Today's presentation by Glen Gatin was very good! This presentation helped me realize how important it is for teachers to teach their students about the whole world of technology. If students are unfamiliar with this new world of technology, it is going to make it very hard for them to find jobs, as many jobs now require this as a skill.
Teacher's today are so lucky to have all these great resources! Virtual Environments, crazy! but cool! There are many different virtual tours online that teachers can take their students on. By using these virtual environments as a resources it will allow for students to take field trips, that they would not normally get to go on. Another thing I liked about the idea of the virtual environments, is that many students learn by visuals. We hear so much about multiple intelligences, this would be a great way to reach those visual learners.
This is a resource I am going to use in my future classroom, no matter the subject! If it is safe, I will use it! I can either take my students on a trip through Rome for my Social Studies class, or take them on a trip through space for my Science class. There are so many options!
I wish we would have had more time to talk about the safety of Second Life, as I am still a little sceptical about sending my students out into this unknown world. I know there are a lot of great things teachers can do with it in regards to education, but I would like to learn more about how to keep my students safe while using this resource. I am also a little sceptical because I do not want my students to get caught up in this virtual world, and forget about reality.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Internet...Good or Bad?
Today's presentation via Elluminate Live! was crazy...crazy in a good way. I hear about all the distance education nightmare stories on how boring watching a screen is, but this was far from boring. Alec Couros presented his material amazingly from University of Regina, but it was like he was right in our classroom.
One thing that stood out in the presentation was the question is the internet good or bad?
Today's parents are so worried about the bad, that it can blind them from the good. Internet can be a scary thing for many parents, as many are not up to date with this age of technology. I know that there are a lot of creepers out there in cyber space, but technology is so advanced that you can know everything your child is doing on the internet, at any time. So why not show them how to make sure their child is having a positive experience online? And why not show them how to block websites and secure their computers at home so that they feel safe about their child being online?
As soon to be teachers, it is our job to have strong communication with our students parents. It will also be our job to show parents that the internet is a good thing and that it helps make a students experiences at school, a better one. I think if parents realized all the good that the internet has to offer, they would change their minds on the internet being a negitive experience for their child.
If I have parents uncomfortable with their child using the internet at school, I wouldn't mind having an open house night to show them whatever they want to know about the internet. I would do this so that they can become more comfortable with this great resource, and so that their child doesn't miss out on using this great resoure.
Stay Classy!
One thing that stood out in the presentation was the question is the internet good or bad?
Today's parents are so worried about the bad, that it can blind them from the good. Internet can be a scary thing for many parents, as many are not up to date with this age of technology. I know that there are a lot of creepers out there in cyber space, but technology is so advanced that you can know everything your child is doing on the internet, at any time. So why not show them how to make sure their child is having a positive experience online? And why not show them how to block websites and secure their computers at home so that they feel safe about their child being online?
As soon to be teachers, it is our job to have strong communication with our students parents. It will also be our job to show parents that the internet is a good thing and that it helps make a students experiences at school, a better one. I think if parents realized all the good that the internet has to offer, they would change their minds on the internet being a negitive experience for their child.
If I have parents uncomfortable with their child using the internet at school, I wouldn't mind having an open house night to show them whatever they want to know about the internet. I would do this so that they can become more comfortable with this great resource, and so that their child doesn't miss out on using this great resoure.
Stay Classy!
Friday, January 15, 2010
So Much Information...So Little Time
So our last term of school has started, and I'm already feeling overwhelmed. What is even more overwhelming is all the information we received during the two hour presentation by John Evans. The Nominee for Best Individual Twitter of the Year provided us with so much great information; I just wish we had an extra two classes so we could take it all in.
As I sit here and think about what to write about, so many different possibilties cross through my mind. One thing I recall from John's presentation was a YouTube video called, Do Schools Kill Creativity? He told us to watch this video, and we'll have no trouble writing a blog, so that is what I am going to do right now, wish me luck!
(Watching Video)
Lol, I'm not going to lie, when I saw that the video was 20 minutes long, I thought, "great, I'm going to have to sit through this boring video for that long." Was I ever wrong! What a great video, funny and eye opening! Two thumbs up!
Sir Ken Robinson makes so many great points throughout this video on how the education system needs to change when it comes to academics and creativity; I don't know where to start. I'm not going to talk about the whole video; because I believe it is worth watching yourself, but there are a few things I am going to talk about.
I definitely agree with Robinson when he says, "creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." The education system needs to change its ways and rethink its view of intelligence. There are so many brilliant students out there that are not getting rewarded for their creativity, and this shouldn't be happening.
Another thing I found interesting in the video was Robinson talking about, by the time we have all become adults, we are frightened to be wrong. I think this is very true! I know sometimes I am frightened to be wrong. For example, this blog, I hope I'm doing it right! It took me a lot of time to think about what I wanted to blog about.
I hope everybody watches this video, believe me it is not boring. Robinson is a funny guy! Let's start being the ones to help change people's throughts about, "Mistakes are the worst thing you can make."
I'm going to leave you with a quote that I really enjoyed in the video; I hope it inspires you as much as it inspires me, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."
Stay classy!
Reference:
Robinson, T. (2008) Do Schools Kill Creativity? Ideas Worth Sharing.
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/ on January 15, 2010
As I sit here and think about what to write about, so many different possibilties cross through my mind. One thing I recall from John's presentation was a YouTube video called, Do Schools Kill Creativity? He told us to watch this video, and we'll have no trouble writing a blog, so that is what I am going to do right now, wish me luck!
(Watching Video)
Lol, I'm not going to lie, when I saw that the video was 20 minutes long, I thought, "great, I'm going to have to sit through this boring video for that long." Was I ever wrong! What a great video, funny and eye opening! Two thumbs up!
Sir Ken Robinson makes so many great points throughout this video on how the education system needs to change when it comes to academics and creativity; I don't know where to start. I'm not going to talk about the whole video; because I believe it is worth watching yourself, but there are a few things I am going to talk about.
I definitely agree with Robinson when he says, "creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status." The education system needs to change its ways and rethink its view of intelligence. There are so many brilliant students out there that are not getting rewarded for their creativity, and this shouldn't be happening.
Another thing I found interesting in the video was Robinson talking about, by the time we have all become adults, we are frightened to be wrong. I think this is very true! I know sometimes I am frightened to be wrong. For example, this blog, I hope I'm doing it right! It took me a lot of time to think about what I wanted to blog about.
I hope everybody watches this video, believe me it is not boring. Robinson is a funny guy! Let's start being the ones to help change people's throughts about, "Mistakes are the worst thing you can make."
I'm going to leave you with a quote that I really enjoyed in the video; I hope it inspires you as much as it inspires me, "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original."
Stay classy!
Reference:
Robinson, T. (2008) Do Schools Kill Creativity? Ideas Worth Sharing.
Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/ on January 15, 2010
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