Blog Assignment #3 January 31, 2010

Podcasts

In listening to the pod casts I learned what you definitely should not do, such as record your podcast going through the drive-thru at a coffee shop. The podcast on Smart board lessons was interesting and very informative, but the drive-thru orders were a bit distracting. When I heard him ordering his coffee and pasta I could not concentrate on anything else after that. All I could think was I know he is not ordering food while doing an informative podcast. I did learn before that some interesting facts about DimDim.com. I have never heard of a meeting website where you can hold conferences with other classes. Also, the website offers a call-in phone number if you do not have access to a computer. The podcast overall was not as effective as it could have been if he were in a quite place that did not have any interference.

The other pod casts such as David Warlick's Episode 90 and Kidcast 62-some thoughts on video pod casting were a little more effective. They were held in quite atmospheres with no interferences. This was easier to concentrate on because I did not have anything else taking my attention away from the podcast. In my podcast I will make sure that I have no noise in the background and nothing that can take away from what I am trying to get across to my audience.

There is one point made in the podcast, Kidcast 62-Some thoughts on video pod casting, and that was that value added is important. "Technology such as pod casts and video pod casts are no different than doing a worksheet, it just involves video and audio technology." This is very true because these days children are more apt to want to learn if it is "hands on" and involves learning or doing something new. In the meantime the students are learning the same thing they would have (or more) before with no technology. Teachers have to be innovative and willing to change in order to keep up with their students and maintain their attention!

The pod casts EdTech Talk, This week in Photography, and MacBreak Weekly were the most effective. They had several people discussing pod casts and video casts. This not only gave one person's point of view, but several others at the same time. I believe that this technique is effective because it gives your audience several points to ponder and maybe some different strategies. A well rounded informative podcast will benefit your audience better.

After listening to the pod casts I believe that if possible, I will have more than one person delivering the information. This will give my point of view and offer rebuttals and/or more information from someone else's view. I am still thinking of ways to make sure that my podcast is not only informative but beneficial to my audience.

Media Literacy

Media literacy is evaluating, navigating, creating, responding. These words put everything into perspective. Evaluation is always important. In order to show that you truly understand something and can perform a certain task. In this video I was truly amazed that first graders could blog so effectively!

The first graders could navigate around the programs on the computer better than some adults. They knew exactly where to go to find things and what was supposed to be done to blog. They "created" their own blogs which again was very impressive. I am 30 years old and have just recently started blogging. It is wonderful that children are starting at such a young age and are very good at it too!

Responding is important too. As the little boy said, you never put anything mean on a response. Responding is solely for feedback. You can put what you thought of a blog, but try to keep your comments positive. I responded to Mrs. Cassidy's class blog and I thought is was magnificent that her class is so savvy with technology!

Little Kids: Big Possibilities

These children are blogging at such a young age. They are blogging instead of writing in their books. The students on the video said, "I like writing on my blog because other people can see it. My writing gets better every time I write on my blog." This statement sums up the whole idea of using technology in education. Students are going to try harder if they know that the world can see it, not just the teacher.

Technology is becoming a necessity in daily living. Teaching children at such a young age how to interact with the world using technology is only helping them prepare for what comes in their futures. I am still amazed that young children are using technology just as good, if not better than me.

The class not only blogs but has a wiki site too. They are using the wiki with videos to enhance lessons and make it easier for them to learn their ABC's. Years ago this would be unheard of and only a dream. I believe that technology is a true blessing and should be used in EVERY classroom!

iPhone used by 1 year old baby

This video really shocked me. I have a 10 month old little boy and i can not imagine watching him navigate through my iPhone. It amazes me that my 3 year old daughter can work a cell phone or a camera, but a one year old working an iPhone is absolutely amazing!!! Children are getting younger and younger working with technology. They are very interested in learning how things work and what they are all about. If more teachers would take the time to incorporate technology into lesson plans then I believe that children will be more willing to participate.

I feel as if I keep repeating myself....technology is important because that is what children/ students are interested in. If teachers target instruction around what their students are interested in there will be higher attention spans and willingness to learn. You have to engage your students in more ways than just the traditional worksheet or textbook activities. USE WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE! DON'T BE AFRAID OF CHANGE!!!

Blog Assignment #2 January 24, 2010

A Vision of Students Today

After watching this video it made me realize a lot. Technology is very important in today's education. Most students in the video said that they bring their laptops to school with them but they are mostly on Facebook or doing other things other than their school work. If professors and teachers would include technology in the classroom then more students would be more apt to participate and pay attention in class. To keep your student's attention, you must keep your class interesting.

One way to keep things interesting is to stay on top of what is important to them. One student held up a sign that said only 18% of her teachers knew her name. If you know your student's names and are personable with them, they are more likely to pay attention to what you have to say. In being a student myself, it is important to me and makes me feel important to my teacher is they know my name.

There was another fact that caught my attention. It shocked me that one student said that they will write 42 pages for school and 500 emails. This alone shows that technology is more important to a student than the traditional writing. In saying that, I am thinking right now that I would not write half as much as I am typing because not only does it take longer, but it is not as interesting. Also, technology gives you the chance to correct mistakes made when writing a paper instead of having to start over from scratch. The use of computers in the classroom will not only motivate students to do more, but also make it easier to do so!

The video really struck home. All of the signs that were held up somehow related to me. The ones that are like my college education were:

• Paying $100 or more for a book that is NEVER opened
• 49% reading with only about 26% that pertains to me
• Fewer teachers care to learn your name

I as a teacher will always make sure that I know my students and assign things or structure my lessons to suit them. Students are going to be more willing to learn if you make your lessons interesting to THEM!


Karl Fisch: Is It Ok To Be An Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch made one major point in his blog that has really stuck in my mind..."If a teacher today is not technologically literate and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more- it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read or write." This is extreme,but very true. A teacher should be up-to-date on things that his/her class in enthralled in. Technology doesn't necessarily have to be the center point of teaching, but it should be included.

The world is centered around technology. The children in elementary school today are the ones that will have a world completely engulfed with technology. So, what sense does it make to teach them without involving some sort of technology? The video that we watched, "A Vision of Student's Today" actually said that the job they will hold when they graduate will most likely be one that doesn't exist yet. If that is true, then the same would be true for younger students today. College graduates are in school for 4 years learning a trade/profession. If they are going to have a job that doesn't exist yet, then I can only imagine what kind of jobs the elementary school children of today will have.

It is really scary to think that children are growing up in a world that is becoming very dependent on technology and schools are still reluctant to integrate technology in education. I believe that as a teacher you should not only do your best in educating yourself (being a lifelong learner), but also structuring lessons to benefit students in their future endeavors.


It's Not About Technology by Kelly Hines and Gary Hayes Social Media Count

The media counter really put things into perspective. This goes hand in hand with Kelly Hines' blog "It's not about technology." I do believe what she had to say about teachers and the need to be lifelong learners. Also, her comment about "technology is useless without good teachers." This is very true. A teacher has to be a lifelong learner in order to be able to teach her students to her fullest potential. The media counter on the other hand shows that technology is rapidly increasing by the second. There are more students involving themselves with technological advances and learning more and more by the minute.

Kelly Hines gave 4 important things for a proficient teacher:
1. Teachers must be learners
2. Learning and teaching are not the same thing
3. Technology is useless without good teaching
4. Be a 21st Century teacher without the technology

Mrs. Hines makes excellent points. A teacher must be a learner in order to keep up on new trends and ways of improving her teaching. Also, learning and teaching are not the same thing! Learning involves a student being able to comprehend and use the information learned. She says, "We must look at learning as the product of a successful day. Learning will not look the same to all students and teachers, but it must be the goal." With that being said, we as teachers must make sure that EVERY student is learning and comprehending the subject at hand because if "nothing is learned then no teaching has been done!"

Mrs. Hines is very right in everything she said but in looking at the media counter, technology can help in the whole process. Children are more interested in learning things on computers and experimenting with blogs, pod casts, and playing on Facebook. If these things are implemented in the classroom along with what Mrs. Hines said then you are setting yourself and your class up for nothing but success!

Blog Assignment #1: January 17, 2010

Did you know? 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes
Mr. Winkle Wakes was a very interesting film. I have never really thought about how much technology has evolved over time. As the years pass, there are new inventions and new technologies that evolve and today we are used to the idea of using technology in our everyday lives. We rely on technology for the majority of what we do today all the way from education and employment to simply heating up food (microwave). Life used to be so much simpler and everyone did things for themselves. Before long, people won't be needed for jobs such as banking because a computer can do everything for you.
On the other hand, technology can bring out the creative side in some. For instance, my brother was not a very good "student," traditionally speaking. He lacked in reading, mathematics, science, and so on. He thought school was simply not for him until he realized there was a whole new area of schooling he could pursue, computer animation. He loved working with computers and knew a lot about them. He excelled in school and graduated with a degree in Computer/Digital Animation. This is prime example of technology saving a person and giving them a sense of self, not to mention a career and way of living.
Technology is a wonderful tool for the human race. Today the human race relies on technology for communication, entertainment, transportation, and even cooking. In the old days, life was simpler and communication was by means of a telephone instead of email; entertainment was gathering in an arena for shows instead of movie theaters and blue ray DVDs; transportation was by horse, wagon, or foot rather than airplanes and fancy cars; and cooking was simply done over an open flame. I am not saying by any means that I would rather live in simpler times, just that technology has evolved the same as the human race has, just at a faster rate. (and thank goodness it has, I could not live without my cell phone or laptop!)
The film did you know 3.0 shows us that technology has not only evolved but it has also opened an avenue for people to undercut the working people. Artists make money selling their albums and art. Now you can download artists work on your computer for free. There are programs that require you to pay for a download and there are programs that allow you to download things for free. The Internet for instance is your key to anything you want. You can acquire just about anything you want from simply typing it in Google. It is scary to think that your life is at the fingertips of the world.
Both films really made me realize how dependent the world is on technology. Mr. Winkle Wakes was very mind opening. We take for granted all the things we have and how easily accessible information is now whereas, in the past you actually had to work for things. Jobs were harder to do because everything was done by hand. Computers do just about everything for you now with the use of calculators, word processing, and spreadsheets. I have just never really thought about how easy life is now compared to the past. I enjoyed watching these two films.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Let me start by saying I loved this film. Sir Ken Robinson made great points with integrating stories to give examples of his point he was trying to make, not to mention he was quite humorous. I believe the whole point to his speech was the schools are taking the creativity out of children. One story he told really caught my attention because it was so true. It was about Jenny. She was a very active little girl that could not sit still. Her teacher spoke to her mother and told her about Jenny's "problems" with school and asked her to look at the little girl. She was dancing to the music on the radio and doing what she loved to do. She was a dancer. The teacher advised the mother to put her in a dance school because that is what she was good at doing. Jenny went on to be a multi-millionaire with her own studio because of one teacher seeing her strengths and not just her weaknesses. She was a dancer. Sir Robinson went on to say that if that happened today the child would have been put on medication and diagnosed as ADHD. Her "creativity" would have been bottled up and wasted. All kids have talents and we squander them!
Sir Robinson said, "Education runs deep with people like religion and money." This is very true. Education is taken very seriously. He commented that creativity is equal to literacy. They should be treated the same. I would have to agree with him. Some children have a gift of creativity. They may not be good at traditional school subjects but excel in performing arts. There are artists making a wonderful and prosperous living whereas there are some college graduates out there without a job.
Sir Robinson said, "Degrees aren't worth anything due to academic inflation." College graduates are not guaranteed jobs anymore. Most jobs that used to require a Bachelor's degree now require a Master's degree or a PhD. He also said that intelligence is divided into 3 parts: diversity, dynamics, and distinct. Everyone is different and intelligence should not be measured by one's academic performance. Creativity should count for something. The last line of the film really stuck with me and that is:"See creative capacities for what they are, children for hope that they are, and help children make something of their future!" This could not have been said any better.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Vicki Davis is and IT director/teacher at a school in Camilla, Georgia. She is the creator of Cool Cat Teacher Blog which won the best teacher blog in the world award. She expects her students to learn through technology and if they have a question, they are to Google it first before asking for assistance. This promotes literacy and gives them to the chance to find new meanings themselves. She said, "Every student can learn. If you only have a pencil and a piece of paper, then only certain students are going to learn." She works her class around her student's strengths and abilities. She wants her students to be comfortable with every form of technology.
The class participates in a program called Open Sims, which teaches them about life situations. Another program is Digi- Teen, which is a program that involves digital citizenship. They communicate through 2 digital portals with other teens throughout the world. They not only participate in social networking, but also blog and share ideas as well as post reports on certain topics. The class created the flat classroom project which allows the students to study, experience trends among other students and post reports and videos to outsource to other students. This is a valuable tool. The students are not only learning for themselves but helping each other in the process.
The students in her class are in groups and they learn how to use certain software and do particular projects and then the students actually teach their classmates how to properly use the software. She said that she believes in empowering children and allowing them to share with one another. The students in her class do group projects with little or no help. They teach themselves how to do things and in return they teach her. One particular project her students did was in Terra forming. She said she had no idea how to Terra form and her students taught her all about it. They work as a team in order to accomplish one goal, learning technology.
Vicki Davis not only cares about her students' educational success, but has also made the class interesting and prosperous. Her students are not only learning new technologies, but also how to network with other students in order to get new ideas and see other points of views. I wish there were more teachers like Vicki Davis that structured their classes for their students' success!