iPods in Instruction

I read in an article about how Duke University is using ipods in the classroom for instruction now. It said that the number of courses has doubled and the number of students using ipods has quadrupled in the second year of trying to use this technology in the classrooms. During Duke's Digital Initiative (DDI) in 2004 the university gave out free ipods to all new students and then changed it the next year to give only the students that enrolled in these courses that required them. The university claims that there were only a few minor problems in the beginning, but everyone has adapted very well and they have been a great success.

I think that this is very interesting that schools and universities are beginning to use this kind of technology in the classroom and think that this can be very helpful. I found a great website that has lesson plans and other helpful information about ipods in the classroom. It is http://www.apple.com/au/education/ipod/lessons/. It includes lessons for History, Math, Science, Languages, and more. It also includes a few movies. I looked at one lesson plan that was for Early Elementary age that practice letter sounds and a lesson plan for singing math facts to learn them. This was very interesting and helped me see that this type of technology may also be used for the elementary age students.

Dr. Christie's site

I think that Dr. Christie's website would be very helpful for teachers. I think that the section that I would use the most would be the "Searching the Web" part. You have two choices withing this section and they are Search Engines and Subject Directories or Online Researching Resources. They can both be very useful but I think that I would probably get most use of the Search Engines and Subject Directories in the classroom.

The Search Engine and Subject Directories section is a list of websites and tools that students and teachers can use. There are several choices within this section. It includes things such as search engines and websites for kids and teachers, details on how to safely and effectively use search engines, and a PowerPoint presentation on how to search the web effectively. Many people would benefit from this section of her site.

The other section in "Searching the Web" is Online Researching Resources. It includes Databases, Encyclopedias, Almanacs, Web Cam Directories, Virtual Field Trips, Simulations, and more. There is so much helpful information in this section of the site that could be used by teachers. The Web Cam was very neat and I know students would love to watch a live view of pandas or virtual simulations of dissections and earthquakes. This and many other things in this section would be very helpful in the classroom.

I really enjoyed learning about this site and will definitely save it to use when I begin teaching again. I saw many things that I can use now and in the future. I think that the site is very easy to use and is helpful. I am not sure that I will be able to use it with lower elementary students, but I personally also enjoyed the photography section. She has beautiful pictures on this and I would love to look at more of them and share them with the children.

NPR

It was very interesting to read and listen about how Wikipedia has been changed by people and companies. I think Wikipedia is a great resource, but I do not think that is a reliable resource. If anyone can add or change the information, it could be very inaccurate. I think that it is great that Virgil Griffith created a Wikipedia scanner that shows who is making changing to the site. Hopefully, this will affect what is being done on the website. I think that it is great to be able to add and change, but not if it is to cover up things or change opinions.

Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture"

I really enjoyed watching the Last Lecture from Randy Pausch. He was a 47 year old Professor at Carnegie Mellon that had pancreatic cancer and this was the last lecture he gave before he died. It was a long video, but it was very interesting and enjoyable to watch. He has an amazing positive attitude throughout the video and he amazed me. I loved the way he encouraged people to live life to the fullest and always have fun.

I believed this video would be about him and something related to his expected death, but it was a lecture about his childhood dreams, how to enable the dreams of others, and how you can use these things in your life. It began with pictures and stories about his childhood dreams. It was very interesting to see what his dreams were and how most of them were achieved as an adult. He was a great teacher and used great techniques in his career. He got separate departments working together and helped create a great program at his school. He got the students to work together and help one another. He also took a group of students to Disneyland every Summer. I think it was great how he got students to think in a different way and they did many hands on projects.

I think it is great to hear that you should have dreams of your own and encourage others to have dreams of their own. I like the way that he said that a brick wall is the way to do away with the ones that really did not want the dream badly enough. You have to keep trying after the hard trials and challenges. I enjoyed seeing his career path after college and how his childhood dreams played part in that. He very clearly showed examples of how he enabled the dreams of others and how he used those things in his life. He was a great professor that had a great impact on many students.

I enjoyed this video/lecture very much. He seemed to be a great man and a great teacher. At the end of the video he reveals that he did this lecture for his children. This lecture was very inspiring and motivational. It made me think about my choices, my childhood dreams, and how I influence others around me and I'm sure it affects many people the same way. It is amazing that this man could give such a great presentation and be so positive and uplifting under these circumstances.

Fischbowl 2007: A Blueprint for Colorado

I read the Fischbowl blog from January by Karl Fische and it was called "A Blueprint for Colorado". This was a long, but interesting blog about a proposal to reform Colorado's Education. The reform is based on a report called "Tough Choices or Tough Times." Education experts and law makers believe that this reform could take up to 15 years and will have to involve many changes.

In this blog Karl Fisch points out many interesting facts about the executive summary from the "Tough Choices or Tough Times" report. I really like what he says in Step One. It talks about what would happen if the plan was a success and the majority of students attend and graduate college. At this time only 25-30% of people that are over 25 have a Bachelor's degree or higher. Where would they put all of these people and where are they all going to be able to find jobs that they are qualified for.

I also like what he talks about in Step Three. He mentions that the people creating this reform would like to recruit the top one-third of students graduating from college to become teachers. He explains the fact that they will have to raise the salary to attract many people and that will affect the retirement benefits. It is also pretty obvious that not everyone would want to be a teacher even if they made more money. We all know that it is hard work and it takes a special type of person that has patience and desire to help others.

Another thing that I thought was interesting is that they want to give to areas that need the help most. As he says, this is a great idea, but it is impossible to keep people from helping their school or community when they are financially able. There are many other important facts that Karl Fische talks about in this blog. I didn't know that they were considering something like this in Colorado and it will be interesting to see what happens. There are many problems with the current plan that will need to be changed and I agree that they need to involve teachers, students, and parents in this process.

EDM 310 Fall 2008 Podcasts

I listened to three podcasts from the EDM 310 Fall Class. It was interesting to hear students that are similar to myself talking about topics in Education. I think that this will be very helpful when it is time to produce our podcasts. I think some of them were interesting, but some of them seemed to be forced and like they should have planned and researched a little more.

The first podcast that I listened to was "Facebook as an Educational Tool?". I thought it would be interesting to listen to this one because I use Facebook personally. I was curious to see what others thought about it and how it could possibly be used as an educational tool. The two students speaking were Theola Hines and Larrica Smith. They didn't seem very prepared for the discussion. They had a few interesting topics, but didn't act like they were very certain about some of their answers. One student had used facebook and the other one had not. I felt like much of the time was used just telling us about what facebook could do and not how it could or could not be used in Education. They were not even sure if they have a minimum age to use Facebook.



The second podcast that I listened to was "Pick of the Day: Useful Internet Sites for Elementary Teachers". The students speaking in this podcast were Brennan Gibson, Hanna Callais, Ashley Wheeler, and Kimberly Dees. They discussed many websites that they recommend for teachers and classrooms and how they would be helpful. I think that they did a great job and it sounded like they were prepared and had done some research on their topic.



Another podcast that I listened to was "You Tube as an Educational Tool?". I thought this would be an interesting podcast because I often watch videos from You Tube. The students in this podcast were Chris Borchardt, Delana Bemis, and Heather Rogers. I think that they did a great job discussing what You Tube is useful for and how they did not think that it would be appropriate to use it in the classroom. I like the way that they spoke honestly about how they felt and had information to back it up.

I think that listening to these podcasts was a great way to prepare me for making my own podcast. I realize now that I need to be very prepared and do lots of research for my topic. I will try to create questions and statements that I will want to make during my podcast. I will also try to pick a topic that I'm interested in and know about before I even begin. I think that this is a great way to communicate how you feel about something that is important to you.

Podcasts

It was interesting to see how people use podcasts to share and collaborate information and ideas. I previously had never heard a podcast, but now understand that this is a very important tool being used by people today. I listened to several podcasts and I was surprised to hear commercials and introductions to music during some of them. I believe that this is a great way for people that have similar interests to discuss topics.

The first podcast that I listened to was the SmartBoard Lessons Podcast "Not 150 Yet". It was a great one to start with because they are reviewing and discussing past podcasts. In this particular podcast the hosts did separate mini-podcasts. It started with Ben Hazzard speaking and he talked about how podcasts a link for people that are like-minded and help them to share and learn together. He told about his favorite podcast and how it was the first time that he realized the power that podcasts have. I liked the way that he described how the podcast feels like a community and many times you can describe them as "edutainment" podcasts. The other host on this podcast was Joan Badger. She talked about her favorite podcast being one that about a running competition between her and Ben. She beat him twice. She also discussed her favorite link that they added and it was "Buzzword". She said that it was put out by Adobe and it allows people to share files and their desktop. I listened to another SmartBoard Lessons Podcast #142. Ben and Joan were talking at the same time and with each other in this podcast. They discussed great links and Cross Classroom Collaboration. They were both podcasting from their homes and discussed the website that Ben had created during the summer for Graduate school. It was a website for teachers to connect to one another and share ideas. The website is teachersconnecting.com. I really like the way that Ben described podcasts as Radio on Demand. I think this is a great to explain them.

Another podcast that I listened to was Kidcast:Leaning and Teaching with Podcasting. The speaker in this podcast is Dan Schmit. He discussed how he had recently searched for student content online in podcasts and the only examples he found were about the act of creating a podcast and not exploring topics. He explained that he thought it was great that they know the technical aspect, but it would be better if they use it to extend academic conversations. He suggested for teachers to help students "brainstorm" and create questions about a topic that create a spark in students. Then, this gives them a reason to create a podcast that they can elaborate and collaborate together about questions they have.

The EdTech Talk Podcast #79 "Lectures and Discussions" was hosted by Curtis Bonk and Steve Kossakowski. They selected guests to speak that had e-mailed them prior to the show. The guests on this podcast were Dave Cormier, Jeff Lebow, and Jennifer Maddrell. I thought it was interesting that they spoke live, but added links and looked at links as they talked. They discussed alternative to traditional textbooks and how online education will affect how people are educated around the world. One of the speaker noted how some people do not want to open the classroom because of new problems that we will face. The personal needs of the teachers, students, and parents will change. There will be a new safety issue and teachers will feel like someone is always looking over their shoulder. They said that their will have to be a huge shift for this to take place and it will be a very big change for education.

The last two podcasts that I listened to were about Photography and Technical issues. This Week in Photography "TWiP" #67 (Showing Off Your Assets) had speakers Alex Lindsay and Scott Bourne. They discussed software development for cameras, political photography, nature photography, and apertures. They talked about how Facebook is the number One way to share photos online. Another thing they mentioned was how "Twitter" is a great way share and find ideas for locations of great places to photograph. They had guest speakers that were photographers that were discussing how they choose to share their own photographs. It was funny to hear them talk about pictures that they were finding and looking at during the show. The MacBreak Weekly podcast #126 "La-la-la-Leo" was five people discussing Technical issues. The speakers were Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Andy Ihnatko, Scott Bourne (Also in the TWip podcast), and Frederick Van Johnson. They discussed items such as cameras, laptops, desktops, software, and more. They talked about which were the most frequently used and gave tips on certain ideas they had.

Overall, this was very interesting. It was amazing for me to see how many different people podcast and what they share with others. I definitely have a better understanding of how podcasts are created and how people can use this wonderful technology.

Fischbowl: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I thought the "Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" blog was great! I think that it was interesting to see how other people have some of the same feelings as I do about computers in the classroom. It is shocking to me that any teacher, principal, school inspector can make it today's world without being held responsible for knowing how to operate computers effectively. It is frustrating when you see and know things should not be operating the way they are, but their is nothing in writing to enforce certain expectations.

I love the list that was posted by Terry Freedman. I think it would be great if we could have technological standards for our teachers, principals, and others involved with schools. I think that in today's society it should not be acceptable to be in a classroom and not use the computer effectively. I like the point that he made when he said that computers are a part of life and not something extra. Also, I think we need to always remember the important point about how we can't just sit and watch as some of our children's futures are being jeopardized. I also hope that one day educators will be held accountable for this part of their responsibility.

I know it does sound harsh, but I think I agree with the statement on the blog: "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" and will more as time goes on. There are very few jobs already that do not require certain computer skills and I firmly believe as time goes on there will be less and less. I think that he has a great point that our times are changing quickly and there will be little chance for success for the technologically illiterate.

I have also experienced this a great deal away from the classroom. My parents are a great example. My dad was forced to learn to use computers through work and has a basic understanding of them. He can use them to search the web and do certain things online. He has trouble with some things, but can figure out and use what he finds necessary. My mom, on the other hand, has trouble using a mouse. She has not ever felt the need to learn to use a computer and gets easily frustrated when we try to show her how to do things on it. She is interested, but does not take the time to learn. She just gets her children or husband to pull things up and then show her. I think it most interesting when her two grandchildren that are 5 can use them much better than she can. She openly says "I just can't use the computer".

I hope that as time goes on everyone will realize that computers have become a part of our everyday life. You will need them to be successful in the near future and we need to prepare our students for this. I think that this blog definitely deserved any awards that it received and enjoyed reading it.