Timetoast Project 9a

C4T #2

In this C4T I commented on the blog of Jenny Luca. Both posts were "School's Out Friday," a series of videos that Jenny posts for humor and follows with some encouraging comments. The first video was of a high school math teacher using popular rap music to help his students learn calculus concepts. I commented to Jenny thanking her for posting it as it helped me remember some principles myself. She also wrote about the work she had been doing so far in the semester with planning various school functions and activities. She commented back saying she was pleased that I took something from it and happy she had finished some of her planning objectives.

The Second Video was of a marriage proposal seemingly gone awry. In her comments she seemed to enjoy the proposal so I sent her a link to a video of another impressive proposal. She also wrote that it was the end of the term in Victoria where she teaches and that she was now on holiday break and looking forward to getting some rest and relaxation. She also admitted that she has been slacking on her blog posts lately, but plans on finishing some things she was working on over the time off and in the weeks soon to come.

Blog Assignment #5

Don’t teach your kids this stuff. Please?
Scott McLeod is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky. He founded CASTLE, the nation’s only academic center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators. He is also a co-creator of the video series, "Did You Know?"

In this post, Dr. McLeod lists numerous ways technology can be used to help educate children and enhance their academic experience. When you first start reading the post, it seems as if he is against the notion of these technologies because its written with a pessimistic tone in descending broken text. This does a very good job of setting the stage for argument reversal in the end however when he makes his point that if parents, teachers, administrators, and board members don't allow the integration of technology into the curriculum, their children will be a step behind.

I agree with the overall message that Dr. McLeod is trying to convey in this post. While there are some bad things on the web that you want censor for kids, the internet and technology in general can be excellent tools for engaging children in the learning process. As anyone that spends anytime with children will realize, they thrive on being creative, innovative, and actively engaged in activities. Imagination is a driving force behind much of the psychological motivation in children and children are becoming more and more proficient in using technology at an early age these days as personal computers and smart gadgets become regular household and even personal items. When you think of it this way it seems silly, at least to me, to withhold technology from them in one of the most important aspects of their life. Instead of rejecting technology from curriculums, educators should embrace the tools available today to enhance the learning environment. While I don't believe there is anything wrong with pencil and paper work, the fact of the matter is it just isn't necessarily as stimulating to a child as a technology enhanced project could be. While children are young and still thrive on their imagination I believe it is important to nourish and stimulate it in the best and most effective ways possible. I believe technology can be used to achieve this purpose and educators should take advantage of this crucial phase of mental and psychological development.

More 'Simple Truth's of Life' Illustrations

The iSchool initiative (Mobile Learning)
In this video Travis Allen discusses how the ipod touch can benefit schools and students on an individual level as well as reform education across the board. He goes into detail on various apps that could aid teachers in numerous subjects as well as the positive economical effects of the initiative. He also advocates how the technology can benefit the community by holding both teachers and students accountable while simultaneously improving parental connections and administrative institutional unity.

I really enjoyed this presentation by Travis. I remember when the first iPod touches first came out. I and most of my class mates got them for Christmas or out birthday's in our junior year and almost everyone in my graduating class had one by our senior year. It annoyed many of our teachers to no end and often got us into trouble because our teachers wouldn't believe us when we told them they had real educational value when we used them in class. While that may have been a valid reason to disapprove of them when the first generation came out, I believe it is now an invalid reason. With all of the apps that have been created specifically for the purpose of education over the past few years it is impossible to deny the positive impact this technology can have on learning.

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'
In this video, Eric Whitacre directs a virtual Choir through the use of webcams and composes all of the recordings into a beautiful, harmonic masterpiece. I love videos like this that combine the power and innovation of technology and the internet with creative skills and ideas of artists. As an artist myself I really enjoy and appreciate how the world of art has evolved because of technology. While I love traditional style art pieces in terms of drawing and painting, I also enjoy the newer aspects of digital art. I love being able to share, find, communicate, and collaborate with other artists through the internet. This video is a perfect example on how the internet and technology can be used to collaborate with other people on large scale projects. It's quite neat and unique and I love the idea that all of the people participating in the project have entirely different backgrounds, motivations, and paths of life, yet come together to produce this unified and amazingly well put together project. It is an excellent example of the human network becoming more global and interconnected. This is very promising also because it increases the field of talent you could find and work with for projects. As we journey further and further into a future filled with technological advances one can only dream of the future artistic ventures we will be able to pursue.

Teaching In the 21st Century
This video by Kevin Roberts raises a very important question. What is the role of teachers in this century? As the video alluded to, information is readily available and at the fingertips of students today. As a result, teachers are not necessarily the main conveyers of factual knowledge to their pupils anymore, but filters. I agree whole heartedly with this sentiment. Anyone can simply google a topic that they are interested in and be presented with an overwhelming wealth of knowledge. While this is definitely a positive thing, it has its problems as well. Because it is so easy to google information, it is equally as easy to come across false or misinterpreted information. For this reason it is imperative to teach critical reading and analysis as well as research skills. This way not only would a student be able to find and supplement their education with personal research, but they would learn the skills necessary to seek truth and debunk pseudoscientific research in all subject areas. I personally have been fortunate enough in my academic tenure to have multiple teachers and professors in both high school and college that thought and taught this as well. I can honestly say that developing critical reading and analysis skills because of these teachers has had the most profound impact on my learning than any factual information I've learned in a class. I'm a frequent reader of various scientific, psychological, sociological, medical, and health blogs. I cringe at the very thought of possibly accepting some of the things I've read on these blogs throughout the years as fact if I had not been taught these skills by my teachers. I realize the major impact these skills have had on my personal education and I plan on imparting them in my future students as well. After all, the answer to a question can always be found, but you have to know how to look if you want it to be correct.


To hear and see what other educators have to say about this and various other topics check out the new Teacher Wall and Education Nation!

My Sentence Video

Blog Assignment #4

Eagle's Nest Radio & Class Blog:
I chose to listen to Episode #2: Totally Terrific Time Travel with Explorers. The podcast was very good and the kids did an excellent job. The quality was great and the presentation was clean and very easy to follow. Listening to it I also felt as if the kids had a lot of fun in the process of making the podcast. The first thing that jumped out at me was the intro music and the sound effects throughout the podcast. I really enjoyed the creative incorporations of these effects and I plan on implementing music into my podcast now as well. The second aspect of the podcast that I really enjoyed was Evan and Lizzy having their own personalized segments. Evan had a review asking questions to see if you paid attention to the show and Lizzy had a vocabulary quiz. All in all the podcast was very professional and the kids and teacher are to be commended for such an excellent job!

The Benefits of Podcasting in the Classroom: by Joe Dale
In this video reasons are presented as to why podcasting is an effective educational tool. There are clips of students actively participating in their own podcasts as well as interviews from them getting their feedback on podcasting.
I learned quite a lot from this video. First and foremost I learned that I am a Millenial, (anyone born after 1980 and has never experienced life without technology being a heavy influence.) I also learned that Podbean is a free website and source for teachers who want to implement podcasting in their classrooms. This podcast also taught me how podcasting is beneficial in relation to Bloom's Taxonomy. As a psychology enthusiast I found this very interesting. Another important point that I took from this video was how podcasting by teachers could help sick students that are unable to attend class. As a sports enthusiast as well this led me to think of the applications for high school athletes. Many high school athletes miss classes for their athletic competitions. If teachers podcast their lectures it would be easier for athletes to keep up with the material covered in class while competing. The application also applies to coaches who could use podcasts and vodcasts to teach their athletes proper form and technique as well as skills to improve their athletic performance.

The Education Podcasting Network:
Under The Education Podcasting Network I decided to listen to Smoking: Differences between Men and Women located in the subject specific podcasts in Healthful Living. I choose this particular podcast to review because I am a Health Education major and the psychological reasons behind the habit of smoking have always intrigued me. In this particular podcast Dr. Karen Hartwell details a few of the psychological factors she has discovered by using MRI scanning. She explains how her research study is set up and her hypothesis on how these scans can help those who want to quit smoking to stop.

I am very pleased to have found this website. This site has given me an entirely new outlook on incorporating podcasts into the research process as well as my teaching curriculum. Using podcasts that chronicle research methodology while also presenting pertinent subject matter can be very resourceful as a teaching aid. It could "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak by allowing students to experience the scientific process behind the lesson being taught along with gaining valuable, easy to understand, and applicable information.

Project #5 Google Presentation

C4T #1

Are Pencils Making Us Narcissistic?
In this post by John T. Spencer, there is a dialogue going back and forth between Tom and Mr. Brown. They debate about kids writing to each other in pen pal networks and whether the pencil causes them to become more narcissistic. The main point of the post is to be humorous by making an analogy that the tools we use don't make us narcissistic, rather there are underlying psychological and personality factors that contribute to this trait. I agreed with this statement in my comment on his post. I believe the application of this post is to portray that the idea that using technology in education is just a tool, much like the pencil.

Capturing Reality
In this post, John and Paul debate whether is more beneficial to use a camera to capture the moment or to live in the moment and reflect upon it later. Both present valid points supporting their claim and in the end they both come to a mutual understanding of each other. The message of this post is that while different people prefer different methods of doing things, it is important to consider what is best for the context of each particular situation. I agreed that it is important to consider context and individual preferences in approaching all situations. What works for some people may not be as beneficial for others.

Blog Assignment #3

It's Not about the Technology:
In this blog post Kelly Hines discusses the importance of teachers instilling quality learning skills into their students as opposed to merely using technology as a mediation tool. She, much like Dr. Strange, advocates that all educators should be learners as well. She also emphasizes that learning and teaching are not one in the same, that technology is useless without good teaching, and that one can be a 21st century teacher without technology.

I agree with Mrs. Hines in all aspects of this particular blog post. I especially agree that all teachers should be learners and it is of vast importance to emphasize critical learning skills when educating future generations. While there will always be a base of concrete knowledge that will be expected to be taught in education curriculums, I believe the most important aspect of teaching is to get students engaged and interested in the learning process. By teaching children critical thinking, problem solving, life skills and technological skills technology can be used as an excellent medium to enhance the personal learning process. Simply throwing technology at students will do them no good if they do not have a solid foundation of skills that will enable them thrive in an academic world.

I believe we as human beings are inherently curious and eager to learn. With the internet so prevalent in today's day and age, a wealth of information is constantly at our beck and call. I believe that if we teach get children engaged in the personal learning process and teach them proper skills and how to use technology to their academic advantage that children will actually be able to teach themselves as well as teach their teachers. Simply put, we should teach our children to use technology and not just use technology to teach our children.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In this post Karl Fisch rants and raves about why he believes teachers need to have a grasp of technology. He argues that being an educator in our current world and not being technologically literate is comparable to not being able to read in the 20th century. He also argues that while it seems many people deem it acceptable to be unable to work with technology they should instead be embarrassed. He is especially adamant about this point as pertaining to educators and believes it to be disgraceful for our profession to turn a blind eye to this problem and not uphold teachers to proper technological standards.

I tend to agree with Mr. Fisch in this blog post. I believe it is very important for educators and education majors to be technologically literate. Technology can provide unlimited channels for teachers to enhance the learning process for their students. As technology continues to perpetually advance, more and more of these channels will open providing more lucrative and innovative ways for teachers to enrich the classroom learning environment. The longer a teacher puts off learning about and incorporating technology into their curriculum the harder it will be for them in the future as it continues to exponentially expand. If all educators were to succumb to this pattern, eventually the education system would fall behind and our future generations would miss out on amazing learning opportunities. Consequently we would also be doing them a vast disfavor by simultaneously leaving them with a larger gap to fill for future generations. I liken the integration of technology in education to a speeding train. The faster one jumps on board, the less they'll be behind.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count:
As I sit here and watch Gary Hayes' Social Media Count it gives me a headache. While I'm mesmerized by all of the changing numbers escalating so quickly, I can hardly stand to watch it for more than a few seconds before I feel compelled to look away, but then shortly return my attention to it. It amazes me to see how integral the internet is in the lives of everyday people with an actual live number count.

What I take from this is more of an appreciation for just how big social media has become. While I personally am not a fan of sites such as facebook or myspace, it's impossible to deny the impact that they have on society. I believe this graphic just lends more support to the argument that technology should be well integrated with education as it shows how intertwined it is in the lives of the everyday average joe.



A Vision of Students Today:
This video by Michael Wesch brings up many questions on the current construct and confines of education, especially pertaining to the college classroom. As I watched the video, surveyed the students, and read the information they had to present I could easily identify with them. Being a college student myself, many of the same thoughts and statements they shared have run through my own mind. It was interesting and quite refreshing to watch this presentation.

What I gather from this is much the same as many of my previous posts. I believe it is imperative to reexamine the construct of traditional education. While there have been improvements with the integration of technology in the classroom and having web enhanced and internet courses, I don't believe technology has been utilized to it's full extent within the educational system. The power of the internet has been on full display recently in numerous political and social activist demonstrations such as the unification of civilians in the Libyan civil war. This to me signifies the power that technology and the internet have and the impact it has on society. So my question is if technology has the power to unite citizens and overthrow a government, why does the education system hesitate to harness it for learning and teaching.

"What we should have been taught in our senior year of highschool:" Presented by The Oatmeal

More "What we should have been taught in our senior year of high school" comics: Presented by The Oatmeal here:

Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know?
In the video "Did You Know?" by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, numerous questions pertaining to the advancement of technology in this day and age are raised. They presented many interesting facts about the human growth rate, how students in the United States are being out performed by India and China, and the amount of intelligence we are acquiring at such an alarming rate.

Quite frankly the rate at which we are advancing technologically scares me sometimes. I will be the first one to advocate for the advancement of technology because I love science and I love having information readily available to me whenever I need or want it, however the interconnectivity of some social aspects of technology such as facebook and myspace unnerve me. While being able to communicate worldwide with anybody has its advantages, I also like my privacy. It feels to me as if we are trekking towards becoming one big global consciousness, which is all fine and dandy if that's your cup of tea, but I don't like the feeling of being forced into it. I can see how beneficial this is for large corporations, businesses, political parties and ventures of that nature, however It's almost impossible these days for the average Joe to live without being on social networking sites like facebook and twitter. This to me brings up the question of how have we changed as a human race with such readily available social technology? Do we act or even think the same as we would if we weren't so technologically infused socially? How does having access to all of our peers thoughts and emotions change the way we think and interact with them? Every so often I will receive messages via facebook, sms text, or some other form of communication from friends asking if I'm ok, if I don't like them any more, or If we're even still friends because I haven't talked to them via a social networking site in the last few weeks. My response to these people is that I'm just fine and if they really wanted to contact me why they couldn't just pick up the phone and call to schedule a hangout or just chat! This has actually infuriated me to the point of deleting my profiles on numerous social networking sites multiple times! Unfortunately the social media monster has grown so large that I keep having to sign up for these sites again for various reasons. Is it too much to ask for a little privacy without being labeled socially inept or reclusive? Are people who like their privacy and prefer actual face to face human interaction to meet and learn about people just a dying breed? I suppose we're just a changing society and the only future will tell.

Mr. Winkle Wakes:
In the video Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman, Mr. Winkle is an old man that awakes from a 100 year slumber. He finds himself thrust into a technological world leaps and bounds ahead of where society was pre slumber. He ventures into a business office and a hospital only to be discomforted by what he finds, a world filled with foreign machines and technology. Eventually he wanders into a school classroom to see that it however is unchanged by the hands of time which comforts him.

This video was very interesting and brought up some interesting points. My first thought after watching it was, "How would I feel if I were to hibernate for a century then wake up to see how the world has changed." At first the thought was quite funny, however upon further introspection I believe it would be quite frightening. My thoughts instantly turned into being thrust into a post apocalyptic type of world that you would find in a science fiction film such as Terminator or The Matrix, but when you think about it isn't that sort of where we are headed as technology continues to grow exponentially? Following along with this thought process its very easy to side with Mr. Winkle and be happy that technology didn't reach the classroom. The opposite thought also has to be considered however. How could technology improve education and the classroom? While I personally enjoy the traditional style lecturing and taking notes between teacher and student, I believe technology can have a profound impact on the learning of children today. Many children today are raised in a technology filled home and know how to use computers and electronics with ease. In this regard doesn't it make sense then to incorporate technology into their academic lives as well? These days so many kids use technology on a regular basis that I believe it will actually be easier to reach their minds and teach them through technology. That's not to say that a traditional lecture won't hurt them either, but I believe a combination of traditional teaching and technology could benefit both professor and student. I myself plan to use both to my advantage and try to reach my kids in the way that will best help them learn when I become a teacher. It's important to remember that different people learn different ways, so when in doubt be flexible and ready to adapt to change because with the way technology is growing there is bound to be a lot of change to come.

Sir Ken Robinson on The Importance of Creativity:
In this video Sir Ken Robinson speaks on the importance of creativity in education and how the education system needs to be restructured. He is very humorous yet frank in his views which makes the presentation very easy to watch and helps strengthen his points on creativity. He talks about the structure of education and how we educate children in the sense of trying to mold them into "university professors." He stresses that this archaic style of educating squanders creativity which is bad for children because it limits what they could do with their talents to enhance the world.

My favorite part of the presentation was when Sir Ken told the story of Gillian Lynne. He did this to make a point that by discouraging rather than encouraging the things that make kids diverse and creative that we will actually create problems for our future generations and suppress talents that children could excel in. I believe this to be 100% true and I believe we should embrace the talents that make us unique. By embracing and promoting these talents in children I believe it can actually enhance their academic success and educational experience. By promoting personal growth and learning in areas of interest to students those study skills and learning techniques could be applied to other academic disciplines. By that I mean If we teach children from an early age to teach themselves and seek learning on their own in areas that they are naturally interested in they will have the skills necessary from an early age to teach themselves in disciplines they are less naturally inclined to enjoy. There is an old saying that goes, "give a man a fish and he'll be full for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll be full for a lifetime. Teaching our children to fish in their education is better than feeding them everyday until they graduate high school only to figure out they have not learned what to do to be successful AND happy.

Can U.S. Students Compete?
In this post Cecilia Gault interviews Sir Ken Robinson on how education can change to meet the needs of the 21st century. Sir Ken Robinson address this by saying we need to make better use of technology and have more of a balance between the science and creative arts. He also addresses his three myths of creativity that are 1. Only certain people are creative, 2. Creativity is only applies to certain fields, and 3. That you must be born creative. The post also addresses how Finland has better scores in reading, science, and math while having shorter school days and a lower drop out rate than the U.S.

Sir Ken Robinson suggest that all students and teachers can benefit from traveling to increase their cultural intelligence. I believe this to be true as well as what Sir Ken said about the myths of creativity. I believe by combining cultural knowledge and individual creativity all teachers and students can further their overall knowledge by learning from one another. As technology continues to grow and improve this becomes more of a reality. As Sir Ken also emphasized, this is why there needs to be more of a union of technology and education. With this union we will all be able to learn more from one another culturally, academically, and creatively!

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts:
In this video Vicki Davis talks about her classroom and her method of teaching, which is much like Dr. Strange's. She encourages her students to be proactive in the learning process and teach themselves. They work on projects, blogs, video podcasts, and virtual simulation fields that connect them with students from all around the world. Through technology Mrs. Davis has her rural Georgian students interacting and learning in ways that some people never would have imagined.

It was quite refreshing watching this particular video of Vicki Davis' class. I will admit that I was actually quite jealous of her students as they seemed to be having a lot of fun in their classroom. It's wonderful to see just how enthusiastic and excited they were about learning! This video is a testament to how using technology in the classroom can enhance and promote and strong, positive, and healthy learning environment. I believe the future of education is likely headed in this direction which will be a positive and much needed change.

Project 2: Wordle