Blogs I listened to:
Rachel: http://rsister2.blogspot.com/
Scott: http://scottchedister.wordpress.com/
Jenny: http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/
My audio response can be found at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ajdodge2/shared/blog_response.mp3
Monday, October 13, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sky
The 3 posts labeled "Sky" underneath this are examples of digital storytelling of 3 different types of media. The first one I posted (at the bottom) is a video. This was shaped very specifically by animoto's design because it does most of the work. All I did was find some Creative Commons pictures, save them to a file on my computer, and then find a Creative Commons song and save it. I just uploaded these to animoto, and it put the whole presentation together, including the length. This would be a good introduction to any class period and would certainly keep students' attention because of the speed and movement of pictures. However, it would not be able to show any concept in much detail, or allow any kind of editing to explain the concept.
The middle type of media below is a digital scrapbook. This was great because I could include any pictures and any text that I wanted. I believe it also had the option of some animation. This resembles a PowerPoint in the sense that you can put almost anything you want on there, and arrange it however you want. However, it is limited because it can not be easily edited in the classroom. An example of what I mean for this is if you had a graph and some text explaining it, it would be a little tricky to then draw, say, a line of reflection during the class period if a student was wondering about that.
The most recent post (immediately under this post) was useful because I was able to record my own voice. A teacher could put up a picture of a graph and have a little explanation of it. This would be extremely useful if there was a substitute teacher that day or if the teacher wanted to post the presentation online. One way this is inferior to live lessons is that the audio will continue to play whether or not a student has any questions or missed something. This could be solved by having the teacher have quick access to the pause button, so they could immediately clear up misunderstandings. A limitation to this type of media is that there is a more limited number of pictures that can be shown because it takes time to listen to audio. However, it is really nice to have the audio and visual go together because that way, it can reach students who are both visual and audio learners.
The middle type of media below is a digital scrapbook. This was great because I could include any pictures and any text that I wanted. I believe it also had the option of some animation. This resembles a PowerPoint in the sense that you can put almost anything you want on there, and arrange it however you want. However, it is limited because it can not be easily edited in the classroom. An example of what I mean for this is if you had a graph and some text explaining it, it would be a little tricky to then draw, say, a line of reflection during the class period if a student was wondering about that.
The most recent post (immediately under this post) was useful because I was able to record my own voice. A teacher could put up a picture of a graph and have a little explanation of it. This would be extremely useful if there was a substitute teacher that day or if the teacher wanted to post the presentation online. One way this is inferior to live lessons is that the audio will continue to play whether or not a student has any questions or missed something. This could be solved by having the teacher have quick access to the pause button, so they could immediately clear up misunderstandings. A limitation to this type of media is that there is a more limited number of pictures that can be shown because it takes time to listen to audio. However, it is really nice to have the audio and visual go together because that way, it can reach students who are both visual and audio learners.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
"Growing Up Online"
I went to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/ and followed the link called "Watch the Full Program Online," where I watched a PBS video called "Growing Up Online." Nothing in the video really surprised me that much because I have heard about the dangers and problems of spending too much time online. However, I do think the video is misleading in how big of a problem this is. Yes, there have been cases of bullying and predators, and we should take those seriously. However, this video seemed to interview kids that were much more addicted to the internet than most people I know. Most of the people I know have a facebook, and they admit that they spend too much time on it. But, I don't believe facebook replaces face-to-face contact. If anything, it keeps people in contact with each other enough that they can use facebook to keep updated on the basics of their friends' lives so that they will have something to talk about when they meet up face to face. I have the passwords to a couple of my friends' facebook accounts, and I do go on them, but I don't have my own facebook account and I don't want one. I feel like it would be too much work. I prefer seeing my friends regularly and talking on the phone. While I'm sure that there are people in the world who are online as much as the video says, I don't think it is something everybody, or even most people, do to that extent.
Like Jenny said in her blog at http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/ I think it can be a problem when kids are uneducated about the internet, but it is easy to educate them. I once had a teacher who said that she never typed anything into a computer that she didn't want read over the announcements at school. If kids are shown how open the internet is, I think they can be smart enough to protect themselves in most situations, which is a point the video eventually made.
In Brittney's blog at http://brittneynow.blogspot.com/ she said that she worried about the impact of the internet on her future students. I agree that the internet can be very dangerous. However, we know that technology is constantly changing, and in a couple years when we are teachers, the internet will be a completely different place from what it is now. Now that all of these problems are being researched, there may be enough awareness that some of the dangers can be fixed.
I really like how Emily mentioned in her blog at http://edirks.blogspot.com/ that we can't blame the internet for all of our problems. I agree with that. The internet is just bringing problems to light, and possibly making them worse, but overall, the problems existed before the internet. 10 years ago, kids were still bullied and people still committed suicide. The internet makes it easier for this to happen, which is a problem, but we should realize that these problems existed before the internet, and so only handling the problems that the internet causes will not get rid of all the problems.
Like Jenny said in her blog at http://atejenniper.blogspot.com/ I think it can be a problem when kids are uneducated about the internet, but it is easy to educate them. I once had a teacher who said that she never typed anything into a computer that she didn't want read over the announcements at school. If kids are shown how open the internet is, I think they can be smart enough to protect themselves in most situations, which is a point the video eventually made.
In Brittney's blog at http://brittneynow.blogspot.com/ she said that she worried about the impact of the internet on her future students. I agree that the internet can be very dangerous. However, we know that technology is constantly changing, and in a couple years when we are teachers, the internet will be a completely different place from what it is now. Now that all of these problems are being researched, there may be enough awareness that some of the dangers can be fixed.
I really like how Emily mentioned in her blog at http://edirks.blogspot.com/ that we can't blame the internet for all of our problems. I agree with that. The internet is just bringing problems to light, and possibly making them worse, but overall, the problems existed before the internet. 10 years ago, kids were still bullied and people still committed suicide. The internet makes it easier for this to happen, which is a problem, but we should realize that these problems existed before the internet, and so only handling the problems that the internet causes will not get rid of all the problems.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Money for Grades?
I read the article at http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-money-for-grades-11-sep11,0,4916582,print.story about how students are getting paid for their grades, and I originally thought it was a terrible idea. I would probably expect all educational professionals to be in agreement about whichever side of the debate they support, but I found this article at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_200405/ai_n9360319 that gives a wide range of opinions from several professionals. Since this is question of educational theory, it surprises me that people who have all studied education, and who have been taught that learning has intrinsic value, do not agree on this issue. After reading these different views, I am a little more understanding of why some people might think it is a good idea to pay students for their grades, even thought I don't support it. We want kids to succeed, and it is hard to turn down paying them if that is the only way they will succeed.
In general, I think it is a bad idea to pay students for their grades for the reason that this article at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/IsItSmartToPayForGoodGrades.aspx states. Yes, students do need motivation to do well in school. However, if they receive money for their grades, they run into danger of valuing money over learning and knowledge. It is setting kids up for the real world where everything is based on money, but the real world would be better if money was not so important. By initiating children into the real world so young, we are giving up hope that society can change. If I had children, I imagine that I would want them to appreciate knowledge for its own sake, and not raise greedy and spoiled kids.
As a taxpayer (even if I don't contribute much yet), I agree with this man's blog at http://blogs.chron.com/lorensteffy/2008/08/grades_money_bu_1.html where he explained why he is opposed to giving students money for good grades because eventually the money will probably come from taxes. Even if it is just now using private donations, that may not always be the case. I especially like how he agreed that better grades mean the student will receive more money- but he meant that better grades mean a better education and a better job.
USA Today has an interesting article at http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2008-09-10-pay-for-grades_N.htm which reports how CEOs of companies, who spend their days motivating paid employees, responded when asked about kids being paid for grades. I find it interested that it reported that more than half of CEOs supported the idea, but only 15% of principles supported it. Principles realize that school is not the same thing as the business world and they are highly educated in educational philosophies, so I believe their opinions are more reliable.
In general, I think it is a bad idea to pay students for their grades for the reason that this article at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/RaiseKids/IsItSmartToPayForGoodGrades.aspx states. Yes, students do need motivation to do well in school. However, if they receive money for their grades, they run into danger of valuing money over learning and knowledge. It is setting kids up for the real world where everything is based on money, but the real world would be better if money was not so important. By initiating children into the real world so young, we are giving up hope that society can change. If I had children, I imagine that I would want them to appreciate knowledge for its own sake, and not raise greedy and spoiled kids.
As a taxpayer (even if I don't contribute much yet), I agree with this man's blog at http://blogs.chron.com/lorensteffy/2008/08/grades_money_bu_1.html where he explained why he is opposed to giving students money for good grades because eventually the money will probably come from taxes. Even if it is just now using private donations, that may not always be the case. I especially like how he agreed that better grades mean the student will receive more money- but he meant that better grades mean a better education and a better job.
USA Today has an interesting article at http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2008-09-10-pay-for-grades_N.htm which reports how CEOs of companies, who spend their days motivating paid employees, responded when asked about kids being paid for grades. I find it interested that it reported that more than half of CEOs supported the idea, but only 15% of principles supported it. Principles realize that school is not the same thing as the business world and they are highly educated in educational philosophies, so I believe their opinions are more reliable.
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