Sunday, September 26, 2010

C4K #1

The student that I have been assigned to is Andrew Reita. He is 12 years old and in his "About me" post, he says that he has 1 twin sister, 2 brothers, 2 step-brothers, and a step sister. He moved from Hawaii to Missouri. He says the most important thing in his life is his family.
In one blog post he lists his goals for the upcoming school year, and I have to say they are not far off from what some of mine probably were when I was that age. He says he wants to be more respectful to his teacher. I told him he should always be respectful to his teacher as well as all of his elders. I also told him I used to be disrespectful to my teachers and found that if I was respectfull, my time at school would be much more enjoyable and would be much more knowledgeable.

Blog Post #5

The first of the resources I was provided that I listened to was the Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog. I have to say, it was very impressive and exceptionally good. These students must have a very good teacher to guide them through this.
The Second one I watched was "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom" I found this clip VERY informative, not how to make a podcast, but how they can be important in the future in the classroom. I found this very beneficial.
I also found the "Education Podcast" very informative as well and very helpful. It will be good in the future to have a plentiful resource place to help teachers.
I found all of these links useful to me and I'm sure they will be helpful to my group in creating our podcast, It was good, as far as I am concerned, to see some examples of podcasts because I was a little confused initially as to what we were supposed to be accomplishing. Thanks to these tips, I now have a good understanding.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Blog Post #4

"Don't teach this stuff to your kids, please."
I enjoyed this post, it was fairly straight and to the point. I think it would be good for all parents to read. I think some parents who are respectifully "internet ignorant" just ban all these types of things (or try to) from their kids and do not realize that the internet and social networking site CAN be very useful and informational to kids and to parents.
Parents hear all of the horrifying stories, but if they also use some of these online tools and resources, it can even help with their relationship with their child.

"The Ischool initiative"
This was a very interesting video, it was also very informative. I would have loved to have this program when I was in high school. I think it would totally work, as long as the teachers were willing to make an initiative towards the concept.
I can very much relate to the subject matter because I use many of these applications that the student talks about on my iphone to help me with my school work. The main one being the 'calendar' application, to help me remember online and non-online assignment due dates.

"The Lost Generation"
I have to say, I was slightly shocked with the subjuect matter of the video until I saw the 'reverse' of the words. This video makes a great point, in that we CAN change the world, but every person MUST make an effort to do so.
I really enjoyed the format in which the video was presented, it was very eye opening. This probably took a lot of time to do and I have to say that the creator made their point, at least in my eyes.

"Virtual Choir"
This was really cool. The entire coordination of the video was by far the most impressive thing. This is one of the examples of thinking 'outside of the box' to use the internet.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Blog post #3

"A Vision of Students Today"
I found this video to be very intriguing, I think it makes a very solid point, maybe more than any of the other videos that I have watched on or similar to this subject matter. I wouldn't really add anything to the film, it really captures my college expirience mostly and probably of those around me.
The point that I get from this video is that technology in the classroom can save us. It can be used to further advance the teaching skills of instructors and also keep the students interested and informed, which I think is the biggest and most important thing. Technology can save us, but we have to accept it.

"It's not about the Technology"
I really enjoyed what Ms. Hines was writing about. She seems very knowledgeable on the subject matter. I think the point that stands out the most in my mind is the section that states "teachers must be learners". I could not agree more. Teachers MUST be open and willing to new ideas and new teaching concepts. I think the worst thing that can happen is for a teacher to "set their ways". I have encountered many teachers in my 18 years of schooling that have been like this, some of them very good educators, but they refused to wrap their minds around new concepts. As a teacher, you are dealing with human beings that are at and are THE forefront of new technology and innovation, and need to be savy on these ideas to both keep your students interested and to help you understand them better.

"Is it ok to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher"
I like what Mr. Fisch is trying to say here. I absolutely agree with him that it is NOT ok to be a technologically illiterate teacher. Teachers need to be on the cutting edge of new technology and need to learn that school is way beyond the chalkboard now.
I think his 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" is a little harsh, but it is harshly TRUE. If there are some teachers out there who embrace the new technology, then the teachers who do not are depriving their students of a well rounded education.

"Gary's social media Count"
This is very astounding and over welming, however it does not surprise me. I think it shows the advancements of our world into new technology.
This applies to everyone. I think the most humorous figure was the number of new internet users was one of the smallest figures, this just shows how many people use the web.

GOOGLE PRESENTATION

Blog Post #2

"Did You Know"
   I Found this video to be very, very interesting in almost a disturbing way. The information provided was very informative and the most amazing thing to me, was wondering how long it took someone to collect, categoize, and combine all of this information into this format, it must have taken months.
   The thing that probably was the most surprising was how many text messages were sent per day, I work as an in-store sales rep for a cell phone company and this even amazes me, I always tell people when purchasing a text message packagem that they always text more then they think they will, this figure brings a whole new variable into play though.

"Mr. Winkle Wakes"
  This video to me, was informative just like "Did You Know" but invloled less figures and statistics and more satire, among other things. It sort of makes me laugh because I know many "older people" who are like this, that if they were in an office building or a hospitol now, they would be completely dumbfounded by all of the "new technology" that was there.
   I agree with the point that the video is trying to make, that there isn't enough techology in the school, that it hasn't changed in "100 years". I think teachers should take more initiative to bring and introduce new technology to their students, because once they go off to college, the technology is going to be there, because almost every class I have taken in college has been "web enhanced".

"The Importance of Creativity"
    This is a very interesting video, the subject matter that Sir ken Robinson touches on is one that hasn't been widely talked about, in my eyes. I agree with him that creativity is very slowly shifted out of children and young adults minds.
   I also highly agree with him that intelligence is entirely one sided and intelligence is wonderfully dynamic and it is distinct, some, not all, education program deprive students of their creative abilities. I think as future educators we should make an effort to apply our studnets creative abilites to our classroom teachings.

"Viki Davis"
   What Viki Davis is doing for her students and education in general is great. I agree 100 percent with her that with pencil and paper, only a certain type of student is going to succeed. While applying new technology to the classroom may not help every student, it will certainly raise the percentage of students' success.
    Letting the students figure out how to perform tasks and troubleshoot the projects on their own is a great way to teach them skill that they will use in the future. While watching this video I could only think about the advantages I would have had if I had a high school class like this.