Project #15 SMART Board Presentation #2

By: Lauren Mckenzie, Meredith Anderson and Ashley Haddock 

Special Assignment #1 Metaphors

It is a common thought that metaphors exist primarily in a literary form.  The reality, however, is that metaphors litter our everyday lives.  Since the earliest forms of writing, metaphors have been used to draw comparisons by saying one thing but intending another in order to explain things that are otherwise difficult to describe.  It is imperative in today's society that these metaphors are understood.

Metaphors have played a major role in describing historically important events in the world.  For instance, the term "Iron Curtain" is used to symbolize the Berlin Wall that divided Eastern and Western Germany from the conclusion of World War II to the late 80's.  This term not only reinforces the physical boundary that existed, but also the boundaries of ideologies and the firm stance that was held by both sides.  History books can only go so far to explain the intangible factors seen throughout time, this is where the use of metaphors become useful.  To those that did not live during the Cold War and cannot recall the tensions that were felt nor the fear the world's citizens lived with can collectively infer with the use of this term what life must have been like.  

Metaphors have proven to be a successful tool in the fields of medicine and science.  For most people, understanding scientific concepts do not come naturally and they require a different approach to process the information.  Here metaphors, more specifically analogies, allow an internal mental picture to form and a connection can then be made.  Because the language used in medicine can be unclear to the common person,metaphors are often used when talking about matters of health. Doctors employ this figure of speech to help patients and their family members understand fully certain medical conditions and how they will be treated.  Other metaphors are used to articulate the function of certain organs in the body. For example, the heart is a pump and the brain is a computer.  

One of my favorite examples of the use of metaphors in literature is found in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.  Mockingbirds represent innocence. Like hunters kill mockingbirds, Harper Lee portrays in this classic the many ways people kill innocence and the determination one father exhibits to preserve the innocence in his own children as well as in others.  Another book that implements great usage of metaphors is Eudora Welty's The Optimists Daughter.  This story line offers little plot twists and almost no suspense.  It does, however, contain a plethora of  deep, intense emotions that define the novel.  These feelings are portrayed not by being inside the main character's head, but through a string of metaphors that allow readers to perceive the character's internal struggle that are externally revealed at the end.  

It amazes me in a time where metaphors are inescapable, so many people missed the metaphor found in Tom Johnson's blog Don't Let Them Take The Pencils Home.  Our lives are peppered with metaphors.  We cannot drive down the road without encountering a billboard that possesses one.  Metaphors often determine the products we buy as a result of their ingenious use by advertising agencies, whether we realize it or not. Politicians use metaphors on a daily basis to build popularity for votes or reassure his or her constituents that certain policies are necessary.  Surely no one actually believed that Dr. Strange literally meant that teachers "pour information" into their student's heads after drilling a hole in the top and then "burps them" to get back that information.  Since metaphors have become such a large part of everybody's daily lives, they have become a normal facet of language not matter how embellished the comparison is.  Perhaps this leads to a little insight as to why so many students missed Tom Johnson's metaphor.  When required to recognize a metaphor, there appears to be nothing out of the ordinary.  The key to realizing that a metaphor is being used is to pay close attention to the context clues surrounding the comparison.  It is vital to be able to identify metaphors  and what they mean not only to ensure academic success, but also to make sure sound, informative decisions can be made outside of the classroom.   

Blog Post #13

My e-Media Fast

My endeavors to complete a 24 hour period without using any form of media was not only a test upon myself, but my family as well. For this reason, I had seriously considered taking the easy way out and complete one of the other options for this assignment instead. Once I thought about my decision farther, I felt this would be a good opportunity for my children to practice a little self discipline and also give them an idea of what life could be like without these luxuries we all take for granted. Losing television, radio, and the computer was no problem at all for me. My daily activities as a wife, mother and student leave me little time to afford much recreational usage of these media devices. My biggest challenge, however, was refraining from using the telephone and having enough patience to listen to my children's continuous complaints about not being able to watch television or use their V-Reader.  For these reasons, my challenge to go 24 hours without using any kind of media ended in failure.

My first attempt did not go as planned because my husband was home and he was unwilling to cooperate or make the challenge any easier.  My second attempt defeated the purpose of the activity as I planned to start the fast at a time that was more convenient for our family to do without these means of entertainment. The initiation of the final attempt began without notice and privileges were halted abruptly.  This third and final attempt began a whole lot smoother than the previous two did and I had high hopes for the success of this challenge.  As the day progressed and boredom set in with the kids, the continuity of this experiment was in severe jeopardy.  We worked through the boredom and found plenty of other activities to keep busy with.  The kids completed the day successfully going to bed not having had exposure to any source of media entertainment.  The fast suddenly ceased when, without even thinking, I picked up the phone to call my husband who was out of town.

This media fast has definitely been a learning experience for my entire family.  The time my kids and I spent  together finding things to do without the use of any electronic devices is time I will cherish forever.  During this short period of time, I witnessed a change in my children's behavior and the way they interact with one another as well as myself.  While I think it is drastic to completely eliminate media devices on a daily basis, I think it is a good idea to limit the amount of time that is spent on them.  We have also decided as a family that a media fast will be conducted on occasion to give ourselves uninterrupted quality time together.  This activity has also brought me to the realization that the children that will come into my classroom are exposed to enormous amounts of stimuli on a daily basis.  As a result of this children's brains respond better to faster paced material and are quick to bore.  This idea is crucial to take into consideration when developing lesson plans.

Progress Report on Final Project

For our final project, Lauren Mckenzie and I have decided to create a video on the positives and negatives of EDM 310 which highlight the strategies we have encountered in the video making process. A script has been started on Google Docs which allows us to continue to work on this project when scheduling conflicts arise that prevents us from meeting in person and ensuring momentum is not lost during the time we are not working face to face.

Blog Post #12

As a result of being a student of EDM 310, I have had an opportunity to view technology and its usefulness in the classroom a whole other way.  The only thing I have felt that is missing from this learning experience is learning how technology can assist and benefit children with special needs.  Since school systems have begun the inclusion process, the way in which pre-service teachers are being taught has changed in a way that allows them to be able to give these students the instruction and care they so desperately need.  So far the blogs and material that we have been instructed to read focuses mainly on how technology can be used to enhance mainstream student's education.  I feel these same techniques and strategies can also help children with special needs, but I also feel there are other ways technology can be used to help them either cope with or overcome any disability they may have.  I would like to engage my fellow classmates in pondering ways technology can change a child with disabilities' life.  First, explore Glenda's Assistive Technology Blog. Pay particular attention to her post iPads in the Special Education Classroom.  Here, Glenda provides first hand accounts of how the iPad and the applications available changed the lives of children with Autism and Cerebral Palsy.  Watch the videos provided at the bottom of the post. Writing a Quality Blog Post, provide your reactions to the way in which the iPad is used in this manner.  Then, think of ways that the other technology we have learned about in EDM 310 can also help children with special needs and include them in your post.

As a parent, it is a devastating blow to receive a diagnosis that your child has a disability.  The process to find quality educators to help the child can be an exhausting, maddening and emotionally draining one.  On the other hand, it is just as exhausting, maddening and emotionally draining for the educators to find resources and techniques to provide children with special needs the quality education they deserve.  In her blog post iPads in the Special Education Classroom, Glenda Anderson provides ways the iPad can assist educators in providing opportunities to students with special needs not previously available.  In his video,The iSchool Initiative, Travis Allen addresses steps that can be taken with touch technology to reform the way schools operate.  While Travis Allen's ideas are all wonderful, I wished he had addressed what Glenda Anderson does in this blog.  With applications such as iWriteWords and Stories2Learn, just a name of few, children with Autism have been able to break social and behavioral boundaries never before broken, opening up doors and possibilities for these children.  In her blog, Do it Myself, Glenda Hyatt shares her experiences living with Cerebral Palsy and also how the iPad has changed her life through the application Prologuo2Go available on this device.  The touch technology provided allows her to keep up with her blog and post her experiences by typing with one thumb.  Through this fascinating technology, she has gained a certain level of self sustaining independence she otherwise would not have had available to her had it not been for the iPad.  Other possible ways technology can be useful to students with disabilities is offered through the SMART Board technology.  By allowing hands on interactive manipulatives and large visual stimuli, children with autism have a better chance to excel in the classroom.  The SMART Board can also be very beneficial to children with Dyslexia which impairs a students ability to read, spell, and process numbers properly.  With the assistance of a SMART Board, teachers can incorporate interactive phonics activities to build the child's awareness of the letter's sounds in words and also provides multisensory experiences for the student.  The SMART Board can also make a profound difference in children with musculoskeletal disorders through its ease of writing and large touch technology. There are a wide range of disabilities that teachers of an inclusive classroom will encounter, the aforementioned examples are just a few ways to make the inclusive process not only smooth, but also productive and meaningful for the student.   

Mrs. Yollis' Classroom Blog

Mrs. Yollis' classroom blog is an absolutely wonderful example of how beneficial classroom blogging can be.  I particularly enjoyed reading about the Skype sessions the class conducted with students from Georgia and Australia.  I thought it ingenious to structure the sessions as a "mystery" call and having the students ask particular questions, then having them guess where the other class is from, putting problem solving and other knowledge learned to the test.  The "share and compare" session Mrs. Yollis' class participated in with students from Australia can be just as valuable.  From reading the student's reflections and viewing pictures taken during the call, I learned information about Australia that I was not aware of.  This is such an awesome way to build student's awareness of a variety of cultures and cultivate in them an acceptance of others different from them.  Mrs. Yollis' class is also taking other steps in building their knowledge of diversity by participating in a global project called Our World, Our Stories.  Here, participating classes from various parts of the world share customs from the traditional food they eat, how their recess time is spent to what a typical school day is like.  I would be interested to find out if each class tries the new things they have learned from the others or if some of the new customs have become habits of their own.  Another great aspect I find heartening that really does not have to do with blogging in general was the classroom's participation in collecting money for UNICEF while trick-or-treating.  This project allowed the students to practice their math skills while learning about the importance of philanthropy.  Finally, I find it impressive that Mrs. Yollis' class blog has nearly double the amount of visitors than the EDM 310 class blog has had.  This is astounding giving Mrs. Yollis' count started only two days earlier than EDM 310's did.  Mrs. Yollis and her students have apparently been working very hard to create a quality blog that has grasped the interest of a multitude of people including the student's parents and other family members.  These students and their teacher should be very proud of themselves for what they have accomplished through their class blog.  

Project #14-Skype Interview

Interview With Deborah Diesen

Author of The Pout Pout Fish, The Pout Pout Fish In The Big Big Dark and The Barefooted, Bad- Tempered Baby Brigade

Podcast Powered By Podbean

C4K #2

At the beginning of October I had the pleasure of viewing a blog from a class in New Zealand.  This particular blog post consisted of many different avatars the children created of themselves.  One particular avatar I enjoyed looking at was Zana's avatar.  Her avatar depicted a splendid setting on the beach with palm trees and her dog.  When asked to tell the students something interesting about the United States, I had picked up on her interest in the water and told her about the jubilee that is experienced no where else but on the Mobile Bay.

Another blog I took joy in reading came from a delightful 6th grader sharing her experiences in a science experiment.  Katlyn tells us in detail an alternative method to make ice cream right at home.  With all the necessary ingredients and just a one gallon zip lock bag, home made ice cream can be yours in very little time.  My family loves ice cream and after reading this I have tried it with my own kids, which has quickly become a favorite of theirs.

A blog that I found fascinating came from Dalton.  In this one he shows his enthusiasm for how the human body functions.  He uses a picture of a human esophagus and mentions the many things we would not be able to do without one or if it is damaged as a result of not taking care of our bodies.

One other blog that was a lot of fun to read came from a group of children in Ms. Dorby's third grade class.  Following up to the story Flat Stanley and The Magic Lamp students had an opportunity to do what the character in this story has done and took two animals to create one new animal.  The imaginations of these children were boundless and amazed.  They came up with creatures such as a "choth", which is the combination of a cheetah and sloth, and a "giraphant" which is a giraffe and an elephant.  Along with the animal's appearances, the students also imagined what these make believe creature's activities and favorite foods would be.  I had asked them if they drew pictures to go along with the narratives because I sure had lots of fun picturing what these animals would look like in my own head!

Finally, I viewed an animation of the Grand Canyon created by Cyrus, a student also from New Zealand.  In his short video, Cyrus provided interesting facts about the Grand Canyon including its placement on the list of the natural wonders of the world.

Blog Assignment #11

Ms. Cassidy's First Graders

 Ms.  Cassidy's video displays the various activities her first grade students are partaking in with the help of technology.  I am amazed at the functions these young children are capable of performing.  My first formal computer class that taught just basic skills did not take place until I was in 8th grade.  The children in this video are performing operations on programs that did not even exist until my senior year in high school.  When I think about how much of an advantage these children have over me and the opportunity that has been provided to them that I never dreamed of possessing makes me feel it is a waste of potential and doing students a disservice to NOT utilize the tools technology provides.  As seen in the video, students have the chance to expand their writing skills.  In her Skype Interview  with Dr. Strange and former EDM 310 students, Ms. Cassidy expresses that some of her student's blogs contain only one sentence.  I find that fascinating in that most first grader's skills sets do not allow them to write a full sentence until half way through their first grade year.  To me, this is proof of one example of the positive impacts writing blogs can have on a student's education.  Another aspect of blogging that I feel is beneficial for students is the ability they have to interact with individuals from other countries.  This type of interaction allows young students to think beyond their own environment and experience a multitude of traditions from a variety of other cultures all while building rich interpersonal skills.  The only possible downfall I can foresee as a result of this use of technology in the classroom is not knowing how to balance time spent on the computers with time children spend in face to face interaction.  There really are no excuses to not use technology in the classroom, as Ms. Cassidy explains, most of what she knows she taught herself.