My name is Melanie Leigh Garron. I am 19 years old. I live in Semmes, Alabama and have been a resident there for about fifteen years. Before Semmes I lived in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with my mother and father. I am half Canadian so many of my family members live really far away. We spend every summer traveling to many family reunions, so we keep in touch with almost everyone in the gigantic Garron family. I have two sisters and two brothers. My oldest brother was killed in September due to a drinking and driving accident. This hit our family really hard. We have all pulled together to try and stay strong through these hard times.
The two main consistencies in my life at the time being are work and school. I am currently a full time student and a full time employee. I am the Financial Secretary at West Mobile Baptist Child Development Center. I have been working at the CDC for five years and have enjoyed every minute of it. This is the only job I have ever had but I have taken on many roles such as: caregiver, supervisor, receptionist, registrar and my current position. I love children and I feel that we touch so many lives every day. The CDC is a ministry of West Mobile Baptist Church. We are so thankful that the church provided us with a place for the center. The best thing about work is the people; everyone there has such a great spirit, so I have to say going to work is a breath of fresh air. If you are interested in learning more about where I work you can visit the website for the church which is here. Once you get to the website go to the Child Development and you can click on my e-mail if you have any questions.
I graduated form Baker High School in the year 2007. I am currently enrolled at the University of South Alabama. I have been attending for two years and I am now in the completion of my sophomore term. It took a lot for me to go to college, because I had many problems getting financial aid and I was almost ready to give up. I kept my head held high and finally got in. My major here at South is Elementary Education. I am very excited about making teaching my career because as I have said before I love children. Many people try to discourage me about teaching because of current economical problems but I do not let them get to me. I feel that if God put the desire in my heart to teach then he will make a way for it to happen.
In my spare time, which is not too terribly much, I spend time with friends and family as much as possible. Most importantly I am trying to stay focused on my education so that I can become a successful educator someday and hopefully change the life of a student such as myself.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Blogs as a Teaching Tool
I am currently enrolled in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I feel as if I have gained so much needed knowledge from the things I have experienced in this course. In EDM 310 we used the blogging system as a way to transfer our grades over to our professor. At first I did not see this as a useful tool but once I started my account and began blogging I really enjoyed it. I think that this is so helpful when it comes to staying in touch with your current teachers and students. In my personal opinion I believe that staying in touch with parents is so important. They need to feel that you care as much about them as you do their children.
Blogging in the classroom allows parents just as much access as a student would have, which really help them stay connected. Children are not always as honest as they should be when it comes to homework, tests or other assignments that may be coming due in their classes. A blogger account makes it easy for parents to log in check updates or important new and see what is expected from the student at that current period in time. The blog page should be current at all times because most teachers update their class blogs daily.
A class blog not only gives knowledge to the parents about assignments. I read online, in a previous EDM assignment I was working on, that many teachers post pictures of “special events”, such as a field trip, very frequently. This would be a real treat to a parent who was not able to attend the trip. Field trips are not the only “special event” that could turn into a perfect “Kodak moment”. They often post pictures of assemblies, parades, plays etc….
Blogging has worked out very well for me so far. When I have the freedom in my assignment and am able to state my opinion I can really get into the post and I feel as if it really reflects my personality. This is why I have definitely considered using a class blog when I start teaching. I think this will be a great way for me to receive proper feedback and serve as a Reflective writing and collaborative thinking tool not only for my students but for me as well.
Blogging in the classroom allows parents just as much access as a student would have, which really help them stay connected. Children are not always as honest as they should be when it comes to homework, tests or other assignments that may be coming due in their classes. A blogger account makes it easy for parents to log in check updates or important new and see what is expected from the student at that current period in time. The blog page should be current at all times because most teachers update their class blogs daily.
A class blog not only gives knowledge to the parents about assignments. I read online, in a previous EDM assignment I was working on, that many teachers post pictures of “special events”, such as a field trip, very frequently. This would be a real treat to a parent who was not able to attend the trip. Field trips are not the only “special event” that could turn into a perfect “Kodak moment”. They often post pictures of assemblies, parades, plays etc….
Blogging has worked out very well for me so far. When I have the freedom in my assignment and am able to state my opinion I can really get into the post and I feel as if it really reflects my personality. This is why I have definitely considered using a class blog when I start teaching. I think this will be a great way for me to receive proper feedback and serve as a Reflective writing and collaborative thinking tool not only for my students but for me as well.
Say No to “Burp Back” Education
Burp back education sounds like a funny name but it actually refers to something not so funny that goes on in our school system today. In many classrooms you see teachers lecture and lecture until it seems like that is all that they do. They try and cram so much information into these students’ brains and then want them to give it right back to them on a test. This is what the “Burp Back” is referred to as.
I have had some professors just as this. I do not think it is effective way of learning at all. By the time the professor is done lecturing our brains are so fried that we can not even focus on the test. I think that I would learn better if I could interact more during classroom and get involved. Teachers should compare and contrast or even start an argument that will get the students to get pumped and involved. Take it from a student who knows they will get way more out of students this way.
I have had some professors just as this. I do not think it is effective way of learning at all. By the time the professor is done lecturing our brains are so fried that we can not even focus on the test. I think that I would learn better if I could interact more during classroom and get involved. Teachers should compare and contrast or even start an argument that will get the students to get pumped and involved. Take it from a student who knows they will get way more out of students this way.
Podcasts
In my EDM 310 class we took part in an educational podcast in which we did right here at school. Our professor put us into groups of three and we were asked to choose a topic from a list of educational topics to do our podcast on. We picked our topic and at the end of class were to split up into our groups to discuss them.
Having listened to many podcast in this course already I was excited about doing my own. We organized our information and on podcast day we recorded a 15 minute podcast. Wow 15 minutes of other students listening to us share our personal opinions on something. It was actually quite educational.
I have realized that I learned more from the podcast than just any normal topic in class. I think it is simply because I was able to put it all in my own words. I had no guidelines as to what to think. I also enjoyed conversing with my group members. Feel free to stop by the website to check out our podcast.
I think that the podcast is a great educational tool. I wish that I was given more opportunities to do things like this at school. I will definitely consider using the podcast in my future classroom.
Having listened to many podcast in this course already I was excited about doing my own. We organized our information and on podcast day we recorded a 15 minute podcast. Wow 15 minutes of other students listening to us share our personal opinions on something. It was actually quite educational.
I have realized that I learned more from the podcast than just any normal topic in class. I think it is simply because I was able to put it all in my own words. I had no guidelines as to what to think. I also enjoyed conversing with my group members. Feel free to stop by the website to check out our podcast.
I think that the podcast is a great educational tool. I wish that I was given more opportunities to do things like this at school. I will definitely consider using the podcast in my future classroom.
Wikipedia
I will admit that I am a guilty user of Wikipedia. Almost every professor I have had made it clear to our class that we are not to use Wiki as a source for any paper done. This was almost impossible for me to do. It is so easy for me to just go to Wiki when I am unsure about a word or needed to know a definition. Wiki seemed to include anything I ever needed to know.
I never really saw the real harm in using Wiki so when given this assignment in my EDM 310 class to find out about the reliability of it, I decided to learn a little more about this encyclopedia. I figured this would be a helpful way to test it out and see if I would use it in my future classroom. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. The name is a portmanteau of the Hawaiian word for quick, “wiki“, and “encyclopedia”. The encyclopedia is updated in over 100 languages, including constructed languages such as Esperanto. The English version of Wikipedia contains over one and a half million articles. Wikipedia was founded as an extension of the expert-written Nupedia project. However, the idea of a publicly-written collaborative encyclopedia was rejected by Nupedia's advisory board, and the project was managed independently by several top Nupedia contributors. Despite this, Wikipedia soon eclipsed Nupedia in terms of content and traffic. Within two years the Nupedia project was abandoned, and all its content was incorporated into Wikipedia. Much of today's Wikipedia staff are former Nupedia staff. The fact that anybody with an internet connection can edit its contents, has made Wikipedia become viewed as an unreliable source of information. The encyclopedia allows anybody to edit its pages, even anonymously. To address this issue, and to ensure quality, accurate content, all submissions and edits are moderated and regulated by a staff of regular volunteer.
During some of my Wiki research I came across a fact that in 2005 the scientific publication Nature performed a comparison of the accuracy of Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica, the leading print encyclopedia. It found that while the amount of errors per article in Wikipedia and Britannica were the same, the severity of errors in Wikipedia were worse. Encyclopedia Britannica suffered mostly from fact omission, whereas Wikipedia suffered from inaccurate information.
This research made me have a whole new realization on Wiki. In the future I may not use this source as much and if I do I will be sure to double back and check it with something more reliable. I can see where my professors were coming from when they didn’t want us using Wiki. There is not a very large chance that I will be using this as a classroom tool. I do not want it to serve as a stumbling block for my students, I would rather them have the accurate information from the start.
I never really saw the real harm in using Wiki so when given this assignment in my EDM 310 class to find out about the reliability of it, I decided to learn a little more about this encyclopedia. I figured this would be a helpful way to test it out and see if I would use it in my future classroom. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. The name is a portmanteau of the Hawaiian word for quick, “wiki“, and “encyclopedia”. The encyclopedia is updated in over 100 languages, including constructed languages such as Esperanto. The English version of Wikipedia contains over one and a half million articles. Wikipedia was founded as an extension of the expert-written Nupedia project. However, the idea of a publicly-written collaborative encyclopedia was rejected by Nupedia's advisory board, and the project was managed independently by several top Nupedia contributors. Despite this, Wikipedia soon eclipsed Nupedia in terms of content and traffic. Within two years the Nupedia project was abandoned, and all its content was incorporated into Wikipedia. Much of today's Wikipedia staff are former Nupedia staff. The fact that anybody with an internet connection can edit its contents, has made Wikipedia become viewed as an unreliable source of information. The encyclopedia allows anybody to edit its pages, even anonymously. To address this issue, and to ensure quality, accurate content, all submissions and edits are moderated and regulated by a staff of regular volunteer.
During some of my Wiki research I came across a fact that in 2005 the scientific publication Nature performed a comparison of the accuracy of Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica, the leading print encyclopedia. It found that while the amount of errors per article in Wikipedia and Britannica were the same, the severity of errors in Wikipedia were worse. Encyclopedia Britannica suffered mostly from fact omission, whereas Wikipedia suffered from inaccurate information.
This research made me have a whole new realization on Wiki. In the future I may not use this source as much and if I do I will be sure to double back and check it with something more reliable. I can see where my professors were coming from when they didn’t want us using Wiki. There is not a very large chance that I will be using this as a classroom tool. I do not want it to serve as a stumbling block for my students, I would rather them have the accurate information from the start.
Readers/Writers or Listeners/?
I definitely agree in the opinion most have about today’s generation being watchers and listeners rather than readers and writers. Do not get me wrong, I love how advanced technology is today but, I am sad to report that it has made today’s generation quite lazy. Things are made so simple for them which is why they are called listeners and watchers.
I am sure that everyone has had their grandparents throw around the famous lines such as “Back in my day we did not have any of that stuff and we turned out just fine.” This is a true statement. This daytime if you want to get a good job, get into a good school or even keep up with things going on in the world you must be technologically literate. This can be a good and a bad thing.
I hope that when I have a classroom here in the near future that I can teach my children how to be all four. They need to know all about the technology that has emerged and that continues to emerge but they need to do it at a little bit f a challenge. I hope to use technology in the classroom in a way that it will stand as a collaborative thinking tool. This will teach them to listen, watch, read and write.
I am sure that everyone has had their grandparents throw around the famous lines such as “Back in my day we did not have any of that stuff and we turned out just fine.” This is a true statement. This daytime if you want to get a good job, get into a good school or even keep up with things going on in the world you must be technologically literate. This can be a good and a bad thing.
I hope that when I have a classroom here in the near future that I can teach my children how to be all four. They need to know all about the technology that has emerged and that continues to emerge but they need to do it at a little bit f a challenge. I hope to use technology in the classroom in a way that it will stand as a collaborative thinking tool. This will teach them to listen, watch, read and write.
Google Tools & Docs
When I started my EDM 310 class started my professor told us upfront that we would be doing all of our work in Google Docs. We would also work with some of the other Google tools. I may be just behind my time but, this was the first I had ever heard of these tools. I was terrified that I would not get it right but, I gave it a chance.
My professor went over it step by step and I have grown pretty fond of it. Google tools has many different tools that can be used. Word Docs (Word Processor), Presentation Creator, Form Builder, Spreadsheet (Also a database), Reader of RSS Feeds, Google Earth and Picasa Image Maker are the seven major ones. In our class we unfortunately only got to study a few of them. We completed all word assignments on Word Docs. We were asked to do a presentation on Presentation Creator. We practiced with a database using Spreadsheet and the whole class was to create an I Google account in which we had the Reader of RSS Feeds linked to.
As it has already been made obvious, all of these tools came in very handy during and outside of our class time. These tools are valuable for several different reasons. Most importantly to me as a college student it is all FREE! I was so happy I did not have to go pay a fortune to get compatible Microsoft Office to match the computer lab. If you forget your jump drive that’s ok too because these files are on the internet so they are assecible anytime anywhere. Another great thing is that you can not lose the files because they are saved in the Google Server, so for the most part they are safe!
After hearing all this great stuff about Google Tools I was so excited about using it. I really feel like it was effective for the most part. I would love to use this in my classroom. It may be a little difficult though because I will be teaching Elementary children but I would love to help them and show them how to use it. Technology has grown so infinitely over the years that their generation is almost expected to know these things.
My professor went over it step by step and I have grown pretty fond of it. Google tools has many different tools that can be used. Word Docs (Word Processor), Presentation Creator, Form Builder, Spreadsheet (Also a database), Reader of RSS Feeds, Google Earth and Picasa Image Maker are the seven major ones. In our class we unfortunately only got to study a few of them. We completed all word assignments on Word Docs. We were asked to do a presentation on Presentation Creator. We practiced with a database using Spreadsheet and the whole class was to create an I Google account in which we had the Reader of RSS Feeds linked to.
As it has already been made obvious, all of these tools came in very handy during and outside of our class time. These tools are valuable for several different reasons. Most importantly to me as a college student it is all FREE! I was so happy I did not have to go pay a fortune to get compatible Microsoft Office to match the computer lab. If you forget your jump drive that’s ok too because these files are on the internet so they are assecible anytime anywhere. Another great thing is that you can not lose the files because they are saved in the Google Server, so for the most part they are safe!
After hearing all this great stuff about Google Tools I was so excited about using it. I really feel like it was effective for the most part. I would love to use this in my classroom. It may be a little difficult though because I will be teaching Elementary children but I would love to help them and show them how to use it. Technology has grown so infinitely over the years that their generation is almost expected to know these things.
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