Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream
In the videos, Part 1 and Part 2 Richard Miller, a professor from Rutgers University, discusses multimedia and how it is changing what we write and the way its published. This video is a really interesting take on multimedia and really describes how it is changing and being utilized more. He goes over all of the different ways that it has been integrated in to our writing and how technology has made it more possible.

The days of researching in libraries and only being able to find information through the page of books long out of print, is a thing of the past. The web has made all of this information accessible right through your computer. It has helped everything to be freely available to everyone. Collaboration and making documents in to visual and engaging products is also a part of this technology. He discusses the principle that we as educators should be promoters of the fact that all ideas belong to everyone as a culture. No idea belongs to one person alone and we can all work together to build upon these ideas. In the future we need to utilize inspiring teachers and spaces to continue to develop technology and maximize its use in the classroom. Even the use of composing with the web itself  is a fascinating concept that is not far from within our minds reach.

I feel that I am prepared to write using multimedia. This class has helped me to develop my knowledge and skills in this area. Technology is constantly changing and there will always be new concepts and resources to  to discover. Even as an Educator the learning process continues and there are new things to learn about all the time. Teaching my students this concept is a an important lesson. This is a tool they will need to have to be successful in the future. If they have already began the learning process it is still important to constantly teach them new concepts. This is something that my students will know and utilize in their assignments. It has become a major part of the learning and schooling process.

Carly's Blog Post
The assignment she was given was to create her own blog post. She did a great and creative job. I loved her idea of creating a playlist with useful resources as a future educator. She also talked about writing why she wanted to be come a teacher and what her philosophies as a teacher are. The videos portray these ideas in a visual way and give many resources that she can utilize. She did a great job utilizing Dr. Millers idea of multimedia writing. She used the Internet to research her topic and used videos to illustrate her ideas. Her ideas are published online and freely accessed by others as well. This is a great example of multimedia writing.

Student Videos
The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies were both very creative and useful videos. The video about chipper shows the importance of self learning and being motivated which are the ultimate goals for success. When you procrastinate or give up easily it leads to nothing but disappointment and failure. We have to give it our all and teach ourselves the skills needed in order to become successful educators. The video about EDM310 for dummies stresses the need and value in tutorials that show you how to use different websites and social media. We need to learn how to accurately use technology in order to be effective educators. These videos were great and I really enjoyed them. They really helped me to stimulate some of my own ides about future projects. One idea would be to create a video that is set up like a game show. You could ask the children questions and then have them interact and give you the answers. This would be a great tool to help in studying for tests that are coming up. It would entertain and engage the students.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
This video was really insightful and it gives some great thoughts on what needs to be changed in our Education system today. It made some great points about some aspects that we should consider in our schools. We need to focus on enrichment and build a learning community to help the children grow and be prepared for the future. As teachers we need to connect globally with other teachers and build a learning community to lead the way for our students. Technology is becoming more advanced and in order to assist students with their success in the future we need to maximize the utilization of this in their schooling. Its not about just teaching facts to be memorized for a test. We want them to learn how to understand context, synthesize ideas, communicate and collaborate on information, and use problem solving skills. Connecting them to all of this and different opportunities is the ultimate preparation for their success in the future. I do however believe that it is still the job of the teacher to teach the students and be their guide. Technology is an important tool, but could never replace a teacher all together.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0 
1) The social network, Edmodo is similar to Facebook and Twitter. This site is designed to help students and parents stay connected with teachers. I could use this to post assignments, special dates, and even announcements. It would allow me to have an easy way to communicate with parents about their child's progress. The parents can be a part of what their child is learning and know what is happening in the classroom. I can also poll students and teachers for information to help make my class and website more successful.
2) The presentation was most likely created using Prezi. This is a free program and can make an ordinary presentation become exciting. It makes it more visual and appealing to the audience. For students and teachers they offer a special deal of only $59/ year for the EDU Pro version. This is a great resource that can be utilized in the classroom.
3) I used the tool Poll Everywhere to create a poll that anyone can vote on at any time. There is even a code where you can text in a response using a mobile device. This is a really cool site and it is free to use.

Create your own sms poll at Poll Everywhere

Make your own poll voting question with Poll Everywhere