podcasts

I am going to be completly honest here. I really disliked this weeks assignments. First off, it took me forever to find the podcasts as well as watch them. I really don't know how I am going to write 4 paragraphs on this!
The main point of this class is to become technologically literate by the time you are done, this way when we are teachers, we will be successful at teaching our students the latest in technology. I agree that it is very important to understand technology. However, I didn't find much of this material this week to be helpful to me as a future educator other than trying to figure out how to open the podcasts. That task alone made me learn more than I already knew! So I guess thats a plus!
Before this weeks assignments I really wasn't too familiar with podcasts or what they were about. After watching them, I do think that they are pretty cool, but the podcasts themselves weren't too thrilling for me. I really didn't learn much out of them other than some tricks and tips on using a smartboard, as well as different approaches to use a podcast. Such as the next time I am in a drive-thru! I thought that was odd, but funny at the same time.
I found the "Smartboard Lessons Podcast" to be somewhat interesting. I really like how much you can do with a smartboard. I'm sure that if they had these when I was in school, I might just be a little bit smarter! I didn't like how much the people were talking about random stuff in the beginning though. It made it a little more difficult to pay attention to. But over all I found this podcast the most relevant to education.
I didn't enjoy the others so much, such as "This Week in Photography." I didn't find it at all relevant to education and to be honest I really didn't watch too much more of the podcasts. I really hate to be so negative about this weeks assignments but I really didn't enjoy it as much as I have been enjoying the other assignments this class has to offer. Hopefully I will learn a little more about podcasts which will make me enjoy them more.

Gary's Social Media Count

There really isnt much to say about this "Social Media Count" other than it is amazing how all of us rely heavily on social networking. Personally, I am always on my facebook, and I am addicted to my blackberry. I think if someone were to take these away from me, I would go insane. They are definatly convenient ways of communicating with others in your life. I really found this count interesting.

The Fischbowl

This article asks the question, "Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" I feel that all educators should be familiar with the latest technology." After all, teachers have a direct impact on the students they teach. If teachers arn't familiar with technology, no knowledge will be passed on to our future leaders. Therefore, in his "list," I agree that all educators should have a basic level of technological capability.

"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." I really found that quote to be interesting. If a child had that teacher, they wouldn't learn anything. Therefore I feel that all teachers should be somewhat familiar with basic technology, to make their students better people and more qualified for future jobs.

It's Not About the Technology

I really enjoyed this article by Kelly Hines. The article discusses how all of us as humans rely on technology in our everyday lives. It really makes me think about the technology that was popular when I was little, compared to the major advancements that have progressed since. For example, when I was born, people relied on their beepers to alert them when they needed to reach someone. Now, we have smart-phones, text messaging, facebook, myspace, and even skype.

The question,"What do we need to bring into the future?" is asked. As a future educator, I feel that I must always be aware of the latest technology. It would make my lessons to my students alot more interesting and fun for them to learn, being that they will also be up to speed on the latest technology. When I was younger, I always liked my computer classes alot more than my other classes that required a book. Therefore, as a teacher, I will never stop learning and make sure that my knowledge is passed on to my students.

A Vision of Students Today

I really enjoyed this video. It really spoke the truth about what college education is all about. I also really enjoyed the way this video was made. Having real students in the video displaying the actual messages of the video was really interesting. The message of this video was that a college education is all about the money. The degree you get at the end of your college career, is just a piece of paper and chances are, everything you learned throughout those few years, has vanished. The video mentions a few great (and true) points about the typical college student and their education. For example, some of the students said that by the time they graduate they will be 20,000 dollars in debt, they spend hundreds of dollars on books that they barely ever use, and mostly everything they learn is forgotten by the time they are done taking an exam on it. I can definatly agree and relate to those statements.

Ken Robinson Talks About Creativity

"Creativity is as important as literacy." This quote by Ken Robinson really caught my attention. His speech was about the importance of creativity in schoos and how we need to nurture creativity, rather than undermine it. I agree with what he says in this speech. I feel that creativity makes a student, regardless of age, unique. Ken Robinson also says that children are born artists. I also feel that statement is true, which makes it very important for our schools to embrace individualism and creativity.
The way I see it, if each child weren't allowed to express themselves, and needed to learn and do their assignments a certain, specific way, all students would be the same. If that were the case, we wouldn't have some of the best artists and musicians. I as a future educator, will embrace each child's individuality and creativity. I really enjoyed Ken Robinson's speech on creativity. I hope that alot of educators will take his advice and allow children to express themselves rather than mesh into the norm. Dare to be different!

Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts

I really enjoyed this video. What I really liked about this video was the teacher, as well as her teaching technique. The students in the classroom also looked like they were heavily involved and interested in what they were doing in class. In my opinion, the best way to learn, is to learn by using the latest technology. I recently observed a classroom for one of my education classes, and it was very behind in technology. There weren't any computers, let alone enough books for each student. Needless to say, hardly any of the students were interested or attentive in what was going on.
This teacher knew that most children love technology. She used that to encourage her students to learn. Using technology in school makes it fun and exciting to learn. I'm sure that most students would rather learn via computer rather than read a book. Another thing I admired was that by using technology to learn, the teacher is preparing her students for their future careers, being that nowadays most jobs involve some kind of technology. I would recommend this video to anyone but especially those who are going into teaching as a career. It offers some good insight on how to make learning fun for students.

Did You Know?

I really found the video, "Did You Know" very interesting. Some of the facts that the video mentioned, were unbelieveable. You would never even think about the facts they mentioned but when you actually saw them, you would be amazed! The video went over how advanced India and China are compared to the United States. It also mentioned certain facts such as how many babies were born during the duration of the video. I also liked the part of the video where they showed how long things like the ipod, facebook and the internet took to become popular.
This video really made me realize how advanced we are, but in comparison to India and China, were are incomparable. Not only do they have more people than we do in the U.S, but they are also more advanced when it comes to education. I really admire their education systems in China and I think we should be more like them. To sum things up, I really enjoyed this video and I will recommend it to anyone because it can relate to all of us!

Mr Winkle Wakes

"Mr. Winkle Wakes" was an interesting video about Mr. Winkle, who wakes up after 100 years and is fascinated with all the technological advances. He goes to a hospital, a business office, and a school. He is amazed by the machines he saw in the hospitals, that "breathed life" into those people. He was also amazed by the machines he saw in the business offices as well as all the noises he heard. When he got into the school, however, he was comforted that everything remained the same since he fell asleep. He saw a computer in the school that was collecting dust from not being used.
It really made me realize how we have advanced with technology over time. We have the most incredible machines from the ones in hospitals that keep people alive, to computers in which we are able to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world. The video also made me realize how our schools really dont have many advances. Not all schools have computers or smart boards and I think that because the world is so much more advanced, our schools need to catch up so our future leaders of the world will be familiar with these new inventions.