Sunday, February 26, 2012

Blog Post #5

Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?

Scott Mcleod is the associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Kentucky. In his blog, Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please? he uses sarcasm against technology when he is really for it. I believe that teaching children to use technology correctly will help them emensely and give them a brighter future. It broadens their way of learning. I do not believe we should be fully dependent on it, but I do agree that we should teach and allow our children to use it correctly. We cannot always protect our children from absolutely everything in this world. Sometimes they have to learn other ways and on their own and if taught right and wrong we have to trust that they will do the right thing with what is in front of them.

Travis Allen

In the short videos: The iSchool Initiative and ZeitgeistYoungMinds Entry , a high school student from Fairfield, Georgia attempts to show the public a solution to our current education problems in America. He calls this solution iSchool. His proposal states that it will save the average student hundreds of dollars. This idea may save money and be more green friendly, but I don't know if I fully agree with it. I think this may make students a bit too dependent on technology. Technology in the classroom is a great thing, but I don't want an ipod eventually taking my place as a teacher. All parents may not want their children to own an ipod and some applications and most ibooks still have to be paid for. It just scares me.




Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

When I watched this short YouTube video of the "Lux Aurumque" performance, I was truly amazed. He put together a virtual choir consisting of 185 singers from twelve different countries. What is really amazing about this performance is the fact that not one of these singers have ever performed together or even met one another. It is genius and so beautiful. Bravo to Eric Whitacre and his lovely virtual choir.

Teaching in the 21st Century

Kevin Roberts believes that teaching in the 21st century means that teachers work more as a filter. Again, I will say I do not think that students should do everything on computers. No one should completely rely on technology. Everything should not be done online. I think if it were, then it would be like taking an online class. I don't know a single person who has enjoyed taking online classes. I know I really did not like them at all. Also again, I do believe we should use technology in the classroom, but not overuse. As teachers we should teach and guide students to use technology, just not for everything they do. I loved the interaction in the classroom while growing up. I love actual books, flipping real pages and looking at its pictures while I read. I love writing with pen and paper. I like writing on an expo board. I know that has changed and still believe in the future, students will rely on technology too much.

Reading Rockets

Reading Rockets is a great website that offers a number of reading strategies, lessons and activities designed to help students read better. It also helps to build fluency, vocabulary and comprehension for struggling readers. Penultimate is a popular note-taking application found. Alien Equation is another fun application I found; it has fun games that teach math skills. This website has so many wonderful resources for any subject and any student that aren't only for just the students themselves, but also gives helpful resources to parents, teachers and administrators as well. it also offers special resources for students with particular special needs. I believe this is a website I will definitely be referring to and sharing with my students and their parents in the future.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Blog Post 4

Flat Stanley

Silvia Tolisano's blog Langwitches provided many resources on different teaching techniques. One classroom activity she did was a project called Flat Stanley The Flat Stanley project is where students mail out paper flat Stanleys around the world to learn about different places. Then the students shared their Flat Stanley adventures from the location that they were sent to. I was very impressed by these extremely advanced and smart first graders. They were very well spoken. They seemed to be so enthused and excited about this type of learning. I personally believe this is a great way for students to learn about other places they have never been to. It helps them to really learn well because its being done in a way that they really enjoy it.

Podcast Collection

In the blog: Podcast Collection , Judy Scharf gives many really good resources for people that may not know much about podcasts, such as myself.She gives lists for projects and different ideas. She also shares a step-by-stepp video on how to create a podcast. She just provides very helpful insight to people on making podcasts. She makes it easier to learn. She really breaks it down.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the classroom by Joe Dale

In this blog, a teacher named Joe Dale provides the public with a YouTube video: Benefits of Podcasting , which gives us many benefits of podcasting. It allows students to use more of their creativity. It allows students to use more of their creativity. It allows more ways to interact with a number of students inside and outside of the classroom. With podcasting in the classroom, parents can also see and keep up with what their children are doing. Podcasting is just an easy way to obtain information.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Blog Post 3


Technology in Special Education

In this short video, a teacher shows how she uses different types of technology in her classroom to aid her special needs students to learn more easily. In her classroom she shows a variety of students with different needs using different types of technology and programs. She shows how one of her students who normally would have to be separated from his classmates and placed in the hallway with an assistant reader because he has trouble reading now uses an iPod touch to read aloud to him in class with the rest of his classmates. She then shows other uses of technology such as using a laptop to write out sentences more easily and a program called zoomtext to make the text appear larger and easier for students to read. Overall her students appeared to really enjoy using this technology and were much more willing to learn now that it had been made easier for them.
When I lived in Mississippi, I worked in a daycare that children with special needs also attended. So, from personal experience I got to first hand see some of the technology one littler girl in particular used. She had difficulty speaking so she carried around a small computer like machine called a dynavox. I actually got to go visit her speech therapist with her once and learn how to help her use it. I believe that the dynavox is one type of technology I could incorporate into my classroom in the future if needed. This machine is personalized by her with all of the things she likes, dislikes or is personal to her so it is easier to you. With this device you are able to make entire sentences and are also able to point at pictures or words and it will speak it aloud for you. I think it is an amazing device that I could use for students with special needs.

Apple Education Apps

Through searching Apples many education applications, I found one that I may personally choose and enjoy using in my classroom one day if need be. The name of the application I found is called Proloquo2Go. This application was under language. I believe I found it interesting because it is similar to the dynavox computer I am already familiar with, only it is much cheaper. It is designed for both iPhones and iPads. It got a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and appears to be really wonderful with a lot of great reviews. It provides a full-featured augmentative and alternative communication solution for people who have difficulty speaking. I think if need be and given the monetary needs or benefits that I would use this in my classroom.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Gary Hayes provides us with a social media count that shows us how much activity is used in a matter of seconds, minutes, and years. The outcome you see is ridiculous. It is stunning to see in just a matter of seconds how many people have shared, joined, added, etc things to different types of social media. It shows Facebook at the top. Shows us that maybe we should all be technology savvy to keep up to speed with the general population and students as future educators. Could also show that technology is being overly used as well, especially for things that aren't necessarily beneficial to learning what we need to be learning, such as Facebook and social interaction sites that are very similar. I know as a student sitting in class that most people with their phones and laptops in class are using them more for things such as Facebook than for taking notes and learning. Technology in classrooms can be a good thing if used for the correct reasons and monitored.

Michael Wesch: A vision of Students Today

For such a short video, it shows a lot of power and a good message to both students and educators. I agree with and understand so much of what I read. As a student I feel much of their pain as well, such as spending so much money on books that I hardly even open for class and writing papers or doing assignments that are irrelevant to my major. I too will be in debt when I graduate and knowing that educators do not make as much money as I believe they should is sad. We cannot just rely on technology alone though. From an educators point of view this would make me feel pretty sad and badly. This video should make more wish to be more understanding. Both students and educators have a full load in their lives, but as an educator that is your job. As a student, we go to school to get an education to one day get a good career while trying to get and keep a job to continue to make money so we can pay to get an education. It is a lot of pressure to constantly be under. It is like having multiple jobs at once. I can honestly say though that in my favorite class this semester, there is no technology being used. My teacher knows my name and uses only a chalkboard. We use handheld tools such as compasses, rulers, and such for learning, but use no technology other than very rarely a calculator whatsoever. Technology has it's role in the classroom, but so does the teacher. We should not solely rely on one or the other. Technology has its fair share of pros and cons.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know? 3.0 - John H. Strange

The two "Did You Know" videos, one by John H. Strange and the other developed by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, give very interesting statistics of the world mainly in comparison to the United States. These facts presented focus on technology, IQ levels, and language among other interesting things as well. Strange's "Did You Know" video begins by discussing India IQ levels and number of honor students in comparison to the United States. It should not be shocking, but it did startle me how well advanced India is and how lazy we appear to be in the United States. It is quite sad. Other countries outweigh and advance us in what should be our own medicine. I found this video very interesting. It should push not just educators, but all Americans to get up and work harder.

Mr. Winkle Wakes - Mathew Needleman

The short video titled "Mr. Winkle Wakes" tells us how a little old man wakes up after his 100 year slumber to find the world completely changed. He goes out into the world to find tall buildings, machines, computers, and all sorts of technology that he has never even seen or heard of before. He then finds a school where children are sitting, listening to lectures, and taking notes just as he remembers school to be and he is more comfortable and happy.
Technology and methods of doing things are constantly changing around us every single day. We can't change that. Technology is a good thing, however using it for everything constantly is not necessary. I believe that a balance in social interaction and technological interaction is a good thing. We shouldn't rely on technology solely for everything.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson had a video posted presenting the importance of creativity and how school kills it. He states that all children have tremendous creativity and it is just as important as mathematics and literacy and it should not be squandered. He also states that brilliant, creative people think they are not because what they were good at in school wasn't valued. They were benignly steered away from things they liked in school on the ground that they would never get a job doing that. It was benign advice mistaken. He says that one of the problems today is that people are frightened of being wrong and they need to grow into creativity. "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.
I personally believe this man is a genius. He is completely correct in everything he said. People with ADHD aren't sick, they jjust think better when they move. Creativity should most definitely be nurtured in schools. It should definitely be on top of the hierarchy along with mathematics and literacy. We do need to celebrate the gift of imagination and educate the whole being! I thoroughly enjoyed watching this video and highly recommend it for not just educators, but everyone.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

This short video argues ways of learning in the education system. It tells how students go to school and are basically just fed a bunch of facts to know and are then sent home. As a current student, I feel I possess the credentials to say I agree. I go to school, listen to a lecture, take notes, go home to memorize the facts that I have "learned" for a test, and then I typically drop and forget them completely. If the facts are not something that I am interested in, then I forget them. It is like I never "learned" a thing at all. The video also presents a new way of learning by using resources such as a video game where students will have the ability to learn about different languages and cultures around the world. I think students would like to get more involved in something like that. They could learn and actually enjoy it.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

This video shows how Vicki Davis (a teacher at a rural high school in south Georgia) is using new media tools to help children learn how to learn with all types of new technology. She is also allowing them to become more comfortable with technology. She considers herself to be a "teacherpreneur". With this technology enhanced learning environment she is also connecting her students to the rest of the world.
I think this is a great alternative to just lecture learning. I don't believe we should completely rely on technology for everything. I do believe we should use it to our advantage with balance and not abusing it. I agree that different children learn in different ways and that using only pencil and paper allows only certain students to learn. I find myself learning so much more about technology now and I am impressed.