Week 3 Post ( Podcast)

Response to Smartboard Lessons Podcast

I think podcasts are great ways to learn and record ideas, instead of reading them or writing them down. I like how this guy makes a podcast where ever he is. I took a look at the website he talks about in one of his podcasts ( http://bit.ly/8WWHTl ) and it was cool. The website shows a new way to interact with others using sticky notes. It was really cool to see and play with the website. I am thinking about creating an account myself.

Response to KidCast

I agree with the speaker from the KidCast podcast. He made some very valid points

regarding video podcasting. Podcasting can be used to a much greater extent when there is

video involved. Visual aids can be used, expressions can be seen and the person can get a point

across so much easier because the viewer can hear as well as see what they are trying to view.

Though video podcasting has its down points, such as editing, I think it is very beneficial,

especially in the classroom.

Response to MacBreak Weekly

The podcast on the iPad from Apple, was very informative. The iPad is such amazing, and

the newest technology. It is a combination of the Macbook and the iPhone or the iTouch. It has

the touchscreen like that of the iPhone and the iTouch, but it has the speed and the capabilities

of a Macbook. Though the speakers in the podcast were unsure of whether they liked the name,

iPad or not, but I like the name iPad for the new device.

Response to This Week in Photography

The topic in This Week in Photography was "Is face detection racist?". The speakers were

talking about the new features of digital cameras. Apparently Asians are always blinking, and

darker skin tones are not recognized, according the the new technology on these cameras. I do

not think that the technology is racist. I agree with the speakers that the error was just a lack

in running tests with many different varieties of people. The producers should have run more

thorough testing on the cameras before the cameras were released to the public.

Week 2 Post

Response to: A Vision of Students Today

This video shows a college student's everyday life. College life for most is more fun and laid back than high school. Just because you're not in school 40 hours a week in college, you still spend more time working on school work or doing something that relates to school. I would say this video explains my life pretty well.

How is technology really helping us if we spend more time doing things that take away time from what we should be doing? Well, as a student I have to know and plan how much time I spend playing around on the computer (Facebook, games, and other activities) and how much time I spend doing work for class. I think technology is helping us as a society, but only if we use it correctly and use our time wisely.

Response to: It's Not about Technology

Mrs. Hines has some great points about technology in her article. What is the point of all this technology if know one knows how to use it? Teachers must be able to use this technology to spark the minds of these students. All these new tools in technology are changing the way students think about school. Most students want to learn how to use the smart board (fancy whiteboards), because it is something fun, and while doing this they are learning. Just like Mrs. Hines said, teachers need to be up-to-date with there students, and this is a key part in teaching in a way the students can learn.

I wish my high school teacher would have learned how to use the technology and made learning fun. Today, for a teacher, there is no excuse for not learning the new technology because there are so many ways to learn this new technology. Most schools or school systems will pay for the teachers to go to the class and learn how to use it. The technology would be great if all the teacher would learn how to use it correctly, and apply it while teaching.

Response to: Is it Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch has some very valid points about the necessity of technology literacy of teachers in schools. There is more new technology being developed every day, and students are going to be some of the first to be interested in it. It is crucial that teachers get on board in the technology realm and use the new technology to its greatest potential. Students are so much more interested in learning if they are getting to learn by way of exciting new technology that they may not otherwise have access to. If teachers take the initiative to go out and learn how to use new technology, the students will come out of school being technologically literate, which is becoming more and more necessary in the real world.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area that had access to the newest and latest technology. However, I feel like if my teachers had been more interested in the technology themselves and taken the time to learn how to use it more efficiently, I would have been more interested in learning when I was younger. The technology could be so influential in a child's life if teachers took some time to learn it themselves.

Response to: Gary's Social Media Count

It is so amazing to see a count of the numerous technological interactions going on across the world in a matter of seconds. It shows that as a teacher I will have to be paying attention to and keeping up with the constant changes in the technological world. Children and teenagers are right in the middle of all this new technology. Because of the constantly changing technological world, I will have to learn and use the new technology as it comes. Students in this time rely so much on technology, and by teaching in a way that engages this technology, I think I will be able to reach their minds at a whole new level.

As a future teacher in a constantly changing and improving world, I will have to reform the ways of teaching in the past. Teaching can never be a constant method because with each new school year there are new students, new needs and new technology. I will have to change my teaching methods depending on each student, because each child learns in a different way, and technology is a wonderful tool that can often times enhance learning for children.

Week One Post

Response to Did You Know 3.0

This video was really good to watch and see how technology has evolved over time. When it asked the question "Did You Know?", I was not aware that things have changed this much. I guess I have not paid much attention to technology since I have grown up with technology all around me.

I find a lot of the information that this video gives us scary, for example, the 32 to second mark where it states that China will soon be the number one English speaking country. This video really shows how technology is changing for the good. How do we prepare people for jobs that do not exist yet? Overall I like the video, I found it very informative.

Response to Mr. Winkle Wake

Just like "Did You Know 3.0" I like how Mr. Winkle saw everything advanced in technology that was for the good of the people and to help raise the stander of living. All of these new devices have improved how people work and live now.

When Mr. Winkle goes to the school and he says that nothing has changed over the years, but I think they have. I used a computer every day in middle and high school, and today in college I use new technology. To tell you the truth there are kids that go to elementary school that use more technology everyday than I do, and I plan on teaching these kids one day. Maybe five or ten years ago this video would have made a good point about technology in schools.

I believe that teachers need to be more advanced with the technology like doctors offices and other professionals in society. Students are becoming more advanced with technology, but a lot of the teachers are not. Teachers need to prepare their students for the future.

Response to Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

This was such a great speech. Mr. Robinson makes a really good point about how creativity is

shot down in schools at all levels. It will be my job as an educator to bring out the children's

creativity. Creativity in my opinion is how we find new and better ways to communicate with

each other, and to expand our knowledge.

Creativity makes learning fun, this allows the students to understand what is being taught.

Why punish a child for having to much energy. Like Mr. Robinson said, we have been told we cannot

do something because we cannot make a living doing it, but people dance, play sports, play music and

many other things and they still make a living. If we are not allow to show that we want to do

something, we would not have dancers, athletes, singers and actors. Creativity should be a key

element for teachers and students.

Response to Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

It is really cool to see how students are interacting with other students from around the world.

This is a wonderful class for high school students to learn how to interact with others, and to expand their creativity. The last video talked about how creativity isn't being used in schools and why it should. This video shows how creativity makes it easier to learn.

I like how the class allows the students to interact with others to enhance their people skills and learn how to communicate with others. These skills are key skills for having success in life, and these skills can bring schools and other people together from different backgrounds.