Hello everyone, 

This is my podcast.  What I’ve tried to do is connect my first lesson plan, where I use the video game Rock Band to teach a lesson on comparing examples of music genres, with the Book I chose to read:  Googled – The End of the World as We Know it.   This song is actually recorded from a YouTube video where two people are playing REMs, 'The End of the World As We Know It (teotwawki) using the Rock Band 3 video game.  

Please enjoy.

REMs TEOTWAWKI

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)

This methodology is commonly used in software development, but it can also be used to create other types of projects.

No matter what class I taught in the past, students always questioned why they had to learn one thing or another.  One of the classes I taught during my student teaching was Computer Applications, which included Excel, PowerPoint, and Microsoft Word.  I attempted to use a pun in this comic to get my point across about learning.  Students always appreciate a good pun - even if it is corny.  Teachers can use Pixton in the classroom to allow students to reflect on their own learning.  Students can create exit tickets before leaving the classroom, for instance. 

Pictures can say a thousand words. . .

When I saw this picture online I just had to post it to my blog.  I LOVE dogs -  especially when they're doing something out of the ordinary.  This dog seems to have complete trust in his owner and is comfortable riding in the basket.  We should give dogs more credit for their abilities.  Very cool picture.  

This is a picutre of our cat Perl.  Perl cannot be trained and does her own thing all the time.  She is very unpredictable.  She allows us to live in her world when she decides to tolerate us.

I used Picozu to edit Perl's picture.  Picozu offers a number of options for editing.  In my version, I was able to add a frame, a tecturing option called 'disco', and an option called 'noise', which gave the picutre a grainy look.  I think students would use this tool because it allows for creativity.  Teachers can use this tool in technology classes, for instance, if students are desiging graphics for video games.  The tool is intuitive and requires little effort to learn.

Are video games an effective learning tool for boys?

I chose the TED presentation ‘Gaming to Re-engage Boys in Learning’ (Gaming) by Ali Carr-Chellman because it is a topic that is near and dear to my heart.  I have two school-aged boys who regularly play video games, and we have experienced some of the issues discussed in the video.  Fortunately for our family, we have been able to overcome and our boys are doing fine academically and socially.  I think this presentation was effective because teachers and parents alike can relate to the issues that Carr-Chellman discussed in her presentation.  I felt she knew her topic well and her presentation style was casual which probably made her audience feel more comfortable with the subject matter.  As I watched the presentation, I remained engaged the entire time.  Carr-Chellman used power point slides that were straight to the point -- bold images of ‘our’ innocent children who need our guidance.  As a mom who plays video games with her kids, I can agree with Carr-Chellman.  Most of the games we play force my kids to think, focus, and make educated decisions.  The one improvement I would suggest for any presenter is to NEVER wear stretch pants during a presentation.  We all know that dressing the part is just as important as what you say.