My Petcha Kutcha

This is my link to my preso and the embeded version below on Pitbulls, which starts with some stereotypical "mean" images, and warms up to the true side of non aggressively trained pitbulls like mine named fuego pictured above with me), enjoy!

Adrian's Week 10 Feedback Posts

For this week, I posted on Adam's and "Bfitzg's" blog postings.

Second Life: Keeping Users Engaged.

This video called "Orientation in Second Life" proved a good point in my opinion. A lot of teachers try and teach in one direction, while students have different styles of learning. If we as teachers can not adapt, what a student takes away from a classroom may be affected negatively. In the video, users were having problems with using Second Life. Some new users would even get frustrated and stop using after their first attempt. The narrators in the video found that instead of reading material that guided one through how to use the program, "elearning" while actually playing and giving instructions and advice actually on second life was more successful.



The biggest takeaway I gained from the video is that as teachers of any kind, you must adapt to your learners.

In my own personal experience, I have dealt with this issue. In middle school I was starting to get bad grades due to my lack of "self explanation" skills. Once I made it clear to the teachers (who in turn just sent me to tutors) that I needed to actually be taught, my grades improved thanks to tutors who laid out the info for me step by step.

As a teacher, i want to make sure that I appeal to all of my students styles of learning. I do not want to be one of those "my way or the highway" teachers, instead I want to be an open minded and flexible teacher.

Adrian Rosado's Screen Cast

I just got done with my screen cast, my first one so it's kinda rough...but here is the video, the earlier hyperlink, and the actual direct link...enjoy!




http://screenr.com/mwg

Sam: Gamer, Friend, & 13 Year Old Technology Guru

Sam is one extraordinary 13 year old girl. For one she basically learned everything she knows about technology by herself, and she even uses it to solve many of her everyday problems. Sam spends a huge portion of the day using the computer, playing interactive games like World of Warcraft, making videos, and so on. "Sam's Digital Portrait" is a good video for teens to watch, in that is reflects on all the technological possibilities that are out there for a young teen.



In my own experiences, being that i am not very technologically gifted, I value having people like Sam who are helpful and know what they are doing. In one instance, i had a fifteen year old teach me how to use PowerPoint for an assignment, and I don't know how I could have done it without them.

The most valuable thing that i will probably take away from this video is the notion of never underestimating what kids (students) are capable of doing with technology.

In my own class, i will try to give my students every opportunity I possibly can to make use of technology. I don't care if its as simple as teaching them how to use Flickr to find copyright friendly images on the web, as long as they are gaining knowledge. In general, students and teachers need to somewhat keep up with today's technology because with that knowledge one can find new and endless opportunities.

Adrian's Survey

i really enjoyed creating this survey,I got a chance to learn a lot about my classmates. Google made the process of making the form very easy. The results were as follows:


What Is your favorite place to eat, and what do you order? Do you think you get enough sleep? What is most important to you when looking for a potential mate?
At the moment it's Ted's, I've been on a Mexican food kick. No Personality
No place in general, but I love anything involving pizza. Yes Personality
My favorite place is Matito's and I get the sour cream chicken enchiladas No Personality
Anywhere that has Thai food. Tom Yam Kai Soup. No Personality
Louie's; Macho Chicken Nachos No Personality
Red Lobster/ Any 2 Shrimp Your Way Yes Personality

Adrians Week 7 Classmate Comments

Hello, for week 7 I did my comments on Sammy's and Kara's blogs.

Wikis: Doing Away With The Rip Van Winkle Effect.

The main takeaway from this video being that I am fairly inexperienced when it comes to using a wiki would be the idea that when we are planning to use wikis as teachers, student engagement and collaborations need to be a top priority in order to keep our kids interested, and from from basically falling into a "Rip Van Winkle" like dormant stage when it comes to learning. I must completely agree that if we simply have our students "going through motions" while they are using a wiki, that they are not benefiting to their full potential. The idea that children and adults alike will do better with just about everything when they are actually interested and engaged is not new, but i think it is great how Paula White correlated learning success with this idea when it comes to wikis. Another important point was that we should let students collaborate on wikis with students as well as the teacher. When doing this, you are definitely keeping the students engaged for one, and you are also creating an environment of shared understanding and diversity.




In my own experience, I can tell you that I have never had a teacher attempt to use an educational wiki for shared and or collaborative learning. I think I would have benefited because I was always a smart kid, but I was constantly getting bored because I was just "going through motions". If I would have been allowed to collaborate more when learning with both my peers and my teacher, I believe that I would have had both improved education, as well as an improved disciplinary record.

In the end, the most important thing I learned that I would have to implement into my classroom are a basic set of ideas when it comes to forming wikis that are collaborative and engaging, which can be seen on the site called Wikithink. It outlines some useful question to think about and explore. In my opinion this site serves as a wonderful basis for questions to consider about your wiki as an educator

The Wizard of Apps: Not Your Typical "How To" Video

In this video called "The Wizard of Apps", Joyce Valenza takes a new approach to giving students an general understanding on issues such as leaving behind good digital footprints, being a good digital citizen, and so on. My most significant take away personally would probally be the different people searches that i was unaware of, such as pipl. I had no clue people can get info about each other so easily.

One idea in the video that connected with me personally is the part where the "Scare crow" and "Dorothy met up. The Scarecrow was having issues finding good legitamit resourceson the web...at this point I chuckled because I cant tell you how many times i have been in that same boat.



In this video, the implications concerning copyrights and creative commons are probally issues that I will stress as an educator. I think it is important for kids to know how to correctly find pictures, etc for their papers and so on using wonderful sights like flickr.

One great tool i think was of great value shown during the video was called easybib. This site is a grat tool to educate your students on in preperation for essays, research papers, and so on. It makes setting up a biliography a breeze!

Digital Citizenship:Being Responsible For Your "Online Actions"

I think the most important aspect of this video is the simple fact that is shows people "digital dangers" of their digital citizenship. There are so many people out there in the world that are not responsible as far as what they put online, as well as how they put it. I think the various students did a good job showing the various dangers and consequences of what students do and or show online, as well as the dangers of DWT.




In my own experience, I had a family member who recently had their identity stolen by a "phisher" she realized that she should have been more responsible with her credit card info online. I think she might have been more careful if she had watched a video like this in which dangers are expressed.

In my own classroom I will implement the dangers of digital citizenship, especially when my students are going to have to use the Internet for research, etc. In the past i was assigned different things to do online with absolutely no forewarning, and I don't believe that was right.

Project Learning; 8th Grade Scientists?

The most important takeaway I have gained from watching this video is the fact that Project learning may open doors for students who do not do well in the typical classroom setting. "Four walls and a chalkboard" learning may not be the best for everyone, gifted student and hyperactive students for instance, can benefit from hands on learning ouside the typical classroom setting.
I for instance, am a very hands on person. In my own personal life, their have been many situations in which I would have done better in school if I was taught in an hands on manner, rather then a full time book and lecture approach. I constantly got in trouble in grade school for instance, for being "too" active, even though I was a straight A student. I would have had fewer disciplinary problems if my teacher were more open to "project learning".


In my own classroom, I think i will try the best that I can with my available resources(unfortunatly okc public schools dont have much) to incorporate some various types of project learning in my classroom, in addition to still teaching in a mainly four wall environment. This may include things as simple as going out to the playground to explore insects and their habitats for science.

Adrian's Voicethread

Here is my VoiceThread, alond with a link to the original, enjoy!

Class Comments Week 4

Hello, my comments on students blogs for week for can be found here and here. Thanks!

5 Picture Story: Mr. Cluckster's Life

Mr. Clucksters Life







These are the Url's to the original "creative commons" photos used:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14556247@N05/3198447134/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74373690@N00/4350079232/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13319175@N00/215310099/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58213213@N00/407606953/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26358755@N03/2945705563/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/94766508@N00/509156895/

U.S. Weapons Sales Project By George (International School of the Americas, San Antonio)

George did a great job with this project. It was very informative, and the pictures on the slides complimented his overall statement flawlessly. Anyone who views it will have a better understanding of the overall Arms problem occurring internationally. Here is a link to his project on slide share and the comment I left him. Below is the actual video from the International School of the Americas page for projects. GREAT JOB GEORGE!!!!

Us Weapon Sales

View more presentations from georgewitte.

Luis: "Leader Of A Revolución"

Luis is a great role model four Latin youth, being that he is skilled with technology, has family values, and fact that he is clashing against "status quo" in a revolution against the social class biased stereotypes of Hispanic/Latin youth in our society. I really like this video because it hit pretty close to home. The other few videos were great, but this kid can not be denied his respect. I also am of Hispanic/Latin decent, and I to had parents who had simple technologies in the household. My parents also made me buy just about everything I have had since I was old enough to work. Here this kid is, barely 18 and has more responsibility then half of the people I've met while at UCO. Luis goes to school, pays for his own gadgets and gizmos, even takes his little brother to school in the morning. Luis is great at multitasking, balancing school, being involved with the 4H Tech Wizards as well as the street tree census project in Oregon.I could keep going on forever, so just watch the video and see for yourself!

After watching, I think my biggest takeaway is that disadvantaged youth, as well as their families have a better chance at a higher quality of life if they can take advantage of technology and education.

This video relates to me in that my father is a Cuban immigrant who needed my help with technology(and allot of other things) during my childhood as well as here in the present with various tasks that include paying bills online, translating using only the finest Spanglish, etc. Luis and I both had to buy are own computers, which is a feat as a youngster in itself. In general lower socio-economic status families can really benefit from the use of technology,one example being checking on bill reciepts online, and another being the use of the Internet for talking and keeping in touch, instead of using a phone for long distance calls to Cuba- OUCH!

Thanks Luis's story, as well as many others, I now know that as a teacher I want to make sure I give my children every opportunity to use technology at school as I can, and I also want to possibly figure out some type of homework that maybe the children can try to get their parents to help them with in order to possibly help build their parent's tech skills.

Kiwi Classroom ; What Exactly Is An Overhead Projector?

Wow...where to begin. First of all I have to mention that this elementary classroom is by far the most technological classroom I have seen in grades K-12. What happened to the days of markers and overhead projectors? To sum it up, this techer and her classroom make my education in elementary just a few years ago seem like "cave" writing. Rachel Boyd is the presenter of this video, as well as the class teacher. The video basically sums up how technology can be used in all aspects of teaching, even using YouTube videos to engage students in P.E. These guys have an awesome online "learning hub" that is user friendly and guides students effortlessly. I also loved the term WALT used throughout(we are learners to).There is just too much too list, inluding this great website that teaches math and engages students in competition(building affective skills) called Tutpup.



My most significant take away from this video is probally the knowledge of the fact that there are so many technological resources out there for teachers. I had no clue of websites like Tutpup.

This video relates to me in that Britton Elementary, the school I went to during elementary/have done some field experiences while attending UCO, Was and STILL is lagging behind in technological tools for learning. For instance, they still only have maybe one projector in the classroom, and thats basically their technology. I can imagine how much better these kids could perform if they had access to tools such as hands on learning hubs, etc.(according to Oklahoma State records, the are doing semi poor in achievement testing0

The thing I would most likely implement in my own classroom would probally giving my students access to an online class specific learning hub, where I would provide somple links for students to use for studying, blogging, question asking, turning in assignments, and so on.

Blog Comments & Blogging Buddies

This class seems to be flying, and so do my finger tips as I try to get all this techno homerwork done for class lol. I am somewhat affraid of this class, but I am "getting there" slowly but surely. I have already commented on two T4T blog posts(I hope they have been approved), one on tnachelleedwards blog and one on nayshomeworkthoughts blog entries. In addition I am proud to announce that i am blog buddies with two awesome students named Antoinette and Blake.

Nafiza: Global Kids Role Model

In this video, Nafiza is an 18 year old student who lives in New York. She is a very interesting and intelligent young adult. She is good with things such as Teen Second Life and Flickr. She is a role model in that she goes above and beyond her duties as a student by helping classmates and being involved with positive groups such as Global Kids, a group that ispires urban children.






My most significant take away from this video is probably the impact that technology is actually having on "urban" youth. I now know that just about anyone can have access to inspiring sites such as Global Kids, and in all I believe technology may help keep some of these youth in a positive state of mind.

This video connects with me in that I was a very shy child/ young adult, who had problems with socializing. I wish I had access to technological resources, and knew about sites such as teen second life so I could have been a bit more involved socially.

The main implication of this video that i would use in my own teaching practice would be using technology to help inspire young children who may be lacking in socialization skills and/or children who are of a lower socioeconomic status and need inspiration.

Blogging Buddies Prove That There Is More Than One Way To Skin A Potato, (Well, At Least When It Comes To Teaching Students)

After watching the video We Like Our Blogging Buddies: The Write Stuff with Blogging Mentors, i realized that children using blogs in school can benefit in many different ways. I would say the most important part that I have "taken" away from the video is the fact that blogging helps children to improve their writing mechanics and language skills, not just their technology and computer skills.
During my experience as a child, the only way I learned skills about capitalising, using correct punctuation, etc was buy very critical teachers who simply criticized and scolded me when my punctuation was off. I think that having a blogging buddy to read over your students work and provide constructive criticism is not only a valuable educational resource, it also is building some important social skills. These kids are looking up to the mentors for advice, and what could be better for them than hands on writing back and fourth with someone they look up to. I know that I would have fared somewhat better if I had these resources as a child.

The idea of having someone other than me as a teacher doing some of the "correcting" sounds great to me. I think children will actually respond differently to someone who is closer to their own age,and who they somewhat look up to. In addition to this physchological aspect of learning these blog buddy mentors are helping with, the actual act of using computers and blogging is a great way to brush up on those mechanic skills. I believe this appeals to students like myself who are hands on learners, as we can be repetitively told how to do something, and will never get it until we do it our self. Using other hands on/physical activity like buddy blogging, instead of just writing with paper and pencil all the time to practice writing and mechanics will highly benefit students of this "hands on mechanical" nature, not to mention the above mentioned social skills that the student would never of gotten from practicing them by writing them over and over again on a piece of paper.

Cameron; Boy Genius Or Simply A Technologically Inspired Child?

In this videoCameron is an 11 year old boy child who has technology skills that would put most of us to shame. Being as young as he is, he has miraculous skills which include but are not limited to making movies and videos using tools such as an imovie application and a home made "green screen effects" that he has made himself, editing various programs, teaching technology skills to students as well as his own teachers, and the list goes on, not to mention that he is a gamer that could possibly make some of us "grown men" quiver at the idea of challenging "a kid" to some friendly online gaming competition.He has even built the set for the school in which he does morning announcements with different "backgrounds" in a news anchor type setting. This kid is a perfect example of how technology can inspire today's youth. Yes, Cameron is way ahead intellectually compared to his young peers, and I nor any one else can take that away from him, but as a future teacher who has had "field experiences" at socioeconomically challenged schools that have few computers and very little funds to move up technologically, and in turn do somewhat poorly when testing time comes around, I have to wonder if these schools and kids where to be inspired technologically at schoolas well as at home, how much could they benefit all around in the classroom? Cameron is a perfect example of how technology in the classroom( as well as at his home from his parents at a very young age )can shape the mind of an inspiring young individual.


I have realized that as a future teacher, I think the biggest thing that I have learned from this video is the fact that there are no boundaries to a students learning potential, as Cameron shown. I now know that keeping technology up to date in the classroom is important, and as teachers we should try to incorporate it and cut as few corners as possible.

Relating to what i mentined earlier, I can relate to the content in this video in that ive seen what schools and families with little or no technological resources have to deal with. In addition i can relate myself, being that I never even touched a computer until late middle school due to poor school funding and a low family socioeconomic status. I think if I as well as current students have a head start with technology, we will have a higher chance of having success in school as well as in life.

In the future when I become a teacher,I have realized through this video as well as practical life experiences that I need to make an effort to use tachnology to educate, communicate, as well as to allow my future students to explore whats out there, based on their own "filters" and prefrences. There is a whole new world out there when it comes to technology, and the educational possibilities that are possible through it are endless.

A little somethin somethin about me.

Hello, my name is Adrian and I am an Elementary Education major. I have lived in Oklahoma City my entire life. I am of Cuban, Puerto- Rican, Irish, and French decent. I like football, sleep, food, and just relaxing when I actually have the time. I am going to school full time(12 hours), and I work at Walgreens full time as well to support myself.
As an education student, my goals are to simply graduate, I know this might not sound like a professional goal, but if I obtain it I will be the first in my family to graduate from any sort of higher learning facility( college ). I would like to teach a grade in which I do not have to worry about "teaching to the test"(Thank you State Department of Education) , such as 4th grade. I want to become a teacher so I can have a chance to help children who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds (such as myself) do well in school, also I think young males in this group need more positive male role models in their life.