Blog Post 5

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
Joe Dale

Joe Dale did a great job showing everyone how effective podcasts can be in the classroom. I didn't know much about podcasts before this class. After watching this video, I now know that children respond in a very positive way to this teaching tool. It grasps their attention. they aren't forced to sit there and read from their textbooks all day. They can listen and even create their own podcasts. Podcasts even allow children to have sick days without worry and allow parents to be involved in their children's learning. Neither will feel left out or pushed aside. I think making podcasts interesting to people on all levels is an important thing that I will take with me.


Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog
http://blog.woodward.edu/ps_edmison/?cat=103

These third graders really seem to love this type of learning. Their voices show how much fun they have in creating their own lessons. I wish that I could have been able to participate in things like this when I was their age. I think that when things are hands on, like these podcasts are, we retain more of the information. I also think that when we are making our own podcasts, we have to follow the lead of these students. We have to be interested in our topics. If we aren't, we sure do have to pretend that we are. Our listeners will know in our voices if we are bored, and in return, our listeners will be bored and make our podcasts ineffective.


Langwitches
http://langwitches.org/blog/category/podcasting/

The blog, "Langwitches," is a great source that explains how effective podcasts can be. this blog has great posts that illustrate how children seem to be very attracted to podcasts. They get to not only take a break from the usual curriculum, but get to participate in an exciting way to learn. This blog also has posts that show us that technology isn't something that takes away from learning. It is something that enhances learning. It grabs a student's attention and runs with it. I learned that some people can be put off by podcasts and other technology, but we can take our own podcasts and try to show other people just what these things can do.

Blog Assignment 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?
Dr. Scott McLeod

I believe the post, "Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?" does a fantastic job of revealing that technology makes a huge impact on our lives. There are both positive and negative aspects of technology. It can be dangerous, exciting, and even overwhelming. The end of this post is my favorite part. Throughout the post, Dr. McLeod lets everyone know about the negative stuff associated with technology, but at the end he lets us know that technology gives us a leg up if we use it, and I absolutely agree.

Dr. Scott McLeod is an education blogger and also the co-creator of "Did You Know?"



The iSchool Initiative

In the video, "The iSchool Initiative," a high school student offers up a way to save both schools and students money. He tells us that in the future, school could be linked to the iTouch. He gives us examples of applications already in progress, such as the scientific calculator and iHomework. He then points out that if applications like the ones just mentioned are already here, just think of what else could come. He claims this would only cost students about $150, while saving them around $600 overall concerning school costs. He calls this program the iSchool.

I personally don't think this will happen. I am fully aware of the progress technology can make in our lives, but this just seems out of reach to me. Yes, it may save a lot of money overall, but what about those families who can't afford the iSchool? Do they get left behind?



The Lost Generation

In this presentation, we are given examples of things that are supposed to happen in our lifetime. We are supposed to face divorce, hold money over family, and become "apathetic and lethargic." All of this may very well happen. It will happen unless we choose to stop it.

I loved the way this presentation was put together. The broken sentence pieces scrolled down like credits from a movie. At the end, the sentence pieces are being said in reverse, revealing that these aspects of our generation can be reversed just as easily as they can be left alone. Only we can save our generation from becoming lost.



Eric Whitachre's Virtual Choir

This made me think of our music business today. Because of technology, we have people singing songs on the radio together without ever meeting each other in person. Each do their own part in a studio, and the parts are pieced together. In this video, all 185 members of this virtual choir are brought together by the technology of the Internet along with videos and microphones. This is truly truly amazing. Because of technology today, you no longer have to be next to, or even in the same country as, another person to create a masterpiece together.

Additional Assignment #1

This week I was introduced to two new tools, Google Squared and Wolfram Alpha. Before this assignment, I had never heard of either of these tools. Google Squared is great for searches because it takes your topic and organizes it into a table. You can customize the table by adding or taking away aspects of the table itself. It even provides sources for the information it gives. This is great for any type of search if you want organization and sources. Wolfram Alpha takes your topic and gives you all types of information instead of just the basic stuff. It expands your search. Both of these search tools are simple and easy for anyone to use.

I did some searches on both Google Squared and Wolfram Alpha. Using Google Squared, I searched for things like populations, capitols, and languages of different countries. Using Wolfram Alpha, I searched for things like my birth date and the city and state in which I was born. You can search for just about anything on these sites and get more than enough information.

As for my thoughts on the video, "Did You Know? 3.0" by Karl Fisch, they have changed. Dr. Strange pointed out that we have have to look at things in terms of population. China and India are approximately 4 times the size of the U.S. When the video tells me that China will be the number one English speaking country in the world, I have to remember that the U.S. makes up only about 25% of China. Therefore, China only needs 25% of their people to speak English in order to outnumber the English speakers of the U.S. As far as statistics go, I realize that we can't just read statistics. We must look at them and then understand why they are the way they are. I would like to thank Dr. Strange for redirecting my thoughts.

I also read "The Stable Boy and the iPad" by Michael Noer. I really do believe that this article does a fantastic job in showing that children are interested in learning and actually want to learn. Children are very perceptive, and we, as educators and future educators, must remember that.

Project #5

C4T Summary #1

I have been following Mrs. Paige Baggett. She is an assistant professor at South Alabama in the College of Education.

The first post of Mrs. Baggett's that I read and commented on was posted on August 16, 2010 and was entitled "Chuck Close." In this post, there was a video called "Chuck Close: A Portrait in Progress." In this video, we are introduced to an artist named Chuck Close. We get a look at his talents concerning portraits and hear some of his views on his work. I commented on this post and told Mrs. Baggett how this video made me feel. The words that follow are a summary of what I told her. While watching this video, I became mesmerized by the lifelike qualities of his portraits. His work spoke to me because I could see how much he cared about his work just by looking at the details of his art. I also noticed that Chuck Close sat in a wheel chair, and I felt a connection because I, too, work to continue to do what I love while facing medical issues. Chuck Close is a very inspiring artist.

The second post that I read and commented on was posed on September 10, 2010 and was called "Arts Field Experience Reflections." This post talked of an assignment that Mrs. Baggett has her students do. It is a field experience assignment concerning an artistic even. They must attend an event, whether it be a dance, music, theater, or visual art event. She also revealed that she doesn't make her students do anything she wouldn't do, so she shared her experience at the LoDa Artwalk. I commented on this post and explained to Mrs. Baggett that this event would definitely be something that I would be interested in. I also gave her a notion that I had become familiar with. I told her that I have noticed that some people aren't very willing to go outside of their comfort zones, so when they have to go to an artistic event for a class, it opens their mind to something they may not have chosen for themselves.

If you would like to visit Paige Baggett's blog, here is the URL.
http://ponderingpaige.blogspot.com/

Blog Assignment 3

"A Vision of Students Today"
Michael Wesch


"A Vision of Students Today" is a representation of what today's students face on a daily basis. I found this video to be pretty accurate. Students are faced with technology everyday. While in classes, some students are on their laptops doing other things besides classwork, they're texting on their cell phones, and even listening to MP3 players. Even I am guilty of texting while in class. I'm not saying every student does this in every class, but it does happen. Sometimes it almost seems like a distraction rather than a help.

Students spend more hours than there are in a day doing homework, sleeping, and using technology, such as computers to log onto social networks. Technology has brought us a long way, but we have to find an equal balance between technology and teaching. At the end of the video, it shows a chalkboard, but it also shows a teacher involved in his class. A chalkboard may seem boring without pictures and videos, but it keeps the teacher involved.


"It's Not About the Technology"
Kelly Hines

In her article, Kelly Hines addresses the issues of technology and teaching. Technology plays an important role in the world, but the foundations of teaching are just as, if not more, important as technology. The act of teaching cannot be forgotten about just because we have computers and electronic boards in the classrooms now. Mrs. Hines elaborates when she explains that even though effort is put into the act, if your students aren't understanding, then no teaching has occurred. Teachers learn just as much as students do, or at least they should.

This article also explains how to work toward becoming a 21st century teacher, focusing on core skills and outcomes. We have to embrace creativity and innovation. We must teach our kids how to use critical thinking and communication. Technology is great, but we'd be nowhere without these skills, and together, we can go even further.


"Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?"
Karl Fisch

Today, some teachers are technologically literate, while others aren't. Is this okay? Karl Fisch says, "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 or write." I absolutely agree with this statement. It is impossible for a teacher to teach something that they aren't familiar with. You can't teach someone to read if you are unable to read yourself. You can't teach someone how to understand a computer if you can barely operate one.

Technology is a part of our lives. It always will be. We need teachers who are willing to stand up to the plate and take the world of technology on face to face. We are always learning, and we always will be. We have to embrace it!


Gary Hayes' Social Media Count

Gary Hayes' Social Media Count shows how fast changes in media occur. Every second, something changes. There are more blogs, more Facebook members, and more Google searches. This means a lot for my professional career as a teacher. I will always be surrounded by media, and what I knew two seconds ago is changing right now. I will have to learn how to use these changes to ready my students for the future.

Wordle Post for Project 2

My Wordle!

Blog Assignment 2

"Did You Know? 3.0"
Karl Fisch

While watching "Did You Know? 3.0," my mouth dropped in awe. There are so many things about our country compared to that of others that I never considered. Let's start off with some sizes. The videos states, "If you're one in a million in China...there are 1,300 people just like you." Do the math. The video even informs you about the number of births that occur within the 4 minutes and 56 seconds of this video. These numbers are as follow: India bore 395 babies, China bore 274 babies, and the U.S. came in last with 67 babies. Is it just me, or do those other countries procreate more than we do?

The education and technological information in this video are also mind blowing. The video predicts that China, not the U.S., will become the number one country in which you will find English speaking people. It seems to me that China is readying their people for the real world. Education and population go hand in hand when it comes to India. According to the video, "25% of India's population with the highest IQ's...is greater than the total population of the United States." All I can say is wow! India houses a lot of extremely smart people. I'm not degrading India's education system, but I can't help but think that the IQ numbers wouldn't be where they are without the population numbers.

I feel like our generation is a generation of technology. If it's computerized and easy to access, it's more than likely going to get our attention. This is why the iPod took as little as 3 years to reach an audience of 50 million. We don't need the radio because we have MP3 players. We don't need the television because we have computers and cell phones that play movies and television shows for us. We rely more on electronics than anything else. It's sad, but it's true. I think countries, such as Japan, have so many technological advances because maybe they're using this technology to further themselves instead of worrying about what television show they missed last night. Don't get me wrong because I'm sure they keep up with entertainment as well, but Japan is creating a computer that can do more than the human brain can. That says a lot.

Technology is changing everyday. The world of technology will never stay the same from one minute to the next. You will always have something new to learn, and in my opinion, I wouldn't have it any other way.



"Mr. Winkle Wakes"
Mathew Needleman

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" is a short but to the point video. Mr. Winkle wakes up after 100 years to find that almost everything around him has changed. There are buildings with people using printers, computers, and web cams. The hospitals have new equipment assisting them in saving lives. Mr. Winkle is overwhelmed by all of this. In other words, he's totally freaked out. I would be too if everything I had known was different.

However, when Mr. Winkle comes to a school, he realizes that children are still learning. This video is a good example of how learning will always be a part of any world. Things may change around us, but we will always have something new to learn about. Besides, life would be completely boring if we knew everything.



"The Importance of Creativity"
Sir Ken Robinson

I love the way Sir Ken Robinson entertains his audience while making his point. He does just this in "The Importance of Creativity." He is so funny, and because of this quality, you want to keep listening to what he has to say. He talks of how people are growing out of creativity due to education. Education makes it hard for people to not be afraid of being wrong. We see this in children today.

I have to completely agree with Robinson's argument. I have been a substitute teacher going on 3 years now, and I can see students not stepping out of their comfort zones for fear of being wrong about something. Robinson talks of the importance of educating the whole being, and he is absolutely right. We can't suppress one part of a child because it's not the academic aspect of them. We have to let our children, our leaders of tomorrow, feel free to be themselves.



"Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts"
Vicki Davis

In "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts," Vicki Davis is shown using technology to connect her students from Southern Georgia to the rest of the world. She teachers her students to be comfortable with technology, and let's face it, technology is what our world revolves around. She customizes the curriculum based on the needs of her students, and this is an amazing aspect of her teaching techniques.

Davis, in my opinion, embodies what a real teacher should be doing. She is getting her students ready for the future. She empowers her students. She teachers them to be thinkers. There should be more teachers like Vicki Davis.