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.

Podcasts

From watching the many podcast we were assigned to this week, I learned the importance of using technology to your benefit in the classroom. Podcast can be very useful tools in sharing information over the web to large audiences that it might be otherwise difficult, or expensive, to get the info to. You can podcast about anything imaginable, but I find the educational podcast the most useful personally. As a teacher, these can be very affective tools for allowing students to fully understand how much the technology around them can help them succeed.





Connect Learning is a podcast by a guy named David Warlick, pictured on the left. This Podcast is designed to discuss emerging technologies and how to use them in classrooms, grades K-12. How can we use the internet to strengthen their learning habits. Kids today are growing up with technologies being no more new to them than a book is to our generation, so why not give them what they're used to? Kids love blogging and podcasting, rather than writing for no one but their teacher. These blogs, such as episode 96, discuss things like how to put these things in motion to help our next generation learn to use yet another tool for gaining knowledge.








SmartBoard is a podcast hosted by award winning teachers Ben Hazzard and Joan Badger, who teach the useful tasks of Interactive Whiteboards. These boards are a combination of computers, projectors, and whiteboards/white walls to create an easy to use and change picture to go along with lesson plans. The two hosts also gave lessons and shared links so that someone could follow along with them. They would take the time to address questions emailed to them over the air. Unfortunately, the podcast is no longer airing, but you can still listen to the ones already recorded, which hold very helpful information and tips.







EdTechTalk and KidCast go along these same lines, showing educators and students alike the great advantages of technology. ETT allowed people watching and listening to participate in interactive chat rooms about the podcasts. KidCast is geared toward instructing teachers on how to build successful podcasts for their students. It also stresses the importance of podcasting for a purpose, a message, instead of having students go through the motions just to say they did it. This way, students are able to relate to the message, therefore absorbing the purpose of the podcast more effectively.








Like I said before, many people podcast about millions of different things! For instance, MacBreak Weekly is all about Macintosh and whats new in the biz. This way mac and apple owners and users can log on and listen to any new product information that might be useful to them. This Week in Photography is also a different type of podcast. On here, photographers of all kinds can come and listen, as well as watch, the new products, tricks, and news on the job, or hobby, they love!






Podcasts can be fun and very easy. They enable people to share words with no more effort than just to speak them! No confusing written instructions, no long drawn out directions, and no typing for hours. Just speak, or listen, or both! Podcasts are something I plan to use in my classroom as an educator, and in my home as a parent.

Blogging in Schools

Life in the Middle is a blog for the middle schoolers at International School Bangkok. The students in the elective publications classes have created their own online newspaper in which they blog on issues in their communities and world wide. For instance, one student blogged about one of the schools favorite snacks and how he is trying to get them sold more often! Students throughout their entire school are encouraged to get online and comment about the issues they discuss in the blogs they post. This international blogging site is a great idea that all schools should take up.

ePals is a international blogging website for grade school students worldwide! This site is designed for teachers to come on and create classrooms for students to connect with other classrooms world wide. Students are able to become pen pals, share project work, and learn of each others countries. About 200 countries are involved today and language tools allows for translation. Collaborating with other students in the world helps the students to be more open to work. ePals is a great cultural exchange process and is a great tool for students, in the classroom and at home!













The Write Blog is the above pictured elementary students blog page. The students are in the fifth grade and they write better than most of the college students I know! The blog is intended to give these students a better appreciation for writing. It helps that they are able to interact with one another while doing it so, making it more fun! The teacher also subscribes them to many other teachers and people in the community to give them feedback for their work. These blogs are definitely worth looking at, and everyone should take the time to check them out!









Reecy Aresty, pictured to the right, is the creator of The High School Blog, a blog dedicated for students in grades eight through twelve. This blog also separates it's posts according to grade level so that the material the students post/read is age appropriate. The site is mostly geared to getting into college. Aresty is a long time financial advisor and lecturer and is very qualifies to give both students and parents the information they need on getting to college. This site is a must have for any high school in the business of furthering students education!