Blog Assignment 8

This is How We Dream - Parts 1 and 2 by Dr. Richard E. Miller


In part one Dr. Miller talks about how the way we teach and present information has changed.  He first talks about books, that they were printed on paper, written by one author, and stored in a library.  He goes on to say that form of publication and presentation is becoming irrelevant.  He then presents the new way in which publications are being presented.  Due to the technology available today world wide communication is possible instantaneously.  This allows for collaboration and also more enhanced documents to be readily available to anyone with an internet connection.  He talks about a transfer from documents solely containing printed words and static pictures to documents that contain print and also video and sound.  Allowing for a more stimulated learning experience for the reader and also allowing for more people to view the document because it is stored forever on the internet.

In the second part of the series Dr. Miller says that this form of technologically integrated documentation is, at the moment, not as widely used as he thinks it will become in the future.  He says that eventually students will stop presenting information just on word processing documents.  He says that there will be a shift from the flat form of documenting to the more integrated form.  He also talks about some of the works he has been publishing on the interent and using YouTube to get them popularized.  He says that this is a way of pushing ideas into our culture and claims that it is a much more effective way of doing so.  Because within three months of posting some of his work to YouTube he had over nine thousand views as opposed to submitting something to a journal in print that would not surface online for another two years. He says that this is just the beginning and there is much more to come.

I would encourage everyone to watch these videos.  It is very exciting to see where the world of education and learning is going.  Dr. Miller says that this is possible but that there needs to be inspired teachers to push for this.  I am excited to take on that charge as a future educator.  Presenting information in this way is much more engaging and appealing for everyone.  Why wouldn't the educational community be pushing for this and embracing it?  Like all things change takes time, plus it is exciting to be part of the movement. I know I will teach using integrated documentation and push my students to create and learn in the same fashion.

Carly Pugh's Blog Assignment 12 


Wow.  This is one impressive post.  You can tell that Carly worked really hard and put a lot of thought into this post.  I think her idea about making a YouTube playlist is great!  I watched Carly's playlist and thought it was great, very inspiring.  After reading her post it also inspired me to work a little harder and try to make my posts more informative.

In regards to what Dr. Miller talked about in his video's and comparing it to what Carly did in blog post 12 I feel is spot on!  I too am going to be an English teacher and my passion is in Literature.  I found a lot of the videos to be really helpful and I know that I will use them in my classroom.  I know that it is difficult to get teenagers interested in Literature but this is one way to make a good effort.  It makes a visually entertained audience exactly that, visually entertained while learning.  I think I will have a leg up in getting teens excited about Literature because I was one of those kids while in high school I just didn't get what the big deal was about writing and reading.  I thought it was all boring and didn't take much skill.  Needless to say, I was way wrong.  Knowing what I know now and using tools such as these I know I will be able to inspire and fifteen year old version of myself.

The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies  

In the video EDM310 for Dummies the students really show how it feels to be in this class.  In the beginning it is so frustrating having to figure out how to use all this new stuff.  It's very overwhelming at first, but with time everything smoothes out and you realize, "Yes, I have I brain, I am smart, and with help I can do this."  The video just shows you that you're not alone, feeling helpless, but there is hope!  You can be taught.  You will learn.  You will be better for it!

The Chipper series is a series of clips in the life of a student, Chipper.  In the video she starts as a student in EDM310 who puts off her work.  Then becomes frustrated because she isn't doing the work and is getting bad grades.  Then she opens a failed pilots school, gets a degree online, gets a job as a teacher, gets fired for not coming to school, gets another job as a waitress, and gets fired again.  Then she tries to get a job as a nanny, fails at that and then lands on becoming a garbage collector.  She finally decides to take school seriously in the end, get her masters degree and stop procrastinating.  The point of the video is don't be lazy and do it right the first time.  At least that's what I think.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn  


This is another video enforcing the fact that technology has a significant role in the classroom of today and of the future.  The video talks about how the way things have been done in schools for the past hundred years has to change because our world has changed.  The job market is not catered to teaching excelling on standardized tests.  The job market tests a students ability to adapt, create, collaboriate, and live in a ever changing society.

This video really encapsulates what it is that we are learning through this course of study in EDM310.  It is good to know that educators coming out of the University of South Alabama have no choice but to be technologically literate.  That they will be encouraged to use networked learning in their classrooms because it is how we will learn from this point forward.  I thought this video was great.  I know I will watch it more than once in the future.