"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung.

I haven't even received my certificate and I can already say that when I'm speaking into a crowd that my most concern is the delivery of my content. I like to make sure that my delivery is on point so that it doesn't seem like I don't know what I'm talking about. I feel that when I am in a classroom, it's my classroom, but I also want to be kind of lenient. Like I know that I am in control, but I don't want to come off as being bossy or very mean in such a way. Beating myself up over a lesson that didn't go perfect I don't think I will do simply because I think that you should learn from your mistakes. As Mr. Mclung mentioned, don't beat yourself up about it. Just find a way to fix it with a smile on your face. Just like me, when he first entered the classroom, he found himself being too concerned about the delivery of his content instead of checking for the student comprehension and that's something that I need to start working on now. He had some very good points in this article, but these two stood out to me the most. I really need to start working on some of the advice that he gave.

NPR blog on Wickipedia.

I think that Wikipedia is a good site to go on if you are also going to use other references to back it up. When I was about in middle school, I always used Wikipedia, but ever since high school most of my teachers would rather me use a different source just because they felt that Wikipedia can't be trusted. As stated, some people do go in on this site and post false things. I think that Wikipedia can be trusted, just not fully trusted. Meaning, if you were planning on using Wikipedia for major research, I would recommend you to also use other references just to make sure that what's posted on Wikipedia is true.

http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/08/wiki_tracker?currentPage=all

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture

Randy Pausch has approximately 10 tumors in his liver. He says that he's not in denial, but he has a lot of doctors. He was given 3 to 6 months of good health. He is in good shape. As he tell us of his childhood, he actually had a good childhood. He was constantly dreaming. He had countless numbers of dreams. The fact that anything is possible was huge to him.
To accomplish some of these dreams he started off at school. He got his PHD, which he thought could get him a job anywhere. I have never heard of Imagineering until Randy introduced it. He was willing to do anything to have lunch with Jon Snoddy. He didn't want to seem too anxious, but he was determined. He published the first and last paper of Imagineering. Jon Snoddy helped him get to the right people so he could work on the paper and publish it.
Working on Aladdin VR is a once in 5 years career opportunity. He was introduced to real people and he learned how to put engineers and artists together. That's very important to me. You have to be introduced to the right people, which are real people that's willing to help you achieve.
I was surprised that his technology got used at the spider man 3 filming. After 10 years of enjoying what he loved doing, unfortunately he had to give it up. His advice is, if you have to give something up that you love doing, make sure that you hand it over to someone that is better than you, that can do the job, which is what he did. I believe that because if you are doing something that you love, you wouldn't want to give it to someone that you think will screw it up. Some companies agreed to hire their students by doing internships. It's becoming a global phenomenon for that University.
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Technology s the new "big thing" out now. It's faster, computers are smarter, everything is just being done with technology now. Using technology can be difficult because some people are technology illiterate, including teachers. Many teachers may not know how to work computers that well, so what do they do? The first thing is obvious, they have to learn it, but I really don't see where it is REQUIRED, but I guess it is a wise thing to be technology educated.
Some teachers just may not feel comfortable with teaching students something that they're not even sure if they know how to use. I really think that teachers should know at least 40% of technology, but not the whole 100% because as long as your students are learning and comfortable with your teaching techniques, why switch it? Being technology literate takes time and it's very good to be literate when the world is using technology with everything, but when it comes to teaching, if you are not technology literate like people think you should be, then what's the issue. Why is that a problem?

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

Technology Can improve education, but it's the way you teach it. Like she said, if there's no one learning, then teaching isn't being done. Technology is obviously a new form of teaching, but some students are technology illiterate. So, now teachers will have to learn themselves how to use the technology before they can teach the students. Once they have learned, that's when they try to educate the students.
Even with all this technology, I still think that teaching without the use of technology is a good thing. You should always have something to back anything up. It seems as though society is becoming so dependent on technology and if shall one day stop, that's when society would be in trouble because they haven't taught students the original way prior to the use of technology.

Micheal Wesh: A Vision of Students Today

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=chalkboard&rlz=1W1ADBF_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

First off, from seeing the first few seconds of the video, I must say that the classes that I go to are set up totally different from theirs. I have never actually been in a classroom that is set up like the one in the video, rather at Alabama State University or University of South Alabama. The classrooms are set up with desks like on the floor, aligned vertically and horizontally with the professor standing in front.

Some of the classes that I have had, I actually saw students bring their laptops to class. Most of the time when they do,about 95% of the time in class, they're not doing class work. In some classes I still experience having chalk boards though. I think that technology is playing a big role in the world, but maybe too much. Once people start counting on technology, they wont see the use of learning things by hand or the original way.

Plagiarism and Copyright Laws

Plagiarism can easily be done without intentions of being done. Something just as simple as giving a person their credit somewhere in your paper is plagiarism. You can avoid plagiarism by putting quotation marks where needed when making a statement or you may paraphrase. When paraphrasing you should put the complete thought in your own words rather than changing a few or switching them around because that is also considered plagiarism. Even when you use the Internet for information you should always post the website of where you got your information to let the reader know where you are getting your facts.
Copyright is protection of a person's creations. Most people have books, Cds, DVDs, etc. copyrighted so that other people won't be able to take credit for it. It's similar to plagiarism, but not exactly. Only the author or creator can claim copyrights. The very first creation of an object can be copyrighted not the remake of an object. Copyright makes sure that your creations are protected and if it is violated I think you can take the issue to court. Obviously because someone is stealing your ideas or property.

Web Accessibility

I guess it's true, you do learn something everyday. I didn't know that web accessibility was required by law. It's nice knowing that technology is for everybody even those with disabilities, it shows that there is no discriminating going on. And why shouldn't there be technology devices for them, they have the right to learn just as well as anybody else without disabilities.
The braille usage is so awesome, I would've never thought of it. They also have tools for speech. Some of the information is in different languages so that everybody is included and has the same opportunity. I really don't know what else to say, I'm sort of speechless because these tools are so amazing.

Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog(3rd Grade Podcasts

First off I would like to say that these 3rd graders did an outstanding job by doing this podcast. I've learned that when doing a podcast that you may be very creative in using your own vocabulary, depending on what the topic is. I see that you must speak loudly so that your viewers can hear you, but not too loud where it loses it clarity.
Another learning experience was something small, but is easily done and that is getting to close to the microphone and getting dry mouthed. I heard in this podcast when it sounded like one of the kids was on the microphone and it kept making noises in the background, I will have to watch out for that. By getting dry mouthed I mean like talking so much where you start to mispronounce your words or where your words doesn't sound as clear anymore. Other than those simple changes, I think I will do well. I always learn something about podcasts because I have never dealt with them before this class, so I thank the kids for teaching me something.

EDM 310 classes

The videocast wasn't bad. They did try to make it conversational, but I do think that they could've made it better. It seemed conversational to a certain extent. I think that there should've been a dicussed topic rather than the professor askin questions as if they were in a classroom so to speak. When they were introducing themselves I feel that there should've been more eye contact during the introduction.
At the end of the videocast, I think that they should have ended it verbally, meaning thank the viewers for watching where they can see you rather than putting it in typing at the end. At some points it seemed as though they were trying to make it conversational rather than just letting it flow out. I will try to make these improvements in my podcasts/videocasts, although some may not be easy because some things are automatic habits, but I will try my best to do so.

Podcasts

What is a podcast? A podcast is a series of digital media files, either audio or video, that is released episodically through the web. You have to download itunes in order download or even listen to the podcasts. There are millions that are available, some may cost, but some are also free.
When I was listening to the podcasts, I notice that they were nothing but 2 or more people having a simple conversation as if they were recording themselves or trying to promote a what they were saying. They pretty much reminded me of listening or watching the news because they were conversing with each other on certain subjects and also giving the listeners information.
There are 2 different podcasts that I became familiar with, the video and the audio. I think that the video podcast was made with just a few home tools. It seemed like it required a video camera and a few friends or others just to produce it. I actually like the video podcast more than just the audio because you have a visual aid along with the audio.
On the other hand, the audio isn't that bad. It seems that most podcasters only create their podcasts by only using the audio technique. Some podcasts are short, but some are also long, which can get pretty boring by just listening especially if the people on the podcast are talking about something that doesn't interest you. Now that I know what a podcast is, I would like to know what its genuine purpose is.