Sunday, February 27, 2011

Summary C4K #1-3

       The student blogs I was assigned to ended up being a variety of different children. The first kid I was to comment on loved sports. His name was Owen and he replied on a thread of what he loves. His exact quote was,"I love sports because sports are something you just don't watch, you can do them too." I thought this was cleaver and really neat that he loves playing sports so much.
      The next student I was assigned to was kid who said he loved math. I thought this was funny because I am not that great at math but I was excited to see his excitement about something he loves, especially when that thing is a school related subject. My last student was a girl who had posted on a thread of how their Holiday break was. She stated, "This was the best Christmas ever because it snowed, and I love snow!" I thought this was cute because she was so excited it snowed on Christmas Day. 
    Commenting on these students blogs is fun! I loved reading what the class and teacher were doing in school. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Blog Posst #6


1. The Networked Student

I though this video was very helpful with explaining the "networked student". It is a good deal of information to process especially when we were raised in a traditional student and teacher learning environment where everything is taught off of the chalkboard and the internet was used for research papers. Students today have skills that will enable to help them master technology. Today is the future! The tools available to the students and to the teachers should not be wasted. In this video, the networked student built his own online textbook. I thought this was awesome! He had no book for the class. His networking and web searching helped him build his own book. This idea was awesome! His classmates can see the information he has gathered.  This way of teaching is so very different but very exciting!
It is the teacher's job to teach a networked student in a few ways. For starters, the networked student is not going to know where to begin. The teacher is there to help him or her to begin with building their network. The teacher's job also is to help him with any questions he may have with setting up his network, adding onto it, etc. Also, the teacher is there to help him distinguish what is a reliable site and what is not. The guidance of the teacher is so important.
I think my favorite part about this is that the student makes his or her own textbook while learning to network and search for information. I know that I always learn best when I do it myself. So, if the student would like a text for the class, he or she must go out and basically build it. They will learn so much more doing that than being given a textbook that they probably wouldn't open anyway. If you decide not to build yours, then it only hurts you, the student. I loved this! This is such an imperative thing to teach and to prepare our students for!
http://techliterateteacher.blogspot.com/2009/06/networked-student.html




2. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (or PLN)
      I can't believe she is only in 7th grade. When I was in 7th grade, I remembr having to get a permision slip signed in order to even use the internet. Looking back on my 7th grade year, we had to sign permission forms to use the internet at school. I cant believe how organized she is! Her PLN is so organized, thought-out, and efficient. I will definitely use some of her techniques if not many to do my PLN.  I know it will take some time to get everything in your PLN, but it made me eager to get a jump on it! This can and will take learning to a whole new level.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEls3tq5wIY


3. Critiques of Smartboards
Why Smartboards are a Dumb Initiative by Michael Staton
Michael Staton in his stand against smartboards argues the cost efficient side. He says they are too expensive for what they are and that you can do the same thing with different programs.
http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-smartboards-are-dumb-initiative.html


Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards by Bill Ferriter

Bill Ferriter also thinks that interactive whiteboards are too expensive and that don't do any thing positive for the students or the teacher. He gave his away after using it for a year. In his post he quoted:
"Most of the time, interactive whiteboard programs are, in fact, nothing more than vain attempts to buy change. Rarely paired with a clear vision of the classrooms we’d like to see, a set of tangible objectives that can be measured, or any systematic attempts to evaluate outcomes, these high-priced contraptions are sad examples of the careless decision-making and waste that
are crippling some of our schools and systems."
I personally think everone is allowed to have their own oppinon on the use of a white board. Mr. Ferriter clearly stated his here.
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2010/01/27/tln_ferriter_whiteboards.html?tkn=Q%5BRFGmQux6XnMebDMl4nddRDutTae13KtmNE

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Summary Post #2

    
    Matthew Needleman is a teacher who is clearly dedicated to the education of the students. His post was filled with information on a project that he has come up with to solve a problem with the computer lacking schools face today. He proposed the idea of a portable computer lab. I found this idea to be very useful. I think it could benefit teachers and students as well. Teachers would have easy access to computers to pass to students during class time and use for projects and such. I thought Matthew's idea was fantastic and I think all schools should look into investing in a portable computer lab!

Blog Post #5


Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog


This is so cool! The third graders that did this are awesome! The Roman podcast that I listened to was very interesting.  I feel as if  I actually learned something about Rome by listening to the podcast. I thought it was neat how they went on a journey through Rome. The music was a hit! It made the transition from one step to the next so much smoother. The students' different voices were neat to listen to als. I incorporate that idea in to my podcast. This was so cool!

Langwitches

I thought it was neat how she helped out the Language Arts Teacher. The upgrading with the podcast idea was a great idea to mix some things up. This was in part also to inspire other teachers to try something different in their classroom and to do something new. Overall I thought this was a great idea for teachers and students!

Education Podcast Network (EPN)

This was so cool! This should defninately have an impact on future teachers like myself! To have a podcast site specifically made for a teacher's benefit is such a great idea! The ideas are endless on this site. It's just podcast after podcast of everything you could hope for. It is exciting to know that teachers today have access to sites like these that provide all the tools you could ever need. I will definately use this site when I begin my teaching!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Blog Post #4


Blog Post #4
Scott Mcleod:
He is a an associate Professor with his PHD in the Educational Administration Program at the University of Iowa State University, the co-director of  "DID YOU KNOW",  and has received multiple awards. Scott made excellent points. The one thing that stood out to me was that it would be difficult to accomplish this because we live in such a technology age today. It is going to be impossible to stop something that is happening at such a rapid pace. I want to protect my children one day, but I know that what they learn in school with technology is impossible to stop. This was a great post!

ISCHOOL:
     I became very interested in this kids idea of the intergration onto the ischool system by watching this video. It would be very useful for the funding of schools seeing as how it is already lacking the support. This is the way to do it if we want to integrate technology into the school system. I think it would be successful and teachers would have to worry less about the loads of paper work they inquire. 
    The usefulness of the ischool system is amazing. As we move green, you can see the awesome changes in our school systems already. This was such a great post. 

LOST GENERATION:


        This video was a very interesting piece. There was clearly a lot of thought put into this video. She talks about  family, divorce rates, poor employer to employee relationship and work ethics which I found to be so interesting. These things take such a huge role in a person's everyday life.
     It is true, we all strive to be different. Although I believe that every human was made equally, we were also made completely different. I feel what she had to say in this video some of us at one point of another have thought ourselves. I loved this video! I feel as if she was speaking directly to me!

VIRTUAL CHOIR:



This was so amazing! This is what I love about technology. It can take something like musical choirs and bring many people together for the love of music. I would have loved to participate! This is excellent use of technology!

Teaching in the 21st Century:
     Any child who can learn something such as the use of technology for school work I feel would find it fasinating. There is no limit to the use of technology and both the student and teacher are in the process of learning together. I know that this class has helped me with my personal education with the new technology so far! This was an excellent video that dealt with education vs schooling. Such a great reminder of the times we live in. I loved it!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Summary C4T Post

Manaiakalani
 The most recent post this teacher had was about her local school in Pt England. The students there have never had a swimming pool and the schools in the area try to focus on water safety and swimming lessons. "For safety lessons students have been using the local swimming pool across the field," she says. It is becoming difficult for the students to have access to the pool grounds due to increasing prices and the one lane access.

   The children decided to approach the Mayor of Auckland with their concerns about the pool access. This idea was fantastic and was a success! The Mayor heard the concerns of the students and approached the idea with a new aquatic location site for the students!


http://vimeo.com/18773858


C4T # 2
   Mathew Needleman is a computer teacher at his high school. He is dedicated to teaching the new age of technology to students in his school. He feels that all students should accomplish and succeed at life through technology.
   In his first post he talked about instead of closing the computer lab, he wants to have a portable computer lab. He said that," In a perfect world every school would have both a computer lab and computers." He thinks teachers would benefit in the classroom if there were portable computer labs where students would have easy access to projects and papers on a laptop.
   His second post was  a triangle on what he feels that Higher Level of Technology Use should be. With the top being students as influencers on the outside world, it is because the foundation of the triangle is teachers as multimedia consumers. Mathew made excellent points in both of his posts. I enjoyed reading them.
Needleman Technology Taxonomy

Blog Post 3

Children and Technology


Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
       I think that this video is a great reflection of the everyday college student. I have personally bought books before and never opened them. I have spent maybe a thousand dollars on different text book during the time I have been at South and I have come across many that I haven't even touched since the day I bought them from the USA bookstore. I am also guilty of not attending classes that I know I am paying for. Freshman year when everything was so new and exciting I would find myself skipping class and looking for any and every reason to not go.I struggled with the thought of having so much freedom. Like almost every freshman, I took advantage of my time and would skip class to hang with new friends.When you skip too many classes, students fail to see the consequences that follow. If I could tell any new coming freshman anything it would be attend class. It affects your grades and your GPA. 
        Being a multi-tasker is a super important tool to have. It is difficult to balance school, work, sororities or clubs, and friends. But if you can be an ultimate multi-tasker then it may come easy for you. What worked for me was buying a daily planner, I planned out my days down to the hour that first semester. That way I could accomplish everything I needed to get done all in that one day. I really enjoyed this video. I would want to show this to high school seniors before they decide on their college choice and major.  

Kelly Hines: It's Not About The Technology
Kelly Hines made some excellent points in her post. If you do not know how to use the technology effectively then what good is it doing. I think she was right when she said that it is up to us to make a technology a success for us. Most educators would disagree and refuse to educate themselves on something new. For some subjects it will be hard to integrate technology into the classroom.
    All teachers should teach their students to be creative and I think that is the most important thing. When kids are using their creativity to all of their ability there is no telling what they will come up with. When you allow children to use enjoyable things in classroom activities, I think it helps them learn the material better. Encouraging your students to be creative is I think one of the most important things to bring to your classroom. Without our unique senses of creativity we would all be very similar, but as children express their creativity they begin to see talents they did not know they had.

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
After reading this I do not think that it is okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher. I really enjoyed the examples that he used in this reading. He wrote that many parents use their poor math skills growing up as an excuse for their child's poor math performance. I liked this example because I am guilty of telling  people all the time that I am terrible in math. He says that many people use this same outlook when they talk about their computer skills. Even if you are technologically illiterate you can still teach your students what they need to know.


Gary Hayes: Social Media Count
This site was really interesting. It is crazy to see what could happen in just a few seconds. I think what this means for us as future educators is that we are going to have to start learning things about technology now if we want to be prepared when we enter the class room.Who knows what we will be teaching in the near future if technology keeps growing!