Wrap Up of the CLass

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started this class at the beginning of the semester because I know that personally I am not a very tech savvy person; I know my way around my own computer and if you put directions in front of me I can usually figure it out but the thought of designing my own website for a grade was not even a thought in my mind.  I had no idea what garage band or photo booth was and if you asked me to create a podcast I would have probably looked at you like you had 2 heads.  This semester has introduced me to a whole new world of Macs (one that does not include me playing the Oregon Trail, which to tell you the truth was the only thing I could do on a Mac) I have learned about Steve Jobs and really want an iPad now but I know that there is no possible way I could afford one, but man all of those apps! I have seen the benefits of eReaders in the classroom and One-on-One laptops but I have also seen the darker side of technology.  We have watched videos of people who literally can't even live their own lives because they are too consumed with a made up world on a computer screen.  We have explored the good, the bad and the indifferent aspects of technology and I think it is very important that as a teacher I understand all of the technology that is out there for my students to be sucked into.  It is my job to weed through the social media and websites and find the good that can be used in my classroom and in life in general.

Balance between technology and humans

I can recall as clear as a bell exactly what it felt like sitting in Mrs. Freeman's 1st grade class and working on penmanship.  It was the time just after lunch that was dedicated to making our writing look more presentable and professional and we must have spent hours working on it.  Fast forward a few years to my 3rd grade class and I can remember sitting facing the board as Ms. Montreal drew slanted lines on the board to teach us how to write in cursive.  Now move forward a few more years and here I am in college and I honestly cannot recall the last time I sat down and used cursive to write a paper, everything in today's world is typed and classroom notes and papers are not very different.  I am not trying to stop technology from entering the classroom I think it is a wonderful tool that helps to enrich the lessons and helps teachers connect better to students but as I was working on my presentation I can't help but notice how much schools have changed even in the last 15 years. At the beginning of the semester I remember Karl mentioning how up until a dozen years ago you could transplant a teacher from the 1930's into a modern classroom and they would still have mostly the same tools but in recent years that modern classroom has changed so much sometimes I don't even know how to work all of the new gadgets and I graduated from high school in 2006.  I think that students are becoming too dependent on a tool and it is our job as teachers to find a healthy balance of technology and old school methods.  Students should have to write out drafts and go through and edit them themselves they shouldn't have spell check and grammar checks taking care of all of their edits they should be able to solve a math equation without using their calculator; a good teacher should be able to use the technology to enhance their lessons not create it for them.

The GreenHorns

I have spent my entire life living in a city.  I have never really spent any time out on a farm so when we had a chance to watch the Green Horns movie I was excited because when I think of farms I tend to think of older people wearing overalls and big straw hats riding on tractors; but this movie was going to give a glimpse into the world of young farmers and how they are striving to make the world a better place.  I think that in a world where everything is moving towards computers and office work it was really nice to see a change; these young people are creating a world where they are working outside and getting their hands dirty trying to make the world a little better than it was. After watching the movie I kept thinking back to last semester in Beth's class when we talked a lot about school gardens and growing your own food and I think that it is great that these people are extending beyond the classroom and into everyday life. After watching the video a few of us started talking about how we were totally going to go out and start our own farms, but I don't really think that I would be able to put forth all of the work that goes into a farm.  I think trying to boost the economy through something as simple as buying locally grown food can make a world of difference and we should all try to make an effort to help.  I've been trying to make it a point to visit the farmers market each week and buy some locally grown food I'm not able to buy all locally grown food but I figure small steps will one day lead to bigger leaps. 

Creating a Podcast

I'm a huge fan of the show One Tree Hill and in the earlier seasons a character on the show, Peyton, had her own podcast and I always remember thinking, "wow, she must be really tech savvy to understand how to have a podcast" but throughout this class I learned that her technological feat was not as impressive as I once thought it was.  When we were introduced to podcasting in the class I thought it was going to be a complicated procedure but really it was just a matter of having the right equipment.  We were asked to partner up in the class and create a podcast based on something that we were an expert on and I found myself talking to Andrea about how I am an expert on what makes someone a good roommate and what makes them a bad roommate.  It was a simple silly podcast that just allowed us to scratch the surface of what can be done.  I think that when people hear a phrase like "podcast" they immediately clam up and get all nervous because it sounds really important but in all reality it is just a recording that can be posted to the internet.  We spent the next class working on putting a visual to our podcast by reading a children's book, which proved to be a bit harder than just making a vocal podcast.  The most difficult thing with the children's book was allowing enough time between pages so that if you had to go back and edit you could.  I found myself rereading that book so many times because I wasn't pausing enough or my pages wouldn't line up right but as the class progressed so did my understanding of podcasts.  After the two classes spent on podcasting I'm no longer looking at One Tree Hill as the cutting edge of technology.