January 31, 2010

Media Literacy in First Grade
Wow! I was so impressed by both of these videos. Ms. Cassidy is doing an amazing job with her students. As I commented on their site, I would love to be able to emulate what she is doing with her students.
The students seemed to be well trained in their technology skills. They knew where to click with no help from the teacher. They were writing in their own blogs! It was astonishing to see them actually using wikis. I really liked the process Ms. Cassidy uses for students to access learning games and sites through there own website. Students simply had to click the skill they were to work on and go directly to that site. I always had to save them in my favorites and click on them for the student, for I had no class website.
I can just hope that when I begin teaching again my students will have access to that many computers and not just for a half hour a day. Maybe the public school system will soon grasp the importance of technology in education and put it in the forefront as a vital tool for learning.



My Thoughts on Podcasts

After listening to an array of podcasts, I've come to believe that podcasting is an excellent tool to use in education. The possibilities could be endless for learning and teaching. Teachers can find all sorts of ideas for the classroom. One thought came to mind, remember all those cassette tapes to record fluency reading? Well, no more. Just use a podcast and then it can be shared online for the parent to hear their child's progress. How about a weekly newsletter for the classroom recorded by the students and the teacher and shared online on the classroom website? The possibilities for podcasts in education are unlimited.

My first observation with the podcasts I listened to were the various types of introductions. Many began with a musical intro which I found appealing, although some musical introductions were drawn out too long. Ah, that's where I realize the itunes slider comes in handy and it's more convenient to the listener to download the podcasts first. Other podcasts got right to the point with no music. They listed their objectives and proceeded in their discussion. Many had guests or two hosts discussing subjects. In some instances I found this to be annoying in that the hosts or guests were too long winded in meaningless chitter chatter. At least, unlike a traditional radio show, the listener has the ability to bypass the chitter chatter or music and get to the substance of the discussion.

I was under the impression by the title of Kidcasts that all of the podcasts were created by students for students. After listening, I found it has many ideas for teachers. Educators discuss a variety of subjects and uses for podcasting with student examples of podcasts. Had I not explored the Kidcasts audio clips I would have assumed it was just for kids. As a beginning podcaster I would use Kidcasts as a starting point to learn and get ideas.

Overall, most podcasts sounded well prepared, interesting, and informative other than an occasional technical mishap. I found some podcasts were a little too lengthy in their discussion to keep your attention and, I would say, for the teacher who has very little free time. The time they have is valuable and they can appreciate short and to the point. The vast array of choices in podcasts were mind boggling, yet, intriguing enough to keep you searching and listening.

January 24, 2010

It's Not About the Technology

Ms. Hines made some excellent points on technology and education. I totally agree with Ms. Hines that teachers need to be learners and self-motivated to stay up to date on current trends. Self-motivation is the key word. Teachers can not stay in their comfort zone and continue with the same teaching methods. They need to continue learning, practice what they've learned, and find ways to reach all students with different learning styles.
I do believe technology can be used to facilitate learning, but not just to facilitate learning. I also agree we need to involve students in critical thinking, problem solving skills and finding ways for them to be creative. Technology is just one tool for students to learn these skills.
I believe all teachers should be learners. If a teacher is not a learner, how can they be an effective teacher? I interpret a teacher as learner in many aspects. Sure, as a teacher one needs to learn their students and learning styles. Yes, learn how to customize their learning experiences and learn how to be innovative. Teachers need to continue learning, staying up to date with technology and use the technology to do, as Ms. Hines says, "amazing things", not just to facilitate learning.


A Vision of Students Today

Interesting video! I would think many of today's students can relate to that video. Seeing as I'm an older returning student, I can only relate to some of the statements. For instance, in my early years of college, I definitely recall the large classrooms in an auditorium where the professor did not know your name. I would say that now, I read more web pages than I do books. As far as being a multi-tasker, well, I think we all have to be in today's fast paced society.

The video portrayed it's message in an appealing manner. The choice of music complimented the video perfectly. I think the video got the point across, granted that you choose whether to take your education seriously. Sure, the educational system could be better. We may not agree with all that we see in the video, however, it seems to be an accurate portrayal of students today
and the educational system.


Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I could not agree more with Carl Fisch! I think he is right on the mark about teachers needing to be technologically literate. As Mr. Fisch stated, technology is a part of life. It is a large part of how we communicate today.
Teachers need to make the effort to stay up to date on technology. It's also important that teachers practice and apply what they learn and look for ways to be innovative in their teaching with the use of technology. It's obvious, as Mr. Fisch says, "teachers need to demonstrate continual learning" or we will be doing a disservice to our students. I think he made an excellent point when he compared a teacher 30 years ago that did not know how to read or write to a teacher today who is not technologically literate.


Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Gary Hayes Social Media Count makes me realize how fast the world is moving. As an educator, this definitely wakes me up to what's happening. I need to constantly stay educated on new technology. Not just learn whats happening with the technology, actually explore ways to incorporate and utilize technology into student's learning. Teacher training and learning will need to be ongoing. I'll need to be self-motivated to continue and expand on what I've learned. If I don't stay up to date with technology, my students are going to leave me behind, while I scratch my head and wonder what's happening.
Just as a post script, I think Gary Hayes Social Media Count would be great to project on a Smart Board in a classroom for students to see and as a reminder to teachers as to how fast technology is moving.

Blog Posts for January 17, 2010

Mr. Winkle Wakes

Mathew Needleman used a creative way to get the message across on technology in education in his YouTube video "Mr. Winkle Wakes". It is an amusing video and to the point. The video definitely rings true to some extent as it portrays how far behind in computer technology our educational system is.
We all know computer technology has come a long way, but as the video portrays, it is not at the forefront of public education. I believe teachers need to learn how to better utilize the technology they do have and teach students to become independent learners so they may apply technology as a tool to assist their learning. Until public education catches up with the rest of the world, schools and teachers need to make the most of the technology they have in creative ways so that our classrooms do not look like the classroom Mr. Winkle was in.

Did You Know?

The You Tube video “Did You Know” by Karl Fisch had some very interesting information, though it had me asking more questions after viewing it several times. I would’ve liked to have seen more facts. For instance, why does Bermuda have the largest penetration of broadband internet? Not sure I quite understand their point. Is it that they are just now catching on to broadband internet in comparison to other countries? They are a smaller country. Are they comparing it to population? I just don’t understand where there statistics are coming from. Why will China soon become the number one English speaking country in the world? Is it because they want to speak English or are they forced to? I was amazed to learn the amount of honors students in India verses the US. India has more honors kids than America has kids! Although in comparison, I wonder what is the percentage of honors students the US has as to total students. I wonder what those top ten in demand jobs are for 2010 that did not exist in 2004. I question if we are really preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet. How are we preparing them if we don’t even know what they are yet?

A good bit of the information does make sense though. For example, the video stated there are 31 billion searches on Google a month and where did they go before Google. Well, there were other search engines before Google and now Google is the number one search engine. Of course, more people today have access to internet, especially in rural communities that didn’t have it a few years back. You could also look at the prices of electronics, computers and internet devices. As prices came down, these devices became more affordable to the public. We have more population than we did when radio and TV came out, so it makes sense that it wouldn’t take as long to reach 50 million people as other earlier electronic devices.

Overall, I found this video interesting though not enough details. It left me asking more questions about the information it gave. I want to know more details. I guess I will need to access the internet and search Google if I want more details.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

Sir Ken Robinson's humorous approach to his talk on the importance of creativity was entertaining yet accurate. I especially enjoyed when he spoke of the young boys playing the part of the three kings in a nativity play. The third child playing one of the three kings said, "Frank sent this". As Ken Robinson stated, it portrays the chances young children will take and they aren't frightened of being wrong.

Sir Ken Robinson stated, "... that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it." It brought to mind my own experiences as a teacher of Kindergarten students. As the students were beginning readers and writers, I would encourage them to sound out and write using inventive or phonetic spelling. In the early stages of their writing I would display their work. I was proud of them for writing sentences using their sight words and phonetic spelling. It showed their progression and encouraged them to continue writing without restrictions of correct spelling patterns. After all, they were in the early stages of writing and I did not want to stifle them from sounding out and writing on their own. Years later we were told not to display unedited work. I had no problem with this as they progressed. Although, in their early stages of writing I felt I was stifling their creative writing. Another words, you would praise them for spelling phonetically and writing good sentences. On the other hand, you'd tell them you can't display it until you rewrite it with correct spelling. It just seemed to me to discourage them from writing creatively and phonetically for fear of being wrong. Of course, that's just my thoughts on it. I could be wrong (I do have this fear of being wrong). In conclusion, I can understand what he meant when he said, "we get educated out of creativity".

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis has an excellent teaching philosophy. The fact that she believes all students can learn is shown in her video. The students are actively participating, learning, brainstorming, sharing ideas and teaching. She stated that she teaches based on their strengths and interests, keeping the curriculum in mind and also encourages them to be independent learners. It's quite evident when you view the video of her students in action.
I was amazed to learn of the activities the students were involved in. Students were leading or teaching the class and creating their own Teraform, a term I had never heard of until I watched this video. A wonderful way to network with other students all over the globe is the use of the The Digiteen Network where they learn about digital citizenship, research, write and share their writings by blogging and wikis. I found the most interesting activity to be the Flat Classroom Project where students can learn and keep up to date on information technology trends. They collaborate, research and experience many of the trends they learn about. With technology moving as fast as it does, this activity is an excellent way for students to keep up with the new trends. It would be great to see more classrooms incorporating this format of teaching.