Welcome Classes Fall 2014

Welcome!






This is the EDM310 Class Blog. You will need to review it daily. It is our communication "hub."

The Syllabus and other materials will be posted (links to the right) no later than Monday August 18. They will probably be available earlier than that. Keep looking.

Read the email and follow the instructions in it.
Important:
1. Sign up for a gmail account and let edm310new@gmail.com know what that email address is. We will ONLY use your Gmail address in EDM310
2. Bring your portable computer to class. If you do not have one we VERY STRONGLY recommend that you get a Mac. ALL teachers in Baldwin County use Macs and about 33% of teachers in Mobile County use them. That means that about 60% of all teachers in Mobile and Baldwin Counties use Macs. You will discover in EDM310 why we feel Macs are your best choice by a wide margin. You can contact me by email for further elaboration.
3. There will be NO computers in the classroom we will use this fall and you will need one for every class, including the first one.
4. Contact us with questions. Contact addresses are in the email I sent to your university jag mail account.

We will see you soon!

John Strange and the EDM310 staff

Foliotek Instructions

1. You must have registered for Foliotek unless you are exempt. You must access Foliotek through USA ONLINE, not directly on the web. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you notify me or a lab assistant.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.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 Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. 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 anyone desiring to can 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 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 consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your blog and the Class Blog. Therefore 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)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is 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 Instructions.

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 before 4 pm Wednesday April 30, 2014. 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 Thursday June 26, 2014 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

Blog Post Assignments 14 and 15 Now Posted

Consult the latest revision (version 2) of Blog Post Assignments.

Tips on Using Twitter from Mrs. Bennett at Gulf Shores Elementary

I have been busy watching #ISTE2014 in Atlanta, Georgia since Friday. If you will just go to your Twitter account and type in #ISTE2014 you can watch the posts. It will be fast and furious.
I don't know if you have downloaded Tweet Deck. Tweet Deck is very is to download and your Deck will have 4 columns that you can move around. To add another column you search the hashtag you want and hit add column. This is how you can watch several feeds at once.

This is the hashtag people not at iste are using:
#notatiste14

Also, a new app or download is Want
an AMAZING app to learn Twitter Download "TweechMe"

The Grand Father of Twitter Chats is Tom Whitby. He is now retired.
In this video he discusses being a "Connected Educators".

Another instrumental educator and backbone of Twitter Chats is Jerry
Blumengarten.
He is also retired, but on Twitter constantly encouraging and teaching. Visit his website: Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites

Twitter is how educators are learning in this transformational point in
Educational History.


~ Connect & share, then tell us how you did it !

Michele Pierce Bennett
Gulf Shores Elementary Library
MichelePierceBennett@MichelePierceB
Learning in the Library Blog
251.968.7375

Checking ALT and Title tag modifiers

To check the TITLE tag modifier: Hold the cursor over the image. The source of your image should appear for a short time.

To check the ALT tag modifier. Go to the W.A.V.E. (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) site. Enter the URL for the blog to be checked. A green tag by an image indicates that the ALT tag was properly done. A yellow tag indicates a problem with the tag. A red tag indicates that the tag was not done.

Correct all problems that exist on your blog.

Project 13 Questions - Answers by Lindsey Estes

Lindsey has posted to the EDM310 Facebook page these answers to questions about Project 13:

Hey EDM Students,

I know there have been several questions regarding Project 13 and posting it to your blogs. Here are three links that may help to clarify your confusion. If you still have questions, feel free to contact any of the lab assistants.

http://edm310.blogspot.com/2013/10/project-13-lesson-plan-1-clarifications.html
http://edm310.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-to-do-with-your-lesson-plan-some.html
http://edm310.blogspot.com/2013/10/what-to-do-with-your-lesson-plan.html

Be sure to look at all three links. Hope this helps to clarify.

I Dodged the Question

In the previous post to this one I replied to a post by William Chamberlain who reflected on a students's question "Why do I have to learn history?" This is an important question and needs to be addressed, not dodged like I did in responding to the question as if it were "How should history be taught"?

I will try again. All of us have to learn history because we live history. Each day our historical trail lengthens. That trail, that history, shapes us (and has already shaped us). I think it is important to understand how that happens (and what happened and how it happened). That, I think, is why we should learn history. But to learn that history we must reflect, ask questions, gather data, seek answers, increase our awareness to what is happening so that the questions will be more easily addressed in the future.

We need to know history in order to affect the future (if we can). If we understand our ongoing history, it is possible we can shape the future history, that is our history after tomorrow (or any time frame you want to set). That is why we need to learn history. And we can substitute almost anything for our selves in this process of reflecting, asking questions, gathering data, seeking answers, and changing the future.

But this probably does not really address the question asked by the fifth or sixth grader. My guess is that he really meant why do I have to learn the history you have (or the textbook has) chosen for me to study? A good question. I think we should think very hard about how to provide our students with more choice in the histories they choose to study. We should emphasize that what needs to be learned is how to effectively use the tools listed above (reflecting, asking questions, gathering data, etc.) which we use to study history. Schools instead seek a specific answer to a specific question and call that history.

Why Do I Have to Learn History?

In a recent blog post William Chamberlain, a teacher in Noel Missouri and one of the people who has most influenced how I have organized EDM310 and the person for whom the William Chamberlain Prize for EDM310 Students which is awarded annually by the University of South Alabama is named,asked this question.

His post raises a very important question. Here is what he wrote:

Funny how a little question, only seven words long, can throw one for a loop. I had a student ask me that question an hour ago and I am still reeling from it. I'm reeling because I can't verbalize an answer.

The first thing I did was look online for an answer. Surely somewhere there is a cogent, well reasoned and yet simple answer. If there is one, I didn't find it. Google the question yourself and see what comes up. Better yet search videos using the question, plain horrible. Honestly, I doubt anyone can answer this one for me anyway.

I have always loved history, I have loved the stories that come from history. I love the connections I see between seemingly disparate events. I love recounting stories like Peale's Mastadon because of the connections between art, science, and exploration.

Now I am stuck trying to justify what I teach without any cogent thoughts appearing. Why do they have to learn history?

I hope you will go to his post and read the many comments that have been left. They address Mr. Chamberlain's question in many different ways and are important for any aspiring teacher to consider.

One of those comments was left by me and I am repeating it here so I can be sure all EDM310 students will read his post and my comment. At least I should be able to "be sure" but you never know. Here is my comment and two pictures I took at the time of the event that I recount in my comment.

I'll add a few thoughts. Last March I visited the American Cemetery in Normandy. Around one gravestone a fairly large group had gathered. One person was rubbing sand into the carved out portion of the gravestone so that the name could be read which is difficult to do in sunlight. I later found out the sand was from Omaha Beach which is within walking distance. Another person was reading a statement about Sgt. Grover L. Scroggins from Texas, the person who was buried there. She had obviously contacted relatives and her comments told a great deal about Sgt. Scroggins, an American soldier who had died in the Normandy Invasion seventy years ago. I was moved to tears, as were many of those gathered around. What was going on, I wondered, since it was obvious that those surrounding the grave were Americans. I inquired and found that they were students from an American university near Washington, D.C. who were studying history. Each student had been assigned an American soldier who was buried in the American cemetery at Omaha Beach. Each conducted research and prepared a statement to be read on the field trip the class took to France. The readings were recorded on video and sent to members of the soldier's family. But these students were studying history! Why were they doing this? To learn about what had happened in Normandy 70 years ago. To learn to do research. To learn to write. To learn to make a public presentation which will be shown to a lot of other people. To learn videography. To learn about how people react to the sacrifices of others. To learn the geography of one of the most important events of the last 100 years (or more). To learn to work with others (family members, other students, teachers, residents of France). History is a context for learning that goes way beyond knowing "what happened" and "when and where it happened." I find it hard to imagine a better and more powerful learning experience. History was the context, not the end objective. History should not be taught as a subject which is memorized and then burped back. Instead it should be a vehicle, a context, for active learning that has a public purpose. Just ask the students participating in this learning event. Or the family members who got the videos. Or even those who just happened to walk by and listen in as I did. I certainly learned a lot - about history and about learning!

Maybe these thoughts will help us to understand how history can be a powerful context for learning. I suspect this approach would be equally powerful in any town in America.

EDM310, We Have A Problem

Yes, we have a problem - with C4Ts.

Sunday June 8, 2014 at midnight was the first deadline for posts on C4Ts

two posts were due:
C4Ta#1 and C4Tp#1.

Each of those posts was to cover two posts read, summarized and commented on by you. That means you should have read four posts (2 for the alternating teacher and 2 for Sylvia Tolisano, i.e. Langwitches).

Twelve students did both of these assignments. Four did neither but one of these four has now posted C4Ta#1 but not C4Tp#1. Two additional students read (apparently) and commented on only one post for C4Ta#1. I have not yet read the posts for C4Tp#1 so I do not know if any who did this post only did half of it.

If you are one of the students who did not do any part of these assignments you should immediately do them. You cannot afford to get behind in EDM310, especially in the summer.

Book Conversation Assignments Posted

The assignments for your book conversations (formerly called podcasts) have now been posted in a document called Book Conversation Assignments Summer 2014.

Class Materials Now Posted

All class materials at=re now available.

Click on Instruction Manual in the right column under Essential Materials for Students and Visitors.

If you should find a document that appears to be for a previous semester please send an email to strange.john@gmail.com Include what you clicked and where what you clicked is located (name of document, page number)

If you have not yet created your Google account, do so before class starts Tuesday May 27, 2014. You must have a Google account before class starts! See the email I sent to your Jagmail account last week.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Syllabus and Other Materials Now Available.

To get a copy of the Summer 2014 Syllabus, click on the link in the column on the right under Essential Materials for Students and Visitors.

Other materials can be found through links in the Instruction Manual. A link to it is also found in the column on the right labeled Essential Materials for Students and Visitors.

The document Blog Post Assignments is not complete. It may be early Tuesday before it is available. If it becomes available before then i will post that information to this blog.

Welcome Summer 2014 Students

Welcome to the EDM310 Class Blog.

The Class Syllabus will be posted tomorrow, Friday May 23, 2014. Other materials will be available between now and Tuesday May 27, 2014 when classes start.

Remember - get a Google mail account before classes start. Unfortunately your University of Mail account (although operated by Google) will not work with Blogger and YouTube, both of which we will use extensively. So get your Gmail account BEFORE class on Tuesday.

Read my email to you carefully. It contains some extremely important information about EDM310.

Learn more about EDM310.

Read EDM310 is Different.

Watch Aspects of EDM310.

Watch 9 Differences: EDM310 Is Different

Wednesday Classes and Presentations Cancelled

Due to road conditions and continuing weather issues, I have cancelled Class and Presentations for the MW 4 Class and the Wednesday 6 Class.

Prezi Final Projects:
You must have your Prezi embedded (or have a link to your Prezi) on all group members' blogs.

iBook Final Projects:
One member of your group MUST turn in the master iBookAuthor program (from your Mac). Bring it to the Lab and put in on the pen drive that the Lab Assistant will have. This must be done by 5pm Thursday. The soon the better.

Foliotek: If you have not had your Foliotek checked this must be done by 3pm TODAY.

Final Questionnaire: Will be sent early this afternoon. Due no later than Sunday midnight.

Final Reflection (your video commentary on your learning in EDM310) - Due Sunday midnight

University Course Evaluation: Please complete it in USA OnLine Sakai

Have a great break. Stop by and see us this summer or next semester.

John Strange, Jacey-Blaire Chandler, Rebecca Latham, Lindsey Estes, Jordan Neeley

TT 2 Presentations and Class Cancelled

Due to the possibility of severe weather this afternoon and since Baldwin and Mobile schools are closed, the Tuesday/Thursday class at 2:00 today has been cancelled.

Here is what must be done with the final projects:

Prezi

Post with link to Prezi must be on all group member blogs by 2:00 today.

iBook

The iBook Author file from the Mac on which you worked must be put on a special flash drive that the Lab Attendant will have. You must put your iBook (one member from each group) on the special flash drive no later than 4 pm THURSDAY. The Lab is not staffed at all times on Wednesday but I expect that a Lab Attendant will be there at most hours since Jacey-Blair will be available to cover some of the open hours. I will be at school by 11:00 Wednesday but will be in meetings part of that time. Go to the Professional Studies Office in the College of Education Building (ask where it is if you do not know) and the secretaries will find me. Check the Lab first, but find me if necessary on Wednesday. On Thursday go straight to the Lab between 9 and 5.

All members of a group must post an image of some part of your iBook on your blog with a post that briefly summarizes your iBook.

Foliotek

If you have not been checked for Foliotek you must have that done by 3pm Wednesday.

Classes Wednesday

All classes Wednesday WILL be held as usual and presentations will occur at those classes.

iBook Additional Instructions

If you are creating an iBook and do not have the original movie files you can create a widget in order to use your YouTube videos in your iBook. To create a widget you need to create a free account through bookry.com. After creating an account you will create a book that you are writing within the Bookshelf tab. After creating your book then add a widget. For every YouTube video you would like to use you need to create a new widget on Bookry. Once you have created your widget you will need to save and then click download. After the widget has been downloaded you can just drag and drop these widgets into your iBook. All you need to create the widgets is the URL for the YouTube video.

Lindsey Estes

Lab Open Special Hours

The Lab will be open Sunday April 20, 2024 but NOT STAFFED.

The Lab will be open Monday night April 21, 2014 until 8:30pm.

The Lab will be open Wednesday April 23, 2014 until 8:30 pm.

The Lab will be open Thursday April 24, 2024 until 8:30 pm.

The Lab will be open Saturday April 26 from 9am until 6 pm.

The Lab will be open Sunday April 27, 2024 from 1pm until 6 pm.

Foliotek Instructions

1. You must have registered for Foliotek unless you are exempt. You must access Foliotek through USA ONLINE, not directly on the web. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you notify me or a lab assistant.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.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 Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. 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 anyone desiring to can 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 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 consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your blog and the Class Blog. Therefore 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)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is 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 Instructions.

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 before 4 pm Wednesday April 30, 2014. 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 Thursday June 26, 2014 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

C4C Schedule Change

The due date Blog Post #12 has been extended to Thursday midnight April 17, 2014. Consequently it is not appropriate to have a C4C that isn't on the same schedule. Therefore the due date for C4C #12 will be changed to midnight Sunday April 27, 2014. C4C #13 will be due at the same time.

Look for C4C #12 assignments early Friday morning.

Clarification of Blog Post #12 Instructions

Aaron Ferguson and Allie Padgett have raised questions about Blog Post #12. Consequently I have tried to clarify what I want you to do for Blog Post #12.

Here are my revised instructions (not including the list of places to start) for Blog Post 12 Due 4/13 Changed to 4/17. Consult the entire assignment on Version 7 of the Blog Post Instructions which can now be accessed through the Checklist Master or the Instruction manual accessible through the Class Blog. Be sure you are using Version 7 of the Blog Post Assignments. Since I have created some confusion I will accept Blog Post #12 through one week from today (by midnight Thursday April 17). No other due dates are changed by this however.

Clarification added 4/10/14

What assistive technologies are available to you as a teacher? Select a few and discuss how they may be useful to you.

You can find the applicable standards yourself.

Here are some places to start. Divide them among the group. If your group is non-functioning, start with a few of the following. The key phrases from the original assignment is this: Additional research will be required from all participants. These are only to get you started. You will need to cite your sources in your posts. In other words, I want independent research to answer the driving question and I want to know where you got the information you use in your post so I can think about adding it as "starter material" next semester.

You can present your findings in any way you desire: written work, a movie, a Google slide presentation. Embed you final project in your own blog. The product can be done individually, by your group, or by a portion of the group with other members doing the work independently or in a separate sub-group. The important thing is to make clear who participated in the product you embed on your blog.

Thanks Aaron and Allie for seeking a clarification. I hope this does the trick!