Everyone it's been a lot of fun. I hope you all got something out of the class. Dr. Strange thanks for all the help! I'm sure I'll stop by frequently.
My EDM 310 Blog is complete!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Things I Learned
1. How to create a blog. I had never used one before this class.
2. Podcasts- I have never listened to them before either. I'm surprised that there is so much free information out there. It was also really fun to make one.
3. The ACCESS Lab- it was so neat! I would love to use one someday.
4. Electronic Contact- It was interesting to talk to someone in another country. I really want to teach overseas one day so this was great for me.
5. SpreadSheets- I've never really had prolonged experience with them. I know they will be useful when I begin to take trips around the world.
I think it would be really neat if we could have been able to use an ACCESS lab. Maybe South could set up a mock one. I have never used a smartboard and I think I should have knowledge of how they work. I really don't want to be in a school where that's all they use and not be able to work off of one. More hands on technology would be great.
2. Podcasts- I have never listened to them before either. I'm surprised that there is so much free information out there. It was also really fun to make one.
3. The ACCESS Lab- it was so neat! I would love to use one someday.
4. Electronic Contact- It was interesting to talk to someone in another country. I really want to teach overseas one day so this was great for me.
5. SpreadSheets- I've never really had prolonged experience with them. I know they will be useful when I begin to take trips around the world.
I think it would be really neat if we could have been able to use an ACCESS lab. Maybe South could set up a mock one. I have never used a smartboard and I think I should have knowledge of how they work. I really don't want to be in a school where that's all they use and not be able to work off of one. More hands on technology would be great.
Blogs in the Classroom
I chose to read Patricia Robbins Blog because it was very colorful and had a great post about the Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. Her blog made me want to delete mine off the Internet because it was so plain! I think the information is good though! I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about blogs in the classroom. They definitely have their pros and cons. I will start with the pros though.
I think that a class blog that all the students and teacher share can be a great way to get the class connected and talking. Students are spending so much time on the computer when they get home now that a notebook with printouts is essentially useless. They probably won't look at it. A class blog can hold podcasts that the teacher and students have done. Wouldn't that be nice to have at your fingertips the night before an exam? That's pretty much what Dr. Strange has done with his site. Everything we need is online and I think that's great. No more dead trees and lost papers! A class blog can allow a discussion that was begun in class to continue even after the lights have been turned off. Wouldn't it feel great if your students were willingly conversing on something you covered in class when they didn't have to? Individual blogs could be a space for students to write their own opinions on topics that have been assigned to them. That's what we have done in EDM 310 and I think it has a lot of benefits. Instead of making students stress over turning in tons of papers I could have them keep up a blog like the one I'm about to finish (yay!). They could write nightly paragraphs on whatever work of literature we are covering. At the end of the year when it is time for them to write a final paper they have already done most of the work! All that is left is to stick in some outside sources. Also they will be always be able to view their blogs. The hard work they have done will not just rot away in my file folders. I always hated that when I was in school!
Blogs in the class can also cause problems. Not every child I teach will have access to a computer after class. As unbelievable as it sounds there are people who don't have personal computers because they can't afford them. This would make it kind of hard for a student to pass my class if I require nightly posts. Also just because students know how to use blogs doesn't mean they will use the class one or theirs responsibly. Kids are notorious for spreading gossip in class so why not on the Internet as well? Some parents are afraid of the Internet because of all the bad things that can happen to kids online. I would hate to have angry parents knocking on my door. Well that will happen no matter what but still. Not everyone has embraced technology. I could also have a student who just isn't that good with a computer. It can happen although it sounds impossible. Also there is also the problem of the blogs becoming social tools instead of academic ones.
Blogs can be good and bad. I have never used one before so for me this was a learning experience. The topics could be boring at times but the technology itself has a lot of uses. I would like to at least try using blogs in the classroom. If it doesn't work then I will find another way to incorporate technology into my classroom. All in all I feel that I learned a lot from this class.
I think that a class blog that all the students and teacher share can be a great way to get the class connected and talking. Students are spending so much time on the computer when they get home now that a notebook with printouts is essentially useless. They probably won't look at it. A class blog can hold podcasts that the teacher and students have done. Wouldn't that be nice to have at your fingertips the night before an exam? That's pretty much what Dr. Strange has done with his site. Everything we need is online and I think that's great. No more dead trees and lost papers! A class blog can allow a discussion that was begun in class to continue even after the lights have been turned off. Wouldn't it feel great if your students were willingly conversing on something you covered in class when they didn't have to? Individual blogs could be a space for students to write their own opinions on topics that have been assigned to them. That's what we have done in EDM 310 and I think it has a lot of benefits. Instead of making students stress over turning in tons of papers I could have them keep up a blog like the one I'm about to finish (yay!). They could write nightly paragraphs on whatever work of literature we are covering. At the end of the year when it is time for them to write a final paper they have already done most of the work! All that is left is to stick in some outside sources. Also they will be always be able to view their blogs. The hard work they have done will not just rot away in my file folders. I always hated that when I was in school!
Blogs in the class can also cause problems. Not every child I teach will have access to a computer after class. As unbelievable as it sounds there are people who don't have personal computers because they can't afford them. This would make it kind of hard for a student to pass my class if I require nightly posts. Also just because students know how to use blogs doesn't mean they will use the class one or theirs responsibly. Kids are notorious for spreading gossip in class so why not on the Internet as well? Some parents are afraid of the Internet because of all the bad things that can happen to kids online. I would hate to have angry parents knocking on my door. Well that will happen no matter what but still. Not everyone has embraced technology. I could also have a student who just isn't that good with a computer. It can happen although it sounds impossible. Also there is also the problem of the blogs becoming social tools instead of academic ones.
Blogs can be good and bad. I have never used one before so for me this was a learning experience. The topics could be boring at times but the technology itself has a lot of uses. I would like to at least try using blogs in the classroom. If it doesn't work then I will find another way to incorporate technology into my classroom. All in all I feel that I learned a lot from this class.
Documentary Podcasts
I have always loved history so I am surprised I have not been using podcasts for a while. There were so many documentary podcasts! Some were done by professionals and some by students. People have used them to document the lives of past family members while others have done posts on jelly fish. Either way it's a great free source of conversations and movies! I especially liked the one on Shakespeare. Who knew the known facts of his life could be written on a note card. If I were to be a history teacher I would be downloading as many of these as possible and bring them to class with me. I could even have my students make their own documentary podcasts. They could be about their families and friends or personal opinions and preferences. I would personally do one about Italy. That country is a work of art in my opinion. There is just so much you can do with podcasts as far as research goes. Of course you have to take the information there with a grain of salt depending on who it comes from. Anyone can make a podcast after all. But learning how to determine if a source is reliable is a lesson in itself. I would like to use podcasts in my English classroom a lot because I think they are a great source of quick information.
Electronic Contact
I contacted a teacher named Beth Ferrier that teaches over in Singapore. Her school is an international one that Americans as well as others who are living outside their country use. It is a very beautiful and small school that goes from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Technology is used a lot because, as an international school, they get students and applicants from all over the world. Teachers wishing to apply to teach there send in all of their resumes and personal information in electronically. The students have access to various degree programs that offer lots of classes. They have a much larger language selection there than we do here. They offer French, Spanish, German, Japanese and Mandarin! I can't think of a local high school that offers the last two. Mrs. Ferrier sent me a link to the school's site and I pulled this little blurb off about the technology they use that the school. At the end of this post I will put up the link.
"Working in partnership with Apple Computer Inc., the Overseas Family School integrated 1,200 Mac computers- desktop top iMac's and portable iBook laptops- into the school curriculum. All students have Internet access. From interactive music composition lessons with the Encore Music Software to graphing curves with Curvus Pro in mathematics classes, technology is integrated into everyday learning.
The school features nine distinct main computing labs. The Information Technology team at Overseas Family School is currently exploring the use of iBook and AirPort, portable wireless computers, for mobile classroom learning. In the next year, we plan to put in place an advanced server system. This system will offer all students, seamless access to their work from any computer in the school and from their own homes. Additionally, it will allow parents to log-in via password and check student information. We have chosen a Linux-based server platform for flexibility and to meet high security and encryption needs, insuring student privacy."
Sounds Heavenly doesn't it? The school also uses Open Document format where students can access their work from school or home. It's a lot like Google. Most high schools around here are lucky if they get a few computer labs stocked with old computers that don't even match. Since the school only has about 3000 students who come from about 60 different countries that means a computer for at least all of the students past elementary age. I am very interesting in teaching overseas one day and this place has really piqued my interest. Even though the project is over I am going to keep emailing Mrs. Ferrier and other teachers from around the world to find how out they teach and how I might be able to work over there for a while. It seems that paper and pencil will eventually be obsolete in this school!
Here is the Link http://www.ofs.edu.sg/
"Working in partnership with Apple Computer Inc., the Overseas Family School integrated 1,200 Mac computers- desktop top iMac's and portable iBook laptops- into the school curriculum. All students have Internet access. From interactive music composition lessons with the Encore Music Software to graphing curves with Curvus Pro in mathematics classes, technology is integrated into everyday learning.
The school features nine distinct main computing labs. The Information Technology team at Overseas Family School is currently exploring the use of iBook and AirPort, portable wireless computers, for mobile classroom learning. In the next year, we plan to put in place an advanced server system. This system will offer all students, seamless access to their work from any computer in the school and from their own homes. Additionally, it will allow parents to log-in via password and check student information. We have chosen a Linux-based server platform for flexibility and to meet high security and encryption needs, insuring student privacy."
Sounds Heavenly doesn't it? The school also uses Open Document format where students can access their work from school or home. It's a lot like Google. Most high schools around here are lucky if they get a few computer labs stocked with old computers that don't even match. Since the school only has about 3000 students who come from about 60 different countries that means a computer for at least all of the students past elementary age. I am very interesting in teaching overseas one day and this place has really piqued my interest. Even though the project is over I am going to keep emailing Mrs. Ferrier and other teachers from around the world to find how out they teach and how I might be able to work over there for a while. It seems that paper and pencil will eventually be obsolete in this school!
Here is the Link http://www.ofs.edu.sg/
Technology Talk Podcasts
I felt our podcasts came out a lot better than we all thought they would especially since most of us had never done one! The first podcast I listened to was Watchers and Listeners how do we Respond? It was done by the T4 class and I really liked how they showed just how much technology has changed. At one point ten mega bites was considered all the memory your computer would ever need. Cd's are now almost obsolete! The podcasters mentioned that people are reading books less and watching movies and listening to information on podcasts more. That is true but I have to disagree that people will stop reading completely. I know I will always love books and I prefer to read than listen. I found this podcast very informative though maybe it could have had a bit more opinion.
My group did Burp Back Education. After I got over my embarrassment at hearing my own mouse like voice I was really proud of how well we did. Granted I know there is a lot we could have done to make it better though. We have all had experiences with Burp Back Education and none of us enjoyed it. Patricia mentioned the math project her son had to do when he was in 6th grade. He had to plan out a thanksgiving dinner and do all the math for it. I would hug the teacher that came up with a math exercise like that. It was so realistic and useful and so far from the book and memorization techniques I was taught by. I think our podcast could have gone a bit longer and I think we repeated each other a bit to much. Still for a first try it wasn't bad and we really believed in what we were talking about. Down with Burp Back Education!
I also listened to Hannah, Catherine and Carrie and their podcast on how technology is used at South. I like their description of foliotek. They managed to describe its faults without completely condemning it like I would. It was a little repetitive but we have to admit that South doesn't have a whole lot of technology used in the classroom. Foliotek received a lot of attention but I was surprised to learn about the ebooks that are used in some of the education classes. I have never had to use one before so I'm curious about what that would be like. I'm used to paper! The last podcast I listened to was Reflection on Randy Paush's Last Lecture with Brett, Taylor, Jenny and Brie. The podcast was less of a conversation and more of a summary at points but it still touched on some interesting points he made. Taylor mentioned that the book was a good source of information and that actually made me go out and buy it. I really enjoyed it. You should teach the way you live your life. Hopefully that is with joy. I know I took a lot away from the Last Lecture and it is clear that they did also. I like how they mentioned that you should live every day as if it were your last. As scary as it was I'm glad we did these podcasts. I think they all came out very well and I hope people learned something from them.
My group did Burp Back Education. After I got over my embarrassment at hearing my own mouse like voice I was really proud of how well we did. Granted I know there is a lot we could have done to make it better though. We have all had experiences with Burp Back Education and none of us enjoyed it. Patricia mentioned the math project her son had to do when he was in 6th grade. He had to plan out a thanksgiving dinner and do all the math for it. I would hug the teacher that came up with a math exercise like that. It was so realistic and useful and so far from the book and memorization techniques I was taught by. I think our podcast could have gone a bit longer and I think we repeated each other a bit to much. Still for a first try it wasn't bad and we really believed in what we were talking about. Down with Burp Back Education!
I also listened to Hannah, Catherine and Carrie and their podcast on how technology is used at South. I like their description of foliotek. They managed to describe its faults without completely condemning it like I would. It was a little repetitive but we have to admit that South doesn't have a whole lot of technology used in the classroom. Foliotek received a lot of attention but I was surprised to learn about the ebooks that are used in some of the education classes. I have never had to use one before so I'm curious about what that would be like. I'm used to paper! The last podcast I listened to was Reflection on Randy Paush's Last Lecture with Brett, Taylor, Jenny and Brie. The podcast was less of a conversation and more of a summary at points but it still touched on some interesting points he made. Taylor mentioned that the book was a good source of information and that actually made me go out and buy it. I really enjoyed it. You should teach the way you live your life. Hopefully that is with joy. I know I took a lot away from the Last Lecture and it is clear that they did also. I like how they mentioned that you should live every day as if it were your last. As scary as it was I'm glad we did these podcasts. I think they all came out very well and I hope people learned something from them.
Itunes
The various podcasts all covered different material but each was rather interesting. I mentioned in my ACCESS post that I really wanted to use the smartboard that was in the lab. The smartboard podcast gave me more information on how the boards are used and different things that can be done with them. I really like how you can go from one site to another. The boards are so interactive and they are great tools for students to learn how to use. The smartboard podcast made the board less intimidating to. I know I probably won't get a chance to use one before I graduate. This way if I end up in a school with them I won't feel so lost on how they operate. This Week in Photography was focused on cameras and different tools for photographers. While it didn't have anything to do with education it shows how podcasts can be focused to one group and filled with information for them. It made me think of a radio show when I heard it. As an English teacher I could make a podcast on Shakespeare for my students to listen to. Mac Break Weekly was focused on the Apple computers and tools and how they are better than PC and Windows. They focused on virus protection. Like the Photography podcast it was focused on a specific form of technology. Also like the photography podcast it shows how focused a podcast can be. KidCast and Edtech Talk were much more useful to me. KidCast focused on podcasts and their use in the classroom. Podcasts by students are becoming more popular but they still aren't being used to their full potential. Instead of having students just make a podcast to make a podcast they should have a greater purpose. They should be done with some message or goal in mind. Teachers are using them more to make their lessons available twenty-four seven for their students. More and more they are becoming necessary. EdTech Talk focused on teaching with the involvement of parents using technology. They suggested a class blog where students and parents could interact with the teacher. I really like that idea because I believe parents make all the difference in the classroom. I want to use podcasts because I see how useful they are to keeping discussions going and gathering information and ideas for the classroom. I want my students and myself to be able to learn as much as possible each semester even though I will also have to teach things for the standardized tests as well. I like podcasts because they are free sources of information too. Free is always nice!
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