Final Project

Blog Post 13

In the article My Teacher is an App, Stephanie Banchero and Stephanie Simon discuss virtual schooling, which is when students complete all of their schooling online.  They are allowed to work from home, at their own pace, and they are never required to attend school.  Another option discussed in the article is the hybrid-school.  This school allows students to attend school, nut it blends the amount of time spent on schoolwork between online studies and school attendance.  This article talks about the advantages of these programs, and it gives examples of school districts that have implemented these programs.  One of the main advantages to these types of educational programs is the lower cost.  When students are either not coming to class, or coming to class less, the school systems are able to save money on their staffing.

I think that the hybrid schools are a good idea.  I would not have a problem with dividing a student's time between class time and online learning.  I think that the benefits of this would be allowing the student to become an independent learner, as well as being able to adapt to the special needs of students. However,  I do not like the idea of completely virtual schools.  I think that there is interaction within a classroom that students need.  They need the socialization with their peers, as well as the support that teachers provide.  Also, there are so many students who are in abusive situations who would never have any help or respite if they weren't able to come to school.  So many more children would fall through the cracks in the system if they weren't coming to school.  There are some kids who only get fed at school, and often for these same children, the only kind word or soft touch they receive is at school.  I think technology is wonderful.  The things that students today can and should learn online is invaluable.  But as important and vital as technology is to children today, it cannot take the place of school.

Additional Assignment: Metaphors

This assignment was given based on our response to Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home post. In his story Mr. Johnson used pencils as a metaphor for computers. I didn't put in my post that the pencils were a metaphor because I didn't realize that we needed to look for and point out a metaphor in the story. I knew that he was using the pencils as an example of how technology should be handled, because it was based on the study of how children who take computers home performed on tests. I think I just didn't make the connection in my blog post that it was a metaphor because I was trying not to make a mistake in my post. As for others in the class, maybe they were like me and just didn't communicate their thoughts well enough. Perhaps they are just the type of people who take things too literally. Also, I am sure that there are some people who scan the post and just write something down to get credit.


Some metaphors I have heard lately are, "raining cats and dogs", "you can't have your cake and eat it too", and, "cute as a button". I think that the best thing we can do for our students is to expose them to metaphors often and point them out when they are used. Also, we should encourage our students to use metaphors in their own writing. I think we use metaphors as a way to say what we mean in a different way. Metaphors are also a way to help you visualize the point you are trying to make.

Project 15: Smartboard Presentation Part 2

C4K #10 Special Instructions

I think Mrs.  Yollis' Classroom Blog is a great example of what a class blog should be like.  I love that there are so many examples of her students work there, from videos to the blog posts themselves.  I also think that it's great that she has a "Meet Mrs.  Yollis" link included.  The site is full of links that are tutorials.  This includes learning HTML code, how to take digital photos, the State of California, as well as how to comment.  You can see on her blog that it has won numerous awards.  I love the link that includes educational blogging links for teachers.


Mrs.  Yollis has a Visitor Flag Counter  as well as a ClustrMap to keep tab on all of the visitors to her site.  When I wrote this post there had been 75,589 visitors.  EDM310 has 51,308. Her blog also includes a visitor log.  The class follows many educational blogs.

Mrs.  Yollis says on her blog that she is a lifelong learner.  This is obvious from her blog.  It is full of so many amazing links and resources that you can spend hours looking at it and learn so many things.  It is also a place for her students to be able to display their work.  Mrs.  Yollis' Classroom Blog is an awesome educational tool for both students and teachers.

Blog Post #12

In this assignment we are supposed to create a blog post that Dr.  Strange should have assigned.  My assignment is as follows:

Read John T.  Spencer's blog post Shift Happens: From Walls to Gates. Write a quality blog post of two paragraphs describing your reaction to this post.  Should classrooms have walls?  Is it even possible to create a classroom without walls?  What would a  classroom with "gates" look like?  What kind of classroom would YOU like to create?


Watch Sir Ken Robinson's video Bring on the Learning Revolution.  Write a quality blog post describing Sir Ken Robinson's message in this video and your reaction to it.   

Progress Report on Final Project

For the final project my group is going to do a project on how to convince parents to get on board with their children's use of technology. We are going to interview parents as well as teachers on this subject, and we are going to create something to present to parents to help them understand the benefits of technology in the classroom as well as our commitment to their child's privacy and safety.

C4T Summary #4

The blog that I was assigned to this time was Life of an Educator... by Justin Tarte.  The theme of his blog is, "Helping Educators to grow both professionally and personally by sharing and collaborating. " The first blog post that I commented  on  was a review of a book.  The faculty of his school has a book club where they read and review books that help in their professional development.  The book in the first post was How Full is Your Bucket?  This book review listed the highlights and themes of the book, which included the difference between positive and negative thinking and the importance of being positive.  This was my comment to Mr.  Tarte:


Hi Mr. Tarte, 
My name is Kristie McNair, I am an EDM310 student at the University of South Alabama. I have been assigned to read and comment on your blog for the next two weeks. I will write a summary of what I have read and my responses to it, and I will post them on my blog November 13th. You can check it out at http://mcnairkristieedm310.blogspot.com/. Also, feel free to take a look at our EDM310 class blog at http://edm310.blogspot.com/. 

I love the idea of having a book club with your co-workers. That seems like a really good team building time as well as a great way to learn from the author as well as each other. Does your group read works of fiction as well, or only nonfiction books? "How Full Is Your Bucket?" sounds like a great book. The lessons on positive thinking could definitely be beneficial.


The second post on Mr.  Tarte's blog was a review of the book What Great Teachers Do Differently.  This is a book by Todd Whitaker.  In his review, Mr.  Tarte discusses how the book describes the qualities of great teachers.  He discusses the things that great teachers do differently, as well as how to become a better teacher.  This was my comment to Mr.  Tarte:

Mr. Tarte, 
Once again your book club selection sounds like an incredibly inspiring book. I agree that there is just something special about some teachers that make them great. I like that this book provides actions that all teachers can take to help them become great teachers, because every child deserves a great teacher! This book sounds like a must read for a future teacher like me.

c4K summary 2

This month I got to comment on some awesome kids' blogs.  The C4K assignments are some of my favorites in this class. Reading them always reminds me that this is a great learning tool for students.  I hope my comments encourage them to keep blogging.

The first C4K blog assignment for October was Kayla.  Her blog post was titled, "Why do you burp".  In this post Kayla described what a burp is, and what makes a person do that.  She was very informative and talked about the gases and how they travel through the stomach and esophagus.  She also talked about how to use good manners and say excuse me.  This was my comment to Kayla: 
Hi Kayla!
My name is Kristie McNair. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying there to become a teacher. I am taking a class there called EDM310. In this class we learn about technology and the way it is important for teachers and students. As part of our assignments for that class we get to comment on students’ blogs. My professor chose your blog for me to comment on.
Kayla, you are a really good writer! I read your blog and I was really impressed. First of all, your post on burping was really informative. It was also very funny. I really enjoyed reading your blog. When I am a teacher I am going to have my students blog too. Keep up the good work!
After I left Kayla's comment, she replied to me.  This is what Kayla wrote:
Thank you so much for the comment and i hope you read more when i post more. But can i ask you a question……. Is it hard to learn about how to teach?
This was my reply to Kayla:
Hi Kayla,
Sometimes it is hard. There is lots of work involved in becoming a teacher. But it is also lots of fun. I always want to do my best so that when I am a teacher I can help my students to learn all that they can. Reading blogs like yours is so helpful to me!
 The second assignment was to comment on Dalton's blog.  This blog was chosen by a random selector.  Dalton's blog post was titled, "The Human Esophagus".  His blog was about the human esophagus and how important it is to the human body. He talked about how his health teacher helped him to learn about the esophagus, and he included a picture of one in his blog post.  This was my comment to Dalton:
Hi Dalton,
My name is Kristie McNair. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying there to become a teacher. I am in a class called EDM310. This class is helping me to become a good teacher and is teaching me how important it is for students to blog. Your name was chosen by the random selector. Your blog on the human esophagus is very interesting. I have never seen a picture of one before. I thought you did a really good job describing the way we use our esophagus. Keep up the good work!


My next assignment was to comment on Lakin's blog.  Her post was titled, "Why write???" In it Lakin talked about the reasons that she write.  She said that she writes to help her express her thoughts and feelings, or she writes a story about something that interests her.  This was how I responded to Lakin:
Hi Lakin, my name is Kristie McNair. I am a Student at the University of South Alabama, where I am studying to be a teacher. I am in a class called EDM310. This class teaches us about technology in education, and part of what we learn is how important it is for students to blog. I think that writing is a great way to express what we are thinking or feeling. What kind of places do you write about in your stories? I love to read and write too. I hope you keep up the good work!
My final C4K assignment for the month was PJ's blog.  PJ had drawn an animated picture of the New Zealand Sky Tower with Hyperstudio.  This was my comment to PJ:

Hi PJ, my name is Kristie Mcnair. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying there to be a teacher. I am in a class called EDM310, where we learn about technology for teachers and how important it is for students to blog.

I thought your picture was really good. I have never seen the New Zealand Sky Tower before, so I Googled it. You did a really great job of making your picture look like the real thing. Keep up the good work!

Blog Post #11

I love Kathy Cassidy's approach to technology.  In her video, Little Kids...Big Potential,  the work her first graders do is amazing.  I love how she lets them use all of the technology that we have been using here in EDM310, and they are more comfortable on it than some of us!  Another thing that really impressed me in her video is that she allows her children to work together.  So often in classrooms, especially elementary classrooms, students are made to sit all day long and not talk to each other.  The only time students in my daughter's third grade class are encouraged to talk to each other is at recess.  That's so unrealistic in the real world, and Ms.  Cassidy's students are going to have a huge advantage when it comes to being able to collaborate, as they go through school and eventually into their careers.  I really want to be the kind of teacher who, like Ms.  Cassidy, uses technology to help her students reach outside their classroom and learn about the world. I hope that like her, I will have the support of my administrators as well. I love how she talks in her skype interview  about  students not having to "power down".  How can we expect them to be involved with and exposed to technology in every area of their lives and then suddenly completely dismiss it for school?  That's neither realistic nor fair to them.  Most of the only experience I have in schools so far  is with my daughter in the Mobile County Public School System.  I have never seen a great emphasis put on technology in the classroom there, but I hope that changes soon. I will definitely make it a part of mine. I can't wait to have my own classroom, and I will definitely have a class website and blog.  I think that that is an amazing way for parents to keep up with what is going on in the classrooms, as well as let students continue to learn when they aren't at school.  I wish my daughter's school had those available.  I will also use skype as a part of my class.  I love that students can include skyping with scientists, or artists, or musicians as part of  their lessons.  Honestly, before this class, it would have never occurred to me to use these technology tools in my classroom, and now I can't wait to do these things.