Blog Post 1

I cannot put off taking EDM 310 any longer....

The thought of taking EDM 310 has been very intimidating to me since I first heard about the class. I know it is a much needed course, or it wouldn’t be a requirement before candidacy. However, several things scare me about this class: the experiences I’ve heard from previous students, the time requirements, the amount of work involved, and the fact that I’ve never taken a class like this before. I know that the hardest classes are, often, the most beneficial. Therefore, I am excited but somewhat apprehensive about taking this class.

What things have I heard about this class?

I’ve heard many mixed reviews about EDM 310. Some people have told me that it was one of the worst education classes they have ever taken. Other people have told me that it was an easy class, but it had a very heavy work load. I’ve even heard people say they really enjoyed the class, and they feel like it really prepared them for the technological aspect of being a teacher. Overall, the most common thing I’ve heard about the class is that you really do spend the nine hours a week working on the assignments. That’s something that I found hard to believe at first. Almost every professor I’ve had has told me that a class really takes triple the amount of time per credit hour. For example, a one credit hour class would take three hours a week inside and outside of the classroom. In my experience, this wasn’t true. I could wait until last minute to do all my assignments and still make an A or a B. However, I’m going to heed the warning and work on the assignments as frequently as possible.

What fears do I have about this class?

The thing that scares me the most about EDM 310 is the fact that I’ve heard it is very time consuming. I now have two jobs, so time is a scarce thing these days. I work both jobs at least three times a week, sometimes even more frequently. One of my jobs is in Mississippi, so I spend at least an hour and a half traveling to and from work. School takes up another big chunk of my time. I’m in class all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I use the time in between jobs, before and after class, and Sunday evenings to do my homework. I know it’s possible to make this semester work. I just really have to work on my time management skills, which I am lacking in. I tend to procrastinate a lot. I’m trying to break myself of this horrible habit this semester. I usually am able to turn all my work in on time. I just have to stay up until 9:00 in the morning to complete it. It’s not a good precedent to set for my future career. My students deserve better than that. If I wait that long to prepare for a lesson, my students may not get everything that they can from it. I don’t want to deprive my students of a quality education.

EDM 310 is one of a kind.

I’ve never taken a class like EDM 310 before. Everything is online and constantly changes. You cannot print something out to use as a reference in the future, which is something that I like to do for all my other classes. It helps me to stay organized, and keeps me from getting overwhelmed. I have something tangible to work with. When doing work strictly on the computer, I often forget where to find my documents, get overwhelmed by having so many windows open, or get distracted easily by social media. It is definitely going to take some getting used to working in this manner.

What will be the most challenging things about this class, and how will I face them?

I believe that the most difficult aspect of EDM 310 for me will be getting used to the fact that I can no longer procrastinate. It’s going to be very challenging for me to change this about myself. This is a habit that I developed a long time ago in high school. The school I went to had an extremely inept education system. I was able to skip class, wait until last minute to complete projects, and wait to do homework until the day it was due. This has caused me several all-nighters in my college career. However, I’ve never had a class that had such a heavy work load that it has caused me to change my procrastinating ways. This semester, I want to address this problem before it becomes an issue and hinders my grades. I’ve set numerous reminders on my phone to remind me of when my work is due. I bought a daily planner and a calendar that I’ve been making myself use every day. I, also, bought stickers that go on the wall that you can write on with dry erase markers or chalk. I can usually remember upcoming due dates and project deadlines without writing them down, but I’ve been so busy lately that the simplest of things have evaded my memory. I figured that if I saw all the things that I had to do by the end of the week in multiple places that I wouldn’t be able to forget about them. It’s a way of making myself do my work.

Other thoughts on the class?

As far as any other concerns for this class go, I do have one. The use of HTML coding hasn't been a concern for me since the days of Myspace. I'm going to have to re-familiarize myself with the use of it. So far, this has been pretty difficult for me. I may have to go to the lab to get help with it. However, I have been trying to solve this problem on my own by using several websites. One that I have referenced frequently can be found here. Maybe it will help others as much as it has helped me. Good luck, guys!

Practice Blog Post

Who am I?

My name is Lacey Roach. I’m originally from Moss Point, Mississippi. It is a very, very small town. I had about 175 people in my graduating class. I moved to Mobile two years ago when I started college. I chose to go to USA because it’s only 45 minutes away from home. I have a very close knit family, and I didn’t want to be far away from them. It took me a long time to get used to not being with them all the time. During my freshman year, I went home every weekend and, sometimes, even weekdays. One thing that made me extremely homesick was the fact that my sister was pregnant the year that I left. I also tried to keep up an old high school relationship. I was new in town, away from my family, away from my boyfriend, and very, very lonely.

I roomed with my best friend, Katie, for my freshman and half of my sophomore year. It was a horrible mistake. We went from being extremely close to hating each other. I couldn’t stand the sight of her some days. After the first semester of our sophomore year, we decided for the sake of not killing each other that we would both find new roommates. This was the best thing we could have done for our friendship. After a few months of time apart, Katie and I mended our friendship. However, we still aren’t as close as we once were. I moved in with a girl named Vanity that I met through the Leadership Learning Community, and Katie moved back home. Through moving in with Vanity, I met my current boyfriend, Sedrick Malone. He is an amazing person and an even better boyfriend. He is the best thing to ever happen to me, and he treats me like a princess. It’s funny to think that if I hadn't lost the relationship I once had with my best friend that I wouldn’t have met the man that I’m going to one day marry.

Why do I want to be an educator?

I didn’t realize that I wanted to be a teacher until my senior year of high school. Teaching was always something I told myself that I would never do. I especially didn’t want to teach kindergarten. I didn’t want to have all of the responsibility that comes with teaching children of such a young age. Kindergarten is the foundation of most children’s education. Some students come in not knowing how to spell their own name. These students will be using the things you teach them every day for the rest of their lives. That’s a scary thought. If you mess up, or don’t do your job very well, your students’ could fall far behind in their cognitive development and struggle to catch up. However, now the reasons that I didn’t want to become a teacher are the exact reasons why I do want to become a teacher. Yes, the responsibility is a scary thought, but at the same time, it’s a beautiful thought. You will be instilling not only knowledge but, also, morals and life lessons in these young minds. A little piece of you will always be with them, even if they don’t remember you. The impact you have on these children will last for their entire lifetime.

What do educators do?

Educators do more than they are given credit for. They make lesson plans, buy materials that aren’t in the school’s budget, go to workshops, and so much more. A lot of people only credit teachers for the work they do in the classroom. However, a teacher’s day does not start and end with the school’s hours. There is so much preparation that goes into every lesson. We have to make sure each lesson we teach matches the state curriculum, adjust the lesson for students with special needs, and make sure that each student understands the concepts of the lesson. With the state always changing the curriculum, teachers have to adjust to the new requirements. This could include going to workshops, learning how to use new technology, and attending professional development meetings. Teaching is not just an 8 hour shift; it’s a full time job inside and outside of the classroom.

What are my passions?

I have recently developed a Pinterest addiction. I took EDU 346 over the summer. Creating a Pinterest account that could be useful to you as a future educator was our final exam. I now have two separate accounts. I use the one from EDU 346 for ideas for activities and helpful hints in the classroom.(View it here) I use my other account for social purposes. My boyfriend recently told me that he put a deposit down on my engagement ring. I immediately turned to Pinterest for ideas on wedding planning. (Check out my wedding board!) I now spend hours at a time on this website.

What do I do when I'm not in class?

This semester I may have bit off a little more than I can chew. I have two jobs, and I’m a full time student. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings I clean houses in Mississippi. I wake up at about 7:00 on those days, leave my house at 7:30, go to work, and come home around 1:00 or 2:00. When I get back to my house, I have about a four hour break until I have to go to my second job at Ross Dress for Less. I use this time to do my homework and catch up on my house work. Then, I go to work from about 6:00 until midnight. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I take 16 credit hours. On Tuesdays, my classes start at 11:00 and do not end until 8:00. Thursdays are a little bit better when classes end at 6:00. Needless to say, I’m a very busy woman this year.