The second teacher whose blog I commented on was William Chamberlain. Mr. Chamberlain blogs often, and requires students to write blogs in his classroom. I was a assigned children's blogs to comment on from his class, and he has commented on one of my blog posts before, so I felt more comfortable commenting on his blog than I would have a complete stranger. The first post I commented on was a post where he was showing the functions of a website called VozMe. This website allows you to select a text, copy it into the website, and the text you selected will be read out loud. At first I thought maybe it was just for blind students, so I asked Mr. Chamberlain how he incorporates VozMe into his classroom. He told me he gets uses it so he can have something read out loud to his classroom all at once. Like instructions to a project or something. He informed me that listening and reading uses two different parts of the brain. I think this is wonderful because students who are on different reading levels can hear the same instructions. I was a good reader in grade school, and I can remember constantly getting annoyed with other students when we read things out loud, because the other reader was so much slower than me. VozMe would help students like me, as well as all the other students work the part of their brain that listens. I like the thought of using VozMe in my class very much, and it is free, so why not use it?
The second post I commented on was called I got Your PD Right Here! In it Mr. Chamberlain is talking about how he was assigned to a math class for team teaching. I hadn't heard of team teaching before this and I found it very interesting. I asked him what exactly the concept of it was, and am waiting to hear back from him. But to assign teachers to team teaching is very clever because it re-vamps the teachers teaching skills and allows them to begin learning inside the classroom as Mr. Chamberlain pointed out. I think that is so exciting that after years of teaching, Mr. Chamberlain is put back into the students placde again. He remembers now what it feels like to learn in the classroom, as well as teach the subject of math, which is very difficult! Props to Mr. Chamberlain!
http://attheteachersdesk.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Comments for Classmates #1
The first classmate I commented on was Carey Dekle. What she thought about the Mr. Winkle video was the same reaction I had. We both agreed that Mr. Winkle was wrong. That classrooms have changed over the past 100 years. When I put this on my blog Jamie Lynn, our lab associate for our EDM 310 class, disagreed with me saying that, "The majority of schools are operating like schools 100 years ago. Teachers are still lecturing, while students sit quietly in their desks taking notes." I told Carey about Jamie Lynn's comment, and after thinking about it, the odds of a teacher not using technology are most likely higher than those who do. Doesn't anyone from high school remember the teachers that just lectured on and on? I sure do. We even had smartboards that just sat there and got dusty my senior year. Teachers didn't know how to use them, and it was questionable if they even cared. I mentioned how teachers are so used to the "old" way of doing things so maybe we can change that for them in the future.
http://deklecareyedm310.blogspot.com
The second classmate I commented on was Sarah Davis. Sarah and I both agree that you have to have a passion for teaching in order to be a good teacher. I asked Sarah, "If teaching is a passion, then why do teachers slack so much on their responsibilities?" Sarah said that school is not a place to hide from technology, and I agree. I reminded her however, that it is not just for school our students will be learning technology, but for life experiences as well. It isn't only about the technology, even though it is important, it is about how we can bring out that same passion for learning in our students, as we have for teaching.
http://davissarahedm310.blogspot.com
The third classmate I commented on was Sydney Broughton's class blog. She wrote how she really like the iSchool idea. I commented and told her one of my opinions, which was how I felt the teacher-student relationship would be take away, which is key to development in students, so I asked her how she felt about that.
http://broughtonsydneyedm310.blogspot.com
The fourth classmate I commented on was Heather Bright. I love her page first of all. You can tell just by viewing it that she appreciates what this class can really give us, and you can tell she really is enjoying her work. She pointed out that podcasts allows students to get creative and I love that because she sees all of the benefits that come out of podcasting for students, and teachers as well!
http://brightheatheredm310.blogspot.com
http://deklecareyedm310.blogspot.com
The second classmate I commented on was Sarah Davis. Sarah and I both agree that you have to have a passion for teaching in order to be a good teacher. I asked Sarah, "If teaching is a passion, then why do teachers slack so much on their responsibilities?" Sarah said that school is not a place to hide from technology, and I agree. I reminded her however, that it is not just for school our students will be learning technology, but for life experiences as well. It isn't only about the technology, even though it is important, it is about how we can bring out that same passion for learning in our students, as we have for teaching.
http://davissarahedm310.blogspot.com
The third classmate I commented on was Sydney Broughton's class blog. She wrote how she really like the iSchool idea. I commented and told her one of my opinions, which was how I felt the teacher-student relationship would be take away, which is key to development in students, so I asked her how she felt about that.
http://broughtonsydneyedm310.blogspot.com
The fourth classmate I commented on was Heather Bright. I love her page first of all. You can tell just by viewing it that she appreciates what this class can really give us, and you can tell she really is enjoying her work. She pointed out that podcasts allows students to get creative and I love that because she sees all of the benefits that come out of podcasting for students, and teachers as well!
http://brightheatheredm310.blogspot.com
Blog Post Assignment 6
The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
I think this video was very informative, and it did a good job of showing how effectively a student can learn independently. There are so many online research tools a student can use to their advantage these days, learning possibilities are endless. The teacher of a networked student can indeed assist in helping to student learn more ways to use the internet for school. A networked student will always need a teacher to help distinguish between what information to use when they do find it.
Using the internet for school can help make learning seem more fun and less like work because people use the internet for so many things in daily life, searching for things on the internet, or using the computer for school work atuomatically seems less like a hassle. I feel as though all teachers will need to be prepared to be the teacher of a networked student because the standards for how technology contributes to teaching will raise. In the future teachers will most likely have to incorporate a certain amount of technology in the classroom.
I love the concept of a networked student because this will not only train students at a young age to be independent learners, but they will have access to many different types of people, including other students and teachers. And how cool is the idea of watching a lecture from a Stanford, or Harvard professor! That would get high school students so excited about going to college, I know it would have that effect on me!
A 7th Graders Personal Learning Envornment(or PLN)
I love this girls PLE! The home page at the beginning where she kept all of her things organized was really cool I would really like to have one! Both of our PLN's are kind of the same because we both can keep our thoughts organzied on one page. We both can connect with people around the world, and on our blogs we both get to share our thoughts on things, which I feel is really important because by writing on these blogs, and participating in bigger discussions, one starts to feel as though their voice is finally being heard.
The Machine is Changing Us
Michael Wesch pointed out that our society is always seeking recognition and self fufillment, and I agree. All we ever want to do is find ourselves and who we are as people. Through things like reality television, we see all the time how people want to be recognized as the person they are, in a society as Wesch says, that doesn't normally give recognition easily. I feel that my genertation is very self aborbed. We live in a time where everyone is trying to better themselves, and we do most things for our own self fufillment. In todays world everything is all about me, and what I can to do better myself. Its pretty cool in the end when hes talking about speaking video beautifully and artisitcally. I would love to speak video like he is talking about! We as people all need to work together towards not only bettering ourselves, but society as well. This concept of "whatever" Esch speaks of makes you wonder why people generally associate "whatever" with doing what they want, and not "I'll do whatever it takes".
I think this video was very informative, and it did a good job of showing how effectively a student can learn independently. There are so many online research tools a student can use to their advantage these days, learning possibilities are endless. The teacher of a networked student can indeed assist in helping to student learn more ways to use the internet for school. A networked student will always need a teacher to help distinguish between what information to use when they do find it.
Using the internet for school can help make learning seem more fun and less like work because people use the internet for so many things in daily life, searching for things on the internet, or using the computer for school work atuomatically seems less like a hassle. I feel as though all teachers will need to be prepared to be the teacher of a networked student because the standards for how technology contributes to teaching will raise. In the future teachers will most likely have to incorporate a certain amount of technology in the classroom.
I love the concept of a networked student because this will not only train students at a young age to be independent learners, but they will have access to many different types of people, including other students and teachers. And how cool is the idea of watching a lecture from a Stanford, or Harvard professor! That would get high school students so excited about going to college, I know it would have that effect on me!
A 7th Graders Personal Learning Envornment(or PLN)
I love this girls PLE! The home page at the beginning where she kept all of her things organized was really cool I would really like to have one! Both of our PLN's are kind of the same because we both can keep our thoughts organzied on one page. We both can connect with people around the world, and on our blogs we both get to share our thoughts on things, which I feel is really important because by writing on these blogs, and participating in bigger discussions, one starts to feel as though their voice is finally being heard.
The Machine is Changing Us
Michael Wesch pointed out that our society is always seeking recognition and self fufillment, and I agree. All we ever want to do is find ourselves and who we are as people. Through things like reality television, we see all the time how people want to be recognized as the person they are, in a society as Wesch says, that doesn't normally give recognition easily. I feel that my genertation is very self aborbed. We live in a time where everyone is trying to better themselves, and we do most things for our own self fufillment. In todays world everything is all about me, and what I can to do better myself. Its pretty cool in the end when hes talking about speaking video beautifully and artisitcally. I would love to speak video like he is talking about! We as people all need to work together towards not only bettering ourselves, but society as well. This concept of "whatever" Esch speaks of makes you wonder why people generally associate "whatever" with doing what they want, and not "I'll do whatever it takes".
Monday, September 20, 2010
Blog Post Assignment 4
I liked the tone and the sarcasm, in Dr. McLeod's "Don't teach your kids this stuff. Please?" post. I Googled Dr. McLeod, and found he is the co-creator of the Did You Know? videos, which is interesting. Dr. McLeod wants us to look at things from a different point of view. His post was enlightening, and sarcastic, which I can always appreciate. I understand that Dr. McLeod is saying go ahead and keep your child using pens and paper, mine will be ahead in 10 years, and I agree that his will be ahead in ten years, I just hope that with his blogs he his trying to persuade others to feel the way he does about technology.
I like that he is showing the good and bad aspects of technology in his post, and yes there are bad things on the internet, but if the parents are going to come into my classroom and tell me my students are too young to blog, then they should put a filter on their computers like there is a filter on the school computers. And furthermore, they should become at least a little bit educated on what exactly is "good" and "bad", and what I am actually doing with my students on the internet.
There are many innovative things on the internet that can help a student learn and learn on their own, which should be a goal of teachers everywhere. Pertaining to the bit about students writing online, I believe students everywhere and everyone else will be writing only online in 20 or 30 years, so why not go ahead and know how? The whole world is working on going green, and writing online instead of on paper is part of that I believe. Technology is only going to keep advancing. All of these parents, my own mother included, that are thinking technology is a waste of time and computers should never have been invented, need to jump on the wagon and start learning something, or be left behind.
The iSchool initiative video was wonderful and all, but the idea didn't sell me. What happened to one on one teaching, and teacher student relationships? With the iSchool, teachers won't be able to connect with students and build relationships with them. To me, that is a big part of going to school, teachers can help you grow and form as a person. Also, every student would have to buy the iTouch, which is the size of a cell phone. How does one honestly expect a student in grade school to keep up with that? If a student had the iSchool, everything they needed pertaining to school will be on this little device, so if they were to lose it, they would be lost in all subjects, and EVERYTHING to do with school. Then their parents would have to buy them another one. To parents $150 is expensive, especially if they had to buy another one if it was lost. Many parents today would barley even be able to afford the $150 at all.
I like the idea of using the iTouch as a learning tool if the student were to have one, but not as something that is key to class. Yes budgets are being cut, but that is something that is a larger problem on a more macro scale. We have to appeal to the state and federal government to fix that problem. The iSchool is a good idea, but I believe it would crumble in a few years, or be replaced with something better.
I LOVE the Lost Generation video technique! It lists all the bad, and then list the good, if we as a society were to change things. All of the things she mentioned are very likely to come true if we don't change things, which I like because it shows she is not just making things up. What she is doing with the technique is creative and symbolic. All of these things can happen, but if we change them, they will be reversed.
I think Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir is quite amazing!! I saw this on the news this summer and it moved me then. I hadn't taken this class yet this summer so then I was just thinking that the choir was a cool way to do things. Now looking at it again it is just spectacular. Singers everywhere can sing with people from all over and match in perfect harmony. This is something that singers would have laughed at 50 years ago. Now someone with a unique voice can find someone half way across the world to harmonize with, something they never would have gotten the chance for before. This video definitely portrays how much we can do with technology. In a few years, we will be able to do virtually anything!
I like that he is showing the good and bad aspects of technology in his post, and yes there are bad things on the internet, but if the parents are going to come into my classroom and tell me my students are too young to blog, then they should put a filter on their computers like there is a filter on the school computers. And furthermore, they should become at least a little bit educated on what exactly is "good" and "bad", and what I am actually doing with my students on the internet.
There are many innovative things on the internet that can help a student learn and learn on their own, which should be a goal of teachers everywhere. Pertaining to the bit about students writing online, I believe students everywhere and everyone else will be writing only online in 20 or 30 years, so why not go ahead and know how? The whole world is working on going green, and writing online instead of on paper is part of that I believe. Technology is only going to keep advancing. All of these parents, my own mother included, that are thinking technology is a waste of time and computers should never have been invented, need to jump on the wagon and start learning something, or be left behind.
The iSchool initiative video was wonderful and all, but the idea didn't sell me. What happened to one on one teaching, and teacher student relationships? With the iSchool, teachers won't be able to connect with students and build relationships with them. To me, that is a big part of going to school, teachers can help you grow and form as a person. Also, every student would have to buy the iTouch, which is the size of a cell phone. How does one honestly expect a student in grade school to keep up with that? If a student had the iSchool, everything they needed pertaining to school will be on this little device, so if they were to lose it, they would be lost in all subjects, and EVERYTHING to do with school. Then their parents would have to buy them another one. To parents $150 is expensive, especially if they had to buy another one if it was lost. Many parents today would barley even be able to afford the $150 at all.
I like the idea of using the iTouch as a learning tool if the student were to have one, but not as something that is key to class. Yes budgets are being cut, but that is something that is a larger problem on a more macro scale. We have to appeal to the state and federal government to fix that problem. The iSchool is a good idea, but I believe it would crumble in a few years, or be replaced with something better.
I LOVE the Lost Generation video technique! It lists all the bad, and then list the good, if we as a society were to change things. All of the things she mentioned are very likely to come true if we don't change things, which I like because it shows she is not just making things up. What she is doing with the technique is creative and symbolic. All of these things can happen, but if we change them, they will be reversed.
I think Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir is quite amazing!! I saw this on the news this summer and it moved me then. I hadn't taken this class yet this summer so then I was just thinking that the choir was a cool way to do things. Now looking at it again it is just spectacular. Singers everywhere can sing with people from all over and match in perfect harmony. This is something that singers would have laughed at 50 years ago. Now someone with a unique voice can find someone half way across the world to harmonize with, something they never would have gotten the chance for before. This video definitely portrays how much we can do with technology. In a few years, we will be able to do virtually anything!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Additional Assignment #1
Google Squared develops something like a spreadsheet, so students can look up a topic, and get categories related to the topic, all out in front of them. I looked up football national champions, and it gave me not only the champions, but a description, a picture, and their birthday. Students can look up virtually anything, and modify it to their choice. I was so shocked looking at this new information I had never seen before! I will use this piece of technology with my students because they can easily look up countries, like Dr. Strange did, and have all the information they will need on one page. They can change the countries to their desire, and have all the information they need readily available to them without having to search various websites for other information on the country, like currency. This will help my students find information they need fast, instead of browsing the internet for hours looking for certain things.
Wolfram Alpha is fun because students can look up the definition of a word, or the number or people in a city. Students can find answers to multiple questions on this page without having to go to another site. They can look up examples for harder math problems, to figuring out what time it is in Australia. In the future, if a student asks me a question and I want them to find it on their own, one of the sites they can browse is Wolfram Alpha. I would recommend this website to students of all ages, it is really remarkable!
I absolutely had no idea about Google Squared or Wolfram Alpha before this assignment, but I'm glad I do now!
When I read Did You Know? 3.0, I was overwhelmed almost by all of those numbers, but the information that stood out to me, was the information about China and India having more honor roll students, and more people knowing English. After I was how the population differences change the statistics, I felt America was a little less uneducated then people assume. I still hold on to the point that America should still push their selves to be better anyways. There is nothing wrong with trying to achieve greatness, and Americas school systems lack the effort.
I learned from this exercise that statistics are meant for shock value. Everyone hears crazy statistics everyday, and most of the time no one thinks to look them up and see where they are derived from. Using Google Spread, and Wolfram Alpha you can look up almost anything to see if what it says, and I think this is something I can show my students, or anyone, so they can look up crazy things they hear and see if its true or not. Perhaps this is showing my students and peers a little bit of independent learning, and theres nothing wrong with that.
The "Stable Boy and the iPad" article just goes to show, young minds like that boys can some things as quickly as any college graduate.
Wolfram Alpha is fun because students can look up the definition of a word, or the number or people in a city. Students can find answers to multiple questions on this page without having to go to another site. They can look up examples for harder math problems, to figuring out what time it is in Australia. In the future, if a student asks me a question and I want them to find it on their own, one of the sites they can browse is Wolfram Alpha. I would recommend this website to students of all ages, it is really remarkable!
I absolutely had no idea about Google Squared or Wolfram Alpha before this assignment, but I'm glad I do now!
When I read Did You Know? 3.0, I was overwhelmed almost by all of those numbers, but the information that stood out to me, was the information about China and India having more honor roll students, and more people knowing English. After I was how the population differences change the statistics, I felt America was a little less uneducated then people assume. I still hold on to the point that America should still push their selves to be better anyways. There is nothing wrong with trying to achieve greatness, and Americas school systems lack the effort.
I learned from this exercise that statistics are meant for shock value. Everyone hears crazy statistics everyday, and most of the time no one thinks to look them up and see where they are derived from. Using Google Spread, and Wolfram Alpha you can look up almost anything to see if what it says, and I think this is something I can show my students, or anyone, so they can look up crazy things they hear and see if its true or not. Perhaps this is showing my students and peers a little bit of independent learning, and theres nothing wrong with that.
The "Stable Boy and the iPad" article just goes to show, young minds like that boys can some things as quickly as any college graduate.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Blog Post Assignment 3
Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
The video was interesting in a way that it showed things we already knew, but all in a five minute time frame. I spent $188 on my books this year, and if I would have went to the universities book store at school , I would have spent about $400. Yes, some books are $100 a piece like the video showed, but there are other ways of procuring these books in a cheaper way. You can rent the books, or buy them on Amazon for way cheaper then what they are in the book store, so I think the video may have over reacted about the books. In college you learn with time how to make certain things last longer, or certain things cheaper. Whether the books are opened when you get them, is a different story. At least half of the teachers I have had have given you all the information in your notes, so you end up not having to have to book anyways!
I think the video did appropriately describe how we college students have to manage our time. The girl that held the sign saying she gets to sleep 7 hours a night sure is a lucky one! It seems like we never have enough time to get everything done, especially if you work almost full time like I do. The movie did a good job of showing someone what is like to be in college if they have never been there, but I would have added how much the average college student parties on a daily or weekly basis. Most college students are experiencing their first taste of freedom, and many of them are listening to that 2.5 hours of music everyday when they are at a party!
"Its Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
I think the point Mrs. Hines is making here is teachers have to be learners, and if the teacher in question is not a learner, they will have a classroom of the past and not the future. I think the teachers that are taught to be learners today, are the teachers that are in college now. I can't tell you how many teachers I noticed in high school that knew that since they had their tenure, or their degree, they wouldn't be pushed into giving more then they had to. Maybe it because I knew I wanted to be a teacher at a young age, but I always evaluated my teachers, how they taught, and their attitude. Simply going to workshops isn't enough, you have to learn things independently and care about your students as individuals. I really liked when Mrs. Hines mentioned you have to know where your students come from. That doesn't have to be some big task where you find out your students histories, it can be something like getting to know them and how each of them like to learn. I think it can be one of the great joys of teaching your students. Everyone has a few teachers that stood out to them in high school, and shouldn't we want to be that teacher?
I mentioned smartboards in my blogs before, and Mrs. Hines mentions it in hers. Mrs. Hines and I are on the same page about these smartboards. They are completely amazing, but I can see why a school board would not want to spend $5000 on something that will never be used. Maybe the school board should just ask the teachers if they will be used in their classroom before installing them. But would that solve the problem of them being used correctly? In her part about the smartboard she says, "It is not about on the board. It is about the proper training and mindset of a teacher who is already willing and eager to do amazing things." I think that teacher is the teacher we are training now to be in EDM 310. This class is meant to teach us about technology, and to make us excited about learning new technology in the future. Maybe not all students come out of EDM 310 with that mindset Mrs. Hines speaks of, but I plan to!
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher? Of course not! If generations to come have to be technologically literate to obtain a job, and we are shaping the minds of generations to come, then it is our responsibility to know about technology. Why is it so hard for teachers to get their mind around the idea? It is fairly obvious teachers do not choose their career for the pay, and I highly doubt it is to have their summer months off as well, because they will still have to deal with children all day, and that is NOT everyone's forte. So teachers should choose to teach because they are PASSIONATE about it. Don't people in general try to learn everything they possibly can about something they are passionate about? So whats the problem? Maybe teachers are somewhat resentful towards the system for a certain number of things, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to do their job to the fullest.
Karl Fisch's colleagues get angry at his posts because they know what he is speaking is the truth. Everything he makes in his post is valid. The standard he speaks of where people think it is okay that they never were good at math is a sad one. Where in time did it become okay to say I wasn't good at math, but it not be okay to say I wasn't good at reading? These two subjects are things that will always be imperative to learning, and being a well rounded individual. What happened? It seems to me that all we can do, is do the best we can in our own classroom, so that when we look at the students we taught over the years, we will have no regrets. We will know that we did the best we could with what we were given. With new things in technology being discovered everyday, we could be given so much.
Gary's Social Media Account
Wow these numbers change fast! I think that with so many new people using these things everyday, there will be more people to connect with when I am a teacher. Many of these things, like people sending Facebook gifts, and getting a Twitter account are just social explorations, but it just proves how the need to connect with others around the world is growing and becoming more important.
Just being on Gary's page for 5 minutes, 101 hours of YouTube has been downloaded. I wonder how many of those videos I could show my students when I am teaching them about DNA and other things. The idea excites me! If one of my students is a more visual learner, after I teach my lesson I can show them a video explaining my lesson further. 30 years ago, a student who was a visual learner would have possibly failed school. We have improved in that way, which is encouraging for future teachers like me to know.
The video was interesting in a way that it showed things we already knew, but all in a five minute time frame. I spent $188 on my books this year, and if I would have went to the universities book store at school , I would have spent about $400. Yes, some books are $100 a piece like the video showed, but there are other ways of procuring these books in a cheaper way. You can rent the books, or buy them on Amazon for way cheaper then what they are in the book store, so I think the video may have over reacted about the books. In college you learn with time how to make certain things last longer, or certain things cheaper. Whether the books are opened when you get them, is a different story. At least half of the teachers I have had have given you all the information in your notes, so you end up not having to have to book anyways!
I think the video did appropriately describe how we college students have to manage our time. The girl that held the sign saying she gets to sleep 7 hours a night sure is a lucky one! It seems like we never have enough time to get everything done, especially if you work almost full time like I do. The movie did a good job of showing someone what is like to be in college if they have never been there, but I would have added how much the average college student parties on a daily or weekly basis. Most college students are experiencing their first taste of freedom, and many of them are listening to that 2.5 hours of music everyday when they are at a party!
"Its Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
I think the point Mrs. Hines is making here is teachers have to be learners, and if the teacher in question is not a learner, they will have a classroom of the past and not the future. I think the teachers that are taught to be learners today, are the teachers that are in college now. I can't tell you how many teachers I noticed in high school that knew that since they had their tenure, or their degree, they wouldn't be pushed into giving more then they had to. Maybe it because I knew I wanted to be a teacher at a young age, but I always evaluated my teachers, how they taught, and their attitude. Simply going to workshops isn't enough, you have to learn things independently and care about your students as individuals. I really liked when Mrs. Hines mentioned you have to know where your students come from. That doesn't have to be some big task where you find out your students histories, it can be something like getting to know them and how each of them like to learn. I think it can be one of the great joys of teaching your students. Everyone has a few teachers that stood out to them in high school, and shouldn't we want to be that teacher?
I mentioned smartboards in my blogs before, and Mrs. Hines mentions it in hers. Mrs. Hines and I are on the same page about these smartboards. They are completely amazing, but I can see why a school board would not want to spend $5000 on something that will never be used. Maybe the school board should just ask the teachers if they will be used in their classroom before installing them. But would that solve the problem of them being used correctly? In her part about the smartboard she says, "It is not about on the board. It is about the proper training and mindset of a teacher who is already willing and eager to do amazing things." I think that teacher is the teacher we are training now to be in EDM 310. This class is meant to teach us about technology, and to make us excited about learning new technology in the future. Maybe not all students come out of EDM 310 with that mindset Mrs. Hines speaks of, but I plan to!
Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher? Of course not! If generations to come have to be technologically literate to obtain a job, and we are shaping the minds of generations to come, then it is our responsibility to know about technology. Why is it so hard for teachers to get their mind around the idea? It is fairly obvious teachers do not choose their career for the pay, and I highly doubt it is to have their summer months off as well, because they will still have to deal with children all day, and that is NOT everyone's forte. So teachers should choose to teach because they are PASSIONATE about it. Don't people in general try to learn everything they possibly can about something they are passionate about? So whats the problem? Maybe teachers are somewhat resentful towards the system for a certain number of things, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try to do their job to the fullest.
Karl Fisch's colleagues get angry at his posts because they know what he is speaking is the truth. Everything he makes in his post is valid. The standard he speaks of where people think it is okay that they never were good at math is a sad one. Where in time did it become okay to say I wasn't good at math, but it not be okay to say I wasn't good at reading? These two subjects are things that will always be imperative to learning, and being a well rounded individual. What happened? It seems to me that all we can do, is do the best we can in our own classroom, so that when we look at the students we taught over the years, we will have no regrets. We will know that we did the best we could with what we were given. With new things in technology being discovered everyday, we could be given so much.
Gary's Social Media Account
Wow these numbers change fast! I think that with so many new people using these things everyday, there will be more people to connect with when I am a teacher. Many of these things, like people sending Facebook gifts, and getting a Twitter account are just social explorations, but it just proves how the need to connect with others around the world is growing and becoming more important.
Just being on Gary's page for 5 minutes, 101 hours of YouTube has been downloaded. I wonder how many of those videos I could show my students when I am teaching them about DNA and other things. The idea excites me! If one of my students is a more visual learner, after I teach my lesson I can show them a video explaining my lesson further. 30 years ago, a student who was a visual learner would have possibly failed school. We have improved in that way, which is encouraging for future teachers like me to know.
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