Bridging Our Future (Video, Future of Classrooms).

We've all seen the funniest things about the future. It's like watching Total Recall about the year, what? 2000? (lol). But this doesn't seem too far off base.

Smartboards are something I just saw this semester, which I've previously discussed. This video using the complete board and tablets is exactly what I'd expect over the next 10 years, if schools are able to keep funding by then.........

The whole thing is a promo for Intel, which I apologize about. But the ideas behind the classroom just seem attainable and wonderful.

Using Dojo

Class Dojo is an interactive program that records student behavior. No longer do teachers have to rely on memory in order to give students good scores for behavior, participation, attendance and any other methods of monitoring student progress. I played with the program in order to see what features it has, and added the names of the students in our Educational Technology classroom. You can also use it to call on students randomly. I planned to play with this during my powerpoint presentation, and now, I am not sure if it fits. We'll see what happens :-)

An ode to podcasts.

I often think of podcasts as the distant, old cousin of newer technology. Although, to be perfectly honest, I realize after listening to a podcast, how convenient it is. It allows me to listen to my computer while I'm doing other tasks (and not be distracted by video footage), it doesn't constantly freeze because images are moving, it is often clearer, than many of the videos I watch daily. But podcasts simply are not going to garner the kind of attention that videos get, because videos are visual. And with that, I now post a really amazing podcast that I saw (heard) earlier today.

Video Games: Friend or Foe?

Since the creation of video games, there have been disputes about their use for good, and their use for evil. While there is no concrete statistics about whether or not "educational games" work on children under 8, video games were always said to have the power to be utilized in an educational way. This, however, does not mean that gaming systems are used for this purpose. I know a lot of people who own video gaming systems such as PS3, Xbox, and more. None of them have educational video games. Though some supporters of video games say that video gaming controls stress, I know several people who are addicted to it. Though, addiction is possibly not the word for it. After all, many Americans watch T.V. many hours a day, and we do not call them "addicted" to television. I am on the internet many hours a day, and the verdict is out on whether or not I am "addicted" to it. We seem to spend a lot of time doing things we enjoy, "addiction", so long as it doesn't lead to decreased social interaction, cause pain to oneself, and others, is harmless. Or is it? The problem with video games, is that it encourages youth to engage during a critical time for developing people-skills. Computers do as well, though internet is much more educational, both in potential, and practice, then video games are. It is essential that we consider how few children play outside, explore the world, and play board games, or discover hobbies, or interact with each other because of video games. In fact, the "hobbies" that used to be common--model car building, painting, collecting stamps and cards, hiking, etc., are more than likely less common among youth now that T.V., and video games take up the bulk of free time for youth. This, in itself is not bad, it's just interesting to consider how this might effect young people's creativity, ability to meet goals, and to think with clarity, and to concentrate. I have found no persuasive evidence that gaming solves these problems.

Navigating Google Lit Trips

http://www.googlelittrips.com/GoogleLit/9-12/9-12.html This is interactive, and entertaining, but I think it might be too many bells and whistles for middle and high schoolers. I do think that geography maps in 3D are JUST AS important as static flat maps that students can write on. I do not think this static maps should, or even can, be replaced. I plan to check out Google Lit Trips over the next couple weeks, so far, I do not find it as useful as I thought I would have. :-(

Teacher Technology

I didn't realize how many different websites there are devoted to teachers. Great resources out there for educators indeed. Some that cover my content area: http://www.eslvideo.com/ It is interested to check out, though, not as great as the flexibility in search (and amount of videos) as youtube. http://www.ets.org/toefl Which shows the infamous TOEFL test which many students will have to take (and it is useful to know the types of questions students will be asked). There are a wealth of resources. Now, if I can only figure out hot to use a smartboard............

Microsoft Word and Excel

Throughout the course of my career, I've definitely used Microsoft Word much more than excel (though I've used excel too), I find that, while excel is easier to use, it's harder to learn to use initially.....kind of like a Mac computer. Things I like about excel include: Formulas Speed (it doesn't take 10 years to load the way Word often does). Organization (instead of spending another 10 years how to reorganize and situation a text box, in Word). Uniformity (I haven't had issues sending excels that disintegrate once you switch to a newer excel, though, it is possible that this hasn't happened yet simply because I use excel less). What I like about Word: I used it often, so it kind of grew on me. Safe place to secure a document (I recently lost an entire term paper because my P.C. shut down and I use "Open Office" free word program). Easy to use, once you've learned it (which for many of us, was in high school). So for me, Word wins. But I still cannot figure out whether or not that's because I've used excel much less.

Using the smart boad:

The smart board is something I have recently been exposed to. I did not have it in high school, and on the first day of classes in September, I saw a professor using it for the first time. I admit that I thought this was some kind of college-specific technology, though I know it wasn't used when I went to college. Professors kept track of art history slides in undergrad using a carousel that you heard click with every moving image, following and proceeding with a dry lecture. So imagine my surprise when I go to fieldwork for the first time on Friday of this past week, and see that it's part of a normal classroom! During the class, the teacher did not pull out a dusty "Overhead Projector" or use the chalkboard. Those were what were used with regularity when I was coming up. Frequently, you'd hear the class snicker because Ms. Bess had chalk on her nose. You also got used to seeing your teacher's fingers covered in blue or green stains from using the transparent sheet that covers the actual overhead projector, and wiping away the permanent marker ink by licking their finger to remove errors and typos. To my surprise, the teacher kept score of students performance using "Dojo points". Students could be called on by using the "random" feature (which is great). Multiple lessons and activities were organized through the computer instead of relying on teacher memory, thousands of handouts,the scoring of class participation is ultimately kept on track. It just shows you how much modern technology can benefit the classroom.

Do interactive games encourage literacy?

This is a question I always wanted to know about. If educational games enhance learning, or if they only enhance memory within games. And if so, at what age does playing with educational toys and games help? I understand trivia to develop memory and vocabulary skills, but what about other games? The thing is that, of course, life isn't a series of video games (at least, not yet). If k-12 education is completely devoted to play, how are we preparing students for college? The workforce? Life? This guy claims that they do work (based on his daughters, he even provides a really cool graphic). But what EXACTLY are they learning? If the answer is simply vocabulary, and random information, then media provides that. Perhaps there's no teacher like human social interaction, at least at a certain age, and a formal classroom. But who knows?

Using social media and teaching history

In an increasingly technological and internet-based world,  where we could devote 2 weeks to reading a book, we can read the summary of that book in online reviews. When a documentary on featured American Civil War heroes can take 2 hours to watch, a picture of a General, a paragraph summary, and a link can provide basic information. In short, where the public could be bored with "details", and the process of discovering new material through extensive written and visual text,  the public gets an equally accurate snapshot of what occurred through social media; social media and internet changed how quickly we are able to access new information. More and more, learners are being lured in to subject content that is brief, informative, and history-based. For example, though most high school students didn't read the regular daily newspaper, a considerable amount of high school students for example, are familiar with blogs such as Huffington Post, and the New York Times. Though the problem of learning being limited to “short” descriptions can be problematic, it is also important to meet learners where they are, and to stay current. I wholeheartedly approve of such a concept.

Webquests

"The Process You will count of in 4s in class, and the four members of your team will get different roles as primary researchers. These roles are: The archaeologist, The librarian, The Scientist and The Politician. As a team, you will, hopefully, pick who is the best person for each job. Each team will need to use a different group of resources. Any team reading off of another team and using that as the basis of their assignment (copied work) will get an automatic zero. Though you are free to meet with other teams as you wish (archaeologists can team up with archaeologists and look together for example), your work must reflect originality and professional standards."

Using history and webquests was quite informative. Really appreciated the ability to put forth creative potential and standard content into one assignment; really appreciated the ability to do this as part of a overall task.

diverse learning:

I wouldn't describe myself as a visual, hands-on or auditory learner, in fact, I tend to learn more as a result of reading and writing than anything else. But will acknowledge that I also do have some areas of learning from tactile cues. I can get the plot of movies much more easily if there are subtitles, and often found videos and "how to's" more useless than manuals. However, the three learning styles of visual, hands-on, and auditory are not all there is. The more I learn about education, the more I realize this. What I like most about the internet is the wide variety of content available to all learners. Take the following examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbXzI-IAdSc http://www.wikihow.com/Tie-a-Tie While most might say that they are "visual" learners because the tie video is easier to process, it is clear that some tasks are much simpler when we have a visual aid. Obviously, the visual aspect of the video might be easier than an auditory one, but it really does depend on the task. There are musicians who, I am sure, "play by ear" (and have fine-tuned auditory skills), who also would see the visual tie reference as much easier than to read or listen to a tape about tying a tie. What if the video were a 2 hour dialogue of how to build a house? Wouldn't they rather follow a written or tactile guide? And are visual learners able to memorize, based on visual aids, something that is more intensive? Some people learn more quickly from a GPS voice navigator than a visual interactive map, those people might also appreciate the tie video over the written content. And in general, a lecturer with slides on an overhead projector can cause even the most visual of learners to lose focus, though they stay focused and intrigued when reading entertaining books. Because the visual, listening, and tactile learning styles are dependent on the task, they really tell us nothing about how people learn in a variety of contexts--which is why I tend to value assessments (including personality assessments) that measure learning styles in a more concrete and researched way.

Educational Technology:

What is Educational Technology? This is what I hope to find out. I am actually posting this as an assignment for my very first class, which I missed because the 7:00pm-9:40pm one I hoped to take was canceled. I am a brand new graduate student. I may have a lot to offer in other subjects, but education is not one of them. A lot can happen in the course of several years, including a complete transition in ones educational path, and I admit I have a lot to learn. I've never been in a classroom as an educator, never worked directly with adolescent youth in a meaningful way, yet I hope that being a graduate student will allow me to excel in this area. I also use the internet daily. Internet is really my favorite invention, I think its far more useful than cable, phone, a microwave or even a stove sadly enough. I like that information and the entire world is only a click away. I also believe my vision has gotten substantially worse since it was created. Regardless of my love of internet, I know very little about technology, and hope to share what I've learned on this blog. I am looking forward to learning more about education and technology, and merging these fields together!