Plusses and Minuses of Blogs

After having to do my own blog and reading the one of Amelia Perkins I become to think that blogs have more pluses than minuses. When we first started this class I didn't really know what a blog was let alone how to use one. Through this course though it has gave me the opportunity to share views on various podcast assignments as well as our other assignments.

Some of the pluses of blogging is being able to communicate with others in your class as well as others around the world. I know that by us having to find others blogs about different schools and various other things it has opened a whole new view for me. I didn't realize blogs were so popular. Blogging also serves as a good tool for teachers to use with their students. Blogs allow students to communicate with their teachers, check assignments, as well as posting homework assignments for the students. I could go on and on about the pluses of blogging.

I don't think their are many minuses about blogging. Maybe one problem you may run into is that you don't know how to use the blogs or are unfamiliar with a computer. Blogs for the most part are very beneficiary to students and I really feel they are a good tool.

As a future educator I believe I will be using blogs in my classroom. We have already had to set up our "Teaching Tools" blog and I think I will continue to update it and allow my students and their parents to access it. Blogs are an easy way to keep in contact with your parents and keep them involved with whats going on with their children.

Duke University

I listened to the podcast "The South in Black and White". I really liked this particular podcast. To me it seems like the podcast was put on to get students to enroll in this particular class about the south in black and white. This class was in to me setup in response to the Duke Lacrosse incident that happened.

In this class they are going to be discussing the history of the South. How things are complicated because of race and to for the students to realize we are all citizens together. We are to realize who we really are so that we can succeed together.

For the students to better understand the history different speakers are being brought in. One particular person that is coming was going to put on a play so the students could discuss race, sex, and the differences between them. A lot of other different Southern story tellers would also be coming to the class to speak.

I think it is important as a future educator for us to be open to the different races, elasticities, and sexes. We all can succeed and should all be treated fairly.

EDM310 Podcasts

I listened to four podcast from the Tuesday/Thursday 2:00 class. I first podcast that i listened to was my own, "YouTube as a educational tool." I think that our podcast could have been a lot better. We were kind of all over the place with our podcast. We were not organized at all and jumped from point to point throughout the entire podcast.

The second podcast I listened to was "Technology Used at USA." I felt that this podcast was just basically read from a script. It was a good overall presentation and gave good examples of the technology used at South Alabama and in parts was quite funny. I just feel they should have relaxed more and been more open and less scripted.

The third podcast I listened to was "Facebook as a Educational Tool." This presentation was really funny but a little short. I thought that the way Larrica asked most of the questions and Theola answered them was a very good technique. I felt that the podcast was a little dry and at times the two needed to speak a little louder.

The last podcast I listened to was "Burp Back Education." This podcast was also very well put. I think that it could have been a little better organized like the one i mentioned early but overall it was very good and very interesting. I think that all of the podcast went really well and I enjoyed listening to them.

Technology in Mathematics

In these two podcast Judy Chandler is a math teacher that thinks that using technology with math is a great tool. Using technology with math gives the students experiences that can be useful for preparing for upcoming tests. Using technology provides immediate feedback for students and gives them a hand on experience. Also in her podcast she mentions how students learn more by using critical thinking skills. When students think they can remember and retain more information.

Using podcast like this one as well as others in other subject areas is very useful in teaching. I think that by giving the students technology to learn by they want to put and give more into their studies. In iTunes their are a lot of useful podcast like this one in different subject areas. I hope that when I become a teacher i will be able to find podcast useful to my students.

"Growth" vs "Fixed" Minds

This video podcast was about have a "Fixed" or "Growth" mind set. A "fixed" mind set is where the individual thinks that intelligence is based on certain amounts. Before these individuals can do a task they have to think whether they look smart or not before completing it. They think about what they have and how much is their intelligence is going to show. The "growth" mind set individuals think that you can develop and have more intelligence, its not fixed.

In this podcast Carol Dweck discusses a study that was performed on students in an eight week workshop. In this workshop there were two sets of groups. One group got taught strictly study skills while the other group got taught study skills and the growth mind set. The students that were in the first group of strictly study skills showed little improvement and had much lower grades. The second group who were taught growth mind set came out on top. This group had a better understanding that the brain is a muscle and every time you use this muscle it gets stronger. They learned to apply what they being taught unlike the other group with the "fixed" mind set.

Carol Dweck also talked about how in the business world you have to have the "growth" mind set. You have to be open to new skills and be able to handle the ever changing world. Without a "growth" mind set you can't handle the changing world we live in today.

This discussion affects me as a teacher because my students need to have a "growth" mind set and I need to make sure of it. To be a student with a "fixed" mind set I think it would be harder for them to adjust to things that are going on and in general a harder life. You can't live trying to think all the time "Am I going to look smart enough doing this or does my intelligence show." With the "growth" mind set you have the opportunity to develop new skills and be more relaxed when something comes about.