Blog Post #2

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century be Like?

Mr. Dancealot (4:20)
The central message of the video, "Mr. Dancealot" is to show how the way a class is taught really matters. This video is of a teacher instructing a dance class but does not properly teach his students. All the teacher does is present to the students a power point presentation and talks the entire time. There is no feedback from the class, no chance for the students to engage in the learning process, much less actually get up to practice the dance, and there is no enthusiasm. Nevertheless, this video is simply showing how important it is to teach a class the proper way and any way that the subject requires to be taught. I agree that this is not the correct way to teach any class.

Teaching in the 21st Century (10:45) by Kevin Roberts (John Strange version)
Kevin Roberts thinks that teaching in the 21st Century needs to be brought more towards technology. Kevin Robert believes that teaching in the 21st should in fact be different from years prior due to all of the advancements associated with technology. Students now are constantly using technology on a daily basis and rely so much on it that the teacher now is not the only way they are gaining knowledge.

>Role as teachers
>Where students get information
>The filters
>How to teach students to handle these resources
>what creation means today
>Change in the classroom

If the only role that teachers have is to provide facts, formulas, stories, etc. to the students then Kevin Robert says that role is obsolete. Students get information from all sorts of technology sources such as blogs, Google, twitter, and so on. He says that teachers are now considered to be the filter instead of the main source of knowledge. Robert lists examples of how students may not know how to use these technology resources. Within this video Robert lists different forms of creations that people today use such as, blogging, designing, animating, and recording. Robert says, "we need to rethink the tools we use and the type of problems we ask students to solve." Kevin Robert wants the classrooms today in the 21st century to be the most that they can be for the students ans also for the teachers. He believes that with utilizing the technology available and teaching the proper skills to students will be the most effective way to better the education process. Teaching students how to analyze, research, validate information, synthesize information, are all important for teachers to teach students.
If classrooms are changed to this new form of teaching and learning then as educators things will be different as well. The format of teaching will change significantly. It will certainly be different from what I grew up in within the classroom. I do believe that this is a great idea and that it will have such positive and aspiring effects on students and teachers within the education process.

The Networked Student (5:10) by Wendy Drexler
After viewing this video I realize just how much I as a student can do with the use of technology. There are so many opportunities and resources right here at my finger tips. The way the video demonstrates just how broad one student can go throughout using various websites and blogs to further his education and contact other people is pretty cool. I completely agree with the video when the question, "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?" is asked. The response is right on target. Having a good and caring teacher is always a good thing. A good teacher is always willing to help his or her students out with whatever it is that they be struggling with.

Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts (4:49) by Vicki Davis
The thesis for Davis' video is to demonstrate and explain how she is able to teach her students to learn for themselves and how having a digitized classroom enables them to connect to the world. My reaction to the video's argument is that I believe it is a great way to teach students to expand their horizon and that it helps them to become independent learners. With her not defining everything it teaches them to look up and research things for themselves, instead of being dependent on the teacher.

John H. Strange, Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race?
The question in John H. Srange's video is, "Who's ahead in the learning race?" and the answer is very surprising. After watching and listening to how he went and observed the classrooms in Gulf Shores the answer is elementary students! How awesome is that to hear that children of such a young age is able to use these wonderful works of technology. It is amazing how they are actually learning some of the same things that I am currently learning and even more. My position in which the video is referring to falls in the undergraduate.

Flipping the Classroom (3:49)
Flipping the classroom is definitely new to me. I never had a classroom that was like this in any way growing up. I definitely believe that this new way of instructing a classroom will be helpful to me as future educator. I like how this new way of teaching will allow more time for the teacher to help students and, like the video puts it, for the teacher "to serve as a facilitator."

Blog Post #1

What About EDM310?

1. What are the things (if any) you have heard about EDM310?
Before I started this course, EDM310, I did not hear anything about it. Perhaps that is because I did ask anyone about it nor was I worried. However, my nerves started to kick in and questions began to bubble around my brain the moment I walked out of the first class session. "What have I got myself into" I thought. That is when I began to hear things about the class. I asked my friends that have taken the class already and they all said that I will be very busy with the work required and that it is extremely time consuming. I was also told that I will do just fine as long as I stay on top of everything and finish all assignments on time.

2. What fears (if any) do you have about EDM310?
My biggest fear for EDM310 is that I will fail. However, I know that I can do well if I am determined and willing to learn. I can certainly not be a procrastinator and I must work diligently. Being able to balance my school work, work hours, and personal life will be difficult at times, but I know that this class and all of the hard work I put fourth into it will not hurt me but only help me in the long run.

3. Compare and contrast EDM310 with other courses you have taken in college or high school.
I was never required to take a class like EDM310 in high school because nothing like this was ever offered. If my school would have offered it though, having some prior experience with a class and work load similar to what is required in EDM310 would have been such a helpful benefit.

4. What do you think will be the most difficult thing for you in EDM310?
The most difficult thing that I know I will struggle with while in EDM310 will definitely be time management. Procrastination is the enemy and I am so used to it creeping up on me. Trying to find the balance between having a part time job, 16 hours in school, personal life, as well as school work will be a huge challenge.

5. What is the best way for you to address this “most difficult” aspect of EDM310?
The best solution for anyone worried about time management is simply to make a schedule and to cut back on extra curricular activities. For instance, for anyone like myself that loves to watch movies, watching less will be ideal. Cutting back on things that are not so important will really help open free time to work on assignments in EDM310. Also, anyone who is struggling should never procrastinate!

6. What questions do you still have about EDM310? What ideas do you have about how to address those questions?
The question I am currently wondering about is whether or not we have to buy any type of book for this class. In order to address this simple question all I have to do is ask my EDM310 teacher.

Practice Blog Post

What I Want My Students to Know

> Who am I?
> Why do I want to be an educator?
> What does an educator do in his or her practice?
> What are my passions?


Hello, my name is Kela Miller and I am from Citronelle, Alabama. Citronelle is a very small town about forty five minutes from Mobile, Alabama. I loved growing up in a small town where playing in barns and going for swims in the creek were the best medicine for any bored child. My parents blessed me with two brothers and two sisters; I am the lucky middle child. My oldest brother is Jeramie and he lives in Lucedale, Mississippi. My sister Teah and I live together here in Mobile and my two youngest siblings, Kelsey and Logan who are both 14, hence they are twins, live in Citronelle with our mother. Our father works out of the country and is currently working in the UAE. My family and friends are all truly special to me and I love to go home every chance that I get to see them.
I graduated from Citronelle High School in 2011 and jumped right into college the following fall. I attended Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama for two years. After Faulkner I decided to move to Hattiesburg, Mississippi to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. I completed one year at Southern Mississippi when I felt that I should attend South Alabama. So far I absolutely love South Alabama and I love living in Mobile.

Throughout my life I have wanted to grow up and be so many different things. I wanted to be a news broadcaster, dentist, flight attendant, to even a movie producer. I was constantly changing my dream of what I may be when I grew up. However, even though a lot of those career options may have drifted from my dream, being a teacher was always there no matter what. I can remember playing school with my sisters and stuffed animals as a young girl and then as I started my college years, the idea and desire to become an educator became very prominent.

Being an educator allows a person to become so much more than what they already are. A good educator may take on many different roles for different students. A teacher, he or she, may become the only positive influence in a child's life at a time. He or she may be the only person to show a child love and guidance. It is an educator's job to instill key knowledge into students and to ensure a good education. Teaching someone and being that positive influence in someone's life means so much and is a very rewarding factor in the education profession.

I certainly have a passion for becoming an educator. I can not wait until the day that I have a student come to me and tell me that I was a good influence to them, or for a student to ever come back and thank me for helping them in whatever it may be that they were struggling with. Along with my passion for teaching, I am also very passionate about helping people by going on mission trips. I have went on various amounts of mission trips in the southern parts of the U.S. and I have been blessed to travel to Guatemala twice already and once to Canada.

The pictures below were all taken in Guatemala in a small village called El Rodeo.

My Test Post Title

Well my name is Kela Miller and this is my First Post. I clicked the HTML button just like the instructions said and I will remember to always click it while in EDM310. I am now a Blogger!