ALEX

The Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a sight that compiles information for Alabama educators, administrators and students. In the Professional Learning section, there is a link to the Alabama Standards for Instructional Leaders. There, a teacher can see what is to be expected of them. The Podcast Treasury section allows teachers to view and download podcasts on different subjects. Basically anything about a particular class or assignment can be posted and viewed here. The Web Links section provides teacher, administrator and student links to various websites of interest. For instance, in the Foreign languages section, I was given a link to a good online translator that is free. I went to the course of study section which then lead me to the lesson plans section. I thought it was interesting to see different teachers' ideas and methods of administering the material to the class.

Once in the lesson plans section, you can narrow your search by selecting the subject and grade level. I chose Modern Languages, Levels 1-4. I was immediately greeting with a large page of lesson plans for many different languages. I found 7 just for German! The lesson plans were for semester-long projects as well as fun activities that last anywhere from one day to several weeks. They all incorporated the use of technology in some form as well!

I found this site to be very interesting and useful. I can only imagine how useful it will be once I become a teacher!

Dear Kaia

Wow. It is difficult to understand the scale of what has happened to this little girl and her father in Qatar. Kaia's father explains in his post that her blog started as a way to just share photos with family. What he did not realize, at least at first, is that a blog is but one way to show the world who you are. Little Kaia's adventure around her home was simply awe inspiring. She and her father took cameras out into their surroundings to capture the beauty of the things that may seem ugly at first. Jabiz has really taken a big step forward putting his daughter out into the internet public like this, but at the same time look at what has happened! A school in Missouri has connected with someone on the other side of the world and learned something about other people that they would have never known without leaving the confines of the classroom.

So where does this leave our old friend the classroom? Personally, I think the classroom may be a fading idea. I think classrooms will be reduced to simply a room that students can go to so the teacher can observe their work on assignments. I think most of the work will be done at home, in libraries, coffee shops, etc. The classroom will only be needed for assisting students and checking progress in the class. I have to say that I do not think that schools will disappear any time soon, but the current idea of school will.

Mr. Chamberlin's class organized a voicethread to be able to communicate with Kaia, since she cannot yet read. This is incredible! Now not only can she connect with people all over the world through blogging, but she can do it easily without being able to read. That is a scary thought; to be able to connect with people worldwide, share ideas and comment on each others' thoughts before being able to read. That is the world we now live in, though. Technology has allowed us to do remarkable things with the greatest of ease.

So, for Jabiz, I have to say thank you for what you are doing. You are bridging the gap of old and new. You are creating a strive for learning and imagination in your daughter as well as yourself, that I wish I had at her age. It is truly amazing seeing what you and your daughter have accomplished. I hope to be able to inspire my students the way you have inspired Kaia.

New Media Literacies: Response + Research

After watching the New Media Literacies video, a lot of thoughts began running through my head. First, I like the idea of these "skills". I think that these are things that some people already do, and they are just not aware of it. I think this video really puts these things into perspective. I think the most important skill of all of these is probably negotiation, with judgment as a close second. The reason I think negotiation is the most important is because you cannot look up anything without first knowing how to look through the internet to find it. After that, you need to be able to judge as to whether or not that source is reliable. I think the ones I possess currently are: judgment, negotiation, collective intelligence, visualization and multitasking. Acquiring the others will come with practice and experience.

I decided to research the New Media Literacies website, to explore what resources they have available. I noticed immediately their Delicious section, where they have several interesting bookmarks available, such as: 100 Best Blogs for New Media Students, a Wall Street Journal article called, "How to Fix our Education System", and many others.

The other part of the website I explored was the "Strategy Guides" section. Here you will find a guide on how to use the collaborative structure of the internet when reading/discussing books. This type of learning eliminates the standards of academia (i.e., the teachers are the experts and the students are the novices). This process allows students and teachers alike to gather sources and ideas about the same topic in their own way. It pushes for collaborative "reading" and open discussion of ideas and critiques. I thought it was very interesting.

Project 11

Wendy Drexler's "The Networked Student"

Upon reading my EDM 310 blog, if you haven't realized the tools that are accessible to learn inside and outside of the classroom, then watch this video. It pulls all of the tools I have learned about this semester together, and puts them into context. It shows how a student can use these tools to, in this case, complete a project, but more importantly, gain knowledge from other sources than a textbook.

The video was incredibly simple but creative! I found it easy to follow and fun to watch! It also provides an extensive amount of information. This video follows our friend the 21st Century High School student, and his journey through his Contemporary Issues class using and creating a PLN, or Personal Learning Network.

I think this video should be a requirement for future teachers AND current teachers to watch. If every school from elementary to collegiate level could teach courses in this manner, the possibilities would be unfathomable! Professors from Harvard and Yale could be sources on my next history paper!

This is How We Dream

I watched and listened to both of the videos of Richard Miller's, "This is How We Dream". It is about how much technology has changed the very idea of "our world". What I mean by that is that technology has created an entirely new lifestyle that simply did not exist 20 years ago. Because of this technology, the workplace is not the tiny cubicle or crowded office building it has always been. Now, the workplace can be a secluded park bench. The office desk covered in stacks of papers and memos has become the desktop computer or a laptop. Research can be done without ever leaving your bedroom. Company business meetings in the United States with colleagues in Japan can take place in real time on a computer for free. Richard Miller shows us how technology has changed and WILL change society. Richard makes a good point right from the start. He states, "...we are living at the moment of the greatest change in human communication in human history." I agree. Before recently, the only way to communicate with someone on the other side of the planet was by traditional mail, or as we call it today, "snail mail". We are more connected to the world now more so than we have ever been.

This presentation is not just about the ease of working and communicating through technology, though. It also covers the very idea of publication in academia, as well as in culture. Before this technological age, an article would be composed of only words. This article would then be published in a journal, that would then be available for purchase. Now, articles contain pictures, video and links to other articles of the same topic. These publications and presentations are then posted on the internet, where many are free for public view. Miller describes this as an "incremental" change.

What is interesting is that, as Richard explains, we do not have a way to teach this new form of publication. We do not have the types of resources necessary to be able to present this idea to students. Richard refers to the need for a pedagogy that teaches this new style of writing. Pedagogy, by definition, is the study of being a teacher. It usually refers to the study of the many styles and techniques used in teaching. Once again, teaching as a profession is falling behind technology. Technology has pushed so far ahead that it has almost forced us to realize that, to be able to teach this new technology, jobs and teaching techniques have to first be INVENTED.

So now we come to the proposed questions: Are you prepared to write with multimedia? Will your students be able to do this?

First I feel I should make one point. I think that my students will be able to do this before I will. To be more clear, they will come into my classroom having used this type of writing before. The world they are growing up and learning in is so very different than what I grew up in. My cousin, for instance, is only 3 years old. She is currently attending preschool. At the age of 3, she is beginning to grasp the English language, but she can use the internet. With help only with spelling, she did a search on Google. I watched her log onto her favorite website. I find it incredible to see that she understands the concept of websites and the internet before she can write. That being said I think that students will come into my classroom knowing how to create this type of writing. I really do not feel I will need to teach them how to create it. I will simply show them how to apply it to academia.

Comments for Kids

The first class on my list was an 8th grade English class. I was assigned comment 8 on the list. The student was reading chapter 1 in the book "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens.

I thought the student gave a very thorough and concise summary and review of the chapter. It is obvious that this student did the required reading for his/her assignment. This is a great book. I read it as a high school student. I looked at the older blog postings to find out that they have read several books this year. It makes me happy to see that there is still a place in this technological world for good literature.