Tiny URL Practice

This is a practice.

Tiny URL Site

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

This video was very interesting and inspiring. Randy Pausch is dying of cancer, yet he is so positive. He talks about his disease and how even though he does not have long to live, he is healthier than many people in the audience. I couldn't believe that he is so close to death and could do all of those push-ups! He talks about his childhood dreams and describes how he did or did not achieve those dreams. Then he gives us some lessons he learned in life.

Mr. Pausch described some of his childhood dreams to the audience. They sound like many dreams that little boys have. They were things like being in zero gravity, playing in the NFL, being like Captain Kirk, winning big stuffed animals, and being an imagineer with Disney. He accomplished some but not all of those dreams. Something that he said that really stuck out to me was that the two greatest things are achieving your dreams and enabling the dreams of others. Teachers help others enable their dreams every day. That is why I look forward to being a teacher.

Something else that he said which stuck out to me was that the best gift you can give someone is helping them become self reflective. This is true because when someone is self reflective, they see what their weak areas are and are able to work on those things. If a person is self reflective they can accomplish great things in life. He made a good point when he said that you have to decide if you are going to be a Tigger or an Eeyore in life. This is good advice because if you make a conscious effort to be positive, like Tigger, then you will not bring others down with your negativity, like Eeyore.

The techniques he advocates are: have fun, never give up, get feedback from other people because you can learn from it, don't complain-just work harder, show gratitude, work hard, find the best in everybody, be prepared, and "Don't bail; the best of gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap." He also said to be good at something because it makes you valuable. All of these techniques are good things for teachers to go by .

At the end of the video, Mr. Pausch revealed that he had done this "Last Lecture" not for the audience, but for his three kids. It was his advice for them to use in their life. He wanted to leave them something to remember him by. This is perhaps the most important thing he has done in his very successful life.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I thought that Karl Fisch made some very good points. Teachers need to show their students that you have to continue to learn even when you graduate from school. Teachers can do this by learning new things about technology and incorporating them into their lessons. Mr. Fisch's statement that talked about how being a technologically illiterate teacher today is like being a teacher 30 years ago who could not read, really made me realize how important technology is. I had never looked at it that way.

Although technology is not the most important aspect of education, it is an asset. A student can still learn something without using it, but it sure does make things easier to learn. I think that it is important for teachers to know the basic computer skills and know how to access different things that will benefit their lessons. Teachers must not only be willing to teach, they must also be willing to learn. If teachers keep an open mind and try to learn new things, not only will they benefit, but their students will as well.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

Michael Wesch: "A Vision of Students Today"

This video was very interesting. I really related to it. It does capture my college experience. I am taking two classes right now that we have not used our book in. I paid so much money for my books and it makes me sick to think that they are not being used. I also related to the part at the end which said that students have to be multitaskers. I am so busy right now and I am constantly multitasking. For example, right now I am washing and drying clothes, cooking supper, watching TV and doing my homework. Except for the TV part, all of these things I have to be doing right now.This video pretty much sums up how I feel about college.

If I had to add one thing to this video it would probably be that I will not only be in debt when I graduate, I will have spent thousands of dollars commuting to and from school. I drive 106 miles 4 days per week and about 50 miles 2 nights per week. This has been my biggest aggravation with college. I wonder how many other students in the country are spending that much on gas, and what the total amount of money college students are spending on gas each year. I'm sure we would be amazed at the total.

What I've Learned This Year

What I've Learned This Year
"What I've Learned This Year" by Mr. McClung




Mr. McClung had a very good point. In college the professors teach you to make sure your lessons are delivered well, and they keep you focused on how you are being assessed by your superiors. He said that he needed to focus on whether or not the lesson was student oriented or not. He says not to worry so much about the delivery of the lesson, but to be more concerned with whether or not the students comprehend it. Another good poing that Mr. McClung made was that you have to be flexible. You can plan the pefect lesson, but it might not go as you planned. Mr. McClung also reminds us to communicate, which bulids relationships with other teachers. He also said to be reasonable and not to set your expectations for your students too high or low. He also says not to be afraid of technology, listen to your students, and never stop learning. Being afraid of technology is one of the worst things you can do as a teacher. There are so many useful tools out there and you will miss out if you are afraid of computers.

The Technology Literate Teacher/Resources

The Technology Literate Teacher

As I was watching this videocast done by some of last semester's EDM 310 student's, I was trying to think of what would have made this it better. I tried to think of things that I would have done different, and things that I will do on the videocast that I do this semester.

The first thing that I noticed was that the students seemed very dull and boring. It was probably because they were nervous, but the way they did not seem excited made me want to stop watching. I think that it would have made the videocast much better if they seemed glad to be doing the videocast. When I do my videocast I will try to remember to not be nervous and to be enthusiastic about the topic.

The next thing that I noticed was that the placement of the people around the table was a little awkward. It was probably due to the amount of people in the group. If there had been less people in the group and they had all been facing the camera, kind of like news people, it would have made it more appealing to the audience.

I also noticed that some of the people in the videocast wore t-shirts. I think that it would have looked better if everyone had dressed professionally. I will try to look professional when I do my videocast. Dressing professionally makes a person more believable to their audience.

I believe that if I remember these things and learn from this videocast, I will do well when I do my own videocast. It is always good to learn from other people,so I think that this exercises was very helpful.

The resource I chose to prepare me for my podcast was:Practical Principals

This website was one created by two principals, Melinda Miller and Scott Elias. Mrs. Miller is an Elemetary School Principal and Mr. Elias is a high school assistant principal. Mrs. Miller does staff development training for podcasting. I thought that this was a really good thing for a principal to do. Many teachers today have been teaching for many years and may not have grown up learning about technology. This is a good way to keep them up to date. This taught me that you always need to be learning new things. If you want to use podcasting in your classroom, you have to be proficient enough in it to show your students how to use it effectively.

At the beginning of the podcast that I listened to. Mr. Elias started began and then introduced Mrs. Miller. He was very enthusiastic and upbeat. This was something that I think I will try to do in my podcast. They said that they try to "frame" their podcast and then stay on task. I think that this is one of the most important things that I learned from this resource.I think that it is important to have a plan and know what you are going to say, but you don't want to sound like you are reading off of a sheet of paper.

This was a very good resource for people who may be considering using podcasting. By listening to these podcasts a teacher could learn what to do and not do from these experienced podcasters.