Sunday, July 24, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Project 16
Here's my group's final project! It took hours upon hours of editing. I hope you like it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Final Report on PLN
Blog Assignment 14
The introduction of this book was given by Neil Postman's son, Andrew Postman. This introduction was written in 2006 and Andrew Postman explained how he believed that his father was simply ahead of his time in writing such a book in the 1980s. Andrew Postman believed that the internet had become what his father felt television was to society. Mr. Postman develops his book beginning with an explanation of how speech has always been something completely human, but that the development of the written word is what made humans more advanced and history more enduring. However, in the 20th century, television had taken over the role of the written word as a source of information and entertainment. It started with the invention of the telegraph which created the idea of "today's news" and began to feed people with useless information. The eventual resolution to having useless information? Television game shows. Eventually, people would lose their ability to pay attention for long periods of time without becoming bored. Mr. Postman gave the example of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in the 1800's which would last all day long. Each man would spend anywhere from 3-5 hours with a rebuttal to the other man's argument. Now, presidential candidates have only a few minutes to answer questions on national debates that are shown on television. This is not only because we have shorter attention spans, but because television seeks to keep us constantly entertained, never bored. (Otherwise, the television station will lose money because viewers will change the channel.) At the Lincoln-Douglas debates, people listened intently the entire time for hours on end. Later on, Mr. Postman discussed how television shows typically lasted 30 minutes and rapidly changed genres with each new 30 minute segment. This was to keep audiences constantly entertained. He talked about how news channel's purpose had also become pure entertainment. Each story lasted no longer than 45 seconds and would transition from an extremely heartbreaking, dramatic story to a story on how to make spicy tacos. It was not serious at all.
"Television, in other words, is transforming our culture into one vast arena for show business. It is entirely possible, of course, that in the end we shall find that delightful, and decide we like it just fine. That is exactly what Aldous Huxley feared was coming, fifty years ago."Aldous Huxley was the author of Brave New World. This book is centered around the thesis that people will unknowingly create their own demise by constantly giving into entertainment. This seems to be the exact opposite to George Orwell's 1984 in which people are slaves to their government. Neil Postman bases his own thesis around the idea that Huxley was correct in his book Brave New World and refers to him frequently. Mr. Postman ends his book offering two solutions to the television entertainment problem
Now that I have explained the basics of this book, what does this have to do with computers and internet today? It seems one could almost interchange the word "television" with "internet" or "computer." In my opinion Neil Postman was correct and he was ahead of his time as his son said. My fear is that because young people have begun to use computers for so much and have access to so much, their beliefs and opinions are being shaped without them realizing it. I will not lie, I am an example myself. Viral videos? Facebook? Twitter? Computer games? These can be completely useless and a waste of time (viral videos probably always will be) but the point is we need to change how they are used. Create ways in which young adults do not use the time on the computer as forgetful entertainment. Like Mr. Postman said about the television, let education control it. Draw attention to the fact that we need to be aware of what internet is doing to ourselves and our society. I believe the Ad Council could put out some nice advertisements for this. I am starting to realize that Dr. Strange intended EDM 310 to be just this. A way of learning to use the internet and computers in a way that is not complete entertainment, but rather, educational. This is not to say that we should eliminate the lecture or the hand's on experiences that involve being outside or creating things, but the high use of the computer is irreversible so we must learn how to cope and use them in a good way.
Friday, July 15, 2011
C4T #4
My first comment was on Sheamus Burns' blog post Some Tensions in Art Education, Including Grades and Subjectivity. In this blog post, Mr. Burns talked about the difficulty of giving his art students grades on the pieces they created. He feels it is more important that his students think creatively than the technical aspects of art (such as shading, perspective, and proportion). The problem with this is, the school at which he works places more importance on the technical aspects so he has a tough time giving students grades when he would rather not have to give them a grade at all. He feels that when he gives a student a grade, that limits their thinking. Towards the end of his post, he gave an example of how he grades by describing an e-mail response he sent to a student who had e-mailed him about a B+ he had received on his last piece of work. Here, Mr. Burns went into acute detail in his reply e-mail to the student. He told him how he placed much importance on creative thinking and that this student's piece of work had only reached a "good" level and not an "outstanding" level. Mr. Burns ended his post by asking readers, "Does anyone have ideas?" In my comment, I told him how I was studying to be a history teacher but had highly considered becoming an art teacher instead. I said that I had done a lot of painting myself and that I have the technical aspects of painting down but I sometimes struggle with the creative aspect of it. I am a realistic painter using photographs for reference. I told him this because I can understand why he has difficulty with grading students in these two ways because one may have the best drawing skills a person could have, but without creativity, these drawings they produce would be nothing more than a photograph done in pencil. I had never thought about the difficulties of grading pieces of work by art students before I read his post. I told him that I thought he was doing an excellent job in the way he was grading now even though art is a difficult subject matter to grade.
The second comment I left on Sheamus Burns' blog was on his blog post Project-Based Learning Made Easy. This post was actually a reference from an article on Edutopia.org. The post tells readers to go to Envision Schools to pick up a few tips for teachers to improve their current curriculum to make it more project-based. Here is a good paragraph I found on the Envision Schools website which explains more in depth about project-based learning:
The second comment I left on Sheamus Burns' blog was on his blog post Project-Based Learning Made Easy. This post was actually a reference from an article on Edutopia.org. The post tells readers to go to Envision Schools to pick up a few tips for teachers to improve their current curriculum to make it more project-based. Here is a good paragraph I found on the Envision Schools website which explains more in depth about project-based learning:
"At Envision Schools, graduation means that a student has not only met rigorous academic standards, but also that he or she has demonstrated a breadth of leadership and cognitive skills, also known as “deeper learning” skills. To that end, we have developed a system of student assessment based on performance — what we call “performance assessment” — that emphasizes a student’s deep understanding and growing mastery of an academic discipline. More than standardized tests of content knowledge, performance assessments are able to measure how students think about what they’ve learned. These assessments require students to employ their knowledge in the service of creating and producing something with real-world application."This seems like the kind of approach Dr. Strange wants us to have in EDM 310. In my comment, I told Mr. Burns how I thought it would be especially relevant to him that grading be project-based because he was an art teacher. He had already discussed in previous blogs that he hated that he had to give people grades. I mentioned that it would be great if all assessments of learning could one day be project or performance based.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Progress Report on Final Project
So far on Project 16, my group has been discussing ideas through email. We have come up with a basic plan on what we want to do. We want to make a video showing the good things about EDM 310 since we have seen so many telling about the difficulties with EDM 310. When I saw these videos when I first started this class, I can definitely say I was pretty discouraged. I feel like future students need something encouraging to motivate them when the class starts. We are going to incorporate clay animation in some way but I do not want to give everything away just yet! You will have to watch the video to find out. I think it should turn out pretty good.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Blog Assignment 13
Jose Picardo's Educational Blog and Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom
Jose Picardo's blog gives some very interesting tutorials on how to incorporate technology in the classroom. An interesting one I found was Creating a Blog Video Task with Quiz. This tutorial explains how to create a video that goes along with a quiz. In the video Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom, Mr. Picardo explains ten technology tips that are great for the classroom. The first one was "use more streaming video." This tip was not surprising to me because this is already something I want to use in the classroom. The second was "use music more often." Although I have never mentioned it on my blog before, I have thought about playing "mood music" at the beginning of my history classes to get students ready for the upcoming lecture. I thought about even letting them guess what we would be studying that day by listening to the music at the beginning of class.
Tip three was "use teleconferencing tools." Dr. Strange has made this tip familiar to me so this one was not too surprising, but I could see myself possibly assigning homework for my students where they connect with someone else around the world. The fourth tip was "create your own interactive exercises." I was also familiar with this tip, but I am still at a loss as to how I could use it for middle or high school students where I have to get a certain amount of information to them in a limited amount of time. Maybe I will be able to come up with a useful way to incorporate this into my classroom one day.
"Use your interactive whiteboard more effectively" was tip number five. This tip was probably the most unsurprising tip out of the whole video. In EDM 310, we have watched and read so much about interactive whiteboards and how, if a teacher is lucky to have one, they should make it as useful as possible. If I had one in my classroom, I suppose I would feel guilty not using it because it cost so much money that it would be a waste to just sit there.
"Create your own podcasts" took me a little by surprise. I am used to hearing how we teachers need to let our students make podcasts, but for the teachers to do so caught me a bit off guard. I could see how this would certainly be useful for students who had missed class or for a more interesting way to give homework assignments. "Start a blog or a wiki" was also a given considering this whole class is about a blog! Tip number eight was "use social networks." Also, not surprising since this class has us use Twitter and I already have a Facebook account. Tip nine was something I already do, but the ones Mr. Picardo described were ones I had actually never heard of so I might have to go check those out.
Tip ten advises teachers to make the most of their pupils' gadgets. I would definitely like them to use their iPods or mp3 players if I were to create podcasts or videos, but personally, I want to avoid cell phone use. People would be texting all the time and I cannot see how this would be a useful tool. Mr. Picardo put a good list together for this video and it is cool that he shows how teachers can do all of this on his blog.
Jose Picardo's blog gives some very interesting tutorials on how to incorporate technology in the classroom. An interesting one I found was Creating a Blog Video Task with Quiz. This tutorial explains how to create a video that goes along with a quiz. In the video Top 10 Tips for Using Technology in the Classroom, Mr. Picardo explains ten technology tips that are great for the classroom. The first one was "use more streaming video." This tip was not surprising to me because this is already something I want to use in the classroom. The second was "use music more often." Although I have never mentioned it on my blog before, I have thought about playing "mood music" at the beginning of my history classes to get students ready for the upcoming lecture. I thought about even letting them guess what we would be studying that day by listening to the music at the beginning of class.
Tip three was "use teleconferencing tools." Dr. Strange has made this tip familiar to me so this one was not too surprising, but I could see myself possibly assigning homework for my students where they connect with someone else around the world. The fourth tip was "create your own interactive exercises." I was also familiar with this tip, but I am still at a loss as to how I could use it for middle or high school students where I have to get a certain amount of information to them in a limited amount of time. Maybe I will be able to come up with a useful way to incorporate this into my classroom one day."Use your interactive whiteboard more effectively" was tip number five. This tip was probably the most unsurprising tip out of the whole video. In EDM 310, we have watched and read so much about interactive whiteboards and how, if a teacher is lucky to have one, they should make it as useful as possible. If I had one in my classroom, I suppose I would feel guilty not using it because it cost so much money that it would be a waste to just sit there.
"Create your own podcasts" took me a little by surprise. I am used to hearing how we teachers need to let our students make podcasts, but for the teachers to do so caught me a bit off guard. I could see how this would certainly be useful for students who had missed class or for a more interesting way to give homework assignments. "Start a blog or a wiki" was also a given considering this whole class is about a blog! Tip number eight was "use social networks." Also, not surprising since this class has us use Twitter and I already have a Facebook account. Tip nine was something I already do, but the ones Mr. Picardo described were ones I had actually never heard of so I might have to go check those out.
Tip ten advises teachers to make the most of their pupils' gadgets. I would definitely like them to use their iPods or mp3 players if I were to create podcasts or videos, but personally, I want to avoid cell phone use. People would be texting all the time and I cannot see how this would be a useful tool. Mr. Picardo put a good list together for this video and it is cool that he shows how teachers can do all of this on his blog.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Blog Assignment 12
For this blog post, I want you to link and describe an internet sensation that has inspired you and/or a person that you keep up with regularly. I am constantly telling you the importance of technology and staying connected with others which is capable through Twitter and your PLN. However, here I would like for you to tell about a person you have learned about through the internet and are a fan of (that I have not introduced you to) and why. If you do not have anyone like this, go look for someone and tell me about them. Then, I urge you to continue to keep up with them and their work. This could be an artist, politician, author, teacher, architect, singer, dancer, etc. You name it! You might ask why I would assign something like this and the answer to that is, this whole class has been about me telling you who to follow and what to do. This time, I want you to tell me about what you like and who you like to follow.
Kirsten Lepore (the video on the home page of Kirsten's website has some material that may not be suitable for younger viewers)
Kirsten Lepore is a graduate from CalArts with a degree in experimental animation. She has created multiple animated movies and posts them to her YouTube channel and on her website. She has also done freelance work for MTV, Glamour Magazine, Nestle, Utah Hogle Zoo, Heinz, and an End Tag for shows on Cartoon Network. She is so young yet she has done work for all of these big companies! Her short film, Bottle, won Best Student Animation at the Stuttgart International Festival and Best Animation at the Florida Film Festival, Arizona Film Fest, Slamdance, and so many other awards that I cannot list all (you will have to go to her website to see the rest).
I have been keeping up with Kirsten Lepore's work for the past two or three years and she has been a big inspiration to me. Her videos are quirky and different and show her creativity. I could see myself telling my future class about Kirsten Lepore and how her passion drove her to do great things. It could be a source of inspiration for my students in creating their own videos that I will assign as homework. From what I can tell, Kirsten got all of these large company connections through posting her work on the internet and through her college career at CalArts. If a student of mine really wanted the success like Kirsten Lepore has had, they would have the opportunity to do so.
In one of my older blog posts, I linked her video, Sweet Dreams, which follows a cupcake's dream of leaving his old home. She sometimes collaborates her videos, but most of the time she is doing them independently. She will sometimes post videos showing the making of some of her films (such as The Making of Nestle Drumstick Spot and The Making of Bottle) and it gives me some insight into how much work it took for her to make the videos. It is not that I ever hope to make videos as good as hers, but that she gives me artistic inspiration by keeping such a difficult and monotonous animation style alive. It reminds me that I need to keep up with my traditional painting. I would love to one day see her produce a full length stop animation movie comparable to The Nightmare Before Christmas. You can guarantee that I would be there for the midnight release!
You can keep up with Kirsten at her blog.
Kirsten Lepore (the video on the home page of Kirsten's website has some material that may not be suitable for younger viewers)
 |
| This is a still shot from the short film Bottle |
I have been keeping up with Kirsten Lepore's work for the past two or three years and she has been a big inspiration to me. Her videos are quirky and different and show her creativity. I could see myself telling my future class about Kirsten Lepore and how her passion drove her to do great things. It could be a source of inspiration for my students in creating their own videos that I will assign as homework. From what I can tell, Kirsten got all of these large company connections through posting her work on the internet and through her college career at CalArts. If a student of mine really wanted the success like Kirsten Lepore has had, they would have the opportunity to do so.
In one of my older blog posts, I linked her video, Sweet Dreams, which follows a cupcake's dream of leaving his old home. She sometimes collaborates her videos, but most of the time she is doing them independently. She will sometimes post videos showing the making of some of her films (such as The Making of Nestle Drumstick Spot and The Making of Bottle) and it gives me some insight into how much work it took for her to make the videos. It is not that I ever hope to make videos as good as hers, but that she gives me artistic inspiration by keeping such a difficult and monotonous animation style alive. It reminds me that I need to keep up with my traditional painting. I would love to one day see her produce a full length stop animation movie comparable to The Nightmare Before Christmas. You can guarantee that I would be there for the midnight release!
You can keep up with Kirsten at her blog.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Blog Assignment 11
Mrs. Cassidy's Little Kids...Big Potential and Mrs. Cassidy's Skype Interview
Little Kids...Big Potential was such a cute video. It showed me a little bit of insight into what Mrs. Cassidy's classroom is really like. In the Skype Interview, it was interesting to learn that Mrs. Cassidy had started all of this simply because she had received 5 computers for her classroom. These computers only had internet access and new programs could not be put onto them. This, in a way, forced Mrs. Cassidy to use the internet as a learning tool for her students.
It seems like blogging for these 1st grade students is a really empowering thing. Like Mrs. Cassidy said, it makes the kids feel special to think that the whole world can see what they are writing about. I am glad she discussed how she keeps the identities of these children safe by not using their last name or picture with their name. She also kept them away from potentially bad websites by explaining to them the link she wanted them to click on and avoiding the advertisements on the sides of the webpage.
Mrs. Cassidy also talked about how each of her students has a "blog buddy" from another school and they discuss how they can improve their writing through the blog and through Skype interviews. That is an interesting idea that would definitely be fun to integrate into the classroom for young kids especially. After watching this video, I feel like it is almost more beneficial for young kids to have access to this technology than older kids because as a child, you typically stay in the same classroom all day with the same teacher. Middle and high school students are constantly changing classes so it would be hard to have "blog time" and "lecture time" in such a short period of time. Maybe the homework I assigned outside of class could be about writing a blog or connecting with a "blog buddy."
I like how she said, even though all teachers should be technologically literate, each teacher should find their own type of technology that interests them. I believe mine is video. I love creating them and I love watching them and I would love to one day see what creative ideas my students can come up with for video projects. I think the benefits of projects and homework assignments such as these is that kids might feel more like it was a fun assignment rather than the typical boring homework. It would give them a chance to connect with others and actually enjoy working on things for my class.
Little Kids...Big Potential was such a cute video. It showed me a little bit of insight into what Mrs. Cassidy's classroom is really like. In the Skype Interview, it was interesting to learn that Mrs. Cassidy had started all of this simply because she had received 5 computers for her classroom. These computers only had internet access and new programs could not be put onto them. This, in a way, forced Mrs. Cassidy to use the internet as a learning tool for her students.
It seems like blogging for these 1st grade students is a really empowering thing. Like Mrs. Cassidy said, it makes the kids feel special to think that the whole world can see what they are writing about. I am glad she discussed how she keeps the identities of these children safe by not using their last name or picture with their name. She also kept them away from potentially bad websites by explaining to them the link she wanted them to click on and avoiding the advertisements on the sides of the webpage. Mrs. Cassidy also talked about how each of her students has a "blog buddy" from another school and they discuss how they can improve their writing through the blog and through Skype interviews. That is an interesting idea that would definitely be fun to integrate into the classroom for young kids especially. After watching this video, I feel like it is almost more beneficial for young kids to have access to this technology than older kids because as a child, you typically stay in the same classroom all day with the same teacher. Middle and high school students are constantly changing classes so it would be hard to have "blog time" and "lecture time" in such a short period of time. Maybe the homework I assigned outside of class could be about writing a blog or connecting with a "blog buddy."
I like how she said, even though all teachers should be technologically literate, each teacher should find their own type of technology that interests them. I believe mine is video. I love creating them and I love watching them and I would love to one day see what creative ideas my students can come up with for video projects. I think the benefits of projects and homework assignments such as these is that kids might feel more like it was a fun assignment rather than the typical boring homework. It would give them a chance to connect with others and actually enjoy working on things for my class.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Special Assignment #2
Part 1
Kahn Academy was started by one man who was tutoring his cousins and found it more helpful to post his lessons online for them to see and because he made it free for anyone to see, his videos started getting a lot of views. He eventually turned it into the "Kahn Academy" and now creates 12 minute long videos that consist of him lecturing on some subject.
iTunesU is similar to Kahn Academy in that it is a source for learning, however, here you can upload your own lessons to distribute among your students or faculty. Also, with iTunesU, anyone can put the information on their iPod, iPhone, PC, or Mac.
TED is a resource for videos of inspiring lectures. All of these videos contain "Ideas Worth Spreading" and can be about nearly anything.
Part 2
For Kahn Academy, teachers might use these videos to reiterate what was taught in class by having students watch particular ones at home. Another option might be to use one as an extra credit assignment by explaining what they learned from the video that was not explained in class about a certain subject.
iTunesU would be helpful for teachers so that they might produce "virtual lessons" for their students to watch or listen to. It could make some lectures more interesting for students. Teachers could also upload lectures for students who were absent and need to catch up with everyone else. Also, teachers could simply use lessons that were already uploaded as part of their lecture or use them to jog their memory on a subject they are about to teach.
TED would come in handy for teachers when they want to spruce up a subject that might be boring (yet necessary). There are tons of lectures on this website that can make certain subjects very interesting by putting new spins and adding new information that possibly even the teacher did not know about. This keeps it up-to-date and fun for students.
Part 3
For Kahn Academy, I watched US History Overview 1: Jamestown to the Civil War. In this video, Kahn gives an overview of the main events that occured in American History from the founding of Jamestown up to the Civil War in the 1860s. After Kahn initially discusses the founding of Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620), he jumps ahead 130 years to 1754 when American History really came into play. He ends with explaining the implications that would turn into the Civil War.
This video gave some details, but basically showed the broad happenings of the US over time. Kahn used maps, dates, and photographs to give some visual explanation to his lecture. I found the maps especially helpful in reminding me where certain locations were. This would definitely be a vital tool for American History teachers to send to their students after that section of history is covered in order to summarize to them what was just taught.
On iTunesU I watched Pop Culture Influence under the Moments in American History Channel in iTunesU. This was such a neat little channel. It had 1-3 minute long videos based on one particular subject in American History. Topics ranged anywhere from the founding of Jamestown to the Feminist Movement. It used experts in each of the short video clips and made for a quick learning device.
Pop Culture Influence explained how much pop culture affects everyone, especially young adults. One man in the video said that by using the music, fashion, and art of a given period, it works as a "hook" to capture young adults attention when trying to get them interested in a particular history subject. The video ended asking viewers, "Does pop culture affect American societal times, or does American society affect pop culture?" It certainly left me thinking. What about you?
For TED, I watched Honor Harger: A history of the universe in sound. Harger begins with playing audio clips of the radio waves various planets and stars in space make. Harger runs a website that combines both her artistic nature and science that broadcasts the live sounds that these various planets and stars are making. Harger then proceeds to explain the history of our universe in sound. She starts with the invention of the telephone. Thomas Watson (who helped Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone) noticed the weird sounds that his telephone lines were picking up (and this was 10 years before the existence of radio waves was discovered). What were these sounds? The crackles were lightening and the chirps were solar winds interacting with the earth's atmosphere (aka Northern Lights). Later on, in the 1930s, a man named K. G. Jansky figured out that celestial bodies emitted radio waves. In the 1960s, two more men heard strange sounds and they researched and determined it to be the sounds of cosmic radiation.
This video was very interesting in that it showed not what our universe looked like and how it moved, but how it sounds. That is definitely a new take on learning about the universe a take that would most certainly intrigue students about learning what lies beyond the earth.
Part 4
Kahn Academy could one day help my (history) class in helping keep the student's memories straight with all the dates and events that occured. I could even use it as a source to keep dates straight for myself as a teacher! It certainly was cool to see how many subjects Mr. Kahn had made videos about. I guess he could be considered a Renaissance Teacher (highly knowledgeable about all school subjects).
iTunesU seems to have videos and podcasts about everything. I can even publish my own! It has so many interesting channels that can teach about literally any subject. As a teacher I can us channels such as Moments in American History Channel like I discussed earlier. It kind of gives students "the inside scoop" that a simple lecture might not be able to give. I could show some in my classroom or assign them as part of homework. Maybe I could even get my students to post their own?
TED lectures from around the world. I could see myself using this website to show opposing views on a particular subject and having my class analyze these differences and tell me who they agree with more and why. I could also simply show the lectures in class to help them think more deeply about my lesson rather than just hearing it.
Part 5
The actual assignment did not surprise me considering it is EDM 310. (We always have so much to do.) However, besides hearing about (but not exploring) iTunesU, I had not heard of either Kahn Academy or TED. They are good sources for a teacher to keep handy. As lengthy as this assignment was, I am glad Professor Strange introduced me to these resources. Adding to PLN now...
Kahn Academy was started by one man who was tutoring his cousins and found it more helpful to post his lessons online for them to see and because he made it free for anyone to see, his videos started getting a lot of views. He eventually turned it into the "Kahn Academy" and now creates 12 minute long videos that consist of him lecturing on some subject.
iTunesU is similar to Kahn Academy in that it is a source for learning, however, here you can upload your own lessons to distribute among your students or faculty. Also, with iTunesU, anyone can put the information on their iPod, iPhone, PC, or Mac.
TED is a resource for videos of inspiring lectures. All of these videos contain "Ideas Worth Spreading" and can be about nearly anything.
Part 2
For Kahn Academy, teachers might use these videos to reiterate what was taught in class by having students watch particular ones at home. Another option might be to use one as an extra credit assignment by explaining what they learned from the video that was not explained in class about a certain subject.
iTunesU would be helpful for teachers so that they might produce "virtual lessons" for their students to watch or listen to. It could make some lectures more interesting for students. Teachers could also upload lectures for students who were absent and need to catch up with everyone else. Also, teachers could simply use lessons that were already uploaded as part of their lecture or use them to jog their memory on a subject they are about to teach.
TED would come in handy for teachers when they want to spruce up a subject that might be boring (yet necessary). There are tons of lectures on this website that can make certain subjects very interesting by putting new spins and adding new information that possibly even the teacher did not know about. This keeps it up-to-date and fun for students.
Part 3
For Kahn Academy, I watched US History Overview 1: Jamestown to the Civil War. In this video, Kahn gives an overview of the main events that occured in American History from the founding of Jamestown up to the Civil War in the 1860s. After Kahn initially discusses the founding of Jamestown (1607) and Plymouth (1620), he jumps ahead 130 years to 1754 when American History really came into play. He ends with explaining the implications that would turn into the Civil War.
This video gave some details, but basically showed the broad happenings of the US over time. Kahn used maps, dates, and photographs to give some visual explanation to his lecture. I found the maps especially helpful in reminding me where certain locations were. This would definitely be a vital tool for American History teachers to send to their students after that section of history is covered in order to summarize to them what was just taught.
On iTunesU I watched Pop Culture Influence under the Moments in American History Channel in iTunesU. This was such a neat little channel. It had 1-3 minute long videos based on one particular subject in American History. Topics ranged anywhere from the founding of Jamestown to the Feminist Movement. It used experts in each of the short video clips and made for a quick learning device.
Pop Culture Influence explained how much pop culture affects everyone, especially young adults. One man in the video said that by using the music, fashion, and art of a given period, it works as a "hook" to capture young adults attention when trying to get them interested in a particular history subject. The video ended asking viewers, "Does pop culture affect American societal times, or does American society affect pop culture?" It certainly left me thinking. What about you?
For TED, I watched Honor Harger: A history of the universe in sound. Harger begins with playing audio clips of the radio waves various planets and stars in space make. Harger runs a website that combines both her artistic nature and science that broadcasts the live sounds that these various planets and stars are making. Harger then proceeds to explain the history of our universe in sound. She starts with the invention of the telephone. Thomas Watson (who helped Alexander Graham Bell with the telephone) noticed the weird sounds that his telephone lines were picking up (and this was 10 years before the existence of radio waves was discovered). What were these sounds? The crackles were lightening and the chirps were solar winds interacting with the earth's atmosphere (aka Northern Lights). Later on, in the 1930s, a man named K. G. Jansky figured out that celestial bodies emitted radio waves. In the 1960s, two more men heard strange sounds and they researched and determined it to be the sounds of cosmic radiation.
This video was very interesting in that it showed not what our universe looked like and how it moved, but how it sounds. That is definitely a new take on learning about the universe
Part 4
Kahn Academy could one day help my (history) class in helping keep the student's memories straight with all the dates and events that occured. I could even use it as a source to keep dates straight for myself as a teacher! It certainly was cool to see how many subjects Mr. Kahn had made videos about. I guess he could be considered a Renaissance Teacher (highly knowledgeable about all school subjects).
iTunesU seems to have videos and podcasts about everything. I can even publish my own! It has so many interesting channels that can teach about literally any subject. As a teacher I can us channels such as Moments in American History Channel like I discussed earlier. It kind of gives students "the inside scoop" that a simple lecture might not be able to give. I could show some in my classroom or assign them as part of homework. Maybe I could even get my students to post their own?
TED lectures from around the world. I could see myself using this website to show opposing views on a particular subject and having my class analyze these differences and tell me who they agree with more and why. I could also simply show the lectures in class to help them think more deeply about my lesson rather than just hearing it.
Part 5
The actual assignment did not surprise me considering it is EDM 310. (We always have so much to do.) However, besides hearing about (but not exploring) iTunesU, I had not heard of either Kahn Academy or TED. They are good sources for a teacher to keep handy. As lengthy as this assignment was, I am glad Professor Strange introduced me to these resources. Adding to PLN now...
Blog Assignment 10
Do You Teach Or Do You Educate? by Joshua Bloom
This was an inspiring video explaining how we should educate rather than teach. Teaching consists of throwing all the information out to students and expecting them to know it. Educating is giving the information to you students in an inspiring way and letting them decide whether or not they want to learn it. At least, these are the definitions in my opinion.
I became an education major for many reasons, one of them being that I always dreamed of being the kind of teacher that kids would always remember as being their favorite. Not because I was easy and not because I was passive, but because I made class fun, interesting, and challenging. I got them inspired about history in the same way I felt about history so later on down the road when a history related question comes up on Jeopardy! or a historical monument is erected or they're at some history museum or decide they want to make a historical documentary or movie, they might know all about it or enjoy it possibly because they learned something in my class years ago.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home by Tom Johnson
This was an interesting way to set up an argument. Mr. Johnson effectively states his dismay with how some people react to new information through a quoted conversation. Though this particular conversation is about the use of pencils at home, I think Mr. Johnson intended the blog post to have a much broader interpretation.
Gertrude assumed that because statistics had shown that children who brought pencils home had lower standardized test scores, Mr. Johnson should stop giving his students paper and pencil homework. She entirely missed the point of this article. The problem was not the act of having pencil and paper homework, but what kids were actually doing with their pencils at home. The assignments the kids were assigned were boring and not engaging, therefore affecting the children's ability to creatively learn. These same kids who took the standardized tests had the same thoughts about pencils as they did about the "boring homework" thus causing their test scores to plummet. Mr. Johnson explained to Gertrude that he only assigned homework that would interest his students, but ultimately it was up to them what they did with their pencils.
This blog post is a classic example of people taking information out of context and isolating it. We must always remember there are conditions and circumstances for every bit of new information we come across. It makes me think of the numerous ads giving free things away. (The majority of the time, they are not free)
This was an inspiring video explaining how we should educate rather than teach. Teaching consists of throwing all the information out to students and expecting them to know it. Educating is giving the information to you students in an inspiring way and letting them decide whether or not they want to learn it. At least, these are the definitions in my opinion.
I became an education major for many reasons, one of them being that I always dreamed of being the kind of teacher that kids would always remember as being their favorite. Not because I was easy and not because I was passive, but because I made class fun, interesting, and challenging. I got them inspired about history in the same way I felt about history so later on down the road when a history related question comes up on Jeopardy! or a historical monument is erected or they're at some history museum or decide they want to make a historical documentary or movie, they might know all about it or enjoy it possibly because they learned something in my class years ago.
Don't Let Them Take Pencils Home by Tom Johnson
This was an interesting way to set up an argument. Mr. Johnson effectively states his dismay with how some people react to new information through a quoted conversation. Though this particular conversation is about the use of pencils at home, I think Mr. Johnson intended the blog post to have a much broader interpretation.
Gertrude assumed that because statistics had shown that children who brought pencils home had lower standardized test scores, Mr. Johnson should stop giving his students paper and pencil homework. She entirely missed the point of this article. The problem was not the act of having pencil and paper homework, but what kids were actually doing with their pencils at home. The assignments the kids were assigned were boring and not engaging, therefore affecting the children's ability to creatively learn. These same kids who took the standardized tests had the same thoughts about pencils as they did about the "boring homework" thus causing their test scores to plummet. Mr. Johnson explained to Gertrude that he only assigned homework that would interest his students, but ultimately it was up to them what they did with their pencils.
This blog post is a classic example of people taking information out of context and isolating it. We must always remember there are conditions and circumstances for every bit of new information we come across. It makes me think of the numerous ads giving free things away. (The majority of the time, they are not free)
C4T #3
The first comment I left on The Spicy Learning Blog was on the post Get up and Talk. In this post, Royan Lee explains how technology can sometimes overshadow the importance of speaking in front of the classroom. He says this is a part of the modern classroom and though it is a small part, it is very important. In my comment, I told him how I completely agreed and how it is especially true for EDM 310, a class all about technology.
In my second comment on The Spicy Learning Blog, it was on the post entitled Jermaine. The way Mr. Lee wrote this was very touching and I really recommend you go read it for yourself to get the entire feel of it. A basic summary of the post, however, is that Jermaine was a student who used his iPad to write his own music. It was a source of creativity and inspiration for him. Mr. Lee talked to him and asked him who taught him how to do all of that. Jermaine simply replied, "No one, sir." The conversation continues and Mr. Lee learns that Jermaine is not allowed to bring the iPad to class. Mr. Lee ends the post with, "...and [it] left [me] with the strangest mixture of anger and hope for our education system." I feel that I best made my response to this post through my comment, so in order to prevent being repetitious, I will paste my comment here.
"This post really got me thinking. In a world where electronics are taking over the world, should they have a place in the classroom as well? Jermaine felt his iPad was a source of creativity and spoke to him more than his own teachers did. This would be a good tool to help Jermaine become more interested in school. It’s not that we should buy a bunch of iPads and start making everyone in class use them, but instead look at what each individual uses for inspiration and creativity and seek to use that tool in the classroom for that individual. Of course, nearly everyone would have different inspirations and it would be hard to incorporate it all in classrooms where everyone is graded equally. Maybe, though, it can become a reality one day."
In my second comment on The Spicy Learning Blog, it was on the post entitled Jermaine. The way Mr. Lee wrote this was very touching and I really recommend you go read it for yourself to get the entire feel of it. A basic summary of the post, however, is that Jermaine was a student who used his iPad to write his own music. It was a source of creativity and inspiration for him. Mr. Lee talked to him and asked him who taught him how to do all of that. Jermaine simply replied, "No one, sir." The conversation continues and Mr. Lee learns that Jermaine is not allowed to bring the iPad to class. Mr. Lee ends the post with, "...and [it] left [me] with the strangest mixture of anger and hope for our education system." I feel that I best made my response to this post through my comment, so in order to prevent being repetitious, I will paste my comment here.
"This post really got me thinking. In a world where electronics are taking over the world, should they have a place in the classroom as well? Jermaine felt his iPad was a source of creativity and spoke to him more than his own teachers did. This would be a good tool to help Jermaine become more interested in school. It’s not that we should buy a bunch of iPads and start making everyone in class use them, but instead look at what each individual uses for inspiration and creativity and seek to use that tool in the classroom for that individual. Of course, nearly everyone would have different inspirations and it would be hard to incorporate it all in classrooms where everyone is graded equally. Maybe, though, it can become a reality one day."
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