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.