Monday, January 25, 2010

Week 3 Assignment




Teachers Podcasting


This week I listened to six different podcasts. My objective was to determine the differences in style and format of each podcast and whether or not I found it helpful for learning purposes. The podcasts included in my assessment are: SmartBoard Lessons Podcast, KidCast, Teachers Teaching Teachers, EdTechtalk, MacBreak Weekly, and This Week in Photography.

The SmartBoard Lessons Podcast was more of a radio talk show with two hosts and they had newsupdates with technology and they joked a lot. MacBreak Weekly had three hosts and they talked about the latest news in technology and gave their opinions about it. KidCast is basically a man giving you a lecture about the topic of the day. I enjoyed this group of three because they're more traditional radio programs that are structured, informative, and fun to listen to.

Teachers Teaching Teachers has a host and a few different experts and they have an agenda to talk about but there is room for improvisation. EdTechTalk is more of a group discussion. There were many experts and they had a topic to discuss but there wasn't much of a strict agenda. I didn't really enjoy these two programs. I felt it was a bit chaotic to have everyone trying to jump in with their own opinion. The hosts (especially in Teachers Teaching Teachers) kept talking over everyone else. It made it seem like they didn't really care what the other experts had to say.

This Week in Photography discusses new techniques and technologies being developed in photography. It was mostly just two hosts discussing these things. They mentioned Haiti which I found interesting. They were talking about documenting these images for posterity. I found the podcast informative and fun to listen to. There were too many advertisements in the beginning though.This exercise made me wonder whether or not I will be making podcasts for my class to listen to. If I do decide to make podcasts in the future, I will have to think about the format a lot and how to keep the lesson fun and interesting.

Mrs. Cassidy's 1st grade class. Media Literacy & Little Kids... Big Potential

It’s so awesome to see all the different things that Mrs. Cassidy’s class is doing with technology. When I was in first grade we went to the computer lab to learn how to use the space bar and the shift button. These first graders can find websites and blog and know how to be safe on the internet. It makes me excited about finding ways to use the internet to enhance my classroom environment.

1 Year Old Using iPhone

I think that what this proves is that the technology is not difficult to learn. There are many other videos of babies using iPhones. I actually liked another video better. The child in that video was playing games and watching YouTube videos.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Week 2 Assignment

A Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch

This film accurately depicts what many students experience in college today. Personally, most of what was said does not apply to my educational experience, but I see evidence of each of those facts in the students around me.

I liked the concept of having the different facts written on chairs and chalkboards and different places around the classroom. However, the camera work was a little blurry and it hurt my eyes to try to strain and read everything. Perhaps they could have used a better camera. Perhaps they could have read the facts out loud along with the words on the screen. They need to do something to make it easier to read.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

I agree with Hines that technology is only a tool. While it can enhance the learning environment, it is not a necessary part of the learning environment in most cases. Technology does go to waste in a lot of schools. Why bother having the school spend thousands of dollars to allow students check facebook at lunch and to print off papers between classes? Why not just have the students write their papers by hand?

If the technology is being used to make the learning experience better, if teachers are willing to learn to use this technology efficiently and creatively, then the money has not gone to waste. Maybe students who don't grasp the material one way will be helped by newer technology, but the teacher has to make an effort to ensure that each student is learning something at the end of the day.

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? by Karl Fisch

Fisch's post about how teachers need to change the way they approach technological illiteracy won Edublog's Most Influencial Post of the Year in 2007 and for one very good reason. Teachers today do need to step back and think about how ridiculous it is that a lot of them are unwilling to learn or teach in a widely accepted medium. Computers are not the enemy and have quickly become part of everday life for many people in our country and in other countries around the world. Why not embrace them? Why not use them to your advantage in the classroom?

The fact is that computers, while not necessary for all forms of learning, can enhance almost any classroom if used properly. Teachers should be sitting idly by and setting a bad example for their students. Refusing to learn how to use and implement computers in the classroom is like telling students that progress doesn't matter.

Gary's Social Media Counter

I can't believe how quickly those numbers are multiplying. As someone going into the teaching field, those numbers might effect my future career in a number of ways. I could use social networking as an advantage in the classroom and set up a page for my students to ask questions and discuss things that are going on in class. This would be a positive thing. Another possibility could be that a can't stop my students from texting, tweeting, getting on facebook and sending im's. My future student might not be able to focus enough of their attention on me to learn anything.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Week 1 Assignment

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman was an interesting concept. Technology has changed the way we live our ordinary lives. Certainly a man from a hundred years ago would barely recognize a hospital or the places we have to work now. Needleman claims that school hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.

I don't agree that schools haven't advanced in 100 years. We've done away with chalk and slates. Students are able to learn foreign languages more easily with cd's and other forms of audio assistance. My high school in Alaska had even started to replace all the white boards with Promethean boards, or smart boards. We had to use the computer on a regular basis to do our work. We watched YouTube videos all the time in class. However, this might only have been because Alaska is one of the wealthiest states in the union. I can't vouch for how much they use new technology in Alabama, Texas, or California.

Did You Know? by Karl Fisch

Did You Know? by Karl Fisch, contained a lot of very interesting facts. They flashed by so quickly on the screen that I had to pause and rewind a few times to catch it all. I have no reason to believe that Karl Fisch would lie to me, but I find it difficult to believe a few of the facts. For example, he said that for a person getting a degree related to technology and computers, the things they learned in first two years of their degree are obsolete by the time they begin their third year. It's unfathomable.

The point of Fisch's presentation was to present us with the unfathomable. 1,300,000,000 people populated China in 2008; China is soon going to be the country with the highest English speaking population; the wire that has the ability to process over 2 million phone calls in one second-- all of these were listed to show us that we are living in the information age and that knowing about the latest technology is important because it's hard to keep up in this fast paced world. I think Fisch makes a good point.

The Importance of Creativity by Sir Ken Robinson

I really enjoyed Sir Robinson's presentation. I thought he made a good point about how all people are different and that our education system doesn't properly address that. We do focus on math, science, and languages and leave those who are more gifted in the arts to fend for themselves and struggle.

The story he told about the woman who is a famous choreographer was a good example. I have known a lot of children who have been labeled ADD who are gifted in sports or music or dance but who perform poorly with their schoolwork unless you spend a lot of time working with them. It's sad that we are putting these children at a disadvantage by forcing students who are right brained to use their left brain. They used to force children who were left-handed to relearn things with their right hand in school because being left handed was "wrong." That practice is now seen as unnecessary and a tad bit cruel. Eventually, educators will realize that forcing children into fields where they don't excel is also cruel.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts by Vicki Davis

Vicki Davis' teaching method seems effective and interesting. Digital citizenship is something we should be teaching our students today because of all the technology that is being developed. Students who have a head start using these technologies before they get into the real world will have an advantage over those who don't understand how to use them.

However, I don't completely understand the need for OpenSim. It sounds to me to be a chatroom/video game. I don't know why the traditional chatroom isn't all that's necessary. Maybe I'm behind the times.