Blogging...

As many of my peers, I was aware blogging existed and what it was before this class. However, it never really appealed to me. I do enjoy reading some other blogs- for example the popular perezhilton.com, but mostly because I enjoy celebrity news and gossip and it's quicker to get on Perez's blog than it is to wait for the new issue of People to come out every week (not to mention cheaper.) Apart from that, right now, I don't see a use for blogging, personally. There is a good chance I will use it in my classroom in some form, although I'm not sure exactly how yet (especially since I'll hopefully be with younger elementary-age kids). It is a tool worth keeping in the back of my mind though, much like many of the tools I've learned about in EDT400. What I HAVE learned though, is how to use the blogging tool on google to quickly search for other education blogs. I've done that a few times and have found a lot of really cool blogs maintained by teachers around the country which is a different way to see what's going on in other schools and how the teachers personally feel about it. I learned how extensive blogs can be and the uses they serve which has made me more informed and will help me be able to more easily find out about education-related subjects, whether they be from a personal account or a professional one.

21st Century Learners

Marc Prensky wrote a great article, The 21st-Century Digital Learner, focusing on how schools would be more successful in educating their students if they'd try to listen to what the students want, how they feel about how they're being taught, and maybe how they'd rather be taught. Prensky compared how we treat children in schools to women's suffrage, which I have to agree with. America used to deny women the right to vote and be equal to men in the workforce. We're doing the same with our kids now, paying little to no attention to how they feel or what they think and going along with our day-to-day teaching routines, many of which kids feel bored with. The key here is to engage students so they WANT to learn, are excited to learn, and feel more apt to participate and involve themselves. Instead of assuming that kids- because they're kids- don't know what they need, we should try asking. It doesn't mean we have to go with everything they say, but I feel that educators would be surprised as to some of the insight that their students have when it comes to how they want to learn the material they're being given. I'm sure going to.

http://www.edutopia.org/ikid-digital-learner-technology-2008

Top 100 Tools for Learning

The Top 100 Tools for Learning (http://www.c4lpt.co.uk/recommended/index.html), a list compiled by educators worldwide, I found to be pretty interesting while scrolling through. Along with the standings for 2009, they also list the tools' standing in 2007 and 2008 which was the first thing I noticed and neat to see how some tools have advanced or receded through the list. Another thing I found interesting about the list was how many highly rated tools- even in the top 20- I'd never heard of before taking this class (Moodle, Delicious, Google Reader/Docs, Audacity, Voicethread..) and some not at all (Slideshare, Ning, Jing..). The list was compiled by close to 300 learning professionals, showing that these advanced media tools ARE being implemented and that teachers ARE taking strides to bring technology into their lessons and better prepare their students, which is encouraging.

The Issue of 'Netiquette'

as our world is becoming more technologically involved,it's important to consider how we behave socially on the world wide web. the term 'netiquette' has been coined to denote good behavior on the internet. personally, i feel as though this term, and its meaning, are very important!! i've sent plenty of e-mails, IMs, and text messages in haste, and anger, without properly reviewing how they would come off and almost always regretting it. now, if i were smart, at the time, i would have known to step back and take a breather before sending these emotionally-charged memos. not only for social communication, netiquette is really important for both the business and educational world. kids growing up now have plenty of fluidity when it comes to accessing and using the internet but can still and should benefit from tips on how to stay precise, neutral and friendly on the net. http://www.edutopia.org/netiquette-guidelines is a great list of netiquette examples that should be followed and will be beneficial to anyone no matter what the age or familiarity with the internet!

Technology Penalty...

There definitely a few hindering aspects to technology. For me, carrying around my laptop all day on campus can be a penalty because of how heavy it is along with all my other books, yet I can't get work done for a lot of my classes without it. That's the other thing- when my computer crashed weeks ago, I found myself completely lost when it came to school. Between this class, where all the assignments are listed and responses posted online, and my other three classes- all writing intensive, I found myself completely helpless when it came to getting anything done. Also, my cellphone. I depend on it for everything and if it dies I may as well, too. I text and call people all day long to stay connected, from friends to family, and can't even imagine how people got along before them!

Now, to at least help myself a bit, I try and keep my assignments written out by hand, so if all else fails I can at least do what I can to get tasks done without my laptop if I need to.

Interesting blog...

Using the Google blog tool I came upon a blog by Beth Lewis, who has been in the teaching world for more than 10 years. She also holds a degree in Sociology which is a degree that can be beneficial in understanding why kids do what they do. Anyway, the reason I find her blog so interesting to read is not only the range of subjects she covers but that she uses it as a tool to communicate and get feedback on her thoughts and feelings concerning educational issues. As I quote from her biography; "I became a teacher in order to make a difference in children's lives. On those days when the job feels exceptionally challenging or even overwhelming, I turn to the community here for support and encouragement from other educators who have helpful solutions to offer."

What she writes about is interesting, and it's easy to communicate and learn from others' comments (even with an entire section on 'teaching with technology'!) I encourage you all to check it out, if even briefly..

http://k6educators.about.com/b/

edt400.. so far

Going into this class, I expected the curriculum to be a lot different than what it's turned out to be. It's ended up being a lot more interesting than I thought it would- as the class title makes it seem mundane and pretty awful for a 3 hour class. In hindsight, I really had never thought about how much technology is a part of schools and quickly becoming a huge aspect in students' learning today. From preschool to college, there are some forms of technology being used, and teachers need to adapt to this. Also, because technology all over the world is becoming the basis of many business transactions and businesses themselves (internet based businesses, etc), it's an interesting concept to entertain that the kids we'll be educating in schools we very well maybe be preparing for jobs that haven't even been invented yet. That concept, at least to me, is pretty mind-boggling to think about. Technology is becoming so intertwined with practically everything we do now, that in as little as a few years there is the possibility of dozens of jobs available to those that are tech-savvy that absolutely do not exist today. How to prepare kids for what doesn't exist sure seems like a daunting task.. I guess we'll just have to see how this pans out as it pans out!