WIRED story

After reading the Wired story and also listening to the NPR podcast, I'm not sure if Wikipedia can be trusted at all. This is shocking to me that any ting can be edited on Wikipedia and companies are doing just that. I really believe that Wikipedia will never be able to be a reliable source unless it can't be edited. Wikipedia is not something I often use but I do reference to it when I'm needing to find information on certain topics. Now that I learned this breaking news about Wikipedia, I probably wouldn't be using it without questioning if the entries are true facts.

DID YOU KNOW 4.0

This Did You Know 4.0 is pretty much like Did You Know 3.0. They were both based on technology in our society today. It revealed statistics of our generation using technology in their everyday lives. It was quite interesting to know that newspaper sales have rapidly dropped, or for that matter, any hard copy of reading items. Another interesting fact is that more videos have been downloaded vs the amount of news airing since 1965. Technology is our future and this is what we must accept.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

Randy Pausch had a lot of interesting ideas in his lecture. He was diagnosed with cancer and did not have very long to live. He said to him self, if he could do his last lecture before he died, what would he talk about. Mr. Pausch basically talked about his childhood dreams. Dream, dream, Dream, it's ok. Randy had a list of childhood dreams that he accomplished in different ways.

Randy went on to saying, "it's not about the cards you're dealt, it's how you play them." I thought this was very interesting because this statement holds true for everyday life in general. Everyone's faced with obstacles in their lives and they have to find ways to overcome those challenges. He also mentioned that anything is possible. This is what we tell our kids when they are younger, but I think as an adult, we need to hear this in order to remember it.

I really liked that Randy stressed on having fun. He said that even though he's dying, he'll have fun till the end. He said to have fun while working hard to accomplish your goals. Don't ever let anyone bring you down. Never give up on your dreams. Even if you don't accomplish them, you will learn something from doing so.

Although the video was a bit lengthy, it definitely captured my attention. This video can be a life lesson for anyone. It really made me think about my life somewhat differently. Randy mentioned in the video to always listen to your critics feedback and use it. I liked this because we as humans tend to get mad when someone is telling us that we're doing something wrong, but in all actuality, they are helping us become good at that something. Randy said to find the best in everybody and this is something I will try to remember. Overall, I really enjoyed all the advices of Randy Pausch's lecture. This is definitely a life lesson in a short amount of time.

Karl Fish: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

WOW! This post by Mr. Fisch was very extreme. I must say that I really enjoyed his comments. I really enjoyed the comment that technology should be used as a tool to help expand children knowledge. To be honest, Mr. Fish's post was very entertaining and funny. It was very enjoyable to read and easy to grasp his viewpoint. I never really thought about technology as being as important as reading until I read this post.

In becoming a teacher, I find myself not technical enough. I do believe that a lot of learning needs to take place. I'm definitely looking forward in shaping up my technology skills. It will be rather embarrassing if my students know more than me when it comes to technology. I would much rather make them proud that they could learn about computer from their teacher. I wouldn't mind learning from them too. It never hurts to have an open mind about learning new things.

"It's Not About the Technology"

I really enjoyed the post by Kelly Hines, "It's Not About the Technology". I thought that Mrs. Hines made some good points but I do have to disagree with it not being about the technology. Our society is changing daily and it's becoming more and more about the technology. As I mentioned in previous post to my blog, one must have at least basic computer skills in order for an employer to even consider interviewing the individual. I absolutely agree that teacher must be learners. Teachers have to understand if they want students to learn, they too must be willing to learn. Part of being a teacher has a cycle of never ending learning. If someone's seeking a teaching degree and does not like learning, they might as well change careers.

Overall, I enjoyed Mrs. Hines point of view. I understand that she didn't jump on the band wagon like every one else agreeing that technology is our future. I do believe that technology can sometimes take away from a child's own creativity and do the thinking for them. But I do also believe that young children are fast learners and teachers can benefit form their students by actually learning a few things about technology from them. In conclusion, I believe that teachers need to adapt to technology because it is our future. They do not need to base everything they do in the classroom around technology, however, what they do need to do is include it as part of the curriculum.

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This movie somewhat captures my college experience. I graduated from high school in 2000 and got my A.A. degree soon after. I then went to a technical school where I obtained my x-ray license. After that, I went into the work field and then decided to continue my education in 2009. I currently work full time and taking 9 hours of college credit. I work during the day and go to school at night.

I find it very difficult to pay attention at school because of being extremely tired from work. As in the video, I definitely do not read as much as I need for my classes. Studying is not at the top of my priority list. I sometimes think sleep is more important than dedicating more time for homework and studying. All in all, I thought this video represented me at least 80%.

Next Generation Learning

I thought this video was very cute. A young child named Harry played the host in the video. The topic he talked about was on technology. Harry spoke about the way classrooms used to be versus today. Technology is incorporated in our everyday lives and is becoming more evident in our classrooms. Children now has to familiarize themselves more with the internet due to the fact that teachers are encouraging students to do research online to help with school projects.

Harry talked about how excessive the internet is. He also spoke about digital being our future. One could take a picture and then upload it to the internet within minutes. This is exactly the way our society is becoming. If you're not computer literate, it's much more difficult to find jobs. Employers are seeking individuals that are familiar with technology whether it pertains to the job or not. I really enjoyed this video. Harry did a wonderful job entertaining me the viewer.

Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog (3rd Grade Podcasts)

After reviewing the material from Eagle Nest Radio & Class Blog, I learned that these kids read very very well. I really enjoyed this podcast. There was a little girl who was the host of the show. She introduced each speaker one after another that explained a fact about ancient Rome. There were some very interesting facts about Roman architecture, Julius Caesar, gladiator, and Cleopatra. The background had music which complimented what the speaker described.

I think the children of this podcast did a fantastic job! I'm now thinking about using soft music in the background of my podcast. Sticking to facts about the topic would be best in my podcast. I think doing a podcast would introduce me to a different side of technology that can help me in the future. Looking forward to this assignment.

Last Semester's Podcast

While viewing the podcast, I thought I to be a little on the boring side. There were 4 students and 1 professor that were sitting around a table with notes in front of them. The topic was about why should teachers be more tuned in with technology. The group basically went around the table and everyone gave their opinion about the topic. I thought this podcast to be very slow. I thought it was long and boring versus short and sweet.

More involvement with the audience would be more creative and interesting. Perhaps if some sort of charts were used and the students got out of their seats explaining the charts, this technique would grab someone's attention. My main goal in my podcast would be to keep my viewer awake. I would try to make it as interesting as possible, by using charts with examples of my topic, or something more involved instead of sitting around and speaking very slowly. Overall, this podcast was ok.

GOOGLE DOCS PRESENTATION

Hey, it's me...

Just posting now because for some reason, I keep forgetting to post my regular 2 posts including my assignment. This class is a little over loading for me. I'm not really a technical person but I do enjoy learning.