When I began my research, oddly enough the first article I pulled up was about Duke and there use of the iPod. This article explains the reasons that they chose to start using the iPods in the classroom and all the different things that they used it for. The main thing that it was being used for was recording lectures and conversations within the lectures. This article explains that they found this very helpful in planning future lectures for that class. It also helps the teacher to know who is participating, at what point there is not any participation, and just to monitor the class overall. This is still an ongoing project at Duke University but things seemed to be going well. If you care to read the article that I read on this just click here
We are familiar with this experience at Duke, but I found that there are many different schools using iPods in the classroom. What surprised me was that even elementary schools are trying this new thing out. An article I found on this had a very good way of explaining it. One point they made that I really liked was that teachers cannot continue to teach the way they have done it in the past. Students these days need more then in the past generations. I feel this is true because they are exposed to more. Students are exposed to technology such as iPods so why continue their education and not incorporate this technology into it. Not only does it keep the students from getting bored with their school work but they believe that it could possibly help those students who are not the average learners. Those students who need to hear and see things, the iPod will have them covered. After reading these different sites it has changed my opinion about using them in classrooms. I think it is a great idea, but only if the teachers know how to lead the students to use them in an effective way. If you are wanting to learn more or read a great article you can start by going to this site.
Friday, February 27, 2009
What Dr. Christie Showed Me
Dr. Christie's page was amazing. There were a million different things that she has to offer to anyone who is willing to take the time to learn about it. I think that it is very important for teachers to be up-to-date with the latest technology at all times, and what better way of doing that then letting her help you. Not only does she teach you how to use technology but how to use it effectively as a teacher. I think many times teachers will avoid people and things like this because they think that they already know how to work the technology. This maybe true but just because someone knows how to work something does not mean that he or she knows how to use it to make themselves a more effective teacher.
I found Dr. Christie's Educational Technology guide very useful. On this section of her page she talks about and explains ways to use all different types of technology in your classroom to make this better. I feel like to make myself the best teacher I can be I need to stay up to date on things such as these. There are many things that she was describing on here that I never thought one could use effectively in a classroom to help you teach your students. I can see myself using resources like this and many more when I become a teacher.
I found Dr. Christie's Educational Technology guide very useful. On this section of her page she talks about and explains ways to use all different types of technology in your classroom to make this better. I feel like to make myself the best teacher I can be I need to stay up to date on things such as these. There are many things that she was describing on here that I never thought one could use effectively in a classroom to help you teach your students. I can see myself using resources like this and many more when I become a teacher.
The Truth about Wikipedia
When it is time to do research on something, especially when it is something you do not particularly care for, it is often easier just to take whatever is easiest to come across. Many times one will find that wikipedia is the first thing that always pops up when someone searches for something on the internet. I think that students a lot of time will read what it has to say and will use that to try and back up whatever he or she is trying to say. What many students do not realize is that Wikipedia is not a reliable source. The reason for this is because ANYONE can go and change anything that they read. Therefore you might find people changing things just to do it, or just because it sounds better on their part.
I personally have never used Wikipedia for any research just for the simple fact that my teachers always make it clear that it is not allowed, but I think that when teachers state that it is not allowed they should explain why. Many times students will just think that the teachers are trying to make it hard on them. Maybe if the teachers took the time to show the students why they do not want them to use Wikipedia the students would understand and appreciate it. If you are a teacher wanting some information to share with your students you can review the same sites i did which were:
Blog
Article
Wired Story
I personally have never used Wikipedia for any research just for the simple fact that my teachers always make it clear that it is not allowed, but I think that when teachers state that it is not allowed they should explain why. Many times students will just think that the teachers are trying to make it hard on them. Maybe if the teachers took the time to show the students why they do not want them to use Wikipedia the students would understand and appreciate it. If you are a teacher wanting some information to share with your students you can review the same sites i did which were:
Blog
Article
Wired Story
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Randy Pausch last lecture
As a child we all have dreams that we want to do when we grow up! Some of these dreams are achievable and some are some that will only be in our dreams. Randy points out that some of our dreams will only stay in our dreams because we do not have the determination to make them come true. When he was a young boy he had many dreams, some that were easier to achieve then others and some that he never quite got but he tried and he gained a lot of experience in doing so.
I think that he attitude about life and everything he goes through is great. In trying to achieve all his dreams he never gave up. There were many times that he was turned down or things did not go just the way he wanted them to but he still managed to try something different and he was able to achieve it one way or another. He believes that one of the best thing that one can do in life is achieve his or her childhood dreams and he wanted to do something that would help them do that and understand why it was important.
Another thing that he speaks about is "head fake". I think this is a great concept and if everyone who dealt with children would understand this I think that the children would be that more successful. This idea is that you teach the students something through making them think that he or she is doing something that they would enjoy doing. He uses the example of him playing football. Although he never got to actually by in the NFL he is very confident on the football field. He is this way because he had a coach that helped him and pushed him to be the best he could be even though he was not the best player.
He also speaks of always having fun. He wanted students to have fun and fulfill their childhood dreams. He did this by creating a class at a college that would allow the students to have fun and learn things when they did not really realize what they were doing. I wish that everyone could have his attitude in life. He is dying but you still see that he has a great attitude about life and his enjoying his life and is having fun.
I think that he attitude about life and everything he goes through is great. In trying to achieve all his dreams he never gave up. There were many times that he was turned down or things did not go just the way he wanted them to but he still managed to try something different and he was able to achieve it one way or another. He believes that one of the best thing that one can do in life is achieve his or her childhood dreams and he wanted to do something that would help them do that and understand why it was important.
Another thing that he speaks about is "head fake". I think this is a great concept and if everyone who dealt with children would understand this I think that the children would be that more successful. This idea is that you teach the students something through making them think that he or she is doing something that they would enjoy doing. He uses the example of him playing football. Although he never got to actually by in the NFL he is very confident on the football field. He is this way because he had a coach that helped him and pushed him to be the best he could be even though he was not the best player.
He also speaks of always having fun. He wanted students to have fun and fulfill their childhood dreams. He did this by creating a class at a college that would allow the students to have fun and learn things when they did not really realize what they were doing. I wish that everyone could have his attitude in life. He is dying but you still see that he has a great attitude about life and his enjoying his life and is having fun.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
The Fischbowl Again
This time I chose to read the February blog, the title of this blog was "A Formula for Success." In this blog the lady is discussing the fact that many test require the students to have one "right" answer, when some times the right answer is not really waht is most important. Many times the students are focused on the right answer and do not really understand what it is that they are really doing. Or more than that how they can apply that math skill to a "real life" problem.
I think this is a really GREAT point. When I was in high school many of my math teachers would not take off if we did the problem right but got the wrong answer. It was the process that was most important. I think that this is very important because there are many tiems that people and students will make mistakes in doing a math problem but if a teacher can look at the work and see that he or she knew what they were doing and just made a mistake in the process then I believe that the student should still get credit for the problem. This is where standardized test would have a problem though. In this case there is no way to check for the process only the "right" answer.
I think this is a really GREAT point. When I was in high school many of my math teachers would not take off if we did the problem right but got the wrong answer. It was the process that was most important. I think that this is very important because there are many tiems that people and students will make mistakes in doing a math problem but if a teacher can look at the work and see that he or she knew what they were doing and just made a mistake in the process then I believe that the student should still get credit for the problem. This is where standardized test would have a problem though. In this case there is no way to check for the process only the "right" answer.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Podcast
The two podcast that I listen to were "facebook for educational use" and "websites for elementary teachers". I think that both of these podcast were very good. I am not a very critical person because I knwo taht I would probably not do much better knowing that what I am about to do is going to be on the internet for everyone to see. I think that something I will make sure that our group does is practice and knwo what is going to happen and who is going to do what. I think that that will make the podcast run a little bit smoother.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
the Fischbowl
This blog is mainly about the fact that she believes that teachers should be required to know the technology of the day. I have to say that I agree with her to a certain extent. I think that all teachers should be require to go to the training, which I think most schools to do require it, in order to get trained to use the different types of things that require new technology. Many times the new technology will only make their job a little bit easier if the teacher knows how to use it correctly. But I also think that the teacher needs to make sure that he or she is not relying to much on technology. I think that sometimes students and teachers both rely too much on technology and stop doing things they should do themselves and therefore never know how to do them.
In her June post she talks about preparing students for life and as a human being. This again helps me to restate the fact that students should be taught how to do things on the computer but also the old fashion way as I like to think of it. I think in order for someone to be successful in the world today he or she must know how to use the technology of the world but also paper pencil way as well. Computers and what not to break and you have to have a back up plan. Therefore if teachers are only teaching the new way how will students get by if the technology fails, which does happen every now and then.
In her June post she talks about preparing students for life and as a human being. This again helps me to restate the fact that students should be taught how to do things on the computer but also the old fashion way as I like to think of it. I think in order for someone to be successful in the world today he or she must know how to use the technology of the world but also paper pencil way as well. Computers and what not to break and you have to have a back up plan. Therefore if teachers are only teaching the new way how will students get by if the technology fails, which does happen every now and then.
All about the Podcast
Podcast are something that you can do for educational purpose or just for entertainment. There are so many different things that you can do while doing it. There is no one there to tell you what the podcast can or can not be able. It is a subject of your choice. And to make it better it is open to everyone! There is no one telling you who can do it and who can't. All you have to do is have the right tools and the time to do it and your podcast can become famous.
Although most of the podcast that I looked at were not very popular, and if they were it was probably because of a class assignment there is still that chance. Most podcast are free but anyone can decided to charge whatever they want for the podcast to be viewed. One of these days, probably soon, there will be nothing that is free in this world. But for right now there are still many podcast that you can view for free.
On most of the podcast I see that they all have one thing in common, most of them have music playing in the background of the podcast. Most of them also start off with the music as well. There are many different things that you can do in order to make your podcast unique and special. First like we just talked about you can specialize the music to fit the podcast. You can also add in pictures and sounds to it. And of course there is your own voice in the podcast. That's right YOU are the one that gets to do the talking.
Something that Podcast are being use for that I think is great is for educational purposes. Many times when children get home they forget how to do something that they learned in school and possibly that they need to be doing for homework. When this is the case, if the teacher does this, the student can get online and the teacher can have podcast up reminding the students of how the problem works. Also podcast can be made by other teachers for other teachers. I think this is a great way for teachers to share their ideas and technology. Oh where the future will bring us...
Although most of the podcast that I looked at were not very popular, and if they were it was probably because of a class assignment there is still that chance. Most podcast are free but anyone can decided to charge whatever they want for the podcast to be viewed. One of these days, probably soon, there will be nothing that is free in this world. But for right now there are still many podcast that you can view for free.
On most of the podcast I see that they all have one thing in common, most of them have music playing in the background of the podcast. Most of them also start off with the music as well. There are many different things that you can do in order to make your podcast unique and special. First like we just talked about you can specialize the music to fit the podcast. You can also add in pictures and sounds to it. And of course there is your own voice in the podcast. That's right YOU are the one that gets to do the talking.
Something that Podcast are being use for that I think is great is for educational purposes. Many times when children get home they forget how to do something that they learned in school and possibly that they need to be doing for homework. When this is the case, if the teacher does this, the student can get online and the teacher can have podcast up reminding the students of how the problem works. Also podcast can be made by other teachers for other teachers. I think this is a great way for teachers to share their ideas and technology. Oh where the future will bring us...
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