung goes in depth about his recent experiences as a teacher. He is a new teacher, that is finding his way into the school system. 

One of the first lessons that he gives is to "Adapt." We all know that every job is not the same. McClung found this out from a face to face experience. He was teaching the 6th grade, but the next year the 8th grade. He was teaching one subject and the next year, three subject. So he had to learn new subjects and new students in the same year! He said this was a major challenge, which I can agree. He spoke about how many different, first time experiences that he had to overcome. For example, "This year held many first for me. It was my first year to teach jr. high students, it was my first time to teach social studies and history, it was my first time to work in a large school district, and it was my first year that I had to three different subjects in the same year," McClung stated. 


He also spoke about allowing his children to be "independent thinkers." This to me is extrememly important. We can not afford to push all of our thoughts on children and expect them to blosom into something beautiful. Each flower must bloom individually, at their own pace. 


Overall, this was a great blog, especially for any first time teacher. I have kept many valued nuggets that was spoken in this blog, like making a friend with school moms, moving pass my comfort zone, and to adapt. I must check my ego and be ready for the challenges of being a teacher, because every great achievement comes with its share of sacrifice.

What I Learned This Year 2010-11

What I learned This Year 2010-2011 was full of knowledge to know! Mr. McClung is this post explained how experience can bring laziness, or cause you to become comfortable. He said that he learned new things but because of experience, it was easier. And in life, we tend to seek the easy route. But what I love about McClung is that he avoids the easy route, because he doesn't want to become a tradtional teacher. That is one thing I admire about Dr. John Strange and EDM310, he teaches us avoid the normal. How will we ever have a future, if we are stuck in the past?

McClung reminded me that in teaching, I must not be a people pleaser. He said, "

I play my music way too loud, I eat my lunch with students and not in the teacher's lounge, I enjoy being connected to my students through blogging and social media, and I enjoy being immature. It took me a while before I was comfortable with not fitting in with the rest of the crowd but I realized that my common core of beliefs were important to me and that I needed to be myself and not worry about the perception that others have of me." This is really important because it's possible to forget why your chose to teach. The hardships of life can cause you to lose focus on the goal. Like he stated, the children should be the number one goal of the teacher, not social clicks or groups.


In conclusion, this was a very refreshing reminder to stay focused in my endeavors. I must not strive to please people, because they can't even please themselves. Our childrens' future(in education), is held in the balance of the teachers of today. We must not drop the ball!