All About Wikipedia!

I was warned early on by a former teacher that Wikipedia could not be trusted, so this did not come exactly as a shock to me. The fact that anyone can change any information is reason enough to avoid it for things such as writing papers. I was shocked to know however, that even Wal-Mart has begun to change stuff about themselves! Wikipedia in my opinion is not a source to be trusted. I think if you use a piece of information from that website you should probably research it a little bit more!

"What I've Learned This Year" Mr. McClung

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this because it is something I am in agreement with. I liked his thoughts and opinions on what the future teacher should possess as qualities. I think it is important, like he does, that we as teachers are to be forever encouragers not discouragers. It is important that we understand children need guidance as well as academic advising. Telling a child that he or she can not do something can scar them for a lifetime so we need to be cautious of that.Patience will be something we teachers will have to practice daily!

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Mr. Pausch's lecture was so inspiring. This was by far my favorite video that we were required to watch. I loved the quotes and hearing about his thoughts and hopes for his future as a child. His lecture was inspiring and I thought it was the perfect choice.

My favorite quote that he said was "Brick walls are there for a reason: to show our dedication and to prove how badly we want things". It is the perfect choice of words to describe how you feel when you want something really bad and then there is a set back and you push through it and end up getting what you wanted. You then realize that the obstacle was there for a reason, to show you how badly you wanted whatever it is that you wanted and how strong you are that you obtained it.

Another quote I became fond of was "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted". This is true in so many ways. When we want something really bad, we generally go after it. We dont necessarily always get exactly what we want however, and that can leave us with negative feelings. It is important, and this quote reminds us, that our efforts are not wasted just because we didn't get what we wanted. We got experience which sometimes is better and may have been just what needed instead.

Mr. Pausch's video and quotes will definitely stick with me. He seemed like such a sweet man and I am sad that this was his last lecture. I am so glad to have watched this and I think it was so great to hear all about his dreams and the dreams of others he helped achieve.

Did You Know 4.0?

Did you Know 4.0 was again very interesting. I really enjoy these little videos because the information is intriguing and helpful. Many young people today overlook the drastic changes in technology and it is so unimaginable to think what is to be done and what is capable of being done with these resources at our fingertips in the near future. These videos help to remind us that technology advances are only going to get more advanced and I predict that the new age resources are going to be ten times more advanced then what we are accustomed to now!

Back to Minnesota and South Dakota for a visit! My presentation!

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

When reading Mr. Fisch's post, I must say that he was a bit harsh in the way he stated some of his opinions. Of the 7 standards, he really emphasized and made it clear his thoughts on each. It is true that "all teachers should achieve a basic level of technological capability", but in no way should a teacher be embarrassed if they are just now becoming familiar with it.

Our generation of teachers will have that basic understanding, but I think he should have an understanding that some of the teachers that have been around for a while need time and good reason to go back and learn everything that they need to learn to keep up. If they are a good teacher they will, if not then they will struggle. However, I think making a point and motivating people to start a movement can be done a little more tastefully.

"Its Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

I agree completely with Mrs. Hines' post. In order to incorporate change in our future classrooms we all need to be willing to learn everyday. This is not to say that it is all about technology, it definitely begins at the learning level. Technology however, is very helpful and will elevate each of our learning experiences. In my opinion, being a great hands on learner is just as important as being a great hands on teacher.

Being on the lookout for new ways in which students can benefit and learn material more efficiently is excellent, but it is truly what is behind a teacher that will make the most difference. Being a great teacher is more important than having new technology resources, and when the two go hand-in hand it can make a world of difference to a student.

Michael Welsh: A Vision of Students Today

After watching A Vision of Students Today, I will have to say that this movie definitely captures my personal college experience. I do exactly what some of the people in the video do, and they are not exactly good habits. I spend way too much time on social networking sites such as facebook, and not enough time as I should be on studying. To add to the video and make it more accurately describe these situations, I would include more about the money college students waste when they become lazy and stop going to classes.

I can definitely relate to the sign one of the guys holds up about buying hundred dollar text books and not even using them. I have done this countless times and sometimes it was because my professor did not prefer to teach out of the book. This was aggravating because I wish that if they anticipated not teaching out of the book, they would have told us and we could have saved a considerable amount of money. Incorporating technology in the classroom will hopefully eliminate some of these problems.

Comment4Kids Comments

After commenting on Moturoa's Blog last week I actually learned alot! The kids in that class all seem so enthusiastic and smart! It seems as though the teacher has a really hands on way of teaching and it is effective! They really seemed to be excited about the comments we posted and I loved reading their feedback!

What I learned From Reviewing Podcast Material

I chose to watch the link to "Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom" and listened to Joe Dale explain the importance and significance of Podcasting in the classroom. I have learned a great deal from reviewing these materials on podcasts, and agree with what he says. Podcasting can help tremendously in the classroom because children these days are used to these type of technological advances in their everyday lives. Integrating them in the classroom helps to utilize and make interacting with students outside of the class room easy and more effective.

Podcasting in the classroom enhances students creative natures and allows them to be individualists. Also, another great point and perhaps the best point and reason for podcasting to me, is that when a student is absent he or she can have access to what the class did that day and can watch the lesson just as if he or she were there. Mr. Dale also points out that parents have easy access to see exactly what their children are being told and taught in the classroom at the tip of their fingers.

Tech Literate Teacher Videocast

This videocast on Tech Literate Teachers was very informational and interesting.This podcast, from the EDM 310 summer class was very good and I enjoyed listening to each of their points. What would make this videocast a little better would be if the group that spoke were a little more lively in their answers and their responses. The insight they gave was very sufficient and left a memorable impact on the watcher.
Also, another thing that would make this videocast even better would be if the group talking conversed more in the video with each other. I think informational conversations are always better if the group members are feeding off of each other. One improvement that I would like to incorporate in my podcast would be to supply a ton of information on the subject assigned so that I could leave the listener with great information like this podcast left me with!

Video in the Classroom Introduction

This was a very creative video and I thought that the style of teaching was very interesting. It also seemed to be very effective.

Learning about Podcasts

Listening to these Podcasts definitely helped me to understand how they were made. I found them interesting and some of them were very entertaining and funny. I watched all the Podcasts listed and decided to share what I was enlightened with on four of them below.

MacBreak Weekly

Watching episode 55 of Macbreak weekly “When Your Ready to Compromise Call Me”, was very informative. This podcast began with a couple of advertisements and then the hosts came in and introduced the show as being about all things Mac. They covered all the things that are new or are coming out soon under Mac.The host for this podcast was Alex Lindsey, and this particular segment was more conversational then anything else. They inform the listeners about different new technologies coming out and share their own stories about what they think after using some of them. This was informational and helpful because the two men hosting talk back and forth and the listeners are able to form an opinion while listening to their conversation. This one also didn’t get boring because they were able to make it funny in the process.

KidCast Podcast

The KidCast podcast was very entertaining to me. I sensed that this one was probably more scripted than the other ones and was very fun. Unlike some of the other ones, this one had a lot of different sounds and music to entertain kids in the classrooms. Keeping kids interested in the material seemed to be the main focus and this was done by having various stories and jokes told. I definitely got a sense of how this podcast was done and that it was specifically designed to keep the interest of kids.

This Week in Photography

While listening to this podcast I really got a sense of how they were produced. While watching episode number 104 in “This Week in Photography”, the host was able to speak to a woman who lived in Utah and a couple people who were in the studio. He was really funny and kept the listener wanting more, he also advertised a couple things such as audiblepodcast.com and some different camera accessories. The lady from Utah was also able to tell listeners what she preferred while using her camera. This talk show is very helpful to people interested in photography and kept listeners interested the whole time. I think it was definitely a fun podcast and I would say it was unscripted.

What I learned about the SmartBoard Lessons Podcast

In episode number 11 of SMART Board Lessons, the host was really upbeat and the vibe of the conversational was very laid back. This podcast was more conversational and was easy listening. Year end school stuff was the topic of this particular podcast, and I think that this one engaged the listeners a little more than the others. He and his co-host were able to entertain listeners with stories about their personal experiences before they started the actual episode. They also were able to talk about links that help people with math. These math movies incorporated helpful modules to helps kids keep their interest in math at young ages. This podcast was very helpful and thorough in getting listeners started and motivated with this idea.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

I think Mrs. Davis' teaching methods are exactly what our public school systems need. The fact that most of today's jobs require people to be "technologically literate" is reason to adopt the methods of teaching presented in this video. The student's in Mrs. Davis' class work individually but also they collaborate and help each other inside and outside the classroom. By using language that the students don't already know, she if forcing them to look up the words on Google which is like an updated in-depth dictionary and a very good idea.

This kind of training is necessary because it is inevitable. The old fashion pen and paper way of teaching and learning can be used, but is usually not nearly as helpful or beneficial to anyone, not even the student. I do not agree that making students memorize facts and definitions and repeating them is helpful in any way. I understand that my choice to major in education in today's world will mean that I will have to be a constant learner so that I can keep up!

My Thoughts on Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

This movie was very interesting to me especially because I plan on becoming a teacher. He makes a good point about the unpredictability of our future generation. I agree that creativity is just as important as literacy in the classroom and he makes a good point that in today's society it is being severely limited. I agree, as I am reminded, that kids are not afraid to be wrong and likes when he states that, "If you're not prepared to be wrong then you will never come up with anything original". I agree that by the time kids become adults they are scared to be wrong and this limits their creativity severely.

The blame can easily be put on the educational system as more and more children are being "educated out of creativity". I encourage and believe that we need to incorporate more creativity in the classroom and give more freedom to student so that they may explore their creative potentials. As the rapid development of new technology is emerging it is more important than ever that our youth be able to keep up. That being said, creativity and originality are are key things to remember and focus on in the classroom.

My Reaction to Mr. Winkle Wakes

The video on Mr. Winkle Wakes was funny to me and I think it really stressed the point that children in this day and age need the reality of the outside world incorporated into the classroom. If we are not constant learners, than I predict that most of us will fall behind when it comes to doing things technologically in the future. This can makes our lives and careers more stressful. The idea behind technology to me is to make our lives easier. I think it's a privilege that such technology advances are available to us and that we would be crazy not to utilize these resources.

Keeping up with new technology and being open to learn constantly can really make a difference in a person's future and there really is no telling where such advances could take us! In today's work place technology is everywhere and if someone is in school preparing to fill these future positions than it is obvious that the school systems should soon become more "technologically literate". This can make a huge difference in many lives and many careers. Everyone, in my opinion, should be open to learn about these advances so that they do not fall behind.