When I was reading the assignment for this particular blog, I was unsure of how familiar I was with listening to podcasts and using iTunes. I only listened to a podcast once before and was a little confused by it, but after watching how to use iTunes and use podcasts, it became quite simple. The podcasts I listened to and watched were those suggested by my instructor.
The first podcast was on SMARTBoard lesson 131. The podcast was hosted by Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger and they discussed new forms of media they discovered and provided brief descriptions. A few examples were Adobe Air, Webcut, and PhotoBooth. I found their podcast not only informative but interesting because they used musical transitions which made the podcast sound more professional.
The next podcast was Kidcast where videopodcasting was described and advocated. I thought this podcast was interesting because the speaker was an advocate for videopodcasting, yet the podcast was only audio. ConnectLearning episode 90 was a question and answer session and hosted by David Warlick. It was a recorded audio of librarians and media coordinators at a conference discussing what new technology is being used in their respective schools.
I found the last two podcasts - MacBreak Weekly and This Week in Photography- to be the most interesting. All the participants in MacBreak Weekly were connected not only with audio but by Skype as well. They were discussing the new iPad and the audio was very clear and enjoyable to listen to. This Week in Photography was the only podcast I listened to that was also a videopodcast. It was nice to see what the host was discussing.
I will keep these podcasts in mind whenever I create my own podcast. I will remember the things I did like - video, group discussion, and interviews and musical transitions - and will possibly use them in my future podcasts.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A Vision of Students Today, It's Not About the Technology, Technologically Illiterate, Social Media Count
A Vision of Students Today
When I watched this video by Michael Wesch, I was not surprised by a lot of the facts presented within it. The large classroom with many rows of stadium seating was familiar to me. When one student help up a sign that stated her average class size is 115, that made me think to my large classes I attended and made me a little weary of the system. I think that having smaller class sizes is more conducive to learning. When you're in a class with so many people, you truly feel like only a number. This can be supported by the statements of "Only 18% of my teachers know my name" and "My neighbor paid for class but never comes".
It seems that technology and social networking is what a lot of college students put time into. I will have to agree with that. I have a facebook profile and e-mail account and check them almost daily. I think this film accurately portrays the truth. I enjoyed the video, but if I were to make any changes to it, I would slow down how fast the facts on the pieces of paper are shown. It's a lot of information thrust upon you in a short time, and it's difficult to comprehend completely going that fast - but then again, maybe that's an accurate representation of the classroom...
It's Not About the Technology
I agree with the points Ms. Hines made in her post. I've felt for a long time that technology is not the absolute solution to bettering education. I believe it is a useful tool, but not the tool. Teachers need to provide students with a means of understanding their - refering to the student - individual learning style, and how to successfully communicate/teach others. Those generic yet important skills will allow students to learn to use and understand technology and will prepare them for their future.
I think the first two points of Ms. Hines were the most important. The first one of "Teachers must be learners", I couldn't agree with more. I've heard stories from teachers many times about how they honestly learn something new each time they teach. I also think that by a teacher being passionate about learning, it will inspire students to learn also. The second point of "Learning and teaching are not the same thing" I also feel to be completely accurate. The teaching has been done when the student fully understands.
After I read the post and the comments on it, it appears that many other people feel the way I do and the way Ms. Hines does.
Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
When I read this post by Karl Fisch, there was no doubt in my mind that he is extremely passionate about this subject of technology and teachers being well-versed in it. I think it is wonderful of him to be an advocate of something he is so passionate about. As I was reading his list of standards, I felt a lot of it reflected back to me. I feel like I am one of those people who will admit that I don't fully understand computers and technology, although I am not proud of it. I feel like I know enough to get by for the time - being, but being a future educator, I do have a passion for learning, and will put in constant effort to make myself more technologically literate.
I have caught myself having thoughts like "I will be a music teacher. How tech-savvy should I be?" But I have discovered and taught myself many programs that will aid in my teaching, from simple recording devices to programs for composing music. I believe technology, no matter what field someone is in, is an essential tool, and I think it's wonderful to have people like Karl Fisch out there who are great advocates of technological literacy.
Social Media Count
I was really surprised that all this information could be shown on one media count. I was especially astounded by the number of Google searches, text messages and e-mails that were sent.
As a teacher, I think this means that most, if not all, of my students will be technologically literate and will use it constantly. I want to be able to understand it as well as they do in order to be an efficient teacher.
When I watched this video by Michael Wesch, I was not surprised by a lot of the facts presented within it. The large classroom with many rows of stadium seating was familiar to me. When one student help up a sign that stated her average class size is 115, that made me think to my large classes I attended and made me a little weary of the system. I think that having smaller class sizes is more conducive to learning. When you're in a class with so many people, you truly feel like only a number. This can be supported by the statements of "Only 18% of my teachers know my name" and "My neighbor paid for class but never comes".
It seems that technology and social networking is what a lot of college students put time into. I will have to agree with that. I have a facebook profile and e-mail account and check them almost daily. I think this film accurately portrays the truth. I enjoyed the video, but if I were to make any changes to it, I would slow down how fast the facts on the pieces of paper are shown. It's a lot of information thrust upon you in a short time, and it's difficult to comprehend completely going that fast - but then again, maybe that's an accurate representation of the classroom...
It's Not About the Technology
I agree with the points Ms. Hines made in her post. I've felt for a long time that technology is not the absolute solution to bettering education. I believe it is a useful tool, but not the tool. Teachers need to provide students with a means of understanding their - refering to the student - individual learning style, and how to successfully communicate/teach others. Those generic yet important skills will allow students to learn to use and understand technology and will prepare them for their future.
I think the first two points of Ms. Hines were the most important. The first one of "Teachers must be learners", I couldn't agree with more. I've heard stories from teachers many times about how they honestly learn something new each time they teach. I also think that by a teacher being passionate about learning, it will inspire students to learn also. The second point of "Learning and teaching are not the same thing" I also feel to be completely accurate. The teaching has been done when the student fully understands.
After I read the post and the comments on it, it appears that many other people feel the way I do and the way Ms. Hines does.
Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
When I read this post by Karl Fisch, there was no doubt in my mind that he is extremely passionate about this subject of technology and teachers being well-versed in it. I think it is wonderful of him to be an advocate of something he is so passionate about. As I was reading his list of standards, I felt a lot of it reflected back to me. I feel like I am one of those people who will admit that I don't fully understand computers and technology, although I am not proud of it. I feel like I know enough to get by for the time - being, but being a future educator, I do have a passion for learning, and will put in constant effort to make myself more technologically literate.
I have caught myself having thoughts like "I will be a music teacher. How tech-savvy should I be?" But I have discovered and taught myself many programs that will aid in my teaching, from simple recording devices to programs for composing music. I believe technology, no matter what field someone is in, is an essential tool, and I think it's wonderful to have people like Karl Fisch out there who are great advocates of technological literacy.
Social Media Count
I was really surprised that all this information could be shown on one media count. I was especially astounded by the number of Google searches, text messages and e-mails that were sent.
As a teacher, I think this means that most, if not all, of my students will be technologically literate and will use it constantly. I want to be able to understand it as well as they do in order to be an efficient teacher.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Did You Know? 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes, Creativity, and Digital Smarts
Did You Know? 3.0
When I first watched "Did You Know? 3.0" by Karl Fisch, I was a bit overwhelmed by the numbers and statistics it provided. The movie included such information as the amount of children born in certain countries like China or America, the creation of new jobs to accommodate constantly-developing technology, the popularity of social networking, and even the increase in number of internet devices.
What I gathered from watching this movie is that the rapid development of technology is having a direct and extremely influential impact on our lives. The human race seems to want results to appear faster and always have access to technology to gather the results. The final question in the movie stated "So what does all this mean?". I think it means we have made tremendous strides in technology but it seems to be growing at a faster rate than with what humans can keep up.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
The message I got from "Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Matthew Needleman was that schools are not keeping up with advancement in technology. Mr. Winkle slept for 100 years and when he awoke, he first went to two places in the city: a business and a hospital. There were dramatic changes to both places just by their use of technology. Mr. Winkle noticed that people could communicate through computers and that machines could keep people alive.
When Mr. Winkle went to the school, he noticed not much had changed in 100 years, and there was one computer that looked like it never got used. This should be a wake-up call to educators because it leads to the question of "How will the students in the schools become prepared for such jobs in a business atmosphere or in a hospital if they are not taught to use technology?" I think this movie makes a good point and that educators should first familiarize themselves with technology so that their students will be successful and prepared for what they will use in their future.
The Importance of Creativity
Watching this video of Sir Ken Robinson was a breath of fresh air to me. I am a music education major and fully support the permitting of creativity in schools. I believe that allowing creativity would be nothing but positive and productive to a student's development.
Sir Ken Robinson said some things that I would like to quote, because I think not only are they beautifully stated, but absolutely true: "Creativity is just as important as literacy.", "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original", and "We are creating academic inflation". The last of the quotes has been on my mind quite a bit lately because I am nearing graduation and must begin a job search soon. The amount of people obtaining undergraduate degrees is so great that the worth of the degrees themselves are decreasing. It is becoming more difficult to find a job because of the amount of technically qualified people. I think it's wonderful so many people are taking the initiative to go to college, but I feel because of the lack of creativity allowed in schools, it narrows down what people can do in life.
Digital Smarts
This video was about an Information Technology teacher in Georgia and her approach to teaching technology to her students. Her goals were to have students learn how to learn, collaborate effectively, and be comfortable with any technology. Ms. Vicki Davis incorporated terms in to her teachings for students to look-up the meaning if necessary. I think this is important because it gives them motivation to figure out what they don't know.
I think that Ms. Davis' method of teaching is very effective. I noticed in the video, she had students in front of the class teaching other students what they learned and how to figure out certain aspects of the technology. Not only is this helpful for the communication skills of students, but explaining things to others often times helps the student understand the concept more themselves.
I also really like that Mr. Davis has her class connected to other students around the world. She started the "Flat Classroom Project" which allows students to interact and share ideas on a global level.
When I first watched "Did You Know? 3.0" by Karl Fisch, I was a bit overwhelmed by the numbers and statistics it provided. The movie included such information as the amount of children born in certain countries like China or America, the creation of new jobs to accommodate constantly-developing technology, the popularity of social networking, and even the increase in number of internet devices.
What I gathered from watching this movie is that the rapid development of technology is having a direct and extremely influential impact on our lives. The human race seems to want results to appear faster and always have access to technology to gather the results. The final question in the movie stated "So what does all this mean?". I think it means we have made tremendous strides in technology but it seems to be growing at a faster rate than with what humans can keep up.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
The message I got from "Mr. Winkle Wakes" by Matthew Needleman was that schools are not keeping up with advancement in technology. Mr. Winkle slept for 100 years and when he awoke, he first went to two places in the city: a business and a hospital. There were dramatic changes to both places just by their use of technology. Mr. Winkle noticed that people could communicate through computers and that machines could keep people alive.
When Mr. Winkle went to the school, he noticed not much had changed in 100 years, and there was one computer that looked like it never got used. This should be a wake-up call to educators because it leads to the question of "How will the students in the schools become prepared for such jobs in a business atmosphere or in a hospital if they are not taught to use technology?" I think this movie makes a good point and that educators should first familiarize themselves with technology so that their students will be successful and prepared for what they will use in their future.
The Importance of Creativity
Watching this video of Sir Ken Robinson was a breath of fresh air to me. I am a music education major and fully support the permitting of creativity in schools. I believe that allowing creativity would be nothing but positive and productive to a student's development.
Sir Ken Robinson said some things that I would like to quote, because I think not only are they beautifully stated, but absolutely true: "Creativity is just as important as literacy.", "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original", and "We are creating academic inflation". The last of the quotes has been on my mind quite a bit lately because I am nearing graduation and must begin a job search soon. The amount of people obtaining undergraduate degrees is so great that the worth of the degrees themselves are decreasing. It is becoming more difficult to find a job because of the amount of technically qualified people. I think it's wonderful so many people are taking the initiative to go to college, but I feel because of the lack of creativity allowed in schools, it narrows down what people can do in life.
Digital Smarts
This video was about an Information Technology teacher in Georgia and her approach to teaching technology to her students. Her goals were to have students learn how to learn, collaborate effectively, and be comfortable with any technology. Ms. Vicki Davis incorporated terms in to her teachings for students to look-up the meaning if necessary. I think this is important because it gives them motivation to figure out what they don't know.
I think that Ms. Davis' method of teaching is very effective. I noticed in the video, she had students in front of the class teaching other students what they learned and how to figure out certain aspects of the technology. Not only is this helpful for the communication skills of students, but explaining things to others often times helps the student understand the concept more themselves.
I also really like that Mr. Davis has her class connected to other students around the world. She started the "Flat Classroom Project" which allows students to interact and share ideas on a global level.
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