Friday, November 5, 2010
Chapter 9 Rethinking Education
This was a short chapter, but it had some good points. I'm not a parent, but when I see kids playing video games I still question its relevance to the real world. Especially the games that consist of shooting people and what not. I've always saw it as negative, but when they said that those games are problem solving, they make a valid point. I'm not saying the shooting thing is still a good idea but games that include problem solving and reading and what not are useful. As far the excersise aspect of it though, I think kids need to find somehting a little more engaging as far as physical fitness goes. I did just see a commercial for a toy for little kids that is a bike, you have to petal and you follow it on tv and what not; I don't know it looked cool. Anyways, I like the idea of parents sitting down and playing a video game with their child, and the child has to teach them how to play. I think that is awesome, becacuse 1. it allows parent/child interaction. 2. Teaches the parent why the child plays specific games.
chapter 9 Blogs,wikis, podcasts
Social networking in schools is not something I have ever thought about. I know when I was in school is was always blocked from ALL computers in the school. You would get in trouble if you somehow found a way around the blocking and got onto facebook,myspace etc. But to actually read about ways that teachers are using Facebook and Ning (i've never heard of that before) was interesting. I liked how the one class that used Facebook helped the student that became ill to stay in touch. I think that it was also interesting to see that it made the classroom relationship a lot stronger because everyone was able to participate in this experience. I think that as a future teacher it could be a definite possiblity to use a social network in my classroom. I would obviously have to have all my ducks in a row in order to allow this to happen with teh school district. I would have to have set guidelines, reasons why I can use social networks vs. some other form of technology, etc. Facebook is very popular amoung kids these days, I think if I were to present the idea of using facebook in the classroom they would be overjoyed. But there would have to be very specific guidelines on what is acceptable and what is not. Overall, I like the idea of using social networking in my classroom.
Screencast
http://www.screencast.com/users/Crutl914/folders/Jing/media/cd5a7266-b3b2-4778-a15b-0b1729464f72
Sliderocket.com was my cool tool. Once I finally sat down and checked out the website, played around on it for a bit I thought it was a sweet tool. I wish I would have been on top of my work because I totaly could have used it for my presentation in 381 but thats besides the point. Anyways, it took me awhile to actually record because I kept having to redo it. I would stumble on my words, or have dead air for way too long, etc. it was pretty bad. But once I got it and recorded it for the fifth time I had a good idea of what I was supposed to say. When I listened to the final recording, I still noticed some errors but I don't think they were too large that it was in need of being recorded again. I really liked the tool that I chose as well, it was fun.
Creating this screencast initially I was nervous, I think thats why I procrastinated but again thats besides the point. I was nervous because I had no idea what I was doing, I had never done one before, and then I had also never used the cool tool before, it was ALL new. But after I actually did it I realized "wow that was easy" and also it was a great way for me to learn how to use something new. I think if I work with older grades such as 4 or 5th graders, I would definitly incoorporate a screencast lesson into my agenda. I think they would enjoy being able to learn something new and they can do it by creating a screencast. I like it a lot.
Sliderocket.com was my cool tool. Once I finally sat down and checked out the website, played around on it for a bit I thought it was a sweet tool. I wish I would have been on top of my work because I totaly could have used it for my presentation in 381 but thats besides the point. Anyways, it took me awhile to actually record because I kept having to redo it. I would stumble on my words, or have dead air for way too long, etc. it was pretty bad. But once I got it and recorded it for the fifth time I had a good idea of what I was supposed to say. When I listened to the final recording, I still noticed some errors but I don't think they were too large that it was in need of being recorded again. I really liked the tool that I chose as well, it was fun.
Creating this screencast initially I was nervous, I think thats why I procrastinated but again thats besides the point. I was nervous because I had no idea what I was doing, I had never done one before, and then I had also never used the cool tool before, it was ALL new. But after I actually did it I realized "wow that was easy" and also it was a great way for me to learn how to use something new. I think if I work with older grades such as 4 or 5th graders, I would definitly incoorporate a screencast lesson into my agenda. I think they would enjoy being able to learn something new and they can do it by creating a screencast. I like it a lot.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Exit slip 11/4/10
What did we do in class today?
I can't imagine having a school that doesn't have teachers. I have never thought that is where education would turn too. Years ago we would say that it was impossible, now anything is impossible apparently! I guess as long as the students are learning, and becoming educated in their area of expertise then I guess there is nothing wrong with that. In the end its all about the students and to make sure that those students learn what they are supposed too. Its funny to see a "one room schoolhouse" I feel like education is going back in time with an updated technology aspect.
Presentation:
Good:
Selected who was going to respond.
Relationship of the main themes
Venn diagram; looking at the interactions between everything, was a great idea, it allowed us to see all aspects of the strategies.
Student creating content is much more powerful than teacher creating content.
Bad:
Recording venn
Give directions before students break into groups. ; I know I like to socialize, and if I don't have specific directions beforehand, then yeah, I will talk to my group members, especially if I know them really well. Good tip!
Group sizes need to be taken into account. Things might not be as productive in larger groups than if you break them up into smaller groups.
Use diffferent colors.
When summarizing; students have to come up wtih 5 words or less.
Scratch:
Randomize the problems, score.
Do I know what to do when I use your problem? Students may not know what to do, give specific and clear directions.
Text on screen should be visible for the time it takes you to read through it twice. *****RULE of Thumb!
I can't imagine having a school that doesn't have teachers. I have never thought that is where education would turn too. Years ago we would say that it was impossible, now anything is impossible apparently! I guess as long as the students are learning, and becoming educated in their area of expertise then I guess there is nothing wrong with that. In the end its all about the students and to make sure that those students learn what they are supposed too. Its funny to see a "one room schoolhouse" I feel like education is going back in time with an updated technology aspect.
Presentation:
Good:
Selected who was going to respond.
Relationship of the main themes
Venn diagram; looking at the interactions between everything, was a great idea, it allowed us to see all aspects of the strategies.
Student creating content is much more powerful than teacher creating content.
Bad:
Recording venn
Give directions before students break into groups. ; I know I like to socialize, and if I don't have specific directions beforehand, then yeah, I will talk to my group members, especially if I know them really well. Good tip!
Group sizes need to be taken into account. Things might not be as productive in larger groups than if you break them up into smaller groups.
Use diffferent colors.
When summarizing; students have to come up wtih 5 words or less.
Scratch:
Randomize the problems, score.
Do I know what to do when I use your problem? Students may not know what to do, give specific and clear directions.
Text on screen should be visible for the time it takes you to read through it twice. *****RULE of Thumb!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Chapter 8 Rethinking Education
How schools can cope with the New Technologies was an interesting chapter. I was suprised when I read that under 70% of the students entering high schools will graduate on time. I want to change that! In Beloit, I know that the graduation rate can be higher than what it is, and I want to go home and teach and be the teacher that pushes those children to know that they CAN do it! If I was able to move to the south, I would love to work with the schools down there to raise their graduation rate! I think that all kids need to know and believe that they CAN do it just like anyone else! But there are so many students out their that don't believe in themselves and it saddens me! I completely agree when it said that "designing a better education system means understanding where the existing pieces can best be reshaped, brought together, or played down. I agree, you can't fix something if you don't know where to begin! I think that, using this strategy, people will know their information and majors really well. You obviously can't become a doctor if you didn't receive all the other certifications needed to aquire that. Also, with this strategy, I think that students wouldn't be able to barely get by, it would take a lot of work and studying otherwise they wouldn't get their certifications to reach their dreams. I cannot imagine a child go off to college at the age of 15 or 16, I know that it has happened but I can't imagine. I was terrified to come here at the age of 18, I don't think children are ready to experience that at such a young age. The one thing about all these strategies to improve the education system that bothers me is that we are so worried about starting our children on their journey of a career and becoming an adult at such a young age are we forgetting about them being children first? They need to experience all the troubles, stress, entertainment, friends, etc, everything that school has brought me over the years I hope that my children get to experience as well good or bad.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Chapter 10
People don't use cds anymore, music is downloaded onto an ipod mainly and played off of that. Now, they are putting books online as well that you can download. I don't like that idea, I want to have a item in hand that I can read, I don't like to read off of a computer screen. Its crazy to me to see how far the world has come in terms of schooling. It used to be you had to look everything up in a book at the library, etc. Now, you just google everything. Weather one way is better than the other, I don't know but I know that google is A LOT faster than book. When i'm a teacher I will for sure use the web to be able to connect with other teachers, I think that it is awesome to be able to connect with teachers from different states and countries. Its also nice that you can get different ideas on a specific lesson. I will also use the web so that my students can present their completed assignments. I think that it allows students to be proud of themselves and their work because they have a larger audience to present to. One thing as a teacher that I have always enjoyed doing for an english class for example is to give my students a notebook that they can write down their thoughts,ideas, etc. in any form, just to allow them to have that one security in their life that they can tell anything to. But after takin this class I don't have to use a notebook, I can use a blog for example and still be able to document that my students are doing their assignment. I think that students like having that one thing to turn to when they need to get their thoughts out and maybe their home life isn't so great so they can't tell someone their. I want my students to know that NO MATTER WHAT they are always welcome to talk to me about anything. Granted, i'll be working with elementary students but I want to work with 3-5th grade so about that age they can start having issues and being able to express them openly i think.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Class 10/28
First and foremost I want to say that IT IS TOO COLD!
After seeing Nicks' deilcious account, I realized I needed to step it up a little bit. He had over 100 links saved. Thats crazy!
The group that presented today did a good job of conducting a student to student interaction. Also, they allowed us to see what everyone thought and both sides of the sepctrum. One thing that I think they did that none of the other groups have done was to bring the whole class together and recap what was said during the discussion. They had really good enthusiasm for presenting this.
Some things that they could improve on were to watch the uhms, anticipate group sizes (more for for vs. against), clearer expectations/directions for discussions, and DON'T say the end.
Funding is available for those with initiative. The government obviously is not going to give you the money without a little work! You have to lay out a game plan that you can receive money or funding for technology.
If you don't have initiative then the students aren't going to have initiative. *****
I thought the webinar was AWESOME! It was so interesting being able to interact wtih EVERYONE in the class at one time. Thats really cool that you can talk to people to or atleast that they can hear you, i'm sure in the next few years it will be upgraded so that you can interact with eachother with talking.
Podcasting:
I really like the idea of podcasting and I think this is one of the activites that i'm very excited about.
Contemporary issues
k-12
Articles can be paper based but online based might be better and will have more resources.
Once you find an article you need to write a script.
1. Big Picutre, why is it important?
2. What is the point of the article?
3. Your commentary, what do you think, what does that mean as a future teacher?
MUST have clear, audible speech! Its a waste of time if we can't understand what your saying.
We are supposed to be spending 9 hours on this one class, if we have 5, 3 credit classes that is 45 hours all together! THERE AREN'T THAT MANY HOURS IN A DAY!
Dont' get me wrong, I really like the lessons that we have to do in this class, but it becomes overwhelming when they all start overlapping with eachother and each week, we get another one piled on. Sometimes I feel like you should let us fully complete one assignment and then add another. Its fine if a coupel of them overlap but haveing 5 of them all at once to work on, and also having a million other tings to work on in other classes, that is when stress starts piling up, tears come out and being frustrated takes over!
Looking at all the assignments that we have assigned for this class, I could spend an entire week just working on this class!
SWOT Analysis
Strenghts
opportunities
weaknesses
threats
After seeing Nicks' deilcious account, I realized I needed to step it up a little bit. He had over 100 links saved. Thats crazy!
The group that presented today did a good job of conducting a student to student interaction. Also, they allowed us to see what everyone thought and both sides of the sepctrum. One thing that I think they did that none of the other groups have done was to bring the whole class together and recap what was said during the discussion. They had really good enthusiasm for presenting this.
Some things that they could improve on were to watch the uhms, anticipate group sizes (more for for vs. against), clearer expectations/directions for discussions, and DON'T say the end.
Funding is available for those with initiative. The government obviously is not going to give you the money without a little work! You have to lay out a game plan that you can receive money or funding for technology.
If you don't have initiative then the students aren't going to have initiative. *****
I thought the webinar was AWESOME! It was so interesting being able to interact wtih EVERYONE in the class at one time. Thats really cool that you can talk to people to or atleast that they can hear you, i'm sure in the next few years it will be upgraded so that you can interact with eachother with talking.
Podcasting:
I really like the idea of podcasting and I think this is one of the activites that i'm very excited about.
Contemporary issues
k-12
Articles can be paper based but online based might be better and will have more resources.
Once you find an article you need to write a script.
1. Big Picutre, why is it important?
2. What is the point of the article?
3. Your commentary, what do you think, what does that mean as a future teacher?
MUST have clear, audible speech! Its a waste of time if we can't understand what your saying.
We are supposed to be spending 9 hours on this one class, if we have 5, 3 credit classes that is 45 hours all together! THERE AREN'T THAT MANY HOURS IN A DAY!
Dont' get me wrong, I really like the lessons that we have to do in this class, but it becomes overwhelming when they all start overlapping with eachother and each week, we get another one piled on. Sometimes I feel like you should let us fully complete one assignment and then add another. Its fine if a coupel of them overlap but haveing 5 of them all at once to work on, and also having a million other tings to work on in other classes, that is when stress starts piling up, tears come out and being frustrated takes over!
Looking at all the assignments that we have assigned for this class, I could spend an entire week just working on this class!
SWOT Analysis
Strenghts
opportunities
weaknesses
threats
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