"Home schooling has been successful at improving student learning." pg 67
My brother was homeschooled, and I was about to be homeschooled. My mother wasn't working at the time, so she was able to do so. I find it interesting how successful students who are homeschooled are; it shows that a teacher must really care, rather than remember everything they learned in their education to become a teacher.
"...we argue that innovations in workplace environments will soon influence learning throughout education." pg 71
This section reminds me of "just-in-time learning" from earlier in the book. I believe this is an important style of learning, and as technology improves it will only become more important.
"Distance education has already spread widely, and it will inevitably keep growing in the coming decades." pg 75
I don't disapprove of distance learning, but it seems that it destroys an interaction between student and teacher. If distance learning were to ever reach the younger grades I believe it would be a problem, as human interaction is an important part of the learning process.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
"Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology" Ch. 4
"In the colonial years, the towns and villages set up independent one-room schoolhouses. They were largely ungraded and the teachers were males." pg 56
It doesn't surprise me that schooling started ungraded. While grades are a meaningful form of assessment, I do believe that they are not used correctly in schooling today. The pressure they put on students to receive a good grade rather than learn what they are being taught is significant. I am not saying grades should be eliminated, but the amount of value they have in society isn't beneficiary.
"Tests were introduced in order to make it possible to sort students into classes where all the students had roughly the same ability." pg 61
Tests are another factor of importance in schooling that has gone wrong. Tests are a a big cause of why grades are strongly emphasized; the meaning of assessment has gone from figuring out where a student is in their learning to evaluating how far they will be able to get in life.
"Diversity increases pressure on schools to individualize education to address the needs, desires, and ablities of different groups within the population." pg 63
Of course it does, but it is not a bad thing. Sure, different cultures and backgrounds increases the pressure significantly, but schools should always be prepared for diversity as everyone learns differently. Individualization of education should be a goal in every educator's mind.
It doesn't surprise me that schooling started ungraded. While grades are a meaningful form of assessment, I do believe that they are not used correctly in schooling today. The pressure they put on students to receive a good grade rather than learn what they are being taught is significant. I am not saying grades should be eliminated, but the amount of value they have in society isn't beneficiary.
"Tests were introduced in order to make it possible to sort students into classes where all the students had roughly the same ability." pg 61
Tests are another factor of importance in schooling that has gone wrong. Tests are a a big cause of why grades are strongly emphasized; the meaning of assessment has gone from figuring out where a student is in their learning to evaluating how far they will be able to get in life.
"Diversity increases pressure on schools to individualize education to address the needs, desires, and ablities of different groups within the population." pg 63
Of course it does, but it is not a bad thing. Sure, different cultures and backgrounds increases the pressure significantly, but schools should always be prepared for diversity as everyone learns differently. Individualization of education should be a goal in every educator's mind.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Cool Tools Review
After reviewing a few Cool Tools, I would have the one I am most interested in possibly using in my classroom is Dropbox. It had the most functionality out of all the ones I have seen, and I feel a lot of the Cool Tools are a tad superfluous. Dropbox seems to function a lot like Google Drive as well, but seems a little bit less taxing to one's computer.
Dropbox would make things a lot simpler in my classroom. Being able to organize my files into one location for grading would save me and my students time and money. It is also a great way for students to cooperate and learn remotely.
Dropbox would make things a lot simpler in my classroom. Being able to organize my files into one location for grading would save me and my students time and money. It is also a great way for students to cooperate and learn remotely.
"Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology" Chapter 3
"...For example, implementing a new mathematics curriculum pushes against the prevailing instructional, assessment, and curricular practices of schools." pg 34
This argues that implementing anything different then what we already have will hurt students because curriculum of other teachers will not coincide. It is a good thing there is a new influx of teachers coming into the schooling system, as these new teachers will be more susceptible to change and willing to learn new ways of teaching.
"The start-up costs of working with computers, such as the time to get the software installed and started up and getting the students situated, pressure the teacher to cut into teaching time." pg 39
This is a very logical argument and I have seen this from experience. It will be interesting to see how things will change when more cloud computing comes available and we are able to start up any computer with any program instantly. As we become more "attached" to our computers, the more of a necessity they will be and a less of a problem this will be.
"Standardized tests constrain how computers might be able to change learning in schools." pg 42
Standardization isn't necessarily a good thing, and technology seems to be slowly eliminating standardization. If we are going to let standardization stop us, that's too bad, because it is something we should be fighting against by and large.
This argues that implementing anything different then what we already have will hurt students because curriculum of other teachers will not coincide. It is a good thing there is a new influx of teachers coming into the schooling system, as these new teachers will be more susceptible to change and willing to learn new ways of teaching.
"The start-up costs of working with computers, such as the time to get the software installed and started up and getting the students situated, pressure the teacher to cut into teaching time." pg 39
This is a very logical argument and I have seen this from experience. It will be interesting to see how things will change when more cloud computing comes available and we are able to start up any computer with any program instantly. As we become more "attached" to our computers, the more of a necessity they will be and a less of a problem this will be.
"Standardized tests constrain how computers might be able to change learning in schools." pg 42
Standardization isn't necessarily a good thing, and technology seems to be slowly eliminating standardization. If we are going to let standardization stop us, that's too bad, because it is something we should be fighting against by and large.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
"Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology" Chapter 2
"One of the longest-running trends of history is the movement from communities of place to communities of interest." pg 11
I believe the Internet is the biggest proponent of this movement, possibly the biggest ever. To be able to effectively communicate anyone who shares interests with you anywhere in the world, to be able to send files of pictures, text and videos to them, is extremely significant and gives communication no limits. There is less need to feel to leave where you are, when you can find those who share your interests no matter where you are.
"The time Kate spends communicating with people around the world may take away from her participation in her local community." pg 12
Everything in life has its positives and negatives, including the Internet. Perhaps someone like Kate may be being productive communicating with people around the world? Maybe she is learning new skills or facts. Whether that is the case or not, local communities are pleasent and have their benefits if you participate in them.
"Enthusiasts argue for just-in-time learning as the counter to the school strategy of trying to teach everything you might need to know someday." pg 14
This is one of the most interesting concepts I have come across in this book. Just-in-time learning is soemthing people do all of the time; I am always learning about new things on the internet when I want to know them. Information is very easy to access for many people in this age. I remember seeing a quote that said "My liberal arts degree is useless, everything I learned is on Wikipedia."
I believe the Internet is the biggest proponent of this movement, possibly the biggest ever. To be able to effectively communicate anyone who shares interests with you anywhere in the world, to be able to send files of pictures, text and videos to them, is extremely significant and gives communication no limits. There is less need to feel to leave where you are, when you can find those who share your interests no matter where you are.
"The time Kate spends communicating with people around the world may take away from her participation in her local community." pg 12
Everything in life has its positives and negatives, including the Internet. Perhaps someone like Kate may be being productive communicating with people around the world? Maybe she is learning new skills or facts. Whether that is the case or not, local communities are pleasent and have their benefits if you participate in them.
"Enthusiasts argue for just-in-time learning as the counter to the school strategy of trying to teach everything you might need to know someday." pg 14
This is one of the most interesting concepts I have come across in this book. Just-in-time learning is soemthing people do all of the time; I am always learning about new things on the internet when I want to know them. Information is very easy to access for many people in this age. I remember seeing a quote that said "My liberal arts degree is useless, everything I learned is on Wikipedia."
"Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology" Chapter 1
"The work has changed from hands-on to inferential, or from concrete to abstract." pg 5
There are so many more white-collar jobs today that I would have to agree with this quote. Computers and technology have expanded the work of humans into an abstract universe that exists electronically, thus making aspects of our lives less and less tangible. This applies to even how we turn in assignments; I turn in and complete most of my assignments online.
"...in many homes children lead the way, showing their parents how to use computers for gaming, research, and networking." pg 6
This statement can often be true and makes me wonder how much teaching basic technological skills will decline in the future. I imagine there will be less and less time focused on teaching students on how to use the computer, and more time on teaching them how to use what is on the computer. I also wonder if this will continue; will my students know more about what is on computers of the future then me?
"Technology makes life more difficult for teachers." pg 6
I am confused why this is a sentence in this book. I know the book also provides the skeptics point of view, but this sentence received little explanation for its full reasoning. There are a few teachers whom technology is more difficult for, but as teachers we are supposed to to accept the concept of learning, even if that means new technology. Why "teach" if you don't want to "learn?"
There are so many more white-collar jobs today that I would have to agree with this quote. Computers and technology have expanded the work of humans into an abstract universe that exists electronically, thus making aspects of our lives less and less tangible. This applies to even how we turn in assignments; I turn in and complete most of my assignments online.
"...in many homes children lead the way, showing their parents how to use computers for gaming, research, and networking." pg 6
This statement can often be true and makes me wonder how much teaching basic technological skills will decline in the future. I imagine there will be less and less time focused on teaching students on how to use the computer, and more time on teaching them how to use what is on the computer. I also wonder if this will continue; will my students know more about what is on computers of the future then me?
"Technology makes life more difficult for teachers." pg 6
I am confused why this is a sentence in this book. I know the book also provides the skeptics point of view, but this sentence received little explanation for its full reasoning. There are a few teachers whom technology is more difficult for, but as teachers we are supposed to to accept the concept of learning, even if that means new technology. Why "teach" if you don't want to "learn?"
Screencast
My Screencast was about Dweeber, an online social site designed to help students study with their peers. I had fun creating the screencast, and I felt when I was talking about Dweeber via Screencast I was able to articulate my words rather easily.
I put a fair amount of effort into creating my Screencast. I went over the SWOT analysis steps and prepared a few sentences for each of the steps. I also explored the site quite a bit, and went through the steps to create a study session to get good feel for the website. I also looked into the "about" and "FAQ" sections to find out more about the site.
Creating this Screencast was a good experience for me, and I was able to learn more about this valuable web tool as well. I plan on recommending Dweeber to my future students, if it still exists by that time.
I put a fair amount of effort into creating my Screencast. I went over the SWOT analysis steps and prepared a few sentences for each of the steps. I also explored the site quite a bit, and went through the steps to create a study session to get good feel for the website. I also looked into the "about" and "FAQ" sections to find out more about the site.
Creating this Screencast was a good experience for me, and I was able to learn more about this valuable web tool as well. I plan on recommending Dweeber to my future students, if it still exists by that time.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts Ch. 10 and epilogue
Chapter 10 reiterates a lot of what was already said throughout the book. It also discusses the big shifts in teaching and technology. I believe open content is the most important shift in education. With programs like Kahn Academy and free courses offered by colleges via the internet, it seems to be a huge game changer in education. Why pay top dollar for a university when you can get a free education offered by top colleges and learning programs? The education system should really be geared towards learning rather than the student trying to get the grade.
The epilogue was a bit odd, but it presented a teacher using technology within his classroom. He used a lot of web resources to prepare his class. I think the way the teacher has everything organized seems great, and once you have everything set up like he does it will make teaching much easier and more effective. Being a journalism teacher, this is especially useful to him and opens up a world of opportunities for him.
The epilogue was a bit odd, but it presented a teacher using technology within his classroom. He used a lot of web resources to prepare his class. I think the way the teacher has everything organized seems great, and once you have everything set up like he does it will make teaching much easier and more effective. Being a journalism teacher, this is especially useful to him and opens up a world of opportunities for him.
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