This Is How We Dream
Ummmm.... What? I'm sorry, I have listened to this video about 4 times now, and I still don't think I have captured what he is trying to talk about. I really can't pick out what he is trying to say or what his goal was speaking about. I don't think I am the right person to summarize or even discuss what he was speaking about. I heard him talking about bots that surf the net for similar information, and saw him playing with some software looking to merge science with humanities in making a green building. However, other than that, I seriously haven't the slightest clue what I was supposed to take from that. If you have an idea of what it was about, please, PLEASE enlighten me.
The Networked Students
I seriously loved this video. It was extremely creative, the message was very clear and the video was fun to watch. If this was presented to children, if their attention spans are high enough, it could be a great tool to show them how helpful a network is from a very young age. The social web was probably the best part about the whole video. It started with one person who was interested in something, which connected him to other people with the same interests and buildings/organizations with the same interests. Very intriguing!
The best part about networks is that when you are connected to someone based on a common interest, you may gain interest in something else that the other person is interested in. For instance, say you were connected to someone because you enjoy a certain kind of literature, if they start reading something else, but completely unrelated to your usual discussion, and would never pick up to read on your own, their interest in it may make you consider it and read it and enjoy it! That in turn will grant you access to an entirely new network of interest, connecting you to a completely new set of people with all new interests. Now, imagine if this is based on a network you start at a very young age. That small flake of snow, could grow into a HUGE blizzard by the time they hit college!
New Media Literacies
That was a very interesting video. It was very short, yet it got its message across. Media literacy seems to be a very complex idea. It's all about taking what you have in internet, social networking, cellular technology, and television and using them to your advantage wisely. The video listed many skills that will be the new norms for media literacy, such as: judgment, negotiation, play, simulation, visualization, and multi-tasking, just to list a few of them.
What do I think of them?
I think they are brilliant and absolutely right. These traits will easily be what the workers of the future will have to have to be successful.
Will these skills be effective in the real world?
Absolutely. Again, the traits listed will be what workers will have to have to be successful. For instance, multi-tasking will be important as people will want a person who can do more in less time. "Oh so you can type 80 words a minute? Well this guy can type 70 words a minute, while making supply orders for the office, and filing all of the office's case files." Guess who is getting the job.
Do I have any of these traits?
Most. I have a very playful and creative mind. I am a great speaker for negotiating, I can multi-task with the best of them, I have great judgment, and my performance is pretty amazing as well. I have more, but I really can't think of a way to speak about them without sounding like I'm bragging about myself.
I have the skills, and the drive to do well in the world. I just have to find a goal for it to lead me to. Any skills that I lack, I usually find a way to achieve it, or I have a connection that can get it done for me. Either way, in my hands, it will get done. The potential is there, but the catalyst to start the reaction has not been found yet.
Shifting from Kids to Teachers
After commenting on peers and students for the past several weeks, seeing what the teachers post is COMPLETELY different. When commenting for Noah, he had a single picture of this ridiculously psychotic vehicle that will go from 0-600 (not 60, 600) in a minute. Not the most traffic friendly vehicle I have seen, but it's existence is impressive. However, Teachernz has rows among rows of pictures and videos of the things they do with and for their students and class trips and I think I even saw one with a personal trip. Regardless, even the content of the blogs were different. Not to say that I expected them to be similar given the age and education difference, but I guess the amount of information that was posted was a huge change. I suppose it wasn't that there was more than the child's post that surprised me, it was how much more that threw me for a loop. However, I must say, the instructor's was more interesting with a lot more to do. I wonder if Noah will blog that well one day.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
My PLN
For the past several weeks, I kept hearing Dr. Strange talk about PLNs. To be quite honest, I had NO idea what he was talking about until last week. Thank goodness I found out sooner than later. It's just a large networking web that connects you to a ton of other people to learn new stuff.
The target behind this particular PLN was education. At this point, my PLN consists only of instructors. However, there are many of those who tie me to other instructors who I have at least e-mailed if I don't know them personally at all. I have instructors who I am tied to on Facebook locally, however, my less local links, mainly from Houston, TX, I stay in contact with through e-mail. The instructors that I have networked with do not use Twitter unfortunately. However, I am not done with my networking yet.
The target behind this particular PLN was education. At this point, my PLN consists only of instructors. However, there are many of those who tie me to other instructors who I have at least e-mailed if I don't know them personally at all. I have instructors who I am tied to on Facebook locally, however, my less local links, mainly from Houston, TX, I stay in contact with through e-mail. The instructors that I have networked with do not use Twitter unfortunately. However, I am not done with my networking yet.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
February 21, 2010
Dr. Alice Christie's Web Design Resources for Educators
I took a look at Dr. Christie's Web Design Page and found it to be quite interesting. It made me take interest in school websites, so I took a look at the website for my old high school, Theodore High. I discovered my old site to be highly obsolete and lacking on updates as though whoever designed the site updates it once a month and calls it a day. I even found the navigation to be a pain, which was one of the two criteria that Dr. Christie claims makes an excellent school website.
Thanks to Dr. Christie's guide I can probably use this to maintain a decent website for students and, if it's good enough, possibly even the school website. Make it easier to navigate, relevant to what people want to know, and entertaining to be at. I can also use it to make sure I don't step on any copyright issues that I never seem to realize I've crossed until it is too late... Which is bad...
iTunes U
Just the idea of iTunes U is quite amazing. The fact that you can give lectures as podcasts, with the ability for it to be able to download from anywhere you have access to iTunes. That means that I can hear anything my teacher has to say from anywhere I have signal from my iPhone!
I learned more about iTunes U from watching the video:
First of all, it's absolutely brilliant how they thought this through. They take what seems to be just a norm that every college student just happens to have an iPod of some sort, and they create an entire podcast genre based solely around college students in an attempt to continue their education by use of a product pretty much every student has. I used to think that iTunes U was nothing more than a digital text book for whatever subject you wanted, but this has made me realize that this is so much more than that. It's also a networking system in itself that helps every student who subscribes and listens to it, can be completely up to date with the news current events of their school. Does South Alabama have an iTunes U Channel?
iPods in Instruction
In 2001, Apple created the iPod which started off as nothing more than a fancy mp3 player. However, 9 years later, it has become a device that is a part of everyday life. Aside from providing background music for your morning work out or your quiet day at work and an amusing video game player, it can now provide people with class lectures, life philosophies, and even recipes for dinner that night!
In August 2004, Duke University tried an experiment with the Fall Freshman class and provided each of them with a 20 GB iPod and a Belkin voice recording device. They evaluated exactly how often these iPods were used and for what purpose. About 60% were recorded using them for academic purposes, showing that the iPod's conventional uses, i.e. music and movies, are becoming more and more about it's less conventional features, such as podcasts and lectures.
Though music shall forever remain the main function of the iPod, as time progresses, having it solely for that purpose will become less likely. Since their primary target audience are college level students, the more academic features that will be developed over time will more than likely become the new primary function of the iPod.
I took a look at Dr. Christie's Web Design Page and found it to be quite interesting. It made me take interest in school websites, so I took a look at the website for my old high school, Theodore High. I discovered my old site to be highly obsolete and lacking on updates as though whoever designed the site updates it once a month and calls it a day. I even found the navigation to be a pain, which was one of the two criteria that Dr. Christie claims makes an excellent school website.
Thanks to Dr. Christie's guide I can probably use this to maintain a decent website for students and, if it's good enough, possibly even the school website. Make it easier to navigate, relevant to what people want to know, and entertaining to be at. I can also use it to make sure I don't step on any copyright issues that I never seem to realize I've crossed until it is too late... Which is bad...
iTunes U
Just the idea of iTunes U is quite amazing. The fact that you can give lectures as podcasts, with the ability for it to be able to download from anywhere you have access to iTunes. That means that I can hear anything my teacher has to say from anywhere I have signal from my iPhone!
I learned more about iTunes U from watching the video:
First of all, it's absolutely brilliant how they thought this through. They take what seems to be just a norm that every college student just happens to have an iPod of some sort, and they create an entire podcast genre based solely around college students in an attempt to continue their education by use of a product pretty much every student has. I used to think that iTunes U was nothing more than a digital text book for whatever subject you wanted, but this has made me realize that this is so much more than that. It's also a networking system in itself that helps every student who subscribes and listens to it, can be completely up to date with the news current events of their school. Does South Alabama have an iTunes U Channel?
iPods in Instruction
In 2001, Apple created the iPod which started off as nothing more than a fancy mp3 player. However, 9 years later, it has become a device that is a part of everyday life. Aside from providing background music for your morning work out or your quiet day at work and an amusing video game player, it can now provide people with class lectures, life philosophies, and even recipes for dinner that night!
In August 2004, Duke University tried an experiment with the Fall Freshman class and provided each of them with a 20 GB iPod and a Belkin voice recording device. They evaluated exactly how often these iPods were used and for what purpose. About 60% were recorded using them for academic purposes, showing that the iPod's conventional uses, i.e. music and movies, are becoming more and more about it's less conventional features, such as podcasts and lectures.
Though music shall forever remain the main function of the iPod, as time progresses, having it solely for that purpose will become less likely. Since their primary target audience are college level students, the more academic features that will be developed over time will more than likely become the new primary function of the iPod.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
February 14, 2010 (Happy Valentine's Day/Joe Cain Day/Lunar New Year!!)
Who's Editing WikiPedia?
I don't know if WikiPedia will ever be a trusted source of information. As long as it remains freely editable, you can never be sure if the data you are collecting are facts or the immature prank of some jerk somewhere on the other side of the planet or just a random individual that just thinks that they are right and are spreading poor and incorrect information.
The only way that I can think of that will make WikiPedia trustworthy is by possibly having only a single person or certain individuals who know EXACTLY what they are talking about. Like the members involved in the organization or group that is being talked about or the individual should be the one giving their own biography, as there could be information that can be misconstrued or incorrect coming from a source that doesn't seem to know what they are talking about.
What I've Learned This Year
This post described tips left by one Mr. McClung based on personal experiences he went through during his first year of teaching. First, he learned how to read a crowd, which taught him that he had to work his lessons around his students as opposed to deriving his lessons solely around the curriculum. Second, he learned that "My Way or the Highway" was a VERY poor way to teach, and that he has to make sure that the students have to understand what's going on in order for him to be able to say that he is a teacher. Also, communication is key. This is a tactic he found to be more than just a tool for students, but also his fellow instructors. Being able to speak is a great way to build relationships and fix relationships. He listed many more, but I want to skip straight to the last, and what I feel to be the most important tip, Never stop learning. He says that instructors put all of the pressure onto students to try to bring them up to their standards, instead of realizing that these students are struggling and helping them. Instructors need to stop saying "do this do that" and "why can't you do this and why don't you understand that", and they need to teach themselves new ways to be able to reach them. That's the new way to teach.
I don't know if WikiPedia will ever be a trusted source of information. As long as it remains freely editable, you can never be sure if the data you are collecting are facts or the immature prank of some jerk somewhere on the other side of the planet or just a random individual that just thinks that they are right and are spreading poor and incorrect information.
The only way that I can think of that will make WikiPedia trustworthy is by possibly having only a single person or certain individuals who know EXACTLY what they are talking about. Like the members involved in the organization or group that is being talked about or the individual should be the one giving their own biography, as there could be information that can be misconstrued or incorrect coming from a source that doesn't seem to know what they are talking about.
What I've Learned This Year
This post described tips left by one Mr. McClung based on personal experiences he went through during his first year of teaching. First, he learned how to read a crowd, which taught him that he had to work his lessons around his students as opposed to deriving his lessons solely around the curriculum. Second, he learned that "My Way or the Highway" was a VERY poor way to teach, and that he has to make sure that the students have to understand what's going on in order for him to be able to say that he is a teacher. Also, communication is key. This is a tactic he found to be more than just a tool for students, but also his fellow instructors. Being able to speak is a great way to build relationships and fix relationships. He listed many more, but I want to skip straight to the last, and what I feel to be the most important tip, Never stop learning. He says that instructors put all of the pressure onto students to try to bring them up to their standards, instead of realizing that these students are struggling and helping them. Instructors need to stop saying "do this do that" and "why can't you do this and why don't you understand that", and they need to teach themselves new ways to be able to reach them. That's the new way to teach.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
The Skillz that Killz!
In Langwitches' Blog "It's not about the tools. It's about the skill." The author is absolutely right. It's not about the applications, it's about how to use them. Simply put but wisely stated. It's amazing how many people still get confused by the simple word "Podcast." That one word can cause so much confusion, it's sad. These people don't realize what they are missing out on when they don't care to learn more about podcasts. I mean, it's more than just a place to listen to people voice their opinions, they can also enlighten and teach! They really are pretty awesome, and the sooner other people understand that, the sooner they can start reaping the benefits of them.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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