Podcasting in the Classroom

Podcasting in the Classroom
By Brian Flanagan and Brendan Calandra

This article explains what podcasting is and how it can be incorporated into the classroom. Podcasting is something that allows people to download radio or media files onto their computer. The person then can listen to what they have downloaded on their computer or an MP3 player.
In 2004, Duke University wanted to introduce iPods to their incoming freshman, so they gave out about 1,650 during orientation. Already downloaded onto these iPods were an orientation schedule, academic calendar and many other things. These iPods were then used in 16 classes during fall semester. Professors used them for "1. course content dissemination, 2. classroom recording, 3. field recording, 4. study support, and 5. file storage and transfer". The students could keep their iPods and use them throughout the rest of their collegiate career.
Podcasting can be useful for music and language teachers especially, so that their students can listen to music and be able to critic it or listen to foreign language, plays, music and literature. Podcasting can also be used in many other school subject areas for many different reasons. Students can even record onto their iPods for field research projects. Vodcasting, which is videos on the podcast are also used.
Some things that a podcast user needs to be careful with it that they do not only download something they have permission to download. Teachers must make sure the material they have their students downloaded is suitable and not inappropriate. It think podcasting can be a very helpful and beneficial tool to both teachers and students.

Q1. Would I use podcasting in my classroom?
A1. Yes, I would incorporate podcasting into my classroom. I think it is a different and fun way for students to learn. It gives variety so that students are not listening to lectures or staring at a book or computer to do their work.

Q2. What are some drawbacks with using podcasting?
A2. Some drawbacks with using podcasting is the fact that either the school or student needs to have enough money to buy an iPod or other podcast device. Also, all students need to be taught how to use their podcast easily and effectively, but i do not necessarily see this as a drawback.

Virtual Ideology: Using Online Quizzes to Help Students Develop Personal Political Values

Virtual Ideology: Using Online Quizzes to Help Students Develop Personal Political Values

By William Russell

This articles discusses the issue regarding the fact that many children are not familiar with politics and political issues.  Children often times do not learn or do not want to learn about politics.  When they are asked what their political views are a common response is that they have the same political views as their parents, which maybe be entirely wrong.

A few good political party quizzes were found online that were suitable to fix this issue of children not knowing important information regarding political parties and which one to identify with.  Specific questions are asked on these web pages that when answered will help define the individuals political views.

The teacher who was having his students take these quizzes first had the children write down which political party they thought they would be affiliated with.  Out of the 50 children who took these quizzes, 30 of the students were defined as supporting a different political party than they thought they believed in.  This lesson allowed for the children to be more open-minded and willing to learn more about the different political parties and their beliefs.

I personally think this lesson was a great and beneficial thing to do.  I remember in grade school, I had no idea about political views.  When I was asked which party I was affiliated with I always just said that name of the party my parents were a part of.

Q1. Will this idea of having students take these quizzes be beneficial to them?

A1. I believe students take these political party quizzes they will become more open-minded and learn so much more about politics so that they can give their own personal opinion about which party they are affiliated with and not someone else's opinion.

Q2. If I was a social studies teacher would I use this lesson in my classroom?

A2.  Of course I would use this lesson in my classroom if I was a social studies teacher.  I would want my students to be as aware as possible about politics and the different political parties.  If they know information about political issues they will hopefully be able to support their beliefs when asked about politics.

WebQuest in Wonderland: The Eight Grade Comes to the Edge

WebQuest in Wonderland: The Eight Grade Comes to the Edge
By Paul Aldridge

Paul Aldridge is the computer instructor at Pine Crest middle school. This school is a premier private college-preparatory school. The school at first was without technology, but after a few years, immense amounts of technology were added to the school and curriculum. Each child is to come to school with a laptop in hand.
Pine Crest now has the third largest wireless network in the country. Students are seen all around campus on their laptops submitting work to their teachers. The school had a gap between the performance of its students. The lower school had precise typists who were quite familiar with computers and the upper school needed students who could research ideas in depth and well and confident users of a laptop who would be able to easily in the world of proficient college students and out in the real world.
The issue this school had was the gap between these two levels. Paul Aldridge went to a conference where he learned of a program which would help the school's problem, this program is called WebQuest. This new program has helped the school and the students now have an easy transition from lower to middle school and then middle to upper school.

Q1. What is the school's reasoning behind their goal of having each child so extremely knowledgeable about computer technology?
A. The school is a private college-preparatory school, so I believe they are trying to make their students the best and most intelligent they can be when they are sent to college.

Q2. How does this school have so much funding for such a complex and involved technology program.
A2. This school must be very wealthy, also because it is a premier private school.

Web 2.0: Today's Technologies, Tomorrow's Learning

Web 2.0: Today's Technologies, Tomorrow's Learning
By Jennifer Groff and Jason Haas

This article discussed how MIT wanted to help implement such things such as video games and social networks into the classroom. At this moment these things are not very popular with teachers and they believe they are a very disruptive influence on the students. Social networks can benefit teachers and students, by creating communities and new ways of learning. Students can learn in a more effective way about real-world experiences through digital simulations.
One specific teacher using a program called Starlogo TNG, which is a program that shows the principles of evolution or another example the effect of a forest fire. This offers a fun way for students to learn about relevant and interesting topics pertaining to education in a creative way. this can be a great way for students to become more familiar with what they already know about technology and computers and it offers them new ways to learn more things.
It is beneficial if a teacher partners with one of their colleagues. This way they can learn from each other's experiences. Also building relationships with other teachers is a great form of networking.

Q1. Do the students get too carried away with the simulations/games they are playing?
A1. If you make them focus on the task they need to complete and what they need to learn, I believe these new programs will still keep the students focused. It is just important that you make sure the students are doing their work and are not playing with the program for too long.

Q2. Will these new programs benefit me as a teacher?
A2. I am not sure yet. I will have to experiment and ask other teachers how they feel about these types of programs. i can always try them out and be optimistic and wait to see if I see beneficial results in the way that my students are learning.

Stretching to Inspire

Stretching to Inspire
By Kory Owen

This article was interesting to me because it bought a whole new idea and topic into the picture of integrating technology into the classroom. I had never thought of how the students can help offer advice to their teachers so that the learning process of all of the new technological systems can be learned. A child expresses that his job is the student and he can learn, but he needs to "stretch" in order to learn more and demonstrate all that he has learned.
It was also brought up how the students of "Generation Y" are helping teachers incorporate technology into their classroom, because on average, the children know more about technology than the average teacher. Students can now partner up with their teachers and learn together about technology. an 18-week course was created for this specific purpose. Students are partnered up with teachers and work on projects together. I think this is such a great idea, because know teachers can truly see how they can learn so many things from their students. I also believe that this must make the students feel special, because they are able to teach an adult new things. I never thought how beneficial integrating technology into the classroom could be for both the student and the teacher.

Q1. Will what what this article discussed benefit me?
A1. I personally do not believe what was discussed in this article will benefit me. I am quite computer savvy and do not think that other students know more about technology than me. I do think this could benefit older teachers who are not as familiar with technology as I am.

Q2. How will I benefit from integrating technology into the classroom?
A2. I will benefit from integrating technology into the classroom, because hopefully I will see that students are more interested to learn if things are mixed up a bit and made to be more fun and interesting. Possibly they will become more engaged and not become as bored as easily.

Software Review: Learning.com

The four lessons that were completed were Browsing Basics, URLs, Web Searches and Validity and Sourcing.

Each lesson addressed National Educational Technology Standards for Students.

Browsing Basics covered:

K-12 [5] Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and  practice legal and ethical behavior.

    [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

K-12 [6] Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and  operations.

    [6.a] understand and use technology systems.

    [6.b] select and use applications effectively and productively.

Grades 6-8:

7. Select and use the appropriate tools and digital resources to accomplish a variety of tasks and to solve problems.

URLs covered:

K-12 [1] Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate  creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

    [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

K-12 [2] Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of  others.

    [2.a] interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety  of digital environments and media.

K-12 [6] Technology Operations and Concepts

Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems and  operations.

    [6.a] understand and use technology systems.

    [6.b] select and use applications effectively and productively.

Web Searches covered:

K-12 [3] Research and Information Fluency

Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.

    [3.b] locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a  variety of sources and media.

    [3.c] evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the  appropriateness to specific tasks.

K-12 [4] Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

    [4.c] collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.

K-12 [5] Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

    [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

Validity and Sourcing covered:

K-12 [1] Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate  creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

    [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

K-12 [2] Communication and Collaboration

Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.

    [2.a] interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.

    [2.b] communicate information and ideas effectively to multiples audiences using a  variety of media and formats.

K-12 [5] Digital Citizenship

Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.

    [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

    [5.b] exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,  learning, and productivity.

These series of tutorials were very informative, although I already knew most of the information presented.  It was beneficial to relearn some of the terms regarding the internet and web browsing.

The only problem I faced with this product and could be a problem in the classroom, was that I needed to stop using the video about half way through a lesson and I was not able to save where I had ended.  When I returned to use the program again, I had to begin that particular lesson at the very beginning, not where I had left off.(2007) 

Citations

(2007) Learning.com. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.learning.com

(2007) ISTE's Educational Technology Standards for Students. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm

Failure Is NOT an Option

Failure Is NOT an Option: Collecting, Reviewing, and Acting on Evidence for Using Technology to Enhance Academic Performance
By Dave L. Edyburn

It has been a recent concern among educators of not letting children fall behind. The NCLB Act tried to fix this issue, but it still needs a lot of work. Teachers need to understand that some children are just not made to learn in the conventional and old style of teaching and it is too difficult for them. Teachers need to make the learning setting different, more entertaining and interesting for some students. Performance intervention needs to occur much sooner than it is, because we cannot not let the suffering students fall anymore behind than they already are.
This article discusses how we need to enhance our teaching to intrigue and gain the students attention. This has been showing a positive effect on the amount of knowledge children are retaining.

Q1. Why have teachers not caught onto the fact that technology is important to integrate into teaching?
A1. This maybe, because some teachers have it engraved into their mind that traditional ways of teaching are the best because they are what have been used since the beginning of time. Others may not yet have the opportunity to purchase the necessary tools to begin using technology in the classroom.

Q2. What should we do with the children who benefit by learning through traditional ways if there is such a large push on integrating technology?
A2. We should not eliminate traditional forms of teaching, just in addition to those ways also incorporate new ways of learning through technology.