Saturday, January 24, 2015

Blog Post #2

What Will Teaching in the 21st Century Be Like?


1.Mr. Dancealot:
In the video Mr. Dancealot, the message was fairly clear that the teacher had no idea how to dance and he was solely dependent on the presentation slides to help the students learn basic dance moves. The teacher thought that the presentation that he taught from would be enough for the students to learn and that was rendered ineffective when the students were told to dance with a partner for their final exam. I do not agree with what the teacher displayed because if you're told to teach a certain subject, you should be able to clearly demonstrate each of those moves with ease and not depend on a presentation to do the work for you! 





  • Teaching collaboration with technology:
    • Enhances project-based learning 
    • Improves "teamwork" among students
    • Activities through technology engage both teacher and student
  • Educators are the filter for knowledge:
    • They are NOT the source 
    • They relate what they've learned 
    • Their training relates to the subject that they're teaching 
  • Learning technology at a younger age:
    • Benefits both student/teacher in the future 
    • Gain insight into limitless sources of information
    • Utilizing skills learned at a young age 
  • Creating lessons:
    • Must be relevant to the subject being taught
    • Must be fairly challenging (to enhance critical thinking skills) 
    • Must be engaging
  • Technology is not used for entertainment:
    • Needs to be used for engagement
    • The negative side is NOT to be taught 
    • Be able to relay that technology is not the enemy 
Roberts is mostly trying to relay that technology should be an instrument used to benefit not only the student but the teacher as well. I feel that he's mostly trying to convey that there's only so much information that books, magazines, newspapers, and things of the sort can provide to help a teacher develop a lesson on their own. I fully agree with his stance on implementing these technologic sources in the classroom because it engages the student and captures their attention more than writing on a chalkboard (or whiteboard) and while entertainment is not the purpose behind this, I believe that it could entertain the student and they would be learning something without even realizing it. This would affect me as an educator in the sense that I would love to be able to engage students through using the internet and be able to help them become more resourceful as they move higher in their education. The most important part about this video was relaying that engagement is the key and entertainment is surely not! 




The teacher serves as a resource for the student who is learning how to navigate through all of the websites, applications, and items of the sort. Without the guidance of a teacher, the student could become overwhelmed at the thought of teaching themselves through the entire course! When the teacher serves as a mediator for the student, the process of learning the subject becomes less stressful and the student effectively learns how to utilize the skills that they were taught even though most of the learning takes place on your own. Networking is truly the wave of the future and being able to maneuver through websites and online resources is highly important. When the student is highly familiar with networking, they can share their knowledge and put their input into the subject they are learning for the rest of the world to see. Harnessing creativity through networking is quite exciting!




The thesis of Davis's video is that integrating technology in the classroom serves as a launchpad to connecting students and teachers to every country in the world. The point is also made that when a student is exposed to search engines, websites, and computer applications, they could possibly teach the teacher something that they didn't already know. Edutopia is remarkable website in that it has many resources in which an educator could use to further their insight on the subject that they currently teach. It would be ideal for each and every school to have such technology to utilize but the hard truth is that many schools do not. However, this video does not say that technology is required, but it does make the case for what technology is capable of doing!



It is without hesitation for me to say that the elementary students are ahead of both graduate and undergraduate students in the learning race. While the college students possess certain knowledge that the elementary students do not, these elementary students are using all of this technology as a catalyst for their future. When you're as young as the elementary students are, you're somewhat eager to learn what a shiny new "toy"(the MacBooks) has to offer. As a future educator, I look forward to seeing how my students will be able to work the technology that is given to them because they'll more than likely know more about it than I will! 



I was somewhat familiar with what "flipping a classroom" meant because of a pilot program that happened in 2011 at an elementary school that I was volunteering at. In this pilot program, they used a fourth grade science class and the results at the end of the year were astounding because of the eagerness of each student to be able to use the exciting new technology. They did not realize that they were learning so much because of the fun that came from each lesson that was taught. I'm in between yes and no for being able to flip a classroom. I say yes to this concept because while it's being taught and demonstrated at school, each student could go home and practice these concepts to further their knowledge of the subject being taught. Another reason I would say yes is that with all of the applications and websites for the iPad and MacBook, the learning possibilities are endless. The reason I would say no to this concept is because not all of the students would have access to this innovative technology at home. If you're going to implement such a concept, you've got to be doubly sure that each student has access to utilizing these resources at home so the students are on the same page as their classmates and not lagging behind. 


21st Century Teacher







Sunday, January 18, 2015

Blog Assignment #1

What about EDM 310?

"Frustrated with Technology"

When I realized that I had to enroll in this course before candidacy, I panicked because I have heard such horror stories about what this class will be like. "It's frustrating to have to learn on my own," or "Teachers teach and they don't need technology to do it," are just a couple of phrases that I heard from friends who have previously taken this course. Although they did a mediocre job in the class, they knew that it was their fault that they didn't apply as much time as they needed to apply to succeed. I completely disagree with the statement about technology because I truly believe that technology is the wave of the future (that we're currently in) and being technologically literate is highly important due to the fact that (in my opinion) it makes teaching material fun and interactive. My biggest fear about this class is getting nine hours or more in per week with the demanding schedule that I already have! It makes my life easier to completely map out my week, even the hours in the days, to manage my time correctly. I love how creativity is emphasized because not everyone thinks alike and to me, that's enough to keep me captivated. The idea of eliminating "burp back" education gave me refreshing thoughts because although I already hold a Bachelor's degree, I'll be honest and say that a lot of those classes were not like what this one will offer because it was a lot of regurgitated information that wasn't applicable to me or my degree! I was a tad bit overwhelmed with seeing all that I had to do for this course but I'm really optimistic and am looking forward to digging deeper into this course. As a future educator, I want to be able to use all of the technologic outlets that a classroom has to offer to make learning more exciting!

There are other classes that I took when I was at Alabama that really helped me with not only my computer, but the programs that it has that I can use to make my life a whole lot easier! One of those classes was CSM 441 and in short, it was a communication class that really dug into Microsoft Office (all of its programs) and how to construct an efficient webpage. Many of the classes were web-enhanced and I have to say that making things web-enhanced makes me a more efficient student! 


Fears of EDM 310
The only fear that I have is my time management, as previously stated. The way for me to address that fear is to make my weekly schedule down to the hours and stick to it. Another way to address this fear is to always keep a positive attitude and an open mind because without positivity, I'd be stuck in a mundane spot in my life. I can't wait to get the ball rolling with this class! 

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Practice Blog

  • Who Am I?
    • Courtney Browning
    • 23 years old 
    • Born and raised in Mobile, AL 
    • Originally started at USA in the Spring of 2010, but transferred to UA in Spring of 2012 
    • Graduated Cum Laude in May 2014 from the UA with a Bachelor's in Human Environmental Sciences with a Minor in Food Science 
    • Majoring in Secondary Education/Biology 
    • Love to cook, fish, work with my church's youth group, and spend time with family
  • Family
    • Dad has a Bachelor's in Bible Studies/Theology from Central Bible College 
    • Mom has a Bachelor's in Elementary Education from the University of Arkansas
      • Master's in Education Leadership from USA 
      • Was a teacher for 20+ years, now the Assistant Principal at JE Turner Elementary School 
    • Brother works for my grandfather's automotive business 
  • Why do I want to be an educator?
    • Love being in the classroom (worked as a substitute) 
    • Grandmother and Mom were both teachers (inspiration) 
    • Have a passion for science and want to express that 
  • What does an educator do in his or her practice?
    • Inspiring kids through education
    • Mentor
    • Leader 
  • What are my passions?
    • Cooking
    • Mentoring/inspiring others 
    • (link to a Chopped episode) 


Hey everyone! My name is Courtney Browning and I was born and raised here in Mobile, AL. I'm majoring in Secondary Education/Biology and I'm absolutely looking forward to being an educator. I originally began school at South Alabama in the spring of 2010 and after living in this city my entire life, I decided it was time for a change of scenery. In January of 2012, I transferred to the University of Alabama and it was one of the best decisions of my life! I was nearly halfway done with all of my pre-requisites when I got up there so I basically jumped into my core classes. While in school there, I got to witness two football national championships, a softball national championship, a tennis championship, and a gymnastics championship! Before I knew it, I was ready to graduate! In May of 2014, I graduated Cum Laude in my class with a Bachelor's in Human Environmental Sciences with a minor in Food Science (hence my love for science)! In my spare time, I love to cook, spend time with my family, work with my church's youth group at the City Church of Mobile, and just relax when I can.

To tell you a little bit about my family, my parents recently celebrated their 28th anniversary while my grandparents celebrated their 53rd! My mother graduated from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education as well as a Master's in Educational Leadership from South Alabama; she was in the Mobile County Public School System as a teacher for 26 years and she now serves at the Assistant Principal at JE Turner Elementary. My father went to Central Bible College and served as a youth pastor at First Assembly of God in Bentonville, Arkansas, also served as the head pastor of Whitefield Assembly in Ripley, TN, and also as the youth pastor at First Assembly Mobile (now City Church of Mobile). He is now the sole owner of a floor contracting business. My brother manages my grandfather's automotive shop and repairs video game pieces in his spare time. 

I believe an educator should inspire children through their practice. I'm not one to bad mouth anyone's profession but I believe that a person that aspires to be a teacher should be absolutely sure that that's what they want to be doing for the rest of his/her life because if you hate what you do, there's absolutely no passion behind it. I also believe that an educator should embrace the position that they're in (whether it be a teacher or administrator) and roll with the punches and make it their own. I'm extremely passionate about my future and I cannot wait to shape young minds and share my passion for science with them! One of my passions is cooking and I think that the best way to describe that is with a clip to one of my favorite shows (where I derive inspiration), Chopped. My other passion would have to be learning because I grew up in a home where education was required and I've always just enjoyed furthering my knowledge through various forms of books, websites, classes, etc. I guess the last thing I will have to say is that my passion for wanting to become a teacher comes from my mother because through each and every class that she had, the children would look up to her and know that she not only cared about their education, but their well being as well. My mom is a compassionate person and she loves her job and even though the stress can get to her sometimes, having her to look up to is truly a blessing!