Project # 8 Podcast

This is a podcast that I created with Cherish Hamner and Colby-Win Beasley. Our podcast explores the idea of allowing students to use cell phones in the classroom for educational purposes. If you would like to visit Cherish's blog click on this link: http://hamnercherishedm310.blogspot.com/
If you would like to visit Colby-Win's blog, click on this link:
http://beasleycolbywinedm310.blogspot.com/
We hope you enjoy our podcast and that it broadens your understanding of the topic of cell phones in the classroom.

Timetoast Timeline- History of My Immediate Family

Here is my timetoast.com timeline project! It tells the story of my family through the years!

My Sentence Video

Blog Assignment 4

“Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?”- This blog post was created by Dr. Scott McLeod. Dr. McLeod is a professor at the University of Iowa. Dr. McLeod is also the director of UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. Dr. McLeod is dedicated to making educators technologically literate. He also shows an interest in making sure that the future generations are taught to be technologically literate in school. He makes this evident in his post “Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?” This post can be found at http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2009/08/dont-teach-your-kids-this-stuff-please.html.
In this blog post Dr. McLeod addresses a problem that he sees with overprotective teachers and parents who are against students using technology. Dr. McLeod points out misconceptions that these adults have about students and technology. For instance, some teachers may think that it is good enough for students to stick to writing assignments with a pen and paper and that it is not necessary for students to post their thoughts on the web. Teachers who think this way cut their students off from the possibility of getting recognition for their work or feedback from a global audience. Dr. McLeod also brings up the point that some adults may believe that students will only use the internet and technology for inappropriate purposes such as pornography or sexting. Although technology does allow students to do inappropriate things, this does not mean that technology is evil or that all students will do these things.
“The iSchool Initiative”- This is a youtube video posted by a high school student named Travis. This clip can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68KgAcx_9jU. Travis proposes his idea for improving our educational system while solving budget problems as well. Travis believes that schools should equip their students with an iTouch which is a touch screen mp3 player made by Apple. This device is equipped with wireless internet access with which students could access school assignments, email, and many educational applications. Travis believes that incorporating iTouch technology in school will make a more efficient, less expensive and more eco-friendly environment.
The first question that popped in my head was how would giving each student an expensive electronic device improve the school’s budget? However, Travis has done the math and he claims that, by eliminating the need for traditional school materials such as paper, pencils and copy machines, schools could save $600 per student. This point is appealing because it saves both money and trees. Travis claims that the average cost of an iTouch is $150. I did some research and found that the cheapest iTouch which is the 8GB costs $229. Despite this slight underestimate of cost, it sounds like this idea might have the potential to save money. This video leaves me with many questions. I would have liked Travis to expand more on how this idea would play out. I was impressed with his presentation and his innovative idea though.
“The Lost Generation”- This is youtube video which asks it’s viewers to contemplate problems that are rampant in our current society. Some of the issues that it addresses include the high divorce rate, greed and mixed up priorities. The speaker in the video identifies that these are problems which are present in our society today and have the potential to become even worse. I completely agree with this video because I think it is shameful that many people in this country place more importance on their careers than their families. I also think it is very sad that people do not take marriage vows very seriously anymore.
Although these are all very sad and serious problems, the video states that there is hope for the future. The video begins with scrolling text which makes statements such as “My employer will know that my priorities are straight because work is more important than family.” This statement is a satirical portrayal of the American mentality today. The scroll then plays backwards and reads “Family is more important than work. I have my priorities straight because my employer will know that.” I think that this technique is very clever because it shows how many people have a backwards way of thinking by playing the statements backwards first. I think that this is a great video which touches on many truths that Americans have forgotten about or chosen to ignore. If you would like to watch this video it can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA&feature=player_embedded.
“Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir”- This youtube video features the song “Lux Aurumque” which translated from Latin into English means light and gold. This choir has 185 people from 12 countries. That description sounds pretty impressive. However, the most impressive thing about this choir is that none of the singers were together when recording. They all recorded separate videos of themselves singing which were later put together by Eric Whitacre. The song sounds so amazing that I could not have known that this choir never practiced together if the video had not indicated that this was the case.
I think that Mr. Whitacre’s virtual choir project is amazing because it shows the power of technology. The use of technology can bring people across the globe together. Complete strangers were united in one purpose to make beautiful music. This idea can be applied not only to making music, but to any collaborative effort. This is the true power of technology that teachers need to make use of in their classrooms. The possibilities are endless. If you would like to hear the virtual choir’s performance of “Lux Aurumque” it can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs&feature=player_embedded#at=29.
“Teaching in the 21st Century”- This youtube video asks the viewer to think about how teaching in the 21st century needs to change. Many teachers still rely on old techniques that have been used since the beginning of public educations such as the chalkboard, books, pencils and paper. Now there are many more tools available for teachers, so why do teachers only focus on using the old ways? The old style of teaching is focused on making students memorize facts that could only be found in books. Nowadays, these facts can be found within seconds on the internet. Children don’t need to go to school to learn facts which they can find easily on their home computer, iPod or cell phone. Teachers now need to focus on showing students how to analyze and interpret these facts so they can apply them to real life situations.
I think the creator of this video touches on some great points. Teachers do need to do more than just teach facts and information. However, I don’t think that this style of teaching should totally be thrown out the window. It is still important to know facts and formulas! I think that the main problem is that teachers need to come up with more engaging ways to present this information and more innovative projects where students can use this information. Let’s not forget that although children do have access to important information, they are not always motivated to search for the information. Also, students don’t always understand information that they find. That is where teachers come in. I think that the best message that this video sends is that using technology is not about entertainment. When teachers use technology, they are not trying to just entertain students. They are trying to engage students and show them that learning can be interesting and relevant to their everyday lives. It can even be fun! This video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmskHM0V2Ig&feature=player_embedded%23!.

A Journey Through Rebecca Warnberg's Life

Blog Assignment 3

“A Vision of Students Today”- This video makes a statement about the fast-paced lives of today’s college students. The creator of the video seems to believe that traditional, lecture-style classes do not reach today’s students. Since there are a lot more tools available to professors today, why don’t they use them? Why are we still using chalkboards and taking notes when all of this can be done more effectively with laptops, projectors and smart boards? The possibilities are endless, but some professors aren’t interested in unleashing the power of these resources. This isn’t the case in all of my classrooms. Some teachers use powerpoint, but they stop there. I think that professors could make more of an effort to improve their lesson plans with technology.
I don’t completely agree with the message that this video is sending. One of the statements made by a student in this video is “I facebook through my classes.” Another students says “My neighbor paid to take this class, but never comes.” Is this the fault of the professor? I believe the answer is no. More blame should be placed upon the shoulders of lazy students. Not every subject has to be extremely exciting. We don’t pay to go to college so we can be entertained. We come here to learn. Although technology is a great tool, it is not the answer to all of the problems with the educational system today. Students need to be more dedicated to learning and less focused on amusing themselves.
“It’s Not About the Technology”- “Wait a minute. It’s not about the technology? Why am I in EDM 310? Why am posting this blog?” These are the thoughts that might go through the head of a student enrolled in EDM 310 when they first encounter this statement. This is the bold claim that Kelly Hines in her blog post. At first a person might disregard this statement as ridiculous, but when you read the rest of her post it all become clear. Ms. Hines is not against technology, but she is against teachers who misuse technology because they refuse to learn the proper way to use it. Ms. Hines also states that technology is not the most important thing for a teacher to use either. So what is important to Ms. Hines? In her post, she states four things that teacher’s should do to improve their own teaching style and our educational system as a whole. First, teachers must be willing to learn new ways to make their classroom more effective. Second, teachers must be willing to try new approaches to teaching if their usual methods aren’t working. Third, teachers need to learn how to use technology effectively. Fourth, making students technologically literate is useful, but not as important as teaching core subjects, creativity and study skills.
I enjoyed this post because Ms. Hines makes some insightful points which I myself have thought about before. How can I as a future teacher ask my students to embrace learning if I refuse to learn? Teachers must learn to practice what they preach. Secondly, in our current technology obsessed society it’s easy to get carried away. Contrary to proper belief, technology is not the most important that students need to learn about in school. However, when teachers do use technology they need to use it properly. An example of misuse of technology in the classroom involves my teachers in high school. Many of them had Smart Boards in their classrooms and only used them as projectors. This is pointless! So overall I think this post makes a great point.
“Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?”- Obviously the answer to this question is a resounding no. The author of this article challenges teachers to step up to the plate and stop thinking it is okay to ignore technology. I had a teacher in high school who did not even understand how to work the online grading program that our school district used. This is pathetic. So I can see the author’s point when he says that being technologically illiterate today is almost like being unable to read and write. Back when this teacher started his career, he had probably never seen a computer. Then thirty years later he is still teaching and everything had changed. He was completely out of the loop. This makes me wonder if there will be new technologies that I will totally refuse to learn about after I have been teaching for twenty or thirty years. I hope I will never get to that point.
The author does state that technology is not the answer to all of our problems. However, he also says that it is an extremely important tool which all teachers should make use of. I agree with pretty much everything in this article although it does make some extreme claims. Sometime you have to be extreme if you want to see change!
Social Media Count- The statistics shown here are astronomical, but not really surprising considering how many people there are in the world. I think this is just more proof that technology has become part of the fabric of our society. It cannot be ignored. That’s why teachers need to find a way to make use of the exponential growth of technology. If you ignore these statistics, then you are blind.

C4T- Adventures in a gifted classroom- Bryan Jackson

This week I commented on two posts made my Bryan Jackson, a high school teacher from British Columbia, on his blog Adventures in a Gifted Classroom which can be found at http://bryanjack.edublogs.org/author/bryanjack/. The first post that I commented on was a music video that his class had made. It was a parody of "Don't Stop Believing" which they titled "Don't Stop Believing in Santa Claus". The video featured guitar, cello, drums, piano and two vocalists. I thought that the video was a fun way to let the class practice their musical talent while learning about technology. The students got the experience of recording and posting a video on youtube for the whole world to see, as well. I thought that this was a great activity for the students because it was a creative way to teach them about technology, practice musical skills and have fun all at the same time.
The second post I commented on was a post about changing the way that we run schools and classrooms. Some of the ideas that the post mentioned include going a week without using technology in the classroom, stopping the use of bells and time schedules, no longer using desks or chairs in the classroom, and no longer using textbooks or paper. Although I do not think that some of these ideas would work out in a real classroom setting, it was still interesting to think about ways that educators could try renovating our school system. As future educators, we need to start thinking about ways that we can change the status quo. We just might find some new classroom techniques that would benefit the students and make the learning environment in schools even better.
Overall I'm glad that I read Mr. Jackson's blog because it seems to me that he is an unconventional teacher who is willing to think outside the box and take some risks in the classroom. Some educators might be opposed to this. They may raise objections like "This new environment that Mr. Jackson is suggesting would be chaos" or "An idea like that sounds good in theory, but it would never work in a real classroom". I think a quote from Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" is appropriate here. "Playing anything to roll the dice just one more time. Some will win. Some will lose." Let's take a chance and challenge what our current society thinks is the appropriate way to run a classroom. The truth is that we will never know what other possibilities there are to make schools better until we try. Who knows? We could totally change the way that American schools run forever. Not just for our own sake, but for the good of the students.
I revisited Mr. Jackson's blog this week and read his post which was entitled "Something for Myself This Week". In this post, Mr. Jackson reflects on his quest to integrate technology in his classroom. He compares this quest to a journey through a desert or a jungle. He also accompanied his post with a video of a trip that he recently took which adds to his metaphor. I enjoyed this post because sometimes I feel like trying to learn about new technology is a difficult quest, as well. However, Mr. Jackson leaves me with hope at the end of this post by stating that we are all part of a huge technological learning community. The posts that we make about our thoughts may be benefiting someone else and that makes the quest worthwhile.

Blog Assignment 2

Blog Post Assignment #2
“Did you know?”- I recently watched this video on youtube.com which was basically a huge amount of facts that the creator had gathered together regarding our modern world and how it differs from the world ten, fifty, fifty hundred and even five thousand years ago. The point of the video is to show that every aspect of the world now from population to technology has vastly increased in magnitude and still continues to increase as time marches on. Some of the facts that are stated in this video are very hard to believe, but I assume that all the facts presented are accurate. Some of the figures they show seem to be a message to Americans that, contrary to many Americans opinions, our country is not the smartest, most advanced country that exists.
One of the facts that concerned me most in this presentation was their statement that in a four year degree plan, half of the information a college student learns in their freshman year will become obsolete by the end of their junior year. This statement is extremely shocking to me. Although I don’t know if this statement is completely valid, it does point out the fact that more and more information is being discovered every day and it’s important to keep up with the information that is out there. This is a reminder to us all that we are never done learning because there is always more to explore. It is important to continue to expand our knowledge throughout our lifetime instead of being satisfied once we leave college.
Another important concept that this video pointed out is that our technology has become increasingly more advanced within the last few decades and it continues to grow at an extremely rapid rate. To me it seems difficult to catch up with all the new technology that is coming out. If it seems difficult for me, then it must seem impossible for the elderly generations! No wonder many old people resist technology! Ha ha. All joking aside, I believe that this is a very sobering video because it challenges the viewer to expand their horizons and change the way they think about our world today.
“Mr. Winkle Wakes”- This video featured a special appearance from a familiar figure from American folklore named Rip Van Winkle. The video is based on the premise that Mr. Winkle has been asleep for a hundred years and has now woken up to find the world completely unfamiliar and frightening. Mr. Winkle seems to encounter technology everywhere he goes. Technology seems to threaten him because he does not understand how it works and he refuses to learn. Mr. Winkle fails to realize that technology can actually benefit his life. However, when Mr. Winkle travels to a modern school he finds that nothing has changes. The teaching style is completely archaic and therefore very familiar and welcoming to Mr. Winkle.
This movie states that our schools today need to catch up with the times in regard to technology. Like Mr. Winkle, the teachers in this video refuse to see how technology can improve their teaching style and enrich the lives of their students. It’s important for educators in the future to embrace advances in technology and try to teach their students to embrace it, too. There is no reason for schools to be caught up in the old days. Children today are exposed to technology on a regular basis at home. So why not use this familiarity to make school a more welcoming environment?
“The Importance of Creativity”-
This video features a speech given by Sir Ken Robinson which focuses on the problems with our current school system. Robinson believes that the biggest problem with schools today is that they squeeze the creativity out of students by making them learn about academic subjects such as math, science, and English and they completely ignore subjects like drama and dance. Robinson makes the point that everyone is talented, but some talents are more valued by our society than others. I completely agree with his viewpoint. I believe that God created all humans with their own special purpose. If God had given all humans the same gift, then no work would be accomplished at all because it takes all different kinds of people to make the world work.
I think the message that Robinson’s speech has for teachers is that we need to realize the potential of every child that we come and contact. We need to encourage all children to pursue what they are interested in as well as the important academic concepts that we are required to teach. I will do my best to foster creativity in my students and make sure that there are after school programs that focus on allowing students to be involved in fun activities such as drama or dance. Teachers need to make more of an effort to gove their students a well rounded education which engages both sides of their brain.
Scholastic Kids Blog: Can U.S. kids compete?
This is a very interesting article accompanied by a video clip of the interview upon which the article is based. The article was written by a young girl named Cecilia Gault. The article focuses on the fact that many European countries (Finland in particular) have higher test scores and lower drop-out rates than the United States because the quality of their educational system is superior. The article offers ways in which our educational system can be improved such as having more of a balance between science and the arts. The article also suggests that more technology be included in the classroom. The article concludes by suggesting that schools should foster more creativity.
I think that this article raises a great point that the United States needs to reevaluate the educational system. It is shameful how far behind our students are when compared to students from other countries. The amazing thing is that this young girl recognizes the problem and is looking for solutions! I hope that in my future classroom I can serve my students well by allowing creativity to flow and teaching kids about how technology can improve their lives. However, by myself I can only make a small impact. The whole system needs to be changed before we can catch up to other countries.
Harness Your Student’s Digital Smarts
This video is about a high school technology classroom taught which reminds me a lot of a high school version of EDM 310. This teacher focuses on empowering the students in her classroom by exposing them to different kinds of technology and showing them how to use these programs. The students participated in blogging and they also used google documents just like we do in EDM 310. I like how this teacher went beyond the average high school computer course which teaches how to use Microsoft Office and typing.
It was really inspiring to see how this teacher made these students feel accomplished by what they had learned. It seems like these students genuinely enjoyed doing their work and felt good about the progress they had made, This teacher even allowed the students to give their own presentations in class about different programs that she was not familiar with. I hope I can be the kind of teacher that not only teaches students what they need to know, but also shows them the value in the information that they are learning.

About Me Wordle

Blog Assignment 1

Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca Warnberg. I am 19 years old and a sophomore at the University of South Alabama. My major is Elementary Education and I’m excited about my future work with children.
Currently I live in Mobile, but I’m not from Alabama. I’m actually an Air Force Brat. I was born in Illinois, but I have also lived in Texas, Las Vegas, California, Alaska, Mississippi and now Alabama. Since my family has moved so much we are all very close. I have an older sister named Caitlyn. She is a Secondary Education/English major at South. I also have a younger brother named Carlton. He is currently a Senior in high school and he is seriously considering coming to South, too. My family has a black Labrador named Moses and an orange tabby cat named Bill.
I am a Christian. I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior at the age of five. I enjoy going on mission trips. I have been on mission trips in Mexico, Oregon, Alaska and Guatemala. I have also been involved in Children’s ministry at my church. During high school I had the opportunity to teach my own preschool class at my church. This experience helped me realize God’s purpose for me is to become a school teacher. Currently I attend Emmanuel Baptist Church and I am an active member in the Baptist Campus Ministries at USA.
Some of my hobbies include travelling, swimming, hiking, scrapbooking, card making, and reading. I love doing craft projects. I also like attempting to play sports, but I’m not very good. I love working with children and I would like to have more opportunities to do so. That’s why I am looking forward to my classroom observations which I will be completing at Leinkauf Elementary School. Also, I have an amazing boyfriend named Mark. I love him very much. The picture about is of him and I at a South Alabama football game. He is kind of crazy, but so am I and that's why we love each other.