Blog Assignment 8

This Is How We Dream Parts 1 and 2


In “This Is How We Dream Part 1”, Richard Miller talks about the transition from reference books in libraries to online sources. He also included a discussion about collaboration online, using sources like Skype. He shows different images and websites online and then compares them to books; for example, the Washington Post is now online with live footage; where as, it used to be a printed newspaper with news from the day before. Miller talks about “incremental” changes and “fundamental” changes. He says that transition of the Washington Post and other related documents from print to the Internet is an “incremental” change and not a “fundamental” change. He considers these changes “incremental” because they are not a necessity, rather just a change going with the flow of society; for example, the Washington Post now has a website with live footage because the society is moving towards a technological era. This newspaper did not change because they had to. People would still it read it without the live footage, like they did 10 years ago before the Internet was popular. In this video, he shows Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech”. I find this interesting because we can see how far our world has arisen in technological advances since this era. He stated, “I am the person of the book. I was raised in a house filled with books and I dreamed of a career that involved working with books”. I can relate to this statement because I was raised in a house with bookshelves in every room, even the bathroom. We got the newspaper every morning, and to this day, I have 100s of books in my own house. When he went on further to explain that a book is, now, out of print and can be bought on Amazon.com for $0.59, I thought, “what will it be like when I am raising my children”. Does this mean that my favorite childhood bedtime stories will now be on a computer screen for me to read to my children? With the way that we are advancing with technology now, I believe it is safe to say the answer to this question is “Yes”. Miller also stated that he did “an entire research project without stepping foot in a library”. Ironically, I have also done this; we probably all have. I remember being in high school and the teachers forced us to go to the library and use reference books as a source. It was so irritating! Why did we have to use the library when we could find this book online? Thinking back and thinking ahead, I do not want to be “that teacher” who is stuck in the past, using the “old ways”. I do not want to make my student do “useless” tasks, like I did. This is a scary thought.


Furthermore, in “This Is How We Dream Part 2”, Miller talks about this “new material that changes before our eyes”. He asks why would we not want to use these new ideas. Well, I think we as students and future educators should use every tool and resource possible that is available to us; it would be senseless not to. Miller stated, “limits and restrictions are what we place on ourselves”. We are the only ones holding ourselves back.


These videos are interesting, in that in can relate to them, but they also frighten me. Am I prepared for the future as a technologically advanced teacher? Somewhat, but my skills needs practice. I already write with multimedia, like online sources and such, but this video shows much more advanced aspects of multimedia writing. I am willing to learn how to use these new programs and advances, and with given time, I will be able to use them. I think that this is a learning experience for us all, teachers and students; therefore, we will learn from each other.

Blog Post #12 by Carly Pugh

First of all, I loved the how Carly wrote this post. I try to focus on writing a formal English paper for my blog posts, while she wrote Blog Post #12 in her own words. I think it showed her personality and made this post easier to read; I felt like I was connecting with her. In this post, she talked about an assignment that Dr. Strange should have suggested. Her idea was making a YouTube playlist of videos that included points like the type of teacher you want to be, tutorials and modifications for the classroom, and others. Along with writing the assignment, she also made a playlist. Like Carly, I also learn by example. I think this was a well written assignment because she included all of the directions and an example of the final creation. I am sure this post took a great length of time, but it was well written. The links that she provided really enriched her post. This post shows how creative Carly is and we should all learn from her creativity and strive to achieve.   


EDM310 is Different

I watched both of these videos, The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies, at the beginning of the semester when Dr. Strange suggested them hoping that they would prepare myself for the class that I was about to endure. I was nervous/terrified/stressed/eager all together for the first 2 weeks. Needless to say, I was a complete wreck. Both of these videos are absolutely hilarious. The EDM310 for Dummies offered a great deal of relief. Obviously other students had made it out of this class alive, so I knew I could do it. I have felt just like these students. Ripping the keyboard out of the computer and throwing things have crossed my mind. After making it through the first half of this class, I am no longer a complete wreck because I have my own schedule and can do assignments at my own pace. I have learned that I was a huge procrastinator and I have learned what the term “time management” actually means. I wish I had taken this class as a freshman; I would probably have done better in some of my other classes.

The Chipper Series was also great. Chipper is a normal college student who thinks that teachers should plan around her schedule. After being fired from every job possible she decides to go back to school. I believe I would have given up and returned to school sooner than she did. I remember freshman year, even this past semester, thinking, “this teacher must think their class is the only class I am taking and that I do not have a personal life”. Yes, this class can be stressful if you get behind but it is also a wonderful class, in that, you learn much more than just the same ole “textbook material”; you acquire knowledge that will be useful for the rest of your life.

 The video that I would make for future students is How to Use Collaboration. Collaboration is a major part for group projects in this class. In this video I would show a group for 4 students that included someone who was not a “team player”. The plot would show all of the students working together to make a podcast with the “outcast" member playing on the phone and not paying attention while the others worked hard on their project. I would show how to use Google Docs, texting, email, and twitter for meeting times and other important shared information. The “outcast” member would not pay attention to any of the information being sent to them, further omitting them from the important project. In the end, the student would learn how to use all of the advances suggested and learn how to be a “team player”.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn 


I loved this video! When this class began, the first blog assignments included watching videos about using technologies in the classroom. Honestly, at first, I was completely against using technology in the classroom. Sure a computer was ok, but smart boards and online learning, like blogs, Symbaloo, and Storify were completely out of the picture. I was set that I was not going to use these resources in my classroom. I am sure you are thinking “Why not”? Well, truthfully, it was because I did not know how to use these resources; therefore, in mind eyes, they were not useful to my future students or me. I could not have been more wrong. Dr. Strange and EDM 310 have opened my eyes to all of the valuable assets of the Internet and new technologies, like the iPad. I am actually considering purchasing an iPad now; when before this class, the thought never crossed my mind. This video brings up the idea of the old classroom and how unrelated this teaching method is to our students of today. Future students will need to use the technologies available to them during school years so they are prepared for their future in the workforce.  This is a great video and I completely agree with the statements of these distinguished individuals.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0

I found the tool that is similar to Facebook/Twitter and it is called Edmodo. This is site that is set up almost exactly like Facebook, only instead of being able to view only picture and posts like Facebook, Edmodo offers resources that are great for teachers. You can make assignments, quizzes, and polls. Pretty awesome! My students and parents could have accounts and they could view all quizzes and assignments. Instead of the parent being oblivious to their child’s progress in class and to what their child is learning, they could follow along with the class!

I also found a video tool that I had never used. For this tool, I researched Animoto.com. This website allows you to make videos using your own images and your own music. Although I prefer to use iMovie, I think this would be an easy video tool for someone who did not have access to a Mac.


I created a poll:

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