Future of Publishing

When I watched, The Future of Publishing, the first half reminded me of the younger generation. I watch my teenagers on their XBOX, I phones, laptops and I feel like their world revolves around technology. Teenagers have conversations about video games and it is like a foreign language. Teenagers walk around listening to their I Phones and text all the time and they don’t even talk to each other any more. I can’t remember the last time my boys went to the library or picked up a newspaper or magazine, they just Google it on a laptop or I phones. It scares me to think what direction the world is going. Are we going to be paper less? I was agreeing with the first half of the UTUBE video and thinking we probably won’t be publishing books in a few years.

When the video started playing backwards, I almost felt a sense of hope. Maybe we can focus the attention of the world on what is important again. Instead of the focus being video games, music and Hollywood maybe we can focus on education and world events even if we have to use technology to get there.

It was cool how the video had a message both ways. Maybe we can turn the world around and people can see the importance of being educated in ways, book smart and street smart!

Chapter 3: Postcards from the Net Video

As a future teacher, I would change the teaching approach used by the teacher in the Chapter 3 Video: Postcards from the Net Video. The first thing I would change would be to project the computer screen on to a large projector screen so all the students could view the computers screen. In the video, the teacher sat behind a computer monitor which was located in the corner of the classroom. The teacher proceeded to ask the students how to pull up Microsoft office and complete an email with an attachment. As the teacher asked questions, she clicked on the correct icons or buttons on the computer and the students could not see what she was doing on the computer monitor. Most of the students were bored and not paying attention. I would have the students come up to the computer and complete the steps themselves while all the other students could watch the monitor screen on the projector. This would get the students involved in the lesson. The teacher also listed several steps in the process as she completed the email and attached a file. I would have had the steps printed on the chalkboard or somewhere visible to all the students so the students could easily follow along with the steps.

Blog 5 Laptops in the Classroom

The ideal classroom would have a laptop available for every student at their desk. I feel this technological set up would allow each student to learn on his or her own and have hands on experience with the laptop. I would also require each laptop to be connected to the projector screen. This would give the teacher the option to choose a student and project his or her work on to the screen in the front of the class for them to share or demonstrate. The laptops would have to have Microsoft office and the internet loaded on them for them to be effective in the classroom.

A laptop at every student’s desk would require some special wiring and set up. The student’s desk would have to have the wires running through them and possibly connecting to an outlet in the floor under each desk. An internet line would also have to be ran at each desk for each laptop and wired through a server in the school.

The advantages to having a laptop available for each student would be endless. The laptops could be used for all subjects. Students could work on math or english worksheets together on the projector screen through their laptops. They could use the laptops for science experiments and research. The students could use the laptops to write reports, make excel worksheets, or power point presentations. I feel a laptop for every student would improve interest for students and learning opportunities.

Bird Rap Video

I watched the Bird Rap Video and noticed the following strengths and weaknesses. The teacher presented the songbird project and called on various students seeing what they knew about birds. The teacher explained that the students would be divided into groups. One group was gong to work on the computers while the other group found resources. This ensured everyone in the class was busy since there were not enough computers for everyone to use at once even though they were working this project with a partner. The teacher put an excel spreadsheet on the overhead and using a computer proceeded to explain how to fill it out with the information they were going to find. She then used the overhead to show the students how to use trackstar on the internet and the sites they could use that had information about birds. The overhead is a great tool so students can follow along. The teacher then went on to discuss with the class about citing properly information obtained from a website. Instruction was presented to the class about how to present to the group and after they completed their presentation she reviewed the 2 Rubik’s and told them they could go back and add to their presentation if they felt they needed to.
I felt the teacher presented the information well and using the overhead was a benefit to the student. I did think there was a large amount of information given at once and she went from one part of the project to another without ensuring everyone understood the part she had just covered. The only other weakness was the presentations. The teacher let the students sit and stand behind the laptop and read from the screen. I feel she should have worked with the students more on their presentations since their actual projects looked excellent.

Technology Journal Blog 3

I observed Denise Fitzgerald teach a 4th Grade Science class in the World Wide Weather Video. Mrs. Fitzgerald has been teaching at the Healey School for eleven years and teaching fourth grade for six years. Her lesson included a weather cyber hunt. She walked the class through one example as a group. Mrs. Fitzgerald would call on a student and have that student come up to the front of the room and perform one step on the computer which was connected to the screen so the entire class could follow along. The class as a whole searched for the weather in I believe San Francisco, CA. They discussed how to find the weather for today, what the cloud coverage looked like and the record highs and lows for a specific month. Then Mrs. Fitzgerald broke the class down into groups of 2-3 based on language barrier. Her class is very diverse and not all students speak English fluently. Then she gave them instruction on performing the cyber hunt. The class had problems connecting to the internet so not all the laptops were working. She told the class while their group was waiting for a laptop they could work on their portfolios. She walked around the room to ensure all students were on track and doing something productive. The students were also to work on a slide in Kidpix relating to the region they researched weather for.
Mrs. Fitzgerald met the following Technology standards discussed in our textbook; 1) Basic operations and concepts, 2 Technology productivity tools, 4) Technology research tools. Mrs. Fitzgerald mentioned that her class was just learning to using laptops and explore the internet. The students were researching the weather in various regions and gathering information and then expected to make a slide displaying what they had learned about the weather in the region they had been assigned.
I thought she did a good job teaching. She involved numerous students during her explanation and they were all paying attention and wanting to be called on so they could go to the computer in the front of the class. I would have had the laptop which was connected to the overhead screen in a better location. It seemed like it was difficult to get to. I guess if money wasn’t an issue I would have had a laptop for every student. I thought Mrs. Fitzgerald handled the problem with the internet connectivity not working very well. She had a back of plan for the students to work on portfolios while they waited their turn. Technical issues exist and you always need to be prepared for the worst! Overall I thought she did a good job explaining the project, demonstrating and observing the hands on portion and the students were all well behaved and engaged in the activity.

Blog 2 CL Lindsey

I enjoyed the lecture by C.L. Lindsey and found it interesting. I focused on his slide which stated, “Don’t do it on line if you wouldn’t do it offline.” I found that to be very clever and will pass that on to my two teenage sons.
C.L. Lindsey covered several topics which caught my attention. I didn’t realize the fines associated with downloading music and movies and what is considered illegal downloads. He actually mentioned one lady being charged with sharing 20 songs and fined $45,000. He explained this as intellectual property which is already owned by someone and could include pictures, literature or music. That information worried me because I copy pictures off the internet all the time for various projects.
He also focused on plagiarism which I found interesting. I had no idea there were so many websites available to buy papers. When I was in high school and college twenty years ago the best you could do was pay someone to write a paper for you. I had never heard of turnitin.com but found that website interesting. I’m sure it is a challenge for professors today with the internet and all the easily accessible information.
The on line world has become a place of its own. He spoke on line stalking and harassment and privacy. This has been a fear of mine because I have teenage boys that play on line video games and I worry about who they are really talking to. I got more worried as he discussed the 4th amendment and your right to privacy and started showing pictures. He mentioned Face book early on in the video and don’t like all the pictures that go up on other peoples Face book and I’m really referring to my boys and their friends. I don’t think people today think before they post pictures to the internet these days and all the people who will be able to see them. This video definitely brought up topics that I will discuss with my boys.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Blog

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) that were covered in Chapter 1, Commutative Properties of Multiplication Using Graphing Calculators Videos fall under basic operations and concepts; 1) Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems 2) Students are proficient in the use of technology. (Bitter, p.12-13). The teacher in the video was demonstrating how to use a graphics calculator to complete a math problem. I thought the teacher took on an interactive teaching approach involving each student. Each child had a graphic calculator on his/her desk. One calculator was connected to the overhead so each child could follow along step by step. This is critical and can make a difference for children who require visual learning aids. Some children need to see a process preformed step by step to be able to understand how to complete the task. The teacher also tried to involve the students by calling on different students and walking around the classroom. Calling on various students keep the students alert and help them pay attention. As a teacher I would make a point to ask the students questions I felt they could answer to build confidence. Walking around the classroom is essential for deterring students from doing others things and not following along. I think the teacher did a good job and I wouldn’t change much since I feel it is important to involve students to keep them alert, involved and interested.