Blog Post #8

This is How We Dream: Parts 1 and 2

In "This is How We Dream" Parts 1 and 2 Dr. Miller discusses how we can use technology in teaching. He begins by talking about how he grew up around books and dreamed of one day having a job that had something to do with writing. He did eventually write a book. However, it is now out of print and "you can buy it on Amazon for $0.59". He uses this to lead into the fact that paper and pencil (or pen) are disappearing. He talks about having students use the internet to complete school work.

This does not seem like such a big task when one thinks about how even the way we research has changed. Students used to spend hours in a library looking up information, now with a click of a button we can find anything on the internet. Writing is no different. Students used to write papers by hand, now we use computers to type our homework. This could be referred to as "going green" but we must also look at it as moving into the future.

I enjoyed watching these videos. I personally really enjoy online classes or blended classes. The other day I had to take a mid term that was two hours of writing essay responses. I hadn't written straight for two hours in a very long time and my hand felt like it was going to fall off at the end of the time. I think moving into the future and allowing students to become more familiar with the internet and its resources is a great thing. At the end of part two, he mentions people composing using the web itself. Although I don't fully understand what that is, it sounds very interesting and I would love to learn more.

Carly Pough's Blog
In Carly's blog she talks about her idea for a classroom project. She suggests students create a play list on YouTube with videos that are relevant to their philosophy as a teacher. She gives a list of criteria for the videos. She even included her own playlist as an example.

This was an excellent post by Carly. I really enjoyed reading it. You can tell that she is excited about her idea; her passion for teaching really comes through in this post. I think she did an excellent job in relating her project to Dr. Miller's ideas in "This is How We Dream". She even states that the assignments of reading chapters and writing book reports are outdated. After reading her blog post, I agree with her. This allows students to be explorers and use their creativity to learn.

EDM310 For Dummies and The Chipper Series
I really enjoyed these two videos. They were both informative yet entertaining. The Chipper series was a great video about sticking with a task (or class, or assignment) and opening your mind for learning. Poor Chipper did not want to do the work, she wanted to just memorize information and regurgitate it. It was interesting to watch her progression from being frustrated at school but in the end deciding to return. I also felt frustration at the beginning of EDM310. It is a different form of learning that does take some getting used to, but once you get through the initial, "painful" part it's a rather enjoyable class.

If I did a video for EDM310 I'd want to do "Surviving EDM310-Stick with It!" video. I think that in the beginning students are unfamiliar with the way EDM310 is taught. However, if they stick with it and open their minds up to a new way of learning, they can really enjoy this class.

In Learn to Change, Change to Learn we see a bunch of different educators who are basically attacking the way that our society has schools set up. They talk about how children have created a new way of communication by using their Facebooks, text messaging and email and yet these are all banned from schools. These tools are also ways for students to gain information, yet they are not allowed to access them while in school. One teacher says if she could reconstruct the modern classroom, she isn't sure it would be a brick and mortar building. Each teacher talks about the need for change and what we can do. In the end, one educator says, it's the death of education but the dawn of learning.

I found this video to be very interesting. That closing statement is powerful. Most teachers, and those learning to be teachers, were raised under a totally different way to educate. We all were lectured to and memorized facts we could spit back up onto a test. This is why, when we are learning this new method of teaching, for us it is hard. We want to do better for our students but we also must learn how to teach and not lecture. We must all take part in the changes in education.

Scavenger Hunt 2.0
For this assignment I watched a video about web 2.0. Then I visited Web 2.0 Tools to complete my scavenger hunt.

1. First I found a site that is similar to Facebook/Twitter. It is called Edmodo.com. This is a social platform for students, teachers, and parents. Teachers can post assignments on this site and communicate with parents. This site also allows parents to check homework and communicate with the teacher. It's a free website and very useful!
2. Second, I found a video tool I had never used before. It was called Animoto. With this tool you can create videos by uploading pictures or video clips and music. The site claims to create "completely unique" videos. It looked interesting, I will have to upload some pictures and try it out.
3. Third, I found a tool to create polls anywhere at any time. It is called polleverywhere.com.