Read/Write Web

The next article I read in the same periodicle was "The Educator's Guide to the Read/Write Web," this article is completely useful. It provided the basic information on what blogs, wikis, and podcasts are as well as what RSS is. The general emphasis was that through these mediums the web is no longer a source to read text, but also an interactive arena for people communicate and collaborate in their own words. With this comes a new responcibilities that we need to teach as educators or "guiders."

Ideas Presented in the Article Were:

1. A Change in Literacy- we have to decode new forms of images and text to be literate now. Journalism, politics, business, and society all have new forms of media and publishing.
2. Publishing Venues- this is great as teachers. We are able to connect easier to our students, and to our colleagues as well.
3. RSS (Really Simple Syndication)-Sounds amazing, but I have not yet harnessed how this one works. However, sounds like its possibilities are extraordinary.
4. Student/ Teacher Learning- both parties can learn to navigate the complexities of the many issues presented with technology. Not only the technical aspects, but also the critical reader/ thinker aspects when navigating sources. This challenges both pedagogy and methodology.
5. Social Networking- I'm not sure what else is there to say. Access to broader communication seems almost limitless, and I think imagination can greatly work in our favor.

This article gets me excited for current and future networking. I think that the incentive of publishing is good for students, and encourages them to do better work. It seems that working with read/ write web by nature encourages curiosity and creativity. I'm curious to see what sort of venues will develop for education specific workshops.

Digital Natives

I have been busy reading the magazine Educational Leadership from Dec. 2005-January 2006. The first article "Listen to the Natives" is referring to our students as being digital natives, fluent in the language of technology. The article continues to discuss the role students are currently playing in the classrooms as being irrelevant to our society and the society that they are about to take roles in. The idea is stated that all students are programmers, and have the ability to work together through medias that were never possible previously. Now these medias that are a common tool in the students lives needs to be reflected in the classroom, and the classroom needs to be reflective of the changing world.

Other issues mentioned in the article are:

• Teacher Selection- needing to be more empathy and guidance based not just knowledgeable individuals
• Students as Teachers- Allowing students to share their knowledge and experience in a valuable manner. After all, they are the creators of the language and methodologies.
• Instruction and curriculum as being adaptive- and thus more effective.
• 21st century subjects need to be discussed and taught- i.e. bioethics, genetic medicine, and neuroscience
• Programming is a basic tool- needs to Incorporated and practiced.

Overall, I think that the majority of the ideas discussed in this article are fantastic because they give power to the students' abilities, knowledge, and impact. However, it is gray what role adults play as instructors. I do feel that as adults we need to both provide and teach responsibility and boundaries. I'm completely on board with incorporating students as teachers, and feel as teachers we need to provide a venue for such instruction, and be learners ourselves. I think we should provide students with choices, and guide them on how to make decisions. In order to successfully have skills, boundaries, awareness, and student-driven curriculum we need to re-define the teacher-student relationship as a culture.

The YouTube Expierience.

Okay, I finally did it...I loaded my philosophy of education up to YouTube. You can see it by clicking here. It was an amazing experience learning how to use iMovie, and how to critique media projects. For most of my generation and the ones before me, this use of technology does not come naturally. However, this media seems truly accessible for almost anyone, and for our students it is a completely integrated part of their landscape and knowledge. My favorite part of the iMovie/YouTube project was becoming aware of the reflective, introspective, and conscience aspects of presenting yourself through a technological medium. It is useful for all learners and for communication.

Energy Presentation Review

Mid-November we were given the assignment to research the outcome to making one small environmental change in our homes. We were told to start small, and see how big an impact it would make in our energy use and our wallets over a years time.
I decided to see what might happen if I limited my dryer use and air dried more laundry. To see my power point presentation click here. Next, I was filmed presenting the power point to the class, after I watched my presentation I came up with 3 main things to improve upon with my presenting.

1. First and foremost, do not just read your slides verbatim! I need to provide verbal examples and just highlight the main idea on the slide.
   
2. Face the audience, and don't face the slide screen. Although I get nervous, I need to be more conscience of body language.
3. Last, I need to remember to pause between slides a little longer, and invite questions throughout the presentation.
   

Techno Anthro Project

At the beginning of the year a few classmates and I went through the high school to see what sort of technological environment JDHS provided for its' students. You may view the full document by clicking here. In summary, our school has a sufficient technological philosophy with a variety of computer labs and multi-media available. However, it would be to the benefit of the students if there was a minor course in media literacy. Also, I would love to take advantage of any professional development opportunities available for staff to increase their technological capabilities.

Testing google docs

This is a test to see whether I can access a document on google docs

Immersed in a deep ocean of technology (Gulp)

The question is..."Given that we are immersed in technology, how do we "see" it in order to evaluate its utility and impacts?"

In order to answer this question I have to remove the term "see" and replace it with "navigate." It seems that we don't always have a clear sunny day around us to look off into the distance and "see" what is out there and forthcoming in the fast paced world of technology. Instead, like a day out on the water we have to prepare for what we can account for and use our own wits and senses to navigate what lies ahead. My suggestions:

• Bring back up navigation-like a compass, cross-checking your resources and information is always a good idea no matter what the source.
• Bring a friend- the buddy system helps with accountability in addition to providing more thought, creativity, and knowledge.
• Layer, layer, layer- like southeast Alaska the technology environment can be fairly unpredictable. Make sure to learn and include a variety of types of technology, and when to use them appropriately. Use a video as an element to your power point presentation or show your students how to digitally archive their schoolwork.
  

Mantra for Technology

I had a hard time finding a mantra that would captivate the many sides and purposes of technology. I think "creativity and responsibility" works well.

Handheld Computers in School

I had an epiphany today in class regarding this exact topic. We were in the computer lab researching for an activity when a student pulled out what I think is called an iTouch. It's an iPod meets iPhone gadget with amazing clarity and easy to perform touch screen. Not only did the student have an extensive collection of music, he had easy access to the internet as if it were a laptop not just a handheld internet phone. It was amazing! Then I thought to myself, how many students have access to these types of gadgets? How much time do they spend attached to their handheld devices (I just realized that "handheld" has become its own word)? For 25 years old, sometimes I feel a little archaic. In any case, like most technology, it has the potential to be an amazing resource. It has also acquired the role of being an essential part of understanding and functioning in our current society. I see this as being a great opportunity to be able to spend more individual attention to students on IEPs or just need more time to take notes. i.e. just use bluetooth technology to send a copy of the notes to the student or instant feedback from anywhere. However, if I thought cell phones and texting were a major distraction...the sky is the limit with these new devices.

Is Technology pushing new literacy??

The answer is yes, absolutely. However, it raises a wave of new questions and attaches new values to old practices. One example we used in class is GarageBand, a computer program that comes standard with most mac computers. Upon exploration of this program, I realized it lets people play instruments who don't know how to physically play an instrument. Music thus becomes accessible to far larger portion of the population. Compositions can be created by ear and with a variety of instruments. It is truly amazing, and has the possibility to be a great resource for students, especially for those in rural environments and little access to music teachers and instruments. Although, it does seem that it would be necessary to create a new genre for music composed in this matter. In addition, as a colleague of mine pointed out, "what about performance art?" What about the discipline it requires to learn an instrument? While I think these concerns and questions are valid, I think it is valuable to students to have access to the exposure and exploration of music. It seems to me that for students, learning to "read" and internalize new forms of media only broadens the possibilities for beneficial outlets of communication.

Cool Hunting

Cool hunting, the process of marketing to teenagers. It reinforces the fact that 20% of the masses dictate what the other 80% are prone to do. It's an interesting process...finding and hunting down the select teenagers that are forward in their thinking and personify a specific image of what is "cool." It doesn't surprise me that the methods of the marketers is so focused and brings such big bucks, but what does surprise are the methods of the researchers that the marketers contract.

Storytelling with technology

Interesting class today on the topic of the characteristics and development of a story. It had really been a while since I thought about the fundamental aspects of a story, and appreciated how important they are both to implement and teach.

School Train

Does school train accomplish the goal of students understanding metaphor?

Well, it is provocative. I would assess projects such as this by the effort, thoughtfulness, organization, knowledge of medium, coherency, and ultimately the statement made by the media. I would give this project a high score because I feel it fulfills the criteria. In addition, students not only understand metaphor, they understand:

• Visual essay
• Music and media
• The role of self in expression
• Team collaboration
• Power of production and publishing

All of which is relevant to the world the students live and participate in.

Fox As A Better Person-Hannah

I am so impressed about the multi-media presentation seen from Schgen George’s class. The form of communication is not only fast, easy, and affordable, it allows a venue for people to present something larger than text on paper. Short films such as this allow a medium for the students to present themselves, their own story, while producing a concrete product that they have complete ownership over. I want to express how revolutionary I feel this type of work is, but it's not, and it really won't be in a month.

• Creativity and Expressiveness redefining communication
• Teaching kids unbounded levels of mobility
• Letting the students teach us about their realities
  

Day one

First day as a blogger...weird