Blog Assignment 5

Eagle’s Nest Radio Episode#3

I thought the third graders where so cute and they did a very good job. I thought their music was very cool and really added a lot to their podcast. I thought at the beginning a few of them felt nerves but as the podcast continued I could tell they started to feel more confident. I just did my first podcast last week and I was nerves so I would say to be in third grad and accomplishing something like that is amazing.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

I think that podcasting is really fun and something different that would make different activities a lot more enjoyable.   I think podcasting is great especially for people who are more auditory learners. This was they are able to hear and replay what a teacher has said and really let that point sink in. This is just another way technology can help people and open more doors.

Judy Scharf Podcast Collection

At first I didn’t know what a podcast was, but after reading this post I think I have a better understanding. Since I have now done a podcast and gotten some back ground information on what it is I think I will be able to use this new technique to my advantage not only for this class but for classes down the road and in my own classroom one day. 

Blog Assignment 4

Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Mr. McLeod is an assistant professor and is a strong supporter in technology being used in public schools. He strongly believes that schools are not using enough technology to prepare their students for the future. I really enjoyed Mr. McLeod’s take on technology. I think it really is ridicules when I hear people talk about how bad the internet is and that they are protecting their kids by not letting them use it. We are living in a world where with out some kind of basic knowledge on how to use the computer/internet one would not be able to survive. Technology is our future there is really no going back its only going to get more advanced and our kids need all the help they can get.

The iSchool Initiative

Travis is a high school student who has come up with an idea on how to improve learning and the environment with an already favorite electronic device, the ipod touch. Travis believes that with the advancement in technology that schools would be saving a lot of money by investing in his program. He talks about how a lot of already existing applications would be enough to get started, applications related to history, math, science, reading, and English. An average ipad touch coast around 150 dollars and Travis states that with that purchase the schools would still be saving around 600 dollars a student and helping the environment due to the deletion of text books.
I was very impressed with Travis. He had a very thought out and well prepared presentation that could maybe one day really be considered. I didn’t know that the ipad touch was able to do all those things already due to the fact I do not have one. I think that he makes a lot of good points and that there is still a lot to think about and consider before something like this could really take affect.

The Lost Generation

I thought that this video was very clever. I didn’t even think about what it would say if you started to read it backwards, it surprised me at first. My first thoughts were wow this girl has a lot of issues and the music and black hole background did not help. Then when she started to read it backwards I liked the way it looked like the words where coming out of the hole and I felt a feeling of hope.

Eric Whitaker’s Virtual Choir

This was probably one of the coolest things I have seen so fare. That is amazing that he was able to take so many talented people who had never met before and have them sing together while all in different places. This shows how technology has really come along and what can be done with it. This could really bring every one together and make learning a really fun experience.

Additional Assignment # 1

I did not know about Google Squared or Wolfram before I saw this video. I didn’t know there where tools out there that could provided all the information you need at just one site, I am use to having to look at multiple sites for a lot of information .

            I like Google Squared. I would feel a lot better using it as a tool for research because it is a much more reliable source. Wolfram is also a good reliable source and it has great pictures that really help when one is looking up information and want a good visual.

            The two new websites I learned about didn’t change my thoughts on Did You Know as much as made me think more about where the students in the video got there statistics from. I know that you can’t always believe every thing you see online and that people get there information from different sources but I would like to go back and look up some of the statistic shown in the video and check them for verification.   

I liked the food for thought article because I want an ipad and it makes me feel better that some one younger then me can work one so maybe I won’t have a hard time figuring it out.

Blog Assignment 3

A Vision of Students Today:
I have been in school for three years now and looking at that video reminded me of some of the class I never attended or wanted to fall asleep in because the class was boring. As those students held up their papers I thought back and I remember thinking a lot of those same things. What I don’t understand is why technology isn’t being used and that copying what’s on the board is considered a way of learning.
I hear kids talking about different classes and the amount they are spending on books that the teacher says they need but that they never use and then when they try to sell them back they don’t even get half the price. I try to look at every ones situation with an open mind because I know that every ones is different. The video seemed to have been taken from the student’s point of view, but what about the teachers? I think sometimes it is forgotten at one point teachers where just like us and I think it would be interesting to see what their thought on the things we are dealing with at this age are.

It’s not about the Technology:
I remember being younger and wondering what it was going to be like to be a teacher when I grew up. I wondered how things would be different and what things would stay the same. I knew technology was becoming more advanced and I wondered how or if that would affect teach as I got older and how different it would be to be the teacher and not the student.
I think Mrs. Hines made some great points about education and really understands what needs to happen to improve education. I agree that teachers have to be up to date with every thing and any thing because in some way it affects them, good or bad. I agree it’s important that teachers can some how find ways to relater to there students. I also liked that Mrs. Hines talked about that we have to find away to make learning successful for all students. A also agree that technology is a great tool to use when it is use right.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count:
I can’t believe how fast all those numbers keep moving. As a teacher I think this is very important because we will be teaching students who are familiar with a lot of technology. Its odd to know that every second some one is doing something on the computer and how connected every one is at all times.

Is It ok to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
I have never been on to say I was technology savvy. Now after starting this class I can still confirm I am way behind on technology. At first I didn’t know what a blog was and I didn’t know any one who had one or used one, but know I am realizing there is so much more to do on the internet then I could of every imagined.

It’s all very overwhelming because I need skills like this to help me be a better teacher in the future and I am just now getting use to the word blog. I wish I would have had more classes on computer technology when I was in school I think kids need more then just typing class. I know that technology is only going to keep increasing so how are we suppose to keep up and teach our students ?

The Angelica Show

Teachers Comments

I have been fallowing Morgan Bayda from Saskatchewan. She has a Bachelor in Education with a specialization in Early Childhood Education. She loves adventure and loves all children. The first blog post I commented on was so amazing and had so many wonderful pictures. Morgan talks about her first experience with volunteer travel. I find out that she is located in Costa Rica and has really embraced every aspect of the culture and the students she is working with. Her pictures are amazing and show her doing anything and everything and also the beauty of Costa Rica. The second blog I posted on really showed me her passion not only for people but for animals. Morgan Is busy on the beach and her first encounter with a full grown leatherback sea turtle. She talks about how she works for the sea turtles protecting them from poachers who want their eggs. Morgan ends her blog by letting us know that she is leaving Costa Rica with more questions then answers and that is ok with her because she is also leaving with a sense of possibility and excitement about all the doors that are opening up for her.

Morgans blog

Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know?

 At first I didn’t really know what to think , but as I started to think about the statistics that were streaming across my screen I realized how much I didn’t know. I feel like we as humans are getting too advanced for our own planet. I have only been alive 20 years and I can even tell how fare we have come. We study history and some times forget that the things people are coming up with are and will be history.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

  I think this is a very well done video. Showing how technology is growing so fast but that class rooms haven’t changed much. I think it’s sad that teachers don’t have the ecology in their class rooms to make learning a lot better. Most class rooms that I have been in still have your basic chalk board and a teacher can not do much with that but have students copy notes from the board and I don’t believe that one can really learn from that.

 Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

  I think she would be a great teacher to have. I think that if all kids had as many resources as those kids have the drop out rate would decrees dramatically because kids would want to learn. I agree that kids need more then paper and pencil to learn they need to be able to use technology to the fullest. I like that the teacher made it clear that she was ok with her students teaching her knew things when a lot of teachers I know and had wouldn’t like that. 

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

  I think it’s very important to be creative. When we were younger being creative was what made us who we were. Then as we got older the creativity turned it a hobby and being right became what was important. If students were able to be more creative other then fallowing the strict guidelines of society I think a lot more would be learned. This video is very funny and also gets its point across.  

Project 2