Project 9a TimeToast

Blog Post 5

Don’t Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

Scott McLeod

Scott McLeod makes it perfectly clear in Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please? that handicapping our children by denying them the right to use technology as a tool in everyday life is what is happening in our schools.  I believe that McLeod is correct. Technology is a stead fast industry and is rather quickly taking off with our youth and people of all ages.  I think that people these days are scared of a good thing.  It seems as if they don’t want to prepare their children for the future. Parents always come back to “There are so many bad things on the internet.” such as cyber bullying and sexting. Really? I am pretty sure I learned about the “bad things” at the lunch table with peers in the cafeteria. Not the internet. I am also positive that with cyber bullying I could block that person and hey, at least I wouldn’t get punched in the face over the internet. If teachers and parents would come together and teach the student how to use the internet properly and show them tools that they can utilize the rest of their life. Why not?  Allowing access to the world through a click or even a touch of a button is an amazing thing. Why are we denying our future possible president that? Because we are scared that he or she may Google and connect with the world? Maybe it is because the parent or guardian or whomever is scared of technology themselves.  Possibly. They may not be ready to connect with the world and they also may be scared of change. They may be scared of what they find out for themselves. Because after all they were taught the ole “burp back way” as Dr. Strange would say. I honestly cannot come up with a solid answer to why not to use technology.  I mean the pros definitely outweigh the cons and let’s face it technology is not slowing down.

Just who is Scott McLeod?  Well, I shall Google him! (Way better than the dusty encyclopedias for those against technology in the classroom. Also, I don’t have to wait for my fellow student to get done with it! We can access our question at the same time!) Scott McLeod is an associate professor at Iowa State University. He is also a director for the nation’s only center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators, CASTLE, which stands for Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education. McLeod also contributed to the YouTube video "Did You Know? 4.0" . Which if you have not watched I highly recommend! Scott also has his own blog called Dangerously Irrelevant. On his blog he posts his thought and shares his wisdom with people throughout the world.

Ischool Initiative 
By: Travis Allen

In this YouTube video, iSchool Initiative , Travis briefly discusses the pro's to schools providing every student with an "iSchool" device, which is basically like an iPod. The purpose of this "proposal" is to completely get rid of books, paper, pencils, and expensive tools needed for the classroom in such a way that fits in with the rapidly growing technology of the world. Students would still attend school but, participate through their personal iSchool apps such as email, world wiki, and formulae. This proposal would allow parents, teachers, and students to monitor the pupils work at any time. It would also lower our carbon foot print and schools can finally be "green".

I agree with Travis I believe in the long run this would be best for the pupils and the world. We can allow the student education through technology, which they already use on a daily basis. I believe that with this invention it is like we are integrating every subject with up to date technology which would leave the students with the abilities to connect collaboratively, socialize for English, and utilize the ability to search the World Wide Web for questions they may have on any subject. We as teachers are suppose to prepare our students for the future. Would this not be the best way?

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

By: Eric Whitacre

Eric Whitaker has taken YouTube and technology today and created a unique video. His video, Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir,  is an ensemble of 185 people singing Lux Aurumque! None of the performers have ever met but their voices were all brought together through technology and Eric Whitacre!  This goes to show we are advancing in ways 10 years ago we would have never thought possible.  A choir that had never performed together made a wonderful and beautiful performance.This performance was amazing! Who would have ever thought a choir directed through YouTube. Soon this could be a class. Even more reason for pupils and adults to familiarize themselves with technology. So once again I will say integrate technology into the schools. Academics and technology could better yet, should go hand in hand.

Teaching in the 21st Century

By:Kevin Roberts

I feel like the views expressed in this video,  should be taken very seriously and pondered on. The question “what does it mean to teach?” appears in this video. Many view this differently. Some may think teaching is repeating things and remembering them. Others believe that it consists of showing resources that are available to a person so that that person can use those to answer questions themselves.  That is why I believe it is so hard to accept technology into the classroom. Many think teaching consists of only Bloom's Taxonomy and nothing more. But, think about it how many things do we learn from technology that exceeds Bloom's?

Teachers should welcome technology into their classrooms because it offers a different level of learning to students. Technology allows students to ask any question they want without the fear of being stared at and ridiculed. It allows students to work at home on projects instead of only in class. Children no longer have to go to libraries and worry about checking books out. Children can explore, be creative, ponder, and get answers all at their fingertips. So I guess the big question now is why are you holding your kids back?

Reading Rockets  

This website, Reading Rockets, has some pretty amazing things on it! I really liked the way it had the podcasts and videos allowing you to listen anytime via computer, iPhone, iPad, and iPod. Accessibility is one thing everyone is looking for these days. I also enjoyed the long lists of books and authors available. Also, once you clicked on books and authors it would take you to another page allowing you to narrow your search and find what you are looking for quicker. 

Through this website and its resources teaching children to read will be fun and at the same time intriguing. It allows many different ways of learning because as we know not all of us learn with the same strategy. Some may learn with hearing and seeing, at the same time others may be able to just hear something and get it. I believe allowing many different ways for the student will learn will be both motivational and useful

Blog Post 4

1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audio book 
By: Langwitches Blog


After reading and listening to 1st Graders Create Their Own Read-Along Audiobook  I realized that the children had so much fun creating this. Listening to the changes in their voices and the sound effects was fun. It added personality to the podcast. I really liked the way that after each chapter a sound would tone signaling the end. Using that can help keep readers that may have lost their place keep up. I also liked the script and how it was put into a document. I think that that would be very useful.


I believe that for my podcast I will definitely have to check out Garage Band. It seems to have fun and good ways to add a sparkle to a rather dull podcast. I also think having a script would be handy for my group. However, I think that showing the script during the podcast may take away from the podcast in this case.

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom
By:Joe Dale 


While watching The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom I realized that we are teaching “Millenniums”, which are people born after 1980. These people have never experienced life without technology. What does this mean? Using technology such as podcasts we are allowing our students to experiment with the technology they have already known about. Showing and exploring new tools within technology that can allow higher order thinking skills of that in Bloom’s Taxonomy.


Some new things I have learned by watching this video is that of vodcast. A vodcast is a podcast with video. I think vodcasts are a good thing allowing a student not only to hear but to visualize the subject at hand.
I think that having a podcast in the classroom would allow students to access school at home and refresh their memories of what they may have covered that day in class. I also think this would be a key tool for students that may be out due to sickness and etc. I also think that a podcast would allow students to join in and be active in the classroom rather than sit and there desks and do nothing but listen and take notes.

Podcast Collection
By: Judy Scharf

After reading Judy Scharf's Podcast Collection  I acquired a few pointers. The first pointer that really stood out to me was to make sure you spend enough time learning your software weather it was Audacity or Garage Band. It also offered detailed instructions on how to create a podcast. This website offered many how to instructions on creating, making, downloading, and publishing a pod cast. I think that this website is going to come in handy when my group and I create our podcast on Rafe Esquith’s book. After viewing all these tools and familiarizing myself with them I believe that my group is capable of making a exquisite podcast or shall I say a vodcast.

Project 6! This is My Sentence

Project 5

C4T!

I was assigned Frank Noschese blog that is called Action-Reaction. My first post I commented on was called My Vision for a Physics iBook. In the post Frank discusses the thoughts and components he thinks would be wonderful aspects of an iBook. He discusses everything from Wolfram widgets, interactive labs, storage in the clouds, and built in cameras for analysis. At the end he asks “What’s your vision?”


I went on to discuss that he had nailed pretty much everything that would be great for an iBook except he forgot one thing, compatibility. Also, I addressed awareness about lack of Adobe. I mentioned how these are problems I encounter using my own personal iPad and that these could be potential problems.


The second post I commented on of Mr. Noschese’s was called Physics of Angry Birds lesson on CUNY-TV. This post was simply a video that showed Noschese and his students using the video game to explore Physics. He stated that he wanted to show his students that Physics is all around us.

I commented and told Mr. Noschese how I admired how he was a 21st century teacher. I went on to say that he did a wonderful job incorporating Angry Birds into Physics and how thrilled his students seemed to realize Physics really is all around us.

Blog Post 3

Paige Ellis' Blog Assignment #12


I really enjoyed reviewing and watching the videos and slideshow on Paige Ellis's Blog Post Assignment 12. The first thing I really noticed was the first two assignments were almost identical. However, the second assignment, Peer Edit with Perfection! Tutorial , was more thorough. It really outlined the best ways to correctly and effectively edit a peer's blog. I believe staying positive is the most important advice. You do not want to come off as offensive or as the students in Top 10 Peer Review Mistakes would say a mean Margaret. Coming off like that could push the peer away. Remember you are not trying to push them away you are trying to help them.

When editing I sometimes forget to be specific. But, after watching the videos I realized I had better start remembering. If a peer has already posted then chances are they didn’t see any mistakes. By being specific you can help them understand and bring to light the mistakes and corrections that were made.

As a peer I feel that it is appropriate to leave a positive comment directly to the blog. In the comment I would offer help via email or Google docs. I would be sure to keep it simple in the comment and if the peer takes me up on my offer to help go more in depth through the email or doc. As a teacher I feel that it would be best to send a private email directly to the student. I think this way students would not be embarrassed and would be more likely to open up and not just correct the mistake but to look further into why they made the mistake. 


Technology in Special Education
By: Lace Cook 

I realized that technology can be used for so many different purposes after watching Technology in Special Education. To see the students’ abilities with and without their computers was amazing. Watching Kris put in words through a special mouse was very inspirational. Technology has given him a voice. Technology has given all the students of Mrs. Cook’s class and special education classes around the world the ability to function as a regular class. It keeps them intrigued and excited about learning and coming to school.

As explained through the video there are new tools and technology developed for using in the classroom. The ability of iPods, word processors, zooming text programs and more can improve the abilities of students and the time it takes for the student to perform the task at hand. To be completely honest I am not a hundred percent sure at all the tools and technology that is out there for use in the special education classroom. So I did some research.

I found out that just using audio recorders, pictures, webcams, audio books and blogs students could practice their literacy, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension.  These are all tools that the classroom should already have or that the teacher should own.  All the above are inexpensive tools and technology that can be used throughout the classroom making many subjects and standards easier to do. Some more tools and technology that I found that could enhance the classroom are iPods, iPads, laptops, and desktops. I also learned a cd burner and podcasts could be helpful by recording assignments, tests, or daily readings. With this students could access the recordings at any time anywhere.

I think it is wonderful that all these technologies and tools are out there. However, I believe that there is more research needed on my part in order for me to fully have a understanding of the capabilities through technology and tools for the special education classroom. 

An App for All 

After taking awhile to decide which app I would like to use for a special needs class I decided on Teach Me: Kindergarten. I chose this app because it is capable of counting with the student using subtraction and addition. With the subtraction it has the total amount of stickers and you are able to drag the stickers to a waste basket. At the bottom of the screen it has an option of four numbers the student may choose from. The student can then touch the stickers and count out the amount left. In addition it is the same concept as addition you just add stickers to one side.

It also helps the student with spelling and Dolch sight words. I downloaded the app on my iPad and allowed my friends daughter to play with it. She is in kindergarten and loved the app and after every correct question set (4 questions) she received one coin. With that coin she was able to go to the store and purchase stickers to place on the background of her choice. This helped with the value concept and counting how many coins she would have to collect in order to get the sticker she loved. 

I think that this app would be wonderful for the classroom. It has a little mouse that calls out the words and counts with the child. The app also has a progress tracker that the teacher/parent can keep track of what the student is mastering and having difficulty in. It allows multiple students to use and access the fun. Not only all of the above are wonderful things about this app but it is only 99 cents!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

After watching the Social Media Count climb, or should I say shoot up, within a few seconds to thousands and then building rapidly it is almost too much to take in at once. At first glance I just sort of gazed at my computer. Then I read what the exact count of each item was. What does this mean for my professional career? 

Well, I think it means that technology is now paper was yesterday. Emails, SMS, Facebook, blogs, and Twitter are all ways that the world is communicating. I believe this means that being technologically literate is a must in my future. By the time I finish school and get my degree to teach everything in EDM310 that I learned will be outdated. The tools will still be an effective way to teach but, students will have new interesting tools to use. I believe that if I know what my students like to use as tools I can turn those things into effect tools for the classroom.

A Vision of Students Today
By:Michael Wesch

A Vision of Students Today  was a short film made by students, inspired by students. It was a glimpse in today’s world as a student. At the beginning of the video there was a quote by Marshall McLuhan that really caught my attention. It stated “Today’s child is bewildered when he enters the 19^th century environment that still characterizes the educational establishment where information is scarce but ordered and structured by fragmented, classified patterns subjects, and schedules.” .

What has changed since this quote was made? The century may have been changed to 20^th. We now have computer labs. They are only accessible when the teacher schedules a time to visit. Also, the teacher must schedule close to the beginning of the year in order to be sure that his or her class is able to get in. Oh, but wait just a moment! There are one or two computers sitting in the back of the classroom. Half the school year they are broke and just collect dust but, one is plenty for a class of 25 plus, right? Wrong. Please realize we are in the 21^st century.

Mr. McLuhan made this statement in 1967 (the 20^th century) that was 45 years ago. So, needless to say not much has changed with the educational system within those 45 years. Some may argue that my statement is wrong. I mean after all we do have a SmartBoard in most classrooms. Ha! Take me to a school that all the teachers use their SmartBoards for something rather than a chalkboard without the chalk.

Students have an educational system that is a century behind while they, the students that are the reason for the educational system, are a century ahead. How are we comfortable with knowing that a student today will most likely spend over 3 hours a day listening to music, sending SMS, emails, and social networking? Every career I can think of uses a computer or some sort of technology. So why are we allowing our children to have this handicap of not being able to use a computer daily?

Blog Post 2

 Did You Know? A John Strange Version 2012

By: John Strange

In the video Did You Know? John Strange Version Dr. Strange highlighted statistics on technology and education. Dr. Strange pointed out that by 2025 the number of English-speaking Chinese will likely exceed the number of native English speakers in the world! Wow! Can you say universal language? He also stated that within one minute two days of videos are uploaded to YouTube. That’s a whole lot of “how to” and “hey ‘ma! Watch this”. Another fact was on average an EDM 310 student would send 95 text messages a day resulting in one hour and sixteen minutes of SMS messages. That’s a drive to Mobile for me! All these facts are almost breath taking. I mean what would we be doing with all our time without technology?

In Did You Know? 3.0 Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod emphasized the importance of technology and how it has swept the world. One fact in the video stated that by 2049 a computer will exceed computational capabilities of the human race. That’s pretty exceptional to me! Can you imagine a computer that is a million times better than Google?  Another fact stated that it took 38 years for the radio to have a market audience of 50 million whereas it only took 4 years for the internet.  That tells me that every “new gadget” invented reaches more people faster than the previous one.

What does this all mean? Technology is growing rapidly and we (the human race) are too. On top of that we are consumers.  We will always want the newest technology available and why not? It makes our lives easier and soon the old paper and pencil may be nonexistent.  Dr. Strange’s final question was “are you ready to be an educator?”  Yes, I am. I plan to incorporate technology to my best ability. Sure, everything in this world has its pro’s and con’s but, if the statement is true that in ten years we will have new jobs with new  technology we need to stay on our tech toes! Am I prepared? Yes, to the best of my ability. I am going to teach our future with the technology of not today but, tomorrow.

Mr.Winkle Wakes

By: Mathew Needleman

In Mr.Winkle Wakes my first thought when he was feeling sick was he has got a headache from Electromagnetic hypersensitivity which according to pri.org is a range of symptoms that sufferers feel when they are exposed to electromagnetic fields including acute headaches, skin irritation and chronic pain. But, then as I watched I began to realize our schools need technology! How are we as future educators going to prepare pupils for jobs that will in ten years suddenly exist that use technology not yet invented?

I live in Bay Minette, Alabama where students at my local high school, Baldwin County High, have been given Mac’s to use for their work and to use as their own personal computers. I think this is awesome but, what about the other 42 schools in Baldwin County. Do they have a classroom like in Mr. Winkle Wakes?  Are they able to explore and find information out on their own?

I believe the moral behind Mr. Winkle Wakes is our youth will be the next business man or woman making calls via Skype and they will also be the next x-ray technicians and etc. Why are we limiting our youth, students, children, and our future of this world by not allowing them to use and access technology in the schools? When we know for a fact technology is a constant in one’s life today. The jobs that they will need to support their families depend on having the knowledge to effectively use technology. If you do not understand my reasoning for using effectively instead of efficiently read this article I found Effective is Not the Same as Efficient .

Schools Kill Creativity

By: Sir Ken Robinson

Sir Ken Robinson’s Schools Kill Creativity was a wonderful video. He works by hooking you in with humor and building his lecture. He mentions how important education is and how deeply people believe in it. He also mentions how if an alien was to visit public education and ask “what is it for?”  The final conclusion would be to produce university professors.

When Sir Robinson pointed out how academics are the focus in schools it caught my attention. He is completely right. As students we are told when taking SAT’s, OlSAT’s, and ACT’s that these would affect our lives. We would have a score at the end of each that would determine where we should be. All our lives we study and stress about tests that will determine our future.  

I believe that educators should allow students to use their creativity. I believe if the arts were integrated into the curriculum dropout rates would decrease. Students dread going to school now because it is “burp back education”. Give the kids something to be excited about. Something they can put their hands on and explore. Something like this EDM 310 class. It gives the students an opportunity to express themselves on their blogger by customizing their backgrounds and the tools needed to explore new things that are helpful and educating. It gives us students’ freedom with boundaries yet, fun and educating videos and more.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning 

The main argument in A Vision for 21st Century Learning was that our world, for the most part, is technologically literate. We use technology in pretty much every aspect of our lives. Our classrooms on the other hand consist of sitting there grade to grade cramming facts (or as Dr. Strange would say using burp back education). However, the students need to be prepared for the 21^st century work environment.

I think that the classroom should be student based rather than teacher based. The teacher should not sit and lecture on and on. Instead the students should be exploring and interacting with each other. I think that blogs would be a wonderful way to monitor student’s progress in English, reports, history, and more. It would be a great tool to have so that the students could gain feedback from each other, the teacher, and people around the world. YouTube videos could be great instructional tools. Skype could be used to keep a student that has been out for some reason caught up on work.  I believe that it is time for the classroom to revolutionize!

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

In Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts Vicki Davis has taken her classroom to another level. Although her classroom seems to be more of an elective that students choose to take rather than a core class I believe they should incorporate technology in all classes. I love how she learns with the students. She made the statement that teachers feel as if they need to know everything before they teach it and that it is the wrong approach. It empowers the student when they figure it out on their own. I also like that she uses words that the students may or may not know and expects them to look it up.

I think that if more teachers would get off their high horses and quit shunning upon the internet because "it can be used in such bad ways" and teach the students the right way to use it, classrooms would finally come together with the real world. A teacher must have the will  to be a lifelong learner in order to be an effective teacher. We can’t stop with just what we know and we most definitely can’t stop with what is in the textbook.