FINAL BLOGGGGGGG

1) Has your perspective and/or feelings changed about technology in instruction as a result of being in this course? How? Yes! Technology has been such an awesome thing to learn about! I am so glad that now I know how to apply this stuff in my class! I used to be intimidated by technology. Now I feel as though it is a tool that is well within my grasp! 

2) Which technologies or tools used in this course stand out to you? Why? I really like the vidcasting! It is a great way to record a lesson and help students self educate at home!

3) Which technology(-ies) are you most eager to use in the classroom? How will you use it? (This may or may not be the one(s) chosen for your final project.) Once again, vidcasting will be great! I look forward to using it so much in my class!

4) Based on your answer to number 3, do you think you can implement the tech. tool in a planned upcoming lesson that you will be teaching? Or, suggest it to your CT to use in an upcoming lesson? Explain. I have already used it at my placement! I made an entire lesson on introducing half notes and used a vidcast video to help the students grasp the concept!

VLOG Digital Storytelling

   A digital story is a great tool for a music educator! It is the perfect way to spark a students' imagination. So often we do bland slideshows or ask the students to read an article or listen to a lecture. The one thing students love on the internet is videos! So why not give them a video of a story. Students respond to stories and visual and audio stimulation. When giving students backgrounds about pieces of music. This is the way to do it.

What I learned from the two videos.

1) I did not realize that there is one needs to draw the difference between students with disabilities and gifted students. I have been in Universal Design for Learning and haven't learned anything about that. I m so glad we are covering it! In terms of a myth, I always thought it is better for kids to have more friends. It is good to hear one or two friends is perfectly healthy.

2) I am going to ensure that students are given the space they need. Sometimes it is okay for students to work alone or with one other person as opposed to a group. Using various interactive technologies like google docs will be helpful. Google forms in general allow students to turn in assignments and collaborate, but also gives them the option of working alone so as not to feel overwhelmed. Kind of like an interactive video game allows a student to collaborate with people all over the world in the privacy of their home (as mentioned in the video).

This is my VLOG that covers a UDL principle and talks about it's application through the venue of technology.

Is success Just a mindset, or are there other factors external or otherwise?

Is success Just a mindset, or are there other factors external or otherwise? 

   Thomas D. Kuczmarski, President and Founder of Kuczmarski & Associates Inc., states in his book that "Innovation is a mindset ‐ a new way to think about business strategies and practice. This thinking drives every aspect of a successful, dynamic organization and penetrates every element of business, creating a clear and enduring vision. Innovative companies are set apart from their competitors and have the potential to fuel future profitable growth and build long‐term investments." He clearly links success with innovation, and innovation with a mindset. He maintains that looking at things from a new perspective allows people to bring entirely new visions to the world and gives value to those folks who are willing to take a leap of open mindedness as they pursue their interests.
   Larry Elder, a lawyer with a successful radio show in California, said in his book that in order to be successful one must "work hard, make sacrifices, focus on education, delay gratification, avoid bad moral mistakes, and maintain optimism". Growing up as a black boy/man in a diverse Latino district during the 1950's, 60's, and 70's, Elder has a unique perspective. He talks about how his dad worked multiple jobs, went to night school to get his G.E.D. and opened his own successful business. This inspired Larry to do the same. He received his Law degree and immersed himself in the world of politics so he could offer his unique view to the world.
   Booker T. Washington, the famous slave turned free black leader, and the famous orator of the Atlantic Exposition, noted that in order to speak in public successfully, one must be so interesting that the audience cannot help but listen. He talks about how people want facts, not fluff, and that if one wants to be a successful public speaker, they must have something of true value and importance to say, else the event will be in vain. He notes that a speaker must must not just see the benefits of what he is saying, but must truly feel and believe in what he is saying.
   Thomas Shapiro, Professor of Sociology and Public Policy at Brandeis University notes that success is entirely economic. Families who enjoy passed-down wealth (in the form of money and social connections) from previous generations have an automatic leg up towards success. Those without these resources have a cap on their success and do not have a chance to access the world. As a college professor who was born a Latino during the height of racism in America, he knows this first hand, and can back it up statistically. He shows how Black men in particularly suffer from this lack of a kind of safety net, which makes success difficult.

   So what is the verdict? Is success all about mindset? I would argue no. Looking at the men above, it is clear that a similar thread runs through the cloth of success. That thread involves not just mindset, but hard work, a strong moral center, open mindedness, and strong familial and cultural support. Kuczmarski is open minded and always ready to innovate and try new things in a company. Larry Elder has a strong sense of hard work and is not willing to accept his current circumstances as finite and immovable. Booker T. Washington operated from a moral framework that insisted on genuine care for his fellow man. Thomas Shapiro highlights the importance of thinking of future generations so that one's children may benefit rather than thinking for immediate self gratification in the moment. While each of these men highlight and demonstrate strongly one of each of the previously mentioned aspects of success, they all demonstrate every aspect to some degree. One might notice that these men are not locked in ivory towers just spouting off whatever is socially popular in the academic world at the time. They are men who have actually lived lives of overcoming and success. They have seen the benefits and difficulties of successful living first hand. In the context of education, I think the parallel is clear. We need to provide students with a curriculum that encourages hard work, meaning that students are given the opportunity not just to succeed, but to fail and learn to try again. Students need the opportunity to solidify their moral standing through literature, writing, and exploring different philosophies. They need to learn how to be open to different perspectives so that they can look at every situation in life through different lenses. Finally, schools should be communal environments that reinforce the idea of a family. This means that teachers do not just teach students how to read, write, and do arithmetic, they teach them how to serve others, resolve conflicts, and lead their peers. When talking to administrators, we should not tell them what to do and insist that these traits be incorporated immediately! We should simply start by leading by example. If administrations would see our classrooms succeed in developing successful students by implementing these policies, it would help start a movement in the buildings we teach in, and eventually the districts those buildings are apart of. The best refutation of people who think that success is simply a mindset and nothing else, is not to talk their ear off until they just "agree to disagree", but to show them first hand what implementing ALL aspects of success looks like in the context of an education environment. So please, if you agree with me, do not be a self righteous pain in the but, be a leader.

Works Cited

Elder, Larry. Stupid Black Men: How to Play the Race Card-- and Lose. New York: St. Martin's, 2008. Print.

Kuczmarski, Thomas D. Innovation: Leadership Strategies for the Competitive Edge. Chicago Ill.: American Marketing Association, 1996. Print.

Shapiro, Thomas M. The Hidden Cost of Being African American: How Wealth Perpetuates Inequality. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.

Washington, Booker T. Up from Slavery: Booker T. Washington. New York, NY: Airmont Pub., 1967. Print.

Assignment 3

   Figuring out how to work a blog has been great! I can definitely see how this would be useful in the classroom setting. It gives such a great venue for folks to state their opinions and express themselves. I want to teach music and I can definitely see assigning listening journals in the format of a blog or perhaps a performance review. I like it better than facebook or twitter because it is a bit more professional and less just for social purposes.

Assignment 2

Zack Morris (from saved by the bell)



The presented answers to the following questions can be found on the wikipedia page representing the fictitious character. A video of Zach Morris in a school setting can be found by clicking the hyperlink with his name at the beginning of this sentence
1) Does the character excel in school? In a way, yes. He leads his fellow students and develops strong social structures in the school. That being said, he struggles academically but managed to get a 1502 on his SAT.
2) What is the socioeconomic status of the character? He is upper class with a rich dad.
3) Does the character engage in school, or does s/he distract others? He heavily distracts others.
4) What interests does the student have? He really likes being social and has a flair for business.
5) If this student were in your class, what strategies and technologies could you use to assist this student? I would use an ipad in my class with Zack. He likes directly interacting with what is going on and has an incredibly active and curios mind.
6) Is this student “college ready”? Yes, he did very well on his SAT and wound up doing well in college.