Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog
After watching the Shark-tastic interview, created by Mrs. Edmison’s third grade class, it helped me understand how simple, yet great a podcast can be. As you can tell in the podcast the students are quite intrigued with the facts the shark diver informs them with, and I loved how you could hear the excitement in the kids voices as they learned about sharks. The podcast is definitely a great strategy to use as a teacher. I think this is an excellent tool to use in the classroom to keep the kids interested and entertained while learning.
The benefits of podcasting in the classroom
This is definitely a helpful video for people who are interested in podcasting! Joe Dale, the creator of this video, points out some very great facts on how podcasting can help in the classroom. One of my favorite things that he pointed out was, if a student is sick and misses school they don’t have to miss out on class, instead they can simply listen to the lecture in a podcast the teacher has created. After watching this video I agree that podcasting can be very effective and beneficial for both the students and teachers in a classroom.
100 Ways to Use Your iPod to Learn and Study Better
This is a great website page that can help people get interested in podcasting. Not only does it give out links on how to set up a podcast and learn how to use it, but it also gives links to some very good podcasts out there that can be beneficial to learning. After looking over this article I realized there are numerous learning tools and podcasts available, such as listening to tutorials on how to speak another language, which is quite impressive.
To be honest before this assignment I never even knew what a podcast was. After researching these articles I have became quite interested in the whole podcasting idea. I agree that podcasting can be very beneficial in the classroom, especially if the teacher gives work outside of the classroom or if a student misses class. I really enjoyed the experience of learning how to do my own podcast. Learning how to cut and piece together my groups voices all to make a perfect flowing podcast speech in the end was very exciting. In the future when I have my own students I will surly keep in mind this experience of making a podcast and how great of an educational tool it can be.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Blog Assignment 4
Don’t Teach Your Kid’s This Stuff Please?
I really enjoyed Mr. McLeod’s post and couldn‘t agree with him more. I think it was a clever way of putting out there that children should not be sheltered from technology, which is the truth. Technology in a child’s life can be more beneficial rather than being harmful, and the parents will have to realize that if they want their child to be open to the opportunities of learning in the future. Mr. McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University and he also is the Director of the UCEA. He is very pro technology in the classrooms and is also widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues.
The iSchool Initiative
This video is quite shocking! It is hard to believe everything a student will need to know in a classroom can all be consumed onto one little ipod. Travis, the student that came up with this solution, is in no doubt brilliant. The idea of students having every information tool they need within a touch of a screen is amazing, but at the same time makes me wonder if the students will actually be learning efficiently from the “ischool.” If all the knowledge a student can ask for is one touch away, then how is the student actually learning when the information is just simply given to them?
Another topic in the video that was brought to my attention is how the ischool will be saving students money. One of my questions is will the school be supplying the ipods or will the students have to purchase them themselves, and also what happens if a student breaks their ipod or has technical difficulties? I read in a comment below the video that school are already starting to use this idea of the ischool around the nation. I hope to soon see the outcome of this mind blowing solution of fixing school systems.
The Lost Generation
This video is definitely an eye opener. When first watching The Lost Generation, I thought how depressing! It is sad to see all the negative things taking place in our lives today that can lead to even worse scenarios in the future. Once the narrator flipped the words around it makes you realize there is hope. In my opinion this video should be passed along to everyone so they can see that we are the only ones capable of making changes for the better of our future, instead of allowing things continue to spoil. Overall I liked the technique used in the video and thought it was very clever.
Eric Whitaker’s Virtual Chior
For starters the voices of the choir in this video are phenomenal. This is wonderful piece of art created by Eric Whitaker using technology, which is simply amazing. It had to take a lot of patience and talent to put this together, and they all did it through a computer screen. This is a great example of how technology can change the way people do things and be connected through the world as one.
I really enjoyed Mr. McLeod’s post and couldn‘t agree with him more. I think it was a clever way of putting out there that children should not be sheltered from technology, which is the truth. Technology in a child’s life can be more beneficial rather than being harmful, and the parents will have to realize that if they want their child to be open to the opportunities of learning in the future. Mr. McLeod is an Associate Professor in the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University and he also is the Director of the UCEA. He is very pro technology in the classrooms and is also widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading academic experts on K-12 school technology leadership issues.
The iSchool Initiative
This video is quite shocking! It is hard to believe everything a student will need to know in a classroom can all be consumed onto one little ipod. Travis, the student that came up with this solution, is in no doubt brilliant. The idea of students having every information tool they need within a touch of a screen is amazing, but at the same time makes me wonder if the students will actually be learning efficiently from the “ischool.” If all the knowledge a student can ask for is one touch away, then how is the student actually learning when the information is just simply given to them?
Another topic in the video that was brought to my attention is how the ischool will be saving students money. One of my questions is will the school be supplying the ipods or will the students have to purchase them themselves, and also what happens if a student breaks their ipod or has technical difficulties? I read in a comment below the video that school are already starting to use this idea of the ischool around the nation. I hope to soon see the outcome of this mind blowing solution of fixing school systems.
The Lost Generation
This video is definitely an eye opener. When first watching The Lost Generation, I thought how depressing! It is sad to see all the negative things taking place in our lives today that can lead to even worse scenarios in the future. Once the narrator flipped the words around it makes you realize there is hope. In my opinion this video should be passed along to everyone so they can see that we are the only ones capable of making changes for the better of our future, instead of allowing things continue to spoil. Overall I liked the technique used in the video and thought it was very clever.
Eric Whitaker’s Virtual Chior
For starters the voices of the choir in this video are phenomenal. This is wonderful piece of art created by Eric Whitaker using technology, which is simply amazing. It had to take a lot of patience and talent to put this together, and they all did it through a computer screen. This is a great example of how technology can change the way people do things and be connected through the world as one.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Summary C4T #1
In Joe Bower’s first post that I commented on, titled “Disengaged Kids are Inconvenient,” he explains why is it a student can be very eager and willing to learn with a certain teacher compared to the same student can be inattentive with another teacher. He states that it is easy for the teacher to just blame the student for their inconvenient behavior, but there has to be an excuse to why the student isn’t consistent with their attitudes towards learning. I commented on his post saying I agree and that I think it is simply easier for the teacher to blame the student rather than admitting their teaching style may not benefit that child. All students learn differently and if the teacher is not using different strategies to help their students learn, then they could be the problem not the student.
In the second post I commented on, titled “Instant Chat in the Classroom,” he tells a story about an incident that happened in his own classroom. He explains that he is trying a virtual chat with his students and tells them to upload a picture of themselves, and of course the students first response is “how do you do that?” He then tells them they basically have to figure it out amongst themselves, because he wasn’t going to help them. As he sits back and observes the students, one student finally posts exactly what he wanted. The student posted a comment asking for help on how to post a picture and in return another student helps her. I commented on his post saying I like the idea of using a virtual chat in the classroom. It seems like more and more kids in today’s society spend their spear time on facebook and if a classroom chat could give them the same effect as social networking, then I’m sure they would be fully interested.
In the second post I commented on, titled “Instant Chat in the Classroom,” he tells a story about an incident that happened in his own classroom. He explains that he is trying a virtual chat with his students and tells them to upload a picture of themselves, and of course the students first response is “how do you do that?” He then tells them they basically have to figure it out amongst themselves, because he wasn’t going to help them. As he sits back and observes the students, one student finally posts exactly what he wanted. The student posted a comment asking for help on how to post a picture and in return another student helps her. I commented on his post saying I like the idea of using a virtual chat in the classroom. It seems like more and more kids in today’s society spend their spear time on facebook and if a classroom chat could give them the same effect as social networking, then I’m sure they would be fully interested.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Additional Assignment #1
A. What are the educational implications of searches such as Google Squared provides? -For one of my searches I searched “Mississippi colleges” and with using Google Squared I got the description, location, enrollment number, and telephone number right away for each college, vs. a bunch of random websites to click on and search through.
B. What are the educational implications of searches such as WolframAlpha provides? -For this search I searched “lady gaga” and all that came up was her name, date of birth, and place of birth, vs. when I searched her in Google 322,000,000 results came up.
C. Did you know about Google Squared before this assignment? No
D. Did you know about Wolfram Alpha before this assignment? No
E. Reread your comments about Did You Know. Have my comments altered your thinking about anything you saw, heard, read, or reported for the Did You Know assignment? If not, say so. If so, describe how in as much detail as necessary.
-No, when first watching the video I was already aware of the fact that China and India’s population were much larger than the United States.
F. What did you learn from this exercise about how you react to and deal with "statistics"?
- I first learned that there are more efficient ways of searching things online vs. always using Google. I also learned to not jump to conclusions simply because a fact is stated, research the facts to learn further information.
Food for thought- I find it shocking a six year old can instantly know how to work an Ipad when many adults claim they can’t even turn a computer on.
B. What are the educational implications of searches such as WolframAlpha provides? -For this search I searched “lady gaga” and all that came up was her name, date of birth, and place of birth, vs. when I searched her in Google 322,000,000 results came up.
C. Did you know about Google Squared before this assignment? No
D. Did you know about Wolfram Alpha before this assignment? No
E. Reread your comments about Did You Know. Have my comments altered your thinking about anything you saw, heard, read, or reported for the Did You Know assignment? If not, say so. If so, describe how in as much detail as necessary.
-No, when first watching the video I was already aware of the fact that China and India’s population were much larger than the United States.
F. What did you learn from this exercise about how you react to and deal with "statistics"?
- I first learned that there are more efficient ways of searching things online vs. always using Google. I also learned to not jump to conclusions simply because a fact is stated, research the facts to learn further information.
Food for thought- I find it shocking a six year old can instantly know how to work an Ipad when many adults claim they can’t even turn a computer on.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Blog Assignment 3
A Vision of Student Today
This video states several facts that many college students can relate to. Although we can relate to these facts it makes me wonder who is to blame, the students or the teacher? It states in the video that students spend numerous hours doing things on the web, talking on the phone, listening to music, etc., but why is it that they choose to spend there time this way instead of studying and trying to learn; is it because the teachers work is simply boring or are the students just lazy? To be quite blunt I’m not sure what the point of this video is, it states random facts about how students spend their time but never really got to a point of why the video was made in the first place.
If I were to add to the video I would include some facts from the teachers point of view vs. just facts from a student survey. Now granted I can relate to how ridiculous the coast of books and school is for me, but I also knew what I was getting into from the start. Another thing that stood out to me is how many hours a day someone can spend on face book, I do not know why it is that so many people have been sucked into this social network but I can admit I too am a victim. Maybe if someone can come up with a way of teaching through a social networking class that was entertaining like facebook that would be the solution.
It’s Not About the Technology
After reading It’s Not About the Technology by Kelly Hines, I strongly agree with the points she has stated in her post. Out of the list of four things she mentions in order to impact the students effectively my favorite is number one, teachers must be learners. In order for students to learn, the teacher is the one responsible to be able to teach accurately and being able to use different methods of teaching so that every child in the class is gaining from the lesson. A teacher should not rely on the learning experience from the classroom to come from technology alone.
Ms. Hines also mentions in her post that a teacher may have the tools to use technology in the classroom such as computers or a whiteboard, but if the teacher isn’t willing to learn how to use it then the tools are useless. I think all teachers should be up to date with the latest technology, but that doesn’t mean they have to use it as there only teaching method in the classroom.
Is It Okay to be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
I can honestly say I agree with Mr. Karl Fisch one hundred percent. He is not trying to preach technology is the future, or that technology has to be used in the classrooms in order for students to learn, he is simply just trying to get the point across that teachers shouldn’t be aloud to be technologically-illiterate, and why should they be? In his post he states “All educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability” which is true, and if a teacher can’t achieve this then they should at least try to learn how.
This post also has brought to my attention the fact that in order for us to graduate and become future educators we must pass the micro computer class, but if they were to take a teacher who graduated fifty years ago with the same degree we are striving for and tell them they must now pass this class as well, I can grantee if the teacher was technologically illiterate they wouldn’t be able to do so. I think in all fairness every teacher should be able to use technology at least to a certain extent.
Social Media Count
It’s quite mind blowing seeing the speed of the tools of technology increase by the second. Teachers should be aware of the rapid growth rate of technology around them and if the students have the knowledge of using the technology I think the teachers should as well. Technology can definitely be useful for teachers in the classroom. In the future when I become a teacher I know technology will be the prime choice of educating in the classroom.
This video states several facts that many college students can relate to. Although we can relate to these facts it makes me wonder who is to blame, the students or the teacher? It states in the video that students spend numerous hours doing things on the web, talking on the phone, listening to music, etc., but why is it that they choose to spend there time this way instead of studying and trying to learn; is it because the teachers work is simply boring or are the students just lazy? To be quite blunt I’m not sure what the point of this video is, it states random facts about how students spend their time but never really got to a point of why the video was made in the first place.
If I were to add to the video I would include some facts from the teachers point of view vs. just facts from a student survey. Now granted I can relate to how ridiculous the coast of books and school is for me, but I also knew what I was getting into from the start. Another thing that stood out to me is how many hours a day someone can spend on face book, I do not know why it is that so many people have been sucked into this social network but I can admit I too am a victim. Maybe if someone can come up with a way of teaching through a social networking class that was entertaining like facebook that would be the solution.
It’s Not About the Technology
After reading It’s Not About the Technology by Kelly Hines, I strongly agree with the points she has stated in her post. Out of the list of four things she mentions in order to impact the students effectively my favorite is number one, teachers must be learners. In order for students to learn, the teacher is the one responsible to be able to teach accurately and being able to use different methods of teaching so that every child in the class is gaining from the lesson. A teacher should not rely on the learning experience from the classroom to come from technology alone.
Ms. Hines also mentions in her post that a teacher may have the tools to use technology in the classroom such as computers or a whiteboard, but if the teacher isn’t willing to learn how to use it then the tools are useless. I think all teachers should be up to date with the latest technology, but that doesn’t mean they have to use it as there only teaching method in the classroom.
Is It Okay to be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
I can honestly say I agree with Mr. Karl Fisch one hundred percent. He is not trying to preach technology is the future, or that technology has to be used in the classrooms in order for students to learn, he is simply just trying to get the point across that teachers shouldn’t be aloud to be technologically-illiterate, and why should they be? In his post he states “All educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability” which is true, and if a teacher can’t achieve this then they should at least try to learn how.
This post also has brought to my attention the fact that in order for us to graduate and become future educators we must pass the micro computer class, but if they were to take a teacher who graduated fifty years ago with the same degree we are striving for and tell them they must now pass this class as well, I can grantee if the teacher was technologically illiterate they wouldn’t be able to do so. I think in all fairness every teacher should be able to use technology at least to a certain extent.
Social Media Count
It’s quite mind blowing seeing the speed of the tools of technology increase by the second. Teachers should be aware of the rapid growth rate of technology around them and if the students have the knowledge of using the technology I think the teachers should as well. Technology can definitely be useful for teachers in the classroom. In the future when I become a teacher I know technology will be the prime choice of educating in the classroom.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Blog Assignment 2
Did You Know?
As I watched this video I was amazed by the facts presented behind technology in today’s life. It is a true eye opener to see how rapid the technology in our lives is growing. I think that it is important to stay up-to-date with technology considering it’s exponential growth rate in the world today. When he states the fact telling us that “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet” and “In order to solve problems we don’t even know yet,” that is what amazes me because as difficult as it is to think that, it is true. It is shocking to believe that in the future everyone in the world will be connected via internet, when in the past generations people lived without even knowing how to turn on a computer.
Another interesting fact that was stated in the video is it’s predicted that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species, I could not imagine there will actually be a computer capable of doing so. This video is full of interesting facts and knowledge about the world, that people in today’s life don’t even realize yet. I know technology is steadily increasing through out the world, what I didn’t know was how it will effect everyone’s life in one way or another very soon. It seems that at the rapid rate of internet usage one day we will all be connected as one.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
This movie was pretty interesting considering when Mr. Winkle wakes up the only thing remaining the same after a hundred years is the school systems. I feel that many elders in today’s society can relate to Mr. Winkle. Everything shown in the video are things that are happening in today’s life and I honestly think it is sad that after a hundred years teachers are still using the same techniques of teaching in the classroom.
In the video Mr. Winkle mentions that in the back of the classroom there is a dusty laptop that seems to rarely be used. The world around us is using computers for almost anything and everything, so why would there be a classroom consisting of only one laptop in the first place? I think there should be computers available for every student in a classroom, and instead of the regular daily lecture the student can learn not only from the teacher but how to be technically literate as well. If I were to fall asleep today and wake up in a hundreds years I would hope to find that the schools are not the same!
The Importance of creativity
At first I was not sure if I was going to like this video, but towards the end it caught my attention. Ken Robinson made some very interesting points throughout the video, my favorite one being when he was explaining the story about the dancer he mentions instead of the doctor diagnosing her with ADD, which in today’s case the doctor most likely would, he simply tells the girl’s mother nothing is wrong and the girl just needs to dance. Many children are now diagnosed with ADD or ADHD for whatever the reason being either the child is too loud, too hyper, or can’t pay attention. In my opinion yes, some children may actually have the disease, but in most all cases aren’t children supposed to be loud, playful, and full of energy? I believe Mr. Robinson has a great point in explaining how school systems only focus on the basics vs. teaching children how to express themselves in their own way.
It is also mentioned in the video that we are preparing students for a life that even we don’t know what is going to be like in the future, so why limit children in a classroom. I was never very talented in arts, but I was very good at a sport called inline speed skating. In 2006 when I was sixteen years old I made the USA inline speed skating team and felt so honored considering only the top eight girls in the country made it. I got to travel to South Korea that year and ended up getting fourth place in the world for my race. Racing was an experience of a lifetime, I got to travel, meet new people, and I was doing something I loved and was actually great at. I eventually quit skating because everyone stressed the fact that school is more important, and skating would bring me no where since it was not a college sport, isn’t in the Olympics, and it would be hard to make a career out of it. To this very day I regret quitting, but I’m also in my third year of college and trying to get my degree. Hopefully in the future I will be able to convince myself that I have made the right choice. We as young adults are taught that school is considered to be the most important thing in our life and in order to have a good future we must have a college education, but just like Ken Robinson mentioned in the video what if Picasso was pushed away from art to study math!
Harness your students’ digital smarts
This is a video all teachers and educators of the future should watch. During the video Vicki Davis explains why it is important for students to use technology in the classroom. Vicki makes a statement saying when students have only paper and pencil in the classroom then only certain types of children will succeed, and I strongly agree with her. I think it is important that students are more hands on with computers and learn more independently, because therefore a teacher can be sure the student is learning and being hands on.
Using computers in the classroom also makes it more interesting for the students vs. the students sitting in a desk and listening to a lecture. There are multiple ways a teacher can educate their students, but Vicki Davis has come up with a very good strategy shown in the video to keep her students on top of their game. This video makes me wonder how I’ll teach my students once I become a teacher.
As I watched this video I was amazed by the facts presented behind technology in today’s life. It is a true eye opener to see how rapid the technology in our lives is growing. I think that it is important to stay up-to-date with technology considering it’s exponential growth rate in the world today. When he states the fact telling us that “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet” and “In order to solve problems we don’t even know yet,” that is what amazes me because as difficult as it is to think that, it is true. It is shocking to believe that in the future everyone in the world will be connected via internet, when in the past generations people lived without even knowing how to turn on a computer.
Another interesting fact that was stated in the video is it’s predicted that by 2049 a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species, I could not imagine there will actually be a computer capable of doing so. This video is full of interesting facts and knowledge about the world, that people in today’s life don’t even realize yet. I know technology is steadily increasing through out the world, what I didn’t know was how it will effect everyone’s life in one way or another very soon. It seems that at the rapid rate of internet usage one day we will all be connected as one.
Mr. Winkle Wakes
This movie was pretty interesting considering when Mr. Winkle wakes up the only thing remaining the same after a hundred years is the school systems. I feel that many elders in today’s society can relate to Mr. Winkle. Everything shown in the video are things that are happening in today’s life and I honestly think it is sad that after a hundred years teachers are still using the same techniques of teaching in the classroom.
In the video Mr. Winkle mentions that in the back of the classroom there is a dusty laptop that seems to rarely be used. The world around us is using computers for almost anything and everything, so why would there be a classroom consisting of only one laptop in the first place? I think there should be computers available for every student in a classroom, and instead of the regular daily lecture the student can learn not only from the teacher but how to be technically literate as well. If I were to fall asleep today and wake up in a hundreds years I would hope to find that the schools are not the same!
The Importance of creativity
At first I was not sure if I was going to like this video, but towards the end it caught my attention. Ken Robinson made some very interesting points throughout the video, my favorite one being when he was explaining the story about the dancer he mentions instead of the doctor diagnosing her with ADD, which in today’s case the doctor most likely would, he simply tells the girl’s mother nothing is wrong and the girl just needs to dance. Many children are now diagnosed with ADD or ADHD for whatever the reason being either the child is too loud, too hyper, or can’t pay attention. In my opinion yes, some children may actually have the disease, but in most all cases aren’t children supposed to be loud, playful, and full of energy? I believe Mr. Robinson has a great point in explaining how school systems only focus on the basics vs. teaching children how to express themselves in their own way.
It is also mentioned in the video that we are preparing students for a life that even we don’t know what is going to be like in the future, so why limit children in a classroom. I was never very talented in arts, but I was very good at a sport called inline speed skating. In 2006 when I was sixteen years old I made the USA inline speed skating team and felt so honored considering only the top eight girls in the country made it. I got to travel to South Korea that year and ended up getting fourth place in the world for my race. Racing was an experience of a lifetime, I got to travel, meet new people, and I was doing something I loved and was actually great at. I eventually quit skating because everyone stressed the fact that school is more important, and skating would bring me no where since it was not a college sport, isn’t in the Olympics, and it would be hard to make a career out of it. To this very day I regret quitting, but I’m also in my third year of college and trying to get my degree. Hopefully in the future I will be able to convince myself that I have made the right choice. We as young adults are taught that school is considered to be the most important thing in our life and in order to have a good future we must have a college education, but just like Ken Robinson mentioned in the video what if Picasso was pushed away from art to study math!
Harness your students’ digital smarts
This is a video all teachers and educators of the future should watch. During the video Vicki Davis explains why it is important for students to use technology in the classroom. Vicki makes a statement saying when students have only paper and pencil in the classroom then only certain types of children will succeed, and I strongly agree with her. I think it is important that students are more hands on with computers and learn more independently, because therefore a teacher can be sure the student is learning and being hands on.
Using computers in the classroom also makes it more interesting for the students vs. the students sitting in a desk and listening to a lecture. There are multiple ways a teacher can educate their students, but Vicki Davis has come up with a very good strategy shown in the video to keep her students on top of their game. This video makes me wonder how I’ll teach my students once I become a teacher.
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