Last Lecture

I found this lecture to be entertaining. It was about Randy Pausch childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others and lessons learned. Randy show us how to accomplish goals in our lives. Even if we run into a brick wall we should find another route to help us succeed.

I thought he executed his lecture well. There was never a dull moment. I must admit when I saw that it was an hour long I dreaded it, but the first minutes had me excited. I found that even though he is dying he has not let that led him to being pessimistic about life. I guess because he has accomplished so many things.

One thing that we should do is have our goals mapped out. If we are able to see our goals, we could be more successful at achieving them. Randy says we need to learn how to take criticism well. If we ourselves know we are making mistakes and no one is correcting us then that means that people have given up on us.

Overall I thought the lecture was an inspiration to all students and I think that every college student should watch it. It would really keep them motivated because they might be standing in front of a brick wall and looking for a way around it.

Duke passes out iPods

At Duke University the incoming freshman received an iPod that had all the orientation info on it. (I can imagine how much that cost) Now the students only receive the iPod if that are enrolled in a class that uses it. The classes are foreign language, so that the students can hear the language being spoken and for some engineering courses.
I think this is great idea (I wish South passed out iPods for this class). It's great that they are helping the students with their technology.

Dr. Alice Website

I found Dr. Christie's website very helpful when I began to use a website for my own class. I would give the parents a chance to know what is going on in my classroom especially those who work 9-5.
I want to use my website to also show the progress of my students.
The online research resources where helpful. I will be sure to look at the lesson on GPS because I have to use on Saturday.

Trusting Wikipedia

I think that the only time Wikipedia could be trusted is when you go and double check the information you receive to other information. Even when I am doing research as a student the professor would remind us that Wikipedia is not a good source for information.
I am glad that Virgil came up with his system. It's good to see those big corporate companies be exposed. I also found that is it amazing that no one wants anything to said bad about them or the company. They take it to the extreme to cover up any mess that have done.

My Presentation

Best of Fischbowl November "Why Wireless"

I read the article Why Wireless and found it interesting. It mention on point where it says we are moving from "handing" assignments in to "publishing" them. I use wireless all the time in fact when I made my first post I was sitting at a Taco Bell eating with friends.

Being wireless give me the option of being free as in not having to be plugged in to all these wires. I could be sitting anywhere and just pull out my laptop and start working. I don't have to be confined anywhere. "The computer is the primary instrument for intellectual and creative work in our society."- Gary Stager was a quote on the posting and when you think about it it is a fact. So I am thankful that I have learned how to do a Google document and travel anywhere around the world and don't have to carry a disk,jump drive or anything that would hold the info for me.

Technologically Illiterate Teacher

I think that now since technology has taken over there is no way you be able to survive
in the world. For example the simple fax machine is a biggie at my job. I work at a doctor's office and we have Rx faxed all day long and without it we would have to use snail mail or we would have parent over running our off ice trying to get their child's Rx filled.

I think that all teachers should incorporate technology into their lesson plan to get students used to using computers. In some years from now the world will be ran by computers and some students will be behind because many don't have a computer at home. Once I have my own class I would encourage my students to visit many learning websites. My daughter is 4 years old and loves PBS Kid's website.

correcting links that do not work

The 4 most common reasons are:
1.The link is not correctly spelled.
2.nothing is placed between the 2 parts at a tap.Apple's Website
3.You forgot to include "http:/" in the address. Must be included.
4. Sometimes Google doesn't like the slash at the last letter of the address.

International Blogging

I found an international school in Bangkok called the International School of Bangkok. They have a blog that is used for you to have an insight of the school, I looked at some of the topics and they listed new plans they had for 2010, parent surveys, and performance indicators. There is a link where you can join there RSS feed. By posting blogs the whole community can look at the latest information going on in the school and have input.

A second international school I found was the Shu Ren International School. It has just started using blogs. The blog is going to be used to provide a place where school administrators and teachers will keep you posted about new developments as we plan for the opening of the school.

Blogs for Teachers

Ms.Kechia Williamsis a teacher at E.L. Wright middle school in Columbia, South Carolina. She has an ITEC classroom which means she use technology to enhance her lessons. She uses blogs to communicate with parents, students and other teachers. Her blog is full of pics so you can actually get a feel of being in her class. Her website is http://community.scholastic.com/blog?blog.id=bloggrade6 if you wish to visit!

A second blog I visited was http://www.classroomblogging.com/. This website is about how blogging is helpful for the classroom. The instructor explains how she uses her to help the students collaborate and share ideas with each other. She even uses them for parent teacher interviews. She has also posted the video "Shift Happens" on her blog which I thought was interesting.

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Shift Happens

The video really gave me an opportunity to sit back and really think about how the world is really changing. It is true when they say that more the 70% of four year old have used the computer. My daughter is four will be five in November and she begs me to get on the Internet to visit www.pbs.org.
It does make a point when it refers to people trying to solve problems that have not taken place to even solve. I not really sure if it is the content of the video or the music that just have you stunned after watching. The music is subtle but it is the same beats reoccurring and it kind of sticks with you which makes the video replay in your head.

What I Think About ACCESS

ACCESS, Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide is a program that allow students to participate in courses at otherThis is called Distance Learning. For example the student can take a Latin course in a Dallas High School. This type of learning allows the students to expand their educational needs. One objective for ACCESS is to expand this type of learning all over the state of Alabama.

My View on ALEX and ACCESS

The Alabama Learning Exchange is basically a database where educational material can be downloaded by teachers from all over Alabama. The teachers interact with each other and share ideas about their classroom. The database runs from grades K-12 and cover all types of subject and course material.

Alex also supply students who have limited courses at their own school to participate in ACCESS, Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide. This is called Distance Learning. For example the student can take a Latin course in a Dallas High School. This type of learning allows the students to expand their educational needs. One objective for ACCESS is to expand this type of learning all over the state of Alabama.

My view on Alex is that is will be helpful to me because I may have a diffcult lesson that I am teaching my class that they might not be grasping onto. I could access ALEX and try to get pointers from other teachers who have completed the lesson.

Getting to Know Me!

Welcome to my blog! My name is Shaundretta, I go by Shaun for short. I am a Junior at South where my major is Elementary Education. I love to teach. My preference is First or Second grade. When I was little, I would line up all my dolls and stuffed animals and play school! My first choice for college was Tuskegee University where I had a Presidential Scholarship. My options became limited once my now husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first child, Amya Ariel Crenshaw.



Last year in May we got married, but we have been together for six years. Last August we gave birth to our second child, Aubree Chenell Crenshaw.


I am very proud of myself and my achievements. If you would like to know anything else just ask!!