Podcast Project #8

Summary Post for C4K #1

I commented on an 8th grade students blog named Ariana. Ariana is from Mexico and she moved to the US when she was 10 with her family. Ariana says that she enjoys sports, art, and science and she hopes that one day she will get a good job. I asked Ariana what type of job did she want. I also suggested that she become a science teacher since she mentioned it was her favorite subject.

Ariana also wrote a manifesto. She says that she wants to become a better learner and be more responsible and respectful. I told Ariana that everyone needs to have the same manifesto and that becoming a better student will help her succeed.

Blog Post #5

                               Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog

I thought these kids were adorable! I feel kind of bad knowing that a 3rd grader can do a podcast and I can't. I loved the sound effects too! I thought all of their posts were very informative and creative. Maybe my group should incorporate some sound effects in the background as well....

Langwitches

I think it's wonderful that the younger students are getting so much technological knowledge so young. You never know who these kids will grow up to be and you never know that what you're teaching could change their lives. Even though these are 6 years and 9 years, they still can go down the wrong path in life. To introduce them to things that will hold their attention and make them want to come to school is amazing.

I liked how this blogger said when she tells the parents what she'll be teaching, they try to switch the conversation over. Some parents even get upset! They don't want their kids around "the stuff" and they don't want them talking to people half way around the world. Why? Because thy don't understand. If the parents could see the students' work, like these podcasts, maybe it would change their minds. Hopefully, this teacher will include some examples in her next parent-teacher conference.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom



The speaker brought some very interesting points to my attention. Podcasting is a great way to keep students up to date if they have to be out sick for extended periods of time. They can get their missed assignments and lectures. They can also see their classmates, if the teacher decides to let the students create a podcast for the one who is sick. That would be a fun assignment!

I'm not sure if I would consider myself a "millenial". I think that category should be changed to people born after 1995 or 2000. I was born in 1989 and half of the stuff we do in EDM 310 is brand new for me. I haven't spent the majority of my life around technology and neither has my brother, who was born in 1992. But I do have family members born in 2000 who could pass this class with ease.

Blog Post #4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff by Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod is a professor in Education Administration at Iowa State University and the director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education that focuses on technology needs of school administrators. I think Dr. McLeod's post was great. He made excellent points about the good and bad sides of technology. This was similar to the discussion between me and TeacherNZ from our Comments for Teachers assignment.

I agree with both McLeod and TeacherNZ. Our children should be introduced to technology at a young age. When they become teens and adults, they'll have assignments and projects that have to be completed online. There is no way around this, so why not prepare them yourself? To also better prepare them, we should teach our own kids the good and bad sides of technology and some general rules for using the internet. If we let the 1st time they use the internet be at a friend's sleepover party, of course they'll want to do things they shouldn't!  We should instill responsibility at young age (and the occasional Parent Blocker is a nice aid).

The iSchool Initiative



Wow! I learn something new about the iPhone everyday! I had no idea it could do all the things he showed in the video! Even though I still don't want one, it's a very nice phone.

I am absolutely against this student's suggestions! If I had to go to high school for four years, every single student after me should be forced to go as well! All those hours and hours of my life wasted in front of a book! I deserve justice! But seriously, this student must really hate going to school. He's mapped out an entire lesson plan. The idea is great, if you can learn that way. It's nice to have an application that has all the equations you need, but some people need a little more assistance than that.

I like how everyone has come up with these marvelous ways to include technology into the curriculum. It's wonderful, saves time and paper, and is very convenient. I like this student's idea. It has the perfect mixture of teachers and technology. The iPhone applications he showed are a great way to keep track of assignments and events. It also seems to be a great way to keep in touch with classmates and the teachers.

The Lost Generation



At first, I thought the speaker was a little dark. She really had no hope for the future. But whoever wrote this is a genius! To be able to read the exact same thing backwards and get the exact opposite message is pure genius!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir



Okay. How did he get the voices to match perfectly? I have trouble doing that. This was one of the most creative things I've seen in a long time. He must have a lot of patience to compose an entire piece with hundreds of different voices. I would like to know how long it took him to compose this. If I figure it out, I'll post it.

Additional Assignment #1

I think Google Squared and Wolfram Alpha are excellent! I wish they would've been around for all the reports I had to do in high school and middle school. They both provide you with so much information without having to go to multiple sources. Google Squared and Wolfram Alpha will save so many people so much time. I'd never heard of either of them, but they sure will make reference pages obsolete.

I kind of thought the YouTube video "Did You Know" was just an exaggeration. I believed that India and China were much larger, but to actually see the numbers through Google Squared was all the proof I need. Of course I needed to see numbers (even if they were made up) to believe. I'm all about statistics.

Presentation Project #5

Blog Post #3

A Vision of Students Today



This video pretty much summed up my entire college experience, with a few exceptions. For example, the lady who says she reads 49% of her required readings and only 26% of it is relevant to her life. I may read 25% of my required reading, and only about 12% is relevant to my life. Most of the other students are in situations similar to mines. Someone said when they graduate, they'll be $20,000 in debt. I'll be about $40,000 in debt.

I think the video gave a very accurate description of your average college student. Most students probably work 15 hours or more per week, plus 15 hours of class which means about 45 hours of studying, plus 7 hours of sleep. Unfortunately, the remaining 86 hours are not spent productively.

My week may differ slightly in appearance. I work 40 hours, plus 15 hours of class, about 7 hours of sleep, 14 hours watching television (I have to get my weekly dose of Wipeout and Supernatural reruns), and about 50+ hours of studying. And sometimes (bless my heart), I attempt to have a social life. Every time I do, I get behind in one class!

It's Not About the Technology by Kelly Hines

Where have all these people been hiding?! Kelly Hines (and every other creator, author, etc. we've read/watched) has some amazing points. Why have I never seen any of these?! Maybe if I actually used my computer for something other than watching television and attempts at unveiling conspiracies, I could find posts like these.

I completely agree with Kelly Hines about how teaching and learning are not the same. Some teachers could actually care less whether you understood the material or not. They follow the syllabus and do only what they are paid to do, or so they think. I've even had teachers (At South AL) who will humiliate you in front of everyone for asking a simple question. Needless to say, I never raised my hand.

Kelly Hines also made another very interesting point. Technology is not the answer. For example, in my high school, we had computers in every classroom. They were expensive looking computers too. Did we receive a better education than other high schools because of those computers. NO! In fact, we weren't even allowed to use them! Which always made me question, "Why are they even in here?" If the schools would've stopped spending money on technology the teachers wouldn't/couldn't use, then maybe they could have provided us with some teachers who actually made sense when they talked!

Is It okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I thought this post was interesting. It seems this has been a hot topic for awhile now. Again, I was watching Wipeout when this discussion started so I wouldn't know anything other than what I've recently watched. I like the idea behind Mr. Fisch's standards. However, I'm not sure that I completely agree.

I do agree that educators (and everyone else) should have a basic understanding of technology. It's a part of life. Get use to it. You can't go anywhere today and deal with an actual person. Even though I believe teachers need to know the basics, I don't believe they should "have their license questioned." At the time they received their degrees, there may not have been the different systems that we have now. To punish them for something they had no control over, without giving them the opportunity to learn, would be harsh and an injustice (dramatic, I know). First, these educators are trying to make a living. They have families to feed just like everyone else. They chose education because they wanted to help students. They wanted to educate. Why are we trying to get them fired? I could see if they were just handing out grades and not teaching. I know there is an exception to the rule, but the majority of "illiterate" teachers are much older. So they've had 25-30 years of TEACHING experience. They know the students. They know the changes we go through at certain ages, they've heard all the excuses, they've dealt with the most ridiculous parents. They have experience. They TEACH to a point where we can understand. I've had numerous of professors who were all about technology, and I never learned a thing! One of those classes was a Computer Science class at South! Again, I know there is an exception to every rule. All teachers who use technology are not the same. You learn in some classes, you don't in others. Technology will not solve the problem! You can throw all the technology in one school that you'd like, and at the end of the day, some students still won't get it! Computers have no heart! When you take too long to answer, the program kicks you out. When you answer a question incorrectly, the computer gives you the answer or moves to the next question. It does not know that it should stop and explain. Plus, those computer voices suck! They're creepy!

Teaching is not about showing me how to use an iPhone. First, I couldn't afford an iPhone if I saved 5 paychecks. Second, I'm probably the only person in America who doesn't want one. Third, I come to class to learn Calculus, not to spend 3 hours trying to get everyone's computer/phone/iPad to function properly or figure out why everyone's graph looks different. It's great that some classes use so much technology. It's interesting and it keeps your attention. But when I become an educator, I honestly want to be able to explain calculus and statistics to my students and see the look of understanding cross their faces. I don't want to just show them images of graphs. Half the experience comes from drawing the graph (wow I'm a nerd!). To question someone's ability to teach because of their lack of technological knowledge shouldn't be the point we focus on. The question should be redirected. If the teacher constantly has students who can not understand the material because of his or her lack of teaching, or if the teacher doesn't know how to teach, or if the teacher doesn't care enough about the students to help each individual, why were they given a license in the first place?

Gary Hayes Social Media Count



That's a lot of numbers. Are people sitting in front of a computer ALL day? We really need to get out more. The amount of text messages and emails sent in the 3 minutes I looked at the numbers were increasing so quickly, I don't even believe the computer was able to keep up. I wonder how he's keeping track of all this. How does his system know 112 iPads were sold or 57 hours of YouTube videos were uploaded in the 3 minutes I stared at the screen?

C4T #1

TeacherNZ replied to a comment concerning Personal Learning Environments (PLE).The discussion is mainly concerning what age should students begin to construct their own PLE and whether or not institutions should restrict web access or have as much control over the creation of a child's PLE. Many of the responses seem to agree that the younger the kids are the better. One person even suggested starting as early as 5 years old. Another person suggests a method using a lego analogy.

I responded by commenting on whether or not children should have unrestricted web access. I do not agree that it should be unrestricted, but I do like the idea of putting more responsibility on the child. I also commented on the lego analogy used by Emma. This analogy uses lego blocks to build a house. The 1st step would be to give kids basic parts of the house, like the windows and doors. And as the child becomes older, the next steps allow them to alter the different parts of the house. I commented that this strategy allows children to use examples of others' PLE's and construct their own. It also allows them to change it's structure at any point. I agreed that it was the perfect way to start kids creating their PLE's at a younger age. TeacherNZ responded to my comments stating that it would be best to teach kids more responsibility at a younger age.

The next topic brought up in the comments was whether or not kids would become bored with technology. I replied that kids will never become bored with technology. It's constantly changing and by the time you learn how to do one thing, version 2.0 comes around and makes your knowledge of 1.0 obsolete.

Blog Post #2

Did You Know? 3.0 by Karl Fisch



I was not expecting this video to be as interesting as it was! Some of the facts in the video were pretty amazing. I know that the United States is not the largest country, but to see how small our population is here compared to China and India was mind blowing.

The video also put some things into perspective for me. It makes me a little nervous that technology is taking over so quickly. I never thought about how much a computer would "know" in 20 years. It's always just been my way to watch videos or type a paper. I never really thought about all the knowledge that it possesses, let alone the knowledge one will possess in 2049!

Mr. Winkle Wakes by Mathew Needleman



This video was hilarious! I laughed the whole way through. Classic Rip Van Winkle! I think Mr. Winkle is a little dramatic. He should probably go back to sleep. And how did he get a job so fast in an office? It took me two months! Mr. Winkle should have been more appreciate of that job. And why was a 100+ year old man allowed to walk freely in an elementary school? Someone call the cops! But honestly, the video was great.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity



When I first saw this video I thought, "Wow. 19 minutes..." Then I heard the speakers accent and I thought, "I'm going to be so confused." I thought he would get philosophical and I'd have to go to Dictionary.com to keep up with him. But of course, I was absolutely incorrect. This video has taught me to never judge a person, topic, or a class (like EDM 310) before you get an understanding of what is actually going on. I thought EDM 310 was going to be posting blogs and watching boring videos about how to post to blogs. But so far, Professor John Strange, you have proven me wrong. I've enjoyed all of the videos we've watched this week. The speakers and creators get their points across in a very entertaining way. But it's not all about comedy. They actually make you think about the way educators are today. They've also made me think about the fact that I hope to never cause such an injustice to my students. Kudos, Strange. Kudos.

But on to the actual video. I agreed with the speaker at times. I do believe that our education system hinders a child's creativity. When children first begin kindergarten, they have the option of showing their creativity; however, the higher up we go, the more that option dwindles. And some teachers do offer the opportunity to write your own poems or stories and then share them with the class. But every child is not a poet. Some children express themselves through music, or as our speaker suggests, through dance. So when an educator decides that he or she wants to allow for a moment of "creativity", why limit which method can be used?

Even though I agree that students should be able to express their creativity, I also agree that they should have a structured education system. Believe it or not, some students enjoy math and reading. I was one of those students. I was very shy in school and I hated reading my poetry aloud or playing my violin in front of the class. I liked being in a math class learning how to do different equations. I was a nerd. And notice, I said WAS. I still am a nerd, however, I grew to the point where I liked expressing myself. But by the time I was mature enough to step out of my shell to do so, the teachers were cramming me back into it! Creativity should not be pushed aside or "forced" out of us. But math is also very important, as well as biology and economics. And these are things we HAVE to learn. I believe there should be a mixture. Allow students to sign up for the classes they feel they can express themselves in, but also keep core classes. The speaker states that dance is just as important math. I agree that some people feel that way. It may not be dance, but someone may believe that art is more important than anatomy. I believe that creativity is just as important as a structured learning system, however, I would rather have a doctor with a strong medical background than one who starred in "Hairspray." I believe we should allow students to pick what they want to take to express themselves, but do not make the Arts and Humanities more important than the Sciences. They should at least be equal.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts



The way Vicki Davis uses technology in her classroom is amazing! It keeps her students' attention and it seems to be more effective than traditional learning. If a student has to sit in front of a book all day for 5 days a week, of course they're going to go to sleep! It's boring! But to actually put kids in front of a computer is amazing. It's especially great for students today who are use to technology. Sitting in front of a book all day may have been okay for Theodore Cleaver (Leave It to Beaver), but this is 2010! While you're sitting in front of the class lecturing about Hamlet, students are hiding their cell phones under the desk, texting a friend. Why not put that technology and the students' knowledge of technology to use?