"It's not about the technology"

Our assignment for the 13th of September was to read a blog by Kelly Hines about technology in the classrooms, that it's not all that its not the only thing in the classroom that needs to change. I enjoyed reading the blog and also believe that she is right, our whole attitude towards our future students has to change and that should be top priority, not technology.

I agree with this view, because I think that maybe technology shouldn't be first priority. Yes, I agree that it should be on the list of things that need to change, however, we have to reform how we teach first, and not use technology as a buffer.

my presentation

Last year's video cast

Our assignment for week six is to make a podcast through audio or video. This blog is to give an analysis on last years attempt of a podcast on the topic of being a tech literate teacher. I thought the subject matter was easy enough to comprehend, but interesting enough to generate debate. I thought that they had good points, however, I believe that they could have been a little more prepared by not using the notes and it seemed very organized.

To conclude, I believe that it was a successful podcast. I believe that subject material was a interesting, generated debate. They seemed prepared, but were just dependent upon the notes. But other than that, I thought it was good.

Did you know 4.0

Did you know 4.0 is the updated version of the Did you know 3.0. It still has the same theme of technology is moving at a alarmingly fast rate, but he is also saying that if we don't jump on the band wagon, we will be left behind. We will be left behind, because of every media medium that we had before( printing press) is struggling to survive, and in the near future, I have a feeling that they will not survive.

Podcasting in the classroom?

The advancement in today's technology has opened everyone's eye. It is producing many jobs, and giving people a different perspective on how they do things, especially in the field of education. And one of these advancements are podcasting. Podcasting(for all of you that do not know) is a way to get information out to everyone on certain subjects via streaming audio or video. And the question is: Should future educators use this type of medium in the class room? and my answer is yes.

To me, podcasting could be extremely helpful in ways. One way is that, our students can be familiar with the world and be informed about how things are preformed around the world; what they are learning, and what goes on in their world. And know that there is more out there than what they are used to. Another reason is that it is easier to get information to students and they could possibly understand harder subjects a little easier. And finally, its a good way for the parents, students, and teachers to have an easier communication on what is going on in the class room. So the parents can know what their kids are learning and what they can do to help.

Karl Wesh: A vision of students today

Karl Wesh's video " A vision of students today" was an eye opener. A day in the life of a student is extremely busy and technology could possibly be a solution to today's worries. However, with technology there are both positives and negatives, and some of the students that use the negatives hurt themselves instead of helping and fall further behind. An example of this: a student in the classroom staying on facebook or myspace the entire class period and not taking notes.

The message that I got from this video is this: technology can be a wonderful lifesaver. It can shed a light on todays chaos. However, I think the author wanted to portray that humans will be humans and use it for the negatives, and because of this, our students are becoming lazier as a result.

Comments4kids

As a class, we have been instructed to comment on kids' blogs around the world. We were given the blog of one particular class--the class of room 10. I would like to say that it has been a very fun and interesting assignment. The fact that these kids can do so much with a blog and do a very good job is amazing. I've never been more impressed.

Podcasts.

The first podcast that I listened to for this assignment was the Smartboard Lesson Podcast. I was not sure how the podcast process was going to work. This podcasting thing is new to me and I didn't know if there was going to be a video stream or if it was going to be a radio show. This particular cast is in the form of a radio show. This particular episode includes the friendly banter of hosts: Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger. The two have a fairly good chemistry between them, they ramble for the first 7 minutes of the cast and then go into the subject matter at hand. The two also take ideas via twitter and incoperate it into their radio show. The subject matter of today's cast was how to wrap up a school year and how to get your students interested in math through a medium such as movies. I found this podcast to be too scattered and not very organized.

The second podcast that I listened to for this assignment was Kidcast episode 62 with Dan Schmit. I found the structure of this cast to be much better than the previous cast. It's like a radio show, however, he doesn't go off task and goes right into the subject matter he proclaimed at the beginning of the cast. The subject matter discussed is the difference between video cast and podcasting. He believes that video podcasting is not necessarily the next step in being a podcaster, you don't have to have a video podcast in order to evolve into an exceptional podcaster. He also believes that video podcasting is more difficult for students than audio. Like he states in his cast "...audio cast challenges the students' to give descriptive language and learn how to articulate well." Audio is also easier to edit, you don't have to worry about lighting, and you don't have to worry about teachers being a gatekeeper. But he also states that there is a time and a place for a video podcasting, for example, if the students are learning about the importance of body language. To conclude, a video podcast is not an essential and could be very complex project for students.

The third podcast that I listened to for this assignment was ConnectLearning with David Warlick. This podcast starts out with snappy jazz intro and a vocal introduction for the episode at hand. In this particular episode he talked to many librarians from North Carolina and asked them how they feel about podcasting and how it helps them do their job. They agree that it can make their job better and get people more interested in reading, for example, having a book of the day--having a book talk. To conclude, they all believe that the kids are more comfortable with video and audio instead of writing. They also believe that the kids can learn from audio means and that would help them with their writing.

The fourth and final podcast that I listened to was Edtechtalk with a group of women( didn't give the names.) I particularly didn't care for this podcast at all. The quality was not very good---i had a hard time of hearing it clearly. Their show was about how to grow as a professional and they don't stay on topic a lot of the time. They start out with cash for clunkers with a refrigerator. They then talk about a kayak and how that's helping them grow as a professional. It wasn't very narrow, and not organized, I didn't like it.

Vicky Davis: Harness your students' digital smarts

I found the video "Harness your students' digital smarts" to be very engaging. The video highlights the effort of one teacher(Vicky Davis) and her methods of getting her kids involved with today's new technology. She wants to reach out to her students through technology, instead of the conservative pencil and paper. She believes that through hands on experience they will be ready to adapt to the future and hopefully be able to excel in this world.

I agree with her theory. It is obvious that our technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and we as future educators have to keep up with it. We have to reach out to them. And it is obvious that the pencil and paper method is about to be no more.

Schools kill creativity

I found the Sir Ken Roberts talk: the importance of creativity, to be very interesting. He talked about how schools have pretty much crushed our kids creativity. The kids who excel in certain areas like drama and art, are seen as not acceptable in this society, and that educators worry too much about mathematics and language instead of the arts when it should be equally taught; everyone is different.

I agree with his theory. I believe that everyone has a different perception, because of how they are hardwired. Mr. Roberts gives an example of a girl who was very fidgety and wouldn't calm down--today, they would think that she was ADHD. So she goes to the doctor and the doctor speaks with her. Come to find out, she learns through movement. I also believe that he wanted to say that everyone is different and we as future educators should pay attention to our students, and help flourish their talents instead of crush them--especially if they are different.

Mr. Winkle wakes

The video "Mr. Winkle Wakes" is about Mr. Winkle, a man who wakes up after one-hundred years have passed and everything ( buildings, technology, hospitals, etc...) have changed around him. Buildings are higher and filled with technology that overwhelms him greatly. He falls ill and goes to the hospital where he finds "machines that breathed life into lungs...and things that he never thought could happen." That didn't make him feel any better, so he goes to a school where he finds comfort; where nothing has changed.

I believe the creator of the video wanted to convey the fact that schools are still not using technology to the fullest and our kids are bored and suffering. They are bored because teachers have lost connection with their kids--they're still using the same teaching techniques that are outdated and can not reach out to the kids today, therefore kids are not learning. And because they don't use the technology that is in front of them, the kids therefore suffer because they won't learn how to use it. And if they are not careful, they will turn into Mr. Winkle; a person who is afraid of change and can not adapt to this ever changing world.

Did you know? 3.0

I found the “Did You Know?” video

by Karl Fish, to be very entertaining and very truthful. It is entertaining because of the use of motion and music to grab the audience’s attention and truthful in its data. The video’s layout is simple. It starts out with a black and grey, reminding his audience of how technology used to be. It then goes into song appropriately titled “right here, right now” by fatboy slim to catch the audience’s attention. Then, the slides go into certain types of information telling the audience how technology has impacted us over the years; an example of this would be “did you know that the top 10 demanding jobs in 2010 did not exists in 2004.”

The video’s main objective is to give the audience little bits of information to draw their attention to how technology was and how it is today. The message I got from this video is this: technology is growing at an alarmingly fast rate, making jobs possible for millions, and we have to accept it. We have to open our minds and accept this technological boom that is happening in our day and age if we want to survive and make it in this world; a survival of the fittest.

Post #1 (about me)

Well as you can see, my name is Jessica Pierce. I was born here in Mobile, AL. I go to school at South Alabama; a local university where I plan to major in education and history. After college, I plan to teach history to high school students. I know it seems like a lost cause, but maybe my teaching techniques can make my students more passionate about a boring subject like history. That’s my goal at least.

welcome to my blog!

This is extremely new for me. I look forward to writing more and more as this class progresses.