Saturday, September 26, 2009
What I've Learned This Year- Response
Mr. McClung has posted some advice concerning his introductory years of teaching elementary students. It deals with communicating effectively in order to maintain a good work environment and healthy relationships with co-workers. It also talks about how important it is to not beat yourself up when a lesson doesn't go the exact way it was planned and let go of the feeling of failure. He shows us that we should not be afraid of technology as teachers and that it is our job to always be learning. We should always remember our audience and listen to them. He makes a point that I really liked: "We do everything short of beg students to learn on a daily basis, but sadly some of us refuse to learn and grow as professional educators." - Mr. McClung I definitely agree with this idea of constant learning and adapting; after all, isn't that what we are preparing our students to do? If we can't continue to learn, how can they?
Response to: Wikipedia edits/Wired story
Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia, available to anyone and available to edit by anyone. It has been, what some may call, misused by politicians, companies, and agencies to change information written about them to make them look better.
Virgil Griffith has created a Wikipedia Scanner which lets you see who has made changes to Wikipedia, where, and what they changed. It was created in order to reveal these companies and politicians for the changes they made in order to make them or the companies sound better. By keeping detailed logs of this information, you are able to see for yourself if a company is changing information or deleting information in order to convey a better image.
There are still ways that companies can do this without being caught and this Scanner is not necessarily full proof. If I worked at WALMART and wanted to change something, I could go to the closest Starbucks or some other location and log on using that IP address. Then, it would not seem as if someone from the company did it. Also, if I had issues with WalMart for some reason and logged on in the store, I could change information and make it look like it came directly from the company.
I don't think this Scanner provides a reliable way for people to track what others are changing because there is no way to know who exactly is writing what. This may help others to feel as if people are held more accountable for what they are changing, but it doesn't make me feel any better. This program, like all programs, has its good sides and not so good sides. I just don't see Wikipedia ever becoming a factual, reliable source of information.
http://tinyurl.com/2qyjjj
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
comments 4 kids
I read the posts for fablogs English8. The students were responding to a particular chapter they read in The Lord of the Flies. The students I responded to were very intuitive about the underlying meanings of the scenes in the story. I asked them questions to provoke more thought on their answers. I noticed that the teacher is having them post responses about their literature first, but later on they will be podcasting and I though that was wonderful. It seems like a good transition into technology into the classroom.
I also read the 1st post for RBS 4th grade blog. This class of 6 year-olds did a podcast about the upcoming year and the monthly events. There was more than one student speaking and they began by introducing themselves in Spanish. They all spoke at the same time as a way of welcoming the listener and I though this was very effective and creative. It's wonderful that this teacher is introducing podcasting so early in their schooling.
Finally, I listened/watched Ms. Tanea's Class blog Post 1. This introduced the Wells Science Club in Thailand. This was a wonderful video with what sounded like current Thai music. It showcased the girls in the Science Club and they did an experiment with airplanes. Ms. Tanea seems very tech literate and excited to incorporate it into her classroom. I think the students are also excited, maybe that they can see themselves on the web. I think this is a wonderful use of technology in the classroom, especially internationally.
I also read the 1st post for RBS 4th grade blog. This class of 6 year-olds did a podcast about the upcoming year and the monthly events. There was more than one student speaking and they began by introducing themselves in Spanish. They all spoke at the same time as a way of welcoming the listener and I though this was very effective and creative. It's wonderful that this teacher is introducing podcasting so early in their schooling.
Finally, I listened/watched Ms. Tanea's Class blog Post 1. This introduced the Wells Science Club in Thailand. This was a wonderful video with what sounded like current Thai music. It showcased the girls in the Science Club and they did an experiment with airplanes. Ms. Tanea seems very tech literate and excited to incorporate it into her classroom. I think the students are also excited, maybe that they can see themselves on the web. I think this is a wonderful use of technology in the classroom, especially internationally.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Randy Pausch- Last Lecture
There is no way someone can watch Randy Pausch's Last Lecture and not feel as if they are a part of what he is speaking about. I was blown away by this presentation and I was engaged the entire time. This man is one of those that people will remember for a very long time. The point of this lecture was, "If you only had one lecture to give, what would it be?". He structured it by going over his childhood dreams, reaching childhood dreams, how to enable the dreams of others, and lessons learned through time while doing this.
He made several wonderful points about how to achieve ones dreams. He says to work on the fundamentals. This is something that helps us put goals into perspective and reach them one day. Another thing he mentioned was the possibility and idea of failing and what it really means to make a mistake or not necessarily reach a desired goal. Randy Pausch said, "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". I have always felt this was true. Like Pausch, I had dreams growing up and one of them was to play soccer for a college team. There were brick walls for me as well. There was no girls team like I had wanted to play on, so I tried out for a boys team and learned how to cope with constant struggle and got the knack for beating the odds. I also made some of the most loyal friendships I've ever had to this day. My experience led me to become a desired recruit once I transferred to girls teams. I played soccer for the University of South Alabama and had one of the best experiences of my life.
Another thing that Randy Pausch mentioned that really grabbed my attention was something that he learned from a man named John Snoody. He said, "if you wait long enough people will always surprise you." I think this is a very important quote to live by and teach to others in life as well as in academics. He also had a story about setting the bar which interested me. In this story, his students went far and beyond what he expected after their first assignment and he realized that he obviously didn't know where the bar should be, so he didn't do them an injustice by putting one there. Instead, he let the students break their own barriers and told them that they could always do better. I think this applies to classrooms today, in a very big way.
As he wrapped up the lecture, Pausch went over some lessons that he thought others should remember and stick by. He reminded people to, "never lose their childlike wonder, help others, loyalty is a two way street, never give up, get people to help you, be honest, be earnest, apologize, and to focus on others". I think that many of these lessons are not only ways to help others reach their dreams, but also ways to lead a life. I also think that if used collaboratively and efficiently, these ideas could bring more students to success by the way that they deem it, not by the way others deem it. That is the point many are trying to make about the way our educational systems are set up today. They try to tell people what they should do to become what they think is possible, but who are THEY to set the bar in this aspect?
Finally, I'd like to say that enabling millions of kids to have fun while learning something hard, without letting them know they are learning something difficult- that is key when incorporating technology into the classroom. It is necessary for the teacher to be tech literate enough to allow creativity to spawn more learning- this is what lets students push the bar higher for themselves.
He made several wonderful points about how to achieve ones dreams. He says to work on the fundamentals. This is something that helps us put goals into perspective and reach them one day. Another thing he mentioned was the possibility and idea of failing and what it really means to make a mistake or not necessarily reach a desired goal. Randy Pausch said, "experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". I have always felt this was true. Like Pausch, I had dreams growing up and one of them was to play soccer for a college team. There were brick walls for me as well. There was no girls team like I had wanted to play on, so I tried out for a boys team and learned how to cope with constant struggle and got the knack for beating the odds. I also made some of the most loyal friendships I've ever had to this day. My experience led me to become a desired recruit once I transferred to girls teams. I played soccer for the University of South Alabama and had one of the best experiences of my life.
Another thing that Randy Pausch mentioned that really grabbed my attention was something that he learned from a man named John Snoody. He said, "if you wait long enough people will always surprise you." I think this is a very important quote to live by and teach to others in life as well as in academics. He also had a story about setting the bar which interested me. In this story, his students went far and beyond what he expected after their first assignment and he realized that he obviously didn't know where the bar should be, so he didn't do them an injustice by putting one there. Instead, he let the students break their own barriers and told them that they could always do better. I think this applies to classrooms today, in a very big way.
As he wrapped up the lecture, Pausch went over some lessons that he thought others should remember and stick by. He reminded people to, "never lose their childlike wonder, help others, loyalty is a two way street, never give up, get people to help you, be honest, be earnest, apologize, and to focus on others". I think that many of these lessons are not only ways to help others reach their dreams, but also ways to lead a life. I also think that if used collaboratively and efficiently, these ideas could bring more students to success by the way that they deem it, not by the way others deem it. That is the point many are trying to make about the way our educational systems are set up today. They try to tell people what they should do to become what they think is possible, but who are THEY to set the bar in this aspect?
Finally, I'd like to say that enabling millions of kids to have fun while learning something hard, without letting them know they are learning something difficult- that is key when incorporating technology into the classroom. It is necessary for the teacher to be tech literate enough to allow creativity to spawn more learning- this is what lets students push the bar higher for themselves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
