Final Reflection Blog Post

Teach Someone Project

Project #16

Final Report on PLN

I created my PLN on Symbaloo.com and I have had fun finding websites to put on it. Here are some pictures of my PLN:

My Future Teaching References

My Personal Websites

I will continue to add to my PLN even though EDM 310 is coming to an end. I want to collect as many ideas of things to use in the class room as I can. Hopefully by the time I become a teacher I will have a huge collection of websites that I can refer to for projects, lesson plans, and classroom tools. :)

C4T Summary #4

The teacher's blog I was assigned to comment on for C4Ts this month was Mr. Bryan Jackson's Adventures in a Gifted Classroom. Here is a piece from his "About me" which describes him some:

"I am a suburbanite teacher working at my old high school, exploring gifted and techno-learning with younger, smarter versions of my youthful self."

Blog Post #14

Questions:

1. Why did you miss the metaphor in Tom Johnson's post, or, if you "hit the nail on the head", why do you think you understood the metaphor and why do you think that others in the class missed the metaphor?
2. What metaphors have you encountered since I asked you to create a log of them?
3. What other things can we do as educators to help our students to understand and to use metaphors?
4. Why do we use metaphors?

Answers:

1. I “hit the nail on the head” with the metaphor because I am able to pick up on things like that. I am a writer and a reader and I have always been able to recognize metaphors and such. I think the class missed the metaphor because they were thinking too literally about what the author was talking about.

2. Here are a few:

            I’m drowning in homework.

            He eats like a pig.

            She’s so hot headed

            My work is piling up on me.

3. One thing I would like to do with students to help them understand metaphors is to get them to write a story using  a lot of metaphors. I will also try to make the lessons fun so they will remember them better.

4. We use metaphors to make our writing more interesting and to describe things in a memorable way. Saying “He eat likes a pig” is much more exciting than saying “He eats like a messy person.

Blog Post #13

The Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) is a very useful tool for teachers in the classroom. The website has links to Courses of Study, Lesson Plans, Professional Learning, and many others that can help teachers easily set up their curriculum for their classroom. Teachers can make an account on the ALEX website and this will allow them to have their own Personal Workspace in which they can create, save, and edit lesson plans that they want to use. This keeps teacher’s lesson plans in one spot and it also allows teachers to share lesson plans with other teachers.

I think that I would be able to use ALEX when I become a teacher and I also think it will be very helpful. Not only will I have access to “already made” lesson plans, I will also be able to make my own in a place that I can easily access from my home computer as well. ALEX will also allow me to view courses of study for individual grade levels and different subjects in each grade level. ALEX will be a very useful tool that I will use to the fullest of its potential.

  

C4K Summary

Our last C4K assignment was great! I enjoyed talking to so many children at one time about blogs. Here are my summaries of their posts and their posts:

Progress Report on Final Project

For my final project I am going to create a video about what it means to be a teacher in a diverse society. At the moment I am still planning how I am going to get my message across, but I will be partnered with someone who is not in EDM 310. I decided to do something with education in a diverse society because I am taking Dr. Juarez's class EDF 315 this semester and I have actually seen a lot of the things that she talks about in the classroom that I do my field experience in. I feel like our society is so diverse right now, and yet we are still so divided and I want to make a video that addresses these issues. I am excited to see how it turns out!

Blog Post #12

Blogpost 12 Due 4/17

Create a Stumbleupon account.

Stumbleupon is a website that allows you to install a toolbar that lets you “Stumble upon” websites that fit your selected interests. It is almost like surfing the web with just one click of a button. When you install the toolbar you will see a button in the left side of the toolbar that says “Stumble”. All you have to do is click this button and it will randomly “stumble upon” a website that you might like. There are a variety of interests you can choose to stumble through, which you select when setting up your account and can change at anytime, including: Education, Arts and Crafts, Hobbies, etc. (Many people have heard that Stumbleupon is a website to search for only Adult Content. This is not true. You select your preferences to show G rated websites. You will never see a website you do not want to see.) After you select your preferences and start stumbling, you can “like” a website that you stumbled upon and Stumble will then show more content that is similar to your like. Once you “like” something it is added to your favorites list on your Stumble account and you can access it at anytime. You also have the option of “disliking” something and Stumble will no longer show websites that are similar to your dislike. Stumble also allows you to select whether you view All of your interests or an individual one when you click the “Stumble” button, for example, if you just want to stumble upon websites about education, you would click the “Education” topic and from then on the only websites stumbled upon will be about Education.

Stumble is a great way to find Education websites and arts and crafts websites that you could do with your future classes. It can also be used as a wedding planner by looking at the Wedding topics, a helping hand to becoming a healthy person by looking at the Health topics, and many more unique ways of finding websites that fit your interests. It is also a great way to find websites to add to your PLN!

Go to: http://www.stumbleupon.com and click “Join for Free” and then follow the instructions.

After you have set up your account, choose “Education” as your stumble topic and click the Stumble button. Write a Blogpost describing the website that Stumble brings up.

Blog Post #11

Mrs. Cassidy’s methods to use technology in the classroom are awesome! I think it is great to introduce technology into the classroom as soon as Kindergarten, and Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade students are really benefiting from her enthusiasm of using technology in the classroom. I love that her kids already know how to blog and make wiki’s at such a young age, it really does help them learn in a unique and memorable way. I would like to be able to use Flip Cameras in my classroom in the future, like Mrs. Cassidy does, because I think my students would not only enjoy, but also benefit from, using the cameras for various projects. They will be able to video tape each other, which will help them learn how to work in groups and they will also be able to watch themselves speak on the recording, which will allow them to see how they are acting in front of others and will help them enhance their speaking skills. I would also like my students to use the Smart Board often. The first grade class that I am doing my field experience in gets so excited when they are allowed to go to the Smart Board and “click” something and I think it is so great when kids get so excited about learning. So I am going to get my students to use the Smart Board in groups and individually during lessons and for projects. I am going to use blogs as well in my classroom, by either making a class blog or having my students make individual ones. I think when students know that the whole world will be able to view their work, including their parents, they will work harder to make sure they are spelling their words correctly and that they understand what they are writing about. I cannot wait to have my own classroom to use technology in! I am already collecting ideas to use!

Blog Post #10

Morgan Bayda’s post “An Open Letter to Educators” was great. I really enjoyed watching the video by Dan Brown. Here is my comment that I posted on her post:

Morgan,
My name is Tiffany Fey and I am an EDM 310 student in Dr. Strange’s class at the University of South Alabama. I am majoring in Elementary/ Early Childhood Education and I really enjoy watching videos like the one you posted. It makes me feel liberated and empowered to change our education system. Like you said, I would not drop out of school like Dan did in the video, but I almost feel like dropping out after sitting in an hour and fifteen minute lecture where all I did was struggle to keep my eyes open! I hardly ever learn anything in classes like those, I memorize the material just long enough to take the test and then the information disappears. I learn much better in a class that actually allows me to be one-on-one with my teacher, whether it be through technology or in person, and be interactive with my classmates (Like Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class). Thank you for sharing this video! It’s something everyone needs to think about. If you would like to view my blog you can click Here. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Tiffany Fey

C4T Summary #3

C4T Summary #3!

The teacher I was assigned to for C4T #3 was Mrs. Martha Yim. She is a wife, a mother, a teacher, and a business owner. I really enjoyed reading her blog posts because they are from the perspective of what I hope to be one day: a wife, a mother, a teacher, and a business owner. It is inspiring to me to read blogs and posts from people who embody the image of who I want to be in the future. If you would like to see her blog Here. Her blog is great and you will not be disappointed!

Carly Pugh's EDM310 Class Blog: Project 12: Skype Interview

Carly Pugh's EDM310 Class Blog: Project 12: Skype Interview: "For my Skype Interview I chose to interview EDM310 Class member and USA Student Tiffany Fey, vice president of Colleges Against Cancer's Rel..."

Project #12 Skype Interview

I interviewed my sister, Pamela Fey, for my Skype interview. The interview was about getting into college, since Pam is trying to get into South right now. I hope you enjoy! :)

Blog Post #9

Blog Post #9
Mr. McClung’s blog post was very inspiring and helpful. I really enjoyed reading it because some of the things he talked about are things that I am worried about right now, before I have even become a teacher! Like I said in my comment on Mr. McClung’s post, many of the things he talked about are things that every teacher must experience by themselves when they get out into the field and in their own classroom, but it certainly helps getting some pointers from a teacher that has already experienced it. There are many questions and worries that I have that I am afraid will go unanswered before I have my own students, but reading things like Mr. McClung’s post and talking to teachers who understand what I am going through, definitely takes some of the anxiety away. I am going to try to use the tips that Mr. McClung has shared with us throughout my career as a teacher because I feel like they are some really great ones.

C4K Summary #2

C4K's #4-6!

Blogpost #8

Richard Miller: This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2

Dr. Miller’s videos were very interesting. I think it is absolutely amazing how far we have come with technology and how it is starting to be more involved with the academic area. But, like Dr. Miller’s said in his video, we have a long way to go before we are able to fully use technology in the classroom like he, and many others, envision.

I believe that a lot of our problem with integrating technology into the classrooms is the fact that so many people are still against it. I think one of the reasons that people are against it is because they do not realize the full extent in which technology could help students learn. Most people, when they hear the words “technology in the classroom,” they think of students playing games on computers, surfing the web, or just goofing off and not learning anything. In Dr. Miller’s video, you can clearly see that technology is a great tool for learning in many different ways. I think a student learns more when they make presentations on a computer, than when a teacher lectures them. The students have to physically search for information themselves and put forth effort to use the information. They not only learn more, but they have fun doing it too!

Project #11 Why I Want to be a Teacher

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Smart Board Presentation

The days of the week with the Very Hungry Caterpillar!!

Starring: Tiffany Fey, Rebekah Lloyd, Sarah Nell York, and Kim Holland.

Blog Post #7

Randolph Pausch's final farewell lecture, "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was a very moving and inspiring speech. I was a little weary of watching a hour and fifteen minute speech, but I am very glad I did now that I have finished it. I feel like I learned a lot from watching this video that I will be able to use in my future career as a teacher. The one thing that really stuck out to me the most in this video that really influenced me was the fact that, even though Randy was dying, he was still trying to make a difference in other people's lives instead of being like "poor me". People like Randy are some of the most inspiring people in this world and I am very glad I was able to watch this video.

PLN Progress Report

The image above is the beginning of my PLN. As you can see it still has many spaces to be filled and I am still in the process of placing tiles for the websites that I already have saved on my computer. I really enjoy using Symbaloo for a PLN, it's not only easy to get the hang-of, but it is also fun looking and cute! So far my PLN has tiles for my Email, school, networking, and Teaching websites, plus a few others. My PLN is not only for my personal websites, it is also websites I am bookmarking for my future teaching career. I like to keep everything in my life together, I do not like splitting up my work from my leisure time because I feel like it complicates things and it also stresses me out, so Symbaloo really works great for me. I have actually been making a PLN for a while, but I did not realize it until I started taking EDM 310 and found out what a PLN really is. I will continue to expand my PLN and search for good resources to use throughout my life, because learning never ends! :)

C4T Summary #2

The teacher's blog that I was assigned to comment on was Mr. Justin Tarte's. He is a high school German teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. If you would like to see his blog click here.

Why do I Relay?

I joined the University of South Alabama Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) chapter in November 2010, a month after my paternal Grandfather was diagnosed with aggressive throat cancer because I felt it would help me cope with the bad news. I decided to become vice president soon after when I had the chance, I felt it was my calling and I just ran with it. I have had three other family members who have had cancer: my Nanny (maternal Grandmother) and my Great Aunt Joanie both had breast cancer and survived, and my maternal Granddaddy has had skin cancer on his nose multiple times. CAC felt like the right thing to volunteer with, so I have put my all into it since the day I started. On February 17, 2011, my Grandpa lost his 6 month battle with cancer. He was 80 years old and had lived a wonderful life married to my Grandma for 60 years, but I sometimes wonder how much longer he could have lived if cancer had not attacked him. Watching a family member die while cancer is slowly eating away at their body is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and I want to stop anyone from ever having to see their loved ones suffer like my Grandpa did. I Relay in memory of my Grandpa, B. John Fey, and in honor of the other family members who have had cancer and defeated it. I want to create a world with more birthdays and more time for family and friends. I imagine a world with no suffering and no pain. I imagine a world with no cancer. That is why I Relay.

Timetoast #9b

A Time Line of the Life of Emily Dickinson

Blog Post #6

1. The video “The Networked Student” by Wendy Drexler was a very cute and interesting video. I really liked how it physically illustrates the process of learning of a networked student. While watching the video, I was reminded of the classes that I am taking this semester and  how technologically literate you must be to even become a teacher now. The teacher that I am doing my field experience with at Brazier Elementary, Ms. Wiggins, was commenting to me the other about how the school systems are trying to “keep up with all of the new technology” and how she does not have any time to learn how to use all of it in the classroom. This made me very proud to tell her that we are learning how to do this in my EDM 310 class and she said that she felt it was something they should teach every upcoming teacher....

Summary Post of C4K #1, 2, & 3

I really enjoyed commenting on all the Kid's blogs that I commented on! It was really great to read actual blog posts of real children. Ha. I especially liked the fact that they were from different parts of the country/world! Here is my summary of what they posted on their blogs and the comments I left for them:....

Blog Post #5

I read:

Langwitches

100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better

& Education Podcasting Network

These articles and blogs were very interesting and gave a large amount of information and ideas to use for podcasts in classrooms.

My Timeline

A Timeline of My Life

The Facebook Debate

Debaters: Rebekah Lloyd and Sarah Nell York
Moderator: Tiffany Fey

Blog Post #4

1. Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University. He is also the Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technological needs of school administrators, and he was also a co-creator of the popular video, Did You Know? (Shift Happens). He has received many national awards for his technology leadership work, including recognitions from the cable industry, Phi Delta Kappa, and the National School Boards Association.

When I was reading Dr. McLeod’s post, I honestly thought he was against teaching technology to students. But when I finished reading it I was relieved to see he was not! I think his poem is very creative and true, it definitely points out how a lot of people feel about teaching technology in the classrooms. In my comment to Dr. McLeod I said that I feel it is not only important to teach students how to be technologically literate, but to also be safe when using this technology. We cannot completely stop kids from accessing computers or cell phones or anything else you can use to access the outside world because it is everywhere. But we can teach them how to be safe when accessing it. I think teachers need to show students how to be safe when using the internet and when talking to people through technology. We need to be proactive in showing students what to watch out for and the things that are not appropriate on the internet, while also making sure they know that using technology can be very helpful in learning.

Creating Music

I would love to get my students to do something like this in the classroom. I could let them pick anything that makes a noise they like and we could all make a song with our unique "instruments".

Sampled Room from Mateusz Zdziebko on Vimeo.

Project #6 My Sentence

Blog Post #3

1. Michael Wesch’s video “A Vision of Students Today” was one of the most moving videos I have seen about education. It really spoke to me and almost made me feel like crying because everything they said was so true. I have had almost every experience they held up a sign for, and when I see it all put together in a video like this it makes so many emotions run through me: anger, sadness, depression, guilt, etc. etc…. I don’t think I could have said what the people in this video said any better, they definitely worked hard to put it together and brought every point together in a powerful way. ....

Project #5 My Story

Summary Post C4T#1

The teacher who I was assigned to was Dianne Krause. Her Blog is very intricate and provides a lot of great resources for teachers to look into. Her first post was about an interesting tool on Google called "Google Forms". The post had a link to the Google forms page and it gave a brief description of it. Teachers can use Google Forms for just about anything. You can use them to create a quiz, a questionnaire, a poll, or any other types of questions to ask your students. One thing I found very interesting about the Goggle forms is that many teachers get their students to make quizzes to give to their fellow classmates, which helps them understand what they're learning better because they actually have to write the questions! This is my comment I made on her blog post:

Blog Post #2

1. “Did You Know”: When I first started watching the “Did You Know” video, by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, I thought it was just going to be another video that tells you facts about how many people use the internet, for example, but it was so much more. The video gives you statistic after statistic about technology in today and the future to come. I couldn’t believe some of the facts I read as the video was playing!

Project #2 My Wordle

Blog Post #1 About Me!

Me! :)

Hi! My name is Tiffany Marie Fey and I am 21 years old. I live with both of my parents, Jimmy and Tennie Fey and I am the oldest of three kids: my sister, Pam, 19; and my brother, Tim, 14. My house is pretty crowded because we have 6 dogs! One of which is my weenie dog named Tater Tot; he’s my sweet baby boy. My boyfriend, Phillip, and I have been together for five years and we are planning to get married as soon as we both graduate from college. He is my everything and I am so lucky to have him, he is a really great guy! I am majoring in Elementary/Early Childhood Education and in my fifth semester here at South. ....