Monday, July 20, 2009
My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are now complete!
It has been a very hectic summer but we made it through. Thanks Mr. Sullivan for teaching me some things I did not know. I will definitely be implementing many things I learned from this class into my own classroom. Adios!
Technology Literate!
At first I had a some bitterness about this class because I had to take it over again! The first time I took it South was on quarters (yes over 10 years ago) and they needed the class to be on semester hours. So you can see why I was upset I had to take it over again. But I tried to be positive because I knew technology had changed since I took the class 10 years ago so I was looking forward to learning something new that I could implement in the my own classroom.
As far as the blogs go I already had a personal blog that I had set up through eBlogger so I already knew a lot. But there was still a lot to learn like setting up a link and adding tags to photos. Blogs are a great way to express opinions or just get thoughts out. They are also a great way to put information out on the web.
Our personal presentation was great because it introduced me to Google Docs and how to use Google because I had never used it before. The presentation also gave us a chance to speak in front of the class which is something we will be doing most of our professional life. I really liked this particular project.
The spreadsheets I am sure will be helpful but they were a bit boring for me. That is all I have to say about that.
The podcasts were the most nerve wracking and need the MOST preparation. I think our group met 3 times before the actual podcast. I do thing that podcasting is a very valid form of communication and can be very useful in the classroom.
As far as the blogs go I already had a personal blog that I had set up through eBlogger so I already knew a lot. But there was still a lot to learn like setting up a link and adding tags to photos. Blogs are a great way to express opinions or just get thoughts out. They are also a great way to put information out on the web.
Our personal presentation was great because it introduced me to Google Docs and how to use Google because I had never used it before. The presentation also gave us a chance to speak in front of the class which is something we will be doing most of our professional life. I really liked this particular project.
The spreadsheets I am sure will be helpful but they were a bit boring for me. That is all I have to say about that.
The podcasts were the most nerve wracking and need the MOST preparation. I think our group met 3 times before the actual podcast. I do thing that podcasting is a very valid form of communication and can be very useful in the classroom.
iPod Education
iPods are a very good way to get instruction to students in the world that we live in today. iPods can be used to view podcasts or to even record them. I found an excellent site called Mr. Langhorst's 8th Grade Web Classroom. Mr. Langhorst is an American History teacher and has podcasts available for each section and even has what are called Studycasts which is basically a review session for each unit test. Students can view all of the podcasts from their convenient little iPod. To get to this excellent page click here.
Following along this same course Duke University decided to incorporate iPod instruction in 2008 and it was so successful the use of iPods is growing. The University distributed about 1600 iPods uploaded with orientation material to all of its incoming freshman in the Fall of 2008. Although they have decided to shift the focus of iPod distribution to just certain classes the experiment was deemed as positive. The opinion of faculty is mixed, some are very excited about using the new form of technology and others don't see the use in it. The iPod has been used in courses including theater studies, music and foreign languages. Overall the project has introduced a new technology that will soon catch on and be implemented in many more courses on Duke's campus.
Following along this same course Duke University decided to incorporate iPod instruction in 2008 and it was so successful the use of iPods is growing. The University distributed about 1600 iPods uploaded with orientation material to all of its incoming freshman in the Fall of 2008. Although they have decided to shift the focus of iPod distribution to just certain classes the experiment was deemed as positive. The opinion of faculty is mixed, some are very excited about using the new form of technology and others don't see the use in it. The iPod has been used in courses including theater studies, music and foreign languages. Overall the project has introduced a new technology that will soon catch on and be implemented in many more courses on Duke's campus.
Dr. Alice Christie-the ed. tech guru
Dr. Alice Christie is an educational technology guru to be quite honest! She is a 40 year veteran of the educational system and offers a comprehensive website that acts as a resource for teachers who wish to use technology in the classroom. She is a Ph.D. who has 25 years of experience in the K-12 grade levels. She conducts workshops nationally on how to use technology in the classroom to enhance teaching and learning.
I particularly like the "how to create a rubric" section of her website. As a result of my experiences with another class I have become very familiar with rubrics and how useful they are in grading situations. Rubrics are used as a guide for students when they are doing any assignment. The student knows exactly what the teachers want from them because it is written down right in front of them. Dr. Christie provides links to many of the rubrics that she has used over the years so other educators can use them or just build upon them. She also has links to other teachers rubric templates and links on how to write a rubric. This is one useful tool I will be using in my own classroom.
I particularly like the "how to create a rubric" section of her website. As a result of my experiences with another class I have become very familiar with rubrics and how useful they are in grading situations. Rubrics are used as a guide for students when they are doing any assignment. The student knows exactly what the teachers want from them because it is written down right in front of them. Dr. Christie provides links to many of the rubrics that she has used over the years so other educators can use them or just build upon them. She also has links to other teachers rubric templates and links on how to write a rubric. This is one useful tool I will be using in my own classroom.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
A little competition never hurt anyone....
I just listened to the NPR news piece about the new Google Operating System. I think it is great that someone is coming out and really challenging Microsoft and its operating system Windows. The new Google OS will be called Chrome and promises to more user friendly than Windows. Google execs make the argument that most people use Google as a search engine why not have it as an operating system on most computers. Right now Google generates most of it's revenue from advertisements. Many analysts do say that this will be an up hill battle for Google because even when Microsoft was struggling with the OS Vista competitors still could not get a foot in to the market.
Like I said I think it is a good thing that consumers will have more choices in choosing an operating system. I only hope that Chrome is of equal or better quality than Windows. As far as education goes I think it is also good for school systems and educators to have a choice in the operating systems they want to use on their computers. Overall it is a good thing!
Like I said I think it is a good thing that consumers will have more choices in choosing an operating system. I only hope that Chrome is of equal or better quality than Windows. As far as education goes I think it is also good for school systems and educators to have a choice in the operating systems they want to use on their computers. Overall it is a good thing!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Inspiration....
That is one of many words I can use to describe Randy Pausch. Not only was he a professor and teacher but he was also a friend and mentor to his students and colleagues. In his Last Lecture he shows us his teaching methods of being down to earth, funny and personable while teaching us something. He is so engaging that we do not know that he is teaching us something and this is what he refers to as a "head fake." The whole time he was speaking he was performing one of these "head fakes" and that was to relay to his listeners and viewers how to lead their lives. This coming from a man who is nearing the end of his.
I think that the most lasting teaching technique of Randy Pausch was allowing his students to achieve their dreams, this was his whole goal as an educator. He created a whole course called Building Virtual Worlds that enabled students to carry out their childhood dreams. They could create virtual worlds about anything that they wanted. Pausch said that these projects were amazing and eventually became a campus wide phenomenon. He also wanted this class to be about the groups and the people within these groups bonding. Another way of fulfilling students dreams was creating a whole degree program known as the Dream Fulfillment Factory which was a 2 year professional masters program that teamed up artists and technologists. It was all about small teams making stuff, it was about freedom and success. Amazingly companies guaranteed that they would hire these students after they finished. Paucsh's most lasting professional legacy was what is known as ALICE which was a novel way of teaching computer programming to children. Kids were allowed to create movies and games and all the while they were learning something hard. This was another one of Pausch's amazing head fakes.
I also think Pausch wanted to teach his students to persevere or hurdle over what he calls "brick walls." These brick walls are obstacles that we all must face when trying to achieve something. Brick walls ask us how much do we want something and they also show others our dedication. Mr. Pausch faced many in his lifetime while trying to achieve his goals. For example he was denied admission to his beloved Carnegie Mellon University, he was almost kept from experiencing zero gravity by his boss at the University of Virginia and most of all cancer was about to claim his life. One quote that stuck with me was, "I am dying and I am still having fun!"
Most of all Pausch is trying to teach lessons on how to live your life. He not only relayed these to his students, friends, family and colleagues but he relayed them to everyone who has watched or will watch this lecture. Have fun, help others, keep your child like wonder, never give up, you can't get there alone, show gratitude. These are all lessons that Pausch showed on a daily basis and that I am sure stuck with every person he touched. He did not want anyone to feel sorry for him he just wanted to leave all of them with something to think about. He valued every expereince that he had whether it be with his students, as an Imagineer at Disney or even failing to acheive his dream of playing in the NFL. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This lecture was amazing and was given by an equally amazing teacher, I am proud that I will one day be a teacher as well and I can only hope to pass on the wisdom that Randy Pausch did in his last days.
Note: I watched the whole video and did not hear any mention of M.I.T only Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia.
I think that the most lasting teaching technique of Randy Pausch was allowing his students to achieve their dreams, this was his whole goal as an educator. He created a whole course called Building Virtual Worlds that enabled students to carry out their childhood dreams. They could create virtual worlds about anything that they wanted. Pausch said that these projects were amazing and eventually became a campus wide phenomenon. He also wanted this class to be about the groups and the people within these groups bonding. Another way of fulfilling students dreams was creating a whole degree program known as the Dream Fulfillment Factory which was a 2 year professional masters program that teamed up artists and technologists. It was all about small teams making stuff, it was about freedom and success. Amazingly companies guaranteed that they would hire these students after they finished. Paucsh's most lasting professional legacy was what is known as ALICE which was a novel way of teaching computer programming to children. Kids were allowed to create movies and games and all the while they were learning something hard. This was another one of Pausch's amazing head fakes.
I also think Pausch wanted to teach his students to persevere or hurdle over what he calls "brick walls." These brick walls are obstacles that we all must face when trying to achieve something. Brick walls ask us how much do we want something and they also show others our dedication. Mr. Pausch faced many in his lifetime while trying to achieve his goals. For example he was denied admission to his beloved Carnegie Mellon University, he was almost kept from experiencing zero gravity by his boss at the University of Virginia and most of all cancer was about to claim his life. One quote that stuck with me was, "I am dying and I am still having fun!"
Most of all Pausch is trying to teach lessons on how to live your life. He not only relayed these to his students, friends, family and colleagues but he relayed them to everyone who has watched or will watch this lecture. Have fun, help others, keep your child like wonder, never give up, you can't get there alone, show gratitude. These are all lessons that Pausch showed on a daily basis and that I am sure stuck with every person he touched. He did not want anyone to feel sorry for him he just wanted to leave all of them with something to think about. He valued every expereince that he had whether it be with his students, as an Imagineer at Disney or even failing to acheive his dream of playing in the NFL. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." This lecture was amazing and was given by an equally amazing teacher, I am proud that I will one day be a teacher as well and I can only hope to pass on the wisdom that Randy Pausch did in his last days.
Note: I watched the whole video and did not hear any mention of M.I.T only Brown University, Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Virginia.
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