Sunday, July 12, 2009
Journal#5
I think that many people in the world are probably too intimate with their cell phones and computers and other technology. Based on the points that Turkle makes, it seems that those people who are aware that it is not necessary to rely on a Blackberry or check their email every 15 minutes, may be better off in the long run for retaining more of their “humanity”. I myself have never actually felt the need to be in the technological “in-crowd”. I don’t have a Blackberry. I didn’t even have a cell phone until I could afford to pay for one when I was 19. I’ve never owned an iPod, not because I’m against them, just because I’ve never felt like I needed one. Honestly this article makes me think that “TheMatrix” might one day become a reality.
Journal#4
Is it realistic to think that blogs could work in lower elementary grades? I think for very simple things that they could work. For things like weekly discussions as homework and things of that nature it may be a little beyond students lower than 4th grade. However I think that for a specific unit say in science or history, that you could ask students to do some research and provide instructions for students to post some information that they learned to a blog, and then as the teacher, you could respond to student posts with some questions or possibly use those questions to start a discussion in class the following week.
How do I think I could best utilize the use of blogs in my future classroom? As I plan to teach 2nd or 3rd grade my point made above would apply. I could see the use of a blog to be very helpful in communicating with parents sort of like a newsletter. I think I could also use it to post weekly homework assignments so that parents would have a way of knowing what their child is supposed to be doing instead of relying on their children to tell them. I have found out in my limited time spent in elementary classrooms, that there are some students that will lie to their parents about their homework, telling them that they don’t have any or that they already finished it. This could be a tool for parents, the ones who care to check anyway, to know exactly what their children’s homework assignments are so that they can check to make sure that it is finished and it could be used for both students and parents as a way to post questions that they may be having with homework assignments as well.
Journal#3
How can I apply what I have learned in reading this article to my future teaching? I had no idea that visual search engines even existed and it only took one search on one of the sites mentioned to understand exactly what they were talking about in the article. It made me realize that there are probably infinite possibilities for technologies that people create for a certain purpose that can have so many other uses if creative minded individuals take time to fully understand them. The iPod, which is a must have in the minds of most teens and younger children alike, has evolved tremendously since it was first created. I myself have never owned one, but I am familiar with how to use them. The newest version of the iPod Touch, which is controlled mainly using a touch screen, is able to wirelessly connect to the internet and allows users to download not only songs, but an infinite number of games and applications in just seconds, could easily be in the hands of every elementary school child in the next decade. If there is wireless internet capability in every school classroom, I predict that the iPod will become a valuable educational technology in the near future.
I am going to replace my second question with a connection to a video article I saw once. It was an education professor talking about video games being the future of education. He said that video games consist of ongoing problem solving and assessment. He said that video games essentially present you with a series of problems that you must solve in order to continue. If you can't solve them, then the game will tell you, "you fail, try again." Then once you solve the problem, you face a boss, which is basically a “test” on that “unit” of the game. He says that they are fun because, unlike students learning in schools today, they don't separate learning and assessment. It’s really interesting when you think about it and definitely goes with the context of this article.Journal#2
I would like to know if there are plans to lend this technology out to other districts that may be interested. I didn’t catch any information that hinted at this and I think that if it has made as big an impact as it sounds like it has, that it is something that could be utilized in other districts as well.
I would have liked to know a little more detail about how the site works and what kind of different options there are for teachers and students on the site. The article described generally what kinds of things are on the site such as blogs and so forth, but I was curious about how the site works possibly more from a teacher’s perspective. Like can the teacher set up a class page and does the teacher control the layout and available options for the students in their class? I don’t recall reading anything about whether or not curriculum is incorporated to create an online element to individual classes.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Journal Reflection #1
This article was very interesting. I had a very basic understanding of most of the things mentioned in the article. However most of what I know about Google, I have discovered on my own. It was interesting and very insightful to have the opportunity to have it explained in plain terms. The article talks about how it is a known fact that Google is a very popular search tool and that people use it quite frequently. It then goes on to point out how the millions of people that use Google can make their searches on Google more effective.
1. Is it necessary for students to understand everything that is explained in this article? I don’t think so. I do think that the information in this article can certainly help make using Google a lot easier and more effective. I also think that the more information that they are able to understand about making searching easier, the better off they’ll be.
2. If I wanted to find a way to help students better understand the things mentioned in the article, what could be a good way to do it? An idea that I was thinking of, assuming that they know very little about advanced features of Google, would be to design a class project and let groups of students complete a section of the project. The teacher could do a walk through with the students pointing out how advanced search features can be more effective. The teacher could do this in a way as to provide a starting point and let the groups complete their part of the project.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Intro to Me...
My name is Cory Caldwell. My experiences with technology include things like using the a home computer and the internet for surfing the web and sending email. Yes, I have a myspace and a facebook and I have spent many hours of my life watching videos on youtube. I also enjoy playing video games, and like the billions of other people in the world, I have a cell phone. I have met the CSUSM CCR requirement by passing 4 test sections including word processing, spreadsheets, internet, and ethics and viruses.
My educational experience includes six years at Palomar College before transferring to CSUSM. My major is liberal studies and I plan on getting a multiple subject credential with a subject matter authorization in Earth/Physical Science. My first semester at CSUSM was spent completing the prerequisite courses for the Integrated Credential Program. For anyone who may not be familiar with ICP, it is a program where students can complete their credential classes while simultaneously completing their upper-division requirements for their bachelor's degree. The program is completed over 3 years, which includes the prerequisite semester and student teaching. I have completed two semesters of the ICP. In my pre-req semester I completed 45 hours of classroom observations ranging from elementary to high school, though most of those hours were spent observing elementary level classrooms. Last semester I did a field practicum experience, which should not be confused with student teaching, where I was assigned to a classroom where I had a master teacher and was required to teach 3 lessons to the class over the course of the semester and spend a total of 96 hours in the classroom working with students during group activities as well as providing individual help to students who needed it.
What I hope to get out of EDUC 422 is a new set of tools and strategies to add to the knowledge that I continue to gain on my way to becoming an elementary school teacher. For those of you that don't already know, in the credential program you will hear a lot about "life-long learning". This is a concept that I firmly believe in, not just for teachers but for everyone. The idea is that you need to be continually building upon your knowledge and evolving your ways of thinking so that your thoughts and ideas are not ignorant, uninformed, or outdated, i.e. people in the south who are still moaning and groaning about the emancipation proclamation. This class for me , although it is a requirement, is an opportunity to learn some tools and strategies that can be used to enhance the learning environment of my future students. Hopefully I will able to use the things that I learn in this class to help me reach out to each and every student so that they can reach their full learning potential.