Blog Post # 5

Eagle Nest Radio and Class Blog:
What a great class blog! I was very impressed when I listened to "Roamin' with the Ancient Romans." The picture along with the podcast also made it look like these third graders had a great time creating this podcast. Not only was the podcast full of facts, many voices and creativity but I felt that the students were all very excited to have their voice recorded and put onto a blog. Through podcasts and blogging these students are engaging in multiple learning styles. This is a great thing for teachers to do, I feel, because the students have the option to access the podcast and information at home for review. Or to even show their family how creative and innovative they are being at school!

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom by Joe Dale:
This video was very persuasive to anyone who may not be in favor of podcasting. Along with the video was a list of reasons teachers should podcast. Here are a few of the reasons I agreed with from both video and list; podcasting is an effective way of interacting with students outside of the classroom, students can act out lessons and podcasting allows for creativity and innovation. Mentioned in the video, these students are considered Millenials (born after 1980) meaning they have never known life without personal computers, television, email. Technology in general. I think through podcasting we can feed these already technologically advanced minds and allow them to blossom even further especially on the creative side. I also think the advantage of podcasting and blogging for a student who is home sick from school is just about reason enough in itself. This could eliminate the student coming back to school after being gone, wondering what was covered, how much he/she missed and what homework was assigned.

Podcast Collection by Judy Scharf
This was a very helpful site, that I know I would use if I were already a professional looking to bring podcasting into my classroom. Her tips to success, step-by-step and her videos could allow the technologically illiterate to bring podcasting into the classroom. Watching the video of how to podcast was so detailed and virtually impossible not to understand. Over 100,000 people have watched that video of "How to Podcast" which to me means, it is entering more and more classrooms allowing more students to learn in new and improved ways!

Blog Post # 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff Please? by Scott McLeod
I thought that Scott McLeod took a very creative approach in creating this article. His sarcasm was clear yet tasteful. His different approach allowed him to address a broader range of topics. Such as the dangers of the internet. Yes, the internet can be a dangerous place but it is up to us as educators to teach our students how to properly use and navigate through the internet. There will always be dangers when using the internet or fear of children being exposed to something not suitable for them. I feel very strongly that the dangers far outweigh the advantages. I also agreed with Mr. McLeod when he wrote about parents sheltering their children. When parents do this they are taking away educational opportunities from their children.

Scott McLeod is an associate professor of Educational Opportunities and Iowa State University and he is the director along with Dr. Joan Hughes of the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE).

The iSchool Initiative
Watching this video I was pretty amazed. Just thinking about my own schooling without having to buy and carry heavy textbooks around had me convinced! I was also impressed when he addressed the point of our carbon footprint, there is no doubt about it that the iSchool would be about as "Green" of an education as one could receive. This high school creator had it all thought out; iHomework, email, internet access, the applications that could access chemical touch, worldwiki and U.S.A Presidents just to name a few. The key to communication would be through email, this would work. Most people today have an email and are daily users. The iSchool could even require teachers to have a blog that both parents and students could go to for homework assignment, announcements, future topics etc. The iSchool seems like it could easily be done and save money. However I do think there would be multiple problems:
1. I have used an iTouch and i find it hard to type one, it would be difficult to type notes on that small screen.
2. What if a student has a vision impairment or could not operate the iTouch with their hands, how would they attend the iSchool?
3. What if a student loses or breaks their iTouch?
4. How many replacements would they get? Eventually would the cost be equivalent to that of textbooks, print-outs and pencils?
5. What is their parents could not afford to buy them a new one?
These were just a few of my questions I had while watching this video, but I do think a school with no books, paper, pencils or copy machines is definitely in our future. To answer his question does technology belong in the classroom? Yes it does. In every classroom around the world.

The Lost Generation
This video was highly impressive. The deliverance and the tone of the video made it a success in my opinion. To being with there were two lines that caught my attention, "money will make me happy" and "work is more important than family." I know that for some people in today's society this may hold true but for me this will never be the case. Money does not make a person happy, they only think it does. There were also two other lines, "quick fix society" and "celebrating tenth anniversary of divorce." Once the video reversed these lines became two of the most upbeat lines in the video. I found this video to be very influential and creative. I was not expecting the poem to be read backwards but once it was i found it to be very moving.

Eric Whitaker's Virtual Choir
I loved this video, mostly because I enjoy choirs and listening to people sing. This was a whole new approach, something I have never seen nor heard of. 185 voices, 243 tracks and 12 countries that is almost to much to wrap my head around. Each member of the choir, wherever they may be in the world was singing to a computer screen. A computer screen! I think that this is just another amazing example of how our world is changing and we can be more in touch with people around the world through devices that could fit in your hand. It must be very exciting for the 185 people involved in this to see the finished product without ever even meeting their choir mates!

Comment for Teachers Summary # 1

I was assigned to a teacher named Dorothy Burt who is from New Zealand. She is working on something called the Maniakalani Project. The first blog of hers I commented on was about internet use and the many advantages in school systems. I commented that while I was in grade school I did not often have access to internet and still am not exactly computer savvy. I also agreed with her that today's world is very technologically advanced and students should be exposed to computers and internet very early on.

When Ms. Burt wrote back she commented that she had found it interesting about my lack of internet use in my schools. She also said that she was interested not only with my lack of internet use but with my love for reading. I wondered if children today love to read as much as when I was in grade school or even before then? She then sent me a link to a student podcast blog site to show me how these students are using the internet and turning them into bookworms! I watched the podcast created by two girls Selina and Brooke. The podcast was based off of a book called, "The Were-Nana." The video was very creative and they looked like they were having fun with it. I can imagine I would have loved to read then create a podcast if I had that option when I was younger. The most amazing part however, was that the actual author of the book commented on their podcast!! I thought this was so neat, goes to show me, once again how the internet can do amazing things!

Screen Shot of Pictarin Islands

Additional Assignment # 1

After watching this video created by Dr. Strange I was pretty excited to try it out for myself. I was also a little upset with myself that I have never heard of either google squared or WolframAlpha. Once I got to google squared I did the same searches as displayed in the video, then I started experimenting on my own. My first search was internet use. Among the places that google squared displayed I found that China (surprise, surprise) was in the lead with 384,000,000 internet users, next came Japan with 95, 979,000 internet users and in third was the United Kingdom with 46,683,900 internet users. After some more clicking around I saw a suggestion for small hypoallergenic dogs so I decided to search large hypoallergenic dogs. From here I searched for the longest life span. The three listed were the Bearded Collie from Scotland who lives up to fourteen years, the West Highland White Terrior also from Scotland lives up to fourteen years and the Airedale Terrior from England who lives up to thirteen years. While I was on google squared I did run into some search trouble, where some of the searches came up with nothing. I can only assume it was the way I worded what I was trying to find and I need to keep navigating this sight to become more familiar with it.

Once I went to WolframAlpha I typed in the search box, "women in Australia." That was my first mistake, my wording was silly. What it recognized and suggested (which I then typed in) was female population in Australia. My results were very clear cut, in 2008 there was a total population of 10.52 million women in Australia. Compare that to the total population of 21.1 million and it's just about half. It also gave me the life expectancy which lead to my next search. After my Australia search I typed in female life expectancy in the United States. My results were lots of graphs, charts and percentages. 61.3% of women will live to their 80's, 27.4% will live past 90 and 3.1% will live past 100. Pretty interesting!

Educational Implications involved with google squared were; it helped for us to understand, perceive, solve problems and learn when we can see the answers side by side and compared to different things or different places.

Educational Implications involved with WolframAlpha were similar. In my opinion though, this website was easier to use. I liked how my search and answer were a bit more focused and it tried to give only what you were specifically looking for. Where as google squared gave related information, which is good, but sometimes the topics were related by a single word.

I have never heard of either google squared or WolframAlpha before this assignment.

After watching the google squared ad WolframAlpha video created by Dr. Strange my thoughts on the Did You Know video have changed a bit. I still really like the video and the message it portrays. The first time I saw it I was blown away with the statistics. As Dr. Strange said though, we need to be aware of the context which the statistic is being delivered and the real message.

From this assignment I have learned about two great new websites useful for seeking out all types of information. I have also learned to think about a statistic before I just take it and start sharing it myself. I am glad Dr. Strange made it a point at the end of the video to remind us to be aware of what we hear, see and read. I can guarantee there has been more than one time in my life I heard a statistic and didn't think twice about how much truth was behind it.

Food For Thought- I thought this was an interesting article. I did find it a little hard to believe. Sometimes I feel so lost using new gadgets that I can't exactly picture a boy who has never touched an ipad, picking it up and figuring out how to operate such an advanced piece of technology. However, this article does go to show us what technology can accomplish!

Blog Post # 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today


I thought this video was put together in an interesting way. I could relate to many of the signs held up through out the video. For example; I spend hundreds of dollars on textbooks, Some classes I did not even have to open my text book, I have been browsing the internet during class in a non related manor. I have felt that I was assigned to useless reading, sometimes my days aren't long enough.
Students do have to be multi-taskers, I don't think we have a choice but I also don't think this is a bad thing. Especially when it comes to teaching, a classroom full of children all trying to learn the same thing does not happen in one swift movement. We need to be able to allow the students who understand to stay engaged but also make sure the ones struggling grasp what is being taught. One sign being help up said, I am getting an education for a job that does not yet exist. I can't relate to this, the profession I am pursuing has been around and is not disappearing anytime soon. Technology can advance our education.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
She made some very valuable points in her article. The First few; teachers must be learners, we must be invested in our profession. I think that is very important to remember that as well as being an educator we are always learners, you can learn from anyone of any age. We also need to stay up to date with our job and evolve with our work. This is true, if the world outside of the classroom is changing we need to set these children up so they can manage and know how to live in our technology world. She also noted how, technology is useless without good teaching. In order to teach the children how to use the internet to their educational advantage a teacher would need to be familiar with how it works. She also talked about how we must not forget about creativity even being a teacher in the twenty-first century. This is important, being creative and letting your mind wonder helps shape who you are. It also takes part in discovering what you want to be when you get older.

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
This man spoke his mind and I appreciated him for that. He had strong opinions on the topic regarding technologically illiterate teachers. He felt that teachers should be embarrassed if they are not up to date with technology. I have to agree with him on this, it is so much a part of our world and todays society that it needs to be something every teacher is very familiar with. He also made a comparison of how being a technologically illiterate teacher is the same as a teacher thirty years ago not being able to read and write. I am still thinking about his statement, it does seem a little harsh, but I think he has a point.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
Wow! This was really interesting to watch. I watched it more than one time, it was unbelievable how quickly those numbers are changing. Once I become a teacher this website is a just one small look at how much our lives are technology and internet based. We as educators will need to know it, know how to teach it and know how to evolve with it.

Presentation Project # 5

Blog # 2

Did You Know?
Wow! Watching this video I was in amazement, the statistics shared in this video were mind blowing. For example, the statistic about 25% of India's population with the highest IQ is greater than the total population of the United States. I also found it interesting how India has more honor students than the Untied States has kids. After I saw this in the video and had it put into perspective I found those facts to be amazing.
What our world has accomplished this far, virtually speaking is hard to wrap my mind around. The things technology has done for the world and continues to do is truly amazing. when the video was over I re-read the title "Did you know?" and I thought to myself, no I did not know but now I do. I was so impressed with the video that I sent it in an email to a few family members.

Mr. Wrinkle Wakes
The start of this video really set the stage for the message it was trying to send out. Mr. Wrinkle wakes from a 100 year slumber and finds himself in a new modernized and technology advanced world. The only place he finds familiar and comfortable with is in a school. Point being, our schools have not changed nor kept up with modern day. No matter how you look at it the education being received by students is dated and needs to be evaluated.
Outside of the classroom for a typical fifth grader is filled with technology savvy gadgets and such. TV, radio, ipods, computers, video games etc. Time away from the classroom for many students is spent using these type things. Which in turn raises the question, why do we not incorporate these things into our classrooms? Computers for example can be used to such an advantage in the education of children and into adulthood. I feel that the younger students are exposed to things like computers the more they can become familiar with and use to their educational advantage.

Importance of Creativity
Sir Ken Robinson starts off the video with two bold statements," Education takes us into the future that we can't grasp." He also states, "Creativity is as important as literacy." I agree with both of these statements. I thought Mr. Robinson did a wonderful job sending the message of how important it is to not stomp on and rule our a childs creative mind.
Another point I found to be very interesting was when he talked about how children are not afraid to be wrong, yet most adults have lost that courage. Adults are afraid to be wrong, I am an example. This video was an eye opener, I thoroughly enjoyed his speech on creativity. I especially thought his own creativity was throughout the video. When I am an educator I hope to always have a concious thought and be sure not to educate my students out of creativity.

Vicki Davis: Harness your students digital smarts
What an amazing teacher! I found her video and operation of her classroom to be very uplifting and encouraging. Her classroom was filled with software and all types of technology. Ms. Davis made a statement that her students are, "Learning how to learn." This is so important in a classroom because each student has their own way of learning and retaining information. She wants her students to be thinkers and doers, as every teacher should. The difference however, is that Ms. Davis actions display her motto.
Her blog, the awards she has received, the places she has traveled because of her teaching are setting such a good example for her students. In the video she made a statement, " Teachers don't need to know everything before they teach it." I will carry this statement with me, I understood it as, teaching your students and learning from your students go hand in hand. It's okay to be wrong. It's okay learn from your students. Ms. Davis was very inspiring to me and I already know I will be watching this video again.

Ellie's Wordle