Practice

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

After reading this blog I feel like Mr.Fisch is bias against teachers who are technologically illiterate. My mother is a high school teacher and she is about as computer savvy as a 2 year old. She can not check her email or even a simple text message on her phone but she knows how to teach. Its not how well you know today's technology. Its how well can you relate the material to the class.

I have had teachers who were experts on the SMARTboard but they could teach for crap. All they knew how to do was draw a problem up on the SMARTboard, solve the problem, and then ask if anyone has any questions. That is not teaching, that is showing the class what you know. It takes a special person to teach and be affective. The technology doesn't make the classroom, the teacher makes the classroom.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

I agree with Kelly Hines on all points. Its not about how hard you teach to the students, its about how well you get that point across. You don't have to be a genius to be a teacher. You don't have to be a technological expert to teach in today's society. All you have to do is be able to get the matter across to the students.
In order to get information inside the students head you must first be the student. If you can't teach it to yourself how do you expect to be able to teach it to someone else? Technology itself can help you get your point across to the students but the main thing is the teacher. If the teacher is good then the type of technology is a mute point.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This was a very accurate depiction of students today. Most students will be 20,000 dollars in debt by the time they graduate. Money is the issue in today's world. We thrive on money, we can't eat, sleep or even read without money. What does a student do on the computer when they sit in class? Facebook? Myspace? The answer is both and don't even get me started on the book dilemma. I spent 456 dollars on books this semester. I ended up getting 3 books. How is that even possible?!

I don't know how to fix the problems in today's society. I sure don't know how to even attempt to approach them. All I can do is learn to cope and deal with them. Is that how we want our children to see us? Do we just want to learn how to deal with the problems and not fix them? Technology might be the answer to some of these problems but its not the answer to ALL of the problems.

Langwitches Blog

In this blog I learned about a 3rd grade class that took podcast technology and turned it into a way to learn about endangered/threatened animals in Florida. 3rd graders learning about podcast? I didn't know how to tie my own shoes in 3rd grade never the less work a computer. It is crazy that 3rd graders are becoming familiar with the technology that I myself am learning right now, IN COLLEGE! These 3rd graders are learning about new ways to do research and new ways to explore the internet.
I also read about this workshop for parents.This workshop can help parents monitor their child's internet access. Parents these days are always worried about the dangers of the internet but this workshop can help put parents a ease. Its a great workshop for any worried parents out there.

Tech Literate Teacher

I really enjoyed watching this video. The atmosphere of the video really put me at ease and I was able to relax and enjoy the video. The students in this video were very knowledgeable of the technology in today's class rooms. They mentioned that even though teachers teach the class they still had to be students. They had to learn how to use the teaching tools so that they could explain it to the students.
Some of the things I would have changed in the video really wouldn't have enhanced the knowledge that came out of it. I would have asked everyone the same question and ask everyone to comment on every aspect of that question. I would have picked a better angle to film the discussion. I would have provided a dress code so it looked professional. All in all I enjoyed everything about this video.

Podcast Reviews

The first podcast that i listened to was Kidcast episode 62. This episode really caught my attention because the host talked about "Vodcasting". Vodcasting is short for Video podcasting. Video podcasting is podcasting but is using video as the media. I do think that this is a progressive step in today's society. We have grown from using audio as a means for communicating and now we are using video to communicate with the world.
The next podcast that I listened to was Macbook Weekly episode 157. This is kind of like a talk radio show. I really enjoyed listening to them talk about the new Ipod and the new itunes. I do have to new itunes and I use the software in the new itunes. Genius mix is a cool way to listen to music on your own computer. It was a very informative podcast.
Strobest photography. What is it? In the podcast This Week in Photography episode 104 they talked about strobest photography. The Cannon G9 is today's top quality of camera. I don't know much about cameras but it sounds like this camera is the future of photography. This podcast is a lot like a talk show. I don't know much about this subject but it was very easy to follow.
I listened to the SMARTboard lesson podcast episode Teachers Connecting 11: Year End Ideas. This was the most entertaining podcast! The hosts were just so energetic. They talked about personal experiences and things that were happening in today's news. I think that today's society is headed towards a "no paper" society. Everything is just so high tech. I am looking forward to see what the future holds for us.