Blog Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today  
I think in most cases this video was spot on representing the classroom setting in colleges today.  I did not really have this particular problem until I went to a four year university.  My first two years was completed at a community college.  It was a smaller atmosphere were there was maybe thirty to thirty five students in a classroom.  The teachers seemed to really want to know who you were for the most part.  I can not think of particular teacher that made me feel they were unapproachable or they did not care.  It was when I transferred to a four year university, not the University of South Alabama, that I could relate my college experience to this video.  I thought it was crazy that to my professors I was just a number, or a folder on the table.  I felt I was wasting my money because I was not really getting anything out of my classes.  I did not like the system so much that I ended up taking a break and regrouped to figure things out.
I thought the video was great the only thing I would have added to it would be to go to different areas of the college.  I think it would have been a good shot to see someone actually buying there books and showing how much they cost.  The campus library would be a good area to shot to see what the students were having to study and for how long because they didn't understand what the professor was talking about.  You could even go to a students place of work to see how many hours they work to pay for their education.  I think it is a great topic that should be addressed more.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
I thought Mrs. Hines post was very true.  I particularly liked the part about how learning and teaching are not the same thing.  A teacher can talk all day long about a particular topic and the if the students did not comprehend what was being taught then the students didn't learn anything.   I agree with the comment that she said about how teaching in the 21st century will be about working smarter, not harder.  I think there is a lot of truth to that.  
When Mrs. Hines wrote that good teachers must also be good learners it made me think.  Of course I know as educators we will always be learning new things, but I was kind of only thinking inside of the box about that topic.  I think it is a great point that we will need to know where our students come from.  Now that I think about it, it is very important to stay up to date with trends of the time, and what new thing is out there that the students want.  I think if we do these things then we could be more relateable to the students as a whole.
The topic on how technology is useless without good teaching is a very important point.  A teacher can have all of the new technology equipment out there but if they do not know how to get the lesson across to the class then it is useless.  If you already have a great lesson why not enhance it by using technology.  Lets face it students today love to use technology, but I don't think teachers should use it as a crutch for there lessons because they don't know how to teach the topic.


Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?  
I had never thought of technology in the way that Karl Fisch wrote about.  Now that I have read this my thinking has changed.  I have always been one of those people to say I don't like technology, and now that I think about it, it seems more like that I didn't understand how to use technology.  After reading this I have realized that technology is not going anywhere so I might as well learn all I can about it.
I think it is a good point on how being technology illiterate today is comparable to not being able to read and write in the 20th century.  I think it is important as educators that not only do we become educated in the technology field but we stay up to date with it as well.  So to answer the question "Is It Okay To Be A Technology Illiterate Teacher?"  I would have to say in the 21st century no it is not okay.  We have to learn all areas of education and technology should be one of them.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
I personally think it is amazing how fast the Social Media Count grew in a matter of seconds.  I think social media is useful in a lot of different areas for example getting information, staying in contact with people, or even keeping up with what is going on in the world.  As for what does this mean for my career I think it means I need to stay up to date with the technology world.  If these are the thing my students are using on a daily bases then I should become familiar with them.

  
  

Blog Post 2

Did You Know?
My first overall reaction to this video was WOW.  I think it is so fascinating how fast the technology industry has grown, and is still growing.  I think the world as a whole now has the thought process of you do not have to wait for anything anymore.  I think a lot of that has to do with the development of technology; just with a touch of a button you can find, buy, download, etc... anything you wish.  I think technology is a great thing as a whole, but I can't help to wonder what life will be like in the future.  Being an education major it makes me wonder if in the future if we would even have schools or would classrooms become video based.  
My second reaction to this video was when I realized how far behind I am in the technology world.  Watching this video I realized there is so much I need to learn about this industry not only because I the students I teach will have every new thing out there, but I need to keep up with the expansion of the technology industry because it seems that everything is moving to that direction.  Overall this video was a complete eye opener for me.

Mr.Winkle Wakes
I thought the Mr. Winkle Wakes video was great.  I love how it highlighted how most of the industries of the world have updated there methods with the time.  I also had a light bulb moment when it went to the school segment of the video.  We all know that schools are behind in the technology world, but I wonder if maybe students grades would overall improve if we brought technology into the classroom more.  I think that only makes sense because today's students use technology on a daily bases.  Students today would rather play basketball on a video game than go outside and play the real thing.  I can't say I agree with this but maybe the education world should keep up with the times to help prepare the students for what they are going to be getting into.
This video made me wonder what we would see if we woke up one hundred years from now.  The ideas are endless on what we think the world would be like.  I can remember being and middle school and having dial-up internet and at that time it was okay.  Now though, if it takes our computer screens longer to load than we would like we become upset.  Looking back just a couple of years I never would have thought I would be depending on technology so much, but then I guess everyone depends on it now.  It makes me wonder if one day we will be saying to our students back in our day we had to use pencil and paper to do our class work.


Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
I really enjoyed this video.  I totally agree with what he was saying.  I believe that schools today focus mainly on the students state testing grades, and if there students are achieving in the four main subject areas. It is sad to say but a lot of schools don' t really bother with any of the arts.  Don't get me wrong I think it is important to know Math, Science, Language, and History, but I think it is equally important to not squash a child's creativity side.  I do not see anything wrong with incorporating the students creativity into the classroom.  I might be wrong but I don't know anywhere where it says that the student must only read the book, take notes, and recite it on a test.  I think as teachers we need to embrace students creativity instead of enabling it.
I know personally going through school I still remember things taught to me years ago by teachers who let me use my creative side on the assignment.  I can also tell you in the classes that the teacher just read out of a book and we took notes and then took a test, I can't even remember what the teachers name was or even really remember what the class was.  I hope that when I do become a teacher that I embrace a students creativity instead of telling them it is unacceptable.  You never know you might be teaching the next Shakespeare or Michelangelo.


Cecelia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson 
I think this was a great interview given buy Cecelia Gault.  This shows us that children are very capable of doing a lot of different thing if just given the opportunity.  I think I can hopefully give all of my students a great education by embracing who they are.  If a student relates to music more than books maybe I could find songs related to the topic.  No two people are alike and sometimes we will have to figure some alternative ways of teaching to help our students achieve there greatest potential.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts                                              I really liked Vicki's statement on how only certain students learn from pencil and paper assignments all of the time.  I really liked how even though the school she taught at was in a small rural area her and her students were still connected with people all over the world.  The things these students can learn are endless.  The students in her class also seem to be gaining so much from this class.
When I watched this I couldn't help but think what if more schools had this program in place at there own school.  It seems that it could help the students with becoming more technology educated in there schools and in there everyday life.  Being that the world itself is moving more and more to the technology side of things I think it is so important to have classes like this in place.

Blog Post 1

Hello Everyone!

My name is Shaska Crabtree, and this is my second semester attending here at the University of South Alabama. I am an Elementary Education major, and I will be graduating in the Fall of 2012. I am very excited about the profession I have chosen and I hope I will be able to make a difference in a child's life one day.

I am the next to the youngest sibling out of five; I have three brothers and a sister. I grew up in Ocean Springs, MS. I have moved eight times in the last eight years. Last year my husband Lance, myself, and our Black Labrador Poseidon all moved to Fort Worth, TX for my husband's graduate school, which now has brought us to Mobile for his clinical rotations. I say everything happens for a reason. I do not know where I would like to work when I am finished with school, but I do know it would probably be by the water.

I love anything that pretty much involves outdoor activities. Running is my true passion though; I have been a runner since I was in the seventh grade. I hope to complete my first half marathon or full marathon this year. I think there is nothing better in the world though than being on the beach with my husband and my dog.