Aufwiedersehen

To those I have shared this semester with in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class:

Thank you for the good times, help on projects, blog comments, and links to great stuff on the web.

Goodbye for Now,
Ryan Rogers

EDM 310: A summary of new discoveries and adventures

This class has quite possibly put more thoughts, questions and ideas in my head than any other class so far. I learned A LOT from this class. The things we learned here were practical, both as a professional and for someone who simply wants to broaden their horizons a little. So let me try and list all of the things I found most helpful in this class.

The blog. Something that I really never thought I would have. It is something that I have grown to enjoy. The professional blog is especially helpful because I can use it to collaborate with professors and, in the future, fellow teachers. Twitter is something that I am new to as well. I recently linked my phone to my Twitter profile, so expect more Tweets from me! I have downloaded Picasa to my computer, and use it to organize and edit the videos and photos on my computer. I love how it does the organizing for me! Podcasting is another thing that I have begun to use as well. I have subscribed to several podcasts, both for personal and professional interests. As far as the posts I read throughout this semester, they are the reason I even have a Personal Learning Network. They have introduced me to some very talented and extraordinary people. Comments4kids was an assignment that I found very rewarding. It allowed me to experience the joy in seeing a student take an idea and make it their own, and succeed! iTunesU was another thing I was introduced to in this class. It is also a part of my PLN. I can connect and watch the lectures of professors of History at some of the best colleges in the country! This will be a tool that I know I will use regularly. I learned this semester that Google offers much more than just a search engine. With a little help from Dr. Strange, I found myself creating forms, presentations and more with Google Docs. I can keep track of all of the websites and blogs I follow with Google Reader. I have been able to take a tour of the oceans of Google Earth. As far as the class itself, I have a few questions required for this post I must answer.

2. No. I thought this class was extremely thorough and very eye opening!
3. To be honest, I will try and block Foliotek out as much as possible.
4. Yes it did. The whole idea of technology, collaboration and connectivity with educators worldwide excites me! I could have never been able to accomplish all of the things I have this semester without this course.
5. Not really. All you need for this class is the will to discover, learn and use.
6. I was only bored when I was filling out all of the forms that showed up in my Google Docs.
7. I would love for this course to be entirely web based! Other than that, I liked this class very much.
8. I think I am much more literate than I have ever been. To give it a degree, I would say I am "Good". I will never be "Great", because that would mean I couldn't learn anything else!
9. By continuing to use the tools I learned about, expanding my PLN, keeping in touch with my new found friends and always looking into and exploring new technology as it arises!

My PLN

As this semester comes to a close, and I am finishing my last posts, I am asked to summarize and review my PLN.

To start, none of this would have been possible without the direction and aid of Dr. Strange. So I must first give my thanks. He has aided me by providing links to other teachers' blogs and sites through our assignments for the blog posts. People like Matthew Needleman, Michael Wesch, Karl Fisch, Mr. McClung, Dr. Alice Christie (her website is great!), Wendy Drexler, Kaia and her father and so many more are showing us what technology can do to improve our professions as well as our lives. All of the above have been saved on my Delicious account. I will constantly refer to them for ideas and will continue to follow and comment on their endeavors as we implement technology into the classroom.

I have also added a few contacts to my PLN on my own. One of my professors, Dr. Rogers, is now on my Gmail account. Dr. Rinne in the Foreign Languages Department is giving me the email of a friend of her's in Berlin, so that while I am there, I can speak with him about his experiences during the Cold War in Berlin. For a teacher, a PLN is a must! Without it, you will still be able to do your job. But with it, you can accomplish so much more! Being able to share your ideas and see the ideas of others is so amazing. Why not work as a team if we have the tools available to do so! I will continue to expand my PLN as much as possible so that when I do begin teaching, I will have tons of ideas and methods just waiting to be used in my own classroom.

Because of Dr. Strange, I now have many things I did not even think of having before that have helped broaden my PLN. I have a Twitter account, I have RSS'd several sites and blogs, I have connected with friends, family and professors on Skype, I have a Delicious account to keep track of my bookmarks, and most importantly, I have two blogs! None of this would have been possible without Dr. Strange. So again, Thank you!

Comments for Kids Overview

I enjoyed this assignment. It consisted of going to different blogs and class web pages organized by Dr. Strange, and commenting on some of the kids' posts. I had a lot of fun with this. It felt great to connect with these brilliant kids and let them know that their effort is really paying off! I think this is a great way to usher young students into the world of blogging! Hopefully they will continue to use this amazing tool and develop their own PLN!

One of the posts I did was for Mr. Goerend's Room 304 class blog. Cody writes about National Hop Like A Kangaroo Day. It was funny and interesting to see what these kids come up with! Here is the post.

Lists...

After reviewing the three lists assigned, this is what I have come up with.

The first list I viewed was called "Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make With Technology". Out of the seven things listed, the two I chose were numbers 2 and 4. Treating a school computer like it is your own. My response is somewhat tied to number 4. How can you possibly assume that what you say and search on the internet, especially at work, is not monitored? One of my coworkers at my part-time job was fired for not using our store computer properly. So yes, I agree, that is pretty stupid. The other selection I made was number 4. Thinking online communication is ever private. Once again, how can you possibly assume that what you say and search on the internet is not monitored? How can you think there isn't a way to search your history? Dr. Strange taught us about leaving a data trail on the internet. It is pretty ridiculous to think that you can cover your tracks just by deleting your search history on your browser.

The second list I viewed was called "Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do With Technology". Out of the seven things listed, I chose numbers 6 and 7. Use the kids' own devices to teach them. This one is especially important, seeing as how I have a laptop, iPod, and cell phone just waiting to be connected with my classes! I have already used two of these with my EDM310 class, but that's it. I would like to see it happen in my other classes as well. Delight in the discovery, the newness, and the fun technology holds. This one is also very important. Technology is fun! Learning about and using the new technology is fun! Showing others how to use it and watching them have fun is, well, fun! I have always said that the reason people pursue their dream job is because they enjoy doing it. This is especially true with teachers. Obviously it is not about the money. So why not make it even more fun and incorporate some gadgets!

The third list I viewed was called "New Classroom Rules by Education Innovation". This was my favorite of the three posts. I had a difficult time selecting only two as most important. I suppose numbers 1 and 15 would be most important on this list. Come to school every day, unless you would rather just go on line. Sometimes problems arise in life that do not allow us to do the things we need to do. This semester, my mother broke both of her arms in an athletic accident and it required me to stay at home with her for a while. I missed A LOT of class time, and I am paying for it now trying to catch up. It would have been great to just view the lectures on a Podcast whilst tending to my mother. Know what you are supposed to be learning, why, and what you will do with the knowledge. This one I like. How valuable is what you are learning if you do not show/teach someone else? If what you are learning and using is so great, why not spread the wealth?

At The Teacher's Desk

I like this blog. It is a professional blog that, in my opinion, gives us an abstract view on topics relating to education. After browsing around, I found a few posts that I really found interesting.

The first post I viewed was called Scary Statistics. It basically showed that girls tend to do better in a scholastic environment than boys. I compares males and females in suspension, expulsion, suicide, college attendance, college graduates, and many more. The question then arises, how do we make school a more successful place for boys? Well, frankly I do not know. I was simply unaware that the statistics were so staggering.

Another post I watched/read was Michael Fawcett's (I think that's how you spell it) video discussing his experience with his PLN. It was very inspiring to take my PLN as far as I can! He and Dr. Strange alike have really showed me how a PLN can only help you grow in your profession.

How Do I Know I Am Not Just Being Selfish?
Very interesting post. Mr. C asks us the question, "Are we pushing too hard a technology agenda, or are we simply trying to catch up with the world outside our walls?" I say NO Mr. C! You and others like you are not pushing too hard! I think you are simply just the forerunners of a technological revolution that I am more than excited to see! I personally think that education is desperately in need up catching up. I would love to see more teachers advocating the use of all of these tools that I have learned about this semester.

Using Skype to Connect ESOL Students with Foreign Language Students
Another great post! I love this blog! This one gave me a lot to think about when it comes to Skyping. Mr. C gives some great advice on how to optimize your Skyping experience. I will have to take this into account when Skyping family and friends in Germany this summer. Some of the things he talks about are: Having reasonable speakers to help clarify the audio, using a projector to make the video easier to see for a class, and do a practice call to work out the bugs. He also gave a few good links to some software you can use to record the Skype. Great stuff! Here is the permalink.

Michael Wesch's "The Machine is (Changing) Us"

It seems that no matter how much of a grasp I think I have on the world I live in, every time I am introduced to a video like this, that grasp tends to get smaller and re-adjusted. So how does this video and the comments that Dr. Wesch made relate to my life, school and future in teaching?

For my life, I think it has had a very positive impact. This collaborative ideology that is so prevalent in our society today has allowed me to gain contacts and friends that I would have never been able to accomplish without it. I have seen people on YouTube post things I can relate to. I have met people on Facebook that have the same life goals as I do. I do not think I am a very narcissistic person when it comes to my life. Wesch talks a great deal about this "ME" generation. Although I agree with his argument, I do not think that it should label the generation as a whole. I think this collaborative phenomenon is allowing people to, like Dr. Wesch said, be more self-aware than ever.

As for my college experience, I am extremely thankful that I have the ability to gain contacts with professors, fellow students and others with whom I can gain advice and share ideas with. For example, when I have trouble in German class, I can Skype my friend Theresa who lives in Innsbruck, Austria. She hates history, so she emails and Skypes me when she needs help memorizing dates or studying. I can email Dr. Rogers and get advice on a good thesis topic, or anything else I might need advice on for history class. This ability to collaborate and help one another is a great thing.

As for my future endeavors as a teacher, I hope to be able to collaborate with students and colleagues alike. I envision myself being able to mentor students as my professors have helped me. I see other professors and I working together and being able to enrich each others' classes. For example, I could see a German culture professor come to a Hitler and Nazi Germany class to discuss how culture has changed since the Third Reich. Now, more than ever before, the possibilities are endless.

Here is a link to the video.

Publishing Students' Work on The Web?

To answer this question, I must say it is extremely important! The video of the kids in New York City singing only helps the argument. Not only will they receive praise from their chorus teacher, but from everyone that has the opportunity to see the video. Here are some links to other work from students that you can find on the web.

This video was created by a few students in my German class this semester. We had to do a semester-long project called "Rockgruppe". We were a rock band and our assignment was to create a story that documented our trips and trials with the band from our own perspective. This is what their group presented at the end of the semester. Enjoy!

This video is also from YouTube. It was made by a German teacher from Terryville High School in Plymouth, Connecticut. It was the first time German was available for that high school. Very cool video. It is obvious that this teacher absolutely loves his job.

On the same thread as the above video, I found this video made by some students for German class. I thought it was pretty funny.

ACCESS

ACCESS, or Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide, is a program set up by Governor Bob Riley to allow students all across the state to gain extra courses and things such as advanced diplomas through distance learning. It was launched in 2004, and received $10.3 million in funding on October 1, 2005. In the ACCESS PowerPoint presentation, slide 6 tells us why ACCESS was set up. The problem is that, "Many rural and low-income schools have limited course offerings for students." It goes on to point out that because of some schools having a low budget, they cannot offer the courses that would dignify students with an Advanced Diploma. The idea is that students can take advantage of the technology at hand to take specialized courses, through the computers at their school. In the About ACCESS section, you will find links to the goals, history, overview, and staff of ACCESS. There is also a section for students, that describes distance learning, and is soon to provide a demo course to see if distance learning is for you! In the technical support section, there are links to downloads and plugins to aid the student in accessing the courses. There is also a list of ACCESS support centers. These are Madison City Schools, University of Alabama and Troy University. Troy University is the support center for Mobile County, as well as 26 others.

Overall, I think this is a great thing. It allows students to broaden their diplomas with courses that some schools simply cannot provide. I hope to see that demo course up on the site soon. I would love to see how it works! I am adding this to my PLN. It should come in handy in the future.

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.

Fun with Wordle

iTunes U

I just watched a presentation on iTunes U done by David Hopkins. Upon reviewing the presentation, I immediately accessed iTunes U on my laptop. I am happy that it is very simple to use. I instantly found 11 different Podcast topics each containing at least 5 Podcasts each; and that was ONLY on the Holocaust!

This will be a vital teaching tool once it increases in popularity. Instead of just homework out of the book, for instance, I can assign a Podcast to view. I can tell them to reflect on it and post their comment on the class blog. I like the idea of being able to assign something different. Hopefully it will spark some creativity in their work.

After doing some searching on iTunes U Duke, I noticed that they had an area called "Student Showcase". I watched a Vodcast that interviewed a graduate student, Liangbo Hu, in the College of Engineering. He described his thoughts about Duke, the engineering program, what his contributions are and what he wants to leave Duke with. His interview was one of many for just the College of Engineering. It allows for future students to get a good general idea of what that program is like. I think this would be fantastic to have for the University of South Alabama. I know I would have loved to have found out, from a student's perspective, about the different departments before going to school here.

Dr. Alice Christie's Website

I really enjoyed looking over this website. It is very simple in design and easy to navigate. It contains a wide range of different tools and tips to aid teachers. Everything from in-class project ideas to outdoor exercises, this website is extremely informational!

The one part I looked into was the virtual field trips, or VFT. Since I want to teach European History, this would be a fantastic tool to use! Obviously, being able to send my class to the Reichstag in Berlin is almost 100% unlikely, an interactive, virtual tour of it would be the next best thing! I was only able to read a brief description of it, but apparently these VFTs can be found everywhere. I think that would probably be one of my favorite teaching tools. I can see it now, "This is the Reichstag, Germany's Parliament building. You guys want to go see it?"

I started browsing via Google to locate one of these VFTs. I found a great website for teachers that is full of different trips to exhibits, museums and even the planets! Here is the link.

Meine Vorstellung

Mr. McClung's blog: "What I've Learned This Year"

Mr. McClung's post was very humbling. It took a great deal of personal reflection to be as thorough as he was in his blog, "What I've Learned This Year". I think it is difficult to go into anything you are new to, and perform perfectly on the first try. I believe it is how you react after that first experience that characterizes your performance. Mr. McClung is definitely on the right track from what I can tell. He has had to make changes in everything to his policies to how he delivers the lessons to help things run smoother.

That being said, I think the most important things on his list are: Read the Crowd, Be Flexible, Be Reasonable and Listen to Your Students. These portions of the post hit home the most for me. In my extremely limited experience in front of a class I know how caught up in your own expectations you can get.

Let's face it. I am not a teacher yet. I also have not had any formal training that would help me plan and deliver a lecture. But I have given a lecture. I can relate to Mr. McClung in the fact that I wanted my presentation to be perfect. I spent days rewriting and reciting it to make sure it flowed smoothly and covered everything I wanted it too in enough detail. When it came time to deliver it, I found myself very nervous. Not because of stage fright, but because I thought that people would be very judgmental over something I had worked so hard on! After all, it was my peers that would grade my delivery. Our professor simply graded content. I received an A on my delivery, but with one side note: "Your presentation was good but where's your personality?" I was giving a presentation on something that I loved but didn't show any character or personality in my delivery.

NPR and Wikipedia

Ah Wikipedia. A massive website with tons of information about virtually anything imaginable. But, due to the fact that anyone can change or delete information put on it, you can't trust it. It becomes a website full of hot air. Wal-Mart can make changes so that they do not seem as greedy as they are. The Democratic and Republican parties can make changes to each others' pages. Ridiculous.

Virgil Griffith created a data mining software called the "Wikipedia Scanner". This finds and tracks the locations of users who anonymously change articles on Wikipedia through their IP address. I think it is great that we can openly view who makes changes to Wikipedia entries. I will stick with my current stance on Wikipedia. Use it to locate REAL sources.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Inspiring. Motivating. Amazing. These are just a few words to describe Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. Besides his talk of following your childhood dreams and embracing what you are good at, Randy also tells us about a very interesting teaching method he used in his computer science classes at MIT. I found the method to be very interesting. It is the concept of learning something indirectly, or a "head fake" as Randy puts it.

Randy uses football as an example of a "head fake". While learning how to form tackle and master the three-point stance, we also learn teamwork, dedication, and heart, to name a few. The idea is to get someone to learn something through an activity. That made me think about how I could implement this concept into my own classroom one day.

I have already had this technique used on me before. In German class, we read short stories. All of which contain sentence forms and vocabulary we have NEVER seen before. We read the title, then look at the pictures and try to figure out what the story is about, sort of like a game. Then we read the story with our class' brainstorming session in mind. Believe it or not, the story makes sense and we learn the new vocabulary much faster!

I would like to do something similar in my own classroom, maybe with technology in mind. I know I have learned many new German words and phrases just by watching foreign films without subtitles. It forces your mind to connect body language, context clues, and the tone of the speaker with the words being spoken. Usually, with enough practice, someone can get the gist of what is being said without understanding every word.

How could I implement a "head fake" in a History class though? Any thoughts?
Visit Randy's website.

Response to Karl Fisch's Post

Karl Fisch, in my opinion, has brought technology and teaching into perspective with this post. He has a very strong argument about people being technologically illiterate and how this should NOT be acceptable. What stuck out to me the most was his comment, "If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." And to answer your question Mr. Fisch: No! It is certainly not extreme!

This passage in particular is what really made the use of technology in the classroom hit home for me. I think it is important that we think of technology this way. I agree with Mr. Fisch when I say that anyone involved in the educational system, from administrators to librarians, who are not willing to grow, learn and adapt to the new technology, should indeed find a new career path. We must break the cycle that the educational system is in right now. This is Karl Fisch's post:click here.

Response to Kelly Hines' post

I agree! Technology in the classroom is absolutely worthless unless the teachers using it are willing to learn and integrate it into the curriculum. I still think that some students will not "get it" even with the new technology, though. People are hardly ever geared to be able to learn and comprehend everything they are taught.

For example, I have struggled my entire life with mathematics. I had to have countless hours of tutoring and, to this day, the things I learned, or should I say memorized, I still do not quite understand! On the other hand, I can still remember my 5th grade history class like it was yesterday. That was when I knew I wanted to do something that involved this fascinating subject when I grew up. That being said, I think history class would have been, and could be, much more interesting and enjoyable with technology incorporated in the correct way! This post sparks a great deal of imagining what education could become if more people strove to change it.

Michael Wesch's video

Wow. Simply wow. All I could do is nod my head in agreement to the things written on the notebooks, computers, desks and walls. The video made in a very creative way. Instead of pictures with the statistics in the foreground, the comments and figures were hand written on notebooks or typed on laptops. The video reminded me of the first time I walked into a class. I was sitting along with 92 other freshmen, completely overwhelmed by the idea of college. Classes have been much smaller and better since then, thankfully.

I would only add 2 things to this video. 1: I joined a club on campus I have NO time for. I am not sure how to shorten the second one. I had a professor one semester that, in mid lecture, was interrupted by a student. The student made a comment about what she was talking about, saying that what she was writing on the board was not correct. She referenced the correct information out of a book that THE PROFESSOR assigned us. The professor quickly erased what she wrote, realizing her mistake, and simply laughed saying she must have just mixed it up. This educator had a Ph.D. in this subject! I would never write something like this unless the professor did "mix information up" more than once. Which she did. Several times. So I guess number 2 would read. "My professor is just as confused as me."

Podcast Assignment Part 2: Eagle's Nest Radio

I listened to the 3rd Grade class podcast: Roamin' with the Romans. I thought it was extremely well done! It wasn't in video form, but I still loved it! They did it like a news show! They had anchors who introduced another student who did a segment on Roman buildings, the Gladiators and more! The students spoke very well and it had a very smooth flow! There was even music that went along with what each student was talking about! My favorite quote.... "Caesar, not just a type of salad, is also the name of a famous Roman." You cannot look this up!

I will take several things from this podcast. I would love to have music that coincides with the discussion. It adds an intriguing aspect to a successful podcast! It adds another piece of audio, not just the person speaking, to keep the listeners' attention. I should also be sure of what I am going to say, so that I do not have long awkward pauses or skip something I should have said. A podcast should also have a personal touch to it. Make it original! Make it yours!

Tech Literate Teacher

After watching this podcast, I have decided that it has several good and bad aspects. First, things I liked. I liked the place chosen for the podcast. I liked the topic and the arguments during the discussion. I love discussions on topics and I found it very thorough. I also enjoyed the atmosphere chosen to film the podcast in. I know for a fact that, if there was anything going on in the background, I would not have paid any attention to the podcast. I will need to remember this when the time comes for my podcast.

Second, things I did not like. I did not like the fact that not everyone contributed equally. In my opinion, you cannot have a good debate without equal participation. I did not like the pace of the debate either. I understand that a podcast must have some form of a script so that people do not get off topic or accidentally say someone's argument, but it seemed that too often, the people were reading from the paper in front of them, instead of speaking to one another. I feel like it either should have been practiced more, or the papers should have had short notes on them to be used as a reminder. It created an obvious tension in the conversation.

Matthew Needleman's Intro to Video in the Classroom

I thought Mr. Needleman's style of teaching is very innovative and interesting. He has found, what I said in an earlier blog post, a way to spark his students' minds. The children were enjoying school and learning without knowing it.

Podcast Anyone?

The first Podcast I chose to listen to was SmartBoard Lessons. It was very cheesy and lacked the luster required to have my full attention. The two hosts of the cast kept cutting one another off with jokes and random comments like radio personalities on a bad morning show. The quality of the audio was fantastic and I found it interesting that they can host a Podcast over the internet without any sort of lag in the stream.

The next Podcast I chose was Kidcast. First of all, I liked the custom introductory music. The host spoke well and in a way that people could easily follow him. I enjoyed the episode I listened to. It was about audio Podcasts versus video Podcasts. He argued that in strictly audio casts, the host has to rely on very descriptive language to set a scene whereas video casts, people can use not only speech, but also body language to communicate.

The third Podcast I chose was EdTechTalk. The first thing I noticed was that the shortest Podcast on the list was thirty-eight minutes! The longest was one hour! I am not sure what the general demographic of people says about free time, but I would not sit and listen to a one hour Podcast. They should try to make it short and to the point. I found a little irony in this Podcast. I have been watching numerous videos and discussions about how education needs to get away from the traditional lecture-style environment, but here I am sitting and being lectured on a topic; not by a teacher in a classroom, but by an audio file.

The last Podcast I chose was a bit of a wild card. It has nothing to do with education and technology in the classroom but I figured it would be interesting to see what came up in the search. I found one called Special Ops Paintball. It is a Podcast that is all about a type of paintball called "woodsball" or "scenarioball". It can be found by simply typing in the words Specail Ops Paintball into the search bar. Specialopspaintball.com is the leading supplier of scenario paintball gear, parts, accessories and apparel. Many of their products are made to military specifications so they look and feel like the real thing. They were mainly videocasts from what I could tell, and the ones I downloaded took some time. Besides that, they were interesting and informational. Still I wonder, does the fact that these people know they are being recorded make their jokes cheesy or is it just me?

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

This video was very interesting. This is, in my mind, what teaching is all about; finding a way to spark students' minds. When you can give them that spark, they run with it and do amazing things. Vicki Davis has found a way to empower her students.

Using interactive maps and connecting to people around the world, a history student can learn about another country and see it first hand. With technology as a major tool in the educational system, a more interactive and rewarding learning experience can be achieved.

Sir Ken Robinson Talk

Creativity is indeed something that is not as prevalent in education as it was two hundred years ago, but look at what we have achieved without its prevalence. If I am in a car accident and am in need of immediate surgery, I can rest assured knowing the person operating on me spent years in difficult classes with professors that "live inside their heads" to get to where he is. If the focus in education is moved toward the arts too much, then the curriculum for a discipline like medicine, for instance, may not require such rigorous training.

I am not saying that things like music and dance are not important to molding a well rounded person. I am simply saying they should not become the most important thing in education. Sir Ken Robinson makes a good point when he said that public education was created to support industrialization; and now that I think about it, grade school was very similar to a factory to build a person from a child to an adult ready to work. This was quite controversial.

Did You Know? 3.0 and Mr. Winkle Wakes

Technology is growing faster than the world has ever seen. It is so unfathomably fast that, by the time someone buys a computer or a piece of software that is, "up to date", it will be obsolete before they can use up half of the memory available on that system. The figures given in Did You Know? 3.0 were absolutely incredible. It shows how quickly not only technology is growing, but also the lifestyle and evolution of humans.

My theory is this: In ancient times people evolved from nomads to farmers, rocks to iron, bows to bullets. These changes took a very long time to come about. Now that technology has completely fused itself with how and what people do on a daily basis, I feel that we as humans will evolve along side of, and just as quickly as, technology. Soon there will be no need to travel because you can go into a room that is completely integrated with virtual reality. You can smell the salty air and feel the sun on your skin in Hawaii if you want, all while standing in a room in your home. This video is a perfect example of this.

Mr. Winkle Wakes was, to say the least, an eye opener. The basis of this movie is that education has not moved as quickly as technology has. It is almost as if the educational system was left out during this technology boom. Rip Van Winkle notices that offices and hospitals have totally integrated with all of these machines and new technology that is allowing the people there to do extraordinary things.

He points out that machines are allowing people to have conversations and see each other half a world away. Other machines are able to keep people alive that would otherwise be long since dead. So why does the school not have amazing machines like these? Machines that could absorb the information lectured for the student? Yes, the educational system is almost exactly as it was over one hundred years ago, whereas everything else around it has changed dramatically.

About Me

To start, I must say this is my very first blog. That being said I suppose I will keep it simple. My name is Ryan and I am a junior at the University of South Alabama. I am a Secondary Ed./History double major and I am also earning a minor in German. I have a lot going on in my life all the time. When I am not at school, you can find me at the gym, playing paintball, hunting, fishing, or watching UFC. I have a part time job at Leslie's Pool Supply. I am even in a rock band called Fire For Effect. We are ok. Out of all my hobbies I suppose paintball is my favorite. Sadly it is also the one that I have spent the most money on. Besides that there is not really much to say. I work hard, play hard and live life.