Catherine Lietz's EDM310 Blog

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Electronic Interaction Interview

Below is the email I sent to an out-of-state instructor
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 10:28 a.m.
To: lrandall@fullerton.edu
Subject: Electronic Interaction Interview

Hello Lynda Randall, my name is Catherine Lietz. I am a junior at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am majoring in education and am near the conclusion of a computer class that has taught podcasting. I have an assignment that requires that I make contact with an instructor outside the state of Alabama. After reading podcasts on the Cal State Fullerton website, I decided to email you to see if you would respond to me and tell me about your views about podcasting lectures. Can you tell me about podcasting at your school and why you feel that podcasting is important in education? Please email me back as soon as you can at cl602@jaguar1usouthal.edu.

Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2008 2:49 p.m.
To: kathy_lietzske@hotmail.com
Subject RE: Electronic Interaction Interview

Hello Ms. Lietz, We have an expanding focus on podcasting at Cal State. The College of Education is teaching and learning through technology and it makes content and lessons more creative and helps to engage learners. Cal State opened a new podcasting studio and offers iTunes U, developed by Apple Computers, to students and faculty members. iTunes is an online interface that allows students to download free podcasts of course lectures, faculty notes and other instructional materials just like they do music. Podcasts have an excellent potential for use by faculty and students to enrich the learning experience. This technology is very important in preparing our teachers to be fully equipped with the skills and knowledge to implement technology in their classrooms. If there is anything I can do to help you, please feel free to email me anytime or visit my homepage at faculty.fullerton.edu/lrandall. Sincerely, Lynda Randall, professor of secondary education and podcasting project coordinator.

Blogging in The Classroom

For my assignment I chose to read Kimberly Pierce's Blog. It enlightened me to discover others were also beginners to Blogging. It also gave me more confidence in my computer skills. It is not hard it just takes practice.
I think Blogging in the classroom is a great teaching tool. It gives students the ability to pass on important information to each other. This provides a way to open communication between others in the classroom. Some students may never realize how much they have in common with another student until they read their blog.
Classroom Blogs also give students the opportunity to share photos, contact others electronically and gain confidence in their computer skills. It also provides fast and efficient methods of using spreadsheets and address books. A students grade is always easily accessed. This is good for teachers, students and parents.
I really can't find many minuses concerning Blogging. However, It does give a student the opportunity to get carried away in exploration on the computer. They may find themselves searching a subject that is not required or they may get lost reading other classmates Blogs and forget the time.

My EDM 310 Post are Now Complete

I would like to say to everyone that I enjoyed this class. I send thanks to those who were so helpful to me. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

My Class Experience

I learned a great deal in this class. Beginning with a power point presentation which I know will be beneficial to me in the future. I also learned: How to make a Blog, A podcast, an excel adress book. How to upload to Foliteck. I can not think of anything we missed this semester.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

ACCESS LABS

ACCESS LABS
By the Fall of 2009, all Mobile County and Baldwin County high schools will have state-sponsored distance-learning labs.
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The distance learning program, known as ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms,
Educators and Students Statewide), allows students at one school to take classes offered atother schools on the Internet.

Some schools, which already have partial labs, will receive $50,000 apiece to install equipment to have a full lab this fall.
Baldwin County schools will get as much as $85,000 to install labs . The state education budget has been cut by hundreds of millions,
which includes the loss of some teaching and other positions in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Bryant High, Citronelle, Montgomery and Satsuma are high schools in Mobile that have added the distance learning labs along with Daphne and
Robertsdale in Baldwin County.

According to Cathy Malone, Lab Coordinator at Mary Montgomery high school, students at MGM are excited and enthusiastic while
participating in the ACCESS program and are receiving valuable benefits that will reflect their future

The state wants all of its 371 of its high schools connected to ACCESS by 2011 with about 190 schools remaining to be furnished.

Students will be able to take courses offered across town at other schools

All of the 13 high schools in Mobile will have the same bell schedules so that classes will begin and end at the same times.

All students are required to take at least one distance learning class in high school and students are enrolled in the advanced diploma track, which means they must take advanced math and some foreign language classes. Along with the advanced classes, students will also be able to take remediation classes to help
them graduate.

Podcasts

Podcasts are introducing technology in a way when the future has arrived and is here now. People have to grasp every angle and sort out the variables and intangibles of what can be learned. Brainstorming better ideas and innovations are designed to help and educate the learning generations to study and work smarter….not harder.

Mathematics and Technology

Mathematics and Technology

Judy Chandler deals with Mathematics and Technology in every day common classroom activities. Chandler believes that most Math teachers think they can’t combine technology and math in to their lesson.

Students just don’t understand the importance of using technology in math classes. Chandler thinks that students should think mathematically and critically and don’t just learn the rules.

Students can visualize the solutions to math problems and it will help them with practical solutions. The harder the students works, the more the teacher is involved.