January 31, 2010

Podcasts
I listened to 6 different podcast found on iTunes. I chose MacBreak Weekly, EdTechTalk, KidCast, SMARTBoard Lessons, This Week in Photography, and Connect Learning by David Warkick. For this class, EDM 310, I will have to create my own podcast, and the goal of this assignment is to try to find tips to make my podcast better. So, let's see what I found out from listening to a few minutes of each of the podcast I listed.

The Connect Learning Podcast and the SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast had a lot going on in the background that made listening to the podcast distracting. Having to concentrate on the conversation is already difficult for me because I am very visual, I like videos and visual aids, and when extra noise is thrown into the mix I want to concentrate on what's going on in the background. In the Connect learning Podcast it sounds like the interview is taking place in a restaurant which doesn't seem to be the most ideal place for a voice recording, and in the SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast, he stops to order a coffee, which makes me automatically forget what he is talking about and I started thinking of coffee.

The EdTechTalk Podcast that I listened to was an interview with three individuals. The two women I could hear fine; they spoke loud enough and articulated in a way that could be understood. The man was difficult to hear, I could understand what he was saying it just sounded like he was too far away from the microphone.

I did have a chance to listen to MacBreak Weekly, KidsCast, and This Week in Photography. I really liked the way they sounded, and they had an attention getter at the beginning. MacBreak Weekly and KidsCast started with music, and This Week in Photography had a couple of ads and noted their provider which is interesting to me. Also, it sounded as if they were carrying on an actual conversation during the podcast and not something that was rehearsed. So, when I do my podcast I will try to make sure everyone is heard, maybe by doing a test run first. Definitely will rehearse my questions and thoughts enough so that I'm comfortable with what I want to say, but not enough to where they are memorized. And, make it appealing to others by adding music or something of that sort.

Media Literacy in the First Grade!and Little Kids...Big Potential
I would have loved to be in Ms. Cassidy's classroom when I was a first grader! What she has made available to her students is amazing! I mean this is where classrooms should be. All of them! It's fantastic, they have supervision, creativity, intelligence, and technology. She is using the tools available to help make her students technology literate.

The way she involved her students in her video was really impressive. I wonder how much she had to go through to be able to post her students on the web. It's worth it, but it could also cause a lot of problems if you aren't careful and follow the guidelines. I would love to have a classroom like this! Kudos to Ms. Cassidy and her students!

iPhone used by a 1 year old baby Part 2
It's an awesome video! Kids love playing with mommy's and daddy's toys. Especially the toys that are used all the time, like a cell phone. Children are smart too! If they want to learn something or if you can hold their attention long enough to teach them then it doesn't take long for them to get it. I showed my 3 year old nephew how to turn on my camera, and he figured the rest out. I mean if a can use an iPhone, what's stopping everyone from embracing technology. It is built for accessibility not to confuse you, and i think that is where many are mistaken.

January 24. 2010

A Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch
In the movie A Vision of Students Today by Michael Wesch, I can see that I am not the only student in the U.S. that feels the way I do about my education. I am supposed to work, go to school full time, complete hundreds of pages of reading for each class, have a social life, and prepare for the tomorrow when today has not unfolded. How is this possible? I ask myself that question every day. Somehow i make it all happen.

“I am a multi-tasker (I have to be)”. I also “buy hundred dollar textbooks that I never open.” I might complete “49% of reading assignments” but most likely I do not have to. These are signs that were held up in the movie that apply to me although there are many more. The only part of the video I do not agree with is when the scantron is held up with “this won’t help me get there” written on it. It might not help right this minute, but in order to get there that is one thing we as students have to do. Complete tests that we most likely remember just to get the grade, so we can receive a piece of paper in the end. If the walls could talk, I am sure they would be screaming for a CHANGE!

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


Ms. Hines wrote in “It’s Not About the Technology” four main points that should be considered for all teachers and future educators. I think that changes need to be made in the classroom that involves engaging the students to be creative and innovative. Teachers should also be continuously learning new skills and new tools to better our teaching. “Teachers should be learners.” Educators must also incorporate the different styles of learning in their teaching because “teaching and learning are different.” What may work for three or four students may not work for the others.

Her main point says “technology is useless without good teaching,” in a classroom setting I agree to an extent. If the teacher has the technology available and does not use it to its full extent then the technology is not useless because it can still be used. But, the teacher is not upholding his or her duty to be a learner, and the students will not receive the benefits technology holds from that teacher. The fourth point, “be a 21st century teacher without the technology” is where I get kind of confused. If I am going to be a 21st century educator and not use technology, why be a teacher… I agree that core principles can be taught without the use of technology, but they shouldn’t have to be. That’s what needs to change in classrooms. We have been teaching life and career skills without the use of technology, but now it's not really an option to be technology illiterate. Be innovative, be creative, and use technology. Be a learner and a teacher, and embrace the technology. It is all about the technology. Today is and tomorrow will be about technology.

"Is It Okay To Be A Technology Illiterate Teacher?" by Karl Fisch
When I read Fisch’s statement, “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 and write,” I laughed. I did not laugh because it was funny or a joke but because it is blatantly true. Most of our society today knows how to read and write, and many are learning to use technology, but many make up excuses. Five years ago you could drop out of high school not knowing how to use a computer and find a good job,” but today it is a slim chance.

I cannot count the teachers I have had that have had the technology available in their classrooms but say, “I can’t use that thing,” “I don’t want to break it,” “it doesn’t like me and I don’t like it,” and countless other excuses. In order to prepare for the future it is imperative for you to use the most updated technology available in order to even have a glimpse at what the actual future has in store. We as educators have to do it in order to learn it and apply what we learn in order to teach it (it referring to technology). It is the best tool to incorporate different styles of learning from auditory, to visually, to hands on. It should not be acceptable to be proud of illiteracy of any fashion, especially when we have the tools to learn.


Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Watching the counter for a few minutes still has me in awe. I mean everything changes multiple times a second. There are even resources that he got the statistics from, which I have yet to completely believe but will go and check out as soon as I am finished posting this blog. It really strikes home when I see things like this especially for my future career.

I will be a teacher soon, and I want to be a technology literate teacher. This counter shows how fast technology is taking over, and soon it will not be an option. You as a person will either advance with the world or stay behind. Anything you want to know about almost anything in the world will be at your fingertips, and in many cases already is. I do not want to be left behind, but I will have to stay really busy learning new things to keep up.

January 17, 2010

Did You Know 3.0and Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman
The speed of technological advances is astounding. I knew we had come a tremendous way from “Shakespeare’s time,” but it never occurred to me how quickly it has begun to change. "What does it all mean" is the questioned asked at the end of the video. Fisch says that "China will soon become the number one speaking country in world, India has more honors kids than America has kids," and other intriguing facts. But what does that mean?

It means that teachers need to be technology literate. Teachers should want to better their knowledge in technology in order to help their students. In the video, Fisch states that "for students starting a 4-year technical degree half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study." That is reason enough for teachers to stay on top of new technology so they can introduce what they learn to their classes. The video points out that the gap between America and the rest of the world is closing. If we want to change anything we need to change our view on technology, and the video by Matthew Needleman, Mr. Winkle Wakes, shows that.

Mr. Winkle wakes up after a hundred year nap, and takes off to explore a city. He finds the hustle bustle of an office building and is faced with machines that he doesn't know how to use, and noises he can't explain. He can't stand it there, and leaves. Mr. Winkle comes upon a hospital and since he isn't feeling well decides to go in. Little did he know that it too is run by the same machines that the office was using. He decides to leave the hospital in search for peace and quiet. He soon sees a school and went inside. I was the same as what he remembered it being. "Students were taking notes and were undisturbed by the world around them."

After watching this video I am stuck wondering, why should students have to sit in their seats all day and listen to a lecture? They have so much to learn about the world around them, and what is better to teach them about the world than a computer with internet. Students can learn what classrooms are like across the world, the differences between cultures, and the opportunities are endless. A child should be able to use a computer, and should be allowed to use a computer in school.
Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman really made me think about our school systems, and what I want to be able to accomplish when I begin to teach. I want to be a technology literate teacher. I want to be able to help my students be the best they can be. I do not want to hold them back by not allowing the use of a computer. Of course in elementary school paper and handwriting are important, but typing and being able to navigate a computer is important also.

Fisch, Karl. Did You Know 3.0. http://is.gd/5JQLF
Needleman, Matthew. Mr. Winkle Wakes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm1sCsl2MQY


Sir Ken Robinson:The Importance of Creativity
I was amazed at Sir Ken Robinson's video on the importance of creativity. His humorous way of delivering his speech on what we're doing in our schools makes it interesting. Robinson mentions the "unpredictability" of the world that we are supposed to educate our future about. How do we do this? We picture the future of our world through our imaginations, yet we "squander creativity" in schools. Why do we "educate children out of" their creativity?

Robinson makes an interesting point about making mistakes and being wrong, "if you're not prepared to be wrong you will never come up with anything original." I completely agree with this statement. Why is our society so afraid of being wrong? I know I am afraid of making a mistake, even though making it might help me figure out the problem in the long run it will still be stamped with that word WRONG. But why is that word bad? I think that point was the one that stuck out to me the most in Robinson's video. We will not always get everything right the first go around, but I guess it is just that word.


http://tinyurl.com/mluw5k

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
We have all of this great technology at our fingertips, and I know the high school I went to did not even require that I take a basic computer class to graduate. Technology is changing everyday and like Vicki Davis said in her video, we need to “empower our students.” We need to let their imaginations run. Her class video was amazing! How she is so available to her students and open to their ideas is wonderful.

This video shows that being technology literate and open to student creativity opens many doors to classroom opportunities. You do not have to know everything, but be willing to find out; Davis points this out in the video. They were not restricted to only pen and paper or a lengthy lecture. It was pretty neat to hear that she was learning from her students just as they were learning from her. Her students took the skills they learned from her and expanded on that because they were given the opportunity.


Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts. http://bit.ly/151RkU