C4K Summary for April

C4K #8
Spencer R's Blog

Spencer's blog post was in an introduction of himself.  He wrote he has lived in Iowa all of his life and has never been to another country.
My comment:  My name is Catherine Warren.  I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.  I have never been to Iowa, but I have been to other countries.  What countries would you like to visit?

warrencatherineedm310.blogspot.com                                                                                          

Mohamed's Blog

Mohamed's blog post was titled "Character Development".  He wrote about a 14 year old boy who moved from Somalia.
My comment:  Hello, Mohamed.  I am a college student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile.  Is this story about you?  Are you from Somalia?  I have been to Uganda and loved it.

warrencatherineedm310@blogspot.com


Trent's Blog

Trent's post was about moving on to grade 5.  He asked, "What do you look forward to?"

My comment:  Hello, Trent.
My name is Catherine Warren. I am in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in the USA. I hope you are enjoying grade 5 by now. I look forward to finishing college. I always look forward to traveling to many places. What are you looking forward since you have been in grade 5 for a while?
warrencatherineedm310.blogspot.com

PLN Report

PLN stands for personal learning network.  I have not created an account with Symbaloo or a similar site.  I do not have some elaborate network.  My inclination is to think up something really profound that will impress Dr. Strange.  However, by definition of PLN, the keyword is personal, so what matters most is what works for me.  What I enjoy most is my iPad.  I grew up with my dad saying, "Look it up."  Now I say, "I'll Google it."

I have spent countless hours "Googling" anything and everything I want to learn about.  If I want to save a page, I can make a screenshot, or I can email a link of the page to myself and then use my email app to pull it right back up.  I have taken pictures, edited them, shot video, and made iMovies on my iPad.  I use apps for YouTube, Google Drive, and Blogger.  My email app contains all three of my email accounts.  I love the touch screen.  I can take the iPad anywhere and access free Wifi all of the time.  I also use apps for the Weather Channel, Facebook, Netflix, and Amazon Prime.  It is the best electronic gadget.

C4T Summary

Free Technology for Teachers

The post I commented on is titled "10 Good Video Sources for Math Students and Teachers".  Richard Byrne listed ten sites and why they are good.

My comment:  I am a student in EDM 310 at the University if South Alabama in Mobile.  Your blog is what I would call a resource directory.  You have so much information compiled here.  What do you find the most challenging to make your posts?

warrencatherineedm310@blogspot.com

"A Quick Round Up of New Google Drive Features" is a post stating:  Now if when you collaborate on a Google Document you will see the Google+  profile picture of your collaborators. Click the image to learn more about the person. The chat feature of Google Documents is tied to the Google+ integration. Click the new chat icon to start a group chat with your collaborators.

My comment:  Thank you for sharing the latest features of Google Drive.  Google offers so many useful tools.

Blog Post #14

Teacher Knows if You've Done the E-Reading

This is an article posted on The New York Times website dated April 8, 2013.  The article  is about professors at Texas A&M and eight other colleges who are testing technology from a company, CourseSmart, "that allows them to track their students' progress with digital textbooks."  The article gives pros and cons to this as well as questions if this is beneficial in any way.

As a teacher, I would probably be very curious to see who read the assignments, how many pages were read, and how much time was spent reading.  I would probably draw conclusions about students' scores and time spent reading.  I might become partial to students who do the reading versus the student who don't.  After some time, I would get back to the main thing, which is teaching my class.  Being voyeuristic does not replace good teaching.  Snooping on students does not change whether or not they did the reading.  Inspiring them to want to do the reading is my job.

As a student, I would probably be pretty irritated.  If this is going on now, it would not matter because I do my readings and work.  If I do not, it will be reflected when I take a test.  I may be tempted to fool my teacher into thinking I did the reading by leaving the textbook open like the article suggests.  Also, some students claimed they took notes on paper instead of digitally, which does not accurately reflect students' engagement.  The teacher's perception of the students' study habits may be influenced.  As a student, I would feel micromanaged.

Questions for the teacher:  How often do you check on your students' statistics?  What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?  How does this affect your perceptions of your students?  How do you handle your disappointment after seeing the information?  Do you reflect on your own teaching?

Questions for the student:  How do you feel knowing your teacher has the ability to know if you have read the assignments?  Does it change your study habits?

My comment I would add:  After being in EDF 315, I have discovered what a big business the textbook industry is.  My opinion is that this is just another strategy for the publishers to make money.  The hook is to market to the colleges with the guise of helping teachers track their student's progress.  The article says "eventually, the data will flow back to the publishers, to help prepare new editions."  It's all about money.  Period.

Project #16 Movie

This video is on the long side, but it is so worth it.  So pop some popcorn, grab a Coke Zero, and kick back to watch this episode of The 310 Show with Dana Lettergrade!

Project #15 Smart Board Instruction

Blog Post #13

Brian Crosby-Back to the Future

This is a great video that addresses what I call integration of subject matter.  Mr. Crosby has students for three years for fourth, fifth, and sixth grades.  They are considered at risk, low income, and second language learners.  The survey statistics he gave about how many students do and do not know simple things like what city they live in, their addresses, and phone numbers were very disheartening.  This survey seems to be a spring board for Mr. Crosby's philosophy, "You don't know what could be if you don't know what is."

The presentation is about how a lesson on hot air balloons encompasses so many content areas:  science, writing, collaboration, exploration, and blogging.  The students have Skyped with students in New Zealand about what they have learned and how to do the same activities.  Mr. Crosby said that this is active learning which empowers kids to want to learn on their own.  "We can't keep racing kids through schools."  The student, Celeste, with leukemia participating with the class via Skype is priceless. 

I really like that Mr. Crosby has about thirty years of teaching experience.  He is not a recent college graduate who is new to teaching in the digital age.  Mr. Crosby has grown in his career to come to this style of teaching, which shows he greatly loves what he does and that meeting the needs of his students is what is truly important.

Blended Learning Cycle

Paul Anderson has developed what he calls the blended learning cycle.  He created an acronym from the word quivers.  The letters stand for question, investigate, video, elaboration, review, and summary quiz.  As a science teacher, Mr. Anderson has a very good system of beginning with a question.  Science is all about figuring out why things are they way they are and why they do what they do.  Then students are to investigate and inquire about the question presented.  The students watch a video on the subject that Mr. Anderson has already made.  This step seems very elaborate but the beauty of a video is once it is made, it can be used over and over.  During elaboration, the student delve deeper into the subject.  Mr. Anderson then talks with each student during the review stage to determine if the students really understand the material before they can move on to the summary quiz.

I like Mr. Anderson's statement, "I don't think you've really learned something unless you can explain it to someone else."  This is his perspective on the review so the students will be successful on the summary quiz.  This is a very good strategy.

Progress Report on Project #16

Enjoy the commercial!

Blog Post #12

kidblog.org

This class has opened my eyes to the world of blogging.  I have really enjoyed making comments through the C4K assignments.  My proposed assignment would be for EDM 310 students to choose a blogging site for future use in the classroom.  We visit so many blogs but don't necessarily know how they work.  I chose Kidblog.  It is free.  Teachers can create a class blog really quickly.  I like looking at the settings.  It give me a real behind the scenes feeling.  Right now "Mrs. Warren's Class" has no students, but in the future, no matter what grade I teach, we will blog.  Now is the time to become familiar with such sites.

Mrs. Warren's Class

Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy's Little Kids...Big Potential

Ms. Kathy Cassidy has really done a great job of educating herself in technology to be able to lead the way in integrating the tools of technology in her first grade classroom.  In this video, students give voice overs and pictures of the work they have done and how they use technology on a daily basis.  The video highlights blogs, internet safety, webpages, center time, wikis, group videos, Skype sessions, and even learning with Nintendo DS "Nintendogs".  A student says playing Nintendogs in a group has made them better problem solvers and taught them to learn to share.

I know I will introduce blogging to my classroom, regardless of the grade level.  Through EDM 310, I have learned that even first graders are capable of contributing to a blog.  Even if a student only writes one sentence, the value is great.  Ms. Cassidy said in the Skype interview that blogs allow the students to have an audience.  Having an audience improves the students' writing.  The anticipation of receiving comments is also encouraging and fun for the students.  I find it interesting that she says the tools of just five years ago are not the same because of how quickly technology has changed.

I see from her interview the importance of support from fellow teachers, technical coordinators, and administration.  Her guarded response in the interview about support from administration led me to think she has not always had the support she would have liked, though she did not actually say that.  People in administration positions do not always see the importance of technology in the classroom which can lead to restricted access and restricted time spent on technology. 

I like that parents have given positive responses.  Parents naturally love to see their children and their work on display.  On the internet, parents can share their children's work with other family members and friends.  I like Ms. Cassidy's insistence on internet safety for her students.

An impediment I personally say at Fonde Elementary was that the students did not know how to properly type and are not taught how.  In my classroom, time will be spent on that.  I know that there are free learn-to-type games on the internet.

C4T #3

First Post
spicylearning.wordpress.com by Royan Lee

The post I commented on was in regard to an individual filming him/herself teaching not for the purpose of posting lessons online as in the flipped classroom concept, but for the purpose of critiquing the actual teacher. 

My comments:  My name is Catherine Warren. I am in the class EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama. I have never thought of filming myself teaching until reading your post. I think it will be most beneficial. I have watched films of myself in videos created for class projects. Because I was a character, it was enjoyable to watch. I would love to film myself in my future classroom. I don’t think I want to let someone else critique me, though. Your post is an interesting proposal.

Second Post

The next post was about giving students feedback and how students interpret that feedback.  Mr. Lee explores the way students respond to direct and indirect comments.  He gives examples of ways people communicate and how different people react to the same comments.  It was very interested and something I will consider when I give my own students feedback.

My comments:  As a college student currently taking EDM 310, a technology course which led me to your blog, but also an education foundations course which is focusing on the multicultural classroom, we have discussed language barriers quite a bit.  It has mostly been in regard to a student learning English, communicating with parents, understanding cultural communication styles, etc.  What type of feedback to give a student and how that student may receive that feedback is something that has not been covered.  However, after reading your post, I see it is not an issue limited only to ESL students.  Culture is so complex within our own communities.  Great post.  Cancel reply

C4K Summary for March

C4K#4
Dustin
The post I commented on was an interview of a fellow student.

My comment: Hello, Dustin. I am new to blogging. My original comments posted twice. I tried to delete one copy, but they both disappeared. My name is Catherine Warren. I am another student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I was a little confused about which Dustin's blog I was to comment on. And as it turns out, you interviewed the other Dustin. That is funny. Did you enjoy the interview? Did someone interview you? I hope you enjoy your blogging experienceC4K#5

Laila's blog address is http://kidblog.org/MrsGoerend1213/author/lailak201286164/

She is an amazing writer with some fabulous posts.  The one I commented on has to do with what she thinks it would be like if we did not have the First Amendment.  She mentioned that we couldn't say what we want and that we wouldn't know what is going on because the press wouldn't be able to inform us.

My comments:  Hello, Laila. My name is Catherine Warren. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL. Your blog is better than a 9th grader’s blog that I have read. It is hard to believe you are a 5th grader. You write like an adult. You are very talented. Have you studied the other amendments to the Constitution?
warrencatherineedm310.blogspot.com

C4K#6 Faith's blog address is http://kidblog.org/Harbor7/ce0306fd-3262-4845-8890-5a76ef417a99/ted-talk-6/#comment-688

This student says she would improve school by putting in more Smart Boards.

My comments:  Hello, Faith. My name is Catherine Warren. I am a student at the University of Alabama in the class EDM 310. There is a Smart Board in that classroom. I need to learn more about how to use it. What do you like best about Smart Boards?
warrencatherineedm310.blogspot.com

C4K#7
Quziyah's blog address is http://pesquziyaha.blogspot.com

This student explored where Easter eggs come from.

My comments:  My name is Catherine Warren. I am a student in EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama in America. I am glad you enjoyed research about Easter. I will go to church and spend time with my family. How will you celebrate Easter?

warrencatherineedm310@blogspot.com

Blog Post #10

Adventures in Pencil Integration

I actually have some background regarding the above cartoon.  When my son was in the first grade, I bought some Papermate pencils because they were very cheap.  His teacher sent home a note requesting better erasers because the erasers on the pencils were not very good, and the pencils themselves were very smudgy.  This led me to the discovery of Ticonderoga pencils.  They are my absolute favorite!  They are also the favorite of my now freshman in college son.  He will not buy or use any other kind of pencil.

Now to interpret the cartoon.  Hhmm.  The man on the left looks older than the guy on the right.  He is dressed in a suit.  I do not know if he is supposed to be more mature, professional, or nerdy. However, his caption, explaining his cheapness, gives the message that you get what you pay for. The best pencil, the Ticonderoga, is what a hipster would buy.  According to this definition of hipster, a hipster is smart, educated, and frugal.  Again, by purchasing something more expensive, you should get what you pay for.

The dilemma I have is determining if there is a further meaning to this cartoon.  Does it stop at the quality of pencils?  Is it making fun of pencils, because the artist thinks pencils in general are obsolete?  Refer to my picture in Blog Post #3.

 

*10:38 p.m. P.S.*  After reading a few other people's blogs, I see that this cartoon is a play on the Mac/PC commercial.  I have seen this commercial a while ago, so I actually get the cartoon.  I explored Mr. Spencer's blog, but obviously not the extent to discover the meaning of the cartoon.  Oops.

John T. Spencer

The blog post I chose to comment on is When a Child Hates Pencils.  This post is about a student who hates pencils because he associates them with work instead of learning, and failure instead of success.  This post also addresses trinket reward systems and the punishment of being sent to another class to then copy words over and over.  

"Our principal encouraged me to keep Josiah away from pencils until he was "mature" (as if a pencil was something one has to mature into) and has "proven that he can earn the privilege of using them again."  I ignored his advice and handed Josiah a new pencil the second day of school.  I told him he could draw, write poetry, tell a story, whatever. 

"Will I get a stamp?"

"No. I don't do stamps."

"A letter?"

"No letters here either."

"Then why should I do this?"

"I write because I have something to say.  I draw because I want to create.  I can't control it.  There's something in me that propels me to draw."

"Will you read it?"

"Yep.  I'll even write comments and on some parts I'll ask you to do an assignment I choose.  I'll make some corrections.  I'm still your teacher.  But my goal is feedback, not judgment."

He tears a page out of the journal, writes a poem about wanting to fly and then creates an origami flying dragon with the poetry written on the wings.  It's beautiful and quirky and it didn't happen because of letters or stamps or peppy praise."

This post perfectly reflects my experience last week at Fonde Elementary, which I am still processing.  The teacher I observed is really a great teacher.  She taught in Baldwin County for 2 1/2 years.  She has been at Fonde for 7 years.  She has gone from a high performing school to a low performing school.  I felt very inspired to be there.  She said herself, "I know we are not supposed to teach to the test, but that's what we have to do here."  She is so focused on test scores.  I am afraid she is losing that special something she must have had in Baldwin County.  I shared with the students about setting goals and taking the necessary steps to achieve those goals.  I shared with them about running the Azalea Trail Run the following day.

I was asked by a fourth grader, "Whatcha gonna get for runnin' that race?"  

"Nothing."

"You're not gonna get nothin'?"

I tried to explain that I will have personal satisfaction.  I will have happiness within myself.  I will be proud of myself.  I might as well have been speaking a foreign language.

Dr. Scott McLeod

Dr. McLeod has many credentials.  Most recognizable is the fact that he is the creator of the Did You Know? video I watched on YouTube earlier this semester.  I agree with his positions in Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff-Please?, however I will have to do a lot more learning myself to be able to use and teach the technology he thinks should be in the classroom.  I will have to educate myself on filters, controls, etc.  Again, referring back to my experience at Fonde, the absolute quietest those students ever became was in the computer lab.  They were working on math problems on computer programs that were identical to the type they had been working on in the classroom.  The students were so engrossed.  I could have heard a pin drop.

Project #11 Short Movie

This is over 4 minutes long.  Be patient.

Project #14 Smart Board Useage

Project 12 Book Trailer

Blog Post #9

Mr. McClung
In Mr. McClung's blog post, What I Learned This Year 2009-2010, he shares what he has learned during that particular year of teaching school.  There were many firsts for Mr. McClung during that year.  He had to adapt in order to effectively fulfill many new tasks.  He had to change his expectations of the outcomes of his lessons because he taught material he had never taught before.  I like how he says, "I don't want my students to always look for the right answer, but instead take a different approach that requires them to think analytically and assess each situation on an individual basis."  This is my philosophy exactly.  In the case of a subject like math, I want my students to understand why and how they arrive at an answer that will most likely only have one correct answer. 

In his section, Find your School Mom, I do not know who Mr. McClung is calling a school mom.  I don't know if he means a literal mother of a student, or if he means a well-seasoned teacher that serves as a go-to type of colleague.  Regardless, I believe the more ideas and support, the better for everyone. 

In the rest of the post he makes more good points.  The ability to act crazy and silly in order to grab students' attention comes quite easily to me.  I like that he states, "Check your ego at the door." Another good point is about making sure he teaches not only what he enjoys but also the subjects that his students need to learn.  Also, his assessments need to match the depth of the material he covered. It is natural to gravitate to what we like regarding anything, but it is about making the student successful that matters most.  Mr. McClung found it helpful to give students tasks in the classroom which "requires them to be responsible and take ownership for the classroom experience."  This takes a load off of the teacher and saves precious time as menial tasks are delegated.

Mr. McClung shares how problems with administration affected his attitude in the classroom.  While he does not explain the details of the situation, I appreciate his honesty in admitting that there have been problems.  "No matter how bad things may be, as a teacher you can not let surrounding factors affect how you conduct yourself in the classroom."  This is so true.  Mr. McClung concludes this post by admitting he has flaws yet is willing to improve and move forward.

In the post, What I Learned This Year Volume 4, Mr. McClung begins with admitting that he was worried about his perception among his peers but that he got over it.  He does not pinpoint why he went through this, but I like that he just chose to get over it and refocus on his students.  I was a little surprised that he felt like he had gotten too comfortable and was not teaching well.  He felt like relying on old lessons led to routine and lack of creativity.  I am looking forward to having well written lesson plans to have from year to year.  That is the benefit of becoming an experienced teacher.  I assume that instead of writing lesson plans from scratch all of the time, I will be able to better supplement existing ones.  Only time will tell.

The main thing I learned from Mr. McClung's posts is the value of proofreading.  Honestly, I can not believe he made all four posts with so many errors.  They would have easily been noticed if he had taken the time to re-read what he had written.  I am not error-proof, however, I don't want to appear that unprofessional simply because I did not review before clicking "publish".

Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream

Dr. Richard Miller shares a presentation on YouTube.  As I watched, I thought it was a bit redundant regarding the perspective this class is trying to teach us.  Upon further reflection, I realize this was done in 2008, 5 years ago.  Instead of thinking, "Okay, I get it,"  it is interesting to examine how what Dr. Miller says has actually occurred.

Dr. Miller talks about how information has moved from being published in books to being documented on the Internet.  Research has been sought and compiled online with images, film, sound, and anything archived on the web.  People collaborate to produce print, sound, and visual documents.

Dr. Miller mentioned an example of instantaneous voting results during the 2008 election.  He also mentioned the value of iTunesU for academic lectures and info.  He said, "Ideas don't belong to us individually.  They belong to us as a culture."  Ideas can be shared freely.  The challenge comes in how to put all this together.  Computer literacy is the new "reading and writing skill".  Writing with multimedia takes time to learn, but it will be so worth it.

Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12

I think Carly is very thorough in her post.  I think her idea goes beyond what Dr. Miller describes.  As stated above, Dr. Miller's presentation was done in 2008.  Carly's post was from April 2011.  I like that Carly did not reinvent the wheel.  She evaluated what is important and searched out resources that reflect that.  By creating a YouTube play list, she literally has saved the resources at her fingertips.  As a future English teacher and literature lover, she wants to present her students with this classic subject matter with the use of modern technology.  Again, she is not reinventing the wheel.  She is just changing gears.

"Movies"

The types of videos I would like to participate in making must be fun and not boring.  In another class I was Diane Sawyer of 20/20 conducting an interview about No Child Left Behind.  It was so fun to be someone else.  It is so fun to break out do the unexpected.  I also like the chance to try to be funny though it may come off as really stupid.  Before that video assignment and the Rafe Esquith video for this class, I had not done any videos.  As far as in the future, I don't know what the subject matters would be but I am definitely up for it.

The primary message of the EDM 310 for Dummies and The Chipper Series are about getting the work done for this class.  Students in this class can feel crazy, frustrated, clueless, paralyzed with procrastination, or they can choose to dive in, read the directions, put forth the effort, develop some work habits, and succeed.

Learn to Change, Change to Learn

This video covers the opinions of several people regarding education.  Education that will really work involves communication, relationships, connectivity, and access to information.  The jobs of the future will not be obtained by people who are right answer vending machines that have been churned out by the philosophy of No Child Left Behind.  Future employees will need to know how to find, validate, and synthesize information versus memorize facts.  This starts with the teachers changing how they lead and teach students.

The video ends with the statement, "It's the death of education, but it's the dawn of learning."  I agree with this.  Last night I saw some of a series, "Blackboard Wars."  It is a low income, minority school full of behavior problems.  The show focused on some first year teachers who are very excited to teach and think they are making a difference, yet so frustrated by the issues of this school.  I wonder how exposing these students to this teaching style in this video would engage and change their perspectives of attending school every day.  Low income schools tend to lack resources of middle class schools, however use of technology may be on of the very things that helps improve behavior, not just learning.

Scavenger Hunt

1.  The first thing I chose to do is create an account with Edmodo.  It has the look of Facebook.  Users familiar with Facebook would probably like it.  I signed in as a teacher, though I am not one yet.  The page can be customized many ways.  This site could be used to communicate with the classroom as well as network with other teachers.

2.  The  nice deal Prezi makes for students and teachers:  for free Prezi offers private presentations, the use of your own logo, and 500MB storage space.  For $4.92 per month, Prezi offers private presentations, the use of your own logo, the ability to work offline securely, premium support, and    2 GB storage space.

3.  A video tool I have never heard of is Animoto.com/education.  "Educators can apply for a free Animoto Plus account for use in the classroom.  Animoto automatically analyzes music, photos and video clips, and orchestrates a custom video, leaving you free to focus on the content and narrative of your videos."  Sounds good to me!

C4T #2

Langwitches by Silvia Tolisano

First Post
Subject: Embedding Visuals into Teaching and Learning.  Wonderopolis is a website with over 800 visual props and also the opportunity to submit your own.  Another website, Visual Writing Prompts, has pictures and prompts categorized by subject and writing type.  This post is about resources to use for finding pictures as prompts for writing assignments.

My comments:  I am a student taking the class EDM 310 at the University of South Alabama.  I remember writing assignments that were so boring.  Using prompts from websites like these seem very engaging for the students.  This idea of using technology in the classroom is so new to me, though I am enjoying  envisioning the prospect.

This blog allowed me to leave my name, email address, and blog address.

Second Post
Subject:  The proper use of hyper-links as enhancements to writing in the digital world.  This post includes a guide for download.

My comments:  This is an extremely helpful post. Reading it in one sitting is not enough for the information to settle in. Thank you for posting a downloadable tool for help regarding hyperlinks. Just when I thought I had become an adequate writer, I feel like a beginner in the digital world. There is always something new to learn.

Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch The Last Lecture
The shorthand I took for the instructions for this blog post:  identify and comment on teaching methods, discuss all of the things he discusses that you can use in teaching, but don't just retell what he says, identify:  teaching and learning, summary and my reactions.  I do not know if my blog post will satisfy these instructions because I believe the notes I took and the impressions I have are more related to life than just what I would use in a classroom.  This will probably be the most hodge-podge post I have made.

Pausch outlines his lecture as Really Achieving Your Dreams, Enabling the Dreams of Others, and Lessons Learned.  Pausch's childhood dreams included experiencing zero gravity, playing professional football, writing an article in the World Book Encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, and becoming an Imagineer for Disney.  Through football he learned that when you are screwing up and no one is saying anything anymore, it means they have given up on you.  I am still letting this statement soak in.  In evaluating this statement, I have put myself in both positions.  I hope that people will still speak up when I need it.  I also hope I will have the courage to speak into others' lives when they need it most.

In Pausch's experience as an Imagineer, he heard the statement, "Wait and people will surprise you."  I don't know that I have the patience to apply that to everyone I know, but, oh, how I want everyone I know to extend that attitude toward me.  It is amazing how I do not give as readily as I like to receive.  So, moving forward, how long will I wait in order to be surprised?  I also like Pausch's two examples of how to say, "I don't know."  It can be done pridefully and defensively, or calmly and with honesty, humility, and control. 

In the next point of Pausch's lecture, Enabling Others' Childhood Dreams-become a professor, I definitely connected with the bigger picture of becoming a teacher.  My childhood dream was played out in my bedroom with my blue chalkboard.  Chalkboards may be obsolete by the time I am a teacher, but I greatly want one just for my own personal satisfaction.  To think that once I achieve a degree, I will than have the ability to steer others into pursuing their childhood dreams in the making gives me the mental image of a rock thrown into a pond and the ripple effect.  I hope to spur children on to go further than I will and further than they ever thought they would.  More than a classroom, I hope this for my own children.  Through Pausch's class about building virtual worlds, he learned to raise the bar even though the students did well to begin with.  I think the bar needs to be raised when they don't do so well either because students must have something to strive for.  As Pausch was nearing the end of his life, he made the decision to find someone better than himself to hand over his work.  I see the importance of finding a mentor and always look for someone who is better than me to go to.

I like Pausch's quote, "The best gift an educator can give someone is the ability to be self-reflective."  I know this class has that approach and I am trying to honestly evaluate my work or else I will not be doing myself a service.  Pausch also defines the "head fake":  have fun while learning something hard.  That is exactly the mindset I have when I envision teaching math.

For Lessons Learned, I wrote down a lot of points that stood out.  The contents in the parentheses are my reactions.  Help others (I am only helpful sometimes).  Never give up (I am a natural quitter).  Tell the truth (In the South, politeness can trump honesty).  Apologize (That's easy).  Focus on others, not yourself (That's hard).  Don't complain, work harder (The other option would be to quit).  Be good at something:  it makes you valuable (Believe it and search for the talent). 

Pausch ends the lecture by informing the audience that there are two head fakes in his speech.  The first one is that this wasn't really about achieving your childhood dreams.  It is about how to lead your life.  (I knew it!)  And the second, "This talk wasn't for you.  It was for my kids."  I have no doubt his children have been listening.