Presidential Campaigns

Mike Huckabee will be in Birmingham today, at Samford University! I am excited about the opportunity to hear him speak. My first grade class was doing a unit on nouns. As my students were finding pictures of people in the newpaper to go on our 'People Poster', one of them posted a picture of Mitt Romney. Another student posted a picture of Barak Obama. My students did not know who these people were so I explained that both men were running for President. I know that politics is not on the First Grade course of study, but my students were really intersted in learning about these men. The next day, two of my students came back to school telling the class that they had seen Mitt Romney on TV. I was a bit impressed that they could remember his name, much less recognize him on TV. I refered back to our 'People Poster' yesterday when I learned that Huckabee and Obama were coming to Birmingham, and I had one of my students find the picture of Obama. If you are not registered to vote, please get registered! February 5 is Super Tuesday, and Alabama's primary elections will be on that day.

Wiki Spaces

I was very excited to see that one of our assignments is to create a Group Wiki Page. The technology instructors at Chalkville Elementary School have lead workshops for teachers who are interested in creating and maintaining their own webpage through Wiki Pages. I learned how to create my own Wiki Page for my classroom. Check it out! http://cesmbaggett.wikispaces.com/

Audio Visual Technology

I became very reminiscent when I read about the audiovisual (AV) movement in our textbook, Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. I did not know that the first technology in schools showed up during the 1930s. I was expecting that date to be a lot later, perhaps the 1970s. I then realized that my idea of technology did not include slides or film projectors. During the 1930s, higher education instructors thought slides and film strips were more concrete teaching tools than lectures and textbooks. Reading about films as a type of audiovisual technology reminded me of the film strip projectors that my teachers in elementary school used to show us clips about science or social studies. I even remember my teacher allowing me to be in charge of the film projector by unrolling the film, feeding it through the projector, and making sure the film and the cassette tape were in unison. That type of audiovisual technology no longer exists in schools that I have had teaching experiences in. Audiovisual technology has changed from slides and film strips to television. During the past decade, VCRs are slowly disappearing in schools, and DVD players are replacing them.

When I think of technology, I think of computers, internet, and digital projectors. I am amazed at how much technology has changed during the past 26 years, from film strip projectors, cassette tapes, and Apple computers to CDs, laptops, PDAs, and digital projectors (the list can go on and on).

Learning how to create a BLOG

The first thing I learned when creating a BLOG was finding a website that offers free 'blogging'. I have never made a BLOG myself, but have read my family member's online journal blogs. After I created my username on www.blogger.com, I chose a template for my BLOG. I still have not seen what my BLOG will look like when I publish this entry. Dr. Wang told us that BLOGs are valuable tools for posting online discussions regarding our class readings. Blogging seems similar to the online discussion I have used on BlackBoard for other graduate courses at UAB.