I found a video podcast for kindergarten. It was so cute and such a great idea in order for parents to see their children at school and interacting with other children. This particular video podcast was of Mrs. Bradley’s kindergarten class acting out with music, “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Some of the students were spiders, some rain, and some the sun. They were having such a fun time! Mrs. Bradley had podcasts and video podcasts of her elementary class. The podcasts were of cheers.

This idea is great! I would love to create podcasts and video podcasts of my classes in the future. I will be teaching elementary and I know as a parent myself that I would love to be able to experience some of what my children do at school. These would be keepsakes for me.

The podcasts with just the audio were a good idea but I really like the video casts. The video casts were more personal because you could see the students and see how much fun they were having singing and acting out the song as a group.

I also found Mrs. Bradley’s Kindergarten Young Fives blog which also had the link to the video cast that I watched at iTunes along with others. This blog can be viewed at Mrs.Bradley's Kindergarten Class.

My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

Hey Everybody! We have made it through this semester of EDM 310, YAY!!!!!

Last Post

Did I learn anything in this class this semester? Well, of course I did. There shouldn't be anyone that didn't learn anything. I would have to say that the most important thing that I have learned is to ALWAYS save my work to my flash drive in case of an unfortunate event like your computer crashing. Lots of people don't think that their computer will crash and get so caught up in what they are doing that they don't save along the way. I am here to tell you that it can happen and it did happen to me. I can laugh about it now but it wasn't funny at the time.

I have learned things about Microsoft Word that I did not know and I have been able to use things that I have learned in this class in other classes. I have learned to save pictures from the internet to my flash drive and then insert them into documents or presentations. Sounds simple but before this class, I only knew how to copy and paste and sometimes that doesn't work. I also learned how to edit hyperlinks which also seems simple now but not if you have no idea where to start.

The first go around with Excel, I have to admit, I was lost but the second go around I was able to understand and learn more. I do have more to learn about Excel but I believe, with practice, I will get it.

My power point presentation at the beginning of the semester was just a simple version of a presentation. I had completed presentations in the past for other courses. I actually learned a lot about power point by completing the end of the semester assignment. I learned that there are so many tools that can be used in a presentation, the biggest thing to learn about power point is knowing where to find what you are looking for.

Before this semester, the only time I saw the word "blog" was on myspace. I had never created a blog or made a blog post or even read a blog. I have learned that blogs are widely used. Professors, Instructors, Teachers, Parents Schools, students of all ages, etc. have been exposed to blogs. You can even find blogs on different subjects and topics of interest.

As far as podcasts, they are interesting. I listened to podcasts this semester where the different people were all in different states. Lessons can be presented by a number of speakers without them having to meet in any particular place.

I knew befor this semester that technology has advanced and continues to advance dramatically but just exactly how dramatically wasn't apparent to me before this course.

I honestly can not think of anything that I would have liked to learn in this class but didn't. I learned a whole lot, I just hope I can remember it all. i do beleive that the best way for me to learn anything in this class was most definitely by doing it.

We covered so much this semester in this course, I don't know how anything else could possibly be added. I can't think of anything that should be added. The things that we did cover were the "basics" and with anything you can also go more in depth but I beleive by learning how to get started, learning the details will come with practice.

The Edible School Yard

The edible school yard is about Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkely California. These sixth grade students are planting, harvesting, and eating. The garden and the adjacent kitchen act as learning labs for social studies, math, science, and life. THe garden is the center of teaching but is only part of what also goes on in the classroom.

In my opinion, because this is a hands on type of learning and the students are doing it themselves they are learning and remembering what they are learning. These students are able to tell you what they are learning and give their own mini lessons.

These students are also using cooperative learning. Some of the students are stronger in math and some in the science part of it and when they work together they are able to make better sense of everything.

When the garen was started is was to provide healthier food in the cafeteria, it was said in that, "if they grow it, they want to eat it." These children are also learning things that children use to learn at home with their families. This home learning most times is not still taking place. The students are not only seeing but they are making it happen. I personally observed how much the studens love and appreciate many aspects of their schoolyard garden.

More on what works in education can be found at edutopia

From the Apple.com site I found this on iTunes U; “Learning no longer happens only at a desk. Students now expect constant access to information, no matter where they are. Which is exactly why more and more faculty are using iTunes U to distribute digital lessons to their students.”

Teachers are using iLife and iWork applications to create customized ed. Materials. For example, language lessons that students can listen to on the bus or at home. With the help of things like Podcast Producer and Wiki Server, IT professionals at schools can help produce and distribute all kinds of multimedia content on iTunes U or a class wiki.

Once your classroom presentations and lectures have been captured and published, students can download them from iTunes. Then they can transfer them to iPod or iPhone and take it all with them. Any place can be a place to learn. iTunesU

I think iTunes U could be a very useful educational tool. iPods are a big deal for most students and for them to be able to access their lessons on their iPods would also be very useful to them as well. As for teachers, having students download their lessons onto their iPods will cut down on repetition. If a student is absent on the day that a teachers went over a particular lesson, they can download it to their iPod and then there you go. I wish I would have had this type of availability when I was in high school.

A video on iTunes U can also be found at iTunesU.

iPods in instruction

Presently, an increasing number of professors at various universities and colleges are experimenting with making lectures and study materials available to students via iPods and other MP3 players. Some K-12 educators and schools have also started using the iPod to enhance their curriculum and to support learning objectives in content areas such as – mathematic, science, reading, foreign language, and
history among others.

Duke University was the 1st to provide iPods to all incoming freshmen.
About 75 percent of freshmen surveyed said they used the iPods for their academic work. Some of the most popular student uses included recording lectures, taking oral notes, and even using the devices to create electronic flash cards.
But at the same time, some of the students said that while the iPods have potential in the classroom, they are still underutilized. According to the survey both students and faculty said more specific ideas of iPod use in the classroom were needed. Some also complained of the inability to share files from iPod to iPod. This info was found and more info can be found at iPods as well as iPods

Alice Christie

How can Alice Christies site be useful in teaching? It can be very useful. She has many useful tools on her site. From How to topics to an Educational tech guide. I would say that any time I have a uestion about something to do with teachnology I could probably find the answer on this site which can be found at AliceChristie.

This site of Alice Christie has many publications. These publications are a sort of How to on different topics about teachnology and using it in the classrroom. There are topics such as "Teachnology to Enhance Literacy in Elementary School Teacher" and "It's Elementary! Using Electronic Portfolios with Young Students." There is a list of these type publications that can be read for help.

Alice Christie also had an Educational Tech guide along with a video that can be viewed at AliceChristie.
This tech guide has topics such as "Discovering Art in a Web 2.0 World," "Constructivism," "Digital Media and Photo," "Instant Messaging," and "Internet Safety."

This is a very educational video for teachers as well as parents and students on different topics in different subject areas. I would definitely recommend this site just as it was recommended to me