Class Review
Now that it is all said and done…I’m going to tell you how I REALLY feel….haha.
When this class first started I had no idea how any professor could fill up an entire semester with technology. Ransom has proved me wrong. I have learned things I never even knew existed and I approached things that I have always avoided simply because I have had so much going on in my life that trying to learn something new would send me over the edge. My main example being pod casts. I have i-tunes and was given a Nano as soon as they hit the shelves back in the day…I was hip…now I’m outdated…and I’m 23…so, for all of you older students….it takes effort from everyone to stay up to date. I avoided pod casts on my i-tunes because I figured it was just some extra that I do not really need…now, because of this class, I have a tool I never knew I had for my future classroom.
There are some things that I am still nervous about, but, now have the tools to give to my students to make sure disaster doesn’t strike my classroom. It sounds stupid, I know, but my biggest “DUHH” moment came when Ransom said, “Give them the resources they need, educate them.” This blew my mind because I was so caught up with, “How am I going to catch this stuff? What do I do when I catch them? What if I over look something?” It never occurred to me to provide them with materials…this made me feel really dumb and unprepared. But, it also made me feel better about preparing my students. I feel that is the overall theme I gathered from this class for me…preparation.
When I say “preparation” I don’t just mean for a unit test, next class, or the state tests, but for life. Technology is unavoidable and is constatnly changing. The longer I avoid it the worse off I will be with my students. If I can take something they are passionate about and find a way to incorporated it into my lesson then I not only have their attention, but, I am teaching the content they need to know. Also, technology is all over the place. The more exposed my students are to it, the better off they will be after high school when they go to college or enter the work force. I do not want them to end up like me…not learning what blogging is until my final semester at Geneseo…with my peers staring at me like I lived under a rock. Rocks are bad…and I am happy that this class brought me out from under mine and made me more open to technology and working it into my classroom.
16 of 18
When it comes to Thursday’s class the one thing that really stuck in my mind was Disney and how we need to pay $25.00 rights in order to show a movie we already purchased to a large group. I am pretty sure that every single summer camp I attended when I was younger showed Disney movies on rainy days and I am pretty sure the the summer camp I work at today does not pay $25.00 when we bring in movies to watch. It is interesting all of the details in the fine print. Now, I know the likely hood of anyone really suing anyone is slim…but- one can’t be too careful today. If Disney ever went around and collected from everyone who has every broken this law…summer camps around the world would be bankrupt and Disney would have enough money to build and employ a whole new park…
Also, the video at the end of the Power Point was neat simply because Disney is so creative to start, but to take those movies and twist them into a “tale” on copyrights on a business who has the most ridiculous fine print ever. Either way, I still love the movies and I love the one we watched in class (I watched Beauty and the Beast today-it touched me that much).
Anyways, I do believe that it is important to understand the copyright laws as a teacher because if we are not teaching our students properly then they’ll never learn until they are caught. Thinking back I do not think I ever had a teacher say, “Did you ask permission to use this?” “You may want to be careful about copyrights here.” But, if I ever some multi-media project I did on-line…I think I would be in trouble. Can we be in violation when we embed a video from You-tube? Or are they giving away rights as soon as they post them on line? Now, I feel like I should never touch anything….I can only use things that are on the sight Ransom showed in class…this is the sad thing about learning and growing up…you start to be held responsible….
15 of 18
The world of cheating has come a long way since technology has advanced. I remember when writing notes on the computer and shrinking the font was the most high-tech way to cheat. Now. you can stick your flash drive in a Chap stick so it blends in as you type. I amazes me the ideas students (of all ages) have in order to try and be successful. My father told me of a time when he had cheated and wrote a little cheat sheet. When the test was done he shoved the paper in the heat vent (this was back in the 60’s at a Catholic school…he was about 12). Anyways, he turned in his test and all was well….until the heat kicked on and the cheat sheet blew up into the air and on to the nun’s desk right in front of her. Needless to say, he was in big trouble. But, as teachers we seem to expect “cheat sheets” to be the only form of cheating…besides looking on another classmates paper. It wasn’t until class that I learned HOW advanced this “art” had become.
I was really blown away by the telephone number you could call, ask a question and they’ll text you the answer. My first thought was that involved parents should be all over that because they get the phone bill and they’re will be these extra charges…however, a parent won’t know if the student called for a test answer, or for a genuine question…As for i-pod…I know the technology is different, but, burned Cd’s were the same thing…students did it all the time in high school with their CD players….burning the content on to their CD and labeling it as if it were music and the teacher would let them listen during a test.
It takes so much to come up with these cheating ideas and a lot in order to execute them successfully… I guess studying really is that tough….
14 of 18
Well, this is the most complicated group project I think that we have done so far. I do like the idea behind it thought because, to me, it seems like something you can hold on to and use year after year. For example, our Power Point is a review of William Shakespeare’s, Romeo & Juliet and it could be a tool that I use every year to help the students freshen up before an exam. Now, since every class is different there may need to be adaptations here and there so that the Power Point is personal for each class. However, I feel like once the backbone of a project like this is completed it will be easier to go back and make changes later.
As for the Pod Cast- I’m a littler nervous. I am not too sure how I feel about the whole thing yet simply because it can be distracting with all of the bells and whistles we saw in class. However, I think that as long as the students have a strong grasp on the content, then creating something like this can only help. Nevertheless, they need to understand the material before any kind of complicated (seems complicated to me) technology can work. Now, I understand that students today are more computer literate than me, however, creating something like this takes time, and I see so many teacher today struggling to get through the curriculum and rarely have time to enjoy activities like these…
I lost count…
When it comes to pod casts…I have to say I may be a fan. I was always a fan of books on tape and when I was driving and hour and a half to Geneseo three day a week one of my professors gave me a few books we were reading on CD and I thought it was the great. Half the time when I was driving I was just trying to get there so I could do work. When he gave me those tapes I was able to pop in the CD and pick up where I left off on my drive. I wanted to do the same for my other English classes but I was unable to to find any of the books (and if I did they were out of my budget). Nevertheless, I do own an i-pod…I have had an i-pod for three years…I never thought to put a book on it…now I’m kicking myself for not thinking about it.
I made the mistake of getting the nano when it first came out (It only has 2GB) and now I want a bigger on…but can’t justify spending the money on it…yet. I like to read a lot and would love to be able to load a chapter of a book onto my i-pod and drive (My commute to work and school is about 40 minutes…30 the way I drive). But, having the book on my i-pod would save me from digging around my Cd’s, flipping stations, or even flipping my i-pod to a new song or artist. I know this doesn’t have to do much with education, but, I do think it’s a good idea to cleaning up my car ride…I have books in my back seat for “just in case moments” when I have to wait for a long time…hmmmm…
Anyways, in terms of education we as teachers can carry less books, not worry so much about DVDs, Cd’s, or VHS! If we familiarize ourselves with the i-pod and know how the technology works…then our technological difficulties in class will be minimal. No skipping Cd’s, confusing remotes, and long stares into a blank screen saying, “huh…I wonder what’s not working”.
As for students, I still do not know if I trust them enough to have them on. Now, if we had class i-pods…that operated like computers where there is the teacher computer that can monitor what everyone else is doing…then maybe. But, they are expensive and easy to lose, so, I’m still a little hesitant about giving them to the students, but, as teachers, I think it is something we should really think about working into our classroom as a tool for us.
12 of 18
I am so happy that we have to write a lesson plan in addition to our PowerPoint project. I was nervous about us simply creating a cool power point that can only really work for one student. I have discovered in other classes that you should not put anything up on the board that you do not want students to write down, because as they start writing…they are no longer listening to the teacher. This was the case for me in high school. Often times a teacher would put up a power point and talk about each bullet…as a student I was writing down everything that was on the slide before I was listening to what the teacher was saying. To me, what was on the slide was more important than what the teacher was saying…which could and could not be the case.
Going back to the lesson plan in addition to the project- I think our group needs to write the lesson plan before we create our power point. Once we have an idea of what we want the students to know and gain…then we can fit the power point to do just that. I think it needs to be more of a tool rather than the entire lesson. We were excited right away about creating a game, using Romeo & Juliet and summaries of the Acts and a quiz. However, now I’m am starting to feel that doing this may eliminate the need for a teacher and the only way students can benefit from a PowerPoint like that is by using it on their own. The ones we saw in class are the same case. Maybe in small groups they would work, or if you broke the class up into teams for the quiz, but in terms of the “mini lesson” before…students learn at different rates and styles…I need to read and do something over and over again before it is committed to memory. So, if I was learning Spanish…I would need to listen and read the color red several times before I actually commit it to memory. I may be able to fly through the quiz five minutes after I read it, but, if you were to just give me the quiz the next day…I would remember little to nothing. That’s not to say the PowerPoint is a bad idea, but, I think it just needs to be an additional tool…not the only tool in a lesson.
11 of 18
I graduated high school in 2003 and I have to say that “power points” were awesome for presentations. They were both visual AND they worked as notes cards. I agree with class that most of the time we would sit up there and read them right off the board…and… we were not graded on content, but…presentation. It was all about who spent more time preparing for the presentations rather than who was able to look away from the power point the most. It was about who came up with the most creative special effects…there were pictures, animations….and when students figured out how to put a “Utube” video on the slide…that was an automatic “A”. I lived by power points…better than writing at 5 page paper! However, now, whenever I hear power points I just want to know one thing…”how many slides”…I want to know this so I can count down! I really don’t like power points and I hope that they fade out the way instant messaging did when it first started. I was all over it like white on rice….talking to 15 different people at once, thinking this was better than a cell phone because there was no hanging up and calling back…now I don’t even sign on…hoping that I never have to again…it’s been 3 years since my last “im”. I love technology and the constant change that goes along with it, but, I feel like when someone new comes along and is really simple to pick up on….teachers grab on to it and beat it to death…like power points…=)
10 of 18
Since I would like to be an English teacher I decided to write my research paper on blogging in the English classroom. I wanted to break everything down for myself and weigh the pros as well as the con’s and see if it something that is worth while and practical for ALL the students.
At first I thought it was a neat idea to continue class outside of the classroom. Being able to send links, ideas, homework, and other notes over posts and give the students materials they missed in class. Even allow the student who stayed home sick to still be apart of the class discussion. I also like that it is an introduction to the new world. No more pens and pencils, lined paper and cursive, just allowing the students to focus on the content…which lead me to a problem. What will be the point of spelling tests when there will always be spell check? What’s the point of learning how to write in script when it is a font style on the computer. If computers are really going to replace the pen and pencil…why do we still make students take standardized test, like the ELA, on paper…writing. When all other major papers and projects are expected to be typed, double spaced, in 12pt font?
Going back to the blogging on of my major problems was when someone said in class, “…students don’t have to focus on spelling and grammar…” this made me nervous because if they are not practicing it…they are not learning it…and soon all blogs with be spelled wrong and contain poor grammar. These posts…the one I am writing right now…is going to be posted on the Internet! Everyone can access this is judge me by it…spelling and grammar is important. Now, if there is a written assignment, like a journal entry, then I can see the excusing spell check and grammar, but, if it is an option on the computer…it should always be used…which brings me back to the, “If they’re not practicing it, they are not learning it…” Which is why I like blogging because it is a tool the students can take with them after they leave the classroom and enter into the real world…which is slowly eliminating pens and pencils, stamps, lined paper, and mail boxes. Also, it may help when they need to write e-mails…a students who is familiar with these skills at a young age will be able to adapt better in the real world when the technology has changed, but, at least they have the foundation and understanding of where it has been.
Please criticize this and let me know of other con’s if I have not mentioned them! =)
9 of 18
Last class was a great “tool” that helps with school and organization. I have to say that I always thought that the way to organize websites was through “favorites” and now I know a better way. This is neat because it really is a tool that can help any teacher when it comes to planning and researching. I am a person that is big on organization and I am happy that I can now organize over the Internet on the computer, rather tan writing down and booking websites that may switch or close down. Then there is the idea of networking with other teachers to share and teach new ideas in the classroom. This is a great tool to teach through out the world and even introduce students to a new idea that the lesson that they are learning was actually taught across the world at some point. Working technology into the classroom can work to teach students how to use these tools and make them more of a normal occurrence rather than working a project around it! This way students use the internet and programs like these to help organize themselves and their work all the time…rather than waiting for a project that requires it to learn a tool that could have helped them when they were in high school….like me….=)
8 of 18
I have to say that last class was by far my favorite. Since my very first e-mail was through AOL dial-up, then switched to a yahoo account with Roadrunner I thought I found something that worked for me. I have used the same yahoo account since I was in 10th grade. With different colleges I had different e-mails, but, I always had the fowarded to my yahoo box. Now, I love this Google homepage! It’s a great way for to have everything I want right in front of me when I log in. I am also happy that we put each others web blogs in there as well, because I was getting tired of going on to the wiki page to see who was who.
I would love to see this in a classroom! This way students can have the class blogs right on their homepages and can “tune in” for a few minutes at home. What’s great is that I, as a teacher, can post things that we did not get to in class, copies of lecture notes, homework assignments, related links, and other things that students can do if they were really into what we covered in class. It would be a neat way to teach students responsibility and work with them to work outside the classroom. Kinda of a neat way of, “checking in” to make sure that they working out side of class. Blogging can also help those who do not speak in class earn points for disscussing outside of class. I dunno…I just love this google page!
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