Sunday, January 31, 2010

Third post

Smart Board Lessons Podcast
I enjoyed this podcast, but in my opinion he should have not been ordering coffee while recording. I do believe that every teacher should know how to use a smart board and actually use it in the class room. As a student i have never seen one in-use before so it was interesting to get to learn about a smart board. I enjoyed animation during the podcast, it kept my interest.
Kid cast
I listened to "Some Thoughts On Video Pod casting." I enjoyed this podcast more than the previous one because it caught my attention better with the music. It was informative on how to decide on what kind of podcast you should do. The first thing you have to decide is who your audience is going to be, and after that how complex your subject is going to be and would it be helpful to add a video to your podcast to be more informative or to also keep the interest of your audience. In my opinion i believe a podcast should have some type of video so the listener's mind will not start wondering and the listener's attention will be focused on the podcast.
Ed Tech Talk & Connect Learning Podcast
I selected the Connect Learning episode 90 these creators were talking about connecting the teachers, students, and community through the podcast. I thought this was a great idea, because it allows students to use technology for help which i believe will allow kids to be more open with asking questions and learning. Also in Ed Tech Talk was about people who were answering questions that a girl had about Skype and helped her to fix her problem. I enjoyed the first two more than i did this one, but i did find it interesting in some ways because i have never used Skype before and i will most likely run into the same problems eventually. If teachers would just realize that there are many advantages for them and their students if podcast were used in the schools today.
Mac Break Weekly & This week in photography podcast
Mac Break Weekly and This week in photography was interesting and could be useful, but maybe not to educators. Mac Break Weekly mostly talks about new technology and the benefit of the use of them, while This week in photography connects people with all similar interest and it also addresses and any questions of that interest.
Media Literacy in the First grade
I believe media literacy is very important, and with these First graders they knew what they were talking about. You can tell that these kids are interested in learning and that they are media literate. You never once see a teacher telling these kids what to do or having to stand over them constantly. I did not even have a computer in my classroom when i was in First grade, so this just shocks me how this generations is so different from the one i came up in. Teachers this day in time will also have to step up and become media literate.
Little Kids, Big Potential
Wow this class is amazing! Am I ready to face kids like this? No, but i hope to be after this class. I am 20 years old and until this class i have never blogged before, so i hope i will be caught up with these kids after this semester. Also this is a great way to keep parents informed/involved on their children. You heard a couple of the students say that their parents had commented to them, and this also boost students will to learn and keep them interested. Great class!
Iphone being used by a One year old
This video did not shock me that much. For one i have already experienced the shock that a baby could use an iphone, and i have never even played around with one. I became aware of this while i was on a flight coming from New Jersey, and the couple i was sitting with had a 2 year old, who they were trying to keep occupied for the 3 hour flight. While the coloring books were not working the father gave her his phone for her to play with, and yes it was an iphone. This child was taking her own pictures and putting it as his background, and from what i could tell she was playing golf on it. So this is when i became aware that kids are more interested in technology than Barbie or GI Joe now.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Second Post

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
As a student today I have not had to experience a class size larger than 40, and I believe that most of my teachers do know my name. I also have spent at least $500 a semester on textbooks and half of them will never be opened. After the first couple weeks of class I have noticed that there are more and more students that start skipping class time. I spend more time on the computer/internet than I do homework or studying, and most of my day is spent using some media technology as in: watching TV, listening to music, talking on a cell phone, or on the computer.Only one of my classes have the use of technology in with there lessons.
This video did capture some of how my college experience has been. I do believe if education was more technology advanced students would be able to combine their media time with their homework or school time. Also class time has became a bore to students, and for this reason students begin to skip or bring computers, cell phones, or music devices into the classroom to make time go by. If teachers began to use technology in with their lessons students would be able to get interested and learn more. In the world today there are many problems that students may not have caused but will have to deal with in the future. Some believe that technology can save us, but I am one that believes that technology is not the answer to everything. Most student's worry about having a job when they graduate college; I believe that some advanced technology replace human jobs and makes it harder for humans to find jobs.
"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
I agree that teachers should not use technology to cover up their bad ways of teaching, but I do believe that teachers should use technology that most kids are already familiar with today in with their teaching. You also made a good point in saying that teacher's cannot just pass an exam to become a teacher and then their learning days are over; teacher's do have to be a life long learner right along with their students. In a classroom today teacher's and student's seem like robots, they follow the same routine everyday, every semester, and every year. Most kids can recite most of the lines or explain almost every part of there favorite movie or song, but cannot remember what they went over in History, English, or Math. Teacher's could use technology to spice up learning in their class room to keep their students interested, and for it to also be a productive way of teaching and learning. I also believe that the teacher's should first have to "learn" how to use the technology, and how to productively use it for the students advantage. Ms. Hines you made excellent points on how as a teacher you need to better yourself before you start teaching, and as a teacher you can never stop learning! In the end it's not all about the technology, it's all about how the teacher was taught to use new technology for education to better prepare his/her students for the future.
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
This post really got me to thinking. In the future will it be a requirement for a person to know technology just like it is required for a person to know how to read or write? I believe it will be required for a person to know how to use the basic technology in the world to be able to get a decent job. To be a teacher or parent today it would be embarrassing to say I was technologically illiterate. I do not believe that a teacher can effectively teach a student if a teacher does not understand that student's interest, and most student's are more technology inclined than their teachers.
I also want to teach math in the future and I have heard a lot of people say "well I was never good at math", but they do not say this statement in a way of embarrassment. I also have never heard anyone say "well i was never really good at reading or writing" without being embarrassed. Mr. Fisch makes a good point, neither one of the subjects are more important than the other, and a person should be embarrassed to say that he/she is illiterate about anything, including technology!
Gary Hayes Social Media Count
You know all your friends have Myspace, tweeter, blogs, Facebook, and an Iphone, but I never realized how these numbers add up. I also have noticed in these past couple of weeks that some of these numbers come from kids out of elementary schools! Wow! Technology really touches the lives of everyone! As a future teacher I know I have to step up and start keeping up with technology at a reasonable pace. To be able to teach effectively in a class room I will have to have some technology experience so that I can better understand my students and to be able to get the information that they need across to them, and better prepare them for the future.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

First Blog

Did You Know ?3.0
“Did You Know?” is basically showing the statistics of the world. It explains how a country is growing and how one country out numbers the other in higher education. Jobs are growing around the world each year, but also new technology comes out rapidly; jobs that did not exist a year ago are now in high demand for employers. People are now being prepared for future technology and possible job opportunities, and preparing for problems that have not yet been discovered. This clip also shows how large the Internet (Cyber) world has become over a couple of years, and also how it will advance even more in the up coming years. A good example “Did you know?” used was that by the time a person was taught a technology in school their skill will be out dated before he/she graduates.
I believe every point shown on this clip is an eye opener to a person who does not believe in change and likes everything to be old fashioned. The world is changing, growing, and moving at a fast pace around us, and advances each year. I also believe that people will not be able to keep up with the world unless we try to pace ourselves along side technology, and try to advance ourselves with it.
Mr. Wrinkle Wakes
This clip explains how Mr. Wrinkle has slept for a hundred years, and when he rejoins the world he realizes that it is not the same as it was when he went to sleep many years ago. As Mr. Wrinkle walks around confused, noticing nothing familiar he becomes overwhelmed with all the advanced technology, so he decides to go to a hospital. Not knowing that the hospital will be the one place with the most advanced technology, he leaves even more overwhelmed in search for a more familiar place. He comes across a school and realizes that it is just how he remembers it; the teacher in front of the classroom, students at their desk with books, paper, and pencil, and also a computer in the corner covered with dust.
"Mr. Wrinkle Wakes" was a shock to me because the point that it makes about schools and technology is true. Even though the world advances with technology, schools stay the same. I do believe that schools should be allowed to use technology and for teachers to teach their students to experience and learn the new technology and to put it into use along with the growing, advanced world. Children today should be taught the necessary skills in life such as, Math, English, Science, etc., but also be prepared for the future and be familiar with the changing in the world around them.
Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Explains many different points of education. He explains first on how everyone has an interest in education, and some parts of education seems to be less important than the others such as: math, english, and science is more important than art. Sir Ken Robinson believes that if one does not take a chance then their creativity is lost. He explains that people are taught not to be wrong, and when our fear of being wrong takes over our ability to take a chance then nothing can be created. He sums up this by saying that we are not educated to be creative artist but educated out of being creative at all. He tries to explain the education system to people and what it means; he replies by explaining to come out on top and to succeed in the education system is to become a college professor. This explains that education means to get the highest academic success. Schools were invented to prepare and meet the needs for the industrialism; subjects are taught in rank of the most used for future jobs. At the end of this clip Sir Ken Robinson tells a story of a little girl who could not focus or be still in class, but when music is put on she is instantly interested and moving to the tunes. She expresses herself through music (art) and can think and pay attention. She does not have a learning disability, she is a dancer.
I believe Sir Ken Robinson is an awesome person who puts his ideas out there in a way that makes a person understand. I agree with him there is more people in the world today that are successful in school, but would rather grow up to be a dancer or an actor or a musician rather than a college professor or a doctor. Children who cannot sit still or do not seem to be interested in school work are put on prescription drugs and are taught to be still and learn basic school subjects. I particularly liked the part on college professors that basically live in their heads. I agree with this because most professors cannot even relate to their students; students are basically teaching themselves and others, but the professors are the ones handing out the tests and standing in front of the class. I believe that this clip is basically summed up by saying that students are not allowed to express themselves in forms of art the way they should be able to. Students are taught that art is not important in the world today which rids them of their creativity.
Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
This clip is about a teacher who takes the technology in her classroom and teaches and lets her students experience it along side her. She watches her students and learn from them as much as they learn from her. She watches them individually and high light their interest to keep each student actively interested in her classroom. She takes learning to the next level, not just books, pencil, and paper. She expects her students to explore and brain storm on their own for example: if she says a new term in class, she expects her students to go to the internet and Google and to discover and interpret this new term.
I believe that this clip shows a good picture of how future classrooms should look, how each student is actively interested, and each student learning and teaching their fellow peers around them. I also believe that this has given me an idea of what i will be experiencing this semester as I take in all this new technology, and ways of the internet world.