Posting to My Blog

It is important for students to post to their blogs because, it can lead to many new opporitunities for them. Posts can be seen by people all over the world. I post things in my blog because it will stay there forever. Everyone in the world who has access to the internet can access things that I have posted.

As a friend told me, we can learn about different cultures and geographical areas by reading these posts, and watching videos that may be posted.Lastly, I feel it is important for students to post their work because of the technology being used today. Introducing students at an early age to technology is only going to be beneficial to them.

The video of ps22 is wonderful and very moving. This is a great example of how blogging and posting can lead to new opporitunities. These students had to chance to sing at Madison Square Gardens. Technology is so amazing.

ALEX and access

In my recent search of the alabama learning exchange or ALEX, I discovered it is a website to help teachers help their students succeed. It provides the teachers sample lesson plans and lessons plans from other teachers in the state. Teachers also can create a personal workspace to create their own lesson plans through the site. All teachers could use this site to plan for their classes. Whether it be drivers education, mathematics, or english. It has a very wide variety of courses that can be accessed. There are also links to access several Alabama Department of Education Program Websites. There is a distance learning option also. This takes you to the Alabama connecting classrooms educators and students statewide, or ACCESS.
The site listed particular characteristics that successful ACCESS students usually possess: * are self-motivated and self-disciplined* stay on task without direct supervision* like to figure things out without direct assistance* prioritize workload effectively* can successfully work alone* are good at assessing their own progress* like working with computers and software programs* enjoy the challenge of working with new technology * are good at following instructions * use email and can create messages with attached files * can download and install programs from the Internet * can search the Web * can copy and paste from one program to another * rarely procrastinate * enjoy communicating in writing and reading the writing of others * work with others to complete projects * seek assistance when problems arise * take an active role in the learning processStudents take complete assignments, projects, collaborative work, and even tests online. Grades are reported to the students "home school" which is their high school and received with other subject grades on a report card.

Kaia's Blog

This type of communication is breath taking. Using voice thread because Kaia can not read was a creative idea. It did not take her father long to connect to her classroom. This shows me how fast technology is becoming. At first her blog started out as a way to share pictures with family members but now it has kind of become a way to record her life events. Since kaia's dad is a teacher, he sees how technology has played a bg role in his childs life. Kaia lives in the desert and loves taking pictures. She also loves her daddy. Kaia created a photo essay that was very creative on her part.

Kaia's dad is a teacher and he states, "that kaia is still too young to grasp the connections she is making." I understand what he is saying but in the years down the road, kaia will be a master at communicating with people outside her hometown. Her father states that ," if we want our students to feel comfortable and be cautious online, we must be able to do the same with our own children." I feel like teaching technology begins at school, but should not stop once you get home. Technology is on going, and in the future it will be useful to everyone, especially teachers.

Parents need to grasp the fact that in their childrens future technology will play a major role in their learning. They should not just sit back and let their children do it on their own. Helping children explore technology will give them a head start in to learning.

Comments for kids Week 5

Today I read the story about a dancing holiday. I wish we could have a day to just dance. It would be very funny and entertaining. But I know that holiday is far fetched in the U.S.

More on New Media Literacies

I found that the New Media Literacies project is a research initiative based within MIT's comparitive media studies program, which explores how we as teachers might best equip young people with the social skills and cultural competencies required to become full participants in an emergent media landscape and raise public understanding about what it means to be literate in a globally interconnected, multicultural world.
The goal of this program is not to replicate existing paradigms. We consult regularly with leaders in industry, the arts, public policy, journalism, education, and the nonprofit sector, trying to understand contemporary developments, identify job and internship opportunities, and pinpoint skills and knowledge which will help prepare our students for new opportunities.
Students can better deal with our culture by possessing these skills. judgment, negotiation, appropriation, play, trans media navigation, simulation, collective intelligence, performance, distributed cognition, visualization, and multitasking. These are skills that involve creative expression.

New Media Litericies

I believe that they are all great skills to possess. Yes they are skills that all artists, citizens, and workers need to possess. For example employers want their workers to be able to multitask, and what good is a person who can not multitask. I possess 8 of these skills. Judgment, negotiation, play, appropriation, simulation, performance, visualization, and multitasking. I can acquire the other skills when I get more in depth with technology.

The Networked Students Mrs. Drexler

This video shows how and why students should be technologically literate. First students should build their PLN. Once they create a blog, they can start to comment on blogs from around the world. Although blogs reflect opinions rather than facts, a student should not be drawn away from it, but rather want to add their opinion.
You never know who can benefit from your blog. I have done things this semester in class that I have never done before. Like using the websites delicious and wikispaces. I want to be able to give my students a head start in the technological world. If they are not introduced to it early in life, it will be harder to teach it to them later in life.
I feel like I am very prepared to be a teacher of networked students. I can take everything I learned from this class and teach it to my students. It will be beneficial to everyone in the future. I really want to know how things will work out with Mrs Drexlers middle school class. I'm sure things will turn out great.