Goodbye for Now

I'll be back to my class blog for sure. Too much effort and good ideas to let go to waste.

Lacey Musgrove

Don't Forget

lvmugrove@gmail.com

251-752-7253

lvm901@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Project 6: My Personal Learning Network

My PLN consist of..... the internet.

I understand the concept behind a personal learning network, it just has not become second nature to me yet. Dr. Strange's class was the first time I had heard of the term. Before that I had only been exposed to "Networking". Remember that? Haha. But I very much appreciate being putting on the right track with my PLN due to EDM and Dr. Strange.

I can undoubtedly say that the following people are part of my PLN: all the students of EDM 310 in Fall of 2009-especially students in the Wednesday night class; Dr. Strange; Mr. Chamberlain; Mr. McClung; Mr. Goerend; Kaia and her father and all of my teachers so far at South.

Also, I have become exposed to SOOO many great people, websites and books through EDM and I know that, with these resources as part of my NETWORK, my PERSONAL LEARNING will be increased greatly.

Thank you everyone.

EDM AND ME : )

I believe I was moderately technologically literate before EDM and now I believe I am more technologically literate after. And, as I have for... my whole life... I'll continue to use technology in every aspect of my life, especially my future teaching.

PROGRAMS/WEBSITES

YouTube - is changing People.

Twitter - Great for news and views.

Skype - I have one. Who knows who I'll end up talking to with it.

Picasa - Love Picasa. Eventhough, I don't remember anything about it from class.

iTunes/iTunesU - Beneficial to me personally. I'm not positive if it will affect my future teaching.

Delicious - I have one. I'm sure I'll refer to it in the future.

Wordle - Love Wordle! I'll definitely use it.

Foliotek - Dr. Strange's directions made Foliotek understandably for me... FINALLY!

ACCESS/ALEX - For me, a monthly resource.. at least.

IDEAS

PLNs - Still trying to convince myself.

Comment4Kids - I hope it grows even larger. Its a true symbol of education reform.

HTML - A whole new world. I look forward to becoming a HTML professional.

Podcasts/Videocasts - Not sure if I'll be inspired to create one of these on my own.

Wikis - I've joined two other Wikis (besides Tech Literate Teacher) since being introduced to the concept. So, Go Wikis!!

Technological Literacy - Undoubtedly important.

The Future of Schools - I hope I'm an influential part of it.

My "Intellectual Trail" - Something I think about every time I get on a computer.

Me as a Professional - Closer and closer every day.

GOOGLE - A great bundle of tools.

Blogs/ Blogger - Love Blogger.

GoogleDocs - Love GoogleDocs.

Google Spreadsheets - Meh.

Google Reader - Useful.

GoogleForms - I think I may find a use for these in the future.

Google Earth - Always useful.

My Favorite Posts

• Did You Know? 3.0 and 4.o
• Comments4Kids Zane's Blog Amber's Fantastic Facts At the fireplace Mr. McClung's World Katie's Blog Moturoa's Blog Mr. Lamshed's Class Blog
• Ken Robinson on Education and Creativity
• Randy Pausch: The Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
• Dr. Alice Christie.org
• Dear Kaia: Kaia's First Photo Essay
• Importance of Children's Work on the Internet: PS22 Chorus and Dear Kaia
• *YouTube* is Changing *People*
• New Classroom Rules, Seven Stupid Mistakes and Seven Brilliant Things

I appreciative that we got to interact with the students of Pt. England School in New Zealand, and Kaia and her father. Also our Skype sessions with Mr. McClung and Mr. Goerend.

Presentations

I liked creating my GoogleDocs Presentation.

The podcast my group and I made was a new experience.

And I'm glad I learned how to make a voicethread through Project 11.

What I would have liked to have learned.

More basic HTML stuff and more basic computer stuff. Tricks of the trade and such.

What I wish I didn't learn.

Umm... I can't think of anything.

What I got excited about learning in EDM.

HTML, Google Tools, Comments4Kids.

Anything intellectually challenging?

Nothing stands out. However, I think some things were slightly challenging from a creativity aspect.

Bored at any time?

Its hard to be bored on the World Wide Web.

Ways I would change EDM 310.

-Less blog posts.
-More Comments4Kids.
-More of an introduction to programs and concepts. And therefore more programs and concepts.

Project 11: Voicethread

By: Anthony Capps, Lacey Musgrove

and Heather Anderson

Anthony, Heather and I very easily created this voicethread on Voicethread.com. Then Anthony and I demonstrated to the class all the different ways that anyone (with a Voicethread.com account) can comment on the material within the voicethread. I think voicethreads will be a great teaching tool for me. I could make a voicethread and have my students access it at home.

The Tech Literate Teacher: Project 10 Podcast

TED.com

Edutopia
SMARTboard Lessons
TeacherTube
By: Lacey Musgrove, Anthony Capps,

Heather Anderson and Lauren Karadimos

Listen to it here.

New Classroom Rules, Seven Stupid Mistakes and Seven Brilliant Things

NEW CLASSROOM RULES

from Education Innovation

**My Favorites**

1. Come to school every day, unless you would rather just go on line. **less restrictions will result in less rebellion**

4. Bring required materials, including your laptop and cell phone every day. **less restrictions will result in less rebellion**

6. Don't Talk to your neighbors, unless you are sharing your ideas, asking for help or giving help. **less restrictions will result in less rebellion**

8. Do not cheat, but remix, re-purpose, and sample other peoples’ work and ideas and give them credit. **former approaches to "Cheating/Plagiarism" hinder creative thinking**
15. Know what you are supposed to be learning, why, and what you will do with the knowledge. **too many teachers assume that we students ALREADY know these things**

SEVEN STUPID MISTAKES TEACHERS MAKE WITH TECHNOLOGY

from Doug Johnson via Education World

**My Favorites**

1. Not backing up data. **something I need to take heed to**
5. Believing that one's teaching style need not change to take full advantage of technology. **something my former teachers weren't aware of when I was experiencing Middle and High School during the booming age of the Internet**
6. Ignoring the intrinsic interest of tech use in today's kids. Kids like technology. Not using it as a hook to motivate and interest them in their education is stupid. **YES, STUPID. I completely agree**

SEVEN BRILLIANT THINGS TEACHERS DO WITH TECHNOLOGY

from Doug Johnson via Education World

**My Favorites**

1. Empower kids with technology.

2. Creatively find and use resources. **even as easy as showing your students the result of a Google search of the subject matter you are studying, once they see how many OTHER people care about it, I know you will intrigue at least one of your students**

3. Make conferencing real-time.

4. Put kids in touch with the world. **students would rather learn about the Fall of the Berlin Wall if they could, for example, have a conversation with someone who was there before, during AND after its existence**

5. Accept the role of co-learner.

6. Use the kids' own deviced to teach them.

7. Delight in discovery, the newness, and the fun technology holds.

**These are all my favorites. I'm going to make a mental note to make a poster of these rules to display for myself in my classrooms.**

Doug Johnson's Wiki

Looks like a great Resource!!

Collaborative Blogs

I hope to be a part of many collaborative blogs throughout my teaching career; with my colleagues, my school district, my students and their parents. Also, my mentors and members of my personal learning network. Any excuse to communicate with fellow teachers or parents is a good excuse in my book, so I would absolutely advocate collaborative blogs.

Components of At the Teacher's Desk--

"An experiment in professional learning, collaboration and sharing of ideas."

Gadgets

• Visitor Tracker
• Contributor List
• Contributors' Blog List
• Most Active Contributors
• Twitter - Search
• Twitter - Follower Counter
• Labels List

Members

• John Strange (Alabama)
• Mr. McClung (Arkansas)
• Mr. Chamberlain (Missouri)
• Mr. Lamshed (Australia)
• NZWaikato (New Zealand)
• Jenny She (New Zealand)
• Fiona Jolly
• teachernz (New Zealand)
• Jane Hake
• ali colbeck (Australia)
• Mr. Moore (Colorado)

My Top 5 Posts from At the Teacher's Desk

• Scary Statistics Enough said.
• The Fundred Project I hope circumstances allow me to facilitate an amazing project like this one when I become a teacher.
• Using Skype to Connect ESOL Students with Foreign Language Students Because every ESOL student can benefit from communicating with someone in their 1st and 2nd language.
• How Do I Know I am Not Just being Selfish? I guess you don't. However, I think the confusion comes from "generation gaps".
• Pencils and Crayons to be Banned in Schools Detrimental.

*YouTube* is Changing *People*

The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube and the Politics of Authenticity

Micheal Welsch

This presentation was shocking to me because I am absolutely a part of the MTV/Whatever!/Reality TV Generation. Apparently, all of this technology will change drastically in the next ten years, but I'm extremely happy that I have the curiosity to research and comprehend the true magnitude of the current age.

The phenomenon of MadV and the Free Hugs Campaign still blows me away, eventhough I'm not surprised by its existence.

Micheal Welsch's YouTube Channel It has other great videos.

Referenced books I want to read:

"Believing, Inventing, and Implementing Technological Pedagogies" By: Anthony Capps

Anthony Capps' post, Believing, Inventing, and Implementing Technological Pedagogies is a great example of the very thing he discusses in it. I especially love being introduced to thoughts of people I KNOW. Reading such a thoughtful post with so much insight makes exploring my peers thoughts even more enjoyable.
And also, to make an example of another point in his post; I hope so much that using the technology I've learned in Dr. Strange's class will help me to inspire my students to care, consider and comment on their fellow peers' thoughts.

Importance of Children's Work on the Internet: PS22 Chorus and Dear Kaia

What an incredible display of inspiring our students to do great things. Celebrities, parents, students (like us), and other children especially, watching how much fun the children of PS22 are having can only encourage good things....

.....good things that can lead to GREAT things like this!!!!

Kaia's Photo Essay

And Kaia's blog is something that even I feel so touched to be a part of. I can't wait to facilitate such a connection for my future students.

ACCESS: Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide

The Alabama ACCESS Distance Learning Initiative was launched on November 1, 2004. I was shocked when I read this because I attended an Alabama public high school from 2003 - 2007, and I had never heard of the program since classes at the College of Education. My school did have a dual enrollment option, for only one course. I'm sure it was a part of my school but it never crossed my path.

ACCESS is what it sounds like. A program that Alabama implements statewide, that uses the technology of computers and the Internet to allow students to go to classes (online) that aren't offered at their school, with qualified instructors

Overall, this program seems to be an appreciated one; also, fairly successful with "75% of students and 82% of teachers involved in ACCESS expressing that their virtual school experience was as good as or better than that for traditional courses".

2009-2010 ACCESS

Video Conferencing Instruction (VCI)

COURSE OFFERINGS

Subject

Mathematics

Algebra I

Algebra IB

Geometry

Algebraic Connections

Algebra II

Algebra II with Trigonometry

Precalculus

Calculus

AP Calculus AB

English

AP English Language and Composition

AP English Literature and Composition

Social Studies

Honors World History: 1500 to the Present (Grade 9)

United States History to 1877 (Grade 10)

United States History from 1877 to the Present (Grade 11)

Economics

United States Government

AP United States History

AP European History

Science

Forensic Science

Environmental Science

Biology

Chemistry

Advanced Chemistry

Physics

Human Anatomy and Physiology

Foreign Language

French I

French II

French III

German I

German II

German III

Latin I

Spanish I

Spanish III

Mandarin Chinese I

Other Required

Health Education

Computer Applications

Electives/Career

Tech Accounting I

Bible as Literature

Business Technology Applications

Advanced Business Technology Applications

Education and Training

Floral Design and Interiorscaping

Poetry

Sociology

ACT Preparation

Other course offerings are web-based instruction courses. Just about the same amount as the previous section of course, in most of the same subjects. ACCESS also provides Alabama High School Graduation Exam Remediation Materials. Hopefully in my future schools this program or one similar to it will be a useable program for me and my students.

ALEX: Alabama Learning Exchange

The Alabama Learning Exchange website is composed of vital resources for anyone in the field of Education. It has Alabama courses of study, web links, lesson plans, a personal workspace section, a professional learning section and a podcast gallery (gallery360).

SIDE NOTE: Every student in the College of Education should review (print out if necessary) all of the Alabama standards under the course of study section of the Alabama Learning Exchange website.

The subjects included under the course of study section include; English language arts, science, mathematics, social studies, arts education, career/technical education, driver and traffic safety education, health education, languages other than English, physical education, technology education and miscellaneous courses of study.

The web link section has links for teacher web links, administrator web links and student web links. The lesson plan section has lesson plans for practically every subject and area in every grade.

Google Time Based Search Options

The WonderWheel and Time-Based Search Options are SO cool. I will be using them in the future for sure.

Intrepid Teacher: Singing Hearts

This whole, fascinating journey of Kaia, her dad, Mr. Chamberlain and all the other people around the world who watched the videos, read the blog posts and left comments, has really intrigued to read Richard Louv's book; because it seems to be the driving force that started this whole sequence of events. That's why I love books and reading.

Dear Kaia: Kaia's First Photo Essay

I feel so privileged to be given a glimpse into this young girl's life. She is incredibly cute and it makes me so happy to see her spending time outside, exploring and learning.

With every picture on her post and in her photo essay, you can see her surroundings being put into perspective more and more. These are the goals I strive to accomplish as a teacher.

Turning what is percieved as 'nothing' into art... something beautiful that tells a story... learning.

A fascinating process.

Mr. Chamberlain: Dear Kaia - Voicethread

I'm very much a fan of voicethreads after Dr. Strange's class. I look forward to supplementing my curriculum in this way for my students. I hope when I try this for the first time, my students get as excited about it as I do.

Comments4Kids: Zane's Blog

I commented on Zane's blog about his lego robots and

Kobe Bryant & LeBron James.






I was very impressed by his lego robot.

The New Media Literacies

The New Media Literacies presents their ideas of the skills a person needs to be successfully productive in this new age of technology. Skills like judgement, negotiation, appropriation and play are universal skills that, in any era, would be a crucial element to being an effective artist, citizen or worker. But, yes, the other, new skills that they mention are definitely needed these days if you want to be successful in your endeavors with "new media".
I have good judgement when it comes to resources from the internet. Examples of places that I would rely on are government websites, established corporations or brands and accredited volumes of information. I do my share of playing on the internet. I like finding new things that intrigue me and just letting the trail of interest continue and build off itself. As the movie went on and explained negotiation and appropriation I realized that I posses those skills as well. I'm definitely a multitasker; and the rest of the skills I am going to have to do more research on in an attempt to start aquiring them.

Wendy Drexler: The Networked Student

This was a really great video. Yeah, it makes someone studying to be a teacher think about what the students are going to be like by the time we make it to our own classrooms. However, I believe that a networked student will always benefit from a teacher. It's the same as any networked person... there is always something new to learn so there are always going to be people to teach it to you. I look forward to being that person for my students, that is, when they aren't teaching me.

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream

I enjoyed hearing Richard Miller's ideas and I appreciated him sharing them. I was very interested in the technology of Jonathan Harris that he mentioned. I checked it out and it is really amazing. We Feel Fine is his tool that searches blogs; and Universe is the one that uses the news. Its really incredible technology that you could probably spend your entire life exploring and always find something new. Jonathan Harris is also on TED.com.





In order to achieve what Richard Miller speaks about in his presentation, we need exactly what he says. We need teachers that have the knowledge and capabilities to inspire their students to want to start learning, creating and sharing using this technology; curriculum and lesson plans that are updated to meet these goals and are proven effective; and resources to be made available to everyone.