Blog Post Assignment #8

Writing with Multimedia By: Dr. Richard E. Miller
Dr. Richard E. Miller tells us that in this century we can do any kind of research without stepping foot into a library. Our way of writing and researching is changing from day to day. Instead of using notebook paper, text books, and going to the library the only thing we have to do is sit down at a computer to conduct our search. The beauty of having computers to do research with is that we are not limited to just our University library; we are able to use several different library databases that are located on the web. Another way that writing and researching has changed is that we are not limited to just reading text, we can watch videos and look at pictures that deals with the topic we are researching.

Information that is placed on the internet can be edited any day or time, this means that whenever we are researching on the web we are presented with the most current information. Being provided with the most current information while researching enables us to turn in outstanding work. Publishing information on the web is better than writing a book about that topic. If information is published on the web it is there as soon as it is published and of course it can always be edited; if we write a book about a certain topic it may take up to two years to be published and by then the text will more than likely be out of date.

Dr. Miller's videos made a strong statement about today's technology. I thought that this video was recently made, but Dr. Strange placed it on his blog in 2009. I thought that Google Docs and blogs just recently came into being, but I was totally wrong. I am glad that I am FINALLY being introduced to all of these neat ways of researching and teaching. The education field is going to be out of this world in the next couple of years. Watch the Videos Here!

Carly Pugh's Blog Post
While reading Carly's post I was blown away by her creativity. The videos that she included on her playlist were so diverse, but yet all tied together in some way. Having a teaching philosophy and exploring it before we actually become a teacher is a brilliant thing to do. By finding different videos on YouTube and incorporating them into lesson plans will keep the students interested in what they are being taught. If the students see that a teacher is passionate about teaching then they will be passionate about learning.

Carly mentioned that she is an English major and loves the literature aspect of it. I am not as fond of literature as she is and never really liked it in high school. The reason I never really liked it was because we were reading the same ole text book and writing the same ole papers. I think if my teacher would have incorporated videos like Carly is suggesting, I would have been more engaged in learning about the literature. I think the reason we were assigned to Carly's blog post, because she and Dr. Miller were both talking about writing with multimedia. Whenever Carly becomes a teacher she wants her students to research with the internet, watch videos and then write about what they saw - this is writing with multimedia!

The Chipper Series and EDM 310 for Dummies
Needless to say, I got a good laugh whenever I watched these videos. They were so creative and they presented all types of excuses that I am sure Dr. Strange hears on a daily basis. Chipper was a great example of a student that does not dedicate all of their time to school. Chipper had better things going on in her life and could not complete her school work. This would be a great video to share with students to remind them how important it is to be dedicated to school.

If I had to create my own video about EDM 310, it would be about putting things on the internet that does not need to be posted on the internet. My video would discuss once something is posted on the internet it cannot be taken away. That is why if we have a blog or assignments that they should be completed to the best of our ability. I would make sure that the message comes across that our boss may Google us one day and whatever he/she finds could make the difference of us getting a job or not getting a job.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn
I personally cannot believe that education was ranked 55 on the IT Intensive Scale, below coal mining! That is completely absurd. The video says that children are learning more outside of school than they are in school. They are in a richer environment out of school than they are while they are in school. This blows my mind. Schools need to have the best learning environment so today's students will be able to excel in a variety of activities. The reason this video says that children are in a better environment out of school than they are whenever they are in school is because outside of school children get to have their cell phones, surf the internet, and communicate with others in various ways.

After being exposed to the new learning styles in today's classrooms, I agree with this video. Schools ban cell phones and laptops then block educational videos on the internet so that means kids are stuck with text books to read. They are not able to do adequate research at school because of all of the blocked websites. I think that since technology is changing so much, the school systems need to "Learn to Change" with the technology and the children would greatly accept that.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0
1. I created my first poll! This one is not educational, but it is in the right season! Answer it!

2. I have never used Prezi before! I think they may have used Prezi to create this presentaion. Prezi has several props to using it. Teachers are able to have a free license through using Prezi, it is called Edu Enjoy Subscription. All teacher slides can be private and you will even have your own logo. Not to mention the 500 mb of storage space!

3. The video tool that I have never used before would be Photo Peach. Photo Peach allows individuals to create a slide show in seconds. You are able to incorporate music, captions, and comments in the slide. Teachers can incorporate polls in the slide and create quiz slide shows. It is also kid friendly!