Final Reflection

Special Metaphor Assignment-Blog Post 14

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? I thought I understood it for the most part. It came to me as we think too much on what to do and not why it's happening.

2. What metaphors have you encountered since I asked you to create a log of them?
One that I was just told, "stuck between a rock and a hard place", earlier today I heard, "always a bridesmaid, never a bride". "Can't have your cake and eat it too", "that was the icing on top of the cake" and Yesterday I was told, "blood is thicker than water". "Open a can of worms", "jump on that bandwagon", and "the final straw" are some more I hear daily.

3. What other things can we do as educators to help our students to understand and to use metaphors? It's important our students understand it's just a figure of speech and are not meant serious. The more they hear them the more they will understand and come up with their own. Teaching metaphors seems like it would be really fun and you could do a lot with it.

4. Why do we use metaphors?
I think it makes things for fun, adds some humor, gives a better understanding, and shows your personality.

PLN- Final Post

Honestly, I have not used my PLN as much as I expected I would. I am hardly ever on the computer unless it is for school. I always use my phone for everything else I do on the internet. I can see where it is very helpful and if I did use my laptop on a daily basis and actually had time to do things other than school, then yes it would be needed. I think it's a great thing to know how to do though, and I'm sure in the future I will use it more. I do have websites I go on that are on there and it is organized, it's just not as useful to me right now.

Project 16

C4T Summary Post 4

C4T 4: Click to view blog

The blog I was assigned to was Jenny's Learning Journey. Jenny is a primary school teacher in New Zealand. Her post was about an iPad 2 and my thoughts on it is included in my comment to her: "I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. The video made me laugh, as well. I like that they showed what all Apple has done over the years, when it used to just be an iPod. I would be lost without my iPhone, but I have never had the urge for an iPad. Although I do think they are very cool, just have to agree with Kayla with it being pricey! Between my iPhone and MacBook, I have everything I need on those so I guess that is why I have never thought about getting an iPad. Thank you for allowing us to view and comment on your blog!
There was no reply back so I left the second comment on her blog post, Why Teachers Should Never Give Up On Any Student. It was a short video on a boy who got asked why he kept throwing starfish back into the water. He said if he didn't they would die, the man replied saying there is too many starfish out there and he can't make a difference. The boy picked up another starfish and threw it back into the water and looked at the man and told him he made a difference for that one. This video is so so true, I absolutely love it! I think teachers overuse the phrase, "I want to make a difference" and some don't really understand what they are saying so I hate to use that phrase even though it is true. I know that I won't make a difference in every student I teach, but if I know there is just one student who I impacted that's enough for me. Like this video, kids have a lot to offer and teach. We can learn more than we imagine from our students and they might make a difference in our lives, as well. People stray away from thinking about the student as an individual by thinking of making a difference for the class, which is wrong. I'm a huge believer in encouragement and hope. I already know my students will succeed because I'll never give up on them and always have hope, encouraging them to always do the best they can. I added the video below for everyone to watch!

C4K Summary Post 3

C4K 7: Click here to view blog
I was assigned to comment on a hip hop video from a ninth grader on Mr. McClung's blog. He was doing it for a talent show and I thought he did awesome! I thought all the videos were amazing. They all have such great talents and confidence and I encouraged them in my blog post to continue using them.

C4K 8: Click here to view blog
I commented on Chelsea's blog who is from Australia. She wrote about a lacrosse game her and her friends won. She also said she was allowed to take home the trophy for a night and then she asked what my favorite sport was. Well, whoever was commenting's favorite sport.
"Hi Chelsea! I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. Congrats on winning! That is so cool you got to take home the trophy! I bet you loved looking at it! Alabama football is my favorite sport! I have always been a dancer and a cheerleader instead of playing sports, though. Glad you had a great time!

C4K 9: Click here to view blog
For my ninth comment I was assigned to Mrs. Yollis's class blog. I commented on the structure of her blog and the links provided. "Hi Mrs. Yollis and students! I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I love how organized your blog is! Everything was so easy to find and I really like that parents are allowed to comment on here. I like the idea of different time zones of friends and the HTML links are a great idea for a link, as well. I especially enjoyed the link with the picture of the students, very cute! Thank you for allowing us to view and comment on your blog! Mary-Katelin McFerrin"

C4K 10: Click here to view blog
My last comment was to Adia on her post in Mrs. Yollis's class. Adia learned about Japan's cultures and also got to make her own sushi which I thought was really cool! She put many pictures up from that day and I thought it was great because we got a much better idea of what she actually did and actually got to see her making the sushi. I added a picture of her from her blog, she is so cute! "Hi Adia! I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. You are so cute dressed up in your picture! I love that you put many pictures on your post so we can really get a feel of what you did. That is so cool you made sushi! I think it is really awesome that you are learning about different cultures. You are also doing a great job on your blog! I am very impressed! Feel free to comment on my blog as well, mcferrinmkedm310.blogspot.com Great job, Adia!"

Blog Post 13

ALEX
ALEX is Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a project designed by Alabama Department of Education sharing information about time saving materials and resources for teachers, parents, and students. The website is still in progress and will always continue to grow with new information. It includes lesson plans and web links that are linked to the Alabama Course of Study standards.
This website allows teachers to have their own personal workspace and save and upload lesson plans to share. Lesson plans are available for all subjects and grades. Even though these lesson plans are directed toward Alabama standards, anyone from other states can also benefit from this website and alter it to their own standards. They can use it mainly as a guide.
You can view the website for ALEX by clicking HERE

ACCESS
ACCESS is Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students. The vision is the state of Alabama will provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement distance learning. It is available to all Alabama public high school students giving a greater equity for students using 21st century technology, delivering quality learning opportunities, and equal access to high quality instruction. The goal is to meet objectives by providing advanced diploma courses, additional course offerings, duel credit courses, remediation resources, distance learning offerings, providing teachers with additional multimedia and tools to enhance instruction, and evaluate weaknesses and strengths to make adjustments of objectives. The program has given so far 70 grants and increased enrollment in high schools. Teachers, parents, and students all have access to this website and can log on at any time.
You can view the website for ACCESS by clicking HERE

Project 15

Blog Post 12

I have had a lot of trouble with managing my time in this class. I think a lot of that came from not knowing what to expect out of each project or blog post, especially in the beginning of the semester. I have always thought there should be a movie we watch at the beginning or someone's blog from previous semester who has example's of good, correct work, this way we could always refer to that person's blog when we needed to know how something should look. I think a link to that persons EDM 310 blog to refer back to would be extremely helpful.

Progress Report on Final Project

For the final project, my partner and I have already chosen a topic and have been working on thoughts and ideas for it. It is an idea we both thought would help future students in this class, since both of us had this issue.

Blog Post 11

Ms. Cassidy's First Grade Class
The first video is shown of Ms. Cassidy and her adorable first grade students using technology. I was so shocked that first graders being that young know how to blog and leave comments. I think it is great but I never knew they started that young. They were so cute talking about their grandparents and siblings who leave them comments. They knew exactly what they were doing and were able to tell about it and probably could teach someone. I was very impressed. They also use Wiki and told all about learning traditions on there. She said in the skype interview it all started when she got five computers for her classroom, which is enough to start a center.
Hopefully I will be lucky enough to have computers/laptops in my classroom for students to use as a center. Depending on the grade I teach, I would love to incorporate some sort of blogging into my classroom, even if it is just visiting a blog and making an assignment out of a post, the students will still be introduced to it. I have always wanted to teach first grade and even though this is about first graders blogging, I think personally it is a little too young to start them on their own blog. I wouldn't feel comfortable if my child that young had their own blog, just as I don't agree with having a facebook at a young age. Ms.Cassidy seems to know what she is doing and has the right intentions though and I support her in that.

Special Assignment

Mr. McClung

1. What do you know (or have you found out) about Mr. McClung that is reflected in the way he has constructed his class blog? His blog is personal, which I like. He tells a lot about himself from sports to the music he listens to. I think it is important to allow your students to know you as a person not only a teacher, just as we should know our students as a person not just a student. He keeps positive expectations and high energy in his teachings and his blog.

2. Comment on what you would say about Mr. McClung as an educator.He seems extremely dedicated to his teachings and students. He mentioned he keeps his lessons hands on and fun. I am the same way and intend to keep my lessons entertaining and educational, as I've always mentioned before. No one wants to learn if it's boring.

3. I asked above that you read Mr. McClung's "rules" and think about them. What do they say about Mr. McClung, his teaching, and his connection with his students? What is your reaction to these rules (and guides) as a student and as an aspiring teacher? His rules are as they should be, short, simple, to the point. I get the perspective that he has a great connection with his students. Meaning he stays "real" with them. My biggest thing is not raising your hand. In my classroom, we will raise our hand before we get up, speak, etc. Unless of course we are in discussion and they know they can speak out. I like his rule, "Keep your dear teacher happy".

4. What was the first thing under Everyone needs? Why do you suppose that is the first requirement? A day planner. I can tell by this he is organized like me. I would lose my head if I didn't have my planner to use daily. I will make sure my students have a planner to write down their assignments each day, as well.

5. Note the penalties for being late (under Homework). Compare them with my penalties for being late. Comment.His penalties are very clear, one day late and you drop a letter grade. Thankfully this class is not this way, I hope, but I like that he is clear and I'm sure sticks to it.

6. Read carefully his paragraph about what he hopes to accomplish with his blog. Comment and apply to your own aspirations as a teacher.He wants his students to achieve their goals. I too, will set goals for my students and allow them to set goals for themselves. I think goals are important, it gives you motivation and accomplishment but also students have to understand if they don't reach them it is okay as long as they tried their best.

7. I asked you to review at least two Useful Links in depth after reviewing all of them. Which two did you review in depth? Describe each of the two. How might each be used? Why do you think each made Mr. McClung's list. I viewed Discovery Streaming and Discovery Education. They are both a website from the Discovery Channel that the kids can learn from and have fun doing so.

8. Under Internet Safety I asked you to read carefully the rules Mr. McClung sets forth for safely using the internet. Comment on these rules. Are there any you would add or subtract.I think his rules are extremely important for the students to follow. He makes sure they are safe, which should be the number one issue with using the internet and blogs, etc., especially with this crazy world today.

9. In the C4K part of this blog I asked that you look carefully at one of the categories under which you assigned post was filed. What did you find? Select one of the posts in the category and review it for me.

10. Mr. McClung uses Edublog as his blog host. In some ways it may seem more "advanced." But Blogger has many abilities that we have not covered in EDM310. This leads to this question: Is there anything (or things) that Mr. McClung can do with his blog that you would like to do in Blogger?I am still getting used to Blogging so everything is new to me. I know there is so much more I don't know about, but as long as things are organized and easy to find, it works for me.

11. In what ways does Mr. McClung make his blog useful to parents, teachers, administrators, students like you, and others? His blog is open to everyone and safe and friendly. He has all information on it that you'd ever wonder. If it is not on there, he seems very welcoming in leaving a comment to ask.

12. How does Mr. McClung's 8th grade blog differs from other blogs you have visited including other 8th grade blogs? Why the differences do you think?I feel like he has a lot more on his, including personal things. I also like how everything is organized and easy to find for someone who isn't as blog friendly.

13. Add any additional comments you think would be useful in analyzing Mr. McClung's World in depth.In all, his blog is well put together and I like his about him section the most. I really think it's important for students, parents, whoever, to know you as a person. I think it is great that he has the rules, expectations, and safety included.

C4T Summary Post 3

C4T 1: Click here to view blog
I was assigned to Aaron Eyler's blog, Synthesizing Education. His last post was in December 2010 telling about his New Year's resolution to start blogging on his site more. Obviously, he didn't stick to that. He said he has been busy with trying to start a political commentary site and blog of current events for kids in a way they understand. My comment to him:"Hi Aaron,
My name is Mary-Katelin McFerrin, from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. Your idea of current events and making them where kids can understand is great! It's a good way for kids to be involved in the community and what's going on around them being able to read it in a way they can relate and be apart of. Encouraging students to know current events is very important to me as a future teacher. We should all be educated on the world we live in."

C4T 2:
The first comment I made to Aaron Eyler on his blog is still awaiting moderation, so I'm guessing he hasn't seen it yet. I left him another comment on the same blog for the post right under the one mentioned above. This post is entitled You Get One Shot At This and is focused on failure and students only "doing school", not learning. "I, too, was a student who "did school". I played the game of what the teacher wanted so I could pass. I never actually learned anything, I just knew their was no option of failing. I hear a lot of teachers say a student only has to pass in a couple subjects to get moved on, so they don't worry about the others. I also hear teachers say they have to pass students in certain subjects regardless if they learn it. Thanks for posting this, it is very helpful for future teachers to think about things!"

C4K Summary Post 2

C4K 4
Raihan's blog was the first one I commented on. He is from Pt England School in Mr. Barks class. He wrote about his weekend going to his cousins house and eating the fresh fruit in the gardens. He also said he played soccer with his cousin and friends and he really enjoyed it. He said him and his cousin were the best ones! You can find his blog by clicking here. My response to him was, "Hey Raihan! My name is Mary-Katelin McFerrin. I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class. It sounds like you have a close family like I do. I love hanging out with my cousins! I also love flowers, and fresh fruit is the best! You seem to have a lot of fun together, especially playing sports. Is soccer your favorite? My favorite is football! Glad you had a great weekend!"

C4K 5

The second student's blog I read was, Awhina from Pt England School. Her post was a prayer for the people affected by the earthquake. What a sweet little girl! She's got such a big heart and love for people! This is her prayer:"Dear Lord, I want to pray from the bottom of my heart, for the family of the five month old baby who passed away.I also pray for and for the people who are still trapped in the rubble and for the 175 people who had died in the churches that had collapsed. I ask you god, to please help the family of the five month baby to stop crying and to get lots of love and comfort from other people in Christchurch. To give strength to the families that have lost their love ones to help the trapped people to be safely rescued from the collapsed building. I lift my prayer up to you lord because I believe you can help them and make it come true from the bottom of my heart. Amen." I wrote her back and told her my prayers go out as well, and I can tell she has a huge heart and amazing faith in God. She also added a picture of herself, which is what I included in this post. You can read her blog by clicking here.

C4K 6
Click here to see the class blog!
Last, I left a comment on a movie post from Melville Intermediate School: Room 8. The movie I watched, Photo Option Photo Challenge, was a slideshow of pictures they were assigned to take around their school. They had pictures of students, the library, and outside around the school. They also added music to the slideshow that they chose. My comment: "Hi Team One!
My name is Mary-Katelin McFerrin. I am from Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I enjoyed watching your slideshow of pictures! My favorite were the ones taken outside, especially with the flag and sun shining through it. I like the music you added, also. Y'all did a great job taking pictures and making them into a slideshow! Nice work, team one!"

Blog Post 10

An Open Letter To Educators - Morgan Bayda
In her post, she says school was always boring and she didn't learn from sitting in two hour classes taking notes with teachers who don't know you or care about your opinions. Then, she had a professor much like Dr. Strange, who taught his class by Twitter, Blogger, videos, etc. These classes are so much more interesting and educational. I feel like I'm actually learning in this class now that I've got the hang of it. This semester I don't have any classes or teachers who absolutely bore me and don't teach to learn. I think that is mainly because I'm actually in my field of education and everyone here is passionate about learning, but I struggled tremendously making myself learn and be interested in the basics I had to take to get here and I can honestly say I don't know a single person who is not with me on that. I know there is, but no one I know of. She gives examples of ways she has used communicating outside of school, from what she learned in the class much like this one. Morgan added a video she found on Delicious of Dan Brown who dropped out of school because his schooling was interfering with his education. He makes the comment that unlike the world we live in tells us, we don't have to go to school to succeed or make something of ourselves. I do not agree with his choices, but he is very confident in his beliefs. He says the world has lost sight in what education really is. It's not about teaching facts but empowering students to change the world and make a difference. He claims the problem is we are still using the same system created hundreds of years ago called schooling, instead of educating.

Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home! - Tom Johnson
"A must read for all teachers" - Click here to view Tom Johnson's blog post showing a great example on how we focus too much on what to do and not enough on how to think. In other words, we tend to focus on what the problem is, but never how to think about why there is a problem.

Blog Post 9

What I've Learned This Year - Mr. McClung
Mr. McClung shares seven things he learned from his first year of teaching elementary school in 2009. He notes he was young and inexperienced but has grown and matured as a person as well a teacher from his experiences. As almost reaching my graduation day and entering my very own first classroom, these seven things will be held onto and remembered: read the crowd, be flexible, communicate, be reasonable, don't be afraid of technology, listen to your students, never stop learning. The picture above is from his post and to me says everything about teaching.
The first, how to read the crowd, reminds you to center your students in your lesson plans. These are not all about you and how you present them, it's the material presented and how it will effect the students learning. He says, "In order to be effective you have to be able to let your audience drive your instruction." In being flexible he gives us a reminder that can be used in everyday life, not just teaching. When things go wrong don't beat yourself up about it, instead work with it and make it better. Things won't always go our way especially with finding the right lessons and activities, but we have to believe everything will work out. He says a great quote that I know I will hold on to, "No lesson is ever perfect. The lesson you teach and the one you plan are always different." He also adds to make sure we do everything with a smile on our face. Being flexible is being positive. Although communication is the hardest skills to develop, it's the best way to resolve issues. He encourages us to build strong relationships with teachers and students to help with communicating. "Our goal as teachers is to simply pick them up after they fail, dust them off, and encourage them to try again." I think that pretty much sums up how to be reasonable. Of course, we must set goals for our students but we must also know that they may not always reach them and that's okay as long as we did everything we could. Just because they didn't reach that certain goal, I'm sure there is plenty others they did reach along the way that we have to see. We have to look for the good in every student and situation. Next he talks about technology. He says we can't be afraid of it and give up. We have to learn to use it and know it will take time. Listening to your students is big for me. Just by listening to my students at dance or that I teach while subbing, I've learned so much! They really are smart in their own way that you have nothing to do with. They know more than you can imagine so we shouldn't ever dumb them down in our heads because they are not school smart. If we listen to our students and actually hear what they are saying, it's not only a learning experience but motivation. They know you care about them because you're taking the time to hear what they have to say and that motivates them to do their best. They listen to you talk all day about things they probably don't care about but they know you do, so we should do the same to them. As he says, we owe it to our students to keep learning. We can never know enough and in order to educate kids, we have to stay educated, as well.
I absolutely love everything about this blog post he wrote. It's so simple but yet so meaningful. He definitely sent motivation and inspiration this way. I encourage all teachers to read his post by clicking here.

Blog Post 8

Richard Miller - This Is How We Dream
"I believe we are living at the moment of the greatest change in human communication in human history." How true is that! In this video, he talks about writing and the changes of writing with technology. Before, people went to libraries, check out books, wrote on paper. Now, you buy books online or download them, we use Word Processor to write, and google things we do not know instead of using a dictionary. He also talks about an article he wrote through the internet as an incremental change, not fundamental change. He didn't sit down and actually write it, he just typed it up and clicked save.
I see the good in both of these. Like I've said and my opinion hasn't and I don't think it will change, we should only use so much of technology. I think it's a great thing! I also think kids learning how to write on paper and read in a book is a great thing. We just have to know how to balance those two and incorporate both in our teachings. I can't imagine writing a long paper or book for that matter on paper, but I do know how because I was taught that. I was also taught how to type a paper and research online, as well as a library. I think it's important our future students know both ways, as well. In high school we always had to have resources from both books and internet for our papers. I couldn't agree with that more. I hate to see actual books and libraries be replaced by technology. I think we are at a balance of the two now, but it looks like technology will soon be taking over the way we learn and that's a scary thought for me. I want my students to know how to do things without a computer and I don't want them to rely on technology. We live in a great big world with tons of resources that are being ignored; for example, the use of libraries now or just being outside and learning from nature. Kids never go outside anymore, there too carried away with computers and video games. It amazes me how many cool things you can do with technology, but people forget how many cool things can be done without it, too. In all, I'm all for technology and couldn't live without my laptop, iPhone, or internet; but I know how if I had to. I know how to balance the two, use them equally, and know how important each is. I hope to teach my students the same.
In part two, he pushes technology with writing and presenting. He is right, it is fascinating and you can't not be interested in it. I believe teaching technology is a big deal and kids should be exposed, taught, and use it; as well as being exposed, taught, and use a library.
Our future is now; this is how we dream.

Chipper Series & EDM310 for Dummies
These videos give a great example of how students feel in this class at first, overwhelmed and confused! If we had an EDM 310 for Dummies book, it would be something you could keep throughout the years and rely back to, as well as using it for this class. I think some of these videos we are just now watching should be showed the first day of class or encouraged to watch before the first day of class. I had no idea what this class was and I think watching an intro of what should be done throughout the semester would have been extremely helpful.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I really liked this video. I agree with the lady who made the comment about kids knowing how to text, email, etc., but yet not allowed to have those things in school. Another good point made in this video was a guy saying teachers must accept technology because it is not a choice, it is a world itself. It is not here to help teach traditional subjects, but it has emerged into a new environment we must know. I see some of the points made about using twitter and facebook. Those things are a kids world and showing them they can be used educationally too, is getting them more involved with learning about technology. There is a time for this to be taught in school, but it shouldn't over power traditional learning.

The Secret Powers of Time - Philip Zambardo
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - David Pink
I've never thought about the way people view the past, present, and future like this video does. I really liked it and it gives you something to think about. He says you have to trust your decisions by knowing they will carry out in the future. I always say somewhat the same. You have to believe and have faith in what you are doing for it to matter. He made a good reason why boys drop out of school more than girls. I see how that applies, but the people I know of who dropped out was mainly from parents not pushing or caring about their child's education or the person gets in with the wrong crowd and doesn't take their education seriously. I do see where his theory is true, but I wouldn't say for every guy. I do agree that guys who play video games non-stop are less social which causes a problem in school.
The second video, he stresses on the higher the reward, the better the performance. You see this all the time in schools. Good behavior, you get a reward. A lot of teachers take advantage of this and think of it as the only way for students to behave by bribing them and that way they do not have to deal with the hard issues or even they do not know how to deal with them. Are they learning how to behave if they are only doing it for a prize? I don't think so at all. Telling a student if you behave please, I'll give you something, does not teach them anything. They do not know why they are supposed to behave, other than to get a reward. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for rewarding good behavior but a lot of people use this too much as a life saver to get through the day. Higher the reward, better the performance is certainly true, but it shouldn't be relied on. The best motivation is encouragement and being treated as an equal individual.
Both of these videos were very interesting and hard not to watch with the drawings. They are both good attention grabbers.

SmartBoard Presentation - Project 13

Secondary Mathematics: Triangles
By: Mary-Katelin McFerrin, Molly Dekin, Ashley Cousins

To view our form click here

Project 11

Blog Post 7

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

This video kept my attention the whole time, I think because his personality and the pictures he showed. I thought it was awesome and at the same time sad because I knew he didn't make it much longer after this. I thought it was awesome because he's such a great speaker and left such an impact on people just through this one speech he gave.
I wonder how many people have thought about their childhood dreams after watching this and actually tried to accomplish them or think if they have yet. I always said I wanted to be a cheerleader when I grew up and a teacher. Looks like I can check those off! I always wished I would have made a list when I was little and kept adding to it of goals I wanted to achieve. I wish someone had made me, like a teacher. I have always said because of that reason, I want my students to make a list the beginning of the year of goals in life and for the school year and then at the end of the year, go back and revise it and keep it updated over the years. I think that's a great way to keep kids motivated and it gives them something to look back on, like I wish I had now.
He said something like if he didn't get his dream, then it was because he got something more. What a great way to view things! Also, "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want". I love all these quotes he said, they really make you think in a positive way. I also like, "The brick walls are there for a reason". It reminds me of my favorite, everything happens for a reason. If things don't go as you planned, there's a reason for that. I think that's what he was trying to say to. He's such an inspirational speaker! I really liked listening to him.