Blog Assignment #5

The iSchool Initiative:

Travis Allen had some great points in his video, The iSchool Initiative. I loved that as a student he saw the needs of his school and the budget cuts that were being made. He took the time to come up with an a idea, that I agree, would be a great way to use technology in the classroom and cut back on spending. He produced the argument that applications can go above and beyond just video games and entertainment.

I think his idea is brilliant. Schools could really save money and resources by using the iSchool. Technology is making a huge impact on society as it is and it needs to be brought to the classroom in a way that will help educate students. Travis Allen showed in his video that all these different applications can take the place of the expensive essentials needed in the classroom. However, I do think that students may get caught up in the iSchool itself and not just simply remain focused on the educational things. That would be something that would have to be monitored. Also, I think that somethings in the curriculum should be a more hands on experience. Those are my only concerns for this idea. The iSchool seems like it would be a very resourceful addition to the education system. I also enjoyed watching Travis Allen's video Travis Allen's ZeitgeistYoungMinds entry. It is great to see that his idea has launched out worldwide. That just goes to show how worldwide technology is and that one person with an idea can spark change all over.

Erin Whitacre's Virtual Choir:

This video was amazing! Erin Whitacre pulls hundreds of people together, that have never sung together before or even met, to make a virtual choir. I remember seeing the video, Erin Whitacre's Virtual Choir, on the news months ago. The song itself is beautiful and the voices are so harmonious. It is incredible what people can do with technology these days.

Teaching in the 21st Century:

Dr. Strange's version of Kevin Roberts' video, Teaching in the 21st Century, was very insightful. I have been realizing more and more lately that with the progress of technology, the teacher's role in the classroom is more obsolete. I think that in our EDM310 class we learn how to use technology to its fullest advantages as a teaching aid. Our new role as educators is to teach students how to properly use the resources they have available to them through technology. We all retrieve most of our information from the internet or other technological resources and students need to know how to be utilize these resources.

Flipped Classroom:

Flipping the classroom is a wonderful idea!! I love the idea that students are able to get lecture information and a practice before the teacher has gone over that particular topic. After watching the videos: Flipping the Classroom-4th Grade STEM, Why I Flipped My Classroom, Dr. Lodge McCammon's FIZZ-Flipping the Classroom; I realized just how helpful it is to give students information ahead of time. Students can go back to previous lessons for remediation and review, while other students can work ahead.

I can see how this process can motivate students to be more involved, as they are encouraged to work at their own pace. I think that students will be much more engaged in the classroom by doing this, instead of just sitting in class listening to lectures. It seems like a great way for parents to also get more involved in what their children are learning in school. This will help the teachers more effective get the subject matter across to students and give them more time for application on what they have learned. I love this idea.

Project #6

Blog Assignment #4

Langwitches

I am not going to lie, I know very little about podcasts and until I started this Edm310 class, I had not heard much about podcasts. These posts about podcasting were very insightful.

Langwitches Listening-Comprehension-Podcasting was a great post. It is wonderful to see how far technology has come, and that a podcast can help students so much. I like how hands on it can be for students, to make a podcast. Podcasts can help students learn by listening and being able to comprehend studies better. It is a great tool for teachers, especially language teachers, as the post mentioned. Langwitches-Podcasting with 1st Grade is such a great post. I loved reading about how a teacher took the time to use technology as a way to get her first grade class to get involved. They used literature and technology to take the students thinking to different level. As mentioned in the post, the more the students worked on the podcast and their recordings, the more they wanted to help out with the editing of the podcast. Langwitches-Flat Stanley Podcast was about a class that read the book Flat Stanley and was inspired by their responses from a project they did that they wanted to make a podcast. Seeing how students love hands on work and a chance to work with technology, is so great. The students had to think about the script, senses, and sound effects to go along with what they had researched.

After reading the posts I feel a bit more educated about podcasts. I think that podcasts are something that I will try to use in my classroom when I become a teacher. I am excited to see how technology will continue to influence the classroom environment.

Project #5 Presentation

C4T #1

Doug Peterson is a sessional instructor at University of Windsor in Canada. The first time I read his blog, he was writing about a group of high school students that founded a program called Hallway. Hallway, as Mr. Peterson stated, is a social network where students from all over the world can ask questions pertaining to school work and receive help. The students can not also receive help on their studies but they can also help other students worldwide with their studies. It looks like a great way for students to interact.

The second time that I commented on his blog, he had written a post on a product called mural.ly. It seems like a great product that can help enhance the connection between blogging and twitter. He gave a description of how fast it is for a blog or tweet about a blog to move throughout the network. It was a terrific post and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mr. Peterson's blog.

Click here to view Mr. Peterson's blog

Blog Assignment #3

Thoughts on Peer Editing:
The videos: What is Peer Editing?, Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes and the tutorial: Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, were very helpful and offered a different outlook on peer editing. The videos and the tutorial were helpful in explaining how to edit when it comes to peer editing. I agree that it is important to stay positive when editing a peer's blog. Being too harsh on your peer could cause them to become discouraged. However, it is important to be specific about mistakes made so that they can know exactly what you mean and it is also good to give helpful suggestions on how to correct their mistakes.

The video on the top ten mistakes when peer editing showed me how not to act when editing a classmate's blog. Overall, the videos and the tutorials showed that being positive and giving helpful critiques is the best way to edit a peer's blog. We should not be a Picky Patty or a Mean Margaret when we edit, simply because we would not want some one to edit our blogs in a negative. Staying positive and helpful is the key.

Technology in Special Education:
The video Technology in Special Education, was so amazing!! It shows how important it is to stay up to date with technology, as it can impact our classrooms in incredibly ways. The video allows us an insight on a day in a special education classroom where they use technology as an aid. It showed that technology makes it easier for special education children and adults to accomplish classwork and homework. Technology, as shown in the video, makes it easier for the student and teacher to communicate. Technology helps these students to be able to help themselves learn and that is so important. Without technology these students require a more one on one environment.

Being able to have special education students in my classroom when I become a teacher will be such a great experience and blessing. I plan to use technology to help my students learn and actually enjoy the classroom setting; and I am excited to use technology to help students with special needs. They are just like other students, they just need extra assistance and technology helps so much with being able to give them the assistance they deserve. I plan to have as much technology in my classroom as possible.

Special Education and the IPad:
It is truly amazing to see how something like an IPad can help a special needs child learn. Technology is a great wonder. The IPad makes learning fun and entertaining to special needs students. I chose Proloquo2Go as an app to help special needs children.

Proloquo2Go is a great way for special needs children to work on their speech and communication. This app shows them pictures of tasks they can do and when they click on the pictures it speaks for them. This app becomes a voice for those who need help with communication and speech. It is an amazing tool, just like the IPad itself, they are helpful to special needs children in so many ways.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts:
Vicki Davis's video Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, shows how students can self-teach through technology. It is much easier for students to learn when they are hands-on, doing it themselves, instead of listening to a teacher lecture an entire class period. By doing things on their own through technology, students can find a sense of empowerment by learning to do things on their own.

This video also shows how peers can teach other and even their teachers by using technology. It showed how students can interact and create with other students all over the world. Vicki had great advice on using technology in the classroom. Students, in even rural towns like Vicki's, should be given the opportunities to learn, create, discover, and interact just like the students in her classroom. It is amazing to see how she has transformed her classroom into a technology based learning experience.

Project #2

Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know
After watching the two videos, Did You Know? 3.0 A John Strange 2012 Version and Did You Know? 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, I was completely taken back by the surprising information in both videos.

The first video I watched was the one by Dr. Strange. The statistics were eye opening and extremely unsettling. As I watched the video I realized that we as Americans tend to rank ourselves among the top when it comes to things such as: education, technology, and social media. In reality we are not among the top nations in these areas. I think back to my mother, who is from Germany, and that on top of taking German as a class she was also required to take English. That requirement has not changed, as my cousin(who lives in Germany) is also required to take English courses. Yes, our schools require us to take a foriegn language in high school but in other countries learning a foriegn language is being taught at a younger age and progressing them to be fluent in those languages. Most other countries, as mentioned in the statistics shown, are far better educated that America. It is devastating to realize that, unknown to many, our nation is being surpassed by other countries in almost every aspect. Yet, as Americans, we are still in the mind set that we are far better than any foriegners.

While watching the second video I became even more unsettled. I had not realized that in 2004 the top jobs of today were nonexisitent; and that the methods, that students are studying trades in their first year of trade schools, will be outdated by their third year of trade school. Technology is certainly progressing. The video even stated that in 2016 they are forseeing the production of a computer that will work like the human brain(with its capabilities and information). I am impressed that technology is constantly progressing and its vast capabilities.

Mr. Winkle Wakes By Matthew Needleman
I thoroughly enjoyed the video Mr. Winkle Wakes By Matthew Needleman. It was cleaver to use a child-like story to portray a simple yet important message. This video shows the importance of technology and its impact on the world, and how the use of technology has not made its needed impact in the classroom.

I agree with the video, that technology needs to make a greater impact in the classroom. However, I see nothing wrong with leactures and note taking. Technology should be used as an aid in the classroom to accompany leactures. Students should be shown how to use the resources that technology offers, in order for them to keep up with fast and ever changing technological world. Students can be taught skills through technology that will help them in the job market in their years to come. Technology is all around us and this video helps enlighten, those like Mr. Winkle, on this topic. I hope that more people see this video and realize the importance of technology in our classrooms today.

The Importance of Creativity By Sir Ken Robinson
The video The Importance of Creativity By Sir Ken Robinson was insightful. I completely agree with his views on the importance of creativity and how the school systems are killing the creativity in students. In his speech he gives many examples of how education is shunning the arts in the schools. He explains how education is focused on the hierarchy of subjects that society deems important; including mathamatics, sciences, and literature. This excludes fields such as dance, music, and art.

I myself have seen this happen, as I was heavily involved in the music department throughout grade school. The basic subjects of math, science, history, and literature were said to be the most important; and the art programs feel to the bottom of the list. Education has taught us that creativity is not important or necessary in the educational environment. Creative topics like dance and music can lead to extraodinary talents and yes, there are promising careers in those fields. It is disheartening to see kids with vast creativity get medicated and ignored and told that it is ADD or ADHD. It has become an excuse for people. It is important for students to have the ability to express their creativity, as well as be taught the necessary basic subjects.

Mr. Robinson has some great thoughts on the importance of creativity and I strongly agree with his thoughts. When I become a teacher I plan on encoraging creativity with my students.

Think About the Future: A Day Made of Glass 2, A Day Made of Glass 2: Unpacked. The Story Behind Corning's Vision, Project Glass: Live Demo at Google and In Light of Mr. Winkle Wakes
After watching these videos I am in complete awe of technology advances. A Day Made of Glass 2 I was completely amazed at the technology that Corning has access too and that this company is trying to make this accessable worldwide. After watching A Day Made of Glass 2: Unpacked. The Story Behind Corning's Vision, it was shocking to hear that for automobiles glass is already accessable, although it is at unrealistic price. Technology is a wonderful thing and it is important that we all know how to use it, because in the future our lives are going to be more and more technology based. I like how the videos showed how glass would be used in the classrooms and how it would be a very hands on experience. I appreciated how Project Glass: Live Demo at Google showed how mobile glass can be. It seems to be a great product and a significant advance in technology. However, I was a little uneasy about the idea of glass at a park. Nature is one thing that should be experienced without technology. Call me old-fashioned on that part, but that is simply my thought on that one.

In light of Mr. Winkle Wakes, if I were to awake after one hundred years of sleep to see glass walls, like Corning's product, I am not sure what I would think. It is mind boggling to realize how far technology has progressed and the unfathomable future that technology will hold. It will be interesting to see where technology will take us.