Project #14: Smart Board Presentation

C4T #2

My assigned teacher is Mrs. Caren Carrillo. She is an elementary school teacher of History. I can relate, the only difference is that I am in Secondary Education. She has not blogged since 2011 but the bulk of her blog was about Halloween party that she was throwing for her students. Some of the parents did not approve of the idea of the children celebrating such a holiday. Mrs. Carrillo put the parents' minds at ease by explaining that Halloween is a celebration and not something to looked down upon. I personally liked the way she handled it. It was professional and showed a great sense of character. The last post on her blog is something one of her co-workers sent to her as a joke. If you want to check out what she is referring to then click on this link --> http://carencarrillo.posterous.com/ and just click on the link entitled the newyorker. It is not that hard to find considering the post is only about two to three sentences long. Well, until next time bloggers.

Personal Learning Network: Progress Report

My PLN  is coming along pretty well. I decided to use Symbaloo. At first I thought it was a funny name for a website but I watched one the the videos suggested by Dr. Strange and it became clear. It was a tool for learning, personal learning. I have not really done much to it but logged into my facebook and twitter accounts. I have used it in research for another course. I have sort of arranged the icons in a certain order and in certain groups. For instance, the group to the bottom left are the icons that I use on a day to day basis. I'm not really sure how this is going to help but I will say that I will just wait and see how this plays out. I want to make a goal to see how organized I can make it. If you want to check out my Symbaloo, click on this link http://www.symbaloo.com/ and type in my name: Daphney McFadden. I hope that you find me. Until next time bloggers.

My Reaction to the Evaluation

Since this is my blog, I feel I have the right to vent in a respectable manner. Personally I am mad at the fact that I missed my evaluation. I did not receive the email that the evaluation was even up until 2 days after it was closed. Slow as crap school email but Dr. Strange did make the announcement in class, I guess I just failed to write it down. So I am going to grade myself via my blog. If I was to give myself a grade in this class, it would have to be about a C-. I give myself this mark because a lot of my work has been submitted late here lately. To be honest, my work load has doubled and almost tripled in some of my other classes. I'm not sweating the small stuff though. The way I learn is to have a daily routine and since this class is no longer that, out of sight out of mind. This is a mistake that I am going to have to deal with and just take the outcome. I don't know if my grade will improve since I may be down to a D or F...but I am going to work to get a higher grade (whatever it may be). My mom always told me that if I failed to plan then I planned to fail. So I guess in this case, i failed. Honestly, I forget about some of the work in this class because for some reason, my organization in this class is a little off. I am trying my best to get back on track before I fail again. Hmmmmm...but what can I do? My computer trips when I try to print out the check list and writing down the assignments tend not to do me any good....I got it! I will download a planner app from the Droid Market to organize all my assignments! Add a little reminder the Wednesday before the assignments are due! Yea!! Now I just have to figure out which app to download. Well that's my vent for the night or morning or whatever. I guess I need to start my search and get this organized before Spring Break is officially over.

The Great Educators Presents The Freedom Writers Diary.mov

Blog Assignment #6

Wow! Watching this video, was beyond amazing. During his life as a professor, he encouraged his students to follow his/her childhood dream. After overcoming many "brick walls" it is safe to say that Randy Pausch lived an incredible life. I will say that I am glad that Randy Pausch went into teaching and not singing. *laugh*

In this youtube video of his last lecture Dr. Pausch, teaches what he learned over the years to be effective teaching methods:


Break Walls
Brick walls are not there to keep you out or slow you down. They are there to encourage you to continue to fight for what you want to achieve. These walls are only obstacles that can be overcome. I felt as though, that was an awesome expression. As an up-and-coming educator, my path is difficult. With all the classes, assignments, exams while trying to have a personal life is crazy but my goal is to be a teacher. I have to get passed wanting to always have a social life for the sake of what I am passionate for and that is TEACHING.

Don't Bail
As I have previously said, I have to get passed wanting to always have a social life. It is hard not wanting to give up when times get hard but that is where I do my best work. Pushing myself to do what I think in my head can't be done. I plan to pass this trait on to my students. I will not pass a lazy child. Bailing out on something that you need for something that you want will get you nowhere and fast.

Get A Feedback Loop
Feedback is always important! How else would you know what you are doing right or what you are doing wrong? For instance, the comments we make on each other's blogs about what we like and don't like and what we can improve on is AWESOME feedback. If I told a classmate or student that his/her work was great and it was crap, what good am I doing them? I can answer that...NONE! Be truthful with people

Show Gratitude
Pleas know that you did not get where you are today without the help of someone. That someone could be a parent, teacher, friend, sibling, cousin, whomever. The point is, you didn't do it alone. I know that if it were not for my grandparents and aunts that I would not be as successful as I am today. I show them gratitude by continuing to thrive to get my degree in Education. Give credit where credit is due.

Dr. Randy Pausch was a great example of what a humble person looks like. He was an enthusiastic person when it came to speaking. He spoke with a comical, yet clear point. He didn't mind making fun of himself. He was a very bold, fun-loving person. I can say that I greatly admire him. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video. It was worth the hour out of my day.



If you have not watched this video, here it is...View at your own enjoyment!!