Next to the remote control, RSS is the greatest invention to man. I no longer have to go out and search for the information that I want and have to weed through the tangled web just for information pertinent to my desires. It now all comes to me. Yahoo!!!!
Actually, I have been using RSS feeds for a while now. My parents love to be able to get the latest podcast or latest update on our tutorial pages as soon as it is published. However, some of the suggested feeds to add to our reader and blog were unfamiliar. I listened to an NPR podcast that made me truly pay attention to what is going on in my own home. Reducing The Carbon Footprints of New Gadgets http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100754636 This particular podcast talks about the amount of energy we use with all this technology that we have plugged up in the pocket draining sockets in our homes. Omar Gallaga who writes about technology culture for the Austin American-Statesman, http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/digitalsavant/index.html talks about the common devices that take up the most energy and what we can do to alleviate the risk of heart attack when opening our monthly energy bill. Omar mentioned how some of the gadgets we use that are constantly plugged in or on use something called "vampire power" devices that slowly suck out energy from our homes. Mr. Gallega also mentions several "green" devices that help save the cost of energy, such as green power surges, portable silver cells used to charge cell systems on the go instead of in the home. This is definitely worth the listen if you are a techno geek like me at school and at home.
Thing #4: Blah, blah, blogging
As I see more and more blogging being used in various classrooms across the country, I can't help but to think about going back to school to become a ophthalmologist. Kidding, however, having the opportunity to freely express themselves in manners that kick down the stifling walls of formatted writing definitely encourages students to boldly convey their own messages. As I read through some of the post laid out for us in this assignment, I couldn't help but to chuckle when Mark Ahlness said, "The classroom was the quietest and most focused I have seen in a long time during silent reading." He had exposed them to reading blogs instead of a regular book and he was amazed at how well the students adjusted. Now, it's all reading, but this time students were deeply engaged. Adding the technology piece pulled the students in. This is the connected generation, and they would rather hold a laptop than a book even if the web site was the digital version of the very same piece of literature. "Why use an encyclopedia when you have the internet?" my seven-year old daughter asked me one day. All I could do was laugh and agree with her. Blogging however, gives someone or a group the opportunity to expound on their thoughts about any topic. The reader can comment, adding to the ideology of the piece, or express praise or dislike for what the author is saying. However the commenter sways, the blog made them think... a lost art among our learners today. My student's have a difficult time with blogging because they have never had to the opportunity to freely speak through writing. As they continue to blog, many are becoming comfortable with the the concept of writing and have a greater tendency to go and find information on certain topics, just so they can blog about it later on. Wow, taking responsibility for their own learning... through blogging... go figure!
Thing # 2: Why In the World Web
Michael Wesch is a remarkable young man who is either wise beyond his years or was put upon this planet to be an educator. I see so many teachers each and every day who do not see the value of technology in education or are so frustrated and fearful of technology that they refuse to incorporate it into their classrooms. In only four years of teaching, this professor has discovered / come to realize that one of the greatest way to engage today’s students is through technology. Great points Mr. Wesch made include but are not limited to the following:
“…teach students how to ask discussion questions.”
“The crisis of significance:” students must find relevance and value in what they learn.
“Find a way to harness information, critique it, and create it into something new.”
“This is the worst thing we can do to the students.” accompanied an image of a student holding up a bubble sheet indicating standardize testing.
…”platforms for participation, not just entertainment but tools to learn, collaborate, and create something.” (Wesch, 2008)
Today’s educators are the luckiest in the world because we have a plethora of technology that we can utilize and bring into our classrooms in order to help students understand, become involved in their own learning. Our district is on the cusp of understanding this by encouraging our teachers to become more familiar with the technological tools that are already among us. This project and my graduate work one more push for me to move toward integrating technology full time in the classroom in order to allow the students to learn at their own pace and with their own learning style. Many teachers think that this method of teaching is difficult, but I believe it is more the lack of time in implementation than it is difficult.
For many years students have not known how to ask questions of themselves, others, or even formulate questions to ask to adequately research a topic. However, using technology tools that they are familiar with in this connected age will only increase those thinking skills that have increasingly become lacking in students.
Standardized testing HAS become over-rated in many states and school districts. I have found though that when I use technology in my classroom, the students become more responsible for their learning which in turn makes them personally care more about those tests and their score as well as their over all education. When the students feel that they have some control over what and how they learn, it’s amazing what they can and WANT TO do to be successful.
Engagement is the doorway to students’ minds making what we have to share relevant to their lives. Web 2.0 tools to me are the key we can use to open that door leading to participation, learning, creativity, critical thinking, differentiating learning styles, cooperative learning, and ultimately a love of learning resulting in a successful student, adult, co-worker, and citizen.
If you want to see this post as a Writeboard click this link http://123.writeboard.com/8faddd82f01aa976c and help edit the post. The password is: notadryerase
“…teach students how to ask discussion questions.”
“The crisis of significance:” students must find relevance and value in what they learn.
“Find a way to harness information, critique it, and create it into something new.”
“This is the worst thing we can do to the students.” accompanied an image of a student holding up a bubble sheet indicating standardize testing.
…”platforms for participation, not just entertainment but tools to learn, collaborate, and create something.” (Wesch, 2008)
Today’s educators are the luckiest in the world because we have a plethora of technology that we can utilize and bring into our classrooms in order to help students understand, become involved in their own learning. Our district is on the cusp of understanding this by encouraging our teachers to become more familiar with the technological tools that are already among us. This project and my graduate work one more push for me to move toward integrating technology full time in the classroom in order to allow the students to learn at their own pace and with their own learning style. Many teachers think that this method of teaching is difficult, but I believe it is more the lack of time in implementation than it is difficult.
For many years students have not known how to ask questions of themselves, others, or even formulate questions to ask to adequately research a topic. However, using technology tools that they are familiar with in this connected age will only increase those thinking skills that have increasingly become lacking in students.
Standardized testing HAS become over-rated in many states and school districts. I have found though that when I use technology in my classroom, the students become more responsible for their learning which in turn makes them personally care more about those tests and their score as well as their over all education. When the students feel that they have some control over what and how they learn, it’s amazing what they can and WANT TO do to be successful.
Engagement is the doorway to students’ minds making what we have to share relevant to their lives. Web 2.0 tools to me are the key we can use to open that door leading to participation, learning, creativity, critical thinking, differentiating learning styles, cooperative learning, and ultimately a love of learning resulting in a successful student, adult, co-worker, and citizen.
If you want to see this post as a Writeboard click this link http://123.writeboard.com/8faddd82f01aa976c and help edit the post. The password is: notadryerase
Thing #1 Learning my whole life long...
Life is long, so I might as well spend the time learning. I have grown up with the mantra, "never stop learning" My mom always encouraged me to see that when I get to the end of one learning experience, it was just the beginning of another. As a teacher and a current graduate student, it is easy to see how learning takes place your entire life. Therefore, I welcome the challenge of learning something new. Heck, I'm madly in love with my wife and I learn something new about her everyday. In viewing and contemplating the 7 1/2 Habits of EL square I find myself right in the middle of my childhood living room and momma and daddy steadily preaching to the three of us... "Where there is no vision, the people would parish" daddy would say. If you don't have an idea of where you're going, how are you ever going to know where to start is what I now tell my kids. "knowledge is power, But ain't nobody gonna give it to ya" Grandma would say. Those who have knowledge are those know where to find it... so where are you looking, is what I say to my kids. "God will never put more on you than you can bare," momma would always say. It takes the rain and the sun for life to grow, you just have to figure out what seeds you're going to plant during your storm, is what I say to my own. "Believe in yourself as I believe in you" my daddy would sing. Just because you had a nightmare doesn't mean you stop dreaming, is what I speak. On and on it could go. I praise God for parents that instilled their own habits of learning in me. As a matter of fact, even as an adult, they are still turning my eyes to what I can learn from every situation, even when I talk with them on the phone. With that, the more I teach my own children, the more I end up learning. The beautiful thing about it all is, I'm having a blast doing it.
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