Blog Assignment 15: Final Reflection

Special Metaphor Assignment: (Blog Post #14)

Okay, so obviously most of the class completely missed the metaphor used in the blog post Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home. I was one of the many who missed the metaphor. While I can't tell you why most of the class missed the metaphor, I can do my best to explain my I missed it. To be honest, I did not even start on the assignment where we were supposed to read this post until 11:00 the night it was due. I was in such a hurry to make sure I got the assignment done I did not really put much thought in to what I was reading. When I read over the post now, I can't believe that I did not see how the pencils were meant to be talking about computers. I mean, I am in a computer based class after all. I know that my reason for missing the metaphor is no excuse, and I should have taken more time for my assignment. Since this big mess up I have been trying not to procrastinate with my assignments. I have been doing a little better and hope only to improve.

Since being asked to keep a log of metaphors, I have been amazed at how often they are used everyday. I few that I have heard are "It's raining cats and dogs", "You can't have your cake and eat it too", "crocodile tears", and "That person is just a bad egg." These are just a few of the many metaphors that I encountered everyday. Since it was so easy to spot all of these metaphors, I should have had no reason to miss the one in the blog post. It is clear how important metaphors are in today's society.

Since metaphors are so important, it is our job as educators to make sure that our students will be able to spot and understand them in everyday language. One of the things that we can do is to make sure we use metaphors with our students. Give them several examples of how they are used in casual conversations, as well as in the literary world. Another thing we can do is to encourage students to come up with their own metaphors. This will reiterate the importance of the metaphor and get students to do some critical thinking. We must do what we can to make sure our students don't go through life missing all the metaphors, much as we missed the metaphor about computers in the blog post.

So, why are metaphors so important? Metaphors make us think. Instead of coming right out and saying something, people use metaphors. This makes the person who hears the metaphor truly think about what the other person is saying. Metaphors also make language more interesting. Would you rather hear someone say "It sure is raining hard outside" or "It's raining cats and dogs out there!" I think we can all agree! What ever reason that you use metaphors, they are clearly important and we must try and understand them.

PLN: Final Progress Report

This is a screenshot of my account with Symbaloo. This is the center of my PLN, I have most of the websites that I use on a daily basis available here. As you can see, my most used sites occupy the first two lines. The sites that I use most often are Google, YouTube, my blog page, the EDM310 blog page, Twitter, and my gmail account. I have also added some more educational sites that I have found to be quite interesting. Some of the most interesting ones are Classroom 2.0, ALEX, Education Place, and Enchanted Learning. I know that all of the sites will be vital during my, hopefully, many years of teaching. I have also been able to follow some truly amazing teachers through Twitter. While I still have a hard time following Twitter, I do find it to be a great way to keep in touch with people from around the world and hear what they are thinking. Twitter has also been a great place to get ideas for videos to watch and websites to visit. I hope to continue to find more teachers to follow and learn from.

I know that my PLN will continue to grow over my entire career and I can't wait to see what it will be like in a few years. I am really glad that one of the requirements in EDM310 is to create a PLN, I think they are invaluable to all educators. What a great way to continue learning from other educators! Once again, this has been a wonderful experience and I can't wait to see where this adventure takes me!