Assignment 11

Everyone has heard of an iPod, in fact, most people, of all ages, own one. They are a great way to listen to music anywhere and at anytime without all the bulk of a CD player, or for some who might remember, a boom box. Through the years, they are becoming affordable for everyone. For about the last four or five years though, iPods are being used for more than just a way to enjoy music. They are being used in the classroom, from K-12 to University classrooms.

Duke University was on the cutting edge of this trend. In 2004, they gave every incoming freshman an iPod. In 2006, they had 46 classes in the spring using iPods. The iPods are being used for things like lectures and assignments. This is a great way for students to study lecture material, being able to hear the lecture over as many times as one needs to until they understand the material. If a student missed a class, this is a great way to get the information they missed. Duke plans to expand on this by introducing classes that use the aide of digital audio and video.

IPods are not just being used on the University level though. They have benefited the K-12 classrooms as well. First graders are learning their reading words on iPods and kindergartners are learning their ABC's using ipods. Karen Thompson is using things like pod casts and audio files in her classroom. High school students are creating their own pod casts and keeping up with homework through the use of this handy tool. Many schools are finding grants to supply their students with this useful tool.

The iPod is allowing students to work at their own pace. Not all children learn to read at the same speed and with the aide of the iPod,now these students wont be left behind, they can learn a t their own speed. Some students need more time to cover material, they just don't retain all the information the first time. Again, the iPod can really help these students that otherwise just might not ever understand the lesson and ultimately not reach their greatest potential in school. The iPod is just another example of how technology is helping to advance our children's education.

Assignment 10

Dr.Alice Christie's web site was very informative. She definitely has the right point of view,integrating technology in today's classroom. Her website covers just about every aspect of intergrating technology into a classroom as possible. There were so many options available such as using a GPS system in the classroom, Internet safety, and available workshops, just to name a few. The one area I found that I thought would be most helpful to me in the classroom was the subject of web quest. I plan to teach middle school level science and find that creating a web quest would be a great way to combine science and the use of technology into a classroom.

Dr. Christie explains what web quest is first. It is basically a web based curriculum with assignments, tasks, Internet resources and printing resources, and gives students the opportunity to share what they have learned with other students. The students would be learning subject matter dealing with science and appling their computer skills and knowledge all at the same time. That is a win-win situation. From personal experience in a classroom and having two children of my own, I find children show much more interest and seem to keep interest in what they are learning if they are not just coping notes or listening to the same instructor everyday. Using the computer breaks up the boring routine for them and helps keep them motivated.

Dr.Christie's site has links to other sites on understanding web quest and how to create a web quest yourself. Her site also offers templates and rubrics and articles all about web quest. By exploring her site and the related links she provides, any teacher could create their own web quest for their classroom. This is definitely something I will use.

Assignment 9

Wikipedia, probably the number one source used to find information about anything and everything, but can you really trust it? If you answer yes, Virgil Griffith might change your mind. The information provided by Wikipedia may be edited by anyone, even anonymously. This has huge impacts for it's readers and users. The information you are receiving may be manipulated or even deleted, to benefit those that the information is about. Politicians, Congress, even the CIA, have all been found guilty of editing information to benefit them. Wal Mart and a voting machine company, Diebold, have also been identified as doing this.

What does all this mean? It means the public is being deceived. It is hard to make judgement or form opinions about issues, politicians, or companies you might want to support or not support, if you a getting something other than the truthful facts. In essence, it is another way society is being manipulated into buying someone else's agenda.

I feel the fact that anyone can edit anything on Wikipedia, undermines their credibility hugely. I personally, will cross reference information from that source and not just take it at face value. Also, with the invention of tools like Wikipedia Scanner, that find the IP address of anyone making edits, it is possible to see if the information you are reading is genuine. I feel Wikipedia is still a good source of information, it just depends now, on what your looking up. If you are using Wikipedia to make decisions on who you are voting for or if you want to support a certain organization, I feel you should use more than one source and background check the information you are receiving.

Assignment 8

I chose to read the August Best Blog of 2007, "Creating PersonalLearning Networks". This post discussed creating a learning network for the students, not the teachers. Using tools like iGoogle and Google reader, the students would find information about a subject of interest and blog about it. This helps the students become familiar with using the web as a tool to obtain information using more than one source. It also is designed to help them interact with others on the computer in an academic atmosphere. This daily exercise also helps with their writing skills and critical thinking ability.

I think this is a great idea. It is a refreshing way to have students gather information and write about it in there own words rather than sending them to the library to find information and write a paper. This exercise will help students see how easy it is to find information using the web and how to determine if a source is trustworthy and reliable. Doing this daily will help this become a standard way to find information and perhaps students will begin to practice this out of the classroom. Most teens spend many hours a day on the computer, but most of this time is spent on My space and Face book, this exercise will definitely expand their use of a computer.

Assignment 7

Karl Fisch is on the right path for us to have successful children in the future. In his post"Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher", he brings up a good point that there are a lot of Educators out there that do not keep up with the technology that's driving our world. Some teachers do not feel they need to be computer savvy and find it funny that they are so illiterate in this area. I personally have heard teachers laugh at the fact that their students know more about the Internet and computers than they do. As Karl Fisch asks, should teachers be held accountable for this type of ignorance? Of course they should.

In the 21st century, it is necessary to be competent in your computer and Internet skills to prepare students to enter the real world. Over the last 20 years, it is evident and obvious that our dependents on technology is only growing at an exponential rate. In order to give our future generation of adults a fair and even chance in society, we have to educate them using technology. We are cheating our kids if we do not do this.

So many teachers, especially teachers that have been teaching for over 10 years, have their daily class routine and see no reason to change it or to continue their own education. As an educator, if you don't keep up with the changes in society and adjust your teaching skills to fit that change, you are not doing your job; you are not teaching children for transfer. You are not preparing these children for the future ahead of them; I say future, it isn't really even the future, it is now because technology is here in a big way already. As a parent myself, I can tell you, I want my children to have a running start when they leave High School and if their teachers are not giving this to them, I want them to be held accountable for that.