Blog Post #10

In John T. Spencer's blog Adventures in Pencil Integration he uses a cartoon that is Papermate vs Ticonderoga. The cartoon states that the pencil costs less but breaks all the time, where as Ticonderoga is the most expensive. Yes, pencils break all the time but they are cheap and can easily be replaced. Technology is expensive and not every school can afford it. I believe that we do not need to forget the use of the pencil because what if a bad hurricane comes and the power is out for months? There would be no internet connection, so the students would have to use pencils! Technology is a GREAT tool, but there always needs to be a back up plan when it fails; in this case it is the pencil. 

In Mr. Spencer's post Why Were Your Kids Playing Games he demonstrates a teacher and principal's confrontation. The principle seems to be strict, and has to have everything by the rule book. The teacher is trying a new method of teaching and the principle refers to it as "games". However, it is not games the teacher is making the students read and draw out their scenarios. the principle stated, "If you want to abandon slate-based learning, at least try the Jonestown Intervention worksheets. Or maybe fill out the packets of algorithms." 
 The teacher wants the kids to think outside the box and really learn something. I think that is great!

Dont Teach your kids this stuff. please?
In Dr. McLeod's blog he lists numerous of reason as to why people are so against technology, and at the end is states that he let's his child use it all. He also dares the audience to see who has the upper leg in a decade or two! His sarcasm was great and it made the blog interesting. Technology is a GREAT tool, and when used properly students will benefit tremendously!!
Dr. McLeod is a very important man, who seems to have MANY accomplishments.He has received numerous national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, the National School Boards Association, and the Center for Digital Education. What a great, successful man!

Short Movie Project #11

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fbmj7fxayBw

Project #14

Project #12

Blog Post #9

What I've Learned This Year (year 1)
In this post Mr. McClung  gave to me what was great advice, on what he learned during his first year of teaching! He was young, inexperienced, and did not know what to expect. Mr. McClung's first point was, how to read the crowd, it was here that he explained that at first he was too worried about what his superiors thought of him. By doing so, Mr. McClung said that he lost touch with his audience when delivering his lesson. He made a statement in this section that I agree with completely, "In order to be effective you have to be able to let your audience drive your instruction".
Mr. McClung's next point was BE FLEXIBLE! In this section of his post he explains how NO ONE and NO lesson plan is just absolutely perfect. We as teachers can try our best, and beat our self up over every mistake, but at the end of the day it still will not be perfect. Mr. McClung said, "When things go wrong simply work with it, and try to better the situation....and make sure you do it with a smile on your face!". What a positive guy! We have all had/have that teacher who HAS to have EVERY little thing absolutely perfect, but this guy UNDERSTANDS things go wrong and NO ONE is perfect! Oh what I would do to have a teacher as positive as him.
Another part of Mr. McClung's blog was Communicate and Be Reasonable. I agree COMPLETELY when he says that communication is the best medicine. There are not many problems in life that can be solved without communication. As for being reasonable, Mr. McClung states that teachers have very high standards for their students, BUT as teachers you do not need to set them too high.  Mr. McClung explains, "They are not perfect and neither are we," he also says, " Our job as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." EVERY teacher needs to live by this. I am not saying baby your students, but there is a line between being rude and scolding for mistakes. Again, NO ONE IS PERFECT. Students of ALL ages need POSITIVE teachers. Where there is a positive environment, the students are willing to try harder.
Mr. McClung talks about the older generation being scared of technology, but then he explains it just takes time to learn. You are not going to learn everything your first try, but you should not be afraid. Technology is a huge, and growing part in our society today!
He also explains just how important it is to listen to your students. Mr. McClung states, "In order to build the respect that we all seek in a student teacher relationship, it is important to take interest in the lives of our students." Growing up in school I can remember EVERY single teacher who genuinely cared. They were the ones who listened, who sympathized, and who helped. Those were the classes I did best in, not the classes were the teacher put an assignment on the board and walked away. I believe every teacher should care about their student and his or her success.
Mr. McClung's last point was Never Stop Learning! He explains how we owe it to our students to soak up as much as we can. It is never too late to change our way of thinking, learning, and style.

I am SO glad I chose to read this blog. What terrific advice from just a first year teacher! Mr. McClung seems to be such a fantastic, positive, and understanding teacher. I wish more educators were like him, and I only hope I can be at least half the teacher he is.

What I've Learned This Year (volume 4)
In Mr. McClung's forth year of teaching he has learned two main things. First he began to "commit a junior high like sin" and worry about what his peers think of him, and by doing so this effected his mood. It sadly took him half of the year to realize this. Mr. McClung realized he needed to stick with what has gotten this far; which was "are the kids having fun". As long as he sticks to this, remember who he really works for, then he says he should never divert down the wrong path.
Another main thing Mr.McClung learned was to challenge himself  He realized he was relying on old lesson plans and getting repetitive. Let's be honest, we all have/had that teacher who does the same thing EVERY year and no one enjoys that! He began to get too comfortable and lazy with his lessons, and students want a teacher that is going to break out new material and make learning interesting! Mr. McClung has an opportunity to teach a different subject this year, and he plans to take this as a chance to get out of his funk and challenge himself.

Years later, and it sounds to me like Mr. McClung still has that wonderful drive in him! I am so very thankful for his blog, and his wonderful advice inside it!

C4T #3

Paula White

In Ms. Paula White's blog A Letter to Authors of Children's Books she stated that there is an iPod available for every child to check out, but the iPad is reserved for the teachers. However, the problem is the electronic books are too expensive. Ms. White explains how she is a bargain shopper, and does everything she can to find cheap e-books.  She wants the authors to lower their prices, and she guarantees that the author will get recognized more if they do this for just ONE of their books. Ms.White would really like the author's to consider lowering their price. 

I think that it is awesome that the school has the funds for that many iPods! I know of schools in Walker County that does not have access to technology like this. I agree with Ms. White in authors needing to lower their prices. It will benefit the children tremendously, because they will have that many more e-books to read.

School Right Before Winter Holiday Break

In this post Ms. White explains how her week has just been overwhelming. Everyone is coming in with treats, programs are lasting longer than they are suppose to, and she promised "play time" that hasn't made its way around yet. Through all of these events going on every thing seems to just magically fall into place.  Students she had from five years ago left her a "We Notice" surprise in her mailbox. A "We Notice" is someone saying thank you for noticing me, helping me, or others in some way. During play time one of her student requested to write on the computer and finally, the student gave Ms. White what she had been writing. It was a letter to the SPCA people. This student wanted to help raise money for them! How precious is that?! Ms. White even had a student request to stay in from recess to finish a test rather than wait until he comes back from the holiday break! 

I don't know personally how overwhelming teaching can be at times, but this post made me realize some things. No matter how long and crazy your day/week has been, I am sure there are "little things" that will stand out like these did to Ms. White, and make all the craziness better! I cannot wait to be a teacher!

C4T #2

Closing Thoughts
When I read Mr. Jelias blog post. I was very amazed at how one guy can have such a great attitude and positive outlook on things. This man was a middle school principle for three years. He is now taking a new job offer, and will no longer be blogging. It is kind of sad, because just through reading his one post I was very inspired. Mr. Jelias went into great detail throughout his post on 5 characteristics of an effective principle. His main points were: Vision, Strength, Humility, Spirit, and Patience.
He explained how one cannot simply just have a vision, but that you had to make the vision a reality.
When talking about strength Mr. Jelias talked about pushing forward. There will always be Nay- Sayers out there, and not every one will be on bored with you. Growing up my coaches always said to the team " If all of ya'll like me 100% of the time, I'm not doing something right!". This goes along with Mr. Jelias post, people may not be happy, but chances are if they all are then you are pushing them hard enough.  He talked about humility and reminded every one that you cannot do everything on your own and you probably would not want to. What really brought a smile to my face was when I read this: "A core belief of mine that I’ve shared before is, “We take our work very seriously, but never ourselves.” Have fun. Joke. Laugh a lot, especially at yourself. "

Wow. What a great attitude to have!  Another eye opener for me was when Mr. Jelias wrote about patience. He stated, "You won't always get it right, but be willing to reflect frequently and adjust as needed." Every student or hard worker out there needs to be reminded of this statement. No one is perfect, there will be bumps in the road, but in the end it is how you recover from your trials that will make you the great teacher you are.

Project 8