Chapter 8: Blogs, Wikis, & Podcasts

Podcasting, Video and Screencasting, and Live Streaming

This chapter gave me a better idea of what podcasting is and how we can use it in the classroom. Basically, podcasting is radio broadcasting. The great thing about podcasting is that anybody can create a podcast
(with a few tools). Also, like websites, podcasts can be available for everybody to view or for certain audiences such as students. I think using a podcast in the classroom is a great idea. One way podcasts can be used in the classroom is by the students. Students can create podcasts and share them with the rest of their classroom. Podcasts could be created for nearly any subject and students could be used as an assignment or project to help students gain understsanding of the subject. Another way podcasts could be used in the classroom is podcasts by teachers. Teachers could record daily lessons so that students could view them from home or outside of the classroom. This would also be helpful for students who are home sick or gone for the day. Podcasting could be a great educational tool in the classroom.

I also gained a better understanding of Screencasting and Live Streaming. To me, these are both extremely helpful tools. Screencasting can be used to show an audience how to do something on a website or where to find something.  There are so many ways screencasting could be used; they can be a useful way to educate an audiece. For example, the screencast we watched in class showed us how a wiki can be edited and changes over time. As an educator, I think podcasts, screencasting, and live streaming, could be used as great educational tools. All three of them allow for educating an audience without actually being there. Plus, these tools allow for re-watching where as a teacher can't rewind themselves and re-do a lesson.

Exit Slip: 10/28/10

One of the first things I learned in class today was something that wasn't even planned. During discussion we ended up getting off track. However,  I learned was how easy it is for discussion to get off track, and how important it is to get it back on track. Next during discussion debrief, Dr. Boyer got us thinking about how important it is for us, as educators, to have initiative. We also went over the steps to making our own podcast. The podcast can be on any contemporary issue related to technology and PK-12 learners. We will need to provide overview, summarize, and give a reflection of the issue. I don't think I will enjoy listening to my own podcast but other than that I look forward to making my own podcast.

Exit Slip: 10/21/10

One of the most important things I got out of class was the tips for the SMARTboard. I think these tips will really help me in the future when using th SMARTboard. One of the tools I think will be the most helpful is the infinite cloner tool. When I was designing my IWB I ended up copying and pasting a lot...the cloner would have helped a lot! Another thing I learned in class was a new way to split up discussion groups called jigsawing. Hopefully before the semester is over I will be able to see this discussion strategy in action so I can really see how it woks.

Chapter 7: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology

Chapter 7 can be summarized pretty well by the title: What May Be Lost and What May Be Gained. The chapter focused on what may be lost with the increase of technology and what may be gained. The first part of the chapter focused on what may be lost. One of the main concerns of the pessimists is societal cohesion. Technology, and more specifically, the Internet makes it easy for people with common interests and goals to collaborate. Interests groups are easily formed. Therefore, people are only communicated with people who have similar views which could cause a decline in societal cohesion. Also, with such easy access to diverse groups the idea that public schools must help diverse people has lost some of its force. Personally, I disagree with this statement. I still think public schools are one of the most important places children can be introduced to diversity. Another issue with technology is the "digital divide", society may be, or perhaps already is, divided by those who rely heavily on technology and those who don't. Therefore, people who can't afford such technologies aren't getting an equal opportunity in society. Last, but not least the increase of technology poses the fear that people will become isolated. Almost everything we do can be done on the computer such as shopping, school, games, and even watching tv or reading. This causes the threat that social skills will decline, which will also have an effect on societal cohesion. As a future educator, I dont think technology will ever get to the point where we don't have public schools. I also think it is important to keep some of these fears in mind, such as loss of social skills, so we can ensure that students are gaining these skills at school.

So what can be gained by the increase in technology? The main argument is that learning can become more engaging. After using some technologies, such as scratch and the smart board, I agree with this statement. Technology can also allow for education to be more personalized. This was used in a negative sense above, but it can also be a great thing. If people are learning what they want to learn in a way they want to learn it they are going to be more engaged. Technologies can offer opportunities we've never had before. In the future I hope to use technology to keep students engaged which will allow them to be more motivated to learn. I think the most important thing I thought of while reading this chapter is that education is essential for success. And, in today's society technology has to be incorporated into education. As with any new changes, there are always fears but along with these fears are the opportunities for  great successes.

Chapter 7: Blogs, Wikis, & Podcasts

 Before I read Chapter 7: Fun With Flickr, all I really knew about Flickr was that it is a photo-sharing website. I was even a little confused as to how a photo-sharing website, such as Flickr, could be incorporated into the classroom. I soon learned there are several ways Flickr could be used in the classroom. One of the things that I found would be helpful in Flickr was the annotation feature. I learned that you can add notes to any part of the picture using this feature. This could be a helpful tool in the classroom because notes can be attached right to the picture on the object of the notes. One example used in the book was for dissections. Teachers could post a picture of the animal and attach notes right on the picture. Another part of Flickr discussed in the chapter was the ability to share online discussions. I didn't know photo-sharing websites had this aspect. I think online discussions on pictures could be a great tool to use in the classroom since pictures could be made private. This way, the picture and discussion could be limited to your classroom. On the other hand, another great aspect of Flickr is it's ability to connect people around the world. This could be helpful in the classroom because students could find pictures from all parts of the world. For example, if a student was doing a project on a different country, they could simply type that country in and find several pictures from that country. I think using Flickr in the classroom would be an effective way to organize lessons (such as the dissection picture) as well as use as resource for students. I learned that Flickr has a lot more to it than just sharing photos. I think Flickr would be a great resource for upper elementary school grades through high school, but not so much for the earlier grades. Although, as a future early childhood educator I could use Flicker to post pictures of whats going on my classroom for students and parents see.

Chapter 6: Rethinking Education in the Age of Techonlogy

This chapter, The Three Eras of Education, began by summarizing the eras of education, first there was apprenticeship then universal-schooling, and now we are entering the lifelong-learning era of education. The chapter then goes on to describe different aspects of education that have changed throughout these three eras. To me, the biggest difference between the apprenticeship era and the universal-schooling era was the involvement of the state. I thought it was really interesting to learn about apprenticeships because it was something I had never really thought about before. I learned that before universal schooling children usually learned through their family, so if they grew up on a farm they would learn how to farm. Then, in the universal schooling era the state took control and students went to school to learn about a variety of topics.Now, as we enter the lifelong learning era the author argues that we are kind of shifting back because parents and families are becoming more involved and the state less involved. I'm not sure if I agree with this. I do agree that students and parents are beginning to have more choices but I think the state still is, and should be involved. I still think it is important for children to learn about a variety of topics because it will only expand their knowledge base and in the long-run their opportunities.

However, as a teacher I hope to give my students options. I hope to have students learn about several topics but I also hope to allow students some freedom to expand on the topics in which they are most interested. I don't agree with having students becoming extremely knowledgeable about just one topic and during middle school and high school because I think they are missing out on other things that will help them succeed in the future. I think it is great for students to become knowledgeable in topics they are interested in but I still think they should learn about other topics as well. For example, if a student loves writing and wants to expand on it, that's great, but in order to become educated and to succeed that student should still spend sometime studying social studies or math. All in all, after reading this chapter I do believe that the life-long learning era is an improvement of the apprenticeship era and the universal-schooling era.

Chapter 5: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology

This Chapter, The Seeds of a New Education System, looks at the ways the American Education system has changed over the years. Although I always knew our education system had gone through many changes I had never really taken much thought to this before I read this chapter. In fact, there were some aspects of schooling brought up in this chapter I had never really thought about before. The chapter focused on homes schooling, workplace learning, distance education, learning centers, educational television and videos, computer based learning software, technical certifications, internet cafes, and lifelong learning. Before this chapter I had heard of learning centers but never really knew what they were. Another thing if found interesting is this chapter was the section on technical certifications. This another aspect of education I had never given much thought to. I had heard of GED’s about it. I didn’t know that companies like Microsoft and Crisco were giving out certifications. I have to say I disagree with the conclusion that these certifications are a threat to the current education system. I think in our society, the education we have in schools and colleges are still honored way too much for these types of certifications to be a threat. Perhaps, these certifications will be seen as a pro for some employers but I think a formal education, such as a high school diploma, will be valued more by employers than the certifications.

One of the things I plan to take out of this chapter and into my classroom is the idea of life-long learning. I believe that the goal of all teachers should be for their students to be life-long learners. I hope to teach my students things that will help them, not only in school, but in the rest of their lives as well.

Exit Slip: 10/14/10

Today's class discussion focused on Chapter 5, The Seeds of a New Education System. The discussion allowed us to think of pros and cons of the different aspects listed in the Chapter. Some of the things we talked about were learning systems, home schooling, video games for learning, and distance education. Another student in class offered a personalized pro of video games for learning which made me change my perspective a little. At first, I agreed with the group that video games such as SIMS are more fore fun than learning. The student in class shared that her son's reading level went up two grades after switching his video games to SIMS games. This made me think about how important it is to keep in mind that all students learn differently. The rest of class we spent talking about our iRLOs and using scratch. Now that I have a little more experience with scratch I think it'll be fun to design an iRLO.

Chapter 6: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts

Chapter 6: The Social Web

As we know, the web is a social place. Over 1 billion people are online, and amongst these 1 billion, people are connecting, collaborating, and creating together. This chapter focused on learning together using the world wide web. The chapter talked about Twitter and how it can be used both personally and professionally. I have never used Twitter and I always used to think of it as personal website, I basically thought of it as a place where people can share thoughts, statuses, plans, etc., with their friends or other people on the web. In Chapter 6, however, I learned that Twitter can be used professionally as well. It makes sense. For example, as a future educator, I could follow other educators on Twitter and ask questions, learn about their lessons, projects, and ideas. Twitter could also be used in other professions for people to collaborate and connect their ideas. Another aspect of the Social Web which the chapter focused on is Social Bookmarking Services. Through, EDU331 I have gotten personal experience with social bookmarking. I think social bookmarking is great way to keep places I've found on the web organized. I can save any website that could ever be helpful to me and be able to find it within seconds. And, just as importantly, I can share these resources with anyone else who may be interested. In turn, I can use other people's bookmarks to find recourse which might help me.

In the last decade the web and the use of the web has expanded tremendously. It has now become a part of almost everybody's lives. I think this is an important thing to keep in mind when teaching. Students probably be will be using the Internet no matter what, and most of them will probably be using it to connect socially. I think it is important to teach students that the social web can actually be a place where they can learn.

Exit Slip: 10/7/10

All I learned today was that Professor Boyer is older than Professor Buchanan...hahaha!

Okay, just kidding....we started off class with the student led discussion on Chapter 4: The Developments of the American School System. We did an activity which I thought was helpful because it took different aspects of schooling and we thought of negatives and changes that could be made. I liked the negatives and changes that could be made activity because it encouraged deeper thinking. For instance, tests are sometimes negative because some students are just bad at taking them because they get nervous or feel pressured. A change that could be made is alternative assessments. Students' knowledge can be tested by journals, projects, or essays, not just tests. The most important thing I took out of the discussion debrief, was to remember that sometimes we have to redirect our peers. Next, we talked about iRLOs. We learned about what an iRLO is and how to design one using Scratch. Like the IWB, I think it'll take me a bit to get used to the software but I once I get the hang of it I will have fun creating my iRLO. Somethings I'm already thinking about is what the content of my iRLO will be, and how I will introduce the content to to students.

Ch. 4: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology

Reflection of Chapter 4: The Development of American Schooling

Before reading this chapter I hadn't given too much thought into the development of American schooling. All I really knew was that it has come a long way. I learned that American schooling began with apprenticeships. Basically, children were taught what they needed to know (or what their parents thought they needed to know) by family or friends. For example, if the family owned a business, children would learn things to keep the business running. If the family owned a farm, children would learn things to keep the farm successful.  Until finally the Universal Schooling movement when education shifted from family and friends to the state. Children could now go to school and learn specific subjects such as reading and writing. It was no longer the task of parents to educate their children, but tasks of teachers. The section universal schooling movement in the chapter reinforced my thoughts that school is something we should be grateful for. As a future educator, I think schools should be positive places. Too often students forget how important school is, and that it is something to be grateful for.

 Also, America has gone through a cycle of revolutions which shaped the American education system into what it is today. Currently, we are undergoing a technology revolution. Therefore, our society is changing and we need to prepare students for their future in a world in which technology is everywhere. I hope to incorporate technology into my future classrooms, even in early grades, so that students are better prepared for their future in our society.

Chapter 5: Blogs, Wikis, & Podcasts

Reflection of Chapter 5:

Before reading Chapter 5: RSS: The new Killer App for Educators I didn't have the slightest clue what an "RSS" was. I soon learned that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Here's my definition of an RSS: A place you can go on the web to get information from a bunch of different websites all in one place. Basically, instead of clicking through dozens of sites to get the information I'm looking for I can create my own RSS and have the all the content I need in once place. To quote the book RSS's allow you to "read more content from more sources in less time." Also, the websites on my RSS are all websites I will subscribe to so they should all be sites I'm interested in; NO SPAM! As always on the web though, I would have to evaluate the websites I choose to put on my RSS before I put them there. And, as we know, evaluating websites can be tricky. Still, I thought the RSS seemed pretty convenient. At first, I thought setting up an RSS sounded pretty complicated with the "aggregator" and what not but I think once I'd actually do it, it wouldn't be very difficult and would be worth my time. Another feature of an RSS is that it can let you know when someone publishes something with a certain keyword in it. This could be beneficial because someone could post a new story on the web about a topic I'm interested in and I'd be able to easily find it. I did think that this could kind of contradict the whole no spam aspect of the RSS though because a website that has keyword with a topic im interested in might also have a lot of spam. As a future educator, I learned that I could use an RSS to keep track of my students' blogs. I thought this was a great idea because, like the wiki, I could keep all my students' blogs in one place where I can quickly access them.

So now that I know how to use an RSS, how can my students benefit from an RSS? Students could use an RSS for research. For instance, if a student is researching kangaroos the student could create an RSS that would bring any information about kangaroos to their RSS right when its published. This way, they're getting more sources for their research without actually doing any work. I found this both good and bad. The good thing is that students can get more information faster. The bad thing is, I think students need to learn how to do research themselves, both on the web and off the web. All in all, the RSS has advantages and disadvantages, like any technology. I think an RSS is a can be great tool for middle school or high school students but as an early childhood education major, my students won't be using one!

Chapter 4: Blogs, Wikis, & Podcasts

Reflection of Chapter 4:

Chapter 4, Wikis: Easy Collaboration for All, was all about wikis and different ways they can be used in the classroom. One interesting fact I took out of the beginning of the chapter was what the word "wiki" actually means. I always knew that wikipedia is basically an online encyclopedia but I never really thought about what the wiki part of wikipedia actually means. As it turns out, the word wiki comes from the Hawaiian phrase "wiki-wiki" which means quick. Well, this makes sense since wikis can be a quick and easy tool to use. The chapter goes on about several different ways wikis can be used in the classroom. One way wikis can be used by students is for research. Just like using any website for research, this can be both good and bad. With wikis, anybody can post so students have to keep in mind that not all information is reliable. Just like evaluating websites, wikis need to be evaluated when being used for research. For this reason I think students should use wikis with caution when researching. Perhaps, using a wiki might be a good place to start research and get some ideas, but the research needs to go farther. On the other hand, I found some other great ways to use wikis in the classroom throughout chapter 4. One example in the book I liked was a classroom that used a wiki for science class to share results of experiments. I think this is a good idea because this way students are just one click away from the results all the others students got. I think another effective way to use a wiki is for classroom organization (like in EDU 331). As far as organization goes, Wikis can be used to share links to other websites or classroom blogs.

As an early childhood education major I probably won't be using wikis with my students. I could, however, set up a wiki to share links to homework, activities, and blogs, with parents. On the other hand, if I ever decide to teach higher levels I think using wikis in the classroom is an effective way to keep information organized and easy to reach for all the students in the class.