Dr. Richard E. Miller's video "This is How We Dream" is just another example of the amazing and rapid changes in technology. He begins by discussing how writing has changed. Not long ago, writing was done on paper, and if you wanted to read something, you bought the book. This is rarely the case now. Where we work now is on laptops and word processors. Books are purchased on computers and tablets. Work is now a collaborations of print, photo, and video. We are now working with a new kind of material. This material is updated instantly.
Miller states, "We as educators must be in the business of sharing ideas freely." I believe this is one of the greatest parts of technology. We can share our thoughts and bounce ideas off of other educators. We can work together to inspire one another and build off of each other. Miller talks about how the only limitations we have are the limitations we put on ourselves. I completely agree with this. With every research tool possible being just a click away. We are the only things holding ourselves back.
As we look ahead with Dr. Miller he discusses a project that Jonathan Harris is working on that is composing with the web itself. He has created a project that searches blogs around the world and then creates an emotional profile moment by moment. This blew my mind a little. The things we can set technology to detect is incredible. This video is just more proof of the incredible opportunities that technology has to offer.
Carly Pugh's Blog Post #12
I really enjoyed Carly Pugh's blog post. It is a great demonstration of exactly what Dr. Miller discussed. You can tell Carly has thought of many wonderful ways to implement technology in her classroom. I really liked her idea for the playlists. I'm certain Carly's students will not only learn a lot from her, but they will really enjoy the way she teaches and interacts with them.
The Chipper Series and EDM310 for Dummies
I loved both of the videos. The Chipper Series is about a girl who takes procrastination to a whole new level. She eventually drops out of school. After many failing jobs, she realizes the importance of working hard. I can completely understand struggling with procrastination, but in the end, your hard work will pay off.
It's easy to relate to the girls at the beginning of EDM310 for Dummies. As most classes can, EDM can become very overwhelming if you do not stay on top of your work. Sometimes you just want someone to tell you how to do everything; however, if someone just spoon fed us the information, we would not really be learning anything. EDM310 is not only teaching us how to use technology to teach in our classroom, but it is also teaching us to use technology as a resource to learn. Both of these are of huge value now and will continue to be in our future.
Learn to Change, Change to Learn
Learn to Change, Change to Learn is an incredible video. As educators, we must get past the fear of the distractions of technology and see if for what it really is. Technology is not what is really distracting our students. It is boredom. They are used to playing on technology for everything else they do, yet they are expected to walk into a classroom and check the technology at the door and listen to someone lecture all day. This is not how these children communicate. If we want to really get through to them, we must get on their level. Technology is opening doors for students and schools are closing them. The 21st century set of literacies do not look like the model most of us were raised under. Learning has changed. Are we willing to change to learn?
Scavenger Hunt 2.0
The scavenger hunt is such a fun way for kids to learn, while also having the opportunity to choose what interest them the most. The first thing I found was the tool that most likely produced the video. I feel like Animoto.com/education was most likely the tool they used to create their video. Animoto offers teachers a free plus account. This is such a great deal for teachers and an awesome resource. Animoto allows you to pick your photos, add text, pick videos, and highlight important sections in your video. I think this is a great tool for teachers.
My second find was the Makebeliefscomix. This is a fun tool for teachers to use to add comedy to the lesson. You could easily make a comic that goes with the lesson being taught or just add a funny little brain break in. I chose to make a little brain break joke.
Last but certainly not least, I chose to create a poll using PollEverywhere. There are so many possibilities for this tool. You could poll the students to find out what their favorite part of the lesson was or maybe to find out what type of technology they like using best. You could even do a poll for the parents. There are so many options.
Wow Courtney! Was this a busy assignment week or what? You did a remarkable job of hitting-on just enough information to do each section justice. I agree with your amazement of writing and communicating covered in the This is How We Dream assignment. I see many benefits, but I still believe there is a lot to be said for thought bubbles and rough drafts on paper. I'm sure Carly would have a creative technology alternative. :)
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job summarizing and making your post look attractive with so much to get done. I enjoyed viewing your blog. Keep up the good work and good luck on the rest of the semester!
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the props on my post.
Also, you pretty much summed up Dr. Strange's philosophy with your statement: "if someone just spoon fed us the information, we would not really be learning anything". So glad you picked up on that. It seems like an obvious concept, but it's one that applies to learning just about anything. How can we learn if we do not experience a concept for ourselves? How can we expect our students to survive real world challenges if they have been sheltered from them their whole lives? And also, I have wondered as people sheltered me from such challenges, "do they think I am incapable or have little faith in me to not only meet challenges, but come out ahead?" I would never want my students to feel like I had little faith in them! I would hope that I find them capable of just about anything. I would have confidence in them based on the result of their projects, and the more project-based education becomes, the more faith they can have in their own abilities because they can see them firsthand. They can document their growth rather than learning about something theoretically. Theoretical knowledge doesn't hold up in heated situations. It isn't instinctual.
As you said, if we want to get through to our students, we must get on their level. "Their level" means technology, knowledge that to many of our generation and those after us is "instinctual".
Great job! Keep up the good work.
Carly