Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Blog Post #15


In the interview, Anthony shared his thoughts about iCurio and Discovery Ed. He explained how iCurio works by being a safe search engine for the students and it even follows ACCRS. He also explains that iCurio allows for students to organize themselves online by creating folders and even has storage for students who find content that is important. One of the coolest tool that iCurio has is its "read aloud" feature which could be very helpful for a teacher who has a student who is blind. Anthony also explained his thoughts on Discovery Ed. He said that Discovery Ed supports the text a person is using into a video. It turns the text into life. Me personally, I would like Discovery Ed, because I am a visual learner and I would rather watch a video than read.

edm310.blogspot.comIn the video with Anthony Capps, UseTech Don'tTeachIt, I was amazed about by the fact that he said not to teach technology because I was always taught how to use technology. But I see his point because he lets his students explore and ask questions to learn more about technology. Also, I think that it is amazing how his third grade students know how to use iMovie and he doesn't have to spend time teaching it. I didn't learn how to use iMovie until high school. "Do it yourself first" is what I think Anthony's best advice that he gives in the video because he explains if we do it ourselves first then we will know why the students are asking the questions.


Dr. Strange did an interview with Anthony Capps who graduated from the University of South Alabama. Anthony took EDM310 when he was enrolled at south, and was even one of Dr. Strange’s lab assistants. Anthony is currently teaching a third grade class at Gulf Shores Elementary School in Baldwin County. Anthony discussed his views about iCurio and Discovery Ed and how he incorporates them into his classroom. The topic of the first interview was the discussion of iCurio. Because Anthony is teaching in Baldwin County, Alabama, they allow iCurio to be used in the classroom. Icurio is an online tool that allows students who safely search through a filter for students to get anything online. One thing that is neat about iCurio is that students have their own account and can sign in on their own. Instead of using paper and pen, and keeping everything in binders, iCurio allows for the students to create folders online to save their research and materials to then can come back to it whenever they need to. Basically, none of their work will get lost. Another plus about using iCurio is that it can be used for all grades. One perk that stands out to me is the read aloud feature on iCurio. Since I would most likely teach special education at some point in my career, this feature on iCurio would be fantastic for my classroom. The next video between Dr. Strange and Anthony was about Discovery Ed. Discovery Ed is definitely a tool that will consider using once I have my own classroom. As a student, I would rather watch a video on a topic rather than read it. I agree with Dr. Strange about students being “listener-watchers” instead of reading and writing. So I think that using Discovery Ed will help my students understand more about the topic.

In the video, The Anthony-Strange Tips for Teachers, Dr. Strange and Anthony talk about 5 key components that teachers should know.The first point is, teachers really need to be interested in learning. People learn something new everyday and thats why we will never stop learning. Teachers learn the craft of teaching in their free time. The next point is to be flexible. Teachers also make mistakes and forget to leave thing out sometimes. Just because you are a teacher does not mean your perfect by any means. Dr. Stranger gives the example of a blog assignment he gave us this year in which he said he wanted us to create a presentation or video talking about one of the two topics he gave us. He said that after reading the posts he realized that he wanted the students to go over both of the topics and give a voice overlay covering both topics. He quickly went and took notes and changed the project instructions for next semester. I think that every student that takes EDM 310, then they know what hard work is, or from my personal experience playing football at the Division 1 level is hard work. In order for us to be successful, we have to work hard to get what we want. Getting kids engaged is another key point. I work great with kids, so having them getting engaged to learn what I am teaching will not be that hard. I agree with Anthony and Dr. Strange about reflecting because it never hurts to help to get others thought on your work. Thanks Dr. Strange and Anthony for both of your advice!



Corey Waldon

What can we learn from these videos with Anthony Capps?

iCurio is an online tool that allows students to safely search video and audio media that can be used for educational purposes. It is a search engine that searches subjects around all state standards. iCurio is set up for students to log on and use on their own. It also allows students to save and upload their own work. It gives students practice on how to organize their work, search information safely and save work easily. From this video I learned that Anthony is using iCurio to its full advantage and he is requiring his students to use iCurio to do their own projects and research. I think it is great that his 3rd grade class is expanding their knowledge on how to use new technology and search the web safely.


Discovery Education is a great tool for teachers and students. It gives students more than just the plain text of research but also videos of what is being researched. The idea of Discovery Ed is that students remember more from what they listen to and watch. From this video I learned that students associate their reading with what they watch in discovery videos. Students enjoy readings and videos that co-exist with one another which makes learning more fun and meaningful.

Day in the life of a 3rd grade teacher


In this video Anthony talks about how stressful the beginning of his teaching career was. He said he started off loving his job at first, but he was putting in too many hours and after the first couple months he started to hate his job and counting his days before he quit. After meeting with other teachers Anthony found new ways to manage his time and still be 100 percent effective in the classroom. One major thing Anthony suggests is that if you are not willing to put in a lot of time you will not be a successful teacher. He said the job can be tiring and a bit stressful but being organized and well prepared can help dramatically. What I learned from Anthony is that teaching can be as good as you make it. As a teacher you can drag on day by day hoping the time will come and the school day will be over, or you can be the teacher that strives to get 100 percent engagement out of all students and make learning fun.  I believe that teaching is a job that should not be all about the pay. It is a job where a person tries their best to challenge and encourage their students to be the best they can be and have fun while doing so.  I believe in the importance of education and I think as a teacher it is our job to prepare our students for the future of education and technology.
Recently, Dr. Strange interviewed a third grade teacher from Baldwin County at Gulf Shores Elementary School in lower Alabama named Anthony Capps. Anthony also happen to be one of Dr. Strange's students back when he attended the University of South Alabama and was even one of his lab assistants at one point. From the interviews that I have seen from Dr. Strange, it seems to me that Anthony is a successful teacher and learned a lot from Dr. Strange's EDM310 class.


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