Monday, December 9, 2013
My Reaction to this Class
How Technology has affected my Schooling
When I hit middle school we were immersed into a world of
hormones and online gaming. “Runescape” was a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer
Online Role Playing Game) that every middle school boy had to get into. Every
day at lunch time the computers in the library were filled with students
signing into their accounts to kill goblins and earn treasure. We did have moments outside of our medieval
world where computers were actually used for education, but this was mainly for
tests. This then gave us a poor view on computers and started that split
between fun on computers and boring things on computers.
High school was the time that technology truly exploded.
Classes were filled with many more computers, projectors, and desk cameras then
we had ever seen. Teachers had started using the library’s computers for
research projects and writing papers, but there were no major advancements in
teaching methods. It wasn't really until college that I would truly use a computer for its full potential in education to keep me connected to my classes and projects.
As you can see technology wasn't utilized for many reasons:
money, teacher knowledge, and not enough advancement in the right about of
time. I still wonder today how it could
have been best used in the classroom, but I guess that is up to me to figure
out how I can use it best when I get to that same position.
Post-it Pages
A Narrable about
education articles and how technology ideas can be used in a class without the
resources needed for computers. Caution some awkwardness...
Sources:
- Barclay, J. (2013, Sept 10). No more excuses: Teaching 21st-century skills in a low-tech setting. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2013/09/10/fp_barclay_skills.html?tkn=OUTF+UoU17lZBAKUA7aGOSAgqKM8qv+P2B8Y&cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS2
Monday, October 14, 2013
The Constitution, an Age Old Document
Question:
Is censorship of social media a violation of constitutional rights or the responsibility of the teacher?
Sources:
This is normally seen as your basic human rights, that goes along with amendments 2-10.
Hooray New Laws! If there was to be a law passed by the government, upheld by the supreme court, and hopefully not argued about so much that it causes a government shutdown, then teachers would have a safety net. They would be able to not worry about losing their jobs over a reckless choice, because they would not be able to make that choice. Parents could sleep soundly, knowing that their children would not be swayed by their teacher's, almost always obnoxious, tweets or posts. But with this new law in effect, who would really want to become a teacher? To become a citizen with less rights to social media, all for choosing a profession they might be passionate about.
Down Right Unconstitutional! The more probable case will be that the idea of censorship will never come up, or if it did, it would get shot down faster than my dog running to get the table scraps hitting the floor. Teachers would have to continue to watch what they say both in and outside of the classroom. There might be more stories about teachers being removed from their position from saying the wrong things, as as demonstrated by Christine Rubino. After a field trip to the beach and one of her students had lost their life, Rubino posted on her Facebook "After today, I'm thinking the beach is a good trip for my class. I hate their guts.", and commenting later that she would not have saved the child "for a million dollars.". It's cases like these that make you question what was really going on in the mind of the educator. Something that some teachers could pay attention to is the chart below, that is being used to help educate youth in their use of social media.
Let's get opinionated. From my point of view it would all be in the hands of the teachers to decide what they post on social media websites. With how much work, dedication, and even passion teachers put into their degree and career, they can't afford to spout of angry messages, especially where people can have evidence of it. While growing up, I was always told by my mother to be careful of what I post or even "like" on Facebook. Everything always has a way of wrapping back around to you, especially with something as everlasting as the internet. Yes, as a teacher I would like to be able to post random messages about how mad my students make me, why? Because it's my freedom of speech. But just because it's my right, doesn't mean it's the smartest choice. All of that anger and drama will just have to be put down on a letter, sealed in an envelope, then thrown into the bonfire, because it's not something that needs to be "shared".
Is censorship of social media a violation of constitutional rights or the responsibility of the teacher?
Sources:
- TED Talk: Juan Enriquez: Your Online Life, as Permanent as a Tattoo
- "When Teachers Talk out of School" by Johnathan Zimmerman
There have always been many times in wish people have pushed the limits. How high we could fly, how much weight a man could lift, or even that brief moment of testing how far your parents patience could go. There is one thing though that is sometimes pushed a little too far, our first amendment rights. Time and time again has this been used in cases or arguments, because the highest form of justice in this grand nation is the Supreme Court, and what is their duty? To judge if a law or act is in any way unconstitutional. Why on earth does this relate to Education though? It's because some people wonder if what is posted on social media websites, such as Twitter and Facebook, by teachers, should be censored. After all they are one of the biggest influences on the next generation, that will some day become doctors, lawyers, even the president. On the other end, should the teacher have enough responsibility and personal accountability to censor themselves, so they do not have to be removed of their position?
Now some people, who don't watch the news nor studied any form of government, do not know what their first amendment right's are. Well lucky for you, good ol' Uncle Sam can fill you in.
This is normally seen as your basic human rights, that goes along with amendments 2-10.
Hooray New Laws! If there was to be a law passed by the government, upheld by the supreme court, and hopefully not argued about so much that it causes a government shutdown, then teachers would have a safety net. They would be able to not worry about losing their jobs over a reckless choice, because they would not be able to make that choice. Parents could sleep soundly, knowing that their children would not be swayed by their teacher's, almost always obnoxious, tweets or posts. But with this new law in effect, who would really want to become a teacher? To become a citizen with less rights to social media, all for choosing a profession they might be passionate about.
Down Right Unconstitutional! The more probable case will be that the idea of censorship will never come up, or if it did, it would get shot down faster than my dog running to get the table scraps hitting the floor. Teachers would have to continue to watch what they say both in and outside of the classroom. There might be more stories about teachers being removed from their position from saying the wrong things, as as demonstrated by Christine Rubino. After a field trip to the beach and one of her students had lost their life, Rubino posted on her Facebook "After today, I'm thinking the beach is a good trip for my class. I hate their guts.", and commenting later that she would not have saved the child "for a million dollars.". It's cases like these that make you question what was really going on in the mind of the educator. Something that some teachers could pay attention to is the chart below, that is being used to help educate youth in their use of social media.
Let's get opinionated. From my point of view it would all be in the hands of the teachers to decide what they post on social media websites. With how much work, dedication, and even passion teachers put into their degree and career, they can't afford to spout of angry messages, especially where people can have evidence of it. While growing up, I was always told by my mother to be careful of what I post or even "like" on Facebook. Everything always has a way of wrapping back around to you, especially with something as everlasting as the internet. Yes, as a teacher I would like to be able to post random messages about how mad my students make me, why? Because it's my freedom of speech. But just because it's my right, doesn't mean it's the smartest choice. All of that anger and drama will just have to be put down on a letter, sealed in an envelope, then thrown into the bonfire, because it's not something that needs to be "shared".
Monday, October 7, 2013
Who I am... Or something like that.
Hello all! And I say all I mean those few people who happened to accidentally click on this blog besides my professor.
What is this post all about??
Question:
Who are you and what makes you worthy of a blog?
Sources:
I am a college student at the University of Oregon (Sco' Ducks!) studying education, with the hope of a job as an elementary teacher. Some people might ask: why on earth would you want to spend everyday of your working life surrounded by children who still scream and cry for what they want? It's simple, someone has to, and that someone should have passion and drive for their job. In high school I had a really great teacher. Everyday she would come into class with a smile on her face, because she loved what she taught and who she taught it to. Some days she was a little down, that always meant that the first 5-10 minutes would be dominated by YouTube videos and other little pick-me-ups, to help anyone having a bad day. This drive was my inspiration to become a teacher.
This is my sophomore year at the U of O, and after only one year here I know I love it. The main issues and obstacles I've had to deal with have been balancing all of my activities, while being able to balance school work. I have to work two jobs, Cinnabon and Taco Bell, in order to afford college, because my family is only a middle income and can only support by giving me a close place to live, with meals every so often. I am also in a fraternity that requires time and commitment to get as much as I can out of it during my four years. Also one other thing that I do on the side is a small internship at my old high school. I am close friends with the teacher, and it was a robotics program initially started by my best friend and I, that has grown into a class. The instructor allows me to come in and help students with the same issues that I faced during my four years of robots, and I feel like it is great practice for my career.
So, that's where I'm at right now. An optimistic person, sitting in an Educational Studies classroom, on a path to become a teacher.
Blog Edit (10/7/13): Yes I now noticed how to edit my about me. Oh well, this is much more fun.
What is this post all about??
Question:
Who are you and what makes you worthy of a blog?
Sources:
- Me
- Myself
- I
The reason for this post is because "Blogger" does not allow me to fix my "about me" section on my main blog. Instead you could click through a few more pages and stalk me properly, but who has the time for that.
I am a college student at the University of Oregon (Sco' Ducks!) studying education, with the hope of a job as an elementary teacher. Some people might ask: why on earth would you want to spend everyday of your working life surrounded by children who still scream and cry for what they want? It's simple, someone has to, and that someone should have passion and drive for their job. In high school I had a really great teacher. Everyday she would come into class with a smile on her face, because she loved what she taught and who she taught it to. Some days she was a little down, that always meant that the first 5-10 minutes would be dominated by YouTube videos and other little pick-me-ups, to help anyone having a bad day. This drive was my inspiration to become a teacher.
This is my sophomore year at the U of O, and after only one year here I know I love it. The main issues and obstacles I've had to deal with have been balancing all of my activities, while being able to balance school work. I have to work two jobs, Cinnabon and Taco Bell, in order to afford college, because my family is only a middle income and can only support by giving me a close place to live, with meals every so often. I am also in a fraternity that requires time and commitment to get as much as I can out of it during my four years. Also one other thing that I do on the side is a small internship at my old high school. I am close friends with the teacher, and it was a robotics program initially started by my best friend and I, that has grown into a class. The instructor allows me to come in and help students with the same issues that I faced during my four years of robots, and I feel like it is great practice for my career.So, that's where I'm at right now. An optimistic person, sitting in an Educational Studies classroom, on a path to become a teacher.
Blog Edit (10/7/13): Yes I now noticed how to edit my about me. Oh well, this is much more fun.
Tech. in a Classroom Setting
Question:
After reviewing the article and the video of a TED talk both talking about how technology can be useful in the classroom, I came to an answer. Yes, technology should be used in classes to better education, but only at the right time and place for a students education. At an elementary age I believe that there should still be more hands on learning and imagination in the classroom. Some small educational programs could be used in order to assist in the learning, but maybe with the whole group instead of just one child. By the time a student would hit middle school he or she should have the knowledge to use searches to find useful information along with basic programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to help create better projects and papers. By high school age they should be allowed to all programs, and be able to use computers at their own discretion.
There are some key things that would need to be in place for this program though. First off the only classrooms that would have these computers, would be the teachers who were willing to put the time in to use them. A teacher who has been teaching for the last 15 years would not want to immediately change up their teaching methods, just because it's the new and hip thing to do. They like to be old fashioned. But those teachers would learn how to use the newer technology, I think, would find it to be a very useful tool in the classroom. Next, the drive has to be there from to students to learn. One of the best things that computers can help anyone with is creativity, so utilization of that is critical. Other than that, money has to be there and not wasted. With these a classroom could have the capability to use these helpful tools.
Do you think technology in the classroom encourages or hinders exploration or creativity in students?
Informational Sources:
- "Is Technology in Schools the Future or just a Fad" by Amy Hetzner
- TED Talk "Child Driven Education"
When I was a kid, as they still do today, computers always seemed to find new ways to amaze me. The newest technology was always sought after when it came out, and in some cases showed your "coolness level" in the hallways of middle school. Growing up out in a small country community in Springfield there generally were not many computers available, especially in the classroom. So when all us country kids hit middle school together and got the opportunity sometimes during the year to use a set of laptops, we were ecstatic. Why were we so excited? Because it was a new toy for us to play with, and the past normally had associated computers as fun things for games. Not for learning. Eventually we would find the use of a computer later on, but it would take several more years without the proper education about these technological tools.
After reviewing the article and the video of a TED talk both talking about how technology can be useful in the classroom, I came to an answer. Yes, technology should be used in classes to better education, but only at the right time and place for a students education. At an elementary age I believe that there should still be more hands on learning and imagination in the classroom. Some small educational programs could be used in order to assist in the learning, but maybe with the whole group instead of just one child. By the time a student would hit middle school he or she should have the knowledge to use searches to find useful information along with basic programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to help create better projects and papers. By high school age they should be allowed to all programs, and be able to use computers at their own discretion.
There are some key things that would need to be in place for this program though. First off the only classrooms that would have these computers, would be the teachers who were willing to put the time in to use them. A teacher who has been teaching for the last 15 years would not want to immediately change up their teaching methods, just because it's the new and hip thing to do. They like to be old fashioned. But those teachers would learn how to use the newer technology, I think, would find it to be a very useful tool in the classroom. Next, the drive has to be there from to students to learn. One of the best things that computers can help anyone with is creativity, so utilization of that is critical. Other than that, money has to be there and not wasted. With these a classroom could have the capability to use these helpful tools.
All in all, I think that in the classroom the resources are there to use technology to our advantage to educate our youth, but the plan is not being used to it's full potential.
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