Chapter 9: Social Networks

I have never thought of having Facebook as a part of my classroom, but after reading this chapter, I think it would be very cool. I have had a Facebook account for a couple of years now, and I love it. I love being able to keep in touch with my friends from High School as well as relatives I don't get to see that often. I know its capabilities for personal reasons, but using it in the classroom is something I would have to work on. Like the book said, integrating Facebook in the classroom not only can teach academics, but it can also teach students how to be a part of the society. They can learn how to work with others as well as communicate their ideas and have conversations with others. I think Facebook could be a great way to get my class to be connected even more. I also like the idea of creating a class Facebook page. It could be a general way that my students could keep in touch, whether it be about a homework problem, or to see if they want to go to a movie together! It would also be a good way for parents to keep up on what is going on in class. I could post pictures on things that we are doing in class as well as class news. This way it can be one big community of parents, students, and I to all keep on the same page. I also just learned about Ning. This also has many of the capabilities of Facebook, and it may be easier to work with administration to get this idea approved. This is an actual website that the teacher can set up. The book gave very detailed directions how to set it up, and I think that I could figure it out! It is much like Facebook in the way that I could be able to have one place to keep all of the students and parents informed. It could really be a great communication device. I think as a future teacher I would really love to set up some kind of site like this. I think there would be so  many benefits of having a network that it would make the classroom environment so much closer on all aspects.

Today's Class

Today we started class by discussing that we should be adding pages to our delicious more often, and to keep up with it. At week 8 we should be around 40 pages. The group that led the discussion did a really good job! Some things that they need to work on are to anticipate group sizes and to give clear expectations. I think that some of us were very confused with the expectations for our group discussion. They did a great job using real life scenarios and to use the Smartboard to its potential. I thought Jim did a good job bringing the class back to the discussion topic when there was starting to be a very heated classroom. we also discussed how teachers shouldn't be afraid to ask and go and find things for your classroom that you need. You have to take initiative in getting the best things for your students. We then went over the Ellumionate, and the cool things that can be done with it. It is a great tool for web conferencing and other things like that! This is a very cool tool! We then started talking about the steps for doing podcasting. More of the technology is going to be discussed in Monday's lecture. We need to be sure to find a contemporary issue that relates to PK-12 learners. We need to then write a script that maps out what we are going to talk about. We need to have an overview of the issue, a summary of the resources, and our reaction to the issue. If I need a microphone, he has some! I have to admit i am feeling really overwhelemed!!!!

Chapter 7: What May Be Lost and What May Be Gained

This chapter discusses how that this change in education change is not only affecting the lives of students, but of the society as well. It also goes into depth on the losses and gains of this educational revolution. I am going to discuss some of the gains and the losses as well how this is going to affect my future as an educator. One of things that may be lost is the hope that we can create a society where we have similar values, and where cultures are widely accepted. There is a concern that the divide between cultures will grow, and that society will break apart. Another one of the main losses is that the access to learning, and how this gap is going to increase. People who are not wealthy and able to purchase these new technologies will most likely be left behind. Students of wealthy parents are more likely to get their children more private lessons to get their child ahead in school. There is also a fear that the liberal arts program is going to become more focused on the individual. When students focus on only what they are interested in, they miss out on the general knowledge that is so important in being a informed person. I personally thing it is very important to make sure that students get a broad range of knowledge through schooling while they can still focus on things that they enjoy. One last concern is that people will become socially isolated from just sitting in front of the computer, and not getting to social interaction that is so important.
One of the gains that I found to be very interesting is that knowledge will become more engaging, as students can focus more on things that they enjoy to learn about. When something interests a student, they will be more likely to put more work into their schooling and really put their time into it. I think this is a good idea, as long as generalized aspects are added to it. Technology is also capable of customizing education to the needs of everyone. They can be in any environment and work at the level that is necessary to their success. Also their is hope that the academic competitiveness between students will decrease because they will most likely succeed better at things that they want to learn about! Learning is also becoming more of a family together, which can bring families closer!
I can see both sides of the issue, and think that some of  both will be important in my future as an educator. I think that it is very important to give my students academic choice with their assignments. I also think that is is very important to teach general, lifelong ideas that can help all of my students despite what profession they are going into. I also want to stress the importance of understanding each other culturally and personally. I think all of these ideas need to be kept in mind when I am teaching my future students!

Chapter 9: Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, and Live Streaming

This was such an interesting chapter to read! There are so many great ideas that I can use in my future classroom! The only complaint I have about this book is how they go over things step by step so if you aren't sitting right next to a computer doing it as they go through it, you get kind of lost. Also by the time I would need to know how to use it in my classroom I won't have the book anymore! At least I have some great ideas that I can use and research on my own time! I think that opening students up to things like pod casting to help them with their communication. They could use a podcast to keep up with current events or present something to their classmates. It seems like this would be easy to set up for the students, and it would also make them plan things out and take responsibility in their work so it turns out the right way. This would also be cool so parents could see some of the things that their children are doing in class. Students could also subscribe to a podcast so they can keep up with information that interests them. I am also excited to do a screen cast for this class because it sounds very cool. I like that we are able to do things in class so we are prepared to go use them out in classrooms. Like I said before, I think that these types of projects for students not only teach them about cool uses of technology, but how to have responsibility for learning how to use these tools, and how to make their work look fabulous! Things like pod casting, video and screen casting, and live streaming are where our school will be going in the future years. As a teacher, I know that I need to keep my students updated and fluent in being able to use these technologies that will be a huge part of their lives. This book always stresses the fact that teachers need to test out the technology first so they are able to troubleshoot with student problems and so they know what to expect. I plan on taking this advice to heart, and making sure that I stay caught up with all of these technologies!

Today's Class

Today we started class with the Chapter 6 discussion. The gruop that went did a great job with thier presentation. They really did a good job of being well prepared, and had a good command of the material. One thing that I would consider to have in some of my otehr presentations would be to have a time watch going so the students know how much time they have to finish whatever they are doing. Another thing to consider is ways to have groups share information in other ways than verbally. This will apply to all types of learners then. We can also try a organization technique called jigsawing. One group  becomes an expert on one topic, then the groups are all mixed up so there is an expert in the group from wach ofteh topics. I also think it would be cool to use summary frames so groups know how they are supposed to report the information they are discussing. We then discussed things that would help us with our interactive whiteboard lessons. One thing that I know I need to do is lock the objects that I don't want to be moved. I also need to use infinite cloner instead of copying and pasting a bunch of different objects. Color choice is also very important. We also should keep in mind that there should never be too many words on a slide, no matter what the age of students. We then talked about the SWOT ananlysis for our Cool Tool Screencast. As always this was a very informative class period! :)

Chapter 6:The Three Eras of Education

I thought this chapter was very interesting because it compared the three eras that education has gone through so far: apprenticeship, universal-schooling, and now to life-long learning era. As we moved through these areas many things changed including responsibility of education, expectations with school, the content taught, the pedagogy of schooling, how students are assessed, the location where schooling takes place, how it affects culture, and lastly how it affects relationships. In the apprenticeship era, children learned what their parents knew and what they did for a living. During the universal schooling era, students were taught a uniform content, and went to school to get their education. During the life-long learning era, students are beginning to be able to chose what they want to learn and where they want to learn it. It is crazy to think how far education has come, and what changes will take place in the years to come. I couldn't even imagine being born in a different era, because I love to learn, especially when I am learning about something that interests me. I would have never gone to college to pursue a career in education, which is my passion in life. I think that knowing how education has changed will help me in teaching my students. I want to give them choice with things they want to study. Some teachers I had would make students do reports on things that didn't interest them. I think it is really important for students to have academic choice. I also think that it is important for teachers to help their students thinking about that they want to do in their future. There are so many choices, and the possibilities are endless with what they can do when they graduate high school. I think that anyone can continue their education in this life-long learning era, which is so cool looking at where education has come from. As a teacher I will also have to be prepared for more changes in education, and I am ready to take on that challenge!

Chapter 5 Presentation

I facilitated the discussion on Chapter 5 with Amber and Cari on Thursday. I first read the chapter very carefully before we met as a group so I was prepared to contribute valuable information. We then met together to make our Prezi, and another time to go over the presentation. We knew that we wanted to do something different, so we grouped the class based on a color that they recieved. I thought this went pretty well. I also think that my group worked really well together and that helps make a successful project. I think I put in a good amount of effort into this project, and I think it turned out pretty well. There are always things to work on for next time though! For me, I think it is 10 times worse presenting in front of my peers rather that talking in front of kids. I feel so much more relaxed with young students! I think it really helps me come more confident in public speaking every time I talk in front of my peers. It is a terrifying thing to do, but I will have to get used to it. It also makes me more conscious of the language and presenting skills that I use. My peers are a much tougher crowd than kids, for the most part! I think that it is valuable to facilitate a discussion in front of others at my level. It makes me take responsibility for really knowing the information, and being able to relay that information to my peers. I also think this is just preparing me for a future full of giving presentations to others, for it is a big part of my career, and something I am going to have to get used to! I think this also effects my future as a teacher in the fact that what I am going to be doing as a living is to teach content to others. It helps to have practice with this as much as possible. I think that this was a great project, and I am pleased with how it turned out. I think that every time I present something, it gives me more confidence, which is something I need! I hope to get better with each presentation that I give!