In this blog post, Dr. Mcleod criticizes people views about technology. When I read it the first time I thought he was all against technology. After rereading it I realized he was stating facts on why people hate technology, but he still lets his children do things. I like the fact he says he does the things with them. Most parents do not know what their children are doing on the computer because they do not pay attention. I agree that technology is very useful if used for the right things. My parents were against facebook, after hearing bad things on the news. After realizing there was no way to take it away the checked on us often when we got online.Dr. Mcleod is the Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky, as well as, the Founding Director of UCEA CASTLE.
The iSchool Initiative
In his Youtube video, Travis Allen talks about his great change to the iTouch. The name is the iSchool. In 2009 I was also a senior in high school but technology was not on my mind. Technology was never that important to me. I did not know what facebook was or how to use it. I believe that Travis is a very intelligent young man. I am sure that some schools are already trying to take the initiative and convert from books and paper to iPads, as well as, MacBooks. All of these products are created by Apple. I personally do not have an iPhone, iTouch, or iPad. I do not know how to use any of them or the Macbooks. Although I want to invest in an ipad it is way to expensive. I think it is way too expensive to supply every child an iSchool. I do not think it will be fair for some students to have them and others do not. I know there are thousands of new apps created to help improve and assist students, teachers and other professionals within our school system.
In his video, he discussed how our school system can save money and at the same time allow students, teachers and parents all access to the student's work, assignments, school events, test scores and more. Travis' proposal is for every student to own and use the iSchool in place of books, pens, calculators, planners & other required school materials. By using this technology, schools would save on average about $500 per student. He states this will help schools become more "GREEN" friendly, but would also be a great opportunity for schools to put money back into the system. It would be great if schools could hire more teachers, instead of laying so many off and continue to overcrowd classrooms. I look forward to see how far this idea goes.
Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir
When I first saw the assignment I was so lost. A Virtual choir, really! I When I pressed play I noticed that everyone was on their own computer with Whitacre directing through his. What amazed me was how amazing they sound. I am in the youth choir at my church and even on our good days we do not sound that good. It is amazing what all you can do with a computer and I would have never thought you could form a choir. Eric Whitacre is a well-known composer and public speaker. Although not my type of music the performance “Lux Aurumque” was enjoyable. The choir contains 185 singers from 12 different countries. I am still trying to figure out how their voices harmonized and synchronized. It is still hard to believe that you can put such incredible work together. Technology is really incredible bravo to Mr. Whitarce for putting that much time into his performance.
Teaching in the 21st Century
What does it mean to teach in the 21st century? As a future educator I believe a lot will change. The use of technology is slowly taking over the old ways. Pens, Paper, and books are no longer needed. I google search anything I need on a project or for class. If teachers say we can only use books I search through the electronic library. Text books cost a fortune in college and most of the time we never open the book. My smartphone makes life even easier, whenever I want to find out something I can with a touch. It is amazing how much you can do with technology and it is changing the world. The people before us think it is killing us, but it is actually making the generation smarter. What took them years, takes us seconds. With what we know now, it amaze me to think about what generations to come will know. I think teachers should focus on embracing technology. Finding ways to engage our youth with something they enjoy will benefit us all. Watching this had me thinking about so much. Like how will I ever know how to use all this technology coming at us? I would not say I am technology illiterate but I do not know a lot.
Reading Rockets
The Reading Rockets is celebrating their 10 year anniversary for launching readers. When I first got on the website I saw the little boy actually flipping pages which would be appealing to young readers. This website contains so much information. As a future educator this website would be very useful. It keeps you up with the latest reading news and classroom strategies. I liked that since it is Black History Month it shows you different resources for very import African Americans that made and making a difference. You can find stories, biography, activities, videos and more on writers, poets and illustrators. It also can show you how to teach reading in the class room and give you reading guides.
As a child watching things have always made it easier for me to understand. On this website you can find podcast, videos, and PBS shows. There are many people that have comprehension problems like me. Even as an adult after reading a chapter it is hard for me to remember what happened. On this website it shows different apps that could help students. After being forced to read in middle, and high school, and not knowing how to comprehend I really do not enjoy reading. I really want to be able to pick up a book and finish it instead of putting it down. I believe if we help the children young this will encourage them to want to read. This website is even better because it is not just for teachers. There are different tabs of information for parents, principals, librarians and others. Since Spanish is the second language in America you can even read stuff in Spanish. I think more websites like this one should be used by many because it takes a village to raise a child.
Hello Magan,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you took the time to reread Dr. McLeod's post and understand that he was not saying technology is bad and should not be included in the classroom. Many students take his post at face value and read it only once coming away with that understanding of what he said, which is entirely wrong. Dr. McLeod is being sarcastic and actually encouraging technology use while making fun of those who discourage it.
And did you really have no idea what Facebook was when you were a senior in high school? That's interesting.
Oh and before I forget, when you are doing the TITLE tags for your pictures and crediting the source, you need to credit the actual source, or webpage, that the picture comes from. You can't just credit Google, because Google is only a search engine that you use to find the pictures. Clicking on the picture should take you to the site the picture can be found at and that is the site you should cite.