After listening to the conversational style of Get Smart with Smart Boards, it was really hard to stay awake during the solo efforts of the KidCast commentator. After only the first five minutes of listening to the Get Smart with Smart Boards, the hosts had me interested enough to simultaneously look up the topics they were discussing, like The Magic Gopher and Life Size Whale. The Magic Gopher is a website character that uses mathematical magic in a psychic game fashion. I could definitely see using the game as a classroom tool to get students interested in algebra or patterns.
One significant difference between the two shows was that Kidcast didn't offer any information that I couldn't have concluded on my own. Whereas, Get Smart with Smart Boards immediately introduced me to new ideas and resources that I could use in my future profession. This basic difference taught me a foundation principle for making my own podcast. Only make a podcast if you are equipped to inform your audience with new, original, and interesting information. Also, conversational style appealed to my personal preferences.
My favorite podcast was EdTechTalk. This podcast also had two hosts, but it was exceptoinal because they were interviewing three Google employees that specialized in different google docs departments. They introduced me to templates and google gadgets on spreadsheets.
Also, I went to their website and found the podcast that I had previously listened to in Itunes U. It was transcripted, which I like better, and in the transcript they used http://tinyurl.com/. Just at a glance, I saw Flickr being used, Itunes, chat rooms, and a blog being used. Ed Tech Talk is certainly multifaceted.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Vicki Davis: "Turning School Upside Down"
The most significant piece of knowledge that I gained from watching this video is that Vicki Davis teaches in a rural south Georgia school. This particularly impacted my teaching goals because she has given teachers in the south inspiration. It is amazing to me that she was able to overcome the traditional barriers that you hear about southern schools having-- financial insufficiency, low national ranking, community isolation, etc.
Vicki used her passion for technology in the classroom to get students excited about meeting people from around the world and collaborating on projects together. It is even more astounding to me that Ms. Davis somehow managed to afford her students the opportunity to travel to the middle east for a technology conference of all things-- especially during these times when prejudices run rampant and dangers are eminent! How exciting!
I want to learn more about Digi Teen and The Flat Classroom Project.
Vicki used her passion for technology in the classroom to get students excited about meeting people from around the world and collaborating on projects together. It is even more astounding to me that Ms. Davis somehow managed to afford her students the opportunity to travel to the middle east for a technology conference of all things-- especially during these times when prejudices run rampant and dangers are eminent! How exciting!
I want to learn more about Digi Teen and The Flat Classroom Project.
"Creativity now is as important in education as literacy."-- Sir Ken Robinson
The first statement that really sent my imagination reeling in this video was his observation of the academic hierarchy of learning. This hierarchy, Sir Robinson says, is headed by mathematics and closely followed by language, then the humanities, and finally the arts.
How can we, as teachers, incorporate dance, art, and music into more the more socially sensible subjects of mathematics and language? Why have worksheets and spelling drills become more predominant tools for teachers? How can we revolutionize these boring techniques?
Teachers, especially elementary teachers, are responsible for cultivating well-rounded, and successful pupils. We are meant to encourage their discovery of each of their unique talents and interests while simultaneously teaching them how to achieve high scores on state standards tests. If you take that little feat, and combine it with the fact that we are supposed to do this on a budget that induces large class sizes with limited or no reasonable access to up-to-date technologies and resources-- you should be come overwhelmed with questions and ideas for possible solutions to the many obvious hurtles we must face as teachers. (Blogging is a good way to communicate those solutions so that your peers can help troubleshoot and build upon them.)
One question/ thought that occurred to me as I spaced out while reading and listening to Sir Robinson's speech was this; Are we teachers allowed to coordinate fundraisers for in the classroom supplies? How is fund raising for a computer any different from asking children to bring glue or asking their parents to volunteer their time in the class setting? Does the computer (or whatever technology/ tool) belong to the teacher's classroom or can it be redistributed according to the will of the presiding principal?
In summary, this video is about cultivating creativity.
How can we, as teachers, incorporate dance, art, and music into more the more socially sensible subjects of mathematics and language? Why have worksheets and spelling drills become more predominant tools for teachers? How can we revolutionize these boring techniques?
Teachers, especially elementary teachers, are responsible for cultivating well-rounded, and successful pupils. We are meant to encourage their discovery of each of their unique talents and interests while simultaneously teaching them how to achieve high scores on state standards tests. If you take that little feat, and combine it with the fact that we are supposed to do this on a budget that induces large class sizes with limited or no reasonable access to up-to-date technologies and resources-- you should be come overwhelmed with questions and ideas for possible solutions to the many obvious hurtles we must face as teachers. (Blogging is a good way to communicate those solutions so that your peers can help troubleshoot and build upon them.)
One question/ thought that occurred to me as I spaced out while reading and listening to Sir Robinson's speech was this; Are we teachers allowed to coordinate fundraisers for in the classroom supplies? How is fund raising for a computer any different from asking children to bring glue or asking their parents to volunteer their time in the class setting? Does the computer (or whatever technology/ tool) belong to the teacher's classroom or can it be redistributed according to the will of the presiding principal?
In summary, this video is about cultivating creativity.
Tony's Tips
Here are a few tips that might help you stay successful in Dr. Strange's class. You are welcome to comment any questions that you might be beneficial to others' and I will gladly answer them for you.
1. Use a planner to help you budget time for blogging! Keep on top of it because no matter how hard you try, catching up is NOT possible in this class. It is too fast pace. Plus, this is one of those rare classes that teaches you stuff that might actually carry into the real world-- you don't want to miss out on any of this action!
2. Use igoogle as your homepage. It helps me keep up with news, emails, etc all in a glance. I am a news reader-- therefore, adding the CNN, NPR, FOX, MSN, BBC, yada yada gadgets allows me to compare headlines and read articles sooo easily. This is my favorite thing about igoogle because-- before I even read the articles I can identify biases based on comparative headlines.
3. Add the Recent Comments Gadget to your blog by going to customize (top right corner), then layout, then add a gadget. It's a great notification system simlar to facebook notifications.
1. Use a planner to help you budget time for blogging! Keep on top of it because no matter how hard you try, catching up is NOT possible in this class. It is too fast pace. Plus, this is one of those rare classes that teaches you stuff that might actually carry into the real world-- you don't want to miss out on any of this action!
2. Use igoogle as your homepage. It helps me keep up with news, emails, etc all in a glance. I am a news reader-- therefore, adding the CNN, NPR, FOX, MSN, BBC, yada yada gadgets allows me to compare headlines and read articles sooo easily. This is my favorite thing about igoogle because-- before I even read the articles I can identify biases based on comparative headlines.
3. Add the Recent Comments Gadget to your blog by going to customize (top right corner), then layout, then add a gadget. It's a great notification system simlar to facebook notifications.
"Did you know?" Because I sure did!
I viewed this video last semester, and it definitely impressed me. However, upon viewing it again this semester, I did not gain any new mind altering perspective shift. So, i decided to type it all out in an easy to read text version for three reasons: to reassure Dr. Strange that I did indeed watch it again, to offer an easy to read compilation of all the interesting facts gathered by Dr. Fisch, and to stimulate some more of my own deeply buried response.
Here goes... "Did you know?"
1. If you're 1 in a 1,000,000 in China... there are 1,300 people just like you.
IF THE U.S.A. HAD THAT MANY PEOPLE, WOULD OUR GOVERNMENT BE CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING ORDER AND CIVILITY?
2. China will soon become the #1 English speaking country in the world.
3. The 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's... is greater than the total population of the U.S. (Translation: India has more honors kids than America has kids.)
4. The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010... did not exist in 2004. (We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet... using technologies that haven't been invented... in order to solve problems we don't even know exist yet.)
THIS MAKES ME THINK THAT SCHOOLS ARE NOT STRICTLY NECESSARY TO PREPARE US FOR OUR CAREERS, BUT MORE SO TO HELP SHAPE US INTO PEOPLE WHO ARE CAPABLE OF SUCCEEDING IN A WORK ENVIRONMENT (I MEAN SCHOOLS ARE NOT ABOUT CAREER ORIENTED SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES, BUT MORE ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL ETIQUETTE).
5. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs... by the age of 38.
WHAT DOES THIS STATISTIC TELL US ABOUT WORK ETHIC AND LOYALTY OF THE "ME" GENERATION?
6. 1 in 4 workers has been with their current employer for less than a year. 1 in 2 has been there less than five years.
7. 1 in 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
I WONDER HOW THIS WILL EFFECT OUR DIVORCE RATE 5, 10, OR 15 YEARS FROM NOW?
8. There are over 200,000,000 users registered on Myspace. If Myspace were a country, it would be the 5th-largest in the world (between Indonesia and Brazil).
FACEBOOK IS BETTER.
9. The #1 ranked country in Broadband Internet penetration is... Bermuda, #19 U.S., #22 Japan.
WHERE IS BERMUDA?
10. We are living in exponential times. There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, this number was 2.7 billion.(To whom were these questions addressed before B.G. (Before Google)?)
11. The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992. Today, the number of text messages sent and received everyday, exceeds the total population of the planet.
12. Years it took to reach a market audience of 50 million: Radio 38 years, T.V. 13 years, internet 4 years, iPod 3 years, Facebook 2 years.
YOU ALSO HAVE TO CONSIDER THE SIZE OF TOTAL POPULATION IN REGARDS TO THE TIME EACH PRODUCT WAS MARKETED.
13. The number of internet devices in 1984 was 1,000. The number of internet devices in 1992 was 1,000,000. The number of internet devices in 2008 is 1,000,000,000.
14. There are about 540,000 words in the English language-- about 5X as many as in Shakespeare's time.
"GOOGLE IT"
15. It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
NO WONDER THEY DIDN'T NEED COMPUTER'S, BOOKS, OR PAPER... THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO REMEMBER!
16. It's estimated that 4 exabytes (4.0 x 10^19) of unique information will be generated this year. That is more than the previous 5,000 years.
17. The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years... For students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that... half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.
18. NTT Japan has successfully tested a fiber optic cable... that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber. That is 2,660 CDs or 210 phone calls every second. It is currently tripling every six months and is expected to do so for the next 20 years.
19. By 2013, a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain. Predictions are that by 2049, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species.
I RECENTLY SAW ON TV A COMPUTER THAT CAN MOVE OBJECTS AND SAY WORDS BASED ON THE ELECTRICAL CURRENTS OF YOUR BRAIN. THEY ARE USING THIS TECHNOLOGY TO HELP ENABLE QUADRIPLEGICS. ROBOTS-- HOW FASCINATING?!
20. During the course of this presentation... 67 babies were born in the U.S., 274 were born in China, 395 babies were born in India, and 694,000 songs were downloaded illegally.
WILL HUMAN INTELLECT KEEP UP WITH POPULATION OVERLOAD? I THINK WE SHOULD MANUFACTURE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZED CONDOMS TO HELP PREVENT US FROM FINDING OUT THE ANSWER TO MY QUESTION TOO SOON.
"So what does it all mean?" It means that there were over twenty bits of facts presented in this presentation, and all of the BOLDFACED lettering is my commentary.
Here goes... "Did you know?"
1. If you're 1 in a 1,000,000 in China... there are 1,300 people just like you.
IF THE U.S.A. HAD THAT MANY PEOPLE, WOULD OUR GOVERNMENT BE CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING ORDER AND CIVILITY?
2. China will soon become the #1 English speaking country in the world.
3. The 25% of India's population with the highest IQ's... is greater than the total population of the U.S. (Translation: India has more honors kids than America has kids.)
4. The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010... did not exist in 2004. (We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet... using technologies that haven't been invented... in order to solve problems we don't even know exist yet.)
THIS MAKES ME THINK THAT SCHOOLS ARE NOT STRICTLY NECESSARY TO PREPARE US FOR OUR CAREERS, BUT MORE SO TO HELP SHAPE US INTO PEOPLE WHO ARE CAPABLE OF SUCCEEDING IN A WORK ENVIRONMENT (I MEAN SCHOOLS ARE NOT ABOUT CAREER ORIENTED SKILLS AND TECHNIQUES, BUT MORE ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL ETIQUETTE).
5. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that today's learner will have 10-14 jobs... by the age of 38.
WHAT DOES THIS STATISTIC TELL US ABOUT WORK ETHIC AND LOYALTY OF THE "ME" GENERATION?
6. 1 in 4 workers has been with their current employer for less than a year. 1 in 2 has been there less than five years.
7. 1 in 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.
I WONDER HOW THIS WILL EFFECT OUR DIVORCE RATE 5, 10, OR 15 YEARS FROM NOW?
8. There are over 200,000,000 users registered on Myspace. If Myspace were a country, it would be the 5th-largest in the world (between Indonesia and Brazil).
FACEBOOK IS BETTER.
9. The #1 ranked country in Broadband Internet penetration is... Bermuda, #19 U.S., #22 Japan.
WHERE IS BERMUDA?
10. We are living in exponential times. There are 31 billion searches on Google every month. In 2006, this number was 2.7 billion.(To whom were these questions addressed before B.G. (Before Google)?)
11. The first commercial text message was sent in December of 1992. Today, the number of text messages sent and received everyday, exceeds the total population of the planet.
12. Years it took to reach a market audience of 50 million: Radio 38 years, T.V. 13 years, internet 4 years, iPod 3 years, Facebook 2 years.
YOU ALSO HAVE TO CONSIDER THE SIZE OF TOTAL POPULATION IN REGARDS TO THE TIME EACH PRODUCT WAS MARKETED.
13. The number of internet devices in 1984 was 1,000. The number of internet devices in 1992 was 1,000,000. The number of internet devices in 2008 is 1,000,000,000.
14. There are about 540,000 words in the English language-- about 5X as many as in Shakespeare's time.
"GOOGLE IT"
15. It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
NO WONDER THEY DIDN'T NEED COMPUTER'S, BOOKS, OR PAPER... THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO REMEMBER!
16. It's estimated that 4 exabytes (4.0 x 10^19) of unique information will be generated this year. That is more than the previous 5,000 years.
17. The amount of new technical information is doubling every two years... For students starting a 4 year technical degree this means that... half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.
18. NTT Japan has successfully tested a fiber optic cable... that pushes 14 trillion bits per second down a single strand of fiber. That is 2,660 CDs or 210 phone calls every second. It is currently tripling every six months and is expected to do so for the next 20 years.
19. By 2013, a supercomputer will be built that exceeds the computational capabilities of the human brain. Predictions are that by 2049, a $1,000 computer will exceed the computational capabilities of the entire human species.
I RECENTLY SAW ON TV A COMPUTER THAT CAN MOVE OBJECTS AND SAY WORDS BASED ON THE ELECTRICAL CURRENTS OF YOUR BRAIN. THEY ARE USING THIS TECHNOLOGY TO HELP ENABLE QUADRIPLEGICS. ROBOTS-- HOW FASCINATING?!
20. During the course of this presentation... 67 babies were born in the U.S., 274 were born in China, 395 babies were born in India, and 694,000 songs were downloaded illegally.
WILL HUMAN INTELLECT KEEP UP WITH POPULATION OVERLOAD? I THINK WE SHOULD MANUFACTURE GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIZED CONDOMS TO HELP PREVENT US FROM FINDING OUT THE ANSWER TO MY QUESTION TOO SOON.
"So what does it all mean?" It means that there were over twenty bits of facts presented in this presentation, and all of the BOLDFACED lettering is my commentary.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Class inspired thoughts/ Notes
to: me-- I can now post from my igoogle homepage. Did it work?
to: Dr. Strange-- I want to set up forms for two students in particular, that if they submit their "homework" they receive instant gratification by "unlocking" a video: youtube, disney, etc.
to: DR. STRANGE-- I just added the recent comment gadget, and I want to have a notification system of sorts. Will this notify me when other comment on my blog posts, or is this just a list of my own comments? If this won't work for my intention, is there a gadget that does work?
to: me-- I need to create a presentation that is 14 slides long including title and question slide. Each slide must have a picture except for the title and question slide.
about: Karl and Simeon-- For instant notification concerning there submissions to the blog, I can go to "email notifications" and type in my email address, or Laura's, et cetera to "blog-sender". I can also use an RSS feeds system. For math problems, I can go to Google forms, create the questions and answers from their homework and create a multiple choice form that is to be "embedded" into the blog by selecting "more actions --> embed" then copy/paste the code into my the blog post on their page.
to: me-- I need a phone/ phone-plan that I can blog from/ access emails.
to: me-- Learn about "evernote" and figure out what he was talking about when he mentioned "personal learning network" in regards to twitter. Is there a way to create twitter categories for my followers/ people that I am following so that I can send questions to only certain people and/or make distinct personal comments from academic ones?
to: Dr. Strange-- I want to set up forms for two students in particular, that if they submit their "homework" they receive instant gratification by "unlocking" a video: youtube, disney, etc.
to: DR. STRANGE-- I just added the recent comment gadget, and I want to have a notification system of sorts. Will this notify me when other comment on my blog posts, or is this just a list of my own comments? If this won't work for my intention, is there a gadget that does work?
to: me-- I need to create a presentation that is 14 slides long including title and question slide. Each slide must have a picture except for the title and question slide.
about: Karl and Simeon-- For instant notification concerning there submissions to the blog, I can go to "email notifications" and type in my email address, or Laura's, et cetera to "blog-sender". I can also use an RSS feeds system. For math problems, I can go to Google forms, create the questions and answers from their homework and create a multiple choice form that is to be "embedded" into the blog by selecting "more actions --> embed" then copy/paste the code into my the blog post on their page.
to: me-- I need a phone/ phone-plan that I can blog from/ access emails.
to: me-- Learn about "evernote" and figure out what he was talking about when he mentioned "personal learning network" in regards to twitter. Is there a way to create twitter categories for my followers/ people that I am following so that I can send questions to only certain people and/or make distinct personal comments from academic ones?
Who is Anthony?
Dear World Wide Audience,
By now you have probably concluded correctly that my name is Anthony Capps. If you have read my "About Me" section, you also know that I am studying Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. Below I have listed a few extra "fun facts" about me.
1. This is my second time taking Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class because by nature I am not a planner/ organized person-- therefore, I did not responsibly finish my blogs each week. Although this is unfortunate for me, my previous experience might prove to be helpful for you!
2. Last semester, I transferred from the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the island of Oahu. I LOVED it there, and to this day I long to go back. However, I am happy to be involved in the Education program here at the University of South Alabama because I feel it will help mold me into an excellent teacher.
3. Outside of school, I try to fill my time with things that I enjoy so I can stay happy, energetic, and sane! Some of these activities include working at the Cassebaum Farm in Lillian, attending St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Elberta, and volunteering as a teacher's assistant for Mrs. Alm's 4th grade class at Elberta Middle School.
4. During my free time I like to run, play any sport (particularly basketball, softball, soccer, and beach frisbee), kayak, and ride any of my family's four horses.
For more information about me, you can check out my facebook or find me in the back of Dr. Strange's class in Fairhope on Wednesday nights. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.
By now you have probably concluded correctly that my name is Anthony Capps. If you have read my "About Me" section, you also know that I am studying Elementary Education at the University of South Alabama. Below I have listed a few extra "fun facts" about me.
1. This is my second time taking Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class because by nature I am not a planner/ organized person-- therefore, I did not responsibly finish my blogs each week. Although this is unfortunate for me, my previous experience might prove to be helpful for you!
2. Last semester, I transferred from the University of Hawaii at Manoa on the island of Oahu. I LOVED it there, and to this day I long to go back. However, I am happy to be involved in the Education program here at the University of South Alabama because I feel it will help mold me into an excellent teacher.
3. Outside of school, I try to fill my time with things that I enjoy so I can stay happy, energetic, and sane! Some of these activities include working at the Cassebaum Farm in Lillian, attending St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Elberta, and volunteering as a teacher's assistant for Mrs. Alm's 4th grade class at Elberta Middle School.
4. During my free time I like to run, play any sport (particularly basketball, softball, soccer, and beach frisbee), kayak, and ride any of my family's four horses.
For more information about me, you can check out my facebook or find me in the back of Dr. Strange's class in Fairhope on Wednesday nights. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)