Sunday, September 25, 2011

Holly Fore's Timeline

Blog Post #5



Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please

I had to read Dr. McLeod article a few times to understand it. I now understand that he means if you don't let your kids use all the new technology out there they will be behind. I do agree with that statement. There will always be people out there misusing technology, by looking at sites they should not. But, if we teach our kids the right way to use it, then technology can be very helpful and almost a necessity. It will only hold our kids back from learning it we try to keep them from technology. I did a little research on Dr. Scott McLeod and found out that he is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. Scott McLeod, J.D., Ph.D., is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues. Dr. McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He also is the Founding Director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE), the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, and was a co-creator of the wildly popular video series, Did You Know? (Shift Happens).

The ischool initiative

This sounds like a great idea and could be. But there are also like some downfalls to this. What if for some reason the internet is down somewhere or a student can't afford to have internet at home. Also in schools today some are receiving mac books which is great, but what if one is stolen form a child's home. That is a possibility that could happen in today's time. I myself think it is great but, you have to look at the picture at a whole. My son would love to do all his homework on my ipad he probably would enjoy doing it then. He already spends hours on it. Would it really save money in the long run? I think yeah it could but what about fees associated with updates, virus protectors, and internet cost. Don't get me wrong I love the idea but is it a reality "yet". Also, i would never want to think that computers, ipads, iphones, and etc. would ever replace actual teachers. That is a little scary.
The only down side I can to see this is the financial state of the student at home. Also is children do not have proper supervision and support at home this could be a bad thing. But I love the idea of bringing all this technology to children.

Eric whitacre's Virtual Choir

Wow this was an eye opening experience for me. I am really impressed at this video. This is a prime example of how amazing the internet is. For these people to have never met and made such beautiful music is really cool. Also, if you look at the video while listening the music the people's heads are lined up like in a real choir is really shows how amazing technology is.

Teaching in the 21st Century
Technology in the 21st century is definitely different when I was in school. It is still based on the core subjects of maths, sciences, and languages just different how you can find the answers. Several years ago you could go to actual books for information now it is all the internet. There are so many ways of finding information now through twitter, google, youtube, and other search engines. But, like the video said "who is going to teach them how to google?". That will be teachers in the 21st century.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Blog Post # 4






The benefits of pod-casting in the classroom.
Pod-casting is an effective way of interacting with students outside of the classroom. Podcasting allows some students who will not be able to make it to class due to illness to listen to their lectures that teacher can upload. I am new to pod-casting and found this article to be very informative. I will use the tip to make my pod cast as interesting and creative as I can. I will try to do my very best.



Judy Scharf What is a Podcast
The term "podcast" is a cross between "broadcast" and "ipod". It is very east to do and cost very little. That is a very good reason for doing a podcast very cost efficient. Students love to watch and hear other students and I think it is a great way to learn. I will make sure I spend enough time learning the material and how thing work before beginning my podcast. Allow plenty of time to complete the project is also another tip I will use.


1st graders create their own read along audio book.

This is a very neat article to read about how a class of 1st graders made their own podcast. This class read the book chapter by chapter recording themselves until complete. The class then played it back and listened to it following along with their fingers on paper. This is so amazing and shows how children love to learn and listen to their own voices. I really look forward recording my own podcast to experience what these first graders experienced. I know I will probably be re-recording myself several times before I get my voice "just" right just as they did.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

C4T 1 Summary

geocaching boy

I had the pleasure of reading Ms. Jen Deyenberg's blog on geocaching. I was very interested in this blog due to the fact that I have several friends who play this game in their cars and I have never really understood it. I was able to understand it more after reading her blog and seeing ways to incorporate it into the classroom. It gave me many ideas to use after I graduate and become a classroom teacher.

10 ideas for my 10th year in the classroom
10 ideas for my 10th year in the classroom was awesome. It had some great ideas on incorporating new games with technology in the classroom. I would have never thought of some her ideas on my own. Even though I have played most of these games never thought of them as classroom games but, they were great.

Google Presentation

Blog Post #3


                              It's Not about the Technology by Kelly Hines
I agree with Kelly Hines article. As teachers we must be learners as well. Learning and teaching are not the same thing. As educators we must be able to do both. How important is technology if there is no one there to teach it. Technology is useless without good teaching. I could not tell you how many times I have heart teachers say" I don't know why these kids don't get it." Teachers may have to look at their teaching methods and "learn" different way to teach. It is the teachers responsibility to reach out and learn how to better teach the students in their class.
Kelly state "It's Not all about the Technology" and I do agree. You have to have well educated rounded teachers to teach the children. It is not always necessary to have a computer if front of a student to teach. I am not saying computers are not important just that good teachers are more important. I think that is what she meant by "It's Not about the Technology" it is also about the teachers.
         
             Is it Okay to be Technologically Illiterate Teacher? by Karl Fisch
Teacher's today should  know as much as possible about technology. It is very important in today's society to be literate in technology. I really liked the comment "In order to teach it, we have to dot." How can we teach our children if we aren't literate in technology ourselves? A very good question that I am asking myself. My goal is to learn as much as possible about technology so I can be the best teacher I can be and able to answer questions that students might have.
I think is could be Okay if a teacher is not completely technology literate but, it is very important to have the basics down. Most teaches today are computer literate to a degree but if they are not it does not necessarily make them a bad teacher. They may just have a different way of teaching and maybe it works for them and their students.

                                            Social Media Count by Gary Hayes
Amazing! I always knew the numbers were large but did not know that large. The statistics changing every second. These numbers will only increase over the years with all the new technology coming out. Everyone pretty much (except me) has Internet on their phone and is constantly updating status, or checking someone else's status  out. Email has really came a long way, now that seems to be the easiest way to get a response back now .
Okay, has anyone ever chose a place to eat because it had Wi-Fi? I know just the other morning I did, I needed it and was only gonna eat their if they had it. I have been quality of that a time or two. Soon I believe it will be everywhere.

                                          A Vision of Student Today
This video was so true. This is the typical college student problems they have to deal with. Text books too high, 2 or 3  part time jobs, and still in debt. I myself have to work full time and still will be in debt when I graduate. Students have their laptops in class and teachers allow it because it seems normal these days. Even though they are more than likely on facebook.
How can technology save us? I don't know if I agree with that statement. If anything it may be hurting us in a way. Cellular phone bills are now on average running anywhere between 100-150 dollars per month. I have know people who have choose to pay their cell phone bills over utilities. That just happened this week to an individual I know. I it eliminating jobs with all the automated systems now. I just hope it doesn't get out of control and take over people lives.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Blog Post #2

                                                                 

  
                                        Did you know?
After watching this movie my initial thought was "WOW! I know technology was evolving fast but didn't really never think about the actual numbers. It is really amazing how far we have came in technology. I could only imagine all the technology out there. This is coming from a person who does not own a smartphone, does not have a facebook and just now created a twitter. So you can only imagine how amazed I am. I have been out of high school for about 9 years and remember not having computers and we managed just fine. Today, it would be so difficult to manage without a computer.
After watching the movie I sat back and started to think about the last 10 years and we really have came so far in technology. It is kinda scary how much we rely on technology these days. I do believe it is a good thing and very important in the education field. I just hope it does not start replacing humans in some jobs.

                                                      Mr. Winkles Wakes

When Mr. Winkle woke he found himself in a totally different world and I can see why he was a little scared. He was very behind on the technology world . All the technology change was a little overwhelming for him and would it be for you also. I could only imagine how the world would be 10 years from now with how fast technology grows. Even though technology is growing everyday we still will need great teachers to help teach our children. That is one thing that I hope never changes.

                                               The Importance of Creativity

This video was actually a lot more interesting that I thought it was going to be when first starting it. I was actually amazed of how good it was, it kept my attention the whole time. I agree with Mr. Robinson about creativity disappearing in the school system. Schools do tend to put arts and music at the bottom which could be a bad thing for those students who excel at those subjects. As soon as a school starts to talk about budget cutting and cut backs usually the arts and music subjects are the first to go.
Even thought I am not really a arts and music student and person in general it is very important. I have a child who loves art class and also takes a music class as an elective. He is very into it and makes him so happy. Creativity in general makes people happy, I love that Mr. Robinson said that creativity is just as important than literacy.

                                                        Scholastic Article

During the interview Sir Ken Robinson stated that there need to be more of a balance between Arts and Sciences, I agree completely. I believe if a person is an artistic person they should be able to express it even in school. They may not be the  best at the Maths and Sciences but a least there will be something there that they are good at. It is not fair that some schools put away the Arts to do this, that and etc. I am not saying Math, Science and other subjects are not important, because they are. I think there should definitely be a balance of Arts and Music in there.
                                     
         Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

No Pencil and Paper scares me. From watching the video that is the way the world is going. I love learning about new technology even though is it a little complicated. Today's kids don't seem to have a problem catching on the new technology at all. I know my 2nd grader will love this way of learning. We already use a computer game to help him with his spelling words and it seems to work for him. He is 7 and last Christmas received an laptop and this Christmas wants an ipad....really! When I was 7 I wanted a Barbie. Thing are really changing so fast. Children get excited when able to use a compute to do projects and they have more fun that just reading a book and writing a report on it. That seems like it is becoming a thing of the past.