Blog Post 2

1. The central message in Mr. Dancealot's video is that teaching isn't all about standing in front of students and reading off a slide show or your notes. You must interact with students and let them learn through examples and actions. Ms. Johnson's shows her case by having the teacher describing these dance moves and not letting the students practice them, so when it becomes time for the exam none of the students memorized the steps but they don't know how to actually do them correctly. I do agree with Ms. Johnson, I know from first hand that many of times I catch myself just memorizing and not actually learning, but that doesn't do me or anyone very good. If you just write down notes and study them, you're not learning, sometimes you must critically think and ask why.

2.I think Robert is correct in the way he views teaching, he is right about how we have everything we need at our fingertips. It can benefit you greatly if you use it the right way, teachers don't have to teach facts anymore, we can find that on our own. So with all this technology, teachers can kind of be seen as a professional guide. What we need is teachers that can adapt to the way kids learn, help them use their technology and the internet for engaging and learning, instead of entertainment. He talks about how utilizing all these social networks and search engines could create so many more possibilities of learning and innovation. The use of teaching through technology can be very beneficial and I think Robert has the right idea.

3. In the networked student, I found myself kind of surprised. Many people use the internet for various of reasons, that could be for the better or maybe the worse. But after watching this video it opened my eyes to how blogging and using the internet for educational reasons could benefit me and many others. I personally always thought blogging was just a place where people just wanted to express their opinions, but never have I thought about it towards an education perspective. Wendy Drexler explains how blogs can be used to share information you've found or find interesting, you can find lectures online and listen to them. You can do all these things at your fingertip instead of being hindered by a text book, which I find very interesting because they are way too expensive.
4. Vicki Davis's video is about using technology such as virtual worlds, blogs, podcast and many more tools to teach students. Her main focus is for the kids to work together to achieve their goals and to have fun while doing it. I mean I know when I was younger going to school was always boring to me, but it was kind of shocking to see kids learning through games, I know the younger me would have loved that(still probably would). I would have to agree with Mrs. Davis, it is good for students to be able to learn how to work with others and find a different, more modern style of teaching that could help the kids get more interested in learning.

5. Flipping the classroom is new to me, I've never heard of it before. But I do think this will be very useful for teachers, I know when I am in class and I don't know much about a subject it is a lot harder for me to follow along than when I do know a little about it. I feel like it will benefit both students and teachers because then the teacher does not have to waste time explaining simple concepts and spend more time teaching the important of the lesson, where as the student will have a brief idea about the subject so they don't come in completely lost. I think a preview of a lesson is a great idea and will be very successful.

Blog Post 1

I hadn't heard much about EDM 310, I just knew that I had to take this course. But upon arriving to the first class I knew it wasn't going to be like my other courses. I was a little overwhelmed with all the information at the start and how much time and effort this class is going to require.

The difference between EDM310 and my other courses I've taken is that it is a blended course. Most of my classes I have taken you have to go to class everyday and just sit through lecture after lecture. With EDM 310 it seems like we will be teaching ourselves and learning through practice and experience, instead of just lectures and tests.

The hardest thing in this course for me is going to be organization. With this course being blended I'll have to keep up with all the due dates of all the assignments. I've never been the most organized person, but that is one thing I will have to work on for this class. The best way for me to achieve my goal in this course is to make a schedule of all the work that I need to do and manage my time well. This course seems very challenging but as long as I take care of what is needed and stay organized, I think I should be fine.

Practice Post

Well my name is Josh Turnipseed, I'm 20 years old. I was born in Birmingham but have been raised in Mobile. My major interests are football, disc golf, any kind of sports and whatever people want to talk about. I have been attending the University of South Alabama for three years now and I can't complain. Both my parents are teachers my mom teaches over at Mary B. Austin Elementary and my dad teaches over at Phillips Prep School.

I want to go into the educational field because I guess it runs in the family and I believe that teaching is one of the most important jobs to have. Because without an education most people won't succeed in life. I've always been that kind of person that likes to help others in anyway possible so I guess you could say that is my passion.

my second blog post

My Test Post Title

This is my first blog