Final Reflection/Form Now Available

The link to the final reflection on the class has been emailed to your gmail account. It must be completed by midnight tomorrow Tuesday July 27, 2010. But don't put it off. Do it now.

If you have any problems with the form, CALL me at 251-610-2599.

Don't forget: You also must complete your final reflective post about you! See the instructions in the second post below.

Thanks.

Have a great summer (what is left of it)!

William Chamberlain Prize Fund Established. First Recipients Announced

The William Chamberlain Prize Fund has been established at the University of South Alabama. Annual awards will be given to one or more students in the College of Education who have demonstrated an unusual interest in and ability to use technology in learning.

Mr. Chamberlain announced the first winners of the prize in a ceremony Saturday July 24. They are:
Poppy Bednorz
Anthony Capps
Paula Casallo
Jackie Gorski
Jamie Lynn Miller


Each prize winner was awarded $ 150.

Congratulations to all the winners.









Bill Chamberlain, Jamie Lynn Miller, Jackie Gorski, Anthony Capps, Poppy Bednorz, John Strange. Paula Casallo not pictured.

Final Post Reflection Instructions - Final Examination Part 1

Final EDM310 Personal Reflection

This constitutes a part of your final examination in EDM310. You have read two of Mr. McClung's reflections. One after his first year of teaching; one after his second. I want you to reflect on your eight weeks in EDM310 with the same care and consideration as Mr. McClung did in his two reflections.

Take 15 minutes to think. With your brain turned on. Look at your watch or clock. Don't start writing your post until you have spent 15 minutes reflecting. Take notes. Organize your thoughts.

Here are some things to think about to stimulate your reflection. These are not questions you have to answer. Just some things to get you started thinking and reflecting.

If you would rather answer by doing a movie or audio, do that. Embed in your post. Be sure to tag the video in YouTube with EDM310.

Use specific examples where appropriate.

On Monday I will post a form for you to complete which will provide you with an opportunity to reflect on the course. It will be due no later than midnight Tuesday July 27, 2010. This post is also due at the same time. Do it as soon as possible.

1. What have I learned? What can I now do that I couldn't do? What experiences have been especially meaningful to me? How am I different? What things do I think about that I didn't think about before EDM310? Will I approach teaching differently because of EDM310? What have I learned about working with others? What have I learned about myself? What are the things I need to work on to be an incredible teacher in the 21st century? After 15 minutes of reflection (don't count the time spent reading thee instructions) write your personal reflection on how EDM310 has affected you.

2. Using the same technique of reflecting before writing - this time for 10 minutes rather than 15 - reflect on what you would tell you best friend (or just an acquaintance) if they were going to take EDM310 next semester. What things should your friend do to make EDM310 more meaningful? What things to read, search for? What teachers to follow? What things to avoid? What things or opportunities to take advantage of? Again, this is NOT an outline for you to follow. These questions are posed to get you to think.

Join Mr. Chamberlain for a Conversation

Mr. Bill Chamberlain will meet with students Friday from 9- 1 in the EDM310 Lab. Come talk with a master teacher who has contributed so much to EDM310.

If you are present at 1:00 pm I'll take you to lunch at my expense.
John Strange

Mr Chamberlain Suggests..

Mr Chamberlain suggested via email:"Brian Crosby's presentation Back To the Future at TedX Denver would be a great video for your students because it illustrates how one topic can encompass a huge range of learning."

Next semester this video will be one of the required assignments. I endorse Mr. Chamberlain's suggestion and urge you to watch it NOW!

Be prepared to be:
Disturbed
Puzzled
Dizzy
Sky High
Transported
Bursting with Excitement
A Follower
A Mac Fan
A Builder of a Learning Network
An Authentic Audience
Creating High Hopes
A Collaborator
A participant in a class with a student "You will probably never see."
In need of a Kleenex
A Learner
Amazed
Motivated
Challenged to Act
Thankful

Watch the video and you will understand this list. Do it now. No, it is not a required assignment. But if you really want to be a fantastic teacher watch this video NOW! Back To the Future by Brian Crosby, Agnes Risley Elementary School, Sparks, Nevada.

NEW ASSIGNMENT: Alba Middle School Students Create Videos

Alba Middle School Students Create Videos is a video that tells us about Alba Middle School students who created a created a photograph exhibit which told the story of Katrina hitting the Gulf Coast five years ago and about their new projects creating videos about the BP oil spill. Their first video, a practice "spoof video," is now on You Tube. It is titled The Mean Oil Spill. The Alba students have just posted a more serious movie called Just Pray. The students are continuing to work on more videos.

It seems appropriate for us to celebrate these video productions in Mobile County with some comments from EDM310 students. So here is a NEW assignment. Watch the Mobile Press Register video: Alba Middle School Students Create Videos. Then watch The Mean Oil Spill. Leave a comment on the YouTube site. Then watch Just Pray. Then take a look at some of the other videos posted by Sheila Hagler. Go to the sheilahaglerphotos Channel of You Tube. In the lower left you will see her Recent Activity. Take a look at some of her other videos. You can also click on Send Message (near the Subscribe button on the left) and send a her a message about your reactions to her work that that of the students at Alba. You can also email her Sheila Hagler: sheilahagler@gmail.com

The print article by Reneé Busby was published on p. 1 of the Living Section of the Mobile Press Register on Tuesday July 13, 2010. Since the print article is not on the Mobile Press Register site, I will reproduce it here:

Students document BP's "mean" spill

By Renee´ Buzbee

Bayou La Batre - The Alma Middle School students laughed as they sat at a computer searching for bird sounds and photos for their video.

It's a part of their healing process.

Five years ago, Alba students created "Eyes of the Storm," a photo exhibit chronicling hurricane Katrina's wrath in south Mobile County. Now, students there are producing a video about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

"Kids process feelings through photos," said Sheila Hagler, an artist in residence at Alba and a professional photographer who teaches photography.

Hagler, who oversaw the Katrina project, said that the spill video would help the students cope with another tragedy affecting family members, neighbors and friends.

"When they talk about it, healing takes place," Hagler said.

To test the waters for their video project, the students made a spoof video called "The Mean Oil Spill, which is on You Tube.

In a classroom last week, the students began editing video of a Bayou woman interviewed describing him made signs that she creates about the oil spill.
The students named the new video "Just Pray."

Those words , said Hagler, are heard often when coastal folks explain how they're doing with the spill.

Next week, the students will venture into the Bayou community with their cameras to capture the feelings of loved ones and other local people.

A recent visit to Gulf Shores left Alba student Krista Bufford, 12, with oil covered shoes, instead of memories of a fun summer vacation. "The oil spill is disgusting," she said.

Alba students Abby and Tara Ladnier, 12-year-old twins, know firsthand how the spill has harmed local livelihoods.

"My Paw Paw works on a shrimp boat and he doesn't have a job," said Terra. " He's upset."

Abby said she hopes the video will encourage people to "do something to help."

Said Terra: "I hope that people will see that if you pray, it will change it."

Foliotek

After all presentations have been completed next Thursday July 22, 2010 we will check your Foliotek entries if you have them completed or we will help you complete them if necessary.

1. You must register for Foliotek. It costs $ 35 for one year. To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. Go to the USA Online Login page.
b. Login. Your User ID is your J number. Your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number.
c. Click on Go to Class. Then click on eFoliotek. If you have not established a Foliotek account, do so. You will have to pay by credit card. After all information has been entered you will have to Accept the Foliotek rules, etc.
2. Once you have registered and paid for Foliotek and Accepted the Foliotek rules, etc. you will be able to post to Foliotek.

Think of Foliotek as a storage device in the sky where you will store evidence of your accomplishments in the College of Education. Every course you take in the COE has state established standards which you must meet. You must store the evidence used to determine whether or not you have met these standards in Foliotek where they can be seen by anyone desiring to see that evidence. Your instructors will provide detailed instructions of what evidence must be submitted for what standards. You then place electronic copies of that evidence in Foliotek.

In EDM310 all of your evidence for all of your the standards associated with EDM310 is in your blog and the EDM310 Class Blog. Therefore your blog and the Class Blog are what "go" into Foliotek. Since your evidence are blog we only have to provide Foliotek with links - a links to your blog and the Class Blog. So completing the Foliotek requirements for EDM310 is quick and easy.

You will need:
1. A list of the standards associated with EDM310. They are:

Literacy: Oral and Written Communications (3)(c) 1.(iii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(i)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(ii)
Professionalism: Alabama-Specific Improvement Initiatives (5)(c) 3.(i)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy and professionalism. (There are others.) Also note that there one small letter i (or two or three of them) at the end of the numbering system. These are VERY IMPORTANT. Be sure you pay attention to them!

2. You will need the URL to your blog and the URL for the Class Blog ( http://edm310.blogspot.com )

3. Then follow the instructions in Foliotek Summer 2010.

4. After you have completed Foliotek, your entries must be checked in person by one of the EDM310 staff members. This is an ABSOLUTE requirement and it must be done in class on Thursday July 22, 2010. If one of us does not sign off on your Foliotek entries in person you will get an I in the course. And if you do not complete Foliotek (which is a GREAT hassle for you and an even greater hassle for Dr. Strange) no later than Monday October 11 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

Final Comments4Classmates / Blog Assignment 13

This instruction supersedes the instructions in the Instruction Manual for Blog Post 13 (Assignment 14).

I am experimenting. This assignment has two objectives:
1. Students who did not submit their posts on time did not get comments. This assignment should produce 3 comments for everyone.
2. Blog posts have been the only assignments for comments. This broadens the work reviewed by your fellow students.

You have three posts of fellow students upon which to comment. The assignments can be found in Google Docs under Comments4Classmates Number 12. If I have assigned you a post which is yours or in which you appear (an interview or a smartboard lesson for example), do not do the assigned post. Instead comment on the "spare" provided for you. If you need more than one "spare," select any other.

This is the final C4C assignment. BUT I have added a new assignment. See the post NEW ASSIGNMENT: Alba Middle School Students Create Videos.

There will be one more Blog Post - a Final Self Assessment. Instructions will be posted Thursday July 22.

Completing Your Forms Assignment

Stephen Akins has created a movie on how to Add A Summary of Survey Results to Your Blog.

In the Instruction Manual I mentioned the word print. Well, I have washed my mouth out and corrected that. Of course you can print the results using the method I described in the Instruction Manual. But you do not have to!

Just follow Stephen's suggestions.

The Missing Part of Blog Post 12 (Assignment 13) Due 7/14

WatchM-Cubed: ISTE Presentation Video. Then watch three other videos (your choice) at fablab4teacher's Channel. What did you learn from watching these four videos. What can you put to use in your classroom? In your post add working links to the three additional videos you watched.

The Instruction Manual has been revised to reflect this change.

Watch for another change later this week which will identify the assignments for Blog Posts 13 and 14. These assignments will be in a post on the Class Blog and another revision to the Instruction Manual will be issued.

Is your blog accessible?

There are many issues involved in making web content accessible to everyone no matter what adaptive software or hardware they may be using because of a disability or some other form of diversity. This is why in EDM310 we require that you place ALT and TITLE tags on any pictures you include in your blog. If you have questions about how to do this see the movie at the bottom of page 5 of the EDM 310 Instruction Manual entitled, "Adding ALT and TITLE tag modifiers".  To check and make sure you have done this correctly Click Here to use the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool or WAVE. This link is also available on page 4 of the EDM 310 Instruction Manual. About half way down the WAVE website there is a link that will explain how to add the WAVE toolbar to your Firefox browser. Once you have done this you can check your blog (or any other web page for that matter) simply by clicking the WAVE button on your tool bar. 

WAVE will show green tags for things that are accessible, yellow tags for things that are questionable, and red tags for things that are not accessible. There are some things on your blog that are out of your control that will show up with red or yellow tags. Don't worry about these things. These are Google's problem. You just need to ensure that you see green tags on any pictures you have added.

If you have any questions or require further clarification please let me know. SS

C4K 3 Now Available in Google Docs

Since this is summer here the schools are out for summer "recess." Even the Australian and New Zealand schools are on winter break now. So we are doing C4K a bit differently than usual for assignment 3. Read the directions carefully on the Google Doc for C4K 3. We will be taking an in-depth look at the blog posts of one class: Mr. McClung's World. You have just read his Review for Year 1 and you can see in the post two posts below that you will be assigned his Year 2 Reflection later in the semester. Now you will get to look at his class "in action." It's not in session, but you will see how it developed over the course of the Spring Term. So look around. Don't just do your assigned post. See what you can learn from his blog as a whole.

Instruction Manual Revised - Version 1.6

The Instruction Manual has been revised again. It is now at Version 1.6. The regular server hosting my EDM310 documents is now working at long last. But the Manual will also be on the emergency site. Although the changes that have been made are relatively minor, they do provide a somewhat clearer schedule of project due dates.

You may use either of these two links to get Version 1.6 (July 2, 2010)
The Instruction Manual on the regular server.

The Instruction Manual on the Emergency Site. Then select instructionmanual.pdf and download

Mr. McClung Reflects on Year 2

Mr. McClung Reflects on Year 2. Compare his new reflection to his reflection from last year (Year 1). And leave him a comment. Two of you have already done this. This is the first part of Blog Post 12 due July 14. Since the two are related you might want to do this part of Blog Assignment 12 now and the rest (to be assigned) later.