Blog Post #5

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?


     Technology can be very dangerous for young kids, but so can walking out their front door.  Technology is important for kids and they need to learn.  What we need to do so they are protected is monitor what they do online and on the phone.  Parents and teachers can easily back track what website their kids have visited, check phone logs to see who they are talking to, and set up a social networking site they have access to.  It may seem like a lot to do, but in the end its worth it.  Here is a website for a biography on Scoot Mcleod: http://scottmcleod.net/bio/.

The iSchool Initiative.
     This is a short video about a new way to learn.  The iSchool uses the same platform as the iTouch, but can only be used for educational purposes.  Students can use the iSchool for a calculator or read a book.  The iSchool would be monitored by the teacher and parents.  It could save cost and precious renewable resources.
   This seems like a very good idea. Students could have everything they need for school at their fingertips.  They could also easily find a good book to read without having to go to the library.  Saving our planet is a top priority now and days, this product can reduce how much paper we use in schools.  The only down I see is it can possible dwindle job opportunities for librarians and teachers.

Eric Whitacres Virtual Choir- 'Lux Auromque'


     It seems today that the internet can be used for just about anything.  You can play games, watch movies, download music, and set up a virtual choir.  This just goes to show how much the world is changing and how much we can use the internet for.  This is a very interesting video, because I have never before seen a virtual choir.

Teaching In the 21st Century
     
     Today's students can find anything they want through the internet.  That really you don't need a teacher who teaches just facts.  Today a teacher needs to know how to use technology properly, so they can show their students how to use technology.  This way there we will be a need for them.  They can have their students set up a blog about what they learned that day in class or what they learned on their own. This way the students will remained interested.

Time Toast

Blog Post #4

Podcast Collection By: Judy Scharf 


http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Coll_jpsrolls/PodcastCollection


     The first website I looked at was Podcast Collection.  It  is a very good website to look at before starting your own podcast.  It gives you some tips on how to make you a podcast successfully.  This is the first thing to look at before starting you podcast.  The most important tip listed, in my opinion, is to allow plenty of time to complete the project.  Besides the tips, this website has topics that include:  Time Schedule for Creating a Podcast,  Suggestions for Podcast Projects, Suggestions for Researching Your Topic, Creating Your Podcast, Using Podbean, Submitting Your Podcast to Itunes, Podcast Grading Sheet, Podcast Rubric, Exemplary Podcast #1, Exemplary Podcast #2, Census Sample, and Number of Siblings.  In conclusion , this website is very helpful for doing your own podcast or if your a teacher a good resource to use in you classroom.

100 Ways to Use Your Ipod to Learn and Study Better


http://www.bspcn.com/2008/02/16/100-ways-to-use-your-ipod-to-learn-and-study-better/

     This website shows 100 ways you can use you Ipod for learning and studying.  I have a Ipod Touch, not the newest one with the camera and Facetime, that I use for music, games, and checking my email.  I never though to use it for studying.  If there is anything on the list you want to take a closer look at one of the tips all you have to do is look at it.  I suggest taking a closer look at #29 Learning Podcasting or just clicking this link:     http://www.wise-women.org/tutorials/podcast/.  This link listed can also be used for additional help on your Podcast.

Eagles' Nest Radio & Class Blog


http://blog.woodward.edu/ps_edmison/?cat=103

    I decided to take a look at the Eagles' Nest Radio & Class Blog to see how teachers use Podcasting in their classrooms.  I listened to Episode #3 Roamin' with the Ancient Romans.  This was and informative Podcast on the Ancient Romans.  The students sound like they were having fun with this Podcast and had it set up as a newscast, which is very creative.  After listening to this Podcast, it had me thinking about ways it can be incorporated into the classroom and a lesson plan.

My Sentence Video

Blog Post #3

C4T Assignment:
I teach at a "failing" school and you should too
     Mr. Trice blog post was about teaching at a failing school.  A failing school is a school with low financing and low test scores.  He states that it can be rewarding to teach at a failing school.  He has learned from working at these school to treat students as individuals and how important public schools are.
     I posted a comment about how I attended a failing school. I stated how many teachers and principles we went through while I attended.  I also mentioned how our school had an experimental solar power wing, in which the experiment failed, and now we are stuck with classrooms with no doors and make shift walls.  I went on to tell him how teachers like him help with schools like ours.
Collaboration through blogging
     Mr. Trice in this blog talks about blogging in his classroom.  Mr. Trice required his students to set up a blog and use it for school uses.  He talks about the flaws about how he sets up the blogging.  He says he has it to structured so the student do not do the assigned blog and he requires the students to use it to often.  He says he will change it to less structured blogging and one a week.  He says maybe then his students will blog and just not do it.
     I left a comment talking about how blogging in the classroom is a good idea.  Students can communicate all around the world with other students and show them what they are doing in the classroom.  People around the world can also communicate with these students to let them know what is going on in their specific country.



What is Peer Editing
     Peer editing is working with someone your own age to improve, revise, and edit their writing.  The one important rule is to stay positive.  The first thing to do is to compliment the writing.  The second thing is to make suggestions.  The last last thing to do is make corrections.  The things to remember is stay positive, be specific, and complete the three steps mentioned early.
    I think peer editing is a good resource for students to use.  The reason because why is students can get feedback from other students and not just from their teacher.  This way they know what other students think about their blog and also help the peer editor find mistakes they may have in their writings.

It's not About the Technology
     The writer suggests that technology isn't the most important thing in a school system.  He state that teachers need to learn from other teachers and their experience.  Another thing he states is technology is useless without  good teaching.  This point is a very valid point.
     The statement made technology is useless without good teaching is valid because if a teacher does not know how to teach the students about technology, then there is no point in trying to teach it.  The first be able to teach technology in school teachers should know how to use it properly and be able to teach their students how to use it properly.

 Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
     Teachers do need to be more technologically literate.  Now and days everything is done on a computer a computer.  Some school systems require grades to be posted online, these grades are private and only the student can see his/her grade.  Also being able to use PowerPoint Presentation can help a teach emphasize specific points.
     Principals also need to be able to use technology efficiently.  This way can see what's going  on in other schools with a click of a button.  This way they can see if their update with their school criteria or above the rest with the criteria.

Gary's Social Media Count
     First thing that comes to mind is wow.  This site shows how much we use Facebook, watch videos on YouTube  download apps on our Iphones, etc.  This is an insight on how much we depend on technology.  I think everybody should know about this website and view it for themselves.
     Today we depend so much on technology.  We use it to shop, play video games, socialize with friends and family, etc.  This list can go on and on.  This website shows how much we depend on technology and why teachers need to learn more about technology so they can teach their students more about technology.

Google Docs Presentation

Blog Post #2

Do You Know
     This video had some very interesting facts in it.  One of the facts was that there are 200 hundred million Myspace users.  I have a Myspace account that I no longer use because I switched over to Facebook  This has me wondering how many people use Facebook. Does the number of Facebook users exceed the amount uses Myspce.  I decided to look it up and found out that Facebook has 750 million users.
     At the end of the video it asked "So What All Does This Mean".  To me this means that we are entering a future where we depend on social networks to socialize with our friends or professors.  We need to know how to use social networks to be able to communicate.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
     This video is about Mr. Winkle awaking after a hundred years of slumber.  He notices all the changes to the world.  He sees all these new and different machines and becomes overwhelms.  He goes to a hospital and sees machines that keep people alive.
    He finally finds a school that was the same as the one in his time. The students would listen to the teacher lecture and take notes.  In the back of the classroom he saw a dusty computer that nobody was using.  This video shows that some schools aren't up to date on technology and still in the old times.
Ken Robin Says Schools Kill Creativity
     In this video, Ken Robinson talks about education and creativity.  He states that in today's society education is everything and sometimes if you do have a degree doesn't mean you can find a job easily.  This is a troubling thought, because some people work so hard to find a better job but can't. Today a Bachelor's Degree isn't all you need you now need a higher up degree.
     Another point made is as kids age they grow out of creativity and are begin to be afraid of being wrong.  Creativity is very important because creativity helps with new ideas and inventions.  Sometime you also need to be wrong to come up with new ideas.  Always being right is being isn't being creative.
Cecelia Gault
    I think the United States need to step up in education.  It is pretty bad that we have a 25% drop out rate, whereas Finland has a 1% dropout rate.  Our problem is we stress to much on sciences and not enough on art.
    When I become an Elementary Educator.  I would put more art in the classroom.  Doing simple activities like making 3D animal cell structures can be artistic and also a teaching aid.  This can give the students a fun way to learn about an animal cell and make it stick in their minds.  School cannot always be about lectures and book work.
Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts
      Viki Davis is a teacher in rural south Georgia.  She teaches her students how to blog and use Wiki.  She shows them how to use certain program on a computer like terraforming.  She also has her students teach fellow classmates on certain technological features.
    One thing I liked was the Digiteen.  It is pretty interesting how students can blog and talk with other students all over the world.  This is a good website for teens to use so they can tell how cultures around the world are similar and also different from ours.