Project 10 (Final Post)

My PLN
My PLN probably isn't as large as some, but at least I have one.  I'm sure my PLN will keep growing.

These are the people in my PLN:

1. Becky Goerend
2. Ms. Cassidy
3. John Spencer
4. Ira David Socol
5. Mr. McClung
6. Richard Miller
7. Abbey Cooke
8. Karl Fisch
9. Randy Pausch
10. Scott Mcleod
11. Sylvia Rosenthal Talisano
12. Gary Hayes
13. Michael Wesch
14. John Strange
15. Rebekah Coleman
16. Drayton Rodgers
17. Joseph Ross
18. Taylor Clark
19. Erica Palmer
20. Logan Manus
21. Lee Salter
22. Theresa Salter

I also have many other people that I follow on Twitter, and I learn from all my friends on facebook and my family.

These are the gadgets in my PLN:

1. Facebook
2. Twitter
3. Google
4. Blogger
5. Youtube
6. Delicious
7. Google Docs
8. Instagram

I'm sure I use other gadgets besides these, but these are the main ones I use.

I hope to keep expanding my PLN!

Project 3 (Final C4T)

Post 1
My final teacher was Becky Goerend, a fifth grade teacher from Iowa.  The first blog post I commented on was entitled Another Lesson from the Garden, and it connected gardening to life.  Mrs. Goerend explained how people need to get rid of old ideas in order to accept new ideas just like old plants have to be removed in order for new ones to flourish. This is my comment:

Hey Ms. Goerend,

My name is Susie Salter, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. This post was very interesting. I like how you compared life to changes in the season and plants. When you mentioned getting rid of the old to be able to bring in the new, I automatically thought of my closet. I am a self-proclaimed shopaholic, and I really need to get rid of some old fashion to make room for new stuff. This concept also works with ideas. We has to get rid of certain biases we have in order to accept new ideas.

I look forward to reading more of your posts,
Susie Salter

Post 2

The second post I commented on was entitled Creative Juices, and it explained how important it is to have a niche and be creative.  This is my comment:

Hey!
My name is Susie Salter, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I commented on another one of your posts a few weeks ago. I really like the fact that you understand that everyone needs a niche. For most people, sitting around doing boring schoolwork is draining. I wish there were more teachers who understood this. I personally hope to come up with a lot of creative activities when I become an English teacher. Creative writing is the best. Kids get to experience a freedom that will help them in all aspects of life.

Blog Assignment 13

Banned Technology Outcome
For this week, we were assigned to try and not use any electronic media for 24 consecutive hours.  Every time we broke the rules, we had to start over and try again.  We had to try three times.  I already knew what the outcome of this was going to be.  I'm always glued to my smartphone.  When I get up in the morning, as I'm eating breakfast, I always check my email and get on facebook.  There is no way for me to remember that I'm on a media fast when I wake up unless I put sticky notes on the fridge and the table reminding me.  Using technology is just a force of habit.  I've been using the internet and social media too long to give it up.  Also, another challenge for me was not watching television.  When I get home from work at night, I usually turn the TV to some mindless sitcom just to relax.  It's nice not to have to think at some point during the day.  I think I would go insane if I didn't have some sort of media to distract my thoughts.  Everyone has to have a cool-down period, a time in the day where you just let go of all your troubles.  For me, that time is when I'm watching TV, playing on my phone, or shopping online.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot my shopping addiction.  When I'm bored (well, I don't even have to be bored), I go to Victoria'sSecret.com and browse the latest fashion.  Yeah, you know you're addicted to shopping when you work in the mall every day, and on your free time, you shop online.  I admit I have a problem.

Even the time in between classes causes me to get online.  For one of my classes, I have to use Spark Notes right  before the class so I can understand the material.  I can't say I just use the internet for educational purposes in between classes though.  Of course, I have to see what's up on facebook.  Sometimes I check the weather to see what a beautiful day I'm missing or am going to miss because of school/work.  I also play scrabble with my boyfriend on my phone.  Something I've been doing lately that is new to my routine is quite shocking.  I have found some cool people to follow on Twitter, and I actually check my Twitter every day now.  I didn't even have a Twitter before this class.  I thought it was dumb half the semester, but now, I think I'm getting into it.  I still don't like it as much as facebook, but I'm not going to talk bad about it anymore.

I've named off most of the things I do with electronic media EVERY day.  Obviously, technology is vital to my (our) existence.  We could survive without it, but it wouldn't be any fun.  I think back on the days when I had a regular cell phone, and I think how those were the "dark ages."  I got along fine then, but now, I would be devastated if I had to give up my technology.

Project 15 Smartboard #2

Final Project Progress

Since we have started using Google docs, my group and I have been bouncing ideas around about what to do for the final project.  We have a pretty good idea about the kind of project we would like to do, but we haven't worked out all the details yet.  We will definitely have everything together before it is due though.

Project 7 (C4K April)

Post 1

For my first comment this month, I commented on Lizzy's blog.  Lizzy is a 7th grader in Canada.  Her interests are listening to music and drawing.  She had written about a snow day in her blog post.  This was my comment to her:

Hey Lizzy!

My name is Susie Salter, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. It is very odd for me to think about a snow day because snow is very rare where I live.

I read that you like listening to music. I also like listening to music. What is your favorite song?

Sincerely,

Susie Salter


Post 2
For my second post this month, I had to get an alternate student.  His name is Dwight P., and he is from Vermont.  He wrote a lovely post about deer and hunting.  This was my comment:


Hello,
My name is Susie Salter, and I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I could really relate to your post. Hunting is very popular in Alabama. Most of my family and friends hunt. Actually, I have hunting land right behind my house. My boyfriend and I will go hunting and sit in the tree stand during deer season. Have you ever killed a deer? If so, how big was it?


Post 3
For my third post this month, I commented on Dwight P.'s blog again.  His post this time was entitled Nuclear War.  Dwight was advocating world peace in his post.  This is my comment:


Hey Dwight,

This is Susie again. I commented on your other post last week. I definitely agree with your concerns about nuclear war. I hope we never get so deep into a war that we use nuclear weapons. It’s not a good idea at all.

Great Post!
Susie Salter
EDM310

Post 4
My fourth comment this month was made on Ms. Jenny She's Blog in New Zealand.  This post was a video of the class's first Skype experience.  This is my comment:

Hello,
My name is Susie Salter, and I am a student at the University of South Alabama.  I really enjoyed the video! It is amazing that students are learning technology at such a young age! Keep up the good work! I look forward to viewing more of your blog posts in the future!

Creativity and Curiosity: My Thoughts - Special Post 12A

Curiosity and Creativity
Dr. Strange asked us in class about curiosity and creativity.  Are schools in the U.S. destroying curiosity/creativity?  Yes and no.  The reason that students seem less creative and/or curious is that they have adapted to be this way.  We have learned over the years what we have to do to get by.  We know exactly how much effort we have to put into a class to get the grade we want.  When we seem less "creative," it is not that we cannot be creative or curious.  In elementary school, we want to learn for the sake of learning, but as we move up the ladder, we have more social responsibilities.  The work for school also keeps piling up.  By the time we reach college, we realize that our lives will be so much easier if we can weed out tasks that are unnecessary.  Contrary to what some teachers think, most people have other things they would rather do than sit around and philosophize all day.  Yes, we do the minimum, but I say that this behavior is adaptive.  If we did every school task to the maximum, we couldn't get a higher grade than an "A," and we would lose all social communication.  We have to communicate with others.  It makes us healthier as individuals.  We can't just sit at a computer all day (most of us).

What can teachers do to fix this "slacker behavior?"  Nothing really.  No matter what kind of work we have given to us, we are going to figure out how much effort we have to put into it.  That is a survival instinct.  The only suggestion I can give to teachers and to myself is to give less work.  Make the work students do meaningful.  Nobody wants to spend hours doing busy-work.  If I had a lighter workload, I would feel more inclined to put more effort into a task.

Honestly, I am more creative/curious when I am doing things for me.  If I feel like I am being forced to do a task, I do not want to put much effort into that task.  When you think something is a chore, you don't spend a ton of time on it.  People who like to clean could spend all day doing it.  People who don't like to clean get the cleaning done as quickly as possible.  If there was some way to make kids see learning differently, I think that would help students be more creative.  Most students view school as a chore, and that may have a lot to do with teacher mentality.  If the teacher doesn't want to be there, why would the student?