Google Presentation

Blog Post #2 Assignment

Video Reviews

Karl Fisch:Did You Know? 3.0
Just the first 35 seconds of this video was an eye opener. So many people, myself included, think that technology is not as much of a necessity as it is made out to be when, in reality, it is coming to the point where it is involved, in some way or another, with our lives everyday. In a way it's sad. Way too often do I find myself being the grandma saying "back when I was younger..." and i'm only 22! When I was in Elementary School, "high tech", to us, was going to our school's ONLY computer lab and playing Oregon Trail. In most of today's schools there is at least one computer in EACH CLASSROOM. Students are making websites and taking tests online. SMART boards have started replacing dry-erase boards (which at the time of their debut were the greatest thing. Some five year old children know more about a computer than their grandparents or, even worse, their parents. This video really put into perspective for me just how much technology is involved not only in our country, but throughout the entire world.

Matthew Needleman: Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle wakes up to find a world connected by technology. Scared and confused, he finds refuge in a school where the routine lectures and books seem similar to the way they were 100 years ago.
I'm reminded of the blog I had to comment on for my Comments 4 Teachers assignment. It was a post by Aaron Eyler titled "That 'Let's Do More' Mentality". It talks about how everyone wants to do more to improve, yet they do not question whether or not what they were doing was right in the first place.
If schools are being conducted the same as 100 years ago and there hasn't been a vast improvement shouldn't we, as educators,learn newer methods of teaching that incorporate technology the way everything else in the world does?

Sir Ken Robinson:The Importance of Creativity
I would have to say I agree with this video. I feel that students, myself included, were brought up and are being taught that being creative means being too different and not being accepted. Even in college when someone says they are majoring in Studio Art or Photography they are automatically asked the question "And...what can you do with that?" Creativeness is definitely not emphasized anywhere near the extent of what it should be.

Viki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
This video was showing how, as educators, we might be expected to know it all in order to teach our students when, in reality, the students are teaching us just as much as they are learning. Students feel a sense of achievement when they learn something on their own, or perhaps even learn something the teacher didn't already know.

About Me

Hey there! My name is Brandi Alexander. I am 22 years old, and currently a junior at the University of South Alabama. I was born and raised here in Mobile where I attended Wilmer Elementary School, Semmes Middle School and graduated from Mary G. Montgomery Highschool in 2006. I am married to Kyle Alexander and we have an 18 month old little girl named Taylor Lane.

This will be my second year at USA. I started my college career at Auburn University (War Eagle!) and due to my husband being Active Duty military we've had to move a few times so I have attended Auburn, University of South Carolina and have finally ended up here where I plan to finish with a degree in Elementary Education.

I am looking forward to this class, and hope that I can learn a lot of things I can incorporate in my classroom in the future.