Podcasting

SmartBoard Lessons Podcast is a great podcast for teachers as they are talking about different things to do at the end of the year. The podcast is really interesting and easy to listen to! Teachersconnecting.com is a website that was mentioned in the podcast. It allows teachers to give their imput into the podcast and get ideas from other teachers. The podcast also talks about using movies for math, such as Mean Girls, where there are math formulas on the blackboard in the background. It suggests having students look for math in movies that they watch over the weekend and have them talk about it... I think that is a great way for students to see that math is used in every day life.

KidCast is a podcast talking about using video podcasts to teach. Video podcasts can be more helpful than audio podcasts because you can use illustrations that can be seen and not just heard, which would be more helpful when you are trying to teach something complex. In an interview the student see the looks on the interviewers face which helps communicate body language that can't be seen in an audio podcast. The podcast is really interesting and helpful for teachers who are trying to decide whether to use audio podcast or a video podcast as he tells the pros and cons of each. I think video podcasts are more helpful to the students, but are also more work for the teacher.

EdTechtalk is also set up as a talkshow. I think the talkshow approach is the easiest to listen to and it is probably easier to record. It is not boring like the KidCast podcast. All the podcasts teach but I think the easiest to listen to and learn from are the podcasts with the talkshow approach. There are more people talking and you can hear different opinions of each person talking in the podcast. I like the layout and you can learn more from different people.

This week in Photography sounds like a talk show. The people on the podcast are talking about how they use their camera and also tell the listeners about a new camera that is in the making. I like the talk show approach that they use because it is easy to listen to and follow what they are saying. It sounds like something that would play on the radio in the morning for people to listen to on their way to work.

Next Generation Learning

I think that it is very important for children to learn how to use technology, especially since our world is beginning to rely on it to survive. Using technology in school makes learning a lot of fun for both the teachers and the students. Harry loves going to his school because of all the fun things they do with computers. I think that ALL children should look forward to going to school and learning... whether its learning how to use the computer or using the computer to learn about other subjects. I think that including technology in your classroom is really beneficial and can really speed up the learning process.

Hoover City Schools use technology in their classrooms every day. I personally got to experience the New Generation Learning, but only for one year. The teachers have an ELMO which allows them to put a handout on the projector without having to make transparencies. The teachers at Riverchase Elementary (my mom's school) were lent 2 Ipods, a digital camera, a camcorder, a projector, 2 notebook computers, and a voice recorder. The voice recorder is used for students to record themselves reading and later listening to the recording on the Ipod. It allows them to hear how they read so they can practice and improve their verbal skills. The notebook computers can be hooked up to the projector to show the students websites or documents that the teacher has prepared. The Hoover City School system is taking part in the Next Generation Learning and I think that is a very good thing.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

I really like the way Vicki Davis is teaching her students to work with computers. She does not show the students how to do what they need to learn, but lets them figure it out on their own. I find it much more rewarding when I figure something out without being told step-by-step how to do it. I would sometime ask for help, but I like figuring things out on my own. I also like how she told the viewers that the students even taught her how to do things that she did not know how to do.

I think it was really good how Ms. Davis let her students teach other students how to do things on the computer. It makes the learning experience more fun doing group work and then it is rewarding sharing what you have learned with the rest of the class. I also think it is really cool how the students worked with students from all over the world using the internet. It really helps the students learn about other cultures by interacting with students worldwide and they can say that they learned something together and form a bond through their work.

The Importance of Creativity

I agree with Sir Ken Robinson that creativity is important in education. Learning, I don't think, is fun unless you get creative with it... especially in Elementary school. I remember having the monotone teacher that gave you homework reading the textbook and the grade was only quizzes and tests. I hated the teachers that graded you based on test scores. I loved the teachers that had projects that you could have fun with. I love the teachers with fun posters on the walls... classrooms with bursts of color. Creativity makes learning enjoyable so it is a necessary aspect in education.

Learning is obviously a lot more fun when you have to be creative. I think it would be fun to learn core subjects by putting the information to a song or dance. I know when my mom taught 6th grade science she made up songs to tunes that the students would know. Also when she taught cells the students got to decorate cookies to help them learn the parts of the cell. I think that is how learning should be so when I teach I am going to do some very creative things with my students. I most certainly will not be a teacher that takes creativity out of school!

Did You Know?

I thought the Did You Know? 3.0 video on YouTube was very interesting. It's also hard to believe how many people are in the world. It's hard to believe that during the 5 minutes it took to watch the video, almost 400 babies were born in India alone, about 275 in China, and 70 in the US! Numbers like these make the US population seem so small even though it has one of the largest countries in the world. If you are one in a million in China... there are 1300 people just like you! It is just mind blowing how many people are in the world!

It is really amazing how technology has progressed over the years! The number of text messages sent and received in a day exceeds the total population of the planet... WOW. I believe it because I know for sure that I send and receive 100-200 text messages a day and I know people who send way more than I send. It is crazy that everything I will learn how to do in this class will be outdated by the time I start teaching and need to know how to use technology! Technology is improving very rapidly and the video made it clear just how fast it is progressing.

About Me

My name is Bailey Wilson. I am 19 years old. I was born and raised in Memphis, TN and moved to Hoover, AL with my family when I was 15 years old. My dad is the pastor of Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills, AL. My mom teaches 3rd grade at Riverchase Elementary School. I have a sister named Kirby and she just started her Senior year at Hoover High School. I went to the University of Mobile last year but after spending time at South Alabama I decided to transfer because I like the school better. When I graduate in a few years I hope to teach Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade (preferably Kindergarten). I love to hang out with my friends, talk, shop, go to the beach, listen to music, watch movies, and just have a good time. I am 5 feet tall, left handed, and have tiny feet. I am a very sweet and caring person and a very loyal friend.