My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

Hey guys! This semester has gone by pretty fast. I wish all of you luck on your finals and passing this class! Have a GREAT summer!

What Have I Learned?

I did not realize that our world is becoming this big ball of technology. I did not realize how far behind I was because of these technological advances. I have learned many ways in which technology could be used for educational purposes in the classroom at any age.

Things I have learned:
How to create a website
What is a blog and how to use it
Educational usage for iPods
Creating a trifold brochure
What RSS feeds are
HTML
Tags

I did enjoy the few videos I did watch. They were very helpful. Instead of just having to read the directions, I had a visual/audio to go by. It made my review easier. This could have been helpful to me too had I missed a day of class.

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is not a resource that I would let my students use. This site allows its users to edit the information on the site. The Wikipedia Scanner is used to keep tabs on who goes onto Wikipedia and changes or adds information. This is good, but this doesn't make the website anymore trustworthy or reliable. The scanner just shows that a particular page has been edited, but it still doesn't make the information posted accurate. If it was more reliable, this site would be great, because the information is always frequently updated. I would ask tell my students to use other websites that are more reliable. There are professors that will not accept Wikipedia as an Internet resource.

iTunes University (Growth vs. Fixed Minds)

The video explains the importance of knowing the difference between growth and fixed mindsets. It goes on to tell us that there are basically two types of students, those with fixed mindsets and those with growth mindsets. Students with fixed mindsets believe that they each have a certain amount of intelligence, and they will often pick activities that they can show off in. This is the group that goes around wanting to be smart. Other students with growth mindsets believe that intelligence is developed and can increase. This group wants to learn and is eager to learn.
An eight session study was done to explain growth mindsets. The students were broken up into two different groups. Group one was given study skills only. Group two was given growth mindsets and study skills. Researchers saw that group one had a steady decline in their grades, because there was no motivation to put into practice. Group two had a "rebound" in their grades, because they knew that they could increase intellectual skills.
The study showed that their is a connection between growth mindset and optimal performance level. The video also said that students with growth mindsets can admit mistakes and overcome them. We could not keep up with the changing world if we could not grow and learn. It also said that a person cannot be a good manager without having a growth mindset.
As teachers, we have to realize that some of our students are going to have a fixed mindset. It is going to be up to us to open their minds and give them everything they need to develop a growth mindset. Motivation is mentioned in the video also. We can't just give students the study skills only. We have to motivate them to want to learn, to grow, and to do better. Just like the video says, growth mindsets are needed to keep up with the changing world.

iTunes University (WGBH Teacher's Domain)

There were videos after videos available for teachers to use. These videos would be great tools for teachers to consider using in the classroom. Teachers could use them as a backup resource when teaching a particular subject or as a video for the class to view to help them better understand what the teacher is talking about. The videos give teachers other options in teaching a lesson instead of just using the regular text book. The videos are short and informational which means it would not take up too much time to view and discuss.

I watched "What Is A Planet" under the Grades K-5 category of the Teacher's Domain videos. In the video, astronomers believe that there may be more planets out there. We may have between 12 or 13 planets out there. A possible planet was discovered in 2005. There were at least 13 planets back in the 1800s. The count of planets was higher then than it is today. An official definition of a planet was not created until August of 2006. Things with tails are called comets. A planet is a body that orbits a star, has enough mass to create its own gravity, has a round shape, and has cleared it's neighborhood. Pluto is not considered a planet because it has not cleared it's neighborhood. Pluto has not cleared the area around its orbit, because it crosses paths with Neptune.

This video would be great to use in a science class when talking about the solar system. It tells about asteroids, comets, and our planets. Not only is it an educational video but it provides different pictures or scenes for students to follow along to. This is good for students who are verbal and/or visual learners. The only problem I had was when the video would pause or skip around. It may be because of the buffering system. I would worry that it would shorten students' attention span.