Thursday, September 30, 2010

Podcast

C4K # 1& 2

About Me

In this post Courtney wrote a little bit about herself. In this I found that she is real family oriented and also she loves her pets, mainly her horses.
I commented that her post was really well written and that I also love pets too.

Learning Manifesto

In this post Courtney wrote about her learning manifesto, which are ways she can be successful in her classes, such as being organized, turning assignments in on time, and practicing.
I commented that these were all great ways to be successful in class, but mostly being organized because that will keep her ahead in class.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Blog Assignment 5

Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog

I really enjoyed this podcast. All the kids were very well spoken throughout the podcast and had a lot of great information about Ancient Rome. The music was a great addition to the podcast, it was well related to the tone and attitude of each student.

Langwitches Blog

In this blog a group of 4th graders got to learn about and create a podcast. I liked the way that they had steps and organized their process. They all came up with ideas, and then they voted on the favorite one. They made time to practice and then they all got to work and did separate segments of the story. I thought this was a well put together podcast and I also learned some things about the planets in our solar system.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom

This video did a great job of showing the benefits of using podcasting. I liked how they used the podcasting for reading stories and playing different roles on them. I think that is a great way to get kids to remember a lesson or a story because a lot of times kids do not like to read. I also like that it gives kids that are sick a chance to keep up with class and watch lectures online, but I am not sure sick kids will actually want to watch and listen if they are not feeling well.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Blog Assignment 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff, Please

I really liked this post because he really caught me off guard when I first started reading it, but then I figured out he was being sarcastic to get his point across. I agree with Dr. Mcleod that we should let our kids explore through technology to learn. It will only hold our kids back and give them a disadvantage in life if we ban them from all the great uses of the internet.
Dr. Mcleod is an Associate Professor at Iowa State. He is also the director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. He also was a co-creator of the video, Did You Know?, that we watched earlier in this class.

The iSchool Initiative

I thought this was an incredible video not only by a seventeen year old high school student, but also the whole concept. I do not have an iPhone so I really do not know all it has to offer, but he does a great job of breaking down each app and how each one could be used to help not only teach students but how to save lots of money.
This was a well put together presentation, and I had no idea schools around the world were already using the iSchool Initiative program. I think all schools should definitely consider switching to this program. I think it would be great because of the low economic times and also very effective with students and teachers.

Lost Generation

When the video started running and she started reading the sentences it started making me feel depressed. I also hear people saying these negative things about our generation and it bothers me. I do not think that these bad things will happen and I think that anyone who watches this video will be encouraged to not let it happen.
It was very cool how the video was set up. It really was uplifting after hearing her read the sentences in reverse. I wonder how long it took them to figure out and order all the sentences in that way. It was very unique.

Eric Whitaker's Virtual Choir

I get amazed by each new video I watch for this class. This was incredible how they got all these people from around the world to sing and sound so great together through the internet. I was in Men's Choir in high school and I know how hard it was to get all of us to stay on the same note and have the right melody, so to see this was very interesting.

Additional Assignment #1

I have had many projects and papers that I needed to research information on the internet, and it would take forever to find all the information because you would have to look through several different websites. With Google Squared and Wolfram Alpha it is much simpler to search because it gives you basically all you need to know about your search on that one page. I never knew either of these resources existed or it would have saved me a lot of time.
As far as the Did You Know? post, my opinion has changed a little bit because as I said I always just listened to what others were saying and the statistics they were giving. Now that I have researched a little bit it is much clearer and some of the statistics are not as shocking as I had first thought.
Pitcairn Islands Map

In the Food for Thought post, "The Stable Boy and the Ipad," it is amazing how someone like this young illiterate Columbian kid could pick up a new invention like the Ipad and start working it without any instructions at all.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Blog Assignment 3

A Vision of Students Today

When I watched this video it did remind me a lot of my experience as a college student so far. Most of the facts the students raised up I can completely agree with or relate to, such as "I buy 100 dollar textbooks that I never open", or I have seen students pay for classes and never show up, and the most important one is that "I am a multi-tasker..(I have to be)".
Some things that I did not see on the video and that I would add to it is, for athletes having to practice so many hours a day. Also I see many students working out or running around campus, I would also include those in my experience.

It's Not About the Technology

I thought this was an outstanding post. I agree with everything Ms. Hines said about how the future is not all about how much technology we have, but it is about people learning and understanding how to use the technology. There is no reason for schools to waste great amounts of money on computers and other types of technology, when the teachers either do not know how to use it or just prefer not to waste their time using it.
By all teachers learning the basics of all these new technological systems and how to use them to benefit the classrooms, the possibilities and rewards will be endless.

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

In the post by Karl Fisch he is basically saying "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." I also agree that all teachers should be somewhat technologically literate, but I also think the amount of knowledge can be fluctuated because each teacher is teaching different studies. Each teacher should always be willing to learn more about technology, but what they learn can vary in each class.

Gary Hayes' Social Media Count

This was an amazing post. To see all the numbers rising so quickly was mind blowing. Mr. Hayes's media count really shows how much technology is being used out there already and gives us an idea of how much we have to be ready for and expect in the near future.
As future teachers, we all should start learning as much as we can and keep up with all the rapid improvements in technology in order to teach our kids at the best of our ability.

C4T #1

Multiple Intelligence

In this video Caren Carrillo explains how children have all types of different ways to learn,such as verbal, logical, visual, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and naturalist. She also gives ways on how to use different technology to help each student learn in their unique way.
I commented that this was a great way for someone to learn to use technology to help each kid reach their potential.


Classroom Management: Commercial Breaks and Attention Spans

In this article Ms. Carrillo explains how "A weird unintended consequence of TV is that we are conditioned to pay attention for 10-15 minutes, get a break, and start again." Using this idea she set up a class structure for her kids where she breaks down a 50 min period into several segments to help keep all of the students attention.
I commented that I could relate to having trouble paying attention the entire time in a classroom and that I attend on trying her class structure in my future classrooms.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Blog Assignment 2

Did You Know?

The video "Did You Know" was extremely eye opening to me. I mean I have always known that technology was advancing around me, but just because people or teachers were saying it. Actually seeing this video with all the great and interesting facts about technology and how it is changing was just amazing to me. This really hit home when the video showed how long it took for radio, tv, and the internet to reach a market audience of 50 million, which was very rapid.
It is hard to comprehend that the amount of text messages sent and received daily exceed the total population of the PLANET! When the first text message was sent only in 1992. This video should show how everybody in all careers should stay updated on the rapid changes in technology and how important it is to our future.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

The video "Mr. Winkle Wakes" was a little confusing to me. In some ways I can completely understand and relate to him because I am not the most technologically advanced person either. I was completely overwhelmed last week when I walked into EDM 310 for the first time because even though I can work my phone and my computer, I have never had to learn or use some of the programs and equipment we are suppose to use in this class.
On the other hand I do not think that schools today could possibly still be the same as it was a 100 years ago. Most schools around the world today have advanced in some way or another in technology because most schools have computers, projectors, or even just a calculator of some sort. The good thing about this video though is it shows how easy it is to get behind in our world of technology today and that we must keep learning everyday.

Schools Kill Creativity

Ken Robinson gives a great speech in this video about how schools are only teaching a certain curriculum that is basically just based on academic achievements. Teachers in schools today are stressing the classes like math, history, language arts, and science and are irrelevant to the fact that other classes such as art and dance are vital to creating well-rounded kids. By doing this schools are punishing the kids who are not exactly the best at academics, but have other great talents and that are very creative.
By teaching these main classes only, teachers are preparing everyone for the same things in the future. This leaves no room for a child to be creative and possibly grow up to do something unique with their talent. I think this was a great speech given by Mr. Robinson and more schools around the world should listen and learn from this video.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

In this video Vicki Davis shows how the traditional style of teaching, standing in the front of the class lecturing for an hour, is not always the best way of helping all kids reach their potential. I think Mrs. Davis said it right when she said "Every student can learn..the trouble is when they only have paper and pencils, then only certain types of children are going to succeed." I completely agree with this statement, instead of limiting the students to one way of learning let all children have an opportunity to succeed in different ways, such as in her class or like our EDM 310 class.
I respect Mrs. Davis because of what she is doing and it seems like all of her students do as well. Every student in the video looked like they were enjoying what they were working on and most importantly they were enjoying learning. I think more classes should be taught this way all over the world because it will make us a much more intelligent civilization because of how technology is being created every day.