My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete.

It has been great! I wish all of you the best of luck in the future, and hope that all good things come to you!

What I have learned.

I can't believe how much I have learned in this class. I started the class thinking "who doesn't know how to do a blog?" or "Who doesn't know how to edit a picture?" Turns out, I did not know as much as I thought I did. And ohhhhh the Google documents, and anything Google for that matter has just blown me away, along with some of my friends and family. I am glad that we didn't dig deeper into html.... otherwise I would have been totally lost. I really learned more than I ever expected in this class, and turns out the class that at the beginning I found useless, turned out to be the class I learned the most in.

Ivygate

I had to see the Ivygate blog. Aside from its racy remarks, It was pretty entertaining. I really can't see this receiving an award, but to each their own. I will say this, I thought that Ivy leaguers were a little more serious than that of an average university student. I have seen that they party just as hard, and have some very ridiculous behaviors.

Wikipedia

For one thing, I have never trusted wikipedia. I never will. The fact that anyone can bend the information in favor of one thought or another to me is boarder line propaganda. Just think if people who were uneducated and did not know anybetter got on there and think of what they come out with. Lies, botched up truthes, and propaganda. The worst thing is is that wikipedia really does not make clear what is fact, and what is not. I have never used wikipedia in fear that it is not all together correct. I would rather have solid evidence, that what I am reading is true.

Wikipedia is not all that different from the internet all together, as anyone can post what they want, and not have it backed up with the facts and some people would not know any better. When I am writting a report I make it a point to have all my information from good reliable sources. Call me old fashioned, but I still like getting information from books. I find them so much more reliable.

Itunes U

I think this is great, however I was unable to see how much it costs to download a program. It could get costly to some students as they are living on a shoestring budget. However, I think it is fantastic that not only can you get lectures and visual aid, but you can get it from over 5000 universities. I think this is important because you get different schools of thought. It is really easy to use for the students and faculty. It is also accessible from the computer which is great. I do feel that this could benefit so many students. It may open the door to more people getting educated. It could be the online school of the future.

Will I use this in my classroom, yes, if the resources are available. I don't think I like the whole filming myself thing, because I am camera shy, but if it benefits my students I will certainly do it. I may even do it for the kids who have access to an ipod. I think this would be great for tutoring purposes also. A kids parent could check out an ipod at the school and download lectures and study material, to give the kid a little boost they need. A program like this needs to be in place, but as I have said before, money talks.

Ipods Educational Use at Duke University

The Ipod program started in the year 2004 when over 1600 Ipods were issued to to students at Duke university. The program features class pod casts, historical speeches, visual aid, and study guides, just to name a few. I can relate to the importance of this because I have benefited from using my ipod in my studies. I have recorded lectures on my cell phone, downloaded it to my cpu and then downloaded it on to my ipod. It is great because I can listen to my lecture anywhere I go. Whether it be walking, driving, running, or even doing dishes. I think this would be great to have in all universities. The downside is that it could be costly, and there is the risk of students damaging the ipod. Instead of issuing Ipods perhaps they should be a required purchase. Other than that this is a super idea, and I wish we had it here at USA.

I don't see this program flying over in public schools anytime soon. It would be too costly, and I don't see many parents that will be too happy having to fork over the money to buy one. Until the Ipod's price goes down significantly, only then will the public schools use this tool. If it were to happen I would have slides for the students to download, such as microscopic slides, and pictures of species among other things, as I will be teaching High School Biology. I really think that this would be such a great program, but to be honest, I don't think many parents will go the extra mile to make sure that that is all that the students will be using them for.

Here is my story.

My mother is a homebound school teacher for Harrison county MS. We got to talking about igoogle and the itools and so on. After hearing me talk about it she wanted to learn it. I taught her and it given her such an advantage with her students. She is able to post lesson plans, calendars, and even google talk with parents when they need help in a certain subject. It has helped her tremendously as well as her students and the parents. She told me that this has changed her life.

From books to silver disks.

I do believe that you hit the nail on the head when you said that all information would be accessible at all times. However I still think that there will always be books. Books have to stick around how else will we be able to clear our heads of the hassle of everyday life. Have you ever felt relaxed by reading an ebook? I have not. The reason why is because I am sitting there looking at a screen. I love crawling up under a blanket with a good book in hand. There are still book hounds around. And we are raising book hounds.... My daughter, who is 3 goes to the library at least once a week. She has quite a collection of books, and she can tell you what they are all about. She is reading on a first grade reading level, and it seems like she can't get enough books. I do believe that if there is a death of books, then it would be the fault of parents. I believe if you instill a love of reading it will last a lifetime. If you don't take the time to read to your children, and make that time special and fun, of coarse they will prefer television and other means of entertainment. I believe you sell yourself short when you can't find information without accessing a computer. What would we do if God forbid the internet should crash? What will we do when computers become obsolete? How will we leave our ideas, and our story as a generation? Will we find that on an Ebook? I doubt it.

My picture changed to sepia

My picture turned black and white.

Picassa lesson 10 Oct 07

Just messing with picassa. These are not my vacation pics.

Post one: International high school - Islay High, Scotland.

There is an island in Scotland that is the home of 3,000 People. You may not think that the local high school which only has a role of 250 kids could be one of the most high tech schools in the country. It is true. At Islay High school in Scotland, Every student has been issued their own laptop. We are not talking about the cheapest laptops, but actual high tech, top of the line laptops. All students are connected to thier class, and instructors. They do their homework, get help for studying, and help for projects with the computers. The administrators are saying that productivity and grades are up, and that the benefits clearly outweigh the cost of the laptops. you can go here to read the whole story. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6997269.stm

Death of the printed page.

I agree to a certain extent to the author about the death of print. Sure we have technology, we have audio books, and pod casts, but I find it hard to believe that I won't have a newspaper thrown at my door in 50 years. I happen to love reading, I love the fact that my imagination takes over when I read. The way I picture a place or a character of a book is original and can't be reproduced. A book is portable. You can take one with you anywhere you go. I am saddened to know that there is a significant decline in reading in the younger generations. How could we scratch the printed page. After all didn't "civilized civilization" begin with print. Are we to give up writting too? How does a child learn how to read when there are no books to read? Are parents not reading bedtime stories anymore. Is the next generation expected to pull out an Iphone with an e book? I don't think so. Where is the magic of a golden book when it is on a mini computer?

I know the ALEX and ACCESS posts are late.

My cpu is crashed at home. Buying a new one today after class.... ouch on the pocket. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

Alex- part deux

I just wanted to comment that I like the fact that ALEX has web links for teachers, student and administrators. This is a great site, and I wish we had something like this in Mississippi.

Access

Access is a very cool program that allows teachers, students, and administrators stay in touch with one another. Students can also take online classes from their home. I think this is great, especially for home school students who would not have access to subjects such as foreign languages, or higher sciences.

Adding Links and Pictures

First we will review the methods for creating a link. We create a link either by HTML code or by using the icon that looks like a link of a chain. The link will be to the fisch bowl , a blog for technology training used at Arapahoe High School in Littleton CO. Here is a picture from Littleton High School

Ok.... I just watched the video, and I really hope we get broadband in our area soon... It took me 45 minutes to download. The video gave me chills and pretty much scared the begollies out of me. When it said that the top 25% of China's IQ maxed out the number of children in our country, my mouth dropped. After watching the video, I don't know if I will be prepared for the future, but I do know that this is what I want to do. To do that will require constant upkeep on things. While I know it is not possible to stay abreast of all new information, I will try to do the best one can. I will say that the video is a little one sided. It does not tell you any per-capita statistics. I wonder what percentage of the Chinese population has High IQ's compared to the percentage of the United States. And if they are so smart, why are we the leaders in producing and researching life saving drugs, and medical technologies. I understand that change happenes but I can't help but think that we still are the best country to live in. I believe we have the most opportunity, and that there is room for improvement. There will always be.

ALEX

ALEX is a free website for educators and administrators. I could not believe how many projects and how much information was available, not to mention all of the lesson plans. I like the fact that you can share lesson plans. I also like the way that the disciplines are broken up. Science for example is broken up into about 20 sub-categories from elementary science to anatomy and physiology. This site is like gold to a teacher!

Sitting in class right now.

So here is my obligatory post for the week. I think we are working on our power point presentation, But, by the grace of myself, I have forgotten my work at home. So as for now it is currently still plugged into my computer..... Oh the shame!

To start.... An introduction

Hi, I am Danielle Herrman, and I am an alcoholic.....LOL Just kidding. I am 27, married, and I have 3 wonderful children; Samantha (3) Mattison ( 10 months) and Christopher. Christopher would have been 5. He passed away at the age of 3. Due to my experience with losing a child, I council many parents who have to go through this painful journey. I find that helping others helps me through my grief. I am currently studying at USA with a double major in Biology and Secondary Education. I am an optimist. I try to see a light at the end of every tunnel. I have 3 pets; Mipsy the cat, Mrs. Doetie the fish, and Tuga the hermit crab... and my little girl named them all. So I guess that will be all for today.