An Overview of EDM 310

As part of my "final blog post," I will be reviewing EDM 310 and what it taught me through the tools I've learned to use and the skills I've acquired that will assist me in my teaching career.

1. BLOGS: Obviously, blogging was a very important aspect of EDM. Throughout the semester, I've read other students' blogs (Comments4Classmates), educators' blogs (Comments4Teachers), and students' blogs (Comments4Kids), and all of them have given me so much insight as to what I should expect, what I should learn, and what I should be. My own personal blog has been my main means of communicating what I've learned and my main place of displaying all of the projects I've done. I joined an EDM 310 Alumni Blog which I will continue to read, contribute to, and learn from for the rest of my career. This will be a wonderful addition to my PLN.

2. PRESENTATIONS: From viewing those created by my classmates, to viewing those suggested by Dr. Strange, to creating my own, presentations have become an important medium of communicating information easily and effectively. Using Google Docs is the easiest way to create a presentation - alone and in collaboration with another person! - and I will most definitely be using this in my classroom.

3. GOOGLE DOCS and SPREADSHEETS: As I have said MANY times before, Google has been the most useful resource I've learned about so far; before this class, I had no idea that Google was anything other than a search engine. Using Google, I learned how to create documents, presentations, and spread sheet forms to communicate and share information.

4. PICASA: For someone who loves taking and sharing pictures, Picasa has been a very useful tool to help manage and edit my pictures. Even though I still have a lot to learn about how to use and what I can do with Picasa, the things I've learned so far are a significant improvement from what I could do before.

5. PODCASTS and VIDEOCASTS: Just like Google Docs/presentations, pod/videocasts - especially those found on iTunes University - are an incredibly easy and effective way to share information and teach lessons, as I discussed in my blog post about podcasts in the educational world. I have even created my own!

6. YOUTUBE: My friend Rachael and I actually did our podcast project on the value of YouTube in education (here's the link again). There are so many things that can be found on YouTube, and there is no limit as to what can be taught on and learned from material found on this website.

7. PLNs: From creating my own throughout the semester to reading those from others, I have expanded my references and knowledge basis exponentially. EDM 310 has brought me many tools and skills that I can use in the classroom, and a PLN is my way of keeping up with all of them and sharing them with other teachers and students. In my most recent blog assignment, I learned about Symbaloo, and I can't wait to get started on my "professional-grade" PLN using this bookmarking site.

8. Comments4Kids: Reading and commenting on kids' blogs has been my favorite part of EDM 310. I have learned how important it is that kids share what they're learning and how they think because this makes teaching that much more effective. They are enabling others to learn from them as well. I will most definitely encourage my students to blog.

9. ACCESSIBILITY: When writing my blogs, Dr. Strange taught us to consider the needs of others and also to give credit to those when appropriate. This is done through the use of html tags to label pictures and cite sources. I didn't know anything about html before, and this is a great start!

10. WHO I AM AS A PROFESSIONAL: This is a pretty hefty question to ask to be answered in such a small summary; however, this question made me think of the last blog post I wrote about "my sentence." This defines who you are as a professional and how others see you as a professional. Hopefully, these two aspects are about the same. How you motivate others is how they will see you and how they will construct your sentence. See my post about this issue to learn more.

11. DELICIOUS: This is a bookmarking site used to help keep up with links. I used this site when creating my podcast with Rachael Locklin to share helpful YouTube videos that we could discuss. The great thing about this is that you can access your sites from any computer. I guess it's kind of like a PLN!

12. GOOGLE EARTH: I've played with Google Earth before, but I never knew you could create tours of places. I used this to create a tour of my residencies around Mobile since I moved here. In using it this way, I can keep up with where I've lived, adding more places as I move. This would be very interesting to my future generations because they can see where I've lived and how things have changed over the decades.

13. TIMETOAST TIMELINES: Since my family literally knows almost nothing of their past, I started a timeline of my life including dates, names, and milestones that may be of value and interest to my future generations. Hopefully this will be the start of a long history for my family, and I will be encouraging my students to do the same thing. Creating a history for your future is a very important aspect of personal identity.

14. THE FUTURE OF SCHOOLS: This issue was really put into perspective when I watched "Mr. Winkle Wakes." I believe that schools do benefit from traditional instruction, and I had a hard time seeing past this at the beginning of this semester, but throughout the course, I have realized just how much technology can enhance education. For the most part, technology has grown into more than just an "add-on" - it's a "way of life." (Karl Fisch)

15. TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY: As an educator of these future students using all of these technology tools, it's very important to know about them, use them, and teach them. Rachael and I both agreed on this on many levels, and we did our substantive presentation on this issue. To get a better idea on where we stand, watch our presentation.


Of all these things that I learned this semester, I didn't think there was room to learn much more - but of course this is never the issue: learning is a life-long journey, and there will always be much more to learn. However, I do believe that it is nearly impossible to fit anything more into one semester! One tool that I wish I could have learned more about is the Symbaloo PLE website. I'm doing some research myself, and hopefully I'll have a fully developed - or at least up to date - PLE to share on my Alumni Blog.

Also, of all the things that I learned this semester, I can honestly say that I wouldn't take anything away. What's the point of expanding if you wish to subtract?

I believe it's very clear which tools "excited" me as an educator: reading the kids' blogs gave me insight to what I will be doing in the future, and iGoogle gave me many ideas and abilities for creating lessons and sharing information. Aren't these two of the most important aspects of teaching?

Many of these tools were challenging for me to learn because before I started this class, my knowledge basis of technology was embarrassingly small. Now that I have a great understanding of these tools, I feel very confident that I will be able to teach others how to use them as I implement them into my teaching.

Since there was always so much to do and so much to learn, I was never bored with EDM 310 - there is no time for boredom with Dr. Strange, that's for sure!

Since there was no room for boredom, I don't think that there is room to add anything in one semester of EDM 310. This brings me to the issue of expanding the course across two semesters: more instruction on certain things and additions of other things (Symbaloo?) would really benefit MOST students. I don't suggest taking away anything from this class.

Using all of these tools has severely improved my point of view on technology while expanding my knowledge. I like to think that I am technology literate, even though I have plenty of things to learn to be "caught up." I feel confident in what I do know to teach students of today.

By participating in my Alumni Blog, I will be in touch with the same material I've learned in EDM 310, and I will be able to keep learning just as I have in this class. Since my perspective on technology has changed significantly, my mindset and hunger to learn about more has improved as well. I use whatever I can whenever I can. This commercial really summarizes the potential for the capacity of technology use. I just saw it on television, and I was amazed at how relevant it was to this particular blog post!

I hope to be able to keep expanding my technology education so I can effectively teach my students and encourage them to use these beneficial tools in their education just as I have.