Geek of the week

I was checking out the website sent to me from Dr. Ransom and was very excited to find this information available.  There were a number of great programs listed and each came with ideas of how to use them and why.  This is a great resource for current teachers that need the resources now, but also for us future teachers that will probably forget quite a bit of what we learn this semester.  Not that I want to forget it but my brain only holds so much information before some gets deleted. I especially like the news you can use program.  I believe that kids and adults should read some sort of newspaper daily if possible.  Although i this day and age most will read the internet.  Both are important.  First what a great way to practice reading skills but also a way to keep up to date on the happenings in the world.  This program would give kids an introductory look at news and may get them excited and motivated to check out the paper at home with their parents or open an internet site devoted to the news rather than MySpace.  I was forever trying to get the students I worked with to read the paper and they just flat out refused.  maybe had they been introduced at an earlier age they would have seen the importance of being up to date and how interesting a person can seem when they are knowledgeable about current events. 

Research paper-Social Networking

While doing the research for this paper I was really surprised to learn that social networking is such a new activity.  The first site was launched only about ten years ago, and now millions of people are using online sites to stay in touch or meet new people.  I am not a fan of online social networking as I feel that face to face communication is so important.  When communicating online it is impossible to really feel what someone is saying, for example IF I WRITE IN ALL CAPS AM I YELLING or did I hit the caps lock button on accident.  I do see the need for this activity but it needs to be used in limited fashion not as a main way of communicating.  While doing research I found that 93% of teens use the internet as a venue for social interaction.  This may explain why when I had a part time job and had to speak to the teens I worked with I thought they had no social skills.  Maybe if I could have communicated with them online we all would have been more comfortable.  I kid, but the fact is no matter how much computers advance being able to speak face to face to another human will always be important.  I do agree with using social networks in school if for the right purpose.  Posting homework assignments and keeping lines of communication open between home and school are great examples.  However having students collaborate on projects online rather than in person to me seems backwards.  Students need to meet each other and get to know each other to be part of society.  Sitting in a room typing on a computer all day will lead to social isolation and a distorted view of reality.  If we want to teach anything about social networking in the classroom let us teach internet safety, and, like in Ed. Tech class, how to use the available programs in case they will help with future employment.  Having the knowledge base is beneficial but to make a whole class online or have all assignments done online I personally think will have long lasting negative effects.  At my last job when a new employee was hired rather than introduce himself he sent an all staff email.  To this day I never met him and had no desire to try.  We need to leave our offices, cubicles, bedrooms, etc. and get out in the world.  I found that social networking may have a lot of benefits but to me as a society we are already using it too much and the effects are starting to show.

Technology Fair School #9

It was really great to see the article in the newspaper March 21, about the technology fair at school #9.  I was so happy to see that a school is not only using the technology we are learning about but trying to spread the word.  One teacher that was in school in the 70’s stated that he was happy when his teacher let him try typing on a monochromatic computer screen.  Today that teacher is running a computer lab that has the ability to teleconference with classrooms around the country and the world.  What an amazing feeling that must be for that teacher.  Another teacher talked about how she helped teachers at school #9 set up classroom web pages using “My Teacher Pages”.  Now 20 teachers at school #9 have set up classroom web pages, and the reaction of the parents has been outstanding.  Just to hear that parents are excited about their children’s learning makes all of the difference.  The article mentioned items such as SMART boards, document cameras, LCD projectors, and dance pads.  I hope we will be learning about those in our class as they seem more prevalent than some of the programs we are learning about.  The best part was the picture showing a teacher experimenting with a zoom scope and smiling from ear to ear.  If technology can be used to make teachers excited about teaching then imagine the students reaction.  Fourth grade teacher Charles Hall summed up the excitement and curiosity about technology saying “the teachers are as bad as the fourth graders”.  Technology is going to be a great tool as long as it is available and teachers are taught how to use it to get the most out of their students.

Blank

 Is it possible to just blank out and have nothing to write about?  These last two weeks we have had system overload in tech class.  I can barely remember programs that we are learning about.  Dr. Ransom had good advice telling us to use the stuff we are learning in a personal way.  He gave the example of communicating with relatives overseas.  I would love to do that but life keeps getting in the way.  Every time I sit down at the computer I feel as if I should be doing schoolwork, not fooling around with new programs.  I could make my homework in tech class to take time and try new things, but I have to do a research paper for that class.  I could have done it today during my sons nap.  However, the sun was shining as it rarely does and I could not stay inside.  What is the best technology?  What programs are more important to know.  Is there a way to narrow down the list so that we can concentrate on the programs that we might see in the future.  When I am at the schools where I am observing this semester the students are mostly using the computer for reading programs.  In class we have not learned about these reading programs.  Will they be taught to us by the school district we work in or are they self explanatory?  I wish I could say I am seeing kidspiration projects on the walls, or evidence of a class blog, but I am not.  Do these teachers know what we know or are we the next generation of teacher?  I definitely feel more tech savvy.  In the future may it come in handy.

A chilly Observation

Saturday morning I was out clearing the snow from my driveway.  I noticed that my neighbors had the same idea.  As I cleared the snow I was thinking of what to write in this weeks blog, then it hit me.  I noticed that my one neighbor had his driveway cleared by a plow company, another used his own truck to plow, the guy across the street was shoveling (poor sap), and I was using a snow-blower.  Four houses, four different types of technology, four different levels of effort, and four different levels of economics represented.  One guy had enough money to pay to have his chores done.  Another was able to own a truck and plow and do his own chores with little effort.  I was able to afford the snow-blower, but had to put in more effort and be cold.  The shovel guy, well we all feel for him but do little to help.

This takes me to my observation.  The four guys represent the four different types of schools and their economic resources.  The guy that paid and had to put in no effort other than to write a check represents the private schools like Harley.  They have more resources and have the latest in technology.  The guy with his own plow represents the Suburbs.  Less resources than private schools, but more students.  Suburban school districts do however have more than the urban or rural districts.  The guy with the shovel, and me, with my snow-blower, represent the urban and rural districts.   I could not decide which represented which so I called it a tie. 

The amount of effort to get quality outcomes struck me also.  In the private schools and suburban districts it requires less effort, like the plow guys, because you have the support of the community or parents.  The people in the rural and urban districts have to really overachieve to attain the positive results of the private and suburban schools.  I think that the urban and rural districts have a lot of teachers willing to shovel for their students but I think the majority would rather plow.

Amazing what you think about as you freeze your @!# off.

When to buy?

With all of this new technology the question that I here a lot is when to buy.  I purchased an I-pod shuffle for my wife three years ago for 100 dollars.  Now after three years of enjoyment it does not work anymore.  I spoke to a classmate that works at the apple store in the mall and he said that he has seen a lot of that.  He did say that I could have it fixed, but, now that same model is only 50 dollars.  On top of that he said that the new ones are smaller and have a longer life expectancy.  So I spent 100 dollars for a lower quality item.  Does this seem backwards to anybody else?

Another example, I bought a new video camera for the family for Christmas.  It is a nice one that records directly to CD.  Here is the catch.  I cannot play these CD’s in my high priced CD player.  In addition the AV outlets that I would need to plug the camera into to play through the TV are only on the front of the TV in the basement.  So now if I have family over to see home videos of my son doing amazing things we have to go sit in the basement rather than the living room.  My other option is to spend more money and buy a new CD player or TV.  When does it end?

So how does this relate to schools?  When new educational programs come out and they are priced at the highest level should schools buy then?  What happens the next year when the product comes out with the new version that is better and costs less?  Do school districts receive a rebate?  I didn’t!  I can understand teachers wanting the newest programs and gadgets for student learning I would to.  However, I can see it from the administration’s and taxpayer’s point of view that new isn’t always the best or the most cost effective.

There is no more annoying feeling than buying yourself a new piece of technology only to have a friend buy it two weeks later for less money.  We are moving so rapidly that we are inventing and selling items that are not even the highest quality they could be.  Maybe the world needs to slow down and really create a piece of quality technology that wont be obsolete in five minutes. This would at least make paying for it truly worth the money spent.  Another option, offer people the opportunity to buy some sort of warranty that states that if a newer, better, or cheaper model comes out within two years the buyer can upgrade or receive a rebate. 

Meanwhile you can find me in the basement watching home movies and using my wife’s I-pod as an expensive table leveler.