Assignment 12

Mr. Chamberlain's Blog

Very sweet! Who would have ever dreamed a group of eighth graders in Missouri would be contacting a 3 year old in Quatar? It amazes me when I see what technology can do. I really thought it was nice the way they made her a voice thread since she isn't able to read. It was a very creative way for them to stay connected and made it much more personal I'm sure Kaia is learning a lot about technology this way. This just goes to show that you're never too young to use and become familiar with technology.

Kaia and Skyelar's Blog

After reading a book called The Last Child in the Woods, Kaia's dad thought it was very important for them to spend time outside getting fresh air, observing nature, and exploring. I too think that most of our children in school today are suffering from "nature deficit disorder". I thoroughly enjoyed reading the girls' blog and looking at the pictures Kaia had taken. The use of technology was very creative in this blog, but these parents are teaching so many other very important lessons at a very young age. Although the land where they live is barren and littered, they still found plenty of beauty by taking a deeper look and teaching their children to look for a unique quality in everything they see.

Singing Hearts

I think this is an excellent use of technology and the connections made were fascinating. This is evidence of putting the internet to great use. What an amazing way to explore other cultures and other areas of the world. Just like a virtual field trip. At the end of Kaia's father's post he asks the question," Is the risk of exposing ourselves and our children online worth the connections that will be made and the lessons that will be learned?"As a mother of two, I am constantly publishing photos on Facebook of my children. I feel almost like it is a journal of my life. I share my trials and tribulations with others and they are able to respond and share their similar experiences. I like the connections that are made . I think that the online world is much safer than many of the risks in the real world. Therefore, I don't see the problem in exposing oneself or children for the sake of learning new information. Kaia's blog was provoking and I am inspired to offer the same connections with my children and future students.

Comments 4 Kids Week 12
A Big Fish by Aaron in the year one class at the PT England School













I caught a big fish with my fishing rod. By Aaron. (Dictated to the teacher)
Hi Aaron,
My name is Sherik Butler and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. I love your drawing. You are very talented. My favorite thing to do when I was little was to go fishing with my dad too. We have lots of places to fish where I am from in Mobile, AL. Do you like to eat fish also? Keep up the great work! Tell your teacher she can check out my blog at http://butlersherikedm310.blogspot.com

Project 7 Vocaroo - Voice Thread

I chose to comment on a classmate's post for my Vocaroo voice thread. The classmate's name is Charla Reese and I commented on her post about ALEX on week 9. You may press the arrow to listen.

Assignment 10

An Open Letter to Educators by Morgan Bayda



Morgan Bayda is an early childhood education major who is ready for changes when it comes to institutional learning. She says her classes where the professor lectures for two and a half hours, assigns readings, and requires memorization of facts that are not relevant in today's society in which all of the information is right at our fingertips. She compares these classes to her Ed computer class which is a lot like ours in which she uses multimedia tools to collaborate and respond to educators all over the world. She posted Dan Brown's video in which he dropped out of college because he said that his "schooling is interfering with his education."

I am not a typical college student, I am taking this course for professional development. I graduated over 13 years ago. After reading this post, it sounds like college hasn’t changed a lot since I was in school. I agree with her and Dan Brown that institutional learning is quickly changing with technology and the monetary value of it is decreasing. As a mother of two whose children will be in college at the same time, I am hoping that college will be free – or a lot cheaper than it is now when they enter. I agree that institutional education needs to enter the 21st century. It is a change that will take time to adjust. Most will prefer the black and white, right and wrong method. The new offers lots of ambiguity which can scare some people – probably the teachers more than the students.

However, I would not have traded my college education for anything. I am so glad that online courses were not prevalent when I went to school. My education was extremely enjoyable. I loved sitting there and listening and learning from many of my professors. I loved all of the people I met as well. People from all over the world, who I still keep up with today. I prefer face to face interaction. The whole objective of college was to make me an independent learner and prepare me for being a responsible adult. Although there were some courses that seemed boring and irrelevant to me at the time, as a whole it showed my employer that I would be a hard working employee and have the ability to learn and be adaptable to whatever training I were to receive.

Comment 4 Kids Week 10

This week I was assigned to a student named Leo in Mrs. Kolbert's class. He posted a picture and called it My Dead Kitten. I can imagine this was very hard for him. I am glad that he was able to post this picture and share his grief. This must have been very hard for a child this young. I was unable to find out his age, but my guess is he is in a K-2 class. I left the following comment on his page:

Hi Leo,
I am a student in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I am so sorry to hear about your kitten. That must have been terribly sad. It is very hard to lose a pet. The picture you posted of him is adorable. I bet he was very special, and I am glad you were able to share this with everyone. If you or your teacher would like, you can check out my blog at http://butlersherikedm310.blogspot.com.

Comment 4Teachers Assignment Weeks 10, 11 & 12

For this assignment I have been assigned to comment on a teacher named Jen Deyenberg. She is a grade 5 teacher. She lives in Southern Alberta, Canada. Her website is as follows: http://trailsoptional.wordpress.com

Week 10
This week they used a program called Prezi to create digital storytelling presentations. This is the comment I left:

Hi Ms. Deyenbergs,
My name is Sherik Butler and I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. We are located in Mobile, AL. I am assigned to follow your blog for the next three weeks. I have never heard of Prezi until now. What a wonderful way to motivate the students to write and publish digitally. I can imagine it is very motivating and fun for them to do. I love the creative aspect of it as well. The examples you provided were excellent and I bet they enjoyed presenting them to everyone. Thank you for your posts and for sharing your thoughts and ideas with others. Your posts will help spark the imagination of current and future teachers everywhere. Please check out my blog at: http://butlersherikedm310.blogspot.com

Week 11
This week she attended and presented at a technology conference. She posted numerous sites on her blog that I added to my delicious account. They will be very useful for me when I return to the classroom.

Dear Ms. Deyenberg,
The list of resources you posted are great! Thanks for sharing them. I thought the blabberize was really cute. This list will help me when I return to teaching. I can imagine the students would find many of these sites very motivating and fun.

Week 12
This week she focused on keeping the kids from too much screen time. She is a runner and recently ran a half marathon. She has challenged her students as a class to run a marathon. She is going to use a Nike sensor to track their progress. She will then use Nike+ to graph and monitor their progress. She has done of beautiful job of integrating math, technology and exercise.

Dear Ms. Deyenberg,
I love this idea! I think a class marathon would be a great way to get the students moving. Incorporating technology and math is very clever. Childhood obesity is such a concern in our area. Hopefully your positive influence will help them continue a healthy lifestyle throughout their lives.

Comment 4 Teachers Assignment Weeks 7, 8 & 9

The teacher I was assigned to is located in Australia. She goes by the name Dragonsinger. She teaches 6-9 year old students. I have thoroughly enjoyed following her blog for the last three weeks. I have learned many creative ideas about how to use technology with early childhood students. Perfect for me because this is the age I like to focus on. Not only did I learn about technology, but I learned many things about her culture and the area where she lives. These are the posts that I left her and here is a link to her blog: http://dragonsinger57.com/

Week 7
Dear Ms. Dragonsinger,
I am a student from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class from the University of South Alabama. We are located in Mobile, Alabama. I was also an elementary teacher for 7 years and I am taking this course for professional development. I have been assigned to comment on your blog for the next three weeks. I am so excited that I was assigned to you and I have added you to my personal learning network so I look forward to following you and your class all year long . I am so impressed by your classroom and the innovative ways you are using technology with your students. It is unbelievable all you have accomplished in 4 weeks. The art integration with the use of digital technology is very creative. The symmetry project and photo enhanced pictures were in fact very nifty. I also think it is great that you guys use and have access to a real library. What a great way to teach authentic skills. I too feel that it is important that teachers be continuous learners. Thank you for your posts and for sharing your thoughts and ideas with others. Your posts will help spark the imagination of current and future teachers everywhere. Please check out my blog at: http://butlersherikedm310.blogspot.com

Week 8
Dear Ms. Dragonsinger,
I really enjoyed reading your post this week. I bet your students were very motivated by your virtual field trip. I think Skype is an excellent tool to take children around the world and talk to students from the same and different cultures. You have motivated me to learn more about the area where you live. Your students are very lucky to have such a proactive teacher who is implementing authentic learning activities.

Week 9
Dear Ms. Dragonsinger,
You have posted another beautiful use of technology. Although, the students were not able to experience Fire Poi in person you were able to bring it to them digitally. I like that you used the interactive smart board for your storyboard and modeled “how to” writing with them. The subject matter and process you used seems so much more motivating and meaningful than the traditional instruction manual method. I have enjoyed reading your posts and learning more about your region of the world. You have given me many ideas when it comes to using technology in the classroom, and I plan to visit your site often to see what exciting activities you are completing with your students.
Thank you,
Sherik Butler

Project 6 Skype

During this semester I have used Skype in the following ways. I have Skyped the students in my podcast group while working on our presentation. I have used Skype to talk to a friend who has recently moved to Japan for a government job. It is free to use where as he was being charged to use the cell phone. My favorite way to use Skype is to talk to my children when I am away. They love it and I love it because I get to see their adorable faces.

Project 5 Google Docs Form

I sent the following questionnaire to 26 recipients. Only 10 have completed it after a week and a half. I really like this program and I am thinking of all the uses for an elementary classroom. This would be wonderful to get general information about the students at the beginning of the year. I think it would have been very useful for all of the teacher committees I was head of when I was teaching. I love how it organizes and graphs all of the information for you.

Click the title to see the summary of results and please feel free to take questionnaire as well:

Sherik's General Questionnaire Summary of Results

Sherik's General Questionnaire

Assignment 9

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)

I researched ALEX or the Alabama Learning Exchange.
This is an excellent resource for Alabama teachers that gives them a wealth of information all in one spot. ALEX includes links for the Alabama Course of Study, lesson plans, professional learning, podcasts, personal workspace and web links. I used a site similar to this when I was teaching. It may have even been the same one. While searching the Alabama Course of Study link I looked through the technology education portion. I was shocked to see just the K-2 objectives in technology. Not only are K-2 student supposed to know correct terminology, but they should also be able to identify, use and design using digital tools. They should even know correct posture and finger placement. I was in high school before I learned the above objectives.

My favorite aspect of ALEX is the lesson plan area. You can either choose to search for lesson plans in a certain grade level or subject that meet an objective or create your own. It is so nice to be able to collaborate with other teachers and not have to reinvent the wheel. This also gives a new teacher an idea of what is expected of the grade level they are teaching and what the students are capable of. The grant information under the professional learning tab is an excellent resource too. As a former teacher, I am always looking for grants that help classroom teachers directly. If I were an actual college student I would definitely apply for the following grant listed on ALEX:

Media Smart Research Awards

Cable in the Classroom, the education foundation of the cable industry, will award up to three prizes of $2,000 each for excellent research papers on media literacy instruction. Papers can be submitted by graduate or undergraduate students at US colleges and universities. Winners will also be brought to Washington, DC, to discuss their research results at a forum with educational leaders. Submissions for the "Media Smart Research Awards" are normally due by the end of May. For more information, see http://www.ciconline.org/award

ALEX also has many podcasts to choose from. Some of them contain information that enhance student learning and that include information about Alabama. There are not only resources for teachers but for students and administrators too. This website helps all teachers to become successful in their career as educators. I will be sure to remember it when I am in the classroom.

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide)

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide) is a website that benefits Alabama public high school students. The vision of ACCESS is to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. High school students are able to take a wide variety of classes that include college board advanced placement courses and modules that help them with their high school graduation exam. This benefits those students who need help catching up (remediation courses) and those who want to better prepare for their college career. The format looks easy to use and it provides technical support to students and teachers. This would be important since the courses are strictly online. There are opportunities for middle and high school educators to become facilitators for ACCESS as well.

I think this is a very useful program that Alabama has implemented for middle and high school students and it should help bring our schools into the 21st century when it comes to technology. It will truly benefit students in hard to serve areas. I however was amazed at the amount of money poured into this site each year. Just in the year 2008 they spent over 25 million dollars to design, coordinate, support and implement this program. I can't help but be bitter when our schools are in such peril right now. So many educators and support personnel are losing their jobs. The elementary teachers do not even get their allocation to buy necessary supplies for their room. I myself spent thousands on resources for my classroom. Classrooms are overcrowded and the conditions are only getting worse. I hope that ACCESS is not affected by the current conditions, but are programs like this taking away from our ability to give elementary students the fundamentals they need to become successful learners?

Comments4Kids Week 9

This week I again was assigned to James a Year 8 student. He did a very detailed charcoal sketch of a man's face. It portrayed a sort of painful anger and showed many of the muscles in his face so it looked like he didn't have any skin. The drawing was accompanied by a poem that talked about his frustration when dealing with our lack of concern for the environment and its effects on global warming. My comment on his post is as follows:

Hi James!
It’s me again from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I am glad to see that you can display so much passion in your writing and in your illustrations. I like works of art that evoke emotion and responses whether they be positive or negative from their audience. You have done a beautiful job of portraying your frustration with our generations lack of concern when it comes to the environment. What will the future hold for our children? It is painful to think of what could happen if something is not done now. Keep up the great work!

Assignment 8

Randy Pausch Last Lecture:
Achieving Your Childhood Dreams




I enjoyed listening to Randy Pausch's lecture. It was very long, but interesting. It amazed me at how he was able to talk about the fact that he does not know how long he has left to live, and be so calm about it. He did not seem to let his diagnosis get him down. I can tell that Dr. Pausch enjoyed his job and his life. The passion he had for both shines throughout the entire lecture. Dr. Pausch was definitely a man who practiced what he preaches. This lecture reflected on his life experiences and his motto life's short, keep having fun.

The lecture focused on how to lead your life. His first point was on childhood dreams. Everyone has these dreams when we were young and the world seemed to be in the palm of our hands. When I was little I wanted to be a ballerina. I always danced for everyone the second they walked in the door and they didn't even have to ask what I wanted to be when I grew up. However, I realized I wasn't going to be good enough to make it professionally, so I moved on and became a teacher. I loved when Dr. Pausch said we learn the most from the brick walls. Would I have the beautiful family and wonderful husband I do today if my dream of a ballerina came true? The neat thing about his childhood dreams was that he actually fulfilled most of them. The dream of playing in the NFL was the one that he did not fulfill, but it got him where he is today. Football taught him fundamentals and experience for life.

His next point was about enabling childhood dreams of others. Throughout his life he has had a lot of positive effects on people. He started a class that allowed students to be creative while learning. Randy used video game technology to teach students different things. The class taught students about computer programming. He did not use the traditional teaching methods when implementing his graduate program. All learning was project based and an no "book learning". Pausch said they had already had four years of "book learning". This is a wonderful way to teach to let the students learn by doing. When the students graduated they had companies that were ready to hire them straight out of college. By starting the program he helped open doors in students' lives.

His last point was on lessons learned. He talked of people who have helped him get where he is today. In order for someone to be successful, they need someone to encourage them. Everyone has potential in life to do great things. Living life is truly a learning experience. I have realized that not everything in life is fair. We all have to deal with experiences that we don't want to face. However, they make us stronger as a person. He also talked on being loyal and doing the right thing. That part of the lecture was very true. Finding the good in people and being honest is the best way to live your life. I really believe it will make you a happier person. The lecture was very enlightening. It made me appreciate my life. No one really knows how long they have to live, so we should live everyday to the fullest.

Comment4Kids Week8

This week I commented on a student named James and he was a year 8 student. He was writing about the six traits of writing. His focus was on voice and word choice. The way he was able to understand exactly what voice and word choice were leads me to believe that he will be able to effectively write with those as his focus. I really enjoyed reading his post and am glad to see that this teacher is using the computer to publish their writing for so many to see.