Final Thoughts

When I signed up for this technology course I was a bit nervous about what we would be doing in class. I feel comfortable using basic programs on my computer, but before taking this class I had never used or heard of many of the programs that we explored. I found all of the exercises we did to be extremely useful!

• Google: I had no idea how many different resources were available on Google. I enjoyed working on the ichat to communicate with my partner about the video project. I would also like to take advantage of Google documents. I like this program because you can interact with others on a project. Working with this program on the first day of class made me think back to how useful it would have been during college. It seems amazing to me how you could use the Internet and collaborate with partners from all over the country to create a project.
  

• Podcasts: The amount of podcasts available on iTunes was a bit overwhelming at first. I had no idea that this resource existed. I really enjoyed our podcast assignment because it showed me how I could use these video and audio clips in my classroom. The podcasts that I found are definitely things that I plan to use in my classroom.

• Shutterfly: I have used other photo programs online, but this was my first experience using shutterfly. Creating the photobook was one of my favorite activities. This is a project that I could use with my students to document the things we are doing in class. It would also be a tool for me to use as an educator to document the things I am doing in the classroom.

• You Tube Video. The video assignment was the most challenging and frustrating task that we did in class. I love our end product because I know how much work we did and how much help we needed to get it completed. I can see how my students would feel this same type of accomplishment after making a video in class. Before taking this class I had the goal of creating a video with my students but I was a bit nervous to get it started. I feel much more comfortable and excited to try this with my first graders.

• WebQuest: Webgarden was an excellent program to explore. It provided very clear step-by-step instructions and useful hints. It was very time consuming to create the webquest, but I am excited to try it with my class. This is a very creative and interactive way to explore a topic. I also enjoyed searching the web to find other webquests to use in class.

I really enjoyed the computer class. I feel that I am walking away with a huge toolkit of ideas to try with my class! I am very excited to bring these ideas back to school and explore the programs that we have available on our campus.

Chapter 2: Abundance, Asia and Automation

Chapter 2 Abundance, Asia and Automation

Introduction

• Middle-class of the 1970’s.The goal was to go to college
• Professional jobs were obtained by attending higher education courses
• Traditional gatekeepers: PSAT, SAT, GMAT, LSAT, MCAT. Success is determined by answering questions in a timed situation.
• This system rewards left-brained thinkers.

• Trend is shifting towards right-brained thinking

Abundance

• An abundance of discount stores that offer goods at lower prices.
• A new standard of living where everything is in abundance.
• Designs and products that are available to all. Ex. Designer toilet brushes, major designers now selling goods at chain stores.
• A new focus on spirituality, purpose and meaning verses a struggle to get by day-by-day.
• Pink’s Big Question: Candles. Why do people still buy candles if we have electricity?

Asia

• Knowledge workers face competition from outsourcing.
• Computer programs are replacing traditional jobs:

• Big idea. Taxes. How many people make an appointment to see an accountant verses logging onto an online tax program? What will happen to all of the accountants?
• The difference in salaries paid to US workers makes it more of an advantage to outsource to other countries. Why pay someone$1,000 when you can pay only $300 for the same outcome?
• Outsourcing is a great way for companies to cut on costs, but how are workers going to adjust to keep their jobs?
  

Workers must transition to right-directed thinking in order to compete in the job market. What skills or talents can they offer?

Automation

• The legend of steelworker John Henry. The man that was outdone by a machine.
• The machine was faster and can recover more quickly.
• 

Man vs. Machine

• Computer vs. man in the game of chess.
• Chess is a game of left brained thinking: memory, analysis and reasoning are essential skills.
• Computers can complete the left-brained task faster and without the interference of human error:
• Headaches, emotion, fatigue, margin of error, etc.
• Routine type of jobs can be completed faster and with more accuracy when done by computers.
• The effects on white-collard workers:
• The changing role of doctors: online programs now available as a way to diagnose and determine a treatment plan.
• The changing role of lawyers: online programs to seek legal advice. The ability to access and download legal documents.
  

Office Visits vs. Online Programs

• You must make an appointment
• Office fees per visit
• Fees for time spent by lawyer preparing documents ∑ Available to anyone online at anytime

• WebMd for health advice about symptoms
• CompleteCase.com
• Lawvantage.com
• (Pink pg. 46)

Conclusion
To compete in the technological world, workers must excel at tasks that cannot be done by computers. To compete, individuals will have to transition to right-brained ways of thinking and performing.


Pink, D.H. A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books, 2005.
John Henry
www.postalmuseum.si.edu/.../BIGjohnhenry.jpg
May 10, 2008

Copyright Assignment

Looking through each of the copyright links made me realize how little I knew about using, publishing and sharing material. It is important for teachers to understand how they can appropriately and legally use resources in the classroom.

I liked the Fair Use chart on the Fair Use and Guidelines page. This chart helped to break down how to apply Fair Use to different types of materials. I think that educators need to be more careful about reproducing and sharing materials that are used in the classroom. One important guideline mentioned on this page was to aim to use only the necessary amount of information as possible.

Another important issue addressed on the Fair Use and Guidelines page was the place of ethics in regards to copyright infringement. Teachers need to realize that using the defense of “It is for educational purposes” is not a blanketed right to use and reproduce copyrighted materials. If we are going to hold our students accountable for citing sources and not plagiarizing, then we as teachers must learn how to monitor our own practices. I found the Fair Use and Teachers section extremely informative. I think that teachers need to be better informed about how to protect themselves from violating copyright laws. Perhaps this would be a great topic for a Professional Development day.

One interesting point discussed on the Keeping it Legal page was the issue of the boy using a surf picture in his class project. Though it would fall under Fair Use for him to use this picture in his report, it became a new issue when the teacher decided to publish the report on the web. Jamie McKenzie brings up the important issue about how to manage and protect information being viewed on web pages. I think that he offers very practical advice at the end of the article when he advises teachers to request permission to use resources. McKenzie also brings up the importance of teaching our students to respect the work of others. This issue receives a great deal of attention when it comes to sharing music files over the Internet. We must teach our students to honor the rights of individuals.

The Stanford page provided a great deal of information about copyright issues. I found the section on reproducing text materials particularly important. Also, I had no idea about the rules for the reproduction of music.

I took the Shakedown Cruise at Copyright Bay and found the quiz to be very thought provoking. I had to really think about my answers and there were several questions where I found myself opting for the safest choice rather then the correct answer. As a teacher, I need to be familiar with fair use and copyright laws so that I can help my students learn how to use information found on the Internet safely.

Podcast Review 2

It was a bit overwhelming to search through iTunes, but I ended up finding some really interesting podcasts.

1. Storynory, Audio Stories for Kids: The Three Little Pigs

I would recommend this podcast for primary teachers. This podcast provides a dramatic reading of the classic story The Three Little Pigs. Though this podcast is not a video and does not provide visuals, I think that it would be a valuable learning tool in primary classrooms. There are many follow up activities that we could do as a class after listening to this podcast. One way this could be used is to have the students listen to the story and create illustrations for it as they listen. In addition, we could practice listening comprehension skills by having the class answer follow up questions about the story they heard. This podcast could also be an independent activity for a student. Listening to this podcast demonstrates fluency and voice intonations that would help any developing reader.

2. Dragonfly.TV. Podcast: Taste Test PBS Kids Go!

I would recommend this podcast for grades 1-4. This video podcast features real kids conducting science experiments. It was creative, fun to watch and this particular topic would be appropriate for when my first graders study the 5 Senses. I enjoyed this podcast because the students guided the entire experiment. This would be a great way to get a primary group of students motivated about science. The experiment was fun, safe and it could easily be recreated in the classroom.

3. Great Speeches in History form LearnOutLoud.com
I Have A Dream Martin Luther King Jr. Great Speeches in History

This podcast provides a link to famous speeches in history. This would be a great resource for a junior high or high school level history class. I selected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech because he is part of our first grade social studies program. Though I would not play the entire speech for my students, it would be great for them to actually hear Dr. King speaking before a crowd. This podcast is only an audio feed and provides no video. However, I still think that it would be a very powerful experience for students to hear him speak. In addition to Dr. King, I also found a link to a speech given by John F. Kennedy. This link could be used in a 5th grade class as they study US Presidents.

4. Reading Rockets Meet the Author Series WETA
Author David Shannon

In this podcast students have the opportunity to listen to authors speak about their work. I listened to David Shannon speak because his books are very popular with my first grade students. This podcast was only about 7 minutes long so my first grade students would be able to sit and listen. The great part about this podcast is that he shares how he began writing, how he finds inspiration for a story and how he works through the writing process. I would use this podcast to help my writers to better understand the writing process. They would really be excited to hear an author that they love speak about books. In particular, he refers to his children’s stories No, David and A Bad Case of the Stripes. My students love both of these stories. I also found a link to the author Gail Gibbons. She is another author that creates wonderful non-fiction stories for young children. I would recommend this podcast for all grades because you can search through different levels of authors.

5. The Reading Workshop Dr. Frank Serafini
Implementing a Reading Workshop

I would recommend this podcast as a possible topic for professional development for elementary teachers. I listened to Dr. Serafini speak about the importance of using reading workshops in the classroom. He discussed the issue of teaching to the test verses allowing teachers to be more creative. The Podcast is a bit dry in delivery but he offers good advice about implementing a Reading Workshop. One important discussion point is the comparison of classroom management verses providing structure. He recommends developing a structured environment to help your students succeed.

Podcast Review

PodCasting and Education

What do you think of Podcasting in education?
Before taking this class I had never explored podcasting and all the resources that are available on iTunes. It was amazing to search through iTunes and see all of the possibilities available. Listening to the McKinsey report for our homework assignment the first week of class was the first time that I had ever listened to a podcast. I enjoyed the option of being able to replay the recording as I was taking notes.

Podcasts would be an excellent tool to use in the classroom. The FAQs for Podcast Fans provided great resources and tutorials to help a beginner become comfortable using podcasts. This help page would be easy for a middle school aged learner to navigate independently. A teacher could also use this page in a whole group lesson to teach younger learners. I like the idea of using podcasts in my classroom because they are so easy to access. The subscribe option listed on the FAQs page would be a great way to stay updated on the latest videos and recordings.

How could you use Podcasting in your classroom?
In the article Podcasting in Education there were several ideas listed about how to use podcasts in the classroom. One idea that would be perfect for my first grade readers is to use recorded books. I began to explore iTunes and found several podcasts that have dramatic readings of books. LearnOutLoud.com has provided narrated versions of Aesops fables. This would be a perfect independent activity for my students to work on in class. We currently use books on tape, but our supply of books is limited. Using podcasts on iTunes would enable my first graders to try many different stories.

Another suggestion was to use podcasting for professional development. A principal could assign a list of podcasts for a staff to listen to and then create a follow up project. The great thing about this approach is that it is convenient, affordable and teachers can choose subject areas that are relevant for a particular grade level.

Teachers can also create a podcast to help students with homework or make up assignments. I found a link to a teacher that provides math tutorials for his students. This would be a great tool for students to access when they are working on assignments at home and need extra help. A teacher could also assign a podcast for homework and then provide a follow up assignment as we do in this computer class. This would also be a way to help students that have missed school to get caught up on work.

Finally, I think that students can learn a lot from creating podcasts. Danny Sullivan suggests in his article Making an RSS Feed, that podcasting is a great way to share information and research with a larger audience. I found a podcast created by a Kindergarten class that was formatted like a radio show. Students acted as reporters and spoke about the things they had been learning in class. Creating this type of podcast would be an excellent way to let parents know about things happening in the classroom. It was mentioned in Podcasting in Education that these programs will help students to become more creative and as they become active in the learning process.

Web Activities

Funbrain.com.
I really enjoyed playing the math game Bumble Numbers on funbrain.com. This would be a perfect activity for my first graders to practice their addition facts. I like that you can choose your skill level before beginning a math game. My students could play this independently or with a partner. I also enjoyed the Mad Libs activity because the game let you choose verbs, adjectives and nouns from a list of possibilities. Many of these words, however, would be beyond my first graders. This might be an activity that we could try as a large group. I think they would enjoy reading the silly story at the end. Another game that I tried was Spellaroo. I liked this game because students are asked to read a sentence and pick out the word that is incorrect. I think this would be a fun game to try as a big group. Though I selected the beginner level, many of the words would be difficult for my readers.

Teach-nology.com seems like a great resource for teachers to use. In particular, I liked how the lesson plan section was organized into monthly themes. This would be a great resource to use when I am looking for projects for Mother’s Day or a special holiday. I also really enjoyed the math flashcard game. This would be a great tool for my students to use to practice subtraction and addition facts. I like that you can choose how many cards to play, the difficulty level and it gives you encouragement. One resource that I did not like is that the “hint” option just gives the correct answer. I thought it would be better to actually give a strategy instead. I think that my first graders would definitely be able to play the flashcard game independently or with a partner.

pbskids.org, Cyberchase: This page had a lot of different activities. This might be an activity that I would let my students choose during free time. I think that they would enjoy the animation, the sounds and the game choices. I tried a math game and paper delivery game. Both were fun and they integrated math concepts into the activities.

My favorite link is starfall.com. My students love to play on this website. It is very easy to navigate and it provides a variety of learning activities. One of my favorite tools is the interactive book section. Students can read or listen to books. Each story also has some type of interactive game to play. Students are not only reading, but they are also interacting with the characters. Each month there is a different theme book. This website is a great independent learning station because students can navigate the site very easily and can choose from a variety of learning activities.