I think this course was great. The way we opened the class with the Google Presentations was a great way to allow us all to learn a little about each other. It kind of made me feel at home. The part in our presentations about "What inspired us to teach" really gave us all the opportunity to share how we felt. Almost everyone had different reasons but they all touched my heart. Doing those presentations really broke us in. I'm usually the quiet one that would stay to myself and hardly ask questions during class. So I really think that ice breaker was great for us all.
The different things we learned like blogging and podcasts were very informative. These are tools that we could really take and use to our advantage when we become teachers. I really think that I will be using a blog to communicate with my parents. I could also add podcasts to my blogs if needed. When you first look at a blog it looks hard, but after creating a blog in this class it was very easy. Having the hands on instruction while creating blogs or podcasts was a great way to grasp the material.
I really enjoyed taking this course because it taught me things that I did not know. I really think that in the future I will be able to benefit from this class. This was a very opinionated course that allowed us to express our likes and dislikes on everything. There was no right or wrong answer when posting a blog assignment.

Twitter

Twitter in it's own kind of way was interesting. I think I would rather stick with my Facebook page. I really didn't grasp the real meaning of twitter, but to each it's own. I could probably see it in the future becoming as large as Facebook and Myspace. The first time I heard about twitter was in this class, but now its seems like every other day I hear something about twitter. So it may be that I have heard of Twitter before but until I got in this class is when I actually payed attention to it.
I think that in a lot of ways twitter can be used to benefit me as a teacher. But who's to say I would have time to log in everyday and keeps parents posted. In a professional manner it would be great for my classroom.

PODCASTS

While listening to several different podcast I learned many different things. Podcasts is something new to me but I am very interested in creating my own. I think that this will be something that I will enjoy because I like trying new things.

The podcast that explained how podcasting works was very informal. It provided a great step by step process on how to use podcasts. I learned that you could stop, replay, and pause if needed. And also how to play podcasts on an ipod.

I learned that podcasts should start with and introduction of all speakers. Then proceed with the topic up for discussion. To me podcasts should be more like a discussion or conversation. Discussing either pros or cons of the topic or both. I think that using an outline when doing a podcasts would be best rather that writing out word for would what you will say, because once you listen to it, it would then sound like your reading from a script. So I suggest a outline and a few notes, so the podcasts could sound more like a natural conversation or discussion.

I also liked the flow of the podcasts that i listened to, the flow was great! There was no pause or large break in between each person. It seemed very natural. Since all podcast have and opening introduction I think they should also have a closing. In the closing each speaker should put in their final input on the topic. Also the music in the introduction and ending of the podcast was great.

Overall listening to these podcast will allow me to bring a lot to creating my own podcast.

K-12 Blogs in the U.S.

The first blog viewed was ASCO Community Blog. This blog mainly provided access to resources for educators. One on the recent posts on this blog talked about 1st grade learning environments. Recent studies showed that 23% of 1st grade classrooms rate high when scored for academic and social climate, 31% had positive emotional environments but low levels of academic quality. this blog discussed the environments of 1st grade classrooms. It also provided pod casts on different blogs. http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/

The second blog I viewed was about Military discipline helping dropouts. This blog talked about the National Guards Youth Challenge being the most successful large scale program for dropout students. Most studies showed that 9 months after leaving the program 36% of students were more likely to earn a G.E.D. or high school diploma. they would also be three time likely to be attending college and work a full time job. I think military discipline is a great idea for dropout students. I can be very motivational. http://joannejacobs.com/2009/03/09/military-discipline-helps-dropouts/

International K-12 Blogs

The first international blog I viewed was Intrepid. This blog was created by a teacher and coordinator named Jabiz Raisdana. She teaches at Compass International School in Dona, Qatar. This blog was created for teacher to reflect on their teaching, share news, ideas, site web tools, and network with other 21st century teachers. http://intrepidteacher.edublogs.org/

The second Blog I viewed was Kuglers in South Africa. This blog was designed by a family from Springfield, VA and Brooklyn, NY who raised money to support A. V. Bukani Primary School in South Africa. This blog shared with us how we as teachers could donate tax deductible funds to help fund the school. Donations would be used to purchase much needed supplies and learning materials. They also talked about their trips to South Africa and how the last days before they left would be special. http://kuglersinsouthafrica.blogspot.com

Google: Changing the way we think and Google Rumored GDrive May "Kill" the PC

I agree that Google may change the way we think a lot. Why not, if you can go to google for all your answers, then why should you think. But to each it's own. If you want to expand your mind for answers then you can but if you chose to be lazy and just google what your looking for then that's on you. To me it limits our outside resources such as books, magazines, encyclopedia's or articles. You can now just sit down at a computer and locate all these resources on google. I honestly don't think that it can totally rewire our brains unless we allow it to.
I'm not so sure about the GDrive...... One minute it sounds like a good idea until you think of what can go wrong. I mean this will keep your computer from getting jammed up with junk. But I doubt if it would ever kill the desktop computers but it would defiantly decrease the sale of them. Just for backup I would continue to save my work on a USB pin drive as well, because what happens when it breaks down and you need your paper for class?

ACCESS

I think that Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program is a great way for students to expand their learning to higher levels. Access is a state wide funded program that allows students to take advance placement courses, electives, and other courses that their schools may not offer. Access offers Web based courses and Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC). You are able to interact as if you are in the classroom with the teacher.
I really thing access is a great opportunity that all students and teachers should take advantage of. I’ve had my personal experience with video conferencing in a college classroom. Even though the teacher was not physically present she could see and hear us and we could hear and see her as well. So my experience was great.

Alex

This was my first time visiting The Alabama Learning Exchange (Alex), and I think that this site will be very helpful during my first years of teaching. Alex is very useful for teachers of all grade levels. This site will be great and should help assist you with organizing and learning a daily routine. Alex also provides a great breakdown of math, language arts, science, social studies, and many other subjects. The breakdown provides a detail of what students of all grade levels should be taught. The Alabama Learning Exchange also shows lesson plans, different courses of study that could be used to guarantee that all educational needs for each grade levels will be met during each semester. The personal workspace would also be a great source to store lesson plans and save different websites you may find helpful over the years.
Alex also provides different sites for professional learning and distance learning. The Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) provides students with access to courses their schools may not offer. Access is a good way to allow students to learn more. I definitely plan to use Alex as my guideline to help build organization skills.