My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are now Complete

Hello all!
So we have come to the end of a successful class! Hope you all are not too stressed out finishing all of the lovely final exam and project stuff for the class. Good luck to everyone, I hope to see some of you in my other education courses, have a fantabulous summer! Peace!
Ashlyn Wilcox

My Final Post

I learned many things this semester in EDM, and most importantly I learned how to use them in the classroom in order to make my students' journey through education as enriching as possible. This semester, I learned how to use all of the following programs and tools: Word Documents, presentations such as Powerpoint, spreadsheets such as Excel, blogs, podcasts,programs such as ALEX and ACCESS, RSS feeds, hyperlinks,and sites like Google and Wikipedia.

A few of them were more important than others and I spent long amounts of time practicing them. We spent the entire semester learning about Blogs and how they can be helpful to students and teachers. We kept up with our class blogs, adding required posts every week, as well as a professional blog that should us how to use the Internet as a job resource. ALEX and ACCESS are programs that we need to know about when we get into our professions and we spent a lot of time discussing how these things are helping our grade school youth make it to graduation. Spreadsheets and word documents also gave us the chance to use software in real world situations, showing how these things can be helpful in our everyday life as well as work.

I do feel like there are some things we could have spent time on that we didn't in the course. One of those would be web pages. I would have to have learned how to create a web page that I can eventually use as a resource for my students, including notes they may have missed and maybe links to other sites and resources they could use in their studies. I would have also been interested in discussing how to incorporate technology into curriculum in places where funds can be low and resources scarce, so that I would be able to see that my students got the best knowledge of technology possible, even in poor conditions.

Overall I do feel like I took away a substantial amount of knowledge from this class about things that I previously did not know existed, or did not know how to use very well. The class allowed me to learn new techniques that will help me become the best educator possible and therefor generate a better understanding of subject matter to my students. I enjoyed the semester!

Wikipedia

The man pictured above is Virgil Griffith. He is a graduate student at California Institute of Technology. He has taken a look into the reliability if the online encyclopedia Wikipedia to find out who exactly is changing the information you read. Now anyone can change or add info on anything that is on Wikipedia, the problem is that instead of doing this for accuracy purposes, some are changing information to make them or their companies look better, and flat out lying about things.

It's amazing that it is possible to track down the IP address of the computer that made the changes to the Wiki article. By using this technology, you can find out if the changes were made from an individual at home on his computer, or from the office of the president of a major corporation. For instance they found the makers of the electronic voting machines (used in presidential elections) Diebold deleted several paragraphs expressing concern about the machines reliability. Walmart also changed a few words around in their encyclopedia page to change the meaning of their wages to the complete opposite!

So what does this mean about the accuracy of the site? Well, like the Wired reporter said in the podcast, of course some people are going to be scared off form using the site to post or read information. But I don't think they should be. I think Wiki is a good tool to use for your everyday questions. Now it should always be kept in mind that the site can be altered by anyone, and therefore the information you read cannot always be guaranteed 100%. I also feel that with growing technology more advances can be made to find out who is making the changes and to keep them from false-ifying the entries.

Overall I think a lot of people have became more wary of using Wikipedia, and that's not a bad thing. As a student, I'm never allowed to use the encyclopedia for educational purposes. Because the information can be changed by anyone, anytime, it's just too risky to use it as fact sometimes. But I believe that when used and monitored properly, the site can be an amazing tool! It enables people to get online and share the information. Imagine taking a room and filling it full of people who all know at least one fact about photosynthesis. Those people together could tell you everything about it by the time you heard every individual thought! This is what Wiki does, allows people to come together with their knowledge to share with one another in order to educate the masses. It's amazing when you stop to think about it...

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch's last lecture is amazing. It's hard to believe that someone in his position could be able to look at life the way he does and not be angry or upset with the crappy hand he'd been dealt. Pausch had a very interesting look on life and was such an inspirational person that he made it seem so simple to be positive in the worst situation possible. It's not hard to forget during this lecture that Pausch is dying, because he doesn't seem sickly or depressed. Instead, he used the opportunity to speak out to people and tell them that they could also fulfill their dreams before they died. Regardless of what age a person is or what they're facing ion their lives currently, everyone should listen to this lecture, because I believe that anyone can gain piece-of-mind from it.

My favorite part of the lecture was when he spoke of his childhood dreams. With each one that he accomplished, he hit that brick wall that seemed impossible to forge through. Yet somehow, his initiative led him to overcome, even when others thought he was crazy. To quit his job with only a small possibility that he's get the other one, just to get 25 seconds of the zero gravity that he had hoped for as a child is such a brave thing to do. I don't think I know anyone that would take that risk for a half a minute of something non-tangible. I also love that he turned down the permanent job as a Disney Imagineer. He worked so hard and no one gave him a chance, and then he bribed his way into a lunch that only got him a project paper that he had to fund himself. So when the opportunity finally arose, and his potential was finally recognized, he decided to follow his intuition that he wouldn't be happiest there.

Randy Pausch had the most amazing outlook on teaching. He basically said that if you tricked the student into enjoying the hard stuff by making fun, then the students would learn more than if you stick to the old fashioned way. Through his work towards the creation of Alice , he helped develop a program for high school students to learn how to program by creating these stories that are theirs. They can have fun and be in control of what they're doing while learning these skills that otherwise seem impossible to teach students their age. Pausch is definitely leaving his mark on the youth with this legacy.

My view on teaching has been altered by this lecture. I think if more of the lectures I receive during my college career could be along these lines, that I would be gaining a more valuable education than any textbook could offer. I think I'll have my students forever listening to this lecture and reading the book about it. If I can affect one student the way Randy Pausch undoubtedly affected all of his, then I will consider my life as an educator successful. Originally, I wanted to become a high school teacher because it was convenient for me. I want to become a mom young and I don't want to spend a lot of time out of my home and away from my family, not to mention the personal benefits I could receive for my family. But the more I am inspired by these truly devoted knowledge givers like Pausch, the more excited I am to embark on my journey through the molding of young peoples minds.

"Why wireless? Because their century demands it." -Karl Fisch

On the Fischbowl Blog I read the post from November titled Why Wireless. This blog was about a high school that is going wireless. This way students, parents, and staff alike will have access to the internet on and around the campus. The school offers many online resources and information and this way they can guarantee that everyone gets a chance to access it. It also sees that students can get information from online resources that aren't included on their website.

The thing is, alot of parents were questioning the usefulness of the school doing this. They're afraid that this just offers one more distraction for the kids who already have short attention spans. It's a very valid fear and since I was in high school a few years ago I know how easy it is to allow technology to keep you from doing what you need to. Heck during this post alone I wasted at least 20 minutes checking my facebook! These parents are harboring fears that technology might be hindering they're children when it comes to school work rather than encouraging them to finish it!

I however don't agree with these fears. Yes it is easy to get distracted by the limitless web, but with the right guidance and restrictions the wireless connection can only make life easier for students. There is so much information out there that no one person (teacher) can hold all of it in their head. Nor can a library have enough books to hold every piece of information a Google search can. The internet can be such a help to students and can be such a relief for parents! Imagine trying to help your sophomore with Trigonometry homework that you haven't a clue how to do. What if the entire lesson plan and notes for the week are one click away, on the internet. Not to mention things like live chatting with tutors and teachers that answer your questions instantly and even use web cams to show you the material if it's necessary!

I saved my best argument for last. When your child graduates high school or college and enter a place of business, what skills are they going to need the most? Will it be how to write book reports, or how to make web pages? Will it be how to work a library catalogue or how to use a search engine online? Will they walk down the hall from their office to the business library to find a fact in a book, or will they use the all-powerful machine on the desk in front of them? We need to be preparing our students for the world they are going to enter, and that's one ran online, and wireless.

last semesters podcasts

The first of the podcasts I watched was Blogging and Teaching, by Rachel Davis, Justin Tullis, and Myrenda Howze. This blog told listeners about the benefits blogging can offer for teachers in the classroom. It told teachers about how they could list their homwork assignments and lesson plans on these blogs so parents can log on with their children. It also talked about how the students could benefit from providing one another with feedback about the blogs they post and collaborate together on things.

All together I enjoyed this blog and thought the three creators did a great job. A few tips probably couldn't hurt though, right? One thing is when your talking it's important to keep your audience engaged. In doing that, you should watch out for verbal fillers, in this case the word "um" is used a lot. Since you are over the air with no visual feed to look at, your relying on your voice to keep attention on the material your presenting. The material it's self in this podcast however was great in my opinion! If I had never used a blog this would have been a huge help on some pros to beginning one.





The second podcast I listened to was titled Possibilities for using Facebook in an Educational Setting and was authored by Allison Midget and Shaundretta Bethel. This podcast explained to the audience reasons for the social network Facebook to be helpful to students. It gave a quick overview of all the applications Facebook offers like ones that enable you to rate your college professors for other students to see. The podcast is pro-facebook use by students and offers a very valid arguement for that case.


I enjoyed the Facebook podcast and think it was very informative. A huge tip that I would offer goes back to the way the information is presented. With only your voice to offer for those listening, you have to make sure you can keep their attention. Being too monotoned can make it too easy for a listener to tune you out and miss your information, which might be extremely important. Being a substitute teacher has already shown me how hard it can be to capture teenagers attention sometimes. So if you had studetns listening to a podcast, it would be important to keep that attention so that the full benefits of the podcast can get across.

Technology and Teachers

Computers are a huge part of society, and a very non-negotiable part. Technology is not a choice, or something that is used for recreational uses only. Computers and the web aren't strictly toys, and not many people can get through a job without having some knowledge of navigating these new-age textbooks. So knowing that students need this education in order to be successful in life after graduation, why would anyone think it acceptable for the educators of the students to be technologically illiterate?





In this blog, Technologically Illiterate, Karl Fisch addresses this issue. After viewing another bloggers rant on the subject, Fisch expresses his own long held-back feelings on the issue. What I don't exactly get is why anyone would think that this material is in any way annoying or unacceptable. Why would any person living in the technology driven world today argue with the fact that teachers need to know how to prepare students for the world? Regardless if someone likes technology or not, it doesn't change the fact that it dominates society and success. So to anyone that thinks that making teachers do they're job correctly is too harsh, GET OVER IT!





Now not all of our 50 years and older ladies and gents in the education department should be expected to go back and get a degree in computer design and graphics. Some sufficiency classes, however, might not be a stretch. Papers should not be hand written when a printer does such a better job. Class time should not be wasted on attempting to read through books to see if the info you need is there, when a simple keyword search can do it in seconds. And how about the blogs, podcasts, and online museums of the web, why not use them to put more information in a child's mind then you could possibly do alone in front of a room for 45-60 minutes a day?





Fisch isn't the only one worried about our students education. Take for instance the Teacher Magazine (keyword: Technologically Illiterate), who also has spent some time wondering, are our teachers ready for this century? Of course times change, they always have and will continue to do so, so why then is it a surprise that teachers should accommodate these changes just like they always have? Bottom line, Being technologically illiterate is not acceptable for teachers. They have a job to do, perhaps the most important in the world, and they have to do so to the best of their ability. As an aspiring teacher, I'm appalled at anyone who wouldn't want to be as prepared as possible when a students education and intellect is in your hands.



Where would our doctors be without the technology breaks we've had in the past 35 years? What about our scientist? Not too mention the substantial progress we've had in evidence collection for our police officers and lawyers. Why should teachers be any different? After all, we are the ones who train the students to become these functioning parts of society. I have to agree, a teacher who can't "get" the technology age, is the same as a teacher not being able to read one hundred years ago.