Comment4Kids #2

This week we looked at Ms.Cassidy's class of 6 year olds. I had a student named Kenton. He had a short one sentence blog because they are learning to read and write. His blog was "I had Sersaee too.(I had surgery, too.)". My comment was I am sorry to hear that you had surgery.I hope you are all better.

This is about me.

Comment4kids and podcast

Comment4Kids



My student Sidney was talking about a sleepover that her class had at school. She said they played games with people all over the world. They played Wii with Sweden, and her Sweden team won. They VC with Scotland, Thailand, Wales, Hamilton, Philadelphia, Australia, Hawaii, and Winnipeg. She also mentioned that they went Geo caching in the dark, and I guess they did the Thriller dance as well.

My comment to Sidney's blog was, "Hey, spending the night at school must have been fun. I think that I would have loved to do that too. You all must have had fun playing all those games, but it is even more impressive that you did it with all those people from around the world. I wish I could have done that when I was in fifth grade."

Podcast



I went to the blog about "The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom." This podcast talked about how podcasts are effective ways of interacting with students outside of the classroom. Students today are living in a time when podcasts can be used as learning devices. I liked how teachers can help students learn by having podcasts of stories that they are studying in the classroom. The students can now learn their story anywhere they go. I also liked the idea of teachers uploading their discussion on the internet, so when students are sick, they can listen to their teachers' lectures at home and not get behind. Students who have gotten the chance to do a podcast are more technologically advanced.

This podcast or may I say vodcast because it was a video, was very well put together. He used music and sounds to keep it interesting. I could tell that it was scripted. It told me a lot of information and ideas that I had not thought of yet. This video showed me that you could put many pictures and videos on your own video podcast to further your explanation of a subject.

Podcasts and videos

Podcasts

I listened to many podcasts today, and they were all different. The podcasts I listened to were This Weeks Photography, KidCast, EdTechTalk, Smartboard Lessons, Connective Learning, and Macbreak Weekly. Each podcast discussed a topic; some were alike in general, but mentioned something different about the topic. We had one that discussed photography, some mentioned how to use technology in the classroom, and some just brought up the new technology that just came out on the market.

The first three that I watched were planned differently. We had the "This Week Photography" that had advertisements in the beginning of the podcast. This podcast also had three hosts; one was very quiet and hard to hear, while the other ones were understandable. They did bring up facts that were interesting, but the person I could not hear turned me against it. The next one I watched was "KidCast", which i absolutely loved. I enjoyed the music introduction and the information he was trying to get across. He brought up the idea that if you know some information about your followers, you will be able to revise your script to appeal to them. For example, if your followers on your podcast are commuters, you would probably want to stick with the audio podcast and stay away from the video because they could not watch it. He really spoke in terms, even though it was a technology subject, that were easy to understand. I could follow him easily. The third one I watched was "EdTechTalk". You could tell there was no script, but I did like how they tried to incorporate the followers through skype and let them join in the discussions. It could have been louder though, so you could hear it better.

The next three that I listened to were the same, no one was exactly alike. I listened to "Smartboard Lessons", which was disappointing. I did not like how he stopped in the podcast to order coffee. I also did not enjoy trying to listen to it with all the background noises. I think he was trying to make the conversation more casual, but having lots of noise just distracted me. The volume on the podcast in general was very quiet. The next one I listened to was "Connective Learning"; this podcast had the host and I guess a guest from a teacher group. The podcast made it enjoyable to listen. I think that since it was a little louder made me like it more, since I had been straining to hear the other ones. This podcast told us about kids that they helped and what the kids were doing in school. I did like the question and answer set up. It sounded pretty organized. "MacBreak Weekly" was the last one I listened to. This one had too many ads in the beginning and sort of bored me; maybe if they could have intersperse the ads through the podcast it would have been better. There were many hosts, and it sounded more like a radio talk show. It was like a conversation back and forth in between the hosts.

I learned some ideas to make my podcast better, like speaking up so that it is easier to hear. I would like to add music or sounds to the introduction in my podcast to catch attention. I think having many hosts is sort of confusing, because they would interrupt each other sometimes, and I had a hard time following them. I hope that I can make an enjoyable podcast. I really am going to try to make some of these improvements to my podcast so that will not be the same.





Media Literacy

I am very surprised at seeing all these kids being able to use technology like this. It is very motivating for me to want to learn technology, so I can at least catch up with them. I am very proud of the students, but also very overwhelmed on how technologically literate that they are. They are very intelligent. I never had the chance to do all these things when I was younger. I do like the blogging idea. I think that will help the students in many criteria. I hope that I will be ready for them!

Little Kids ... Big Potential

I do like that kids writing can improve by writing on blogs. It helps them to improve spelling, social skills, and writing skills. I do agree with the idea on commenting; I think when commenting especially to the younger kids to only say things that are helpful and do not say anything mean. I am actually jealous that when I was younger, we did not have computers to play with during center time. We actually had to go to different parts of the room and learn with doing worksheets and reading books. I also like the idea of kids being able to go home and still be able to learn and communicate with class and other classes. The idea of "wikis" are amazing. I actually have never heard of "wikis" until now. When they used it to learn traditions and then make one I was impressed. I do want to use the idea of skype to communicate with other classes around the world. The idea of talking to someone on the other side of the world through skype is astounding.

IPhone Video



For the video that shows the kid using the iPhone, it is impressive that he can understand what his parents are telling him to do. I do not know that with him just tapping the screen if he is comprehending what he is actually doing, or if he was just tapping it and enjoying watching it move. I think that him being able to turn it on and unlock it is interesting. I do notice that these days since kids are getting access to these technologies, they are becoming more comfortable with using them. I remember when I was a little girl, I got a toy phone from the store, and it was like a rectangle with buttons that I could not even push. Now kids have smart phones as their toy phone, and they can push buttons and it makes noise. Some children even have their own working cell phones - not toys. I do believe that since technology is accessible, we are learning how to use them earlier in our life.

Should We Learn Technology Or Not?

A Vision of Students Today

What would the walls and desks in a classroom say if they could talk? That was one of the questions asked in the video, but we all know that this is not possible, so what would a student have to say for them? In the video, they made a document that asked, "What is it like to be a student today?", and the students replied on this document with the following responses. The average class size is 115. Only eighteen percent of teachers know our names. A student only completed 49% of their assigned reading, and only 26% of the reading was relevant to their life. A student bought a hundred dollar textbook that was never opened. Our fellow classmates pay for class, but never come. One student read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages, and 1281 Facebook profiles. One student will write 42 pages of notes for class this semester, and 500 pages of e-mail. Another student gets 7 hours of sleep each night, another watches television for 1 1/2 hours per night, another spends 3 1/2 hours on-line each day, one listens to music 2 1/2 hours each day, another spends 2 hours on their cell phone, another spends 3 hours per day in class, 2 hours eating, 3 hours studying, and another spends 2 hours at work. All of this totals 26 1/2 hours per day. It seems that students have to be multi-taskers. One student will be $20,000 in debt after graduation. Laptop computers cost more that some people in the world make in a year. When I graduate, I will probably have a job that does not exist today. Filling out scantron sheets will not get me there, or help me to deal with real life. We did not create the problems, but they became my problems. Some say technology can help us.

Schools have changed from the past. I agree a little with the class sizes being 115, but it is only in a few of the basic core classes like biology, psychology, and sociology. Then about the comment about the teachers knowing my name; in the smaller classes, the teachers were more likely to learn it, but in the larger classes it was more difficult. I do not like to complete the assigned reading because with all of my classes, it is too much. I agree completely with the comment that was made about the expense of the books; I have bought a book for a class that was over a hundred dollars, and I never needed to open the book once. Not only that, but the bookstore would not buy the book back at the end of the year because the book was copyrighted by the teacher. I have had fellow classmates not show up for class after they paid for the class, and I think that it is crazy! I think that I do have a problem with all of the activities that I do, and how the hours equal more that a day's worth of hours, so I do multi-task. I do not have the problem of being in debt because my parents are helping me, so I did not have to get a loan to pay back later. My job will exist, but I will have to continue learning to be able to teach the curriculum and education to my students. I agree with scantrons not really helping to get a job, but a teacher needs them to grade tests more easily. Then to add something to the movie, I would bring up how much money food costs while getting an education.

It's Not About the Technology

This post was about how technology was not the only solution to better education. She stated that technology is good, if you put it in the hands of a teacher that knows how to use it. A teacher needs to be a learner and want to continue to learn throughout their career. A teacher must continue to learn to keep up with the world today. She also stated that learning and teaching are not the same. You can teach something without the students learning something; if a student does not understand the concept, you may not have taught it well. She also mentioned that technology is useless without good teaching. If a teacher has technology but does not know how to use it properly, what is the point of having it in the first place? The final point that was mentioned was that a you can be a 21st century teacher without technology. A teacher needs to prepare students by giving them the capacity to be creative and innovative, so that they will be prepared to face the future. Teachers who use critical thinking skills and problem solving skills are more helpful to students rather than misusing technology as a means to facilitate learning. Teachers who communicate and collaborate with their students show them skills that they will use throughout their lives.

I agree completely with the ideas mentioned in this post. You cannot expect a teacher to show students concepts, and make them fully understand them just because you are using technology. A teacher must become a well qualified teacher by knowing that you constantly have to learn to be prepared to teach students. You have to teach until the student understands the concepts. The teacher also has to understand how to use the technology to teach the concepts with it. You cannot give a bad teacher technology and expect them to work miracles in helping the students understand. Don't get me wrong, if the teacher is well qualified and knows how to use technology, the possibilities are endless on what she can do to bring education to higher levels, and students to higher achievements.

Is It Okay To Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

He mentioned in his list of requirements for teachers that all educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability. People who do not meet the criterion of this basic level should be embarrassed. Headteachers and principals who have staff who are technologically illiterate should be held accountable for the problem. Some people think that it is okay to be technologically illiterate, and parents do not need to be bad role models by saying that they are not good at technology, so it is okay for their child/student to do the same. We use technology to communicate with others around schools and around the world. Teachers that do not strive to learn technology are like teachers who do not catch up on the essentials of their subject of expertise. He also mentioned that not learning how to use technology now is going to hurt us in the future with success in jobs and opportunities. Teachers need to strive to continue to learn how to use 21st century technology so that we can prepare our students for the age and time period that is approaching; if we do not, we cannot help our students be successful in an age that has yet to come.

I agree that we need to know about technology, and that we, teachers, do not need to be lazy and slack off on learning these technologies. Not only do the teachers need to make sure that they are technologically literate, but principals, headteachers, and parents need to learn as well. This world is not slowing down for us, so we all need to keep up. Upcoming teachers like me need to make sure that we are getting our students prepared for what the future is bringing. We need to make sure that we can show the students the basics in technology, so that they are not behind when they arrive in the real world. There is no excuse for us to not learn these concepts. The world is going to keep on spinning, whether we are with it in technology or not!

Gary's Social Media Count

The counter that we were supposed to look at shows how technology and social networks change in a few seconds. It shows that as we sit here and learn, the world is completely changing as more people are joining Twitter and Facebook. People are communicating across social networks on-line constantly. The world is not stopping; it is going to continue to change. We, as teachers, definitely have to keep up. New blogs, new uploaded videos, and new users are being added on the on-line networks every time we blink. This shows me, as an upcoming teacher, that I will need to continue to learn, because learning never stops. I do not have the ability to sit back, relax, and watch the world go by, because the world is actually flying by. The world is becoming so technologically dependent that we will have to prepare our students for this craze!

Mr. Winkle did you know?

Mr. Winkle Wakes

Mr. Winkle woke up after one hundred years. He began to explore the world. He went to different places and noticed how they had changed. He had never heard of the technology that he was seeing before him, and he was very confused. The only place that had not changed much from what he had remembered was a school. There was not as much technology in the school as there was in the office building and the hospital.

This video really made me think about how I would like to change schools and make it more advanced in technology. This video will make me strive to help show students how to use various forms of technology so they will be familiar with all kinds of technology. This video also shows how schools are far behind many other businesses and need to catch up to the rest of the world with technology.

Did You Know? 3.0

This video presented numerous facts about the world. According to the video, China will soon become the number one English speaking country in the world. One in eight couples that got married last year met online. There are approximately 540,000 words in the English language, which is about five times as many as there were during Shakespeare's time. It is also estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century. There are over 200 million registered users on My Space, which if that were a country would make it the fifth largest country in the world. There are over 31 billion searches on Google every month, but in 2006, there were only 2.7 billion per month. The amount of new technological information is doubling every two years. The top ten in demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.

This video really hit home with me. The facts that were presented amazed me. China, whose native language is Chinese, will soon have more English speakers than anyone else in the world. I see now people are looking to the Internet to find their "significant other", which was taboo not so long ago. Information and the English language itself has grown exponentially through the years. Social networks have become the norm for people to connect with others. The video showed me that people have become dependent on Internet searches to look for information. The thought of technological information doubling every two years is somewhat scary, because everyone will have to continue to learn about new advances. In education, we will have to prepare students for jobs that are not available now and technology that is being developed at this time.

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity

In Ken's video he mentioned a few thoughts that showed how eduction was killing the arts. He mentioned that everybody had an interest in education, whether they were teachers or not. He said that people look to education to help them grasp what will come in the future. He mentioned that unpredictability is extraordinary because we cannot predict the future, but we can prepare for it. Creativity should be just as important to eduction as literacy, because creativity will be needed to change the world. He stated that kids are not afraid to be wrong. He also stated that if you are not prepared to be wrong, then you will never come up with anything original. Schools have made it seem that if you make a mistake, it is the worst thing for you to do, which is educating people out of creativity. The topic of what is learned is like everywhere in the world; math and language are at the top of importance, then humanities, and last but not least arts. Then the arts are divided in order of importance; you have art and music, then you have dance, which is not correct, since dance should be equal to music and art. The arts are what aid creativity.

This video really made me think on how I need to keep creativity in mind while I teach. I love the arts, and I think that students can use the arts to express themselves. We need to encourage students to be creative and show them that it is okay to be wrong. The way inventions are made is by creativity and the chance that one could be wrong, and the product not sell. Since I am a dancer, I know what he is talking about on how all education is prioritized, and even the arts too. The schools I have attended had music class and art classes, but there was not a dance class until I got to high school, and you could only take dance one semester. I used dance to cope with stress and other frustrations, and it also taught me to be creative. I will use this video and my personal experience to help keep creativity in school and not discourage creativity.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

This video was about a class in Camilla, Georgia. The teacher used technology to connect students to the world. She stated that students do not have to use only paper and pencil to learn, and if they did use only those, only few would succeed. She did not have to be in front of the class all the time; she used students to present things to fellow classmates and to her. She taught the curriculum, but changed the way she taught it to interest the students. The class she taught also showed students how to use new software, blog effectively, and collaborate with others effectively, which helped them become comfortable with technology. They used programs like "Digi Teen" and "Flat Classroom Project" to empower the students to work with students around the world.

This video showed me that you can use technology, and that it is not hard to incorporate it into the curriculum. It helped me to notice that using technology can help interest students in the curriculum as well. I plan on hopefully using some of these ideas when I finally get into a classroom. I want to use the idea of letting the students present what they learn and how they learned to do things to the class, which will make me smarter and hopefully help students on comprehending the subject matter better. I want my students to be prepared for the technology that they are going to run into when they get out into the real world. The idea of speaking to others around the world is amazing.