Did anyone else look at the video conference by Karl Fisch? This looks amazing. I have to admit I am overwhelmed with the magnitude of the set up. There were computers connected to Skype, students had laptops for blogging, other computers for blogging, parents were emailed so they could see their children using these tools. This activity looks like a total team effort in order to pull it off. For me, the problem is that I get excited about these big activities and want to do them as well. To be realistic, I do not have the know how or time to do something this exciting. Should this be something we work with our school TILs to bring to our school. On a similar note, our school is going to connect to a worldwide Math initiative and have scheduled times for the entire school to participate. This accomplishes the use of technology and improving math skills as two of our school goals.
Has anyone tried an activity similar to Fisch but to a lesser degree? Please share.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Connectivism
I just found this video about student learning in connectivism. It simplifies things. The video also explains the role of the teacher.
Playing in the Sand
I am having a blast trying new tools in technology. I still worry somewhat about trying a new tool that does essentially the same as a tool I just learned. To date I feel comfortable with the following:
Blogging - getting hooked. I check my blog and blogs in our class many times a day.
Google - Awesome. Google Earth is fantastic and the tools within igoogle and google reader are great.
Skype - Hired a teacher using skype for the first time. That certainly opens the door to a large pool of candidates.
Bubbleshare - By far the quickest tool I have laerned. It was so easy to upload pictures and have them ready to share.
Wiki - I just started my own wiki for my project. It is in the infant stage but ready to grow.
Delicious - I am overwhelmed with the amount of information in this site.
Google Docs - This has been helpful for sharing documents but I wish it would work to share files as well. This could be the fault of the user not the program.
I remember a prof telling me that technology is great but it has to be user friendly or the trade off for time spent doesn't make sense. By sharing what works well can help us all.
Blogging - getting hooked. I check my blog and blogs in our class many times a day.
Google - Awesome. Google Earth is fantastic and the tools within igoogle and google reader are great.
Skype - Hired a teacher using skype for the first time. That certainly opens the door to a large pool of candidates.
Bubbleshare - By far the quickest tool I have laerned. It was so easy to upload pictures and have them ready to share.
Wiki - I just started my own wiki for my project. It is in the infant stage but ready to grow.
Delicious - I am overwhelmed with the amount of information in this site.
Google Docs - This has been helpful for sharing documents but I wish it would work to share files as well. This could be the fault of the user not the program.
I remember a prof telling me that technology is great but it has to be user friendly or the trade off for time spent doesn't make sense. By sharing what works well can help us all.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Learning!
Remember the Seinfeld episode when George convinces Jerry they should write a show about nothing? It made sense but failed to pinpoint or explain what it was about. Through alot of reading and discussions I am taking a similar approach about learning. Students learn from EVERYTHING! We can't possibly measure everything that students learn or how exactly they learn. I learned from my parents, brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends, cousins, grandparents, opposition, people I didn't know, etc. We learn when reading, watching, daydreaming, doing, etc.
My point is that I believe our role as educators is to continue to learn ourselves and be open to many opportunities for students to learn. We need to look at ways we most enjoy to learn. We need to take a look at EVERYTHING and sift through what we want to use and what is most useful to us. In terms of technology, not all advances are wonderful for us to use. For example, while driving home on the weekend I listened to a program regarding Google Latitude. You can locate people through their cell phones and know exactly where they are. At first I thought Cool, this would lead to social interaction in person, but now I am skeptical about the misuse of this program. Even though I may not use this technology, I learned something new. We are constantly learning.
My point is that I believe our role as educators is to continue to learn ourselves and be open to many opportunities for students to learn. We need to look at ways we most enjoy to learn. We need to take a look at EVERYTHING and sift through what we want to use and what is most useful to us. In terms of technology, not all advances are wonderful for us to use. For example, while driving home on the weekend I listened to a program regarding Google Latitude. You can locate people through their cell phones and know exactly where they are. At first I thought Cool, this would lead to social interaction in person, but now I am skeptical about the misuse of this program. Even though I may not use this technology, I learned something new. We are constantly learning.
Comments...
I thought I would comment on the comments from my previous postings.
First Bubbleshare. Jim, this is awesome. In a few easy steps you can download pictures from your computer and share with others. You can search pictures in numerous categories. Adding captions to your pictures is just a click away.
Second, Godin's list about education. This provided an excellent opportunity to bring out the passion of what is important in education. I believe we do not take the time to think about all the extras educators do to help students. Teachers should be appreciated for their efforts. Godin is obviously having fun with this list or ... (I will let you fill in your opinion). He is clever enough to include some valuable points on his list but also includes points for further discussion.
Thank all of you for your input and passion for education.
First Bubbleshare. Jim, this is awesome. In a few easy steps you can download pictures from your computer and share with others. You can search pictures in numerous categories. Adding captions to your pictures is just a click away.
Second, Godin's list about education. This provided an excellent opportunity to bring out the passion of what is important in education. I believe we do not take the time to think about all the extras educators do to help students. Teachers should be appreciated for their efforts. Godin is obviously having fun with this list or ... (I will let you fill in your opinion). He is clever enough to include some valuable points on his list but also includes points for further discussion.
Thank all of you for your input and passion for education.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
In The Fischbowl
The Purpose of School
After reading the “Fischbowl”, I found it interesting to think about the purpose of education. I know, at times, I get caught up in the moment. We all may focus on what is currently happening and trying to look at change for the better. Along the way we tend to forget the “little” things that are also important for the students.
“The purpose of education is to appropriately prepare our children for their future.” – David Warlick
I believe this quote is an accurate statement about the purpose of education. However, upon further reading I like how his quote changed to "The purpose of education is to make the world a better place!" We concern ourselves with academic scores and then turn our attention to antibullying progams, to virtues programs, to PLCs, to AFL scores, to attendance issues,etc, etc…
The purpose of education is the well being of all students, teachers, parents in achieving success and the pursuit of happiness. We need to focus on everything to help our students become contibuting members of society. Schools need to be a place where students feel safe and view as a positive place to be. It is the combination of everything we do to make school (education) a positive experience while preparing students for life outside of school. I am including a list created by Seth Godin that seems to cover what the purpose of education is. Feel free to add to the list.
Become an informed citizen
Be able to read for pleasure
Be trained in the rudimentary skills necessary for employment
Do well on standardized tests
Homogenize society, at least a bit
Pasteurize out the dangerous ideas
Give kids something to do while parents work
Teach future citizens how to conform
Teach future consumers how to desire
Build a social fabric
Create leaders who help us compete on a world stage
Generate future scientists who will advance medicine and technology
Learn for the sake of learning
Help people become interesting and productive
Defang the proletariat
Establish a floor below which a typical person is unlikely to fall
Find and celebrate prodigies, geniuses and the gifted
Make sure kids learn to exercise, eat right and avoid common health problems
Teach future citizens to obey authority
Teach future employees to do the same
Increase appreciation for art and culture
Teach creativity and problem solving
Minimize public spelling mistakes
Increase emotional intelligence
Decrease crime by teaching civics and ethics
Increase understanding of a life well lived
Make sure the sports teams have enough players
After reading the “Fischbowl”, I found it interesting to think about the purpose of education. I know, at times, I get caught up in the moment. We all may focus on what is currently happening and trying to look at change for the better. Along the way we tend to forget the “little” things that are also important for the students.
“The purpose of education is to appropriately prepare our children for their future.” – David Warlick
I believe this quote is an accurate statement about the purpose of education. However, upon further reading I like how his quote changed to "The purpose of education is to make the world a better place!" We concern ourselves with academic scores and then turn our attention to antibullying progams, to virtues programs, to PLCs, to AFL scores, to attendance issues,etc, etc…
The purpose of education is the well being of all students, teachers, parents in achieving success and the pursuit of happiness. We need to focus on everything to help our students become contibuting members of society. Schools need to be a place where students feel safe and view as a positive place to be. It is the combination of everything we do to make school (education) a positive experience while preparing students for life outside of school. I am including a list created by Seth Godin that seems to cover what the purpose of education is. Feel free to add to the list.
Become an informed citizen
Be able to read for pleasure
Be trained in the rudimentary skills necessary for employment
Do well on standardized tests
Homogenize society, at least a bit
Pasteurize out the dangerous ideas
Give kids something to do while parents work
Teach future citizens how to conform
Teach future consumers how to desire
Build a social fabric
Create leaders who help us compete on a world stage
Generate future scientists who will advance medicine and technology
Learn for the sake of learning
Help people become interesting and productive
Defang the proletariat
Establish a floor below which a typical person is unlikely to fall
Find and celebrate prodigies, geniuses and the gifted
Make sure kids learn to exercise, eat right and avoid common health problems
Teach future citizens to obey authority
Teach future employees to do the same
Increase appreciation for art and culture
Teach creativity and problem solving
Minimize public spelling mistakes
Increase emotional intelligence
Decrease crime by teaching civics and ethics
Increase understanding of a life well lived
Make sure the sports teams have enough players
Hawaii Vacation...Using Bubbleshare
BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing
You can click on the photos for full size viewing. The captions were fun to play with but do not completely show up in this screen.
You can click on the photos for full size viewing. The captions were fun to play with but do not completely show up in this screen.
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